SWTOR Character Tales: Ragdat's Darkest Days KOTET 7-9

Welcome back, my beautiful freaks, to the Assassin's Den! Today, we're finishing off KOTET for Ragdat!

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.

Meanwhile, the ritual to break Vaylin's bonds when out of control, with Vaylin's power vaporizing those in her vicinity and Ragdat, Lana and Darth Nox came upon Jarak, who offered to take them to a place where they could take shelter. Ragdat didn't trust Jarak after what was done to Felix, but recognized that this was not the time to act upon the distrust; the three of them would be able to handle any trap that Jarak set up.

 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!

SWTOR Character Tales: Ragdat's Darkest Days KOTET 4-6

Welcome back, my beautiful freaks, to the Assassin's Den! It's time for the SCORPIO saga on Iokath!

Ragdat 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 Ragdat thought was strange was that the remote didn't do anything; it just floated there and followed him.

Ragdat 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 Ragdat from behind, and explaining that he awoke in the same situation. The two then 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 Ragdat and Torian, directing them to a structure called the Tributary, where the rest of Alliance forced already had gathered. However, Koth was still upset about Ragdat's intention to arrest him for treason though not wanting to vocalize with the hope that Ragdat would forget between now and their return to Odessen, Ragdat checked on the Alliance personnel, quietly nodding at Koth to remind him that Ragdat still remembered, before moving through the rest of the Alliance before stopping at Vette, who was standing in front of another technolith. The Twi'lek showed Ragdat 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, who was imprisoned at an unknown location and asked the Alliance for assistance. 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 Ragdat went ahead to explore, eventually locating another technolith. Vette instructed Ragdat 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.

SCOPRIO contacted Ragdat 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. Ragdat 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 Ragdat 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 Ragdat disabled them, allowing them to deactivate the droid just as the rest of the group caught up.

Theron realized that even though he was unable to locate the Gravestone, he could still use his cranial implant to remotely pilot the Alliance shuttle that was left in its hangar. To provide themselves with a distraction from the droids outside, the team repaired the colossus droid, leaving Ragat to pilot it against its much weaker, but more numerous brethren, while the rest went to the Tributary roof, something that Ragdat thoroughly enjoyed. Eventually though, the colossus was damaged, requiring him to eject. With everyone safely onboard the shuttle, Theron took off, but before they could leave, SCORPIO contacted the group again and revealed that ARIES raised an energy shield that would destroy any vessel attempting to leave. With ARIES re-charging the weapon that incapacitated them in the first place and promising to use it again on a lethal setting, the only way out was to stop ARIES. SCORPIO revealed the location of ARIES' base and Theron dropped off Vette and Ragdat there to deal with ARIES, while the rest went to reclaim the Gravestone.

Ragdat and Vette confronted and engaged ARIES, and SCORPIO herself arrived to help defeat him. She then lowered the energy shield and urged Ragdat 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. Ragdat was hesitant about this, but since this would prevent her from threatening the Alliance or the galaxy again, he allowed her to proceed, but with a warning that if she ever threatened the galaxy again, he'd destroy her with the Gravestone's omnicannon. SCORPIO nodded knowingly, thanked them, and forever left her droid body, while also sending to the Alliance schematics for upgrading the Gravestone with Iokath technology. From there, Ragdat and Vette rushed back to the Gravestone, which just barely managed to escape to hyperspace before the weapon overloaded, as did Vaylin with most of the Eternal Fleet. Returning to the safety of Odessen, Ragdat drew his lightsaber on Koth, and announced that Koth was under arrest for treason.  The members of the Alliance were where shocked at this until Ragdat revealed both the quantum bomb and Koth threatening Ragdat afterward. Koth said "Come on, all I said was 'I'd like to see you try to replace me'.", which caused Colonel Strannos to shake her head.  She said "Koth, banning you from the vessel you were the Commanding Officer of was light for putting a quantum bomb on the most expensive vessel in the fleet.  The Commander has to maintain military discipline after you threatening him." and then shot him with her pistol on the stun setting and picking him up to be transported to the brig to await trial.

The trial was exhausting for everyone involved. The tribunal was made up of Doctor Oggurobb, Bey'wan Aygo, Sana-Rae and Hylo Visz, with Colonel Strannos as the prosecutor and Lana Beniko as defense, with Ragdat watching from a security camera to ensure his emotional responses wouldn't taint the results.  The Colonel talked about what Koth did, and the damage a quantum bomb could have done, both the credit value of the equipment that could have been lost being in the quadrillions, the loss of life in those starships, and the fact that Koth put the bomb on the only vessel in the Alliance fleet that could not be replaced. Lana, however, while not denying the gravity of the charges, stressed that his reasoning, to prevent the Gravestone from being captured from under them, which was, as this past mission illustrated, was a very real possibility.  The Colonel responded with a statement about how Koth should have sought the Commander's approval, and the fact that he didn't meant that Koth knew that the Commander would deny this request, but he chose to do so anyway, which constituted another charge among the Republic called "Fraud, Waste and Abuse of Military Resources". Both women stressed Koth being a founding member of the Alliance, Lana as a means to stress his importance, the Colonel stressed that he should know better, and used his former military background to illustrate this.

In the end, the tribunal chose to be lenient and chose to exile Koth from the Alliance; he had 24 hours to gather his belongings and report to the shuttle bay, where he'd be given a shuttle of his own to use for whatever reason he wished. And at that moment Koth turned into the shuttle hanger to depart, Ragdat was waiting for Koth to see him off. Koth was standoffish, of course, but Ragdat asked Koth that, if Koth had been in Ragdat's shoes, would he do anything different? Koth was force to say no, Ragdat did what was best for the Alliance.  Ragdat said that there was no hard feelings, and stressed that, if Koth hadn't threatened him in the heat of the moment, Ragdat had intended to only remove Koth from command of the Gravestone, and not prevent him from commanding an entirely different vessel. Koth was forced to finally realize what he had done, and just said "I really screwed up, didn't I?", and Ragdat extended his hand, wishing Koth the best.

After Koth's ship left the atmosphere, Lana came up behind Ragdat and assured the Commander that the Alliance was stronger than ever in spite of the loss of Koth, with Gravestone secure and SCORPIO out of the picture, but Iokath remained inaccessible for the time being.

About an hour later, Ragdat was met by former Lieutenant Felix Iresso after being rescued by Vedere'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 Vedere.  Ragdat welcomed Iresso to the Alliance formally, and said that he'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 Ragdat to get close to Vaylin and activate her conditioning. Theron volunteered to accompany Ragdat inside the Palace of the Eternal Dragon, while Lana and T7-O1 provided remote support from a shuttle that served as their getaway vehicle.

Arriving on Zakuul under the guises of two Knights of Zakuul, Theron and Ragdat 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 Ragdat 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 Ragdat strolled into the main hall, where Vaylin taunted Ragdat about being under her father's control, but Ragdat 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 Ragdat had to follow inside. After killing a Rancor , Ragdat ordered Indo to retreat with the rebels, after which Ragdat and Theron went after Vaylin, fighting both the forces of Arcann and Vaylin, who were fighting on the balcony.

