Order of Zildrog campaign

Around the year 3630 BBY, the war against Zakuul reached its conclusion when the Eternal Alliance overthrew the Eternal Empire and seized control of its military resources, most notably the Eternal Throne, which governed the Eternal Fleet. This transformation elevated what began as a small-scale rebellion into a major galactic power, rivaling the Galactic Republic and the Sith Empire, both of which began preparing for a renewed large-scale conflict between them. Following the conquest, Vinn Atrius, a former member of Empress Vaylin's Horizon Guard, witnessed the suffering of his people and the devastating impact of the war, leading him to harbor resentment towards the Alliance and its Commander, who had brought Zakuul's centuries of prosperity to an end.

Determined to dismantle the Alliance and avenge his people, Atrius began scouring the GEMINI network for the means to achieve his goal. While examining data the Eternal Empire had obtained on Iokath, he encountered mentions of Zildrog, an ancient dragon deity from Zakuulan legends. The data suggested that Zildrog was, in fact, an Iokath superweapon with the potential to obliterate entire civilizations. Atrius then embarked on a quest to locate, awaken, and control Zildrog. He established a clandestine Order of Zildrog to further his objectives and set up a base of operations at an abandoned listening post, where he was soon approached by GEMINI 16, a rogue unit that offered to share information about Zildrog in exchange for the destruction of the Eternal Fleet. GEMINI 16 gained access to the security systems of the Alliance base on Odessen, enabling the Order to monitor and record the Alliance's every move for months to come.

Atrius initiated his plan by indirectly assessing the Alliance's strength. He funded small groups of criminals and political defectors throughout the galaxy, fueling them with fabricated anti-Alliance propaganda. Former Zakuul Battalion Commander Tassar, around whom a zealous cult had formed, received assistance in intercepting an Alliance transport carrying samples for Doctor Juvard Illip Oggurobb. This allowed Tassar to discover Rakata Prime and the technology of the Infinite Empire, which she then used to reactivate the Star Fortress program, enhancing it with Rakatan self-repairing technology to create indestructible battle stations. A small Dust Vipers gang operating on Tatooine was provided with intelligence that enabled them to successfully intercept an Alliance patrol vessel and steal security data from the Alliance base. A moderately successful bounty hunter, Elarea Aldraste, received assistance in convincing a disparate group of Wild Space's most notorious villains to unite under the Crimson Fang organization and seize control of Port Nowhere, with plans to use the station as a base for anti-Alliance operations. A mid-level White Maw thug, Droub, was given help to strengthen his position within the gang and eliminate potential rivals, establishing a smelting operation in the Firefrost Lavaworks on Hoth, a large-scale operation that he lacked the ambition and intelligence to undertake on his own.

Jedi Master Adelade received anonymous precise coordinates that were purported to lead to one of the Force's greatest mysteries but instead led to Gethul, an ancient entity hibernating beneath the surface of Makeb. Upon arrival, Adelade and her team fell under the influence of the monstrosity, forming the Cult of Gethul and plotting to fully awaken the creature. Republic General Amos Rike led a group of loyalists to displace the Alliance forces on Denova and seize control of the Denovan Baradium Mines, with their actions aided by conspirators within the Republic Military. Coruscant Security Force Commander Kallin, an outspoken critic of the Alliance, was provided with a plan for a false-flag operation, intending to bomb the Senate Tower and frame the Alliance for the attack.

A group of slicers altered a vast amount of data to fraudulently obtain funding from a Republic endowment for Doctor Alirra Semhess's work on experimental adrenals, while Doctor Rahser Poth received encrypted communications from an anonymous scientist that allowed him to develop RAK-5 serum. Renegade Sith Lords Adacin and Zanisk were able to establish a base in the former Separatist stronghold on Ord Mantell and began attacking systems that had declared their allegiance to the Alliance, an aggression that seemed illogical given their earlier caution and foresight. Major Korven of the Imperial Intelligence, ostracized for using methods deemed too extreme even by Sith standards, emerged as the leader of a rogue faction of Sith defectors operating on the Vanguard Station, who began targeting and destroying nearby Alliance outposts. In all instances, the Order of Zildrog concealed its tracks by using multiple front companies based in the Outer Rim and transmitting information via a unique encrypted algorithm. The Alliance was able to react promptly and neutralize these emerging threats, discerning that they were orchestrated from a single source, but remained unable to trace anything back to the Order of Zildrog, whose existence remained unknown to them for many months.

