Disclaimer: I don't own the setting or the characters those belong to Lucas.
THE OPENING SALVO
The planet Onderon had seen many wars. For a wasteland planet with only one city, Iziz, this was a remarkable achievement. But the planet had been through the Beast Wars, the Freedon Nadd uprising and, thirty three years ago, the Great Sith War. It was at Onderon where the Mandalorian clans following Ulic Qel-Droma were finally defeated. It was on Dxun, one of Onderon's moons, that the leader of the Mandalorians , Mandalore the Indomitable, died.
After that war was over, the Galaxy breathed in relief and made the greatest mistake possible.
It let its guard down.
No one bothered with the raids on planets outside the Republic. No one cared if those planets were conquered. And no one bothered with the ships that kept arriving in the Onderon system but never landed in Iziz. Everyone assumed it was just smugglers, and while not particularly friendly to smugglers, the people of Onderon didn't bother with the ships thinking that the smugglers wouldn't do too much harm. How wrong they were.
For Duxn, a moon that was so close it appeared as huge in the sky and whose atmosphere wouldconnect during the summer season to Onderon's atmosphere thus allowing several species to migrate to Onderon, was the home of a bright flame of vengeance.
As the sun rose on Duxn, it's rays revealed the durasteel walls that kept the jungle at bay and that surrounded the secret base. As the sun's rays announced the arrival of a new day, figures began to emerge from the durasteel and fiberplast buildings. The figures, hundreds of heavily armored warriors, gathered in front of the Command Center.
Awaiting them there was a huge man, the black armor and red cape he wore making him seem even bigger and the golden helmet that hid his face behind a red T-shaped visor giving him a distant air. It was because he was Mandalore the Ultimate and the role of Mandalore, no matter who held the title, was always the same. To be Mandalore was no more or less than to be the leader of the greatest warrior people the Galaxy had ever known.
"My warriors! My brothers!" roared Mandalore, his deep voice reaching the ears of everyone there. "Our time for vengeance is at hand! On this day we will launch our great crusade. We will spill into the galaxy and conquer all who stand before us. And if there is anyone worthy enough to fight us then we will meet them on the field of battle with pride in our hearts and fire in our veins. Go now and prepare yourselves for glory. Kote, darasuum kote!" As he bellowed the last words, he raised his vibrosword into the air.
Hundred of warriors also raised their vibroswords or punched their empty fists in the air and shouted in one voice.
"Kote, darasuum kote!" (Glory, eternal glory.)
As the crowd began to disperse, Canderous of clan Ordo, turned to the warrior beside him.
"I have waited for this day for a long time."
The warrior, Kelborn, nodded.
"We will go in the first wave, yes?"
"Yes. More glory to us ner vod." Canderous walked with Kelborn toward one of the many hangar bays. In it were more warriors and Basilisk war droids. The basilisks were large animal-like droids that resembled a combination of a Zalorian rock lion and a Karren beetle. It was armed with laser cannons, shatter-missile launchers, shockwave generating rods, and heavy brawling claws. Such weaponry was enough to cause havoc for any capital ship or lone combat soldier that got in its way. The droid itself was quite intelligent, and could participate in battle without the help of a Mandalorian rider.
"You will fight on the ground?"
Kelborn nodded and donned his helmet.
"Yes. I'm leading a squad of fresh warriors." He said while he was sealing the armor.
"Careful you don't steal their kills." The idea of a veteran warrior like Kelborn leading a squad of green warriors was amusing.
"Don't worry, until we reach the ground I will be in the rear of the formation. The honor of the first kill belongs to them and I will not take it from them. There will be glory enough for us all."
"Agreed."
-G-
But not every warrior in the base was born a Mandalorian. One of them, a young man of about twenty years old named Sol, had once been a slave. He had been captured on some distant world by a raiding party and after spending a few years as a slave, he was made a Mandalorian warrior by a big brute named Canderous.
