A final update and summary of the rest of the story
I have been thinking long and hard about what I am going to do with this story. I thought it up in 2021 when it was announced that there would be a KOTOR remake in the works. It is now 2023 and I have only posted 4 chapters. Embarrassing, I know. Since the initial start of the story, three things have happened. One: the Sharuby Saga, the massive undertaking I am co-piloting with another writer named Grace, took off with the mega-story that launched the Sharuby ship called This Will Be Our Year, took off. Neither of us thought it would gain the traction it did. I am even writing two chapters of the wedding for this ship for Pride Month. Grace will be handling the wedding night (a first for him, please be kind) and we have another two collabs scheduled for September and October, the first commemorating the saga's 2nd anniversary, and the latter will cover their coming out and prom night.
The second thing that happened was that I started my own story arc with the Malefic Order. I had originally planned to upload one chapter of any story in that arc as well as one chapter of this story, alternating between the two to stave off burnout, but as stated above, the collab with Grace took up a bunch of my time and I was recovering from having a tooth extraction in Christmas 2021 (I do not recommend it). For those of you that don't know, this comes off the heels of my Cipher Arc, which I started as my debut into the world of fanfic writing, which I started all the way back in 2017 with The Excalibur Saga and ended with The Second Cipher War. I was in a different place than where I am now with my life when I started writing, and while I still do so, time to write has been limited.
Which brings me to the third thing that happened, I got a full-time job which I am calling my 'forever job'. While I had been in and out of temporary jobs in my time writing the Cipher Arc, with this Malefic Arc, I have a job that eats about seven hours of my Mondays-Fridays. Gee, doesn't being an adult suck sometimes? Between that, the Sharuby Saga, and the Malefic Arc, something has to give, and unfortunately, this is it. It is not one of my most read stories. Far from it, I doubt anyone knows it exists half the time. Those that know me know that I have never abandoned a story, but things change. Time is limited, and unfortunately, I can't keep this up anymore. I'm sorry to any readers that did tune in.
There is another reason I am giving up on this project. When I was contributing to it, I found out very quickly that writing a video game adaptation with cartoon characters is hard to do. What is the main thing you do in a video game? Run around, kill things, do the occasional story quest, rinse and repeat. With KOTOR and its sequel, there is a lot of what I would call 'dungeon-crawling' moments, where the characters don't even speak, they just run around a hostile area and blast/saber anything that moves. Not very good reading, is it? I did my best to off-set this, but I am not Matthiamore (the writer that inspired me to embark on this project). If anyone wants to take this off my hands, be my guest.
For those of you that DID tune in to updates, I will now give you a run-down on what happens next. Bear in mind that you really should play the game this story was based on. It is dirt cheap, can run on any computer, you can get both ports on the Switch (though I can only recommend the first one, as the second one was supposed to come with the Restored Content DLC, but those bastards at Aspyr couldn't release it on time, as advertised) and it really is a good time, especially if you're a fan of DnD, as the game uses a d20 dice-roll system for everything, including combat. With that plug out of the way, the summary of the story begins now:
Milo, Zack and Melissa eventually rescue Zaalbar from the Gammorean slavers. Zaalbar pledges a life-debt to Milo, essentially making him a part of the gang. Along the way, they find datapads containing clues to a hidden colony called The Promised Land. Melissa shows Zack and Milo a secret entrance into the Vulkar compound but have to get past a rancor (that giant monster in Jabba's pit in ROTJ). Fortunately, Melissa uses stealth and a little trickery to make it eat something explosive, killing it instantly.
The gang blast their way through the Vulkar compound, freeing an indentured servant and giving an opening for a defector to flee along the way, and recover the prototype swoop accelerator that Gadon had asked them to get. They are offered a hefty reward to switch sides, but refuse out of principle, and the accelerator is brought back to the Hidden Beks. Milo is told he will be riding in the swoop race for Amanda's freedom. Before he does this, the gang go to tie up all their loose ends by bringing the cure for the rakghoul disease to Zelka Forn, telling Dia the price on her head has been called off, and delivering the aforementioned map to the Promised Land to Rukil, thus delivering the Outcast village from their life of misery and sending them on a journey to paradise.
The swoop race goes underway and Milo wins, securing Amanda's freedom, but Brejik, leader of the Vulkars, pulls a Trump and refuses to concede defeat, declaring that he will sell Amanda on the slave market. Amanda, understandably, has something to say on the matter. She breaks herself out of her confinement and a brawl erupts. Brejik is killed, Amanda is saved, but they still need to get off the planet before the Sith find them.
