Combat Saboteurs

The 44th Engineer Regiment, known more commonly (and also officially) as the Combat Saboteurs, was a special operations unit of the Glorious Armada of the Golden Empire. Though technically and administratively part of the Royal Army, it reported to the direct command of the Prime Legate. The 44th had as its primary mission "to neutralize and destroy vital enemy structures and facilities through stealth infiltration and unsupported sabotage". Its motto was "No Structure Lasts Forever".

History
The Combat Saboteurs were formally constituted at the onset of the Great Liberation in 100 ABY, initially consisting primarily of Iscali, Kasci, and Qua commandos, although several Minetii also volunteered for service after the early Battle of Wemod. It was the brainchild of the Empire's foremost generals, Tariun Sakaros and Keltrayu, who both realized that winning a war against the vastly better-armed Tetrarchy of Mezlagob was going to rely as much (or more) on subterfuge and propaganda as on actual battlefield victory. The unit had training from a number of sources, including both its founders and Iscali demolitions experts, as well as other experienced soldiers. Even Rin Sakaros herself discussed the finer points of stealth and infiltration with the unit's first commanding officer.

After the war, the Combat Saboteurs were reorganized into part of the Royal Army's Corps of Engineers for administrative and pay purposes, though they were classified as a Special Operations unit and thus remained directly under the command of the Armada's new leader, the Prime Legate. The Saboteurs became a mainstay in several late pre-planned conflicts, including the Conquest of Sanduluc and the Vagaari War. Notably, however, they had no role in the Conquest of the Chiss Ascendancy, as the Armada's leadership deemed it impossible for obvious aliens to infiltrate the notoriously xenophobic Chiss space.

Organization and training
All members of the Combat Saboteurs were volunteers from the Royal Army's Corps of Engineers branch. The Regiment itself was half the normal size of an Army regiment (500 instead of 1,000 soldiers, plus NCOs and officers), and sabotage teams were usually deployed as fireteams of five or squads of ten, depending on how much stealth was desired and how large the target in question was. On rare occasions, the Saboteurs would deploy multiple teams, with one or more functioning as decoy units to distract the enemy from the real mission.

Engineer soldiers had to undergo a number of tests to qualify for the Combat Saboteurs, including a physical fitness test, a psychological and background examination, and various tests of their ability to function under pressure. Those who passed screening underwent Advanced Demolition Training on Varga, followed by a stealth infiltration course conducted by Royal Intelligence.