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- "Those are Salissian mercenaries. I had heard that Dooku had some working for him here."
"Yep. Some are mechanics, some run the harvesters—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—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." - ―Barriss Offee and Den Dhur
The Salissians were Humans from the Outer Rim Territories' Salissia system. 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 a cam droid, and although Ji died in the skirmish, his actions were later immortalized by the Republic, both in documentary form and with a statue on Coruscant. Other Salissians served the future Black Sun leader, Prince Xizor.
Biology and appearance[]
The Salissians were base-line Humans[1] from the Salissia system.[2][3]
Society and culture[]
- "Ugly bunch of folks, just as soon shoot you as look at you. Probably rather shoot than look at you."
- ―Den Dhur
Salissian mercenaries had a reputation for violence. They were thought to be willing to do any task, provided there was adequate remuneration.[1]
History[]
- "They were mercenaries, pretty much the scum of the galaxy, on a battlefield, and it was three against one."
- ―Den Dhur describes the fight between Phow Ji and the Salissians
The Salissians[1] were from the Salissia star system,[2][3] located in the eastern expanse of the Outer Rim Territories, near the Overic Griplink.[2] During the Clone Wars, Salissian mercenaries worked for Count Dooku and the Confederacy of Independent Systems on the planet Drongar. The world 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 a variety of roles, including as mechanics, drivers, and soldiers.[1]
Three members of the Salissian special forces were looting the wreckage of a skirmish between Confederacy battle droids and Republic clone troopers when they encountered the Bunduki Phow Ji. Ji was a deadly melee fighter—having been a former Teräs Käsi champion—and was working as a combat instructor for the Republic forces on Drongar. He engaged the Salissians, killing all three in blindingly quick strikes, and taking a trophy from their bodies. The attack was captured by a cam droid that was eventually retrieved by the Sullustan journalist Den Dhur.[1] Later, an elite Salissian combat team undergoing training on Drongar[4] encountered Ji in a clearing on the planet's surface. 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 Bunduki. When two more mercenaries approached, Ji shot their blasters out of their hands before engaging them in hand-to-hand combat. He killed these and two others, before slowly being overwhelmed by the Confederate forces. Ji struck the last blow, 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,[5] who wrote a scathing article on Ji, whom he believed to be a psychopath. However, Dhur's editors rewrote the story, painting Ji's massacre of the Salissians as heroic.[6] The Salissians' defeat at the hands of Ji was later made into a HoloNet News documentary, calling Ji the "The Martyr of Drongar,"[7] and Supreme Chancellor Palpatine dedicated a statue to Ji at Monument Plaza on Coruscant.[6]
In 19 BBY, a number of Salissians worked for the Falleen Prince Xizor, 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.[8]
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.
Appearances[]
- MedStar I: Battle Surgeons (First appearance)
- MedStar II: Jedi Healer (Mentioned only)
- Coruscant Nights I: Jedi Twilight (Mentioned only)
Sources[]
- The Complete Star Wars Encyclopedia, Vol. II ("Ji, Phow")
Notes and references[]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 1.7 1.8 1.9 MedStar I: Battle Surgeons, chapter 14
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3
Star Wars: The Essential Atlas Online Companion on StarWars.com (article) (backup link)
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2
The Essential Atlas and Galactic Cartography: Official Discussion on the Jedi Council Forums (Literature board; posted by jasonfry on December 11, 2007, 7:59am; accessed March 6, 2016): "I wouldn't get your hopes up re alien homeworlds, beyond simple stuff like the Planetnamian species getting a Planetnamia on the map or things Dan and I can account for with a relatively quick reference." (screenshot) Jason Fry, co-author of The Essential Atlas, stated his intention to create homeworlds for numerous species based on context implied from their names. Given this principle, this article makes a similar basic assumption for the Salissian in relation to the Salissia system.
- ↑ MedStar II: Jedi Healer, chapter 4
- ↑ MedStar I: Battle Surgeons, chapter 36
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 Coruscant Nights I: Jedi Twilight, chapter 5
- ↑ MedStar II: Jedi Healer, chapter 12
- ↑ Coruscant Nights I: Jedi Twilight, chapter 38
