So it seems that post-Echoes of Oblivion and having recently playing the "Secrets of the Enclave" Flashpoint, there are a number of ongoing conflicts and sub-plots so far. Here is what seems to be happening, based on the briefing "Conflicting Priorities" mission and here are my theories going forward:

 

1) Post-Valkorion Paranoia (Vaylin?): Lana and the Force Enclave in the Alliance are repeatedly saying, through both messages and in-person at the briefing, that they're continually keeping watchful eye for Valkorion's influence and are "confident" that he's gone but still want to make sure. I got a message from Senya after Echoes of Oblivion making it clear that Vaylin wasn't one with the Force and would "never really be at peace" unlike the others who defeated Tenebrae/Vitiate/Valkorion. I also got another message from Satele saying Syl, one of her students thought to be dead, later "miraculously" showed up alive. Like many people, I am believe this is referring to the redhead who appeared dead before on the ship and that Vaylin is either using her body or possessing her. If Valkorion is truly gone, this means Vaylin has no reason to help the Outlander and could still be resentful and out for revenge due to the Outlander having ended her life.

2) Resurrected Malgus: In the recent "Secrets of the Enclave" flashpoint, we see a "vision" of Malgus telling us that he had "broken his chains," Most of us assume this means he broke free of the Empire's control over him. However, I actually have another theory that could be of interest--since KOTOR II ended in the Dantooine Enclave with Kreia draining the Force from the Jedi Council, perhaps Malgus found a way to "wound" or subvert or overcome the actual will of the Force itself like Kreia hoped to do and there was something left behind there that he used to do it or he fed off of lingering effects of what she did.

3) Mandalorian Civil War: Perhaps Field Marshal Kol is more than she appears. I believe she either has connections to Malgus or someone like Darth Jadus who's manipulating things from the shadows. In either case, she and her renegade Mandalorians are being backed up by a third party trying to manipulate things. Mandalorians have been manipulated via espionage before (i.e., the Mandalorian Wars were orchestrated by a puppet leader whom Imperial Intelligence installed before so someone else could be doing something similar)

4) Additional "Assets": it seems like the Alliance is now running short on personnel and from what Lana says, Zenith is the first of a series of "assets" a.k.a. characters or companions the Alliance is hoping to recruit. A number of people think Zenith is just a temporary companion for most people but from her wording, she said, "We already employ a number of incredibly-skilled and resourceful individuals who could likely handle these requests, alone or in small teams. Additionally between my contacts and Theron's, there are a number of outside assets we could recruit to fulfill our allies' needs. As we've done before, if those assets prove useful, we can bring them into the fold officially. A sort of field test, if you will." That sounds like it's alluding to a series of Alliance Alerts or possibly a series of "recruitment" missions similar to the Star Fortress. Zenith was one of the last comps who we hadn't gotten via Alliance Alert, however. What other companions should we expect from this then?

 

Please share your thoughts

Edited May 1, 2021 by EAFSAMWISE

1. I wouldn't have thought I'd say this, but I'm actually quite interested to see where this goes. There's definitely some loose threads from Echoes relating to Vitiate's family.

 

It think it's pretty clear that Vaylin has some sort of scheme for revenge. Now that Tenebrae is dead, she's presumably going to go after the Outlander now. I'm almost certain that she's possessed the body of Satele's student.

 

One big factor in this whole storyline is what role Senya and Arcann will play in the whole thing. If they're alive they will presumably be Vaylin's main targets. But if they are dead, it's implied they still seek revenge on the Outlander too. It's possible they'll try to join Vaylin in her revenge.

 

2. I don't think his storyline has anything to do with that weird wound in the Force stuff that Kriea was rambling about in Kotor 2. I think that would make him too much like Vitiate, anyway.

 

One thing that I did wonder about was the emphasis both sides put on the history of the unethical practices at the Jedi Enclave during the Jedi Civil War. Maybe Malgus plan involves repeating them?

 

3. I actually thought the same about the Mandalorian Civil War, even down to wondering if Darth Jadus was secretly behind it. Mandalorians seem like small fries compared to the type of plans that Jadus gets involved in, though. If he's involved, it would only make sense that he'd have a larger agenda.

 

4. I expect this to be mostly about introducing new characters.

1. I wouldn't have thought I'd say this, but I'm actually quite interested to see where this goes. There's definitely some loose threads from Echoes relating to Vitiate's family.

 

It think it's pretty clear that Vaylin has some sort of scheme for revenge. Now that Tenebrae is dead, she's presumably going to go after the Outlander now. I'm almost certain that she's possessed the body of Satele's student.

 

One big factor in this whole storyline is what role Senya and Arcann will play in the whole thing. If they're alive they will presumably be Vaylin's main targets. But if they are dead, it's implied they still seek revenge on the Outlander too. It's possible they'll try to join Vaylin in her revenge.

 

2. I don't think his storyline has anything to do with that weird wound in the Force stuff that Kriea was rambling about in Kotor 2. I think that would make him too much like Vitiate, anyway.

 

One thing that I did wonder about was the emphasis both sides put on the history of the unethical practices at the Jedi Enclave during the Jedi Civil War. Maybe Malgus plan involves repeating them?

 

3. I actually thought the same about the Mandalorian Civil War, even down to wondering if Darth Jadus was secretly behind it. Mandalorians seem like small fries compared to the type of plans that Jadus gets involved in, though. If he's involved, it would only make sense that he'd have a larger agenda.

 

4. I expect this to be mostly about introducing new characters.

 

 

I expect all Consular companions back, even if some are not so popular. And yes, i expect more interaction with the newly introduced characters , Rass/ Jekiah Ordo for BH, Arn for JC/JK and Rivix/Krovos for SI/SW. And no more weird recruitment of companions from other classes, for example i do not understand WHY exactly did my BH had to save Satele and then be stucked forever with the Carsen person ( remember the last target in the Great Hunt, a Jedi? why the kriff would i want to recruit a Jedi?? Doesn't make sense at all!

I just hope those who chose to sabotage their side get to do more. I only sabotaged the imperial side and it seemed to stop after the graul fight. I hope we get to do more like betray Rivix or Krovos. Personally I would not mind killing Rivix and making Krovos side with Malgus. I am pretty sure Malgus knows we have betrayed the empire and maybe that is one of the reasons he acts the way he does. I wanted to betray Malgus back on Ossus and kill him back there or even on Corellia. I am not sure where things are headed, but as an imperial who is sabotaging the empire, I hope I can eventually be accepted by the republic. Of course I understand I might lose some companions in the process, but that does not bother me at all. It seems once you became the outlander the republic and empire made mistakes in dealing with your companions and caused them to lose trust in their original side (for the most part).

Krovos' letter points out how the Empire failed Malgus, not the other way around.

 

I *really* hope Imperial players can bring Malgus back to the fold. With Marr gone he's one of the few older leaders left and it would be a shame to lose him.