What are you orders, Mandalore?
—Unknown Mandalorian Councilmen
Mandalore the Populace, or Rikenn Tarbann, was the Mandalore during the Galactic Sith Purge. He was a great man and always favored the people's choice, thus leading his name to being Mandalore the Populace. Rikenn guided the Mandalorian people through the thickest of times during the Galactic Sith Purge. The Galactic Coalition wouldn't be possible without him. One of his best friends was Bage Nylos. He suceeded Mandalore Jaster Mereel.
Biography[]
Early life[]
I have to go to war. You will take care of the child and he will become greater than I.
—Tikenn Tarbann
Rikenn grew up on the planet Mandalore for a majority of his life. His clan, Clan Tarbann, was one of the greatest militant clans in the Mandalorian Empire. He was born two months before the start of the Mandalorian Wars so he has no memory of his father, Tikenn Tarbann. Tike was a great general for the Mandalorians and good friends with Canderous Ordo. He served with the Mandalorians under Exar Kun as a captain and was porbably the oldest veteran of the war. He helped win the Battle of Dagary Minor and the Battle of Serroco.
Half way through the Mandalorian Wars, Rikenn trained under his older brother, Joseph. Joseph had finished his traning for becoming a Mandalorian soldier. It was only a matter of time before he was shipped off to war. It happened two months later. Rikenn had been taught a lot under his brother and he strived for war. He often fought in the clan's battle circle, winning and soon becoming the champion. He never lost a fight and no one was surprised.
News soon came to the clan, and the rest of the Empire, that the great general Tikenn Tarbann had been killed during the Battle of Duro. Rikenn and his mother were extremely saddened by this news. Tikenn's armor and weapons were shipped back to the clan where Rikenn's mother kept them safe. Rikenn often took them out and played with them. He wanted to be just like his father.
When the wars were finished, his brother came back, but a changed man. He had been one of the lucky to make it out of Malachor V alive and visit their family. Joseph hadn't learned of his father's death until his homecoming. Rikenn showed off his skills in battle and Joseph was impressed by his formations and battle cricle championship. Joseph challenged him to the right of champion of the battle circle and he accepted. Joseph was defeated and he knew his younger brother was greater than anyone in the clan.
Destruction of the Clan[]
When the Mandalorians were defeated and the clans scattered, many fought for territory and supplies to survive. Clan Tarbann had the most territory of the clans, besides Clan Ordo which had an enitre planet, and was na honor to battle being one of the militant prospering clans. Clan Tarbann was a target. Two rival clans then came together and vowed to destroyed the Tarbann Clan at all costs. They did just that.
The clan villages were on the two sides of Clan Tarbann's large village. They decided to flank them, as anyone would with their strategic positioning. The attack happened at night while everyone was asleep; they had no time to defend themselves. Joseph heard the first blaster fire and ran to wake Rikenn and his mother up. Rikenn and Joseph ran around trying to defened and kill while ralling up troops. The attack was perfect.
Joseph killed enemies that day but was overwhelmed. Two rival clansmen started to surpress him and two others with heavy blaster fire. Three others with melee weapons came from behind to kill them. Rikenn saw it and fired at the one with vibroblades. He killed them all but it was too late. He shot the other two that were surpressing them and ran over to his brother. His was dead. Rikenn swore to kill everyone, which is what he practically did. The battle lasted into the morning where the rival clans had thought they killed everyone. They claimed the territory their's but the clan leaders wanted to know who would become the leader of this new clan. A civil war broke out and devestating them. They tore each other apart.
While this civil war commenced, Rikenn went looking for his mother. He searched all over the charred remians and corpses. He found his mother in their house that was burnt to the ground. Fortunatly, his fahter's armor and weapons were not harmed. He took them and ran, far away from Mandalore.
Search for the Mandalorians[]
Rikenn traveled the galaxy for some eight odd years after the total genocide of his clan. He had heard rumors of a new Mandalorian Empire under the rule of Canderous Ordo, his dad's close friend. He tried to seek them out but it took three years. He tracked the Mandalorians down to the Onderon moon of Dxun. He searched the moon for three days, traveling in the thick jungle, before finding the base. When he arrived, he noticed a new Mandalore that goes by the name Jaster Mereel.
Mandalorian Training[]
Rikenn enlisted into the ranks of Mandalore's army and was given an important mission. He had to go to the Sith Tomb of Freedon Nadd and plant five perimeter sensors around the structure. He faced tough opposition from the jungle and its creatures. He even faced a Zakkegs and won. As he set the perimeter sensors, one of them went haywire and exploded. When Rikenn delivered the news to Mandalore, he wasn't too happy.
Mission to Korriban[]
After Rikenn's training was complete, he was given an important mission. Mandalore had ordered Rikenn to meet him aboard his ship in orbit of Ord Radama. The Mandalorians had taken the planet from the Sith a couple months earlier. The planet was also near the Sith homeworld and capital of Korriban. Mandalore had given him the mission to scout Korriban and bring news of the Sith strengths. Rikenn accepted the mission with great honor. He was granted the rank of sergeant and command of fourteen other Mandalorians. They all blasted off into hyperspace en route to Korriban in their Panther Stealth Fighters.
They landed on Korriban several hours later outside the Academy. Rikenn ordered three soldiers to go ahead and scout the area ahead of them. They came back and estimated the distance to the Academy almost three kilometers. The three had turned to two, however. One of them was killed by the Dark Side creature, Hssiss.
The next time, Rikenn lead a group of seven soldiers to complete the objective; they were going to scout the Sith strengths. The cohart moved quickly over the desert, trying to get to the Academy before nightfall. They set up camp that night outside the Academy. In the morning, they continued their search, knowing that the Sith could be tracking them right then and there. They saw the small fleet and the small army the Sith had and reported back to the camp. They lead one more recon mission with the rest of the Force two days later.
The mission was another success, scouting out and mapping the Sith Academy for future use. It would come in handy during the Galactic Sith Purge and the Battle of Korriban. They also discovered the name of the Sith leader, Darth Aurelius. Rikenn then packed up the ships and the squad returned to Mandalore. When he delivered the news to Mandalore, he was promoted to the rank of Staff Sergeant.