#dantooine flashpoint

[zemissinglinkus]

Alright. Folks who still play swtor... Has there been ANY new and substantial Lana Beniko content in the last 2ish years? As in post- Malgus ransacking the Jedi Temple on Dantooine? (I think that was the planet... lol)

Has Empress Acina had ANY involvement that isn't incredibly depreciating/mischaracterized?

Has there been any more delving into a middle ground party / grey force users at all?

Has there been ANY new flashpoints or operations added? Is the end game content still complete shit in terms of gear requisition?

I have seen jack all swtor content so I haven't even the faintest idea for wtf has happened since I stopped playing.

[shynmighty]

12, 13, and 16 for the SWtOR asks? 😁

12. Do you have a preferred mount/speeder? Is there one you want, but don’t own yet?

For some reason... I like the Orobirds. I imagine keeping them on the ships is hilarious and they get up to shenanigans with the companions. My main also has a Gloomlight Vrake I'm pretty fond of. I like it's goofy little face.

13. Which planet’s aesthetic/atmosphere do you enjoy the most?

Ooh, this is a toughie, there are some great ones. Rishi, Ossus and Dantooine come to mind. I love the peaceful woodsiness of Odessen, Tython and Alderaan. Voss is gorgeous. I really like Onderon, too. Even Belsavis, even though it's kind of a pain... I guess my aesthetic kinda gravitates towards wild, natural beauty. Bonus points for neat ruins.

16. Do you have a favorite Flashpoint or operation? A least favorite?

It's funny because I have to really plan out when I can do flashpoints these days (I mostly solo so I'm less familiar with operations)... Usually I'll start a FP and then hear "Moooooom, are you playing one of those levels where if you stop you have to start all the way at the beginning? Because I [Insert weird 6 y/o emergency]." So I tend to favor the FPs that are faster and less labor intensive. The Tython and Korriban ones are probably my favorites for this reason.

Thanks so much for the ask!!!! These are a ton of fun!!

[greyias]

Dashpocalypse 2021 - Dantooine Edition

All right! The patch is done, the puppy has been entertained (for now), and I have made probably the first of very questionable decisions today:

Drinking a Starbucks Refresher at 1pm. My first prediction for the day: Future!Me will be cursing this decision around midnight.

No matter! Sacrifices must be made! For the Enclave! Or something.

Also, when I said the puppy was entertained, he begs to differ:

“Why is mother so cruel? Why does mother not let me pounce her endlessly and throw toys at her face when she is on the computar? All I want is to love you, Mother. And climb up on your shoulders and drape my paws around your neck so we become one giant Griffobot who will raze destruction across the cityscape with our super sonic shrieks. Is that so much to ask for?”

I digress. Patch time!

I’m going in!

[rainofaugustsith]

SWTOR and Staffing Changes

Some story spoilers up through 6.3

So there have been some staffing changes for SWTOR. It's really not a surprise. After the debacle that was 7.0 I would have been surprised if there hadn't been. On the official forum and Reddit it seems to have been met with skepticism and who can blame anyone?

At this point, I think the dev team has lost all trust from the playerbase. There's a good reason for that. It's been year after year of dwindling content, increasingly disjointed story, gme breaking bugs, trying to shove a solo-oriented playerbase into grouping and PvP, and with 7.0, changes that noticeably detract from gameplay. The so-called 'grand 10th year anniversary' has been little more than a whimper. I quit the game the day 7.0 dropped, and while I miss running around with Viri, I am very glad not to have the stress.

Honestly, at this point I think it would have been better to end the game's story at the end of Echoes of Oblivion. The player character defeated Tenebrae/Vitiate/Valkorion once and for all and flies off into the stars, hurrah. At this point I've accepted that when and if I have the inspiration to write Lana/Viri again, they won't be on book for much of anything.

The new lead producer is one of the devs who is said to be on private discords that are very heavy with NiM raider dudebro types. He was one who asked questions and wanted feedback on the Public Test Server but almost every single bit of that player feedback has been ignored. I have no confidence he is going to veer from that direction.

The new gameplay designer apparently used to work on Ops which does not bode well for making things more playable. This is something that has become noticeably worse over time. The fights at the end of Echoes of Oblivion, all of Spirit of Vengeance and the first boss fight in Dantooine are train wrecks. Confusing, very hard on the hands, very tedious, nothing but mob after mob as filler. The heroics at Dantooine and Mek-Sha are very difficult and can't necessarily be done solo. From what I have read the boss fight in the newest flashpoint can't even be completed sometimes. I don't see good things here.

