The Ailon people were sapients indigenous to Ailon. They were famous for their military tradition, which dated back to at least 13,000 BBY. To them, military training was a form of religious devotion. Their most famous military unit, the Ailon Nova Guard, had a military reputation equaled only by such groups as the Mandalorians and the Emperor's Royal Guard. Their belief in rule by the strong led them to be fiercely loyal to the Galactic Empire, though Palpatine and other Humanocentric Imperials held the Ailons in contempt. The Empire often hired the Ailon Nova Guard as mercenaries, and sent them into battle expecting them to be slaughtered. Such missions were usually described as glorious battles "which only the Nova Guard could perform.