Trouble: A Knights of the Old Republic
Fan-fiction
by: Sam Lincoln
She felt Revan begin to stir and she closed her eyes to pretend to still be asleep. "Revan would never let me heard the end of it if he caught me awake like this," she thought to herself.
"You aren't fooling me," Revan murmured. "I know you're awake."
"So what if I am?" Bastila shot back. "And by the way, your arm is crushing me."
"I didn't hear you complaining a few minutes earlier," Revan quipped.
"While I can't deny that this is enjoyable, it's hardly proper decorum for a pair of Jedi Knights," Bastila tartly replied.
"That's true, but we're hardly proper Jedi Knights," Revan pointed out.
"Revan this is not a time for jokes."
"I'm not joking. Malak was right about one thing, we were both used as tools by the Council. And before you get yourself all wound up I'm not talking about overthrowing the Council or turning my back on the Light Side...it's just...I'm not sure if I'm still a Jedi."
"Mmm, yes I know how you feel and don't act so surprised by that!" She added when she saw the look on Revan's face. "I fell to the Dark Side the same as you. The council used my Jedi talents to their advantage just like you. Why shouldn't I be disillusioned about the wisdom of the Council?"
Revan's com beeped before he had a change to reply. "Go ahead," he said into the com as he sat up.
"Statement: Master, I am pleased to report that T3 and I are finished with the repairs to the hyperdrive."
"Good work HK, we'll be back to the ship in a few. We just need to let Captain Brecktan know we're leaving."
"Query: Would you like it if I blasted the Captain for you?"
Revan shut the com off without bothering to answer HK-47's question. "How do you know he won't try to kill the captain?" Bastila asked as she dressed. "He might take your silence as a tacit go ahead."
"I've some some slight reprogramming to HK. He can't kill without my explicit say so."
"Wait, you're telling me that you can reprogram HK-47?" Bastila asked, a hint of venom crept into her voice.
Revan shrugged, "Why not, he is a droid after all."
"Then why have you left him so..." Bastila flailed about for the word she wanted.
"Unchanged?" Revan supplied.
"That wasn't the word I was going to use, but it will do."
"It just didn't seem right to me to alter his core personality. Would you appreciate someone tinkering with you who are?"
Bastila winced at Revan's veiled reference to his treatment at the hands of the Jedi Council. "Alright, you've made your point. HK stays as he is."
Revan tugged on his armor. "Come on, let's go talk to Captain Brecktan about clearance to leave." Revan walked to the door and pushed the open button. The door beeped but refused to open. Revan pushed the button again and the door still did not open. "Well this is a fine how do you do," Revan noted. "They must not have bought our cover story."
"Should we call for the droids to blast us out?" Bastila asked dryly.
Revan withdrew a set of security spikes from his utility belt. "No I think I've got it covered." He opened the panel that controlled the door and attempted to override the lockout. There was a click and the door slid open. "Told you I had it covered," He said to Bastila as he slipped out of the room.
"Are you sure this is wise?" Bastila asked Revan. "Perhaps it would be better if explained who we are to the Captain."
"I'm sure he'd take that well. 'Oh Captain Brecktan, by the way we're really Revan and Bastila. You know, from four thousand years ago?' He'd probably think we were completely insane."
"We wouldn't have to tell him that part, just that we're Jedi Knights on a secret mission for the Council."
"He'd hold us until he got confirmation from the Council, who naturally wouldn't know a thing about us and then we'd be in an even tighter spot," Revan said as he activated his com. "HK report."
"Statement: All is well Master."
"Is there anyone guarding the ship?"
"Negative: No master, in fact the meatbags in the hangar seem to be avoiding the ship. Speculation: Perhaps they are avoiding me after I told one of them what the consequences of attempting to place a restraining bolt on me would be."
"Alright, prep the ship for launch, and can T3 patch into the Intrepid's computer system from the Ebon Hawk?"
"Statement: Yes Master, T3 has already begun monitoring the meatbags' com chatter. Cautionary: I would recommend returning to the ship as quickly as possible; a security team has been dispatched to your present location."
"What are there orders?"
"Statement: They are to capture you and Bastila and secure you in the detention center for questioning."
"I don't think we'll be doing that. We're on our way to the ship." Revan looked over at Bastila. "The elevator to the hangar bay is this way."
"Just promise me one thing Revan. We don't harm any of these people. They might be trying to capture us but they're still Republic soldiers."
