Chapter 3 A cold sharp chill shot down Raith’s back, jolting him awake. His vision gave him nothing, and only after a few seconds when it had adjusted could he even see anything in the prison. It was cold, damp and dark, and with only the sound of dripping water for company, the attempt at creating despair within his conscious was evident. His mind kept racing, he didn’t remember falling unconscious, however the flashback of his training said otherwise. He remembered the mission clearly, a mere political disagreement within inner sith circles that had led to a full blown conflict of interest. As such it was left to imperial intelligence to clean up, as usual, and the opportunities to test your mettle against a sith without repercussions were few and far between. As such Raith had been volunteered as one of his final training operations, before passing out as a cipher. His final one had been even more….challenging. Smiling to himself as the memory of his final test came to the forefront of his mind, he was brought to his senses to the sound of a mechanical grinding sound. The door opened to once against reveal the Chiss and the blonde male, this time flanked by two imperial troopers. Their boots squeaking very slightly as the leather met with the hard ferrocrete floor. The two troopers took their positions either side of Raith’s holding, the Chiss advancing forward to face him, and the blonde officer folded his arms and slumped to the right of the doorway. Everyone seemed to break the silence that had once against dawned on the room, the only thing to dare was the steady dripping sound coming from a dark corner. Raith could feel the room had got colder however, almost as if in anticipation of another individual. Who it might be however, remained a mystery. “Raith, you are to be moved to different holdings and await a full investigation into your actions on Alderaan. If you were however to explain to me what did occur, we could keep the matter contained in Imperial intelligence and save us the trouble of having a Sith involved.” Her words cut through the air, but only one hung around; ‘sith’. His last encounter opposing one, he’d only just escaped with his life, his last time working with one, he’d had almost the same problem. That very same chill ran down his spine as before and he was brought to the realisation that things were only going to get worse from here. “But why ever would I look to leave such lovely 5 star accommodation? I mean that is unless you’re giving the massages in the new place?” As always with the cocky arrogant voice so as to wind up the all involved. Raith’s voice trailed off as he felt the sudden icy wave that fell across the room, even the Chiss shuddered slightly. The ominous sound of footsteps could be heard from the corridor outside the cell, gradually coming closer and closer, every step making you hold your breadth till the next. The troopers brought themselves to attention, even the Blonde agent stood up straight. Finally a cold trickle of sweat could be seen running down the side of the Chiss’s neck. Then finally the steps halted sharply, and the sound of boots sc****** on ferrocrete could be heard. The blonde agents boots clicked together and he brought his chest up, standing diligenty to attention, so as to ensure nothing was out of line, dare he face the wrath of the Sith approaching. The chiss reciprocated the action, bringing the datapad to the front, for the benefit of the sith. The thump of the Sith’s boots, announced their arrival into the room. Shrouded in dark robes, with only horns protruding, a menacing aura was portrayed to all those who laid eyes who laid eyes on the sith. Raith watched the figure, trying to deduce all he could to understand what he was dealing with. It was a Chaigran male, given the horns and beneath the hood, a dark purple skin could be seen. Raith didn’t recognise any sith by that description, so could only be slightly more concerned of his ability. “My lord,” the chiss’s voice broke the silence, she offered the datapad and shrunk away when he grabbed it. A silence once again fell over the room as the Chaigran glanced through the information he has been given. He handed the datapad back and lowered his hood, his yellow pained eyes now giving Raith their full attention. “Raith Durin, you aren’t worthy of your title as Cipher 11. I am Darth Kryak, I will be presiding over your investigation. I will also take the utmost pleasure in doing this; I am sure you’re unaware, but you and I have a history, which in time I will remind you of.” Darth Kryak’s voice snarled and rumbled, both threatening and taunting Raith with every syllable. Darth Kryak advanced forward further to look directly into Raith’s eyes, and brought his arm up, resting it just behind Raith’s neck. Curious as to his next action, Raith gave away nothing; no emotion, no response, no reaction. He then felt heat rush through his body, and an insatiable twitching he couldn’t control, then it became intense, a shock running through his body winding him, disabling him, controlling him. Raith grimaced trying to bear the pain and not give the sith the satisfaction he so obviously desire from this. Darth Kryak laughed keenly, “Grimace all you like, you will cave to the pain eventually, and it is then I will have my victory.” Instantly the pain intensified to a point where Raith couldn’t even think straight. ‘Perfect’ is all Raith could register through his head before his mind, thoughts and vision became a blur. “My lord, I don’t think that’s prudent...” The Chiss’s voice trailed off quickly as Darth Kryak shot her a look. This then was followed by a choking sound as the Chiss coughed and spluttered, powerless to Darth Kryak’s outstretched arm choking her. “Let this be your only and final warning,” Darth Kryaks voice growled, before he released his grip and let the Chiss crumple to the floor. Unfazed, the rest of the room looked on, letting whatever might transpire, continue. Relinquishing his use of force lightening, Dark Kryak gave one final look around the room, and satisfied walked out, leaving in his wake two collapsed people, and the other three too terrified to move until they could no longer hear his footsteps echoing down the hall. Regaining her composure, the Chiss stood up, glancing at the now limp hanging body of Raith. She indicated for the two troopers to release Raith and bring him with her to his new holding location. Everything a blur, his body numb and limp, the only sensation he could feel was heavy, heavy and wet from his needs dragging along the damp, cold ferrocrete floor. He gave in to his bodies desires, and closed his eyes to rest.

