Czerka Arms, also known as the Czerka Corporation,[1] was an arms manufacturer that produced the Adventurer slugthrower rifle, which was used by the bounty hunter Aurra Sing during the final decades of the Galactic Republic.[4] They also manufactured combat gear, such as the ACH-14 advanced combat helmet.[6] Czerka Arms made heavy use of slave labor and employed extensive mechanisms to both prevent slave escapes and recapture those who did.[1]
Princess Fanry of the planet Pijal described the Czerka Corporation as being nearly as powerful as the Galactic Senate. Czerka was thousands of years old, and rumored by some to be older than the Republic itself.[1]
History[]
Four millennia before the Battle of Yavin, the planet Kashyyyk was discovered by the Czerka Corporation, who renamed the planet G5-623, and later to Edean.[3] Using superior technology, the company managed to enslave the Wookiees until an uprising drove the invaders away.[14]
Around 387 BBY, a plot of land on the Timekeeper Moon was handed over to Czerka by the government of Eiram, after its neighbor and rival E'ronoh failed to pay tariffs on their lease of the land. This contributed to renewed violence between the two planets, as E'ronoh believed that Eiram had stolen their centuries-old colony. The E'roni defended the colony, including chasing Czerka out of the system, a move which Monarch A'lbaran later defended by pointing out that Czerka had been polluting Eiram's oceans.[15]
In 40 BBY, Czerka Corporation sought a permanent legal influence on the planet Pijal by way of inserting themselves into a treaty that would shift the planet from an absolute monarchy to a democratically elected Assembly. The corporation had been in alliance with Pijal for centuries, and had slowly been given more power, including overseeing the prison system. This allowed them to hand out long sentences of slave labor, including claiming any children born into slavery. An organization called the Opposition decried the new treaty through acts of performance art and public protest. The Opposition believed that citizens of Pijal's moon, and those enslaved by Czerka, would not be fairly represented by the new government.
The Jedi Knights Obi-Wan Kenobi and Qui-Gon Jinn were dispatched to the planet in order to oversee the young princess Fanry's coronation and treaty ceremony on behalf of the Republic, but discovered the hidden complexities. A mysterious group referred to as the Blackguard was perpetrating violent terrorism and letting The Opposition take the blame. Qui-Gon advised the princess and her regent, Jedi Rael Aveross, not to sign the treaty, but the ceremony went ahead. Instead of signing the treaty, Fanry seized absolute power for herself in order to eject Czerka Corporation from the system. Her first act would have been to destroy Czerka's ship Leverage, which was full of enslaved sentients, but the Jedi and their allies staved off the potential civil war. Fanry's successor prohibited slavery in the Pijal system before signing the treaty forming a democratic Assembly. Czerka's influence on Pijal was formally ended when their contracts were cancelled by the new leader of Pijal's democratic Assembly, former minister Orth.[1]
In the final decades of the Galactic Republic, the Czerka Corporation sponsored podraces in the Outer Rim Territories. Czerka Arms had a sordid reputation, and was long suspected of laundering money into the Outer Rim by the Coruscant Security Force.[16]
In 4 ABY, during the Iron Blockade of the Anoat sector by the Galactic Empire, the local branch of Czerka Arms found itself cut off from its corporate masters.[2]
In exchange for fortifying their facility, the Czerka employees of the Anoat sector eventually agreed to join the cause of the Smuggler, a young scoundrel who led the resistance against the Empire.[2]
Behind the scenes[]
Czerka Arms was first created for The Rebel Alliance Sourcebook, released by West End Games as a supplement for its Star Wars Legends Star Wars: The Roleplaying Game. It was featured in the Legends video game Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic and its sequel, Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic II: The Sith Lords, appearing as an occasional antagonist faction in league with groups such as the Sith Empire.
Appearances[]
- The High Republic: Convergence (and audiobook) (Mentioned only)
- Master & Apprentice (and audiobook) (First appearance)
- Star Wars Battlefront II (Mentioned only)
- Mace Windu: The Glass Abyss (and audiobook) (Mentioned only) (In flashback(s))
- Brotherhood (and audiobook) (Mentioned only)
- Star Wars: Uprising (Mentioned only)
- Aftermath (and audiobook) (Mentioned only)
- Star Wars: Squadrons (Mentioned only)
- Star Wars: Galaxy of Heroes (Mentioned only)
Sources[]
- Ultimate Star Wars (First mentioned)
- Star Wars: Build the Millennium Falcon 43 (Guide to the Galaxy: Kashyyyk's Fight for Freedom)
- Star Wars: Rogue One: The Ultimate Visual Guide
- No Disintegrations
- Knights of Fate
- Star Wars Helmet Collection 66 (Weapons & Uniforms: Growing up on Tatooine)
- Star Wars: Scum and Villainy: Case Files on the Galaxy's Most Notorious
- Star Wars: Smuggler's Guide
- Star Wars Helmet Collection 76 (Weapons & Uniforms: Aurra Sing)
- Rise of the Separatists
- Collapse of the Republic
- Gadgets and Gear
- Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker: The Visual Dictionary
- "You Can't See the Forest for the Trees!" — Star Wars - Das offizielle Magazin 97
- "The Heroes of Rogue One" — Star Wars Encyclopedia
- Star Wars: Timelines
Notes and references[]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 Master & Apprentice
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 Star Wars: Uprising—Crew Run: "Corporate Recruiting"
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Star Wars: Build the Millennium Falcon 43 (Guide to the Galaxy: Kashyyyk's Fight for Freedom)
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 Ultimate Star Wars
- ↑ Star Wars Helmet Collection 66 (Weapons & Uniforms: Growing up on Tatooine)
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 Star Wars: Rogue One: The Ultimate Visual Guide
- ↑ Choose Your Destiny: A Han & Chewie Adventure
- ↑ Star Wars Encyclopedia: The Comprehensive Guide to the Star Wars Galaxy
- ↑ Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker: The Visual Dictionary
- ↑ Knights of Fate
- ↑ 11.0 11.1 Star Wars: Smuggler's Guide
- ↑ "Melee and Ranged Weapons" — Star Wars Encyclopedia
- ↑ Master & Apprentice, which takes place around 40 BBY per Star Wars: Timelines, states that Czerka Corporation has existed for thousands of years. Therefore, Czerka Corporation must have been formed thousands of years before 40 BBY.
- ↑ Collapse of the Republic
- ↑ The High Republic: Convergence
- ↑ Star Wars: Scum and Villainy: Case Files on the Galaxy's Most Notorious