A few hours after meeting Mako, Ragdat had gathered his Force advisors for an important meeting; how to defeat Vaylin without killing her. Now that they'd revealed her conditioning to the galaxy, Vaylin would be more dangerous due to her desire to remove the conditioning, and they needed a way to prevent Vitiate from absorbing her power, since unlike Arcann, Vaylin showed no good in her and had no desire to be a better person. Neither Sana-Rae nor Darth Nox had methods to defeat her without killing her, though Nox presented the idea that if they timed it correctly, she could Force Walk Vaylin's ghost to prevent Vitiate from getting access to Vaylin's power. However, it was Vedere that presented the idea that they could cut Vaylin off from the Force. It was a last resort, and only possible by a person who had both raw power and unquestioned purity, so someone like Sana-Rae or Darth Nox would not be able perform the ritual. Ragdat decided that this was what they were going to do until they could finally find the means to destroy Vitiate once and for all, however, Vedere added the one possible problem; that thanks to the shielding of Terrak Morrhage's plague victims still weakening her, she didn't have the required power to do so. Ragdat then asked if he could do it, and she also replied negatively, since, thanks to Vitiate's presence, he lacked the purity. Vedere said she'd find the Jedi she needed to boost her strength for the ritual, and they broke the meeting from there.
When Ragdat slept that night, Vitiate chose to allow Ragdat to glimpse "Valkorion's" memories of Vaylin's return to Zakuul after her conditioning on Nathema, and Vitiate suggested that Vaylin may have found a way to break her bonds in the place they were created. Vaylin had indeed vanished from Zakuul, and when Ragdat brought up the dream, Darth Nox mentioned she'd been on Nathema and found an abandoned facility. A facility that, upon scanning, they found a transmission to Vaylin that was detected during the Festival. With all signs pointing that Vaylin did indeed return to Nathema, Ragdat, Lana, Theron and Darth Nox geared up for battle, while Arcann stayed to watch over his still comatose mother, though Ragdat did mention that despite Arcann's personal doubts about himself, Ragdat believed that Arcann was strong enough to resist the pull of the Dark Side on Nathema.
Theron piloted the shuttle to Nathema, and Lana, Ragdat and Darth Nox began feeling the effects of the Force void before even setting foot on the planet. Even Vitiate found his power diminished in this place, though he promised to shield them from from its worst effects. And almost immediately after, Darth Nox mentioned that she knew a ritual to do the same thing, and Ragdat said not to use it on him. When Nox expressed confusion, Ragdat said that Vitiate would be expending his power to shield Ragdat, and that meant he'd be weaker and unable to force any desired outcome. Nox smiled and nodded, and performed the ritual on only Lana and herself, leaving Theron behind in the shuttle, which he returned to orbit so he wouldn't be affected by the void in the Force.
Making their way through the planet's surface, which was left lifeless ever since the Ritual of Nathema over a millennia ago, the trio reached the Sanitarium, the only structure still showing signs of life on the planet, with Vaylin already inside. Dispatching several Horizon Guards, Nathema Zealots and Keepers, the three explored the inner workings of the Sanitarium, learning about Vaylin's past there from holorecording left by an Anomid named Jarak, a name Ragdat recognized as the architect of Felix Irresso's current mental state.
In the Sanitarium's lower levels they reached the Immortal Emperor's vault, where Vitiate stored artifacts even he deemed to dangerous, and the group barely managed to get inside in time. Once inside, Ragdat recognized that Vitiate was somehow blocked inside this room, and finding the door stuck, Ragdat realized that this was likely their only chance to hide something from Vitiate. Lana and Ragdat went to activate the backup power generator, while Darth Nox killed the vault guardian that killed Jarak, though she did stand there and watching him die, removing any chance of betrayal. Inside, the three made an important discovery of Dramath's holocron, which still housed the essence of Vitiate's father that he killed over 1300 years ago. Dramath told them that the holocron, which Darth Nox had searched for the last time she was here, held the power to destroy Vitiate once and for all. Dramath asked to release him and grant him oblivion, to which both Darth Nox and Lana disagreed, but in the end, Ragdat's Jedi mindset won out and Ragdat released Dramath from his purgatory. Ragdat then ordered Lana to take care of the holocron, since he wanted to keep the fact that they had it a secret since as soon as they stepped outside, Vitiate would have access to Ragdat's body once again. Eventually unlocking the door that trapped them inside and defeating several Voreclaws, the three learned from Theron that Vaylin has already left the surface and escaped the Sanitarium which now threatened to collapse. Ragdat, Darth Nox and Lana rushed outside where Theron picked them up, but before they could rest, they learned from Bey'wan Aygo that Vaylin launched another assault on Odessen.
Returning to Odessen, the team found the battle already raging on multiple fronts. Theron and Darth Nox volunteered to sneak behind the enemy's lines, both from different avenues, while Lana and Ragdat made their way to the Gravestone, which was still in dry dock, unable to take off until the Iokath upgrades were completed. Commandeering an Eternal Empire Walker, Ragdat and Lana made their way through the front lines, eventually meeting Arcann and the now awoken Senya Tirall at the Gravestone, as it was finally able to take off. Pleased to see Senya at full strength, Senya renewed her commitment to the Alliance, Ragdat and the desire to stop Vaylin once and for all.
