Author's Note: The following story takes place approximately eight years before the events of KOTOR and spans more than three years over the course of the Mandalorian Wars.
Disclaimer: All names, places, and major events belong to George Lucas and his subsidiary companies, I am merely borrowing them to flesh out my version of the story. Much thanks to George Lucas for first introducing us to that galaxy far, far away...
A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away...
Star Wars: The Madalorian Wars
ALMOST FOUR MILLENNIA BEFORE THE FALL OF THE GALACTIC REPUBLIC AND THE BIRTH OF THE GALACTIC EMPIRE, THE OLD REPUBLIC FACED ONE OF ITS GREATEST THREATS AND ONE OF ITS DARKEST HOURS.
FROM THEIR HIDDEN MILITARY BASE ON THE JUNGLE MOON DXUN, THE MANDALORIANS, A CLAN-BASED SOCIETY OF RUTHLESS WARRIORS, FOLLOWING THE WILL OF THEIR LEADER, MANDALORE THE ULTIMATE, BEGAN THEIR ASSAULT ON THE REPUBLIC, INTENT ON BRINGING ABOUT ITS ABSOLUTE DESTRUCTION IN A WAR TO END ALL WARS. THEIR FIRST TARGET WAS DXUN'S OWN PLANET, ONDERON.
BEFORE THE END OF THIS WAR, THE REPUBLIC WOULD SEE IT'S NEAR DEFEAT, AND THE JEDI, GUARDIANS OF PEACE AND JUSTICE IN THE GALAXY, WOULD SEE THE FALL OF THEIR GREATEST WARRIOR...
Chapter One: For the Glory of Mandalore
He turned his face up towards the sky and watched as the verdant world of Onderon spun lazily overhead. It didn't seem to have a care in the world, and in fact it didn't, at least not yet. Some found it disconcerting to look up and see a planet so very close in the sky that it looked as though it might fall at any moment. Mandalore the Ultimate, leader of the Mandalorian clans, found it to be intoxicating. As far as he was concerned, the planet already belonged to him, the battle that was to come was merely a formality.
The final measures were being taken; the last steps were being made. Soon, he thought to himself, very soon. It would be from here, the jungle moon of Dxun, that the Mandalorians would finally have their glory and honor. It was time for them to fight a war to end all wars, and it would all start here.
It had been here that the Mandalorians had settled after the defeat of Exar Kun at the hands of the Republic and their pet Jedi. It had been here that they rebuilt their forces after his betrayal. Forced into hiding until the time came when they could finally rise up and claim their birthright as the greatest warriors in the galaxy.
Mandalorians were originally of one species, the Taung who inhabited Coruscant before the rise of humans, a warrior race beyond the abilities of any other. Their lives were devoted to combat. They felt that the true measure of a being was tested and found in conflict and war. A being could not know who he or she truly was, they believed, until they faced down their enemy. It really didn't matter in the end to a Mandalorian whether they won or lost. It was the battle that was all important, that was the only thing that mattered. If they lost then they found honor in being bested by a superior opponent and would be stronger for it, making them even more likely to win the next time. But glory came to those who could best even the greatest combatant. To be the ultimate victor was to be immortal.
Mandalorians of the present really weren't all that different in ideology and practice. The main difference was really only the fact that Mandalorians were now no longer of one species. Over time other races had joined their ranks until, as is the case almost everywhere else in the galaxy, humans made up the dominant number. But they still held the same beliefs. War was still that which defined a Mandalorian's existence. To live in times of war was to be blessed, for each day meant a new enemy and a new battle, a new chance for glory.
This Mandalore also wasn't the first leader of the Mandalorians. Mandalore was merely the name given to each leader since Mandalore the First, savior of the Mandalorians, and the being from who their name was derived. Mandalore was always he which was held above the other Mandalorians, the greatest warrior of the great warriors. This Mandalore, however, was determined to be like no other Mandalore before him. His plans were far more ambitious and he felt he was the first Mandalore that had ever come this close to such a victory as the one he felt he would achieve.
The Mandalorians had long believed that the great Galactic Republic was on the decline. Corruption and complacency had dulled the former vibroblade of a government and now, they believe, its weakness would bring about its end at their hands. Mandalore was almost saddened by the fact that he didn't truly believe the Republic to be a worthy enemy. The only thing that would make this fight one to remember was the size. The Republic military outnumbered the Mandalorians almost ten to one, and it didn't matter to Mandalore. One of his best Mandalorians could take down fifteen Republic soldiers.
Mandalore looked around him at the jungle that seemed to have an almost persistent desire to overtake their hidden military base. One of the main reasons the Mandalorians had chosen this moon, besides the fact that this was one of the best staging grounds for an assault on the Republic, and the fact that this is where the Old Sith Empire had decided they should go, was the connection they felt to the jungle of this place. The Dxun jungles were some of the most dangerous in all the galaxy. The beasts that dwelled here the most vicious and tenacious. It was commonly believed by the top Republic xenobiologists, that you could take a cannok or drexl from Dxun and put it anywhere else, on any other planet, and before long it would dominate all the other species. Life here was a constant struggle, a constant conflict. It was a proving ground for life and it was here that the Mandalorians had honed themselves and tested themselves. Dxun's jungles were strong, and so, by having survived them, the Mandalorians too were strong.
