A death trooper squad was assigned by Emperor Palpatine as the personal guard of Grand Admiral Thrawn, who was in command of the Imperial 7th Fleet. They notably participated in the Battle of Atollon in which they attempted to capture the rebel leadership. Some time after the battle, the Spectres undertook a mission to Lothal to gain intelligence on the new TIE/D Defender Elite and infiltrated the Lothal Imperial airfield. When Thrawn arrived to watch a flight demonstration of the Defender Elite, the Spectres were exposed when trying to steal its flight data recorder. Thrawn ordered his death troopers to secure the fighter, but it was too late as it was already in the air. They were also present during the liberation of Lothal where Thrawn, the Chimaera, and Ezra Bridger all went missing into hyperspace.
During the Galactic Civil War, the 7th Fleet's commander, Grand Admiral Thrawn, was assigned by Emperor Palpatine a squad of death troopers that acted as his personal guard. Following Thrawn's meeting with Governor Wilhuff Tarkin, the Grand Admiral and his guards captured ISB Agent Alexsandr Kallus—a rebel spy codenamed Fulcrum—in the LothalNet comm tower E-272. Thrawn's guards took Kallus aboard the Chimaera during the battle of Atollon, where they watched over him.
Thrawn and his guard on Atollon
Thrawn's guard joined him and his ground forces when he began his ground assault on Chopper Base. The guards followed them wherever he went, ensuring his utmost security. As they ventured into the caves, they fought Captains Rex and Garazeb Orrelios, as well as Jedi Kanan Jarrus and other rebel troopers. The death troopers surrounded the surviving rebels as Thrawn offered Captain Hera Syndulla and General Jan Dodonna a chance to surrender. However, Thrawn's guard and Imperial forces came under attack by the Bendu's storm, and so was the remaining rebel fleet, showing his neutrality. Thrawn's guards worked in tandem with the remaining AT-AT in bringing down the Bendu. However, the rebels and their leaders were able to make their escape. Thrawn's guard accompanied him to Bendu, where Bendu spoke to the Imperial Grand Admiral, predicting the fate of the Grand Admiral. There, they watched as Thrawn attempted to shoot Bendu, but he disappeared into thin air.
Thrawn and Pryce with two of Thrawn's guard
In 1 BBY, Thrawn's guard accompanied him and Governor Arihnda Pryce to Lothal's Imperial airfield to watch Commander Vult Skerris's test flight of the new TIE/d "Defender" Multi-Role Starfighter Elite starfighter. However, when they found Ezra Bridger at the airfield, Thrawn ordered his guards to secure the Elite. Sabine Wren was able to commandeer it and rescue Bridger before the death troopers surrounded him. Two of Thrawn's guards were with him when he ordered the Chimaera to bombard Lothal's Capital City. However, they were defeated by Commander Bridger who ambushed them. After this, Ezra and Thrawn both went missing into hyperspace when, under orders from Bridger, the young rebel Mart Mattin transmitted on Frequency Zero. This resulted in a group of purrgil emerging from hyperspace. The Imperial fleet was taken out and the purrgil attached to the Chimaera, resulting in the ship, the purrgil, Thrawn, Bridger, and the entire crew disappearing.
Two reanimated death troopers attack Ezra Bridger and Sabine Wren
Thrawn and his forces were trapped in exile on the extragalactic world of Peridea. By circa 9 ABY, a stormtrooper named Enoch had become the captain of Thrawn's guard. At least two death troopers remained amongst his ranks but died at one point. However, Thrawn's allies the Great Mothers were able to reanimate their corpses via the Chant of Resurrection. The death troopers wore standard death trooper armor that featured cracks filled with gold and grey accents and red strips of fabric similar to that of Thrawn's Night Trooper legion. The two zombies attacked Sabine Wren and Ezra Bridger during Thrawn and company's escape from Peridea.
- Star Wars: Absolutely Everything You Need to Know, Updated and Expanded