Lana went to join Theron while Ragdat contacted Vaylin via a holo-call, successfully taunting her to abandon the safety of her flagship and travel to Odessen surface for a face-to-face confrontation. Immediately after, Ragdat contacted Vedere, who told him that she hadn't found enough Jedi to grant her the power to perform the ritual without hurting herself, but she said she'd be wherever Ragdat needed her when the time came.
Ragdat, Arcann and Senya fought through the battlefield, only to receive a message that Vaylin was holding Torian hostage, and that Vaylin awaited on the Alliance landing platform. It didn't take long after that for Ragdat and Vaylin's family to get to Vaylin, and did their best to duel her, though not before she killed Torian before they could stop her. Only seeing the Shatterpoint was what allowed Ragdat to defeat Vaylin, though Vedere and her people where nowhere to be found. Indeed, when Ragdat contacted her, she said the lift had been damaged, and they couldn't get to Ragdat in time. With Vaylin's power raging out of control, she began causing a massive Force Storm, leaving Ragdat no choice but to strike her down. And just as he suspected, Vaylin's soul was absorbed into Ragdat, confirming that eating his children was part of Vitiate's plan.
As Vaylin laid dead, Senya and Arcann lamented her loss, but were relieved that the conflict was over, though their spirits were dampened when Ragdat informed them of what happened. However, he admitted that this was a victory, as the fighting on Odessen was over as Zakuulan forces surrendered en masse, but the war was not, as with Eternal Throne empty the GEMINI Captains have gone rogue, bombarding the capital worlds of Coruscant, Dromund Kaas and Zakuul into rubble. Ragdat grumbled, since claiming the Eternal Throne was the only way to stop the destruction, which he knew was part of Vitiate's plan, and was forced to lead the Alliance to Zakuul.
Catching some sleep on their way via the Gravestone, Ragdat experienced a vision of the Eternal Throne surrounded by their allies and Vaylin, who rose from the dead to strike them down. Waking up, Ragdat feared that this was how Vitiate was going to win, and ordered Lana to bring Dramath's holocron along. Vitiate intervened again, dismissing it as a useless dusty trinket, and Lana could finally feel his presence in the Force, illustrating how much more powerful he was now. More powerful than even Ragdat's iron will, they feared.
The major players then gathered on the bridge, with entire fleet at their back, where after dropping out of hyperspace, they witnessed the Spire blockaded by the Eternal Fleet, though Iokath upgrades of the Gravestone allowed Colonel Strannos, the new Commanding Officer of the Gravestone, to breach the blockade. Senya and Arcann volunteered to accompany Ragdat to the Eternal Throne and together they traveled down to surface in a boarding pod that landed in the Garden of Izax. The three of them made their way to the Spire as the Eternal Fleet burned Zakuul around them, receiving unexpected assistance from Indo Zal and his Zakuulan rebels. Fighting through the skytroopers and Knights of Zakuul, they finally took a turbolift to the Eternal Throne, but Vitiate tried to seed doubt in Ragdat's mind, telling him to strike down Senya and Arcann to avoid any competition for the Throne, though Ragdat simply stated "one more word out of you, and I'm giving back to Arcann just to spite you."
After entering the Eternal Throne room, Arcann was taken aback at seeing his old Throne and lamented the death of millions he caused while holding it, while Senya assured him that he became a better man since then. However, it was this moment when Ragdat found himself moving without any desire to, and walked up to it and took the Throne, which sent a shock through his body and pacified the Fleet. Senya congratulated him, but immediately afterward, Vitiate revealed his ultimate goal, dominating Ragdat's will and forcing him to kneel and proclaiming his desire to eradicate the Ragdat's mind and take possession of his body, shocking him into nothingness and forcing his mind to go black.
Ragdat awoke inside his own mindscape to the sound of his own voice, which was doing all it could to reassert his identity. However, Ragdat was now wearing Valkorion's skin in a subconscious attempt to save himself from being completely erased, realizing that Vitiate wouldn't destroy himself before he had beaten Ragdat completely. At this point, he had vague memories that the voice had managed to save for him; he was a Jedi, a Battlemaster, he had defeated Vitiate once before, and he was the Commander of the Alliance. He also knew someone was important to him, but he didn't know who or why they were. There were so many gaps in his memory, and he only hoped he'd fill them before he was able to face Vitiate again.
Ragdat traversed the bizarre mindscape, cleansing his corrupted memories, confirming that Vitiate only pretended to abandon his body on Odessen and later absorbed Vaylin's spirit after her death, giving the Immortal Emperor the key he needed to conquer his vessel's mental defenses. And during these efforts, he regained his memories of Kira, the one person who mattered to him more than anyone or anything else. Ragdat would have wept over the fact that he could ever forget Kira where he not fighting for his mind, and that strengthened his resolve to end his evil once and for all.
