Established under the Saber Program, a Saber Guard were force-sensitive soldiers that served the Galactic Empire and its military.
Background[]
While similar in appearance to the members of the Imperial Royal Guard, Saber Guards were trained on Kamino rather than Yinchorr, in the top secret cloning facilities such as Timira City. They were known to have some degree of force potential such as Force resistance and can throw lightsabers, though their main area of expertise was in lightsaber combat, in which they utilized two lightsabers that emitted red-colored blades. In combat, the Saber Guards were frequently paired with the soldiers in the Acolyte Program. Given their prowess in lightsaber combat and rarity within the rest of the Imperial Military, Saber Guards were among the most fearsome warriors of the Galactic Empire.
History[]
Saber Guards were deployed during the Assault on Kamino to board and disable the Rebel flagship Salvation. Boarding in small pods, the Saber Guards easily overtook the hangar and many other vital areas of the ship such as the engine room, the bridge, and numerous gun emplacements. Despite overcoming the Rebel defenders with relative ease, the Saber Guards proved to be utterly ineffective against Starkiller, a clone of Darth Vader's late secret apprentice. The Saber Guards were killed by the clone as he systematically exterminated the Imperial presence aboard the Salvation.
When the Rebel Alliance launched a planetary assault on Kamino and stormed Timira City, the Saber Guards assisted the Imperial garrison in putting up a fierce resistance to protect the planet's cloning facilities. After Starkiller returned to Timira City in search of Vader and Juno Eclipse, numerous Saber Guards attempted to halt his advance. However, this proved unsuccessful, and most of them were eliminated. The battle was eventually won by the Alliance and the remaining Saber Guards on Kamino likely perished with the rest of the planet's Imperial garrison.
Powers and abilities[]
Although Saber Guards were much less skilled in the Force than the Imperial Sith Acolyte, they were able to erect a Force barrier around themselves to shield against Force attacks, and were also capable of using Saber Throw. They were known to utilize two lightsabers in combat much like Galen Marek's clone. They were equipped with armor which was resistant to lightsabers, and resembled that of the Sun Guard, Shadow Guard, and Imperial Royal Guards. But despite their powerful Force barriers, they were notably vulnerable to the Force repulse attack. In contrast with their Acolyte counterparts, they were not capable of resisting a mind trick, which if employed, often led to disastrous results for the Imperial teams that had been assigned to assist them. Saber Guards could resist lightsaber attacks, Force powers and Force grapples, so the only way to make them vulnerable was by performing a Saber grapple on them.
Behind the scenes[]
The Saber Guards, and by extension the Imperial Sith Acolytes' vocal clips resembled those of the failed Galen Marek clones encountered on Tipioca City later in the game. Whether this was reused assets or an implication that both parties were composed of repurposed Galen Marek clones to compensate for failing to replicate the deceased secret apprentice is unclear.
Appearances[]
- Star Wars: The Force Unleashed II (First appearance)