The arrival of Theron and Ragdat interrupted the duel between siblings, allowing Vaylin to escape on a speeder bike. To Ragdat'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. 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 Vitiate chose to take form and taunt his son, saying he did not raise him to serve. Arcann said "You have no son", and Ragdat 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 Ragdat gave a message to the people of Zakuul; he wasn't their enemy. All he 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 Ragdat, Theron and Arcann to safety. 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, Ragdat 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, Maircus, who had been watching this whole thing, walked up to Ragdat and introduced the Commander to his wife, Mako, who, along with her friend Akaavi, who was also a crewmate of Curoda, were here to join the Alliance. Ragdat welcomed Mako before heading to the gym to perform a moving meditation to clear his head.

Yeah, I'm adding the "Post KOTET" class companions into the story, because why not?  It gives the other classes something to do while Ragdat is stopping Vaylin. Oh, and if you need me to elaborate about Fraud, Waste and Abuse of Military Resources, don't be afraid to ask in the comments. I should have this done before November is over, but for now, look forward to the end of KOTET, and stay beautiful freaks!

SWTOR Character Tales: Ragdat's Darknest Days KOTET 1-3

Welcome back, my beautiful freaks, to the Assassin's Den! It's time to get started in KOTET!

Time had passed between the defeat of Arcann and the rise of Vaylin.  She was causing a path of destruction while searching for her brother and mother, wanting to be rid of them for their betrayal once and for all.

Her search led her to Voss, which was under the protection of the Alliance thanks to Sana Rae and Vedere's friendship with the mystic Gaden Ko. Theron Shan and Sana-Rae happened to be on Voss meeting a contact and were caught in the attack, signaling the Alliance to scramble the fleet. The Alliance fleet moved to intercept and engage the Eternal Fleet, while Lana piloted a Zakuulan shuttle carrying Ragdat and Torian Cadera with a squad of Mandalorian warriors down to the planet surface to break the siege of the capital city of Voss-Ka. Upon landing, Ragdat got notification that Adaso and his brother, along a squad of Mandalorians serving Adaso, had also landed to assist in Ragdat's efforts.  Both grounds engaged Skytroopers throughout the burning city before meeting at the Tower of Prophecy, where Theron and Sana-Rae had been waiting for them. However, just before entering the tower, Vitiate froze time for Ragdat, and said, in so many words, "you need to kill Vaylin". After time was unfrozen, Ragdat helped in defending their position from Vaylin's Horizon Guards, and afterward, they received a holotransmission from Senya, who was at the Shrine of Healing. She was hoping that the Voss Mystics could heal her son's body and spirit and pleaded for the Alliance's aid, believing Arcann would join their fight. Lana believed that Arcann had to be neutralized one way or another, and she led Torian's Mandalorians towards the Shrine, while Adaso and his Mandalorians took a group of fighters to combat them from the air, while Ragdat and Theron took a third route, and rode the Mandalorian walker Storm Rider through the Old Paths.

Upon reaching the Shrine of Healing, Theron and Ragdat met with Senya, who again pleaded them to let Arcann be healed, while Vaylin, learning that her family was all in one place, ordered the Eternal Fleet to bombard the Shrine. Again, Vitiate told Ragdat to kill his son, and this gave Ragdat all the reason he needed to order Lana and the Mandalorians to protect the Shrine to buy Senya time and collapsed a tunnel behind them to stop the pursuing skytroopers. He and Theron remained near the entrance of the healer's chamber to hold off the Skytroopers, and once they finally reached Senya's position, they found that she had already ordered the Mystics to use her strength to heal her son in a Voss healing ritual, which left her comatose. Theron stayed to tend to Senya, while Ragdat and Lana chased the escaping Arcann to his shuttle, but were too late to stop his departure. However, Ragdat could feel Arcann's new presence in the Force, and could just barely see his eyes; while not as light as Vedere or Vizhdam, his presence was FAR lighter than it was, and his eyes had turned from the sickly yellow of a slave to the Dark Side to a much brighter blue. Ragdat knew he didn't have much time to talk, so he said only four words; "Your Mother is alive."

By this point Vaylin has ordered the Eternal Fleet to burn her family regardless of casualties on Voss, but the battle was turned by the arrival of the Imperial fleet, which turned the Eternal Fleet away. Vitiate again stopped time and urged Ragdat to pursue and kill Arcann, kill Valyin and claim the Eternal Throne, but Ragdat was having none of it; he would not kill either one, and he certainly wouldn't be claiming the Throne. When Vitiate unfroze time, Sith Empress Acina contacted Ragdat over holo, greeting Ragdat and invited the Alliance to Dromund Kaas to discuss a potential alliance against Vaylin. This got Adaso's attention, stating to not trust Acina; thanks to her, his entire family, all their forces and most of Colmallus' clan, were dead.  He said that Acina had sent him video messages of his younger sister, a girl who was only 9 at time time, being tortured as a way to demoralize Adaso against trying to take her throne, only killing her after realizing how powerful the young girl had become when she started speaking in a language that took decades to learn, a language that Adaso claimed that Brosra did not know before that; the ancient language of his people.  Acina said she would make no apologies for doing what was necessary to gain control over the Empire, Adaso said to never trust Acina. Ragdat, who had been listening this whole time, said that he couldn't turn away potential allies without talking to them first, and agreed that he'd at least talk to Acina before making a decision, with a caveat that he was not going to abandon the Republic even if he did ally with Acina.

Ragdat traveled to Dromund Kaas with Lana, Adaso and Theron, arriving to Kaas City, where Vitiate froze time to lamented that he spend too long on this world that was not worth saving. Ragdat wrinkled his nose in disgust, and reminded Vitiate that he killed him here before, and he'd doing it again as soon as his people figured out how. Vitiate just chuckled and unfroze time just in time for the group to be greeted by Gelmid Lorman, who introduced himself as the new Minister of Logistics when Beniko addressed him by his old title of Moff. Lorman escorted them to Acina, who greeted Ragdat warmly, though she did mock Adaso for following the Alliance despite how this Jedi set in motion the events that took his power base from him.  Adaso did not raise to the bait, however, and simply stated that he was there to ensure Acina didn't betray Ragdat the way she betrayed Adaso. Acina rolled her eyes, and insisted on speaking with Ragdat privately on her personal shuttle. Ragdat agreed, leaving Lana and Theron behind to keep an eye on Lorman, though Adaso chose a different path; he was going to his old estate to meditate on his situation and fuel his rage.

In flight and away from prying eyes, Acina stated that traditionalist Sith would not approve of the alliance she was offering and recognized Vaylin as the true threat. She assured Ragdat that her offer of partnership was genuine despite Adaso's protestations to the contrary, and that she had no intention of taking the Eternal Throne for herself, and Ragdat said the same, but he echoed Adaso's caution toward the Sith Empress. Their conversation was interrupted by a sudden engine failure, requiring Acina to crash land the shuttle and abandon ship. Now stuck in the wilderness of Dromund Kaas with their comms mysteriously jammed, Acina suspected someone sabotaged her shuttle, and Ragdat suggested Lorman as the culprit, though Acina shot down the idea. Lorman didn't have the courage to do so, she said, and this caused Ragdat to add that was the exact reason he was the prime suspect; Acina underestimated him.

Acina and Ragdat were forced to contend with the planet's dangerous wildlife and lightning storms, traversing the terrain to the crashed shuttle in hopes of recovering the emergency beacon. A group was already waiting for them there and identified as the GenoHaradan, whom the Empress had always assumed to be a myth. The "legendary" assassins proved no match for the Alliance Commander and the Empress of the Sith, however, as the pair swiftly dealt with the assassins and continued their search for the GenoHaradan camp.

