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Mercenary

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A Trandoshan mercenary.
"Look, I ain't in this for your revolution, and I'm not in it for you, Princess. I expect to be well paid. I'm in it for the money."
―Han Solo, to Leia Organa[src]

A mercenary (merc for short) was a soldier who fought for any faction in exchange for a desirable amount of money. They appeared in all known eras where conflicts erupted.[1]

Contents

[edit] History

Mercenaries were often said to have "neutral" affiliation and were hired by many fighting forces without actually joining them. In some cases though, they grew sympathetic to their clients, such as Kyle Katarn or Han Solo, who eventually joined the Rebel Alliance. Soldiers of fortune served not only as mercenaries, but also as body guards, enforcers and other military assignments.[1]

Only few large mercenary organizations existed in the galaxy. The forces of the galaxy tended to pull such organizsations into conflict too regularly for mercenaries to exist in organized companies. Instead, indiviual mercenaries formed brotherhoods, that often existed as loose networks of contacts and contract makers. These brotherhoods provided some measure of camaraderie amongst the members of this otherwise very lonely business. Occasionally, members of the brotherhoods found themselves employed by opposite sides of armed conflicts, forcing them to fight against each other. But when the contract was over, the brotherhood took precedence. The largest of these brotherhoods was the Brotherhood Mortalis, founded during the final years of the Old Republic.[2]

A Zabrak mercenary and his crew

Mercenaries were employed in the Jedi Civil War by both Sith and Galactic Republic forces. The Rebel Alliance hired several privateers in the Galactic Civil War. Prior to the splitting of the Mandalorians into two factions, they were among the most famous and skilled mercenaries in the galaxy. Due to their incredible brute strength and low intelligence, Gamorreans were often employed as mercenaries.

During the Clone Wars, a number of Trandoshan mercenaries were working for the Separatists against the Galactic Republic.

Under the rule of the Galactic Empire, powerful mercenary organizsations were either employed by the Empire or hunted down and wiped out.[2]

[edit] Mandalorian mercenaries

Mandalorian mercenaries, known informally as Mandalorian Mercs[3], were regarded as some of the finest soldiers-for-hire in the Galaxy.

After the Mandalorians were defeated by the Galactic Republic during the Mandalorian Wars in the year 3,960 BBY, the Jedi Knight Revan disarmed and disbanded the Mandalorian Clans, and allowed them to scatter in disheartened groups across the Outer Rim Territories. There, devoid of leadership and honor, they degenerated. A few Mandalorian Neo-Crusader survivors returned to the Mandalore system, but many veterans, including Canderous Ordo, humbled their pride and became mercenaries for hire.[3][4]

The skilled Mandalorian Mercs became highly sought after in the aftermath of the Mandalorian Wars. During the Jedi Civil War and the Dark Wars, they gathered on Kashyyyk, Dantooine, Nar Shaddaa, Manaan, and many other worlds where they hired themselves out to the Sith, the Republic, and various criminal organizations such as the Exchange.[4]

At some point between the years 3,955 and 3,953 BBY, Canderous Ordo returned to the former Mandalorian headquarters of Dxun and began to rebuild Clan Ordo. Through skill in arms and sheer cunning, he rose to the rank of Mandalore and began to gather the remaining Mandalorian Clans.[5] While journeying with the Jedi Exile during the First Jedi Purge, he was able to convince several groups of Mandalorian mercenaries to give up their independence and join themselves to his cause.[6]

It is unknown how many Mandalorians Canderous eventually managed to recruit, but in any case, Mandalorian mercenaries became a traditional part of Mandalorian society and they continued to operate for millennia.

Jaster Mereel, a later Mandalore, would later try to purge the dishonorable brigandage adopted into their society by superceding their old code with the Supercommando Codex, bringing honor back to their society. The Death Watch, a splinter group, opposed such change and fought the True Mandalorians in a civil war to determine their future.

A later group called the Mandalorian Protectors, formed by Mandalore the Resurrector, would revive such later.

[edit] List of mercenaries

Darca Nyl, Human merc

[edit] Mercenary units

A Human mercenary.

Mercenaries worked either as freelancers or as members of some larger military unit or mercenary guild. Some of them included:

[edit] Behind the scenes

Most Star Wars mercenary units are interstellar versions of real-world private military companies, a mercenary-type, privately owned paramilitary organization that provides security detail and military support. As with Aurodium Sword, PMCs often employ retired ex-Special Forces veterans.

[edit] Appearances

Mercenaries working for Galak Fyyar and Desann's faction of the Empire Reborn, around the time of the Battle of Cloud City.

[edit] Sources

[edit] Notes and references

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 Clone Wars Miniatures Preview 4
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1  "Special Ops: The Mercenary" - Star Wars Gamer 8
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 The New Essential Chronology
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic
  5. ↑ Chronicles of the Old Republic
  6. ↑ Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic II: The Sith Lords

[edit] See also

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