Sith Vanguard

"They are the elite of the elite. Coupled with their supreme loyalty, they are an unstoppable force of destruction and fear."

- Darth Trayus

Initially intended to replace the Crimson Empire's Shock Troopers as the primary enforcers of Darth Trayus's rule, it was instead decided to make the Sith Troopers under Trayus's direct command elite individuals within the Crimson Empire's army, and thus became the primary enforcers for Trayus's command. Sith Troopers quickly became feared individuals within the Crimson Empire's ranks, and had their loyalty to Trayus not been unquestionable, it would have been safe to suspect possible treason down the line.

History
The original Sith Trooper design dated back to 3949 BBY, when Darth Revan formed his empire. Darth Trayus, in 16 ABY discovered thousands of these troopers leftover from Revan's rule, frozen in carbonite and perfectly preserved, in a cave on Morazis. He unfroze the army, and claimed it for his own, even securing the Dark Jedi general as a loyalist to his cause.

Trayus had suspected treason from the beginning, and had secretly worked a way to secure his troopers as his own. Utilizing a method that Darth Sadis used for his Shadowtroopers, Trayus wiped his Sith Troopers' memories clean and molded them according his will. The result was a trooper whose loyalty to Trayus was unquestionable.

The Sith Troopers would soon become the symbol for Darth Trayus's own personal enforcers, and the cornerstone for his new empire.

Abilities
Sith Troopers were the most competent of Trayus's forces, specially trained in the concept of rule by fear. In their role as a special operations force, they could strike silently and without warning.

On average, Sith Trooper was more intelligent than a standard shock trooper, with a broader range of combat skills. Each Sith Trooper had training in demolitions and martial arts, which the Crimson Empire's shock troopers generally lacked.

Their loyalty was virtually unshakable, and they were immune to bribery or negotiation. It was said that Sith Troopers were the only part of Trayus's military force that he trusted implicitly.

Equipment
Trayus made every effort possible to ensure that his Sith Troopers had topnotch armor, weaponry, and other equipment. Whether it came directly from his own funds, from the Crimson Empire's coffers, or as a result of utilizing "excess" income taken from conquered worlds, he found a way to ensure that his troopers had access to among the best equipment possible.

Armor
Sith Trooper armor was very similar to stormtrooper armor, but was slightly lighter, providing almost the same level of personal protection with less reduction in mobility.

Like stormtrooper armor, Sith Trooper armor gave every Sith Trooper an intimidating sort of anonymity. In contrast to the stormtroopers, however, standard Sith Troopers were dressed in solid black outfits, with red faceplates, gloves, and boots, and yellow trim.

Variations
Sith Commandos were elite Sith soldiers. They wore copper colored armor and were traditionally issued blaster carbines. During the Sith-Cylon War, the Sith Brotherhood deployed commandos to various worlds, in preparation for the primary strike forces to arrive.

Sith Elite Gunners wore copper colored battle suits. They were often armed with disruptor rifles which were capable of penetrating personal deflector shields.

Sith Heavy Troopers were extremely rare heavy weapons specialists employed by the Sith Brotherhood. They wore crimson armor, and they were armed with repeaters. Heavy troopers were only stationed in areas of great importance to the Sith war machine, which would seem to imply that their rank was higher than that of standard Sith Troopers, veteran Sith Commandos, or even Sith Elite Gunners.

Sith Grenaders were known to use grenades. They tended to use a better selection of grenades, mostly fragmentation or concussion types. They always wielded blaster pistols. Sometimes they used more powerful grenades, like a thermal detonator or an adhesive grenade.

Sith Wranglers used tame beasts in combat. They were employed in battles where a significant strength was represented by aggressive beasts and sithspawns.

Personal equipment
Sith Trooper equipment was similar to stormtrooper gear. They carried a comlink set to their own encoding, and were armed with both a blaster rifle and a blaster pistol. Sith Troopers also carried a vibroblade of their own choice as standard equipment.

Vehicles
For ground operations, Raptors used standard military speeder bikes painted with their unit's colors. Landing operations were carried out with specialty Sith Landers. These craft were originally developed for the Cylon Imperium, but never saw widespread use. Trayus acquired large numbers of them, and their association with the Sith Troopers caused them to share the same namesake.

For space combat, Sith Troopers used modified TIE Hunters, commissioned under the table from Sienar Fleet Systems. Pilots in the Sith Trooper forces had similar uniforms to Sith Trooper commandos.