Revan nodded, "I wasn't planning on blasting our way out, that would only complicate things when we get to Coruscant."
Bastila followed Revan down the hallway. In a way she was reminded of the escape from the Leviathan. There was something about the layout of the Sith vessel that was echoed in the Republic warship. She tried to shake it off, but just like Revan said on the Ebon Hawk, the taint of the Dark Side felt very tangible. Bastila wondered if that had something to do with the way the Republic soldiers were acting. She was so lost in thought that she did not see Revan stop in front of her. "Watch where you're going," She scolded Revan after walking into him.
"I thought I heard something," Revan said.
Bastila reached out with her senses and felt the presence of a squad of Republic troops. "They're guarding the elevator," she announced.
"You'd never guessed that they'd try that?" Revan said sarcastically.
"Now what?" Bastila asked, ignoring Revan's barb.
"We do what we do best, improvise," Revan said. "HK, we need another way out of here."
"Affirmative: T3 is working on it. Suggestion: May I recommend that you and the female meatbag hide in the room to your right?" Revan jammed a security spike into the nearby door which noiselessly slid open.
"This won't fool them for long," Bastila pointed out as they walked into the room. They found themselves in an unoccupied crew bert with bare walls and no view of what lay outside the ship.
"I hope it won't have to," Revan replied as the door snapped shut. "HK how are you coming with that escape route?"
"Statement: T3 believes he has found a path that meets your requirements. Cautionary: It is not without risk master."
"What else is new?" Revan quipped.
"Suggestion: Master, it would be easier if you blasted your way to the Ebon Hawk. These meatbags are not match for you."
"HK, what's the route?" Revan demanded.
"Resignation: As you wish Master. In the rear of the room you are in there is a maintenance conduit that leads down to the level below."
Revan looked around the room and saw the panel HK-47 mentioned. "Ok, I see it, I'll be in touch when we get to the next level." Revan closed the com channel. There was no sense in letting Captain Brecktan trace their position through the comms.
He removed the panel to reveal the maintenance conduit. Revan reached out with the force to see if anyone was waiting for them inside the conduit. Satisfied that the way was clear he motioned for Bastila to follow him into the tube.
"This is going to end badly, I just know it," Bastila groused as she cawled into the tube. She paused just long enough to use the Force to replace the access panel.
"Good idea," Revan said from below Bastila. She looked down and saw him descending a ladder built into the wall.
Before following Revan down the ladder Bastila took a moment to get her bearings. They were in what appeared to be the junction of two conduits, one that stretched vertically as far as she could see while the other extended off to her right and left. The conduits were lit by a series of dim lights built into the walls of the corridors. As a result the conduit was not dark, but only barely so. Bastila took a deep breath and followed Revan down the ladder. She hoped nobody found them while they were still in the narrow shaft. Without their lightsabers they were practically defenseless.
Revan came to a stop at the next junction. "HK, we've made it to the next level, now what?"
"Statement: Proceed to your left for two hundred meters. There's an access panel to the elevator system. You should be able to follow that shaft down to the hangar deck."
"Are you insane?" Bastila asked in disbelief. "The elevators are still active, we'll be crushed!"
"Bastila's right," Revan said. "Is there another way? These maintenance corridors perhaps?"
"Negative: I am sorry Master, but the system you're in terminates in Engineering and you really do not want to go there. The elevator presents the most direct access to the hangar bay."
"Why can't T3 deactivate the elevators" Revan paused. "They'd notice the shutdown on the bridge wouldn't they."
"Agreement: In all likelihood yes they would Master. Statement: T3 has analyzed the layout of the elevator shaft. The elevator is not flush with the wall. Hypothesis: It should be possible for you to climb down the shaft via a maintenance ladder without having any of your organic parts sheared off by the elevator car. However, I cannot say the same for Bastila. By my calculations her backside has grown to such a prodigious size it is certain she will get hit."
"I wil tear that droid apart with my bare hands," Bastila vowed.
"What aren't you telling me HK?" Revan asked. He figured it prudent to not even mention HK's latest dig at Bastila.
"Statement: The elevator cars move at an extremely high rate of speed and therefore generate high velocity winds as they move up and down."
"In other words don't lose our grip."
"Statement: Yes Master, it would be a very long fall."
"We'll do our best," Revan promised. He switched off the com. "Are you ready for this?" He asked Bastila.
"I do not have a large bottom," Bastila complained. "Do I?"
"I'll take that for a no," Revan sighed. "Look, it's not like we're about to do anything extremely dangerous or anything so can you please focus?"
