SWTOR Character Tales: Rise of Mamine KOTET 1-3

Welcome back, my beautiful freaks, to the Assassin's Den!

So, I just did the math, and I will obviously not get all the chapters released before December, since I've only started on KOTET for Mamine.  However, since 5.10 isn't supposed drop until December 4th, according to Reddit, I'll be dropping the Traitor Saga on release day. However, that does not mean that Ragdat's Darkest Days and Rise of Mamine will continue right away. No, this will go on hiatus until after 6.0 is dropped.  These two will never be a priority in my mind again; they'll be a "when I have time" thing. With that out of the way, on to KOTET!

Time had passed between the defeat of Arcann and the rise of Vaylin.  She was causing a path of destruction while searching for her brother and mother, wanting to be rid of them for their betrayal once and for all.

Her search led her to Voss, which was under the protection of the Alliance thanks to Sana-Rae and Anstrisil's friendship with the mystic Gaden Ko. Theron Shan and Sana-Rae happened to be on Voss meeting a contact and were caught in the attack, signaling the Alliance to scramble the fleet. The Alliance fleet moved to intercept and engage the Eternal Fleet, while Lana piloted a Zakuulan shuttle carrying Mamine, her Padawan Suthazi and Torian Cadera with a squad of Mandalorian warriors down to the planet surface to break the siege of the capital city of Voss-Ka. Upon landing, Mamine got notification that Brosra was there for reasons of her own, and she'd aid in the defense of the Shrine of Healing, where she currently was for reasons she wasn't ready to tell her Commander at this moment in time.

Mamine's people engaged Skytroopers throughout the burning city before meeting at the Tower of Prophecy, where Theron and Sana-Rae had been waiting for them. However, just before entering the tower, Valkorian froze time for Mamine, and said, in so many words, "you need to kill Vaylin". After time was unfrozen, Mamine helped in defending their position from Vaylin's Horizon Guards, and afterward, they received a holotransmission from Senya, who was at the Shrine of Healing, in a completely different area that Brosra was at, it turned out. She was hoping that the Voss Mystics could heal her son's body and spirit and pleaded for the Alliance's aid, believing Arcann would join their fight. Lana believed that Arcann had to be neutralized one way or another, and she led Torian's Mandalorians towards the Shrine, while Mamine, Suthazi and Theron took a different route, and rode the Mandalorian walker Storm Rider through the Old Paths.

Upon reaching the Shrine of Healing, Theron, Suthazi and Mamine met with Senya, who again pleaded them to let Arcann be healed, while Vaylin, learning that her family was all in one place, ordered the Eternal Fleet to bombard the Shrine. Again, Valkorian told Mamine to kill his son, and this gave Mamine all the reason she needed to order Lana and the Mandalorians to protect the Shrine to buy Senya time, and also ordered Brosra to converge on Senya's location and defend her at all costs, and collapsed a tunnel behind them to stop the pursuing Skytroopers. Mamine, Suthazi and Theron remained near the entrance of the healer's chamber to hold off the Skytroopers, and once they finally reached Senya's position, they found that she had already ordered the Mystics to use her strength to heal her son in a Voss healing ritual, which left her comatose, which got a "foolishness" comment out of Brosra. Theron stayed to tend to Senya, while Mamine, Suthazi and Lana chased the escaping Arcann to his shuttle, but were too late to stop his departure. However, Mamine could feel Arcann's new presence in the Force, and could just barely see his eyes; while not as light as Anstrisil or her Padawan, his presence was FAR lighter than it was, and his eyes had turned from the sickly yellow of a slave to the Dark Side to a much brighter blue. Mamine knew she didn't have much time to talk, so she said only four words; "Your Mother is alive."

By this point Vaylin has ordered the Eternal Fleet to burn her family regardless of casualties on Voss, but the battle was turned by the arrival of the Imperial fleet, which turned the Eternal Fleet away. Valkorian again stopped time and urged Mamine to pursue and kill Arcann, kill Valyin and claim the Eternal Throne, but Mamine was having none of it; she said she knew Valkorian saw his son's eyes. She knew he could tell that his son was free from Valkorian's corruption, so he was no longer a threat to anyone anymore. When Valkorian unfroze time, Sith Empress Acina contacted Mamine over holo, greeting Mamine and invited the Alliance to Dromund Kaas to discuss a potential alliance against Vaylin. It was this point when they heard Brosra's voice come up behind them, shouting curses and profanities in an ancient tongue at Acina. When she calmed down slightly, she reminded Mamine of what Acina had done to her, her family; she brought a force to her ancestral home on Jaguada's moon, slaughtering her troops, butchering her family, and had captured and tortured her for years in a dungeon.  The only reason Brosra was alive was because Acina underestimated her unique ability to pull ancient knowledge from her species' blood to assist in her escape.

Mamine did what she could to calm the situation, and said that she couldn't turn away potential allies without talking to them first, and agreed that he'd at least talk to Acina before making a decision, with a caveat that she was not going to abandon the Republic even if she did ally with Acina.

Mamine traveled to Dromund Kaas with Lana, Suthazi and Theron, making the probably wise decisions to leave the volatile Brosra on Voss, arriving to Kaas City, where Valkorian froze time to lamented that he spend too long on this world that was not worth saving. Mamine wrinkled her nose in disgust, and reminded Valkorian that she killed him here before, and she'll do it again as soon as her people figured out how. Valkorian just chuckled and unfroze time just in time for the group to be greeted by Gelmid Lorman, who introduced himself as the new Minister of Logistics when Lana addressed him by his old title of Moff. Lorman escorted them to Acina, who greeted Mamine warmly. Mamine acted diplomatically, though Lorman interrupted a few times with a tone that said "we don't need to ally with anyone else", forcing Acina to insist on speaking with Mamine privately on her personal shuttle. Mamine agreed, leaving Lana and Theron behind to keep an eye on Lorman, though Suthazi was openly concerned, saying she should come along. Mamine assured Suthazi that this was just something a leader had to do, and that she'd come back safely before following Acina to her shuttle.

In flight and away from prying eyes, Acina stated that traditionalist Sith would not approve of the alliance she was offering and recognized Vaylin as the true threat. She assured Mamine that her offer of partnership was genuine and that she had no intention of taking the Eternal Throne for herself, and Mamine said the same, but added that she'd found very few Sith that were trustworthy, and that she'd never let her guard down around Acina. Their conversation was interrupted by a sudden engine failure, requiring Acina to crash land the shuttle and abandon ship. Now stuck in the wilderness of Dromund Kaas with their comms mysteriously jammed, Acina suspected someone sabotaged her shuttle, and Mamine suggested Lorman as the culprit, though Acina shot down the idea. Lorman didn't have the courage to do so, she said, and this caused Mamine to add that was the exact reason he was the prime suspect; Acina underestimated him.

Acina and Mamine were forced to contend with the planet's dangerous wildlife and lightning storms, traversing the terrain to the crashed shuttle in hopes of recovering the emergency beacon. A group was already waiting for them there and identified as the GenoHaradan, whom the Empress had always assumed to be a myth. The "legendary" assassins proved no match for the Alliance Commander and the Empress of the Sith, however, as the pair swiftly dealt with the assassins and continued their search for the GenoHaradan camp.

They continued into the jungle, eventually finding their way to the GenoHaradan main camp, and after clearing it, Mamine discovered a holorecording from former Republic Supreme Chancellor Leontyne Saresh. Saresh was revealed as the one who ordered the hit, and Acina remarked on the treachery of the Republic leadership, Mamine added that the Empire isn't without treachery either, before a gunship appeared and opened fire, forcing the pair to take shelter in a nearby Sith tomb, where the entrance was collapsed by the barrage.Valkorian again froze time, and again remarked how these ancient resting placed of Sith Lords never truly held the secret of immortality, causing Mamine to shake her head at this, saying that it was a privilege to become one with the Force, not something to be feared. Valkorian unfroze time, and Mamine focused on the task at hand; getting out of the tomb and getting back to Kaas City.

As the pair descended further into the tomb's depths, they found exactly what Mamine had been saying the entire time; the traitorous Minister Lorman, who was behind the shuttle sabotage, and a GenoHaradan strike team seeking to finish their job. They quickly and easily dispatched the GenoHaradan, and Lorman panicked, claiming to have Lana, Suthazi and Theron hostage. He attempted attempted to call his men, only to discover that his so-called hostages had dispatched them. Acina offered the Commander to decide Lorman's fate, and Mamine calmly stated that Jedi don't kill their prisoners, causing Acina to frown. Mamine said that Acina could do with him what she wished after due process had been gone through, but the fact remained that Jedi don't kill their prisoners.

Theron informed them that Saresh was coming to Odessen in a bid to take over the Alliance after she had earlier proclaimed that Mamine was dead along with Acina. The four quickly returned to Odessen, where Saresh was making a speech in front of the Alliance personnel. Upon seeking Mamine, she panicked and tried to flee, but Lana cut off her way of escaping. Saresh, in so many words, called Mamine weak, saying that she'd have ended the Sith Empire AND the Eternal Empire months ago if she were in charge. Suthazi said that Mamine had been waging war since before Saresh took governorship of Taris thirteen years ago, causing Saresh to glare at her, and flatly said "So, what, are you going to kill me, Commander? That's what I'd do." And Mamine  again calmly said that "Jedi don't kill their prisoners.You'll be given due process, but don't expect it to go your way." before sending Theron and Lana to escort Saresh to a prison cell, to Theron's approval.

A little while later, Acina then contacted Odessen with a formal offer for an alliance, which Mamine denied, saying that, while she had exhibited that she was trustworthy in this instance, she also illustrated a level of tactical blindness that Mamine couldn't risk getting in the Alliance's way. Acina accepted this, and simply stated that she hoped they'd never end up on the opposite side of a battlefield. Theron, who was standing nearby with Lana, Suthazi and Brosra, asked why she chose not to ally with Acina, and Mamine simply stated that, outside Yokonari, Casek and Lana, she could never fully trust a Sith. She explained Yokonari  and Casek's honor code and Lana's pragmatism and sense of loyalty to those that had proven themselves made them unique among the Sith, and Acina lacked both. Brosra, who had taken no offense to her being called untrustworthy, simply stated that she hoped the curses she had spouted at Acina on Voss would take root, something that bothered Mamine in the moment, but knowing she could do nothing about it at that time. Lana, however, was placated, though her pragmatism forced her to say that she hoped the wouldn't need Acina's reinforcements in the future.  Mamine assured her that they had the strongest fighters and best equipment in the galaxy now, and that she shouldn't worry.

It was this moment when Mamine pulled Brosra aside and asked her why she had been on Voss in the first place.  Brosra thought about lying, but decided that telling the truth wouldn't hurt her path to power, and told Mamine that she had been there for the Voss Ritual of Mind Healing.  She explained that her ability to draw on knowledge inherent in her blood was making it difficult for her to separate what where her actual memories from the memories of the ancestors she gained these powers from.  It made her sense of self difficult to maintain, and she was afraid she might go insane before she came of age. So she had spoken to Sana-Rae about it, and was told about the ritual that she had just undergone shortly before Vaylin's attack; the fact that her head was clear was very much the only reason she chose to help Senya defend her son; she was feeling that good, and didn't need the rage or hate to focus that she'd have gained by trying to kill Arcann. Mamine thanked the young Sith girl, and went off to perform her own meditations.