The new UX Director states that he's been working since 2020 to make the game more accessible. I've seen a few places that's actually been true, like toning down flashing lights. But the new gameplay/gearing, scaled tertiary stats on planets and emphasis on group play make the game far LESS accessible. And the new inventory/UI has given people headaches.

The new head writer states "my primary responsibility has been working with writing, design, art, and cinematics to ensure our story content adheres to a particular standard of quality." Much of the art and design over the past five years in SWTOR has been stunning. Onderon? Ossus? Umbara? Copero? Mek-Sha? Dantooine? chef's kiss from a design standpoint. The new Dantooine swoop races have been a delight, as well.

Unfortunately the story from KOTET onward has been pretty horrid, with the sole exceptions of the Lana and Theron proposals and most of Echoes of Oblivion. Those are literally the only two points that everything seems okay to me.

From an art standpoint, the dressable models of Lana and Senya were notably made thinner, younger and more traditionally feminine looking in their dressable models. I will never even like a screenshot with Lana if it's the Barbiefied version. Koth's dressable model was also quite weird because his head was not in proportion to his body.

From a story standpoint:

There have been plot holes you could drive a truck through.

Our characters are back to shedding as much blood as possible for their factions (or the one they're secretly working for) after the entire theme of KOTFE was to find alliances outside one's faction and one's personal worldview and work toward peace.

The main goal of Nathema seemed to be to murder as many remaining supporting characters as possible. In one neat swoop they eliminated so many characters who could have had key roles or supporting roles later.

Quinn came back, but if a Sith Warrior didn't trust him and didn't want him in their Alliance, assuming they stay Imperial the only way out was to brutally murder him in a scene that was clearly designed to satisfy the edgelords in the audience.

We had a betrayal that made absolutely no sense.

The group involved with the betrayal had a name that was almost a carbon copy of an existing group.

We had companions return, but many of those return cut scenes made no sense whatsoever and had open lapses in continuity from what we remembered about those companions from the class story.

We had a "somehow, Big Bad survived" moment that truly made no sense other than to provide a new Big Bad.

The plot point that drove Iokath was relegated to operations that most people did not want to play. If you have not played those Ops, the plot point randomly dissolves into thin air without any resolution whatsoever. Why didn't they learn their lesson with that from Oricon?

I don't find any quality there. I just find the story flailing and drifting from one point to another. I find frustration.

The bottom line is that there's really no reason for anyone to trust that SWTOR is on anything other than a continued downward trajectory. That's a shame. But it is what it is.

[oodlife]

SWTOR update 6.3 is confirmed for April 27th! This update include the new Dantooine flashpoint and the new Galactic Season system. 

[vagabond-pinky]

Alliance Ask Game!

6, 7, and 18!

6) Are there any NPC’s from the class stories you’d like to see/HC join the Alliance? Ex: Master Timmns, Ardun Kothe, Watcher One, etc

Hmm not really? i also don’t know which characters have shown up later lol Lord Praven? Watcher One would be good too. maybe Watcher three? idk

7) How’s your OC feeling about the current Malgus situation?

well i’m not really up to date. the latest I played was where malgus just showed up, broke free, and said he wanted to go to Dantooine i think? I’ve only played that with one character and I clicked to flirt with Malgus.

If I remember correctly, Fin respects Malgus, and I don’t think I ever did that flashpoint to kill Malgus with Fin. if the game gave me the option, i would give malgus a kiss. does that answer your question? no.

18) Who’s someone your Commander hopes they never have to deal with again?

Again, I don’t know the most recent stuff so I don’t know which, if any, characters have come back.

I’d have to think about who is still alive. Fin killed Hunter, killed Ardun Kothe, killed Kaliyo. I guess Fin would hate to deal with Keeper or Watcher two again, cuz he never really liked them, betrayed watcher two to jadus, burned that bridge with keeper over the mind reading stuff, and barely resisted killing them when they met up later. If Fin saw them again, he’d kill them.

unrelated, but i would love for Fin to have to deal with Jadus again. it would really complete his arc as the former Hand of Jadus and put his character growth to the test. :)

[fulokis]

“What were the Jedi doing here?”