Theron Shan, one of the original founders of the Alliance, eventually caught wind of rumors about the Order of Zildrog through his underworld contacts established during his time with the Republic Strategic Information Service. Unable to share his findings with anyone due to GEMINI 16's surveillance, he independently searched for the Order for months, eventually contacting Vinn Atrius under the pretense of wanting to join the Order and dismantle the Alliance. Atrius refused to listen to Shan, which prompted Theron to set a trap for the Alliance Commander to demonstrate his loyalty. Working independently, Theron leaked the location of the Old Gods on Iokath to the Eternal Alliance, the Sith Empire, and the Galactic Republic simultaneously.

All three factions expressed interest in the anonymous data and dispatched teams to secure the superweapon, led by Lana Beniko, Supreme Commander Jace Malcom, and Sith Empress Darth Acina, respectively. All three parties converged on the superweapon around the same time, and fighting broke out, although Beniko and her team managed to evade detection and retreat to Fleet Spire, where they established a foothold. Lana informed Theron and the Commander of this development, and the two of them traveled to the Iokath system at the head of the Eternal Fleet. When the Eternal Fleet emerged from hyperspace, the Imperial and Republic fleets had not yet engaged each other. A signal from the planet's surface severed the connection between the Eternal Throne and the Eternal Fleet warships, leaving the Fleet dormant while the Commander and Theron proceeded towards the surface in a Zakuul starfighter.

Meanwhile, Lana had apprehended Republic Captain Elara Dorne and Imperial Major Malavai Quinn, who had been sent by their respective superiors to negotiate with the Alliance. Both sides presented their claims to the superweapon and urged the Commander to ally with them against their opposition. The Commander chose to ally with the Republic, prompting the Empire to immediately launch a retaliatory strike, marking the beginning of the War on Iokath. While Theron and the Commander ventured into a nearby weapons cache to retrieve Iokath weapons, Lana discovered that the Republic's information matched the Alliance's data and concluded that an external party was manipulating events. Since the Eternal Throne's control over the Eternal Fleet could only be sabotaged by an Alliance member, she rightly suspected a traitor within their ranks.

Simultaneously, the Imperials used the schematics to engineer a backdoor access to the superweapon and contacted the Alliance, taunting them about their inevitable victory. The Commander and Theron moved to prevent the superweapon's activation but were too late, and Empress Acina activated the throne, awakening the Six Gods. The resulting energy surge killed her but also disabled the signal that had kept the Eternal Fleet ships in lockdown. The Commander rushed toward the superweapon complex while Theron stayed behind to delay the full activation of the superweapon. Inside the complex, the Commander assumed another throne and confronted Tyth, the first of the Six Gods, who revealed the traitor's existence just as a member of the Order sabotaged the throne. Stunned by the pain, the Commander ordered the Eternal Fleet ships to fire on the giant droid, knocking Tyth out of commission for a time. The Commander was taken back to the Fleet Spire to recover, where they discussed with Lana and Theron the best way to locate the traitor in their ranks and buy them time to destroy the remaining Gods.

Following the events on Iokath, Theron Shan re-established contact with Vinn Atrius, emphasizing that his contributions were essential to the Order's success. Atrius remained skeptical of Shan, pointing out that the events on Iokath had secured a powerful ally for the Alliance, depriving the Order of Zildrog of their support. Shan feigned understanding and requested an opportunity to prove his loyalty, for which Atrius tasked him with securing a shipment of adegan crystals from Umbara. The crystals were being transported on a hovertrain heading to the Umbara capital city and were guarded by Umbaran soldiers and Shadow Assassins.

Theron arranged for a transmission from the train to be sent using the same encryption algorithm that had been used on Iokath, alerting Alliance Intelligence to the traitor's location. Lana, Theron, and the Commander traveled to Umbara and boarded the train to intercept and apprehend the traitor. After overcoming the opposition, the three reached the empty cockpit of the train, where, to their shock, Theron revealed himself as the traitor. He fired a shot at the Commander, which struck Lana, and another at the control panel, activating a force field that trapped Lana and the Commander inside the cabin.