They continued into the jungle, and just as they were about to head into the camp, they were met by Adaso wiping out the assassins. He looked furious, and directed all his anger at Acina, saying he "knew she'd betray them", but Ragdat rebuked the idea; it was Lorman, not Acina, and presented his theory. Adaso stood down, not wanting to argue with his Commander, and after clearing the camp, Ragdat discovered a holorecording from former Republic Supreme Chancellor Leontyne Saresh. Saresh was revealed as the one who ordered the hit, and Acina remarked on the treachery of the Republic leadership, though Adaso added "You're one to talk, Acina" before a gunship appeared and opened fire, forcing the three to take shelter in a nearby Sith tomb, where the entrance was collapsed by the barrage.Vitiate again froze time, and again remarked how these ancient resting placed of Sith Lords never truly held the secret of immortality, causing Ragdat to roll his eyes at this, saying that it was a privilege to become one with the Force, not something to be feared. Vitiate unfroze time, and Adaso immediately recognized what had happened within Ragdat after he came out of it, and wanted to say something, but chose not to, since he didn't want his Commander to be perceived as weak in front of Acina.

As the trio descended further into the tomb's depths, they found exactly what Ragdat had been saying the entire time; the traitorous Minister Lorman, who was behind the shuttle sabotage, and a GenoHaradan strike team seeking to finish their job. They quickly and easily dispatched the GenoHaradan, and Lorman panicked, claiming to have Lana and Theron hostage. This caused Adaso to burst into laughter, saying that Lana and Theron were not so weak that they would fall to Lorman's flunkies. Lorman, after once shouting "It's Minister Lorman! MINISTER LORMAN!", as he had several times before when someone called him by only his last name,  attempted to call his men, only to discover that his so-called hostages had dispatched them. Acina offered the Commander to decide Lorman's fate, and Ragdat calmly stated that Jedi don't kill their prisoners, something that caused Adaso to smirk, reaffirming that Ragdat was still denying his former master's control, but it caused Acina to frown. Ragdat said that Acina could do with him what she wished after due process had been gone through, but the fact remained that Jedi don't kill their prisoners.

Theron informed them that Saresh was coming to Odessen in a bid to take over the Alliance after she had earlier proclaimed that Ragdat was dead along with Acina. The four quickly returned to Odessen, where Saresh was making a speech in front of the Alliance personnel. Upon seeking Ragdat, she panicked and tried to flee, but Lana cut off her way of escaping. Saresh, in so many words, called Ragdat weak, saying that she'd have ended the Sith Empire AND the Eternal Empire months ago if she were in charge. Adaso said Saresh knew nothing of war, and that she'd lead them all to their death if she had the chance. Saresh just glared at Adaso, and flatly said "So, what, are you going to kill me, Commander? That's what I'd do." And Ragdat again calmly said that "Jedi don't kill their prisoners.You'll be given due process, but don't expect it to go your way." before sending Theron and Adaso to escort Saresh to a prison cell, to Theron's approval.

A little while later, Acina then contacted Odessen with a formal offer for an alliance, which Ragdat denied, saying that, while she had exhibited that she was trustworthy in this instance, she also illustrated a level of tactical blindness that Ragdat couldn't risk getting in the Alliance's way. Acina accepted this, and simply stated that she hoped they'd never end up on the opposite side of a battlefield. Theron, who was standing nearby with Lana and Adaso, asked why he chose not to ally with Acina, and Ragdat simply stated that, outside Adaso and Lana, he could never fully trust a Sith. He explained Adaso's honor code and Lana's pragmatism and sense of loyalty to those that had proven themselves made them unique among the Sith, and Acina lacked both. Both Adaso and Lana were placated, though Lana's pragmatism forced her to say that she hoped the wouldn't need Acina's reinforcements in the future.  Ragdat assured her that they had the strongest fighters and best equipment in the galaxy now, and that she shouldn't worry.

About an hour later, Darth Nox came into the command center and stated that she had managed to convince her apprentice, Ashara Zavros, to join the Alliance after their efforts on Voss, who had happened to be there at the time of the invasion, and Ragdat recognized the name; the Togruta Jedi who followed Darth Nox during her journey toward power, but resisted the corruption of the Dark Side while still accepting some of the Sith philosophy into her being.  Ragdat thanked her, but then got a notification of a distress call. The distress call was from Koth Vortena on the Gravestone; Vaylin had attacked and taken the ship. Koth, who had evaded capture, provided the Alliance with his coordinates, which gave Ragdat what he needed what he needed to mobilize the Alliance fleet moving to intercept. However, before he could leave, Vedere came up to Ragdat with a request for a team to rescue a former companion of her's; apparently, the Alliance had found Felix Iresso's location, and she wanted to free him. Ragdat gave the okay as he was boarding a shuttle with Lana.

Once the fleet got within the space around the Gravestone, Ragdat and Lana infiltrated the Gravestone in a boarding pod and dispatched several Skytrooper patrols along their way to Koth. Upon greeting each other, Koth revealed to them that Vaylin's forces risked triggering the quantum bomb that he installed as a precaution against SCORPIO, which infuriated Ragdat; between the personnel and equipment that a quantum bomb could destroy, this action would be grounds for treason charges based on the on the potential credit loss along. And that wasn't even counting the fact that Koth went behind his Commanding Officer's back knowing full well that Ragdat wouldn't approve of this. Ragdat begrudgingly joined Koth in disabling the fuses, while Lana provided distraction. Koth was elated that they defused his bomb and prevented his mistake from costing lives, but Ragdat said that after this, Koth was never setting foot on the Gravestone again. Koth said "I'd like to see you try to replace me", and then Ragdat said "And now, you're getting arrested on treason charges for the bomb AND threatening your Commanding Officer.  You're former military, Koth,, You know better than this." Koth was shocked at Ragdat's words, but he agreed to help Ragdat reach the bridge in the hope that doing so would help in his trial, only to be surprised to find it empty of Vaylin and her forces.

Koth disabled the bomb from the bridge console and told  his crew to evacuate in escape pods. SCORPIO then contacted them and revealed that she knew about the quantum bomb and manipulated Vaylin into leaving the bridge so that Koth could disable it. SCORPIO also informed Ragdat that Lana was cornered by Vaylin in the Dark Sanctuary, where the bomb was hidden. Ragdat and Koth arrived in time to save Lana from Vaylin, but their fighting still triggered the bomb's countdown. Ragdat dueled Vaylin, but just as Ragdat saw a Shatterpoint that would allow him to defeat Vaylin without killing her, Vitiate intervened and stopped the time as he often did before, although this time, Vaylin was able to overcome his restraint. She used the Force to throw Ragdat against the wall, which Ragdat assumed she was able to do due to Vitiate shutting down his TK Barrier again,  Vitiate uttered the phrase "Kneel before the Dragon of Zakuul", triggering Vaylin's secret conditioning and making her powerless to strike.

Unable to fight, Vaylin turned and fled, giving Koth the chance to disarm the bomb while Ragdat disabled the power relays to prevent its early detonation. As things calmed slightly, Ragdat told Lana to not forget they needed to put Koth under arrest for treason when once they were home.

A few moments later, Theron brought a team of Colonel Strannos, Aric Jorgan, Torian Cadera and Vette as reinforcements by landing an Alliance shuttle inside the hangar. However, SCORPIO took over control of the Gravestone, sending it towards an unknown location and locking the hyperdrive.  The Alliance converged on the bridge, however, their fleet were forced to witness as the Gravestone jumped out of hyperspace in an unknown system, surrounded by the entirety of the Eternal Fleet.