About an hour later, Casek came into the command center and stated that he had managed to convince his apprentice, Ashara Zavros, to join the Alliance after their efforts on Voss, who had also happened to be there at the time of the invasion, and Mamine recognized the name; the Togruta Jedi who followed Casek during his journey toward power, but resisted the corruption of the Dark Side while still accepting some of the Sith philosophy into her being.  Mamine thanked Casek, though Casek had to sadly mention that his relationship with Ashara had been forced to end. He said that Ashara recognized that Casek wasn't the man she fell in love with anymore, and he had gone to place that she couldn't follow thanks to his experiences over the last 6 years.  Casek said he understood, but was saddened all the same. Mamine did her best to console him, but when she got a notification of a distress call, she told the Zabrak she had to go.

As it turned out, the distress call was from Koth Vortena on the Gravestone; Vaylin had attacked and taken the ship. Koth, who had evaded capture, provided the Alliance with his coordinates, which gave Mamine what she needed what he needed to mobilize the Alliance fleet moving to intercept. However, before she could leave, Anstrisil came up to Mamine with a request for a team to rescue a former companion of his; apparently, the Alliance had found Felix Iresso's location, and he wanted to free him. Mamine gave the okay as she was boarding a shuttle with Lana and Suthazi.

Once the fleet got within the space around the Gravestone, Mamine, Suthazi and Lana infiltrated the Gravestone in a boarding pod and dispatched several Skytrooper patrols along their way to Koth. Upon greeting each other, Koth revealed to them that Vaylin's forces risked triggering the quantum bomb that he installed as a precaution against SCORPIO, which shocked Mamine; between the personnel and equipment that a quantum bomb could destroy, this action would be grounds for treason charges based on the on the potential credit loss along. And that wasn't even counting the fact that Koth went behind his Commanding Officer's back knowing full well that Mamine wouldn't approve of this. Mamine told Koth that he was in trouble for this, joining Koth in disabling the fuses, while Lana and Suthazi provided distraction. Koth was elated that they defused his bomb and prevented his mistake from costing lives, but Mamine said that after this, Koth was never setting foot on the Gravestone again. Koth said "I'd like to see you try to replace me", and Mamine said "Would you rather I put you on trial for treason? Because the consequences for that will be FAR worse than simply banning you from a vessel." Koth was shocked at Mamine's words,  and sheepishly agreed to just ban him from the Gravestone. He also agreed to help reach the bridge, only to be surprised to find it empty of Vaylin and her forces.

Koth disabled the bomb from the bridge console and told his crew to evacuate in escape pods. SCORPIO then contacted them and revealed that she knew about the quantum bomb and manipulated Vaylin into leaving the bridge so that Koth could disable it. SCORPIO also informed Mamine that Lana and Suthazi were cornered by Vaylin in the Dark Sanctuary, where the bomb was hidden. Mamine and Koth rushed down to the Dark Sanctuary to save them, arriving in time stop Vaylin from striking down Suthazi, but their fighting still triggered the bomb's countdown. Mamine dueled Vaylin, but she realized just how much more powerful the real Vaylin was over the one in her vision. But before the battle could continue any further, Valkorian intervened and stopped the time as he often did before, although this time, Vaylin was able to overcome his restraint. She used the Force to throw Mamine against the wall, which Mamine assumed she was able to do due to Valkorian shutting down her TK Barrier, as Mamine had put in extensive efforts to strengthen it,  Valkorian uttered the phrase "Kneel before the Dragon of Zakuul", triggering Vaylin's secret conditioning and making her powerless to strike.

Unable to fight, Vaylin turned and fled, giving Koth the chance to disarm the bomb while Mamine disabled the power relays to prevent its early detonation. As things calmed slightly, Mamine told Lana and Suthazi to not forget that Koth was banned from the Gravestone once all this was said and done.

A few moments later, Theron brought a team of Yokonari, Casek, Aric Jorgan, Torian Cadera and Vette as reinforcements by landing an Alliance shuttle inside the hangar. However, SCORPIO took over control of the Gravestone, sending it towards an unknown location and locking the hyperdrive.  The Alliance converged on the bridge, however, their fleet were forced to witness as the Gravestone jumped out of hyperspace in an unknown system, surrounded by the entirety of the Eternal Fleet.

SCORPIO left the ship in her shuttle and contacted Mamine again, revealing that the GEMINI droids were not imitations of her technology, but were related to her, as well as the Eternal Fleet and the Gravestone. SCORPIO uncovered their point of origin in the Gravestone and brought them all there, thanking Mamine for assisting their journey and warning them that Vaylin and her remaining forces were sabotaging everything on the Gravestone. Mamine rushed to the omnicannon, but in er absence, Vaylin returned to the bridge and overpowered her team. She threatened to kill Torian and Vette before settling on Suthazi, but was unable to hurt anyone before a blinding white light engulfed the ship.

And that's it for the first KOTET post. I'll run 4-6 tomorrow, 7-9 on Sunday, Iokath on Monday, and the Traitor Saga in the currently scheduled release day of 5.10.   For now, look forward to the reason I'm bringing along Yokonari and Casek on the first visit to Iokath, and stay beautiful beautiful freaks!

SWTOR Character Tales: Rise of Mamine Interlude 2

Welcome back, my beautiful freaks, to the Assassin's Den! It's time for the Rise of Mamine Interlude between KOTFE and KOTET!

With Arcann now somewhere where he couldn't be reached and Vaylin settling in to the Eternal Throne, Mamine had a couple of weeks to take care of some new people that her specialists had informed her to join the Alliance.  Her first mission was to Hoth to retrieve a group of Jawas led by a a jawa named Blizz. Mamine took Suthazi and headed to Hoth, where they explained Blizz what was going on and how Blizz and his team could help.  Blizz said that if Mamine could deliver some supplies to Blizz's crew and bring them to a location where a rival gang, a group of Uggnauts, were located, and helped them defeat them, the Jawas would join them. After the Uggnauts' defeat, Blizz and his team joined the Alliance, though Blizz, now calling himself "boss", decided that Mamine had to be called "big boss", which Mamine just shrugged off; whatever this Jawa needed to do in order to understand the heirarchy of the Alliance.

Not long after, Casek told Mamine of something Talos Drellik found on Yavin 4; a Dashade who had been in stasis since the end of the Old Sith War against Exar Kun and Ulic Qel-Droma.  After going through the effort to release the Dashade, Mamine and Suthazi were forced to battle him. After defeating him, the Dashade revealed his name as Ak’ghal Usar, and he wanted revenge against Exar Kun for the destruction of his homeworld of Urkupp during the Cron Supernova. Ak'ghal wasn't pleased when Mamine told him Exar Kun was dead, nor was she pleased when the Dashade asked to join her in return for information on how to get access to the ghost of Exar Kun. She was also concerned when she remembered that Khem Val, Casek's personal bodyguard, ate Force users, but realized that if she bound him the same way Casek bound Khem, and said that she'd allow the Dashade if he made a binding oath that he would obey her commands, and not act against her wishes, to widh Ak'gal agreed, joining the Alliance.

A day later, Mamine was informed by Hylo that a former gladiator, Bowdaar, was on Zakuul and running a cantina attached to a pit fighting circuit.  She headed there with Suthazi, and was informed that Bowdaar was trying to organize the arena slaves, helping them save up money to buy their freedom, and he asked Mamine if she'd help him. Mamine took this opportunity to say that he'd fight for Bowdaar, and he'd donate all his winnings to Bowdaar's cause.Suthazi wanted to join in as well, but Bowdaar said he only needed one champion. Mamine then went down to the promoter, who told Mamine that she needed a fighter's name. Mamine suggested "Battlemaster", which was denied due to "having seen 3 Battlemasters this week", and then suggested "the Mysterious Stranger", which got Mamine to chuckle inwardly; "the Mysterious Stranger" was Revan's name in the Taris arena 300 years before, according to the history texts.

Mamine went in and won ten rounds of increasing difficulty, though for Mamine, with a pair of lightsabers and the Force, none of the rounds were particularly noteworthy.  After ten victories as "Bowdaar's fighter", the man whom Bowdaar was warring against confronted him, and demanded that Bowdaar, a former Arena Champion himself, fight his best fighter and end this feud once and for all.  Bowdaar agreed, and entered the arena with Mamine, and the two won the battle, with Bowdaar finally agreeing to join the Alliance after all the fighters were finally freed.

Upon returning to Odessen from that mission, Mamine got another mission from Hylo Visz about a Wookiee contact of her, Gryyzak, and he was willing to meet on Alderaan.  However, when Mamine and Suthazi got to the meeting place, Mamine found a bunch of wrecked speeders, so they was forced to investigate what happened. Apparently, the Wookiee delegation was attacked, and were forced to flee on their speeders. Following the trail, the Cathar pair came to a twi'lek male who had been run off the road by the battle and pointed them toward another crash site.  Investigating this crash site finally led them to Gryyzak, who was being accosted by a violently psychotic Talz, who blamed Gryyzak for his people's current weakness.  This forced Mamine and Suthazi to battle the Talz, but when Mamine tried to arrest the Talz, he attacked Mamine, forcing Suthazi to kill the Talz.  Later, after returning to Odessen, Mamine was approached by Yokonari, who told Mamine that she held no ill will against her for killing his former companion Broonmark, the Talz who was the one who put them in this situation in the first place; Broonmark was dangerous, and she was glad to be rid of him.  It was this moment that Mamine said she wanted to talk to Yokonari when they both had some free time in private, and Yokonari agreed, saying that the best time would be during her evening detox session.

Mamine had a couple of somewhat busy days before her next recruitment drive, this time, the subject was brought up by Sana Rae.  Mamine remembered a conversation she had with her previously, about how she was not used to people not following her words exactly as they should, and asked Mamine to talk to the people about it, and Mamine reminded her that they weren't on Voss; here, she wasn't a revered Mystic. She was just a Force user from one of many Force using cultures, and that she needed to be more tolerant and explain why her visions should be followed that wasn't "The Mystics are never wrong", because a willingness to understand another's culture meant that they were willing to understand yours. Sana Rae took this to heart, and it was in this vein that she brought up a Force user who saw the Force differently than others; she wanted to understand his view, and thought he might be willing to aid the Alliance.

Thankfully, Blizz knew this "shining Jedi Man", as Sana Rae's vision suggested, and took Mamine and Suthazi to Nar Shaddaa to meet a Mon Calamari that Suthazi knew, Languss Tuno. Apparently, "Guss" as Suthazi called him, went back to finish his Jedi training, and had been approached by the Padawan's Collective, as he was older and more experienced than most of them, Guss but found an unusual master to teach him.Suthazi, however, was unimpressed with Guss' master, and continued to lead the Padawan's Collective herself.

