Salissian/Legends

"Those are Salissian mercenaries. I had heard that Dooku had some working for him here." "Yep. Some are mechanics, some run the harvesters&mdash;not many battle droids are programmed to pick the local produce, which is why, ultimately, we are all here on this fetid dungheap of a world. A few are special troop, recon, like that, who can go places and do things droids don't do too well&mdash;climb trees, covert those kinds of things. Sometimes only a humanoid will do. And Salissians will do just about any-thing as long as there's a few credits at the other end of it. Ugly bunch of folks, just as soon shoot you as look at you. Probably rather shoot than look at you."

- Bariss Offee and Den Dhur

The Salissians were Humans from the Outer Rim planet Salissia. During the Clone Wars, many Salissians worked for the Confederacy of Independent Systems as mercenaries, either serving in combat or in other supporting roles such as mechanics. A group of elite Salissian combat troops fought at the Battle of Drongar in 20 BBY. Many were killed by Phow Ji, a combat instructor for the Galactic Republic. His attack was captured by cam droid and although Ji died, his actions were later immortalized by the Republic, both in documentary form, and with a statue on Coruscant. Other Salissians served future Black Sun leader, Prince Xizor.

Society and culture
Salissian mercenaries had a nasty reputation for violence. They were thought to be willing to do any task provided there was adequate renumeration.

History
"They were mercenaries, pretty much the scum of the galaxy, on a battlefield, and it was three against one."

- Den Dhur

The Salissians were Humans, from the planet Salissia, located in the Outer Rim Territories near the Overic Griplink. During the Clone Wars, a number of Salissian mercenaries worked for the Confederacy of Independent Systems on the planet Drongar. Drongar was home to the bota plant, valued by both the Confederacy and the Galactic Republic, and as a consequence, the planet was heavily contested in 20 BBY. The Salissians on Drongar worked in variety of roles, including as mechanics, harvester drivers, and as soldiers.

Three Salissian special forces were picking over the refuse of a skirmish between Confederacy droids and Republic clone troopers, when they encountered the Bunduki Phow Ji. Ji was a former Teräs Käsi champion, making him a deadly melee fighter, then working as a combat instructor for the Republic. He engaged the Salissans, killing all three in blindingly quick strikes, and taking a trophy from their bodies. The attack was captured by a cam droid, later retrieved by the Sullustan reporter Den Dhur. Later, an elite Salissian combat team undergoing training on Drogar encountered Ji in a clearing on Drongar. Initially, three soldiers were felled by pinpoint blaster shots by Ji. Two more mercenaries, accompanied by a B2 super battle droid emerged from the forest, and were also killed by Ji; one's neck was snapped by the lithe Bunduki. When two more mercenaries approached, Ji shot their blasters out of their hands, before engaging them in hand-to-hand combat. These, and two others he killed, before slowly being overwhelmed by Confederacy forces. Ji struck the last blow however, detonating a thermal grenade to take his own life and those of the mercenaries surrounding him. This second fight was also captured by cam droid, this time prearranged by Ji. The footage was sent to Dhur, who wrote a scathing article on Ji, whom he believed to be a psychopath. However, Dhen editor rewrote the story, painting Ji's massacre of the Salissians as heroic. The Salissian defeat at the hands of Ji was later made into a HoloNet News documentary, calling Ji the "The Martyr of Drongar". and Supreme Chancellor Palpatine dedicated a statue to Ji at Monument Plaza on Coruscant.

Later in 19 BBY, a number of Salissians worked for Prince Xizor, a Falleen and a contender for leader of the Black Sun criminal organization. They were hired to eliminate some of the feral droids that were rampant in the Factory District of Coruscant.

Behind the scenes
The Salissians were created by Michael Reaves and Steve Perry for their novel MedStar I: Battle Surgeons, published by Del Rey in 2004. They later received a mention in two subsequent publications by the same authors.

Appearances

 * MedStar I: Battle Surgeons
 * MedStar II: Jedi Healer
 * Coruscant Nights I: Jedi Twilight