The game takes place 4,000 years before the events of Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope. Darth Malak, a Dark Lord of the Sith and Darth Revan's former apprentice, has unleashed a Sith armada against the Republic. Malak's aggression has left the Jedi scattered and vulnerable; many Jedi Knights die in battle and others swear allegiance to Malak. The game opens with the player's character, whom the player can customize to be either male or female (the gender is canonically male), awakening aboard a doomed Republic ship with no recollection of his past. After escaping the ship, the player's character gradually gathers companions and pieces together his past while attempting to stop Malak's forces. To accomplish this, the main character and his companions search for Star Maps that together reveal the location of the Star Forge, an ancient space station that creates massive amounts of material for Malak.