"Malak is dead – all hail the return of Darth Revan, the true Lord of the Sith!"
"All hail Lord Revan!"
"All hail Lord Revan!"
"All hail Lord Revan!"
"The Sith bow before you; you have reclaimed your rightful throne!
"The Jedi Order is in tatters! It is only a matter of time until your Sith minions wipe them from the face of the galaxy.
"The Republic fleet is decimated; the Core Worlds are defenceless against us!"
"All hail Lord Revan!"
"All hail Lord Revan!"
"All hail Lord Revan!"
It was the whisper in the back of Revan's mind that convinced him to join Bastila in the Temple of the Ancients. A whisper that had steadily gained power and influence in the last few months, as if it had its own will to be heard. Only for a second did he allow that whisper to sway his thoughts, and now here he stood: Darth Revan, Dark Lord of the Sith.
Soon after that speech, he boarded the Ebon Hawk, bound for the Star Forge, and collapsed in exhaustion. Malak had been a formidable opponent, the culmination of all the Jedi and Sith training they had received came to blows in that fight, and Revan had emerged victoriously by the skin of his teeth. He had mustered all his remaining strength to present himself to the Empire, but that was all he had.
When he awoke, he was in a comfortable set of quarters under the black silk covers of a large double bed. Like the rest of the Star Forge, the walls were cold grey steel. The floor was metal grating covered with rugs of blue and white, which surrounded a smooth greyish desk with an embedded terminal.
Rising from his bed, he noticed someone had stripped him down to his undergarments, with his robes hanging nearby and some exquisite, embroidered pyjamas placed on the desk. Deciding against those for the moment, he changed back into his robes. Forgoing the armour plating, his robes resembled a Dark Jedi Master's. Tucking his cyan sabre under his cloak and carding his hands through his brunet hair, he stepped outside his quarters into the Command Centre.
A giant holographic depiction of the Star Forge lay in the centre of the room, surrounded by consoles and terminals, many of them staffed by Technicians busying themselves with the maintenance and administration of the massive battle station. Bastila Shan, the newly named Shadow Hand of the Empire, presided over them all.
Noticing that Revan had emerged, all in the room stood at attention and bowed deeply. Revan slowly walked towards the centre stations, approaching Bastila.
"Master, it is good to see you have recovered. Much has happened whilst you rested." Bastila bent her knee and bowed, avoiding Revan's eyes as she spoke.
"Rise, Bastila, and tell me what has happened." Revan extended his hand towards her, and Bastila accepted, rising to her feet. "Has the Empire reacted favourably?"
"Everyone we've heard from has offered their loyalty and support,"
"And those we haven't heard from?"
"The senior military staff have been recalled to the Star Forge for a debriefing. I've heard rumours they are devising plans on how to deal with any further insurrection,"
"A prudent measure. How soon can they be expected?"
"Some as soon as a few hours from now. The last will arrive in the morning,"
"Plenty of time then. Will you walk with me? It has been a long time since I've seen the station, and I am eager to explore." Revan offered his hand once again.
Bastila accepted, placing her hand in his.
They both turned and walked out of the Command Centre and onto the vast metal walkways covering the station's interior, bridging the gaps between rooms and weaving around the immense construction that fuelled the Sith war machine. Many pieces of amalgamated metal floated around the station, preparing to be fused into ship hulls and battle droids.
Many soldiers and Dark Jedi filled the walkways, some on patrol and some travelling from place to place. All bowed when they noticed Revan and Bastila, hand in hand, wandering the halls, deep in conversation.
"It's a strange feeling. I can feel my mind grasping for memories long since buried as we walk here," Revan pondered, idly glancing at those who bowed.
"It would be best to keep your amnesia between ourselves and our crew. Many will perceive it as a weakness to exploit," Bastila whispered, eyes casting back and forth quickly.
"They will all perceive it as a weakness. I say let them come. Between defeating the Dark Lord in personal combat and surrounding myself with powerful allies, I should hold off any challengers,"
"Powerful allies? Forgive me, my Master, but even those that have offered their loyalty to you are not reliable allies, and we have no friends within the Empire,"
"Which is precisely what we are going to fix." Revan smiled and turned towards the turbolift, Bastila in tow. Programming the turbolift to descend from the Command Centre to Deck One, it was clear to Bastila that Revan had a plan beyond simple sightseeing.
She wondered if she had understated their situation. The Sith were not a forgiving group. Doubtless, Revan knew this, but he seemed outwardly unfazed by the gravity of their circumstance.