Fortunately, Chad Ordo, Davik's merc-for-hire, reaches out with a proposal; break into the Sith base and grab the launch codes they'll need to get off Taris, while he sneaks them into Davik's estate and helps steal his ship, the Ebon Hawk (totally NOT the Millennium Falcon, I swear). The gang agree and get the help of a custom droid Davik had built specifically to slice the security door to the base, who then becomes Milo's astromech droid companion similar to R2-D2, only this one is called D-0G (if I continued this, I'd have him pop up out of nowhere like his cartoon counterpart, slice any computers/locks, repair busted droids, and have Milo say "D-0G, go back to the Hawk"). They break in, blast every Sith soldier/droid that dares to get in their way, even take down a Dark Jedi that acted as planetary governor, and make it back to Chad.
Chad then gets them into Davik's estate under the guise of seeking work. Meanwhile, Bradley, the big bad, orders the fleet get into bombardment position. Planetside, the gang free the Hawk's original pilot and he gives them the hangar access codes they'll need to steal the ship. They make it to the hanger, but Davik and Calo Nord catch up to them. However, the Sith bombardment of the planet begins, and the gang leave Davik and Calo for dead while they haul jets out of there before they are reduced to slag. After blasting pursuing Sith fighters out of the sky, they jump to hyperspace and land on Dantooine, at a Jedi enclave. It is there that they discover Milo's Force sensitivity and train him in the ways of the Jedi. He learns the Jedi code, crafts his own blue lightsaber, and brings a fallen Jedi named Juhannah back to the light. He also dispatches some Mandalorian raiders, solves a murder, and helps a woman with an unhealthy attachment to her droid find love with an organic being again after the tragic death of her husband.
The Council then sends Milo to investigate some ruins that Revan and Bradley visited prior to their fall to the Dark Side, and may hold the clue to Bradley's downfall, but a rather irate man named Matale demands the return of his kidnapped son. Milo and co look into this matter as well, coming across a 'Romeo and Juliet' situation where the Matale son has fallen for the Sandral daughter. After the two warring families come face-to-face, Milo helps them realise their fighting is pointless, and the two patriarchs agree to fund a new home for the young lovers. Arguably a better ending than the original play, wouldn't you agree?
With that distraction out of the way, they explore the ruins and come across two trials to determine who is worthy of accessing the information stored within. This comes down to a knowledge of certain planetary life and death-giving seeds. Milo passes these trials and uncovers a Star Map, an ancient atlas of the galaxy, and references to something called the Star Forge, an ancient factory of immense power. Amanda deduces that the Sith are using this Star Forge to bolster their fleet manufacturing capabilities to a massive scale. In essence, the Sith are playing Starcraft with all the spawn cheats on. The map that was supposed to show them the location of the Star Forge is incomplete. Amanda deduces that other maps on other worlds may complete the puzzle.
They present this information to the Council, who then send Milo, Amanda, a reformed Juhannah, and their companions on a quest to four worlds, Tatooine, the world everyone associates with Star Wars, Kashyyyk, the Wookiee homeworld, Manaan, a water-world home to the native Selkath and the only source of the healing product kolto, and Korriban, the site of the Sith academy. They go in that order, and all sorts of adventures await them.
On Tatooine, we learn that Amanda's mother, Helena, is dying and wants her late husband's holocron. Amanda and her mother do not get on very well, and she is reluctant to take on the task. After some prodding from Milo, she agrees. Milo then wins a swoop race that earns him enough money to buy a droid that can speak to the Sand People called HK-47, hoping to negotiate a way to end the attacks on the Czerka miners that have based themselves in Anchorhead. He also helps pay for a family that had lost their bread-winner to get off Tatooine, earning him some Jedi brownie points, he helps a hunter escape a death-trap laid for him by his now ex-wife by fixing the droids that had been programmed to leave him stranded in the desert until he died of thirst, and would blow up if he attempted to move, and he intimidates some cowardly Gammorean hunters that tried to ambush and shake him down into leaving him alone
In the deep desert, Milo and gang sneak their way into the Sand People enclave but are found out as soon as they enter. They barter a truce; the Sand People will reduce their attacks, but only if they can have some moisture vaporators to help build up their water supplies so they can move further from Anchorhead. The party agrees and procures the items. This surprises the tribe's chieftain, and he not only agrees to the reduction of attacks, but also guides them to the Eastern Dune Sea, where a krayt dragon had taken up residence in a nearby cave. This cave also happens to be the location of the Star Map. The chieftain also lets Milo release some captives the Sand People had taken, consisting of some Jawas and Melissa's brother Griff, who she once hero-worshipped, but it later turns out he's a complete slimeball who tried fleecing Milo and even his own sister for credits.
At the cave, Milo and gang help a hunter kill the krayt dragon with some well-placed mines, and the gang find not only the first Star Map, but also Amanda's father's holocron. Milo decides to go back to the enclave and hand over a krayt dragon pearl. This earns him the right to hear the history of the Sand People. Milo learns that they were once a space-faring race not unlike everyone else in the galaxy, and that Tatooine was once lush with vegetation and even had an ocean, but long ago, a race the Sand People called the Builders brought fire to the surface, reducing it to the desert it is now. The ancestors of the Sand People survived by hiding in caves or underground. Once they emerged, they vowed never to take the land for granted again as they once did.
