Merkory Chal'wala

Merkory Chal'wala, later Darth Vires, was a Zabrak, born on the planet of Iridonia a few years before the outbreak of the Mandalorian War. He was born to a very rich and powerful family on Iridonia, the family of Chal'wala, and he was born into wealth and power. But, when the Mandalorian War started, his city and home was destroyed, and, when the Mandalorians controlled Iridonia, he lost all his family, in one way or another, to the Mandalorians. Yet, despite all this, he harbored no ill towards them, as Kootha Jor saw when he discovered Merkory on Iridonia. He was taken to become a Jedi, and trained under the Jedi Master Eldorio.

During his training, he fell in love with a fellow pupil, Yuthura Ban, but, after a short while, she tearfully ended their relationship, saying that it was too dangerous, as she feared expulsion. This caused Merkory to leave the Jedi order, and start work as a bounty hunter, for the exchange, on Taris. He worked for the Exchange for a while, before one of his targets led him to Lehon. On Lehon, he discovered the Temple of the Ancients, and, upon entering it, discovered a fallen Jedi inside. The fallen Jedi recognized him, and told him how it was the Jedi's laws that had caused Yuthura to leave him, and, therefore, there fault. He agreed, before killing him, and joining the Sith Academy on Korriban.

After his training, he ruined the academy, before traveling to join the Brotherhood of Darkness on  He joined the Brotherhood, and, after his training, started hunting Jedi from the Dantooine enclave. After he couldn't kill his master, he traveled again to Lehon, to hone his skills. On Lehon, he discovered a young Rakata, Lorcrim, who he took as his apprentice, before using the Rakata as an army. Using his army, he attacked the unsuspecting Republic, conquering many worlds before they finally fought back. He was redeemed by his daughter, Terpi, in the Battle of Nodraxa, before being killed by his former apprentice in the Battle of Korriban.

Early life
"Mission status?" "I found a young Force-sensitive! Name of Merkory Chal'wala!"

- Kootha Jor making his report to the Jedi council.

Merkory Chal'wala was a Zabrak, born on the planet of Iridonia, a planet in the Mid Rim, in the capital city of Malidris. He was a high born son of the bloodline of Chal'wala, a rich and influential family in Malidris. His father worked as the Zabraki representative in the Galactic Senate on Coruscant, and his mother was a designer and collector of Zabraki art, having amassed a collection of over 2,310 pieces of art, with an overall value of 93,014,786 Republic credits.

Merkory attended the Zabraki School for Economically developed and advanced families, the most expensive, and best, school on the planet of Iridonia, just as his two older brothers had before him. His oldest brother, Morwoworor, was in the Senate, just like his father, and his other brother was in the Republic Navy, so Merkory was the only one of his brothers residentially living at home. Living in the shadow of his older brothers was hard for Merkory as he was growing up, but having them away from home helped a lot.

At the age of twelve, news arrived that his oldest brother, Moroworor, had been killed in a diplomatic mission to to negotiate peace talks with the Mandalorians. His ship had been shot down by Mandalorian War fanatics, just outside of their sector. Reports showed that war was now inevitable, and that the Mandalorians would soon attack. Yet the Zabrak's believed themselves to be above attack, and that the Mandalorians would gain nothing by conquering them, so the order to evacuate the planet was never given. What they didn't realize was that the Mandalorians were only doing it for honor, so they were not immune to attack.

When the Mandalorians attacked, they hit an unguarded planet, and Iridonia soon fell into the hands of the Mandalorians. His father was killed in the aerial assault, as the Mandalorians pulverized the planet with heavy fire first, destroying large sections of Malidris. Merkory was now on a Mandalorian controlled planet, and therefore had to comply by Mandalorian laws. He was instantly assigned to a position as a distributor of food in the various shelters in Malidris. His mother was working in the destroyed sections of Malidris, and when the Republic forces finally confronted the Mandalorians above Iridonia, in the First Battle of Iridonia, the various projectiles ad blasts from the battle above wiped out a large portion of the city, Merkory's mother, like so many others, was killed, just before the battle ended.

It was then that Iridonia swapped hands, with the Republic winning a key battle overhead and taking control of the planet. Many Jedi, including Kootha Jor, were dispatched to Iridonia as a garrison, but also to help the Zabrak's and, unofficially, to search for force sensitive's. Wandering the streets, grieving for his lost family, Merkory encountered Kootha Jor and his small group of Jedi. Jor instantly saw the force sensitivity in him, and took him to one side, to speak to him. Merkory thought that he was just another Republic soldier, albeit a nosy one, who was interested in him. Jor quizzed him on all aspects of his life, focusing on the grief that he felt for his parent’s death.

