Part 48: Telos: Easter

Where were we?



Oh right, Jesus got killed.





"Take me to Atris. She will have the strength to do what the Council cannot."



They would have returned to the ship, and the rest of your crew would naturally be curious as to what happened to their noble and glorious leader figure. Kreia would have brought them the bad news.



"The exile, he is dead. We have lost - it is over."
"No, now the true war begins. The Jedi is all that united my Master... and the others. Now they will turn on each other, and the betrayals will begin. They will feed on each other, until only one remains."
"It is more than that. Your Master will begin what he has foreseen and hungered for, blinded one. Now the galaxy will begin to die."

At this point, being dead and all, the Exile would have had an out-of-body experience. Remember that trick he learned earlier about reading everybody's minds?



"...lost him like father... if father had not gone to war, if he had not gone to fight the Mandalorians... and father left me, left us all, when he lost all that he loved at Malachor V."



"..not like this, not like the end of the Mandalorian Wars... I won't... fail my people again..."



"What are we going to do?! If we don't stop them... then everyone, everyone there... going to lose their lives, like I lost my family at Malachor V..."



"Soon your ship will come, my Master. I will bring him before you, but I will not let you have him. Soon your ship shall come from that which made you..."



"...should have stayed in that ship, let it drift until the power ran out, let it drift in that battlefield until the storms dragged me down..."



"Your command echoes still, General. And I obey, as I did at Malachor V. I have destroyed planets for you, General. But now, this once, if we could save something in this galaxy..."
"I need to do this, or I will die inside. Like I died at Malachor V. I know you can hear me. I have always known. It is why I followed you. You know where you must go. It calls to you still. And she must be stopped, there, now, or she will bring the screams of Malachor V to the galaxy - just as we carried the echo all this way. Now, Malachor V comes to us. And I wish to face it, this last time..."

Based on a lot of this stuff, it sounds like the next destination in the game would have been... yes, Malachor V.

But that's not where we're going, because...



Jesus comes back to life!

Phew, I was worried we'd have to play the rest of the game as Atton or something. Wouldn't that be a mindfuck.



The Jedi Masters aren't so lucky. They are indeed dead, with the Force sucked out of them.

Interestingly, the entire council scene, no matter how you responded or who you happen to accidentally kill, will net you no Light Side or Dark Side points. It's just an uncluttered RPing moment with no real consequences you can affect once it gets going. I kinda liked that because it let me decide whatever the fuck I want to answer and not have to worry about screwing up my alignment for once.



You get one of two super Force Powers here, depending on your alignment. If you're Dark Side, you get something called Force Crush, which is basically the most hilariously retarded spell ever. It does something like 200 damage, half of that even if the enemy saves, and it incapacitates them for the duration. As if the game wasn't utterly broken already, they gave you that to spam over and over again.

The Light Side power is a lot more balanced - Force Enlightenment lets you cast your Force Speed, Armor, and Valor all at the same time. It just saves you a lot of pain, since individually they last 20 seconds each, so by the time you buff yourself with all of them, the first one is already ready to expire.



Jesus runs back to the Ebon Hawk so he can bask in his companions telling him how they're so glad he's alive, and how much they missed him, etc.



Ok well, a celebration is probably in order, but prostration and worship is a little over the top.





"But Kreia didn't do that."
"Of course she didn't. It's a lie... another lie. The only thing that matters is the Handmaiden believes it. And she's going to react exactly how that old witch hoped she would. That's why she wanted the Handmaiden on board, you know. So she could use her to reach the Telos Academy whenever she wished - without needing the access codes."
"The Handmaiden would never allow Kreia to enter the Academy."
"She would, if she thought she was bringing Atris a prisoner. Especially a Sith Lord. She'll take her to Telos, and Atris will do what she'll do to anyone she thinks is a Sith."









There's another dialogue where Kreia takes Atton with her instead of the Handmaiden. It sounds like if it's you don't have enough influence with Atton.

"It is time."
"All right. Where are we going?"
"To a place you know well. There, much will be revealed. Any regrets, 'Atton'?"
"No, I thought I would. I just feel... cold, nothing."
"Keep that feeling close. You will need it where we travel."

Again, it seems to indicate the next planet after Dantooine was Malachor V. Or at least that Atton's next planet would have been Malachor V.





"That is a strange answer. I do not understand."



