Revolt against the Eternal Empire

In 3632 BBY, the Eternal Empire's rule of the galaxy was challenged by a figure known as the Outlander, who had been imprisoned in carbonite since before the Empire's conquest of both the Galactic Republic and the Sith Empire. Freed from the Eternal Empire's clutches by a small group of allies, the Outlander&mdash;accused of murdering the Immortal Emperor Valkorion by Valkorion's own son Arcann&mdash;went on the run from Arcann's forces, uncovering the legendary starship known as the Gravestone and gaining allies. After the Outlander's forces were able to cover the retreat of the populace of Asylum at Battle of Asylum with little losses, rogue elements from both the Republic and the Sith Empire joined the Outlander's cause, forming the Alliance on the planet Odessen and dedicating themselves to toppling Arcann's rule.

Origins
"People of Zakuul. The unthinkable has happened. Our beloved Emperor, Valkorion, is dead&mdash;murdered by an Outlander who sought to shake the foundations of our great society. The assassin will receive swift and just punishment. And this act of unprovoked aggression will be answered. As your new Emperor, I can promise you this: Zakuul's enemies will face the full power of the Eternal Throne. They will answer for their warmongering ways. And every last one of the Core Worlds will burn."

- Arcann addresses Zakuul, declaring war on the rest of the galaxy

In the aftermath of his father's death in 3637 BBY, Arcann seized control of the Eternal Empire and launched a devastating assault on the forces of the Galactic Republic and Sith Empire. Attacking both sides at once, the Eternal Empire's forces had achieved naval superiority over both sides after three months, and by the end of the first year, both Coruscant and Dromund Kaas had been blockaded by the Eternal Fleet. The Dark Council continued to fight, but without Darth Marr leading them, they were quickly destroyed. Leontyne Saresh, then Supreme Chancellor, refused to submit the Republic to Zakuulan authority, and waged war against both the Eternal and Sith Empires at the cost of millions of Republic lives. The Galactic Senate managed to overrule her and sued for peace. Similarly, the Minister of Logistics did the same for the Sith Empire.

Following negotiations between Zakuul and the defeated powers, Arcann agreed to a ceasefire, with both sides forced to agree to pay a heavy tribute to Zakuul, and submit to armament restrictions. In the years that followed, the Republic and Sith Empire continued to wage war against each other, with Arcann showing no interest in intervening, provided that the tribute is paid and they continued to acknowledge Zakuul's superiority. Saresh was removed from power by the Senate, but continued to control the Republic through a carefully chosen puppet Chancellor by the name of Jebevel Madon. With all members of the Dark Council dead or in hiding following the war with Zakuul, its last visible member, Acina, declared herself Empress of the Sith.

Instead of leaving armies to control his new holdings, Arcann deployed hundreds of massive battle stations known as Star Fortresses in orbit above key worlds, including Alderaan, Voss, Belsavis, and Bothawui among others. These massive stations, commanded by the Exarchs, powerful Knights of Zakuul with biological and cybernetic upgrades, were used to discourage resistance against the Eternal Empire.

Rescuing the Outlander
With the Eternal Empire holding the Republic and Empire in a stranglehold, slowly depriving the two powers of supplies and resources, Lana Beniko - the former minister of Sith Intelligence - decided that something needed to be done, so she travelled into Wild Space with her personal bodyguard droid HK-55 in search of the figure known as the Outlander, hoping to learn their fate. Along the way, she recruited a former member of the Zakuulan military, Koth Vortena, for help in liberating the Outlander. Lana would eventually learn of the Outlander's location deep within the Spire and soon developed a plan to liberate the last hope of the galaxy.

With help from Koth, HK-55, and T7-O1 - former companion to the Hero of Tython - Lana freed the Outlander from their prison and fled the Spire, with High Justice Vaylin in pursuit. Crash landing in the Endless Swamp surrounding the Spire, the small crew - minus T7-O1, who had remained in the Spire to achieve a secondary objective - located the ancient warship known as the Gravestone, the only ship in the history of Zakuul to stand a chance against the unstoppable Eternal Fleet.

