Zygerrian/Legends

"Zygerrians? Are they Separatists too?''" "Worse. They are the most notorious slave traders'' in the galaxy."

- Ahsoka Tano and Anakin Skywalker

The Zygerrians were a sentient species of red-haired Near-Humans native of the planet Zygerria. Members of the species were medium-sized, standing 1.7 meters tall on average and weighing around sixty kilograms. The Zygerrians were distinguished by their pointed ears and a number of bony spurs on their face. The species was well-known for its long history of violence, war, and slavery, which they viewed as a natural order of life. This contributed to the fact that the Zygerrians were regarded somewhat primitive, but at the same time feared across the galaxy. The founders of the Zygerrian Slavers Guild, the Zygerrians conducted slaving operations in the Outer Rim Territories for centuries before the Clone Wars. At one point, the species was crushed by the Jedi Order, but they eventually recovered.

During the Clone Wars, the Zygerrians allied with the Confederacy of Independent Systems led by Count Dooku in hopes of expanding their slaver empire. The Confederacy supplied them with the captured Togruta population of the planet Kiros, whom the Zygerrians hoped to sell at an auction. However, misunderstandings between Dooku and the Zygerrian Queen Miraj Scintel led to Scintel's death, while the Togrutas were rescued by the Jedi Anakin Skywalker and Obi-Wan Kenobi. During the reign of the Galactic Empire, the Zygerrian slaving business thrived, since slavery was permitted by the Imperial Decree A-SL-4557.607.232. The Zygerrians kept close ties with the Empire, supplying it with slaves and receiving discounts on slaver permits in exchange. Due to the nature of their business, though, the Zygerrians also became targets for Rebel privateers, bounty hunters and other spacers.

Biology and appearance
The Zygerrians were a bipedal sentient species, biologically related to baseline Humans. The species had pointed ears and predominantly red hair &mdash;though brown was also a possibility &mdash;which some individuals preferred to style in ponytails and braids. Some Zygerrians also weaved various beads into their hair for aesthetic purposes. The species' most distinguishing feature, however, was a series of bony spurs that protruded from beneath their skin on the face, giving them a jagged appearance. Most members of the species usually had two larger spurs extending from the chin, and numerous smaller ones that grew along the brow ridge and on other parts of the face, although there were exceptions and some had only the chin spurs or none at all. Additionally, females had fewer spurs than males but had somewhat longer ears.

With an average lifespan of eighty-one years, the Zygerrians reached adolescence at ten years, were considered adult at seventeen, middle-aged at forty, and old at sixty-one. Medium-sized, they usually grew up to 1.7 meters and weighted around sixty kilograms. They generally had sallow complexion and were physically strong, but some individuals suffered from obesity. The Zygerrians spoke Galactic Basic Standard.

Society and culture
"I know many across the stars think Zygerria primitive for clinging to our ways of slavery, but it is simple fact that some things are better than others.[&hellip;]It is the natural order of things for the strong to dominate the weak. Slavery brings purpose to beings with an innate desire to serve."

- Queen Miraj Scintel

A warlike species, the Zygerrians held strength&mdash;both physical and mental&mdash;in great esteem, viewing it as a means to gain power and authority. They believed that it was the natural order of life for the strong to dominate the weak, so slavery was normal for the species, and a display of weakness could mean death or enslavement in their culture. Because of this, the species willingly cultivated an image as dangerous and unpredictable to discourage others from challenging them. This tactic worked, and, although generally viewed as primitive, the Zygerrians were feared in spaceports across the galaxy, earning fame for their history of violence, piracy, slavery, and war. The species' natural physical strength was well-complemented by their mastery of various weapons.

