Jaster Mereel

Jaster Mereel was a male Human born on the Outer Rim world of Concord Dawn. For years, Mereel served as a Journeyman Protector, one of the planet's respected lawkeepers, until the day when his strong morals led him to kill a corrupt superior officer. Charged with murder, Mereel was exiled from Concord Dawn, going on to join the Mandalorians. An accomplished soldier, Mereel's prowess in battle earned him the respect of his supercommando peers, and he eventually became Mand'alor, the leader of all the Mandalorian clans, and the Al'Ori'Ramikade—"Commander of Supercommandos." As Mand'alor, Mereel instituted a new guideline for Mandalorian behavior known as the Supercommando Codex in which he asserted that the Mandalorians who wished to fight would simply be highly paid soldiers, and should conduct themselves as honorable mercenaries.

Mereel faced opposition to his reforms both from the peaceful New Mandalorian faction, and the more dangerous Death Watch, a violent splinter group formed by the followers of Mereel's rival, Tor Vizsla. A civil war broke out between the Death Watch and the supercommandos loyal to Mereel, the early years of which saw Mereel's return to his home planet, where he saved the life of a local farmer's son—Jango Fett—when the Death Watch attacked the boy's home. Taking Fett in following the death of his family, Mereel raised the boy as a his own son until the fateful Battle of Korda Six. Ambushed by the Death Watch and betrayed by his second-in-command, Montross, Mereel was killed by Vizsla. His body was carried back to the Mandalorians' landing zone by Fett, where Montross was exposed as a traitor and Fett succeeded his adoptive father as the new Mand'alor, in accordance with what Mereel would have wanted.

Biography

Fighter for reform

Jaster Mereel was a male Human, born on the agricultural world of Concord Dawn in the Outer Rim's Mandalore sector. As an adult, Mereel served as a Journeyman Protector—one of his homeworld's respected lawkeepers—until he was driven by his strong moral code to kill a corrupt superior officer. Mereel was subsequently charged with murder, and exiled from Concord Dawn. At some point after, Mereel joined the Mandalorians; an accomplished soldier, Mereel's martial prowess earned him the respect of his peers. Around 60 BBY, Mereel had attained the rank of Mand'alor, the traditional leader of the Mandalorian clans. Having noticed many Mandalorians' dissatisfaction with the widespread savagery that had become prevalent in certain warrior circles, Mereel hoped to hold the Mandalorians to a higher standard of behavior. As Mand'alor, Mereel instituted the Supercommando Codex, a new behavioral guideline influenced by Mereel's own moral ideals, in which Mereel decreed that any Mandalorians who wished to fight would be merely highly paid soldiers, and should conduct themselves as honorable mercenaries.

Betrayal on Korda Six

On the approach to the planet's surface, Mereel's ships took heavy damage from ion cannon fire, forcing most to make the best of rough crash-landings. The "minimal resistance" estimated turned out to be vastly inaccurate, and almost immediately, the Mandalorians came under heavy fire. Mereel was helpless as numerous soldiers fell victim to enemy blasters, and it wasn't long until the Mand'alor called for them to abort the mission and retreat. Montross refused to comply, unwilling to have a retreat on their record, and pushed forward, only to fall prey to a grenade blast that left him wounded and in need of rescue himself. That rescue came from Mereel, who shot and killed no fewer than three enemy Kordan before angrily reiterating his orders for a retreat. At the same time as Jango and his team stumbled upon a Death Watch ambush, Vizsla arrived on the battlefield in a four-wheeled tank. Mereel berated Montross' foolhardy actions as the reason they were in such a situation, swearing to have him ejected from his mercenary crew if they survived the battle. Vizsla was determined to see that they would not survive, launching a wrist rocket that injured Mereel, although Montross avoided it using his jetpack. As Vizla opened fire with a laser cannon, Mereel called to Montross for an airlift. But Montross had decided he would no longer take orders from Mereel and turned his back on the Mand'alor, leaving him to die alone on the battlefield while he returned to the other Mandalorians. Mereel soon fell to fire from Vizsla's tank, though Jango tried desperately to reach him. It was in Jango's arms that Mereel succumbed to his injuries.

