High Guard

Revision as of 15:39, 13 November 2010

The High Guard is a military organization from the TV series Andromeda.

History

The origin of the High Guard was traced to the original Vedran Empire which was formed after the species developed Slipstream technology. Upon the formation of the Empire, the commanding general of the Vedrans military declared his female mate Yoweri I Empress. The group of retainers that served her formed the core nucleus of what would become the military arm of the Empire and became known as the High Guard in 0 CY (Coronation Year). A High Guard vessel later crashed on the Kalderans homeworld in 859 CY who reverse engineered slipstream technology from it and formed the Kalderan Alliance in 870 CY to combat the encroachment of the Vedran Empire. They were successful in pushing the empire out from the Lesser Magellanic Cloud over the next decade but ultimately lost the war in 895 CY when the High Guard successfully conquered as well as occupied the Kalderan homeworld of Kalderash after which the Kalderan Alliance was disbanded. In 4150 CY, overexpansion and declining enlistment led to the High Guard opening its ranks to non-Vedrans for the first time. However, the Perseid Insurrection in 4205 CY shook the Vedran Empire which was brutally put down but saw a number of High Guard vessels mutiny against the Vedran Empire. Afterwards, the Vedran Empire was dissolved and the Systems Commonwealth took its place with the High Guard becoming its military arm. (Website: All Systems University Timeline)

When the Magog began invading the Known Worlds, Argosy Intelligence dispatched the Andromeda Ascendant under the command of Captain Perim to find the source of the Magog invasion by following the trail of a slip scout. Under classified orders, the Glorious Heritage class cruiser arrived in the galaxy M86 in the Virgo Galactic Cluster where they encountered the Magog Worldship. There, the ship was attacked by Magog Swarm Ships and boarded as well as killed the crew but not before the Andromeda Ascendant could escape into slipstream. Thirteen months later after being lost, the Andromeda Ascendant was recovered by a Than-Thre-Kull freighter and all records of the mission were classified for security reasons by Argosy Intelligence who sealed the information of the mission from the vessels AI. (Episode: The Widening Gyre)

At the height of the Commonwealth, it was known that there was a particular concern over the dictatorship government on the planet Mobius that was led by Chancellor Ferrin. His actions led to the High Guard to consider an extradition mission to forcibly remove him for trial at Tarn-Vedra. At least a dozen such missions were conducted using the local architect, Venetri, as a guide but these failed. This led to Admiral Constanza Q. Stark dispatching Captain Dylan Hunt on a covert ops mission alongside Nietzschean Gaheris Rhade to the planet in order to remove Ferrin from power. (Episode: Forced Perspective) Before the Fall, Argosy was developing a number of new design changes for their vessels. (Episode: Pitiless as the Sun)

In CY 9784, the coalition fo Nietzscheans enacted their plans of toppling the Commonwealth and substituting it with their own empire which led to a sneak attack being made against their High Guard. This led to both High Guard and Home Guard facilities on over 500 worlds being attacked simultaneously and brought about the destruction of nearly half the Argosy fleet whilst it was at homeport. Among the casualties was the Vedran Empress, Sucharitkil XII who was assassinated when her royal barge was destroyed by a Nietzschean strike force whilst Earth itself was bombared frmo orbit though an attempt at seizing San-Ska-Re was repulsed by Than Home Gurd units but led to heavy casualties on both sides. (Website: All-Systems University Timeline) During the Nietzschean Uprising, the High Guard fought and were ultimately defeated by their foes despite possessing a fleet ten times of their foe as well as hundred times as many men. However, it was attributed to the fact that the High Guard had not fought a real war in over a thousand years as well as the large fleet that the Nietzscheans assembled combined with the element of surprise being the key to bringing about their destruction. (Episode: Under the Night) Since that time, the war was going badly for the High Guard with the Pax Magellanic being dispatched to the Herodotus system in order to retrieve a detachment of lancers led by General Sky Falls at Thunder who were pinned down by Nietzschean ground forces. (Episode: The Mathematics of Tears)

Following the Battle of Hephaistos, the High Guard was known to had been slowly losing the war. In the final stages of the Nietzschean Tactical Offensive; Admiral Constanza Q. Stark managed to assemble a hundred ships by the Witchhead Nebula with the intention of assaulting the enemy homeworld of Fountainhead. However, the broken remnants of this fleet commanded by Captain Teddy Roosevelt on the flagship Termopoli were ambushed by a fleet of 500 Nietzschean ships. Despite being outnumbered, the High Guard forces fought bravely in the Battle of Witcchhead and despite being destroyed - they managed to cripple their Nietzschean foes to the point that the conflict became known as an unmitigaed disaster as the Nietzscheans turned against one another leading to the collapse of their alliance. (Episode: Angel Dark, Demon Bright)

In the post-Fall of the Commonwealth period, it was known that there were only a few High Guard vessels that survived. The Nightsider businessman known as Gerentex possessed a list of such vessels with the intention of looting them of their valuable technology. Salvaging of such ships became an obsession for him with one of his first attempts being made against the Andromeda Ascendant. There were at least five other possibilities before he settled on the Andromeda Ascendant though there were known to be at least another five hundred such leads. (Episode: The Mathematics of Tears) Another vessel to survive into the Long Night following the death of its crew was the Siege Perilous class warship known as the Balance of Judgement. After the death of his crew, he became fixated on its mission of waging war; first against pirates, poachers, strip miners before aligning itself with the Restorians. (Episode: Star Crossed) Certain worlds retained memory of Argosy Fleet Operations such as the planet Inarus. (Episode: Pitiless as the Sun)

