Mantis Syndicate

The Mantis Syndicate, or Mantis Bounty Hunter Syndicate, was a corporation of bounty hunters and one of the houses belonging to the Bounty Hunters' Guild. Officially specializing in hunting big groups of criminals such as swoop gangs or pirateorganizations, the Mantis Syndicate gathered great numbers of hunters in battalions of military units to carry out assignments. Detractors considered the Mantis Syndicate to be a company ofmercenaries.

The Mantis Syndicate was active from at least 10 BBY. During the Galactic Civil War, the Mantis Syndicate was owned and managed by Lady Marina Mantis. By then, the Mantis Syndicate worked mostly as a private army for Imperial Governor High Lord Jaris Affric of the Sarin sector, although the Syndicate also reached the Revkinn and Socorro systems. By the end of the war, Affric had suffered a loss of income, and the Mantis Syndicate terminated its working relationship with him. Lady Mantis then made deals with other customers, including th eNew Republic and Provisional Governor Valis Lorn of Andasala.

History
The Mantis Syndicate was active circa 10 BBY. At that point, Mantis sent a prominent bounty hunter, Fenn Rizaar, to track down Kiane Paulsen, a pirate and member of the criminal organization Black Bha'lir. During the chase, Rizaar accidentally shot an Imperial Stormtrooper Dead and, shortly afterward, was apprehended by his victim's Platoon along with Paulsen. Paulsen and Rizaar escaped together and went to the Bha'lir headquarters on Socorro. The Mantis Syndicate then refused to acknowledge Rizaar as one of its members and offered a bounty of 70,000 credits for his head. Some members of the Black Bha'lir wanted to cash in Rizaar, but Paulsen convinced them not to. Rizaar believed he was indebted to the Bha'lir and eventually became a Bha'lir himself. He also swore revenge on the Mantis Syndicate.

The Mantis Syndicate was still active and a member of the Bounty Hunters' Guild as of 3 BBY, Soon after the Battle of Yavin, the Galactic Empire showed a sudden interest in criminal and fringe organizations, including bounty hunter houses. Scay Danson, a member of the ISB, wrote a report on the possible threat posed by the Bounty Hunters' Guild, including the Mantis Syndicate. At that point, the Trandoshan sociopath Cradossk, not affiliated with Mantis, was identified as the maximum authority of the Guild.

Circa 1 ABY, the Black Bha'lir had infiltrated one agent into the Mantis Syndicate. Thus, when Mantis decided to send a bounty hunter after Karl Mathieu Archer, a Smuggler and member of the Bha'lir, the informant reported to The Tribunal, the leaders of the Bha'lir. According to the tip, the hunter, known only as Kael, planned to approach Ancher during the Funeral service of a notorious Corellian smuggler on Socorro. The Tribunal knew nothing about Kael save for the individual's name, and as such Kael could easily approach Ancher undetected as a part of the crowd that was expected to attend. Additionally, The Tribunal wanted to solve the situation without Ancher's knowledge, so it asked a small group to find and stop Kael.

At approximately the same time, High Lord Jaris Affric, Imperial Governor of the Sarin sector and owner of several inherited, corporate, and criminal assets in that area, hired and kept on retainer most of the Syndicate. Although the Syndicate still tracked criminals wanted by either the Empire or private corporations, most of its business came from bounties posted by Affric either directly or indirectly through any company under his control. Affric used the Syndicate as his private army of special operatives. He sent its members to track criminal organizations, units of the Alliance to Restore the Republic active in his area, pirate groups, swoop gangs, outlaw mercenary units, and any other collective hampering Affric's activities. As Affric controlled most of the sector, there were many such groups in his sights.

Centered the range of the Syndicate in the Sarin sector, allowing it to offer only a company of troops, similar to a special operations unit, for operations outside the sector. The group was successful in serving Affric and, within two years, had defeated four mercenary units, three swoop gangs, and one group of unauthorizedslavers operating in the Suhuurmin system.

While under Affric's control, the Syndicate was contacted by Imperialprefect Dengless Rinn of the planet Kallistas. Rinn wanted to hire a company of mercenaries, including specialists in demolitions, to stage a coup against his boss, Governor Linrec, in a scheme also involving weaponry and fission bombs. Mantis arranged a meeting between Rinn and the Twi'lek smuggler Tarquin Zian, who was able to provide him with the weapons. Rinn and Mantis then started a three-week negotiation to make a deal. Once they had reached an agreement, Mantis sent its troops to Kallistas while Rinn prepared a secret camp for them in a Kallistasdesert. Rinn's revolution was botched, and the prefect became a fugitive of the Empire.