The 66th Legion, officially known as the 66th Legion: The Emperor's Guard or Legio LXVI in Old Morsian, was a legion that served in the Morsian Army. Their motto was 'Vires in Securitatis' in Old Morsian which translates to 'Strength in Security' in Galactic Basic. Their emblem was an old legionary shield flanked by a lightsaber on each side.
History[]
Formation[]
The 66th Legion was formed on Mors long prior to 3,955 BBY during the planet's ununified era. Like all legions, the 66th saw heavy fighting across Mors as the Morsians fought to unify the planet.
Siege of Mors[]
The 66th Legion saw heavy action during the Siege of Mors in 3,955 BBY by the Sith Empire, being one of the first legions to be mobilised to respond to the sudden attack.
The legion was divided up to protect 5 hills close to their position while giving battle near to them. Five cohorts were assigned to the hills while the rest of the legion dug in and defended a nearby position with the 57th and 42nd Legion protecting their flanks. The legion put up heavy resistance to the Sith Empire's initial attacks, destroying the first wave of infantry and causing the Sith infantry to pull back and dig in. However, overwhelming firepower from Sith aerial superiority, orbital bombardment and armored support from walkers resulted in the sheer weight of numbers of Sith troops overtaking the legion, which devolved into melee combat. While the legion inflicted many casualties on the Sith Infantry due to their heavy armor, superior melee weapons and formations, the weight of numbers was too great and resulted in the legion pulling back with heavy losses.
The cohorts on the hills held longer, fighting back several waves of Sith infantry assaults backed up by heavy armored walkers. The Sith attempted to bomb their positions but vicious anti-aircraft fire resulted in numerous bombers shot down before they could drop their payload. Once again, however, the cohorts were slowly overwhelmed and forced off the hills, scattering and making their way to the nearby capital of Malum independently.
The legion was severely depleted by the time they reformed back in Malum, with around 800 of their 4,000 number left after the initial combat. Therefore, the legion was merged with the surviving elements of the 38th, 44th and 12th Legions to bring the 66th back to near full strength. The reformed legion then pulled back to the outskirts of the underground city to stall the Sith forces while Morsian units further into the city set up more solid defences.
The 66th next saw combat several hours after the initial invasion when an acid storm forced the Sith forces underground, commencing their assault on the capital. The 66th had set up defensive walls and barricades across streets surrounding the entrance, beating back the initial Sith assault and causing heavy losses. The Sith attempted to break through the houses to outflank the Morsian positions, but this failed and resulted in bloody fighting between houses, as well as further losses to the Sith forces. Sith War Droids managed to break through in certain areas, resulting in flamethrower legionaries and other specialist legionaries being moved to block the gap with some of the legion reserves that had not been committed to the defenses, stretching the Morsian defence.
The legion held for an hour or so against constant waves of Sith infantry until a specialist Sith War Beast concocted by Darth Mortem arrived from orbit and was committed to the assault. The War Beast broke through the Morsian defensive wall and charged into the rear lines, allowing Sith troops to follow up the assault and push the Morsians back, starting to engage in melee fighting. While the War Beast was eventually dealt with by the reserves, the damage had been done and Sith infantry was able to get in amongst the legion, engaging in melee combat as the remaining legion reserves were deployed to the line. Darth Mortem arrived to deal the final blow and break the legion's defences. The legion would have been destroyed had the timely arrival of some Praetorians and Imperatoris Custodes to engage the Sith infantry with fresh men, allowing the remains of the legion to pull back.
The legion next regrouped at a legionary fortress deeper within the city, behind the newly constructed inner city defences. The legion had been reduced further to ~300 men and had a little time off-duty as other Morsian units rotated with the front line legions. During this time, the Morsian Emperor arrived at the fortress and was set on touring the new defences of the city. Despite warnings and advice to stay away from the front line, the Emperor was adamant and to prevent further attempted warnings, he made the 66th legion his guard unit, giving them the title 'The Emperor's Guard' as well as their motto 'Strength in Security'. Also during this time, legionary Firax Co’hiir escaped from the fortress after killing a centurion and betrayed the Morsians by joining the invading Sith forces.
The 66th Legion accompanied the Emperor as he toured the defences and protected him as the Sith attacked and broke through them. The legion defended the Emperor and got him to safety whilst under infantry assault, escaping the area in vehicles and travelling deeper into the city, intending to return to the Imperial Palace in the centre of the city. However, the legion was halted when the Imperial Speeder carrying the Emperor broke down, stopping the convoy and allowing Darth Mortem and a unit of Sith infantry on speeders to catch up with the legion and engage them in melee combat with the intent to either capture or kill the Emperor. The legion gained the upper hand over the Sith infantry thanks to the intervention of a group of Publicae Auxiliam and the fighting prowess of the Imperatoris Custodes, causing the Sith and Darth Mortem to pull back without harming the Emperor. The legion abandoned the speeder and continued to head into the city with the Publicae Auxiliam.