“Altering memories, wiping minds and other... unsavory force experiments.”

Can we talk about this? Now I don’t know the pub side of this because I only have one toon that can do this with the story order. But I find this line fascinating especially when it’s said by a sith. In fact I’m surprised by this statement and it the response from Krovos is vauge and more mission oriented.

Now at first I thought it was just a throw away reference to Revan at first especially considering the most recent news with kotor. But thinking in it deeper It’s not.

We know that the Jedi have had many temples at a time, Courasaunt being the most used through the centuries. Courasaunt was the main archive the main teaching point, the hub for all Jedi activity. Any other temples or enclaves were satellites with the exception of tython in the couple instances it’s been used.

And in KOTOR II we learn that the enclave was indeed one of these satellites. Combined with the information in this flashpoint, I think that Dantooine was a rehabilitation center.

Now why would that line be put in if it was a rehabilitation center. Well a couple reasons, one the only information the sith may have about the dantooine enclave is what was gained through Revan. Revan had a skewed point of view, they (yes they don’t fight me) were forcibly wiped of their memory through the force, and whatever was left was heavily altered to prevent them from realizing who they were. Two, it’s possible that Revan was not the only former Jedi taken and processed in a similar way, now of course likely not to the same extent because they would not know as much as Revan had.

And the fandom tends to lump sith as one group who have no morals and tend to go too far and slaughter millions, but you do have to think that’s not every sith nor does this necessarily apply to the species culture. As a mostly force sensitive culture and one that ostracizes non-force sensitives you have to assume that there are rules. And with this line you could assume that using the force on purpose to mess with ones mind in ways that will damage the mind ie; erasing memories, altering memories is unacceptable. Now this could be a subset of pure bloods, or an old rule but it’s still interesting to think about.

[queen-scribbles]

@captainsyndullas​

   they didn't do anything specifically to Carth(at least, not in the fp >.> I’m still mad about that Mandalorian on Corellia who fragged his monument), I just mentioned him bc he's part of Why KotOR Is Important to Me. The tl:dr for the new content is they put dialogue on both factions that pretty much outright states the Dantooine Enclave was regularly in the business of altering memories/wiping minds instead of Revan being a one-time decision made under an extremely specific and dire set of circumstances that the Jedi acknowledge as a morally dubious choice but viewed as the lesser of two evils.

(also treated it like it was just some enclave--the Jedi Mad Science division 🙄--instead of being The Home Base and training center. They’re retconning a bunch of the worldbuilding and lore from KotOR with this flashpoint and I do not like it)

[eabevella]

Secrets of the Enclave thoughts:

It’s clear that the Republic side of the story is the “canon” version in Bioware’s mind when writing the story because of how the characters interact and how the story unfolds, despite their claim of having one for the Republic and one for the Empire. Not liking how and where this format will take it because it would only be more jarring in the future.

[spoilers below]

Republic side: (loyalist)

Good introduction of Aryn for me who’s never read the novels. Her empathy power and her link to Malgus make her a perfect plot and background giver without it being forceful. I really like her having an explosive temper.

Glad to see Arn taking stand and speaking out. That’s good development.

Introduction of new Jedi Order people is OK. Just a basic introduction.

There are many hints during the flashpoint that tell us how the Dantooine Jedi were pretty shady who have done some shady study, the brainwashing power used on Revan being one of them.

Arn saying “not anymore” when Aryn said “it’s not like the Jedi Order wipes a person’s memory when they leaves the Order” is interesting.

Empire side: (saboteur)

The bits with Malgus feel weird after seeing the exact scene with Aryn. It’s a clear afterthought in an attempt to push the plot through.

Interesting chats with Rivix. I don’t think he studies the Jedi for this mission. I wonder what that means. I like the scene where we caught him having a secret debrief with the Empress/Emperor. He’s clearly loyal to the Empress/Emperor and not us. I wonder when he’ll actively try to undermine the Alliance. Another coup? When?

I also don’t think Krovo knows about Malgus’ brainwashing thing. She seems to really think Malgus is acting on his own will? Which is a bit weird but ok?

There are quite a few saboteur options. We even got to talk to Jonas. That’s a nice change from the usual uneventful saboteur options.

[hightail-it]

I’ll have you know I completely forgot there was anything going on on Dantooine and have not been following any swtor news at all lately (there was a stream apparently???)