Back at Anchorhead, Amanda reunites with Helena, and they have a heart-to-heart. Helena acknowledges her mistakes in raising Amanda and highlights the reason she gave Amanda to the Jedi Order when she was a young girl, citing that a life spent always moving from one treasure hunt to the next wasn't one she wanted for Amanda. Touched by this, Amanda apologises for her resentment all these years. Helena asks Amanda to keep the holocron, stating that all she needed before she died was that conversation. Amanda learns that her father was trying to get pearls to help pay for Helena's treatments. Amanda gives her 500 credits to go to Coruscant and find a doctor, promising that she will find her again after their mission is complete. Helena takes them and leaves, looking forward to time spent with her daughter.
They find Melissa's brother Griff in the Czerka Corporation office working the shop there, and he asks for a tach gland to help him brew a batch of Tarisian Ale to send to an Exchange contact so they can analyze and synthesize it, hoping to sell it since the ale is so high value because the only other place you could get it is now a smoking ruin. The only place to get such a gland is on Kashyyyk, where the gang are going next. Reluctantly, Melissa agrees, though she is still miffed about him ditching her on Taris.
On Kashyyyk, they discover that Czerka have enslaved the Wookiee population and have been shipping them off-world to buyers. Worse still, the Wookiee Chieftain, Chuundar, Zaalbar's estranged brother, is complicit in this, but has manipulated his people to make him out to be their saviour. Zaalbar found out about this arrangement 20 years ago and got so mad he attacked Chuundar with his claws, an act considered dishonourable to the Wookiee people, as their claws are tools, not weapons. This enabled Chuundar to portray Zaalbar as a mad-claw and have him cast out of Wookiee society.
When Chuundar's guards find out that Zaalbar has returned, he has them brought to him. Chuundar tasks the group with finding and eliminating another mad-claw in the Shadowlands, the forest floor where only their bravest warriors descend to. Chuundar keeps Zaalbar as leverage over the heroes. They agree to go, partially because the Star Map in question is located on the forest floor. Once our heroes descend, they come across a Jedi hermit named Mort Bindo and he fills them in on the happenings of the forest. He knows of what they seek, and where to find it, but first he wants a Czerka poaching operation run out of the forest before he will agree to help them.
Milo disables the sonic barriers keeping the poaching party safe from the indigenous wildlife and lets the forest's creatures drive the poachers away for him. Along the way, Milo also discovers plots both among the Czerka and the Wookiees; a merchant had tricked his friends into the forest and killed them while having a mechanic repair his freighter in orbit and spun a tale about them running out on a debt in order to keep him as an indentured servant. A Wookiee named Rorworr had been dealing with slavers and another Wookiee named Jaarak found out. He killed Rorworr for this crime. Milo brings both of these crimes to light. The duplicitous merchant, Eli Gand, is run out of the Czerka outpost in disgrace and his unwilling slave, Matton Dasol, takes over his store, while the Wookiee Jaarak is declared innocent by the Holder of the Laws.
Back on the forest floor, Milo finds a tach gland amongst the poachers' possessions and takes it to bring back to Griff later. Mort then guides the group to the deepest point of the Shadowlands, where the toughest fauna can be found. Milo finds evidence of Mandalorians hunting Wookiees, only striking when they have put away their weapons. After saving and healing their latest would-be victim back to health, Milo and company hunt down and slay these cowardly poachers. One of them, a man named Jagi, recognises Chad as his commanding officer back during the Mandalorian war effort against a race called the Althiri. Still bitter about being used as cannon fodder while Chad saw an opening in an enemy fleet's defences and directing his remaining forces there while leaving the front to its own devices, Jagi challenges Chad to ritual combat on the Dune Sea of Tatooine. Chad accepts the challenge, and Jagi departs, leaving the poaching party to die.
The group find the mad-claw Chuundar wanted dead, but it turns out the Wookiee in question is his and Zaalbar's father Freyyr, who is almost feral after 20 years in the Shadowlands. A year after Zaalbar's exile, Freyyr found out about Chuundar's deal. By then, it was too late. Chuundar had spread lies of Freyyr's madness, and the father was forced to flee for his life. He has spent the past 20 years both plotting Chuundar's downfall and thinking of how best to apologise to Zaalbar for not believing him all those years ago. The gang come up with a way to challenge Chuundar's rule the honourable way; by bringing the Blade of Bacca, an ancient and revered Wookiee warrior, back to the Chieftain's Hall. Whomever possess the weapon is the rightful ruler of the Wookiees. There is however, one small problem; the sword was broken centuries back. The hilt is still in the Hall with Chuundar, while the blade is stuck in the belly of a great beast, and it has to be slain to retrieve it. To make matters worse, the beast in question is a terrentatek, a large, Force-resistant animal that hunts Jedi. It can only be lured out by the scent of a fresh kill hung from a thick vine. The group manages to slay the beast and retrieve the blade, bringing it back to Freyyr, who then leaves to rally support for the fight to come.