They were stopped again when one of the armored carriers broke down outside the Imperial Museum of History. It was here that the legion decided to make its stand within the museum, preparing for the Battle of the Imperial Museum of History. They had been tracked by Sith scouts who reported to Darth Mortem, who swiftly gathered a force to assault the museum. The legion prepared for the assault by fortifying the museum, blocking off all windows, reinforcing all doors and setting up a defensive fortification in the main atrium of the museum. They were joined by a cohort of the 14th Praetorian Legion who, combined with the Publicae picked up from their previous battle as well as conscripted civilians and staff within the museum at the time, gave the legion its final strength for the battle. Museum equipment was utilised in the defence, including several ballistae and various armor and weapons which were given to the civilians and staff.
The legion initially held against the Sith assault when they arrived, the ballistae forming a crossfire that prevented the Sith infantry from initially entering the museum along with outgoing Morsian fire. However, their ballistae ammunition soon ran out and the weapons themselves were destroyed, allowing the Sith infantry to push in and form defensive positions around the main entrance. The legion soon ran out of blaster ammunition which allowed the Sith infantry to push into the atrium and across the Morsian defensive line, engaging them in melee combat. Both sides suffered heavy casualties relative to their original strength but the legion was saved from destruction by an announcement by Morsian High Command who 'accidentally' broadcast planetwide that a large Morsian fleet was returning to crush the Sith fleet currently in orbit, which was loosing due to current Morsian naval reinforcements. Sith morale was already low and this, combined with losses suffered, caused a mass rout which saved the legion.
The legion saw no further fighting in the Siege of Mors nor during the rest of the war, as it was still being reinforced and rebuilt when the war ended 5 years later. Several years after that the legion returned to active service at full strength, remaining on Mors during that time.
Post Old Sith Wars[]
The legion was assigned to regular military duties which including counter-piracy across Morsian space and nearby systems, counter-banditry on Mors as well as foreign support across the galaxy when needed. The legion was on standby during the Clone Wars as the Morsian senate debated re-joining the Galactic Republic during this time. The legion was scheduled to take part in the first Morsian offensive when the Morsian Empire joined the Republic near the end of the war, but due to the war ending only a few months after, the legion never entered combat against the Confederacy of Independent Systems before the war's end.
Galactic Civil War and beyond[]
The legion saw combat during the Morsian war against the Galactic Empire after the Morsian Empire declared war in 0 BBY, entering combat with Imperial forces during several Morsian planetary campaigns. While taking losses, the legion performed admirably and was pulled out of the front line in 3 BBY with other initial legions to allow fresh units to take their place. The legion also saw combat against the First Order when they appeared in the galaxy. The legion took part in several Morsian operations against the First Order, though with minimal losses.
Structure[]
Like all legions, the 66th followed a rigorous command structure:
- 1x Legatus
- 3x Centurion Imperator Maxius'
- 6x Centurion Maximus'
- 30x Centurions
- 3,000 x Legionaries (30 cohorts)
- 30x Centurions
- 6x Centurion Maximus'
- 1x Praefectus Fabrum
- 5x Centurion Fabrum
- 500 x Imperial Engineer
- 5x Centurion Fabrum
- 500 x specialist legionaries (heavy gunners, flamethrowers, drivers, gunners, etc)
- 3x Centurion Imperator Maxius'
Equipment[]
Each legionary was equipped with a short stabbing Lightsaber and deployable personal rectangular energy shield for melee combat. Each legionary also had a blaster carbine on a sling which could be slung to their back to be out of the way for melee combat. These blaster carbines were either the E-3 blaster, X-22 blaster rifle or CD-36 blaster rifle which were later superseded/added to with the E-11 blaster rifle and DC-15A blaster carbine. Specialist troops carried heavy weapons such as the DH-X heavy blaster rifle and later DLT-19 heavy blaster rifle. Other specialist weapons included flamethrowers and rocket launchers to allow the legion to engage many different targets. The legion was also equipped with several Morsian Beam Weapon teams which gave them good 'all round' attack against every type of target. Each legionary also had several Thermal detonators on them for throwing.
Behind the scenes[]
- The original standard of the 66th Legion was going to be of a skull with two snake-like creatures coming out of the eye holes and winding around to face each other below the jaw. However, when it came to creating the standard, the original idea had been forgotten and its current standard was made up on the spot instead.