Sol finished cleaning his heavy blaster and put it in it's holster at his hip. He sighed and stared at his blue helmet. He could see his reflection in its T-shaped visor. He smiled at the young face with strong chin, dark eyes and short black hair. He had to admit that he was excited and frightened at the same time. This will be the first time I go into battle, he thought. Ahead of the others so that I can take part in the thickest fighting. This will be my chance to become a true Mandalorian warrior and failure means death.
Sol shook his head as he realized that if he had not been captured all those years ago, he would not have become what he was now, a warrior about to go to war. He was not sure if he would have liked another life even though he didn't even remember what it was like.
He donned his helmet and spent a few moments to make sure the seal was airtight and that the armor was pressurized. If it wasn't he would die before the battle began. When he was reasonably sure that it was airtight he got up and headed toward the center of the room.
Then someone bumped into him and he heard a female voice say "Di'kut." He whirled toward her and saw that she was half a head shorter than him. She was also wearing her helmet so he couldn't see her face though he noticed that the blue armor fitted her well.
"Watch where you're going" he said.
"Look who's talking. Maybe you should be more careful you schutta." Her voice was defiant, not all that surprising.
"Schutta?"
"Yes. What, did a cannok eat your ears or something?"
Before Sol could respond to that, he heard a voice behind him and turned to see Kelborn.
"Save your anger for the coming battle." He turned and walked toward the middle of the room.
Sol nodded toward the woman and followed Kelborn. When he was in the center of the room, Kelborn stopped while the other Mandalorians made a circle around him. There were about eleven of them and all of them were green.
"Alright, listen up. I a few minutes we will begin our great crusade and, since you are green, you will have the honor of being the first wave." He looked at them and, even though he couldn't see their faces, he knew that most would be grinning. He had once been like them, though that was a long time ago. "You eleven will be under my command, though until we reach the ground I will be in the rear of the formation." He saw some of them nod. "We will be landing in the market place. Once we reach the round I want you to secure the area until the second wave lands after which we will be moving to the wall that surrounds Iziz. You will split into pairs until we hit the ground."
As Kelborn began to assign wing pairs, Sol wondered who he would get stuck with. Because he had been a slave, most Mandalorians avoided him and he knew that this was his only chance of being accepted by all. The only ones who did not avoid him and who believed in him were Canderous and Kelborn.
"Sol" said Kelborn "your wing pair will be Mira."
Before Sol could ask who Mira was, he heard a familiar voice next to him curse. He turned and saw the woman who had called him a schutta earlier.
"Try not to get me killed" she said.
Sol kept his mouth shut because he didn't want to make her an enemy. That was the last thing he needed.
-G-
"All forces report they are ready Mand'alore." Said the comm officer. Mandalore nodded and sat back in the chair on his personal shuttle awaiting to take him to his flagship, the Hettic A'den (Burning Rage).
"Then get this ship up and let the Crusade begin."
As the repulsorlift coils fired, the sleek, dagger like ship rose into the air and ignited its main engines and with a great roar it joined the other ships heading toward space.
-G-
Back in the hangar, Mira clambered on her basilisk war droid and powered it up. The droid activated and began thrumming with power. She settled herself more comfortably on it's back and switched the repulsors on. As the basilisk rose, she glanced at her wingman, Sol. He appeared calm as he checked his droid's armament.
Mira felt sorry for calling him a schutta but she was nervous and this was her way of dealing with it.
"Everybody ready?" she heard Kelborn's voice coming from the comlink in her helmet.
"This is Cord. I'm in the green."
"Valic here. Bring'em on."
"This is Sol. All systems functional."
"This is Mira. I'm ready."
She heard the other members of her squad report in and then Kelborn gave the order to launch. Their twelve basilisks rose toward the sky and other basilisks and ships in their course for Onderon. The Great Crusade had begun.
-G-
For Sol this was the experience of a lifetime. After they had left Dxun's atmosphere they sailed through the void toward Onderon. Sol was breathless as he rode the basilisk through the blackness of space.
He looked up and saw nothing but ships and basilisks. He looked down and saw the same thing, left, right and behind he could see only Mandalorians. Only in front, growing larger and larger as he dropped toward it was the wasteland planet that was Onderon.