Thank you, I'm glad you're getting realistic images, I'm trying to go for that to start setting the scene for later. All will be revealed, in the next chapter but I will definitely work on clarity!

Chapter 2 Heat filled the air, not a comforting cosy heat, but a dry exhausting heat. If the heat was not miserable enough by itself, dust and wind collaborating, whipped the heels of a pair of brown leather boots. With his duster fluttering in the wind, and dust encasing his clothes, he watched and waited. Given the conditions, vigilance was especially important, mainly because his target was likely to be the only being moving around in the storm. His timing had been specific, the best time to strike would be during the dust storm, when all his targets focus would be on moving through the storm. His mission was elimination, his target, a sith lord, his methods would be his own. However taking down a sith would be no mean feat, any plan had to be foolproof, if this was to be the case there was no room for doubt at any point, in oneself or one’s methods. The plan itself was relatively simple, keep the sith in the open, use the sandstorm for positional cover and keep out of melee range whilst repositioning and firing. Taken into account was the sith ability to block blaster bolts, and any use of the force to subdue or injure. As such the counterpoints to these where the use of metal projectiles and darts, both to prevent trace of position, as well as making it harder to defend against. The sith kept walking, one foot in front of the other. A footprint forming in the sand and, almost as soon as it formed it was removed by the wind and dust. Lightsaber at their side the broad figure of the black clothed sith cut an imposing figure even in the centre of the storm. The sith himself was a Rattataki, a relatively well established Lord with minor influence and connections within the Empire. As with all sith he had many enemies, but none he suspected had the influence or power as to mount an assault against him. He had been careful. Raith didn’t know the reason for his mission, he had been told his job, told it was part of his assessment for Cipher, no questions asked. It wasn’t wise to ask questions in his line of work. Reasoning brings doubt, doubt limits effectiveness, and in such a high stakes game as he was playing, it was hazardous. Raith paid his thoughts no mind and focused on his target through the thermal imaging scope. The heat signature only slightly stood out from the hot dry wind enveloping him, but it was more than enough to show the figure and where to aim. Almost as if able to predict the future, the sith stopped a pace before where Raith had set his trap and put his hand on the lightsaber on his belt, un-clipping it and directing all attention to the surrounding area. Not daring to even breath, Raith slowly brought his finger over the trigger and his left hands thumb over the button of a remote control. In quick succession he clicked the button, then squeezed the trigger, the result was as desired. The remote was a control for another positioned blaster, which fired its energy bolt off, with Raith’s own projectile rifle firing a slug after. As desired the Sith ignited his lightsaber reflecting the initial bolt, and then cut in half the slug. The heat coming into contact with the slug ignited its contents spewing hot gas into the face of the Rattataki. Coughing and with his visibility only decreasing further, the sith struggled on, expecting a continuation of the attack. He had already pinpointed the direction of both the shots, but given the sandstorm he couldn’t be sure of how many assailants there might be. Again he raised his lightsaber, to block the blaster bolt, it harmlessly being redirecting into the sand. Like a Nexu he lept at the location of the blaster cleanly cleaving the weapon in half and slicing the air where its would-be owner was. Raith levelled his rifle once again at the perplexed sith, and squeezed the trigger. A metal slug shot out the barrel and, as before, was cut in half to release a fine gas spray into the face of the sith. Not waiting to see the success of his shot, Raith once again leapt into action, taking cover behind another rock before training his rifle on the sith. Angry that for a second time he fell for such a simple trick, the Sith vowed to find his assailant as fast as possible. It was obviously from the set up rifle the assailant was cunning, from the direction and spread of the shots it was only one assailant and they were trained. The shots also suggested the preferred proficiency in fighting at range, meaning if he could close the distance to the being he was confident he’d win. Another shot ran out, followed by the fizzling sound the **** made when it came into contact with the Rattataki’s lightsaber. Without hesitation the sith however had jumped in the direction the slug came from and then, through the force could sense a being in front of him. Cursing, Raith realised he’d taken too long to bring down the sith. He brought his rifle to bear and prepared to engage the Sith in what he’d feared, hand to hand combat. The sith gleamed at his fortune; the assailant was equipped with a bolt rifle, had no additional assistance and he could feel the fear emanating off of him meaning he had little confidence against a sith. In one fell swoop, the lightsaber cleaved through Raith’s rifle, leaving it nothing more than a lump of metal. Unrelenting the sith swung around aiming to sever Raith’s head, although unsuccessful in this, he caught Raith’s left arm, sending searing pain throughout his body. Raith didn’t have time to register the pain from the lightsaber, he’d released his grip on the severed rifle and slid his vibroknife out lashing out wildly in an attempt to make the sith back off from his attack. The Sith snarled back at him and retaliated lunging for Raith and successfully piercing his side, cleaving through until the blade was protruding out of his back. Coughing Raith let the blade continue its path toward the sith, tackling him to the ground. The sith laughed believing himself to be successful withdrawing the lightsaber and pushing Raith’s now limp body off of him. Raising his arms with the lightsaber, reading to bring it down through Raith’s chest he smirked, the failure of this person despite the advantages, only showed his own prowess. It was only at that point he felt his leg tense up, admittedly he was rather surprised to see a vibroblade protruding out of it. Luckily for him, the knife wasn’t turned on so it had merely stuck, however on further inspection, the blood flowing from the wound wasn’t red, but dark green. At that point, the tensing up in the leg stopped, and fell completely limp, bringing the sith to his knees. It felt as though there was something travelling through him, through his veins spreading throughout the body, weighing him down. Raith, face down in the sand, struggled to breathe, the wind and dust still whipping his face. Opposite to him, his eyes wandered to the sith, now collapsed on the floor, motionless. Raith could only smile to himself, he’d never thought to be able to beat the sith in melee, but a neuro-toxin tipped vibroblade had done the trick. Still chuckling, his vision slowly faded, as he was left clutching his abdomen, in the storm.

