One Guard

The One Guard was the Unity's law enforcement and military.

Composition

Weaponry

Guards were armed with magnetic dart guns, using both needle and pellet ammunition. In 2019 Vol Kezlaf added the spray dart to their arsenal.

History

Walemin's Proposal

The formation of a standardized law enforcement program was part of Walemin's plan for the Unity from its earliest stages. During the time she spent in Galtern on business, she observed that the local Security Patrol came down unreasonably hard on some minor infractions while being shockingly lax about other serious offenses, as compared to Mraydor's Island Guard.

After the Unity was formed, a command base was constructed in Stolc on Galtern with the intention of combining the Island Guard and Security Patrol into a single formation. The Security Patrollers objected strongly to the military model they were expected to follow, and public opinion shifted as Galternene leaders reconsidered their support or lost their positional value, forcing Walemin to renegotiate the merger. By 2010 Vol a new agreement appeared imminent, and recruitment to the Guard increased. By that time five more islands had joined the Unity, and Guards were stationed on almost all the Cluster Islands.

Kezlaf's Implementation

Despite the apparent progress, Galtern continued to reject the One Guard's enforcement until Kezlaf succeeded Walemin as Uniter. He threw out the merger and promised that the Security Patrol could remain in force alongside the One Guard, which convinced Galtern's Worthies to accept the Guard. Shortly after that agreement, Kezlaf transferred the Patrol's policing powers to the One Guard, leaving the Patrol as nothing but a figurehead force.

Collapse

The One Guard remained the most powerful security force in the Cluster Islands until the 2040 Dissolver attack on Mraydor. Although the One Guard outnumbered the Dissolvers by 5 to 1, the stealth attack took them completely by surprise. The Dissolvers disrupted the Guard's communication frequencies, preventing units from coordinating with each other, and engaged them with hit-and-run tactics. Half of Mraydor's entire force was wiped out, and the remainder retreated to Galtern, which did not support the newly formed Allied Isles. Guard units stationed on other islands were also made to either disband or leave.

Even though Galtern's Unity governor remained in power, the sudden military influx combined with spreading details of the Uniter's defeat eroded the population's support for the Unity. Minor protests popped up in various places, especially Stolc and Daffa. The One Guard's especially harsh response to an incident in Daffa touched off half a week of civilian rioting which could not be quelled until the One Guard called in the local Security Patrol for assistance. The unrest quieted immediately. The One Guard command suspected collusion between the Patrol and the citizens, but could do nothing about it because the number of uprisings had gone down dramatically after working with the Patrol.

Late in the summer of 2041 Vol, all of Stolc's Security Patrol units combined to stage a raid on Guard Central. After two days of trying to recapture it, the One Guard surrendered. Guards of all ranks were individually given the option of joining the Patrol or of being escorted off of Galtern. Most chose to join; the remainder that left, having no support on any island, are now known as the Dregs.

Founding

2000 Vol

Dissolution

2041 Vol

Used by

• The Unity