After repairing the Gravestone, the Outlander's team soon found themselves under attack from the forces of the Spire, nearly being overrun by Skytroopers and Knights of Zakuul, only to be saved at the last minute by the intervention of Senya Tirall. As they fled the planet, Koth used the Gravestone's omnicannon on the Eternal Fleet, destroying more than two dozen ships in a single shot. Jumping to hyperspace, the Outlander's team made their way towards Asylum, a shadowport and safe haven for those who oppose Arcann's rule.

Asylum
==== "The Battle of Asylum showed the galaxy Zakuul isn't invincible. My contacts in the Core worlds are throwing their support behind us. Behind you. You're about to become the leader of an alliance dedicated to bringing down the Eternal Throne once and for all."

- Lana Beniko to the Outlander ====

Having to through deep space without the hyperdrive, due to many of the Gravestone's systems cutting out mid-flight, the group eventually arrived on Asylum, where Koth reunited with his old crew, including Len Parvek and Ralo - a former Republic soldier who served on Darth Marr's flagship five years earlier. After rescuing one of Koth's engineers, Tora, from Tanno Vik and his mercenaries in the Free Zone, the Outlander was led by Senya to the Scions of Zakuul - led by Heskal - a group of prophetic protectors of Zakuul who were hunted to near extinction by Arcann. After being tested by the Scions, the Outlander was forced to duel Heskal, a duel that only ended after Lana and Koth's crew intervened.

Following the fight with Heskal and the Scions, the crew of the Gravestone received a message from the Lady of Sorrows - an information broker on Zakuul - and left for Zakuul's Old World district to find her. While the Outlander was gone, Heskal had a vision of the future and told Arcann that the Outlander was on Asylum, prompting the Emperor to prepare the Fleet for combat before personally travelling to the shadowport.

Following their mission to meet with the Lady of Sorrows - who in reality was the highly advanced droid SCORPIO - the Outlander and Senya returned to Asylum with their new ally. While SCORPIO worked on upgrading the Gravestone, the Outlander went to meet with Heskal in the Scions' hideout. At the same time, Arcann arrived on Asylum and beat the Outlander to the Scions' hideout, allowing him to massacre the group and mortally wound Heskal. A fight broke out between the Outlander and Arcann while the Eternal Fleet bombarded the shadowport. A shuttle crashing into the hideout abruptly ended the fight, leaving Arcann buried under the collapsed building, allowing the Outlander to return to the Gravestone.

The Outlander made their way to Asylum's Control Spar - with assistance from Beniko, Vortena and HK-55 - to unlock docking clamps grounding the frigate - while Senya engaged her daughter. Arcann, who had survived the collapse of the Scions' hideout, pursued the Outlander all the way to the Control Spar, where the two resumed their fight, this time with the Outlander receiving aid from HK-55. After Arcann destroyed HK, the fight ended when the Emperor was thrown from the platform, though he managed to survive the fall. With the Gravestone free, the Outlander's forces fell back to their ship and barely escaped the Eternal Fleet.

The Alliance
Though the Eternal Empire took control of Asylum, the battle showed the galaxy that Zakuul was not invincible, and members of the Republic and Sith Empire voiced their interest in an alliance against a common enemy, gathering on the planet Odessen to establish a base.

Upon the arrival of the Outlander, the Alliance got to work building a base out of a cliff face. Once the groundwork was established, the Outlander - who was operating as the Commander of this Alliance - got to work recruiting noteworthy individuals from across the galaxy to add to the efforts of the new faction.

Reports of this new faction spurred others across the galaxy to take action, with resistance fighters gathering on planets under the threat of a Star Fortress. One such resistance cell on Bothawui was making significant progress, prompting the Eternal Empire to demonstrate their power by firing a massive laser from the Star Fortress, wiping out the cell. In response, the Outlander infiltrated one of these Star Fortresses, hoping to deal some damage. Learning valuable information about the inner-workings of the Star Fortresses, the Alliance made contact with resistance fighters on Alderaan, Belsavis, Hoth, Nar Shaddaa, Tatooine and Voss to destroy shield bunkers protecting the sun generators powering the battle stations, and systematically destroyed the Star Fortresses above each of the aforementioned planets.