The Ranc Gang was a criminal organization based on the Outer Rim planet Kaddak. Sometime following the Battle of Jakku, Terex, a former stormtrooper who had fought in the battle, became crime lord of the Rancs under the title of Lord-General. He later gave control of the gang to Wisper upon joining the First Order, a fascist military junta formed from the remnants of the Galactic Empire in the Unknown Regions. Terex reclaimed control of the gang from Wisper when he returned to Kaddak. The Ranc Gang then took part in the hunt for the Resistance starfighter pilot Poe Dameron. Many of the gang members were killed during the battle over a desert planet.
Description[]
The Ranc Gang[3] was a criminal gang on the Outer Rim world of Kaddak that doubled as a ship repair and salvage operation. They controlled the Sliver, the main settlement on Kaddak. The gang operated a headquarters[1] and had a fleet of "Uglies," the starfighters TIE/ln space superiority and the TIE/rp Reaper ships made from wrecked starships and vehicles left over from the Galactic Civil War.[4] The leader of the gang worked under the title of the Lord-General.[5]
History[]
Terex's takeover[]
- "The Empire fell. With it fell order. With it fell law. They're never coming back. It's taken me a while to realize that -- I think I was grieving. I've accepted it now, though. I know what it means. I can do anything I want."
- ―Terex, establishing the Ranc Gang
The Ranc Gang existed on Kaddak sometime after the Battle of Jakku. They were led by Wenda and Bett and also doubled as a ship repair and salvage operation. After the former stormtrooper Corlac and his comrade Terex relocated to Kaddak, Corlac re-established contacts with Wenda and Bett. He convinced Terex to help the gang gain access to the Rothana Imperial Shipyards.[1] After taking control of the shipyards, Corlac conspired with Wenda and Bett to kill Terex since he was an obstacle to their plans to build a pirate fleet. Terex learned of their plot and killed them.[4]
Terex then took control of the gang. With Wisper and Zumgi serving as his lieutenants, Terex turned the Ranc Gang into a feared pirate group based on Kaddak that raided ships and fought rival gangs. After several of Terex's pirates intercepted a shipment carrying stormtrooper armor to the First Order, Terex decided to join the First Order[4] and handed over leadership of the group to Wisper. While Wisper made the gang rich, he never commanded the same level of respect as Terex.[1]
Terex's return[]
Sometime later, Terex returned to take control of the Ranc Gang. After Wisper objected to his coup, Zumgi killed him and reaffirmed the gang's allegiance to Terex.[1] Under Terex's leadership, the gang took control of his flagship Carrion Spike from the First Order crew. Meanwhile, the Resistance starfighter pilot Poe Dameron, the Resistance technician Oddy Muva, and the droids C-3PO and BB-8 forced their way inside the gang's headquarters. Despite Dameron being stunned, C-3PO activated the Resistance spy droid network and forced the gangsters to surrender the BX-series droid commando N1-ZX, who was purportedly carrying a trove of information on the First Order. Terex then placed a bounty on Dameron's head but deliberately allowed Dameron and the droids to escape with N1-ZX and the data. However, this was disinformation planted by Terex as part of a plot to find the elusive Resistance base.[4]
Pursuing Poe Dameron[]
Terex was able to track Dameron's T-70 X-wing starfighter and prepared a fleet of "Uglies" to pursue Dameron.[4] Once in space, Terex allowed his Ranc Gang lieutenants Zumgi and Brrang to lead the mission since he trusted them more than the First Order. However, Dameron realized Terex's plan and exited his ship over a desert planet. The Ranc fleet soon followed and shot Dameron's starfighter down. Dameron's X-wing crash-landed on the desert planet.[5]
Terex led a landing party in pursuit of Dameron and the droids. BB-8 and C-3PO managed to slow the gang down by dropping stalactites and fjor-bats on their pursuers. Meanwhile, the Abednedo Muva stowed aboard the Carrion Spike and forced Zumgi to lead him to his wife Sowa Chuan, who had been enslaved by Terex in order to blackmail him into working as a spy. Brrang was commanding the Carrion Spike and the Ranc fleet when the Resistance Black Squadron came to Dameron's rescue.[6]
Despite outnumbering the Resistance squadron, the Ranc Gang's "Uglies" were outmatched by Black Squadron. Muva also aided Black Squadron by reprogramming the Carrion Spike's battle computers to open fire on the "Uglies." This allowed him and the slaves to flee in escape pods to the desert planet. Black Squadron escorted the escape pods but the Ranc Gang shot one of them down. The Duros Resistance pilot L'ulo L'ampar shot down the "Ugly" before being taken down himself. Brrang managed to regain control of the Carrion Spike's systems. The Ranc ships regrouped for an assault on Black Squadron.[2]
Destruction[]
However, First Order forces under Commander Malarus exited hyperspace and opened fire on the Ranc fleet, destroying many "Uglies" and Terex's flagship.[2] Malarus then led a landing party that arrested Terex for disobeying Supreme Leader Snoke's orders to avoid hostilities against the New Republic and its aligned forces.[5] Dameron allowed the First Order to arrest Terex but told the defeated crime lord and First Order agent that he had lost his fleet.[2]
Behind the scenes[]
The Ranc Gang first appeared in the 2016 comic Poe Dameron 9, written by Charles Soule and illustrated by Phil Noto.
Appearances[]
- Poe Dameron 9 (First appearance)
- Poe Dameron 10
- Poe Dameron 11
- Poe Dameron 12
- Poe Dameron 13
- Poe Dameron 14 (Indirect mention only)
- Poe Dameron 18 (Indirect mention only)
Sources[]
- Star Wars: Absolutely Everything You Need to Know, Updated and Expanded (First identified as Ranc Gang)
- Star Wars: Build Your Own R2-D2 66 (Droid Directory: BB-8 Astromech, Part 3)
- Star Wars Helmet Collection 74 (Highlights of the Saga: Oddy Muva's Revenge)
- Star Wars: Build Your Own X-Wing 26 (Starfighter Aces: Poe Dameron – Black Leader)
- "C-3PO" — Star Wars Encyclopedia (as Rancs gang)
- "Battle Droids and Other Droids of War" — Star Wars Encyclopedia
- Star Wars: Timelines