When Jor found out that he didn't feel any lust for revenge on the Mandalorians, he told him about his suspicions of Merkory's force sensitivity, and asked him if he would like to become a Jedi, and leave the planet. Merkory's response was to shrug and accept it, knowing there was nothing left for him there anyway. However, despite his devil-may-care attitude, he desperately wanted to help other people through his position, which was one of the key reasons that he joined.

Jedi Training
"Merkory Chal'wala? I remember him....excellent pupil, one of my finest Jedi!"

- Eldorio Recounting to Terpi

That very same month, Merkory left the only planet that he had ever known, a rich and easy life and a fortune behind, all to become a Jedi. Instead of being taken to the Jedi Temple on Coruscant, Merkory was taken to the Jedi Enclave, on Dantooine. There, he was first introduced to his new master, Eldorio, by Kootha Jor, the Jedi Knight who had discovered him and personally made a point of taking care of him on the journey. A young Merkory was taken into the council chambers, where his force sensitivity was assessed by all the masters of the enclave, before they found him strong in the force, and promptly took him to his new master, the wizined old Eldorio.

Eldorio was heavily experienced in the force, and a respected Jedi Master. He took to Merkory at once who, in return, took to him brilliantly too. Training started then, and Merkory officially entered the order, as a Padawan. Eldorio found his natural ability astounding, and found him to be a brilliant pupil. In his spare time, for the first three years at least, Merkory spent his free time training with his lightsaber, practicing his force power or reading texts of previous Jedi in the academies archives.

Eldorio was pleased at his pupil's progress, and took him on a few starter missions, pretty easy, that increased in skill as Merkory improved. The Jedi Council warned Eldorio not to take him near Mandalorians, for they thought that this may lead Merkory to take revenge, and set him down the path of the dark side. But Eldorio thought differently, and specifically told Merkory to tail a Mandalorian target and capture him, which Merkory did, without any signs of taking revenge. This impressed the Jedi Council greatly, and they deemed him fit to pass to the rank of Jedi Knight.

Knight of the order
"He was an example for us all." "Yet even he wasn't immune to it's call!"

- Eldorio talking to Terpi.

Progressing to the rank of Jedi Knight was a big achievement for Merkory, a spoiled Zabrak orphan becoming a selfless knight of the Jedi Order. He was regarded as a model Jedi, as he followed all the laws and precincts closely, abiding by them as if his life depended upon it. He was assigned many missions in his time, the most important ones being the missions on Sleheyron, where he had to destroy a Mandalorian base, and on Ziost, where he had to convince the Sith species remnants to stop funding the Mandalorians, with a little violence involved on their part.

It was not until his second mission to that he gained widespread recognition. The Mandalorians on Sleheyron had taken prisoner three Jedi, one a master, who they were threatening to kill if the Republic didn't surrender the Sleheyron system. Merkory was sent to rescue the Jedi from the base, without causing any damage, as the Jedi still maintained the forlorn hope that they could negotiate with the Mandalorians. Merkory managed to infiltrate the base, but was then captured himself. Escape was hard, as he wasn't allowed to cause damage, but he used the force to project an image of himself in his cell before using his lightsaber to cut a hole in the floor of it. Dropping down into the maximum security cell blocks, he managed to hack into the security system and vent the noxious amnesiac fumes used to power the base. This erased the guards memories, whilst knocking them out. He then proceeded to rescue the Jedi and, dressed in Mandalorian Assault Armor, he smuggled the Jedi out of the base and into his shuttle, before returning them to the enclave. This gained him widespread recognition throughout the enclave, and much respect.

Yuthura Ban
"It just makes me wonder.....if he, a model Jedi, was not immune to love, then maybe the Jedi are confused. Maybe it's not a bad thing..."

- Eldorio talking to Terpi. Then the only thing that ever managed to threaten Merkory's allegiance to the light arrived on that very planet, from the Jedi Temple on Coruscant, Yuthura Ban, the beautiful Sleheyroan Twi'lek that sent Merkory's heart a load of new feelings, feelings that he knew that Jedi such as himself should not feel. Yet he was drawn to her all the more for it. When the Jedi Council appointed him to be her guide on the planet, he convinced himself that any relationship that they had would be only as friends, yet he wasn't even fooling himself. Yuthura's smile sent Merkory into overdrive, and very soon they developed a serious relationship, one forbidden by the Jedi Order: love. They both felt it in them, and they both feared being discovered, and expulsion from the order, but their feelings for each other were far greater. When their relationship developed, Merkory gave her half of the Jordo Crystal, keeping the other half for himself. He thought it just to be a pretty jewel, but it was far greater.