He used his tongue to flick a switch inside his helmet that changed his comm. to a private channel with Mira.
"Impressive isn't it?"
Utter silence was his only answer and Sol was beginning to wonder why he even tried. If others wanted to be hostile to him, then so be it.
"It creeps me out." Mira's voice suddenly cut through his thoughts. "The silence of space, it creeps me out."
Sol nodded as he realized that what they were doing, riding assault droids through space with barely fifteen centimeters of armor plate protecting them, was utterly insane. But as Canderous would say, it's the only way to go to war.
"I guess it can be creepy." He admitted.
He heard Mira sigh and then he heard Kelborn's voice over the comm.
"Kandosii sa karo'rta, Vode an
Mand'alore a'den mhi, Vode an"
(One indomitable heart, Brothers all.
We, the wrath of Mand'alore, Brothers all.)
Sol recognized the song Kelborn was chanting, Vode an (Brothers all) He heard Mira's voice join.
"Bal kote, darasuum kote
Jorso'ran kando a tome
Sa kyr'am nau tracyn kad, Vode an"
(And glory, eternal glory,
We shall bear its weight together.
Forged like the saber in the fires of death, Brothers all)
Within moments Sol and hundreds of others had joined in the chanting, turning it into a fierce war song that would freeze the blood of any who heard it.
"Motir ca'tra nau tracinya.
Gra'tua cunn hett su dralshy'a.
Aruetyc runi solus cet o'r."
(Those who stand before us light the night sky in flame.
Our vengeance burns brighter still.
Every last traitorous soul shall kneel.)
Sol had to admit that the song made him feel better. It helped him fight and defeat his first and biggest opponent, fear. It kept him concentrated on the task at hand and it made him eager for battle.
Just then the basilisk shook as it hit the atmosphere. The unearthly quiet of a few moments ago was forgotten as the droid shrieked like a maddened beast, its armor glowing red then white from the heat of reentry. The droid shone like the sun as it plunged through the atmosphere. Sol was keeping his head low, hoping not to get it burned off while he kept the droid on course.
Then, just as suddenly as it started, it ended. They were in the skies over Iziz and the Onderoneans had probably detected them by now.
"Spread out!" said Kelborn just as a storm of laser bolts reached out for them. One of the basilisks was hit and both droid and rider disappeared in a bright ball of flame. Sol dodged left and right, up and down as lasers swept past him but the adrenaline in his system kept him from caring. His fingers brushed the triggers, he wanted to launch his missiles and kill the men who were shooting at him.
Then he saw an explosion out of the corner of his eye and heard Mira say "Firefrek". He turned and saw that the front end of her basilisk was gone and she began to fall uncontrollably.
"Mira, report status" Kelborn's voice carried an air of control and authority that amazed Sol.
"Basilisk got its head blown off" said Mira, her voice strained as she tried to get the droid to work again. "Engines are dead. I've got no maneuverability."
"Mira listen to me" said Kelborn. "Activate the forward thrusters and pull the nose up and then activate the repulsors."
"Right, right" Mira gritted her teeth, she knew this should work since the forward thrusters and the repulsors had a different power source. She flipped the switch that would activate the thrusters. And almost got killed as these blew up, spraying her with shrapnel, of which a few pieces breached her armor.
"What happened?" that was Kelborn.
Sol couldn't believe what was happening but he saw Mira's basilisk drop faster.
"Forward thrusters blew up." Mira's voice sounded pained. "Some sort of power surge."
Sol wasn't paying attention, he put more power into his thrusters, his added speed allowing him to catch up to Mira.
"Sol, what are you doing?" Kelborn sounded more curios than angry.
"Trust me on this" he muttered back. He was right next to Mira and was trying to get her attention. Finally she looked at him.
"Jump!" he shouted while a laser bolt flashed between them.
Mira nodded and got ready to jump but he wasn't paying attention to that. He had to concentrate on keeping the basilisk next to hers and at the same time he had to avoid the laser bolts that were trying to turn him into a falling piece of junk. He suddenly felt a bump and a hand grab his waist and he knew that Mira had jumped successfully. He immediately veered left and cut the speed down until the rest of the squad reached him.