"I would die for you. When I tell you my life for yours, it is my choice."



She's not kidding. Throughout the game she's been muttering about sacrificing herself for the Exile. We may want to take her up on her offer soon enough.

"But what if the Force is just controlling all this?"
"I simply do. And sometimes, there is no reason that can be given. What did you learn within the Jedi Academy?"



"That is the danger of their beliefs. They do not understand you, what it means to be human, and lead. The feelings I have for you are because of what I see, what I hear in your voice, all that tells me you are a natural leader. I follow because I believe in you. I would die for you because I believe in you."



Aww, how sweet.

"I look at you and see that perhaps a life untouched by the Force isnot the punishment it is believed to be. I understand if you feel you must go on alone, but I ask that you do not."



We've found that that these connections with his companions are all the Exile has. It'd be pretty stupid to ditch them again.



Visas goes back to creepily staring holes into the Exile's backside.







"He may wound me, but I will *kill* him."



"I cannot stay."
"I know. But I could not let you go without asking you, this last time. I have never asked you for anything. I have fought alongside you, would have given my life to you many times over. And now there is something I must ask."
"I want to look upon you, where no one else can see, where it is just *us.* I want to see your face, the color of your skin. I wish to see what the Handmaiden sees when she looks at you that causes her heart to race, and her tone to change. What causes her to forsake her heritage, her oaths... as you made me forsake mine."

You get this if you have influence with both Handmaiden and Visas. She can't help but compare herself to her rival.



"The universe is not solely as our eyes make it out to be, Visas. You know this."



Whoa girl.

"It is the echo, a wound that travels still, that when heard, made me understand that there was another wounded as I was, one who had felt the same sense of loss."





"And I want you to see what I see when I gaze upon you. I want you to know why I cannot look at you, and why I am drawn to you."



Jesus has no time to indulge his underlings when the fate of the universe is on the line. This little love affair will have to go unrequited for now.







_Awkward...



If the Exile 'stayed', there would have been a short scene with the two of them meditating together, looking at each other with Force Sight. That's it. No charging up any loading ramps. No sex in Star Wars, kids.



We're headed back to Telos for the big showdown.





First we gotta stop off at the Telos Academy to stop Atris from executing Kreia.



"Who I am is not the question."
"I am Atris, Jedi Master... the last historian of the Jedi... the last of the Jedi."
"Those are titles, words you cling to as the darkness falls around you."



By now, Atris is completely off her rocker. She's just kinda talking to herself, only half aware that Kreia is there.

""Sith" is a title, yes, but like you, the title is not who I am. It is not what I believe. For you... it is different. Know that there was once a Darth Traya. And that she cast aside that role, was exiled, and found a new purpose. But there must always be a Darth Traya, one that holds the knowledge of betrayal. Who has been betrayed in their heart, and will betray in turn."

Darth Traya? Who's that?



With the other Jedi Masters dead, these two are the last remnants of the old Jedi Order. The way Kreia approached this was as a contemporary to Atris. Her replies were empathetic, as if she's been down the same road as Atris, and had the same revelations.







"How did it happen?"



Atris gets a brief moment of clarity and finally realizes what she's become; kind of like waking up from a dream.

"Malachor V has touched many things, and it casts its echoes still."



It's kinda at this moment that she cracks and gives away the reason behind her fall - she loved the Exile, and he betrayed her. Her anger led to hate, hate to suffering, and suffering led to... well, you get the idea.

They've both suffered much the same thing sort of betrayal in their lives, so when Kreia says, "Who has been betrayed in their heart, and will betray in turn", she's trying to bring some common ground between them.



"And unlike you and I, there is still a chance that one may be saved. The one that you cast out."
"Where is the exile? I had thought..."







The scene fades to black, and we're suppose to assume something terrible happened between them.





Want to read an alternate version of the scene? Not everything in it makes sense in the context of the rest of the game; I think this was an early version they wrote before everything was fully hashed out.

