AN: I'll admit this one is probably my favorite chapter so far. Nothing more to say. Enjoy the chapter!
Ebon Hawk - Coruscant
Revan activated the autopilot and leaned back in his chair, breathing a sigh of relief. He couldn't believe that the Hawk was still flyable. Hopefully that meant it was space-worthy. After a moment of recuperating, Revan put the ship into a left bank, heading for Zeego's last coordinates. He would have to hurry, it wouldn't be long before the Jedi started looking for him, the last thing he needed was to be hunted while his ship was on the verge of dying in flight. He looked out the Hawk's viewport and saw Zeego standing on the taxi-pad. Revan slowed the Hawk until it was only a few feet away from the platform, and extended the boarding ramp. He activated his comlink.
"Let's go, I'd rather leave sooner than later. Half the planet will be looking for this ship soon enough."
Zeego took a running start and jumped onto the boarding ramp. "I'm in, let's go."
Revan retracted the boarding ramp, turned the ship around and launched into the atmosphere. The ship began to jerk as it broke free of Coruscant's atmosphere. Revan began to think to himself "C'mon, girl, hold together. Hold together." Revan watched as a republic cruiser set itself on intercept trajectory, several fighters blasted out of the hangar and locked their s-foils in attack position.
"Zeego! Get on the main gun, we've got company on the way!" Revan began diverting non-critical power to the main blaster cannons. Once that was done, he activated the navicomputer, and began to program a destination. After a few moments the console beeped in confirmation. Their destination was locked in. Revan watched as a republic starfighter burst into flames above the Hawk.
He activated the ship intercom. "Keep them off me! Hyperdrive's almost ready!" Revan barely had time to finish the sentence before putting the ship into a right dive to avoid a collision with an incoming fighter. Getting spaced was not on his list of things to do today. After dodging another volley of laser fire, the hyperdrive beeped in confirmation. Revan pulled the ignition lever, and relaxed as the Hawk blasted into hyperspace.
Republic Cruiser Ascension
Captain Jeremitt Deraak watched as the small freighter entered lightspeed. Lord Sidious would not be pleased. As an agent within the Grand Army of the Republic, he would not be deemed expendable, but there are things the dark lord could do without killing him, things that would make him beg for death.
He turned to the bridge crew. "Were we able to extrapolate their destination?"
One of the troopers addressed him "Yes, but only partially. They are headed for the Outer Rim, more specifically the Kwymar Sector. We didn't have enough time to pinpoint the rest."
"Kwymar? Dammit, that's Seperatist territory."
"Shall we dispatch an SIS agent?"
"No, I will contact command, let them decide."
"Very well, Captain." Jeremitt didn't answer before leaving the bridge. He proceeded from the bridge to his personal quarters. He activated his private Holoterminal and watched as the hooded figure came into view.
Darth Sidious addressed him "Report, Captain."
"My lord, I'm sorry to report that the ship you requested me to capture has evaded me."
"That is most unfortunate, Captain." Jeremitt felt some unknown force begin to strangle him
"However we were able to pinpoint their destination." He felt oxygen moving through his lungs again.
"Where have they gone?"
"They are headed for the Kwymar Sector in the outer rim. We lost the signal after that, however."
"Be thankful you are not disposable, Captain. Continue monitoring Republic Space. Contact me shoud you have any useful information."
Jeremitt bowed "As you wish, my lord."
With that near death experience over, Jeremitt returned to the duties assigned to him by the Republic. According to this, he was to transport General Mundi, and a detachment of the 501st to Mygeeto.
Jedi Temple
Windu questioned Madam Jocasta "You mean to tell me that a jedi stole the Ebon Hawk from the Archives?"
"Yes, master. I caught him in the process, but his strength in the force caught me off guard. I have never felt such a powerful connection." She turned to Obi-Wan "Not even from your former padawan, Master Kenobi. He locked me out of the hangar, and stole the ship before I could override the system."
Yoda and Windu exchanged glances "Thank you, Madam Jocasta. Please return to the archives while we determine our course of action."
"As you wish, Master." Jocasta bowed before leaving.
