Phase Zero dark trooper

Phase Zero dark troopers were the result of the Dark Trooper Phase Zero project and the predecessors of Imperial Dark troopers. Unlike the latter they were not fully droids, but actually aged clone troopers, transformed into cyborgs.

History
The Phase Zero dark troopers were created in the early years of the Empire to deal with a shortage of experienced troops. The program was overseen by then Lieutenant Rom Mohc and was based on the Empirical, a hidden space station in the Dominus system.

To return aged veterans of the Clone Wars to peak condition, their limbs and organs were removed and replaced with cybernetics using much of the same technology used to transform Darth Vader into a cyborg. In some cases, over 70% of a clone's body was replaced. With their years of combat experience and cybernetic enhancements, the units that did make it onto the field were undeniably effective. At the height of the project the Dark Troopers were split into specialized classes including the Dark trooper commander and the Elite dark trooper.

However, as the subjects were forcibly recruited into the project, many Phase Zero Dark Troopers could not cope with the state of being more machine than man and attempted suicide. The project was eventually shut down as the Empire grew in power and the recruitment rate of non-clones rose. Although the project was shut down, it eventually succeeded by the Dark Trooper Project also headed by Rom Mohc.

Behind the scenes
The Phase Zero Dark Troopers, first introduced in The Force Unleashed Campaign Guide were most likely created to explain the appearance of cyborg dark troopers in Star Wars: Battlefront games, although Leland Chee, keeper of the Holocron Continuity Database, has already stated they should be considered as for gameplay purposes only.

Appearances

 * Star Wars: Battlefront
 * Star Wars: Battlefront II
 * Star Wars Battlefront: Elite Squadron
 * Star Wars Battlefront: Renegade Squadron