While maintaining a calm demeanour, Revan was severely worried about the events to come, and his nervousness may have reached Bastila through their bond. He had no idea if or when the gut feeling that pushed him towards accepting his new position would rear its head again, leaving him to navigate the situation alone. Hence why his plan was the accumulation of powerful allies so he wouldn't have to face the future alone.
"May I ask precisely who our powerful allies are? We seem to be very alone in this lift," Bastila snapped, frustration seeping through her pores and their bind.
"We might be alone in this turbolift but think of what we represent. I am Dark Lord of the Sith and one of the only people in the galaxy who can claim to have beaten my predecessor twice in personal combat. You are one of the only people who can claim to have defeated me in personal combat. Plus, your Battle Meditation gives you an edge in any pitched battle," Revan responded calmly.
"And if we are ambushed, a field of combat in which many Dark Jedi and Sith are experts?"
"That is why we are headed to the Ebon Hawk, where we have several allies awaiting us!"
"Oh, I see; a washed-up mercenary, two buckets of bolts and an ex-Jedi will certainly leave them cowering in fear!" Bastila's pale skin flooded red.
"HK-47 is a droid who specialises in assassination, Juhani has proven more than a match for many Dark Jedi in lightsaber combat, and Canderous is a veteran of the Mandalorian Wars. Do they sound like powerful allies yet?" Revan spat out of exasperation.
"None of them… none of us are like them, the Sith. They will always believe that we are unworthy to lead if we cannot find allies amongst their own,"
"We have allies amongst the Sith too. Before I left Korriban, Uthar Wynn swore his loyalty to me in person. With his influence, no one will pass the Trials without a favourable opinion of us,"
Bastila reached out to pause the turbolift. "Uthar Wynn is dead. Malak was unable to contact the Academy on Korriban after you left. There was news of a power struggle,"
"The power struggle was between Uthar and his apprentice. I sided with Uthar, and he swore me his loyalty. He is most likely trying to avoid lying to Malak about what happened. When we are finished here, we can contact Korriban and ensure he still has control." Revan sighed. Bastila resumed the turbolift.
"I shouldn't have doubted you, Master; I'm sorry," Bastila muttered, directing her jaundiced eyes downwards.
"I welcome your questions and concerns, and I'm happy that you care enough to worry about this, but please trust that I did not walk into this blindly." Revan found both of Bastila's hands and squeezed lightly, meeting her eyes with his own.
The turbolift doors slid open at that moment, and Bastila moved to pull away. Revan acquiesced slightly, allowing one hand to slip from his grasp while tightening the other.
Heading towards the Ebon Hawk, Revan continued. "Right now, you are one of the only people I trust within the Empire, and I need the knowledge you gained as Malak's apprentice,"
Bastila's pride swelled. "What do you need to know?"
"Who's in charge of the fleet here? And the Dark Jedi?"
"The fleet here answers to Varko, an Admiral and the Dark Jedi answer to Voren Renstaal, an ex-Jedi himself,"
"Good, we'll have to speak to them soon. Once we finish here, I'll summon them,"
"And what is our objective here?" Bastila questioned.
"Well, I'm gathering some of my things to move into my new quarters. You're welcome to do the same," Revan spoke teasingly.
Spending the rest of their walk in comfortable silence, Revan and Bastila soon arrived at the Ebon Hawk, their home for the past year. Taking a moment to check her over, Revan discovered she was scuffed, scarred and worn-down, like she'd served on the frontlines of war for years. Her orange paint was fading, and there were small cracks around the turbolaser turrets.
Approaching, Revan was delighted to see an old friend guarding the loading ramp.
"Greeting: It is a pleasure to see you alive, Master, provided my receptors are not off-focus. How may I be of assistance?"
"All secure here, HK?" Revan asked.
"Answer: No meatbags have attempted to access this vessel, which continues to be a source of disappointment,"
"Good, come inside for a moment, HK." Revan walked past HK and boarded the Hawk. "Bastila and I need to pick up some things, and it will give us some time to talk."
"Query: Who will guard the ship against potential intruders?"
"There is no need to guard the ship anymore. Plenty of us will be on board, enough to catch any intruder." Revan left the entranceway and strode for the Port Dormitory, Bastila turning off towards the Starboard. HK took one last hesitant look around before following behind him.
A/N: Hope you are enjoying so far! Personally, I detest using loads of original characters within a fanfiction and, I like to use as many pre-existing characters as possible. Most will be obvious however, some may not be. For example, Varko is from the ending of KoTOR but, is only named in the game's files and, Voren Renstaal is featured in The Betrayal of Darth Revan, a roleplaying adventure by Wizards of the Coast.