In the year 3653 BBY, a minor battle unfolded at the Liston Spaceport, situated on the world of Coruscant. Jedi Knight Aryn Leneer was in pursuit of Sith Lord Darth Malgus, seeking retribution for Malgus having slain her Master, Ven Zallow, during the Sacking of Coruscant. With the assistance of smuggler Zeerid Korr, she located him, and they initially fought amidst the ruins of the Jedi Temple. That initial fight concluded without a clear victor. Leneer then devised a strategy to draw Malgus out by targeting his lover, Eleena Daru, at the Liston Spaceport. Leneer incapacitated Daru and waited for Malgus to arrive, while Korr escaped the planet aboard a drop ship, engaging in physical conflict with the pilot, the mercenary Vrath Xizor. Malgus appeared and once again fought Leneer, ultimately defeating her with Force lightning. However, feeling indebted to her for revealing his weakness - his affection for Daru - he allowed Leneer to escape. Meanwhile, Korr triumphed over Xizor, and when Xizor threatened Korr's loved ones, Korr ejected him from the drop ship's airlock. Malgus then eliminated Daru to rid himself of his vulnerability, and Korr and Leneer eventually reunited on the planet Dantooine, where they began a life together.
In the year 3681 BBY, the Sith Empire initiated an invasion of the Galactic Republic, thereby triggering the Great Galactic War. However, in 3653 BBY, the Sith proposed peace talks with the Republic. This truce was a deception; during the Alderaan peace conference, the Sith Lord Darth Malgus spearheaded an assault on the Jedi Temple located on the Republic capital, Coruscant. The Sith forces overcame the Jedi and briefly seized control of Coruscant, establishing a blockade around the planet. During this conflict, Malgus killed Jedi Master Ven Zallow. Zallow's former Padawan, Jedi Knight Aryn Leneer, was present at the Peace Conference. Sensing her Master's demise, and overwhelmed by sorrow and rage, she resolved to locate and eliminate Zallow's killer.
Leneer sought out an old acquaintance, the former Republic soldier Zeerid Korr, and sought his assistance in navigating the Imperial blockade surrounding Coruscant. He was already intending to travel to Coruscant to deliver a cargo of engspice, an illicit narcotic, with a payout sufficient for him to retire and provide for his disabled daughter. Their vessel was shot down while attempting to breach the blockade, resulting in the destruction of the spice shipment, although they survived by ejecting from the spacecraft while Leneer employed the Force to decelerate their fall. They then proceeded to the ruins of the Jedi Temple, where they discovered a recording of the attack depicting Malgus killing Zallow. Meanwhile, Malgus traveled to the ruins in a transport, where Leneer confronted and fought him. However, Korr intervened, and fled with Leneer in a speeder.
While scouting around the Liston Spaceport, Korr identified the Twi'lek Eleena Daru, a captive and lover of Malgus who had also participated in the attack on the Temple. Despite Korr's attempts to persuade Leneer to relinquish her desire for revenge and leave the planet with him, she and Korr journeyed to the small spaceport. There, they created a distraction with the help of Zallow's droid T7-O1 and located Daru in one of the aircraft shelters. Simultaneously, Malgus began to worry about his lover and traveled to the spaceport, seeking her out.
Leneer approached Daru, who promptly drew her firearms and began shooting. The Jedi deflected the shots and subdued the Twi'lek. Korr made one final attempt to convince her to leave, and although she had finally overcome her anger, she refused. Korr then attempted to seize control of a nearby transport ship, Razor, and fled. Meanwhile, Malgus arrived and attacked Leneer, and the two fought once more. Simultaneously, the operator of the Razor, the former Imperial marksman Vrath Xizor—who had recently been employed as a private military to prevent Korr from delivering his shipment of spice to Coruscant—found Korr on his ship and confronted him.
Malgus ultimately defeated Leneer with Force lightning, rendering her unconscious. However, he chose not to kill her, instead reasoning that he was simply repaying a debt—she had demonstrated that Daru was a weakness he could not afford. Leneer was surprised by his decision, but she escaped the planet. Korr, meanwhile, overcame Xizor in hand-to-hand combat and held him captive. When Xizor began to threaten Korr's family, however, Korr realized that he could not allow the man to live, and ejected him from the ship's exit hatch. Back on Coruscant, Daru regained consciousness, and Malgus impaled her through the chest with his energy sword, knowing that as long as she lived, she would be a liability for him.
Korr returned to his family on the planet Vulta and took his daughter to Dantooine, where he began a new life as a agriculturalist. Leneer eventually found him there, and agreed to stay there and live with him. Malgus finally engaged his rival, Lord Adraas, in Adraas's manse, killing him.