TK stormtrooper

After the Clone Wars concluded and the Galactic Empire arose in 19 BBY, the newly formed Empire took control of the Republic's military forces, which included the clone troopers originating from the Mandalorian bounty hunter Jango Fett, who were then renamed Imperial stormtroopers. These clone stormtroopers were strategically positioned throughout the galaxy to ensure Imperial control, put down rebellions, eliminate remaining Separatist holdouts, and implement new Imperial regulations like the chain code. While the clones demonstrated considerable loyalty to the Empire, it was largely due to their behavioral modification biochips. Concerns soon emerged regarding the financial burden of producing more clone troopers, along with their rapid aging and short lifespans. Moreover, the clone troopers had been initially created for the Republic, which the Empire had since replaced.

Governor Wilhuff Tarkin and Vice Admiral Edmon Rampart, both Imperial officers, questioned the continued deployment of cloned soldiers, suggesting that a conscripted force of non-clone troopers would provide a more economical alternative to the expensive Kaminoan cloning operations. Shortly after Order 66, Tarkin visited Kamino to confer with Prime Minister Lama Su concerning the clone trooper program's future. Lama Su advocated for the continued production of clone troopers, referencing the previous Republic contract that mandated further clone creation. Tarkin dismissed the contract, stating that it was an agreement between Kamino and the Republic, which was now defunct. Although they both concurred that the Empire required more soldiers to maintain order, Tarkin argued that a conscripted force could achieve the same goal at half the expense.

Working together, Tarkin and Vice Admiral Rampart authorized the establishment of a small team of Elite Squad Troopers, consisting of four non-clone volunteers recruited from across the galaxy. These troopers were placed under the leadership of CT-9904 "Crosshair," a clone commando and sharpshooter who remained loyal to the Empire after his squad, Clone Force 99, deserted. Rampart believed that these recruited troopers could become just as effective as clone troopers with the proper training from experienced clones. The unit's first mission involved eliminating Saw Gerrera's fighters on Onderon, the same assignment that Clone Force 99 had refused to undertake. After eliminating Gerrera's fighters and the civilians they were protecting, the squad returned to Kamino. However, trooper ES-01 was executed by Crosshair for refusing to execute unarmed prisoners. Impressed by the squad's performance, Tarkin appointed Vice Admiral Rampart to oversee the secret Project War-Mantle.

The victory on Onderon demonstrated the effectiveness of non-clone soldiers, leading to the establishment of a clandestine Imperial training facility on Daro. This facility secretly housed the first thousand non-clone stormtroopers, recruited from various parts of the galaxy, without the knowledge of the Imperial Senate. These recruits, representing the first wave, were trained by elite clone commandos such as Captain CC-5576 "Gregor." Gregor eventually attempted to desert and flee the Imperial installation, but he was captured and imprisoned. Later, Clone Force 99, hired by another rogue clone, Rex, infiltrated the base and rescued Gregor. As the rogue clones navigated the facility's corridors, squads of TK troopers, led by their clone commando instructors, tried to impede their progress. Gregor later noted that, while the TK troopers lacked the skill of their predecessors, they were available in endless numbers.

As Project War-Mantle progressed, the Empire ultimately terminated its contract with the Kaminoans, officially ending the clone trooper program. Just as Lama Su had feared, the Empire prevented the cloners from continuing their operations and moved swiftly to seize their cloning technology. After all clone troopers were reassigned off-world, TK trooper squads were deployed to collect and extract the Kaminoan cloning equipment. Once the facilities were cleared, a fleet of Venator-class Star Destroyers bombarded Tipoca City and other Kaminoan facilities across the planet.

Several months after Kamino's destruction, the number of TK troopers had grown significantly, allowing them to be deployed in complete units. However, the majority of the Imperial military still consisted of clones, and TK troopers often served alongside clone stormtroopers. When a force of Separatists on Desix refused to submit to Imperial authority, a squad of clone stormtroopers under Cody's command was sent to the planet to suppress the Separatist holdout. After the clones cleared the Separatist stronghold, an occupation force composed entirely of TK troopers was deployed to the planet.

Around 18 BBY, more than a year after the Empire rose, the Imperial Defense Recruitment Bill, which aimed to legalize the recruitment of non-clone soldiers into the Imperial Military, was brought up for another vote in the Imperial Senate after a previous rejection. Opposition from Senators Riyo Chuchi, Bail Organa, and Tynnra Pamlo, along with Emperor Palpatine's absence from the initial hearings, caused delays in the bill's voting and passage. Organa and Pamlo argued that a new army was unnecessary since the Clone Wars had ended, but Senator Gani Riduli and a Senator from the Commerce Guild argued that a new military would help maintain peace due to the increasing number of insurgents threatening the Empire's stability. Chuchi believed it was unfair to discuss replacing the clones without giving them a voice or providing financial and social support after their decommissioning, leading to the vote's postponement.