AND I have foolishly decided to replay kotor 2 like, literally a week ago

so that new flashpoint can potentially totally destroy me

[transcendencism]

finished the secrets of the enclave flashpoint! thoughts under the cut

LISTEN im still riding the high of hyroh and arn getting to see each other and hang out together because i imagine they have a really nice relationship. like .. arn and tau are hyroh’s very few positive connections to the order, and he sees a lot of himself in arn and just wants to look after him and i just WAHHHHHHHHHHH

also aryn leneer is.. interesting. not sure how to feel about her yet but i imagine she and hyroh had a lot to talk about being ex-jedi (except hyroh leaves out the part where he fell to the dark side) also as much as i could not give a shit about malgus, this update is actually kind of piquing my interest (i hate that bioware made me kind of excited about malgus this feels terrible)

hm. not sure about this one. i’m pretty sure this is a reference to revan but iirc revan’s injuries were what erased their memory, and the council just.. gave them fake memories instead? i could be wrong though, it’s been awhile since i’ve played kotor. also didn’t the jedi council in kotor II try to cut the exile off from the force? so there’s some credibility to arn’s statement that the jedi back in the days of the enclave on dantooine could be pretty uh.. not swell.

but anyway. hyroh loves arn like a little brother but he would very much like him to stop talking about the jedi council doing mind-horror nonsense it’s triggering him

ALSO!!! the bosses were fun. the last guy was a little weird but his outfit was cool ig.

[greyias]

6.3 Mail Call!

The last thread was getting too long, and besides, it’s mail time!

But first, a palette cleanser for all of my possibly completely off base, long whinging/ranting:

I just love that shot. The sky, the composition, the pose, those birds fluttering off towards the Enclave, as a symbol of life continuing on. Nothing really deep, just pretty and calming.

Anyway! MAIL!

First up came while I was typing up furiously, and I’m not sure if I somehow missed out on these earlier because I kinda forgot to log in for a month or so?

Oh, Shae. Happy to help! Also make sure to give Indigo a nice punch in the helmet for me! Not because I necessarily think he was involved--that’s just how he and I say hi to each other.

Then we have:

RASS.

Rasssss! Oh my goodness I love you so much, you sweet adorable baby brother Mando. And I love that no one is letting Grey live down the fact that every form of transportation she gets on explodes.

Also him signing it “Space Pirate” -- seriously. I love. And that brotherly ribbing 😂 

Never change, Rass! Never Change.

And aww, Aryn sent us one:

 AHHH--I don’t know why I keep forgetting that she and T7 had a connection! I love that’s another connection that the Knight has (yes, I know he’s with the all the Outlanders now, but Knights had him first!), and T7′s quest to uncover the truth about Master Zallow during Vanilla.

Also, I love that Satele and Aryn are connecting here, hinted at in the devblog prequel story. They had such a brief interaction in the Deceived novel, and I love that they’re building on it here. It’ll be interesting to see Aryn and Satele continue to appear in the story.

Do Aryn and Satele swap kid stories? Do they force Arra and Theron to have afternoon tea parties on the Coruscant terrace? (I will never get over that its canon that Theron and Satele have tea parties post-SoR).

I do hope that as Aryn’s story continues, she might still be given a chance to have that forever happy ending with Zeerid and Arra. One thing I’ve noticed in Star Wars canon, a true happily ever after is... rare. And for a while it seemed like Aryn had found hers. I hope she finds it again, and that she can finally let go of her taste for vengeance.

And finally:

You know, Vinyor -- can I call you Vinny? Don’t answer, I think I will -- you don’t make the best second impression either what with this non-apology of “if anything you think I said made you feel bad then I’m sorry you felt that way” schtick. Also really? Your first thought when you looked at Aryn was... spy???

SPY??

Or are you calling the OUTLANDER the spy?

Really--who are you accusing here, buddy? Maybe you need to get your head out of those tomes and datapads and go make a friend or two. You’re starting to get a bit paranoid. Sound a little weird.

(Says the woman with a semi-permanent cork board covered in red string).