As if cued by Mandalore's thoughts, a maalraas, an indigenous animal that was a mix somewhere between large predatory cat and reptile leapt from one of the low bushes near the base entrance where Mandalore stood and started running at full speed towards him. On other planets, most animals tended to shy away from humans and other sentient beings, keeping some distance away from them and their habitats unless they were hungry and unable to find any other prey or if they felt under attack. The animals of Dxun almost seemed to desire to attack humans, as if enacting some personal unknown vendetta against anything that walked upright and on two legs. It was because of this nature of the animals here and on the planet of Onderon that the Onderonians had, at the dawn of their civilization, built high walls around their main city of Iziz, hoping to keep themselves protected from these vicious, almost hateful beasts. The Mandalorians themselves thought this indicative of the weakness of the people of Onderon. Were they strong they would merely have found a way to conquer the beasts instead of hiding from them. It was because of this that the Mandalorians respected more the Beast Riders of Onderon.
There had been a time when in order to punish their criminals, the Onderonians had cast them outside the city walls where they would be at the mercy of the beasts of Onderon. Many fell to this harsh punishment but some eventually succeeded in forming a bond with the beasts and taming them. They became the Beast Riders and the beasts were their companions, integral members of their community. It was said that a Beast Rider could tell what his mount was thinking and that there was an unbreakable connection between beast and master.
For over three and a half centuries, the Beast Riders returned the favor the citizens of Iziz had bestowed upon them by raiding the city. They would attack the great walls on their flying drexl doing as much damage as possible and then fading back into the jungles. Hostilities continued between the two groups unabated until, finally, Queen Amanoa's daughter Princess Galia staged a kidnapping of herself by the Beast Riders' leader Lord Modon Kira. Galia intended to marry Modon's son Oron. The ceremony was almost cut short by the intervention of three Jedi: Ulic Qel-Droma, Cay Qel-Droma, and Tott Doneeta, who had come to "rescue" the princess at the order of her mother. Galia was able to make the Jedi understand and they came to an agreement to help her. Amanoa was later killed in a battle with the Jedi when she attacked them with her Dark Force powers nearly killing them. Galia then took the throne with her new King of Onderon Oron Kira. With the Onderonians and the Beast Riders now bound by their leaders, the two peoples became one. Of course hostilities still continued on some level. The Beast Riders that came to live in the city once again, seemed to loose touch with their past and became nothing more than common thugs. Mandalore believed this to be evidence of the weakening corruption of the modern Republic. It made warriors into brutes, stripping them of their nobility and honor.
Mandalore saw the maalraas make its run towards him. He didn't flinch away or cower. In what seemed like one fluid motion, he merely pulled his blaster from its holster, leveled it at the charging beast and fired. The maalraas caught the blast just over its left eye and its head swung back from the force. Two more blasts to the beast's body and its forward momentum was finally halted as the beast slumped down. The beast was dead and Mandalore was once again victorious. Of course there wasn't as much honor in taking down a maalraas as there would be in taking down a zakkeg, but since his men had not see one of the tank-like beasts in some time, it would do.
As he returned the blaster to its holster one of his men came running up to his side. It was his second in command Cassus Fett. Mandalore trusted Cassus with his life, at least as much as one Mandalorian trusted another. Mandalorians believed in brotherhood and the strength of his or her clan, but in the end, all Mandalorians knew that the only being you could truly trust was yourself.
"My Lord Mandalore!" Cassus exclaimed saluting his leader. Like any other Mandalorian, everything that Cassus did, was, or thought was for the glory of Mandalore, and by giving glory to Mandalore one gained glory for them self and their clan.
"What do you have to report Cassus?" Mandalore said sparing another glace back and the maalraas, dead and crumpled in a heap where he had dropped it. He looked back at Cassus and stared into the T-shaped visor on his helmet. All Mandalorians wore head-to-toe armor. No part of their body was exposed. This served several purposes of course. Firstly it provided the Mandalorian who wore it total protection during battle as well as from the elements. On top of this it tended to be rather menacing in appearance to most beings and made it impossible to distinguish who or what was under the armor. Of course Mandalorians had ways to tell each other apart, but to anyone else it merely appeared as if they were all the same. It didn't matter what species the wearer was...all were Mandalorian. This tended to have an intimidating effect on their opponents. Their helmet voice modulators also lent a somewhat metallic, almost robotic quality to their voices making them seem even less like living beings and more like heavily armored droids.
"All is at readiness. The men are prepared...and anxious. We merely await your leave Mandalore," Cassus said returning the gaze from his T-shaped visor to Mandalore's own.
"You have it. Tell the men to begin launch procedures, we will engage the enemy within the hour," Mandalore said looking back up into the sky at Onderon as it hung there. "Onderon will soon be ours," he said in a low voice, mostly to himself, "and then we shall take the galaxy."