The database says they're Mandalorians, but our scouts say they're dressed like... monks?
—An Imperial Navy officer during the bombardment of Dxun
The Ani'lade, known in basic as the Sons of the Ultimate and referred to by Imperials as the Dxun resistance, was a Mandalorian cult that worshiped the ancient Mandalore the Ultimate (Mand'alor te Ani'la). They operated across the galaxy as terrorists, raiders, and missionaries out of their monastery on Dxun, moon of Onderon, converted from what was once a fortress belonging to Mandalore the Ultimate's armies. During the Clone Wars, their leader was Nogo Ordo, who claimed descent from one of Mandalore the Ultimate's greatest generals, Canderous Ordo. The title of the organization's leader was sol'kahbu, meaning "first disciple", who was also addressed as kalyr - or master - by the cultists.
History[]
The Ani'lade allied with the Death Watch against the New Mandalorians and followers of the Supercommando Codex in several disastrous civil wars. They were considered even worse their brutish allies, and committed among the worst of the wars' atrocities.
In 33 BBY, as Qui-Gon Jinn and Obi-Wan Kenobi were escorting Satine Kryze across the galaxy as she fled from determined bounty hunters, the trio decided to stop at Onderon's capital city, Iziz, to resupply. As they were walking through the streets, they were assaulted by two robed men armed with vibroblades. The Jedi dispatched them after an unusually long struggle, and urged Satine to move to their next destination as she had been tracked. Satine, however, notified Kenobi that they were not in fact bounty hunters as she picked up a medal from a pocket of one of the attackers' robes - which she identified as the symbol of the Ani'lade, an organization she thought destroyed earlier in the civil war, and identified their swords as beskads. While Kenobi safeguarded Satine in Iziz, Qui-Gon bribed multiple police officers to follow him to Dxun to investigate. Immediately upon arrival, they were ambushed in dozens more of these robed warriors, who slaughtered all of the police officers and eventually overpowered and captured Qui-Gon. After days of torture, Kenobi sensed his master's distress, disobeyed his orders and left Satine in Iziz, infiltrated the monastery on Dxun, and liberated his master. Due to the intensity of their mission, they did not have time to report the incident and had no choice but to let their attacks go unpunished by the Republic as they reunited with Satine and continued their journey.
When the Clone Wars swept across the galaxy, members of Ani'lade joined the Separatists as mercenary shock troopers under their leader Nogo Ordo, temporarily abandoning their robes and swords for the traditional armor and Separatist blasters. During the Imperial era, an Imperial fleet descended upon Dxun and bombarded the monastery, dismantling the Ani'lade after centuries of raiding and worshiping. Nogo Ordo, however, survived the bombardment and turned to piracy, eventually being captured and sentenced to lifelong imprisonment on Chandrila where prison doctors noted his rapidly declining mental state. When Chandrila became part of the New Republic, an error in the system during the transition significantly shortened Nogo's sentence and he was released in 5 ABY, and almost immediately carried out a suicide-bombing at a nearby park within minutes of stepping out of the facility.
Organization and equipment[]
One could only become part of the Ani'lade through birth or invitation. Modern technology was encouraged, though in the case of war their warriors were limited to the technology of the galaxy's classical era, as they saw ranged weapons dishonorable and defeating an enemy armed with projectiles was considered, to them, another step to joining Mandalore the Ultimate in the afterlife. One may not leave except through death, though between intense drills and warfare, members were treated to gourmet foods and other vices captured from their raids, granted comfortable dwellings at their Dxun monastery, and although not allowed to traverse the galaxy, distinguished warrior-monks were rewarded with trips to Onderon's cantinas and brothels so long as they hid their alignment during their stay.
Warriors of the Ani'lade did not wear traditional Mandalorian armor styles, but rather cloaks and tunics that were typical of other monastic cults, sometimes supplemented by shoulder plates, concealed chest plates, and wrist gaunts often augmented with gadgetry. The main weapon of the Ani'lade, even in the age of the blaster, was the beskad, a traditional Mandalorian vibrosword with a blade made of the lightsaber-resistant alloy beskar. Some monks also had round shields made of beskar.