Thank you! Trying to progress things slowly, sorry for slow second release. RL + game updates have been hampering my writing.

Shadows of the Empire Star Wars the Old Republic 8ATC Chapter One Drip, drip, drip. Between that and the raspy breathing there were no other sounds in the room. Not that there needed to be, together they made more than enough noise to fill the small room. The room was dark with nothing but a single light pointing down in the centre of the room, illuminating a person strapped to an upright table. The drips were the persons blood, trickling down their face and clothes to drop with a satisfying sound. The breathing belonged to the very same person, apparently exhausted in his current position. This person was not the only one in the room however, standing beside was a tall human male, the splatters of blood on his fist, showing the apparent interactions within the room. ‘That’s enough,” barked a commanding voice from the shadows. Now stepping into the light another being came into vision, this time female. She was not human, but Chiss, her dark black hair formed in a neat bun behind her. The expression worn on her face almost matched the coldness of the black uniform she wore. Reluctantly the male stepped away, apparently relishing this opportunity to inflict pain. The Chiss her hands to the front presenting herself with a datapad. She began reading off of it; “Raith Durin. Designation Cipher 11. Formerly of Imperial Intelligence. Military Service Medal. Serial number YK11972. Record of uncompromising performance. All in all a dedicated agent, and yet, something feels like its missing.” The man strapped to table breather in as if to respond, but in place of words, only blood found its way out. The tall man made to punch him again, but the Chiss interrupted, “Do you know why you are here?” Raith brought himself up to bear, spat out some more blood and then began, “Mission Designation Optic. If you have everything on me there, you’ll have the report there yourself.” “We have additional questions,” came the stark reply of the Chiss officer. Evidently her patience was being tested from the sound of her nails tapping on the underside of the datapad. “Mission Designation Optic. Name Raith Durin. Designation Cipher 11. Serial number YK11972.” Raith began repeating this line over and over, only silenced by the dumb thud of the tall man’s fist hitting the side of his face. With Raith silenced, the Chiss continued on; “Your mission report suggests you were successful in the elimination of Haemon Alde, well known Republic Sympathiser on Alderaan. Why then does the holonet have him in a sabacc den on a Nar Shadaa pleasure barge?” Smirking slightly, Raith replied, “Twin Brother?” In response to this remark, the dull thud of a fist meeting Raith’s stomach resounded again through the cell. “You failed on your mission, agent. And you don’t fail, so the only conclusion I can draw is that you have some other motive for letting this person live. Given the Republic ties this man has, I can only assume that you came into contact with a republic operative.” Through staggered breaths, a smile crept across Raith’s face. “You know…. Sweetheart…. usually…. When I let… women indulge…in me...like this...they buy me dinner first.” Again, his remark was met with the brute force of the man’s fist standing over him, this time however a satisfying, but muffled ‘splat’ could be heard as blood was sprayed across the floor. “Insolent fool,” the raspy voice of the man finally announced itself, and as if Raith’s comments had enraged him, he kept up his brutal assault of Raith’s face until red was the predominant color showing. “Enough,” came the shrill response of the Chiss. “He’s obliviously not going to talk from you merely trying to prove your physicality. He’s a trained operative, susceptible to very few methods of information extraction. We’ll leave him for the moment I have other plans for him later.” “Fine, but this isn’t over.” The pair prepared to walk out, only to hear another splat sound on the floor. Raith had spat the blood out and managed to catch his breadth. “Come back soon, I’d not want to be lonely in here.” The blond man only growled before following the Chiss out, the cell door giving a satisfying thud to inform Raith of his solitude. “Well I’ve been in worse situations,” commented Raith looking around the room to assess any potential course of action. Physical exhaustion however would be the thing to claim him first and slowly he slumped back on the torture rack his eyes closing as he succumbed to darkness. AN:

