Horizon Colonial Guard
From FABT
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Active: |
7 December 2183 CE - present |
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Organization: |
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Affiliation: |
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Branch: |
1st Horizon Battalion |
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Type: |
Colonial Guard |
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Role: |
Volunteer civilian militia |
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Size: |
4,000 troops (at peak) |
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Part of: |
Systems Alliance Colonial Army (2183 CE - 2191 CE) |
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Headquarters: |
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Nickname(s): |
Horizon's defenders |
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Motto: |
Horizon stands proud. |
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Engagements: |
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Commanders: |
Colonel Selwyn Fontaine (current) |
- "Horizon stands proud."
- — HCG motto.
The Horizon Colonial Guard (HCG), also known as the Horizon Guard, was the Horizon component of the Systems Alliance Colonial Army, and currently of the Systems Coalition Colonial Guard. Established in late 2183 CE and sworn into the Colonial Army on January 2186 CE, the Horizon Guard initially consisted of four companies upon its activation, planned to be raised to at least two battalions by mid 2184 CE, with its headquarters established at the planet's capital of Discovery. The Horizon Guard was formed as per the Alliance Colonial Defense Program, a Systems Alliance outreach initiative to reinforce and protect vulnerable third-wave human colonies in the Attican Traverse and Terminus Systems from a series of mysterious colony abductions. The 88th Expeditionary Company was deployed along with Eden Prime War veteran Kaidan Alenko to Horizon to oversee the training of the Horizon Guard, although ultimately only two companies of the four would initially be formed due to the colony's suspicion and dislike of the Alliance, viewing their presence as an invasion and attempt to occupy their planet. A third company would be formed and begin training by 2185 CE, but overall the Guard had fallen short of the Alliance's projections for the size it needed to be to adequately protect the colony. Dozens of Horizon Guard personnel would be abducted during the Collector attack in August, which served as a wakeup call for the colony, with half of Colony Grandeur abducted before the Collectors were repulsed, and volunteers for the Guard began stacking up. Soon, two full battalions were being trained, with trainees continuing to line up, eventually leading to an additional four. By 2186 CE, the Horizon Guard had six full battalions.
When the Reaper War broke out in June 2186 CE, the Horizon Guard was placed on high alert and told to be ready to commence evacuation operations should a Reaper invasion come. It would remain on this high status throughout the war, although it mostly became a glorified customs as word of Sanctuary, a massive refugee center offering shelter to those fleeing from the Reapers, began to spread and tens of thousands of refugees flocked to Horizon, most landing illegally, and creating a customs nightmare for the Colonial Guard as they attempted to maintain the stream of inbounds. The Guard offered to provide security for Sanctuary, but Murdoch Foundation turned them down repeatedly, stating they had their own security forces to handle protection. Towards the end of the war, the Guard began evacuation operations when Reaper forces landed on Horizon, only to suspend them when the Reapers left, having only attacked Sanctuary: after the discovery that Sanctuary was a cover for a Cerberus research facility using refugees as guinea pigs for experiments on indoctrination and huskification, the Colonial Guard assigned two battalions to secure the facility and clean up the area, keeping out looters and ensuring any important technology was preserved. Having survived the entire Reaper War unscatched, the Horizon Colonial Guard would become more formally known as the "Horizon Guard" after the transition into the Systems Coalition. The Horizon Colonial Guard saw no action during the Post-Apocalyptic War or Dominion Civil War, and it continues to operate to this very day.