Arkos Rakton was a Human male general in the Imperial Army of the reconstituted Sith Empire. Considered the Empire's greatest strategist and most successful battlefield commander, Rakton had led every victorious military campaign in recent memory and, until the Galactic War, had never been defeated. Rakton passionately believed in the Empire's ideals, confident he was fighting a war of enlightenment that would bring order to the corrupt and inferior Galactic Republic. He was well regarded by both peers and subordinates as an outstanding leader.
The destruction of the Gauntlet sparked Rakton's campaign.
After a Republic strike force destroyed the superweapon Gauntlet, Rakton became incensed that his enemies would destroy a weapon meant for "peace". Thus, he declared hostilities with the Republic and launched a campaign against them. The first blow struck was capturing a group of Republic heads of state on a "diplomatic summit" to force their respective planets to allow Imperial forces to bypass their borders and strike at the Republic. While he managed to convince two planetary leaders to cede to the Empire in exchange for being leaders-for-life, Havoc Squad infiltrated Outpost 256 and rescued the hostages. Viewing this rescue via hologram, Rakton swore a vendetta against Havoc Squad.
When the Republic began supplementing their ranks with soldiers from Belsavis and Voss to turn the tide of the war, Rakton made a move to remove the major player from the board. To that end, he set a trap for Havoc Squad, luring them to an Imperial prison station where they attempted to free captive Republic soldiers but Havoc survived the encounter.
As a last resort, Rakton made use of Senator Grom Zian, who was a bought off Imperial agent in the Senate, launching a sham inquiry into Havoc Squad's activities, intending to have Havoc suspended so Rakton would get the upper hand in the war. It would've worked, had not the Republic Strategic Information Service gathered information that proved Zian's Imperial ties so he could be arrested, allowing Havoc to return to the front to face Rakton.
With the aid of Lieutenant Pierce and his black ops team, Rakton took the Bastion, the central Republic military operations center on Corellia and took it as his own fortress. He credited Pierce's Sith master, the new Emperor's Wrath, for the success. However, the Republic, under Havoc Squad's lead, laid siege. Eventually, Rakton came face-to-face with Havoc's CO for the first time. He offered his nemesis the chance to return to the Republic and convince them to surrender unconditionally, boasting to have discovered military files that enable him to wage a war so destructive that it would bring the Republic to its knees. His terms were refused. Rakton declared his nemesis a fool and promised to send the CO's corpse back to the Republic to cow them into submission. Rakton then activated his cloaking device, leaving his elite guard to kill the CO. He then decloaked when his guards were killed. After a long battle, Rakton, the supposedly unbeatable general, was defeated. Wounded, Rakton insolently asked what would be his fate: execution or be paraded before the ignorant Republic masses. The CO declared Rakton an official prisoner-of-war. Rakton sneered that he would only face a mockery of justice. As he was escorted out by the Safecrackers, Rakton said "until we meet again Major", indicating that he would be back. Shortly thereafter, Supreme Chancellor Leontyne Saresh expressed her will to bargain with the Empire in hopes of exchanging Rakton for thousands of Republic prisoners.
Despite the calm he projected as a commander, Rakton was still a soldier at heart—a killer in the trenches who had never shied away from getting his hands dirty. However, the general always reserved his warrior's rage for enemy soldiers. Men under his command who harmed civilians were always harshly disciplined.
Rakton truly believed in the Empire's cause. He viewed the Republic as weak, bound to be crushed under the weight of its own decadence or the Empire's hand. He believed that under Imperial rule, the galaxy would flourish, rather than be burdened by bureaucracy. This contempt extended to the Republic's military leaders; when he and the leader of Havoc squad finally met face to face in the Bastion, he called the Major "the one worthy opponent in the entire Republic"; despite this respect, he was disappointed in the Major for standing in his way.
Arkos Rakton is a character in the 2011 Star Wars: The Old Republic video game. He is voiced by Timothy Watson.
Depending on the Trooper player's choices, Rakton can either be taken into custody and paraded in front of the entire Republic, or simply executed. If taken alive, Supreme Chancellor Saresh will suggest that they trade Rakton for countless prisoners of war. The player can either agree to this or not.
- Star Wars: The Old Republic Encyclopedia