Darth Raivon

"He's like fire and ice and rage. He's like the night, and the storm in the heart of the sun. He's ancient and forever. He burns at the center of time and he can see the turn of the universe."

- Darth Raivon, as described by an ancient Sith Prophecy.

Darth Raivon, born Veran Corvain, was a legendary Near-Human, both as a Jedi Knight and as a Sith Lord. During his training, he discovered the seductive powers of the Dark Side and renounced his devotion to the Light, becoming an extremely powerful Sith Lord. Raivon was married to River Tamoa with whom he produced a son before his apparent death during the raid on the Blackstone Fortress.

Veran had only one living relative, his twin brother Qim Xauweep. The two shared a powerful bond that later manifested as a Force Chain, allowing them to aid each other through the force. This chain was later severed by Qim but a bond still remained. Veran’s parents were Xau Vain (mother) and Cor Weep (father), both died protecting their children from an ancient race of sentient machines, known as the Reapers.

Veran, along with his brother Qim, was found in stasis aboard a damaged starship that crashed on Mon Calamari. A Mon Calamari research team salvaged the vessel and released the children. They took them to their underwater facility where they were later retrieved by a Jedi Watchman who took them to Coruscant. Veran and Qim were trained in the ways of the Force and were both apprenticed to Grand Master Xavier after their formal training.

Before joining the Sith Empire, Veran served as a General in the Galactic Alliance during the Kazzum Skirmishes. As a Sith Lord, he was appointed Supreme Commander of the fleet known as Thule’s Fury, and gained infamy as one of the galaxy's most feared warriors. He also headed the Special Operations branch—a team of Elite Sith Assassins. Prior to the Sith Schism, Veran was given the title of Acolyte of the High Council.

Raivon's appearance changed during the Reaper War, a result of his reconnection to the Force and the Forerunner's desire to give him a fresh start in life. After the war with the Reapers Veran joined the crew of a battered transport vessel called the Firefly while on the run from the Galactic Alliance. Soon after, he was reunited with his brother and helped destroy the last of the Reapers.

Early life (210 ABY - 214 ABY)
"What can I say? We had a troubled childhood."

- Veran Corvain, to Kyra Lynn.

Veran and his brother were born in 210 ABY aboard a transport vessel. His parents, Xau Vain and Cor Weep, were fleeing from a hyper-advanced machine race that’d attacked Illyria, a planet in another galaxy, and wiped out its entire population. Their ship was crippled and boarded by the machines near the Outer Rim border of the Star Wars galaxy, Veran’s parents were dragged away and killed by the machines leaving the children safe in a hidden stasis chamber. The machines left the ship adrift and returned to dark space. After several weeks, the ship fell into Mon Calamari’s gravity well and crashed in the ocean where it lay at the bottom of the sea for two days until being recovered by a Mon Calamari research team. Remarkably, the stasis pods were undamaged and the infants were still alive and healthy. The ship was taken to a nearby facility and the children were woken from stasis, upon seeing the Mon Calamari the infants cried and the entire facility shook as a result. Disturbed, the Mon Calamari contacted the native Jedi Watchman who confirmed their force-sensitivity and took them to the Academy on Coruscant. The children were inducted into the orphanage where they enjoyed a relatively happy upbringing.

During the uneventful years before their Force training, the scientists and Medi-droids struggled to classify the children’s species as they were undocumented Near-Humans with remarkable abilities such as: advanced longevity (eternal youth), advanced healing (regenerating wounds almost instantly), limb regeneration, advanced intelligence, advanced physical attributes, diamond-hard bone structure with bone casing around the heart, etc (see Abilities). At the age of four, Veran and Qim began taking Youngling lessons and amazed their teachers by mastering year’s worth of training in just a few months, by this time they had fully mastered the basics of Form I lightsaber combat and were adept at telekinesis and Force Sense. It was not long before they were taken on as padawans to the Jedi Grand Master Xavier.

As a Jedi (214 ABY - 235 ABY)
Under Xavier’s tutelage Veran spent his youth and adolescence learning the mysterious ways of the Force. Veran became a Jedi Consular and, by the time he was 14, had fully mastered all four Force Forms alongside lightsaber Form VI: Niman. As their training progressed, Veran and Qim developed a Force Bond that eventually evolved into a Force Chain. Like his brother, Veran mastered the advanced Jar’Kai form but rarely used it, later choosing the unorthodox Reverse Grip style. Most of Veran’s life as a Jedi was uneventful due to the indomitable control of the Galactic Alliance, which kept large scale criminal activity to a minimum, a fact Veran almost despised.

Inner Darkness
"We are taught that power can only be gained through peace and meditation, not passion and selfish action. "Then why, when I'm so full of fury, does my power not dwindle? Why does it feel greater?" "What you feel is an illusion, a phantom that seeks to deceive you. Don't listen to it." "But it feels so real."

- Qim Xauweep speaks to Veran Corvain about his dark tendencies.

A few years later an emancipated Sith Lord named Darth Kazzum launched an assault on the Alliance by attacking Corellia with a fleet of Imperial warships. Veran and Qim joined the Galactic Alliance Navy as Generals and led a fleet to confront the Dark Lord over Corellia. Qim personally led the fighter squadrons and destroyed numerous Sith fighters while Veran remained on the bridge of the Star Destroyer Peacekeeper, giving orders and directing the fleet through his Battle Meditation. Kazzum could not match the Jedi’s tactical superiority and was forced to retreat back to Onderon with the Alliance hot on his trail. Cornered and effectively disabled, Kazzum prepared for his last stand but the attack came not from the Alliance but from his apprentice Darth Candor. Seeing his opportunity arise Candor attacked Kazzum for the title of Dark Lord and defeated him when the Peacekeeper fired on the bridge, crippling the Dark Lord. Candor then fled the unstable warship shortly before its destruction and docked with the Peacekeeper; Veran met Candor in the hangar and escorted him to the bridge. Candor introduced himself as Kran Tana, a “captive” of the Sith. Qim was slightly disturbed by Kran, though he couldn’t figure out why, Veran on the other hand took an instant liking to him and they became fast friends on the return trip to Coruscant. After giving a convincing story to the Jedi Council, Kran was accepted into the Order and was placed under Veran’s tutelage, though not as an apprentice.

In the following months Veran began distancing himself from his brother, choosing Kran’s company over Qim’s, the closer he and Kran got, the further he and Qim drew apart. This did not improve Qim’s disposition towards Kran and his suspicions increased to border-line paranoia. Kran pretended to be an avid believer of the Potentium Theory and taught his beliefs to Veran who was greatly intrigued by these ideals. Veran came to believe that the Force was neutral and that the Darkside was simply the inner darkness of the soul; hate, anger, fear, they were all natural emotions, each with their own benefit. With his new believes solidified, Veran abandoned the Jedi teachings and allowed himself to “feel” everything. While this created no immediate change in him, Veran’s behaviour slowly became more disturbing as he embraced his negative emotions. During a mission to prevent a Trandoshian terrorist group from destroying a mining facility on Bespin, Veran displayed the depths of his darkness by mercilessly slaughtering the terrorists when the negotiations failed, despite the Council’s wishes for minimal bloodshed.

Veran’s Betrayal
"You will never understand the reasoning behind my actions. You think me a traitor? Maybe I am. If this thought brings you clarity, so be it."

- Veran Corvain, to Qim Xauweep.

In reflection, he realised his slaughter of the terrorists was wrong and regretted his actions, but nevertheless held onto his beliefs, much to the dismay of Qim. Whilst meditating in his chambers one day, Veran received a vision that predicted the destruction of the galaxy at the hands of the machines that killed his parents. Veran knew that measures must be taken to prevent this event and that the Jedi Order must evolve in order face it, so he requested an audience with the Council. His warnings fell on deaf ears however, as the Council revealed that they were already aware of the coming threat via Qim (who had also received the vision) and were preparing for the machines in their own way. Veran expressed a desire to teach the new generation of Jedi what he had learned of the Potentium, with the hope of strengthening the Order. The Council refused his request, claiming such teachings would create an order of “self-serving sociopaths”. Enraged, Veran scolded the Council, criticizing their pacifist ways. He then returned to his chambers where he was visited by Kran, who revealed his true identity as Darth Candor, Dark Lord of the Sith. Candor attempted to coerce Veran into joining the Sith and help him destroy the Jedi. Veran agreed, pledging his allegiance to Candor. He ceased to be Veran Corvain and became Darth Raivon. Candor then unleashed a powerful Sith holocron within the temple, corrupting nearly half the Order to the Darkside. While Candor gathered the fallen Jedi to his side, Raivon stormed the Council chambers and massacred the Councillors. He then reunited with Candor and made for a nearby cargo ship. The fallen Jedi boarded the ship, killing the crew, and then prepared to leave. As Raivon and Candor were about to board, Xavier arrived and pleaded with Raivon to renounce his ways. Raivon stabbed Xavier through the chest, proving his loyalty to the Sith. Qim arrived in time to witness this and attempted to prevent Raivon’s departure but was torn between the choice of chasing his brother or tending to his master. He chose the latter, allowing Raivon to escape, but was unable to revive Xavier. After his master’s death, Qim swore revenge on his wayward brother.

Brother vs Brother
"Take my hand. "No!" "I can save you." "I never wanted your help. I would rather die than owe you my....Aaahhh!!!"

- Darth Raivon refuses Qim Xauweep's help before being swept away.

Raivon and Candor travelled to Korriban and inducted the fallen Jedi into the Sith Academy, after which Raivon was given the task of eliminating a separatist group attempting to resurrect Darth Kazzum. The group had foolishly set up their base in the Dresdae settlement (mere miles away from the Academy) and Raivon had no trouble wiping them out. He found the half-revived Kazzum in the lab of a decrepit facility and, after a brief conversation, performed the Makashi salute as a sign of respect before killing the former Dark Lord. Little did Raivon know that his brother was behind him, and was almost cut in half by Qim’s surprise attack. Raivon attempted to reason with Qim, even offering him the chance to join the Sith. Qim declined and pressed the attack, using his mastery of Djem So to batter Raivon’s defence. The twins fought throughout the facility, Qim constantly trying to penetrate Raivon’s defence, whose adaptability kept Qim’s blows at bay. During a vicious saber lock Qim forced Raivon’s blade down into the facility’s core containment interface, causing containment to fail and triggering a meltdown. Raivon managed to lure Qim out into the open and was finally able to go on the offensive, displaying his flawless mastery of Niman. The twins reached an impasse, after which the facility exploded, causing an avalanche. Qim used a piece of debris to ride the landslide to safety, but was followed by Raivon who mirrored his brother’s methods. They clashed lightsabers a few times until Qim managed to get some distance from his brother. Fuelled with rage, Raivon leapt from his debris and hurtled down upon Qim, lightsaber raised to kill. In an act of desperation, Qim impaled himself with his own lightsaber, the pain of which was shared with Raivon via their Force bond. Crippled by the pain, Raivon was unable to maintain focus and subsequently lost his right arm to Qim’s saber and then fell into the mass of sand, grabbing hold of the rock face to keep from being swept away. Qim directed his debris to an overhang above Raivon’s position and, from there, offered Raivon his hand but the Sith Lord refused and was eventually swept away into a deep chasm. Unable to confirm Raivon’s death, Qim returned to his ship and fled mere moments before Candor’s shuttle landed at the bottom of the chasm.

Candor, who had sensed Raivon’s defeat through the Force after claiming the Imperial throne, ordered his Honour Guard to scour the chasm for him. After much searching, a single trooper found Raivon half-buried and called for a medical capsule. Before it could arrive however, Raivon regained consciousness and instinctively drained the life out of the surrounding troopers, healing himself of most of his wounds. Candor escorted Raivon back to his warship where he was placed in a bacta tank to speed up the re-growth of his arm. A few days later Raivon emerged fully healed and joined Candor on the bridge, overlooking a strange ring-world. Raivon spent the following 3 years mastering the Darkside and acting as an advisor to the new Sith recruits; taking a special interest in Kyra Lynn, a powerful student whom Raivon eventually took as his apprentice.

Pre-war Activities (238 ABY)
"You can trust me to do this for you?” “I can trust you to remember what will happen should you fail me!” “Tsk. I find your lack of faith…disturbing."

- Kyra Lynn teases Darth Raivon.