Although seriously, I do like this kind of antagonistic quality to this guy. Like I said, Jedi are no saints, and it’s nice to see a little friction among the allies. And this overreaction and extreme paranoia actually does make sense from someone who’s survived an ordeal. Like, one thing the Outlander really doesn’t know in the way the other characters do is exactly how bad things got during the timeskip. I like seeing hints of that here, and the fact that yes, the Jedi were nearly eliminated during the conflict with Zakuul, and it left a huge impression on the survivors. I think with the breakneck speed things go at in game, it’s sometimes easy to forget that.

That being said... I won’t necessarily stop Kira from sneaking a whoopee cushion under his chair at meetings if he’s going to keep this up.

[rainofaugustsith]

A few thoughts on the smuggler and such, past Echoes of Oblivion. 

Spirit of Vengeance has been toned down a lot but the mobs are still heavy and the slog is still long and boring. The hate flows through me with this one. 

I know the Mandalorian plot is likely a response to Baby Yoda Fever and the high regard for that show. However, I also wonder if it's the writers' concession to those who really didn't want to lose their Alliance and find the IMPS VS PUBS 4EVA!!! and OH LOOK THE DEAD PERSON'S NOT DEAD themes completely boring. 

- It's neutral to faction and loyalist/sab status alike. It's the same story for all. 

- They make a point of addressing the Commander as such and working with her outside of the factions. The factions don't say a word or have any involvement at this point. 

For that alone, I think it's a good plot to have.

Dantooine: After the flashpoint there of course was that meeting with the obnoxious Jedi who says that non-Jedi scrubs shouldn't even be in the room. He's literally telling the Alliance Commander in her own base on her own planet to get lost. Ugh. Here's Arn coming to get defense, though. 

Marlena thanked Arn for his support - I like Arn, and would like to see a way to rescue him from the Jedi without having him turn into Darth LotsaMurder. However, given everything? She would have walked out of that meeting with a "you don't want me here? Cool, I don't want to be here. Oh, and get off my planet. All of you." 

Aside from the "I don't see how she can fight all these Force users," I can actually understand how a smuggler would work as Alliance Commander. In the class story she can be a pirate queen with a very wide sphere of influence and control among people from very disparate backgrounds who can do very dangerous things under the radar of the ruling authority. That's really not too far off from the Alliance, when one thinks about it. 

Working with the Mandalorians? That's still in her wheelhouse. In the context of the Alliance, the Mandalorians are protecting Alliance ships, and keeping that alliance would be valuable. 

But the Jedi? The Republic? Marlena does not give a single flying fuck about rebuilding the Jedi. She doesn't care about the Republic. There's really no reason she should. In the class story the smuggler is pressed into working for the senators, but it's with her own goals in mind. Her reward at the end of SoR is a Get Out of Jail Free card that allows her to avoid prosecution for crimes on Republic world. She's not out there getting named Commodore of the Republic Navy or something. 

All of this about hunting down Jedi and forcing them to come back to a rigid Jedi life? Considering how much Marlena values her freedom and autonomy, I think she'd believe that if the ex-Jedi want to stay lost, everyone should let them.

I really hope that loyalist or sab, independent or back in the faction, there will be some opportunity to object to the "locate all the Jedi and force them to come back" scheme. My saboteurs would help them escape. So would my loyalists, if I had any. They'd also likely side with Satele, who is alluded to not training her students - note, students, not padawans - as Jedi. 

[oodlife]

In the new Dantooine flashpoint Krovos and Rivix will join the player Imperial side, and Arn and Aryn Leneer will join the player Republic side.

[synoxshots]

watched swtorista’s stream of the PTS and none of this is story-spoilery, but general things from watching

The scenery for the Dantooine flashpoint looks amazing! Very excited to get in and explore it. Imagine that there’s going to be quite a lot of lore things to find and hidden achievements from the looks of it. I was saying during the pirates event how I’d like to be able to explore more of Dantooine, and though this is a fp so not doing it properly - I think it will fill some of that urge for me

[ladyrevanhalin]

ONLY LIGHT CAN CAST SHADOW: CHAPTER ELEVEN - THE REPUBLIC AT WAR

https://archiveofourown.org/works/15753210/chapters/37271105#workskin

          Ships… Hundreds, even thousands of Mandalorian ships…. The gleaming and menacing blockade dropped out of hyperspace over the bluey glow of a planet below. For a moment, all was deathly still. It seemed as though everything were suspended in time, each second lasting for an eternity.

           Suddenly, the ships seemed to open up, thousands of Basilisk raining down upon the helpless planet below. There was no Republic fleet, no planetary defenses… nothing to stop them. Onward they came in a seemingly never-ending wave of destruction and terror.