Theron then revealed his fabricated motivation, claiming that he sought the Alliance's downfall since the death of Valkorion in order to finally bring peace to the galaxy. After saying his goodbyes, Theron detonated several train rings, causing the train to collide with a nearby mountain range, while he escaped on a speeder bike. The Commander and Lana bailed out before the crash and chased after him on foot, but Theron had the support of the Umbarans and managed to secure a large portion of the adegan crystals shipment, loading it onto his shuttle. The Commander and Lana caught up with Theron just as his shuttle took off, leaving them empty-handed. Upon their return to Odessen, the Commander broadcasted a message to Theron across the HoloNet, while Lana set about using every resource at her disposal to locate his whereabouts.

Impressed by his commitment to their cause, Atrius and the others decided to welcome Theron Shan into the Order of Zildrog. Utilizing his unique infiltration abilities, he was tasked with locating a holomap containing the coordinates to Zildrog's location, although GEMINI 16 cautioned Atrius against trusting Shan. Theron received specifications from GEMINI and passed them on to Pova, a spy operating on Nar Shaddaa. For a significant fee, Pova was able to match the specs to a device that Chiss agents had stolen from the Sith Emperor decades earlier as collateral in case their deal with the Empire went sour.

The team was led by a Chiss Expansionary Defense Force member of House Inrokini, whose granddaughter Zenta now held the position of Syndic of the House. Zenta resided on Copero, and Pova visited one of the planet's resorts to confirm the readings from several kilometers away. With his lead secured, Theron traveled to Copero and convinced Zenta to provide him with refuge in exchange for providing her with Alliance secrets. Zenta's brother, Valss, was Force-sensitive and experienced a vision of Shan's victory, leading him and several of Zenta's best fighters to join him. Theron then hacked into Zenta's personal datapad to uncover the map's location in the ancient ruins and abandoned the Syndic.

At the same time, his presence on Copero became known to Aristocra Saganu of the Chiss Expansionary Defense Force, who declared Zenta a rogue for harboring the traitor. Unable to act on this information for fear of igniting a political conflict, Saganu personally traveled to Odessen to reveal his knowledge to Lana Beniko and the Alliance Commander, requesting that the Alliance quietly deal with the traitor, sending Human Ensign Raina Temple along to monitor the interests of the Chiss Ascendancy. Saganu personally delivered Temple and the Commander to Copero, where they battled Zenta's soldiers and eventually apprehended the Syndic herself. Defeated, Zenta explained that she had been duped by Shan just like the others and revealed to the Alliance that he had joined a group searching for a powerful superweapon, providing them with the map's coordinates so that they could stop him.

The Commander and Temple rushed to Zenta's coordinates, but by the time they arrived, Theron and Valss had already obtained the information they sought and destroyed the holomap. Valss stayed behind to buy the others time and was killed, while Theron escaped in a Zakuulan shuttle. However, the Alliance recovered the remains of the holomap, and Lana put her best engineers to work reassembling it. Meanwhile, Theron transmitted the coordinates to Atrius, intentionally leaving the channel open so that the Alliance could intercept their conversation and learn of the Order's existence.

Using the map information, the Order discovered that Zildrog was located on Nathema, a world to which the Force had returned following Valkorion's death. The Order relocated its base of operations there, taking everything they could from the listening post with them and tasking Theron with wiping all data and destroying the rest. However, now ready to spring his trap, Theron left encrypted backups of the data and leaked a message containing the word "Zildrog" to the Alliance, prompting the Commander and Lana to investigate personally. Making their way aboard the abandoned listening post, Lana and the Commander watched the holomessages that revealed the Order's key figures and their motivations.

The last data input before they arrived held coordinates for Nathema. This data was encrypted using a unique method, a collaborative effort between Theron and Lana during the Revanite crisis on Rishi. After the self-destruct mechanism was triggered, causing the station's complete destruction, Lana and the Commander escaped. They returned to Odessen just as the Copero holomap's restoration was complete, validating Theron's intelligence. To halt the Order, Lana and the Commander ventured to Nathema, while Hylo Visz readied the Eternal Fleet in Odessen's orbit, prepared for deployment if necessary. Simultaneously, within the ruins of an ancient Sith Temple, the Order, aided by allies seeking personal revenge against the Commander, excavated Zildrog.