With the Sith Empire fully established and the fleets ready for war, Darth Candor required only one thing before it could commence: a powerful Sith holocron. This holocron however, was located deep within the vaults of the Jedi Temple on Coruscant and the only way to retrieve it would be to send a small team to infiltrate the temple. Though he didn’t know what information the holocron contained, Raivon agreed to retrieve it regardless. He hand-picked nine SpecOps Sith Lords, Kyra among them, and left for Coruscant. The closer he got to Coruscant, the more Raivon feared that Qim would feel his presence through the weakened bond they still shared. After much thought, Raivon ordered the pilot to drop him off on the farm-world Ruan. He then put Kyra in charge of the team and entrusted her with the mission. As the SpecOps landed on Coruscant, Raivon entered a meditation and used the Force to hide the team from detection. Kyra decided to send one of the team to scout the vaults; the Sith Lord succeeded in infiltrating the vault and attempted to remove the holocron but was struck by an irreversible bout of insanity. Remarkably, he was able to return to Kyra without being detected but was in no condition to aid her further so she euthanized him. She then contacted Raivon and informed him of the failure. Though displeased about the loss, he was able to speculate that the holocron could not be removed from its plinth by anyone tainted by the Darkside and devised a plan to get a Jedi to retrieve it for him. Using Kyra as a conduit, Raivon entered the mind of Beren Korr, a 15-year old padawan, and projected images of the vault and the holocron into his dreams. After several nights of this, Raivon received an impatient message from Candor, ordering him to speed up his plans. On the night of Grand Master Xavier’s memorial anniversary, when the entire Order would gather in the room of a Thousand Fountains, Raivon struck. He sent a vision to Beren that showed his uncle, Ramon Polus, being tortured in the vault. As predicted, Beren raced to his uncle’s rescue with his two best friends, but once inside the vault he found no trace of Polus. As Beren continued to search for his uncle, one of his friends discovered the holocron and Beren removed it from its plinth. He studied it closely, unaware of the Sith Lords emerging from the shadows until his friends spotted one. R’tas Vakarian, Kyra’s lieutenant, attempted to talk Beren into handing over the holocron, even promising to share its secrets with him, but Beren was not fooled and ordered his friends to throw their lightsabers at them. The Sith scattered and attempted to separate the padawans but found it hard to do so as Beren threatened to smash the holocron if they attacked. The padawans eventually escaped the vault and hid in the ancient Jedi Crypt, a dark circular room with numerous coffins imbedded in the walls and a strange archway in the raised centre.

Their safety did not last however as the Sith descended on them in a surprise attack. Kyra took Beren’s friends captive allowing R’tas to take the holocron from him. R’tas was not allowed much time to celebrate however, as Ramon Polus teleported behind him and, after a snappy one-liner, punched him in the face. R’tas fell to the floor, the holocron smashing mere inches from his grip. In the blink of an eye, seven Jedi Knights teleported into the room, attacking the Sith. Furious with his failure, R’tas challenged Ramon and the two duelled. R’tas had the upper hand for most of the fight until Beren intervened, destroying R'tas's second saber. Ramon then disarmed R’tas completely and Force pushed him against the far wall, knocking him unconscious. The other Sith Lords were also swiftly defeated, with Kyra being the last one standing. In an act of pure revenge, she teleported away from her opponent and reappeared on a pedestal above Ramon, unleashing a deadly blast of Force Lightning, killing him instantly. She then fled, with an enraged Beren hot on her trail; who eventually caught up with her in the spacious meditation chamber and hit her with a spontaneous blast of Force lightning. Shocked and weakened by the blast, Kyra lay at Beren’s mercy as he struggled with his anger. Raivon teleported onto the scene and disarmed him, calling him weak. Before Raivon could help Kyra escape (her teleportation device was damaged by Beren’s lightning), Qim arrived, his violet lightsaber at the ready.

"It was a mistake for you to come here tonight Raivon; the entire Order is on its way.” “By which time I shall be gone and you…shall be dead."

- Darth Raivon confronts his twin for the second time.

Knowing that a prolonged duel would only buy his brother more time, Raivon decided to kill Qim quickly. He unleashed a powerful blast of Force lightning which Qim blocked with his lightsaber and, using Vaapad’s super-conducting loop, redirected it back at Raivon, who used his free hand to absorb it. They struggled with this for a minute or so until Raivon stopped the attack, instead releasing a blast of Force Flame and, laughing maniacally, watched as Qim was engulfed in a sphere of fire. This was not the end however; as Qim dissipated the fire and cast the remainders back at him, which Raivon easily deflected. Qim then tricked Raivon by forcing him to block a Force push then followed up by pulling water from the nearby fountain and engulfing him in it. Despite being crushed by a sphere of water, Raivon could not help but admire his brother’s sense of irony as he unleashed a Force repulse that broke Qim’s hold on the water. Raivon then drained Force power from Qim, using it to fuel another Force repulse that sent Qim, Beren, and Kyra flying in all directions as well as shattering several glass statues. Raivon summoned the shattered glass and cast it at Qim, who created an aura that reduced the glass to sand. Realising that the duel was taking far too much time, Raivon used Force camouflage to sneak past Qim and possess Beren, filling him with the Darkside and taunting his weaknesses. Qim could only watch as Raivon dragged Beren deeper into the Darkside, until his friends emerged from the Crypt, unharmed. Upon seeing them, Beren experienced several flashes of happy memories giving him the strength to force Raivon out of his mind. After being cast out, Raivon taunted Beren once more before grabbing Kyra and teleporting to safety seconds before the Order arrived.

The Sith War (238 ABY - 242 ABY)
"The time has come. Go, my friend. Bring order to the galaxy."

- Darth Candor, to Darth Raivon.

After the botched mission to retrieve the holocron the Jedi assumed that the Sith Empire was ready for war, and so began the consolidation of the Galactic Alliance Fleets. Despite being displeased by Raivon’s failure, Candor made him his Fist and gave him command of Thule’s Fury, the fleet that would spearhead the Sith invasion. The Sith’s first objective was to expand their empire, their primary target was the Imperial world; Vjun. Thule’s Fury, however, went straight for the Jedi Praxeum on Yavin IV and was met with heavy resistance, both from the Alliance and the Jedi. Aboard the Inferno, Raivon led the fleet to victory and then led a ground team army of over 40 Sith Lords against the dwindling Jedi forces, during which Kyra fought and killed the Praxeum’s Grand Master, thereby completing her training and earning the title of Darth Ferus.

With Yavin IV under Sith control, the Gordian Reach soon fell to the Sith Empire. For many years the Sith fleets pushed deeper into Alliance territory, slowly driving closer to their ultimate target: Coruscant. In just three years, the Sith Empire had conquered every major planet between the Hydian Way and the Perlemian Trade Route, their final victim was Arkania which, after a fierce orbital battle, was glassed from orbit. The glassing of Arkania was the beginning of the end for the Sith Empire, as one ship, the Pillar of Hope, escaped the bombardment and made a blind hyperspace jump towards Sith space.

The Ring-World Skirmishes
"This is....amazing! How did we ever build such a thing? "We didn't." "My lord?" "It's not ours."

- Darth Ferus and Darth Raivon examine the Ring-World.

The Pillar of Hope came out of hyperspace over the planet Ziost, deep in Sith space. Raivon's fleet, having arrived before them, immediately engaged the Hope but was met with heavy resistance as the Hope's crew were the finest in the Alliance and had an experimental Artificial Intelligence to aid them. Despite Raivon's masterful tactics and Battle Meditation, the Hope was able to destroy three Sith Destroyers and disable Raivon's flagship, the Inferno. The Hope was not without injury however, and was forced to crash land on the strange Ring-World that orbited Ziost. Desperate to prevent the Alliance from damaging the Ring-World, Raivon led a strike force that captured the downed warship and took their commander Captain Keyes, along with his personal guard, captive.

Little did Raivon know, however, that Qim was also aboard the Hope prior to its crash, having scarpered with the AI in an escape pod. Qim led a surprise assault on the Inferno and rescued Captain Keyes. He then proceeded to learn more about the Ring-World by infiltrating the Cartographer, a map room for the entire installation. Through this he learned about a control room and spear-headed another assault. Once inside, he allowed the AI to integrate itself with the installation core. Upon entering, the AI discovered a terrible secret about the installation, and subsequently sent Qim to prevent Keyes from investigating what he believed to be a weapons cache. It also anonymously contacted Raivon and informed him of the installation's secret.

"You must listen to me. This installation has another purpose, one that has eluded your superiors and must be dealt with quickly." "And why would I believe a foreign AI, you could be an agent of the Alliance." "I am an agent of the Alliance, but this dilemma transcends such distinctions. Please, you must prevent Captain Keyes from opening that facility again, because if he does we will all die."

- The Alliance AI warns Darth Raivon about the Installation's containment protocol.

Raivon subsequently led a SpecOps team to the "cache", only to discover that it was, in actuality, a research laboratory from which hundreds of parasitic creatures had escaped. Overwhelmed, Raivon retreated and ordered an immediate sanitization of the entire area, to contain the outbreak. Things did not improve, however, as a Sith Councillor arrived to relieve Raivon of his position. In retaliation, Raivon assassinated her by planting a bomb in the Councillor's shuttle. He was then summoned to a meeting with the local Council to discuss important issues. Raivon, believing it to be a trap, arranged for the deaths of the Councillors by way of a powerful nerve gas. His plan was foiled, however, by his apprentice Darth Ferus, who had forewarned the Council in exchange for advancement within the Sith Empire.

"Friends, I apologise for not warning you of this subterfuge sooner. We thought it was important that Raivon reveal himself." "We?" "We!" "Ferus?!" "I was given a simple choice, Raivon: you or the Sith Empire. And as much as I have come to care for you I felt it more prudent to bet on the Empire." "After everything I gave to you." "And everything you didn't."

- The Sith Councillor and Darth Ferus catch Darth Raivon in their trap.

Raivon seemed doomed, were it not for the timely intervention of the Alliance AI, who released the gas, killing the Councillors. Raivon then briefly duelled his apprentice before throwing her down twelve stories, the impact of which killed her instantly. Despite her betrayal, Raivon mourned for her. Ferus's death served as a painful reminder of the dangers of ambition.

The Ring's Destruction
"By the time I'd learnt the Jedi's intent...there was nothing I could do."

- Darth Raivon explains the events leading to the Ring's destruction.

After thoroughly covering up his involvement with the Councillor's demise (which he blamed on the Alliance AI), Raivon returned his attention to the crisis on the Ring-World. Too late, he discovered Qim's plan to destroy the installation and could only watch as the Ring-World exploded. With no one else to blame, Raivon was forced to accept full responsibility for the disaster and was called to Thule to answer for his transgressions.

Once there, he was taken to the Sith High Council where he attempted to absolve himself. The Council were not accustomed to mercy, however, and demanded he be executed for his failure. Darth Candor ordered that he be spared, but instead be branded as a heretic and imprisoned. Raivon was taken to a large arena with many Sith Lords present and suffered extreme tortures that would have killed any normal human, after which he was branded with the Mark of Heresy before being dragged to his bare cell.

The Heresy Crisis
"What use am I? I can no longer command ships. Lead troops into battle." "Not as you are. But become our acolyte and you will be unleashed upon this heresy with our blessing." "What of the Council?" "The tasks you are to undertake are perilous, suicidal, you will die as each acolyte has before you. The Council will have their corpse."

- Darth Raivon is given a second chance by Darth Candor.

After several months of imprisonment, Raivon was suddenly dragged out of his cell and taken to the Council chambers where he was offered a chance to redeem himself in their eyes. They made him their personal acolyte and ordered him to lead a SpecOps team to eliminate a sect of Sith separatists. Raivon eliminated the Separatist leader, who accused the Sith Council of planning to trigger a mass genocide. Shortly after killing the Separatist leader, Raivon captured the Monitor (an advanced droid) of the decimated Ring-World and presented it to the Council. Upon his return to Thule, Raivon learned of the death of a High Councillor who'd discovered another Ring-World; code-named Delta. This death was blamed on the SpecOps, whose apparent "negligence" required a recommissioning of the Honour Guard.

The Sacred Icon
"A bloody fate awaits you and the rest of your incompetent sect." "When the Council learn of this they will take your head." "When they learn...? You fool, they ordered me to do it."

- Darth Tarturus betrays Darth Raivon.

With the information gathered from the Monitor, Darth Candor discovered that the Ring-World is a powerful super weapon and that if he was to activate it he would need the Index. Unfortuneatly, the Index was located deep within the Ring's Library which was heavily guarded by advanced machines. His initial attempts to occupy this section of the Ring resulted in the release of the Parasites, who wiped out the ground forces. To resolve this conflict, Candor summoned Raivon to his throne room and ordered him to find the Index and return it to him. Raivon agreed, leading a SpecOps team through the Parasite infested Library and, with the help of R'tas Vakarian, rallied the remaining ground forces into an effective strike team. After battling his way through hundreds of infected soldiers, Raivon reached the Library core where Commander Keyes (daughter of Captain Keyes) had already retrieved the Index. Raivon disabled Keyes' bodyguard and cornered her, but before he could take the Index from her she was struck by Force lightning from Darth Tarturus and Force pulled into his grasp. He took the Index despite Raivon's insistence that it was his responsibility. Tarturus then revealed Candor's plan to eliminate Raivon along with the entire Special Operations sect. Raivon prepared to duel Tarturus and his subordinates but was struck by Force lightning from multiple opponents, sending him tumbling down a great shaft. "If you will not hear the truth, then I will show it to you. There is still time to stop the key from turning, but first it must be found. You will search one likely spot, and you will search another. Fate had us meet as foes, but this ring will make us Brothers!" "Umm, we already are...brothers." "Under protest."

- The Parasite Hive Mind reunites Qim Xauweep and Darth Raivon.

Raivon survived however, albeit feeling a little sore, and was captured by the Parasite Hive Mind, a sentient creature who also had Qim in its custody. Despite their open hostility towards each other, the Hive Mind convinced them to work together to stop Candor from activating the Ring and destroying all life in the galaxy. It also explained, through Ring Delta's Monitor, that the Rings were the creation of Raivon and Qim's species, and that its purpose was to study and contain the Parasite. The Hive Mind then used stolen teleports to send Qim to Kessiac (Thule's main city) and Raivon to the Ring's Activation Matrix.