           Suddenly, there was a sound, as if the entire planet, and the entire Galaxy were screaming all at once in a great pain. The sound grew and grew until it became deafening, the waves of Basilisk continuing to rain down from the sky. And then, seamlessly through the noise, slipped a voice:

There is no Peace… There is no Knowledge… There is no serenity… There is only Death!

><><><><><

           The Revanchist shot upward in her bunk, breathing hard as a cold sweat poured over her temples. Every muscle in her body was simultaneously frozen stiff, yet shivering in fear. Her eyes were wide open with terror. It was a vision!

           While visions of the future were not unheard of for Jedi, it was seldom they came without great focus and deep meditation. There were seers among the Jedi Order who were quite gifted in receiving and interpreting these visions… but the Revanchist was no seer. Never before had she experienced something so vivid.

           She wasn’t sure what she should make of it. It had all felt so helpless. And that voice… It was a voice she did not know, yet a voice that seemed it had always been there, lurking in the shadows, just waiting to be heard….

           Clearly, the vision was some sort of warning. The Mandalorian threat must have been far greater than what anyone could have initially interpreted. When she was finally able to move, she pulled her robes over her body and began to make her way to the deck. She was glad that no one had been there to see her in that state. What the Jedi who had followed them needed was a fearless leader who would be able to see them through their efforts in this war. They did not need to see her so vulnerable…

           When on the deck, she located Malak and pulled him aside from the others. She needed to at least tell her apprentice of the vision, but without unnecessarily alarming the others aboard. She described to him the ships, the screams… but chose to omit the voice. She was least certain what to make of the voice…

           “The Mandalorians have more than enough force already to overrun the Republic,” she continued telling him. “When we do divide… Malak, promise me that you will do all you can to protect the company. I have a very bad feeling about all of this…”

           “You know that you can count on me, Master,” the man said. “When we stop on Taris, we’ll be able to gather more help. There is strength in numbers…”

           The Revanchist couldn’t help a bit of ironic laughter at her apprentice’s statement. “That, Malak, is precisely what I fear most…”

><><><><><

           Taris was a planet that had entered into the Republic relatively recently. With its importance in trade and in economic status… these things had likely been a determining factor in the choice by the Republic senate. While it was certainly not one of the major locations of the Jedi Order, they did have a presence here at the Jedi Tower. It was here that the Revanchist hoped they might be able to recruit more Jedi into the Revanchists movement.

           The Revanchist had felt it best if she spoke to the Masters of the Tower in private, rather than bringing along the whole group of Revanchists. After all, their actions were directly against the Council’s wishes, and it was still unknown what the reaction here would be. While somewhat removed from Coruscant and from Dantooine, the Jedi on Taris were still members of the Order and might try to halt the Revanchists’ activities, or convince them against their decision.

           “Please, we ask that you kindly observe our practices and stow your lightsaber before entering the temple floor,” one of the Masters spoke as the Revanchist entered the room. Reverently, she bowed in compliance, storing her saber in the indicated stand before continuing. She did not need to provoke any unnecessary hostilities if she hoped to gain any aid from them.

           “We have heard of your recent meeting with the High Council on Coruscant,” the Masters continued. “Curious that you would come to see us after such a brash display…”

           “My intention was never to defy the Council’s wishes,” spoke the Revanchist, “only to convince them to reconsider their choices in light of recent events…”

           “And yet, that is precisely what you did. Tell us, why have you now come to Taris after so openly defying the Council on Coruscant?”

           “I am certain that all of you are aware of the current locations in the war’s front lines and their proximity to Taris. There is no doubt that the Mandalorians will soon try to make a move on the planet itself unless they can be stopped first. It is the duty of the Jedi Order to protect the innocent, and this is no more strongly felt anywhere right now than it is on Taris. What I ask of you, Masters, is your aid in our cause. Any Jedi who are willing and can be spared would be most helpful in the progression of our mission.”

           With these words, all five of the Jedi Masters of the Temple began to laugh simultaneously. The Revanchist looked around the room in disbelief. She couldn’t believe that they of all people would not be willing to take the threat seriously.

           “Did I stutter?” she asked. “Is what I have spoken of seemingly funny to you?”