On one summer night, they came perilously close to being discovered by Kootha Jor, who they narrowly avoided. It was then that Yuthura told him that they had done things that they shouldn't have done, lied to people that they shouldn't have, and that they were Jedi, and things shouldn't be this way. She told him that she felt through the force that she would yet feel the repercussions of their actions, and she tearfully told him that there relationship must end. But Merkory couldn't bring himself to let her go. He was madly, deeply in love with her, and he felt betrayed and wronged, and he felt grief far more than that he had felt when his family was killed. It was then that he vowed to leave the order.

A new life
"You want a bounty hunter? I can get you a very good one. He don't come cheap, but I assure you he's worth it."

- Anonymous crime lord After making his vow to leave, Merkory secretly fled the enclave, traveling to the industrial world of Taris, where the new Merkory planned to make a use of his force powers by making a living as a bounty hunter. He had heard of a Tarisian leader of the Exchange, Ahita Othar, and he planned on joining the exchange as a bounty hunter. Othar laughed at first, but when she told her best bodyguard to 'escort' him out and he easily killed him, she reconsidered, giving him a test mission to assassinate a Mandalorian on the planet, Orthar Nardo. Merkory completed this mission with ease, and it was then that, donning Nardo's armor, he first started wearing Mandalorian armor, disguising him from all the Jedi that could recognize him.

He started working for Othar from that moment on, doing jobs from small, petty bailiff work, collecting overdue money, to offworld target hunts. In his first year alone, he managed to assassinate three powerful targets, Nandek Territ, the businessman who was planning to sell details of the Tarisian Exchange to other Tarisians. But it was his twelfth and final mission for Othar, the assassination of the Jedi Rempek Noral that was to be Merkory's hardest, both mentally and physically, challenge. He followed the Jedi through the Tarisian upper city, and then into the spaceport, where Noral boarded her ship, followed by Merkory. But she realized that he was following her, and she lost him in the skies over This led Merkory to follow her through the galaxy where she led him over planets like  and. He finally confronted her again in the Ukatis System, where Merkory severely damaged her ship, causing her to make a rash, uncalculated jump to lightspeed, closely followed by Merkory.

They came out above Lehon, where they were suddenly gripped by a huge magnetic forcefield over the planet, causing them to make an undignified landing, crashing heavily on the same beach were would crash just a few years later. By now, the Mandalorian War was over, and the Third Jedi Civil War was in full swing, but Sith were not yet on Lehon. He found Noral injured on the beach, pleading for her life. But it was a job to him, so he mercilessly cut her down before deciding to explore the planet to find a way off.

Revelation on Lehon
"It wasn't until Lehon that things started going really wrong...."

- Eldorio Exploration of the planet revealed to Merkory, as it later would to Revan, that it was a technological graveyard, where many ships had been trapped by the disruptor field. Closer exploration of the planet revealed that it was inhabited by the Rakata, a less technologically advanced descendent race of the Rakata of the Infinite Empire, s and Gizka. After he slew many of those who confronted him on the beach where he landed, and spurned their advances, they left him alone, and he was able to explore the planet in peace. It was on the third day since his arrival that he stumbled across the Temple of the Ancients, and, using his prowess with the force, he disabled the force field around the door. He found the temple deserted, and the lower levels empty of all but an ancient computer, of which he couldn't decode.

When he proceeded to the higher levels, he discovered that he wasn't the only one there after all. An unknown Sith had been stranded by the force field, and was using the temple for his meditation. When he first saw Merkory, he had no idea who he was, believing him to be a stranded Mandalorian, but when Merkory drew his lightsaber and attacked him, the Sith knew him for what he was. He recognised Merkory's fighting style, and halfway through the battle told him that he was a former Jedi Master from the enclave, and recognised him by his fighting style. He then proceeded to tell him that it was the Jedi's policy on love that had forced Yuthura to leave him, as Yuthura had confided in him. He then told Merkory that he should take revenge on the Jedi, for taking away his love. Giving in to his rage, Merkory slew the Sith, taking his Sith robes to wear over the armor. Giving into his rage, he had truly fallen to the dark side, and become a Sith. He swore then, on top of the Rakatan Temple, that he would have revenge on the Jedi, killing them wherever he saw them.

Joining the Sith
From Lehon, Merkory returned to the galaxy, adamant that he would seek revenge on the Jedi, for what he believed that they had done. But first, he needed to be trained as a Sith. He travelled first to Korriban, where he had heard that there was a  and enrolled there, under the new headmaster, Korren Thor. The Sith Academy had been thrown into civil war a while earlier, when Revan had visited, and the headmaster, had been killed. The academy was still recovering from that war, where the academy had been divided into two factions, those with Korren Thor, and those with his opposer, Dorek Sen. When Korren's faction had finally trapped Dorek's in the entranceway of the tomb of, they had massacred them, and slew Dorek Sen for opposing him. When Thor saw the force power of Merkory, he decided to undertake his training himself, as he would be a valuable asset to him should any opposers arise.