The group then come across an ancient super-computer with a holographic interface. It responds to Milo where it wouldn't even speak to others such as Mort and Freyyr, which the former finds odd and surprising. Through this computer, Milo learns that the reason Kashyyyk is one big forest is because the computer is over 30,000 years old, and its original purpose was agricultural reformation. Since Kashyyyk was incapable of producing a decent agricultural output, the computer's creators planted it there to help reform the planet and make it liveable. However, a malfunction saw the growth of Kashyyyk's forest vastly accelerate and the native species evolve faster than usual. Its new purpose is defence of the Star Map, which it can open, but Milo has to pass a personality test as a security measure to prevent unworthy candidates from accessing the information stored within. It poses a set of hypothetical questions, hoping for a specific response. Unfortunately, the response it wants are actions Milo is not capable of doing, such as selling out a friend for his own benefit and leaving innocents to die in war for a quick victory. The computer deploys battle droids as a test of strength as a final resort, which Milo and company pass with flying colours. The Star Map is unlocked, and the crew prepare to depart.
On the way, they are met with Chuundar's supporters. Angry that the mad-claw they were supposed to kill is on his way to the Wookiee village, they attempt to take the heroes out then and there. After a brief fight and ascending back to the treetops, they are shown a back way into the Chieftain's Hall by Freyyr's supporters. Once there, a last-ditch effort is made to broker peace. Chuundar, mad with power, declines this offer, and is killed in combat. Freyyr, now reinstated as Chieftain, rallies whatever support he can and takes the fight to Czerka, liberating his people once and for all. Freyyr and Zaalbar reconcile, with the former gifting the latter Bacca's blade, sealing Zaalbar's fate as a future Chieftain. Milo, relieved to find that Matton, the mechanic he freed from slavery earlier, managed to get off-world before all hell broke loose, fights through the Czerka guards and hastily flees off-world himself.
Before the gang head to Manaan, they stop off at Tatooine briefly to give Griff his tach gland and to answer Jagi's challenge. At the Dune Sea, Jagi and Chad have an exchange. Milo persuades Jagi that Chad made a brilliant tactical move when he did, while Chad can still regret the loss of his men. Chad cites the teachings of Mandalore, that opportunism and flexibility were to be admired in battle. Jagi realises that he has been acting against the teachings of the Mandalores, that he was wrong to question Chad's honour, and resolves to clense his own by ritual suicide. This affects Chad on an emotional level, but he still chooses to stay by Milo's side. At the Czerka office, they find that Griff had done a runner. He made a mistake while brewing the ale and the gland had been ruined. Rather than face his Exchange contact, Griff fled Tatooine. Melissa is not surprised by this, but learns to accept Griff for what he is, and no longer feels indebted to him.
On Manaan, the situation is precarious. Both Republic and Sith have embassies on the planet, which is under strict neutrality laws imposed by the Selkath. Any altercation is punished ruthlessly, and the Sith exploit this by goading Republic citizens into breaking the law somewhere. Not wanting to be part of any incidents, Milo and company keep to themselves. However, that is difficult when it transpires that Sunry, a Republic war hero and friend of Mort, is being held by the authorities on suspicion of murder, punishable by death on this planet. Milo is named his Arbiter, his equivalent of a lawyer, and proceeds to the hotel where the victim was killed to gather more clues. Upon further investigation, it turns out Sunry's supposed victim was a Dark Jedi, as a Pazaak player in the same hotel accidentally brushed up her cloak and saw her lightsaber, indicating that she may have intended to kill Sunry, and he was acting in self-defence. Better still for Sunry's case, a Rodian divulges that he was paid by the Sith to plant evidence on her body, a Republic war medal Sunry had lost. Both of these facts, in Milo's mind, gives reasonable doubt to the case.
However, it is also uncovered that Sunry and his victim were having an affair behind Sunry's wife's back. Complicating the matter further, a mysterious stranger advises Milo to investigate the Republic embassy for the truth behind the murder before vanishing. Realising that he will need Republic assistance with his mission to find the Star Map anyway, Milo approaches the Republic representative, a man named Roland Wann, and asks for help. Roland agrees on the condition that Milo break into the Sith base and retrieve a data card from a busted underwater survey droid that the Sith had stolen from them. Not wanting to cause trouble, but realising they probably don't have much choice in the matter, Milo and gang agree. They are given access to the computers to help slice an entrance card the Sith use to access the base. Milo gets the access card, but also does a little bit of digging and uncovers a camera recording clearly showing Sunry killing Elassa while she slept.