           “Forgive us,” one Master finally managed, “but there are so few of us here on Taris that to think we could spare even one is simply foolishness. We are, after all, the only Masters here, and all others are only Padawans and Younglings—there are no Knights. Even if what you were doing was with the Council’s support, you would find no help here on Taris.”

           “I see,” the Revanchist said with a tinge of bitterness. “I apologize then for wasting your time.” And with this, she bowed, retrieving her lightsaber from the holding and left the Temple.

><><><><><

           Malak roamed the streets of the Taris Upper City, near the Jedi Tower. Taris was a bit of a strange place. It was so advanced in its urbanism, yet so primitive in its idealism. Alien species outside of humans were generally frowned upon by the majority of the older natives. There was a sort of corrupt ideal that Taris—particularly the Upper City—should be for humans only. The extremist seemed to have calmed some since the beginning of the Jedi presence on Taris, but they still existed. They were only muffled for the time being.

           Seemingly out of nowhere, there was a crash in a nearby alleyway. Curious as to what had caused such a commotion, Malak went to investigate. In the alley, he found a human male—no more than a teenage boy, really—who had landed in a trash heap near a compactor entrance.

           “You really ought to be more careful where you step,” Malak said, going over and helping the boy to his feet. It was then that he noticed the lightsaber hilt which hung at the boy’s side. “You’re one of the Padawans from the Temple here, aren’t you?”

           The boy nodded, rubbing his backside. “You got me,” he admitted. “Zayne Carrick is the name.”

           “And what is it exactly that you’re doing out here, Zayne Carrick? It seems rather strange for Padawans to be falling from the sky into random alleyways and backend streets…”

           “Well,” Zayne began, “I was on an assignment from Master Lucien to capture a Snivvian by the name of Marn Heirogryph, but so far it’s not looking good. Not that the Masters expected me to succeed to begin with. Master Lucian says I’m a reminder that the Force has a sense of humor…”

           Malak could see that the kid seemed upset. From what he could tell, Zayne Carrick was known among his peers for such blunders as his current situation. “Don’t be so down about it,” Malak told him.

           “What are you doing here anyway?” Zayne asked him. “I didn’t realize that there were any Jedi here on Taris, other than those being trained at the Tower…”

           “My Master and I are just passing through,” Malak explained. “We’re headed to the front lines of the war against the Mandalorians… My Master hoped to stop on Taris to try to recruit any able-bodied Jedi to our cause. After all, we’re going to need all of the help we can get…”

           “Against the Mandalorians?” Zayne repeated, seemingly puzzled. “My Master says that the Mandalorians are no business of the Jedi…”

           “So does the Council, unfortunately.”

           “They always said that it was the duty of the Jedi to defend the Republic against the Sith…”

           “Except that the Sith threat ended about thirty years ago. Right now, there are no Sith… but the Mandalorians… The Mandalorians pose a very real threat right now. It seems they could be raiding the Temple itself and the Masters wouldn’t bat an eyelash unless someone mentions the dark side…”

           It was at this point that Malak got a notification on his commlink. “Malak, this is Ferroh. The Revanchist has returned from her meeting with the Masters. We’re readying for takeoff—they will not help us.”

           “A shame, but we should have expected as much… I’ll make my way back now. Over and Out.” Malak turned his attention to Zayne. “Sorry kid, but it looks like it’s time for me to get going… I wish you could have been able to meet my Master… Listen…. If you ever decide that you want to join us, the Revanchists will always be open to you.”

           “Thanks,” Zayne said, “I’ll keep that in mind.”

           “May the Force be with you,” and with this, Malak left to regroup with the rest of the Revanchists.

><><><><><

           It was the fourth time that the Mandalorians and the Republic fleet had engaged in combat above the skies of the planet Suurja. The planet was in between the recently captured Flashpoint Station, and the recently formed Jebble-Vanquo-Tarnith line. The Mandalorians were attempting to advance forward, toward Taris and deeper into Republic Space. Combat had been going on for several weeks now, and still there was no clear victor, but Captain Saul Karath was determined not to allow the Mandalorians to advance any further. They could not be allowed to break through the barrier.

           There were Sixteen-Million Republic Colonists on the Planet’s Surface, and so Captain Karath had made an effort to keep as much of the fighting as possible away from the settlements on the planet’s surface. While fighting did occur planet-side, it was kept mainly in unpopulated areas.