SCORPIO left the ship in her shuttle and contacted Ragdat again, revealing that the GEMINI droids were not imitations of her technology, but were related to her, as well as the Eternal Fleet and the Gravestone. SCORPIO uncovered their point of origin in the Gravestone and brought them all there, thanking Ragdat for assisting their journey and warning them that Vaylin and her remaining forces were sabotaging everything on the Gravestone. Ragdat rushed to the omnicannon, but in his absence, Vaylin returned to the bridge and overpowered his team. She threatened to kill Torian and Vette, but was unable to hurt anyone before a blinging white light engulfed the ship.

 And that's the first bunch of KOTET chapters.  I'll be doing them in batches of 3, then I'll run Iokath as one post, then, the Traitor Flashpoints together in one post.  I hope to have Ragdat's Darkest Days done before December.  And yes, if you're observant, you'll notice I've utilized heavily edited bits from the wookieepedia article on "The Outlander" to speed this up. 

For now, look forward to the next post, and stay beautiful freaks!

SWTOR Character Tales: Ragdat's Darkest Days Interlude 2

Welcome back, my beautiful freaks, to the Assassin's Den!  It's time to finish the Alliance Alert companions.

With Arcann now somewhere where he couldn't be reached and Vaylin settling in to the Eternal Throne, Ragdat had a couple of weeks to take care of some new people that his specialists had informed him to join the Alliance.  His first mission was to Hoth to retrieve a group of Jawas led by a former teammate of Maircus, Blizz.  Ragdat took Maircus with him to meet Blizz, who explained to Blizz what was going on and how Blizz and his team could help.  Blizz said that if Ragdat could deliver some supplies to Blizz's crew and bring them to a location where a rival gang, a group of Uggnauts, were located, and helped them defeat them, the Jawas would join them. After the Uggnauts' defeat, Blizz and his team joined the Alliance, though Blizz, now calling himself "boss", decided that Ragdat had to be called "big boss", which Ragdat just shrugged off; whatever this Jawa needed to do in order to understand the heirarchy of the Alliance.

Not long after, Darth Nox told Ragdat of something Talos Drellik found on Yavin 4; a Dashade who had been in stasis since the end of the Old Sith War against Exar Kun and Ulic Qel-Droma.  After going through the effort to release the Dashade, he was forced to battle him. After defeating him, the Dashade revealed his name as Ak’ghal Usar, and he wanted revenge against Exar Kun for the destruction of his homeworld of Urkupp during the Cron Supernova. Ak'ghal wasn't pleased when Ragdat told him Exar Kun was dead, nor was pleased when the Dashade asked to join him in return for information on how to get access to the ghost of Exar Kun. He was also concerned when hee remembered that Khem Val, Darth Nox's personal bodyguard, ate Force users, so he decided to knock out Ak'ghal Usar and re-imprison him.  It was a cruel punishment, Ragdat thought, but that would protect a LOT of lost Jedi and Sith out there that weren't strong enough to fend him off.

A day later, Ragdat was informed by Curoda that her friend, Bowdaar, was on Zakuul and running a cantina attached to a pit fighting circuit.  This got Ragdat interested, since it had been a long time since Ragdat had been in that kind of environment, and part of him missed it.  He headed there with Curoda, and was informed that Bowdaar was trying to organize the arena slaves, helping them save up money to buy their freedom, and he asked Curoda if she'd help him. Ragdat took this opportunity to say that he'd fight for Bowdaar, and he'd donate all his winnings to Bowdaar's cause. Ragdat then went down to the promoter, who told Ragdat that he needed a fighter's name. Ragdat suggested "Battlemaster", which was denied due to "having seen 3 Battlemasters this week", and then suggested "the Mysterious Stranger", which got Ragdat to chuckle inwardly; "the Mysterious Stranger" was Revan's name in the Taris arena 300 years before, according to the history texts.

Ragdat went in and won ten rounds of increasing difficulty, though for Ragdat, with a lightsaber and the Force, none of the rounds were particularly noteworthy.  After ten victories as "Bowdaar's fighter", the man whom Bowdaar was warring against confronted him, and demanded that Bowdaar, a former Arena Champion himself, fight his best fighter and end this feud once and for all.  Bowdaar agreed, and entered the arena with Ragdat, and the two won the battle, with Bowdaar finally agreeing to join the Alliance after all the fighters were finally freed.

Upon returning to Odessen from that mission, Ragdat got a mission from Hylo Visz about a Wookiee contact of her, Gryyzak, and he was willing to meet on Alderaan.  However, when Ragdat got to the meeting place, Ragdat found a bunch of wrecked speeders, so he was forced to investigate what happened. Apparently, the Wookiee delegation was attacked, and were forced to flee on their speeders. Following the trail, Ragdat came to a twi'lek male who had been run off the road by the battle and pointed Ragdat toward another crash site.  Investigating this crash site finally led Ragdat to Gryyzak, who was being accosted by a violently psychotic Talz, who blamed Gryyzak for his people's current weakness.  This forced Ragdat to battle the Talz, but when Ragdat tried to arrest the Talz, he attacked Ragdat, forcing Ragdat to kill the Talz.  Later, after returning to Odessen, Ragdat was approached by Adaso, who told Ragdat that he held no ill will against him for killing his former companion Broonmark, the Talz who was the one who put them in this situation in the first place.

Ragdat had a couple of days before his next recruitment drive, this time, the subject was brought up by Sana Rae.  Ragdat remembered a conversation he had with her previously, about how she was not used to people not following her words exactly as they should, and asked Ragdat to talk to the people about it, and Ragdat reminded her that they weren't on Voss; here, she wasn't a revered Mystic. She was just a Force user from one of many Force using cultures, and that she needed to be more tolerant and explain why her visions should be followed that wasn't "The Mystics are never wrong", because a willingness to understand another's culture meant that they were willing to understand yours. Sana Rae took this to heart, and it was in this vein that she brought up a Force user who saw the Force differently than others; she wanted to understand his view, and thought he might be willing to aid the Alliance.

Thankfully, Blizz knew this "shining Jedi Man", as Sana Rae's vision suggested, and took Ragdat to Nar Shaddaa to meet a familiar looking Mon Calamari, and once he spoke, he knew him to be Curoda's former companion, Languss Tuno. Apparently, "Guss" as Curoda called him, went back to finish his Jedi training, but found an unusual master to teach him. Guss took Ragdat and Blizz to meet his master, and Ragdat recognized this man, too; a Padawan who was running into the shuttle that Ragdat had just stepped off when he first landed on Tython.  Ragdat later asked who that was just before Orgus sent him to Coruscant, and Orgus told him he was a man who failed his Jedi Trials, and chose to leave the Order rather than join the Service Corps like he was supposed to.

Ragdat called him out on this when they met, and the failed Padawan said to Ragdat "Oh, so you think you can do better?" when he talked about Guss' training, and Ragdat flatly told him yes.  So the failed Padawan gave Guss a task; get a storekeeper to give Guss a bottle of the failed Padawan's favorite alcoholic beverage by manipulating his mind with the Force.  Ragdat agreed, but not without a protestation about the frivolous use of the Mind Trick before leaving. 