Guss took Mamine, Suthazi and Blizz to meet his master, and Suthazi wrinkled her nose at him, and mentioned how this "teacher" was nothing more than a man who failed his Jedi trails.  He was no Master, and he wasn't suited for the Jedi lifestyle. "Master" said to Suthazi, "Oh, so you think your Master can do better?" when they talked about Guss' training, and Mamine said that she didn't exactly have a standard Jedi upbringing either, and said that she would have a non-standard perspective.  So the "Master" gave Guss a task; get a storekeeper to give Guss a bottle of the "Master's" favorite alcoholic beverage by manipulating his mind with the Force. Mamine agreed, knowing full well that telepathy was her specialty.

During the trip to the sector, Mamine talked to Guss about her own path as a Jedi; about how he too came to the Force later in life, and how she too needed a more philosophical approach to the Jedi Code and rules than what was taught to children.  When pressed, Mamine said she had learned the hard way that they needed to understand their darkness, not outright rejecting it, while choosing the Light.  Mamine explained that, as adult students, they already had coping mechanisms for dealing with fear, anger, passion and jealousy built into them from just growing into adulthood, and they should be more concerned about whether or not their coping mechanisms were healthy coping mechanisms. If they weren't healthy for the student, they needed to learn ones that were, something that Mamine had learned the hard way, and stated that Guss' way of experiencing what the galaxy had to offer was a good thing so long as it wasn't done to excess, since it gave Guss a "what does the Dark Side have to offer me? I have what I want" mindset. Guss was impressed by this philosophy, and said it made more sense for him than what Master Lorenn taught him.

Mamine continued, stating that in order to master the minds of others, a student needed to know himself.  And this led Mamine to ask Guss to tell Mamine about himself.  And Guss immediately launched into that; who he was, where he was from, his life experiences with the Voidhound, all of it.  When Guss was done,, Mamine realized that Guss' innate abilities were similar to some things she figured out; he unconsciously manipulated the emotions of others while he talked. Guss needed only to recognize this within himself to truly grasp the Mind Trick.

So, when they got to the first stop, Mamine just said "Don't worry about affecting their mind; just talk to them. Get a read on them.  See if they are receptive to what you want, because a willing mind is much easier to influence an unwilling one."   Guss went into the shop and even though he failed to get what his "Master" wanted again, he understood where Mamine was going.  The second stop had Mamine continue the lesson; now that Guss could get a read on the subject, Guss should, while taking, try to influence the feelings of generosity and compassion, the emotions that would make them willing to give Guss what he wanted.  Mamine also added that Guss shouldn't worry about getting what he wanted here either, and to just apply what Mamine told him.

When Guss came out this time, he was excited; he had failed again to get the bottle, but this was the first time anyone had politely told him "no".  Mamine smiled, and told Guss that he was learning quickly.  They continued on to the final store that sold the drink, and Mamine said it was time to apply everything Guss learned and finally use the Force to get the item.  Mamine reminded Guss of everything he had been taught; talk to the target, get a read on their emotions, influence the right ones, and finally, reach out and directly influence the mind.  Guss went in, and after coming out, he was elated at his success. He told Mamine that he did just what Mamine told him; he went in, talked, got a read on his situation, and during the conversation, they started talking about a food item they both liked, and Guss reached out and said "You should have one", which caused the merchant to repeat Guss, which made Guss realize what he had just done. They continued talking, and Guss was able to influence the mind of the merchant to give him the drink.  Mamine congratulated Guss, and started their way back to Guss' "Master's" home.

They returned to the "Master's" residence, only to find he had headed to the Cantina off the Promenade from Blizz.  The trio headed to the Cantina and Guss gave the drink to his "Master", who then rewarded Guss with some of his favorite food and drinks in a room nearby so he could have some privacy with Mamine.  Suthazi once again glared at the "Master", who ignored her said "I'm surprised you go through to him, with you being a fully trained Jedi filled with their dogma." And Mamine shot back "I came to the Force as an adult, and only reached an equilibrium after drowning in Darkness. I understand that one needs to experience what the galaxy has to offer, but not to excess, because that can lead to corruption."  She and her Padawan then turned away from the failed Padawan and joined Guss in his celebrations, returning to Odessen when the Mon Calamari was sated.

Sana Rae was curious about Guss' view of the Force, and Mamine stated that it wasn't all that different his own, and that he could benefit from further training in the Jedi arts by someone like Anstrisil, but so long as they took the time to get to know the young man.

A few hours later, Mamine was given another mission back to Nar Shaddaa, this time by Bey'wan Aygo.  Upon arriving at the mission point, Mamine noticed that her contact was his old teammate, Fideltin Rusk. Rusk, now a Provost Marshal, a leader a unit composed of conscripted criminals called the Dead Man's Legion.  Rusk's command style was perfect for this unit, as Command didn't care whether these criminals lived or died, as they were all death row inmates, so long as the mission got done.  Rusk was happy to see Mamine, though upon asking what happened Mamine, expressed concern about the Emperor controlling her again. Mamine assured that she was still the person she had become after her exile from Cathar, and her mind was a LOT stronger than it was 12 years earlier.

Mamine, Suthazi and Rusk took the Dead Man's Legion against the Black Sun thugs, when they came face to face with something they weren't expecting; a woman in heavy armor standing over a headless Houk, his head attached to her belt.  When the group demanded answers from this woman, she removed her helmet to reveal Alliance member Azulini. Azulini explained that she was here to help; that a Black Sun Vigo had put a bounty on Skadge's head for the problems he was causing the Black Sun through his actions on Nar Shaddaa.  Azulini explained that, when Hardatt found out that this bounty was connected to Aygo's mission, thanks to him slicing Aygo's records, they figured they'd kill two birds with one stone and get some extra money on the side.  Mamine told Azulini the same thing she told Yokonari; she appreciated the effort, but she was not to take Alliance operations into her own hands in the future. Azulini complied, saying that if that was a condition to keep working for the Alliance, they would do it.  And as Azulini left, Mamine told Rusk to have his Legion wipe out the rest of the Black Sun thugs here and told him to meet her on Odessen from there.

Upon reaching Odessen, Mamine saw HK-55 standing over a human corpse with another droid beside him in the main hall. She asked for an explanation, and the droid stated that, after a mission to capture the Shroud, he went through an entire adventure which put Mamine's programming to the best; HK could not blast an old blind man that attacked him with only a vibromop, but he was able to kill an unarmed Malforia, simply because she had access to the Force, all because Mamine explained to HK that those trained in the Force were never unarmed.  He then returned to Odessen to stop the Shroud from blowing up the base, only to find that his companion, Z0-0M, was the Shroud, and the man he shot had planted bombs around the base.  However, thanks to a failed attempt to erase HK-55's memories, Z0-0M fried her own memories, and HK-55 suggested to Mamine to have Doctor Oggurub scan her parts to ensure she didn't have any surprises for them.  Mamine grinned  and said "Do what you need to, HK," and headed to see Bey'wan about Rusk, and informed him to either only allow Rusk command of the Dead Man's Legion, or only have him train other recruits, and to never give him troops they wanted to see again due to Rusk's tendency of looking at his soldiers as "we have reserves".  Bey'wan agreed, and Mamine took Suthazi for more training exercises.




After all this was done, it was finally time for the meeting Mamine had set up with Yokonari; she wanted get through this tension there had between them ever since Yokonari killed Kaliyo. It was scheduled for Yokonari's evening detox treatment in her quarters, in which Mamine found Yokonari sitting in a treatment chair, completely nude with a bunch of tubes sticking out of her, as she had the last time she entered Yokonari's quarters.

Mamine started it by asking what Yokonari's problem with the Hand of Jadus still was; hadn't she killed him and dismantled his operations already?  Yokonari, calmly for once, stated that it wasn't just the Hand that was involved in her suffering; all the members of his crew were responsible, save for the dark skinned female human with weak Force Sensitivity.  Yokonari explained the assault on her home were done a combined force of Imperials and Killiks, an alliance from which the Hand of Jadus gained from his work with Joiner Vector Hyllus.  Killiks that captured her parents and her brother, and turned them into Joiners. Doctor Lokin's research on the Rakghoul plague's potential to mutate a genetic code combined with SCORPIO's research into Sith biology were the springboards for the virus that would be crippling her were it not for her cybernetics. And Kaliyo herself stabbed Yokonari in the spine, severing the cord at the waist while Yokonari was just about to kill the Hand during their raid.  They were all involved in her current suffering, and they all earned the death that she had brought them.

Mamine interrupted Yokonari, saying she knew required that she required a twice daily detox for fatigue toxins, but Yokonari interrupted right back, saying it wasn't just the detox that they responsible for; her cybernetics reinforced bones that had become brittle due to the virus, stimulate muscles that had been severely weakened, enhancing lung capacity back to her previous ability, and her artificial cardiac pacemaker forced her heart to work at the capacity it did at at her peak. However, thanks to the cellular damage caused by the virus warping her genetic code, whenever she did act in any real physical capacity, including training, she was in unbelievable pain.  She was in constant torment at all times save for when she underwent her detox, and when she was sleeping, though that was only because she allowed her medical droid to inject her with painkillers to help her sleep.  And when Mamine asked why she didn't just use painkillers before or after rigorous activity, Yokonari's reply was simply "Would YOU want to dull your senses?" and Mamine was forced to admit that no, she wouldn't.

Yokonari went on to recant the stories of what had happened to the Hand's followers; the Human Raina Temple, who only stayed with the Hand to avoid being handed over to the Sith, escaped the Hand during the raid on Yokonari's estate and returned to the Chiss Ascendancy. Eckard Lokin was on Alderaan working on his Rakghoul virus when Casek electrocuted him to death, and Vector had returned to his hive, where Yokonari found that her parents and brother were Joiners. Yokonari's rage burned so hot that she utilized Pyrokinesis, a Force ability that allowed her to use the Force to conjure flames from the air and burned the Killik nest and all the Killiks and Joiners, her parents and Vector included, alive.  She regretted torturing her parents like that, Yokonari said, but she rationalized their minds were already dead, and that it didn't matter what happened to their bodies now.  The only one she hadn't killed herself with SCORPIO, the only one left of the Hand of Jadus' crew.

The worst part was that this virus had no cure. Neither the Hand, his people, nor Doctor Lokin had created any cure.  And it was this reason why Casek had delved so heavily into biological sciences in addition to his arcane knowledge; Sith Alchemy could change her on a genetic level, but they needed to isolate what was wrong with Yokonari's genetic code first. However, because Sith Alchemy had a tendency to drive the target insane, Casek was trying to isolate the defect introduced into her genetics, and until he did and cured her, Yokonari said she would not know peace; that besides SCORPIO, that her suffering was the last legacy of the Hand of Jadus that needed to be wiped away.

 It had been an eventful couple of weeks, but Mamine knew that Vaylin wouldn't sit idle for long. So she made sure that the Alliance stayed ready, and prepared to act when Vaylin started causing trouble.

SWTOR Character Tales: Rise of Mamine KOTFE 13-16

Welcome back, my beautiful freaks, to the Assassin's Den! It's time to close out KOTFE once and for all with chapters 13 through 16!