"You okay?" He asked over his shoulder.
"Elek. Vor entye, ner vod." (Yes. Thank you, my brother.) He could tell she was hurting but he kept his mouth shut. The fact she called him brother showed Sol that there was no animosity between them. That was something.
"Alright people" said Kelborn "target the gun towers in the square and let fly."
Sol nodded and aimed at one of the towers. The basilisk targeted it and sent that information to the missile which acknowledged the target, after that the basilisk gave Sol a beep. He pressed the triggers and two missiles shot from the shoulder launchers. The missiles were joined by hundreds of others from hundreds of other basilisks. Sol's missiles punched through the gun and traveled down the tower until they reached the command center at ground level. There they detonated, sending a fireball back out the way they came in and lifting the gun sky high, blew the doors open and crushed people underneath them and instantly incinerated everyone in the tower, turning them into blackened skeletons.
Sol whopped and launched his other four missiles, two of them taking out another gun tower while the other two hit a residential building and transformed it into a pile of rubble, belching thick black smoke.
As they got closer, they could see soldiers gathering in the quare. Kelborn fired his last missiles at them and the group of soldiers was turned into a crater with charred limbs strewn about.
As they neared the square, the basilisks under Kelborn's command landed in a circle, all of them facing outward, ready to kill the Onderonian soldiers.
Mira slid of the basilisk, followed by Sol. When he was on the ground, rifle in hand, he finally saw the blood flowing down her leg and her charred helmet. She took it off and Sol saw a young face with green eyes and flame red hair. He stared at her openmouthed but because of the helmet no one saw his face.
"Sol" said Kelborn. Sol turned toward him, finally remembering to clamp his jaw shut. "Help the others secure the perimeter."
As Sol nodded and left, Mira sat down and leaned on the basilisk. Kelborn crouched next to her.
"Okay, let's see how bad it is." He said as he removed the broken armor on her thigh. The blue jumpsuit she wore underneath was shredded and Kelborn could see five bleeding wounds.
"You're lucky." He said while he pulled his vibrodagger from its sheath.
"Yeah? How so?"
"None of the shrapnel touched an artery." He showed her the dagger. "I'm not going to lie to you. This will hurt. A lot."
" Sa kyr'am nau tracyn kad." Was all Mira had to say.
He nodded and got to work. Kelborn spent the next ten minutes digging the shrapnel out of Mira's thigh, not at all disturbed by all the blood that kept flowing, while she kept her mouth shut in an effort not to scream from the pain. Blaster bolts flashed past them, sometimes between them, but Kelborn didn't seem to notice them, he was busy treating a wounded Mandalorian who, after he got the shrapnel out, would have to get up and keep fighting. After he pulled the last piece of shrapnel out, he took a medpac from Sol's basilisk and from it he took some kolto bandages. Kolto was a miraculous substance, found only on Manaan that could cure any wound. He wrapped the bandage around Mira's wounds, letting the kolto gel get into the bleeding wounds, and tied it as tight as he could. Then he reattached the broken piece of armor.
"Can you stand?"
"I think so." Mira took his hand and let him pull her up. Her leg was hurting like hell but she was to stubborn to let that stop her. She drew her heavy blaster and joined the others.
-G-
"Mandalorian forces have landed in the city" reported the corporal handling the comm.
"Send men to deal with them" said the Onderonian general.
"Are you crazy?" That came from Colonel Vaklu, him and the others in the Onderon military were in the command center deep in the Royal Palace.
"You are close to insubordination, Colonel" said the General. "There are a few squads on the ground and those will quickly be overwhelmed and wiped out. They will rue the day they attacked Onderon."
Vaklu slapped his forehead and rolled his eyes, he couldn't believe the utter idiocy of what he heard. Didn't the General understand that the Mandalorians would not be pushovers?
"A few squads? Have you looked up at the sky recently?"
He pointed to one of the monitors that showed the sky and through all the smoke could be seen hundreds of ships. More than enough to take Iziz.
