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Stark, Iaco

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this charismatic young pirate rose to prominence some ten years before the Battle of Naboo, building a small fleet of starships into a large, well-organized collection of pirates and smugglers known as the Stark Commercial Combine. Under Stark's control, the Combine was charged with ambushing Outer Rim supply convoys for the goods they carried. Stark then sold the stolen goods on the black market for a considerable profit, while still undercutting the prices of the Trade Federation. This brash marketeering earned him the admiration of his fellow criminals, but also earned him the attention of the Old Republic Senate and the Jedi Knights. During an engineered shortag of bacta, Stark's piracy was hailed as heroic by many Outer Rim worlds which were low on bacta supplies. He agreed to meet with representatives from the Trade Federation and the Old Republic, along with four Jedi Knights to serve as mediators, on the Troiken. He managed to preemptively put a halt to the machinations of Nute Gunray and Ranulph Tarkin, as the two had been planing to destroy the Stark Commercial Combine. Instead of being trapped, Stark was able to unleash a navigational computer virus which infected all of the Republic's starships. This action was the opening play in the events which became known as the Stark Hyperspace Wars. The Jedi anticipated Stark's next move, to assassinate anyone who was not a member of the Combine, but Nute Gunray allowed Stark to escape. Stark's forces pushed hard against the meager Republic forces, but were unable to defeat them. Stark's own allies began to doubt his skills and leadership, and eventually they abandoned him. Stark fled Troiken, and eventually became part of the Commerce Guild, serving as a "legitimate" businessman.