Black Chameleon

Black Chameleon was the codename of a covert company of clone shadow troopers active during the Clone Wars. A company of Imperial shadowtroopers would later take the name Black Chameleon, though their success rate would not match their clone predecessors.

They were commanded by CT-1294-41, otherwise known as "Captain Chameleon", who himself was actually a veteran Advanced Recon Force (ARF trooper) and not a shadow trooper.

Description
Black Chameleon was regarded by its superiors as among the best of the Grand Army of the Republic's shadow trooper program, its members having the highest success rate for their specialization. Like other shadow trooper companies, Black Chameleon utilized cloaking technology and their black-colored armor - for which they were named - to carry out espionage, intelligence gathering, and assassination operations. While most of the company's soldiers wore the standard issue shadow trooper armor (which resembled standard clone trooper armor though featured a black-and-grey camoflage pattern and red-colored visors), some elite squads used armor similar to that of ARF troopers, though with the clone shadow trooper color scheme.

Their members were equipped with the DC-series of blaster rifle, like virtually all other clone troopers, and maintained a squadron of experimental black-colored Long Distance Assault Transports for transportation. Their gunships were often escorted by a squadron of black-colored ARC-170 starfighters who were aptly known as "Black Chameleon Squadron". The company was divided into squads of nine to twelve shadow troopers, each named Black Chameleon followed by a designated number (e.g Black Chameleon One); while it wasn't rare for the company to operate as a single unit, they often sent their individual squads on missions in different parts of the galaxy. Gadgets utilized by Black Chameleon included rangefinders, "droid popper" grenades, demolition charges, grappling hooks, magnetic boots, and electrified vibrodaggers.

History
Black Chameleon was the first unit of the shadow trooper program to successfully see combat, having carried out their first operation - the demolition of a Separatist droid starfighter factory on Ciutric - in late 21 BBY. Other successful operations that followed this included the assassination of a Separatist admiral in the Karthakk sector (and the destruction of his Munificent-class frigate), the infiltration and destruction of a Separatist supply station in the Airam sector, and the retrieval of plans for a Separatist battle station in the Bajic sector.

Their final mission would be during the Mandalore campaign, when the entire company was deployed to destroy the Mandalore Droid Foundry. Nearby clone battalions failed to sabotage local Mandalorian artillery, resulting in a high casualty rate for Black Chameleon during their landing. With less than a quarter of their company left, Black Chameleon utilized their camoflage and the night's darkness to approach the foundry, though Republic commanders failed to inform them that the Mandalorian warriors guarding the foundry were equipped with heads-up displays that revealed the cloaked soldiers. While still completely invisible, Black Chameleon put up a valiant fight before they were gunned down by the Mandalorian commandos; Captain Chameleon was the last of the company - or so others thought - to survive the Mandalorian ambush. The Mandalorians held their fire and offered the captain an opportunity to die with honor - to engage one of their warriors in hand-to-hand combat. He accepted the challenge, though was killed by the warrior after a very brief engagement. Unbeknownst to others, one member of Black Chameleon survived and joined up with a standard clone unit nearby to continue the fight, however after that unit too was eradicated by Mandalorian bombers, the survivor went into hiding before he was discovered and brutally executed by a Mandalorian patrol months later. After the foundry was finally destroyed years later by an Imperial stormtrooper unit, an Imperial officer who had been fighting on Mandalore since the Clone Wars recounted Black Chameleon's valiant attempt while commending the stormtroopers for their victory.