Gunman Gunman was the alias of a member of Churhee ' s Riflemen and consequently of the Alliance to Restore the Republic . Primarily a combat technician , he often made unorthodox use of droids and weaponry to ensure his unit ' s survival and to outsmart his opponents . He was capable of modifying a broad variety of droids , from medical to culinary to astromech units . He fought in a number of battles against the Galactic Empire on worlds such as Gosho IV and Yitabo , as well as combating Corporate Sector executives , the Ailon Nova Guardsmen and other paramilitary organizations . Gunman frequented newsboards such as Cynabar ' s Droid Datalog and Gundark ' s Gear Datalog during the early years of the New Republic , often sharing anecdotes from his combat experiences . Biography . Technical ingenuity . Gunman was the alias of a mercenary who served with Churhee ' s Riflemen , a group which specialized in " low profile " missions in the Sarin and Parmel sector s . Given his membership in this group , it is very likely Gunman was a highly skilled marksman ; all of Churhee ' s squads were sharpshooters . However , his primary role was as a combat technician . His first assignment with the Riflemen was against an executive from the Corporate Sector who was involved with a slaving ring . The executive was protected by formidable defenses , and his proximity to civilian populations further complicated the mission . However , Gunman came up with an ingenious solution : he reprogrammed the executive ' s culinary droid to drop the defense net , and the squad was able to capture the entire estate without firing a single shot . Gunman brought this creative ability to all his work for the Riflemen . Another of his early assignments was to maintain GHT medevac droid s ; specialist droids used to support battlefield medics and retrieve wounded soldiers from battlefields . Gunman modified his droids to overcome their major weakness ; by installing an internal automap in the droids , they were able to track down the wounded without the exact coordinates of the soldier needing to be programmed in . Modifications such as this were typical of Gunman ' s work , suggestions he gladly passed on over Cynabar ' s Droid Datalog during his later years . Another unconventional use of droids by Gunman ' s unit was their use of R2 - series astromech droid s . These they fitted with repulsorlift boosters and a number of other modifications , before dispatching them over the battlefield . The droids were then able to send back a hi - res three - dimensional map of the surrounding terrain , which the Riflemen used to tactical advantage . This technique often saw droid losses of up to 80 % but was nevertheless valuable . On more urban missions , Gunman used similar modifications to give his team an edge . These included modifying the ubiquitous Hover - Cams with espionage programming for reconnaissance , and using Jammer Pack s to isolate his opponents and throw them into disarray . Another trick was to use UniTech " Patches " ( designed to make faults in a system undetectable ) in reverse ; tricking systems into picking up non - existent faults , thereby setting off alarms and other diversions . Gunman was also familiar with ASP - 7 droids manufactured by Industrial Automaton , which the Riflemen often used for weapons maintenance and basic manual labor in combat and Stiletto security droid s which saw primary use in the Outer Rim Territories . Combat missions . Churhee ' s Riflemen started out as a mercenary unit primarily contracted to the Galactic Empire . It was highly effective in ripping up the flanks and rear of enemy forces . However , the unit was decimated while on a mission for the Empire in the Y ' Trella system , due to inadequate backup . In the months that followed this mission , in which their leader Churhee died , the Riflemen only accepted anti - Imperial missions , and allied itself with the Rebel Alliance . While it was unknown whether Gunman was part of the unit before the loss at Y ' Trella , he certainly took part in a number of the anti - Imperial missions following this . On these missions , he applied his talent for the unorthodox to his tactics . On one occasion , his unit raided an Imperial weapons dump , acquiring dozens of Ubrikkian man traps . A miniaturized reversed repulsorlift field , the man traps were designed to immobilize quarry for capture , however Gunman found a unique application for the devices . While fighting against the Imperial Army on Gosho IV , his unit was dug in and set a defensive perimeter using the devices . When the Imperials launched their attack with a salvo of grenades , the man traps were activated , slamming the grenades into the ground where they exploded prematurely . This neutralized the Imperials ' initiative , allowing the Riflemen to rally and push them back . Gunman also liked using plasticene thermite gel to burn through bunker walls , attacking from unexpected angles . During a campaign against an Imperial Moff ( sometime after the Battle of Endor ) , Gunman and his team infiltrated his fortress and placed small transceivers near key defenses . Once they retreated undetected , they launched guided missiles using PLX - 4 missile launcher s . Three dozen missiles streaked in undetected , smashing the enemy ' s defenses and leaving the way clear for the Riflemen . Gunman experienced firsthand Imperial cruelty during a mission to release Wookiee slaves . While doing reconnaissance on a group of Imperial slavers near Yitabo , Gunman strayed too close and was detected and captured by the slavers . They fitted him with a slaving collar , capable of delivering high - voltage electricity to the captive . While he described the experience as agony , he nevertheless considered it less painful than that which the slavers endured at the hands of the Wookiees after his unit managed to release them all . Gunman also had experience fighting against opponents other than the Empire ; he once fought against the distinguished Ailon Nova Guardsmen ( heirs of a 13 , 000 year military tradition ) . The Guardsmen were only at half strength , but managed to fool Gunman ' s squad into thinking they had twice their actual numbers via doubler suits ( either captured or issued by the Empire ) . Surviving the encounter , Gunman was impressed by their ingenuity , learning that any tool could confer an advantage in battle if used correctly . His old unit had a few production model Juggernaut 510 Combat Power Armor suits . They were acquired from one of the designers , a Corellian by the name of Sarvel Tal - Oldra who set up in Doc ' s outlaw tech base in the Corporate Sector after the project was canceled . Though he reported the expensive suits as bulky and with a weakness due to its unprotected power transfer routing conduits , he still recommended them . The Riflemen ' s affiliation to the New Republic also gave Gunman access to Nen - Carvon R - 19 paraglider s , developed specially for the Alliance Special Forces , which he recommended for covert missions . While working for the Alliance , he also helped to swipe a number of hyperspace pods containing AS - M12 - series messenger droid s . Personality and traits . Gunman was a highly creative individual , finding many unorthodox uses for technology . This led him to test camo - netting underwater ( successfully ) , and to discover that Merr - Sonn Weapons Superior Boarding Armor suits could vent their oxygen supply for propulsion if their rocket packs ran out ( although venting too much air had its own dangers ) . Gunman was also familiar with the flaws in technology , such as defective prismatic crystals in Imperial issue KK - 5 blaster pistol s , and a minor targeting glitch in K4 security droid s which threw their targeting sensors and gyros out of sync when moving at speed . Gunman willingly shared his insights with others , often giving advice through his alias on various newsnets during the period 34 : 1 : 7 to 45 : 3 : 0 . While this information was given away freely , Gunman revealed little about himself ; his real name and species were never given out , nor were any distinguishing personal features . Considering the Empire was still extant when he posted his comments , this anonymity was likely to ensure he avoided repercussions for his actions . Behind the scenes . Gunman first appeared in " " ( January 1997 ) as one of a number of individuals leaving messages on the datalogs . He was also used in this capacity in " " ( July 1997 ) and in two Droid Datalogs in the " Star Wars Adventure Journal " . These messages were designed to serve as scenario hooks for gamemasters , or to provide possible modifications for equipment . Others provided explanations for why weapons could fail ; gamemasters could draw on these to explain what occurs when a player rolled a " 1 " or other unlucky number . Although around two hundred individuals left messages of this kind in various sourcebooks , Gunman was by far the most prolific , leaving a total of twenty - two messages .