Bastila's face turned a bright pink. "I'm sorry, you're right, that was terribly foolish of me."
"Besides," Revan said, cutting off Bastila's self-recriminations, "You have, without a doubt, the finest looking rear end in the galaxy."
To Revan's amazement Bastila's face turned an even brighter shade of red. Her lips moved with saying anything. "Flatterer," she finally muttered before collecting herself. "Of course I'm ready for this. What do you think I am, some silly little school girl?"
"Do you really want me to answer that?" Revan asked impishly.
"Of course no. now are we going to go kill ourselves or not?"
Revan reached down and opened the access panel. They were met by a blast of air as the elevator shot past them. "Looks like HK wasn't kidding about the wind," Revan commented. "I'll go first." Before Bastila could object Revan crawled through the access panel and into the elevator shaft.
Unlike the maintenance corridor the shaft was pitch black. Revan could not even see to the other side of the shaft. The ladder he was holding rested in between a pair of columns that controlled the elevator car. Suddenly the elevator sped past Revan on its way up the ship. The force of the wind left in the elevator's wake staggered Revan. "HK really wasn't lying," Revan muttered to himself before starting down the shaft. "It's all clear," he called up to Bastila. "Just watch the first step."
"Watch the first step he says," Bastila muttered to herself as she crawled into the elevator shaft. "What does he think I am, some wet behind the ears Padawan?" The return of the elevator cut short her diatribe. Bastila was not expecting the sudden downdraft and felt herself being pulled into the middle of the shaft. She scrambled to grab a hold of something to anchor herself but found nothing but seamless metal floor. Bastila sailed into the elevator shaft. She reached for the ladder, but it flew past just out of the reach of her outstretched hands.
"This is certainly an embarrassing situation," Bastila thought to herself as she fell down the dark hole. She was gathering herself to reach out with the Force when she felt Revan grab her with a Force-created tether.
Revan swung Bastila down until she was close enough to the ladder to grab it. Bastila breathed a sigh of relief when she felt her feet touch the rungs of the ladder. "You're welcome," Revan called out.
Relief quickly turned to irritation at Revan for bringing up the old argument. "Just for your information I could have extricated myself from that predicament." She paused as the elevator roared past them again. Her stomach did flip-flops as the wind whipped around her, reminding her of how close to death she actually came. "You did save me first, so thank-you."
She felt Revan wrap a tendril of Force around her waste. "Just to be on the safe side." He explained. Bastila could feel the worry Revan felt about her flow through their bond.
"So this means when you fall off this thing you'll drag me down with you?" It was at that moment that Bastila finally understood why Revan was always making jokes. If the two of them were going to survive their current dilemma then Revan needed to be focused n the task at hand, not worrying about what might happen to her. Anything she could do to distract Revan from the worries was worth it, even picked a fight with him.
Revan refused to rise to the bait and they continued down the ladder in silence. After a few more close calls they learned to stop and brace themselves every time the elevator went past. The descent took a long time and towards the end both Bastila and Revan's muscles groaned in protest. At the bottom of the elevator shaft they found that the ladder extended blow where the elevator came to a stop and into a small recessed space that allowed Revan and Bastila a chance to rest.
"HK, we're on the lowest level the elevator goes to. Now what, do we go through the elevator door?"
"Negative: No master, the door will not open if the elevator car is not present."
"I can fix that," Bastila said confidently. She reached out with the Force and pried the doors pen. A startled cry from beyond the door alerted them to the presence of a crewman standing by the elevator door.
Revan leapt through the open door and knocked the guard out with a burst of Force energy. Bastila followed Revan's lead and kept a lookout for any additional members of the ship's crew as Revan dealt with the unconscious crewman.
"I'm sorry, I should have checked to see if anyone was standing near the door," Bastila apologized after Revan locked the crewman in a supply closet.
"Don't worry about it. I was sick of being in that elevator shaft too. Come on, the hanger is this way."
The two Jedis crept down the hall towards the hangar bay. The hall ended at a T intersection and Revan cautiously peered around the corer to see if anything was blocking their path.
"They're not fooling around," Revan noted when he saw the crew-served blaster guarding the hangar door. He called on the Force and tipped the large blaster over. Then as the blaster crew scrambled to right the weapon he confidently strode up to them. Bastila had no idea what his plan was, but she followed his lead.