The Zygerrian people were organized into clans and classes. They had a noble class, many members of which, despite their high status, pursued a career in the military. The Zygerrian Head of State was a monarch; female rulers held the title of the Most High Queen of Zygerria. The center of the Zygerrian society, however, was the Zygerrian Slavers Guild that focused on slave trade in the Outer Rim Territories. Founded centuries before the Clone Wars, the organization thrived in their territory, mostly due to its well-organized nature and the Galactic Republic's diffuse presence in the Outer Rim. Each Zygerrian slaver had to pay a yearly membership fee to join the Guild and was then allocated a patch of space in which to work. The size of that patch varied from one planet to an entire system, depending on the amount of money the slaver paid as his fee. Compared to other slaver organizations, the Zygerrians were considered "honorable" by the Twi'leks, who preferred them as slave masters, since the Zygerrians' approach to slaving reduced the damage it did to the Twi'lek society.

History
"Zygerrians, you say? No stranger to them am I. Thrived on Outer Rim slave trade for centuries did the Zygerrian civilization. Moved from system to system, abducting primitive beings for profit&mdash;even into the systems of the Republic. When ordered to cease, resist did the Zygerrians. Crushed their empire of bondage did the Jedi. Ruined were these slavers, but refuse they did to change their ways."

- Yoda

The Zygerrians hailed from Zygerria, a planet located in the Chorlian sector of the Outer Rim Territories, on the outskirts of the galaxy. Having formed the Slavers Guild, the species initiated slave operations in the far reaches of the galaxy. For centuries, they moved from system to system, enslaving primitive civilizations, and even venturing into Republic space. Eventually, they were ordered to cease by the Jedi Order, but they refused to comply. In response, the Jedi launched an attack on the Zygerrians and crushed them. Despite the loss, the Zygerrians continued their operations, though on a much smaller scale, and they were not considered a major threat by the Jedi or the Republic after this incident. However, ever since their defeat, the species longed to restore their slaver empire to its former glory. By the time of the Separatist Crisis, the Zygerrians, along with the Karazak Slavers Cooperative and the Thalassian slavers once again emerged as one of the leading slaver organizations, with an estimated income of billions of credits. When the Clone Wars broke out, the leader of the Confederacy of Independent Systems, Count Dooku, offered to supply the Zygerrians with slaves captured by the Confederate battle droids on the battlefields and to expand the Zygerrian criminal empire with slaver franchises into the Core systems. Dreaming of stretching the Zygerrian influence across the galaxy, and believing the Republic too preoccupied with the war to stop her from doing so, the Zygerrian Queen Miraj Scintel allied her people with the Separatists and was granted a place in the Separatist Council as Minister of the Slavers Consortium. In turn, the Confederacy stationed its space forces in the orbit of Zygerria, including at least one Lucrehulk-class battleship. During the first year of the war, the Confederacy invaded the planet of Kiros and captured its Togruta population. On the order of Dooku, the Togruta were handled to the Zygerrians, and Scintel hoped to sell them on a grand auction in hopes of restoring the Zygerrian slavers' glory. Most of the slaves were transferred to a labor processing hub on the planet Kadavo&mdash;which was run by an individual known as the Keeper&mdash;while the Togruta leader, Governor Roshti, was kept on Zygerria to be presented on the auction. After liberating Kiros from the Separatists and finding the entire population gone, the Jedi Anakin Skywalker and Obi-Wan Kenobi embarked on a search for the Togruta. Capturing a Zygerrian slave vessel in the Shi'kar Straits, they interrogated the information regarding the auction out of the vessel's captain Onyx. The Jedi then infiltrated the Zygerrian homeworld. While Kenobi set off to search for the Togrutas, Skywalker posed as slaver Lars Quell, who wished to present the Togruta heiress of Shili, princess Zaa Vashee&mdash;in reality, Skywalker's Padawan Ahsoka Tano&mdash;to Scintel. Kenobi, however, was soon captured while trying to rescue Roshti.