The Sith Schism
"Listen, you don't like me and I sure as hell don't like you, but if we don't do something, Mr. Mohawk [Tarturus] is gonna activate this ring. And we're all gonna die." "Tarturus has locked himself inside the Temple." "Well I just happen to have a key [AT-AT]. Now get a ship and give me some cover, he's gonna know were coming."

- Alliance Sergeant Apone joins forces with Darth Raivon.

Immediately upon arriving in the foothills around the Temple, Raivon found a dying Sith who informed him of the situation. Enraged, Raivon slaughtered his way through a dozen stormtroopers and loyalist Sith Lords. Once the position was secured, the SpecOps sent a team to aid Raivon as he fought his way to the Temple entrance. On his way, he discovered Avery Apone, an Alliance sergeant who'd just escaped captivity. Apone commandeered an AT-AT and offered a temporary alliance with Raivon so that they could stop Tarturus. Raivon agreed and, piloting a TIE Defender, defended the AT-AT as it lumbered toward the Temple entrance where it destroyed the doors allowing Raivon to land and enter.

Raivon swiftly killed Tarturus' guards and confronted the misguided Sith as he threatened Commander Keyes into activating the Ring (as only someone untainted by the Dark Side can activate it). Raivon tried to convince Tarturus of the truth but was unsuccessful, instead Tarturus forced Keyes to place the Index in the core, triggering the Ring's activation sequence. A team of SpecOps Sith Lords arrived and an epic battle ensued. Despite being outnumbered, Tarturus proved to be a tough opponent as he was protected by a strong energy shield and weilded a powerful Light-Hammer that sent many a Sith Lord flying to their deaths. He met his end eventually, however, as Apone was able to disable his shield with a well-placed sniper shot, allowing Raivon to cut Tarturus in half (vertically).

Keyes then removed the Index, cancelling the activation sequence. The Monitor (of the previous Ring) informed Raivon, Keyes, and Apone that the remaining Rings had entered standby mode and awaited the activation command from an installation called "The Ark".

Liberating Telos
"Qim, wait! Raivon's with us! Come on, now. We've got enough to worry about without you two trying to kill each other." "Were it so easy."

- Sergeant Apone keeps Qim Xauweep and Darth Raivon from fighting.

The location of the Ark was a mystery, even to the Monitor, but intercepted transmissions indicated that the Sith hierarchy knew its location. The entire Sith fleet fled Thule and travelled to Telos where they swept aside the planet's defenses and landed in the barren regions, south of the planet's equator. Once the foothold was established, the Sith started a mass excavation. Raivon, Apone, and Keyes travelled to Telos whilst the remaining SpecOps scoured Thule's surface (for it had been infested with Parasites) and held the Parasite infested warships at bay. Upon entering Telos air space, Keyes left the group to rally the surviving Alliance and TSF forces. Raivon and Apone however, searched for Qim, who'd crashed his escape pod in a jungle several miles away from Keyes' base. Upon arriving at the crash site, Raivon used Force Camouflage to scout the surrounding area while Apone tended to Qim who, aside from a splitting headache, was in perfect health. When Raivon decloaked in his presence, Qim took Apone's blaster and pointed it at Raivon's head, poised to shoot. Apone quickly stepped in; telling Qim that Raivon was an ally and that there were bigger things to worry about than their own personal rivalry.

Raivon and Qim grudgingly joined forces as they made the long trek through the Sith occupied jungle to the extraction point. Once retrieved, the brothers were taken to Keyes' command base where she filled them in on the situation. During a holo conversation with Admiral Hood, Darth Candor suddenly broadcasted a message on all channels.

"You are, all of you, vermin. Cowering in the dirt, thinking...what, I wonder? That you might escape the coming fire? No. Your world will burn until its surface is but glass, and not even your Jedi will live to creep, blackened from its hole, to mar the flashing of our passage. The culmination of our victory. For your destruction is the will of the Force! And I? I am its harbinger!"

- Darth Candor makes his presence felt.

Through his posturing, Candor inadvertently tipped off the fact that a surprise assault on the base was pending. Keyes immediately ordered a retreat, all personnel fled to their shuttles as Raivon and Qim rescued those who were cut off by Sith forces. After the activation of a bomb in the command station, Qim was forced to flee the base via a lift to the lower levels, Raivon on the other hand, left with Sergeant Apone and his team. Raivon remained aboard Keyes' shuttle, using his Battle Meditation to aid the Alliance forces until his presence was needed on the battlefield. Raivon was dropped off in the industrial city of Mombosa, where he joined up with Qim and, together, they drove the Sith back to the excavation site, destroying a troublesome AD tower.

From the mountainside, the brothers could see what the Sith had dug up; a strange structure of the same origin of the Rings. Suddenly, the Alliance fleet arrived and opened fire on the structure. This could not stop the structure from activating, however, as a beam of light rose from within, disabling the Alliance ships. There was a white flash and then a portal opened above the structure. The Sith fleet immediately travelled through the portal, leaving a confused Alliance behind them. Raivon cursed Candor's name through the Force.

A Parting Gift
"What is it? More loyalists?" "Worse!"

- Darth Raivon and Qim Xauweep, as a Parasite ship crashes on Telos.

Before the Alliance could gather its forces and follow the Sith through the portal, a lone Sith warship appeared and crashed in Mombosa city. There were no Sith aboard however, the ship spilled forth a legion of Parasites into the city. Desperate to reach safety, Raivon and Qim fought their way through countless infected soldiers until being cornered by multiple opponents. The city seemed doomed were it not for the timely arrival of a small SpecOps fleet who advised the Alliance to retreat while they took care of the infestation. Teams of SpecOps Sith Lords were deployed throughout the city, forming a perimeter. Quickly and efficiently, the SpecOps drove the infected back to the downed warship. One such team was deployed at Raivon and Qim's location. Their squad leader informed Raivon that the Parasite fleet had been decimated, but the surviving infected had evolved; becoming faster, stronger hunters. Despite the Parasite's ferocity and superior numbers, the SpecOps were able to drive them back to the infected warship. Once there, the SpecOps revealed that the Alliance AI (who aided Qim on the first Ring-World) was aboard the damaged warship. Determined to rescue his companion, Qim entered the ship while Raivon remained outside to prevent any infected from following.

Once the AI (later discovered as just a message) was secure Raivon met Qim, Admiral Hood, Commander Keyes, and R'tas Vakarian aboard the latter's flagship as the SpecOps fleet obliterated the city below. In the conference room, they watched the AI's message which warned of the Parasite Hive Mind's plan to assault Telos. The message also hinted at a solution that lay beyond the portal. Qim argued that they should travel through the portal and bring the solution back to Telos. Admiral Hood disagreed, stating that Telos needed the Jedi's protection, to which R'tas replied:

"Did you not hear? Your world is doomed. A Parasite army, a Hive Mind, has you in its sights. You barely survived a small contamination." "And you, Sith Master, just glassed half a continent! Maybe the Parasite isn't all I should be worried about." "One single spore can destroy a species. Were it not for Lord Raivon's counsel, I would have glassed your entire planet!"

- R'tas Vakarian and Admiral Hood at odds.

Hood eventually agreed, granting Keyes permission to take her ship and join the SpecOps while he remained behind to safeguard Telos. The SpecOps fleet travelled through the portal, unaware of what awaited them on the other side.

The Ark
"So this is where it all began." "And where it will all end." "Oh, I do enjoy a good predestination paradox."

- Darth Raivon, Qim Xauweep, and the Monitor.

The SpecOps' first sight once they'd cleared the portal was of a massive installation similar to the Rings but shaped like a star with a small sun at the center. This, they assumed, was the Ark. Within minutes of appearing the SpecOps were engaged by the Sith fleet, who outnumbered the SpecOps 3 to 1, odds that R'tas believed made it a fair fight. As the fleets collided, Keyes warship deployed a dozen dropships onto the Ark, Qim among them. Raivon on the other hand, remained with the fleet, once again using his Battle Meditation to even the odds. Once Qim had disabled the Sith's heavy artillery, Raivon came to the surface via an Alliance dropship and helped fight through the narrow corridors of the Cartographer temple. With the area secure, they were able to examine the Cartographer and, with the Monitor's help, determine that Darth Candor had sealed himself behind a powerful energy barrier in the center of the installation, where the activation matrix was kept. Suddenly, a squadron of Sith starfighters appeared. When one attempted to blast Raivon, he leapt onto the fighter and used the Force to rip the pilot out of the cockpit. He then used the fighter to destroy the squadron and distract the enemy reinforcements.

Raivon continued to harass the enemy squadrons until regrouping with the SpecOps command ship, the only survivor of the orbital battle. Raivon and Qim then led a joint strike team of SpecOps and Alliance soldiers in a lightning assault on the three shield generators that maintained the core barrier. While Raivon and Qim were successful in deactivating their respective generators, Sergeant Apone's team was pinned down and captured by the Sith. The brothers then joined forces and finished Apone's task, lowering the barrier around the Ark's core.

Victory was near. R'tas' command ship prepared to bombard the Citadel (activation matrix), but before he could get into position a Parasite-infected space station came through the portal and crashed onto the Ark's surface. As it crashed, several pieces broke off from the station and struck the command ship, causing irreparable damage to its weapon systems. Another piece smashed into the third generator, releasing an army of infected into Raivon's position. Once Qim had returned to the group, Raivon pressed forward, leading the group back to the extraction point.

Once at the extraction point Commander Keyes ordered all forces to commence the assault on the Citadel. Using assault walkers, the Alliance and SpecOps were able to crush the dwindling Sith forces, including two heavily modified AT-ATs that guarded the Citadel entrance. With the defenses down, the Monitor was able to open the door of the Citadel, allowing Raivon and Qim access. Once inside, they took the main elevator to the activation matrix just as Darth Candor had activated the Rings. Time was running out, and an entire defense team, consisting of no less than twenty Sith Lords, lay between the brothers and Candor. In a bizarre twist, the Parasites appeared, offering a truce with the brothers. As Qim spearheaded the Parasite-aided attack, Raivon used his incredible Force talents to fly directly to Candor's position.

Seizing The Dark Throne
"So what now Lord Raivon? Are we to be two immortals locked in an epic battle until the Judgement Day when the trumpets sound, hmm?" "Or you could surrender."

- Darth Candor faces off against Darth Raivon.

Darth Candor immediately ordered his guards to kill Raivon to no avail, as he made short work of them. Sensing no other option, Candor drew his lightsaber and prepared to face the only man he ever feared. Raivon launched himself at Candor, instantly displaying his superiority in lightsaber combat. Though Candor was a master of Form VII: Juyo (a form known for its unpredictability), Raivon's mastery of Form VI: Niman allowed him to counter everything Candor threw at him. The duel soon devolved into a brawl as both combatants lost their lightsabers. Raivon once again possessed the upper hand, as his superior strength and reflexes allowed him to overpower his opponent. With his physical energy dwindling, Candor unleashed a powerful blast of Force lightning, catching Raivon off guard and significantly weakening him. Raivon retaliated with Force Flame, badly immolating the Dark Lord, but still unable to kill him. Seeing Candor weakened, Raivon charged him, hoping to kill the Dark Lord with a single nerve strike. Candor was feigning however, and caught Raivon in mid-leap with a Force Crush. Were it not for his advanced healing abilities, Raivon would have died instantly. His skeleton repaired itself, but still left Raivon crippled with pain, allowing Candor time to retrieve his lightsaber. The Dark Lord appeared victorious, but as he approached his enemy, Raivon used the Shatterpoint technique to discover Candor's weakness: the Dark Lord had become a slave to Force Hunger, a condition that comes as a result of constantly feeding on the powers of others. Realising that Candor was using his own power against him; Raivon released all of his Force energy, rendering him temporarily empty. This in turn stripped Candor of his Force abilities, the shock of which allowed Raivon (who's power had already begun replenishing itself) to telekinetically crush the Dark Lord's legs, crippling him.

"I am Candor, Dark Lord of the Sith, voice of the Force!" "So, you must be silenced!"

- Darth Candor's last words before Darth Raivon finishes him.

Crippled, powerless, and defeated, Candor crawled to the activation console in a vain attempt to protect his legacy. Raivon pinned him to the floor as Qim arrived and deactivated the countdown, putting the Rings back into standby and ending the threat of mass genocide. With all his works undone, Candor dissolved into insanity as Parasite spores began infecting him. His suffering did not last, however, as Raivon grabbed him by the throat and drove his lightsaber through his heart, ending the Dark Lord's reign. Qim then gave Raivon a small nod of respect, signalling the end of their fued.

Before they could celebrate a job well-done however, the Hive Mind let out a roaring laugh and revealed his plan to assimilate the entire galaxy. Surrounded by infected, the brothers stood back-to-back, lightsabers at the ready.

"We trade one villain for another."

- Dark Lord Raivon, refering to the Hive Mind.

The Replacement Installation
"A replacement...for the one you destroyed." "How long have you known?" "Just now. But I had my hopes. What will you do?" "I'm going to activate it."

- Darth Raivon, Qim Xauweep, and the Monitor discover a new Ring-World.

