Merson pirates
General information
Locations	Merson asteroid field[1]
Other information
Era(s)	Rise of the Empire era[1]

[Source]

The Merson pirates, sometimes called the Merson Slavers, were band of pirates active in the Merson asteroid belt during the final decades of the Galactic Republic.

HistoryEdit

A band of criminals, the Merson pirates patrolled the Merson asteroid belt looking for starships to attack during the final days of the Galactic Republic. The group had known ties to the Zygerrians, a species notorious for their massive slave empire. Since the asteroid field made hyperspace travel impossible, any craft that traveled the area had to drift through the field hoping to avoid detection. The pirates would wait for passing civilian cruisers, attacking them with little chance of resistance since luxury craft were usually minimally armed.^[2]

During the Separatist Crisis, a time of political turmoil in the Galactic Senate, the pirates attack and scuttled the Sy Myrthian passenger liner, the Elegant Wake. Taking all 456 registered passengers as slaves, the government of Sy Myrth was at a disadvantage to retrieve the prisoners as the planet had only just withdrawn from the Republic, loosing access to the Republic's Supreme Court.^[2]

The following year the Clone Wars erupted between the Republic and the Confederacy of Independent Systems and the pirates went unchecked. During this time of conflict, Jedi Master Obi-Wan Kenobi escorted a pleasure cruiser through the belt, defending the ship from the pirates.^[3]

AppearancesEdit

•  Merson Pirates Attack Sy Myrth Liner—HoloNet News Vol. 531 46
• Star Wars 24: Silent Drifting (First appearance) (Appears in flashback(s))

SourcesEdit

• The Complete Star Wars Encyclopedia, Vol. II ("Merson Slavers")

Notes and referencesEdit

External linksEdit

•  Merson Slavers in The Completely Unofficial Star Wars Encyclopedia (backup link on Archive.org)