Meanwhile, rumors spread that the Separatists had captured the people of Kiros, despite Dooku's efforts to cover his tracks by lying that the Jedi had killed them. Because of this, Dooku ordered Scintel not to proceed with the auction yet, but she did not comply. Promoting the Togruta as the Separatist prisoners of war, she held the auction, and many wealthy individuals came to bid, including representatives of the Smugglers Guild and two of the most influential figures of the Separatist Council, the Techno Union Foreman Wat Tambor and the Commerce Guild Presidente Shu Mai. Eight million Togruta were offered for an opening bid of three hundred million credits, which quickly rose to eight hundred fifty million, before the bidding was halted in order to present a new exhibit, Kenobi himself. At this moment, the auction was interrupted by Skywalker and Tano, who&mdash;with the help of clone trooper CC-7567&mdash;attempted to liberate Kenobi and force Scintel to surrender. However, the Jedi rebellion was subdued, and they were captured. Still, the auction was ruined, as the Separatists had fled at the first sign of trouble. Despite Dooku's orders to execute the captives immediately, Scintel kept them alive, hoping to break the Jedi's will and make them her obedient slaves. To this end, Kenobi and CC-7567, along with Roshti, were transferred to Kadavo, while Tano was imprisoned on Zygerria, and Skywalker made Scintel's personal slave.

In the meantime, Scintel's open promotion of the Togruta as Confederate captives inspired fear throughout many neutral worlds in the galaxy and forced them to join the Republic. This, combined with the Queen's unwillingness to kill the Jedi, prompted the secret leader of the Separatists, Darth Sidious, to send Dooku to reason with her and execute the Jedi. Scintel refused to listen, and Dooku killed her. Skywalker and Tano managed to escape and headed for Kadavo. Fearing that the liberation of the slaves might prove him a liar, Dooku sent his Dark Acolyte Asajj Ventress and General Grievous to kill everyone on Kadavo. The Separatists failed though, and the slaves were liberated. The labor processing hub was destroyed, and the Keeper was captured, dealing another blow to the Zygerrian business.

The rise of the Galactic Empire helped the species once again rise in prominence, after the Imperial Decree A-SL-4557.607.232 essentially legalized slavery under certain conditions. By 0 ABY, the Zygerrians were considered the most infamous slave traders. The structure of the Zygerrian Guild and the species' reputation as harsh disciplinarians made it beneficial for the Empire to offer slaver permits at a reduced cost, which, in turn, led the Zygerrians to actively traffic slaves for the Imperial needs. Among the species the Zygerrians dealt in were the Twi'leks, the Mandalorians, and the Wookiees, the latter of which the Empire found most useful in the construction of the Death Star. However, because of such close ties to the Empire, Zygerrian ships were considered legitimate targets for Rebel Alliance privateers during the Galactic Civil War. Additionally, the Zygerrian slavers sometimes became targets for the Empire, and they were hunted by the Imperial Navy and the Sector Rangers.

Zygerrians in the galaxy
"He's Marko Tyne. Wanted in nine systems for unlicensed slaving. I'm claiming him."

- Beilert Valance, after killing the Zygerrian Marko Tyne

At some point between 1,000 BBY and 0 BBY, the Zygerrian Thanda clan became infamous for its daring tactics. The Thandas staged raids on passenger liners and simply spaced&mdash;i.e. sent into the vacuum of space without a space suit&mdash;those they deemed not worth selling as slaves. This attitude provoked several spacers to come looking for the Thandas' leader, Atlee Thanda, to take him down and put an end to his clan's operations. Tracing the money of a rich shipping magnate called Brevis Taug, who sponsored the Thanda clan's fleet of slaveships, the spacers reached a space station above Zygerria. There, they sneaked aboard Atlee Thanda's personal yacht, the Scourge and either captured or killed the clan leader. The Scourge databanks also revealed information regarding other Zygerrian clans' operations to the adventurers. By the time of the Separatist Crisis, the species had ties to the Merson pirates, who supplied them with slaves captured in their raids. During this period, the Zygerrians raided the planet of Rodis, where they captured a local military leader called Nilo. The Zygerrians later sold Nilo to the Rattataki war barons to fight in the Cauldron gladiator pits, impressing the barons with stories of Nilo's military exploits. Nilo, however, did not survive his first fight and was killed by Asajj Ventress shortly thereafter.

