Ragdat awoke on the surface of the strange world, unable to reach anyone from the Alliance and having only a strange remote for the company, while every other droids was decidedly hostile. What Ragdat thought was strange was that the remote didn't do anything; it just floated there and followed him.
Ragdat investigated several technoliths, eventually learning from the hologram of ARIES that they were in the Selruvian biome of the artificial world designated Iokath. After learning this, Torian approached Ragdat from behind, and explaining that he awoke in the same situation. The two then witnessed how the Iokath droids attacked the Knights of Zakuul, realizing that personnel from the Eternal Fleet was brought on-world as well. After fighting off both groups, Theron contacted Ragdat and Torian, directing them to a structure called the Tributary, where the rest of Alliance forced already had gathered. However, Koth was still upset about Ragdat's intention to arrest him for treason though not wanting to vocalize with the hope that Ragdat would forget between now and their return to Odessen, Ragdat checked on the Alliance personnel, quietly nodding at Koth to remind him that Ragdat still remembered, before moving through the rest of the Alliance before stopping at Vette, who was standing in front of another technolith. The Twi'lek showed Ragdat her findings, getting ARIES to reveal a list of planets that the Iokath creators used to test their weapons, which turned out to include Zakuul, which likely explained some of their ancient legends.
Their connection to ARIES was then interrupted by SCORPIO, who was imprisoned at an unknown location and asked the Alliance for assistance. Their group's position came under attack from the droids again, and they fought waves of droids before Theron activated the force field that prevented more droids from coming in, but also trapped the Alliance inside. Vette interacted with the technolith again, trying to get ARIES back online, but opened a door deeper into the structure instead. She and Ragdat went ahead to explore, eventually locating another technolith. Vette instructed Ragdat on how to get the power to open the light bridge in their way, and the technolith explained that they were in Necropolis, a giant crypt that housed millions of dead.
SCOPRIO contacted Ragdat again, and revealed the history of Iokath, explaining that ARIES was controlling everything on Iokath, including their current condition, before a host of droids arrived to prove her right. Ragdat and Vette fought off their attackers, but their access to both the technolith and the way they originally came in was blocked, requiring Vette to look for another secret tunnel. On their way back to the group, they came across another holonode, from which SCORPIO contacted Ragdat again, alerting them that Vaylin has broken free and had located the Eternal Fleet, before notifying the two about a colossus droid that prepared to attack them. Vette noticed how the droid was drawing power from energy conduits and Ragdat disabled them, allowing them to deactivate the droid just as the rest of the group caught up.
Ragdat and Vette confronted and engaged ARIES, and SCORPIO herself arrived to help defeat him. She then lowered the energy shield and urged Ragdat to escape before capacitors on ARIES' weapon overloaded, threatening the cover the entire world with a pulse of deadly radiation. SCORPIO announced her intention to upload her consciousness into the planetary network, essentially becoming one with Iokath. Ragdat was hesitant about this, but since this would prevent her from threatening the Alliance or the galaxy again, he allowed her to proceed, but with a warning that if she ever threatened the galaxy again, he'd destroy her with the Gravestone's omnicannon. SCORPIO nodded knowingly, thanked them, and forever left her droid body, while also sending to the Alliance schematics for upgrading the Gravestone with Iokath technology. From there, Ragdat and Vette rushed back to the Gravestone, which just barely managed to escape to hyperspace before the weapon overloaded, as did Vaylin with most of the Eternal Fleet. Returning to the safety of Odessen, Ragdat drew his lightsaber on Koth, and announced that Koth was under arrest for treason. The members of the Alliance were where shocked at this until Ragdat revealed both the quantum bomb and Koth threatening Ragdat afterward. Koth said "Come on, all I said was 'I'd like to see you try to replace me'.", which caused Colonel Strannos to shake her head. She said "Koth, banning you from the vessel you were the Commanding Officer of was light for putting a quantum bomb on the most expensive vessel in the fleet. The Commander has to maintain military discipline after you threatening him." and then shot him with her pistol on the stun setting and picking him up to be transported to the brig to await trial.
The trial was exhausting for everyone involved. The tribunal was made up of Doctor Oggurobb, Bey'wan Aygo, Sana-Rae and Hylo Visz, with Colonel Strannos as the prosecutor and Lana Beniko as defense, with Ragdat watching from a security camera to ensure his emotional responses wouldn't taint the results. The Colonel talked about what Koth did, and the damage a quantum bomb could have done, both the credit value of the equipment that could have been lost being in the quadrillions, the loss of life in those starships, and the fact that Koth put the bomb on the only vessel in the Alliance fleet that could not be replaced. Lana, however, while not denying the gravity of the charges, stressed that his reasoning, to prevent the Gravestone from being captured from under them, which was, as this past mission illustrated, was a very real possibility. The Colonel responded with a statement about how Koth should have sought the Commander's approval, and the fact that he didn't meant that Koth knew that the Commander would deny this request, but he chose to do so anyway, which constituted another charge among the Republic called "Fraud, Waste and Abuse of Military Resources". Both women stressed Koth being a founding member of the Alliance, Lana as a means to stress his importance, the Colonel stressed that he should know better, and used his former military background to illustrate this.