A few hours later, Mamine was still stewing over Kaliyo disobeying a direct order. She knew Kaliyo was dangerous from the start, and she had no idea the damage she'd do without supervision. But she also realized that it wasn't fair to judge Kaliyo before she got back; Mamine had no idea what Kaliyo was going to do, but only that it wasn't going to be good. Mamine could only hope that Kaliyo would pleasantly surprise her, but she doubted that.

However, she didn't have too much more time to think about this, because she got a message that Hylo Visz wanted to talk to her about the Alliance's funding. In short, they weren't getting nearly as much in as they were putting out.  Hylo brought up an old associate who could give the Alliance the financial punch in the arm it needed to continue this war.  Once they got up the elevator and into the cantina, Mamine saw a Devaronian playing a card game with Lana. Mamine could sense that Lana was using the Force to read the Devaronian's mind and tried to predict the cards accordingly, but the Devaronian still won their game.  Lana was outraged and stormed off, and the Devaronian introduced himself as Gault Rennow, although it wasn't long before a female voice came up behind them and called him "Tyresius Lokai".  Gault said that she must have mistaken him for someone else, Azulini removed her helmet as she came into Gault's view and said "There are many slimy Devaronians, but nome so slimy as Tyresius Lokai. Good to see you again." This got Mamine's attention, and Azulini explained how she, her husband and Tyresius had worked together in a few jobs six years earlier, and that if Tyresius had a plan that he claimed would make them a lot of money, he could deliver. She also offhandedly mentioned that she had mentioned to bed the Devaronian during that time, which caught Hylo's ear, saying Gault never mentioned that, something that caused Azulini to chuckle and say that was probably because it likely meant as much to him as it did to her; one night of fun that didn't matter at all in the long run. Gault sheepishly cleared his throat, and then laid out his plan; raid the Gilded Star and steal the Zakuulan treasury.  He laid out the basics of the plan; they would board the ship, empty the treasury, and then load it onto Hardatt's Corellian XS Freighter, which had the speed and firepower to get away with the haul. But in order to get what they needed, they need two people from the Alliance, Senya and SCORPIO, another person on the Vandin Tibanna platform, and some equipment that Gault had shipped there. Once they had all they needed, they'd all meet at Gault's safe house to discuss the plan in full.

Once the set down on the Vandin station, Gault led Mamine and Suthazi, who once again followed her Master into a mission, to a large cargo crate with a person in it; an Anomid named Dretcher. Dretcher  also called Gault "Tyresius Lokai", who then activated his battle droids and tried to rid of the Devaronian, however, Gault, Suthazi and Mamine easily destroyed the droids. But Dretcher's container boasted reinforced armor, and while Mamine said that one of her lightsabers could cut through anything, Gault had something more cruel; he threatened to shake him to death with a sonic amplifier to the songs sung by Wookiees on Life Day. Dretecher had no choice but to let them inside and agree to do his job in exchange for finally getting Tyresius off his back.

Mamine, Suthazi and Gault then went to the meeting with the Brekken Gang and its Captain Kenrik Fost. Asking to inspect his missile, Gault announced his refusal to pay for it and after the Niktos raised their arms, activated the warhead. The gang ran away, attempting trying to flee the blast radius, but Gault was unable to stop the countdown and it reached zero, only to reveal his Twi'lek partner Vette, longtime companion of Yokonari's, revealing that she was pranking Gault, and had already removed the warhead beforehand.  Mamine then said that as pranks go, that one was good.  Gault then said not to encourage her, and said that the rest of the team was assembled at the safehouse, and they should head there too.

Once there, Gault finally laid out his entire plan to infiltrate the ship. Dretcher would trick the system to see the identity of Vaylin when scanning her mother Senya, who provided a very close genetic match, though they had to introduce corruption in Vaylin's record in order to fool the censors, which also required Dretcher's skills, and required knowledge that Senya had about her daughter, as well as things her daughter would know. Senya would take SCORPIO aboard as her "attache droid", who would slice into the security and disarm the security around the vault once on the bridge. This would allow Vette, Gault, Suthazi, and the Mamine to get onboard and place the warhead inside the vault, which would break up the wealth into dust, which the Alliance could then vacuum out of the hold and into Hardatt's ship's hold.  Mamine said that there were plenty of things that could go wrong, but added that they could handle them as they popped up.

As they were waiting for Senya and SCORPIO to get into position so Mamine, Suthazi, Gault and Vette could begin their assault, Mamine asked how he managed to beat Lana at cards.  Gault smugly asked Mamine what she would do in that situation, figuring that Mamine would say "read your mind", so instead, Mamine chose to be funny and said "Knock you on your ass with the Force, scoop up the payout, and then deflect any blaster bolts shot at me with my lightsaber." This got a grin out of Vette, a disapproving "Minay" from her Padawan, and a frown Gault combined with a comment about how he'd never play sabacc with Mamine, before Gault explained how he kept his mind off his cards and in the gutter to resist Lana's mind reading attempts.  Mamine simply took his word for it, not wanting to test that, though Suthazi was skeptical and took him up on the offer, only to remark "You're disgusting" when she left his mind, getting a ear-to-ear grin out of Gault.

The chat was cut short when SCORPIO alerted them that she and Senya had entered the bridge, and that it was time for the four to move forward. And as expected, Mamine's team fought through Skytroopers and human workers, leaving Vette to crawl through vents once on the ship so she could disable the local security, which she had completed before they got to the vault.  From there, Mamine, Suthazi and Gault set the warhead, sealed the vault, and set it off, leaving the dust and debris to be vacuumed by Hardatt's team into his cargo hold. Upon completion of that, Vette rejoined them after having raided the armory and returned with an assault cannon.  Suthazi asked if she enjoyed making entrances like that, and Vette playfully said she did.

The team fought their way through the ship, only for Gault to see the elevator coming back up, and Mamine recognizing Vaylin's presence.  This worried Suthazi, but while Mamine was certain she could beat Vaylin in combat, she couldn't do so without Vaylin destroying the ship.  So they retreated outside, though not before Vette dropped the assault cannon, saying goodbye to "Spewie" and that she'd "never forget" it, forcing them to head to the outside of the ship, where they started hearing blaster fire. That blaster fire was Azulini coming to their aid, having flown in with her jetpack, saying that she wasn't going to let these people have all the fun of a running escape. They eventually got to the ledge where Hylo's ship would appear, and how they interacted once they were safe confirmed Mamine's suspicions that they were indeed a couple.

Upon getting back to Odessen, Hylo, after mentioning the expenses, stated that this haul would fund the Alliance for a long time, though when Gault brought divvying up their shares, Hylo mentioned that she had already done so, but with what Gault owed her skimmed off of his. Gault complained that she had "taken all the fun out of it", but Hylo mentioned that his idea of fun is why his divvying privileges were still revoked, only for Hardatt shouting "seconded". Gault just glared at Hardatt and said that he never actually screwed them while they worked together, which got a laugh out of Hardatt and Azulini.

However, they didn't have time to celebrate, as that was when Kaliyo and Jorgan had finally returned.  And when Mamine got to the military hangar, there was a fight brewing between Kaliyo and Jorgan; apparently, when Kaliyo came to help Jorgan, she had gotten Havoc killed.  The Spire still stood, though Kaliyo had managed to get her hands on a database for the GEMINI droids, which held the location as to where to find GEMINI Prime.

Mamine stopped the fight, and confronted Kaliyo about her actions; she got a lot of good people killed by disobeying her orders.  A team of five special forces soldiers was not worth the data she had retrieved, and there had to be consequences for Kaliyo's actions.  However, before Mamine had any chance to thing about what those consequences could be, a red bladed lightsaber popped out of Kaliyo's chest. As the blade deactivated and Kaliyo's body slumped to the floor, Yokonari deactivated her stealth generator, and said that those who belonged to the Hand of Jadus deserved death, something that immediately upset Mamine, who told Yokonari that Jedi don't kill their prisoners, and Yokonari replied with "That is what makes the Light Side weak".  She said that Kaliyo had directly been involved in her capture by the Hand, and was the most sadistic and cruel member of his crew outside the Hand himself.  And in case Mamine had forgotten, Kaliyo had been a terrorist on Zakuul, something that hurt innocent people. "I did you a favor, Mamine", she said, before being stopped by Mamine, who told her that even with all that, Yokonari did NOT deal out punishment without her Commander's approval, a fact that Yokonari accepted, so long as the Commander was willing to do what was necessary when it came down to that.




A few minutes later, Anstrisil came up to Mamine and apologized for what Yokonari had done. He explained that, while the White Knights were well versed in hiding their nature and fending off the Dark Sides of others, they weren't very well versed in fending off their own Dark Side, fooling themselves into believing that they had no Dark Side. So, when they were forced to face their own Dark Sides the way Yokonari and Casek did, they were completely unprepared, and they crumbled.  That was one of the reasons he left the White Knights for the Jedi, Anstrisil said; at least the Jedi acknowledged their Dark Sides, even if they did leave it up to the individual Jedi to figure out how to deal with it.


A few days later, SCORPIO revealed that the GEMINI frequency was based on her design, and said that the Prime unit was being held at a weapon's factory on Darvannis, and Theron Shan said that he could call in a favor from Shae Vizla to get forces there.  Vizla, now Mandalore the Avenger, in turn sent out the call to war.  If they could get Vizla on their side, they would have access to some of the best warriors in the galaxy.

Mamine took her Padawan to Darvannis, where Vizla's clans were was itching for both payback against the Eternal Empire and a chance to re-arm themselves with the spoils from Darvannis factory. Vizla's second-in-command Khomo Fett was dismissive of the Jedi, which caused him to immediately butt heads with Suthazi, reminding Khomo of Mamine's accomplishments, and how she was more of a match for anyone there. Vizla broke up the fight, saying they had more than enough enemies already, and didn't need to fight among themselves. Vizla decided to give Mamine a chance to prove herself, pairing her with a scout Torian Cadera. Torian told Mamine and said he'd "keep her safe". Mamine laughed at this statement, and said that he was a Battlemaster of the Jedi Order, and had killed the Sith Emperor twice. Torian remarked that, since Mamine wasn't Mandalorian, he didn't want to assume, though Suthazi added that "Underestimating people can get you killed, Torian. Even I know that."

 Torian joined Mamine and Suthazi in capturing the perimeter guns and reprogramming them to target the weapons factory, however, when they got a report about a group of Mandalorians were being overwhelmed by Skytroopers, Torian stated that there was no honor and being killed by machines and attempted to target Chorn's location for an artillery strike, killing the warriors along the droids. Mamine stopped him, reminding him that killing their own people wasted a potential asset, and these Mandalorians would raring for revenge if they survived. Upon returning, Khomo Fett was upset that Mamine didn't let his people die with honor, and Mamine told him what she told Torian; never waste an asset in war. Vizla then stopped the brewing fight, and informed them all that they needed to rest for the night, and the fighting would resume tomorrow. For now, the Mandalorians would hold a Kote ky'ram, or a death ceremony intended to grant them the highest honor for their fallen comrades. Suthazi, who had researched the Mandalorians after learning of their shared history with the Cathar, explained that the Kote ky'ram was usually for those who fell against Jedi or against overwhelming odds, so those warriors who fell were being the granted the glory in death they didn't get in life. With that in mind, Mamine chose to put off her meditations for a while and joined in with the ceremony, attempting to show solidarity with those she was fighting along side.