           Still, as the battle continued to rage on, neither side seemed to gain any edge. It seemed as though the fighting would go on indefinitely were it to continue in such a way. Already the fourth formal battle was taking place. If this were any indication of how the rest of the war would be, then both sides were in for quite a ride.

           After so long fighting, both sides were ready to declare that enough was enough. After all, Suurja was primarily an agrarian planet. It was hardly going to make or break the war, whichever side wound up winning in the end…

           In the end, nothing was left but a wake of destruction on the behalf of both sides. No one was “safe” or “triumphant” … but all was finished. All was dead and still in the aftermath of war.

><><><><><

           It was planetary Sunset when the Stalwart Nightingale landed on Suurja. The Revanchists had decided to land away from any settlements both for the purpose of not disturbing the locals and for the purpose of trying to get a clearer firsthand view of what had occurred during the recent battles there.

           There was an eerie stillness about the planet’s surface. It was almost unnaturally calm in the wake of the recent events which had taken place there. The group of combat specialists, lead by Malak, stepped forth from the Stalwart Nightingale onto the planet’s surface. The Revanchist was with them.

           “I am hesitant to leave you,” the Revanchist admitted to her Padawan. “I fear that something terrible will happen here. The Force is uneasy in this place. There is much still at unrest…”

           “I promise I will let you know if we encounter any problems,” Malak assured her. “You just focus on the plan for the rest of the outer rim, dividing our scouts and gathering information from the previously war-torn planets.”

           The Revanchist nodded. She knew that her apprentice was right. There was so much ground for them to cover that it would be impossible for them not to split up…

><><><><><

           The lush plant of Onderon remained mostly untamed and full of jungle, with the exception of its capital, the city of Iziz. Since the union of a beast-lord to Queen Oron Kira, much of the civil unrest on the planet had ceased to exist, and the two groups were now able to live in relative harmony with one another.

           All was so peaceful. All was so still. It was nighttime, and the planet’s moon, Dxun, was full overhead. Night insects chirped and the beasts all slept in their burrows…. But a voice came through all of it, so subtly that it was as if no one else could hear it…

Only Passion… Only Chaos… Only Victory… Only Death….

           A sort of shadow began to descend from the sky, from the moon itself. Instead of light, Dxun was only reflecting darkness…

><><><><><

           “Master?..... Master!?”

           The sound was faint at first, as if heard from underwater while the source was above the surface. Gradually, it grew stronger and stronger, until finally….

           The Revanchists eyes fluttered open and she gasped for breath, as if she had been deprived of oxygen for some time. She had fainted into the arms of her apprentice, so it had seemed. The Revanchists around her regarded her with concern. Their ‘fearless leader’ had collapsed out of seemingly nowhere.

           One she realized the situation, the Revanchist quickly pulled herself together and stood on her own, as if nothing had happened. She could not cause them to worry. Not now… That was not the leadership that they needed.

           “A vision,” she murmured. And then she looked her apprentice in the eye. “You remain here with the group as planned. I will take the others to their designated stations… but I need to go to Onderon….”

           “Onderon?” Malak repeated with some confusion. “But they’ve not been touched by the war… Not yet, at least. I thought you were going to check the situation of things on Deralia…”

           The Revanchist simply shook her head. “Talon will have to wait… I feel that this is important… More important than any of us might realize at the moment... I must go to Onderon. There is something there… I can feel it….”

           Malak worried about his Master’s words. There was something different about her since that night that they had met in the grove. She had seemed increasingly paranoid at every turn. He thought that the idea of this war must have been getting to her. The pressure of leading so many young Jedi into battle… and without the aid of the Council… it must have been quite taxing to her senses and to her emotions, even as one trained in the ways of the Force.

           “Are you certain that you will be all right on your own?” he asked her.

           “I’m fine, she said, trying to assure all of them. “I was merely unprepared for the vision to come when it did. I know to be more alert now…” and then she whispered to Malak alone “I feel that there are greater forces at work here than the Mandalorians alone…”

           She looked at him with a very serious expression, so much that Malak would not have thought of questioning her opinion on the matter. Whatever was to be found at Onderon would prove to be important for this war. The Revanchist and her apprentice nodded solemnly to one another and the Revanchist re-boarded the Stalwart Nightingale. It was time to determine if what she had seen of Onderon and of its moon, Dxun, was true or not…