Redblade Squadron

Redblade Squadron (formally the 1st Hadrago Squadron, 1st Attack Wing, Prime Fleet) was an elite Hadrago squadron in the service of the Armada of the Golden Empire. Though technically part of the Royal Starfighter Corps, in practice Redblade Squadron was permanently assigned to the personal command of the Prime Legate as a special operations unit.

History
Conceived by the Sith Lord Tariun Sakaros, the development of an elite fighter squadron was slightly delayed by a lack of sufficiently talented pilots. Though the Massassi of the Prime Fleet were loyal and decently trained, they could not even approximate the Force-enhanced reflexes of Sakaros. Thus, there was no regular composition to his personal squadron; when he elected to fly in battle, he chose his wingmates randomly from the entire Massassi corps.

By the time the Great Liberation had erupted in 100 ABY, however, a sufficient influx of pilots from the member worlds of the Golden Empire, primarily already-spacefaring Iscali and Zaractoks, allowed Sakaros to at last put together his dream squadron. The unit was originally dubbed "Red Squadron", and Sakaros himself served as Red Leader, often leaving overall command of engagements to Keltrayu as he led fighters against the forces of the Tetrarchy of Mezlagob.

Several of the squadron were killed during the war, but many new and talented recruits competed to fill the slots. Due to its close association with Tariun Sakaros, by the end of the war the squadron had acquired the nickname "Redblade Squadron", an homage to the Sith Lord's two red lightsabers. The name stuck and became a standard for the group in all but the most formal situations.

During battles of extreme import, Sakaros had retained command of the overall theater, leaving his second-in-command, the Iscali Kesanion, as Redblade Leader. Following the Great Liberation, Sakaros assumed the senior command post of Prime Legate and formally promoted Kesanion to command of Redblade Squadron.

The Redblades retained their reputation in the Armada as ferocious and talented pilots, seeing action at the Battles of Harth Gool, Bolera, and Waldragos, among many others. They also emerged as a special operations unit, tasked with the elimination of various pirate threats. Though the Redblades remained formally attached to the Prime Fleet and were usually located aboard the Sith Star, they could be detached to other commands as necessary.

By 137 ABY, the Redblades were still in service, and saw action in the Conquest of the Chiss Ascendancy, including the Battles of Kinoss, Naporar, and Csilla. They remained with the Prime Fleet during the Vagaari War, when they came under the command of the Mineti Centurion Tamlok.

During the Nightmare War, Redblade Squadron was assigned to the Romasi Sector Fleet under Breek Zagrev, and saw action at the battles of Keliso, Quadia, and Dolomir.

Groupings
Redblade Squadrons went through many permutations throughout the years, not all of which are known. The initial squadron, assembled by Tariun Sakaros for the Great Liberation, was:
 * Red Leader: Tariun Sakaros (Sith/ Human hybrid)
 * Red Two: Kesanion (Iscali)
 * 4 other Iscali
 * 4 Zaractoks
 * 1 Kasci
 * 1 Massassi

By the end of the war, when Sakaros stepped down as leader, Redblade Squadron had expanded and diversified, with many beings from the former Tetrarchy of Mezlagob lending their piloting expertise to the unit.
 * Redblade Leader: Kesanion
 * 2 other Iscali
 * 2 Zaractoks
 * 1 Zyked
 * 1 Synnott
 * 1 Human
 * 1 Duros
 * 1 Mezzel
 * 1 Massassi
 * 1 Dronos

Pilots
Most of the pilots of Redblade Squadron were reassigned from other Hadrago units after demonstrating combat aptitude and piloting expertise. Commonly cited (though not always enforced) was that a pilot needed to be at least an ace before he would be assigned to the unit.

A number of pilots who eventually found their way to Redblade Squadron were mildly Force-sensitive; while not strong enough to consciously harness the power of the Force or be trained as Centurions of the Order of Keltrayu, they nonetheless had above-average combat reflexes which made them deadly pilots. In addition, some Centurions of the Order who had piloting experience wound up flying with or even regularly assigned to Redblade Squadron; the Mineti Tamlok and the Leik Maliya were examples.

In addition to pilot training, Redblades were taught various ground survival techniques in the event of a crash, including Var Shek training and survival, evasion, resistance, and escape skills.

Symbols
Designed by the pilots of Redblade Squadron itself, the crest of the unit was another homage to Tariun Sakaros: a Hadrago fighter over crossed red lightsabers. It was worn as a distinctive unit patch on flight suits. The Hadragos of Redblade Squadron had their wings decorated with the crossed lightsabers design as well.