Mandalorian Neo-Crusaders/Legends

"So many new recruits. Different species, different armors, different languages&mdash;and not enough time to learn our ways. Cassus first suggested that the similar uniforms&mdash;like the Legend of Rohlan&mdash;could help get control of a force that has grown beyond control."

- Mandalore the Ultimate

The Mandalorian Neo-Crusaders were an order of Mandalorians sponsored by Mandalore the Ultimate following the end of the Great Sith War and his own ascension to the position of Mandalore. Named after the original Mandalorian Crusaders, they fought the Mandalorian Wars, and were later regrouped and reformed under Mandalore the Preserver.

The headquarters of the Mandalorian Neo-Crusaders, while under the command of both Mandalore the Ultimate and Mandalore the Preserver, was a sprawling complex that was built amidst the dangerous jungles of Dxun.

Cassus Fett considered the Neo-Crusaders to be a New Order in contrast to the Republic, which he saw as the Old Order. Ironically, despite the fact they were the ones who started the Mandalorian Wars and fought against the Republic and the Jedi, after they were rallied by Canderous Ordo, they indirectly aided the Onderon Royalists in their civil war, and ultimately fought alongside the TSF and Republic forces in the Battle of Telos.

Prior to the Mandalorian Wars
The Neo-Crusader movement arose during the veterans of the Great Sith War discontent about how the Crusaders performed in the war: excellent at pillaging and destroying Republic installations, they were not nearly as efficient at exploiting their conquests. With the Crusader ethic focused on fighting the next battle, the Great Sith War provided the Mandalorians with little time to exploit their gains: huge industrial complexes conquered remained idle rather than rearming the Mando'ade, and millions of potential recruits who might have been brought into the movement were not.

Ascribing this flaw to the lack of order arising from their nomadic lifestyle, a small group of enthusiasts calling themselves Neo-Crusaders took residence on the planet Mandalore. They adopted a rudimentary chain of command and division of labor, not found in the traditional culture. Many Mandalorians found this bizarre, but some took interest in the Neo-Crusaders. When the Mandalorians again began to raid nonaligned worlds, the Neo-Crusaders won their share of battles due to their discipline.

Sensing an opportunity, Mandalore the Ultimate and his closest assistant Cassus Fett decided to encourage the movement. Cassus refined the former cult's organizational strategies for use on a larger scale. The Mandalorians who tested the Republic in the early skirmishes found that they had a distinct advantage with Neo-Crusaders as their vanguard. By the time the wider Mandalorian Wars with the Republic finally broke out, Neo-Crusaders were present in every unit, boosting morale and spreading the new ideals and discipline.

When the Mandalorians took Republic worlds, they immediately located potential recruits. Shipped to training centers, the new recruits were taught by Neo-Crusaders to become the Neo-Crusaders. Traditional Mandalorians were encouraged to adopt the system as well, although some were distressed by the changes. The Mandalorians of the past were voluntarily committed to the cause, but Neo-Crusaders increasingly included warriors of poor quality who joined to escape occupation or to simply gain their share in the pillaging.

At the same time, Zeltron Neo-Crusader Demagol also began an experiment at his New Generation Academy on planet Osadia to help combat Jedi forces in the upcoming war by attempting to establish the Mandalorian Knights. The project was aborted after the Crucible slaver group invaded and he gave them his daughter.

The Mandalorian Wars
On Taris, and other worlds, Cassus Fett gave former Republic citizens a choice: to join the Mandalorians as warriors, or to sit quietly and work as manufacturers for the clans as de facto slaves. Many&mdash;including a host of criminals from the prisons the Mandalorians emptied&mdash;were sent with the recruiters to planetary staging centers, such as the one on Jebble. There they received whirlwind indoctrination in the Resol'nare from Mandalorian Rally Masters before being issued blue Neo-Crusader armor from the on-site War Forges.

