Clone shadow trooper/Legends

The clone shadow troopers were reconnaissance and infiltration clone troopers serving in the Grand Army of the Republic during the Clone Wars and in the early years of the Galactic Empire.

History
During the Clone Wars, Director Armand Isard of Republic Intelligence developed the shadow trooper division, which was created to serve as a reconnaissance tool. Their formation was designed to combat the dwindling numbers of Advanced Recon Commandos, but they could operate in a far more covert manner than that of the commandos. The shadow troopers were given highly modified and highly expensive armor that suited their roles better than the standard fatigues.

The shadow troopers were created originally by Armand Isard to supplement the decreasing quantity of Advanced Recon Commandos. They used stealth and trickery to pose as dangerous individuals working for even more dangerous and powerful people and organizations. They worked on their own or in pairs.

When it was discovered that General Grievous was hiding along with the Separatist Council on Utapau, a shadow trooper platoon was dispatched to several sinkhole cities to apply jammers that would allow the upcoming Republic invasion to go unnoticed by the Separatists.

These units were used by the Empire through several years, with one team accompanying Inquisitor Valin Draco to Almas. The storm commandos and shadow stormtroopers were both products of the shadow troopers' success. It is unknown whether there is any relation between these shadow troopers and the shadowtroopers of the Empire Reborn.

The curse "Emperor's black bones" was created by an individual first seeing a shadow trooper.

Equipment
Shadow trooper armor was based on standard Phase II clone trooper armor, although it featured several strategically placed magseals. The magseals allowed for the placement of cosmetic plates that could alter each individual trooper's appearance, with different giving them the appearance of a Hutt Cartel or Black Sun mercenary, or other miscellaneous factions. Whilst the plates could disguise the wearer's sensor signature and project the image of something other than a human, they were primarily for appearances only.

The plates could also alter the walk of a clone trooper, disguising the "clone gait" that was familiar to some. A jaw switch was installed in the armor, in case a shadow trooper's identity was discovered. Activating the switch would disengage all magseals, and allow the trooper to regain full use of his Phase II armor. As a further modification, the Phase II armor was covered with a sensor reflective material, which absorbed active scans. It was also protected from passive scans by thermal dampers and electro-magnetic hardening.

Omni-directional jammers further enhanced the shadow trooper's invisibility, although with such devices in operation, they usually could not operate in close proximity with standard clone troopers, whose helmet systems would suffer the effects of the jamming.

Standard Phase II clone trooper armor was the basis of the shadow trooper armor. However, this special armor was outfitted with magseals which allowed the attachment of plating as a disguise. The armor also masked a clone's sensor signature and altered the clones' otherwise recognizable stride. A jaw switch inside the helmet could quickly relieve a trooper of the magseals and revert the armor back to its regular status.

The armor could also consume active scans that detected standard armor signatures. A jammer also allowed a shadow trooper to be completely undetected.

Often, instead of a standard DC-15 blaster, shadow troopers used a DC-19 "Stealth" carbine. It was a deadly weapon, equipped with a sound suppressor. It also possessed a mode in which all blaster bolts were invisible, which was used excellently by shadow snipers. Shadow troopers also carried a vibrodagger for melee engagements.

Application
Used primarily for reconnaissance, shadow troopers would operate either alone or in pairs. While still in their armor, they would work undercover, posing as bounty hunters or other mercenaries, which allowed them to discreetly enter and leave locations and adequately collect valuable intelligence. They were aided in their efforts by their effectively sensor-proof suits of armor. Due to the high-tech jamming equipment built into their armor, shadow troopers, for the most part, did not operate alongside standard clones, for fear of disrupting their comrades helmet systems.

Behind the scenes


The shadow troopers' backstory was established by Hyperspace member Sam D. Garito, a.k.a. Maso Tirag, as part of the What's the Story? campaign on StarWars.com.

The origin of the shadow troopers can be found in the Utapau shadow trooper Hasbro action figure. At that point, they were identified only as stealth-based troopers.

Appearances

 * Echoes of the Jedi