The Herdessan Guild was the organization that ruled the Mid Rim world of Herdessa during the era of the Galactic Civil War. Known for cruelty, excess, and for exploiting the planet's lower classes, the Herdessan Guild instituted a lucrative slaving operation in 4 ABY, unwittingly playing a role in a Nagai tactic to spread unrest and chaos in the galaxy ahead of a planned invasion. However, Alliance of Free Planets leader Leia Organa, along with a popular resistance movement, overthrew the Herdessan Guild and ended their slaving activities.
The Herdessan Guild was the ruling body that governed the planet Herdessa, a world located along the Corellian Run in the Mid Rim. Originally chosen by the Herdessan people to rule over the planet, the Herdessan Guild later projected power over the lower classes through a bustling slave trade established during the Galactic Civil War. The Herdessan Guild of the day enthusiastically participated in the practice, and shamelessly used their slaves as a way to ingratiate themselves with visiting diplomats. Among the common people of Herdessa, the Guild developed a reputation for excess and exploitation, and their security force was from time to time loosed upon rebellious elements in violent raids.
Brylin, final Spokesman of the Herdessan Guild.
In 4 ABY, the Herdessan Guild became a small part of the buildup of the Nagai–Tof War, when the obscure Nagai species from the dwarf galaxy Firefist attempted to invade the galaxy amidst the instability that followed the Galactic Empire's crushing defeat at Endor. The Nagai dispatched Lumiya, a Human cyborg who had formerly worked for the Empire as a double agent within the Rebel Alliance, to Herdessa as part of a strategy to sow chaos before their eventual attack. Lumiya greatly earned the trust of the Herdessan Guild, who named her chief of security and aided the Guild in setting up a lucrative slaving operation that counted remnants of the Empire as a major client.
The Herdessan Guild's reputation for exploitation helped inspire a rebellion among the planet's lower classes, led by a young woman named Suzu. Later in 4 ABY, the Herdessan Guild—headed at the time by Spokesman Brylin—welcomed a delegation from the newly formed Alliance of Free Planets, who traveled to Herdessa in order to establish official diplomatic relations. However, Brylin and his inner circle instead planned to take the Alliance diplomats hostage and sell them to the Empire, and to that end captured top Alliance leader Mon Mothma, among others. Delegation member Leia Organa escaped the Guild's operation and linked up with Suzu's revolution, raising a fighting force to attack the Guild as they attempted to hand the captives over to the Empire. Their resistance sparked a popular uprising that overthrew the Herdessan Guild and put an end to the slave trade on Herdessa—however, Lumiya's involvement with the Nagai conspiracy remained unknown.
The Herdessan Guild appeared in Star Wars (1977) 88, written by Mary Jo Duffy, illustrated by Tom Palmer and released in 1984.
- The Complete Star Wars Encyclopedia, Vol. II, p. 34
- The Forgotten War: The Nagai and the Tofs on Hyperspace