Choose My Adventure: Farewell, SWTOR

My six weeks in Star Wars: The Old Republic are up this week, sadly enough, but I've come away with much more than a fun story to tell all of you. Playing the Imperial Agent has been a blast (get it?!) and has shown me that BioWare writes a darn good story arc. Will I continue to play after this week? Hey, you need to read my character's story, first!

Last week, you chose for me to hang on to Kaliyo and not be guided strictly by light or dark side choices. Those choices helped mold the ending to my character's story in a rather interesting way. Follow along after the cut for how the story of Xel'es will end, followed by my brief impressions of the first 20 levels and where I'll go from here.

I never thought I'd be so happy to get away from that wet sponge of a planet called Dromund Kaas. Korriban is pretty much the exact opposite of Dromund Kaas, but it's still just a worthless wasteland. I wish I could just find a happy middle ground somewhere. This desert planet is too hot for my Chiss blood, and there are Sith slithering everywhere, but the discomfort is simply a distraction. I must focus on the task at hand.

I was to meet with Darth Jadus' daughter, who took over his role in the Empire. Her name is Darth Zhorrid, and you can bet I won't be breaking out the Chiss charm on this one.

Oddly enough, her first move as a greeting was to send her bodyguards to kill me. As surprising as that attempt was, it barely caused me to break a sweat. She said it was a test to see whether I was worthy to investigate her father's assassination, but I think she was just taking her new power trip for a test drive.

Zhorrid seemed skeptical that this "Eagle" was the one truly responsible for her father's death, and she was fairly no-nonsense about the fact that she wanted me to find the true killer, whoever that might be.

After that not-so-pleasant meeting with my new boss, I headed back to the ship to discuss my designated targets with Watcher Two. She informed me that two terror cells are to be eliminated -- one on Balmorra, near the Republic border, and one on Nar Shaddaa, in Hutt Space. Hutt Space?! I am not setting foot in that disgusting region again if I can help it.

So I decided to take the Balmorra assignment first. After the War, Balmorra fell under Imperial control, but pockets of resistance continued to thrive all over the planet. Word was that a particularly troublesome Balmorran terror cell was supported by the Republic, so my job was to infiltrate and investigate.

A jovial fellow by the name of Lekern Renald was my point of contact in the Sobrik station. He seemed to think that a man named Gray Star was the leader who may have worked with Eagle. If we killed Gray Star, the band would dissolve. I was to infiltrate the terrorists and get to their leader.

With a disguise in place (i.e., losing my Imperial accent), I met with a man by the name of Sanju Pyne, who introduced me to the second-in-command: a firecracker of a woman named Chemish Or.

OK, I can't help it. I'm a sucker for feisty women, and that's always been the biggest character flaw holding me back from any sort of personal advancement. It's not so much the fiestiness itself but my response to it. I'm completely paralyzed with fear in the presence of someone so confident. I'll just say it: I'm afraid of powerful women. But afraid in a way that wildly excites me and urges me to learn more about them. Of course, my feelings didn't make sense at first. I spent several weeks gaining the woman's trust through dozens of infiltration missions and sabotage runs, but we quickly grew to understand each other and the reasons we're here fighting the good fight. She was a tough nut to crack, but unlike every other beautiful woman who's shot me down, Chemish was worth pursuing.

Beneath that tough exterior, Chemish had a kind heart. She taught me that the pain I hold deep in my soul was not something to bottle up and use against innocent people for a few measly credits here and there. She taught me a great deal about my self and opened my eyes to a world outside of my career.

My only regret is that I let Chemish believe that Sanju was the mole in the operation. Word got back to her about some leaked plans coming from the inside, and I just couldn't risk my chances with Chemish. I ratted Sanju out, and he was executed for it. Ordinarily, that wouldn't affect me, but I now understand that Sanju was just standing up for what he believed in by joining these rebels, and we need all the manpower we can get.

Yes, that's right: I joined the Balmorran rebellion. I'm not going to apologize for it, and I'm not going to act like it wasn't born from my love for Chemish, but it's a decision I had to make. The Empire's ranks were crumbling, and the appointment of Darth Zhorrid into her father's position made me physically ill. I didn't trust Keeper or Watcher Two one bit, and I respected the fact that Chemish and her people were passionate about their beliefs. I'm tired of the Imperial corruption, and I'm tired of being the galaxy's clean-up crew.

I figured Kaliyo would abandon me as soon as she found out that we were ditching Zhorrid's mission, but she stuck by me. She has become a loyal friend, confiding in me that she wasn't too fond of working for the Empire either. I'm going to miss my ship, though. I just couldn't risk going back to it with that annoying droid on board, nosing around in my business. I imagine the whole thing was bugged anyway, so I couldn't take any chances. I paid a local to ditch it out near Voss in the Outer Rim, and I didn't ask any details. Zhorrid will believe that I went down with my ship, and she'll just get another agent to do her dirty work for her. She's probably already forgotten my name.

Now, don't get me wrong. I'm certainly not going to be joining the Republic any time soon, but I feel that right now, this is where I need to be. I haven't told Chemish my original mission, and I don't plan to. I've been keeping secrets my whole life, and I'm damn good at it. Even love can't break that habit.

I just hope this horrid accent grows on me one day.

So that's it. While this series is over, my time in SWTOR is far from over. I'm really excited by my character's story so far, and I can't just let it stop here. I'll certainly be playing SWTOR regularly from here on out because I had much more fun than I expected. I've heard many of you say that the IA story is the best, and so far I agree. I've read some spoilers (accidentally, grrr) about what happens in later levels, and it sounds like something I'd really enjoy. Will I dish out the credits for VIP access, though? I'm aware of the fact that F2P SWTOR is basically a single-player BioWare game, and I have no problem with that at all. When my current 60 days expire, I'm going to see whether I can stand playing F2P. I'm up for the challenge!

If you're running around the Ebon Hawk server and want to group up, look up Xel'es. Thanks for reading my story; look for Karen to take over next Wednesday with a new game and a whole new adventure.

Until next time!

It's Shawn's turn back in the driver's seat of Choose My Adventure with you as the co-pilot. It's going to be a rough ride, so put on your seat belt! If you want to read a full six weeks of farcical puns about cars and farming, be sure to tune in every Wednesday as the adventure continues to unfold.