Model Write-Up #31 - Old Republic Mandalorians

"Much like the Neo-Crusaders, the Old Republic Mandalorians (as Nidas Fett and his men colloquially knew them) were stranded in the Unknown Regions millennia ago during a similar hyperspace malfunction. As Sith, Republic, and Neo-Crusader forces poured into the same region of space, huge inter-system conflicts emerged, causing significant destabilisation in the region. The leader of the Mandalorians at this time - Berile Meleketh - led his clan with enough distinction to warrant the allegiance of the other Mandalorian clans in the area. The Neo-Crusaders, broadly speaking, were aligned with his group as well. As the decades stretched on, Berile knew his people could be here for a very long time, and thus, he made preparations for his people to colonise worlds and settle down. They tried, as far as possible, to evade the influence of the warring Sith and Republic forces, and to stay under the radar. For the most part, they were successful - the Old Republic Mandalorians lived in relative peace from around 3500 BBY to 1500 BBY. At this time, the Sith began to overpower the Republic for a time, and as part of this, attempted to conquer the Mandalorians to tie up loose ends. The Mandalorians resisted fiercely, causing the Sith to lose interest. Instead, they simply began bombardment of Mandalorian planets at random and with extreme prejudice. The majority of the Mandalorians at this time died out, leaving Berile's descendant, Mordecai Meleketh, to unite the disparate colonies and strike back against the Sith. They inflicted huge damage through their more advanced technology, but ultimately fell under the sway of the Sith rule, and for the most part, were made servitors of the Sith's forces for much of the time running up until the arrival of Mandalore the Crusader's forces. Nidas Fett and his troops came up against the renewed Sith Empire, whose vastly outdated ships and equipment nonetheless posed a significant threat to Nidas' comparatively small force. However, Nidas and his allies persevered and were successful in defeating enough of the Sith's forces that they relinquished control of the Old Republic Mandalorians. They declared allegiance to Nidas, but announced they would only help him leave the Unknown Regions (rather than simply fight beside him) as and when both the Sith and Republic were once again balanced and fighting a war neither could win. When prompted as to why, the Mandalorian leader, Hyrrina Meleketh, stated that when the two had been in balance, the Mandalorian people had been free from outside influence. Not all of the Old Republic Mandalorians wanted to leave their colonies, so whilst Hyrrina and the bulk of her forces would accompany Nidas, she refused to leave her countrymen to their fate. Nidas agreed, and began complicated efforts to sabotage elements of both the Sith and Republic war machines until neither possessed a significant advantage. He then prompted the Republic General, masquerading as an agent of the Jedi Council, to fight the Sith, as they had "tilted the force in their favour." Nidas was uncertain if the ruse would succeed, but the Republic was marshalled once more for war, and they began open engagements with the Sith once again. With the remaining Old Republic Mandalorians possessing enough knowledge of both militaries to undertake similar action again should it be necessary, Hyrrina agreed to join Nidas Fett, and his forces were bolstered. Her group works very closely with some of the Neo-Crusaders who joined Nidas' group, with the intent of helping bring traditional Mandalorian tactics to bear against Nidas' opposition."

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