The subject here says it all. In the "Fractured Alliances" arc following KOTET, Theron Shan "betrays" the Alliance and part of that seems to have involved leaking info to both the Republic & Empire about Iokath and its location and treasures, which in turn was the "spark that lit the fuse" in ultimately rekindling the war formally between the Empire & Republic. Is Theron Shan ultimately responsible for this? Obviously they were already re-arming, but it seems he unwittingly fired the shot that started it.

Needs more spoiler tags, but it's an easy case to justify, although the two sides would have found a way to start it themselves, so I don't think it's fair to *blame* Theron for it. Perhaps just chide him gently for not having thought it through.

Needs more spoiler tags, but it's an easy case to justify, although the two sides would have found a way to start it themselves, so I don't think it's fair to *blame* Theron for it. Perhaps just chide him gently for not having thought it through.

Agree with Steve here. Again it does not take much for two mortal enemies, whether people or factions, to go to war over anything. So I would cut Theron some slack. True he might of just made the start of the war earlier but they still would of gone to war.

Is it said anywhere that it was him leaking the info? I don't remember. As I understood it

Is it said anywhere that it was him leaking the info? I don't remember. As I understood it

the Order of Zildrog lured all three sides to Iokath to cover their tracks while searching for info on Zildrog. Because had they just infiltrated the planet there would have been a chance that the Alliance would have known, considering that they were monitoring Iokath. So they needed a distraction in the form of a clash between the three sides. In that case everything that happened would have come to pass with or without Theron's involvement. He hadn't really proven himself to the Order yet at that time.

Your understanding isn't quite right:

 

 

Edited April 1, 2021 by SteveTheCynic

Your understanding isn't quite right:

 

Theron did it to get in good with the Order in order to get inside and find out what they were up to.

 

He says *to*you* (in the train on Umbara) that it was him, and then tells the Order "masked figure" that he set it all off. Then when you meet up with him again on Nathema, he explains it more fully.

 

You are right of course. I was mostly thinking about

 

The data all factions received was the location of a superweapon. Scouts from the republic saw the empire and vice versa, starting the attack. Both sides went to Iokath without discussing anything with the Alliance out of fear they would be annihilated if the other side got control of the weapon, but no one even understood what it was or even if it would be mobile. I think that is all evidence that tensions were heating up. Story-wise, recall that the Uprisings were the newest repeatable endgame content at the launch of KOTET and before Iokath came out. Many of these Uprisings involve ex-factional military, sometimes even Jedi Masters or Sith Lords. They are disgruntled. Some are conducting military research. Some have even started skirmishes with the other side. I don’t think it’s a stretch to say that more violent conflict was inevitable.

 

In the wake of a “superweapon” of the Eternal Fleet under the control of Valkorion’s children, decimating the galaxy... and then hearing that another, perhaps even worse weapon was found, I can certainly imagine panic among the factional leadership. I’m not blaming the soldiers who tossed the first thermal detonators, but it’s clear Empress Acina and Supreme Commander Malcolm went in with plans/orders to capture the weapon at all costs. Remember that the treaties signed by the Empire and Republic were with Arcann’s Eternal Empire. They both were required to disarm, but this didn’t end the declaration of War between them. More like a cease fire imposed by a more powerful third party, maybe a little like the Gulf War of the 1990s. But as evidenced by conversations with the recruitment missions for M1-4X and Lt. Pierce, both factions were looking for “hard fought victories” against the opposite faction. They needed the victories so someone could take their place as a propaganda tool. Remember that cross-faction pvp warzones wasn’t expanded to all warzones until 5.x, and Odessen Proving Grounds was not in 4.0 launch. Therefore, from a story perspective, the war was still very much going on between Republic and Empire during KOTFE/KOTET.

 

Theron knew A superweapon was there but didn’t know if it was Zildrog or not. Quite honestly, neither did the Order. However, Theron knew that the Order needed something to distract the Galaxy and the Alliance so that they could conduct their search without prying eyes, should the weapon on Iokath turn out not to be Zildrog. I think Theron’s actions probably helped to transition into a more active phase of the war, but from my analysis it was already going on.