SP-22

In a final demonstration of loyalty, the handful of surviving students had to fight their Brothers to the death in the arena known as ‘The Squall’. This act of devotion was done before the Emperor himself. Lord Vader also attended. DP-019 slew his Brother without much difficulty. DP-019 felt no pity or remorse. Had DP-019 been the weaker candidate, his Brother would not have shown mercy. DP-019 would not have wished to live in defeat, besides.

Four men remained standing at the end of the Squall combat. They bowed before the Emperor. Thoughtful yellow eyes glowed under a cowl, his bony face shadowed. “Your time on Yinchorr has made each of you powerful. You can now be counted amongst the finest warriors in the galaxy. But… fighting ability is not enough. Lord Vader.” The black cape swirled, and in several crimson-red flashes two of the candidates fell to the ground, headless. DP-019 watched as a decapitated head rolled gently toward his feet. He did not move. His expression remained neutral.

Vader switched off his lightsaber and stepped backward toward his Master. He spoke in his baritone voice, “These two candidates both felt regret for slaying their Brothers. They hesitated. The Emperor’s guardsmen must obey the Emperor without question.”

Palpatine spat out, “Weak feelings such as compassion have no place within my inner circles.” His tone softened and he continued, “Well done DP-019, ----, and AH-632, Baldur Bane. You have proven yourselves worthy in every aspect of service.”

2.5 ABY: DP-019 is re-designated RG-93. He escorts Emperor Palpatine to Imperial Centre, where he is assigned to the Palace Guard. RG-93 remains a faithful servant. He learns much about the Empire’s inner workings and secret leadership while standing sentry in the halls of power.

2.8 ABY: RG-93 is personally selected as part of a commando team by the Emperor. This commando team was codenamed ‘Comet’, and would carry out ‘Operation Scorpion’. ‘Comet’ consisted of Storm Commandoes and Royal Guardsmen, who would discard their red robes and don the black armour of their storm commando brethren for this mission. RG-93 acted as a sub-commander in ‘Comet’. Operation Scorpion involved Comet infiltrating the Palace of an influential Moff. The Moff was absent at the time of the operation, but he was not the target. His son was. They were to eliminate the palace security force and kidnap the son. With the son as the Emperor’s hostage, the troublesome Moff would become more ‘flexible’. The infiltrators snuck into the palace like shadows. The son was stunned and seized with astounding speed and finesse. There were zero casualties amongst the infiltrators.

3 ABY: Because of his outstanding performance in practice sessions and the recognition of his latent Force sensitivity, RG-93 was selected to train as a Sovereign Protector under the tutelage of a Dark Side Adept.

“I sense an almost droid like loyalty in RG-93, yet he displays resourcefulness on the battlefield. His zealous servitude does not entail mindlessness. I would submit to your Majesty that he is a strong and crafty warrior.” - Quoted from a secret report to Palpatine on RG-93’s potential promotion to Sovereign Protector.

RG-93 was transferred to the secret Deep Core world of Byss. RG-93 received rudimentary training in the Force. The training was designed to harness RG-93’s dormant power, but not unlock its full potential. RG-93 did not openly challenge this method. However, the Byss Mages and Dark Side Adepts that guided him within the Imperial Citadel were only whetting the young warrior’s appetite. Now he had been exposed to such power, he secretly craved more. Despite emotional struggle, these personal cravings were subordinated to his service to the Emperor. RG-93 was a quick learner. The elevation to Sovereign Protector did not require RG-93 to kill any of his fellow students. When the training was concluded, he was given new armour and re-designated SP-22. He served for a short time as part of the Byss garrison.

4 ABY: SP-22 was given command of a secret operation codenamed “Operation Morning Star”. The operation’s objective was to assassinate a leading rebel figure hiding in the Jospro Sector. The target was an Alliance strategist and scientist, the Nautolan Hin Manus. SP-22 commanded a small team of twenty-four of his fellow Protectors. He was also issued with special authority from the Emperor, ‘empowering the commander with the imperium to seize and commandeer Imperial assets, and direct or otherwise issue orders to Imperial Forces, so that he may succeed in his mission.’ It was in essence a carte blanche. When he arrived in the Jospro Sector he found it infested with rebels, and the Imperial forces beleaguered. Intelligence estimates back on Byss were grossly optimistic. SP-22 presented himself and his team to the local Imperial commander, Major General Crannog Exnoun. SP-22 and his ‘Special Imperial Directive’ managed to intimidate Exnoun sufficiently that he became grudgingly obliging. After a month of intelligence gathering, SP-22 discovered that Manus was hiding near a secret A-wing manufacturing facility on Cardooine. Exnoun wanted to send a large portion of his Battlegroup in for a full scale assault. This plan was vetoed by SP-22 who wanted to be guaranteed his target was killed (specifically, he wanted to see the life go from the Manus’ eyes himself). Threats both verbal and physical were used against Exnoun to ensure he would cooperate. SP-22 formulated a simple raid plan: Three platoons of Exnoun’s best stormtroopers (White Group) would airdrop between the lakeside village of Esh Soodata and Manus’ forest hideout and engage the rebels billeted in the village. SP-22 and his twenty-four Protectors (Black Group) would drop closer to Manus’ hideout, assassinate him and then link up with White Group for extraction.

The plan went disastrously wrong from the very start. Many of White Group’s drop-pods landed off-course, some landing in the lake (drowning the occupant) or landing too far away. Others were shot down by rebel surface to air missiles and laser fire. White Group could only muster 20% strength. When the rebels from Esh Soodata gathered to attack, White Group was outnumbered and began suffering further casualties. Soon the unit was wiped out. Black Group faired equally as badly. Some of their pods had been destroyed by anti aircraft weapons as well, reducing their number to nineteen. The pods that survived landed in a large clearing. This made them highly vulnerable for when the Manus HQ Escort Company, a unit of only thirty-six men, fell upon them. Although the fierce Protectors wiped out this under strength unit, they were down now only to thirteen men and had been delayed. By the time they reached Manus’ hideout, he had long since fled.
Exnoun ordered an extensive bombardment of the area and the survivors were evacuated. The hidden A-wing factory was promptly relocated by the Alliance.

SP-22 blamed Exnoun and his staff for the failure: He claimed the airdrop had been handled horrendously, he had been given flawed intelligence and that support from TIE Bombers promised by Exnoun had not appeared. In fairness, the TIE Bombers had been ordered to hold when it became clear the rebels had greater anti aircraft potential than originally thought. But SP-22’s other accusations were painfully justified. An extremely bitter dispute followed. The argument ended abruptly when news of the Battle of Endor reached Jospro Sector. SP-22 had sensed an indistinct but troubling disturbance in the Force, but this news was beyond his greatest fears: The Emperor slain.

SP-22 has always been ambitious, but making the Empire’s goals his own has consistently aided his status. More recently when the Empire has blocked his initiation into the Sith, stifling his personal feelings and nodding with a ‘Yes sir’ has been difficult. Years of institutionalization succeeded.