Stormtroopers and other Soldiers
The stormtrooper is the soldier of the Empire, serving by the thousands in highly-trained regiments across space. Their characteristic white armour conceals the blackness of the minds beneath, which have been molded flawlessly into mere extensions of the Emperor's will. They cannot be bribed, influenced or pleaded with; they are carefully selected for their unquestioning determination to serve Palpatine to the death.
The exact origin of the Empire's stormtrooper ranks is a mystery, but their almost mindless loyalty to their Emperor has led to much speculation. Many believe that they are specially-selected and trained, drawn from a vast pool of shock troops kept at the ready at what could possibly be an advanced trooper training facility on an unknown planet. Others have conjectured that the Empire has utterly disregarded the moral precepts held during the days of the Republic and is growing these troopers through an accelerated cloning process. In that case, these fierce soldiers would exist solely for the purpose of furthering Imperial causes and have no concept of individual lives, rights or thoughts at all.
The standard stormtrooper uniform consists of a black, temperature-controlled body glove, over which is worn a white, shaped, 18-piece anti-blaster cocoon shell. This durable uniform is a practical spacesuit, shich will protect its wearer in almost any environment, from total vacuum to extremes in cold and heat for a limited time. Breathable air is normally taken in through filtered vent slots on the forward sides of the uniform helmet, but in emergency situations - as in movement underwater or through open space - a 20-minute atmosphere supply built into the armour's backplate automatically provides the wearer with oxygen.
The eyelenses of the uniform helmet automatically provides with enhanced combat vision. A voice-activated comlink provides constant communications with other troopers, and also allows face-to-face conversation via a smal speaker in the "mouth" position. A utility belt worn around the waist of the armoured bodysuit contains food rations, emergency powercells, basic survival equipment and a spare comlink.
Just as there are specialized tasks for the Imperial stormtroopers to perform, so, too, is their armour specialized.
To deal with problems on ice-covered worlds, cold-assault troopers are elite frozen-environment combatants. Also called snowtroopers, these Imperial soldiers wear the basic white-and-black armour equipped with pwerful heating and personal environment units, terrain-grip boots, and breathing masks.
Second only to the Royal Guard, the elite zero-g stormtroopers, or spacetroopers, are trained to operate exclusively in space. When the Empire needs to lauch an assault on a spacefaring vessel, spacetroopers are sent into do the job. Each trooper wears full body armour capable of withstanding the rigors of hard vacuum. This armour functions as a personal spacecraft and attack vehicle. With sensot arrays, magnetic couplers for adhering to ships, repulsorlift propulsion units, and a wide assortment of weponry, spacetrooper armour makes these troopers fearsome to behold. Two meters tall and twice as wide as a normal stormtrooper, spacetroopers can unleash a devastating barrage on their targets. Concussion, gas, and stun grenades, miniature proton torpedoes, blaster cannons, and laset cutters are standard ordnance. Specially designed assault shuttles carry spacetroopers into combat.
Scout troopers are lightly armoured, highly mobile stormtroopers who are usually assigned to Imperial garrisons. They use speeder bikes to patrol perimeters, perform reconnaissance missions, and scout enemy locations. To assist them when travelling at the high speeds speeder bikes reach, scout troopers wear specialized helmets equipped with built-in macrobinocular viewplates and sensor arrays. These feed into computers that analyze terrain fearues instantaneously to help the scouts navigate at high speeds. They also map the areas they esplore, producing a continuous record of each mission they participate in. Scout troopers wear lightweight armour and padding over a black body clove and carry small automatic blasters.
The Imperial Royal Guard is a unit of specially selected Imperial soldiers who serve as the Emperor's personal guards. Only the most promising soldiers who fall within the required size, strength, intelligence, and loyalty ranges are chosen for this duty. They are trained in the use of a wide range of weapons and unarmed combat styles, and conditioned to obey they Emperor's will and protect him with their very lives. Imperial Royal Guards wear flowing red robes, helmets, and full body armour. Some skeptic citizens of the Empire spread rumours that the Emperor personally trains each of them in the use of the Dark Side of the Force. These rumours are simply not true and the offenders will be brought to justice.
Officers are generally distinguished from their subordinates by a shoulder pauldron, which is usually black, though sandtroopers have been observed with orange shoulder pauldrons. Since all uniformed stormtroopers look alike, this provides the only clue as to just who is giving the orders. Stormtroopers support the two arms of the Emperor's military might: the ground forces for land and sea movement and the Imperial fleet in air and space.
It must be emphasized that stormtroopers operate independently of the military and answer directly to the Emperor. They have their own chain of command and follow the Imperial army and navy at their "discretion."
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1. Reinforced Helmet |
They consisted of different roles in each squad. The standard squad had a leader, two heavy troopers, a weapons master and a weapons assistant. Some squads would include a sniper and a spotter, or a bomb trooper and a defuser. This resulted in different squads with different mission profiles.
