Mountain Terrain Scout Transport The Mountain Terrain Scout Transport ( MT - ST ) , also known as the " bug walker " for its six - legged , insect - like appearance , was a ground walker in the service of the Imperial Army during the early years of the Galactic Civil War . Measuring 7 . 2 meters in height and comparable to a large speeder in length , the MT - ST moved at a rapid gait of 100 km / h . The walker was armed with a single twin blaster cannon and afforded room for only a single pilot to operate . Imperial cadets at the Academy of Carida first trained with simulated and later prototype versions of the MT - ST in the months following the Battle of Yavin . In one such war - games exercise around 1 ABY , Cadet Shira Brie , secretly a pupil of Darth Vader , used a prototype MT - ST that was intended to be equipped with training lasers but was actually fully armed to crush a competing squad , killing six fellow cadets . Characteristics . The Mountain Terrain Scout Transport ( MT - ST ) was a model of ground walker utilized by the Galactic Empire . Colloquially termed the " bug walker " for its insectoid appearance , the MT - ST stood on six legs and , according to Imperial Cadet Myrette Davani , looked " a little creepy " upon external inspection . The MT - ST stood 7 . 2 meters in height and measured about the length of a large speeder . The walker ' s interior held room for a single pilot and no passengers , and included a small cargo hold with a carrying capacity of thirty kilograms . Armed with a single fire - linked twin blaster cannon with a firing range of 200 meters , the MT - ST achieved a maximum velocity of 100 kilometers per hour and , by Davani ' s judgment , moved quickly even on the planet Carida ' s high - gravity surface . In combat situations , the MT - ST would normally be deployed via drop pod . Cadets in training could have the MT - ST prototype up and running in less than five minutes . The MT - ST was not available for public sale . History . The MT - ST walker entered the arsenal of the Imperial Army in the months following the Battle of Yavin , during the Galactic Civil War . By eight months after Yavin , Cadets Myrette Davani and Shira Brie at the Imperial Academy of Carida trained in cockpit simulations of the new walker in preparation for eventual use of the MT - ST in an upcoming war - games competition . In approximately 1 ABY , cadets at the Academy finally tested MT - ST prototypes in the field , going head - to - head in the jagged and mountainous Caridan war - games range known as " Tarkin ' s Teeth . " The competing cadets and the MT - ST prototypes were both delivered to the range aboard drop ships . Davani , Brie , and a host of supporting cadets formed one team , while another group , named Bantha Squad , comprised their opposition . The prototype walkers that the cadets piloted for the war - games exercise were outfitted with training lasers and were designed to shut down when automated sensors registered that the vehicles were hit — all except for Brie ' s MT - ST , which , unknown to the rest of the cadets , was instead fully armed . Davani and Brie set out alone in search of Bantha Squad , leaving the rest of their team behind to guard their assigned perimeter , and Brie quickly found her targets first . Within minutes , Brie single - handedly wiped out the other team , killing six of her fellow cadets and totaling a dozen MT - STs in the process . Much to Davani ' s consternation , no one in authority at the Academy took any action against Brie , whom the Dark Lord of the Sith Darth Vader had personally selected for accelerated training in Imperial Intelligence . The Academy wrote off her MT - ST ' s charged lasers to " instructor error , " and the deaths of the cadets as " regrettable casualties . " Davani later recorded the incident and her experience training with the MT - ST in a series of HoloNet messages to her parents , which were eventually obtained by Rebel Alliance Intelligence . Behind the scenes . The Mountain Terrain Scout Transport was created by former " Star Wars Roleplaying Game " editor Cory J . Herndon for the September 2003 Wizards . com " Planet Hoppers " article series entry entitled " " , which focused on Shira Brie ' s training career at the Academy of Carida . Herndon first referenced the MT - ST as a new vehicle with which the Academy cadets were training in the second entry of the Carida article series , , released on September 11 , while the series ' third entry , , released September 18 , featured the vehicle prominently . The MT - ST shares a basic similarity with the Mountain Terrain Armored Transport , a walker design introduced in the 1994 " " novel series by author Kevin J . Anderson . However , no specific relationship exists between the MT - ST and MT - AT .