Raivon and Qim fought their way back to the turbolift, cutting through dozens of infected on the way. The lift was disabled, however, forcing the twins to escape via a disposal chute that brought them to an observation platform overlooking the core of the Ark. Out of the core rose a new Ring-World, a replacement for the one Qim destroyed. With the Parasite spreading across the Ark it was only a matter of time before the Hive Mind assimilated its technology and figured out a way to make it back to the galactic center. With this in mind, Qim decided to activate the newly-constructed Ring and purge the Parasite once and for all. While the remaining Alliance and SpecOps forces aboard R'tas' warship travelled back through the portal, Raivon remained behind. He took a Sith fighter and flew to the wreckage of the Parasite infested space station where Qim had gone to retrieve the Alliance AI. Upon arriving, Raivon cleared an extraction point, keeping the infected at bay until Qim found him via their Force bond. Once united, they boarded a damaged shuttle, escaped the station, and flew directly to the Ring. The shuttle lost power and crashed in the snowy mountains near the Ring's activation temple, forcing the twins to walk the distance.

When they reached the temple several grotesque flesh-pods fell from the sky, bursting upon impact, deploying dozens of infected. Once again they were forced to fight their way to the activation matrix, where they were met by Sergeant Apone, who'd remained behind to help them. Once inside, Qim gave Apone the data card that contained the AI and instructed him to activate the Ring while he and Raivon stood guard. The Monitor predicted that the installation would be ready to fire in three days, but Apone refused to wait and tried to activate it prematurely. This caused the Monitor great distress, as a premature detonation would result in the destruction of not just the Parasites, but the Ark and the Ring as well. Unwilling to let this happen, the Monitor went into defense mode and blasted Apone, mortally wounding him.

"Unacceptable! Unacceptable! Absolutely unacceptable! Protocol dictates action, I see now that helping you was wrong! You are the child of my makers, inheritor of all they left behind. You are Forerunner, but this Ring is mine!"

- The Monitor defends his installation.

The Monitor then blasted Raivon, rendering him unconscious. When he came to, the Monitor had been destroyed and Apone had died of his wounds. Qim activated the Ring and motioned for Raivon to follow as he raced to Apone's combat speeder. Qim piloted the speeder to Commander Keyes' warship, which was empty due to lack of personnel, but still spaceworthy. Once aboard, Raivon made his way to the bridge and piloted the warship back through the portal, with the Ring firing behind them. The Ring, the Ark, and the Parasites were destroyed by the blast.

Unfortuneatly, due to the Ark's destruction, the portal collapsed; severing the warship in half. The front half (containing Raivon) passed through whereas the back half (containing Qim and the AI) remained on the edge of the galaxy. The front section crashed into the Telos ocean. Luckily, Raivon was rescued by a TSF support crew and brought to Admiral Hood, whom he informed of Qim's apparent demise. A small memorial was held for those who died in the Ark skirmishes, during which Admiral Hood thanked Raivon for helping Qim save the galaxy.

"I remember how this war started. What your kind did to mine. I can't forgive you…but you have my thanks. For standing with him to the end. Hard to believe he's dead." "Were it so easy."

- Admiral Hood and Darth Raivon.

Though he knew Qim wasn't truly dead, Raivon saw no need to look for his brother, as he was needed elsewhere. Raivon returned to R'tas' ship and officially took the mantle of Dark Lord of the Sith. He then set course for Thule where he planned to rebuild the Sith Empire and continue his quest to strengthen the galaxy. For he sensed the Machines were coming.

Forefathers (300 ABY)
"Who are you?" "Family."

- Darth Raivon meets his ancestors.

Approximately 58 years of peace passed, allowing the Galactic Alliance and the Sith Empire to replenish their fleets and armies. Raivon believed that now was the time to launch his campaign and seize control of the galaxy, but before declaring war on the Alliance he contacted the Chief of State and Qim, offering them the chance to join his empire. They refused and gave him a counter offer: join the Alliance and give up the Dark Side. Raivon declined, and led his fleet into the heart of Alliance territory where he was met with their entire fleet. A massive space battle erupted between hundreds of ships, the fleets were evenly matched and any indication of victory for either side was non-existent. The battle lasted for days and only ended when every single ship on both sides were destroyed. As he floated amongst the wreckage of his fleet in an escape pod, Raivon cursed Qim for not surrendering. Both sides had commited their entire military to this battle and, as a result, the Alliance was defenseless and the Empire was destroyed.

Before Raivon and Qim's escape pods could be recovered, a massive ship the size of a planet came out of hyperspace amidst the wreckage of the battle. The planet-ship carried the same designs and architecture as the Ring-Worlds, and was approximately the same size as the Ark (width wise). As the planet-ship towered over Raivon's escape pod he felt a fear that he described as "daddy's coming home" syndrome. The ship was indeed what remained of Raivon and Qim's species, populated with other 3 trillion Near-Humans.

The Near-Humans took the brothers aboard and welcomed them "home". While Qim was overjoyed by this reunion, Raivon was highly suspicious and fearful of these people. His fears were not unfounded, however, as the "Forerunners" (as they called themselves) were very unhappy with Raivon's actions and punished him by severing his connection to the Force and imprisoning him. During his imprisonment, Raivon learned a great deal about the Forerunners. From their database he learned that the Forerunners were once Human, slaves to the Rakatan Empire, until they rebelled and used the Rakatan's advanced technology to develop a synthetic chromosome called C-24 that they used to turn their entire population into a race of super-humans. They then fled this galaxy, leaving a deadly Rakata-killing virus in their wake.

Although the return of the Forerunners should have been a joyous affair, it was not to be so. For they had returned to this galaxy solely to protect it from an impending invasion from the advanced machine race they called the "Reapers".

The 20,000 Years War (300 ABY - 400 ABY)
"There was a war. A terrible war. My people fought a race of sentient machines called the Reapers, for the sake of the galaxy. And they lost. We lost. Everyone lost. They're all gone now. My family. My friends... What happened to you?" "The Forerunners only restored my power because they knew I'd be the perfect warrior for the war. I was there when the Reapers laid waste to the Cruciform. I saw it. I ran. I ran so far. Made myself disappear so they would never find me, because I was so scared."

- Qim Xauweep and Veran Corvain reflect on the war. While Raivon stewed in his cell the Reapers conducted their first attack on the galaxy, burning two planets before being driven off by the Forerunners. Their second strike was far more catastrophic. A fleet of hundreds entered the galaxy and began periodically burning dozens of systems. Though the Forerunners commited every available resource to the defense of these systems many had to be sacrificed in order to preserve key territories. So great were the Reaper fleets that no other force in the galaxy, other than the Forerunners, could possibly stand against them, worlds that had once been considered unassailable were reduced to molten slags with minimal effort. It was because of this that the Forerunners decided to restore Raivon's connection to the Force and allow him to lead a special operations team to complete suicidal objectives. They considered this as Raivon's rebirth, and changed his appearance so that he could shed his past. Given his previous experience leading the Sith SpecOps, Raivon was not phased by the missions he was assigned, despite the 90% mortality rate. Raivon's first mission was to destroy a lightly defended, but nevertheless crucial, Reaper foothold. He led a team of highly trained soldiers to the Reaper base, meeting very little resistance for most of the mission. One of the soldiers under his command, a young woman called River Tamoa, earned Raivon's interest as she possessed latent Force-sensitivity. Because of this, he ordered her to stick close during combat. Their entrance into the base went unhindered and the place seemed abandoned. Before they could complete their task however, a dozen Reaper foot-soldiers appeared from conceiled hatches in the walls and immediately began firing on the team. The first to be injured was Raivon, who could not sense the Reapers through the Force and was subsequently caught off guard. Even more worrying was the fact that his wound did not heal and, despite his masterful skills at blaster bolt deflection, the Reapers were using a highly complex shooting pattern that Raivon's Form VI: Niman simply could not counter. Raivon was stripped of his main advantage: adaptability, and with his team dying all around him he couldn't focus on the Force to aid him. He suffered four more blaster wounds before finally dropping to the floor. He did not die however, as River took his hand and allowed him to channel his power through her, manifesting as a powerful blast of Force lightning in all directions, disabling the Reapers. She then dragged him to their shuttle and escaped before the Reapers could reboot. Raivon awoke a week later, his wounds fully healed. River sat at his bedside and informed him that the Reapers used a self-manufactured radiation in their weapons that negates their ability to heal unless they're given the antidote. Raivon realised that the Reapers were too smart to outwit, and so he decided that Niman was no longer sufficient to battle the machines and began extensively training to master Form VII: Juyo/Vaapad. He also cast aside his Sith moniker and started using his birth name again, much to River's delight as she hated his Sith name. When Veran was sent on his next assignment he was much better prepared for the grim efficiency of the machines and, due to his mastery of Form VII, was able to combat the Reapers on an even footing. As they fought side-by-side on dozens of missions, Veran and River came to be very close friends. River proved to be highly intelligent to a degree that surpassed Veran's own intelligence. He soon came to believe that she was a prodigy among their people (which is significant considering that all Forerunners possess genius level intelligence). Veran taught her how to use a lightsaber and, after only showing her a few moves, she had mastered Form IV: Ataru and wielded her weapon with an elegance that rivalled even Veran's formidable skills. He also taught her various Force techniques; nothing dark however, as he knew that, given her empathic nature, she would never use them. They became so close that a Force bond grew between them and Veran found her presence to be constantly soothing.

"I think it ironic that I can only find true peace amongst chaos."

- Veran Corvain, referring to River's "soothing presence".

The Fall of the Cruciform
"The Cruciform. The greatest metropolis known to the galaxy....gone. Reduced to glass....and all I could think about was her. They say that everyone present died instantly, they were right in a way. My death may not have been physical, but it was no less actual."

- Veran Corvain reflects on the Cruciform.

The war was closing to an end, the Reapers were few in number but still strong. While the Forerunners, with Qim's help, worked on a strategy to finish the machines; Veran and River were assigned to safeguard the Cruciform, a colossal city-world that served as the Forerunner's base of operations. The Reapers knew that if they were to win this war they'd have to destroy the Cruciform before the Forerunners could complete their plan, and so they launched a surprise assault on the city-world, committing their entire fleet to the task. As great as their defenses were, the Cruciform's military was still swamped by the Reapers, and soon lost the advantage. One by one, the Reapers scoured the vast districts, reducing them to glass. The fall of the Cruciform seemed inevitable to Veran, so he abandoned his post and went in search of River.

River was in a defensive spire which, as Veran arrived, was reduced to molten glass by the Reapers. Sensing her death in the Force, Veran dissolved into despair and rage which manifested as a Dark Side variant of Force Light that swept through the entire city like a nuclear blast. The entire city-world, the Reapers, and the remaining Forerunners were eradicated. Veran, broken and powerless, fled the Cruciform and travelled to the furthest edge of the galaxy, there he stayed, hiding from the war.

As he hid on a small moon in the Outer Regions, the remaining Forerunners devised a plan to eliminate the Reapers once and for all. They lured the last of the Reapers into a final showdown and, once they were all gathered, Qim created a wound in the Force that destroyed both the Reapers and the Forerunners, ending the war that lasted 20,000 years (the war originally began 20,000 years previously).

"All of them! But not you, that must mean..." "...I was the only one who could end it. And I did, I tried, I tried everything."

- Veran Corvain and Qim Xauweep reflect on the war.

Veran's Madness (460 ABY)
"Why don't we stop and have a nice little chat while I tell you all my plans and you can work out a way to stop me, I don't think!" "I'm asking you really, properly, just stop! Just think!" "Use my name." "Veran...I'm sorry." "Tough!"

- A manic Veran Corvain and Qim Xauweep.

The wound created by Qim had a secondary effect: it severed the galaxy's connection to the Force and all Force-sensitives became powerless, though Qim considered this a small price to pay. With no other course left to him, Qim took the last remaining Forerunner ship and simply explored the galaxy; picking up companions along the way.

Veran, on the other hand, remained in exile upon the desolate moon. The death of River and the destruction of the Cruciform weighed heavily upon Veran. His solitude did not last however, as a damaged transport ship crashed on the moon's surface and the survivors of which subsequently set up a small colony. Desperate to forget the past, Veran used a Sith meditation technique to bury his identity within his unconscious mind, replacing it with another personality. Veran effectively became a completely different person who decided to help the colonists fix their downed transport.

Sixty years passed, and the colonists drew close to fixing their ship when Qim came across their path. Qim did not recognise Veran however, due to his new face. With his help, Veran was able to repair the transport's engines completely, allowing the colonists to escape. However, Qim's presence re-awakened Veran's dormant identity and restored his memories. Upon regaining his memories, Veran was immediately plagued by a constant noise inside his head: a song that he once danced to with River during the war. Qim became frantic once he realised who Veran was and ordered his assistant to restrain him. Veran believed that Qim intended to kill him and grew vengeful, killing the assistant, but receiving a blaster wound in the process. He then stumbled into Qim's ship and locked himself inside, wherein his wound healed instantly. Veran then stole Qim's ship, leaving his brother stranded on the moon.

Following his escape from the moon, the ship's AI forced him to land on Taris where he assumed the identity of a Tarisian noble, becoming a high-ranking official in the Tarisian military. During this period, he set up an advanced communications network, which allowed him to influence the population via a telepathic field, enabling him to become a powerful politician.