"What's going on here?" Revan demanded in a commanding voice. At the same time he used the Force to cloud the guard's minds. Instead of seeing Revan and Bastila they saw a superior officer and his aid. Revan allowed the troopers' minds to fill in exactly which officer they were seeing. It would add to the confusion later when they tried to recreate what happened.
"The gun just tipped over sir," one of the gunners stammered.
"Blasters just don't tip over on their own!" Revan snapped. "Now clean up this mess there are dangerous criminals on the loose"
"Yes sir!" The gunners shouted as Revan and Bastila walked past them into the hangar.
"that was rather clever," Bastila said after the door shut behind them.
"Thank-you, I try," Revan replied.
They snaked their way across the hangar, using parked ships as cover from the guards and technicians who roamed the deck. They could see the Ebon Hawk from where they stood, but they did not take a direct route to the ship for fear of being caught in an ambush. When they got closer to the ship they saw that it was ringed with guard.
"We'll never be able to bluff our way past them all," Bastila stated.
"I don't think it will be a problem," Revan assured Bastila. "HK, is the ship ready for take off?"
"Statement: Affirmative Master."
"Great, fly the ship over to our location and pick us up."
They watched as the Ebon Hawk lifted off the ground and flew over the surprised guards. Revan and Bastila scrambled onto the top of a nearby shuttle and waited for the ship to get close enough for them to board it. The troopers quickly overcame their surprise and started to fire at the Ebon Hawk. As blaster fire splashed around them Bastila and Revan dove for the Ebon Hawk's boarding ramp. They landed on the ramp in a heap and T3 began to seal the ship as soon as they hit the ramp.
Revan picked himself up off the deck and ran for the cockpit. He found HK sitting in the copilot's seat. "I've got the ship," he told the droid as he slid into the pilot's seat. "Go man the main batteries, but don't fire unless I say so." Revan did not hear HK-47's reply as he dumped power into the main engine and headed for space.
"They're closing the hangar doors!" Bastila exclaimed as she walked into the cockpit.
"Attention Elder Sparrow, this is Intrepid flight control. Power down and prepare to be boarded."
"Turn that off," Revan ordered as he jammed the throttle to maximum. "And hold on tight," he added.
The Ebon hawk shot through the closing doors with millimeters to spare and ran straight into a barrage of fire from the Intrepid's turbo laser batteries. Revan threw the ship into a series of wild maneuvers to avoid the lethal fire.
"T3 are the coordinates entered?" Revan shouted into the com. T3 whistled back that the ship was ready to enter hyperspace. Revan activated the hyperdrive and the Ebon Hawk accelerated out of normal space.
On board the bridge of the Intrepid Captain Brecktan watched the region of space the Ebon Hawk had just occupied. "How did they get away?" He asked a lieutenant from the security detail.
"We're not entirely sure. They seem to have sliced our computer system and acquired a layout of the ship from that. They must have used that information to slip past our patrols."
"And why didn't the tractor beam crews stop them?"
"The crews weren't expecting the ship to be flying so fast. The intruders were moving at full speed inside the hangar; only a fool would try something that risky."
"Captain Keld did not strike me as a fool Lieutenant," Captain Brecktan said in a quiet voice. "I want the crews to practice intruder containment until they get it right. Next time the intruders might do more than a bit of stunt flying."
"So this was just a drill?" The lieutenant asked.
"Does it matter?" Brecktan replied. "The crew failed either way. Contact Commander Dko and inform him that I want to speak with him in half an hour."
The lieutenant saluted. "Yes sir."
Captain Brecktan strode off the bridge and into his ready room. He turned out the lights and activated a secret holo-emitter built into his desk. A cloaked face appeared before the captain.
"Report Captain," the hooded figure ordered. The man's voice dripped with malice and Brecktan shuddered. He had heard stories about the terrible things Lord Sidious did to those who upset him. He wondered if he was about to become one of those tales.
"Lord Sidious, I regret to inform you that the two smugglers you ordered me to capture managed to escape."
"I am most displeased by this news Captain Brecktan. Normally the penalty for failure is death. However, you still have your primary mission to accomplish. Do not fail me in this matter Captain or I will see to your punishment personally."
Brecktan bowed deeply. "No my lord, I shall not."
A smile crossed Lord Sidious's face. "Good, good, now I want you to tell me everything you know about this ship, the Elder Sparrow, and her crew." The captain was so relieved that the Dark Lord was not going to punish him that he did not question why Lord Sidious was so interested in that ship.
by: Sam Lincoln
Rating: PG
Summary: Will Trouble ever let a pair of Jedi Knights be?