Onyx, a Zygerrian slaver active during the Clone Wars, performed slaver operations in the Shi'kar straits on his vessel, the Fate's Hand. At some point, Onyx decided to capture the creature called blixus. Though half of his crew died while bringing the blixus aboard the Fate's Hand, the creature was successfully placed in a tank inside the ship. When Skywalker and Kenobi assaulted his ship in order to learn about the missing people of Kiros, Onyx released the blixus, hoping that it would kill the Jedi. Skywalker and Kenobi killed the creature and captured Onyx and his crew. Another member of the species, Zolghast, served the Confederacy of Independent Systems as a commander in the Clone Wars. When the Confederacy captured the planet Tirahnn, Zolghast was placed in charge of the occupation force there. A paranoid person, Zolghast spent most of his time in a secret bunker in the capital city of the same name as the planet, protected by Geonosian bodyguards. Since Tirahnn was located on the vital Perlemian Trade Route, the Republic planned to retake the planet a few months after it fell into enemy hands. To this end, a Republic strike team was dispatched to the planet to take control of a planetary ion cannon. However, Zolghast was the only person who had the firing codes for the cannon, so the strike team infiltrated his bunker and captured him. With the codes, the Republic agents were able to use the ion cannon to fire on the Separatist fleet in the orbit of the planet, opening the way for the main Republic invasion force.

In the midst of the battle, a unit of clone troopers was sent to collect Zolghast and bring him to the Venator-class Star Destroyer Solidarity. At this moment, the Separatists attempted to rescue Zolghast, sending a Force-sensitive Clawdite shapeshifter, Braxus Lyn, to free him and transport him off-planet. Posing as Jedi Master Ezar Elasra, Lyn took custody of the Zygerrian and escorted Zolghast to a Sheathipede-class transport shuttle. While she was preparing the shuttle for take-off, though, the Republic launched an attack, attempting to recapture Zolghast. Ultimately, the Republic was able to reclaim Tirahn. Under the Empire, the Zygerrians made deals with the Imperial Admiral Terrinald Screed, who obtained three Twi'lek slaves from them &mdash;one of them a Force-sensitive called Boc Aseca &mdash;and who praised the slaves' quality to the Galactic Emperor Palpatine.

Around 3 BBY, a group of Zygerrian slavers captured journalist Arhul Hextrophon and his family. They had been ferrying the captives for months before they were attacked by the smugglers Han Solo and Chewbacca over the planet Janodral Mizar. Solo broadcasted an Imperial transponder code, claiming that twenty stormtroopers were going to board the slavers' ship to check their shipping licenses, forcing the Zygerrians to abandon ship. Since Janodral Mizar had a law giving slaver profits to the victims, Solo and Chewbacca left the ship and the Zygerrian treasure held aboard it to Hextrophon, departing in their own starship, the Millennium Falcon. One more member of the species, Marko Tyne, conducted unlicensed slavery in nine of Thesme sector's star systems. For these acts, he was wanted dead or alive by Thesmian authorities. A short time after the Battle of Yavin, Tyne was killed by the bounty hunter Beilert Valance in the Junction City cantina on Feriae Junction.

Although the Zygerrian slaver business was mostly situated near their homeworld, in the time of the Galactic Empire the Zygerrians also controlled a smaller and lesser-organized Slaver Syndicate based in the Karazak system on the other side of the galaxy. This organization, generally regarded as mere thugs, was controlled by the Zygerrian Pr'ollerg clan, which strongly dictated the Syndicate's politics. The Syndicate, estimated to have over two thousand active members, actively employed bounty hunters to capture individuals with only a minor bounty on their heads to sell them as slaves later.

