Mamine spoke to Arcann for a few hours, and learned a great deal about his life experiences. Mamine had known of his twin Thexan, but she knew nothing about Arcann's life with him. According to Arcann, the brothers trained to be warriors from childhood, but even though their father never showed any emotion toward them, which caused a brewing jealousy inside Arcann, these were happy times. Arcann reminisced about his time with his brother, at Mamine's request, since she wanted him to focus on the better times to help with his redemption, and then told Arcann her own story; of her youth on Cathar, her training to be a shaman, the stories she heard of the Cathar Jedi legends of her people in Sylvar, Crado and Juhani. She mentioned her Jedi training, her exile from Cathar, and her own quest for redemption. And as they talked, Mamine found herself drawn to Arcann in ways she hadn't connected with anyone else. Yes, she had plenty of friends at this point; Lana, Theron, Suthazi, Yokonari, Casek, Rusk, T7, and so many others in the Alliance she considered among her friends. And if they were still alive, she'd count Doc, Scourge and Kira among her friends. But it was different with Arcann.
A few hours after she was finally done talking to Arcann, Mamine had gathered her 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 Valkorian from absorbing her power, since unlike Arcann, Vaylin showed no good in her and had no desire to be a better person. Sana-Rae had no means to do so, however, Casek presented the idea that if they timed it correctly, he could Force Walk Vaylin's ghost to prevent Valkorian from getting access to Vaylin's power. This bothered Mamine, since Casek lacked the purity to redeem her the way he did with the other Sith ghosts he bound years ago. Anstrisil, however, brought up 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, but unfortunately, no one there had the required purity; Anstrisil's Sith blood tainted his ability to perform the ritual, Sana-Ray was too gray, Mamine had Valkorian stuck in his head, and Suthazi was still in a very emotionally volatile time in her life for her to be considered pure enough. Anstrisil added that the main reason he had Yokonari and Casek broken out of the Hand of Jadus' prison was for Casek to perform the ritual, but he had been driven to the Dark Side during his time in captivity. However, Anstrisil said that, if they could find someone that had the required purity, he could teach them the ritual, but they shouldn't get their hopes up. So with a heavy heart, Mamine realized that her only choice was to kill Vaylin, a thought that didn't sit well with her, since she feared that Valkorian could absorb her power the way Casek had during his own journey to power.
When Mamine slept that night, Valkorian chose to allow Mamine to glimpse his memories of Vaylin's return to Zakuul after her conditioning on Nathema, and upon Mamine walking, Valkorian 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 Mamine brought up the dream, Theron mentioned that he'd recieved signals from a facility on Nathema recently. 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, Mamine, Lana, Theron and Suthazi geared up for battle, while Arcann stayed to watch over his still comatose mother. Mamine mentioned how she believed in Arcann at this point, believed that he could handle the Darkness there, but she understood the desire to remain near his mother while Mamine was away. He thanked Mamine for her kind words before heading off to see his mother.
Theron piloted the shuttle to Nathema, and Lana, Mamine and Suthazi began feeling the effects of the Force void before even setting foot on the planet. Even Valkorian found his power diminished in this place, though he promised to shield them from from its worst effects. Mamine mentioned this to Lana and Suthazi, and said she hoped this would weaken him enough for them to perform their mission without him getting in the way, 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 Mamine 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, Mamine recognized that Valkorian was somehow blocked inside this room, and finding the door stuck, Mamine realized that this was likely their only chance to hide something from Valkorian. Lana and Mamine went to activate the backup power generator, while Suthazi killed the vault guardian that killed Jarak, having done her best to defend the man. 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 held the power to destroy "Tenabrae", Vitiate's birth name, once and for all. Dramath asked to release him and grant him oblivion, to which Lana disagreed, but in the end, Mamine's Jedi mindset won out and Mamine released Dramath from his purgatory. Mamine then ordered Lana to take care of the holocron, since she wanted to keep the fact that they had it a secret since as soon as they stepped outside, Valkorian would have access to Mamine'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. Mamine, Suthazi 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 Suthazi volunteered to sneak behind the enemy's lines, both from different avenues, while Lana and Mamine 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, Mamine 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, Mamine and the desire to stop Vaylin once and for all. Mamine just looked at Arcann and smiled slightly, pleased to know he was okay before turning her attention to the task at hand.
Lana went to join Theron while Mamine 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, Mamine contacted Anstrisil, who told her that he had not found anyone who could perform the ritual. Mamine on her own on that front.