After becoming a Senator, Veran created an army of machines and ruled Taris for a year, while he turned whole nations into work-camps and bases for a fleet of war ships. Just as he is ready to wage war on the rest of the galaxy, Qim returns and forgives Veran for the destruction of the Cruciform. It was Qim's intention to keep Veran with him on his ship; but his plan was thwarted when Veran was shot by a vengeful politician. "Dying in your arms. Happy now?" "What are talking about? Your not dying, just regenerate." "No." "One little blaster wound, come on." "I guess you don't know me so well. I refuse." "Regenerate. Just regenerate, please, please, just regenerate." "And spend the rest of my life imprisoned with you!" "But you've got to, come on. It can't end like this. You and me, all the things we've done. The Sith Lords, remember the Sith Lords? And the Forerunners. We're the only ones left, there's no one else. Regenerate!" "How about that; I win. Argh...will it stop brother? The pain, the memories, will it stop?"

- Veran Corvain dies in his brother's arms.

Despite Qim's pleas to regenerate, Veran allowed himself to die, his last thoughts being about River. Qim tearfully embraced his brother and cried out in frustration as he realised that he was truly alone in the galaxy.

Resurrection
"The Force is like a mean kid on a bug hill: it could fix my life in a second but would rather burn off my feelers and watch me squirm."

- Veran Corvain upon being revived.

His death was not to last however, as a familiar presence brought him back from the brink. He awoke upon a pyre, his immolated body healing within seconds. Disorientated and confused, Veran recalled his last memory: dying in his brother's arms, then nothing but darkness. Within that darkness he heard a voice: it was River. Veran convinced himself that it was just his subconscious, furiously fighting to save himself from death. With no purpose left to him, Veran travelled to Nar Shaddaa where he spent many years just drinking and gambling in an effort to forget his past, and her voice. It was not long before he fell into all the wrong circles; working for Hutts and gangsters alike. He purposely ignored the war that erupted between the Galactic Alliance and the Independent planets, as he did not wish to relive his past experiences. After accidently killing his last boss, Veran decided that enough was enough and attempted to commit suicide, but before he could throw himself into traffic he received a message from River.

The letter told of events that never happened and referred to jokes they never shared. Veran quickly realised that it was hiding a code that, once deciphered, said: "They're hurting me. Get me out." Veran was still sceptical however, and set out to prove the letter's genuality. After months of searching, Veran stumbled across an underground movement that confirmed the letter's authenticity and showed him a recording of River. They informed him that River was being held prisoner by the Galactic Alliance Military who were apparently "playing with her brain". Enraged, Veran planned to storm the Alliance facility where she was being held, but the informants provided a better option. If he funded them they could sneak her out in cryo-stasis and deliver her to Tatooine, from there he could take her wherever he wished. Veran agreed, on one condition: that he would oversee her extraction personally.

"And what assurance can you give me that this isn't just a sick joke?" "See for yourself." [hands Veran a datapad that shows River in a cell] "Take me to her...now!"

- Veran Corvain discovers the truth.

With the informant's help Veran infiltrated the facility, posing as an Alliance official. He gained permission to watch as the scientists conducted their experiments and, once he had learned all he could about her condition, activated a stun grenade, rendering the scientists unconscious. He then freed a dazed River from her restraints and escorted her to the rendezvous point where they were extracted by the underground movement. River was then placed in cryo and they were dropped off on Tatooine as planned.

Life as a Fugitive (465 ABY)
"I don't know if she'll be alright. I don't know what they did to her, or why. I just have to keep her safe."

- Veran Corvain. Once on Tatooine, in the Mos Eisley spaceport, Veran posed as a doctor and booked passage aboard the transport vessel named Firefly owned by Malcolm Raines, a veteran of the Alliance-Independance war. Also aboard were Zoe Washourn (Raines' first mate), Hogan 'Wash' Washourn (the pilot and Zoe's husband), Jayne Cove (a mercenary), Kaylee Frye (the ship's mechanic), Anara Serra (a Companion), Derrial Brooke (a spiritualist), and Lawess Dobson (an undercover Alliance agent). The ship was bound for Rishi but had to make a detour to deliver medical supplies to one of the moons of Ryloth. During the journey Dobson attempted to arrest Veran and shot Kaylee in the ensuing struggle.

Once Dobson was neutralized, Veran tried to help Kaylee until an Alliance cruiser arrived, demanding that he be turned over to them. Veran subsequently refused to help Kaylee unless Cpt. Raines gave the command to jump to hyperspace. Faced with the possibility of losing his beloved mechanic, Raines complied, after which Veran used his advanced knowledge of first aid (gained during the war) to save Kaylee's life. Furious with their predicament, Raines demanded to know what Veran was hiding and, despite Veran's protests, opened River's cryo casket. Upon seeing River curled up inside the casket Raines immediately assumed that Veran was a slave trafficker, and was taking River to sell to "some border-world baron". River suddenly awoke from stasis, startling the rest of the crew as she clambered out of the casket, confused and disoriented. Veran managed to calm her down and reassure her that she was safe from the Alliance scientists. As she sobbed on Veran's shoulder he explained who she was to the crew. He then took River to the ship's infirmary and gave her a sedative to help her relax. He held her hand until she fell asleep before joining the rest of the crew in the dining area. Veran told them of River's remarkable intellect and that she had been captured by the Alliance Military, but glossed over several details as he was unwilling to trust them with certain facts; e.g. he led them to believe that he did not play a vital role in her rescue, other than funding the underground movement.

Cpt. Raines initially wanted Veran and River off of his ship, but as events began to unfold he realised the need for a skilled doctor in his line of work. When Dobson escaped his restraints and attempted to leave the ship with River, Veran held him at blaster-point until Raines arrived and shot the agent in the head. Raines then offered Veran a place aboard his ship so long as he kept River from doing anything crazy.

"Maybe it's become apparent that we're in desperate need of a medic on board. You ain't weak. I know how smart you are, genius and all that. But you ain't weak, and that's something. If you pull your end and keep your girlfriend from doing anything crazy, you could maybe find a place here." "I'm trying to put this as delicately as I can...how do I know you won't kill me in my sleep?" "You don't know me, son, so let me put this to you plainly: If I ever kill you, you'll be awake. You'll be facing me. And you'll be armed." "Are you always this sentimental?" "I had a good day."

- Malcolm Raines invites Veran Corvain to join his crew.

A Part of the Crew
"It's fun, being forced to the ass-end of the galaxy. To get to live on a rusted-out wreck and eat molded protein. To be bullied around by our criminal mastermind/cattle smuggler of a captain. That's fun."

- Veran Corvain sarcastically referring to life on the Outer Rim. Life aboard the Firefly was far from glamorous and was often wrought with peril. Due to the crew's smuggling and other lawless work the transport had more than a few close run-ins with the Alliance. While Veran was more-or-less accepted as part of the crew, his only concern was keeping River safe from the Alliance and figuring out what exactly they did to her. Because of this, his relationship with the crew suffered, most especially with the mercenary Jayne Cove who wanted to turn them in to the Alliance for the thousand credit reward. Though Veran would often get the better of Jayne, even going so far as to dope him with sedatives to stop him from assuming command of the ship when Cpt. Raines was absent.

Jayne would get his revenge, however, when the Firefly came across a derelict. He told Veran that he was wanted by Raines aboard the derelict, knowing that Veran was afraid of the vacuum of space. Veran put on a life-support suit and met up with the Captain and Jayne aboard the derelict, only to find that the life-support systems had been restored. This brought Jayne to hysterics, making Veran feel like a fool, Raines then put him to work helping Kaylee scavenge the ship for engine parts. Unknown to Veran however, River had followed him and was exploring the derelict, eventually meeting Raines and Zoe in the cargo bay where she discovered the mutilated bodies of the derelict's crew.

It suddenly became apparent that the derelict had been attacked by "Rabids", savage humans who prey on transports and small settlements, killing and ravishing everything in their path. Raines gave the order to abandon the derelict, but Jayne was attacked by a traumatized survivor. They captured the survivor and took him to their infirmary where Veran deemed him to be in remarkably good health, considering the circumstances. Through his constant ramblings however, Raines deduced that the survivor was mentally damaged beyond repair and had Veran sedate the survivor before locking him in the infirmary. Their situation did not improve however, as an Alliance patrol caught them in a tractor beam and forced them to dock. Veran and River evaded detection by hiding on the outer hull of the Firefly in life-support suits, an experience Veran did not enjoy, unlike River who was enraptured by the vastness of space.

Once the Alliance had finished searching the Firefly, Veran and River went back into the ship to replenish their air supply, unaware that the survivor had escaped the Alliance infirmary and was hiding in the dining room. River could somehow sense the survivor's presence, but Veran simply thought she was being insecure and tried to convince her that no one but them were aboard. As he said this, Raines and an Alliance colonel came aboard, looking for the survivor. As he entered the dining room, Raines noticed Veran's life-support helmet and motioned for the colonel to stand firm while he looked around the corner, seeing Veran and River trying to hide. Suddenly, the crazed survivor attacked the colonel and would have killed him were it not for Raines' intervention. They were subsequently allowed to go free, minus the cargo they'd salvaged from the derelict.

Veran devoted all of his time to helping River regain her sanity, though his efforts proved futile as he was unsure as to what the Alliance did to her. He noticed a marked difference in her attitude however, as she began exhibiting moments of complete lucidity wherein her personality would resemble that of her past. She also showed a deeper understanding of her surroundings and often displayed a childish glee when observing the crew's activities.

"The Captain fought in the war, he should know how to use a sword." "I think he knows which end to hold." "Ah, maybe I'd better stand in for him then." "And what do you know about sword fighting?" "Suffice to say; I know which end to hold."

- Veran Corvain, Zoe Washourn, and Jayne Cove discuss Cpt. Raines' duel.

When Cpt. Raines accidently challenged a master swordsman to a duel on Onderon, Veran offered to be his second, but was prevented from doing so by the local crime boss who wished to keep Raines' crew from causing trouble on his "turf". The CB gathered the crew in the cargo bay and held them there until the resolution of Raines' duel. Veran suggested that they (the crew) should launch a surprise attack on the CB's thugs, but was countered by Zoe, who pointed out that they would need an adequate distraction. At that very moment, River appeared, apparently unaware of the current situation.

Veran tried to discreetly direct her back into the crew quarters but was spotted by the CB, who demanded to know who River was. River then surprised Veran and the crew by adopting the CB's accent and commenting on his origins, using them to embarass him in front of his thugs. She then strolled back into the crew quarters, leaving the crew startled. Raines eventually returned, having won the duel, and ordered the CB to leave his ship. He then revealed their new cargo: a herd of New Alderaanian Grazers.

River's Intuition
"Dear Diary: Today I was pompous and my girlfriend was crazy. [flips page] Today we were kidnapped by hill folk, never to be seen again. It was the best day ever."

- Jayne Cove pretends to read Veran Corvain's journal.

The crew delivered its cargo to a remote location on Dantooine, having arranged to sell the Grazers to a couple of cattle traders. Once the herd was safely within their pen River began communicating with them, seemingly able to hear their thoughts. Cpt. Raines, though amused by her actions, advised Veran to take River away from the cattle so that she didn't interfere with the deal. Veran cautiously took her into the local settlement where he encountered Kaylee and Anara, who were browsing the local stores. Annoyed and exasperated, Veran was not in the mood for Kaylee's overly positive comments and snidely insulted her way of life, upsetting her and earning a cold look from Anara as they left the store.

Angry at himself, Veran turned his attention back to River who had disappeared. He raced out of the store in time to see her turn a corner and then followed River as she disappeared down a sheltered alley. Upon emerging from the alley, Veran found himself on the edge of the settlement where a group of colonists had set up a small dance stage. River stood upon the stage watching the others dance for a couple of seconds before joining in, perfectly mirroring their movements. Veran was reminded of a time, during the war, when he and River danced during a victory celebration, and for the first time in decades, he felt a measure of peace. River suddenly stopped, however, having sensed the chaos of Raines' deal going wrong. Before Veran could make sense of what had happened, a bag was suddenly pulled over his head and his arms were bound. He was dragged into the nearby woods where he broke free of his restraints and swiftly defeated the kidnappers. Veran would have escaped were it not for River's sudden appearance, for she was immediately held at blaster-point by one of the captors. Unwilling to risk River being blasted, Veran allowed the captors to herd them to their settlement, confident that Cpt. Raines would come for them. His confidence was crushed however, as he witnessed the Firefly taking off, leaving them behind. The captor's settlement was far smaller and less sophisticated than the one they'd just come from, and it soon became apparent that they were in need of a doctor, which explained Veran's kidnapping.

Veran was initially unwilling to help them until River insisted upon it. He was surprised to discover that no disease or flew had afflicted the settlement, only the common illnesses that came from a rural lifestyle, but with no medical supplies or expertise these illnesses were often fatal. While Veran tended to his patients River disappeared once again, but returned moments later with a handful of berries she'd picked. As they ate, River apologized for making Veran's life a misery and that she was grateful for him saving her from the Alliance. Veran then told River about his attempted suicide and that her letter had saved him, he also made it clear to her that she was all he cared about.