During the trip to the sector, Ragdat talked to Guss about his own path as a Jedi; about how he too came to the Force later in life, and how he too needed a more philosophical approach to the Jedi Code and rules than what was taught to children.  When pressed, Ragdat said that they needed to understand their darkness, not outright rejecting it, while choosing the Light.  Ragdat explained that, as adult students, they already had coping mechanisms for dealing with fear, anger, passion and jealousy built into them from just growing into adulthood, and they should be more concerned about whether or not their coping mechanisms were healthy coping mechanisms. If they weren't healthy for the student, they needed to learn ones that were, even stating that Guss' way of experiencing what the galaxy had to offer was a good thing so long as it wasn't done to excess, since it gave Guss a "what does the Dark Side have to offer me? I have what I want" mindset. Guss was impressed by this philosophy, and said it made more sense for him than what Master Lorenn taught him.

Ragdat continued, stating that in order to master the minds of others, a student needed to know himself.  And this led Ragdat to ask Guss to tell Ragdat about himself.  And Guss immediately launched into that; who he was, where he was from, his life experiences with Curoda, all of it.  When Guss was done, Ragdat realized that Guss' innate abilities were similar to Curoda's; he unconsciously manipulated the emotions of others while he talked.  And just like with Curoda, he had, over time, learned when to "turn this on and off". Guss needed only to recognize this within himself to truly grasp the Mind Trick. 

So, when they got to the first stop, Ragdat just said "Don't worry about affecting their mind; just talk to them. Get a read on them.  See if they are receptive to what you want, because a willing mind is much easier to influence an unwilling one."   Guss went into the shop and even though he failed to get what his "master" wanted again, he understood where Ragdat was going.  The second stop had Ragdat continue the lesson; now that Guss could get a read on the subject, Guss should, while taking, try to influence the feelings of generosity and compassion, the emotions that would make them willing to give Guss what he wanted.  Ragdat also added that Guss shouldn't worry about getting what he wanted here either, and to just apply what Ragdat told him.

When Guss came out this time, he was excited; he had failed again to get the bottle, but this was the first time anyone had politely told him "no".  Ragdat smiled, and told Guss that he was learning quickly.  They continued on to the final store that sold the drink, and Ragdat said it was time to apply everything Guss learned and finally use the Force to get the item.  Ragdat reminded Guss of everything he had been taught; talk to the target, get a read on their emotions, influence the right ones, and finally, reach out and directly influence the mind.  Guss went in, and after coming out, he was elated at his success. He told Ragdat that he did just what Ragdat told him; he went in, talked, got a read on his situation, and during the conversation, they started talking about a food item they both liked, and Guss reached out and said "You should have one", which caused the merchant to repeat Guss, which made Guss realize what he had just done. They continued talking, and Guss was able to influence the mind of the merchant to give him the drink.  Ragdat congratulated Guss, but with a caveat that they'd need to remember to return and compensate him for the bottle in the future, given how expensive the drink truly was once Ragdat recognized what it was.

They returned to the failed Padawan's residence, only to find he had headed to the Cantina off the Promenade from Blizz.  The pair headed to the Cantina and Guss gave the drink to his "master", who then rewarded Guss with some of his favorite food and drinks in a room nearby so he could have some privacy with Ragdat.  The failed Padawan said "I'm surprised you go through to him, with you being a fully trained Jedi filled with their dogma." And Ragdat shot back "He's not  the only one who came to the Force later.  I simply taught him the way I was taught at the adult Academy on Arkania. And the one thing I saw during all of this is that Guss deserves better training than you can offer."  He then turned away from the failed Padawan and joined Guss in his celebrations, returning to Odessen when the Mon Calamari was sated. 

Sana Rae was curious about Guss' view of the Force, and Ragdat stated that it wasn't all that different his own, and that he could benefit from further training in the Jedi arts by someone like Vizhdam or Vedere, but so long as they took the time to get to know the young man. 

A few hours later, Ragdat was given another mission back to Nar Shaddaa, this time by Bey'wan Aygo, a mission that Maircus felt he should come along for, since it involved Black Sun and rumors of an old personal pain in his ass.  Upon arriving at the mission point, Ragdat noticed that his contact was his old teammate, Fideltin Rusk. Rusk, now a Provost Marshal, a leader a unit composed of conscripted criminals called the Dead Man's Legion.  Rusk's command style was perfect for this unit, as Command didn't care whether these criminals lived or died, as they were all death row inmates, so long as the mission got done.  Rusk was happy to see Ragdat, though upon asking what happened Ragdat, expressed concern about the Emperor controlling him again. Ragdat assured that he was still himself, and his mind was a LOT stronger than it was 12 years earlier.

Ragdat, Maircus and Rusk took the Dead Man's Legion against the Black Sun thugs, when they came face to face with Maircus' former companion, Skadge. Skadge had apparently been released in the 5 years since Maircus put him in carbonite, and had extensive cybernetics fit to him in order to fix the damage he had taken in his fight with Maircus, and he was angry. He immediately attacked Maircus, who took him down with the same method as before; shock dart, shot out his legs and arms, then, with his blade, punctured his completely organic lung.  And as Skadge was laying there in pain, Maircus put a blaster bold in his head, finally ending the Houk thug once and for all.  Ragdat then told Rusk to have the Dead Man's Legion clean up the sector, and then to head to Odessen.

Upon reaching Odessen, Ragdat saw HK-55 standing over a human corpse with another droid beside him in the main hall. He asked for an explanation, and the droid stated that, after a mission to capture the Shroud, he went through an entire adventure which put Ragdat's programming to the best; HK could not blast an old blind man that attacked him with only a vibromop, but he was able to kill an unarmed Malforia, simply because she had access to the Force, all because Ragdat explained to HK that those trained in the Force were never unarmed.  He then returned to Odessen to stop the Shroud from blowing up the base, only to find that his companion, Z0-0M, was the Shroud, and the man he shot had planted bombs around the base.  However, thanks to a failed attempt to erase HK-55's memories, Z0-0M fried her own memories, and HK-55 suggested to Ragdat to have Doctor Oggurub scan her parts to ensure she didn't have any surprises for them.  Ragdat shook his head and said "Do what you need to, HK," and headed to see Bey'wan about Rusk, and informed him to either only allow Rusk command of the Dead Man's Legion, or only have him train other recruits, and to never give him troops they wanted to see again due to Rusk's tendency of looking at his soldiers as "we have reserves".  Bey'wan agreed, and Ragdat headed to the gym to clear his head.

It had been an eventful couple of weeks, but Ragdat knew that Vaylin wouldn't sit idle for long. So he made sure that the Alliance stayed ready, and prepared to act when Vaylin started causing trouble.

And that's it for KOTFE!  And before anyone asks, no, that is not the true history of Guss' master on Nar Shaddaa. Beyond "he's a failed Padawan" that we see in game, there is nothing on him.  I just wanted this opportunity for Ragdat to have a reason to illustrate his view of the Force.

I'll get to KOTET sooner or later, and then, to Iokath and the Traitor Saga.  Also, over the next few days, I'll be adding the "Ragdat's Darkest Days" story chapters under the "Ragdat's Darkest Days" label, so you can find them quickly in the future. But for now, stay beautiful freaks!

SWTOR Character Tales: Ragdat's Darkest Days KOTFE 13-16

Welcome back, my beautiful freaks, to the Assassin's Den!

Now, before I go into the summary for the next three KOTFE chapters, I want to inform you guys that I made a change in my past post. The change is during KOTFE Chapter 10, and it involved when Kaliyo comes into Ragdat's bedroom. My intention was that Kaliyo was trying to get Ragdat to sleep with her against his own will, and I did so poorly. So, I went back and updated it, so it's no longer "Ragdat overreacts when withdrawing consent" to "reasonable reaction to someone who wouldn't stop even after Ragdat denied consent twice before".  With that said, on with the summary.

