What are the ol' guys in red getting up to, now that the Imperial Knights are a thing? Do they still exist as a separate thing, or have they been absorbed into the Imperial Knights hierarchy (kinda like the Secret Service being absorbed into Homeland Security)? Do they have clear and separate roles (defensive/protective vs offensive?), or is it more of an amorphous "the Empress sends whoever she damn well pleases" type deal? Do the Guards report directly to the Empress, or do they report in to someone else (the Knight-General, the Executor, etc)? Are the Guards equivalent in awesomeness/authority to the Imperial Knights (ie. can take charge of military forces if needed, etc), or are they much lower down the pecking order because they're "only" elite Stormtroopers? Do Imperial Guards play any part in Imperial Knight training? I've got two Imperial Guard characters, but I'm not sure what I'm meant to be doing with them.
Good points and we'll wait and see what Rossos/Vissica says about the Imperial Knight angle... I honestly can't recall if they got absorbed
These are very good questions! I'm glad you asked then! I only wish I had straight answers to give you. I suppose the avenues that make the most sense are the guards being folded into the Imperial Knights; the Guards and Knights being two distinct organizations based on their roles (purely defensive guards/variable objective Knights). Honestly though the thought occurs to me that we can have the Knights develop into a department of their own over time and the Guards could be the Secret Service to the Knight's Homeland Security.
Vince, Brian, and I have been chatting about this a little today. What we've figured is that it basically depends on what Miranda wants. The Imperial Guards are loyal to the specific individual who is Emperor/Empress at the time. Palpatine recruited people that were loyal to him personally; and with my two Guards at least, they're people who were protecting Miranda since before she was Empress, so their loyalty is personal as well. The Imperial Knights on the other hand are loyal to "the throne": right now that means Miranda, but they'll be just as loyal to the next Emperor/Empress - there's nothing personal about it (kinda like the Musketeers, I guess?). So, if Miranda trusts the Imperial Knights, it probably makes the most sense for the Imperial Guards to be smushed under the Imperial Knight umbrella. They'll still be guarding the Empress, but they'll be guarding her because Rossos has assigned them to do so. There might be some wiggle room for people to get swapped in and out of Guard duty: so existing Guards could go off and do stuff with the Knights, but existing Knights could also get assigned to Guard duty for a little bit, which might make for some cool story opportunities. On the other hand, if Miranda doesn't trust the Imperial Knights, then she might want to keep the Guards around as her personal minions. If she's paranoid about her safety at all, she'll have much more control over making sure the people protecting her are loyal to her, and she'd also have people she can send out on personal errands / secret missions / etc if she needs to. Brian suggested that Miranda might also want to use her Guards as a checks and balances thing: people loyal to her personally that she can send to keep an eye on the Knights, etc. That's sort of the thoughts that have fallen out of our heads so far, anyway.
Lemme think on this points
I like the distrust angle. Thinking about themes has really helped me get my mind into empire stuff lately. If we draw parallels to the nazis, having two groups with a large amount of responsibility overlap might foster a bit of competition between them for favor. The benefit (or the imagined one) being that this competition serves to make both groups even stronger and more useful to the empress. If the Knights and the Guards are both actors in Tarkin's inner circle, they might have a lot more in common than what sets them apart. I like the distinction y'all made between the Guards being loyal to Tarkin the person and the Knights are loyal to Tarkin the Empress of the Empire. Miranda might feel a little more comfortable in her own skin around the Guards, while the Knights have this duality of purpose in that they're basically paladins of imperial virtue, whatever that might be. Another possible nugget in this dynamic could be the interaction between Miranda and Atrapes. Atrapes is clearly the most powerful force user in the Empire (that we know of). Exactly how beholden is he to playing as the right hand, when he very well might have other possibilities?
Had a few more thoughts on this and figured I'd share. I've long been a fan of the Royal Guard, so I've studied their Wookieepedia page at frequent intervals. One of the things that page mentions is that Palpatine essentially had little fear for his own life: he was the Sith Master in the galaxy for a generation and he corrupted the Chosen One, manipulating Anakin into acting as his personal bodyguard and executor of his will. Sure, from a practical standpoint having fanatically loyal agents to guard you makes tons of sense. However, with the kind of power Palpatine already wielded, the Royal Guard weren't strictly necessary. Which begs the question, how powerful (in all measures of the word) is Miranda? Miranda's plotter states she's the charismatic heir to the Imperial throne, which says to me that maybe her power comes from her ability to create a cult of personality. Perhaps she's the Mussolini/JFK of our SWFans time. Maybe that's not precisely what she (Miranda) had in mind, but in my head it makes perfect sense for that character to create two organizations with similar core missions and overlapping authority, then trust in her own charisma to sort through any brouhaha that arises.
Technically, whether or not Palpatine can defend himself is a moot point? The Royal Guards are there so he doesn't have to, because they don't let anyone get close enough to present a threat. They also protect his stuff while he's not there, and they give him an excuse to wander around with a murder squad who can slaughter people on a whim, which is pretty handy. Not necessary for Palpatine's ability to stay alive perhaps, but they're still a necessary part of him being able to run his Empire effectively in the manner he wants to. As far as how Miranda might use the Guards, the Secret Service comparison opens up some interesting options: as well as protecting the President and family, they manage security for the White House grounds and staff (particularly if there's a threat against them), protect foreign embassies on US soil and US embassies on foreign soil, visiting dignitaries and "other distinguished foreign visitors to the United States" as well as "official representatives of the United States performing special missions abroad", and any big fancy national events that might be a tempting target for terrorists. That opens a while bunch of options. Miranda would be able to plant loyal agents on Jovan Station by assigning them to protect the Imperial Embassy there, or on Cloud City by assigning them to protect her sister-in-law. If there's a Moff or a Minister who you're a little suspicious of, you can trump up some threat to their safety and insist they accept Royal Guard protection as if you're doing them a solid, and suddenly you've got a spy in their house who can murder them discretely if needed; or you can just come up with an excuse for a state visit to wherever they're at, and send in your Royal Guards to go nose around in their business. The recent business/charity shindig on Cloud City, or Anar's dinner party, or the upcoming diplomatic sit-down stuff on Jovan Station - you could insist on Royal Guards being involved with setting up security if you wanted, just to make sure that you're entirely in control of things. Sending Ambassadors to the Hutts, or the Chiss, or Bothawui gives you an excuse to have your devout loyalist agents tag along, etc. Heck, you could just assign Royal Guards to follow people around just to annoy them and make them nervous, if you were feeling like it.
Miranda's strengths do lay in the fact she is very charismatic, intelligent, and genuinely wants the best for the Empire. Everything that she has done is to ensure a lasting legacy for the Empire so it can continue to grow and maintain order. It certainly helps with the lineage she has and has risen in the ranks to become the first woman Moff etc.. she is a powerful symbol in that regards despite not everyone in the Empire agreeing with her. It is hard to swallow that much change after all, but these are different times. She is also training in secret as a Force Adept and will have the potential to be powerful on that front in the future. She is currently volatile on that front since her training hasn't been completed. With that said, I think two separate entities is definitely the way to go
If the Imperial Guards are a stand-alone group... do they all answer to the Empress directly (since their loyalty is to her on an individual basis), or is there some Imperial Guard equivalent on Rossos Atrapes... a sort of Captain of the Guards type figure?
