The 12th Star Guards is a mercenary unit with an extremely long and varied history. Two of the unit’s regiments, Paget’s War Ponies and Ohell’s Heavies, began their lives as the 42nd Striker Regiment and the 10th Heavy Assault Regiment of the Star League’s Regular Army. When the Star League fell, the two units banded together.
While in the employ of the Capellan Confederation, the unit got its current name after being assigned to protect twelve vital worlds along the Capellan border with the Federated Suns. Known at first as the 12 Stars Guards, the name eventually evolved into the 12th Star Guards. Since that time, the unit has swelled from its original two regiments to an all-time high of seven during the Second Succession War. While employed by the Draconis Combine, the 12th Star Guards lost two regiments, one due to lack of pay, and another to a bit of Combine deception that left a regiment stranded on an enemy world.
The 12th Star Guards spent the beginning of the third war in the Federated Suns. Due to its chronic money problems, two battalions of the 6th regiment defected to the Draconis Combine when Kurita attacked them on the Davion world of Elidere IV. As a result, the 7th regiment contains four battalions, having absorbed the one remaining battalion from the 6th.
The unit’s financial situation did not improve after they signed with the Commonwealth in 2967. A corrupt liaison officer from the LCAF embezzled a near fortune meant for the Star Guards. By the time he was discovered, the Guards were in even worse shape. Angry about this kind of management, the unit signed next with the Federated Suns in 3012, lured by Davion’s promises of action and good pay. This move improved their situation only slightly, however.
In re-signing with the Commonwealth in 3024, the Star Guards hope to take advantage of the realm’s wealth of supplies and Katrina Steiner’s promises of generous pay. The Archon intends to make it a point of paying this unit up-front because they are important to her future plans. Though the Star Guards are not as tradition-bound as the Eridani Light Horse, the unit’s present commander is aware of his unit’s past glory and uses it to his advantage. He holds a particular grudge against the Draconis Combine and the Federated Suns.
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