Spoilers: If you haven't finished the game you'll be damn lost.
Trouble: Chapter Three
She felt Revan begin to stir and she closed her eyes to pretend to still be asleep. "Revan would never let me heard the end of it if he caught me awake like this," she thought to herself.
"You aren't fooling me," Revan murmured. "I know you're awake."
"So what if I am?" Bastila shot back. "And by the way, your arm is crushing me."
"I didn't hear you complaining a few minutes earlier," Revan quipped.
"While I can't deny that this is enjoyable, it's hardly proper decorum for a pair of Jedi Knights," Bastila tartly replied.
"That's true, but we're hardly proper Jedi Knights," Revan pointed out.
"Revan this is not a time for jokes."
"I'm not joking. Malak was right about one thing, we were both used as tools by the Council. And before you get yourself all wound up I'm not talking about overthrowing the Council or turning my back on the Light Side...it's just...I'm not sure if I'm still a Jedi."
"Mmm, yes I know how you feel and don't act so surprised by that!" She added when she saw the look on Revan's face. "I fell to the Dark Side the same as you. The council used my Jedi talents to their advantage just like you. Why shouldn't I be disillusioned about the wisdom of the Council?"
Revan's com beeped before he had a change to reply. "Go ahead," he said into the com as he sat up.
"Statement: Master, I am pleased to report that T3 and I are finished with the repairs to the hyperdrive."
"Good work HK, we'll be back to the ship in a few. We just need to let Captain Brecktan know we're leaving."
"Query: Would you like it if I blasted the Captain for you?"
Revan shut the com off without bothering to answer HK-47's question. "How do you know he won't try to kill the captain?" Bastila asked as she dressed. "He might take your silence as a tacit go ahead."
"I've some some slight reprogramming to HK. He can't kill without my explicit say so."
"Wait, you're telling me that you can reprogram HK-47?" Bastila asked, a hint of venom crept into her voice.
Revan shrugged, "Why not, he is a droid after all."
"Then why have you left him so..." Bastila flailed about for the word she wanted.
"Unchanged?" Revan supplied.
"That wasn't the word I was going to use, but it will do."
"It just didn't seem right to me to alter his core personality. Would you appreciate someone tinkering with you who are?"
Bastila winced at Revan's veiled reference to his treatment at the hands of the Jedi Council. "Alright, you've made your point. HK stays as he is."
Revan tugged on his armor. "Come on, let's go talk to Captain Brecktan about clearance to leave." Revan walked to the door and pushed the open button. The door beeped but refused to open. Revan pushed the button again and the door still did not open. "Well this is a fine how do you do," Revan noted. "They must not have bought our cover story."
"Should we call for the droids to blast us out?" Bastila asked dryly.
Revan withdrew a set of security spikes from his utility belt. "No I think I've got it covered." He opened the panel that controlled the door and attempted to override the lockout. There was a click and the door slid open. "Told you I had it covered," He said to Bastila as he slipped out of the room.
"Are you sure this is wise?" Bastila asked Revan. "Perhaps it would be better if explained who we are to the Captain."
"I'm sure he'd take that well. 'Oh Captain Brecktan, by the way we're really Revan and Bastila. You know, from four thousand years ago?' He'd probably think we were completely insane."
"We wouldn't have to tell him that part, just that we're Jedi Knights on a secret mission for the Council."
"He'd hold us until he got confirmation from the Council, who naturally wouldn't know a thing about us and then we'd be in an even tighter spot," Revan said as he activated his com. "HK report."
"Statement: All is well Master."
"Is there anyone guarding the ship?"
"Negative: No master, in fact the meatbags in the hangar seem to be avoiding the ship. Speculation: Perhaps they are avoiding me after I told one of them what the consequences of attempting to place a restraining bolt on me would be."
"Alright, prep the ship for launch, and can T3 patch into the Intrepid's computer system from the Ebon Hawk?"
"Statement: Yes Master, T3 has already begun monitoring the meatbags' com chatter. Cautionary: I would recommend returning to the ship as quickly as possible; a security team has been dispatched to your present location."
"What are there orders?"
"Statement: They are to capture you and Bastila and secure you in the detention center for questioning."
"I don't think we'll be doing that. We're on our way to the ship." Revan looked over at Bastila. "The elevator to the hangar bay is this way."
"Just promise me one thing Revan. We don't harm any of these people. They might be trying to capture us but they're still Republic soldiers."