As Lana and the Commander fought Nathema Zealots, Theron detached himself from the Order and met them at the agreed-upon coordinates. There, he revealed his true motives and sought their understanding and forgiveness. The trio then hurried to prevent the Order's plans, but GEMINI 16 detected their presence and initiated the ritual to prematurely awaken Zildrog. Concurrently, another Order member dispatched an Ancient Guardian Droid to intercept the Alliance. The GEMINI units deceived and betrayed some of their allies, confining them in energy transfer chambers to power Zildrog's awakening. After overcoming the droid, the Alliance reached Zildrog's location, and Theron immediately shot Atrius. GEMINI 16 then ensnared the three within a force field, revealing that Zildrog had already been awakened. Utilizing its connection to the Dark Sanctuary, Zildrog remotely commandeered the Gravestone, which was stationed on Odessen.

With the crew evacuating via escape pods, Zildrog piloted the Gravestone into Odessen's orbit. It then commenced a relentless barrage of the omnicannon against the Eternal Fleet, which remained vulnerable due to the absence of commands from the Eternal Throne. Hylo Visz contacted the Commander, Lana, and Theron, informing them of the situation. They were powerless to stop Zildrog from annihilating the Eternal Fleet. Zildrog then turned its attention to Odessen, initiating a recharge sequence before its next assault. This action deactivated the force field, forcing GEMINI 16 to directly confront the Alliance. Lana, Theron, and the Commander fought and destroyed the GEMINI droid. Theron attempted to deactivate Zildrog, but Vinn Atrius suddenly stabbed him in the back with a lightsaber pike. Driven by vengeance, Atrius commanded Zildrog to amplify his power, after which he attacked Lana and the Commander with newfound strength. The pair defeated Atrius and destroyed Zildrog, but this final act triggered the Gravestone's self-destruction and disabled the Eternal Throne. The Commander decided Atrius' fate while Lana tended to Theron's injuries, determining that he required immediate medical attention on Odessen.

Hylo Visz dispatched a shuttle to retrieve them. Upon returning to Odessen, Lana reported to the Commander that Odessen had sustained minimal damage with no Alliance personnel casualties. However, the Gravestone and the Eternal Fleet, two of the Eternal Alliance's most potent assets, were lost. This eliminated the Alliance's advantage over the Republic and the Sith Empire, who intensified their preparations for renewed open conflict. Furthermore, with the Eternal Alliance's original objective of overthrowing the Eternal Empire achieved, many members chose to depart and rejoin their respective factions.

Although the factions associated with the Order of Zildrog issued formal apologies, this event demonstrated the Eternal Alliance's vulnerability. This led Lana and the Commander to explore potential alliances for the upcoming conflict. The Order failed to destroy the Alliance, assassinate its Commander, or devastate Odessen, but it inflicted a significant setback. Vinn Atrius' actions also directly resulted in the destruction of several Iokath superweapons, which Vitiate had utilized to establish Zakuul's technological dominance. Zildrog, the Eternal Fleet, the Gravestone, the Eternal Throne, and every GEMINI droid were destroyed in a single day, causing a rapid shift in the balance of power. The new ruling council of Zakuul also seized this opportunity to secede from both the Alliance and its former colonies, establishing itself as an independent world.

The campaign orchestrated by the Order of Zildrog constitutes a storyline within Star Wars: The Old Republic, spanning from the conclusion of the Knights of the Eternal Throne expansion to Update 5.9. However, the involvement of key individuals and their underlying motivations remain concealed until the very end. Initial hints of a new unified threat emerge in the Codex entries linked to the Uprisings, with confirmation arriving during the return to Iokath in Update 5.2. The arc concerning Theron Shan's apparent betrayal unfolds across the "Crisis on Umbara," "A Traitor Among the Chiss," and "The Nathema Conspiracy" flashpoints. Following Zildrog's destruction, players can opt to imprison Vinn Atrius or return him to Zakuul for judgment by his own people, earning Light Side points, or execute him on the spot for Dark Side points. Subsequently, players must choose between abandoning Theron Shan to his fate for Dark Side points or ensuring his return to Odessen for healing, earning Light Side points. In the latter scenario, a neutral choice follows, allowing players to either welcome Theron back into the Alliance or permanently exile him.