The Nite Owls were an elite Mandalorian unit made up of warriors led by Bo-Katan Kryze as part of the larger Death Watch movement. After Maul killed Death Watch leader Pre Vizsla in battle and proclaimed himself its new leader, the Nite Owls, like the rest of the Death Watch, split in two, with members siding with either Maul or Bo-Katan. Those who joined Bo-Katan became part of the Mandalore resistance and fought against Maul's Shadow Collective and his Mandalorian super commandos. They even attempted to free Bo-Katan's sister, the former Duchess Satine Kryze of Mandalore, whom they had formerly opposed due to her pacifist idealism. The Nite Owls would survive the Clone Wars and persist into both the Imperial and New Republic Eras.
The Nite Owls were a group of elite Mandalorian warriors who were a part of the extremist group known as the Death Watch. Led by Bo-Katan Kryze, who served as second-in-command to Death Watch leader Pre Vizsla, the group were amongst the former governor's forces at his camp on Carlac during the Clone Wars after the group abandoned their hideout on Concordia. In 20 BBY, the Nite Owls raided a Ming Po settlement, abducting women and burning buildings. Soon after, they chased away the Jedi Padawan Ahsoka Tano, who had been their prisoner before escaping with Lux Bonteri.
Bo-Katan and her Nite Owls rescue Obi-Wan Kenobi
After the rogue Sith Lord Maul and his brother Savage Opress allied themselves with the Death Watch, forming the Shadow Collective, the Nite Owls were one of the groups among their considerable forces prepared to retake Mandalore from the pacifist New Mandalorians, who ruled the planet via Bo-Katan's sister, the Duchess Satine Kryze. However, after the successful takeover, Maul killed Pre Vizsla in a duel and assumed leadership of the Death Watch. Many members of the Death Watch felt that they were honor-bound to serve Maul, as he had defeated their previous leader fairly in combat; however, some of the Nite Owls and most members of the Death Watch disagreed. Declaring that "no outsider will ever rule Mandalore," Bo-Katan escaped in the aftermath of Maul's murder of Vizsla, alongside some of the Nite Owls.
Afterward, Bo-Katan would help Duchess Satine and later Jedi Master Obi-Wan Kenobi escape Mandalore and alert the Republic to what happened with her newly-formed Mandalore resistance. The two sisters and their forces joined together to thwart Maul's new reign during a civil war. However, their efforts were unsuccessful and ended with Satine's execution at the hands of Maul. Although Maul was later imprisoned by Darth Sidious, his puppet leader, Almec, continued to publicly rule Mandalore, and some members of the Nite Owls eventually left the planet in search of a way to dislodge Almec from the throne.
The Nite Owls were led by Bo-Katan Kryze.
Bo-Katan and fellow Nite Owls member Ursa Wren would eventually track down the now-former Jedi Ahsoka Tano and enlist her to help them end Maul's rule on Mandalore, who had since escaped from prison and returned to the Mandalorian homeworld. Tano agreed and, despite no longer having ties to the Galactic Republic or its military, gathered the newly-formed 332nd Division to bolster the Nite Owls. Together, they laid siege to Mandalore and eventually captured Maul. While Tano and part of her contingent of clone troopers transported Maul back to Coruscant, Bo-Katan and her Nite Owls remained on Mandalore. Bo-Katan was also named regent of the planet. However, the execution of Order 66 and the ensuing Great Jedi Purge, collapse of the Republic, and formation of a new Galactic Empire, ensured that bloody turmoil on Mandalore was far from over.
With the remaining Republic forces stationed on planet, the Empire occupied Mandalore. When the Nite Owls resisted the Empire's rule, Bo-Katan was betrayed by Clan Saxon and forcefully removed from power, and the Nite Owls once again lost control of Mandalore.
In 2 BBY, the Nite Owls, along with Clan Wren, Clan Vizsla, Clan Rook, Clan Eldar, and Protector Fenn Rau, aided the Spectres cell of the Alliance to Restore the Republic, in the destruction of the Arc Pulse Generator and, with the Darksaber in her possession, unified under Bo-Katan in another attempt to reclaim Mandalore. However, the planet was lost again when the Empire retaliated with the bombing of Mandalore, known as the Great Purge. One small crew of Nite Owls remained active on the ruined surface and began the work of re-cultivating the world's plant life.
A trio of Nite Owl Commandos
In 9 ABY, Bo-Katan and another member of the Nite Owls, Koska Reeves, worked as a unit alongside Mandalorian warrior Axe Woves. Joined by bounty hunter Din Djarin, they stole and looted an Gozanti-class cruiser on the moon of Trask. The Nite Owls, along with Kryze's other Mandalorian followers, abandoned their leader after she failed to reclaim the Darksaber from Gideon's light cruiser, becoming mercenaries under Woves. After Kryze inadvertently reclaimed the right to the darksaber during a mission to the Living Waters with Djarin, she took back control of her forces on the planet Plazir-15.
Putting their differences with the Children of the Watch-aligned Mandalorian tribe aside, Kryze's forces, including her Nite Owls, journeyed with the Children to reclaim Mandalore, where they also united with the Nite Owl crew eking out a living on Mandalore. Faced with Gideon's Imperial remnant, which had established a base on Mandalore, Kryze and the Armorer led their gathered supporters, including Nite Owls like Reeves, into battle. During the battle Gideon destroyed the Darksaber, however a victory over the Imperial forces was still gained. Mandalore was reclaimed by its people.
The Nite Owls wore their distinct Mandalorian armor. They were armed with GALAAR-15 blaster carbines before Maul's takeover, while they continued using WESTAR-35 blaster pistols with Mandalorian vambraces in combat.