Revan nodded, "I wasn't planning on blasting our way out, that would only complicate things when we get to Coruscant."
Bastila followed Revan down the hallway. In a way she was reminded of the escape from the Leviathan. There was something about the layout of the Sith vessel that was echoed in the Republic warship. She tried to shake it off, but just like Revan said on the Ebon Hawk, the taint of the Dark Side felt very tangible. Bastila wondered if that had something to do with the way the Republic soldiers were acting. She was so lost in thought that she did not see Revan stop in front of her. "Watch where you're going," She scolded Revan after walking into him.
"I thought I heard something," Revan said.
Bastila reached out with her senses and felt the presence of a squad of Republic troops. "They're guarding the elevator," she announced.
"You'd never guessed that they'd try that?" Revan said sarcastically.
"Now what?" Bastila asked, ignoring Revan's barb.
"We do what we do best, improvise," Revan said. "HK, we need another way out of here."
"Affirmative: T3 is working on it. Suggestion: May I recommend that you and the female meatbag hide in the room to your right?" Revan jammed a security spike into the nearby door which noiselessly slid open.
"This won't fool them for long," Bastila pointed out as they walked into the room. They found themselves in an unoccupied crew bert with bare walls and no view of what lay outside the ship.
"I hope it won't have to," Revan replied as the door snapped shut. "HK how are you coming with that escape route?"
"Statement: T3 believes he has found a path that meets your requirements. Cautionary: It is not without risk master."
"What else is new?" Revan quipped.
"Suggestion: Master, it would be easier if you blasted your way to the Ebon Hawk. These meatbags are not match for you."
"HK, what's the route?" Revan demanded.
"Resignation: As you wish Master. In the rear of the room you are in there is a maintenance conduit that leads down to the level below."
Revan looked around the room and saw the panel HK-47 mentioned. "Ok, I see it, I'll be in touch when we get to the next level." Revan closed the com channel. There was no sense in letting Captain Brecktan trace their position through the comms.
He removed the panel to reveal the maintenance conduit. Revan reached out with the force to see if anyone was waiting for them inside the conduit. Satisfied that the way was clear he motioned for Bastila to follow him into the tube.
"This is going to end badly, I just know it," Bastila groused as she cawled into the tube. She paused just long enough to use the Force to replace the access panel.
"Good idea," Revan said from below Bastila. She looked down and saw him descending a ladder built into the wall.
Before following Revan down the ladder Bastila took a moment to get her bearings. They were in what appeared to be the junction of two conduits, one that stretched vertically as far as she could see while the other extended off to her right and left. The conduits were lit by a series of dim lights built into the walls of the corridors. As a result the conduit was not dark, but only barely so. Bastila took a deep breath and followed Revan down the ladder. She hoped nobody found them while they were still in the narrow shaft. Without their lightsabers they were practically defenseless.
Revan came to a stop at the next junction. "HK, we've made it to the next level, now what?"
"Statement: Proceed to your left for two hundred meters. There's an access panel to the elevator system. You should be able to follow that shaft down to the hangar deck."
"Are you insane?" Bastila asked in disbelief. "The elevators are still active, we'll be crushed!"
"Bastila's right," Revan said. "Is there another way? These maintenance corridors perhaps?"
"Negative: I am sorry Master, but the system you're in terminates in Engineering and you really do not want to go there. The elevator presents the most direct access to the hangar bay."
"Why can't T3 deactivate the elevators" Revan paused. "They'd notice the shutdown on the bridge wouldn't they."
"Agreement: In all likelihood yes they would Master. Statement: T3 has analyzed the layout of the elevator shaft. The elevator is not flush with the wall. Hypothesis: It should be possible for you to climb down the shaft via a maintenance ladder without having any of your organic parts sheared off by the elevator car. However, I cannot say the same for Bastila. By my calculations her backside has grown to such a prodigious size it is certain she will get hit."
"I wil tear that droid apart with my bare hands," Bastila vowed.
"What aren't you telling me HK?" Revan asked. He figured it prudent to not even mention HK's latest dig at Bastila.
"Statement: The elevator cars move at an extremely high rate of speed and therefore generate high velocity winds as they move up and down."
"In other words don't lose our grip."
"Statement: Yes Master, it would be a very long fall."
"We'll do our best," Revan promised. He switched off the com. "Are you ready for this?" He asked Bastila.
"I do not have a large bottom," Bastila complained. "Do I?"