He trained Merkory in all aspects of the dark side, and was astounded to find such anger and hate in him. Yet Korren soon realized that Merkory was naturally stronger than him, and Thor feared that, should he train him, Merkory would rise up to overthrow him. So he decided to slowly poison him, making him weaker and weaker in the mind, until he would be reduced to a slave. Yet another pupil, Gethor Jan, discovered Thors betrayal, and warned Merkory. Merkory flew, in a great rage, to Thor's chambers, and calling upon his anger and hate, he struck the Sith master down.

Merkory then claimed the academy for himself, but Korren's supporters attacked him, and Merkory strode through the corridors, slaying all who opposed him, and crying out: "The Academy is mine! I slew the master, now I am the master!" It was estimated that Merkory slew one hundred and eleven Sith that day. The remaining Sith, unwilling to serve Merkory, fled to the. With no one in the academy to obey him, Merkory gave up the chase and left the academy for good. This time, the academy descended into a civil war from which it would never recover.

The Brotherhood of Darkness
Merkory was by no means happy with his prowess in the dark side. He had natural skill, but he felt that there was much more to learn. Yet his short time in the academy was only the foundations for his Sith knowledge. Yet, as far as he knew, since the end of the Sith War, nearly all of the academies had been destroyed by the Jedi. Merkory was stranded on Korriban, with nowhere to go. It was then that an old, stooped and robed man approached him, and introduced himself as The Recruiter. He spoke to Merkory, telling him how his force power had drawn him to speak with him, and he was recruiting for the Brotherhood of Darkness, a Sith organization founded hundreds of years ago that was the most prestigious and powerful Sith Academy in the galaxy, founded by. He then proceeded to tell him that it was not like other academies, where anyone with mediocre force powers was accepted. This was an academy for people strong in the force, powerful and filled with the dark side. He told Merkory that, should he want to join, he was to meet him on Ruusan, in the Ruusanian Desert, in a month's time. With no other way forwards on his quest for revenge, Merkory promised him that he would be there. In the whole encounter, he had not once seen the Recruiters face.

In a months time he arrived on Ruusan, and proceeded to the flat, dusty, empty Rusaanian desert. He found the Recruiter in the very center of the desert, although, at first, he had no idea who he was. The Recruiter had removed his robes to reveal himself to be a red skinned Twi'lek Sith Lord, who instantly confronted Merkory upon sight. Merkory was powerful and fought well, but the Sith Lord easily overpowered him, and had him at his mercy. Yet he didn't kill Merkory, instead telling him that this had been a test of his skill in the dark side of the force, and that he had only been toying with him. Incensed, Merkory unleashed a storm of, which The Recruiter just managed to block in time, being taken aback by the ferocity and strength of the attack. Merkory then tried to put him into a, which he managed for a few seconds, before The Recruiter shook it off. Without giving him time to recover, Merkory attacked again, with renewed vigour and ferocity, tapping into his anger, hate and the dark side. The Recruiter was shocked by Merkory's skill, and a violent battle followed, that lasted for three hours before Merkory finally threw The Recruiter to the ground, his lightsaber destroyed. As Merkory held him at lightsaber point, The Recruiter warned him that, should he kill him, he would have no chance of contacting the Brotherhood of Darkness. Merkory spared his life, but scarred both his to show his victory, earning him The Recruiters hatred.

Grudgingly, The Recruiter led him to the headquarters of the Brotherhood of Darkness, a large building massively strong in the dark side. Upon entrance, Merkory was confronted by two guards, who he, without a thought, force choked to death. He was taken before Darth Dastronomir, the head of the academy. The Recruiter then proceeded to tell him of his force power, and skill with a lightsaber, missing out the part where Merkory had defeated him. When Merkory told Dastronomir of this, he laughed at The Recruiter, calling him a 'weak worm' and a 'tame Kath pup'. Next he commanded Merkory to strike down the Recruiter, but the Recruiter then fired a volley of force lightning at Merkory, which he easily blocked, before decapitating the hapless Recruiter.

