Clone trooper/Legends

The faceless soldiers of the Republic, clone troopers are an army of one man, totally loyal and unquestionably dangerous in combat. The clone troopers mark a new era for the galaxy, and provide the basis for the elite shocktroops of the Galactic Empire.

The clone troopers were created by the cloners of Kamino to serve as the infantry units in the Republic Army commissioned by Jedi Master Sifo-Dyas. The Kaminoans drew on their history of cloning and genetic manipulation to create the finest clone army ever created. As of the Battle of Geonosis, ten thousand troops were ready to serve the Republic, with a million more undergoing the final stages of training.

Jango Fett was chosen by Darth Tyranus as the genetic template for the clone troopers. Though the Kaminoans created a Prime Clone - from whom the cloners could take further DNA samples for next-generation clones - Jango remained on Kamino to supervise clone trooper growth and combat training. Clone troopers mature twice as fast as a standard Human being, thanks to the growth acceleration programs introduced by Chief Scientist Ko Sai. In the ten years since his creation, a clone trooper is fully matured and ready to fight for the Republic. Sadly, this rapid growth also means clones have a short lifespan, even if they were to survive their many battles.

To ensure a high survival rate, the Kaminoans handed trooper training over to Jango Fett and his personally selected group of Mandalorian training sergeants. Rigorous mental and physical training exercises were performed constantly in Tipoca City, in controlled laboratories or on virtual battlefields. Clone troopers are bred to ensure obedience; the cloners tampered with their creations' genetic structures to make them more docile and less independent than regular soldiers. While this breeds total loyalty to the Republic, it also means clone troopers follow all orders without question - regardless of the morality of those orders.

In keeping with their Mandalorian training, clone troopers are outfitted in body armour similar in design to the battle armour worn by Mandalorian shocktroopers. Clone trooper armour is comprised of twenty form-fitting plates of lightweight plastoid-alloy composite, sealed to a black bodysuit. The armour itself is white: the Kaminoans' own personal touch, and while its tactical use is initially questionable, the armour has become a sight to fear; clone troopers themselves know no fear, and want their enemies to see them coming.

The clone troopers' first engagement was at Geonosis, shortly after Obi-Wan Kenobi discovered the existence of the clone army. Led by Master Yoda, the clone troopers stormed Geonosis, taking on the Separatist army and destroying many escaping transports. The clone army was well organized; a true testament to the depth of their training. 192,000 clone troopers were deployed on Geonosis, and their combined might was enough to rout the Confederacy and destroy countless thousands of droids.

The Battle of Geonosis marked the beginning of the Clone Wars, a conflict into which the clone troopers were flung headfirst. The Army of the Republic was deployed across the galaxy to counter the Separatists, and the white-armoured Republic soldiers soon became a common sight. Their prowess grew, despite losses on many worlds. Even medical treatment was made easier by the fact that replacement organs were easy to obtain; sharing the same genetic structure, clone trooper body parts are interchangeable, and many complicated operations are standardized among clones.

This approach initially gave the impression that clone troopers were no better than droids; faceless soldiers, ordered to fight and die for the Republic, with no minds or lives of their own. However, as the war progressed, this attitude shifted as more and more clone troopers laid down their lives to protect the peoples of the Republic. The Jedi Knights worked closely with the more advanced clone soldiers, and formed battlefield friendships with many of the more independent specimens.

Sadly, the defenders of the Republic would soon no longer be seen in such a light. When Palpatine declared himself Emperor of the galaxy, he transmitted a special command to his clone troopers: Order 66, tasking the clones with the elimination of the Jedi 'traitors'. The clone troopers turned against the Jedi Knights, and shocktroopers stormed the Jedi Temple on Coruscant. As Emperor Palpatine forged the evil Galactic Empire, the loyal clone troopers became the mindless Imperial stormtroopers, the feared drones of the New Order.