Skirmish in Dramath the Second's tomb

"How dare you defile Mandalore's Mask with your filthy Jedi hands!" "Veela! What do you think you're doing?" "Put the Mask down and step away from the crypt!"

- Veela Ordo ordering Revan to put down Mandalore's mask and Canderous Ordo demanding to know what Veela's doing

A skirmish took place in 3,954 BBY inside Dramath the Second's tomb on the Outer Rim planet Rekkiad. Jedi Master Revan, accompanied by the Mandalorian Canderous Ordo, had been led to the tomb by Revan's memories revealing the location of the mask of Mandalore. While in the tomb, Veela Ordo&mdash;Canderous's wife&mdash;and five other Mandalorians ambushed Revan and Canderous, confronting them on Revan's identity and how Veela believed that her husband should lead Clan Ordo. When Canderous refused to join Veela, they engaged in a firefight that ended with the deaths of Veela and the five Mandalorians with her. The day after the skirmish, Revan told Canderous the truth about how the Mandalorian Wars really began, and how the hidden Sith Empire was behind the invasion of the Galactic Republic.

Prelude
"Who are you to talk of betrayal? You turned your back on your people. And for what? To throw your lot in with Revan the Butcher?"

- Veela Ordo tells Canderous Ordo of his betrayal of Clan Ordo.

In 3,954 BBY, the surviving Mandalorian clans&mdash;an organization made up of Mando warriors&mdash;left over from the Mandalorian Wars against the Galactic Republic which ended with the death of Mandalore the Ultimate and nearly destroyed the Mandalorians, gathered on the planet Rekkiad located in the Outer Rim Territories to search for Mandalore's Mask, an ancient ceremonial war mask. The Jedi Master Revan and Mandalorian Canderous Ordo helped Clan Ordo, Canderous's clan, find the mask inside the Sith Lord Dramath the Second's sarcophagus located inside his tomb deep within the First Spear of the Twin Spears, a pair of columns of ice several kilometers tall. Revan's memories&mdash;of Malak and him finding the entrance of Dramath the Second's tomb on top of the First Spear and of them finding and retrieving Dramaths's holocron from his crypt and placing the Mask inside&mdash;led him and Ordo to find the mask inside Dramath's tomb.

The skirmish
"We're not here to kill you. Just him."

- Veela Ordo telling Canderous of her true intentions to kill Revan

After Revan and Ordo opened Dramath's sarcophagus and found Mandalore's mask and Dramath's datacron, they were ambushed by Ordo's wife, Veela Ordo, and five other Mandalorians. Veela revealed that she knew Revan's identity and pleaded to Ordo that he break his loyalty to Revan and reclaim his place in Clan Ordo as their leader, and his rightful place at her side. Ordo stated that he couldn't break his loyalty to Revan and pleaded to Veela and the others to stand down. With neither side backing down, Veela and her Mandalorians opened fire on Revan and Ordo. With no other choice left, Ordo and Revan fought for their lives.

Revan used his lightsaber to block and redirect the first volley of shots back into the original two shooters and clipped Veela's shoulder with one shot. Veela and the surviving two Mandalorians took shelter and threw three grenades into the room. Revan lifted the sarcophagus lid and positioned it as a barrier to protect Ordo and himself. The blast shattered the lid to pieces and stunned Revan. Veela and the remaining Mandalorians rushed into the room and tried to kill Revan while he was disoriented by the blast. Ordo shot Veela before she could kill Revan. The remaining soldiers were stunned by Veela's death and seizing the opportunity, Revan used the Force and threw his lightsaber at the distracted soldiers, killing them before they could move to safety.

Aftermath
"About two years before he declared war on the Republic, Mandalore was approached by a man with skin the color of blood&mdash;a Sith. [...] But this red-skinned being came to Mandalore. He claimed to be the emissary of a powerful Master&mdash;a descendant of the Sith Lord who had driven Dramath into exile&mdash;and convinced Mandalore to help him search for his enemy's tomb."

- Revan tells Canderous Ordo of the Sith emissary who asked Mandalore The Ultimate's help in his mission

The next day after the skirmish, Revan told Ordo about how the Mandalorian Wars truly began. He spoke of an emissary of the hidden Sith Empire who came to Mandalore to seek Mandalore the Ultimate's help in locating the remains of Dramath the Second, the enemy of the emissary's master, the Sith Emperor. Mandalore and the emissary tracked down his remains to the planet of Rekkiad. The emissary took the remains to give back to his master and in return for Mandalore's help he told Mandalore of a vision his master had of the Mandalorians rising up and defeating the Republic, whilst casting a spell to ensure the Mandalorian invasion.

After telling Ordo the truth Revan told him that he may find more answers on Nathema, the planet recorded in Dramath's datacron. Ordo volunteered to go with Revan, but Revan said his place was with his people and that Veela was right about how Ordo should be the leader of the Mandalorians. He told Ordo that Mandalore's Mask was just waiting for him to claim it. Ordo still believed that his place was with Revan, that his help was needed and that he would never again turn his back on a friend that needed his help, like he did with Veela. Revan told him that's why he had to stay, reminding Ordo that his people were tricked into a war that nearly destroyed them.

Ordo admitted that Revan was right and that if the Sith were planning another invasion that they would have to come through Mandalorian space first and that in starting the Mandalorian Wars they were trying to get the Mandos out of the way. Revan agreed, however he also admitted that maybe the Sith were trying to twist the Mandalorian culture and beliefs in order to get them to join the Sith. He reminded Ordo that it wouldn't be too hard to manipulate his people into another war without a new Mandalore. He spoke of how Ordo's people have lost their way and that that the fate of the galaxy might depend on them finding their way, should he not help them find it. After listening to Revan, Ordo donned Mandalore's Mask and proclaimed himself Mandalore the Preserver vowing that Mandalore had returned to help restore the glory and honor of his people.

Behind the scenes
The skirmish first appeared within Drew Karpyshyn's novel Star Wars: The Old Republic: Revan which was published on November 15, 2011.

Appearances

 * Star Wars: The Old Republic: Revan