The next morning, Torian again joined Mamine and Suthazi in neutralizing the enemy forces at the Zakuulan listening post in preparation for the main assault. After neutralizing their enemies, Lana contacted Mamine and passed on detailed schematics of the factory obtained by Theron to help with the assault, but also cautioned Mamine regarding a long-term alliance with the Mandalorians, comparing them to wild animals craving violence.  Mamine denied this mindset, stating that Mamine had once been considered a wild animal craving violence, and Lana considered her the most valuable asset they had. Mamine said to just give the Mandalorians a chance, and they would surprise Lana.

With the factory's power stations taken over by Clan Beroya and Clan Fett warriors, Shae Vizla gathered the warriors to rally them before the final assault.  And during the planning stages, Vizla said she didn't see any way to accomplish the mission without heavy casualties.  Mamine, remembering a conversation they had earlier about how she wasn't used to being a leader where they bonded over their shared experiences as leaders, offered the information Lana gave him as a signal of trust. With this information, Vizla ordered the main Mandalorian force move into the factory to claim as many weapons as possible, while Torian and Suthazi accompanied Mamine on a mission to secure the GEMINI Prime. Inside the factory, Torian revealed that he overheard the previous conversation between Mamine and Lana and insisted that the Mandalorians were not animals, but warriors with a sense of honor. Mamine calmed Torian's agitation, saying despite how much she trusted her at this point, she and Lana didn't always see eye to eye, and Torian apologized for saying anything. Torian said he would guard Mamine's exit, with Suthazi saying she'd help, and Mamine went off to locate the GEMINI Prime. She established a link with SCORPIO, which piqued the Prime's curiosity. Mamine, as carefully as possible, removed the droid from her alcove, while the Mandalorians retreated from the factory.

In the aftermath of the battle, Shae Vizla expressed worry about how the clans would react once the war with Zakuul was finally over, and Mamine said that she would need focus on young leaders that understood that war wasn't always the best way to test their strength. Vizla was intrigued by this idea, and asked Torian, who had just entered Vizla's tent, what he thought about the future, and he flat out said that there were enough challenges without needing to wage war. Vizla agreed, and told Torian to join the Alliance as her representative.

Upon returning to Odessen with GEMINI Prime in their possession, SCORPIO was able to analyze the template and easily crack the droid's internal protocols due to their similar designs. SCORPIO explained to the Alliance leaders that by plugging the Prime into the captain's console on any warship in the Eternal Fleet, she would be able to take control of the entire network, and with it the Eternal Fleet. Identifying a lone warship scheduled to recharge its hyperdrive as their target, the Alliance moved to intercept it.

A few hours later, Koth piloted the Gravestone to the location of the Eternal Fleet warship and stayed onboard to jam its communications and safeguard the GEMINI Prime. SCORPIO was able to confuse the Eternal Fleet vessel's targeting systems, allowing Theron Shan to take a shuttle with a strike team consisting of Lana, Senya, SCORPIO, Suthazi and Mamine inside its hangar. The GEMINI captain noted their presence before being distracted by SCORPIO, noting their physical similarities. She then activated a set of blast doors, separating Mamine and SCORPIO from Suthazi, Lana, Senya and Theron, forcing both groups to battle droids. After a brief conversation over the coms where Mamine suggested that she, Suthazi, Senya and Lana use their lightsabers to cut through the door, SCORPIO mentioned that the doors were made of a lightsaber materials, and said they should head to the rendezvous point. On their way to the rendezvous point, Mamine and SCORPIO came across a data note and that SCORPIO plugged herself into, establishing a direct link with the ship's GEMINI captain. She announced her intention to erase the GEMINI, but the captain overloaded SCORPIO's circuits and destroyed her chassis. This temporarily disrupted the Gravestone jamming signal, allowing the GEMINI Captain to inform Emperor Arcann of the intruders. Lana contacted Mamine and informed her of a change in the plan, sending Suthazi to escort her Master to Lana's present location. Mamine informed Lana of SCORPIO's demise, which relieved the Sith Lord, who felt that the droid would be a problem in the future one way or another.  Mamine chastised Lana for her callousness, saying that even though she wasn't trustworthy, SCORPIO died in service of their cause.

Upon arrival at their new rendezvous point, Lana explained that the ship was transporting prisoners for Arcann to interrogate; Imperial Admiral Zasha Ranken, former leader of Imperial Forward Command, Republic Senator Tai Cordan, who followed Anstrisil as part of the Rift Alliance, and Zakuulan holostar-in-exile Malita Tal. The trio were inspired by Mamine and her efforts, and had found each other in their search for the Alliance, forming an alliance of their own, but Arcann had captured them and was going to "interview" them on Mamine's whereabouts. Lana, Senya and Theron escorted the freed prisoners to the escape pods, while Suthazi and Mamine confronted and defeated the GEMINI captain. After a protracted battle, the GEMINI acknowleded her defeat, and revealed that her clash with SCORPIO granted her free will, before she transferred her consciousness into the frequency and triggered the ship's self-destruct. With power fluctuating like crazy, Theron asked Mamine which escape pods to launch first, but was only able to launch two, the Zakuulan and Imperial ones, while the third one exploded, killing everyone inside, devastating Theron. The Alliance leadership barely managed to escape the vessel's destruction in time as Arcann and Vaylin arrived with the Eternal Fleet. The Gravestone escaped into hyperspace, while GEMINI Prime had completely shut itself down. Theron shouted at Mamine, asking why Senator Cordan had to die, and Mamine gently explained that, to the some of the Zakuulans and Imperials, she was a "Republic lap dog", and would put the Republic's interested above anyone else's. This showed that no, this wasn't the case, that she cared about everyone's wellbeing. Mamine regretted the loss of the Senator, both for the loss of the person and for the loss of the weapons and droids he could have brought into the Alliance, which placated Theron, but SCORPIO contacting them ended all discussion. She revealed that she faked her death, using the GEMINI network to transport herself to Zakuul, where she took control of the Eternal Throne.

A little over a day later. the Alliance leadership was trying to figure out what SCORPIO was planning, and also learned that a portion of the Eternal Fleet remained under Arcann's control. Yokonari and Casek were filled with rage over SCORPIO's betrayal, Yokonari said she should have killed the treacherous droid as it belonged to the Hand of Jadus, but Suthazi shouted that this wasn't helping anything.  But almost as if she knew what they were talking about, SCORPIO called and explained that she revealed Odessen's location to Arcann, to test whether he would retake his throne or deal with Mamine and Valkorian immediately. And of course, Arcann chose to go after his father. With Eternal Fleet on its way, Mamine had no choice but to leave behind some forces in case of a ground assault, while taking the fight to Arcann on the Gravestone. As the battle of Odessen began, Lana determined that the only way to ensure safely of the Alliance was to annihilate Arcann's Eternal Flagship, disabling its shield and weapons. Lana, Senya, Suthazi, Vette and Gault accompanied Mamine in the infiltration of the flagship, where after seeing her mother on the security cameras, Vaylin contacted them and revealed that Arcann was on the ship's bridge, while also luring Senya away from them to confront her personally.

As they made their way to confront Arcann on the bridge, Lana was informed by Theron that the rest of the Eternal Fleet had turned on Arcann as well and now targeted Arcann's flagship to eliminate both him and the Commander in one fell swoop. Lana realized, in horror, that SCORPIO was trying to destroy them both, but Mamine stated that changed nothing; their mission was still to stop Arcann.

Upon reaching the bridge, Lana stayed behind to deal with a squad of Zakuul Knights, leaving Mamine to confront Arcann alone. Suthazi wanted to come with Mamine, but Mamine, for once, denied this request; Suthazi's training wasn't far enough along to be of help in this battle. A Padawan needed understand and accept her own limits, and Suthazi was forced to admit, to both Mamine and herself, that she could be better served keeping Arcann's forces from getting to the bridge. Mamine promised Suthazi she'd come back, and walked through the door to face her destiny.

 Arcann claimed that his animosity was always about Valkorian, not Mamine himself, but Mamine said that, by fighting her, Arcann was doing exactly what his father wanted; they only way they could stop him was to be allies, not enemies. This angered Arcann even further, and demanded his father to answer him. When Mamine said "Your rather's gone, Arcann. He left me weeks ago. He wants one of us to eliminate one of threats to regaining his power," a frustrated Arcann blasted Mamine with telekinesis, knocking Mamine to her knees. Arcann then ran forward and swung downward with her lightsaber, with Mamine blocked with tutaminis, an ability that Mamine had never known how to do before, preventing the blade from cutting through her with her bare hand.  Arcann remarked that Valkorian's bond with Mamine was stronger than he imagined, now even more angry at Mamine's "lies". Mamine just sadly stood and drew her weapons, and said "All the more reason for us to stop this.  Killing each other will only give your father the victory he wants."

The battle went back and forth for a quite a while, with Arcann showing Mamine something new; a mastery of integrating telekinesis and lightning into his lightsaber sequences, showing a level of creativity that his father never did.  This kept Mamine one her toes, forcing her to focus on both her telekinetic barriers and her swordfight with Arcann.

Eventually, Mamine managed to outwit Arcann and sliced off his mechanical arm. But when she had him at her mercy, she told Arcann to come with them, that they could defeat his father together, but before Arcann could respond, falling debris as a result of the Eternal Fleet's barrage separated them and seemingly crushed Arcann, forcing Mamine to retreat before the flagship blew apart. As she ran toward the hanger, Mamine informed Lana that Arcann was finished, who then told Mamine that she and the rest of the infiltration team were in the hangar and were prepared to leave, though there was no sign of Senya. Mamine hoped that she'd escape, but she had no choice but to focus on getting to a ship to escape.

As Mamine found a starfighter, she received a message from Suthazi that she and the rest of the team were safe, and then got a message from Senya; she revealed that she was alive and so was Arcann, who she was taking away in the hopes of redeeming him. He saved her life from Vaylin, Senya said, so she knew there was good in him. Koth pleaded with Mamine to shoot her down, but Mamine denied this request, saying to Senya to get Arcann as far away from his father's influence as possible. Senya thanked Mamine, and entered hyperspace. At point, Theron fired the omnicannon on the Eternal Flagship, creating a massive explosion that wiped out the present portion of the Eternal Fleet and winning the battle for the Alliance.

Back on Odessen, Koth was vocally upset at Mamine for letting Arcann go, and Mamine reminded Koth that Valkorian wanted Arcann's death, and the only way to win this war once and for all was to deny Valkorian what he wanted at every turn. Suthazi was also visibly upset, given what Arcann had done to the galaxy, and indeed how his actions had hurt her personally, but when spoken to, she recognized that no one was beyond hope of redemption, a lesson Mamine herself had taught her when Suthazi was still a child.