"These are not the Beast Riders!" he continued. "These are Mandalorians!"
"We beat the Mandalorians thirty three years ago. We will beat them again."
"We beat them because the Republic aided us. We have no ships in space to deal with that fleet."
"We have the ships" countered the General. He was referring to the six armed freighters that they used to search suspected smuggler ships. Of course, those ships couldn't even put a dent in the Mandalorian shields, let alone stop that fleet.
"I hope you are not talking about the burned out hulks that the Mandalorians left up there."
"We have the Beast Riders to help us. We have men. We have starfighters. We will oppose them."
Vaklu pointed to another monitor. It showedflames from burning buildings lighting the smoke from within and bodies lying in flames in the wreckage of the broken and shattered spaceport. That was the only place on the planet were any starfighters might be found, in the possession of offworlders.
"What starfighters?"
"You listen here Colonel" bristled the General, almost spitting the word Colonel "we will not submit to these invaders."
"I'm not saying we surrender, I'm saying we fight another way. Retreat and regroup and fight a guerilla war."
"That way it will take years before we drive them of."
"Sir!"yelled the comm. officer. "Fourth company has engaged the Mandalorians but they report heavy casualties. They're taking heavy fire from the war droids and the Mandalorians are fighting like demons. They're asking for reinforcements."
"Then send the nearest company" said the General, annoyance in his voice.
"Can't sir" responded the comm. officer. "The nearest company can't get past a Mandalorian squad in the market."
"We only need to hold out until the Republic arrives" said Vaklu. "Then we kick them in the teeth."
The General frowned and nodded.
"Very well. Get your men out of the city, Vaklu. Go through the underground passages and see what you can do."
"And the rest of the army?"
"We'll fall back in an orderly fashion, though someone will have to stay and hold back the invaders until we're out of the city." Resignation filled the General's voice as he said those words.
Vaklu nodded and left the command center.
"Sir" said the comm. officer, his headphones in his hands. He took them off because he couldn't stand the screaming and pleading voices issuing from them. "What about the companies assaulting the Mandalorian advance squads?"
"Leave them. All troops are ordered to fight to the death. And send a company to deny access to the wall."
"But…"
"Colonel Vaklu will handle the resistance but it will be a waste of effort. We will hold out until the Republic sends aid."
"I just hope our cry for help got through" muttered the comm. officer.
-G-
Kelborn hacked his vibrosword through a weeping soldier's torso, separating his upper and lower halves with a single blow. He raised his blaster rifle and fired a burst at the soldiers charging them and saw a few fall. Before the rest could recover, six Mandalorians and two basilisks were among them, hacking and slashing the Onderanians into little bloody pieces. The Mandalorians used vibroswords to disembowel soldiers or loop of arms and legs or heads while the basilisks used their heavy brawling claws to rend the soldiers to pieces and scatter them over the entire street. The soldiers cried out in pain and terror but the Mandalorians and basilisks showed no mercy, except that of a quick death.
Mira stopped to reload her blaster when she saw a soldier charge toward her. She tried to load the weapon faster but knew she wouldn't succeed and was just getting ready to use her blade when a huge, grey shape landed on the soldier and crushed him, blood splashing in all directions. The basilisk had used it's repulsorlift coils to jump on the soldier and now fired its laser cannons. The firestorm tore apart the remaining soldiers and left nothing but blackened corpses in its wake.
"Everyone ok?" asked Kelborn.
He got affirmative answers from all of them.
"Listen up, the second wave is on its way and will be landing here in moments. When they arrive we will lead them toward Iziz's wall and capture it. From there we will be able to breach the palace."
"Sounds like fun." Muttered Mira.
"You will stay here."
"In your dreams."
"Mira, I'm not going to argue with you on this. You're wounded."
"So what? I'm coming if I have to crawl."
"Stubborn as always. Just like when I trained you."
Mira gave him her most charming smile and picked up a blaster rifle that was lying next to the body of a Onderonian soldier with a blaster wound so big, you could see inside him.
Ten minutes later more basilisks and troop carriers landed and disgorged Mandalorian warriors.
