First skirmish with the Eternal Fleet

The first encounter with the Eternal Fleet by Galactic Republic and Sith Empire's joint forces happened in 3636 BBY, when Darth Marr led seven vessels on an expedition into Wild Space in search of the former Sith Emperor Vitiate and unknown forces that had recently raided Imperial and Republic worlds. After they unknowingly intruded on the borders of the Eternal Empire of Zakuul, Vitiate's alter-ego Valkorion send the Eternal Fleet to deal with the intruders. The enourmous armada emerged from hyperspace right on top of Darth Marr's task force and began laying fire, while also launching boarding pods filled with skytroopers. On Marr's orders the vessels raised their shields and attempted to get away, but a large number of boarders spread across all decks, overcoming Imperial and Republic soldiers and sabotaging critical systems. In the end, though Darth Marr and his ally destroyed a great number of skytroopers, Darth Marr's flagship was damaged beyond the breaking points and was destroyed, with Marr and his ally taken captive, though some soldiers managed to abandon ship in the escape pods, which the Eternal Fleet did not bother to destroy.
==Prelude==
During the Revanite crisis in 3637 BBY certain individuals in the reconstituted Sith Empire and the Galactic Republic recognized that former Sith Emperor Vitiate, seemingly intent to consume all life in the galaxy, posed a far larger threat than the ongoing Galactic War between the two governments. Jedi Grand Master Satele Shan and Dark Council member Darth Marr formed the Yavin Coalition between their forces, but were unable to stop Revan from resurrecting the Emperor's spirit on Yavin 4.Star Wars: The Old Republic: Shadow of Revan Awakened, Vitiate fled to Ziost, where he consumed all life on the planet with his ritual, after which his spirit fled into the Wild Space.
Not long afterwards, a mysterious army led by twin conquerors performed a series of raids on both Republic and Imperial worlds, including an attack on Korriban that left the Sith Academy and the Valley of the Dark Lords in ruins, with many Sith slain or forced to bow to their conquerors. Unchallenged and undefeated, the army returned to Wild Space before anyone could learn their identity as the Eternal Empire of Zakuul, another creation of Vitiate that he secretly cultivated in the Unknown Regions for centuries, under the name Valkorion. To hunt down their foes, Darth Marr, who became de-facto leader of the Sith Empire after Vitiate abandoned it, formed a joint task force from Imperial and Republic forces, primarily veterans of Yavin 4 that saw Vitiate's power firsthand, for an incursion into uncharted Wild Space territory. Unknowingly, Marr's task force soon breached the borders of Eternal Empire territory, and Immortal Emperor Valkorion, as he was known on Zakuul, sent his Eternal Fleet to face the intruders.
==The battle==
Darth Marr led the expedition from his flagship when a small vessel emerged from hyperspace and docked with it, belonging to an ally Marr made during the Revanite crisis. Captain Fora welcomed her guest aboard and invited them to proceed towards the bridge, where Marr confirmed that he felt the Emperor's presence getting stronger every moment and wondered whether the Republic's contribution would prove significant to their efforts. At that moment, a small probe appeared near the vessel and Marr ordered to raise the deflector shields and destroy the probe before it could give away their location. But, before his order could be carried out, the massive Eternal Fleet, hitherto unknown to the rest of the galaxy, emerged from hyperspace and began laying fire.
Marr immediately ordered evasive maneuvers to take the ship from the direct line of fire, but the Eternal Fleet launched boarding pods that breached the flagship's hull in all decks, deploying skytrooper droid soldiers. Republic and Imperial soldiers stood side by side against the unknown intruders, who had the advantage of superior numbers. Marr's ally rushed to sweep for boarders, driving them from the starboard compartment and stopping their attack on the shield generator, though they still spread elsewhere on the ship. A group of Republic soldiers was trapped behind a blast door, which Imperial Sergeant Dol ordered shut, attempting to stop the invaders. Republic Corporal Ralo refused to leave his compatriots behind, and Darth Marr's ally agreed to take care of enemy droids in that section, allowing the Republic troopers to retreat and regroup. Marr's ally then rushed to destroy hostiles in the port section, when enemy fire had blown out the airlock and fused the docking clamps on their ship, preventing their crewmembers from either joining them onboard or leaving.
Fighting their way through skytroopers, Marr's ally rushed to the airlock and disengaged the docking mechanisms, allowing their ship to break free, which their crew then piloted away from Marr's flagship. By this point the enemy had breached the engineering deck, trying to take out the primary power generator, and with the bridge temporarily secure, Darth Marr himself cut through the enemy droids and rushed to the generator alongside his ally. However, enemy firepower had burned through the flagship's shields and hit the main thrusters and by the time Marr and his ally reached the power core, it was strained to the breaking point as well. The defensive barricades on the bridge had fallen, and attempting to save as many lives as possible, Marr's ally ordered the remaining personnel to evacuate in the escape pods. Some soldiers, including Corporal Ralo, made it out before the concentrated fire from the Eternal Fleet destroyed Marr's flagship, with all other vessels already out of the picture.
==Aftermath==
Though the vessel was destroyed, Darth Marr and his ally both survived and, unconscious, were captured by the Eternal Empire, who had also recovered various records from the wreckage's ship computers. Both Marr and the other prisoner were transferred to the Eternal Flagship of Prince Arcann, who took them to Zakuul and brought them before his father. In the resulting confrontation Valkorion killed Darth Marr, but was himself betrayed by his son, resulting in the death of his physical body, though his spirit, as always, endured. Through the multiple escape pods that had been ejected, survivors from the battle brought the news back to the Empire and the Republic, but not long afterwards the Eternal Empire, now led by Emperor Arcann after his father's death, invaded in full force, and the rest of the galaxy learned the destructive might of the Eternal Fleet firsthand in the following Eternal Empire conquest.
==Behind the scenes==
Chapter I: The Hunt is the first in the Knights of the Fallen Empire storyline and can be done by players of any class, who begin with their unique ship and original five class companions each, but are all rolled into "The Outlander" character by its end. The player also briefly gains Darth Marr as a companion, but it only lasts for a very short amount of time, as Marr is killed by the end of the Chapter. The player is faced with several choices during the battle, the first of which is whether to allow Sergeant Dol to shut the blast door, trapping the Republic troopers behind it. In the Light Side option, player volunteers to take care of enemy forces to Corporal Ralo's approval, while in the Dark Side option, player agrees with Dol to Ralo's disapproval. After they free their ship, player can order their companions to make a break for it and bring news back to civilization, or remain and engage the Eternal Fleet to buy themselves and Darth Marr time. In any case, the player's companions escape the battle and when they later return, no mention is made of the player's choice. Lastly, player can order the flagship's evacuation in a Light Side choice, or ram it into the Eternal Fleet as a Dark Side choice, destroying several Eternal Fleet warships, but also decreasing the number of survivors, a choice that Ralo will remember and later call the player on during Chapter VI: Asylum.
==Appearances==
*Star Wars: The Old Republic: Knights of the Fallen Empire 
==Notes and references==
Category:Battles in Wild Space
Category:Battles of the Eternal Empire raids