Despite the initial lack of provisions for the decommissioned troopers' living arrangements and pensions, Rampart eventually included them in the final version of the bill, as suggested by Chuchi, who unofficially represented the clones. However, the admiral confessed to Grand Vizier Mas Amedda that he had no intention of actually providing these provisions to retired clones. Furthermore, without the Senate's knowledge, recruited troopers had already begun secret training and limited deployment in place of clones during the bill's debates.

During the final voting session, Chuchi brought forth Halle Burtoni, the former Senator of Kamino, who testified about Rampart's misuse of funds. Organa also presented new evidence in the form of the command log of VZ-114, Rampart's Venator-class Star Destroyer, which proved the Admiral's direct involvement in Tipoca City's destruction. This revelation caused an uproar and threatened the bill's passage; however, Emperor Palpatine's appearance and subsequent speech, in which he portrayed Rampart's actions as rogue behavior, resulted in the bill's approval.

With their full legalization, TK stormtroopers began a gradual but extensive deployment across all sectors, including suppressing a conflict on Abartolom and arriving in large numbers on Barton IV to collect shipments of TK armor for the growing number of non-clone recruits in the Stormtrooper Corps. In doing so, they replaced a small group of clones stationed at the depot who had succumbed to the elements and insurgent attacks. When clone commando Crosshair returned to the depot with a mortally wounded Clone Commander Mayday after a failed mission to retrieve stolen Imperial equipment, a group of TK troopers greeted them and offered assistance, but Imperial Lieutenant Nolan ordered them back to work, though two of them were reluctant. After Crosshair killed Nolan for refusing to provide medical aid to Mayday, TK troopers rushed to disarm the clone as he lost consciousness.

Later, a small team of TK stormtroopers stationed at an Imperial installation on Balmorra boarded a Gozanti-class cruiser to provide security as it transported three dissident former clone troopers, Captain Howzer and two of his men, to Tantiss Base on Mount Tantiss. As the Gozanti departed Balmorra and prepared to enter hyperspace, it was ambushed and disabled by a ship belonging to the rogue Clone Underground. Using a leech vessel, the rogue clones boarded the Gozanti and engaged the ship's TK stormtrooper crew in a fierce firefight. Ultimately, the Imperial troops were defeated, and the rogue clones briefly seized the vessel, which was subsequently destroyed after an Imperial Venator responded by deploying a squadron of Alpha-3 Nimbus-class V-wing starfighters, which strafed and destroyed the Gozanti.

Simultaneously, numerous TK stormtroopers began to be stationed at the Wayland facility on Mount Tantiss, which had previously been garrisoned entirely by Imperial clone commandos of the Imperial royal guard. When Crosshair, imprisoned at the base after the Barton IV incident, briefly escaped, he dispatched several squads of TK stormtroopers patrolling the facility's corridors before being recaptured.

Later, TK stormtroopers stationed at Governor Tarkin's compound on Eriadu engaged the rogue clones of Clone Force 99 after they infiltrated the facility. At the same time, a group of Partisans led by Saw Gerrera infiltrated the facility and disguised themselves as TK stormtroopers. After several intense shootouts with the infiltrators and suffering heavy casualties, the compound's TK stormtrooper garrison managed to overwhelm both groups, who attempted to escape. As Gerrera and his surviving partisans fled in a captured Nu-class attack/transport shuttle, Clone Force 99 attempted to escape using the compound's sky rail system.

The explosions planted by Gerrera and the Partisans, in a misguided attempt to assassinate Governor Tarkin, Director of Advanced Weapons Research Orson Callan Krennic, Chief Scientist of Advanced Science Division Dr. Royce Hemlock, Admiral Barton Coburn, and General Hurst Romodi, temporarily disabled the sky rail, endangering both Clone Force 99 and a group of TK stormtroopers riding a different rail car at the time of the former group's escape. V-wing starfighters piloted by TK stormtroopers strafed the sky rail several times, eventually causing it to collapse and leading to the death of the rogue clone Tech. Soon after, the Empire tracked the remnants of Clone Force 99 to Ord Mantell City and deployed numerous TK stormtroopers to occupy the city.

