Chapter 1: Escape
Location: Kaas City
3950 BBY...
Forks of lightning lit up the sky on the swamp world of Dromund Kaas; a world where perpetual storms raged. Drenched by the rain, Meetra Surik was having difficulty suppressing the chill within her body. With the Dark Council having been purged on orders of the Sith Emperor, martial law had been imposed throughout the city. Imperial Forces had their hands full in quelling the uprising, but there was a sizable force between them and the Ebon Hawk. Even if they were successful, there was still the issue of the planetary lockdown to deal with. Looking over her shoulder, she found Revan propped against a duracrete wall, his silence deafening. Positioned nearby, T3-M4 let out an electronic whimper, seemingly sharing her concern.
"What happened to you...?" she whispered.
Apart from the sensory overload he had suffered when given his mask, he had seemed fine since their escape from the compound of Darth Nyriss. But when their Sith 'ally' proposed assassinating his own Emperor, Revan had promptly wiped Scourge's memories. Three years as a prisoner, it shouldn't have come as a surprise that he wanted to return to Republic Space. However, it was rather out of character for him to want to leave something unfinished. Returning her attention back to the spaceport, Meetra saw only members of the Emperor's Guard. News of the of the Dark Council's massacre had gotten out, leading to unrest amongst the populace. Imperial Forces had their hands full in quelling the uprising, which would hopefully work in their favor.
"I sure hope you have some sort of plan," she said,
Not expecting a response, she was surprised when Revan strolled past, stopping at the mouth of the alleyway. Stretching out his hand, he gathered the Force within him and detonated a nearby landspeeder. This immediately drew away the guards stationed at the spaceport, giving them the opening that they needed.
"Since when do you know Force Combustion?" she questioned.
"There are plenty of abilities that I've not revealed to anyone," Revan answered.
Emerging from the alleyway, the former Dark Lord immediately heading in the direction of the spaceport. Meetra and T3 wasted no time in pursuing him, making it inside the terminal before someone stopped them. The spaceport had been cleared of all civilians because of services had been suspended, but there was still plenty of security personnel patrolling about. The two Jedi were quick to duck behind a support pillar, keeping themselves out of sight.
"I don't suppose you remember where you left the Ebon Hawk?"
"Yeah, but there's a good chance they'll have everything locked down," Meetra warned.
"Nothing that Teethree can't handle," Revan replied, the statement directed at the utility droid.
The droid twiddled a confirmation and emerged from behind cover, making a beeline for the nearest computer terminal. There were moments where they believed that T3 would be halted by the security personnel, but they didn't give the little droid a second thought. Reaching his destination, T3 extended an interface arm and plugged into the imperial network. As the little droid began slicing into the system, the seconds that passed moved at an agonizingly slow pace. Eventually, the droid unplugged himself from the terminal, flickering his photoreceptors to get the attention of the Jedi.
"He's unlocked the system," the former Dark Lord announced.
"Little guy never disappoints," Meetra commented.
"When I give the signal you make a break for it. I'll follow once it becomes safe for me to proceed."
Meetra nodded her head and dropped into a crouch, ready to break into a sprint at a moment's notice. Studying the positions of the security personnel, Revan waited until they were out of range before motioning for his companion to go. She took off like a shot, sprinting across the terminal with speed that had been enhanced with the Force. She reached the doorway in under a minute, immediately taking up position next to the utility droid. The Ex-Sith Lord watched as the guards as they continued their patrol, waiting for another opening to present itself. His patience paid off, as another opening did present itself, exactly as Revan had expected. He bolted out from behind the pillar and raced across the terminal, his booted feet ringing against the durasteel floor-panelling. It sounded louder to his own ears, and he half-worried that it would draw unwanted attention. Reaching his destination with no complications, T3 wasted no time in plugging into the dataport.
"Turn off the lights and open every door," Revan instructed, "We've got to distract them."
The droid twiddled an affirmative, and immediately plunged the entire terminal into complete darkness. They heard shouts of surprise from the security personnel, but even those were drowned out by the sound of the hanger doors sliding open. They slipped inside the second the doors allowed, the trio making a desperate sprit across the landing pad. The Ebon Hawk was waiting for them, exactly where the battered freighter had been left.
Location: Ebon Hawk
Three minutes later...
"Teethree! Activate the Laser Turret, provide some covering fire," Meetra ordered, entering the cockpit.
The woman slipped into the pilot's seat and strapped herself in, ignoring the pre-flight checks. There wasn't any time to do so, not when they had a planet full of hostile Sith potentially after them. She restarted the Ebon Hawk's systems, bring the ship to life before the repulsors lifted the craft off the ground. Angling the ship skyward, she redirected power to the engines and sent the Dynamic-class freighter in to orbit. The moment they were free of the planet's grip, they found themselves coming face-to-face with several Harrower-class dreadnaughts.
"Looks like they've established a blockade of the planet," she stated.
"Not surprising," Revan admitted from the doorway.
"Unidentified vessel, you are in violation of Imperial Edict - 1138. Return to the planet immediately or be destroyed," a voice warned through the communication system.
"I don't think they want us to leave," she stated.
"Whatever gave you that idea?" he asked, his voice dripping with sarcasm.
The pair watched as Supremacy-class starfighters began streaming out of the hanger bays of the dreadnaughts like a swarm of locusts. They were on an intercept trajectory, their laser cannons unleashing bolts of crimson once they had gotten within firing range. The Ebon Hawk's deflector shields held out against the onslaught, but between being used as target practice for the Sith and crash landing on Malachor V, the vessel could hardly in fighting shape.
"Can you get us through that blockade?" Revan asked.
"I can try, but we definitely don't have the firepower to take on those dreadnaughts."
"We won't have to, the Ebon Hawk is faster then those Harrowers."
"Regardless, I'd appreciate it if you'd keep those fighters off of us."
Agreeing, Revan whirled around and headed down the corridor, his booted feet ringing against the durasteel floor. Reaching the dorsal gun turret, the redeemed Jedi climbed into the seat and took hold of the controls. Meetra was flying circles around the dreadnaughts, the Dynamic-class freighter proving itself too fast to be targeted by the warships turbo laser batteries. Despite that, he was intent on thinning out the enemy starfighters. With each shot unleashed from the turret, he bought them precious seconds needed to facilitate their escape.
"Gettin' kinda crowded up here!" he called out.
"Hyperdrive is charging, but Teethree needs more time to calculate the jump," Meetra reported.
Revan complied, vaporizing another starfighter, only for another three to quickly move it to fill the void. He felt the Ebon Hawk vibrate as several fighters managed to get past him, strafing the vessel with laser fire.
"Hang on!" she yelled.
He could hear the whine of the hyperdrive powering up, and he felt his stomach tighten in anticipation for the stars to elongate. Revan's ears were suddenly assaulted by a deafening explosion, the freighter having been struck by one of the Harrowers. He was violently thrown from his seat, slamming into the bulkhead with enough force to blur his vision. He caught a glimpse of the stars elongating, but he instantly knew that something was amiss. Agony tore through his body, and will only was the only thing that had prevented him from losing consciousness. When he opened his eyes and found himself staring down at his own body, he knew that something had gone terribly wrong.