Background

Members of this military institution wore uniforms that identified them as officers of the Systems Commonwealth who were typically assigned communication implants. (Episode: Its Hour Come Around at Last) Immune system nanobots were sometimes employed and if built up with concentration allowed a vessels AI to track such individuals. (Episode: The Widening Gyre) Much of their procedures and blueprints were stored of flexis that were touch sensitive plastic sheets which served as datapads. (Episode: To Loose the Fateful Lightning) In the High Guard, it was deemed that knowledge was not a luxury but in fact a necessity which they referred to as D Minus Zero that was a reference to the first day of hostilities which indicated the first priority in a battle engagement was intelligence gathering. (Episode: D Minus Zero)

High Guard personnel were required to be disciplined and follow the chain of command with any unauthorized departures leading to the individual being detained for two weeks in the brig as a result. Every entity from organic being to artificial intelligence often swore oaths of loyalty to the Commonwealth in order to uphold its ideals and even sacrifice themselves if necessary. Furthermore, their vessels artificial intelligences possessed numerous classified documents on the High Guard including tactical procedure plans which made them a danger if the ship was ever deemed vulnerable and was why the intelligence was erased if it could not be recovered. Even commanding officers in the High Guard were privy to such important information such as sector troop positions, fleet movements and orders of battle which meant that they often preferred death over capture. Courses taught to military personnel were conducted at sites such as the Guards Advanced Studies Institute at Patterson's World. (Episode: The Mathematics of Tears) It was known that when High Guard officers went missing in enemy territory, search and rescue operations were often conducted to find them. (Episode: Music of a Distant Drum) Members of the High Guard often pledged to hold the line against the night. (Episode: It Makes a Lovely Light)

The High guard was divided into a number of different sub-branches that fit special roles within the military. Amongst their number included the Argosy Special Operations Service whose The unit motto of Argosy Special Operations Service was Una Salas Victus which translated to mean "The one hope of the doomed is not to hope for safety." Another branch was the Argosy Corps of Engineers that was responsible for the construction of weapon emplacements and kept detail plans of their layouts. (Episode: Una Salus Victus) Amongst the units of the High Guard included Argosy Special Operations Service Division 5. (Its Hour Comes Round at Last)

During the time of the Commonwealth, Captains of the High Guard were often assigned four year tours of duty. Their final act when this service was over was to inspect the ship and hand it over to their executive first officer. (Episode: Fear and Loathing in the Milky Way) One of the highest states of emergency on a High Guard vessel was known to be a Code Black. (Episode: The Honey Offering) A Code Red was issued when the command staff of a vessel were incapacitated or killed. (Episode: Its Hour Come Round at Last) Classified memory files in an AI were often encrypted under an Argosy Level 7 Encryption. (Episode: Its Hour Comes Round at Last) Awards given to officers that performed exemplary duty included the Order of the Vedran Empress. (Episode: All Too Human)

In terms of ground combat, one of the favourite weapons used by the High Guard was the Force Lance that was a smart gun. When retracted, they could be used as a light source or a scanner as well as a number of other functions and when deployed it could effectively be used as a quarterstaff in melee combat. In either configuration, it was able to fire tiny attack drones known as effectors which were actually smart bullets allowing them to travel in different trajectories in order to strike their target. (Episode: All Great Neptune's Ocean) In addition, these effectors were able to knock out enemy bullets even at close range thus making them effective interceptors of enemy weapon fire. (Episode: The Honey Offering) One of the modes on an force lancer was to place them in artillery intercept mode allowing them to home in on enemy mortar fire. (Episode: Last Call at the Broken Hammer) Force lancers were keyed to their owners DNA and if an unauthorized person picked up the weapon, they received an electric shock due to the capacitors beinf discharged that led to the wielder being rendered unconscious. Despite this security arrangement, it was possible to remotely control a Force Lancer either by voice command, pulse laser or microwave transmission so long as they individual possessed the right access codes. Through such a process, it was possible to remotely remove access to a Force Lance. (Episode: All Great Neptune's Ocean) If set to overload, a Force Lance was capable of exploding and serving as a form of plasma grenade. (Episode: All Too Human)

Another piece of equipment used by personnel were arm bands that contained ECM generators that disrupted the fire of smart bullets and prevented them from getting a lock on the wielder. (Episode: Fear and Loathing in the Milky Way) When facing the prospects of ground combat, members of the High Guard wore a black forming fitting body armor which included a Mark V and Mark VI version. (Episode: The Devil Take the Hindmost) Other forms of equipment included Mark V ECM Units were were capable of being requisitioned by Argosy Special Operations. (Episode: Una Salus Victus) In terms of ground forces, the High Guard was often supplemented by mechanical units such as Planetary Warfare Bots that were controlled by a vessels AI. (Episode: The Widening Gyre)

High Guard ships of the line contained a full range of combat capabilities which included the use of Nova Bombs. (Episode: An Affirming Flame) Amongst their smallest craft were Type 2 Arc Light Slipfighters. (Episode: To Loose the Fateful Lightning) They also made use of Mercy class Medical Support ships. (Episode: D Minus Zero)

Amongst the technologies used by the High Guard included a Footprint Magnification System (FMS) which projected a larger image ontop of a smaller ship allowing such craft to appear as a ship of the line. The purpose was to distract enemy warships from higher priority targets by forcing them to attack the ship being projected by the FMS. (Episode: D Minus Zero)

Personnel

• Admiral Constanza Q. Stark
• General Sky Falls at Thunder
• Dylan Hunt
• Gaheris Rhade

External Links

• Wikipedia Entry

This article is a stub. You can help Multiversal Omnipedia by expanding it.