Night Trooper

The Night Troopers were the remaining stormtroopers who served Grand Admiral Mitth'raw'nuruodo "Thrawn" during his exile on the extragalactic planet Peridea, comprising the majority of his forces. They were stationed aboard the Imperial I-class Star Destroyer Chimaera under the command of him and his Captain of the Guard Enoch following the Liberation of Lothal in 1 BBY, where Thrawn's Star Destroyer was taken by the intergalactic-traveling purrgil at the request of the Jedi Ezra Bridger.Star Wars: Timelines
==Description==
Night Troopers were all energized by the magick of the Great Mothers, granting them an inhuman level of persistence. Still, most of the soldiers were living people. Through the magicks, however, deceased Night Troopers could rise from the dead as reanimated corpses. Night Troopers were incredibly loyal to Grand Admiral Mitth'raw'nuruodo "Thrawn," whom they were willing to sacrifice their lives for, with their undead lives then also marching in his honor. Whether or not a Night Trooper was alive or dead, the soldiers represented a fighting force that invoked death.
==History==
The Night Troopers were formerly stormtroopers of the Galactic Empire who were stationed aboard the Chimaera. They became stranded on Peridea in the far galaxy after a pod of purrgil pulled the ship through hyperspace during the Liberation of Lothal.
Around 9 ABY, a large group of Night Troopers escorted Thrawn in the primary hangar of the Chimaera as the Grand Admiral greeted the arrival of his Nightsister ally Morgan Elsbeth and her mercenaries, fallen Jedi Baylan Skoll and his apprentice Shin Hati. By that time, Night Troopers tamed a howler native to Peridea and came to view the planet as largely inhospitable, having recent but incomplete data regarding the whereabouts of the fugitive Jedi Ezra Bridger.
The hunt for Bridger resumed when Shin Hati discovered the position of Ezra and Sabine Wren. Two attack squadrons of Night Troopers were deployed by a pair of LAAT/le patrol gunships, attempting to encircle the two wayward rebels. However, due to the sudden appearance of Tano and the unexpected absence of Skoll, the stormtroopers were routed, sustaining heavy casualties before the gunships were being withdrawn under Thrawn's orders.
While most of the Night Troopers managed to escape Peridea aboard the Chimaera and the Eye of Sion, volunteers remained to stall Bridger, Tano, and Wren. While the three Jedi managed to dispatch the stormtroopers with relative ease, they were caught off guard when the Great Mothers cast a spell, resurrecting the dead troopers. The Jedi were forced to flee the undead Night Troopers, with Ezra and Sabine just barely surviving an encounter with two zombie Death troopers from Thrawn’s guard. However, upon leaving Peridea, Thrawn ordered the Chimaera to bombard the Nightsister fortress, neutralizing the remaining Night Troopers within.
==Equipment==
Night Troopers wore standard, but heavily damaged, stormtrooper armor. Such cracks were filled with gold and grey accents, while red strips of fabric were fitted around the armor. Their ranks also included TIE Pilots whose helmets were painted with red streaks. Furthermore, two death troopers from Thrawn’s guard were active in the escape from Peridea covered with similar strips of red cloth and wore damaged armor filled in with gold. Weaponry at the disposal of the Night Troopers included the E-11 medium blaster rifle, the E-11D blaster carbine, and the SE-14r light repeating blaster. After undergoing the Chant of Resurrection, the animated corpses of fallen Night Troopers were able to wield their weapons with almost no decrease in accuracy.
For transport, formations of Night Troopers were deployed into battle aboard LAAT/le patrol gunships. Thrawn's forces also managed to domesticate Howlers as steeds. As their headquarters was the repaired Chimaera, the Star Destroyer further served to transport Night Troopers. TIE fighters were also at the disposal of Thrawn's remnant and flown by its starfighter pilots.
==Behind the scenes==
The Night Troopers first appeared in "Part Six: Far, Far Away." On set, several Night Trooper actors posed for a photo with Ezra Bridger actor Eman Esfandi that he posted to his Instagram page after the 2023 SAG-AFTRA strike. He also posted an image of himself in Bridger's stolen Night Trooper armor.
The official StarWars.com Databank states the Night Troopers were all "animated" by the Great Mothers, suggesting the entire legion was comprised of undead soldiers. However, "Part Eight: The Jedi, the Witch, and the Warlord" explicitly confirms not all Night Troopers are undead, with the soldiers who were re-animated being much harder to combat and not staying down upon being fatally injured. As such, this article assumes the Databank's use of "animated" means the soldiers were "energized" by the Great Mothers, giving them the inhuman level of persistence also mentioned in the Databank. This interpretation was affirmed by Star Wars Encyclopedia: The Comprehensive Guide to the Star Wars Galaxy.
==Appearances==
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*Ahsoka 6
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*Ahsoka 7
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*Ahsoka 8
*Star Wars: Galaxy of Heroes
==Sources==
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*Star Wars Encyclopedia: The Comprehensive Guide to the Star Wars Galaxy
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==Notes and references==
Category:Galactic Empire stormtrooper variants