History

The idea of a specialised assault force to work in environments other than groundside is not a new idea. Millennia ago, forces called marines worked as naval troopers, manning the cannons on ancient sailing ships and acting as a fighting force, both when two ships combated each other and when they decided to land on an enemy shore. This style of unit later evolved into the amphibious assault forces of various planetary armies and navies. The closest resemblance to those troops today is the Aquatic Assault Stormtrooper.

When space travel and combat were first devised, the idea of having specialised assault troopers naturally followed. The first spacetroopers were little more than standard soldiers briefly trained in how to use spacesuits, and were rarely effective. However, over time, training methods and equipment evolved, and spacetroopers became an efficient fighting force, using armoured spacesuits and high-powered portable laser cannons to work effectively in their chosen area.
 
Under the Imperial regime, the spacetrooper reached its peak. Called the Zero-G Assault Stormtrooper by the Imperial military, this trooper was well-equipped with the latest technology. Rather than armoured spacesuits, the Zero-G Assault Troopers wore miniature spacecraft, complete with sensor suites and proton torpedo launchers.
 
Sadly, this era did not last. With the collapse of the Empire, the Zero-G Assault units no longer had the funding to build and maintain their hideously expensive armour. The few spacetrooper units that joined the Hammer’s Fist were no exception. After years of trying to maintain their original equipment, Prefect Ares finally decided that the original Zero-G Assault Armour was to be scrapped and completely redesigned. A design team was gathered, and new equipment was developed. However, a handful of Naval Stormtroopers still use the old spacetrooper armour. Such equipment will be discussed later in this course.

Now, once again, the Zero-G Assault Stormtroopers have moulded themselves into an indomitable fighting force. While they are arguably not equipped as well as before, and certainly not as well-known anymore, the new Naval Fleet Stormtroopers, or NavTroopers, are just as effective… and just as deadly.

Equipment

Naval Fleet (Marine) Stormtrooper equipment is separated into two types: the Spacetrooper Armour used when assaulting starships, and the Naval Trooper Space Suit for use when Zero-G-certified troopers board a ship that does not have gravity or atmosphere.

Spacetrooper Armour
Possibly one of the most recognisable symbols of the Imperial Army, aside from the ubiquitous Stormtrooper, is the Zero-G Assault Armour, or Spacetrooper Armour. This behemoth suit has been classified by some as a small starfighter, but for the purposes of this course, it is simply a large armoured spacesuit.

The frame of the Zero-G Assault Armour is essentially that of an EVA suit, coming complete with a rocket pack, short-range transceiver and emergency beacon (range of 500km), and life support (temperature control and oxygen) for up to 8 hours of operation. Added on to this are several extra pieces of equipment:

• Grenade Launcher (Stun, Gas, or Fragmentation Grenades)
• Miniature Proton Torpedo Launcher
• Blaster Cannon
• Cutting Laser

Naval Trooper Space Suit
The Naval Troopers use an armoured spacesuit extremely similar to standard stormtrooper armour. However, the spacesuit also features a short-range transceiver (range 100 km) for use during operations to keep in contact with other units, the Assault Transports, and the covering starfighters or other spaceborne assets. The spacesuit also contains an air supply (provides air for up to 8 hours), climate-control body glove (maintains safe temperature for up to 8 hours) rocket pack (usable only in vacuum, fuel for 30 minutes of constant burn), and emergency beacon (range of 500 km, omnidirectional).

Other than their spacesuits, Naval Troopers actually carry very little equipment that differs from their average Stormtrooper counterparts. The Imperial Munitions StarAnvil heavy blaster rifle is issued to Naval Troopers rather than the BlasTech E-11, due to its greater range and power. Naval Troopers also carry shaped charges for use during breaching operations, and are trained in their proper usage.

Space Assault Operations

General Operations
Generally speaking, there are two types of Naval Stormtrooper operations: those undertaken by the stereotypical spacetrooper (known as a heavy assault spacetrooper), and those executed by troops trained to serve as a shipborne assault force (known as stormtrooper marines). Usually, these operations are exactly the same. However, in cases where the assault transports cannot reach the objective for one reason or another, the more traditional Spacetroopers are used, along with their assault shuttles.

However, there is one restriction placed on the usage of heavy assault spacetroopers: because of their extremely limited numbers, no more than 1 heavy assault squad may be used for any given operation. In these cases, the primary objective of the heavy assault troopers is to quickly gain control of the ship objective and move it to a location that can be reached by the transports carrying the stormtrooper marines.

Situation-Specific Guidelines
Assaulting Space Transports: In these situations, the assault is relatively simple. If there is any fighter cover, one flight of Navy starfighters will deploy and clear the area. If not, the assault transport carrying one squad of Naval Stormtroopers will deploy and disable the target. The target will then be boarded and captured.

