Techno Union

"The Republic would not dare attack us. The Techno Union has corporate neutrality."

―Wat Tambor^[src]

The Techno Union was a commerce guild comprised of various technology firms in the galaxy. It played a prominent role in the Separatist Crisis, as Foreman Wat Tambor allied it with Count Dooku and the Confederacy of Independent Systems. Despite holding a seat on the Separatist Council and pledging their Droid Army to the Confederacy military during the Clone Wars, the Techno Union maintained their neutrality in the conflict, with many of their subsidiaries producing starships and weapons for the Galactic Republic. Nevertheless, after the conclusion of the war, the remnants of Techno Union would be absorbed by the Republic's successor, the Galactic Empire.

History[]

Pre-Clone Wars[]

Over three centuries before the end of the Clone Wars, the Techno Union came to own the lava planet Mustafar^[2] and charged the native Mustafarians rent. In order to pay this rent, the Mustafarians were forced to mine mineral allotropes for the Union,^[19] a task they performed using tools and technology, such as droids, supplied by the Techno Union.^[2]

By the late Republic Era, Skakoan industrialists had, through aggressive investment and shrewd maneuvering, largely assumed control of the conglomerate. They held many major positions and even relocated the headquarters to Skako Minor, forcing outsiders to adapt to their environmental needs.^[20] The Union also gained representation in the Galactic Senate at some point. Gume Saam became their senator^[6] at some point before the Clone Wars.^[21]

Two years before the staged kidnapping of Jedi Grand Master Yoda, a batch of the Techno Union's battle droids was stolen by Chagrian smugglers. The Union petitioned the Jedi High Council for their return after the Jedi recovered the batch, but the conglomerate was told the droids were now Galactic Republic property. After Yoda, Jedi Master Mace Windu, and Jedi Master Bant Eerin used the droids in the staged kidnapping, Padawan Anakin Skywalker, after seeing a unit's signal confirmation module, deduced that the Union had produced the droids, so Jedi Knight Obi-Wan Kenobi proposed meeting with Saam to get answers.^[21]

When Windu recalled that^[21] the senator^[6] was not on good terms with the Jedi Order, Kenobi suggested heading to the Union headquarters on Skako Minor instead. However, Skywalker realized there was a non-Union symbol between the battle droid's photoreceptors, meaning another faction could have been behind the attack. Skywalker offered to fly Kenobi to Skako Minor himself if the symbol proved to be meaningless, though they soon found it was the logo of the Nova Crime Syndicate. This led the two Jedi to the Wheel space station and then Glee Anselm, where they learned the "kidnapping" had been a test for them both.^[21]

Separatist Crisis[]

"The Techno Union army is at your disposal, Count."

―Wat Tambor, to Count Dooku^[src]

The Techno Union was one of several corporate titans that quietly aligned itself with Dooku, a charismatic ex-Jedi and Count of Serenno, before he founded the Confederacy of Independent Systems. While joining the Count was a risk, it gave the Union special privileges, notably a seat on the Separatist Council.^[3]

By 22 BBY, galactic tensions had reached a fever pitch. During a summit with Dooku on the planet Geonosis, the Techno Union's leader, Foreman Wat Tambor, pledged to supply the conglomerate's droid army to the Separatist Alliance. Shortly thereafter, the First Battle of Geonosis saw the outbreak of the Clone Wars.^[1]

Clone Wars[]

Techo Union ships come under attack from Republic fighters.

Despite its actions on Geonosis, the Techno Union claimed neutrality in the Clone Wars,^[12] and retained their representation in the Galactic Senate by Senator Saam but in reality help InterGalactic Banking Clan Senator Nix Card and Trade Federation representative Lott Dod keep an eye on things for Count Dooku to make sure his master Dark Lord of the Sith Darth Sidious' plans do not go unhinged.^[3] Saam lobbied for an intensification of the war effort, with the intention to create greater need for the Union's products by the Grand Army of the Republic.^[6] Indeed, member corporations such as Kuat Drive Yards, BlasTech, and Republic Sienar Systems were vital to the GAR, lending the Techno Union an air of plausible deniability as it continued arming the Separatists. However, for every warship created for the Republic, the Union's member corporations manufactured a million battle droids, as the Union's only true loyalty was to war.^[3]

The Techno Union's support for the Confederacy was demonstrated during the Battle of Anaxes, as it was able to utilize a Republic strategy algorithm (captured with presumed-dead ARC trooper "Echo"). By this time, the Union also had at least one Decimator. During the Republic mission to rescue Echo, Wrecker caused this Decimator's destruction and the loss of one of their most valuable assets and didn't report it to the Separatists causing them to lose the Battle of Anaxes.^[12]

During the war, the Union defended its vital worlds with a combination of overstock and prototype starships from their member corporations.^[3] Many of these worlds, such as Hypori, Skako Minor, and Utapau would be sites of major battles.^[8]^[12]^[17]

Dissolution[]

At the conclusion of the war, Minister Tambor was killed with the rest of the Separatist Council on Mustafar.^[17] The Republic would be reformed into the Galactic Empire, which proceeded to absorb the remnants of the Techno Union. This forced its low-level technicians and machine smiths to seek new employment all over the galaxy.^[18] The Empire would go on to award the Techno Union's refineries to the Mining Guild.^[22]