Dark Trooper

History

Development

The Dark Trooper Project, an evolution of the earlier L8-L9 and Z-X3 initiatives, was conceived by General Rom Mohc. He championed the value of close-quarters combat, a viewpoint that clashed with the development of superweapons like the Death Star. Mohc directed the Dark Trooper Project from his specially equipped starship, the Arc Hammer.

The project's initial phase began years before the Battle of Yavin. Utilizing technology similar to that used in the transformation of Anakin Skywalker into Darth Vader, the Empire began converting veteran clone troopers into cyborgs at the Empirical research station; these were the Phase Zero dark troopers. As the Empire's reliance on clone troopers diminished, the Phase Zero project was scaled back and eventually terminated. However, the effectiveness of these cybernetic soldiers, including a young Imperial officer named Rom Mohc, was evident. Phase Zero troopers saw action shortly before the Battle of Yavin.

Years later, the Dark Trooper Project received official approval. The project's primary objective was to engineer the next generation of stormtroopers. It focused on the armor and weapon systems intended for use by standard stormtroopers (including clones) and anticipated future internal system developments. The dark troopers were first deployed against the Rebel Tak Base during the attack on Tak Base, as retribution for the destruction of the first Death Star. They eliminated all Rebels stationed there. Alarmed by the dark troopers' potential, Mon Mothma charged Kyle Katarn with dismantling the program.

Dark trooper squads were typically deployed alongside conventional Imperial stormtroopers and Imperial Army forces to provide a decisive advantage. Employing advanced combat tactics and jetpacks, they could infiltrate enemy lines or outflank positions, disrupting enemy formations and enhancing overall battle effectiveness.

Their armaments included specialized assault cannons, modified versions of Imperial repeaters, rather than the standard E-11 blaster rifle. They also carried fragmentation grenades, thermal detonators, and concussion grenades. The dark gray armor, constructed from the nearly indestructible metal phrik mined on Gromas 16, offered superior protection against enemy fire, including energy weapons like lightsabers. Acceleration compensators within the armor allowed soldiers to withstand the extreme maneuvers the unit was designed to execute.

Katarn successfully destroyed the Arc Hammer and eliminated Mohc. With Mohc's demise and the destruction of the Arc Hammer, all official research into the Dark Trooper Project and related battle droid programs ceased.

Nevertheless, evidence suggests that some dark troopers survived the Arc Hammer's destruction, with sightings reported on Kessel, Felucia, Coruscant, and other planets. Darth Vader also maintained a contingent of dark troopers as guards for his castle on Vjun. Eleven years later, Katarn and Jaden Korr encountered dark troopers again during a mission to Vader's former stronghold in search of Rosh Penin.

Legacy

Although the dark troopers were deactivated during the mission to the Arc Hammer, during the Battle of Ord Sedra, certain Imperial Remnant stormtroopers wore armor vaguely resembling dark trooper designs. These stormtroopers engaged the Yuuzhan Vong during their invasion of the galaxy.

Phases

Dark trooper production commenced on Gromas 16, where phrikite was extracted. Phrik alloys underwent testing in a laboratory on Fest and refinement at Ice Station Beta on Anteevy, where Phase II units were likely produced. Moff Rebus oversaw the manufacturing and supply of dark trooper weaponry.

Dark troopers remained aboard the Arc Hammer, its location kept secret, and were deployed to planetary targets via special hyperspace pods.

These troopers existed in several distinct phases:

Phase Zero

The original dark troopers were not combat droids but rather cyborg clone troopers with over 70% of their bodies replaced by mechanical components. They wielded standard blaster rifles and wore modified stormtrooper armor equipped with jump packs. Their cybernetic enhancements included prosthetic limbs and organs, along with a life support system.

Phase I

The Phase I dark trooper, the earliest iteration, consisted primarily of a lightsaber-resistant phrik skeletal frame. It was armed with a vibrosword attached to its right arm and a blast shield on its left. Its primary function was installation security.

The Phase I dark trooper's exposed power cords and couplings represented significant vulnerabilities. The prototype featured a small jump pack for brief bursts of speed, enhancing the velocity of its vibroblades.

