Return (Mandalorian)

The Return was a movement started by the veteran Mandalorian mercenary Aga Awaud. Amidst the tumultuous era of the New Sith Wars, Awaud had journeyed home to Mandalore—the Mandalorians' cultural homeworld—only to discover that Mandalorian space was under attack by raiders from the surrounding sectors, and most of his clan had perished from an outbreak of the Candorian plague that was ravaging the galaxy. Faced with the loss of his family and a Mandalore sector so insecure that Mandalorian starships were forced to form defensive caravans just to survive, Awaud was spurred to action: in the year 1058 BBY, he called upon Mandalorians living throughout the galaxy to rally to the defense of Mandalorian space. Many heeded Awaud's summons, and the mass migration of Mandalorians that made their way back to Mandalore became known as the Return. Aga Awaud went on to claim the title of Mand'alor and the sobriquet "Mandalore the Uniter;" with a renewed population, Mandalore grew stronger under his reign, not only surviving the chaos of the New Sith Wars, but flourishing. As a result of the Return, Mandalore became a regional industrial power and a symbol of much-needed stability in the galaxy's Outer Rim Territories, offering protection to neighboring star systems and sectors.

Nearly a thousand years later, Death Watch leader Tor Vizsla considered the Return to be a pivotal moment in Mandalorian history, detailing the movement, its founder, and their importance in a manifesto entitled Ba'jurne Kyr'tsad Mando'ad. In 40 ABY, close to a decade after the extra-galactic Yuuzhan Vong devastated Mandalore during the course of their invasion of the known galaxy, reigning Mand'alor Boba Fett enacted a decree similar to the Return of old. Fett recalled two million Mandalorians from across the galaxy to bolster the planet's population and rebuild from the damage inflicted by the Yuuzhan Vong, leading to an eventual economic resurgence on Mandalore.

The Return movement was first introduced to the Star Wars universe in The Essential Guide to Warfare, a multi-subject reference guide co-authored by Jason Fry and Paul R. Urquhart, published April 3, 2012. The following year, The Bounty Hunter Code: From the Files of Boba Fett was released, further referencing the Return and its impact on Mandalorian history.