Dastronomir then assigned him to be trained by the Sith Master Feskoro, so that he could progress in power with the dark side. Feskoro was an old, male Chiss member of the Sith Council. He was extremely powerful in the dark side, but also, at times, quite mad. When he was sane, he was a powerful Sith Master, yet he often had times when he would be struck by madness, and would lash out at anyone around him. This included Merkory, who was very careful around him. Yet Merkory learnt much from the old Chiss, and created a double bladed Sith Lightsaber for the very first time, in the crystal caves of Ruusan. Feskoro found Merkory to be a powerful pupil, who spent his free time reading ancient Sith texts or practicing his lightsaber combat. Feskoro noticed Merkory's lust for revenge and power, and made sure that he never had any practice at fighting him with his double bladed lightwhip.

When Merkory finally completed his training, he had grown greatly in power and strength. He came before Dastronomir, fully trained, who then instructed him to kill Feskoro, as part of his final test. Without thought, Merkory attacked, but he had no experience battling a double bladed lightwhip, and this, coupled with Feskoro's prowess, had him at a disadvantage. The old Sith then had one of his fits of madness, and this allowed him to reach a higher level of dark side prowess, unleashing the most powerful force storm that Merkory had ever seen. Merkory fell to the floor, his face scarred, but, enraged, leapt up again and attacked the elderly Sith so violently that he was soon overpowered, and Merkory slowly tortured him with force choke and lightning, to punish him, before killing him at last. Dastronomir had watched, impassive, up to this point, but when Merkory started torturing the old Sith he laughed loud over the battle, until Merkory slew him, truly joining the dark side. It was around this time that he lost the crystal of Jordo, in the secret Ruusanian Catacombs.

Return
The first the Republic ever heard of Merkory's return was of a powerful Sith, calling himself Darth Vires, attacking Jedi in the outskirts of the galaxy, and stalking them on their missions, but whenever they sent Jedi or soldiers to investigate, he mysteriously disappeared. Merkory constantly preyed upon the Jedi, before he found out from one that he tortured, that the enclave on Dantooine had been destroyed in the Sith War. He had heard that the enclave had been rebuilt, but many of the masters had left. This meant that the academy was largely unprotected, so Darth Vires set off at once to attack it. Boarding his ship, he flew to the enclave, landing in a farm which he promptly destroyed, killing the inhabitants. He knew that, even without the masters, there were still too many Jedi to take on all at once, so he realised that he had to draw them out in groups. Razing farmsteads, he left a few survivors to carry the message back to the enclave. At first, the council only sent one Jedi, who Vires easily killed, and they started sending more. When they sent a team of ten, he tricked them into travelling into a Kath hound filled gorge, where the Kath hounds weakened them, before launching numerous frag grenades into the gorge, before wiping out the survivors. Finally, the enclave sent a master.

Disguised as a farmer, the master traveled out into the Dantooine grassland, and drew Vires into their trap. Vires did fall for it, and instantly attacked. The master then threw off his disguise, revealing himself to be Vires' old master, Eldorio. Although Vires was heavily shocked, he didn't let it show, and attacked. Vires couldn't see his face beneath the armor, but, as the fight escalated, Eldorio managed to slice the face part of the armor off, revealing Merkory beneath. Eldorio was shocked, and tried to return Merkory to the light, but Merkory wouldn't be swayed, saying that he was Darth Vires now. They fought ferociously, but Vires was much stronger than the aged Jedi master, and he soon defeated him. Holding him at lightsaber point, Vires prepared to kill his former master. One last time, Eldorio begged for him to return to the light, but Vires refused, saying that the dark was more powerful than the light ever was, or will be. Eldorio then told him that, if he was truly the Sith lord he claimed, to strike him down, but Vires couldn't. Angrily, he strode off, sparing Eldorio's life and leaving the planet.

Return to Lehon
On his ship, Vires realised that he wasn't the Sith he should be, that he had spared the life of one of the very people that he had sworn to destroy. He swore to himself that it would never happen again, but he needed time to meditate, and to hone his skills in the dark side. He decided to return to Lehon, and to use the Temple of the Ancients as the place where he could hone his skills, and meditate on the dark side. Returning to Lehon, he landed on the very same beach again. Remembering him from his previous visit, the Rakata left him well alone.

For three years Vires remained at the temple, meditating through the morning and honing his dark side prowess throughout the afternoon. His skills improved dramatically, and soon he held power that many, Sith and Jedi alike, would kill for. He decided to test this when he attacked a Rakatan Hunting Party, in the woods on Lehon. He killed them all easily, so he proceeded to destroy their village. he attacked In the dead of night, using the force to make the door blow up, and, when the guards rushed to confront him, he easily slew them. He laughed as he destroyed the settlement, massacring the Rakatan inhabitants and slaying their leader. As they tried to flee, he used the force to kill them one by one, honing his force powers the whole time. He then proceeded to destroy the settlement, using the force to collapse it all, before roaming the wreckage to find survivors, which he instantly killed. There was only one he spared, a young Rakatan orphan named Lorcrim. It is unknown why he rescued this Rakatan, although it is widely assumed that it was because he felt great force power in him. he took him away from the wreckage, and tested him.

