Mandalorian Protectors/Legends

The Mandalorian Protectors, also known as the Mando Cabure in Mando'a, were a branch of the Mandalorian Supercommando's and were formed during the Clone Wars.

Organization and philosophy
Much of their teachings came from the Supercommando Codex which contained many commandments that not only resurrected but modernized the ancient Canons of Honor. Thus, they highlighted the many tenents of the resol'nare which governed Mandalorian society. Unlike the Mandalorians of old, who were crusaders facing various other races for honor, these Mandalorians simply protected the borders of the Mandalore Sector. They also were the closest thing the Mando'ade had to a police force and worked to protect the Mandalorian people as a whole. Despite this being the case, they were at times involved in operations if the fate of the galaxy was at stake. Part of the reason of the group was to stem the mercenary style ways of the Mandalorian people who had often previously fought only for money. At the time of the Clone Wars, however, its members believed in the righteousness of their cause.

In terms of tactics, their strategies varied during the different periods the Protectors were in operation. At the time of the Clone Wars, they served as elite shock troopers who made use of superior weaponry as well as training to decimate their foes. Furthermore, Spar's origin as a former clone trooper meant that he knew critical weaknesses within the clone army which allowed for devastating blitzkrieg style attacks. They also made use of battle droids to distract their foes while the Protectors themselves used jetpacks to outmaneuver their foes. In the post-Clone Wars era, many of the resources the group possessed were gone and thus they had to alter their combat strategy. This led to them becoming an insurgent movement that used their police training to wage a guerrilla campaign against their enemy. However, once they regained their freedom, they returned to the old tactics of heavy weaponry and battle tactics.

The missions of the Protectors were often high profile and difficult targets that were incapable of being overwhelmed by simple brute force. In such cases, the Protectors were often enlisted who typically eliminated stubborn foes. Due to there being only 212 members in the organization, the group often found itself very busy during the Clone Wars. In the post war period, they were simply involved in liberating their homeworld and conducted hit-and-run operations against their foes. Following that period, their mission profile simply involved the strict protection of the Mandalore Sector.

The Mandalorian Protectors were heavily centered on rank, a practice that owed itself to their culture's long tradition of discipline and the values of respect. The lowest rank was that of a private, or verd'ika. The next rank was corporal (alor'uus). The sergeant or ruus'alor was followed by the lieutenant, or ver'alor. Above these ranks were the captain (alor'ad) and commander, which, in the Mando'a, was the al'verde. The ultimate authority over the Protectors was the Mandalore themselves who served as commander-in-chief of the group.

Formation
At the start of the Clone Wars, the manipulations of the Sith led to the creation of the Grand Army of the Republic; an army of clones that were created by using the Mandalorian bounty hunter Jango Fett as a prime clone template. Among those clones formed were the ARCs troopers who were to serve as elite soldiers and amongst one of these commando's was Alpha-Ø2. However, unlike some his brethren, he was born with the imprinted memories of his progenitor, Jango Fett. He ultimately went rogue and left Kamino and left to Mandalore with the intention of reforming the Supercommandos.

After arriving on the planet, Alpha-Ø2 who became known as Spar went to the teachings of the Supercommando Codex of the True Mandalorians that had perished in the Battle of Galidraan during the Mandalorian Civil War. Once on Mandalore, Spar decided to reforge his people back into their noble traditions and found many willing recruits amongst the native police forces which even attracted members of the Death Watch into their ranks. As many felt that Spar was the son of Jango Fett, the former clone trooper decided to adopt the title of Mandalore the Resurrector. Eventually, his recruitment led to the group numbering 212 Protectors and included Fenn Shysa along with Tobbi Dala.

