Merquise Syndicate

The Merquise Syndicate was a criminal organization on Nar Shaddaa in the Legacy Era. Begun by the enterprising Zeltron gunrunner Ara Merquise, it took an inexplicably strong hold on the Smuggler's Moon in 137 ABY. This was later revealed to be due to the influence of the Sith Lord Vegal Ein. Following her rebellion against Vegal, Ara continued to lead the organization with assistance from her majordomo, Tak Sakaros, until her death in 138 ABY. Sakaros himself subsequently became boss of the Syndicate.

Early Days
"She could sell you an empty power pack, and you'd be begging to pay triple."

- A Corellian smuggler, on Ara's "persuasive" abilities

Little is known about the beginnings of the syndicate; Ara Merquise came to Nar Shaddaa already established. However, sources suggest she began gunrunning at an early age, working the black market on and through Outer Rim locales such as Tatooine, Borgo Prime, and Saleucami. She built a small but loyal association of smugglers and a core group of bodyguards to protect her from enemy retaliation.

Vegal's Pawn
Eventually, Ara attracted the attention of the Sith Lord Vegal Ein. He approached the Zeltron, offering her extensive resources and wealth in exchange for her loyalty. Ara agreed, and moved to the Smuggler's Moon in 136 ABY. Using Vegal's vast resources, she quickly built a small army of captains and enforcers, carving out a niche in defiance of the Hutt kajidics. At the same time, her operation offworld expanded many times over, drawing in millions of credits and reaching as far as the Mid Rim.

However, such success came at a terrible price. Vegal was an exacting, cruel, merciless master, and would frequently torture Ara or rip information out of her mind whenever he felt it appropriate. Though her organization's influence continued to grow, Ara became something of a prisoner in her own palace.

Ara and Tak
In 138 ABY, one of Ara's best assassins, a Sith named Tak Sakaros, came to her with another offer. He could see Ara's power growing, but feared it might collapse internally because it was growing faster than her outfit could keep up. Citing his extensive experience over centuries (though he merely called it "quite some time"), Tak offered to become Ara's majordomo. Though initially distrustful, she finally accepted the idea.

The change in the outfit was quick. Sakaros was much more of a front lines manager than Ara, so he could be actively involved in the daily businesses and keep Ara free to run overall policy. In addition, Sakaros introduced a highly decentralized system of leadership, with a series of captains, undervigos, and vigos to streamline business.

The presence of the Jedi on Nar Shaddaa complicated matters. Ara had made enemies of a few members of the Order, some of whom were former employees. Though he initially tried to maintain a low profile, Tak's past came out enough over time that he also attracted some negative attention from them. Initial attempts to secure a truce between the two "gangs" were unsuccessful, and the Jedi meddled now and then in the Syndicate's operations, and were targeted in response.

After a month or so, sensing Ara's increasing tension despite her success, Tak finally wheedled the truth out of her. He began to plot against Vegal, hoping to overthrow the Sith's control on Ara's mind and leave the organization with all the resources it had amassed. He imported ysalamiri to Ara's office and arranged a truce with the Jedi, apprising them of the Sith Lord's presence and convincing them to unite against a greater adversary. However, when the trap was sprung, Vegal retaliated by blowing up Ara's palace with a series of hidden explosives and killing all but Tak and Ara who were inside.

Guerilla War
Driven out of their home, with several of their businesses and associates terrified and leaving the fold, the Syndicate was pushed to the brink of collapse. Only the great personal loyalty Ara generated combined with the inspiration and efficiency Tak created held the fractured outfit together. The syndicate moved into a temporary headquarters as Tak arranged for construction of a new fortress.

The truce with the Jedi allowed the Syndicate some badly-needed breathing room, enabling them to fend off the Hutts who tried to usurp their territory, though concessions had to be made to the major kajidics. Construction of the new fortress drove the gang almost to ruin, but revenue from smuggling and information brokering kept it just barely afloat. Both Tak and his apprentice, Alluria Quinn, often took the field to assist their various businesses, using their Force abilities to counter any threats. Bounty hunters and assassins from Vegal also posed a threat, but the two Sith were able to keep them at bay.

End of an Era
When the new fortress was readied, Tak and Ara moved their organization in. Able to withstand heavy bombardment or sustained ground assault, the ziggurat was as much a psychological as a physical weapon, and it served to inspire Ara's affiliates on Nar Shaddaa. However, shortly after moving in, Ara was kidnapped from a meeting with Black Sun by Vegal and taken to the icy world of Khar Delba. Despite a valiant rescue attempt by her forces and several Jedi, Ara died, though Vegal also was killed in the battle.

New Boss
With Ara's death, Tak ascended to leadership of the Syndicate. He gave Ara a lavish funeral, then focused on the running of the business. The truce with the Jedi had been renewed at Khar Delba, so that interference was no concern. He did away with the position of underboss entirely, preferring his vigos to continue reporting directly to him.

Structure
Originally, under Ara Merquise, the Syndicate was led by a boss (Ara) and a number of lieutenants. When Ara appointed Tak as her underboss, he stratified the entire organization, replacing the complex series of lieutenants with four, which he termed vigos (borrowing a term from Black Sun, which had itself borrowed the word from Old Tionese). Each vigo was responsible for an entire area of the agency's focus. In 138 ABY, they were: Each vigo had a varying number of undervigos, who managed specific elements of the vigo's command. Each undervigo had captains, who in turn had soldiers.
 * Gurdo Nobb (Smuggling)
 * Koswee Alwos (Local businesses)
 * Ventresca Tan (Information and Espionage)
 * Alluria Quinn (Operations)

When he took command of the Syndicate, Tak eliminated the position of underboss, but kept the remainder of the organization the same.

Only one business, a pair of brothels, was kept under the boss's direct control. Ara instituted this policy, to ensure that the girls were always treated well and never abused by their clients (or their superiors). When he became boss, Tak took the brothels under his protection as well.

Activities and Methodology
Under Ara Merquise, the Syndicate was famous over the Rim for smuggling weapons, many of them illegal and all of them to those using the weapons illegaly. With the added resources of Vegal, Ara also branched out into information brokering and a limited, offworld interest in the spice trade, as well as running several legitimate fronts and owning stake in several businesses on Nar Shaddaa. A contained protection racket also flourished in the Entertainment District, and Ara managed two brothels.

Tak Sakaros's two conditions for working for Ara were that she not deal in slavery and not kill children. This policy sometimes made the outfit appear weak to the Hutts, but conversely, it also garnered the tolerance of some groups (notably the Jedi) which other criminal outfits could never secure. The Syndicate could be ruthless and brutal when necessary, but generally not indiscriminately or without good cause.

Name
For a long time, the gang had no name. It was eventually named the "Merquise Syndicate" in 138 ABY. When he took over the organization, Tak Sakaros kept the name out of respect and affection for his late boss.