The Hapan Royal Guard, known as Chume'doro in the Hapan language, served as the elite security force for the Hapes Consortium. Their core responsibility involved providing protection to both the reigning Queen Mother and the entire Hapan Royal House. A notable member of the Chume'doro was Major Moreem Espara. Characteristically, Hapan women within the guard possessed striking beauty, but also significant size and strength, sometimes wielding substantial shoulder-mounted weaponry.
The Royal Guard functioned primarily as a policing agency, not a military one, with its operatives maintaining a subtle but constant presence. Their personnel were strategically deployed to safeguard the Queen Mother, ensuring a personal bodyguard was always present, while other agents were stationed at key locations like the flagship, Star Home. Furthermore, the Royal Guard maintained a presence on every naval vessel the Queen Mother might board and on each of the planets within the Hapes Consortium. Their primary objective was to investigate any and all potential threats directed at the Hapan Royal House. To effectively achieve this, they held broad authority to requisition local security personnel, detain and question individuals, seize possessions, confiscate items, and monitor private communications. Empowered by the Queen Mother's authority, a Royal Guard member could even override commands issued by high-ranking fleet admirals. While these powers were largely unchecked, many Hapans willingly submitted to the Royal Guard's authority. This stemmed from the Hapan perception of their ruler as a divine figure and the belief that her protectors were incorruptible.
The Chume'doro was organized into at least two distinct divisions: the Royal and Investigative branches. The Royal branch focused on protecting the Queen Mother during combat situations and acting as a deterrent force, with contingents stationed throughout the Consortium's territory. The Investigative branch specialized in espionage and surveillance, comprising five sub-divisions: Surveillance, Interrogation, Forensics, Stealth, and Purity, the latter functioning as an internal affairs unit. Much of the Royal Guard's work was carried out by the Investigative Branch, which also monitored the Chume'doro's own ranks. Upon detecting a threat to the Queen Mother, an Investigative agent would be dispatched to assess the danger, while other agents would apprehend the conspirators non-violently. However, when necessary, the Chume'doro were capable of engaging in combat as elite warriors, defending the Queen Mother with their lives. Combat scenarios typically involved fighting organized pirate attacks or attempted coups by planetary forces from one of the 63 Consortium worlds. During large-scale battles, Chume'doro members could command the Hapes Home Guard and other military units.
Specialized units within the Guard included:
- Fountain Snipers, tasked with protecting the palace using long-range rifles. [1]
- Fountain Gunners, who operated heavy weapons and defended fixed positions. [1]
- Royal Fliers, who piloted a specialized version of the Miy'til starfighter. [1]
New members of the organization were referred to as agents, which was also the informal term for all Royal Guard members. The agent rank was structured in ascending order, with Grade 3, Grade 2, and Grade 1 agents operating in cells of two to four. Promotion to officer rank required a recommendation from superiors, followed by prospective candidates engaging in duels using polearms or similar melee weapons. The victor of the duel was promoted to officer. Among officers, the initial rank was captain, who commanded 40 agent cells. Above them were majors, the highest-ranking position within the Investigative Branch. Within the Royal Branch, there was an elite rank known as the Favored, comprised of individuals believed to be the spiritual descendants of the original bodyguard detail assembled to protect the first Queen Mother. Though few in number, a Favored member held absolute authority over the Chume'doro, military forces, and even civilians. All Favored members were female Hapans, whereas the Royal Guard as a whole had a gender ratio of 5% male and 95% female.
The Chume'doro were established in 3000 BBY following the defeat of the Lorell Raiders and the establishment of matriarchal rule on Hapes. With the Queen Mother's ascension as the absolute ruler of the Hapan people, the Royal Guard was formed to safeguard the Hapes Consortium's ruler from rivals seeking to place their own candidates on the throne. Initially, they were a simple bodyguard unit consisting of one hundred women selected from the Hapan Royal Navy.
The Chume'doro's responsibilities included protecting the Queen Mother whenever she left the Fountain Palace, screening visitors entering the throne room, and testing food for potential poison. Over time, the Royal Guard's numbers grew, leading to an expansion of their duties to include protecting the entire Hapan Royal House. Eventually, the schemes of heirs to the Queen Mother began to involve the Royal Guard, who were enlisted in attempted coups. This led to the creation of the Investigative Branch to monitor plots against the Chume and to surveil the Chume'doro members themselves for signs of disloyalty.
Their service continued until 8 ABY, when the Hapes Cluster reopened its borders. At that time, they accompanied Queen Mother Ta'a Chume to Dathomir to retrieve Prince Isolder. When Teneniel Djo announced her intention to marry the Hapan Prince, Ta'a Chume ordered her Royal Guard to kill the Dathomiri witch, but Djo simply used The Force to incapacitate the guards. As Ta'a Chume's influence waned, the Chume'doro transferred their allegiance to her daughter-in-law, Tenenial Djo.
Internal conflicts led to the deaths of many Royal Guards, but during the Second Galactic Civil War they were once again called upon to protect the Queen Mother during an assassination attempt on Tenel Ka Djo's life by the bounty hunter Aurra Sing.
Each member of the Royal Guard excelled in hand-to-hand combat and received training in using various weapons, including edge blades, polearms, and blaster pistols. Chume'doro detachments also included combat specialists trained for specific environments, such as forests, urban areas, arctic regions, and aquatic environments. Like all Hapans, the Chume'doro had poor night vision, which they compensated for by using night-vision optics.
The writer of Galaxy at War noted in the endnotes that the Royal Guard's ranks are 95% female and the elite Favored are 100% female. Furthermore, a distinctive characteristic of the Hapan Royal Guard is their resemblance to a secret police force rather than a military unit. They are known for their extensive powers, allowing them to arrest citizens without cause, commandeer public resources for any reason, and monitor private communications. These powers are justified by the need to protect the Queen, and most Hapans are reportedly willing to allow them to do so.