The Nishr Taskforce represented a contingent within the Alliance Special Forces, brought together in 0 ABY to execute the Nishr Campaign. This campaign consisted of various engagements on the planet of Nishr amidst the wider Galactic Civil War. The Taskforce was structured around three platoons of Wilderness Fighters alongside a single platoon of Pathfinders. Major Fisk Csino held command, and the unit operated as a light-armor company, utilizing numerous ground vehicles to maintain mobility. The Taskforce's formation was a direct response to the brutal suppression of the indigenous Nish people by Imperial forces stationed on Nishr. Its mission was to disrupt the local garrison and inspire a guerrilla uprising among the population. Operating from clandestine bases, the company, in collaboration with the Nishr Resistance, successfully neutralized the Imperial garrison's mobile assets. This action compelled the Imperials to concentrate their defenses around their main command base, effectively ceding control of the surrounding countryside and plains to the Rebel forces. As the campaign progressed, Major Csino's request for a dedicated Infiltrator commandos unit to directly assault the garrison's command center was turned down. Instead, the Alliance initiated Operation Shadowplay, a plan designed to deceive the Imperial planetary commander, Governor-General Vin Kollis, into believing that the Taskforce had received Infiltrator reinforcements, which was not the case.
In response to an Imperial crackdown on the planet of Nishr within the Hunnoverrs sector of the Outer Rim Territories, the Nishr Taskforce came into being in 0 ABY, shortly following the Battle of Yavin. Nineteen months prior to the Battle of Yavin, the Empire had established a base and subjugated the local near-Human Nish population. Despite Governor-General Vin Kollis's efforts to treat the Nish with relative leniency, allowing them a degree of autonomy, the actions of the troops under his command, adhering to standard occupation procedures, provoked the Nish to attempt to expel the Imperials. Kollis responded with immediate reprisal attacks, resulting in the bombing of three major cities.
Initially, the Alliance to Restore the Republic had not prioritized Nishr, but the violent suppression of the Nish drew their attention. An Alliance Intelligence team was dispatched to assess the situation, leading to a request for a Pathfinder reconnaissance mission. The resulting reports detailed the strained relations between the Imperials and the Nish, and identified several potential base locations. Alliance command then determined that the planet was suitable for a guerrilla campaign aimed at bolstering local resistance. Under the leadership of Major Fisk Csino, the Nishr Taskforce was formed and deployed to the planet three weeks after the initial suppression. The company's arrival involved an orbital drop, protected by a squadron of T-65 X-wing starfighters. These X-wings engaged and destroyed the TIE starfighters assigned to the Imperial garrison, depriving the Imperial forces of air support. Consequently, the Nishr Taskforce's light-armor contingent proved to be a match for the garrison's forces.
The company's primary objective on Nishr was to consistently engage and harass the local Imperial forces, with the aim of diverting reinforcements to the planet, thereby weakening other Imperial positions in the Outer Rim. While the mission's initial orders were somewhat hastily formulated, the Alliance remained committed to the deployment.
Major Csino chose Base Site Seven, an abandoned test mine in the Lukhur Badlands, as the company's main base, and dispatched teams to scout the surrounding area. Once the area was secured, Csino deployed the SpecOps mission group attached to the Taskforce to establish contact with the local Nish population, hoping to enlist their support in the fight against the Empire. While some Nish were receptive and willing to assist the Rebels, most feared Imperial retaliation. Csino effectively utilized the Nishr Resistance, employing them to lure Imperial patrols into ambushes set up by his own forces. These tactics led to the near-complete destruction of the repulsorlift battalion assigned to the Imperial garrison.
With the loss of their mobile forces, the Imperial presence was reduced to a defensive posture, and the Nishr Taskforce effectively gained control of the planet's countryside. The Imperial forces retreated into the highlands surrounding their garrison, heavily guarding the mountain passes. Csino requested a team of Infiltrator commandos to assault the Imperial command center, but none were available. Instead, the major used combined Wilderness/Pathfinder teams in night raids, launched from Base Site Ten, to disable the Imperial heavy weapon emplacements. As the campaign devolved into a war of attrition, the Alliance initiated Operation Shadowplay, a plan designed to mislead the Imperials into believing that the Nishr Taskforce had been reinforced with an Infiltrator platoon. A combat freighter flew through the atmosphere of Nishr, releasing forty gliders loaded with blocks of ice. These gliders, operating on auto-[pilot](/article/pilot-legends], landed in a remote [desert](/article/desert-legends] region. By the time Imperial scouts arrived, the ice had melted, leaving only the gliders. The deception worked, giving the Nishr Taskforce a psychological advantage as the Imperial forces believed they were facing Infiltrator reinforcements.
The Nishr Taskforce, officially designated as a Wilderness company, consisted of three Wilderness Fighter platoons and the Pathfinder platoon that initially scouted Nishr following the Nishr Suppression. The task force was equipped as a light-armor company, with one Wilderness platoon using Freerunners, another operating Ultra-Light Assault Vehicles, and the third comprising repulsor-mobile infantry. The Pathfinder platoon was equipped with bike for enhanced mobility. The entire company was under the command of Major Fisk Csino, a Human male. A Wilderness Fighter with extensive experience in the Outer Rim Territories, Csino led the company from a Heavy Tracker combat assault vehicle.
In addition to the combat forces, the Nishr Taskforce included several non-combat support elements to aid in achieving its objectives. A SpecOps mission group was attached to the company, along with an Alliance Intelligence agent. Lieutenant Zast, a free-born Chev who had never experienced the slavery common to his people, managed the daily operations at the unit's headquarters. Captain Merqs oversaw the company's medical contingent, which included two medics and a 2-1B surgical droid. The company also had a maintenance staff of repair technicians and droids supervised by Sergeant Hoff.
The Nishr Taskforce operated from several bases on Nishr, with three being in constant use. Nishr Base Seven served as the main headquarters; during the initial Pathfinder reconnaissance, a dozen sites were identified as potential bases and numbered in order of discovery, not strategic importance. Base Seven, located in an abandoned mine within the Lukhur Badlands on the continent of Feldt, was the largest Alliance facility on the planet, housing the company's vehicles, repair bays, main command center, medical station, and barracks. It was located several hundred kilometers from the nearest Nish population center.
Nishr Base Three was a hidden supply cache situated in the Shirshir Desert. Stocked with water, vegetation, supplies, and an underground power station, it served as a stopover point for Taskforce members on missions through the desert. Nishr Base Ten, a cave in the highlands, was used for observing Imperial patrols moving through the passes towards their garrison. As the campaign progressed, it became a staging area for night raids against the garrison's weapon emplacements.
In addition to the active bases, several other sites were designated as potential bases. Three of these were primarily intended as fallback positions in the event of Imperial reinforcements. Conversely, if Alliance reinforcements were deployed, these pre-selected sites would provide established locations for setting up operations.
The Nishr Taskforce was conceived for Rules of Engagement: The Rebel SpecForce Handbook, a supplement published by West End Games in 1997 for Star Wars: The Roleplaying Game. It served as an example of the types of SpecForces units operating within the Rebel Alliance during the Galactic Civil War.