In the end, the tribunal chose to be lenient and chose to exile Koth from the Alliance; he had 24 hours to gather his belongings and report to the shuttle bay, where he'd be given a shuttle of his own to use for whatever reason he wished. And at that moment Koth turned into the shuttle hanger to depart, Ragdat was waiting for Koth to see him off. Koth was standoffish, of course, but Ragdat asked Koth that, if Koth had been in Ragdat's shoes, would he do anything different? Koth was force to say no, Ragdat did what was best for the Alliance. Ragdat said that there was no hard feelings, and stressed that, if Koth hadn't threatened him in the heat of the moment, Ragdat had intended to only remove Koth from command of the Gravestone, and not prevent him from commanding an entirely different vessel. Koth was forced to finally realize what he had done, and just said "I really screwed up, didn't I?", and Ragdat extended his hand, wishing Koth the best.
After Koth's ship left the atmosphere, Lana came up behind Ragdat and assured the Commander that the Alliance was stronger than ever in spite of the loss of Koth, with Gravestone secure and SCORPIO out of the picture, but Iokath remained inaccessible for the time being.
About an hour later, Ragdat was met by former Lieutenant Felix Iresso after being rescued by Vedere's team. Iresso had been through hell at the hands of a Zakuulan scientist Jarak, who had apparently tried to unlock a Sith holocron that was somehow locked inside Iresso's mind before finally being released by Vedere. Ragdat welcomed Iresso to the Alliance formally, and said that he'd make sure Iresso got the help that he needed.
It wasn't much later that an opportunity to strike against Vaylin directly presented itself when Theron located an inside man on Zakuul. Indo Zal, an Alliance sympathizer and Vaylin's Magistrate of Revelry,. Indo informed the Alliance about the upcoming Grand Festival of Empress Vaylin, where the Empress planned to execute a host of Zakuulan rebels. Theron vouched for Indo, who proposed to provide disguises and security clearances for the Alliance to infiltrate the party, then cause a revolt among the prisoners, causing enough chaos for Ragdat to get close to Vaylin and activate her conditioning. Theron volunteered to accompany Ragdat inside the Palace of the Eternal Dragon, while Lana and T7-O1 provided remote support from a shuttle that served as their getaway vehicle.
Arriving on Zakuul under the guises of two Knights of Zakuul, Theron and Ragdat got inside the Palace and met Indo, who provided them with Ion charges to be installed throughout the Palace so that they could be detonated at once and disable the rebels' shock collars. Theron and Ragdat worked their way around Palace security, planting all six charges, after which Lana informed them that Vaylin was beginning her speech. Dropping their disguises, Theron and Ragdat strolled into the main hall, where Vaylin taunted Ragdat about being under her father's control, but Ragdat retorted that she was the one under his control, activating Vaylin's conditioning and then triggering the ion charges, with Vaylin completely powerless to retaliate.
However, their confrontation with Vaylin was interrupted by Arcann, who arrived with a group of his loyalists, intending to stop the threat of his sister. Before retreating from the scene, Vaylin dropped the rebel prisoners and Indo Zal into the creature pit, and Theron and Ragdat had to follow inside. After killing a Rancor , Ragdat ordered Indo to retreat with the rebels, after which Ragdat and Theron went after Vaylin, fighting both the forces of Arcann and Vaylin, who were fighting on the balcony.
The arrival of Theron and Ragdat interrupted the duel between siblings, allowing Vaylin to escape on a speeder bike. To Ragdat's surprise, Arcann's healing on Voss stuck, and Arcann addressed them peacefully, no longer consumed by hate and anger, his presence in the Force much lighter. Theron, who lacked a connection to the Force, doubted his trustworthiness, but with Arcann assisting them in an upcoming battle, Theron relented. Arcann then offered to join the Alliance to atone for the blood shed under his reign, but Vitiate chose to take form and taunt his son, saying he did not raise him to serve. Arcann said "You have no son", and Ragdat said that, since he upset his father, Arcann knew he was finally doing the right thing and agreed to take him in. It was this moment that they noticed a holodroid, and Ragdat gave a message to the people of Zakuul; he wasn't their enemy. All he had been trying to do from the start was help free them from tyranny; from Arcann and Vaylin, deliberately leaving out that beloved Emperor "Valkorian" was also a tyrant.
Enraged at her brother's betrayal, Vaylin ordered the Eternal Fleet to bombard the entire Palace to rubble, and Lana arrived with the shuttle just in time to get Ragdat, Theron and Arcann to safety. Upon their return to Odessen, Arcann was initially treated as enemy by the Alliance personnel, many of whom suffered under his rule for years and joined the Alliance to oppose him in a first place. However, Ragdat insisted that having the former Eternal Emperor on the side was good for both the morale and for putting additional pressure on Vaylin, and added no one was beyond hope of redemption, prompting Arcann saying that he may not be able to be redeemed, but said he'd go to his deathbed trying.
As Arcann was shown to his new quarters, Maircus, who had been watching this whole thing, walked up to Ragdat and introduced the Commander to his wife, Mako, who, along with her friend Akaavi, who was also a crewmate of Curoda, were here to join the Alliance. Ragdat welcomed Mako before heading to the gym to perform a moving meditation to clear his head.
Yeah, I'm adding the "Post KOTET" class companions into the story, because why not? It gives the other classes something to do while Ragdat is stopping Vaylin. Oh, and if you need me to elaborate about Fraud, Waste and Abuse of Military Resources, don't be afraid to ask in the comments. I should have this done before November is over, but for now, look forward to the end of KOTET, and stay beautiful freaks!
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