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!