Clone Wars
Once formed, the Protectors entered into the Clone Wars on the side of the Confederacy of Independent Systems. This stemmed somewhat from the fact that Spar felt the Jedi responsible for the destruction of the True Mandalorians at the massacre on Galidraan. Thus, these Protectors worked to combat the Galactic Republic during the conflict and were responsible for a number of victories. Their alliance with the Separatists also provided them with better weaponry as well as an army of a thousand BL-series Battle Legionnaire droids. They participated in the a number of campaigns which included the Battle of New Bornalex, Battle of Null, and the Battle of New Holstice in 21 BBY. Shortly afterward, a number of them were apparently massacred by their allies, the Geonosians, at Zaadja, and suffered another defeat at the Second Battle of Kamino.

They continued their operations until they fell into a disastrous mission to Norval II in 19 BBY, where they had been betrayed by Darth Sidious. At the time, they were tasked with a mission to capture Republic Senator Padmé Amidala of Naboo. During the battle, the majority of the Protectors were killed and left only three survivors; Spar himself along with Shysa and Dala. Following their near destruction, Spar seemingly disappeared and the leadership of the Protectors fell to Shysa who attempted to rebuild their numbers.

The Empire and Beyond
Following the end of the Clone Wars, the Galactic Empire was formed which saw the rise of slaving operations in the Mandalore system. At the time, Shysa was training the Protectors from members of the Mandalore's elite police force in order to covertly attack their oppressors who had taken over the Mandalorian government. During this time, the leader of the slavers who was Suprema had the infamous Mandalorian armor confiscated which saw the Protectors change their tactics. In order to fund their operations, Shysa had his Protectors take some mercenary work at the time and eventually they succeeded in freeing themselves from Suprema's rule shortly before the Battle of Endor. This only occurred when Tobbi Dala sacrificed his life to destroy the Suprema and the City of Bone.

Upon gaining their freedom, Shysa worked tirelessly to restore the Mandalorian Protectors as with the death of the Supreme; he now had many freed Mandalorians willing to join the organization and more importantly, he gained resources in the form of weaponry as well as their armor. The Protectors under Shysa later accepted a commission offered by Princess Leia and they served with the Rebel Alliance to combat first the Nagai and later the Tofs. In this period, the Protectors were sometimes seen as a mercenary unit though they worked as a homeguard detachment for the Mandalore Sector. They later aided the New Republic and General Luke Skywalker against the forces of Lord Shadowspawn at the Battle of Mindor.

Shysa was later killed on Shogun in 21 ABY and the leadership of the Protectors fell to Boba Fett. However, unlike his predecessor, Fett led the Protectors as a mercenary force rather than continue the tradition that Shysa had done so previously.

Under Boba Fett
Under Boba Fett's command, the Protectors initially chose to ally with the Yuuzhan Vong in the first months of the Yuuzhan Vong War, under the lure of the immense amount of credits offered by the invaders.

To this end, Fett initiated a brutal training regime for his forces on Raxus Prime, killing many of them. Fett, however, fully expected the Yuuzhan Vong to break their word, and used his place to feed information to the New Republic.

By the last year of the war, the Protectors openly turned on the Vong after they attacked Mandalore, and fought several battles in the Outer Rim Territories.

During the Second Galactic Civil War in 40 ABY, the Mandalorian Protectors were recruited by Chief of State Natasi Daala. When she was sworn in as Chief of State of the Galactic Alliance, the Protectors served as security personnel under the new government.

Known Protectors

 * Goran Beviin
 * Tobbi Dala
 * Cham Detta
 * Suvar Detta
 * Boba Fett
 * Briika Jeban
 * Dinua Jeban
 * Ghes Orade
 * Fenn Shysa
 * Isko Talgal
 * Vatok Tawr
 * Mandalore the Resurrector
 * Novoc Vevut
 * Tiroc Vhon
 * Ram Zerimar

Appearances

 * Star Wars Republic 67: Forever Young
 * Star Wars: Empire at War: Forces of Corruption
 * Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back novelization
 * Star Wars 68: The Search Begins
 * Star Wars 69: Death in the City of Bone
 * Star Wars 100: First Strike
 * Luke Skywalker and the Shadows of Mindor
 * Boba Fett: A Practical Man
 * Revenants
 * The Unifying Force
 * Bloodlines
 * Sacrifice
 * Revelation
 * Invincible