War on Iokath

The War on Iokath was a conflict between the Eternal Alliance, the reconstituted Sith Empire and the Galactic Republic over control of the artificial world of Iokath and its resources. Orchestrated by the secretive Order of Zildrog who leaked to all three sides the identical data regarding a powerful superweapon, the conflict saw the three factions gather at the exact same place and time, seeking to secure control over it. Republic Supreme Commander Jace Malcom and Sith Empress Darth Acina sent representatives to negotiate with the Alliance Commander, who made the choice to support the Republic against the Empire. Open warfare ensued, during which the Alliance's opposition managed to reverse-engineer access to the superweapon and prepared to activate it, unaware of the danger in possessed. The Commander and Theron Shan rushed to stop them, but were too late and could do nothing as Empress Acina awakened Tyth, the God of Rage, after which she lost control over the throne and was killed by a power surge. The Alliance Commander was lured into a trap by a member of the Order but managed to order the Eternal Fleet to fire on Tyth, knocking him out of commission and buying the Alliance time to deal with the other machine gods. Even though the Empire suffered a serious blow, Iokath's resources were deemed too important, and they refused to abandon the world, dragging the battle for months until it turned into a stalemate for all sides.
==History==
===Prelude===
Iokath, a massive self-sustaining ecosphere that completely engulfed its star, remained unknown to the galaxy ever since the Iokath species wiped itself out in a civil war. Over three thousand years later, it was rediscovered by the Alliance that waged a war against Zakuul. However, during the initial exploration, an ancient superweapon exploded and covered the entire world in a pulse of deadly radiation, which disrupted navigation and comm signals and made any exploration impossible. The Alliance was forced to temporarily abandon planet, though it left scouts posted in the system to monitor the radiation levels, having no choice but to wait for them to subside. By the time the radiation levels became safe for organics again, the Alliance had already conquered the Eternal Empire of Zakuul and acquired control over its Eternal Fleet, itself an Iokath creation.
Trying to infiltrate the Order of Zildrog, Theron Shan decided to arrange a trap for the Alliance Commander to prove his dedication to the Order's cause. Working on his own, he leaked the location of another Iokath superweapon known as the Six Gods to the Eternal Alliance, the Sith Empire and the Galactic Republic simultaneously. All three parties showed interest in the anonymous data and send teams to secure the superweapon, led by head of Alliance Intelligence Lana Beniko, Supreme Commander of Republic Military Jace Malcom and Sith Empress Darth Acina respectively.
===First confrontations===
Locating the superweapon first, Beniko contacted the Alliance base on Odessen with a status report but was interrupted by the arrival of Republic and Imperial forces to the same coordinates. Soldiers from those two sides engaged each other, while Beniko and her team escaped their notice and retreated to the Fleet Spire, where they established a foothold. Informed of this development, the Commander summoned the entire Eternal Fleet to Iokath, while heading there personally along with Theron Shan. Both sides have send emissaries to the Fleet Spire to negotiate with the Alliance - Republic Army Captain Elara Dorne and Imperial Army Major Malavai Quinn respectively - but believing them to be assassins, Beniko ordered to take both of them captive.
By the time Alliance forces dropped out of hyperspace, the Imperial and Republic fleets were already in orbit of Iokath, but had not yet engaged each other. At this point a signal from the planet's surface broke the connection between the Eternal Throne and the Eternal Fleet warships, leaving the Eternal Fleet dormant. The Commander and Shan proceeded towards the surface in a Zakuulan starfighter and reunited with Beniko at the Fleet Spire. Her captives requested an audience with their superiors, leading to a three-way holoconference between the leaders of the present governments. Both Supreme Commander Malcom and Empress Acina claimed ownership of the superweapon, and formally asked the Alliance to join their side in the ongoing conflict. The Commander consulted their advisors, and Beniko suggested to throw their support behind the Sith Empire, while Shan insisted that the Republic was a more reliable ally, though both promised to stand behind their Commander regardless of their choice.
===Open warfare===
The Commander ultimately chose to ally with the Republic, with the Empire immediately launching a retaliatory strike when Major Quinn detonated a flash grenade and escaped in the confusion, while the fleets in orbit engaged each other. The Commander ordered Beniko to hold the Fleet Spire, while they and Theron Shan traveled to Malcolm's base to help repel the Imperial assault. Afterwards, the two met with the Supreme Commander and concluded that they needed an edge to help break the opposing side's base defenses. Informed of a nearby Iokath weapons cache, the Commander and Shan ventured there to retrieve Iokath weapons and knowledge on how to use them. Inside, Shan accessed the files on an ancient console, learning that the superweapon everyone was fighting over was powerful enough to wipe all organic life on Iokath in distant past, in addition to ten trillion lives on other planets.
Meanwhile, the Imperials used the schematics they obtained to engineer a backdoor access into the superweapon and modified an Iokath throne to act as an interface. When the Commander and Shan returned to the Republic base with the weapons, Acina contacted them via holocall and boasted of having access to the superweapon, claiming that their victory was inevitable and refusing to listen about the danger it presented. To stop them from activating the superweapon, the Commander and Shan boarded a walker augmented with Iokath weaponry and used it to storm Acina's base. They reached the modified throne, but were too late to stop the Empress from assuming and activating it. This caused a powerful power surge which awakened the Six Gods and mortally wounded Acina, who soon expired from her wounds. The power surge also killed the signal keeping the Eternal Fleet in lockdown, bringing it back online.