It's all a scale of how much you were expecting them to matter. Technically they can matter, cause only certain can be accessed lightside darkside. Your character would change depending on their affinity and choices. All of it is only small scale which I'm happy about. + Companion storylines, when flirting with multiple girls, your choice will matter later

Ok I can think of several small examples where your decisions in game do actually matter, it just depends on the level of influence you think these choices will have. There are several people if you kill them earlier in the storyline, you don't see them later and they don't help you out. In Hammer Station and That first spaceship flashpoint, your choices matter, it changes whether you have to fight more people or not. You guys are expecting huge complete 180 twists from every decision, but do remember this is an mmo, not a solo player game.

Level sync is necessary for the end game alliance content otherwise it would make completing it too easy. I personally don't mind it why is everyone so bothered?

Up at 65 now, and I've got to say my damage output is just poor comparative to my shadow. I keep getting crits but the crits are weak as anything doing maybe 1.5-2k more than my normal abilities (so from a 5k back blast to 7k) I've found im no longer useful in pvp as all my damage can be out-healed far more easily that ever before due to this damage nerf. I'll post further results when I max out my gear but for the moment I'd not take my char on a raid if I was a raid leader

This is exactly what I mean, you hit it spot on. I've heard my guy from back at lvl 1 on Ord Mantell, go through this incredible story, heard and loved my character since the beginning. Since the release of this game I've listened to that voice and thought "yep that's my smuggler". To have it suddenly go mute on me was horrifying.

In all honesty, i'd rather have them as grinding daily like missions, if they were written up in notifications, just like the dailies on makeb, or Ziost or any other place, small readable missions to improve, when I see cinematic I kinda want voice acting, when I see a daily, yeah go for just a small written note. This halfway mix is frustrating as it doesn't allow my character to express himself at all in a situation where he should be able to.

Incorrect, the choices to let people live and die in the new expansion have influenced gameplay at a later time, having run 2 smugglers through this on different paths I can confirm this. I agree there is a lack of influence in the game generally as was first promised, however this latest expansion has been influenced by your decisions.

I disagree, but that is because I'm hugely attached to my character, the cocky american accent fits perfectly for what I would want my smuggler to sound like. The quick snipes and humour constantly flooding cinematics as the smuggler is amazing and you lose that with just text.

Yeah I kinda know what you mean, keep this limited to the alliance system and I won't be too bothered, even if the alliance system is technically a part of the main story. I have yet to see whether it influences companion conversations yet.

Did someone say that it'd be too many conversation's to do? Really? Look at how many they have done so far, almost every quest (except dailies) is Voice acted, all companion interactions are Voice acted, main story, planetary, flashpoint, operation, hell even the battlegrounds have Voice acting. No it's not too much to have suddenly a load of short conversations with a load of different people, not when they've been doing it for quests for so long. This is simply a problem of money and/or time. Please don't keep this up for future patches.