This puts Milo in an unwinnable situation. If he defends Sunry and wins, he will be letting a known killer go free. But if he turns Sunry in, justice will be done, but the Republic will likely face repercussions such as kolto restrictions that will lose them the war. Worst-case scenario, the Republic could be expelled from Manaan. Torn by this, he goes to Sunry with the evidence. Sunry confesses to the affair, but not to the murder. A confession will get him 20 years in prison and kolto restrictions will be put on the Republic. He maintains his innocence despite evidence to the contrary. As Milo's duty as Arbiter required him to be an impartial observer, the painful decision was made to turn Sunry in. As much as Milo hated to admit it, even though the Sith were his enemy, it did not justify cold-blooded murder. Sunry was sentenced to death, and Milo's duty as Arbiter was ended. Thankfully, because the Selkath recognised Milo as a Republic citizen, no kolto restrictions were imposed. Mort does not begrudge Milo for his decision, saying that he did what he had to do. He wished Sunry hadn't done it, but laments that wishes don't come true, and still chooses to remember Sunry as the good man he once knew, rather than the murderer he eventually became.
Because of Milo's impartiality in the Sunry case, two Selkath come to him with their own problems. One, named Nilko, is worried about the Republic hiring so many mercenaries that are never seen again. Another, named Shaelas, is concerned that the Sith are behind the disappearance of several prominent Selkath youth. Milo promises to investigate both claims, but in the case of the former, is not worried the Republic is up to anything illegal. Asking around the mercenary enclave yields the information that the Sith hired an Iridorian mercenary to lure the youth to their embassy. While promising, that information alone will not convince the Court to take action.
Thinking that now is the time for action, Milo and company infiltrate the Sith base, only for them to be discovered once the receptionist does not recognise them. The alarm is triggered, and all hell breaks loose. Soldiers, droids, and even Dark Jedi rush towards our heroes, only for them to be blasted or cut down. Milo and gang retrieve the information Roland wanted and also find the missing Selkath youth, with one of them being Shaelas' daughter Shasa. Taken in by Sith propaganda, Shasa reveals that they intend to hand Manaan to the Sith by way of influence. Milo brings the girl a token that belonged to Shasa's childhood friend. They died from torture by their Sith master, while Shasa had been led to believe that the Sith let them go when they requested it. Using the Force, Shasa realises she and her friends had been duped. Leaving the embassy, Shasa resolves to bring this plot to light. Milo is then confronted by the Sith Master. Angered that the plan had been foiled, a duel breaks out. After the fight, Milo takes evidence of the plot from the Sith Master's possessions and leaves the embassy, only to be met with Selkath security forces.
Under Selkath arrest and brought before the court, Milo presents the evidence obtained during the raid as his legal defence, saying that he and his friends acted on information brought to them by Shaelas. In gratitude for bringing the plot to light, the court finds Milo innocent and allows him to leave. They also rescind the protections offered to the Sith base and its personnel pending a formal investigation. When they bring the information to Roland, he reveals that the Republic and the Selkath entered into a secret agreement.
The far-sighted Selkath saw that if the Sith won the war, there would be nothing to stop them from taking Manaan anyway, even with the threat of the destruction of the only source of kolto in the galaxy. Both governments constructed a secret facility where they would harvest kolto directly from the source, try to find a way to synthesise it artificially, and do so in a way that wouldn't attract any notice from those above. However, something's gone wrong. When construction was nearing completion, the team ran into some ruins, most likely the Star Map. It also turns out that contact with the facility was abruptly lost. Having exhausted the troop compliment of their base, the Republic hired mercenaries to investigate, while putting out the official story that they would be shipped off-world to help with the war.
Milo and his crew are given a submersible to dive down to the facility, where they find one traumatised survivor. He reveals that the Selkath went insane and killed everyone on base and the mercenaries sent afterwards. The submersibles were not saved either, because the firaxan sharks would grab and smash any that tried to make it to the surface, killing anyone inside. Despite all this, Milo and company journeyed onwards. The only way to the Star Map was to traverse a flooded area of the base, walk on the sea floor and access the other part of the facility. Finding a pressure suit that will allow him to do this, Milo proceeds alone. Using a sonic emitter to keep the sharks off him, Milo finds two other survivors in the base, a pair of Republic scientists. They reveal that it was a giant firaxan shark that emerged from the rift where they extracted the kolto from that sent the psychic signal that drove the Selkath and firaxan sharks mad. Two solutions are proposed; a poison inserted into the vent that would kill the shark, but also taint the kolto, and blowing up the machinery that the giant shark was bashing itself against. Milo chooses the latter. It was theorised that the shark was reacting to the intrusion because the kolto was its food source, and the machinery was taking that away. It would have to be ancient indeed for it to reach its colossal size. Once the machinery is destroyed, the giant shark retreats back to its lair in the rift and allows Milo to access the Star Map.