Following a pirate raid on her family's transport, a young Human female called Janildakara was sold into slavery to the Zygerrians, who branded her on the neck. After enduring the life of a slave for several years, Janildakara escaped and became a bounty hunter in the females-only House Renliss chapter of the Bounty Hunters' Guild. She hoped to use the Guild's help to find her family, who had not been heard of since the pirate attack. In 3 ABY, the Calian Lobar Aybock was given to the Zygerrian slavers by the Empire, after being deemed unworthy to become a stormtrooper. Aybock's freedom was eventually bought by the Chevin Eedund Cus, who went on to train him in shockboxing, helping Aybock to become a champion.

Behind the scenes
The Zygerrians were first mentioned in The Star Wars Sourcebook, written by Bill Slavicsek and Curtis Smith and published in 1987. The species are mentioned in Han Solo's entry, written in-universe by Arhul Hextrophon and describing the story of Hextrophon's capture and subsequent rescue by Solo and Chewbacca. Timothy Zahn, in his 1991 novel Heir to the Empire further elaborated on the event, describing it from Solo's point of view. In 1993, Galaxy Guide 9: Fragments from the Rim by Simon Smith and Eric Trautmann provided some information on the species, describing the Zygerrian Slavers Guild in detail. The same guide also mentioned another slaver group, the Slaver Syndicate, based on Karazak. The next year, Galaxy Guide 10: Bounty Hunters by Rick D. Stuart provided further information on this organization, establishing that it was controlled by the Zygerrians as well. Throughout the next decade, the species received passing mentions in several sourcebooks, until Zygerrian Takedown was released in 2003. This mini-adventure for Wizards of the Coast's Star Wars Roleplaying Game and written by Jason Fry was focused entirely on the Zygerrians. The adventure addressed members of the species as Humans, thus establishing the Zygerrians' close relation to the latter.

Later, in 2005, The Hunt Within: Valance's Tale, Mission 5: Showdown on Junction, also by Fry, retroactively identified Marko Tyne, a character from Marvel Comics' Star Wars 27: Return of the Hunter, as a Zygerrian, thus making the species' first appearance September of 1979. The species remained relatively untouched by the Expanded Universe until the 2008 Star Wars: The Clone Wars project. The Zygerrians played a major role in Slaves of the Republic, a story arc of The Clone Wars comic series written entirely by Henry Gilroy that ties-in into the television series. In 2009, the Zygerrians received an entry in Galaxy at War, a sourcebook written by Rodney Thompson et al. that provided some information on the Zygerrian culture. Various sources are inconsistent on the spelling of the species, although "Zygerrian"  is more common than "Zygerian".

Curiously, although he has been identified as a Zygerrian, Marko Tyne does not demonstrate any of his species' biological features. Tyne does not possess the bony spurs on his face and his hair is brown, although Galaxy at War and Slaves of the Republic have established that the Zygerrians are red-haired.

Appearances

 * Star Wars The Clone Wars 1: Slaves of the Republic - Chapter 1: The Mystery of Kiros
 * Star Wars The Clone Wars 2: Slaves of the Republic - Chapter 2: Slave Traders of Zygerria
 * Star Wars The Clone Wars 3: Slaves of the Republic - Chapter 3: The Depths of Zygerria
 * Star Wars The Clone Wars 4: Slaves of the Republic - Chapter 4: Auction of a Million Souls
 * Star Wars The Clone Wars 5: Slaves of the Republic - Chapter 5: A Slave now, a Slave forever
 * Star Wars The Clone Wars 6: Slaves of the Republic - Chapter 6: Escape from Kadavo
 * Star Wars 27: Return of the Hunter
 * Heir to the Empire
 * Heir to the Empire 4
 * Heir to the Empire
 * Heir to the Empire 4
 * Heir to the Empire 4