 Lana, however, assured Mamine that despite the betrayals they've endured, the Battle of Odessen had become the rallying point the Alliance needed for all the forces seeking to oppose the Eternal Empire, swelling their ranks and giving them the capability to repel future invasions. It was this moment when Valkorian confirmed what Mamine had suspected all along, and manifested himself before the Commander once again; he wasn't gone at all.  Mamine would need to continue to steel herself against this monster for the foreseeable future.

And that's it for the Rise of Mamine KOTFE saga. I'll once again be posting the second interlude for this story, which will give some different interpretations of certain companion recruitment missions. People who hate Skadge are going to love this universe's interpretation of his death, I promise.

Look forward to tomorrow's chapter, but for now, stay beautiful freaks!

SWTOR Character Tales: Rise of Mamine KOTFE 10-12

Welcome back, my beautiful freaks, to the Assassin's Den! It's time for KOTFE Chapters 10-12, and the addition of the overhyped (for me, anyway) Overwatch joke implemented into chapter 10.

Mamine and Suthazi headed down into the command center of the Alliance base to meet Mamine's advisors, and were informed about a potential ally, Firebrand.  Everyone had their own opinions on Firebrand; the Zakuulans, Koth in particular, didn't want her there due to her actions against Zakuul, and Mamine's other allies said they couldn't turn away allies.  Mamine suggested that they could allow her to join on a trial basis, but also said they could keep Firebrand on a short leash, they could utilize her knowledge base.

Mamine, Suthazi and Theron took a short trip to Zakuul, after SCORPIO set up a deal for explosives, and were met by someone Mamine instantly recognized; that Rattataki girl that Doc had used as a "hostage" while he cured Nemro. Kaliyo, as Mamine recalled her name as, made a joke about there being a Skytrooper on the lower levels with the wrong programming, giving back rubs instead of acting as a soldier.

Mamine brought up her recognition, saying that she was "Doc's friend". Kaliyo claimed to know "a lot of Docs", and Mamine replied that this one counted as "two indiscretions", which confused Kaliyo at first, before remembering their talk and said "Yeah, now I recognize you." before realizing that these three didn't have her explosives, which upset her. Mamine tried to use the Force to calm her, telling her to lower her weapon, and Kaliyo began to comply, only for her to come back to herself with an "Ow. Yeah, that hurt." and explained she had a pain inducer implant that activated when someone tried messing with her head, and Theron added that those were common in the SIS.

Eventually, Theron and Mamine calmed Kaliyo, and Mamine promised to help Kaliyo's mission on Zakuul in exchange for the information she had about the Spire.  Mamine, with Suthazi at her side, followed Kaliyo while Theron met with some contacts as Kaliyo set precision charges on some power junctions, talking as Kaliyo set up the charges.  They talked for a bit, with Kaliyo asking Mamine if she'd ever heard of Overwatch, and Mamine, without missing a beat said "Isn't that a holonet shooter game where two teams fight over points on a map with a backstory concerning a galactic droid rebellion?" Kaliyo was first confused before realizing the joke, and said "And I bet you played with the healer girl with the wings", and without missing a beat, Mamine said "Nope, I mained the big guy with the rocket hammer", and Suthazi added "I mained Charity."

 Kaliyo was not amused, and told them what the Overwatch actually was; it was a the hub from which all the city's droids were controlled, and Kaliyo wanted to take down the droids, and make the people live for themselves for a while. Suthazi said that it wasn't right to force a change upon a society before they were ready for it, and until Arcann and Vaylin were defeated, they weren't ready, but Mamine added that shutting down the droids temporarily would show the people that Arcann didn't have the power he claimed; that he couldn't even keep the Outlander and Firebrand from shutting down their droids. Suthazi brought up the public perception of her would only get worse if they did this, and Mamine added that, so long as no one was hurt, they couldn't worry about that right now.

 After finishing the job of setting up the charges, they made a relatively quick stop at Kaliyo's apartment, then headed to the Overwatch, where they finally met the administrator Tavor Slen. Mamine could tell right away that Tavor a Kaliyo's latest victim of emotional manipulation, and called her out on it.  Kaliyo smiled and said "barely met me and you know me so well."

The three fought a protracted battle in which Mamine was impressed by her Padawan's combat skill.  Her use of Soresu was done as means to get within range of taking down her foes, something Mamine herself hadn't thought of during her training in the style. She always just switched to Ataru in order move into an attack phase.

However, after the battle, Tavor and Kaliyo revealed Kaliyo's true plan; to not only take out the droids for a day, but also to ensure that people would suffer.  Mamine and Suthazi balked at this idea, but Kaliyo stressed that they should both take revenge on the Zakuulans. Suthazi drew her lightsaber, saying she wasn't going to let Kaliyo hurt innocent people, but Mamine calmed the situation by saying that from what she had seen, Kaliyo was stronger than she was acting right now; that giving in to pettiness just because she was mad at Tavor was a sign of weakness, and Mamine knew that Kaliyo refused to be weak.

Kaliyo glared at Mamine, but knew that if this Cathar wanted, she could stop her. She reluctantly agreed that she wouldn't kill the people, but she was adamant about taking down the droids.  Suthazi wasn't happy, but Mamine reminded the Padawan that compromises need to be made to in order for all parties to get some of what they want. The Jedi stepped back, and allowed Kaliyo to detonate the droid controls before retreating back to the shuttle that took them back to Odessen.

Once on Odessen, Mamine was met by Theron and Koth, who all remarked on the mission; Theron on the data, Koth remarking on how she stopped Kaliyo from killing innocent people. Theron then remarked on Kaliyo, and Mamine put things bluntly; never underestimate her. She was dangerous, and she would attempt to manipulate people to get what what she wanted. Theron said that she'd put Kaliyo on the watch list while getting her quarters and headed off to do so.

It was about that time when Kaliyo and SCORPIO came down the turbolift, and from their conversation, Mamine could tell they worked together before.  After a brief conversation, Kaliyo said she needed to meet with a few old contacts, but when the Alliance needed her, she'd be there.

Suthazi, however, was not happy with Kaliyo; they were Jedi, they shouldn't need to work with a terrorist.  Mamine calmly stated that allies can pop up in strange places, and brought up the example of Lord Scourge, a person Suthazi had met personally many years ago.  Suthazi remembered finding the Sith very scary, but she also remembered not wanting to show weakness around him. But before she could say anything else, Mamine continued and said that with Kaliyo among their numbers, they could limit the damage she could do and protect innocent people they way they had done on Zakuul only a few hours earlier.  Placated, Suthazi then followed Mamine down to the training area to continue her lightsaber combat training with her Master.

The next morning, Mamine found reports of what Arcann was doing to the rest of the galaxy; he was attacking innocent planets so the rest of the galaxy would give him up.  Mamine simply stated that they'd begin relief efforts to these worlds, since it was both the right thing to do, and because it would be a positive response to Arcann's attacks; Arcann hurt worlds, the Alliance would help them.

A few days later, Theron came to Mamine with another set of recruits; the newest incarnation of Havoc Squad.  He said that Havoc was technically going rogue, since they had not been authorized to operate on Zakuul, and that if Mamine could convince their CO to join them, Havoc would be a valuable asset. Remembering what Havoc had done during the last war, Mamine agreed.

After putting down the shuttle and walking through the swamp, the Havoc Commander Major Aric Jorgan started talking to Mamine over his radio, Mamine reminded him that they were here to discuss an alliance, and Jorgan ordered his squad to stand down.

After apologizing for "being too careful", Jorgan finally recognized Mamine, calling her the Jedi who killed the Emperor twice. Mamine sadly said she couldn't really claim to have killed him at all yet, since he still existed, and Valkorian added that she shouldn't want to claim to have killed him with how "helpful" he was being.  But before they had too much time to talk, a group of Skytroopers attacked their position, forcing them all to defend themselves.

After the fighting ended, they were forced to scatter. Jorgan gave them the coordinates of their base, Theron went with Havoc, and Jorgan went with Mamine to get acquainted with the Jedi Master, with Suthazi right there at her Master's side.  And upon getting to a strange village, Jorgan did just that, talking about the current state of the Republic; it was a dictatorship in all but name, with Saresh running things behind the scenes, and the Senate hadn't voted on a single war issue in months.  Suthazi, though, added that the people of the Republic were still inherently good, stating that many people, even Senators, had both openly and covertly supported the Padawan's Collective, granting them credits and supplies and repairs to the Defender to keep the Jedi Order alive.

It was at that point when a group of Skytroopers were moving on the village, and Mamine and Suthazi headed into the village to help, with Jorgan providing covering fire.  After destroying the Skytroopers and helping the people to evacuate the burning building, and helped the people to Jorgan's encampment, but only after a little bit of "It's your fault!" from the Zakuulans.

After getting to the Havoc encampment, Havoc and Theron started preparing for the night, and Jorgan glared at Mamine, wanting to ensure that the Jedi understood that these were his people, and he wouldn't let the Alliance Commander do anything detrimental to their well being.  Mamine said that she wasn't going to intentionally get Jorgan's people killed; if it happened on the battlefield, it happened on the battlefield, but she wasn't going to put them in a situation that would definitely get them killed.

In the morning, Jorgan explained the mission he had in mind; have a small Alliance force distract to the Skytroopers while Havoc and Mamine snuck in the back. Havoc covered their escape, and Jorgan, Mamine and Suthazi snuck in and installed a hack that would grant the Alliance access to Zakuulan communications.  After accomplishing their goals, Mamine, Jorgan, Suthazi and Havoc were surrounded by Skytroopers. Mamine was ready for battle, but Suthazi desperately said "Any last words?" as she readied her weapon. Jorgan angrily shot back "Can that garbage!" before grunting and said "Had to be droids."  However, they were rescued not by the Alliance force like Jorgan thought they would be, but by the Zakuulan refugees with some left over weapons the Alliance had left at the base.

At the debriefing back at the camp, Jorgan expressed a desire to embed Havoc with the refugees to get them trained before committing his resources to the Alliance.  And upon returning to the Alliance, they learned of the Gemini frequency, which is how Valkorian and Arcann controlled the Eternal Fleet.  They could attack the Hyperwave relay station hidden deep in the Spire to remove control of the Fleet from Arcann, and Mamine said that as soon as Havoc returned, they'd be able to begin the assault.  After welcoming Jorgan and Havoc to the Alliance, Mamine took Suthazi to continue her training in the Jedi way, something that reinforced her redemption in Mamine's mind, and reminded her why it was important to lead by example.

Two weeks later, the Alliance was ready for the assault, and the day of the assault was disastrous.  On the one hand, Kaliyo wanted to take control over the Spire while Jorgan wanted to destroy it. Both ideas had merit, but Mamine also knew that Kaliyo would cause a LOT of collateral damage if she let  the Rattataki have her way.  In the end, she chose to let Jorgan destroy the Spire, and sent both off to begin their mission. Mamine was just about to head to the Defender to lead the assault when Lana suggested she talk to Valkorian about the weakness of the Spire. Suthazi, who had been right next to her Master, objected, saying it was never a good idea to listen to Valkorian, but Mamine was forced to admit that despite the danger, he knew the Spire. She also said to her Padawan that they couldn't run away from their Dark Sides, that they had face it head on.  And, she explained, that if he was nothing else, Valkorian was nothing if not a representation of her own Dark Side. She promised her Padawan that she'd be careful, and to wait with Lana until she returned.

