The Guardians, under the leadership of Klaxus, functioned as a military group within the Unknown Regions. Their purpose was to safeguard the artifacts of Xaxax, a long-gone sentient species.
The Xaxax, possibly even before the Galactic Republic existed, were at one point a technologically sophisticated race who developed numerous peculiar and potent items. Following their demise, their inventions were abandoned and spread throughout the Unknown Regions. These included cures for fatal illnesses, communication tools, a clandestine space station, and even a whole planet said to have been engineered by the Xaxax.
Following the Xaxax's disappearance, the Guardians were established with the mission of preserving the advanced technology left behind and preventing its misuse. While they were initially a respected and noble group, they gradually became corrupt and avaricious over millennia, possessively guarding the Xaxax's secrets. They plundered the artificial world created by the Xaxax, taking everything they could. Furthermore, the Guardians divided the power core of the Xaxax's space station, utilizing a fragment to energize their largest vessel. They repurposed the space station as a research hub and a secure storage facility for their pilfered artifacts.
A small faction of Guardians covertly revolted against the organization's growing avarice, hoping for a return to its original principles.