"I get confused. I remember everything. I remember too much. And... some of it's made up, and... some of it can't be quantified, and... there's secrets... and..." "It's okay." "But I understand. You gave up everything you had to find me. You found me broken. It's hard for you. [starts to cry] You gave up everything you had." "River. Everything I have... [holds River's hand] is right here."

- River Tamoa and Veran Corvain.

The settlement's nurse then introduced them to a mute girl, hoping that Veran would be able to make her talk again. River correctly guessed that the girl's mother had gone crazy and tried to kill her daughter, this terrified the nurse as there was no plausible way that River could have known about that. She accused River of being evil and woke the entire settlement, gathering them together to tell them about River. The settlement leader, called The Patron, was unconvinced by the nurse's claims until River revealed his murder of the former patron. He viciously slapped River and demanded that she be executed. Veran defended her but was overwhelmed by the crowd who carried River to a pyre where they intended to burn her.

"Gotta say, Doctor — your talent for alienatin' folks is near miraculous." "Yes, I'm very proud."

- Malcolm Raines rescues Veran Corvain from the settlers.

Veran placed himself between River and the crowd, threatening to kill anyone who came near. As the crowd advanced, the Firefly suddenly appeared overhead and Cpt. Raines and Zoe approached the crowd, blasters raised. River was freed and they returned to the ship where Veran learned that Brooke had been wounded during the deal with the cattle traders and, with Veran AWOL, the only way to save him was to leave Dantooine and call for Alliance aid, thereby explaining why the Firefly had abandoned them. It also became apparent that, despite Raines' derogative treatment of him, Veran was as much a part of the crew as anyone else.

"So, finally a decent wound on this ship, and I miss out." "Well, you were busy trying to get yourself lit on fire. It happens." "Captain, why did you come back for us?" "You're on my crew." "Yeah, but you don't even like me. Why'd you come back?" "You're on my crew. Why're we still talking about this?"

- Veran Corvain and Malcolm Raines.

River's intuitive display troubled Veran, making him question the nature of her abilities. He quickly dismissed the notion that she was Force-sensitive, seeing as the Force was untouchable since the war. He instead chalked it up to her advanced intellect increasing the potency of her telepathy, as every Forerunner had innate telepathic capability.

Two-by-Two
"Two by two. Everyone has a mate, a match, a dopple. I love you." "River, of course I love you too, but marriage is... complicated."

- River Tamoa expresses her wish to marry Veran Corvain.

Life aboard the Firefly had its comical moments, not least of which included an incident wherein Captain Raines was unwittedly married to a slave girl. The crew had been hired to deal with a group of pirates who were troubling a settlement on Varonat. The job ended in violence and the subsequent death of the pirates, but was nevertheless a successful one. The settlement hosted a party in the crew's honour and rewarded them with an abundance of supplies as they had no credits to speak of. Unbeknownst to the Captain, however, they also gave him a wife. The marriage ceremony was part of the celebration and the Captain, being drunk, was none the wiser. The next day, as the Firefly broke orbit of Varonat, the crew discovered Raines' new wife amongst the cargo. Though Veran maintained his indifferent facade, he could not help but find the situation hilarious and struggled to keep from saying something that would get him thrown out the airlock. Little did he know however, that the Captain's marriage had affected River in an unforeseable way. She began contemplating the many aspects of marriage and eventually decided that she and Veran should be joined. She confronted him about it and asked Brooke to marry them (as he was a qualified priest), but Veran was reluctant about committing himself in such a way, though he was unsure why. River was upset by his denial and wondered whether he truly loved her. In her whimsical state of mind she put a pillow up her shirt, pretending to be with child and claimed that they needed to be married as she was "in the family way". This prompted Veran to half-heartedly call her crazy, which caused River to kick him in the shin and storm off to her room.

"And this is one of her good days?" "Ha ha... Ouch. Yeah, definitely a good day."

- Derrial Brooke and Veran Corvain as the latter limps to the infirmary.

Raines' wife then turned out to be a con-artist who, after incapacitating the Captain and Wash, sabotaged the Firefly's navigation and manouvreability systems before escaping aboard one of the shuttles. The Firefly slowly drifted towards a "Carrion House", an electro-magnetic net that catches ships and tears them apart. Luckily, the crew were able to regain control of the ship before they fell into the net. They then tracked the wayward shuttle to a small ice moon and landed in a snowy glade a mile away from the shuttle's location. As Raines went to retrieve the shuttle River strolled barefoot in the snow and, as he watched her examine an icicle, Veran realised why he was reluctant to marry her. He was afraid of the unknown, of what lay ahead. Although his commitment to her would never change, he knew, however unconsciously, that he had a choice. He could choose to stay with her or leave her, and though he'd never do the latter he knew that marriage would take his freedom.

With his fear identified, Veran recalled an old Jedi saying: "Let go of everything you fear to lose". So he let go. He sacrificed his freedom, just as he sacrificed his brother's love when he murdered Master Xavier. For a moment Veran was Darth Raivon again, with the weight of the galaxy on his shoulders, he realised that he would always be this way, and chose to accept it. He joined River in the snow and had Brooke marry them with the crew as witnesses. Raines returned with the shuttle and was surprised to see them joining hands, given his recent experience of marriage. The crew held a celebratory meal wherein Veran was given a lecture from Wash and Raines about the pros and cons of betrothel, with Raines representing the negative and Wash the positive. After only a few days, Veran started noticing a change in River's behaviour; she seemed less concerned with everything around her and was becoming more and more lucid as the week progressed. When he asked her how she felt, she simply replied: "Safe."

"K2 don't allow blasters in their facility." "Oh, listen Cap, I was on K2 a few years back. Might've made me a few enemies thereabouts." "Enemies? You? No, how can it be?"

- Malcolm Raines, Jayne Cove, and a sarcastic Veran Corvain.

The crew's next job took them to the clay mines of a moon designated K2315B. Upon arriving the crew were greeted by the foul smell of unprocessed mud and collectively decided to make this a short stay. Veran helped Raines, Jayne, Wash, and Kaylee gain access to the mining HQ by posing as a buyer, impressing the team with his acting skills. Once inside they came upon a clay statue of Jayne, the sight of which caused Veran to think he was going insane again. Things became even less simple when they sat in the worker's cantina where the off-duty workers began singing 'The Ballad of Jayne'. Through the lyrics Jayne was able to figure out what was going on: he had come to this moon once before and stole 200,000 credits from the local magistrate who owned the mines. As he was flying away in a stolen ship he was blasted by an AD tower, forcing him to throw the credits overboard in order to stay airborne. The credits apparently fell in the midst of the miners who claimed it as their own, as a result the miners made a statue of Jayne in honour of his "generosity". As bizarre a situation as it was, Raines was nevertheless able to use it to his advantage. He instructed Jayne to gather the miners in a particular place so that he, Wash, and Kaylee could retrieve the contraband they were hired to collect. After accidently insulting Kaylee again, Veran remained in the cantina where he was attacked by a scarred man named Stitch Hishing. Stitch demanded to know where Jayne was and drew a knife on Veran, threatening to gut him if he didn't help him find the folk-hero. Though Veran could have easily overpowered the decrepit man, he felt it important to keep up the illusion of being a simple doctor and so he took Stitch to the gathering. Once there Stitch revealed to everyone present that he was Jayne's partner-in-crime and that, when their ship was hit by the AD tower, Jayne threw him out before dumping the credits. In the ensuing fight Stitch was killed by Jayne but a miner also died, throwing himself in front of Jayne as Stitch tried to blast him. This disturbed Jayne, who couldn't understand why someone would give their life for his. Veran learned a lot about Jayne from this incident and vowed to keep a closer eye on him in the future.

Upon returning to the Firefly Veran found River hiding in one the ship's smuggling hatches, refusing to come out until Brooke had tied his hair back. Feeling that life couldn't get any more interesting, Veran returned to his quarters to wash the mud out of his clothes.

Betrayed
"When I took you and your wife in, the deal was you keep her in check. You can't hold up your end, we're gonna have to revisit that deal.... She's getting worse, isn't she?" "Yes."

- Malcolm Raines and Veran Corvain, after River Tamoa slashes Jayne Cove with a knife.

Veran had long forgotten the date of his birth and hadn't celebrated it in over a hundred years. River however, had calculated his birthday and informed the crew who surprised him with a cake. Though what should have been a pleasant surprise quickly turned into a nightmare as the Firefly's engine suddenly exploded, the result of a faulty compression coil. Cpt. Raines immediately sealed off the lower decks and opened the cargo hatch, sucking the fire out into space as Veran tended to an unconscious Zoe. Once the lower decks were clear, Veran and the crew took Zoe to the infirmary where he diagnosed her condition as critical. Her heart stopped, forcing Veran to inject her with pure adrenaline, restoring her stability.

The Firefly was dead in space and oxygen levels were low. With no other options available, the crew took the two shuttles and flew in opposite directions; Anara, Jayne, Kaylee, and Brooke in one, Veran, Wash, Zoe, and River in the other. Raines remained aboard the ship in the hopes that a passing vessel would spot him and offer assistance. Three hours after abandoning the Firefly Zoe awoke from her coma and immediately demanded that they go back for the Captain. When they arrived Veran found Raines collapsed on the bridge, having suffered a blaster wound to the stomach. Raines had managed to contact the captain of a salvage vessel who provided him with a replacement compression coil. However, the captain blasted Raines and planned to steal the Firefly, luckily Raines was able to get the upper hand and force the salvager to leave. He then stumbled into the engine room and installed the coil, restoring the life support systems.

Veran saved the Captain's life by discreetly injecting him with his blood, the regenerative properties of which healed Raines wound instantly. To hide what he'd done however, Veran drugged the Captain with sedatives to give the crew the impression that he was still healing. Regardless, when he regained consciousness the entire crew was present, the other shuttle having returned a few hours after the first.

"If I didn't know better, I'd say you're ready to save some lives." "Now all we need are a couple o' patients." "Corpses, actually. For this to work, River and I will have to be dead." "Huh. I'm starting to like this plan."

- Veran Corvain, Malcolm Raines, and Jayne Cove.

A week later, the crew were gathered in the kitchen area where Veran was unsuccessfully trying to make him and River breakfast. Suddenly, without provocation, River took a knife and slashed Jayne across the chest, stating that he "looks better in red". While Veran stitched Jayne's wound in the infirmary, Raines told him that River was to stay confined to her room until Veran could figure out what was wrong with her. Later that day, Veran approached the Captain with an offer: help him break into an Alliance hospital on Taris and he would tell them how to steal a valuable amount of medical supplies.

Veran formulated a complex plan to infiltrate the hospital: the crew would acquire a medical transport, disguise themselves as EMTs, and smuggle him and River in as corpses. The plan required Veran to teach Raines, Zoe, and Jayne the technical lingo required to fool the hospital staff, which was a long and labourous task. Once Wash and Kaylee had acquired an old medical transport and Jayne had required the false I.D. cards, Veran injected a reluctant River with a drug that simulated death in a person. He then injected himself and was placed in a container aboard the transport. Infiltrating the hospital was less complicated than planned, allowing them to get Veran and River to the morgue where they were injected with the antidote to the death-drug. While Raines and Zoe went to steal the medical supplies, Jayne snuck out of the morgue and contacted the Alliance Security Service, offering them Veran and River in exchange for the 400,000 credit reward. Veran and River awoke from their respective "deaths", vomiting all over the floor, as was the drug's side effect. They then changed into doctor and patient outfits respectively, before setting off with Jayne to the Neural Imaging Suite. On the way, River correctly predicted that a patient would die due to his doctor's negligence. As the patient went into arrest, the doctor called for Veran's help. Through River's insistence, Veran saved the man's life and scolded the doctor for his errors before continuing onwards to their destination. Once inside the NIS Veran placed River on the diagnostic chair and activated the neural analysis device. He examined a 3D image of her brain and discovered that the Alliance scientists had stripped her amygdala, altering her perceptions and taking her ability to control her emotions.

"They cut into her limbic system... Why wou-? They stripped her amygdala!" "Amygdala, what's that?" "You know how you get scared or worried or nervous. You push it to the back of your mind. You try not to think about it. The amygdala is what lets you do that, it's like a filter in your brain that keeps your feelings in check. But River... She feels everything. She can't not. Son of a Hutt, if I ever get my hands on those who did this to her..."

- Veran Corvain and Jayne Cove as they examine a 3D image of River Tamoa's brain.

Jayne then revealed that they had to leave immediately despite Veran's belief that they had at least twenty minutes left. En route to the rendezvous point they were ambushed by the ASS, who took them to the hospital's security office. Jayne, who expected to recieve his payment, was also detained, having been set up by the ASS lieutenant. Veran demanded to know what they intended to do with them and was told that agents from Coruscant were coming to retrieve them. The trio were then taken to a holding cell where Jayne and Veran rebelled against the guards, incapacitating them and freeing themselves of their retraints. Jayne saw for the first time Veran's true skill in combat, but quickly forgot it when Veran gave him a sharp tap on the side of the head, near the memory section of his brain. The trio then escaped through the back entrance as the Alliance Agents arrived, killing the ASS who interacted with Veran and River.

