Dame Evangelia Maxico was a knight of House Mecetti and a member of the Mecrosa Order.
Biography[]
Youth and training[]
Born on Estaph in the Tapani sector, she was a commoner with no links to nobility. However, she was also a Force-sensitive, and was discovered by agents of the Mecrosa. After her parents were "accidentally" killed by a gas leak, Baron Offul Grant adopted her. The Tapani sector media fawned on him for the magnanimous gesture, but Grant, himself a leader among the Mecrosa, actually wanted a Force-strong disciple for the Order before she could be discovered by the Jedi.
Evangelia received the best training her adoptive father could provide, including the use of poisons, toxins, and a variety of weapons and martial arts. Her tutors considered her an expert at close-range knife fighting, though she was also a crack shot with a blaster pistol. In 151 ABY, she killed a Jedi Knight who was investigating a series of mysterious disappearances in the Tapani sector. Shortly after, her adoptive father had her knighted to give her the social standing and authority to further her missions.
As a youth, Evangelia was fascinated with the lore of both Sith and Jedi. She began to sense that she was different from others and had powers they did not, and slowly experimented with her Force powers, though she never received formal training. She also wished to carry a lightfoil, although the weapon was restricted to nobles. She was punished severely by her adoptive father and his Mecrosa masters when she was caught with an illegally obtained lightfoil. After she was knighted, however, she took one belonging to her father's family, and demonstrated sufficient skill with the weapon that no one protested again.
Evangelia came into conflict with Marcus Antessio, a fellow knight and Mecrosa assassin, over tactics. Antessio sought to play the various Sith and other dark side factions against one another, while Evangelia wanted to commit the Mecrosa to the strongest claimant and use House Mecetti's influence and wealth to help the Sith rebuild. In addition, Marcus despised Evangelia, who had been raised to nobility from the common class, unlike Marcus himself, who was born noble. Lady Menal Bathiriat, commander of the Mecrosa, had policies in line with Marcus's beliefs, leaving Evangelia constantly stymied.
The holocron mission[]
Leadership conflict[]
In 154 ABY, the Mecrosa learned that the Sith holocrons of Darths Ramage and Chosis were for sale on the black market of Coruscant. Marcus Antessio was sent to recover them, along with a team of Mecrosa killers and Evangelia as his second-in-command. Though she detested her commander and being subordinate to him, Evangelia also understood how vital it was to recover the holocrons before they slipped into Jedi hands.
Marcus treated Thosso as his right-hand man, relegating Evangelia to a backup role. When the two went to seek information, however, Evangelia tried to focus the remaining agents on other venues of research. Thosso returned one night with the news that Marcus had died fighting the Jedi Master Halambo; though she was not sorry to see him die, Evangelia was frustrated that he had wasted his talents when the mission demanded the best the Mecrosa had, and more than a little worried that the Jedi were alerted to their presence.
On the trail[]
Evangelia and Filiat Jegun located the information broker Wonga Vurb, and the Mecrosa tracked him down at his residence, persuading him to share the location of the seller's contact in exchange for credits and the possibility of information from the Mecetti intelligence network. The Mecrosa team tracked down Malleigh Rason, and Evangelia personally killed Rason's Wookiee bodyguard Grumyukkan after he had been injured by her colleagues. Torturing Malleigh for information on the holocrons, the Mecrosa found the location of Synix Fer'faloon and the site where Malleigh thought the holocrons might be stored. After killing the Stellan fence, the Mecrosa rigged his apartment with an explosive to eliminate any competition for the holocrons who might arrive after them.
They followed the trail, but the holocrons were stolen by Eche Parunam, a former Jedi who was being closely pursued by two members of the One Sith. Parunam was herself mortally wounded by the Zeltron gangster Rahli and his Dashade enforcer Wek Lekatro. As they two fled on a swoop, Lekatro missing a hand, Evangelia ordered Thosso to shoot them down. She recognized the Dashade for what he was and warned her team as they attacked, but Aimon Bathiriat charged without caution and was mutilated by Lekatro, nearly torn in half by the Dashade's claws. The two criminals were eventually brought down; Rahli was downed with a temporary paralytic agent, and Evangelia took the holocrons from him before cutting his throat.