"I'll take that for a no," Revan sighed. "Look, it's not like we're about to do anything extremely dangerous or anything so can you please focus?"
Bastila's face turned a bright pink. "I'm sorry, you're right, that was terribly foolish of me."
"Besides," Revan said, cutting off Bastila's self-recriminations, "You have, without a doubt, the finest looking rear end in the galaxy."
To Revan's amazement Bastila's face turned an even brighter shade of red. Her lips moved with saying anything. "Flatterer," she finally muttered before collecting herself. "Of course I'm ready for this. What do you think I am, some silly little school girl?"
"Do you really want me to answer that?" Revan asked impishly.
"Of course no. now are we going to go kill ourselves or not?"
Revan reached down and opened the access panel. They were met by a blast of air as the elevator shot past them. "Looks like HK wasn't kidding about the wind," Revan commented. "I'll go first." Before Bastila could object Revan crawled through the access panel and into the elevator shaft.
Unlike the maintenance corridor the shaft was pitch black. Revan could not even see to the other side of the shaft. The ladder he was holding rested in between a pair of columns that controlled the elevator car. Suddenly the elevator sped past Revan on its way up the ship. The force of the wind left in the elevator's wake staggered Revan. "HK really wasn't lying," Revan muttered to himself before starting down the shaft. "It's all clear," he called up to Bastila. "Just watch the first step."
"Watch the first step he says," Bastila muttered to herself as she crawled into the elevator shaft. "What does he think I am, some wet behind the ears Padawan?" The return of the elevator cut short her diatribe. Bastila was not expecting the sudden downdraft and felt herself being pulled into the middle of the shaft. She scrambled to grab a hold of something to anchor herself but found nothing but seamless metal floor. Bastila sailed into the elevator shaft. She reached for the ladder, but it flew past just out of the reach of her outstretched hands.
"This is certainly an embarrassing situation," Bastila thought to herself as she fell down the dark hole. She was gathering herself to reach out with the Force when she felt Revan grab her with a Force-created tether.
Revan swung Bastila down until she was close enough to the ladder to grab it. Bastila breathed a sigh of relief when she felt her feet touch the rungs of the ladder. "You're welcome," Revan called out.
Relief quickly turned to irritation at Revan for bringing up the old argument. "Just for your information I could have extricated myself from that predicament." She paused as the elevator roared past them again. Her stomach did flip-flops as the wind whipped around her, reminding her of how close to death she actually came. "You did save me first, so thank-you."
She felt Revan wrap a tendril of Force around her waste. "Just to be on the safe side." He explained. Bastila could feel the worry Revan felt about her flow through their bond.
"So this means when you fall off this thing you'll drag me down with you?" It was at that moment that Bastila finally understood why Revan was always making jokes. If the two of them were going to survive their current dilemma then Revan needed to be focused n the task at hand, not worrying about what might happen to her. Anything she could do to distract Revan from the worries was worth it, even picked a fight with him.
Revan refused to rise to the bait and they continued down the ladder in silence. After a few more close calls they learned to stop and brace themselves every time the elevator went past. The descent took a long time and towards the end both Bastila and Revan's muscles groaned in protest. At the bottom of the elevator shaft they found that the ladder extended blow where the elevator came to a stop and into a small recessed space that allowed Revan and Bastila a chance to rest.
"HK, we're on the lowest level the elevator goes to. Now what, do we go through the elevator door?"
"Negative: No master, the door will not open if the elevator car is not present."
"I can fix that," Bastila said confidently. She reached out with the Force and pried the doors pen. A startled cry from beyond the door alerted them to the presence of a crewman standing by the elevator door.
Revan leapt through the open door and knocked the guard out with a burst of Force energy. Bastila followed Revan's lead and kept a lookout for any additional members of the ship's crew as Revan dealt with the unconscious crewman.
"I'm sorry, I should have checked to see if anyone was standing near the door," Bastila apologized after Revan locked the crewman in a supply closet.
"Don't worry about it. I was sick of being in that elevator shaft too. Come on, the hanger is this way."
The two Jedis crept down the hall towards the hangar bay. The hall ended at a T intersection and Revan cautiously peered around the corer to see if anything was blocking their path.
"They're not fooling around," Revan noted when he saw the crew-served blaster guarding the hangar door. He called on the Force and tipped the large blaster over. Then as the blaster crew scrambled to right the weapon he confidently strode up to them. Bastila had no idea what his plan was, but she followed his lead.
