A darker shade of black ...
I've been playing Star Wars: The Old Republic for some time now. It was quite fun rampaging around as a (literally) power hungry Sith Inquisitor, then as a wise-cracking Smuggler after a legendary treasure. Storywise, however, nothing really stood out. Then I created an Imperial Agent. After manipulating the Hutts into siding with the Empire and then dealing with the terrorist Eagle, I was sent to infiltrate the Republic Strategic Information Service (SIS) as an Imperial defector. I was already planning to use the catastrophic Eradicator crisis as a cover when the SIS team leader, Ardun Kothe, uttered a control code and turned everything upside down.
It was the highlight, and turning point, of the Agent storyline. I tore through the rest of it, helped along by the 12x class XP bonus. Questions came thick and fast. Who had managed to implant the control code, and later, who leaked it to the Republic? As a defector, do I play it "I would have done it anyway" or "I'll get you for this in the end". Interestingly, I found out later that this can factor into the possible endings available. The morality also fascinated me. Who do I hate, the Empire for implanting the code, or the Republic for using it? And by a former Jedi, no less! Throughout my time with the SIS team, I was constantly reminded of the control they had over the Agent. The team leader, the recruiter, the tech guy, all used the code to ensure compliance. I still played earnest defector, helping out of my own accord while plotting the day the Agent would get his teeth around Kothe's throat.
When all was said and done and the Agent had broken free of his programming, there were further revelations. That by going up against (the albeit crazy) Darth Jadus, the Sith were concerned that an Agent dared oppose them and wanted him put down. To save the Agent, the director of Intelligence had the control code implanted to prevent him opposing the Sith again. This reveal brought into sharp focus the issue of loyalty. Who was the Agent loyal to, Imperial Intelligence, the Sith, the Empire? From the beginning, there had been hints that Intelligence and the Sith did not really get along. From a rampaging Sith interfering with the Hutt mission, to genocidal Darth Jadus, to the Sith wanting to put down the Agent because they feared he would oppose them.
The final act involved the Agent chasing down the group that leaked the control code to the Republic, revealing them to be a cabal manipulating galactic events from the shadows. The group leaked further secrets, resulting in old missions coming back to haunt the Agent: a vengeful scion of House Cortess, an angry Hutt whose industrial interests had been sabotaged. It was at this point that I realized the danger of exposure: if the Agent was ever revealed to be the one who activated the Eradicators, he wouldn't survive past 24 hours.
A throwaway line from the Voss healing quest solidified my ideas of the Agent's loyalties. Picked up off the streets by Intelligence and trained as an operative, the Agent was loyal to the goals of Intelligence and the good of the Empire. Indeed, most of my Light Side points came from recruiting foes to the Empire's cause instead of killing them. The Sith I saw as capricious, ignored for the most part, but not openly opposed if they got in the way. So in the end, the Agent hunted down the cabal, who were manipulating events to pit Empire and Republic against each other in order to eliminate both Sith and Jedi. Eliminating the cabal's inner circle, the Agent took possession of the cabal's secrets, the Black Codex. Instead of turning it over to the Sith (they wouldn't know how to use it effectively), the Agent used the information to disappear, to work as a ghost in the name of the Empire.
This is definitely the class story that made me question my every move and motive, and a fantastic attempt to engage the player with the side that is typically portrayed as the villain. Actually, I think this would be ideal fodder for Bioware to flesh out as a full fledged single player game in line with their Knights of the Old Republic RPGs. I'd certainly be happy to play that game if it ever came out.
It was the highlight, and turning point, of the Agent storyline. I tore through the rest of it, helped along by the 12x class XP bonus. Questions came thick and fast. Who had managed to implant the control code, and later, who leaked it to the Republic? As a defector, do I play it "I would have done it anyway" or "I'll get you for this in the end". Interestingly, I found out later that this can factor into the possible endings available. The morality also fascinated me. Who do I hate, the Empire for implanting the code, or the Republic for using it? And by a former Jedi, no less! Throughout my time with the SIS team, I was constantly reminded of the control they had over the Agent. The team leader, the recruiter, the tech guy, all used the code to ensure compliance. I still played earnest defector, helping out of my own accord while plotting the day the Agent would get his teeth around Kothe's throat.
When all was said and done and the Agent had broken free of his programming, there were further revelations. That by going up against (the albeit crazy) Darth Jadus, the Sith were concerned that an Agent dared oppose them and wanted him put down. To save the Agent, the director of Intelligence had the control code implanted to prevent him opposing the Sith again. This reveal brought into sharp focus the issue of loyalty. Who was the Agent loyal to, Imperial Intelligence, the Sith, the Empire? From the beginning, there had been hints that Intelligence and the Sith did not really get along. From a rampaging Sith interfering with the Hutt mission, to genocidal Darth Jadus, to the Sith wanting to put down the Agent because they feared he would oppose them.
The final act involved the Agent chasing down the group that leaked the control code to the Republic, revealing them to be a cabal manipulating galactic events from the shadows. The group leaked further secrets, resulting in old missions coming back to haunt the Agent: a vengeful scion of House Cortess, an angry Hutt whose industrial interests had been sabotaged. It was at this point that I realized the danger of exposure: if the Agent was ever revealed to be the one who activated the Eradicators, he wouldn't survive past 24 hours.
A throwaway line from the Voss healing quest solidified my ideas of the Agent's loyalties. Picked up off the streets by Intelligence and trained as an operative, the Agent was loyal to the goals of Intelligence and the good of the Empire. Indeed, most of my Light Side points came from recruiting foes to the Empire's cause instead of killing them. The Sith I saw as capricious, ignored for the most part, but not openly opposed if they got in the way. So in the end, the Agent hunted down the cabal, who were manipulating events to pit Empire and Republic against each other in order to eliminate both Sith and Jedi. Eliminating the cabal's inner circle, the Agent took possession of the cabal's secrets, the Black Codex. Instead of turning it over to the Sith (they wouldn't know how to use it effectively), the Agent used the information to disappear, to work as a ghost in the name of the Empire.
This is definitely the class story that made me question my every move and motive, and a fantastic attempt to engage the player with the side that is typically portrayed as the villain. Actually, I think this would be ideal fodder for Bioware to flesh out as a full fledged single player game in line with their Knights of the Old Republic RPGs. I'd certainly be happy to play that game if it ever came out.