Eventually locating the mental image of Dramath's holocron, Ragdat took control of it and regained control of his form, forcing Vitiate to once again manifested in his Valkorian guise. This proved to Vitiate that Ragdat's iron will was strong enough to overcome anything Vitiate threw at Ragdat, but when Vitiate summoned Vaylin's enslaved spirit, he proved that his will was stronger than her's, and placed her under his spell and commanding his daughter to destroy Ragdat.
Ragdat, however, had learned much in his time as a Jedi, and figured that a battle of the minds was determined by who had the stronger will, and since Ragdat's will was stronger than Vitiate's, he was easily able to defeat Vaylin in the mental mindscape. Vitiate, however, easily restored her spirit, which gave Ragdat the idea to use the representation of Dramath's holocron to free Vaylin from her father's mind control. At this point, Arcann has joined them inside Ragat's mind by using the physical holocron located in the Eternal Throne room, adding their strength to Ragdat's own.
Ragdat and Arcann were able to convince Vaylin to join them against Vitiate, however, as Vitiate began to summon up power to battle the trio, Ragdat decided that enough was enough, and used Vaylin's conditioning code, "Kneel before the Dragon of Zakuul" to turn the tables on Vitiate and rob the Emperor of his strength. Vitiate was horrified that this worked, claiming that this only worked on Vaylin, Ragdat smugly stated "My mind, my rules. And I say what works on Vaylin, works on you." This delighted Vaylin, who demanded that her father "Kneel before the Dragon of Zakuul", in a way saying that Ragdat, not Vitiate, was the Dragon that held all the power now.
With Vitiate overpowered and helpless, Senya joined her children in Ragdat's mind and together the family watched the "Immortal Emperor" shout his final words, which were purely insults and condemning their weakness, though Ragdat shot back that their "weakness" is what gave them the strength to end him once and for all before he put a final end to his millennia-long existence.
Back in the physical world, Senya congratulated the Commander on finally putting an end to Valkorion and opened a system-wide holochannel to announce the Alliance victory. And this was when Ragdat recognized what this moment was; Lord Scourge's prophesy. The players were different, with Senya being the one to put the crown upon his head, but all the aspects of the prophesy; people kneeling before him as he held Vitiate's power in his hand. So Ragdat decided that he would not follow the prophesy to completion; he would not take the throne, instead, allowing Zakuul to finally rule itself. From there, he proclaimed the age of the Eternal Alliance, unifying the military of Zakuul and the Eternal Fleet with the cause of the Alliance, with the Eternal Throne dismantled and the controls moved to Odessen and the Eternal Fleet now under his control.
In the coming days, many of Ragdat's people began packing up and preparing to leave, as he expected they would. Curoda stated that now that the threat of Vitiate was over, she needed to return to a level of independence that a Pirate Fleet required, though she stated that she'd covertly support the Alliance and Ragdat's eventual "return" to the Republic when the time finally came. Vedere also gathered her people, stating that the Jedi needed to rebuild, and with Satele fully stepping down as Grandmaster, it fell to Vedere to rebuild. She echoed Curoda's statement about Ragdat's heart lying with the Republic, and added that she'd continue to search for Kira for him.
Ragdat was also not surprised that Darth Nox was leaving, but he was surprised at the reason. Oh, she said that she wished to return to the world she ruled, but what got Ragdat was that Darth Nox said that her son missed his mother dearly. When Ragdat asked for clarification, Nox stated that her son had recently turned four, and had been sending messages almost daily with the assistance of his father, wondering when she'd be returning. However, she also added that she wouldn't stand against Ragdat when he returned to the Republic, since rejoining the Empire would put her under Acina, and she would never look at Acina as anything more than an equal.
Adaso, however, remained with the Alliance. He said that the Empire had nothing for him now; no family, no power base, and ruled by the one who destroyed them. Even his brother and his clan were gone, having fallen in the struggle against Vaylin. All he had left was a wife he was estranged with ever since he joined a Jedi, and the wealth that he was utilizing to help fund the Alliance. His only desire now was actually quite similar to Scourge's all those years ago; to train with Ragdat and to ensure that the Jedi who destroyed Vitiate continued to deserve that distinction.
The rest of the people Ragdat expected to remain; Colonel Strannos was now the Commanding Officer of the Alliance flagship, so while she wasn't on the ground anymore, she was still out there and fighting. Maircus also remained, stating that Odessen was a good place to operate out of while hunting bounties, and that his family was there, though he did express regret over the death of Torian, his "vod" or brother in Mandalorian. Allisani also remained, though at this point, he suspected that she wasn't just an "agent of the Specter", but the Specter herself, who expressed, in private, a desire to help Ragdat bring down the Empire once and for all.
All was relatively quiet as Ragdat's Eternal Fleet patrolled the galaxy, assisting in recovery efforts on Zakuul and everywhere else. But Ragdat knew that this wouldn't last forever.
And that's it for Ragdat's Darkest Days KOTET. I'll be doing Iokath as one post, though I'll include the events of the operation, and then, do the Traitor Flashpoints in one as well. Look forward to those, as well as Rise of Mamine, which I'll be doing those in quick succession, though, you're in for a few surprises with that one. But for now, stay beautiful freaks!
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