Night Trooper

This article is about Thrawn's stormtroopers.
You may be looking for the Undead Troopers caused by a plague.

"Thrawn. Thrawn. Thrawn."

―Night Troopers chanting Thrawn's name^[1]

The Night Troopers^[4] were 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 Captain of the Guard Enoch^[1] following the Battle of Lothal in 1 BBY, where Thrawn's Star Destroyer had been taken by the intergalactic-traveling purrgil at the request of the Jedi Ezra Bridger.^[5]

Description[]

"The blessing of the Great Mothers shall protect you in battle against the Jedi. Go, now. Let none pass."

―Morgan Elsbeth, to a group of Night Troopers^[6]

Ahsoka8-ReanimatedStormtrooper — If any Night Trooper fell in battle, the Great Mothers could use the Chant of Resurrection to animate the soldier's corpse and return them to combat.

Night Troopers were all energized by the magick of the Great Mothers, granting them an inhuman level of persistence.^[7] Still, most of the soldiers were living people. Through the magicks, however, deceased Night Troopers could rise from the dead as reanimated corpses.^[6] Night Troopers were incredibly loyal to Grand Admiral Mitth'raw'nuruodo "Thrawn,"^[3] 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,^[6] the soldiers represented a fighting force that invoked death.^[7]

History[]

"Those are the volunteers?"
"Yes, Grand Admiral."
"They were made aware?"
"They were. All were honored to make the sacrifice for you."

―Grand Admiral Thrawn and Morgan Elsbeth, reflecting on Thrawn's Night Troopers^[6]

Around 9 ABY,^[2] 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, the fallen Jedi Baylan Skoll and his apprentice Shin Hati. By that time, Night Troopers had tamed a howler native to Peridea and had come to view the planet as largely inhospitable, having recent but incomplete data regarding the whereabouts of the fugitive Jedi Ezra Bridger.^[1]

NightTrooperArmy — Thrawn's Night Trooper army

The hunt for Bridger resumed when Shin Hati discovered the position of Ezra and Sabine Wren. Two 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 Ahsoka Tano and the unexpected absence of Baylan Skoll, the stormtroopers were routed, sustaining heavy casualties before being withdrawn under Thrawn's orders.^[8]

While some Night Troopers managed to escape Peridea aboard the Chimaera and the Eye of Sion, a squad of troopers volunteered to remain and 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 zombified Death Troopers. However, upon leaving Peridea, Thrawn ordered that the Chimaera bombard the Nightsister citadel, neutralizing all the remaining Night Troopers within.^[6]

Equipment[]

NightTrooper-YearInReview2023 — Night Trooper armor was damaged but held together with golden and grey material, with red cloth further used across the uniform.

Night Troopers wore standard, but heavily damaged and cracked, stormtrooper armor. Such cracks were filled with gold and grey accents, while red strips of fabric were fitted around the armor.^[1] Their ranks also included TIE Pilots whose helmets were painted with red streaks. Furthermore, Thrawn's two death troopers 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,^[6] and the SE-14r light repeating blaster.^[9] 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.^[6]

For transport, formations of Night Troopers were deployed into battle aboard LAAT/le patrol gunships.^[8] Thrawn's forces also managed to domesticate Howlers as steeds.^[1] 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.^[6]

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Behind the scenes[]

NightTrooperBTS — Night Trooper actors pose with Eman Esfandi

The Night Troopers first appeared in "Part Six: Far, Far Away."^[1] On set, several Night Trooper actors posed for a photo with Ezra Bridger actor Eman Esfandi^[10] that he posted to his Instagram page after the 2023 SAG-AFTRA strike.^[11] He also posted an image of himself in Bridger's stolen Night Trooper armor.^[10]

The official StarWars.com Databank states the Night Troopers were all "animated" by the Great Mothers,^[7] 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.^[6] 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.^[7]