A few hours later, Ragdat was still stewing over Kaliyo disobeying a direct order. There would have to be consequences, but they would have to be fair for all parties.  But would Kaliyo accept these consequences as valid for what she did? Probably not, he thought, and he would have to do what was right for the Alliance sooner or later.

However, he didn't have too much more time to think about this, because he got a message that Hylo Visz wanted to talk to him about the Alliance's funding. In short, they weren't getting nearly as much in as they were putting out, even with Curoda's Pirate Fleet and the raids that Maircus and Adaso were taking into Zakuulan held territories.  Hylo brought up an old associate who could give the Alliance the financial kick in the arm it needed to continue this war.  Once they got up the elevator and into the cantina, Ragdat saw a Devaronian playing a card game with Lana. Ragdat 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, a name which Ragdat recognized from talks with Maircus. Gault said that Maircus would vouch for him if he asked, 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 Curoda'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 Ragdat to a large cargo crate with a person in it; an Anomid named Dretcher. Dretcher called Gault "Tyresius Lokai", which Ragdat later found out was a name Gault used before joining Maircus' crew.  Dretcher activated his battle droids and tried to rid of the Devaronian, however, Gault and Ragdat easily destroyed the droids. But Dretcher's container boasted reinforced armor, and while Ragdat said that his lightsaber 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.

Ragdat 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 Adaso's, and Ragdat found out later, friend as well inside the missile, revealing that she was pranking Gault, and had already removed the warhead beforehand.  Ragdat 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 and the Ragdat 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 Curoda's ship's hold.  Ragdat 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 Ragdat, Gault and Vette could begin their assault, Ragdat asked how he managed to beat Lana at cards.  Gault smugly asked Ragdat what he would do in that situation, figuring that Ragdat would say "read your mind", so instead, Ragdat 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, but all he got from Gault was a frown and a comment about how he'd never play sabacc with Ragdat, before Gault explained how he kept his mind off his cards and in the gutter to resist Lana's mind reading attempts.  Ragdat simply took his word for it, not wanting to test that, which had Gault visibly disappointed.

The chat was cut short when SCORPIO alerted them that she and Senya had entered the bridge, and that it was time for the three to move forward. And as expected, Ragdat'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, Ragdat and Gault set the warhead, sealed the vault, and set it off, leaving the dust and debris to be vacuumed by Curoda's team into her cargo hold. Upon completion of that, Vette rejoined them after having raided the armory and returned with an assault cannon.  Ragdat 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 Ragdat recognizing Vaylin's presence.  And while Ragdat was certain he could beat her in combat, he 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, to eventually be caught by Hylo's ship, where Gault and Hylo's interactions with each other confirmed that yes, even though it was rocky, the were in a loving relationship.  And seeing that only served to make Ragdat miss Kira even more.

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 them to hear the voice of Maircus shouting "seconded". Gault just glared at Maircus and said "Hey, I only screwed you before we started working together".

However, they didn't have time to celebrate, as that was when Kaliyo and Jorgan had finally returned.  And when Ragdat 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.

Ragdat stopped the fight, and confronted Kaliyo about her actions; he reminded her that there were consequences for disobeying the orders of the Alliance Commander, and Kaliyo said that unless Ragdat planned on acting on that threat, he should get out of her way.  Ragdat immediately called for Colonel Strannos to place Kaliyo under arrest, and ordered the Colonel to have a full strip and cavity search on Kaliyo, ensuring that she had no means to escape her cell, which was a cage that shocked Kaliyo if she touched the bars. Ragdat stated that all her actions, from the time she left Rattatak to now, would be factored in during her trial and that her fate would be put in the hands of the judge.  He then ordered the Colonel to knock her out, which she did via the stun setting on her blaster pistol, before returning to the Command Center of the base.

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, which meant that Maircus had to come along, as he was a Mandalorian.

Ragdat took Maircus 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 Maircus, reminding Khomo of Ragdat's accomplishments, and how he 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 Ragdat a chance to prove himself, pairing him with a scout Torian Cadera, an old companion of Maricus. Torian first recognized Maircus, utilizing the Mandalorian phrase "ner vod", or "my brother", before focusing on Ragdat and said he'd "keep him safe". Ragdat 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 Ragdat wasn't Mandalorian, he didn't want to assume, and Maircus added that "You never did learn to not underestimate your allies," and that "doing so is disrespectful to both you and them."

 Torian joined Ragdat and Maircus 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 strikes, killing the warriors along the droids, Ragdat 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 Ragdat didn't let his people die with honor, and Ragdat told him what he told Torian; never waste an aset in war. Vizla then stopped the brewig 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. Maircus 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, Ragdat chose to put off his meditations for a while and joined in with the ceremony, attempting to show solidarity with those he was fighting along side.

The next morning, Torian again joined Ragdat and Maircus in neutralizing the enemy forces at the Zakuulan listening post in preparation for the main assault. After neutralizing their enemies, Lana contacted Ragdat and passed on detailed schematics of the factory obtained by Theron to help with the assault, but also cautioned Ragdat regarding a long-term alliance with the Mandalorians, comparing them to wild animals craving violence.  Ragdat denied this mindset, stating that people like Torian, Maircus and Shae Vizla showed that their people could be reasonable if treated with respect.

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.  Ragdat, 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 Maircus accompanied Ragdat on a mission to secure the GEMINI Prime. Inside the factory, Torian revealed that he overheard the previous conversation between Ragdat and Lana and insisted that the Mandalorians were not animals, but warriors with a sense of honor. Maircus agreed, but added a reminder to Torian that Lana had good reason to think that way.  Ragdat calmed Torian's agitation, saying despite how much he trusted her at this point, he and Lana didn't always see eye to eye, and Torian apologized for saying anything. Torian and Maircus said they would guard Ragdat's exit, who then located the GEMINI Prime and established a link with SCORPIO, which piqued the Prime's curiosity. Ragdat, 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 Ragdat 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 and Ragdat 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 Ragdat and SCORPIO from Lana, Senya and Theron, forcing both groups to battle droids. After a brief conversation over the coms where Ragdat suggested that he, 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, Ragdat 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 Ragdat and informed him of a change in the plan, sending Senya to escort the Commander to her and Theron's present location. Ragdat 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.  Ragdat 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 Vedere as part of the Rift Alliance, and Zakuulan holostar-in-exile Malita Tal. The trio were inspired by Ragdat and his 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 Ragdat's whereabouts. Lana and Theron escorted the freed prisoners to the escape pods, while Senya and Ragdat 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 Ragdat which escape pods to launch first, but was only able to launch two, the Republic and Imperial ones, while the third one exploded, killing everyone inside, angering Senya and 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. Senya confronted Ragdat about his choices, and Ragdat explained his order; the Admiral Ranken could provide ships and personnel, Tai Cordan could give them access to Balmorra's weapons and droids, as well as plenty of funds.  Ragdat said he wanted to save them all, but as the Commander, he had to make choices based on utility in the war.  Senya was still angry, but she seemed placated, 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. 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 Ragdat and Vitiate immediately. And of course, Arcann chose to go after his father. With Eternal Fleet on its way, Ragdat 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, Vette and Gault accompanied Ragdat 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 Ragdat 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 Ragdat to confront Arcann alone. Arcann claimed that his animosity was always about Vitiate, not Ragdat himself, but Ragdat said that, by fighting him, 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 Ragdat said "Don't you get it, Arcann? Daddy's gone, doing Force knows what while we do exactly what he wants!", a frustrated Arcann blasted Ragdat with telekinesis, only for Ragdat to reach out with the Force and parry the attack witn his hand.  Arcann remarked that Vitiate's bond with Ragdat was stronger than he imagined, but Ragdat denied this while activating his lightsaber, saying "the only difference between now and when we fought on Asylum is that daddy's not here to drop my TK barrier".

