Nite Owls

"And who are you, Nite Owl?"

The Nite Owls were an elite Mandalorian unit composed of warriors under the leadership of Bo-Katan Kryze within the broader Death Watch movement. After Maul killed Death Watch leader Pre Vizsla in battle and declared himself its new leader, the Nite Owls, like the rest of Death Watch, divided in two, with members supporting either Maul or Bo-Katan. Those who sided with Bo-Katan joined the Mandalore resistance and fought Maul's Shadow Collective and his Mandalorian super commandos. They also attempted to free Bo-Katan's sister, the former Duchess Satine Kryze of Mandalore, whom they had previously opposed because of her pacifist idealism. The Nite Owls survived the Clone Wars and continued into both the Imperial and New Republic Eras.

Initially, the Nite Owls were a specific team of all-female warriors within Death Watch led by Bo-Katan Kryze. However, with the formation of the Mandalore resistance, the term broadened. Every one of Kryze's followers in the resistance was regarded as a Nite Owl. Her later followers in the Mandalorian resistance of the New Republic Era, including Axe Woves, were likewise identified as Nite Owls.

Death Watch

"No outsider will ever rule Mandalore!"

―Bo-Katan Kryze, before departing Death Watch with her Nite Owls^[2]The Nite Owls^[9]were an all-female group of Mandalorian warriors^[10]who formed part of the extremist group known as the Death Watch.^[1]Under the leadership of Bo-Katan Kryze,^[10]who served beneath Death Watch leader Pre Vizsla, the group were among the former governor's forces at his camp on Carlac during the Clone Wars after the group abandoned^[1]their hideout on Concordia.^[11]In 20 BBY, the Nite Owls attacked a Ming Po settlement, abducting women and setting buildings ablaze. Soon afterward, they drove off the Jedi Padawan Ahsoka Tano, who had previously been their prisoner before escaping with Lux Bonteri.^[1]

After the rogue Sith Lord Maul and his brother Savage Opress allied with Death Watch and formed the Shadow Collective, the Nite Owls were among the groups in their sizable forces preparing to retake Mandalore from the pacifist New Mandalorians, who governed the planet through Bo-Katan's sister, the Duchess Satine Kryze. However, following the successful takeover, Maul killed Pre Vizsla in a duel and took control of Death Watch. Many Death Watch members believed they were honor-bound to serve Maul because he had fairly defeated their former leader in combat; however, some Nite Owls and other Death Watch members disagreed. Declaring that "no outsider will ever rule Mandalore," Bo-Katan fled in the aftermath of Maul's murder of Vizsla, accompanied by some of the Nite Owls.^[4]Afterward, Bo-Katan reorganized her loyal followers into the Mandalore resistance.^[4]The definition of "Nite Owl" broadened as a result;^[12]while the term "Nite Owl" previously applied only to a specific group of all-female warriors,^[10]all members of the resistance came to be regarded as Nite Owls. The faction was also known as the "Nite Owls resistance group".^[12]With her newly established Mandalore resistance, Bo-Katan helped Duchess Satine and later Jedi Master Obi-Wan Kenobi escape Mandalore and notify the Republic of what had occurred. The two sisters and their forces united to oppose Maul's new rule during a civil war. Their efforts failed, however, and Satine was executed by Maul. Although Darth Sidious later imprisoned Maul,^[4]his puppet leader, Almec, continued to rule Mandalore publicly,^[13]and some Nite Owls eventually departed the planet to seek a way to remove Almec from the throne.^[14]

Reclaiming Mandalore

Bo-Katan and fellow Nite Owl Ursa Wren eventually located the former Jedi Ahsoka Tano and recruited her to help end Maul's rule over Mandalore, after he had escaped prison and returned to the Mandalorian homeworld. Tano agreed and, although she no longer had connections to the Galactic Republic or its military, assembled the newly created 332nd Division to reinforce the Nite Owls. Together, they besieged Mandalore^[13]and ultimately captured Maul.^[15]While Tano and part of her contingent of clone troopers transported Maul to Coruscant, Bo-Katan and her Nite Owls stayed on Mandalore.^[16]Bo-Katan was also appointed regent of the planet.^[6]However, the implementation of Order 66 and the subsequent Great Jedi Purge,^[16]the collapse of the Republic and the formation of a new Galactic Empire, meant that Mandalore's bloody turmoil was far from finished.^[17]With the remaining Republic forces stationed on the planet,^[18]the Empire occupied Mandalore. When the Nite Owls resisted Imperial rule, Clan Saxon betrayed Bo-Katan and forcibly removed her from power, and the Nite Owls once again lost control of Mandalore.^[6]

Post-Imperial operations

In 9 ABY,^[21]Bo-Katan's remaining Mandalorian resistance forces consisted entirely of Nite Owls, including Koska Reeves and Axe Woves^[22]of Clan Kryze.^[23]Woves, Bo-Katan, and Reeves operated as a unit^[24]within the broader Nite Owl faction.^[22]Accompanied by bounty hunter Din Djarin, they stole and looted an Gozanti-class cruiser on the moon of Trask.^[7]The Nite Owls deserted their leader after she failed to recover the Darksaber from Gideon's light cruiser, becoming mercenaries under Woves. After Kryze inadvertently regained the right to the darksaber^[25]during a mission to the Living Waters with Djarin,^[26]she regained control of her forces on Plazir-15.^[25]

Setting aside their differences with the Children of the Watch-aligned Mandalorian tribe, the Nite Owls traveled with the Children to reclaim Mandalore, where they also joined the Mandalorian survivor crew eking out an existence on Mandalore.^[19]Confronted by Gideon's Imperial remnant, which had established a base on Mandalore, Kryze and the Armorer led their assembled supporters, including Nite Owls, into battle. During the fighting, Gideon destroyed the Darksaber, but the Imperial forces were nevertheless defeated. Mandalore was reclaimed by its people.^[20]