Mamine headed out of the base and into a quiet location full of life to center herself.  Talking to Valkorian willingly meant lowering her guard to him, and Mamine wanted to be in a place where the ambient life around her could reinforce her defenses, something she had always felt made her stronger.  Valkorian, of course, was confrontational and sarcastic, and spoke in a tone that said "Oh, now you want my help."  He refused to give Mamine any information because she had "made no progress on killing his son", forcing Mamine to say "You don't want to talk, fine. I'll get on with my mission." and started back toward toward the Alliance base when Valkorian manifested himself with an "I'm not done with you yet" look on his face and reminded Mamine that he still had power within the physical world and tossed Mamine into a large rock. Valkorian then went on to tell Mamine that she had two destinies; one, which she took the Eternal Throne, the other where she died alone and forgotten.  Mamine broke free of Valkorian's hold due to her rising anger and drew her lightsabers, wrapping the weapons in the Force so she could actually hurt the phantom, saying "I'll take a third option." and lunged at the Force Ghost.

The battle was short, and while Mamine did gain the upper hand the same way she had on Dromund Kaas all those years ago, Valkorian showed he still had great power in the Force when he knocked Mamine out.

A few hours later, Mamine found herself in a Defender starship with a few Jedi artifacts that clued her in on who was the owner; former Grandmaster Satele Shan.  And upon meeting her, Mamine could tell the years had not been kind.  While she still looked physically fit for a woman of her age, she had many more lines on her face and on her hands, and her hair, once peppered with gray before, had turned completely white.  Mamine spoke with her for a bit, only to find that the ghost of Darth Marr had bound himself to the former Grandmaster.  Both spoke to Mamine about the failures of both the Jedi and Sith and why they fell to the Eternal Empire, something that Mamine realized when she began her path to redemption; you must accept both sides of the Force even if you choose to one over the other.  And that's what Mamine had tried to do for all these years; accept her own darkness while choosing the light inside her. She'd failed plenty of times, yes, but overall, doing so had made her more powerful than she had been when she was "swimming in Darkness" as she put it; she was now drawing on her own darkness in battle to make her faster and stronger while still choosing the light to grant her mental clarity and focus. It was actually an easier path than the Jedi, or even her own people, had initially presented her with.

Satele and Marr led Mamine into a cave where she was forced to duel an illusion of Vaylin, though Mamine managed to see through the illusion easily and dispelled her with little trouble.  Satele and Marr said this was a vision of things yet to come; that even after Arcann had been defeated, Vaylin was yet to come.

The pair then led Mamine to a table, where Satele had laid out some components, save for a couple of crystals, which she had Mamine gather earlier, and she and Marr said that Ragdat needed to build a new lightsaber for the man he was now. Mamine was hesitant; her current lightsabers were perfect for her fighting style; perfect weight, perfect length, perfectly placed activation switches for both her standard and reverse gripped fighting style...the only things about them that truly tied her to her past were the focusing crystals.  She asked Marr and Satele if swapping out her current crystals for the new ones would suffice, and both agreed, but only if Mamine made the crystals her own. 

And so Mamine laid her weapons on the table, and utilizing the Force, she disassembled them, swapping out her old crystals, and began to levitate her new ones, focusing on them, drawing on both the dark and light presences of Satele and Marr, eventually feeling that these new crystals were ready, and reassembled her lightsabers. She activated them, and saw the difference; her main hand lightsaber, formerly with a blue blade now had a cyan one, and her offhand lightsaber, formerly with a green blade, now had a copper-orange color. And Mamine knew these two had been right about the weapons; these felt more in tune with Mamine that they had been in a LONG time.

After this was over, Satele led Mamine to her final test; a cave where a cave jurgoran whose children Mamine had killed in self defense. The mother was angry at Mamine, but Mamine remained calm, and reached out to the Force and touched the mind of the mother, showing her that she had no malice toward her children, and that she regretted killing them, despite having done so in self defense. The mother relented, and went off to mourn her children.

Satele and Marr walked up behind Mamine and asked what she saw for the fate of the galaxy, and Mamine said, more kindly since these were her allies, "one without Vitiate" and explained that she would continue to follow the path she had learned from Anstrisil, Kira and Suthazi into the future.  Satisfied, Satele and Marr left to follow the path the Force still had for them.

Mamine returned to the Alliance base to find the mission in full swing, having gone ahead without her, with Lana wanting to know what happened; Ragdat explained that after Valkorian knocked him out, he seemingly left Mamine's mind and Mamine spoke to Satele and the spirit of Darth Marr before returning. Theron was shocked that his mother had been on Odessen, where as Suthazi said "Don't ever disappear like that again", which showed just how much Mamine meant to Suthazi.  she was just about to tell her Padawan to be mindful of her feelings, but before they could discuss anything further, Jorgan and Havoc went dark. Kaliyo said that she'd continue the mission her way, but Mamine rejected that, telling Kaliyo to get back to the Alliance base, with Kaliyo spitefully saying "What was that? I can't hear you. That's what happens when I shut the comm off." before shutting off the comm, forcing the Alliance to wait for their return.

And yes, those were references to Reinhardt and Mercy in Overwatch, though I changed "Mercy" to "Charity" as an expy.  Every time I play KOTFE chapter 10, I'm thinking this joke. I know it's bad every time I do it, but I can't stop myself.  And for the record, Suthazi is the one who played the SWTOR in-universe version of Overwatch, which doesn't exist in Star Wars, so she's the one who told Mamine enough to make the joke.

Look forward to the next chapter, when Yokonari and Casek finally get to meet Kaliyo, a meeting that won't go well. But until then, stay beautiful freaks!

SWTOR Character Tales: Lightsaber Forms Re-Updated

Welcome back, my beautiful freaks, to the (hopefully) final time I need to do this!

Now, this post is simply due to me learning even more about the forms.  With that in mind, let's get on to it once again!

Ragdat: As a Battlemaster, Ragdat has experience with all seven forms of lightsaber combat, however, since he's more of the "expert at war" type of Battlemaster, he doesn't know them well enough to teach. He prefers Shien and its dueling variant, Djem So.  However, to help with his mobility, he's implemented elements Makashi for better footwork and Ataru for implementing physical strikes into his sequences. 

Vedere: Vedere is a Niman user, though she has implemented a Soresu mentality into her fighting style. She's well verse in implementing Force based attacks in her lightsaber sequences, as you'd expect out of the Shadow class.

Vizhdam: Like Ragdat, Vizhdam is a Battlemaster, however, unlike Ragdat, Vizhdam is a duelist type of Battlemaster, so he knows all 7 forms of lightsaber combat.  However, he prefers Niman, granting him great speed and agility, and the training to integrate Force based attacks into his lightsaber sequences with ease.  Unlike Vedere, he has mastered Niman, meaning he literally has an answer to every combat situation that he is dropped into.  He's also skilled in Tràkata, a dangerous technique that utilized shutting off then re-igniting the blade to trip up his opponents.  However, unlike the other two Battlemasters on this list, Vizhdam is a technical master, rather than a battlefield master like Ragdat and Mamine are; his moves are more crisp and fluid, where as theirs are more sloppy, but he has less battlefield awareness than they do.

Adaso: Adaso is a master of Djem So and Shien, which shows how he fights; brute force, powerful speed, and bulwark defense.  He prefers overwhelming his opponents whenever possible, but isn't afraid to dig in when necessary.

Colmallus: As you'll see if you watch Jensaari1's video on Juyo, you'll see that anyone who masters it has needed to master at least 2 other forms.  This, coupled with Colmallus' armor being resistant to lightsabers and blaster fire, gave me the idea that his other two styles would be to increase his maneuverability and ability to chain Force based attacks into his form. Thus, his use of Juyo has elements of Makashi, which was his primary style before becoming a Mandalorian, and Niman, which gave him skill in both dual bladed fencing and integrating Force based attacks into his sequences.

Darth Nox: Like Vedere, Darth Nox relies heavily on the Force in combat. Though,she prefers Soresu, much like Darth Zannah will thousands of years in the future. She uses Soresu to defend herself and the Force for offense, though unlike Zannah, she has overcome Soresu's weakness, and is able to transition into offense relatively easily.

Chas'Raan: She fights very much like Obi-Wan Kenobi; mastery of Soresu giving her impeccable defense, and mastery of Ataru granting her avenues of attack. Unlike Kenobi, however, she's not very skilled in telekinesis, but has great energy defense, being able to absorb or deflect Force lightning and other similar powers.

Mamine: Mamine prefers Ataru, utilizing her whole body as a weapon, implementing punches and kicks into her style, as noted by her berserker rages before her redemption.  However, since she began her redemption, she's become a Soresu master, which, interestingly, has a dual blade component, with the offhand blade utilizing a reverse grip to make her defense even further impregnable.

Suthazi: Like all Jedi and Sith, Suthazi is trained in Shii Cho, the form from which all lightsaber combat stems from.  That said, her first master as a Padawan began training her in Soresu to help her combat her issues with rage. However, when she becomes Mamine's Padawan, Mamine will continue Suthazi's training in Soresu while helping her overcome Soresu's weakness that is a lack of ability to turn their defense into attack.

Yokonari: Yokonari is very much a Jar'Kai using Ataru fighter, having mastered the ability to utilize two blade with speed and acrobatics, but also seeing the weaknesses of Ataru's lack of defense and overcoming it.  During the time skip, however, she's begun training in Djem So, to give her a better defense against lightsaber wielding opponents. However, her Djem So is built around the saberstaff, which she gains access to by interlocking her single blade lightsabers.

Casek: Though he's a Sorcerer by both training and nature, Casek is a Makashi user, like Count Dooku from the movies.  Also, like Dooku, he has overcome the weaknesses of lack of ability with blaster deflection and against multiple opponents.  Unlike Dooku, though, Casek is a master of implementing the Force into his lightsaber chains.

Anstrisil: Unlike most fighters on this list, Anstrisil has mastered Shii Cho, making him a very random, very unpredictable fighter.  He has taken the basics of lightsaber combat and made them his own, overcoming the form's weakness at dueling. Most underestimate him due to his usage of the form that everyone has learned, but he continually surprises his opponents with unconventional applications of bladework and chaining the Force into his sequences.

Tavella: Tavella is much like Darth Zannah will be in the future;  a sorceress who uses Soresu to defend herself while she uses her powers offensively.  Unlike Zannah, though, Tavella has trained herself to be able to use her spells and powers in live combat without needing to break off and concentrate.

Daashla Myr: Jedi Master Daashla Myr is a Jedi very much like the Jedi Master An'ya Kuro, AKA the Dark Woman; she teaches students that have a tendency toward the Dark Side, for one reason or another.  She has achieved complete mastery of Soresu, as this is the style she favors teaching her students to give them a defensive minded mindset, but unlike many Soresu masters who implement Ataru to grant her avenues of attack, she switches to Makashi, as befitting her mindset of controlling aggression, rather than meeting it.

Brosra: Brosra is a Shii Cho user, pure and simple.  She's had no opportunity to train in any other style outside what she's learned from the Padawan's Collective.