They met up with Raines and Zoe, who had been mounting a rescue attempt, and left the hospital, returning to the Firefly. Though Veran was none the wiser, Raines deduced that Jayne had called the ASS and threatened to space him if he ever tried it again. Despite Jayne's betrayal, however, Raines allowed him to stay onboard and promised not to tell the crew what he did. With the data from the NAD, Veran was able to treat River with greater success. Though the results of the treatments were varied, she showed a marked improvement and remained almost completely lucid all the time.

Saving the Captain
"Yes, I hear you're moon-lighting as a criminal mastermind now. Got your next heist planned?" "No. But, I am thinking of wearing a big black cloak. I'm a traditionalist."

- Derrial Brooke and Veran Corvain.

The sale of the mass amount of medical supplies stolen during the Taris job kept the crew financially afloat for many months, allowing them to indulge in luxuries that would overwise be restricted to them. The rest of the crew were also surprised by Jayne's generocity with his percentage, though none of them knew the reason behind his generocity, other than Raines of course. Because of the erratic side effects of her medication, though it kept her sane, River was often sick after eating. When she was accidently sick all over his bed, Veran moved into River's room and they ended up sleeping together. Their days of wealthy living ended abruptly, however, as Raines and Wash were captured by a psychotic crime lord, forcing the crew to combine their fortunes to buy Wash's freedom, though the crime lord refused to let Raines go. Unwilling to leave the Captain in his hands, the entire crew mounted a rescue attempt. Assaulting the crime lord's space station; Veran, Brooke, and Kaylee defended the ship while Zoe, Jayne, and Wash went to the Captain's aid. Veran and Brooke were called to help Zoe's team, leaving Kaylee alone with the ship, and kept the enemy from flanking the team. They found Raines wrestling with the crime lord's bodyguard and opened fire in unison, blasting the thug to pieces. Unknown to Veran, Kaylee had been pinned down by reinforcements. River arrived and blasted the thugs with pin-point accuracy despite having her eyes closed. This scared Kaylee, who kept her distance from River once Raines and the rest of the crew returned. As they left the station Veran tended to Raines' torture wounds, which included the reattachment of his left ear.

"Afraid." "We'll be okay. Why the captain is trusting that red-headed saboteur is beyond..." "Not her. Jayne." "Afraid? Since when?" "Since Taris. Afraid we'll know."

- River Tamoa informs Veran Corvain of Jayne Cove's treachery.

Not long after rescuing Raines from the crime lord, the crew took on another job stealing a priceless blaster pistol with Raines' con-artist/wife's help. With her on board, Raines ordered Veran and River to remain in their quarters in case she figured out who they were. When Jayne brought them food River read his thoughts, discovering his treachery on Taris, and told Veran. Later, after receiving an electric shock during the heist, Jayne was brought to the infirmary where Veran temporarily paralysed him with a drug. He made it clear to Jayne that he would not tolerate any more betrayals on his part and reminded him of the fact that, giving Jayne's line of work, he would likely be under Veran's knife again and again. River also added that she could kill him with her brain, making Jayne even more disconcerted.

"Your in a dangerous line of work, Jayne. [picks up a scalpal] Chances are you'll be under my knife again and again. So let me make this perfectly clear; whatever you do, or say or plot, however hard you come down on us... remember this: I hold your life in my hands. What I do with that life depends upon your actions. Now, we could circle each other and growl, sleep with one eye open, but that thought wearies me. You see, we're on the same crew. Got the same troubles, same enemies, and more than enough of both. I'm your medic, and however little we may like or trust each other, I will always be here to heal your wounds, remember that." [Veran leaves, River pokes her head in] "Also... I can kill you with my brain."

- Veran Corvain and River Tamoa threaten Jayne Cove.

Bounty Hunters and Body Smugglers
"So you're a bounty hunter." "No, that ain't it at all." "Then what are you?" "I'm a bounty hunter."

- Veran Corvain and Jubal Surely.

A week or so later, Jayne received a hand-knitted hat from his mother while the rest of the crew were landed with a casket containing a dead man: Raines and Zoe's war buddy, Tracey. A message that came with the body was from Tracey himself, asking Raines and Zoe to ship his soon-to-be-deceased self to his home on Dantooine. However, en route to Dantooine the Firefly was accosted by three bounty hunters who demanded the handover of Tracey's body. Unwilling to be blown to pieces, Raines and Zoe searched Tracey's casket and pockets in a bid to understand why they wanted him. Finding nothing, they had Veran perform an autopsy, believing that whatever the bounty hunters wanted, it was inside Tracey's body.

As he began the incision, however, Tracey suddenly came back to life and tried to throttle Veran. Once he had calmed down, Tracey explained that he was incubating experimental organs and was supposed to deliver them to the buyer, but instead decided to sell them at a higher price to someone else, with the intention of earning enough credits to improve his family's life. Unfortunately for him, however, the original buyers got wind of his plans and killed the new buyers before they could make the exchange. Tracey was forced to go on the run when a team of bounty hunters were hired to hunt him down, he injected himself with the death-drug and arranged for his body to be shipped to Raines and Zoe. The bounty hunters grew impatient and demanded that they land on Dantooine's surface and hand him over. Raines ordered Wash to lose them in the mountains and a chase quickly ensued, resulting in the Firefly landing in an alcove, forcing the hunters to bombard them with anti-matter charges to draw them out. With no other option available, Wash made the call to the hunters, agreeing to hand over Tracey. Desperate not to be caught; Tracey took Kaylee hostage, earning two blaster wounds from Zoe and Raines respectively. Once he was down, the bounty hunters were allowed aboard where they were held at a stand-off by the crew. Seeing Tracey wounded, the bounty hunters left, claiming that they had no use for damaged goods. Veran tried to save Tracey, but his wounds were fatal. He died soon after, reciting an old army saying: "When you can't run, you crawl. And when you can't crawl, when you can't do that... you find someone to carry you." The crew then took Tracey's body to his family as promised.

A Friend In Need
"How many babies have you actually delivered?" "This would be the first. You?" "My first, too." "Mine, too. Who do you think is in there?"

- Anara Serra, Veran Corvain, and River Tamoa help deliver a baby.

Veran found his facade as a doctor to be increasingly taxing when he was called upon to help deliver the baby of a friend of Anara's. The birth was less than typical as the father, a ruthless noble, was launching a raid on their location to steal his child from the mother. Though Veran was able to deliver the child, the father burst in and held River at blaster-point, demanding he hand over his baby. Veran did so without hesitation, but once the River was safe Anara attacked the father from behind, holding a knife to his throat. He gave the child back to Veran and then fled, only to be caught by Raines and killed by his baby's mother. River was traumatized by the event and Veran's actions, despite knowing how much she mean't to him. River refused to speak to Veran for several days until finally recognising her need for him and letting bygones be bygones.

The Last of the Force-Sensitives
"I don't belong... dangerous, like you. Can't be controlled, can't be trusted. Everyone can just go on without me and not have to worry. People could be what they wanted to be... could be with the people they wanted... could live simple, no secrets." "No." "I'll be fine. I'll be your bounty, Jubal Surely, and I'll just fade away."

- River Tamoa, despite Veran Corvain's protests, allows herself to be captured by bounty hunter Jubal Surely. Despite the increasing success of her treatments, River had not yet overcome her torment. While she was no longer susceptable to moments of insanity she began seeing visions and hearing the thoughts of others in a darker light. One such incident occured when Veran found her clutching a blaster, unaware of what she was holding. Raines took the weapon from River and ordered her not to touch blasters in the future. Veran explained to Raines that her treatments had random side-effects that he couldn't predict. While the rest of the crew were undeterred by River's actions, Kaylee decided to tell them about the incident that occured during Raines' rescue from the crime lord. The entire crew, minus River, gathered in the dining area where Kaylee spoke her piece. Despite Jayne's skepticism, the rest of the crew, particularly Raines and Brooke, believed Kaylee without reservation. Raines introduced his theory that River was Force-sensitive, having heard about them when he was young, a theory that Brooke also shared. Veran discounted their claims, stating that the Force was cut off from the galaxy since the "Great War" and that no one could possibly be sensitive ever again. Brooke then pointed out that the galaxy has a history of producing the impossible; making Veran consider the possibility. There were, after all, numerous unanswered questions surrounding River's survival of the war. Veran posited that, if she were Force-sensitive, it would explain her uncanny perceptions, not to mention why the Alliance would find her so interesting.

"Well... I don't like the idea of someone hearin' what I'm thinkin'." "No one likes the idea of hearing what you're thinking." "The Alliance could have any number of uses for a Force-sensitive." "A spy... or an assassin." "She's just a girl! And she just wants to be a normal... 23 year-old... girl." "I wish it were that simple."

- Jayne Cove, Anara Serra, Derrial Brooke, Zoe Washourn, Veran Corvain, and Malcolm Raines discuss River Tamoa.

As the crew retired, a bounty hunter named Jubal Surely snuck aboard via one of the airlocks and incapacitated Raines, locking him, Zoe, Wash, and Jayne in their respective quarters. He then tied up Kaylee in the engine room, threatening to violate her if she interfered with his plan. Jubal's next victim was Brooke, whom he knocked out cold before ambushing Veran, holding him at blaster-point. Jubal courteously revealed his plan to take River and collect the bounty (now reaching 800,000 credits) and instructed Veran to help him find her, as she was not in her quarters. Though unwilling to betray his wife, Veran agreed, knowing that every moment with Jubal was a moment to turn the tables. As they searched each part of the ship Veran observed Jubal's irregular behaviour, which included non-related theological comments as well as stopping suddenly to lick a rusted arm rail. Needless to say, Jubal was, as Veran put it: "Two pods short of a racer."

"Where'd she go?" "I can't keep track of her when she's not incorporeally possessing a spaceship - don't look at me."

- Jubal Early and Veran Corvain search for River Tamoa.

After locking Anara in her shuttle, Jubal and Veran went to the bridge where the bounty hunter hoped to run a scan, find River that way. Before he could begin however, River spoke through the ship's intercom, revealing his past sadism and claiming to have become one with the ship. Then it suddenly dawned on Jubal that River had somehow gotten aboard his ship and became immediately compliant when she made note of all the ship's "interesting buttons". However, despite having Jubal at her mercy, River revealed that she intended to let him take her back to the Alliance so that Veran and the crew would be able to live in peace. Veran objected to this and attacked Jubal, earning a blaster wound to the leg. He allowed the wound to heal instantly and again tried to stop Jubal from leaving, but was blasted twice in both legs. This time he stayed down, upon River's insistence, as Jubal applied his enviro-helmet and left the Firefly.

Before he could return to his ship, however, Raines, also in an enviro-suit, kicked Jubal off of the Firefly, sending him drifting into space. River then returned aboard with Raines and playfully dragged Veran by the ear to the infirmary where she healed his blaster wounds (which he'd kept from healing to maintain the illusion of being human). This display of Force ability confirmed her Force-sensitivity, giving Veran hope for the future of the galaxy.

"Well, here I am."

- Jubal Surely, as he floats in space.

One Simple Job
"Now River, stay behind the others. If there's fighting, drop to the floor or run away. It's okay to leave them to die." "Doctor. I'm taking your wife under my protection here. If anything happens to her, anything at all, I swear to you - I will get very choked up. Honestly. There could be tears."

- Veran Corvain reluctantly allows Malcolm Raines to take River Tamoa on a heist.

Several months past, Anara and Brooke left the Firefly to train Companions and preach at a mining colony respectively. Raines finally managed to sell the priceless blaster for a meagre price, not that he had much choice as the Alliance was looking for it nonstop. Some of the credits he spent on a speeder to aid in future heists. One such heist involved robbing the bank of a small settlement on Dantooine. Despite Veran's protests Raines resolved to take River along, given her talent for seeing trouble before it arrives. Though the job started smoothly, it suddenly spiralled into chaos when River sensed a Rabid raiding party about to attack the settlement. The team quickly grabbed the loot and fled in their speeder, with a Rabid ship not far behind. They were pursued for some time until the Firefly "swallowed" the speeder and crashed into the Rabid ship, destroying it.

"Oh, 'one simple job, she'll be fine'!" "She is fine. Apart from still being crazy, she's a picture of health." "Never again, do you hear me?" "I thought I made myself clear about you giving orders on my boat!" "Well, then we're off your 'boat'... just as soon as River gets her share of the bounty."

- Veran Corvain and Malcolm Raines.

Though River was unharmed, Veran punched Raines in the face for putting her in danger, despite the fact that it was River's precognition that saved the team. When Raines refused to keep River out of his future heists Veran opted to leave the Firefly just as soon as River was payed her wage. Angry and frustrated, Raines agreed, allowing them to leave once they had reached Commenor.

The Trigger
"River, do you want to stay with them?" "It's not safe..." "No, I fear it isn't safe anymore." "...for them."

- Veran Corvain and River Tamoa leave the Firefly.

The Firefly landed on Commenor where Veran and River disembarked, despite Kaylee's pleas for them to stay. While searching for passage to the Outer Rim, Veran lost track of River, who'd slipped away to find Raines. Veran discovered River in a cantina, attacking the clients indiscriminately. Jayne was there also, having been knocked out by River while Raines tried to retrieve his blaster from the weapons checker. Veran tried to get her to stop, but she attacked him and Force pushed him against a wall. As Raines aimed his blaster at River, Veran spoke a safe-word and River instantly fell asleep.