Apprentice
He tested Lorcrim for force powers, and found him to be strong in the force. When he questioned Lorcrim in more depth, he found that Lorcrim possessed the natural cruelty of the Rakata, and was strong in the dark side. He took him on as his apprentice, and trained him for another three years in the Temple of the Ancients. Lorcrim turned out to be a powerful student, naturally cruel and strong, preferring brute strength to the force, but he was very adept in the force. Vires had found someone to help him on his quest for revenge.

When Lorcrim completed his training, Vires needed proof of his dark side power. He instructed him to destroy another Rakatan village, alone. Lorcrim accepted, and traveled to a large village north of the temple. He easily destroyed it, mercilessly and cruelly wiping out all who stood in his way. Darth Vires now felt that his training was complete, and it was time for revenge.

For his revenge on the Republic, the Jedi, and all who had wronged him, Vires needed an army. The Sith were all dead or in hiding since the Republic won the Sith War, so Vires needed to think of others, powerful and cruel, merciless and loyal, who would serve him in his war. Having seen Lorcrim's personality, he decided upon the Rakata. Using Lorcrim as an envoy, he asked for all the tribes to unite, to reclaim the Infinite Empire, and to claim the galaxy for themselves. Many joined him, and those who spoke up were soon quietly killed. The Rakatan tribes united, and Darth Vires had gained an army.

Preparation for the war
Lehon had many crashed ships on, and the Rakatans set about taking them apart and remodelling them. Unfortunately, the Rakatan's didn't have enough ships, and some were missing vital parts that the Republic would charge huge amounts of money for. Darth Vires took Lorcrim into the main galaxy, into spaceport, and hired twelve smugglers, using a mixture of threats and bribes. It took three years, but they did finally get the ship parts, and, returning to Lehon, they started resurrecting the destroyed ships. The Rakatans, having had no prior experience of technology, were pretty poor at first, but they improved dramatically, their natural instincts shining through.

In a year's time, they had resurrected a colossal fleet, but had absolutely no practice with them. Darth Vires conjured up, through the force, images of ships in the skies above Lehon, which the Rakata used for practice, in their new ships. They also were endlessly drilled on ground tactics, taught how to use and s, and taught to obey commands instantaneously. The punishments Darth Vires handed out for failure, however small, was always very harsh. Many commanders were established there and then, including Grand Admiral Nekro Hacka, a Rakatan naturally skilful in navy tactics and ship flight. He was to be a key figure in the war that followed. At the end of that decade, they were fantastically strong, and a powerful force to be reckoned with. It was time for the galaxy to see the re-emergence of both the Rakata, and Darth Vires.

The war's outbreak
The Rakatans, led by Darth Vires and Lorcrim, swept into the unsuspecting galaxy and instantly assailed The native Wookiees had only just escaped from slavery, only recently having defeated, and were still reeling from Czerka control. The Rakatans swept into th system and bombed the planet into submission, destroying many villages and trees as well. The Wookiees found themselves once more enslaved, forced to work for Vires and his army, or sold in the outer rim sections of the galaxy. From there, the Rakatans swept into the other outer rim, or non-republic worlds, enslaving them and terraforming them. From the outer rim, Vires' army prepared for an attack on the Republic, stockpiling resources and hoarding ships, before they started their attack. The Republic was caught off guard, and the fleet attacked Onderon, and. The army stormed the worlds, and took control of them easily, before the Republic sent a fleet to combat Vires. The fleet was massacred, the tactical genius of Nekro Hacka, the Grand Admiral, assuring that. Vires then proceeded to make the Sith world of Korriban the capital of his empire. Darth Vires and Lorcrim then set out to find the rest of the Sith in the galaxy, leaving Hacka and the other Rakata to fight in the war.

Roaming the galaxy for three years, Lorcrim and Vires discovered many of the Sith that had gone into hiding since the previous war. They re-opened the Sith Academy on Korriban, naming it the new, High Academy. The strongest Sith only were allowed entrance to the academy on Korriban, others being made on the conquered worlds for weaker Sith. The High Academy was controlled by Vires and a Sith Council that he appointed, a council comprising of eight members, the two most powerful being Lorcrim and Darth Wrath, beneath the High Ruler, Darth Vires. The Sith council set about ruling Vires' empire, molding it into a completely different part, ruled in different ways. The Sith Council allowed slavery in their part of the galaxy, and they set up hundreds of Sith Academies on many worlds. Whilst the war had come to a stalemate, the Sith academies were coming along brilliantly, with hundreds of Sith being trained. When the Sith Council finally introduced the Sith to the war, the stalemate ended, and Vires' empire suddenly conquered every planet except for the core worlds.

