Novatrooper

By 0 BBY, Novatroopers, also known as Nova-class Stormtroopers, functioned as stormtrooper honor guards within the Galactic Empire. Their existence was documented in the Imperial Handbook: A Commander's Guide, a formal manual outlining strategies, branches, units, philosophy, and history for the Imperial Military. These troops were generally assigned to historically significant sites, such as Emperor Palpatine's planet of origin, Naboo. For the most part, Novatroopers were rarely seen outside of formal Imperial events, such as the bi-annual presentation of the Medal of Valor and the Emperor's public address to the citizens of Coruscant during the New Year's Fete Week. However, a spike in Rebel Alliance actions following their victory at the Battle of Yavin led to the deployment of Elite Novatroopers to aid in suppressing unlawful actions. Following successful operations, the Imperial Novatroopers were then relieved of their duties. Nevertheless, Novatroopers continued to occasionally patrol other areas across the galaxy throughout the Galactic Civil War. Novatroopers also provided security for captured enemy vessels, including a number of CR90 corvettes. In one carefully planned political scheme, the Empire seized a Rebel Corellian corvette and loaded it with explosives. The plan was to send the ship crashing into Centerpoint Station located near Corellia. This deceptive attack was designed to portray the Rebels as both incompetent and dangerous. Novatroopers were tasked with guarding the internal passageways of the corvette while the Empire spent time equipping the ship with explosives.

However, their plans were foiled by the actions of Master Sergeant Crowley, who sent a team of Rebels to infiltrate the ship and destroy it before it could complete its mission. In another sinister plot, Novatroopers under the command of a cruel Imperial Inquisitor commandeered a Rebel blockade runner, eliminated the entire crew, and intended to crash the ship into a suspected Rebel settlement on the surface of Tralus. Again, they were thwarted, this time by a Rebel team dispatched by Mon Calamari Pashna Starkiller. The Empire also deployed Novatroopers to take control of a corvette belonging to the Corellian Security Force. Using the ship as a prisoner transport, Novatroopers remained on board to guard Gabriel Ian, a highly decorated Alliance pilot arrested by CorSec personnel on suspicion of terrorist acts. Nevertheless, the Novatroopers failed to adequately watch over their captive. Adar Tallon of the Rebel Alliance successfully led a mission to board the vessel and rescue Ian before he could be transported to the Imperial Prison on Dathomir. During the Galactic Civil War, a Force-sensitive individual training in the ways of the light side of the Force engaged in meditation at a Force shrine. During this practice, the Force user heard an unknown voice directing them to infiltrate an Imperial controlled Corellian corvette and eliminate four Elite Novatrooper Commanders. When Rebel forces laid siege to the cities of Bestine, Dearic, and Keren in the years leading up to 3 ABY, Elite Novatrooper Commanders participated in both defending the cities from Rebel invasions, and expelling enemy occupiers.

Highly trained and equipped for challenging assaults, Novatroopers were among the most elite of the Empire's ground forces. The most proficient among their echelons were considered truly formidable in combat. Primarily composed of Human males, Novatroopers were part of the Stormtrooper Corps, a military division supporting both the Imperial Army and Navy. Nevertheless, some Novatroopers also functioned as shadow stormtroopers, specialized stormtroopers serving in Imperial Intelligence under Director Cronal. Novatrooper identification numbers began with either TK, GK, RK, LK, or VK. They were also organized into various ranks and positions. Standard Novatroopers, Novatrooper Trainees, Novatrooper Subalterns, and Novatrooper Team Leaders were among those who also worked as shadow stormtroopers, indicated by their fully black armor. However, Novatrooper Commanders and Commanders also wore all black armor, but they did not double as such. Similarly, Elite Novatroopers and Elite Novatrooper Commanders, distinguished by their gold markings, were not designated as shadow troopers. Novatrooper Corpsmen were unique, wearing black armor with red markings. They were also assigned to captured CR90 corvettes and wilderness patrol areas in limited numbers. Dark Novatroopers were a type of dark trooper which bore the Novatrooper name, dangerous next-generation war droids employed by the Galactic Empire. These Dark Novatrooper automatons accompanied their Human counterparts aboard captured vessels, as well as during the sieges of Bestine, Dearic, and Keren. Nova Trooper Commandos were another variant, however, they donned entirely different equipment.