The wars began with the Battle of Althir, which was fought against the native Althiri armies rather than the Galactic Republic, which would later turn out to be the Neo-Crusaders' true target. After that, the Neo-Crusaders led a brutal attack on Cathar, intending little more than to slaughter the inhabitants. This greatly angered the Jedi Revan who began to round up other Jedi to join in and take up arms alongside the Republic against the invader. Among such Jedi were Malak and Meetra Surik. Revan and Malak led the Republic to victory after victory. After five years of conflict, the Neo-Crusaders were finally defeated by Revan's forces at Malachor V, when Surik gave the order to activate the Mass Shadow Generator, which almost wiped out the entire Mandalorian fleet. Mandalore was killed at the hands of Revan in the final battle. Revan removed the survivors of their weapons, Basilisk war droids, and ultimately, their honor.

Reorganization
"The Republic thinks my people are dead, scattered. They are wrong. You should have destroyed us when you had the chance. As long as one Mandalorian lives, we will survive."

- Canderous Ordo to Meetra Surik



The Neo-Crusaders entered dark times, when they were no longer great warriors, but mere thugs. Revan encountered some of these fallen warriors during his quest to find the Star Forge, such as raiders on Dantooine and hunters on Kashyyyk. After the end of the Jedi Civil War, before leaving into the Unknown Regions to find the True Sith, Revan tasked Canderous Ordo, one of the former Neo-Crusaders who accompanied him on his journey, with reuniting the scattered Mandalorian clans on Dxun. Canderous recovered Mandalore's Mask, which had been lost since the Battle of Malachor V, and declared himself the new Mandalore. He began to reunite the clans under the Ordo banner on Dxun, where the Mandalorian Wars began.

Five years after the Jedi Civil War, Meetra Surik, also known as the Jedi Exile, was forced to land on Dxun by Colonel Tobin's space forces when searching for Jedi Master Kavar on Onderon. She was found by a Mandalorian sentry and taken to the Mandalorian base. Mandalore the Preserver agreed to give her safe passage to Onderon if she proved herself worthy. After completing various tasks, such as stopping Tobin's scouts from uncovering the base and rescuing the lost warrior Kumus, Mandalore agreed to help her. Shortly before they could leave, however, Sith assassins, who had been tracking her progress since an incident on Peragus, attacked the base. Surik helped defend the base from the invaders before leaving.

After their business on Onderon was done, Mandalore stated that he would accompany Surik on her journey for two reasons; the Sith would eventually dominate the Mandalorians if they were allowed to defeat the Jedi once and for all, and he had been meaning to leave to search for more clans. He found such clans on Nar Shaddaa and Dantooine. When the Battle of Telos IV began, the Mandalorians helped battle against the Sith, particularly aiding in the destruction of the Ravager, Darth Nihilus' personal vessel.

Thousands of years later, the Trandoshan headhunter Garnac had a Neo-Crusader helmet as part of his collection of trophies.

Armor
"I've never much liked the look of the Neo-Crusader armor&mdash;but the increased order has been useful. We might even conquer the galaxy because of it."

- Mandalore the Ultimate

Neo-Crusader armor was standardized, being colored to correspond with the position of the wearer. A recruit and anyone not having a leadership position wore blue, while Rally Masters wore crimson. A golden suit was then handed out to Field Marshals. The armor had a few advantages over the earlier Crusader armor, including a harder surface.

Neo-Crusader Shock Troopers wore a unique variant of Neo-Crusader armor.

Appearances

 * Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic 0: Crossroads
 * Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic: Flashpoint
 * Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic 9: Flashpoint Interlude: Homecoming
 * Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic: Days of Fear
 * Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic: Nights of Anger
 * Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic: Daze of Hate
 * Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic: Knights of Suffering
 * Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic: Vector
 * Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic 42: Masks
 * Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic 48: Demon, Part 2
 * Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic 49: Demon, Part 3
 * Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic: War
 * Iridonian Darkness
 * Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic
 * Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic II: The Sith Lords
 * Timeline 9: The Mandalorian Wars
 * Star Wars: The Old Republic
 * Legacy of the Force: Sacrifice
 * Legacy of the Force: Sacrifice