Miktiss

Miktiss was a male Saurton warrior from the planet Essowyn in the Trax sector. A loyal supporter of the Des'mar, a faction of Saurtons who supported the mining companies that dominated their homeworld, Miktiss participated in military operations against the Quenno, a group opposed to the presence of the corporations. However, since his actions were illegal, he was eventually brought before the Saurton Council of Elders to answer for his crimes. Despite being employed by members of the Council who were Des'mar supporters themselves, he was sentenced to death since the proof of his guilt was absolute. However, his loyalty to the Des'mar cause was so strong that he refused to implicate members of the Council in his actions. As a reward for his sacrifice, he was smuggled off-planet prior to his execution on the proviso that he never returned to Essowyn. Striking out towards the Kathol sector, Miktiss turned to piracy and formed a group known as the Des'maric Pirates around 7 ABY. Stealing several Skipray Blastboats and an Action IV transport to use as the basis of his pirate fleet, he entered into an arrangement with a local crimelord, Crev Bombaasa, to supply freighter travel routes in exchange for a share of their take. Miktiss used his small fleet to capture several vessels and intimidate primitive backwaters throughout the Kathol sector.

Early life
Miktiss was born on the Saurton homeworld of Essowyn, located within the Trax sector of the Outer Rim Territories. The planet was controlled by various mining companies, who were aided by a coalition of Saurton groups known as the Des'mar to maintain their power base. The Des'mar believed that the presence of the mining companies was vital to Essowyn's growth, as they brought in outside trade and culture. Miktiss served as a warrior for the Des'mar, and worked to disrupt the Quenno, a faction of Saurtons who sought to remove the mining companies from Essowyn, as they believed that control of the planet's resources should lie with the Saurton Council of Elders, the traditional rulers of the planet. Miktiss personally led several assaults on protests organized by the Quenno.

However, Miktiss's actions were illegal, and incontrovertible proof of his crimes was presented to the Saurton Council of Elders. Although several of the Council were Des'mar supporters themselves, and had even employed Miktiss, they were bound by their laws to execute the warrior for his crimes. Despite the fact that the Council had proclaimed sentence on him, Miktiss was loyal to the Des'mar cause and refused to betray them, maintaining that he had acted on his own. His loyalty was rewarded when&mdash;prior to his execution&mdash;he was secretly smuggled off-world on the understanding that he could never set foot on Essowyn again.

A life of piracy
Effectively exiled from his homeworld, Miktiss took to piracy and forged an organization around 7 ABY, naming them the Des'maric Pirates. Learning of a trio of GAT-12 Skipray Blastboats located at the starport on the planet Elshandruu Pica, Miktiss arranged for members of his organization to infiltrate the general vicinity. The Blastboats were being held for sale to Kina Margath, owner of Margath's chain of entertainment establishments who served as a foster agent for the Rebel Alliance during the Galactic Civil War. While a minor criminal in his employ distracted starport security, Miktiss led the operation to commandeer the vessels and managed to get them off-planet and into hyperspace before the system's patrol vessels could respond. The Blastboats were gaudily painted and named Des'maric One, Des'maric Two, and Des'maric Three, and Miktiss entrusted command of the vessels to three of his top lieutenants&mdash;fellow Saurton and longtime friend Ginzet, a Human named Jerri, and an Aqualish mercenary called Yun.

Shortly after obtaining the Blastboats, the pirates captured the Corellian Engineering Corporation Action IV transport Cekbar Servant, a bulk freighter that was registered to a consortium of Nalroni merchants based out of Celanon. Miktiss renamed the vessel as the Asagov Raider, and used a combination of blackmail and bargaining to force a former Sienar Fleet Systems engineer to extensively modify the vessel, including adding extra weapons and armor, as well as stronger shields, and increasing the ship's speed. Using the Asagov Raider as a mobile command base, Miktiss moved the pirates to the Kathol sector. Miktiss entered into an arrangement with Crev Bombaasa, a crimelord based on the planet Pembric II. Bombaasa supplied Miktiss with freighter travel routes in exchange for a third of the pirates' loot. Although the pirates' operations were relatively minor&mdash;three bulk freighters, which were recorded as lost due to hyperspace accidents by local Imperial forces&mdash;Miktiss also used his small fleet to intimidate primitive worlds into paying him tribute.

The Saurton gathered a group of around one hundred individuals to form the pirates, although many of them were common criminals who would have gladly turned Miktiss in to the authorities if they thought it would save themselves. Aware of this, he assigned the most skilled members of his organization to the Blastboats, reasoning that he needed his best people in the vessels that would see actual combat. The group avoided the attention of Imperial authorities, and presented a considerable danger to any lightly armed merchant ship traveling through the sector. Miktiss's main tactic was to maneuver a large asteroid into the flight path of a target, forcing the vessel out of hyperspace. Before the vessel had a chance to recalculate the hyperspace jump, the Blastboats would move in and surround the vessel, calling for its surrender. Sometimes, the crew of the vessel was granted transport to a habitable planet, although not all crews enjoyed that luxury. Goods seized from the raids were usually sold on Pembric II, or at the Tanquilla Beach shadowport. Unknown to Miktiss, Bombaasa was secretly planning to take over the Des'maric Pirates, buying the loyalty of several members of the organization, including Ginzet, the being Miktiss regarded as his most trusted lieutenant.

Personality and traits
Miktiss was extremely loyal to the Des'mar and his people, truly believing that Essowyn needed the mining corporations to prosper. He had no compunctions about employing violence against the opposition Quenno to ensure the supremacy of the Des'mar. Even when faced with certain death, Miktiss remained loyal to his ideals and refused to blame the Council that had condemned him.

A capable warrior, Miktiss usually led from the front, personally overseeing operations to crush Quenno protests. He favored using a vibro-ax and a blaster pistol in battle. As his role and responsibilities changed when he formed the Des'maric Pirates, Miktiss did not involve himself in front-line actions, preferring to remain on the Asagov Raider during raids. He did, however, enjoy personally interrogating prisoners that the pirates captured in the detention cells of the Asagov Raider. Miktiss was also ruthless, and it was well known that he would space any member of the organization if they were revealed to be a traitor to him.

Behind the scenes
Miktiss was created for the The DarkStryder Campaign, a roleplaying supplement for Star Wars: The Roleplaying Game by West End Games. Miktiss only appeared in the Rogues Gallery section of the book, written by Bill Smith. While Miktiss did not appear in any of the adventures, he&mdash;along with the group of pirates he headed, the Des'maric pirates&mdash;were included in the book to give the Gamemaster the option to use him in an original adventure.