Kamino
26 BBY
"Sergeant Kelborn?" Cadet Five-Six asked, a curious look on his face. "Are we Mandalorians?"
Sergeant Ambu Kelborn gave the boy a long, even stare, before finally opening his mouth to speak: "No."
Behind Five-Six, there was a loose gathering of cadets, all of whom were training under Kelborn. They were listening closely, evidently they had been eager to hear what Kelborn would say. Upon hearing his answer, the cadets looked decidedly confused.
"Oh, I just ask because Sergeant Skirata told us we were," Five-Six explained, looking uncertain.
Kelborn inhaled and closed his eyes. Of course he did, Kelborn thought, greatly annoyed that Skirata was trying to go around Kelborn and get to his cadets like that.
"Yes, that is something he would say," Kelborn said, trying to be calm, trying to supress the edge in his voice. "Well, let me explain something to you: Just because you're cloned from a Mandalorian, does not make you a Mandalorian."
"Sergeant Skirata said that we were. He also said that we should be proud of our heritage, that if we weren't Mandalorians, our souls wouldn't go to the…manda when we died. Said that he couldn't bear the thought of us being dar'manda." Another cadet, Oh-Three piped up.
Kelborn felt the vein in his forehead start to throb. Beneath his helmet, he was glowering, and his hands were balled into fists. Skirata and I are going to have a very serious talk about this, Kelborn though, seething.
"Cadets!" Kelborn barked, and instantly, all of his boys stood at attention "Gather around me, I'm going to give you all a history lesson. It's a long lesson, and it's ugly, but this is something you need to hear. I'm going to tell you of the history of the Mandalorians."
And so, Kelborn explained to them the Mandalorians long and violent history. How they had enslaved the Basiliskans and stolen their technology. Worse, the Mandalorians had not just enslaved the Basiliskans, they had reduced them to mere beasts, turning them into mounts and creatures of burden until they had lost all of their sapience and regressed to animals. He told the cadets how the Mandalorians had done the same to the Fenelar people, stealing their starship technology and designs. Instead of subjugating the Fenelar, however, the Mandalorians had instead opted to wipe out the species. Every last Fenelar.
Kelborn went on to recount the horrors of the Mandalorian Wars, when the warrior society had launched their genocide of the Cathar over some psychotic notion of regaining 'honour' lost during the Great Sith Wars. Kelborn told his cadets of how the Mandalorians had attacked the night-side of the planet, had attacked the cities while the people were asleep and unaware, before herding them into the oceans, where they were vaporised by the Mandalorian fleet. It was the most notable of the Mandalorians past atrocities, but it was far from the only one. Kelborn moved on to how the Mandalorians had launched nuclear warheads at the civilian cities of Serroco, because of a perceived lack of 'honour' on the Republic's part. How they had lit the people of Zongorlu on fire for entertainment, how they had set the xoxin fields of Eres III on fire, starting blazes that would burn for decades after the war, of how they had set their Basilisk war droids on Duros, bombarding the planet from orbit. He explained how those who had been captured by the Mandalorians were press-ganged into their forces and often shunted to the front lines as cannon fodder.
He told them of how the Mandalorians had allied with the Sith Empire during the Great Galactic War, breaking their vow to Mandalore the Preserver, who had wanted the Mandalorians to fight for the Republic. Kelborn added how Mandalore the Vindicated had crushed the faction of Mandalorians who had wanted to do the right thing and side with the Republic.
He moved on to the Ithullans, how the Mandalorians had wiped them out because they saw them as a threat. How they had destroyed the reactor bulbs keeping the Ithullans floating cities in the sky, sending them falling into the Ithullan Depths of the planet until the world was wiped of its native life.
When Kelborn was done explaining the Mandalorians long and sordid history to his cadets, the boys all looked decidedly pale. Kelborn nodded, satisfied. He had wanted to explain to his charges why there was no pride in being a Mandalorian and he had clearly done so. He regretted that he had to shake them up like he had, but there was little alternative. They had to understand and now they did.
"You see? Mandalorian history and culture revolve around warfare, genocide, slavery and theft. There is no honour in what my people have done, and I am ashamed of our past. I don't want you to consider yourselves Mandalorian because I don't want you to be a part of something so vile. People like Skirata would like to pretend that our history is a clean one, or to brush it off. I find that unacceptable. Now, do any of you want to be Mandalorians?"
There was deathly silence from the cadets. Then, after a minute, Five-Six shook his head, his face ashen.
Kelborn nodded, satisfied.
Manda: Mandalorian afterlife
Dar'manda: One who is no longer Mandalorian