Redemption
For the second time in less than a century, the Republic looked close to destruction. All but the Core Worlds were lost, and the Republic fleet was weak compared to Vires' fleet. The Jedi had been hunted everywhere, even in the Core Worlds, where bounty hunters were hired to kill the Jedi. The Republic had only one last hope. Vires and Lorcrim were aboard the fleet's flagship, the Totorra, and they were traveling to Lehon, with only a few ships to guard them. Whilst the Republic prepared a fleet to assail the body guard ships, the Jedi Council prepared a small strike team to attack the Totorra, comprising of three Jedi: Yuthura Ban, Eldorio, and Vires' daughter, Terpi. When Yuthura had said to Merkory, some twenty years earlier, that she had felt through the force that there would be repercussions for her actions, the force was telling her that she was pregnant. Darth Vires became a father, unknown to himself, of a small, baby daughter, Terpi, nine months later. The strike team had been picked as these three because they had the greatest chance of returning Vires' to the light. When, in the Battle of Nodraxa the Republic engaged Vires' fleet, the strike team boarded the Totorra and scoured it for Vires.

They finally found him, alone except for Lorcrim, on the observation deck of the Totorra. Eldorio entered alone, first, and tried, unsuccessfully, to return Vires' to the light. Vowing that, this time, he would show him no mercy, Vires attacked. As had happened last time, Vires soon overpowered Eldorio, and just as he was about to kill him, Yuthura entered. Even after all those years, Vires' still loved her. She begged with him not to kill Eldorio and to return to the light, for the sake of their love. When he attacked her also, she tearfully told him how the man that she loved, the man he once was, was almost dead. When he defeated her too, there was only Terpi left. When she entered the room, Vires looked up and laughed at her, asking Yuthura who this was. When Yuthura told him that it was his daughter, he gasped and stepped back, shocked. Yet even that wouldn't turn him, and he attacked Terpi also. Yet Terpi was extremely powerful, having the combined power of both her father and mother, and after a long, hard battle, she finally defeated Vires. As he lay there, defeated, he told her to kill him, and not to drag it out, to which she replied: "I will not kill my father, the one my mother loved." And, putting herself at her father's mercy, she grabbed his hand and pulled him up. He, defeated, asked her why she had spared his life, and she replied that she followed the light. Vires' bowed his head, and said: "I see now that I was wrong to leave the light, wrong to follow the dark. Should...should I return, would the council accept me?" Terpi then told him that they would, and Vires' was redeemed.

But Lorcrim wouldn't allow it. Roaring, he leapt at his former master and violently assailed him. As the battle waged on, Merkory was more and more tempted to give in to his anger and hate, but he managed to keep his feelings at bay. As the battle reached its climax, a stray blast from the battle outside hit the deck, and sending everyone sprawling to the ground. Both Merkory and Lorcrim were knocked out by the blast, and, between them, Terpi and Yuthura carried him back to their ship.

Return to the order
When Merkory returned to Coruscant, he was taken before the Jedi Council. He begged their forgiveness, and asked if he would be allowed back into the order, to which they replied: "Anyone, no matter what there crime, is allowed to return."

Merkory Chal'wala, after so many years, rejoined the order that day. With his tactical genius, coupled with his knowledge of the Lorcrimian Empires tactics, and his bond with his daughter, he managed to win key space battles, and push the empire back, until the Republic now controlled a third of the galaxy. Because of these victories, he was offered the place of Jedi Master on no fewer than three occasions, but he replied that he couldn't be trusted after his original betrayal, But the Sith were powerful, and couldn't be beaten back any further, as Lorcrim had led them spectacularly, proving him to be an excellent leader.

With the consent of the Jedi Council, Yuthura Ban and Merkory Chal'wala were finally wed on Coruscant, uniting their long love on that day. Eldorio was seen to cry, as was Terpi and Yuthura, happy after all those years. But, with the war, Lorcrim had proven himself to be a fantastic general, and the only way forward in the war was to either kill or redeem him. Merkory volunteered himself for this job, and the council accepted. The Republic fleet would attack the Sith Palace on Korriban, whilst Merkory would infiltrate the palace and try and kill Lorcrim.