Jango went on to avenge Mereel by killing Vizsla on Corellia, and later Montross on one of the moons of Bogden.

Legacy

"Ugh! I can't believe you're still flying that relic, Jango. Why don't you spend some of your hard-earned cash on a new ship?"
"Not a chance. She belonged to Jaster Mereel."
"I know, I know, the Mandalorian soldier who took you under his wing. You ever think maybe you hang on to that ship—those memories—because you're looking for someone to take under your own wing?"

―Rozatta and Jango Fett, years after Mereel's death

Jaster Mereel's Journeyman Protector sigil, later used by Boba Fett

Following Mereel's death, Jango took ownership of Mereel's personal starship, an AIAT/i transport which he renamed Jaster's Legacy in Mereel's honor, and treasured for years to come. Jango also used Jaster Mereel's name as a pseudonym during his life and career as a bounty hunter, as a means of honoring his adopted father. Jango's cloned son, Boba Fett, would do the same during his own career as a bounty hunter, following his father's death at the hands of Jedi Knight Mace Windu in the First Battle of Geonosis, along with his brief tenure as a Journeyman Protector on Concord Dawn. The use of Mereel's name by both Jango and Boba contributed to rumors that Mereel was still alive and operating years after his actual death, and some even believed that the inverse was true—that "Boba Fett" was actually an alias being used by Mereel.

Personality and traits

Jaster Mereel was a man of strong morals and a rigid ethical code. Highly respected as one of Concord Dawn's Journeyman Protectors, Mereel was unable to suffer the corruption of his superior officer and killed him, an act that pushed him toward a new life as a Mandalorian. An extraordinary soldier, Mereel's combat prowess won him the respect of his Mandalorian peers. During a time when many Mandalorians had fallen into disreputable brigandage, Mereel's strong ethic drove him to become Mand'alor and institute a reform that would change the way the Mandalorians conducted themselves for years to come.

Equipment

Jaster Mereel's shoulder sigil

Jaster Mereel wore traditional Mandalorian armor of a metallic-gray color, with red shoulder plates and red trim around the visor of his rangefinder-equipped helmet. On the left shoulder, Mereel bore the custom Mythosaur skull-inspired insignia of the True Mandalorians, and his chest plates were adorned with a yellow-painted, four-sided diamond. Mereel also wore a red cape, heavy combat boots, and a brown multi-pouched utility belt with his armor, but did not wear or use a jetpack in the field. During his life as a Mandalorian soldier, Mereel utilized a short-barreled blaster rifle that supported the attachment of a combat knife beneath the muzzle, in addition to two blaster pistols which he kept holstered around his thigh plates.

Behind the scenes

Jaster Mereel was originally the true identity of Boba Fett in the novella "The Last One Standing: The Tale of Boba Fett," a fact that was repeated in Fett's entry in the The Essential Guide to Characters. But when Star Wars: Episode II Attack of the Clones was released in 2002, its depiction of Fett's childhood on Kamino as a clone of Jango Fett relegated the other backstory to non-canon status. However, the four-part comic Jango Fett: Open Seasons retconned the character of Jaster Mereel to be a different individual, the mentor of Fett's father, Jango. It was also revealed that both Jango and Boba Fett occasionally used Mereel's name as an alias, thus saving the story from being apocryphal. Daniel Keys Moran, author of "The Last One Standing," was unaware of the retcons surrounding Jaster Mereel until a 2018 interview, given that he hasn't followed much of the franchise's newest products.

Appearances

• The Hutt Gambit (Mentioned only)
• Rebel Dawn (Mentioned only)
• "The Last One Standing: The Tale of Boba Fett"—Tales of the Bounty Hunters (First mentioned)

Sources

• The Essential Guide to Characters
• "Predators of the Empire" – Star Wars Galaxy Magazine 6
• Star Wars: Boba Fett
• Boba Fett's Armor: An Essential Guide to a Walking Weapon