STORMTROOPERS

STORMTROOPERS are the elite shock troops of the Empire.

Their goal is not as is those of the standard Imperial troops; their purpose is control of the conquered worlds, taking the role of a political police force, while the standard military units do the battles. Still, since these elite troopers are trained in best ways of combat, many Imperial commanders prefer to use them as the first strike force for important and major attacks. Despite these rare cases, Imperial starships designed to subject worlds are crowded with standard troops and only a handful of Stormtroopers who are designated a defensive role on the starship - protecting it from incursions and sabotages.

Dressed in white-clad armor, these troops resemble the Clone troopers from the Clone Wars of old ages. There is a reason for the similarity, as the Clone Troopers were the early backbone of the Empire's military and the police force of the new state. This role was swiftly taken over by the Stormtroopers, but whether their like hood is only cosmetic is unknown, as well as open for discussion.

This Imperial trooper is in a bad mood (left); a Standard Imperial Stormtrooper gear (right)

The Empire's most elite fighting force has its own separate chain of command and infrastructure, making it the only segment of the Imperial Army with almost complete independence from the rest of the ground forces. Still, the Stormtroopers are commanded by the Imperial Enclave, a special command located on Coruscant which answers to the Emperor himself and no one else. The Emperor made such arrangements as to make the troopers directly under his control, which they were - fiercely loyal subjects to their great master doing his bidding. The Enclave is also a joint branch that commands the Imperial Security Bureau, making it an equivalent of any state's Internal Affairs, dealing with problems within. The ISB acts as a police force as well, with their emphasis being more on overseeing Imperial personnel then civilians (as is the case with Stormtroopers).

Desert Stormtroopers are responsible for the saftly of the hottest spots in the galaxy (that's deserts, not dangerous zones!)

Scout Stormtroopers are common in forest-filled areas and regions

As the galaxy is colossal with many worlds of different conditions, several variants of the standard trooper exist. These are not merely cosmetic changes to their armor, but also practical once (in example, Sand troopers are envisioned for desert conditions and so have greater reserves of water on them if the need arises, likewise, Sea troopers need no water, but oxygen tanks). These several variants are as follows: the Sand troopers (for deserts), the Scout troopers (for recon, mainly suited for lush and forest conditions), the Snow trooper (for ice conditions), the Sea trooper (for, well, seas) and finally: Zero-G troopers (also known as Space troopers).

The Snow Stormtroopers are capable of keeping their head cool under heavy fire and blizzards

Most people don't belive Sea Stormtroopers exist - water based nations like the Mon Calamari do not share those delusions

Apart from the last type, most of the troopers are similarly armed: heavy blaster rifles are among the most common weapons, but different trooper variants have different weapons to reflect their conditions (Sea troopers carry harpoon variants, etc.). The exception to this rule is the Space trooper - this, the most cumbersome, type of the Stormtrooper detachment carries a large personal Zero-G suite with rockets for moving in space, manipulator arms for space-work, and are armed with heavy blasters (the big, strong, space variant - not the puny land version: these can punch holes in starships), grenade-launchers and in some cases shoulder-mounted proton torpedo-launchers.

The Zero-G Stormtroopers are a tough opponent in space