Raines carried River back to the ship and chained her in one of the storage rooms. He then demanded that Veran explain why River started attacking people. Veran told the crew that River was subject to behavioural reconditioning, making her an effective sleeper agent, and that the only way to stop her was to speak a safe-word designed to make her fall asleep. Raines angrily pinned Veran against the wall, furious that he hadn't mentioned this before. Veran claimed that he believed the Alliance were unable to trigger her, and that he didn't know the specifics of her conditioning. Having seen Veran briefly fight River in the cantina, Jayne suddenly remembered how Veran overpowered the Alliance officers on Taris and relayed this to the crew. Veran used this revelation to reinforce his arguement, stating that, if anything did happen with River, he'd be able to handle it.

"Eight months you've had her on my ship. Eight months you've known she could go psycho at the wrong word and you never said a thing." "I brought her out here so that they wouldn't find her. I don't even know what..." "My ship! My crew! You had a time bomb living with us. Who are we gonna find in there when she wakes up? The weapon? Or the girl?" "I thought she was getting better."

- Malcolm Raines and Veran Corvain come to blows.

Raines allowed Veran to visit River, who had returned to her usual not-quite-stable self. As Veran cleaned the blood on River's hands and head, he asked her what had caused her to attack everyone. She mentioned the name "Malada", but failed to elaborate on who or what it was. River claimed that she would bring death to everyone and asked Veran to kill her, to which he refused. The crew landed on the small moon H3573N, more commonly called 'Haven', where Brooke had made his home. While the rest of the crew enjoyed Brooke's hospitality, Veran remained on board the Firefly with River, though was joined by Kaylee who brought him and River some of Brooke's cooking.

They left the next morning, but before they did; Brooke came to the Firefly to bid farewell to Veran and to warn him of the danger he faced with the Alliance. When Brooke said his final goodbye he called Veran by his Sith name, Raivon, hinting that he'd known who he truly was all the time he was aboard the Firefly.

The Operative
"Secrets are not my concern. Keeping them is."

- The Alliance Operative.

The Firefly kept flying with no destination other than avoiding the Alliance. A few hours after leaving Haven Raines received a message from Anara, inviting him and the crew to visit her on Naboo. Sensing a trap, Raines ordered Wash to set a course for Naboo, hoping to save Anara from whatever mess she'd gotten herself into. Raines, using a make-shift disguise, infiltrated the Companion training house and found Anara in her quarters under the watchful eye of a nameless man Brooke warned Raines about: an Operative. The Operative calmly asked Raines to hand over River, warning him that she was a danger to him and his ship. Raines was unconvinced, however, and refused to give her up, choosing instead to blast the Operative and leave with Anara. The Operative was wearing body armour, however, and engaged Raines and Anara in a vicious hand-to-hand combat, using his mastery of the Echani arts to defeat the duo. Before he could kill them though, a flash bomb prepared by Anara suddenly exploded, throwing him across the room and allowing Raines and Anara to escape to the Firefly and leave the system.

Once aboard, Anara explained the Operative's modis operandi, refering to him as being "devout in his belief that killing River is the right thing to do." The crew then argued over what they should do next; Raines declared that they were heading back to Haven, an idea that Jayne opposed. The mercenary wanted to dump Veran and River on the nearest planet and questioned Raines' motives for getting them "lashed over a couple of strays", suggesting that he wanted to re-live the War of Independence. Zoe subsequently threatened Jayne into leaving the room, Veran then suggested leaving the ship with River, but was retconned by Wash and Kaylee.

"The government's man, he says you're a danger to us. Not worth helping. Is he right? Are you anything but a weapon? I staked my crew's life on the theory you're a person, actual and whole. And if I'm wrong, you best shoot me now. [River switches off the safety on her blaster] Or we could talk more."

- Malcolm Raines tries to talk down River Tamoa.

Jayne, drunk and furious, went into River's storage locker with the intention of kicking her out of the airlock. River got the better of him, however, knocking him unconscious and stealing his gun. She locked the kitchen area, forcing the crew to find another route to the bridge. As Veran peered into the kitchen area, River suddenly appeared and unlocked the door, but before Veran could say anything she kicked him in the throat and sealed herself in the bridge. When Raines found her she was searching the Firefly's astrogation charts, eventually finding a planet called "Malada". The crew then gathered on the bridge as they made the slow descent to Haven's surface. Raines and Kaylee recognized the planet as a "black-rock", non-inhabitable, and briefly entertained the idea of investigating before Wash and Zoe pointed out that all the space between Haven and Malada was Rabid territory. As they came in to land, the crew saw the mining colony devastated by an Alliance attack. The entire crew searched the colony for any survivors, Brooke especially. Veran headed into the centre of the colony looking for survivors, but found only corpses. Jayne found Veran and told him to follow him as Raines had found Brooke. Brooke was wounded beyond saving and died moments before Veran got to him, his lasts words insisting Raines to trust in River.

Enraged and saddened by the loss of his friend, Raines ordered the crew to use the miner's corpses to disguise the Firefly as a Rabid ship. Though he was reluctant to dessicrate the bodies, Veran was unwilling to be blasted in the head (as was Raines current disposition) and so helped the crew chain five of them across the nose of the ship.

A World Without Sin
"Merciful Force, please take me away! Make them stop! They're everywhere! Every city, every... every house, every room - they're all inside me! I can hear them all and they're saying nothing! Get up! Please get up! I will close my ears and my heart and I will be a stone... Please, make me a stone..." "She is starting to damage my calm..." "Jayne..." "She's right! Everybody's dead. This whole world's dead for no reason!"

- River Tamoa, Jayne Cove, and Zoe Washourn discover Malada's secret.

The crew gathered on the bridge as they made the terrifying journey through Rabid space, luckily they passed for one of them and travelled through unhindered. Malada was not the "black-rock" everyone believed it to be. It was, in fact, perfectly inhabitable with dozens of cities spread across the planet's surface. Wash picked up a weak distress beacon coming from one of the cities and set down there. The entire crew armed themselves and walked through the empty, yet sterile, streets of this ghost city. It was not long before they came upon the skeletal remains of a Trandoshian, curiously the body showed no signs of stress or damage of any kind. The closer they got to the signal the more bodies they found. As the crew examined some of the preserved bodies, River started to become agitated and cried out in horror as she finally understood the reason behind her nightmares. Through her ramblings Jayne realised that the entire planet was dead, and became every bit as anxious as River. The crew made it to the source of the beacon; a downed Alliance ship. Inside, River discovered an Alliance scientist's recording that explained what had happened: Malada was a planet plagued by conflict and in order to fix this problem the Alliance released a chemical sedative into the atmosphere. The goal was to calm the population and weed out aggression. Unfortunately, the sedative worked too well. The entire population (approximately 30,000,000) stopped fighting, but also stopped everything else, including eating and breeding. The entire planet let itself die while 0.1% of the population had the opposite effect to the sedative, becoming the hyper-aggressive Rabids.

The message ended with the scientist being viciously eaten alive by a Rabid, prompting Jayne to turn it off. River subsequently threw up, but when asked by Veran whether she was alright she realised that her insanity was finally cured and answered yes. The crew returned to the Firefly and collectively agreed to put an end to the Alliance by taking the recording to a private broadcasting platform on a moon called the "Hub".

"Brooke used to tell me: 'If you can't do something smart, do something right.'" ''[Jayne hands Veran a drink] "Do we have a plan?" "The Hub. We don't have the equipment to broadcast this message, but the Hub can put it on every screen in the Inner Rim. It's pretty damn close too." "We still got the Rabids and probably the Alliance between us and them." "That's two armies against our one biddy cannon." "It's a fair bet they know about the Hub. There gonna see this comin'." "No, they won't see this comin'."

- Jayne Cove, Veran Corvain, Malcolm Raines, Wash, and Zoe Washourn.

Reaping What They Sowed
"He isn't even changing course." [An enormous Rabid fleet appears in pursuit of the Firefly] "Uhh... sir?" "Target the Rabids. Target the Rabids! Target everyone! Somebody fire!"

- The Operative and an Alliance ensign.

As it passed back through Rabid space, the Firefly fired upon several ships, incuring their wrath and being pursued through hyperspace. The Firefly reached the Hub only to find it surounded by an Alliance fleet, as predicted. The sudden appearance of the entire Rabid fleet served as an adequate distraction to divide the Alliance's attention. With the kamikaze Rabids attacking everything in sight, the Firefly was all but forgotten and, due to Wash's expert piloting skills, they were able to weave in and out of the battle zones and headed for the moon's surface. Meanwhile, the Operative was forced to abandon his ship and follow the Firefly to the Hub. Unfortunately, the Firefly was not alone and suffered an EMP strike from a Rabid ship that disabled the Firefly's primary power, causing it to hurtle to the surface until Wash was able to get power back to one of the engines. He hathhazardly glided the Firefly into the Hub's hangar, suffering significant damage in the process. Nevertheless, they had landed. Before Wash could enjoy his finest moment, however, a Rabid ship blasted him through the chest, killing him instantly. Raines had to drag a distraught and heart-broken Zoe away from her husband, joining the rest fo the crew as they hastely armed themselves and fled the crash scene.

They made it to a good defensive position and, despite Raines' orders to close the blast doors and hide, Zoe insisted that they hold off the incoming Rabids while he completes their mission. Raines went down to the broadcast generator where he encountered, and defeated, the Operative before transmitting the recording to the entire Inner Rim. Meanwhile, Veran helped hold off the Rabids, but they eventually over-ran their position, forcing them to retreat behind the damaged blast doors. At this point practically everyone was wounded; Jayne was blasted twice in his right shoulder, Zoe had recieved a vertical slash on her back, Kaylee was hit by poisoned darts, and even Anara had more than a few scrapes and bruises.

"Let me just give you... my bag." [Veran is shot with a barbed projectile that explodes inside his stomach, he falls to the floor and River cradles him] "My bag... I... I need my... River... I... I can't heal... I..." "It's okay. You take care of me Veran. You've always taken care of me... My turn."

- Veran Corvain and River Tamoa.

As Veran tended to Kaylee he suddenly realised that he'd left his med kit in the other room, but before he could retrieve it he was shot with a projectile that exploded inside his stomach, preventing him from healing right away. As Veran lay wounded, River dived through the damaged blast door, threw his med kit to him and sealed the door. When Raines returned everyone except Veran believed River to be dead, only for the blast doors to suddenly open revealing River standing over a pile of dead Rabids, bloodied vibroblades in her hands. Alliance soldiers arrived seconds later and almost blasted River until being called off by the Operative, who's faith in the Alliance was shattered by the scientist's report.

Moving On
"When all else fails, just keep flying." "I'm afraid that's not enough, not until we've set things right. We'll be back though, just you see. C'mon, River." "The nightmare is afraid. It knows we're coming."

- Malcolm Raines, Veran Corvain, and River Tamoa.

As well as sparing their lives, the Operative also provided the crew with medical assistance and repaired the Firefly. They returned to Haven where they buried Wash and Brooke before setting off once again to kick-start their lives. River replaced Wash as the pilot and displayed her unparalleled skills by charting every course to make the most of their fuel, saving the crew a fortune on fuel credits. Veran and River remained with the Firefly for several weeks before setting off on their own to anonymously bring down the Alliance facility and free all of the other test subjects.

After putting this to rest they returned to the Firefly, as it was their home now. The Alliance lost a great deal of power and influence after their crimes were exposed, making the lives of the crew a lot simpler. During his time aboard, when not fixing blaster wounds, Veran devoted most of his time to understanding why River was so special. It was not until he uncovered a Forerunner prophecy that he finally understood her purpose, and his.

Name
'Veran' is an anagram of Revan and obviously a small nod to the No.1 canon Sith Lord. 'Corvain' is inspired by the name Corvinus, a powerful immortal in Underworld: Evolution. Raivon is taken from the Finnish word raivo, meaning rage.

Appearance
Veran is first represented by the X-Men character 'Pyro' (played by Aaron Stanford). His second and last appearance is represented by the Heroes character 'Peter Petrelli' (played by Milo Ventimiglia), whom I chose because of his real-life resemblance to Darth Caedus/Jacen Solo. Note: Some of the images depict Simon Tam (Sean Maher) as Veran, but all are taken from a certain angle to hide the obvious differences between Ventimiglia and Maher.

Lightsaber
Veran has had only two lightsabers in his very long life-time. The first had a green blade commonly used by Jedi Consulars and was lost during his duel with Qim Xauweep on Korriban. The second was built by Raivon after the aforementioned duel and had a powerful Qixoni crystal, giving it a deep red blade. It also contained a reactive crystal (a crystal that bonds itself to a particular person) and a Kaiburr crystal. He carried this lightsaber up until his death where it was lost aboard the Blackstone Fortress.

Inspirations
Darth Raivon's story is strongly influenced by the Halo Trilogy, Doctor Who, Firefly/Serenity, Warhammer 40,000, and to a lesser extent; Mass Effect and the Terminator Franchise. My thanks go to Bungie, Russel T. Davies, Bioware, James Cameron, and of course that legend: Joss Whedon.


 * "No power in the 'verse can stop me!"