The battle went back and forth for a quite a while, with Arcann showing Ragdat something new; a mastery of integrating telekinesis into his lightsaber sequences, showing a level of creativity that his father never did.  This kept Ragdat one his does, forcing him to focus on both his telekinetic barriers and his swordfight with Arcann.

Eventually, Ragdat managed to overpower Arcann after finally seeing a Shatterpoint that revealed an opening. Ragdat hit the Shatterpoint, but when he had him at his mercy, he 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 Ragdat to retreat before the flagship blew apart. As he ran toward the hanger, Ragdat informed Lana that Arcann was finished, who then told Ragdat 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. Ragdat hoped that she'd escape, but he had no choice but to focus on getting to a ship to escape.

As Ragdat found a starfighter, he received a message from Lana 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, she said, so she knew there was good in him. Koth pleaded with Ragdat to shoot her down, but Ragdat denied this request, saying to Senya to get Arcann as far away from his father's influence as possible. Senya thanked Ragdat, 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 Ragdat for letting Arcann go, and Ragdat reminded Koth that Vitiate wanted Arcann's death, and the only way to win this war once and for all was to deny Vitiate what he wanted at every turn.  Lana assured Ragdat 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 Vitiate confirmed what Ragdat had suspected all along, and manifested himself before the Commander once again; he wasn't gone at all.  Ragdat would need to continue to steel himself against this monster for the foreseeable future.

I'm going to add another interlude to finish the Alliance Alert companion recruitment missions, since I never got around to doing so when they pop up between chapters. And don't worry, all you who hate Skadge, he will NOT be joining the Alliance, though he will show up in the interlude.

But for now, look forward to KOTET in 3 parts, and then, finally, Rise of Mamine here. Until then, stay beautiful freaks!

SWTOR Character Tales: Ragdat's Darkest Days KOTFE 10-12

Welcome back, my beautiful freaks, to the Assassin's Den! It's time to move forward in Ragdat's Darkest Days!

Ragdat headed down into the command center of the Alliance base to meet his advisors, and was 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 Ragdat's other allies said they couldn't turn away allies.  Ragdat said they could keep Firebrand on a short leash, they could utilize her knowledge base.

Ragdat and Theron took a short trip to Zakuul, after SCORPIO set up a deal for explosives, and were met by someone Ragdat instantly recognized; his ex-girlfriend from Rattatak, Kaliyo Djannis.  Kaliyo was both amused and angered at seeing Ragdat again, though anger won out when she spoke. And even though she wasn't romantically interested in him anymore, his disappearance was the catalyst for taking away "her good thing."

She aimed a blaster at Ragdat's head, and he immediately used the Force to rip it out of her hand, saying "You of all people know better than to point a gun at me."  This upset Kaliyo even more, because he casually dismissed her capabilities with his own.  And she was further angered by the fact that Ragdat and Theron hadn't brought the promised explosives.

Eventually, Theron and Ragdat calmed Kaliyo, and Ragdat promised to help Kaliyo's mission on Zakuul in exchange for the information she had about the Spire.  Ragdat followed Kaliyo while Theron met with some contacts as Kaliyo set precision charges on some power junctions, talking as Kaliyo set up the charges; where Ragdat had been, what he was planning, and what Ragdat wanted out of this war he was planning. Ragdat answered truthfully; he'd been frozen in carbonite for the last 5 years, he was planning on taking down Arcann, Vaylin and their Father once they got him out of his head, (an aspect which Kaliyo didn't understand, but Ragdat chalked that up Kaliyo's lack of experience with the Force), and all he really wanted was to be reunited with Kira.

This last one interested Kaliyo the most, and that worried Ragdat; it meant that, in Kaliyo's mind, Ragdat was available to mess with.  And did she ever start in on it, flirting with him the entire time, getting really close to him whenever she could while still doing her preparations, even offering to sleep with him after their mission was done, "just like the old days."

After a relatively quick stop at Kaliyo's apartment, they headed to the Overwatch, where they finally met the man Kaliyo had talked about; the administrator Tavor Slen. Ragdat could tell right away that Tavor was Kaliyo's latest victim of emotional manipulation, and called her out on it.  Kaliyo smiled as she said that Ragdat knew her too well, and Ragdat shot back "I'm also the only one who escape that. I left Rattatak before you could discard me."

After an annoyingly protracted battle that Ragdat should have won quickly, and Ragdat theorized that it was because Vitiate wasn't letting him see Shatterpoints, something that worried him heavily.  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.  Ragdat balked at this idea, but Kaliyo stressed that they should both take revenge on the Zakuulans. Ragdat drew his lightsaber, and said "Because of what we shared in the past, I'm giving you a choice; stand down, or be struck down.  There are many other ways to get back at Zakuul, but I will NOT allow you to hurt innocent people."

Kaliyo glared at Ragdat, but knew that if he wanted, he could stop her. He was a far better fighter back on Rattatak, and now, he had the Force.  She agreed that she wouldn't kill the people, but she was adamant about taking down the droids.  Ragdat, though not happy, agreed to this compromise, and allowed Kaliyo to detonate the droid controls before retreating back to the shuttle that took them back to Odessen.

Once on Odessen, Ragdat was met by Theron and Koth, who all remarked on the mission; Theron on the data, Koth remarking on how he stopped Kaliyo from killing innocent people.  Ragdat said that "We're on the same side, regardless of what our personal differences are."  Theron then remarked on Kaliyo, and Ragdat put things bluntly; never underestimate her. Never trust her.  Don't let her get into your head. But it was still better to keep her close than to let her hurt people on her own.

It was about that time when Kaliyo and SCORPIO came down the turbolift, and from their conversation, Ragdat could tell they worked together before, likely under Allisani.  After a brief conversation, Kaliyo continued to flirt with Ragdat, leading him up to the cantina to talk.  She stated that she needed to catch up with her contacts in the greater galaxy, and then seductively added "If you need me, I'll be there."

Later that night, she made good on that promise.  She came into Ragdat's room wearing only her coat and nothing underneath, dropping it when she closed the door. This forced Ragdat's body to react, knowing full well what she was doing; all those years ago on Rattatak, whenever Kaliyo felt Ragdat's morals "got in the way", she'd seduce him physically, and that always got Ragdat to back down.  Ragdat's instincts were to give in, though his higher self, his feelings, screamed "no". And in fact, he did say "no". Twice. But just as Kaliyo was about to get him out of his pants, Ragdat realized that words weren't enough for Kaliyo to stop, so hee used the Force to throw Kaliyo across the room and held her in place against the wall.  He stated that "that" wouldn't work anymore, and so long as she was part of this Alliance, she would behave, or there would be consequences.  Kaliyo, after being released, picked up her coat and said "If you think you can control me, big guy, you're welcome to try." before leaving Ragdat to his own devices.

