Mamine 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 Mamine thought was strange was that the remote didn't do anything; it just floated there and followed her.
Mamine 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 Mamine from behind, and explaining that he awoke in the same situation. Mamine asked if he'd heard from the others, and Torian replied that no, he hadn't. However, almost immediately after, the two 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 Mamine and Torian, directing them to a structure called the Tributary, where the rest of Alliance forced already had gathered. Upon getting there, Suthazi once again ran up to her master and dove into her arms, which made Mamine realize that Suthazi's feelings toward here were stronger than Mamine had originally thought, and might be a problem in the future. She'd need to talk to the younger Cathar sooner or later about this.
Mamine then checked on the Alliance personnel, quietly nodding at Koth to remind him that Mamine still remembered that he was banned from the Gravestone once they got back home, before moving through the rest of the Alliance before stopping at Vette, who was standing in front of another technolith. The Twi'lek showed Mamine 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, which enraged Yokonari when she saw the holo, however, she calmed slightly when they were told that SCORPIO was imprisoned at an unknown location, but she laughed when SCORPIO asked the Alliance for assistance, saying the only assistance the droid would get from her was assisting in her destruction. However, before any more debate could occur, 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 Mamine went ahead to explore, but not before Suthazi said she was coming. However, Mamine denied her; Suthazi needed time to get her head on straight, and Mamine was able to spin this into a test of responsibility; Suthazi was one of the best Soresu users in the group, so she'd be perfect to keep the blaster wielders alive while Mamine and Vette performed her mission. Suthazi was placated, willing to show her Master that she could perform this task, and Mamine and Vette headed off, eventually locating another technolith.
Vette instructed Mamine 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. From there, SCOPRIO contacted Mamine 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. Mamine 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 Mamine 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 Mamine disabled them, allowing them to deactivate the droid just as the rest of the group caught up.
The four confronted and engaged ARIES, and SCORPIO herself arrived to help defeat him. She then lowered the energy shield and urged Mamine 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. Yokonari balked at this, saying that "You don't get to walk away. Not after what you did to us." Mamine looked at Yokonari, seeing a friend she'd known for years who was just trying to get justice for what SCORPIO helped the Hand of Jadus do to her. She looked at Casek, seeing all the effort he had put in to cure Yokonari's condition, failing time after time to isolate what was causing it. And she looked at SCORPIO, and saw a droid who had betrayed everyone she'd worked to serve her own ambition. Sadly, she looked back at Yokonari and said "You have thirty seconds. Use them wisely, because we don't have time to waste." Yokonari smiled as she used the Force to throw SCORPIO against the wall, and allowed Casek to use lightning to start shorting out her circuits before she leapt in with a lightsaber and bisecting the droid. She then lifted the droid into the air, crushing the corpse into a ball before throwing it back toward their exit. From there, the group rushed back to the Gravestone, Mamine hoping this would grant her friends some peace after all the suffering they'd went through, barely managing to escape to hyperspace before the weapon overloaded, as did Vaylin with most of the Eternal Fleet.
Returning to the safety of Odessen, Mamine took this moment to remind Koth he was hereby removed from Command of the Gravestone, and was never allowed to set foot on the ship again. When pressed by her dark companions, Mamine lied and simply said that Koth had done something that could have hurt the Alliance's chances to get back to Odessen unintentionally, something that showed Mamine that Koth could no longer be trusted with the Gravestone. The whole team, save for Lana and Suthazi, who already knew exactly what happened, were suspicious, but everyone was tired after the battles they had just fought, and were willing to get on with their day.
About an hour later, Mamine was met by former Lieutenant Felix Iresso after being rescued by Anstrisil'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 Anstrisil. Mamine welcomed Iresso to the Alliance formally, and said that she'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 Mamine to get close to Vaylin and activate her conditioning. Theron volunteered to accompany Mamine inside the Palace of the Eternal Dragon, while Lana and T7-O1 provided remote support from a shuttle that served as their getaway vehicle. Suthazi, of course, wanted to go as well, but Indo stated that they couldn't find a set of armor in her size, so Mamine said that Suthazi could come along as support for Lana and T7.
Arriving on Zakuul under the guises of two Knights of Zakuul, Theron and Mamine 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 Mamine 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 Mamine strolled into the main hall, where Vaylin taunted Mamine about being under her father's control, but Mamine 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 Mamine had to follow inside. After killing a Rancor, Mamine ordered Indo to retreat with the rebels, after which Mamine and Theron went after Vaylin, fighting both the forces of Arcann and Vaylin, who were fighting on the balcony.
The arrival of Theron and Mamine interrupted the duel between siblings, allowing Vaylin to escape on a speeder bike. To Mamine'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. What was also to Mamine's surprise was how attractive she found Arcann without the mask. She knew she had a thing for humans, of course; between her fling with Doc all those years ago and other humans she found attractive over the years, but Arcann? That heavily scarred face should put her off to him, but it didn't, and she had no idea why.
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 Valkorian chose to take form and taunt his son, saying he did not raise him to serve. Arcann said "You have no son", and Mamine 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 Mamine gave a message to the people of Zakuul; she wasn't their enemy. All she 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 Mamine, Theron and Arcann to safety. Suthazi was shocked to see Arcann, however; after what he had done to them all over the years, and he's not a prisoner? Didn't make sense.
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, Mamine 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, Mamine approached her Padawan about her feelings toward Arcann. She was angry, of course, and she had every reason to be. But Mamine could also detect a hint of jealousy; that somehow, Arcann's presence would mean Mamine would have less time for Suthazi. She confronted Suthazi about these feelings, and said reminded the Padawan that Mamine's redemption didn't happen overnight either. Mamine had a long, hard road between when she was exiled from Cathar and where she was now, with a lot of friends helping her along the way. Right now, the only person Arcann had was in a coma to heal from what the Voss did to her to save her son. Arcann needed people to support him during this troubling and crucial time for his own redemption, and Mamine said that out of everyone there, she was uniquely qualified to help him. Suthazi was too, in fact, since Suthazi had been part of Mamine's support network during Mamine's redemption, so Suthazi understood the importance of that support network.
Suthazi's reaction wasn't the best; she didn't like that Mamine was right, but she did accept her points. She promised that she'd talk to Arcann, and maybe train with him, in the future. But for right now, Suthazi said, she needed to go meditate to clear her head. Mamine agreed, and headed off to speak to Arcann herself.
And that's it for the first Iokath arc. I know you guys weren't expecting the Arcann romance, but when I played Mamine last, I thought "what the hell", and went with the ideas that came from it. The next chapter will show the actual beginnings of it, so look forward to it, and stay beautiful freaks!
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