“You are strong and touched by darkness” – Anna plays SWTOR Pt. 4

Chapter 2 begins after some time off which is all in our head because I am on a roll and I refuse to stop playing for the night. But, in game, you get an actual nice vacation. Sorta, because while the crew is relaxing Zhyi starts to hear voices. One voice in particular, the one of Master Orgus. Telling her to go to Tattooine and save someone from a shipwreck. Zhyi is a bit confused, but to be honest, stranger things have happened. Kira thankfully doesn’t think that Zhyi has lost it and plots a course while the two women have to tell a first very enthusiastic thenv ery dissapointed T7 that Master Orgus isn’t really alive or back form the dead. Seriously, his happy beeping was heartbreaking. (I am always amazed with how emotional a droid that can only say *beep* can actually make me.) On Tattooine they find a crashed republic ship and a survivor who was carrying highly important information. They travel back to Tython and bring it to the Jedi Council.

Unrelated: but snarky Zhyi is my favourite Zhyi

There, Zhyi finally meets another council member, Master Tol Braga, in person. He is assembling a strike force of the Jedi’s finest for a direct hit against the Empire and the data Zyhi saved is vital to it. He asks her to join him. His plan? Going directly after the Emperor. The council found out that the Emperor is monitoring the Empire from a cloaked fortress hovering around their capital world of Dromund Kaas. Now they need a few key components to actually get to him. One of them being on Balmorra, a world occupied by the Empire. Zhyi is supposed to get in contact with the Resistance and steal a prototype cloaking device from the Empire so they can reverse engineer the technology and find out how to track it.

On Balmorra it is open warfare everywhere. Zhyi finds her contact, a medic in the resistance that goes simply by “Doc” and wants to nope out of there backwards immediately. Doc is cheesy, over the top and can’t say a single sentence without an innuendo. Kira asks drily if the absolutely have to save him too. Doc’s constant flirting makes Zhyi snarkier and a bit more mean than she usually is, but apparently he sees that as an encouragement.

Personally, I find Doc hilarious and funny, but that is mainly due to him being a video game character and me being in control of the story. I know that I would absolutely HATE someone like him in real life. To a point where I simply wouldn’t associate with him ever. But for now I can settle for Zhyi telling him off. Even though she has to do it over and over again.

The resistance has their own agenda of course and not all the missions run peacefully. In the end they manage to get what they came for and take the cloaking device with them. And Doc apparently who broke ties with the part of the resistance that gave us more trouble than help in the end. Kira is not amused. (“If the Imperials have grenades we can throw Doc on them!”) Zhyi is already regretting that decision half a day later but they are off to their next assignment and have no time to chit chat too much anyways.

Master Braga contacts Zhyi via holo to ask her to make a stop on the planet Quesh. His padawan Sajar is stationed there and has dropped out of contact. Sajar was once a member of the dark council in the Sith Empire before Master Braga convinced him to join the light side and Master Braga now fears something terrible must have happened. So off to Quesh it is with a quest that has the ominous title of “The Emperor’s Wrath”. With some added encouragement from Master Orgus.

Somehow I suspect he is not really talking about the Padawan actually…

On Quesh we find Sajar conflicted. He lost control of his emotions and killed a couple of Empire Soldiers in cold blood. Now he is terrified of not being in control anymore and additionally, of someone called The Empreor’s Wrath who has apparently been sent to Quesh to capture Sajar for treason. Zhyi tries to help him through his fears as they have to defend the Republic Base they are in against an imperial attack long enough to get the shield generators up and running. They manage just in time but as the shields go up there is a Sith just walking towards them. Not attacking. And calmly. To say is is odd would be an understatement. Apparently he is the Emperor’s Wrath and he is just here to talk, saying ominous things like the title of this post, or “the time draws near”, “you are strong and touched by darkness – that is unexpected!” and “many know your name, some whisper it, some shout it – I alone recognise what it means.” Noooot creepy at all. He tells Zhyi she can keep the traitor because he has found something better and just… leaves. Zhyi is not unsettled or has an ice cold shiver going through her at all of course. 😉

Sajrar is still conflicted over what to do but Zhyi assures him that it will be ok. Killing the enemy does not make him evil. On the contrary, in her experience you do that often enough and suddenly you are a hero to everyone. She sounds a bit bitter and disillusioned when she tells him that. But he seems to gain new confidence about his place being in the Republic and Zhyi can leave this place. The uneasy feeling following her weather she wants it or not.

What I found interesting is that, if you go the dark side route in encouraging Sajar that he doesn’t need to go into hiding or crawl back to Tython you basically tell him what happened to you and how the council is treating you as an encouragement. Given how left alone by the council Zhyi feels and how they have been entirely unsupportive aside from a few words of encouragement this is quite bitter.

no, not creepy at all…

Additionally the first meeting with Lord Scourge, the Emperor’s Wrath, is full of foreshadowing and insinuations that you really only fully understand way later. It is one of my favourite moments in the second chapter. After this there is one more planet to go to, Hoth, and then it is already up to the endgame for the chapter. The Quest on Quesh sets up the conclusion of the chapter nicely already even though it goes completely different than I expected when I played it for the first time.