The next morning, Ragdat 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.  Ragdat 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 Ragdat with another set of recruits; the newest incarnation of Havoc Squad.  Theron said that Colonel Strannos wanted to come with them, since Havoc WAS her old unit, and Ragdat agreed. The three of them headed to the shuttle, the Colonel decked out in the AZKA armor and an assault cannon similar to the one he had seen her use on Rishi and Yavin.

After putting down the shuttle and walking through the swamp, the "new" Havoc Commander, Major Aric Jorgan started talking to Ragdat over his radio, and the Colonel joked "You're looking at your wife from the scope on your gun? I might consider that grounds for divorce, Aric."  Upon hearing his wife's voice, Jorgan told his squad to stand down, and as Major Jorgan and Colonel Strannos had their reunion, all Ragdat could do was think about Kira, and hope she was alright.

After their reunion, Jorgan acknowledged Ragdat, calling him the Jedi who killed the Emperor twice.  Ragdat added "Hopefully, the third time takes", and explained what he meant as Vitiate taunted him in his "helpful" way.  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, the Colonel took command of Havoc, and Jorgan went with Ragdat to get reacquainted with the Jedi Master.  And upon getting to a strange village, Jorgan did just that, talking about the current state of the Republic and how his wife and him parted; Colonel Strannos told Jorgan that as long as the Republic had her stuck behind a desk and not allowing her to command either Havoc or the number of soldiers a Colonel was supposed to command, she couldn't continue to serve them. She was built to fight, she said, and the Alliance would let her do so. Though, near the end of the conversation,  Jorgan stated that he was glad to see the AZKA she had come up with was out in the field.

It was at that point when a group of Skytroopers were moving on the village, and Ragdat 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 Ragdat and basically said "These are my people!" before Colonel Strannos jokingly said "Still the same grumpy-cat, I see." and Jorgan gave Strannos a look that basically said "Stop embarrassing me in front of the Alliance Commander!" while Ragdat shook his head and walked off to meditate.

In the morning, Jorgan explained the mission he had in mind; have a small Alliance force distract the Skytroopers while Havoc and Ragdat snuck in the back. Havoc covered their escape, and Jorgan, Ragdat and Strannos snuck in and installed a hack that would grant the Alliance access to Zakuulan communications.  After accomplishing their goals, Ragdat, Jorgan, Strannos and Havoc were surrounded by Skytroopers. Ragdat was ready for battle, but Strannos said "Any last words?" As she readied her weapons. Jorgan angrily shot back "Can that garbage!" before sheepishly adding "...and...I love you."  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 Vitiate 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 Ragdat said that as soon as Havoc returned, they'd be able to begin the assault.  After welcoming Jorgan and Havoc to the Alliance, Ragdat, as he began looking over the resources for the assault, took a moment to notice Jorgan and Strannos head off together to enjoy their reunion.

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 Ragdat also knew that Kaliyo would cause a LOT of collateral damage if he let her have her way.  In the end, he chose to let Jorgan destroy the Spire, and sent both off to begin their mission. Ragdat was just about to head to the Defender to lead the assault when Lana suggested he talk to Vitiate about the weakness of the Spire. Ragdat initially objected, saying nothing Vitiate would say was believable, but quickly realized that if Lana, the one person who understood the danger of Vitiate, was the one suggesting it, he really didn't have a choice; he needed Vitiate's information.

Ragdat headed out of the base and into a quiet location full of life to center himself.  Talking to Vitiate willingly meant lowering his guard to him, and Ragdat wanted to be in a place where the ambient life around him could reinforce his defenses.  Vitiate, of course, was confrontational and sarcastic, and spoke in a tone that said "Oh, now you want my help."  Vitiate refused to give Ragdat any information because he had "made no progress on killing his son", forcing Ragdat to say "to hell with it" and started back toward toward the Alliance base when Vitiate manifested, still in his Valkorian guise, and reminded Ragdat that he still had power within the physical world and tossed Ragdat into a large rock. Vitiate then went on to tell Ragdat that he had two destinies; one, which he took the Eternal Throne, the other where he died alone and forgotten.  Ragdat broke free of Vitiate's hold and drew his lightsaber, wrapping the weapon in the Force so he could actually hurt the phantom, saying "I'll take a third option." and lunged at the Force Ghost.

The battle was short, and while Ragdat did gain the upper hand, Vitiate showed he still had great power in the Force when he knocked Ragdat out.

A few hours later, Ragdat found himself in a Defender starship with a few Jedi artifacts that clued him in on who was the owner; former Grandmaster Satele Shan.  And upon meeting her, Ragdat 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.  He 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 Ragdat about the failures of both the Jedi and Sith and why they fell to the Eternal Empire, something that Ragdat had realized when he was made a Master himself; you must accept both sides of the Force even if you choose to one over the other.  And that's what Ragdat had done for all these years; accept his own darkness while choosing the light inside him.  And doing so had made him more powerful than he had been up to the point when Vitiate invaded his mind; drawing on his own darkness in battle to make him faster and stronger while still choosing the light to grant him mental clarity and focus. He only considered himself weaker now because he had to push away his darkness so Vitiate didn't have something to latch onto, though he realized now that this was the worst possible thing he could be doing to defeat him; he figured this was why Vitiate was able to block his ability to see Shatterpoints.

Satele and Marr led Ragdat into a cave where he was forced to duel an illusion of Vaylin, though Ragdat 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 Ragdat to a table, where Satele had laid out some components, save for a crystal, which she had Ragdat gather earlier, and she and Marr said that Ragdat needed to build a new lightsaber for the man he was now. Ragdat rejected this idea, saying that his current lightsaber was never a finished product; he was constantly attuning the crystal to the man he was now. It's why the crystal was a more silver today than the pure blue blade he started with on Tython all those years ago.
Marr and Satele looked at Ragdat and nodded, understanding that their lessons had taken root long before they began teaching him today, and led him out of the cave and to Ragdat's final test; a cave jurgoran whose children Ragdat had killed in self defense. The mother was angry at Ragdat, but Ragdat remained calm, and reached out to the Force and touched the mind of the mother, showing her that he had no malice toward her children, that he 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 Ragdat and asked what he saw for the fate of the galaxy, and Ragdat said, more kindly since these were his allies, "one without Vitiate" and explained that he would continue to follow his modified Jedi Way into the future.  Satisfied, Satele and Marr left, but not without Satele wishing Ragdat the best of luck in finding Kira.

Ragdat returned to the Alliance base to find the mission in full swing, having gone ahead without him, with Lana wanting to know what happened; Ragdat explained that after Vitiate knocked him out, he seemingly left Ragdat's mind and Ragdat spoke to Satele and the spirit of Darth Marr before returning. Theron was shocked that his mother had been on Odessen, but before they could discuss anything further, Jorgan and Havoc went dark. Kaliyo said that she'd continue the mission her way, but Ragdat rejected that, telling Kaliyo to get back to the Alliance base, with Kaliyo spitefully saying "Still can't control me" before shutting off the comm, forcing the Alliance to wait for their return.

And that's it for Chapters 10-13. I'll be doing 14-16 after I get a few more chapters of my book done, and then, I'll do KOTET the same way, stopping there to do the Rise of Mamine before going into the War for Iokath for both. And yes, I am going to make taking down the machine gods down as part of it, even though I don't bother in the game.

Oh, and I have one request; remind me that I intend to make a joke about the Overwatch in Rise of Mamine; I intended to do so here, but it didn't fit right with the story I was telling for Ragdat. But for now, stay beautiful freaks!