Using new, cloaking devices, the Republic fleet managed to make its way to Korriban, before attacking the fleet there. Merkory was dropped off at the Valley of the Dark Lords, and made his way to the academy, where the palace was above. Upon infiltration of the palace through a secret doorway known only to him, he was discovered by Darth Wrath. Although Merkory tried to redeem him, he failed, and Wrath attacked. In the ensuing battle, Merkory fought two battles, one against Wrath and the other against the dark side in him. The battle was long and hard, as Wrath was a strong Sith lord, but, eventually, Merkory finally killed him, before making his way into the throne room. When he entered, the throne room was empty, and security recordings showed Lorcrim boarding his ship to join the battle. Merkory had no option but to return to his ship.

Battle of Korriban
As the ship picked him up and returned him to his flagship, The Bringer of Justice, the Battle of Korriban raged all around. The Republic Capital ships had flanked the Sith fleet and had cut a long swathe through, and the fighters had flooded into this gap and exploited it. The Republic was sustaining heavy losses, but this would probably be the only chance that they would get, so they couldn't retreat. As the Totorra joined the battle, nobody noticed the small fighter that departed from the side, and Merkory gave the order to attack the Totorra. Just as they did, Lorcrim boarded the Bringer of Justice and made his way into the control room where Merkory was. Merkory was alone, and Lorcrim tried to surprise him, but Merkory had felt his coming through the force. Merkory begged with him to turn to the light, telling him that he, his master, had realised that the light was the only way forwards, and that Lorcrim would be a valuable asset to the light, but he refused to be redeemed, instead attacking him. They fought there and then, battling across the floor. As the battle raged outside, a stray blast knocked a metal girder from the roof onto Merkory, trapping him. Mercilessly, Lorcrim plunged his lightsaber into Merkory's chest before departing.

As Merkory lay there, dying, Yuthura and Terpi arrived, finding him mortally wounded. They rushed over, but there was nothing that anyone could do for him, and he died in Yuthura's arms.

Outside, the Republic were sustaining heavy losses, despite inflicting damage on the Sith fleet. Yuthura and Terpi gave the command to retreat after they escaped the Totorra, and the Republic fled. The Sith chose not to chase after them, as they had sustained heavy damages already.

Legacy
After his death, the Iridonians requested that he be buried on his homeworld of Iridonia, but Yuthura contested this, asking for his grave to be on Coruscant, where it could be seen by all in the Republic capital, as he was a hero of the Republic. After extensive negotiations, the Zabrak finally settled for having a monument, in his honor, placed in the main square of Malidris, whilst his tomb was placed on Coruscant. It remained untouched throughout the Lorcrimian War.

During the war, a medal for the grand admiral of any space fleet was created in his honor, the Chal'wala medal, a medal given to the bravest of Grand Admiral's or those who won a monumental victory, or performed an act of supreme bravery, or skill.

Yuthura took Merkory's death very hard, mourning extensively for him, but she promised herself that she wouldn't fall to the dark side again. She wore black for the rest of her life, and never re-married.

Terpi, in contrast, grieved her father's death, but quietly, in her own ways, refusing to even contemplate falling to the dark side. Later in her life, she went on a quest to discover more about her father, her father's life, and to try and discover the other half of the Jordo Crystal that he gave her mother when there relationship began.

Personality and traits
Despite his family being slaughtered at an early age, Merkory was never vengeful until his fall to the dark side, where he thought that he should be vengeful, just for the sake of it, believing that a disciple of the dark side should show all the traits of the dark side, and should engage in wanton violence and cruelty. As a padawan, he was studious, often training or reading the archives in his spare time, as well as being solemn, pensive and thoughtful. Because of his 'betrayal' by Yuthura, Merkory was a bitter, angry man, who was prone to flying into great rages. As a Sith lord, he was cruel, reveling in torturing weak opponents and seeing them suffer, and he took a sadistic delight in torture and cruelty. After his redemption, he was a quite, reflective, pensive man, often meditating or studying, meditating on all the wrongs he had done and on how he could heal them and the galaxy.

Talents and abilities
Merkory was a master in lightsaber combat, and his skill with a lightsaber was exceeded only by his prowess with the force. He was, as a Jedi, adept at many force powers, the one he was best at being Heal and destroy droid. As a Sith, he practiced extensively his dark force powers, and was very skilful with Force Choke, but his preference was Force lightning, of which he became a master.

He was a skilful mechanic, and oversaw the construction of his Rakatan battle fleet, instructing them on how to do it. As seen throughout his time with both sides of the war, he was a skilled military tactician, and an adept pilot, often flying in space battles in a small starfighter.

He was predominantly a force wielder, and followed the path of the Jedi Master, although he refused this position many times. As a Sith he relied on his dark side prowess and ability with a lightsaber to bludgeon an opponent into submission, but as a Jedi he would combine the force with his lightsaber combat to give him a hefty advantage.

Behind the scenes
Vires, the Sith name of Merkory, is the Latin word for anger.