Phase II

The Phase II dark trooper was equipped with the suit, a jump pack, and an assault cannon capable of firing 400 plasma shells and 20 missiles without needing to reload. It also carried the ARC Caster, a weapon that discharged potent electrical bolts. These advantages rendered the Phase II dark troopers the most prevalent combat units.

Phase III

The Phase III dark trooper, the ultimate and most formidable model, dwarfed even the Phase II variant. It was conceived as the next-generation stormtrooper armor.

Equipment

Phase Zero dark troopers typically carried a blast cannon or ARC caster as their main weapon, complemented by a commando pistol or SE-14r light repeating blaster as a sidearm. They also carried a supply of thermal detonators.

Oppressor-7 class dark troopers were equipped with EE-3 carbines, standard-issue E-11 carbines, stun batons, and occasionally heavy DXR-6 disruptor rifles. Streamlined jetpacks on the droid's back aided in escaping confined spaces and provided enhanced maneuverability.

Glory-class dark troopers were armed with E-11 blaster rifles, EE-3 carbine rifles, DXR6 heavy carbines, and possibly T-21 light repeating blasters.

Elite dark troopers carried blaster cannons, SE-14c pistols, and various grenades, including fragmentation grenades, thermal detonators, and concussion grenades.

Other dark troopers

Beyond the major models produced during the Dark Trooper Project's three phases, several other variants were developed to explore specialized applications for the droids. One such variant was the Triumphant-class dark trooper, some of which escorted Darth Vader during operations in 1.5 ABY. The Inquisitorius also possessed their own dark trooper variant, the Inquisitorium dark trooper. The purge trooper represented an earlier dark trooper design, specifically tailored for combat against Jedi and other Force-wielders. Additional variants included the Elite dark trooper and the Dark novatrooper, deployed for boarding Rebel vessels.

Behind the scenes

Dark troopers made their debut in Star Wars: Dark Forces, functioning as the game's most formidable adversaries. The game's core objective involved the player, as Kyle Katarn, thwarting the project's full implementation.

According to Leland Chee, the custodian of the Holocron continuity database, dark trooper appearances in computer games like Star Wars: Galactic Battlegrounds and Star Wars: Empire at War: Forces of Corruption are not considered canon. Their presence in these games primarily serves gameplay purposes. However, The Force Unleashed Campaign Guide retconned the dark troopers featured in Battlefront games as part of the Dark Trooper Phase Zero project, where the Empire transformed clone veterans into cyborgs.

While Dark Forces implies that the dark troopers are droids, it never explicitly confirms this. The game Star Wars: Rebellion and Star Wars: Rebellion: Prima's Official Strategy Guide portray dark troopers as Force wielders in exosuits. However, this is likely non-canon within Star Wars Legends, particularly since The Essential Guide to Droids later became the first source to definitively establish the dark troopers as droids.

Several other "variants" of dark troopers appeared in the MMORPG Star Wars Galaxies. Most of the dark troopers in the game are white, unlike the dark gray seen in Dark Forces, though a variant (the dark novatroopers) encountered during Rebel corvette missions are black. Due to the game's combat mechanics, the dark troopers do not utilize their jetpacks or assault cannons.

Some non-canon depictions of dark troopers diverge from the canonical Legends version. In Star Wars: Empire at War: Forces of Corruption, the Phase II variant appears to wield a large chaingun, while the Phase III variant has two shoulder-mounted rocket launchers. In the Star Wars Miniatures game, Phase III dark troopers possess small missile launchers. In Star Wars: Galactic Battlegrounds, they were roughly equivalent in power to an AT-PT, likely due to game mechanics. They were produced at Imperial Fortresses at a cost of 50 food units and 85 units of carbon, and could be upgraded.

Dark troopers have been manufactured as toys. The Phase III dark trooper was released as an action figure in the Kenner Expanded Universe series of the Star Wars: The Power of the Force line, and all three phases are represented in Star Wars Miniatures.

The New Essential Guide to Droids established, through retconning, the evolutionary link of the dark trooper to the L8-L9 droid via the Z-X3 droid, drawing on the resemblance all three droids have to stormtroopers and, consequently, to each other.

Some sources claim that three Phase III dark troopers were produced, while the New Essential Guide to Droids asserts that only a single prototype was ever constructed, presumably the one worn by Mohc during the final battle in Dark Forces.