"What's going on here?" Revan demanded in a commanding voice. At the same time he used the Force to cloud the guard's minds. Instead of seeing Revan and Bastila they saw a superior officer and his aid. Revan allowed the troopers' minds to fill in exactly which officer they were seeing. It would add to the confusion later when they tried to recreate what happened.
"The gun just tipped over sir," one of the gunners stammered.
"Blasters just don't tip over on their own!" Revan snapped. "Now clean up this mess there are dangerous criminals on the loose"
"Yes sir!" The gunners shouted as Revan and Bastila walked past them into the hangar.
"that was rather clever," Bastila said after the door shut behind them.
"Thank-you, I try," Revan replied.
They snaked their way across the hangar, using parked ships as cover from the guards and technicians who roamed the deck. They could see the Ebon Hawk from where they stood, but they did not take a direct route to the ship for fear of being caught in an ambush. When they got closer to the ship they saw that it was ringed with guard.
"We'll never be able to bluff our way past them all," Bastila stated.
"I don't think it will be a problem," Revan assured Bastila. "HK, is the ship ready for take off?"
"Statement: Affirmative Master."
"Great, fly the ship over to our location and pick us up."
They watched as the Ebon Hawk lifted off the ground and flew over the surprised guards. Revan and Bastila scrambled onto the top of a nearby shuttle and waited for the ship to get close enough for them to board it. The troopers quickly overcame their surprise and started to fire at the Ebon Hawk. As blaster fire splashed around them Bastila and Revan dove for the Ebon Hawk's boarding ramp. They landed on the ramp in a heap and T3 began to seal the ship as soon as they hit the ramp.
Revan picked himself up off the deck and ran for the cockpit. He found HK sitting in the copilot's seat. "I've got the ship," he told the droid as he slid into the pilot's seat. "Go man the main batteries, but don't fire unless I say so." Revan did not hear HK-47's reply as he dumped power into the main engine and headed for space.
"They're closing the hangar doors!" Bastila exclaimed as she walked into the cockpit.
"Attention Elder Sparrow, this is Intrepid flight control. Power down and prepare to be boarded."
"Turn that off," Revan ordered as he jammed the throttle to maximum. "And hold on tight," he added.
The Ebon hawk shot through the closing doors with millimeters to spare and ran straight into a barrage of fire from the Intrepid's turbo laser batteries. Revan threw the ship into a series of wild maneuvers to avoid the lethal fire.
"T3 are the coordinates entered?" Revan shouted into the com. T3 whistled back that the ship was ready to enter hyperspace. Revan activated the hyperdrive and the Ebon Hawk accelerated out of normal space.
On board the bridge of the Intrepid Captain Brecktan watched the region of space the Ebon Hawk had just occupied. "How did they get away?" He asked a lieutenant from the security detail.
"We're not entirely sure. They seem to have sliced our computer system and acquired a layout of the ship from that. They must have used that information to slip past our patrols."
"And why didn't the tractor beam crews stop them?"
"The crews weren't expecting the ship to be flying so fast. The intruders were moving at full speed inside the hangar; only a fool would try something that risky."
"Captain Keld did not strike me as a fool Lieutenant," Captain Brecktan said in a quiet voice. "I want the crews to practice intruder containment until they get it right. Next time the intruders might do more than a bit of stunt flying."
"So this was just a drill?" The lieutenant asked.
"Does it matter?" Brecktan replied. "The crew failed either way. Contact Commander Dko and inform him that I want to speak with him in half an hour."
The lieutenant saluted. "Yes sir."
Captain Brecktan strode off the bridge and into his ready room. He turned out the lights and activated a secret holo-emitter built into his desk. A cloaked face appeared before the captain.
"Report Captain," the hooded figure ordered. The man's voice dripped with malice and Brecktan shuddered. He had heard stories about the terrible things Lord Sidious did to those who upset him. He wondered if he was about to become one of those tales.
"Lord Sidious, I regret to inform you that the two smugglers you ordered me to capture managed to escape."
"I am most displeased by this news Captain Brecktan. Normally the penalty for failure is death. However, you still have your primary mission to accomplish. Do not fail me in this matter Captain or I will see to your punishment personally."
Brecktan bowed deeply. "No my lord, I shall not."
A smile crossed Lord Sidious's face. "Good, good, now I want you to tell me everything you know about this ship, the Elder Sparrow, and her crew." The captain was so relieved that the Dark Lord was not going to punish him that he did not question why Lord Sidious was so interested in that ship.