To stop the superweapon from raging out of control, the Commander ordered the Eternal Fleet to charge the turbolaser batteries and rushed to the superweapon control center, while Shan stayed behind and attempted to delay its full activation. Inside the complex the Commander assumed another throne and was came face-to-face with Tyth, the first of the Six Gods to reawaken. Tyth revealed to the mortal that a traitor in their ranks lured them to Iokath, just as a member of the Order of Zildrog sabotaged the throne the Commander was on. Tyth emitted an energy beam that destroyed an Eternal Fleet warship, but the Commander managed to overcome the pain and ordered the rest of the Fleet to fire on the giant droid, knocking it out of commission and forcing it to retreat.
===Stalemate===
The Commander's body was brought back to the Fleet Spire to recuperate, where upon regaining consciousness they were informed by Malcolm that despite the loss of their Empress, the Empire refused to surrender and continued to wage war for control over Iokath. Meanwhile, Tyth was preparing for a counterattack, while the other machine gods were about to join him. Committed to secure full control over Iokath's resources, the Alliance continued to fight for the control over its surface, while the Commander met with the Scions of Zakuul, who travelled to Iokath to aid them in fulfilling their destiny. The Scion leader Oramis told the Commander about the significance of the Six Gods to Zakuul's history, while explaining the grave danger they possessed. The Alliance forces eventually confronted the Six Gods directly, destroying them before could wreak havoc on the galaxy once again. Despite the Alliance's support, the war between the Republic and the Empire eventually turned into a stalemate, although after recovering a large shipment of adegan crystals from Umbara, Lana Beniko became confident that their power would allow them to secure victory. Following Acina's death, Darth Vowrawn proclaimed himself the new Emperor of the Sith and ordered a halt to all operations on Iokath during his consolidation of power.
==Behind the scenes==
The events on Iokath can go two radically different ways depending on the player's decision to support either Republic or the Sith Empire, which will have far-reaching consequences in the subsequent story updates. Neither choice is a light or a dark side option, and players can choose to side against their original faction, making both choices equally valid. Despite this, players who side with a different faction will remain unable to travel to the other side's fleet and capital worlds or participate in activities with players on that side outside of Iokath. While the original choice remains locked from a story standpoint, players can change their nominal allegiance daily, allowing them to complete repeatable missions on both sides.
Siding with either Empire or Republic also grants player Malavai Quinn or Elara Dorne respectively as a companion, although the other can still be reclaimed from a terminal on Odessen for use in non-storyline purposes. Players of Trooper and Warrior classes also get additional lines and cutscenes with their returning companions, during which Dorne can refuse to rejoin Meteor if the player made specific dark side choices during Knights of the Fallen Empire and Knights of the Eternal Throne, while Quinn will attempt to return to his master even if Empire's Wrath sided with Republic, giving players a dark side option to kill him for his past betrayal.
===Supporting the Republic===
If the player sides with the Republic, Malcom will approve it, while Acina will mock them and tell Quinn to proceed with his orders, leading to his distraction and escape. Acina will then request from Quinn the Commander's psychological profile, after which she will personally come down to the surface of Iokath. Meanwhile, Malcom will come face to face with his son Theron Shan and the two will reconcile their relationship. Faced with Acina's threat to use the superweapon, Malcom will present the Commander the walker Nova Strider, allowing them to reach Acina just as she activates her throne. The throne reject Acina's input and kills her, prompting Theron to note that he respected her as far as he could respect a Sith, while Quinn again escapes in the confusion.
Following Acina's death, Darth Vowrawn will proclaim himself the new Emperor and order to halt all progress on Iokath while he is consolidating power. Imperials will fight against the Alliance with reneved fervor seeking to avenge the beloved Empress and will work together with the Umbarans on the adegan crystals.
===Supporting the Empire===
If the player sides with the Empire, Malcom will dismiss them and give the signal to Dorne, who likewise escapes and reports to Supreme Commander on the Alliance's leader psychological profile. Meanwhile, the Commander will meet with Acina, who is filled with glee over being able to spill Republic blood once again. Theron will no choice but to advise his superiors on how to defeat his father, who will disown him during his ultimatum call to the Empire. Acina will give the Commander the walker Crimson Talon, urging them to crash their Republic enemies. Facing his father about to claim the throne, Theron will shoot him, but fail to prevent the throne's activation. Malcom then loses control of the throne, prompting Dorne to flee, while Theron rushes to his father's side. Saying that he is sorry for his actions and asking to tell Satele Shan the same, Malcom will die in his son's arms, causing him serious grief.
Theron will try maintain the cool interior, but will seriously hurt inside, and will make several donations to charities in his father's name trying to deal with his grief. The death of Supreme Commander will also lead to the resignation of Supreme Chancellor Jebevel Madon, with Galena Rans appointed as the interim Chancellor, while the Republic faces a political stagnation due to the complicated nature of the elections for the proper successor.
==Appearances==
*Star Wars: The Old Republic: Knights of the Eternal Throne 
==Sources==
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==Notes and references==
Category:Battles of Iokath
Category:Battles of the Order of Zildrog campaign