E-11 carbines were the preferred weapon used by Novatroopers, but they also carried DLT-20A blaster rifles, DX-2 disruptor pistols, and fragmentation grenades. Novatroopers wore black reinforced stormtrooper armor. Depending on their rank and position, the armor would be colored with specific markings or affixed with specific shoulder guards. Standard Novatroopers, Novatrooper Cadets, Novatrooper Ensigns, and Novatrooper Fireteam Leaders wore entirely black armor, however the squad leaders were differentiated by a dark orange-colored pauldron on their right shoulder. These specific Novatroopers also doubled as shadow stormtroopers, otherwise known as Blackhole stormtroopers. Shadow stormtroopers were outfitted with stygian-triprismatic polymer armor. Novatrooper Captains and Novatrooper Commanders also wore all black armor, but they were not recognized as shadow stormtroopers. The captains were distinguished by bright orange pauldrons, while the commanders wore yellow pauldrons. Elite Novatroopers and Elite Novatrooper Commanders wore black armor, albeit with special gold markings to indicate their elite status. The Elite Novatrooper Commanders were also equipped with yellow-colored pauldrons. Like their counterparts, Novatrooper Medics wore all black armor, but with special red markings to indicate their status as medics.

Novatroopers initially appeared as non-player characters within the 2003 video game Star Wars Galaxies: An Empire Divided, a massively multiplayer online role-playing game created by Sony Online Entertainment and distributed by LucasArts, prior to the game's termination on December 15, 2011. They officially debuted on April 13, 2004 as part of the Publish 7 Droid Invasion update, which introduced a new series of instanced dungeon missions centered around the Corellian corvette. A total of nine missions were added, including three destroy missions, three assassination missions, and three rescue missions for Imperial, Rebel, and neutral participants. Novatroopers featured in the Rebel versions of the quests, where they could be found patrolling the corridors of the captured corvettes. As part of the Publish 8 Droids Rebuilt update on April 27, 2004, Elite Novatrooper NPCs were deployed as part of the ongoing "Imperial Crackdown" updates, "To support the crackdown on illegal activity." However, only a day later, on April 28, the Novatrooper NPCs were removed from the "Imperial Crackdown" operations during another update. The patch notes provided an in-universe explanation for their departure, by stating, "After successful operations, the Imperial Novatroopers have been relieved of their duties in the Imperial Crackdown." Regardless, Novatrooper NPCs could still occasionally be spotted in various areas throughout the galaxy during the course of the game's lifespan.

As part of a series of Jedi Knight trials included in the game prior to the release of the New Game Enhancements on November 15, 2005, Jedi players could receive a quest from various Force shrines to defeat four Elite Novatrooper Commanders. Following the release of the Star Wars Galaxies Trading Card Game Champions of the Force on August 19, 2008, an Elite Novatrooper was introduced as a game card, the artwork for which was completed by Monte Moore. When the developers revamped the Galactic Civil War system as part of Game Update 15 on January 15, 2010, Novatroopers were once again featured. This time, players could help deploy Novatroopers in the defense of, or attacks on three designated invasion cities, including Bestine, Dearic, and Keren. Although players could refrain from participating in quests and objectives pertaining to the Novatroopers, this article assumes 100% game completion.

Intriguingly, some Novatroopers within the game, upon examination, displayed a descriptor reading "black hole stormtrooper." Specifically, only basic Novatroopers, Novatrooper Cadets, Novatrooper Ensigns, and Novatrooper Squad Leaders had this descriptor, while the others did not. The degree to which this should be considered canonical within the Star Wars Legends continuity remains uncertain, and it might simply be a categorization error. Later sources, such as the 2009 Rebellion Era Campaign Guide and the 2014 Star Wars: Imperial Handbook: A Commander's Guide, appear to treat Novatroopers and shadow stormtroopers as distinct types of stormtroopers, without any explicit connection between them. Furthermore, shadow stormtroopers appeared elsewhere throughout Star Wars Galaxies, but none were referred to as Novatroopers.