Assaulting Small Capital Ships (Corvette-sized and below): When engaging in operations against capital ships of roughly Corvette size, extra care must be taken —short of passenger liners, ships this size are usually law enforcement or military ships, and as a result, are more likely to have weapons. As such, a full squadron of fighters (if available) is deployed as cover for the Assault Transports, and if possible, will use ion cannons to disable the target ship. Two Assault Transports containing one squad each of Naval Stormtroopers will deploy to different areas of the target (usually the bridge area and engine room) to capture as quickly as possible. Since multiple squads are operating together, a strike team leader will be designated before the operation (usually one of the squad leaders).

Assaulting Large Capital Ships (Larger than Corvette-sized) or Space Platforms: Ships of this size will almost certainly be military origin, and will usually be armed quite well. At least 3 fighter squadrons should be deployed when capturing one of these ships, possibly more, depending on the size of the ship and its own fighter complement. The target ship must be disabled before the Assault Transports reach their boarding positions. When boarding a ship of this size, a reinforced platoon (5 squads) of Naval Stormtroopers are deployed, with each squad being in a separate Assault Transport. One of these squads should be a heavy assault squad, using Zero-G Assault Armour. Again, a strike team leader will be designated before the operation; in this case, the position will usually be held by the platoon commander.

Protocols Regarding the Imperial Navy

Due to the nature of their work, the Naval Stormtroopers and Imperial Navy are intrinsically connected, much to the dismay of both groups. However, for operations to be executed successfully, both sides must work together to form an efficient whole.

Command Authority
In a perfect galaxy, command of an assault mission would fall to the highest-ranked Army officer, so that he could coordinate the Navy units to suit the needs of the operation. Unfortunately, this is not the case.

There are several different stages at which command authority in an operation could change. Some of the most basic of these are outlined below:

During the mission planning phase, Hammer’s Fist personnel have authority, with support and approval from Naval personnel regarding area intelligence and usage of Naval assets.

During the pre-mission transit phase (transit from base to mission area), Naval personnel have authority.

During the pre-mission operational phase (pre-mission evaluation, and most importantly, the go/no go decision), authority is given to Hammer’s Fist personnel, but it is strongly recommended that suggestions from Naval personnel are heeded, i.e. cancelling a mission because of a lack of available fighter cover.

While the mission is being executed, Hammer’s Fist personnel hold authority. In certain emergency circumstances, however, such as a miscalculation of the enemy’s naval airpower, the Naval CO may give the abort mission order. Generally speaking, however, the only situation in which this will occur is when there are an overwhelming number of enemy starfighters present (and thus, the fighter cover is unable to do their jobs) and the assault transports carrying the Naval Stormtroopers have not yet reached their objective.

Once the mission objective is taken, if it is part of the mission for the Naval Stormtroopers to capture and/or control the objective, Hammer’s Fist personnel control the direct actions of the objective, and have a voice in any naval decisions made concerning the objective.

If the commander currently holding mission authority is removed in some fashion, usual chain-of-command for a replacement will apply, with the following exceptions:

If the commander is lost during operations and the Naval Stormtroopers have not yet reached their objective (i.e. are not at the objective site), mission command falls to the most senior Navy officer present.

If the commander is lost during operations and the Naval Stormtroopers have reached their objective, mission command falls to the most senior Hammer’s Fist officer present.

If a Naval commander is granted authority in this situation, and the Naval Stormtrooper team reaches its objective, the Naval CO must cede authority to the Hammer’s Fist CO.

Example: A team of Naval Stormtroopers is working with a Frigate and accompanying fighter squadrons to capture a Corellian corvette. En route to the Corvette, the Hammer’s Fist CO is killed by damage from turbolaser fire. Until the troops reach the Corvette and are inside, the commander of the Frigate (the most senior Naval officer present) has authority. As soon as the Naval Stormtroopers are inside the Corvette, the most senior Hammer’s Fist officer present is in charge of the operation again.

Coordination Between Army and Navy

When thinking in terms of coordination and cooperation between the Hammer’s Fist and the Imperial Navy, there is really only one thing to remember: Let whoever has the expertise make the decisions, directly or indirectly. For example, while the Hammer’s Fist mission commander is technically in charge of operations, he would be wise to listen to the advice of the senior Naval commander present when figuring out if it’s possible to get the assault transports safely to the objective based on the number of enemy fighters in the area. It’s the Naval commander’s job to know about it; thus, he is a better information source and is more experienced, and is most likely a better person to make that decision.

Conversely, when actually assaulting the target, decisions should be left to the Hammer’s Fist commander. If the senior Hammer’s Fist CO is killed before the assault is made and operational control falls to the Navy, the Naval officers should still let the Naval Stormtroopers plan their assault vectors and breaching methods. The Naval officers simply don’t have the expertise to do it themselves. (This is, of course, discounting the occasional pilot that was formerly a trooper; these personnel are extremely rare, and therefore cannot be counted on as a reliable source of information, especially when planning operations… that said, whenever the opportunity to consult an officer like this comes up, it should be seized immediately and used to the fullest extent possible.)

Credits

Written by CT/LTC Nightflyer/GS-5/DREAD Retribution