Mamine, Arcann and Senya fought through the battlefield, having picked up Suthazi along the way, 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 Mamine 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. The four were required to duel Vaylin the best they could, a battle Vaylin could not win on four fronts, granting Mamine the opportunity she needed to defeat the insane Empress. However, they had no time to rest, as Vaylin chose to unleash her power to bring down the Alliance base. With Vaylin's power raging out of control, she began causing a massive Force Storm, leaving Mamine no choice but to strike her down. And just as she suspected, Vaylin's soul was absorbed into Mamine, confirming that eating his children was part of Valkorian'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 Mamine informed them of what happened. Suthazi was the most concerned; Mamine had been fighting off Valkorian successfully for quite some time, but how, he had a LOT more power at his disposal to combat Mamine with. Mamine, however, had to admit that this was a victory; the fighting on Odessen was over as Zakuulan forces surrendered en masse. The war was not, however, as with Eternal Throne empty the GEMINI Captains have gone rogue, bombarding the capital worlds of Coruscant, Dromund Kaas and Zakuul into rubble. Mamine grumbled, since claiming the Eternal Throne was the only way to stop the destruction, which she knew was part of Valkorian's plan, but she also knew she had friends supporting her and helping her from descending into Darkness, and was forced to lead the Alliance to Zakuul.
Catching some sleep on their way via the Gravestone, Mamine experienced a vision of the Eternal Throne surrounded by their allies and Vaylin, who rose from the dead to strike them down. Waking up, Mamine feared that this was how Valkorian was going to win, and ordered Suthazi to bring Dramath's holocron along. Valkorian intervened again, dismissing it as a useless dusty trinket, and Suthazi could finally feel his presence in the Force, illustrating how much more powerful he was now. More powerful than even Mamine's iron will, which worried them both.
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 Tora, the new Commanding Officer of the Gravestone, to breach the blockade. Suthazi, Senya and Arcann volunteered to accompany Mamine to the Eternal Throne and together they traveled down to surface in a boarding pod that landed in the Garden of Izax. The four 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 Valkorian tried to seed doubt in Mamine's mind, telling him to strike down Suthazi, Senya and Arcann to avoid any competition for the Throne, something that irritated Mamine since she would never strike down the two most important people in her life for the sake of power, though she 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 Mamine found herself moving without any desire to, and walked up to it and took the Throne, which sent a shock through her body and pacified the Fleet. Senya congratulated her, but immediately afterward, Valkorian revealed his ultimate goal, dominating Mamine's will and forcing her to kneel and proclaiming his desire to eradicate the Mamine's mind and take possession of his body, shocking her into nothingness and forcing her mind to go black.
Suthazi freaked out at what had just happened to her Master. Mamine was the reason she had worked so hard to control the hamask defect that the two of them shared, working tirelessly to understand her triggers into such a berserker rage. She started to run toward Mamine, not knowing what to do but knowing she had to do something before Arcann grabbed her by her arm and forced her to see the Skytroopers coming out of the lift. "We can't save Mamine if these droids kill us." he said to the Padawan, who was still in an emotional turmoil, but she knew that Arcann was looking out for all of them, and Suthazi was forced to draw her lightsaber and start deflecting blaster fire.
Suthazi chose to focus more on deflecting fire back at the droids, instead of just away from herself as she frantically thought of ways to help Mamine, eventually remembering the holocron she had in her robes; Dramath's holocron. During a short lull in the combat, Suthazi told Senya her plan; she would meditate on the holocron, sending her energy through it and into Mamine, in hopes to strengthen her resolve against the demon controlling her. Senya agreed, and said that she and Arcann would hold the Skytroopers off while the girl did what she had to.
Suthazi found herself in a barren wasteland, with Mamine and Vitiate standing at the top of a a group of stairs. Vitiate summoned Vaylin's enslaved spirit, proving that his will was stronger than his daughters, and placed her under his spell and commanded his daughter to destroy Mamine. Suthazi chose this moment to leap into battle, drawing her lightsaber and clashed with Vaylin, telling her Master to not give up, they could win this together.
Mamine was surprised to see her Padawan, but quickly figured that she was a representation of her own strength; that a battle of the minds was determined by who had the stronger will, and since Mamine's will was stronger than Valkorian's, she had what she needed to win. However, Mamine was also much more creative, and while "Suthazi" was battling Vaylin, Mamine drew the holocron that she had grabbed to regain her form and used it on Vaylin, freeing her from her father's mind control. At this point, Arcann appeared inside her mind, which, Mamine figured, symbolized her own desire to be a better person.