Once they make their way back to the surface, Milo is confronted again by Selkath security. He then reveals the existence of the facility, and how he saved the giant shark by destroying the machinery. The Court surmises that the giant shark was the Progenitor, the origin of the Selkath race. In gratitude for saving the creature, they allow Milo to leave and declare him innocent. Even though they cannot say it outright, Milo had earned the Court's respect. However, the destruction of the machinery also puts an end to the Republic's efforts there. Any future kolto would have to be bought via legitimate ways, depriving the Republic of a critical advantage in the war. Milo brings the information about the mercenaries and the youth to the Selkath that requested it of him, and they show their gratitude. Nilko agrees to keep silent because he does not wish to see the Republic expelled from Manaan, fearful of what the Sith would do with unlimited access to the planet, and Shaelas will do his part to reveal what happened with his daughter to the authorities, hopeful to see the Sith pay some price for their attempted coup.
Milo and company leave Manaan, but en route to their next destination, the Hawk is caught in a tractor beam. Zack recognises the ship as the Leviathon, commanded by Admiral Saul Karath, Zack's old mentor turned traitor, and the one that opened the door for Zack's homeworld of Telos to be bombed into oblivion by Bradley's fleet, starting the Jedi Civil War. In that bombardment, Zack lost his wife and his son had been missing for years. Zack has promised vengeance ever since but is urged not to do anything stupid during the escape attempt. However, if there is a chance to kill Saul during said escape, Zack will take it. Milo, Zack, Amanda, and Zaalbar are taken prisoner while the others devise plans to get them out. During the interrogation, Saul reveals that Dantooine had been attacked, and the Jedi enclave there is no more. Milo resists the admiral's questioning, despite Amanda's torture, which nearly breaks Milo as the two had formed a loving connection throughout their travels.
It is also revealed that Bradley is on his way to the Leviathon, but before he gets there, the other crew members arrive to bust them out. Melissa had picked a key card out of guard's pocket, Mort had mind-tricked a guard into letting him out and imprisoning himself. Juhannah had used her cloaking ability to remain hidden, Chad had used his healing ability to cheat death and escape from the medical bay, and the droids D-0G and HK-47 feigned deactivation to escape from the workshop. It isn't long before they take the prison deck and bust Milo, Zack, Amanda, and Zaalbar out. Milo, Zack, and Amanda move to take the bridge to open up the hangar doors while Chad leads the others to the Hawk to reclaim it. As expected, all hell breaks loose, with soldiers, droids, and Dark Jedi converging on the trio. Eventually, they make their way to the bridge, where Saul is waiting for them. Zack seizes this opportunity to claim revenge for his homeworld, but before Saul dies, he whispers something in Zack's ear, which causes him to question everything he believed. Deciding that now is not the time to discuss it, and with Amanda's assurances that she will answer everything to both of them upon their escape, the hangar doors are unlocked, and the escape continues in earnest.
Before they get to the Hawk, the trio run into Bradley. After a brief exchange, Bradley reveals the twist I dare not spoil here. Seriously, it is on par with the Vader twist from Empire Strikes Back, it is that good. What I will say is that it shakes Milo to his core and puts his faith in Amanda into question. When all is said and done, Bradley incapacitates Zack and Amanda, leaving Milo and Bradley to duel one-on-one. However, Bradley proves the superior fighter. But before Bradley could deal the final blow, Amanda steps in with her own saber. She frees Milo and holds Bradley off until Milo and Zack can escape. Milo does not want to leave Amanda alone with Bradley, but Zack reminds him that there is no way to get to them, as the door is sealed behind them. Fleeing on the Hawk, they make it to Korriban.
Despite being on a Sith planet, the heroes are not recognised as Republic, which works to their advantage. The Star Map is located in one of the Sith tombs, and access can only be gained through the Sith academy. It is then decided that the only way to effect entry without being killed is to join as students. Before they do this, a Rodian comes up to them, demanding his spice shipment. He is an associate of Davik, and Milo breaks it to him that Davik is dead. Nevertheless, the Rodian still wants his spice. Not wanting an illicit substance on his ship, Milo agrees to hand it over. It is then found out that a medallion is needed to gain entry to the academy. Fortunately, Milo and co come to the defence of citizens being harassed by power-mad Sith and take medallions from their bodies.