"Were you here when the exile arrived?"
"Atris, I have always been here."
"With the exile?"
"Yes... both times."
"Who are you?"
"I was the one who asked him to be exiled."
"I did as you asked, so long ago. You... you seem familiar to me."
"You have gathered Sith holocrons, Sith teachings from across the galaxy. It is why you have chosen servants who cannot feel the Force. And most importantly, they cannot feel what you have become."
"I have sought to preserve the Jedi Order... and I have gathered all that I know of the Sith to this place, so I might find them... and stop them."
"I had wondered if any of these holocrons had survived Dantooine. You have taken relics from one destroyed planet... to the devastation of another."
"It was always intended for the Jedi to retreat to Telos should Dantooine be attacked - taking all their lore with them. We could not allow the tragedy at Ossus to happen again."
"Such an act marked Telos for destruction. It is why the Sith came here, though the fleet commanders did not know why. It is why Revan ordered its destruction to mark the beginning of the Jedi Civil War. It was a message that there would be no place for the Jedi to retreat, to hide. I would not be surprised if Revan left other gifts beneath the surface of the planet - much can be buried beneath graveyards that will never be found."
"When the Sith attacked... I felt Telos die. Turbolasers fell like lightning upon the landscape. As they did on Dantooine. And so many died... so many voices, screaming in pain."
"Yes, such acts leave their mark on the galaxy. Their cries travel far, though few can hear them."


There's a lot in there that's completely new and completely confusing.

First, it gives an explanation as to why Revan razed Telos in the first place. In the first game, we're told about its destruction from Carth, but it was portrayed like a random act of violence. Here, each of Revan's actions have been justified to make it seem like he was some omnipotent strategic mastermind.

Second, it's been hinted at before, but it was never fully explained why Atris trained her Handmaidens to be deaf to the Force.

Third, there's a veiled reference to the Telos Droid Factory in there, if you want to look for it.

Fourth, Kreia was the one who manipulated Atris into sending the Exile away in the first place???

Holy motherfucking shit.



Meanwhile, the Handmaiden makes her return to her sisters.

Stronger, faster, and now with 50% more Force! No preservatives added.



This was never implemented, but these Handmaidens were suppose to be in their Dark Side form (dressed in black, with black lipstick). It was suppose to show their fall to Atris's corrupted teachings.



"It is good that you have returned. You have much to answer for."



"You have betrayed us. You have betrayed Atris."





"Silence."
"It is a crime to kill blood - but not to kill a betrayer as you."







Atris is watching this all take place from her perch.

"We shall see what the exile has taught. If she kills her sisters, then the dark side will have its claim on her. Yet if she does not, then she will die."
"Such is sacrifice."



The Handmaiden (our Handmaiden) starts thinking back to something the Exile taught her, trying to remind herself:

"The true test of battle is how much force to bring against opponents - if you wish to kill them, do not hold back. But if you wish to stun them, incapacitate them, then you must choose your attacks carefully, using just the right amount of force, just the right weapon, to stop them. It is possible to stun opponents, incapacitate them without killing. Let us practice, and I will show you."

Battle would begin, and our Handmaiden would actually fight all 5 of her sisters (with the player controlling her). But there's more: for every one of her sisters that she kills, she gained 5 Dark Side points. If she managed to either stun, incapacitate, or knock out all 5 of her sisters, she'd gain +15 Light Side points. Basically, it was suppose to be like a combat mini-game, where if you're Light Side you'd try to avoid landing a killing blow.



Battle ends and our girl is victorious.

Last of the Handmaidens my ass.



"Were you with the exile all this time?"



Atris is trying to sound concern, but she's really trying to get information out of the Handmaiden; specifically, where the Exile is.

"Commanded? Did I command you to consort with him? To follow his teachings? To betray your oath?"
"Mistress, I do not understand. I-"



What?



Oh.



Well, if there's anything Jedi Jesus has taught, it's how to run away.

Really fast.



We try to hide behind some chairs and get her stuck on bad pathfinding, but no dice this time.

We'll have to do our asskicking the old fashion way.



Using a lightsaber on an unarmed opponent is really unfair if you think about it. The fight can be pretty hard if you don't use energy shields.



"Did you have feelings for him?"



Atris you crazy, crazy bitch.



There's bad breakups, and then there's bad breakups. But this whole Force Lightning torture thing is taking it a wee bit too far.



Look who arrived. It's the emotionless shell who died at Malachor.



Haven't seen so many people dressed in white since the last Moonie wedding.



"It is no crime to kill the Sith or any that threaten the Republic... as you proved in the Mandalorian Wars. This is now my battle, and you are now my enemy."
"Surrender, Atris. I don't want to fight you."
"Such a noble offer."



The moment we've been waiting for...

vs.



Duh duh dum...