Twenty-one days after Omega was captured, 3 TK stormtroopers, including TK-343, were traveling to Mount Tantiss on Imperial Shuttle 135 when lightning struck as they descended into the planet's atmosphere. Although the group survived the crash, they were killed by the creatures of the Tantiss jungle despite TK-343's attempts to contact the base for assistance. Four months later, large numbers of TK troopers, overseen by clone commandos, continued to staff the Tantiss Base on Mount Tantiss. Contingents of troopers greeted Emperor Palpatine during his visit and attempted to recapture Omega and Crosshair when they escaped from the facility.

TK stormtroopers were part of an Imperial presence on Lau when Omega and Crosshair crashed on the planet after escaping Wayland. The troopers guarded a spaceport containing various species of animals abducted by the Empire. In an effort to seize a shuttle and leave the planet, as well as reclaim their abducted lurca hound "Batcher," Omega and Crosshair attacked the spaceport and fought its stormtrooper garrison. After releasing the animals and causing a stampede, Omega and Crosshair escaped in a shuttle with Batcher as the stormtroopers fled from the rampaging creatures.

After the Clone X trooper CX-2 confirmed Omega's location, Clone Commander Scorch dispatched a division of the Imperial Army, including TK stormtroopers and several Imperial clone commandos, to Pabu to retrieve her. A Venator-class Star Destroyer arrived above Pabu island and deployed numerous LAAT/i gunships, which landed Imperial troops to occupy the town. Under CX-2's orders, the gunships strafed Pabu's docks and destroyed the island's boats and skiffs to prevent any escape. Simultaneously, CX-2 ordered his troopers to lock down the town and search every dwelling until Omega was found. Upon Omega's surrender, CX-2 ordered a TK stormtrooper to scan her for tracking devices. As CX-2 departed the planet with Omega separately, the remaining Imperial forces boarded their gunships and returned to the Imperial Venator.

Soon after, multiple TK stormtroopers were killed in a raid by Clone Force 99 on an Imperial labor camp on Erebus. During the raid, the rogue clones managed to extract the disgraced Edmon Rampart, who had been imprisoned at the camp following his arrest on Coruscant.

Subsequently, at least two full divisions of TK stormtroopers were eliminated during a raid on Mount Tantiss, during which Clone Force 99 infiltrated the facility to rescue Omega, who in turn instigated a Zillo Beast containment breach and a prisoner revolt among the facility's clones. Following the raid, TK stormtroopers deployed from two Venators and Wilhuff Tarkin's personal Imperial I-class Star Destroyer oversaw the facility's permanent closure and the redistribution of its funds.

During the final years of the Galactic Civil War, leading up to the Battle of Jakku, Ubrik Adelhard, the Grand Moff and governor of the Anoat sector, recalled his early days in the Galactic Empire as a TK stormtrooper.

Like clone trooper armor, TK stormtrooper armor consisted of white armor plates worn over a black body glove. The most distinctive feature was the helmet. Adapted from the canceled Phase III clone trooper armor design, it featured a single visor with two lenses, replacing the Mandalorian-inspired T-shaped visors of clone trooper helmets. It also had a raised ridge running from above the visor to the back of the helmet. The standard weapon for TK stormtroopers was the DC-15A blaster carbine, although they also used the DC-15A blaster rifle and BT X-42 heavy flame projector.

Similar to the clone troopers immediately after the Empire's formation, most TK armor featured uniform white plating, without custom insignias, colors, or attachments. Some exceptions existed, such as TK shock troopers, who were identified by red markings on their armor and red pauldrons.

Certain TK stormtroopers stationed on Lau used brown armored ponchos and black goggles over their helmet visors.

TK stormtroopers made their debut in the fourteenth episode of the first season of Star Wars: The Bad Batch. The episode, "War-Mantle," was released on July 30, 2021. The design of the TK stormtrooper armor was greatly influenced by Ralph McQuarrie's original stormtrooper concept art. As shown in voiced storyboards for "Return to Kamino" shared by Justin Bruce Lee, "TK troopers" were initially referred to as simply stormtroopers in the series.

The TK troopers introduced in The Bad Batch potentially create a continuity inconsistency with stormtrooper armor seen in Star Wars: Darth Vader: Burning Seas, the fourth story arc of Charles Soule's Star Wars: Darth Vader comic series. According to Star Wars: Dawn of Rebellion: The Visual Guide, the events of Ahsoka occur before those of The Bad Batch episode "Truth and Consequences," during which TK trooper armor was still in use, according to later episodes of The Bad Batch. However, Ahsoka features the death of the Sixth Brother. Since the Sixth Brother appears in the arc, the events of Burning Seas must precede those of Ahsoka and, therefore, "Truth and Consequences." Nevertheless, what appears to be finalized stormtrooper armor appears in Burning Seas, which would be impossible if it is set during the TK trooper era. Due to some minor artistic liberties taken with the armor, future material could retcon it as another prototype variant.