The beginnings of the Ranc Gang
The Ranc Gang 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 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. The leader of the gang worked under the title of the Lord-General.
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. 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.
Terex murdered his treacherous cohorts and established himself as Lord—General of the Rancs of Kaddak
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 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.
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. 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.
The Ranc fleet ambushing Poe Dameron
Terex was able to track Dameron's T-70 X-wing starfighter and prepared a fleet of "Uglies" to pursue Dameron. 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.
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.
Despite outnumbering the Resistance squadron, the Ranc Gang's "Uglies" were outmatched by Black Squadron. Muva also aided Black Squadron by reprogramming the Carrion Spikes 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 Spikes systems. The Ranc ships regrouped for an assault on Black Squadron.
The Ranc fleet was destroyed by the First Order
However, First Order forces under Commander Malarus exited hyperspace and opened fire on the Ranc fleet, destroying many "Uglies" and Terex's flagship. 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. Dameron allowed the First Order to arrest Terex but told the defeated crime lord and First Order agent that he had lost his fleet.
The Ranc Gang first appeared in the 2016 comic Poe Dameron 9, written by Charles Soule and illustrated by Phil Noto.
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