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!