This satisfies the Academy's second-in-command, one Yuthura Ban, and they are allowed inside. The head of the Academy, Uthar Wynn, pits the students against each other in a contest of prestige. Whomsoever gains enough prestige will be invited to the Tomb of Naga Sadow, where the Star Map is located, to undergo the final trial. The rest, if they survive, will have to come back next year. Yuthura singles Milo out as the most hopeful prospect and offers a proposal; that the pair team up and kill Uthar Wynn at the final test, claiming the Academy for themselves. Milo takes this opportunity to get to know Yuthura on a personal level. It turns out she was a slave to a Hutt on Sleheyron, only breaking free when she killed her Hutt master. She was discovered by the Jedi and trained, but could not find peace, so she turned to the Sith.
Around the Academy, Milo undertakes various tasks designed to gain favour while still doing good wherever he could. He meets a doubting Kel Algwinn, who questions whether or not the Sith are right for him. Milo convinces him to give the Jedi path a go, and he leaves the Academy. He also encounters an imprisoned and tortured Mandalorian, who he helps break out by giving him a drug dosage designed to make him appear dead but will get his strength back once the Sith dispose of his 'corpse'. On a more personal note for Zack, his son Dustil is a Sith at the Academy, but soon turns his back on them once Milo uncovers the Sith's involvement in the killing of a friend of Dustil's named Selene. He then turns spy for the Republic and lets go of his hatred for Zack, who he believes wasn't there for them when it really mattered, whether it was during the bombing of Telos or just being an absent father in general.
Elsewhere around the Academy, Milo encounters a group of students that ran into the caves after refusing an order from Uthar to kill a bunch of civilians. Milo helps them escape the caves by slaying another terrentatek and also convinces them to turn to the Jedi. He also aids a student named Lashowe to retrieve a Sith holocron from the gullet of a tuk'ata mother but has to strike her down when she tries to claim sole credit. When Milo ventures into the Tomb of Marka Ragnos, he is confronted by beserk droids. Realising that they respond to sound, Milo puts on a sound dampener. He then encounters a renegade assassin droid that has gained sentience and has developed a compassion for life, expressing the desire not to kill, despite his programming. Milo fixes the droid and deletes his assassination protocols, enabling him to escape his Sith masters and pursue the life he wants.
In the Tomb of Ajunta Pall, Milo comes across Pall's ghost. Expressing regret about the path he chose in life, Milo convinces Pall to embrace the light side, and Pall becomes one with the Force after a thousand years. Before he can leave, Milo is intercepted by another Sith hopeful named Shaardan. He wants the sword to impress Uthar but does not know which of the three swords is the genuine one. Milo hands him a fake, which Uthar instantly recognises and kills Shaardan for his failure. In the Tomb of Tulak Hord, Milo and company are incapacitated by a Sith hermit named Jorak Uln. Jorak was Uthar's master and former head of the Academy before Uthar had him run out. He also has another Sith hopeful named Mekel in his 'care'. Jorak had been testing (i.e. torturing) Mekel to see if he has what it takes to be Sith. He gives Milo the same test by posing moral questions that Milo refuses to answer. Once the test is over, Mekel frees them all before teaming up with the heroes to slay Jorak. Having long since tortured others for his pleasure, Mekel finally understands what it's like on the receiving end. He leaves the Sith behind, but not fully embracing the Jedi way either.
Milo's actions have earned him enough prestige to undertake the final trial, but his companions are not permitted to enter with him. After going through the tomb's many puzzles, such as a Hanoi tower, a pair of terrentateks, and a pool of acid Milo freezes over with an ice grenade, Milo retrieves the Star Map and the last piece of the puzzle, ascertaining the Star Forge's location. He also retrieves the Sith lightsaber he was tasked with getting from the tomb. Uthar and Yuthura greet him. Uthar then discloses that the final part of the trial is to strike down Milo's teacher. However, Milo and Yuthura instead team up to bring Uthar down. Once Uthar is dead, Yuthura turns on Milo, but she yields once it is clear she cannot beat him. Milo then invites her to reflect on what they discussed when Milo first arrived. Yuthura then realises that she hasn't done what she set out to do when she joined the Sith, that there was time to change. She leaves for the Jedi, hoping to find the peace she never could. However, before Milo and gang could leave the Academy, the students and garrison all notice Milo leaving his final test alone and assume the worst. A melee ensues, and the Academy is brought to ruin. Before they make it to the Hawk, a man named Xor finds Juhannah. Recognising her as a Cathar slave he hoped to purchase on Taris, Xor goads Juhannah into a fight, revealing that it was he that killed Juhannah's father in a bar brawl. Enraged, Juhannah strikes at him, leaving him mortally wounded. Milo talks her out of dealing the final blow, making the point that she would be slipping back into darkness if she did so. Xor dies an ignoble death, and with all things resolved, Milo sets a course for the Star Forge.