"Mov out!" ordered Kelborn and the troops fell in behind him and marched toward the wall.
" Motir ca'tra nau tracinya.
Gra'tua cunn hett su dralshy'a.
Aruetyc runi solus cet o'r."
(Those who stand before us light the night sky in flame.
Our vengeance burns brighter still.
Every last traitorous soul shall kneel.)
-G-
Mandalore stood on the bridge of his ship and looked at Onderon. He grinned as he thought of the insult that they were correcting now. His predecessor had been weak, willing to bow to Quel-Droma and Exar Kun. His predecessor should have simply wiped out the Krath army and moved on to find worthier foes.
None of that matters now, he thought. Old insults will be addressed and the Republic will fall. He turned toward one of the sensors and noticed it was pointed toward Iziz. The screen showed blue and red dots moving in apparent chaos but he recognized the deadly dance of death when he saw it. He saw six red dots get separated from their own and the blue dots descended on them like a pack of hungry kath hounds. The red dots disappeared in an instant. And when we finish with the Republic, we will turn around and finish them as well.
-G-
Here and there, they met pockets of resistance but the sight of his blood soaked warriors charging toward them broke the courage of all. At the ramp leading to the wall, one officer attempted to rally his men, screaming for them to stand firm. Sol shot him the face and the officer slumped against the wall. The Onderonian soldiers screamed in panic and fired their weapons but the Mandalorian battle armor held firm. Seeing that their fire had no effect, and also not noticing how badly their aim had been, the soldiers decided to run. But the Mandalorian assault rifles, which are overpowered for their size, let lose with a storm of laser bolts that mowed down the soldiers in just a few seconds. The Mandalorians gained the ramp and advanced along the wall. Soldiers were hurled over the wall, torn to shreds by concentrated volleys of blaster fire and ripped apart by vibroblades. Nothing could stop the Mandalorians.
As they advanced along the wall, they met a large group of soldiers but before they could fire, a basilisk without a rider descended on the soldiers and blew them away with a flurry of shots. The noise and confusion were unbelievable, the sky was red with flames and black with smoke. The screaming of the wounded and the dying adding to the din of wailing mothers and children.
Mira followed Kelborn and never complained about the wound and fought with all the fury of a Mandalorian hell bent on defying the galaxy.
Just as they reached the gates to the palace, massive doors that could withstand an assault for some time, they took fire from a nearby bunker. A shot punched into Sol's chest and another grazed his head but the armor held. Beside him Valic was not so lucky, he fell, his helmet a molten ruin. Without conscious thought Mira tossed a plasma grenade. It entered the bunker and exploded with enough force to rip the bunker's door and partially melt the firing slits. Sol ran over to it and peeked inside. Scorched and blackened limbs lay strewn about, the remains of the soldiers. An open mouthed head lay bizarrely on a pile of rubble. Sol stared at the head, smoke rising from its empty eye sockets. He turned away and motioned for Mira not to look.
More troops began to gather and it wasn't long until four basilisks came in and blew away the doors with a few missiles.
"To victory!"Screamed Kelborn and the Mandalorians charged into the palace. The Mandalorians swept through the ranks of the Onderanians with ease. Blood sprayed everywhere and cries of terror echoed from the walls as the Mandalorians slew every man that stood before them. The Onderanians counterattacked, an aging man with a General's insignia on his left breast, leading them. Bursts of blaster fire and disemboweling sweeps of vibroswords silenced the defiant defenders. The Mandalorians penetrated deep within the palace, breaching defensive position after defensive position until they took the command center. When Kelborn breached the court room, he not surprised to discover it was empty. He quickly sent Sol to find the escape tunnels and track down the royal family. Then he took his comlink and contacted Mandalore.
"The palace is ours Lord Mand'alore."
"Good work Kelborn." Replied Mandalore. "Our Great Crusade has begun in earnest."
After the palace fell, it only took another hour for the fighting to end in the city but by then thousands had died and the streets were thick with the blood of the defenders and the innocents. Onderon had fallen and not many had survived the massacre.