Duel with the “Dark Lord”[]
The Mecrosa escaped into the downlevels, but were pursued by Breek Zagrev and Kyriel Windrunner. When Kyriel destroyed a bridge over which the Mecrosa had planned to escape, Evangelia braced her team for a fight, but Breek demanded the holocrons and identified herself as a Sith Lord of the Rule of Two. Though mocking her claim and aware of Breek's physical injuries and weakness, Evangelia was privately intrigued by the claim, because she sensed Sith influence in Breek's power. Her desire to see a single Sith faction come to power led her to compromise by challenging Breek to a duel, with the winner taking the holocrons; Breek, claiming to be above the challenge of a servant, had Evangelia fight Kyriel instead.
Though she poisoned Kyriel with Manax-root poison and held her own for a while, Evangelia was eventually defeated by the Drakonus and stabbed through the shoulder. Yielding, she surrendered the holocrons and identified herself by name and Order to Breek when asked. Breek allowed the Mecrosa team to leave and retreated with the holocrons.
Power grab[]
Lady Bathiriat was not pleased to see Evangelia return with both her nephew and her protégé dead, and was livid to hear that Evangelia had surrendered the holocrons to a Sith claimant without approval. She sought to have Evangelia stripped of her knighthood, but was unable to tell the Privy Council why, as she hesitated to mention the Mecrosa even to that body. As a result, the motion was denied.
Some weeks after the Coruscant mission, Thosso came to Evangelia to warn her that Lady Bathiriat had ordered her killed. Evangelia consulted her adoptive father for help, and he assisted her in trapping and killing the assassins. He also furnished her with the details of Lady Bathiriat's residence and security detail, suggesting the Mecrosa leader would never leave Evangelia in peace.
Taking the hint, Evangelia snuck into Lady Bathiriat's estate on Procopia. Avoiding the guards, she succeeded in poisoning Menal Bathiriat, who died shortly thereafter. In the confusion that followed, Baron Grant assumed command of the Mecrosa Order and was elevated to lordship, and any discussion of censure for Evangelia disappeared.
Watching her back[]
Evangelia helped her adoptive father eliminate threats and rivals within the Tapani sector, rapidly becoming the most powerful and dangerous Mecrosa operative. As time went on, however, and especially when it became clear that neither of the "Sith" from Coruscant were making themselves known, Evangelia began to sense her father's disappointment and suspicion. She threw herself into her work, suggesting plans and expansions for the Mecrosa, never realizing she was making herself appear all the more threatening.
In late 155 ABY, Evangelia felt her faith was rewarded at last when "Darth Asa" appeared one night in her father's estate and assured her she had plans for Evangelia and the Mecrosa that would support all their goals. However, the young knight was concerned by the Sith's warning that enemies within the Tapani sector were planning her own demise. Darth Asa refused to elaborate, but after she left, Evangelia made a point of rallying her closest comrades and supporters to keep all their eyes open and watch one another's backs.
The Council's confidence[]
Darths Asa and Jinyx reappeared in 156 ABY, visiting Evangelia and Lord Grant with an offer—if the two Mecrosa would instigate a war between House Cadriann and House Calipsa, the Sith would ensure that House Mecetti stood to gain from the resulting tumult. Evangelia openly expressed her support for the plan, and Lord Grant conceded as well, though once the Sith were gone he slapped Evangelia for what he perceived as undermining his authority.
Evangelia, Thosso, and several other Mecrosa agents conducted a series of targeted assassinations among the Calipsa and Cadriann. When the two houses were supplied with weapons by the Merquise Syndicate, they devolved into open war which became the Tapani Conflict. Lord Grant persuaded the Mecetti to remain neutral, though Evangelia continued covert action, arranging for mercenary companies to support both sides and spying on all parties.
Eventually, as Darth Asa had predicted, the Galactic Federation Triumvirate intervened to stop the bloodshed and damage to regional trade. A fleet headed by Jedi Master Shandur Arrofai and Imperial Captain Nell Serris negotiated the Treaty of Procopia, which gave the Mecetti supervisory power over the disarmament and security of the Tapani sector; the other houses went along with the arrangement to avoid the even worse possibility of the Triumvirate or the Jedi directly controlling their affairs. Under the new regime, the Mecetti Privy Council appointed Evangelia to oversee disarmament despite her common birth, and her faith in her mysterious Sith benefactors continued to grow.