The Snatchers were a mercenary group formed during the last years of the Galactic Republic that operated during the Galactic Civil War and afterwards. Consisting of bounty hunters and mercenaries, the clandestine group often acted in coalition with several of the "big name" criminal organizations, such as Black Sun and the Hutt Cartel. The Bounty Hunter's Guild rarely worked with or claimed association with the Snatchers, as many of the Snatchers' methods violated their guidelines. However, this did not stop members of the Guild from joining the Snatchers, especially after 4 ABY following the Bounty Hunter Wars.
History[]
Founding[]
Existing details on the Snatchers' creation have been considered dubious by most researchers, as they generally conflicted with each other and sometimes contradicted historical facts. As it was, the most commonly spread story was that the Snatchers were founded by a Hutt named Daraga in 990 BBY, ten years into the Golden Age of the Old Republic. According to some accounts, the organization at times worked for the Order of the Sith Lords, eliminating targets for the Sith. Rumor also held that a member of the Snatchers was even found to be Force-sensitive and taken on as an apprentice by one of the Sith Masters they worked for.
Imperial Period[]
The rise of the Galactic Empire delivered a major blow to the criminal underworld as Imperial law proved to be far more strict than Republic law had been. Fearing repercussions from the Empire, Boss Darzen announced that he was going to disband the Snatchers. Angered by this display of cowardice and kowtowing to an establishment she despised, Marka Zurge attacked Darzen and killed him in her rage. Taking control of the Snatchers, Zurge declared that they were going to do everything under their power to topple Palpatine's regime and restore freedom to the galaxy.
Throughout the Dark Times, the Snatchers would provide their services to the numerous cells of rebellion that started to form across the galaxy. Like the Partisans of Saw Gerrera, they became admired for their noble goals but faced disapproval for their unsavory, often extreme methods. Several high-ranking Imperials were assassinated by the likes of Rex Dan'wal and the Falleen Zoran would often use his pheromones to influence others to do things against their will. While the Snatchers were well regarded for their goals, they eventually lost favor with the other rebel cells when they bombed Sativran City on Lexrul to eliminate an Imperial Moff, resulting in the deaths of several civilians. Most of their affiliates ceased all contact with them as a result, not wishing to support such blatant disregard for innocent life.
Wishing to regain the trust and support of the Rebel Alliance, Zurge and a team of Snatchers infiltrated an Imperial Intelligence base to retrieve information that would prove critical to the Rebellion. It detailed several of the Empire's unsavory acts, such as genocide and slavery, which could be used to debase the Empire in the eyes of its civilians. Being the only survivor of this mission, Zurge went on her own to deliver it to Bail Organa on Alderaan. However, shortly upon arrival, Alderaan was destroyed by the Empire's new weapon, the Death Star, and both Zurge and Organa perished before the information could be delivered.
Following Zurge's death, her Falleen lieutenant Zoran assumed leadership of the Snatchers. Under him, operations in direct affilation with the Rebel Alliance were kept to a minimum during the Galactic Civil War, as the entire organization was now a prime target for the Empire. In order to preserve themselves, the Snatchers split up into separate cells, hiding on busy urban worlds such as Taris and Nal Hutta. Eventually, the Empire was able to track down Zoran and had him killed. This would have been the end for the Snatchers had it not been for the Empire's fragmentation following the Battle of Endor two weeks later. With the Empire's eyes now focused on more pressing matters, the Snatchers were able to regroup under the new Boss Rex Dan'wal.
After the Empire[]
With the fragmenting of the Empire and the rise of the New Republic, there was a change in the market for bounties. For every bounty posted for every Imperial warlord and admiral, there was one for the likes of Admiral Ackbar and General Solo. Having never cared for what had once been the Rebel Alliance, Boss Dan'wal shifted the Snatchers' loyalties to the dispersed Empire and took bounties for top priority targets. In 5 ABY, he sent "Cad Bane" and a team of Snatchers to track down Jedi Knight Luke Skywalker, who was the Empire's most wanted for allegedly being responsible for the deaths of Emperor Palpatine and Darth Vader.
The Snatchers tracked down Skywalker to Dantooine at the ruins of the Jedi Enclave and captured him and his droid R2-D2. Unbeknownst to them, Skywalker had R2-D2 send an encrypted signal to the New Republic, alerting them of their predicament. In time, the Snatchers were intercepted by the Republic and forced to give up Skywalker and his droid. Dan'wal was most displeased with this failure but could not afford to punish Bane and his cohorts as he knew they were still among the most skilled bounty hunters in the galaxy.
The Snatchers continued to take up odd jobs for the various Imperial splinter factions that arose over the course of the next five years, but by 11 ABY most of them had effectively ceased to exist, and the newly-created Dark Empire had no interest for working with people of their kind. After Dan'wal was assassinated on Lianna, the Snatchers forged an alliance with Gorga the Hutt, who had taken up his late uncle Jabba's criminal empire on Tatooine. A year into their alliance, the Snatchers again captured Luke Skywalker, who had recently escaped the clutches of the clone Emperor, and brought him to Gorga for a reward. However, Skywalker was able to escape once more, this time with the help of a shape-shifter by the name of Animus and the palace was destroyed in the process.
Several Snatchers were left dead in the wake of the Tatooine incident. With Dan'wal dead, Cad Bane took control of the few surviving Snatchers and set out to recruit more to their numbers, chief among them the infamous Trandoshan Bossk. As the Snatchers grew in numbers and began to reclaim their power, the Sith Lord Darth Vorath caught wind of their presence and decided to utilize them for his schemes. Through his agents, he gave the Snatchers jobs that involved clearing out the remaining Palpatine loyaltists left over from the Dark Empire's collapse and help pave the way for his own empire to take control. This alliance continued into the Imperial Sith War, during which the Snatchers were tasked with eliminating high-level New Republic targets.
One of these targets was the famous pilot Han Solo, whom the Snatchers led into a trap on Mandalore. However, their plot was foiled by the Mandalorians and the Snatchers once again suffered several casualties, including Bossk. Following this failure, Vorath's Sith ceased communications with them and left them to wallow in defeat on Nar Shaddaa. It was at this point that one of the Snatchers, who had been working with them since at least Zoran's tenure, made his move.
Having gone under the assumed identity of Embo, the Kyuzo Mujambo revealed to the others that "Cad Bane" was in fact an impostor by the name of Loopan Reem. The real Cad Bane had died over forty years ago during the Clone Wars at the hands of Boba Fett and Reem at taken up his identity to make a name for himself. Mujambo had impersonated Bane's peer Embo in a similar fashion in the hopes of uncovering Reem's deception and exposing him for the fraud he truly was. Shamed and humilated, Reem was cast out into the streets of Nar Shaddaa while Mujambo assumed control of the Snatchers, intent on rebuilding them once more.
The Glorian War[]
Behind the scenes[]
The group was named after a group of rogue wizards in the Harry Potter book series.