On the planet Lehon Prime, it is revealed that Bradley had captured Amanda and subjected her to torture designed to break her into joining the Sith. Amanda refuses, but Bradley continues his assaults anyway. The Hawk jumps in system to find a space station of immeasurable size and scope, churning out capital ships and starfighters at incredible speeds. It was also drawing power from the system's star, hence the name Star Forge. Zack sends the co-ordinates to the Republic fleet, hoping a strike could cripple the Sith war effort. However, the Hawk flies into a disruptor field while evading a Sith fighter patrol, sending it crashing to the surface of Lehon Prime. The objectives become two-fold; find parts to repair the ship and disable the disruptor field before the Republic fleet flies into it and gets wiped out. D-0G pinpoints a power source in a nearby stone temple that could be where the field can be powered down.
Milo and crew explore the planet but are quickly accosted by the war-mongering locals. Easily dispatched, they come across an oddly teched-out camp, which is weird for a tribal civilisation. Strangely enough, they allow Milo and his friends inside without incident. This tribe of Elders are part of a race called the Rakata, and that thousands of years ago, they constructed the Star Forge to aid in their galactic conquest. Their Empire fell apart when they lost their connection to the Force because of a plague and were reduced to what they are now. While the Elders want to co-exist peacefully with the rest of the galaxy, another tribe, led by a warlord called The One, wants to return to the old ways, conquering all they see. This was the tribe that attacked the group upon their arrival. The Elders also reveal that the temple is sealed and can only be opened with a ritual they know. They agree to do this on the condition that Milo help rescue a captured Elder in the One's stronghold. An Elder researcher also wants genetic data housed within the temple that may help them regain their Force abilities.
Easily able to storm the One's base, Milo finds and frees the captured Elder while putting an end to the One's path of conquest. He also finds ship parts needed to repair the hyperdrive. With their friend returned, the Elders agree to let Milo and his Force-using companions into the temple, where they are met with numerous Dark Jedi. In the basement, they come across a computer with the data the Elder researcher needs, as well as answers about the Star Maps. The reason they were incomplete upon discovery is because they were sabotaged by the Rakata to prevent slave species discovering the Star Forge's location but have been rebuilding themselves over millenia. It also explains that the Infinite Empire spanned over five hundred worlds, billions of Rakata, and trillions of slaves, but an Empire built on war would inevitably collapse. Civil war engulfed the Empire even before the plague, with the Rakatan history ending 20,000 years ago. The computer opens the way to the roof, where the console to shut off the disruptor field could be found.
However, once they get there, they find Amanda, and to their horror, she had turned to the Dark Side, swearing allegiance to Bradley and the Sith. After a brief duel, she tries to entice Milo into turning as well, proposing that they defeat Bradley together and claim his empire as their own. Milo refuses, and Amanda flees to the Star Forge. The disruptor field is deactivated, the genetic data is handed to the Elder researcher, and the Hawk boards the Star Forge. In the background, a Republic fleet led by Admiral Dodonna engages the Sith, but Amanda's Battle Meditation makes the Sith nigh invincible. The only way to tilt this battle in the Republic's favour is to distract Amanda long enough for the fleet to punch through the defensive line.
Once the crew of the Ebon Hawk disembark, they are met with waves of droids, Sith soldiers and Dark Jedi, almost without end. Eventually, they fight their way to Amanda, whom Milo engages alone. Although they duel many times, Amanda still cannot overpower Milo, even with the Star Forge fuelling her. Milo then does what many would consider foolish; leaving himself open for Amanda to strike down. Appealing to Amanda's Jedi nature, she cannot do it, especially since Milo confesses his love for her. Amanda returns the affection, switches sides, and uses her Battle Meditation to fuel the Republic fleet.
Milo carries on to engage Bradley in a final duel to decide the fate of the galaxy. Bradley had brought the bodies of several Jedi from Dantooine to the Star Forge. Using their connection to the Force, Bradley fuels himself as he and Milo do battle. However, even drawing upon the power of all the Jedi he had slain, Bradley could not defeat Milo. Wounded and dying, Bradley expresses his regret about the path he chose and wonders how things would have gone differently. He dies and Milo and company, along with a redeemed Amanda all flee the Star Forge before the Republic destroys it forever. Admiral Dodonna and the surviving Jedi Masters all praise and honour the crew of the Ebon Hawk.
We then cut to the real Murphy gang in the clubhouse hearing Hannah tell this story. Zack remarks that she just transposed them all into an existing story, but they all still enjoyed it regardless, and wonder what Hannah has in mind for her next literary masterpiece. Zack immediately regrets asking this, as Hannah's next story involves a romance between him and Milo, and it is X-rated.
I hope you enjoyed that, now I can finally put this story to bed. No, I will not do the sequel, so don't ask. I regret that I couldn't do this story fully, but as I said before, other things got in the way and I've left this hanging too long. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have a pre-wedding party to write. Stay tuned, that will be targeted for launch in June.