Now, this should be the final time I need to do this. I needed to modify Ragdat, Mamine and Darth Nox's entries the most, but that with Yokonari with the saberstaff was something cool I thought up when I saw Jensaraai1's video on Lord Vindican. 

Look forward to the next chapters of Rise of Mamine, which will include the Overwatch joke I've been hyping up for a while, and stay beautiful freaks!

SWTOR Character Tales: Rise of Mamine Interlude

Welcome back, my beautiful freaks, to the Assassin's Den! Before we go into anything, I know a considerable amount of my audience is European, so I think it's important if you read this tweet and watch the video included, and take action. In short, it's about the EU Article 13, and how it'll affect your online entertainment; in short, right now, youtube, twitch, twitter and all kinds of other sites are protected under the United States Fair Use of Copyrighted Material. If Article 13 goes through with its current wording, a LOT of entertainment will be blocked within the EU. We're all affected, so get educated, contact your MEPs, and make sure that they know that this will hurt a LOT of online entertainment jobs throughout Europe.

Sorry for getting serious on my silly storytime post, but this is important, since it affects all of us.

With that out of the way, it's time for Mamine's interlude for the events between chapters 9 and 10!

Over the next two weeks, Mamine took some time to get to know allies and enemies and what they've been doing over the last five years, as well as some people she didn't know all that well.  She first spoke to Master Anstrisil, who had not had an easy time. Even though the Jedi Council had accepted him, the rank and file of the Order never truly did due to him being a Pureblood Sith. They thought he was some kind of infiltrator under the guise of being redeemed, a mindset that baffled him; if the Empire was going to send an infiltrator, they'd select a human or an twi'lek or some other species. A Pureblood Sith wouldn't be able to fool anyone, as all this mistrust had shown. So when Master Satele disappeared after the treaty was signed, Anstrisil was only able to get the people he knew personally, like Gaden-Ko of the Voss, the friends he made from the Rift Alliance, or the mercenaries he'd hired to assist him over the last 5 years. 

However, the other former White Knights had it worse. When Mamine met with Casek, who had since abandoned his Darth Title and position thanks to the restructuring of the Empire, was performing a Sith Alchemy ritual when Mamine visited him in his quarters.  Thanks to his capture by the Hand of Jadus, he had been imprisoned and tortured for three years. And his tormentors had focused on his jaw for most heavily; they had shattered it, let it heal, let it get infected, and shattered it again, all to prevent him from performing any kind of Sith magical incantation.  The only thing that kept him alive during all this time was growing rage and hatred of his captors and the White Knights who had refused to rescue him.  By the time Anstrisil's mercenaries broke him and Yokonari out, Anstrisil's jaw was destroyed beyond repair and required it to be amputated. He now had a vocalizer attached to his throat so he could speak, and a mechanical jaw as a place holder for his face. He was currently trying to perform Sith Alchemy to give him sensation in the cybernetic jaw so he could eventually do things like eating real food, instead of the nutrient paste he was able to consume now, but he didn't want to do too much, since too much Sith Alchemy on a being could erode their sanity.

Yokonari, however, had it even worse than that.  When Mamine entered her quarters, she found Yokonari sitting in a treatment chair, completely nude, with tubes coming out of her cybernetic implants. Mamine apologized for disturbing her, but Yokonari said it was fine, and she wasn't bothered by someone else seeing her nude.  She went on to explain that during her torture, she had been injected with a retrovirus that modified her body to produce fatigue toxins at an extremely high rate, which had severely dampened her stamina reserves for any physical activity.  These cybernetic implants she had now had two jobs; to boost her adrenaline reserves in times of stress, and to perform a detox treatment after an excess of fatigue toxins had built up over time.  She was currently undergoing the detox, Yokonari said, and she felt showing this level of vulnerability helped her focus on her rage and fuel her power in the Dark Side.

Both later told her what happened to the White Knights; the Hand of Jadus' people had hunted them down and destroyed them all. No trace of the White Knights left, and except for Yokonari and Casek, it was as if they never existed. And it was in this state when Anstrisil's mercenaries rescued the pair, and got them to Anstrisil, who got them the help they needed. And together with the mercenaries, they destroyed the the Hand of Jadus and his organization, Yokonari butchering the Hand himself with her bare hands.

Mamine was curious about the mercenaries, and she had her opportunity to meet them in the cantina; they were a pair of Rattataki, a husband and wife team named Azulini and Hardatt.  The woman, Azulini, was the brawn of the operation; she grew up on Rattatak, and was forced to survive on her own wits and physical abilities. Most of the time, she was malnourished, completely lacking clothing at some points, and out in the elements most of the time. But this made her incredible resourceful and very, very brutal in how she fought.

She was found as a stowaway by her future husband, Hardatt, who, unlike Azulini, had grown up off Rattatak, and had learned the ways of the greater galaxy. He was impressed by the fighting capability of this mostly naked woman who stowed away on his ship, and their initial fight turned into a "romantic encounter", which led to Hardatt introducing her to modern technology and society.  Hardatt taught many things she'd need to know, like how to use a blaster, how to speak Basic and Huttese, how to read Aurabesh, and other things she'd need to know to make her way.

The pair had been together for ten years, Hardatt working as the face of the operation and Azulini becoming an accomplished bounty hunter once she was used to technology, though she still struggled with a lot of stuff; reading Aurabesh was hard for her, since she hadn't learned to read anything until well into her adulthood, and there were still terms in Basic and Huttese that she didn't understand.  And that was why Hardatt did all the negotiating, and left the relentless pursuit of their goals to his wife.

Mamine also found out the two had an open relationship when Hardatt started hitting on her. He explained that both had agreed that they could sleep with anyone they wanted, so long as they came back to the same bed, on their ship in this case, when it was over. Mamine, however, wasn't comfortable with getting involved in that, and Hardatt just said that he understood, but it was her loss.

Most importantly for Mamine though, was finding out how her Padawan was doing. Suthazi had been through a LOT of trauma in the last five years; between losing her first master, having to play teacher for a bunch of kids who had barely entered puberty, having to care for these kids, and having to work with a Sith..."Apprentice" was what Brosra called herself even though she had no real formal training or master outside what she learned from the Collective...to fund these operations....it wore on her.  Suthazi, like Mamine, had learned wisdom the hard way, and it was tiring. She was happy now just being a Padawan, a learner, instead of playing the leader.

And one of those responsibilities she was glad she no longer had was dealing with Brosra.  Brosra was the last of her family, an ancient Pureblood Sith bloodline that dated back to her species first and only King. She had been captured by Empress Acina and shoved into a dungeon, and tortured in an attempt to show how weak her family was and the only way for her to survive was to pledge herself to Acina. However, Acina and her men were unfamiliar with Brosra's progress in her family; she had been rediscovering ancient abilities of her family and bloodline, to the point when she eventually become powerful enough to break free of the dungeon and escape.  She joined the Padawan's Collective because, while she had a lot of esoteric powers, she lacked practical abilities. So, Brosra was trained in how to utilize the Shii Cho fighting style, building a lightsaber and other practical abilities in exchange for her family's wealth and some knowledge about making synthetic lightsaber crystals.



Once all these people had been properly greeted, they started to inform Mamine of some specialists that could help the Alliance's war efforts. First, Mamine had to return to Zakuul on the urging of both Doctor Oggurob to retrieve former Havoc Squad member, Yuun.  For Yuun, Mamine had to find some components that Mamine felt a resonance in the Force for Yuun, who then explained that only someone with a unique connection to them could feel that, which bothered Mamine; would she have felt that resonance if Valkorian wasn't in her head? Was gathering those part of his plan?

However, Mamine didn't have time to think about things, since both Yokonari and Bey'wan Aygo had companions to recruit; former Havoc Assault Droid M1-4X and Yokonari's former subordinate, Major Pierce. Yokonari came with Mamine to Dromund Kaas to recruit Pierce, but Mamine went alone to Coruscant and had to go through a lot of effort to convince the droid to join the Alliance.

Mamine's next stop was to Ilum to investigate some murders, only to find them being performed by a familar Kaleesh; Casek's former apprentice, Lord Xalek.  Xalek was killing the miners on Ilum for desecrating his father's grave unintentionally, and his culture demanded a blood sacrifice to sate his father's anger, but Mamine came up with a peaceful compromise; the miners not only restored Xalek's father to his former state, but also create a shrine to venerate him.  They did so, and Mamine offered Xalek a place in the Alliance, but only after Xalek demanded that Mamine beat him in combat.  Mamine fought and defeated Xalek with some things that Xalek had never seen beore, and returned to Odessen with Xalek in tow.

Her next trip was to Yavin 4, with Casek in tow.  Apparently, Casek's archaeologist Talos Drellik, who had thought Casek was dead and having returned to the Reclamation service, was looking for something here, but Casek convinced him that Mamine's Alliance was more important now.  Mamine, curious about what the human was searching for, asked, and was told that he was collecting artifacts that Revan had used to resurrect Vitiate on Yavin 4, and Mamine thought that the study of them would be beneficial to getting Valkorian out of her head, so she and Casek helped him retrieve the items before Drellik and his team headed for Odessen.

Mamine's next mission was a simple one; getting Nico Okarr, a smuggler who got Master Satele and Jace Malcom back to the Republic from Korriban during the Sith Empire's initial invasion.  Okarr simply asked Mamine to give him a mixed drink to "prove his worth".  Mamine did so, and Okarr headed for Odessen.

From there, Anstrisil mentioned how his old companion Qyzen Fess was now leading the Warstalkers, a group of trandoshans formerly led by the Dread Master slave Kephess.  He said that she could recruit them, but to avoid mentioning that she was captured at all costs, as that, in trandoshan culture, meant he was stripped of all renown he would have as a warrior otherwise.  Mamine understood, and explained to Qyzen, when asked what happened to the Jedi who killed the Sith Emperor, simply stated she was injured during the battle where Darth Marr's ship was destroyed, and was only recently recovered by Lana, which, in Mamine's eyes, wasn't a complete lie; the carbonite poisoning was killing her before Lana used the antidote on her. However, Qyzen took these statements at face value, and brought himself and his Warstalkers to the Alliance.


Upon returning to Odessen this time, Mamine was told that HK-55 was finally rebuilt, although he did not retain the memories, or even programming he had before.  During a series of simulations, HK gave Mamine some scenerios to help him designate what was and wasn't a viable target. Mamine made sure HK understood that unarmed and injured individuals were not acceptable to terminate, unless then were attacking him, in which case they were fair game, but even then, they were to be disabled as a first priority. Once all this programming was set, Mamine welcomed the new HK-55 into the Alliance.

From here, Mamine had a few days to breathe before the next leg of the war began.

Yes, I left off Doctor Lokin this time. Couldn't think of a way to get around Allisani's ability to skip the resource gathering aspect, and it's not like he had a big impact on the Alliance anyway, so, yeah.

Anyway, look forward to my lightsaber combat update post, where I'm going to do my hopefully final redo of their fighting styles, and then, the next chapter to Rise of Mamine. But until then, stay beautiful freaks!