Mamine, "Suthazi" and "Arcann" were able to convince Vaylin to join them against Valkorian, however, as Valkorian began to summon up power to battle the trio, Mamine decided that enough was enough, and used Vaylin's conditioning code, "Kneel before the Dragon of Zakuul" to turn the tables on Valkorian and rob the Emperor of his strength. Valkorian was horrified that this worked, claiming that this only worked on Vaylin, Mamine smugly stated "This isn't your mind, Valkorian; it's mine. And in my mind, what I say goes. 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 Mamine, not Vitiate, was the Dragon that held all the power now.
With Valkorian overpowered and helpless, "Senya" joined her children in Mamine's mind and together the family watched the "Immortal Emperor" shout his final words, which were purely insults and condemning their weakness, though Mamine shot back that their "weakness" is what gave them the strength to end him once and for all before she put a final end to Vitiate's millennia-long existence.
Back in the physical world, Suthazi said "we did it", cluing in to Mamine that they had not been representations of her own strength like she thought, but had actually been in there, lending their strength to hers. Senya congratulated the Commander on finally putting an end to Valkorion and opened a system-wide holochannel to announce the Alliance victory. However, this was the point when Mamine finally recognized what this moment was; Lord Scourge's prophesy. The players were different, with Senya being the one to put the crown upon her head, but all the aspects of the prophesy were there; people kneeling before her as whe held Vitiate's power in his hand. She looked at Suthazi, realizing this was a critical moment in her training. She looked at Arcann, the man who showed how much that Throne could corrupt even the most noble of people, and she decided that she would not follow the prophesy to completion; she would not take the throne, instead, allowing Zakuul to finally rule itself. From there, she 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, Mamine took some time to talk to her people, to see how they were settling in to a peaceful future. Yokonari and Casek remained so they could have resources to continue to work on Yokonari's cure for the Hand of Jadus' plague, and Suthazi remained to complete her Jedi training. But what surprised Mamine was the fact that Anstrisil chose to remain with the Alliance. Anstrisil said that the Empire had nothing for him; the White Knights were gone, and the rest of the Sith would destroy a light sider. But he also said that the Republic had little to offer as well. People were willing to give him a chance as a Jedi when his face was covered by his hood, but they were always suspicious of his intentions when they finally saw he was Pureblood Sith. At least in the Alliance, that didn't matter, and he could continue to do good for the galaxy here.
However, Mamine knew it was time to talk to her Padawan about Suthazi's feelings toward Mamine. She took Suthazi to her Defender so they'd have some privacy, and was blunt; she knew Suthazi had feelings for Mamine. She could sense them for quite some time, but with the war going on, she had so many more important things to teach her to help her survive the battles. But now that it was over, it was time for Suthazi to confront the truth. Mamine stressed that having feelings for someone wasn't wrong, but Suthazi needed to recognize where she was at in life; she may be a Jedi Padawan, she may be an experienced diplomat, she may be a battle tested warrior and a leader in her own right, but she was still only 15. And that age was a very difficult one, with all the emotional and physical changes she was currently going through. She asked if Suthazi had meditated on her feelings recently, and whether the young woman had determined if these feelings were actually how she felt about Mamine, or if they were just a desire to hold on to a level of stability that she hadn't had for a couple years between when she lost her first Master and found Mamine. Suthazi was forced to admit, to both Mamine and herself, that she hadn't, and she didn't know.
Mamine then added that she had sensed Suthazi's jealousy toward Arcann. She said that jealousy could lead to Darkness, and that was the last that someone like they needed. She reminded Suthazi that even if Arcann did take Mamine away from Suthazi after her Jedi training was complete, that was part of life. Suthazi was going to need to become an independent Jedi Knight anyway within the next few years, living her own life her own way, so getting this attached to Mamine wasn't healthy for Suthazi. And Suthazi finally recognized what was going on; Mamine had feelings for Arcann, not Suthazi. However, she realized that in some way, this made her happy; her Master was happy, even if it wasn't with her. So she just smiled a sad smile and said that, whatever happens, she's just glad that Mamine was her friend and her teacher, and Mamine just smiled warmly. Mamine said that, when she was older and had some years as a Knight under her belt, there would be nothing wrong with Suthazi seeking out love in another. But for now, she had some growing up to do. Suthazi agreed, and headed off the Defender to meditate on what she had learned today.
All was relatively quiet as Mamine's Eternal Fleet patrolled the galaxy, assisting in recovery efforts on Zakuul and everywhere else. But Mamine knew that this wouldn't last forever.
And there's the start of the Arcann romance. I'll add some more into the next chapter, and confirm it in the final chapter. Look forward to them, and stay beautiful freaks!
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