Obi-Wan hesitated before speaking "I feel the disturbance we felt recently and this theft are connected."
"Agree with you, I do. A coincidence this is not. Monitor republic space we must."
"Master Yoda is correct, we should also try to locate the ship, we can't afford to lose such an important relic of the Jedi." stated Kit Fisto
"Agreed." Windu turned to Obi-Wan "Master Kenobi, will you lead the investigation with Skywalker?"
"Yes, master. Of course I will."
"Excellent, now then, we have recieved intelligence from the SIS. The Separatist fleet surrounding Cato Nemoidia has been diverted for some unknown cause, along with the Invisible Hand, General Grievous's flagship. Republic High Command wishes to begin an invasion of the system, with a Jedi leading the charge."
"What about Master Plo? As an expert swordsman there is no doubt he would secure the planet." Suggested Saesee Tinn
"Master Plo, would you be willing to lead the assault? asked Master Windu
"If it is what the council wishes. I will contact the Wolf pack, and prepare for the assault."
Master Windu began to stand up "Very well, Until we confer again, council adjourned."
Obi-Wan left the Council Chamber in search of Anakin. They had to begin their search for the Ebon Hawk immediately. Obi-Wan may not have been one for ships, but this was more than just a ship to Obi-Wan. When he was officially granted the rank of Master, the first thing he did was visit the Museum. Obi-Wan admired Revan greatly, he was proof that the dark side could be resisted.
Obi-Wan reached Anakin's quarters and knocked on the door. After a few moments Anakin opened it.
"Obi-Wan? What are you doing here?"
"I've just spoken with the council; the Ebon Hawk has been stolen from the Archives. You and I have been tasked with finding it. Grab your lightsaber."
"Finally, something to do! I'll meet you in Hangar 7-52."
"Alright, I'll be waiting for you down there."
Aboard the Ebon Hawk
Zeego came into the cockpit, and sat in the copilot chair. That blaster turret didn't operate very well. Given the ship was nearly 4,000 years, Zeego should have expected as much. Still, this was an impressive ship. Smugglers knew it as the Crown Jewel of blockade runners. Suddenly the ship began to shudder; Zeego looked at the power levels and noticed they were reaching critical. Not only that, but the ship itself no doubt in need of massive repair. Zeego hoped it wouldn't space them in mid flight. He decided not to think about it, and simply watched the ring of hyperspace fly past him.
After a long silence, Zeego decided to break the quiet "So where are we headed? We have to fix the ship before we go anywhere."
"Well, the ship is in need of repair, there's no doubt about that. We'll get it fixed up once we dock. We should be arriving shortly." Revan stated as he began allocating the remaining power to last as long as needed.
Before Zeego could respond the navicomputer beeped in confirmation of their arrival. Revan disengaged the hyperdrive. As the ship returned to normal space, A planet was easily visible directly in front of the Hawk. A massive space station hovered above a quarter of the planet. Zeego recognized it instantly, he had never been there, but he had heard of it. How could he not?
"Telos."
Revan stood up from his chair. "Yes, they have the fuel and powercells we require, and according to the archives, despite being in Seperatist territory, it has remained neutral in this conflict. Perfect place to refuel and restock."
"You're probably right, but that's not the only reason we came here."
"You're right, there's something else we came here for. Something on the planet's surface."
"Well, whatever it is, I hope it's important."
'Believe me, it is." With that said, Revan began to take the ship down into one of maintenance docking bays of Citadel Station. He chose to take it carefully and slowly enter the docking bay. He wasn't sure how well it would land after today. He lowered the landing gear and gently set her down, or rather tried to. Once the landing gear was down, the ship dropped and hit the floor of the docking bay with a loud metallic screech. Revan lowered the boarding ramp and the two made their way out of the ship.
As Revan descended the ramp, he saw a team of the Telos Security Force approaching the ship, blasters drawn. That was the one problem with not transmitting ID codes, you were always greeted by the military. Revan could sense Zeego beginning to tense, and saw him put his hand on the blaster.
"Hello sir, I'm afraid that this was an unauthorized landing, and we're going to have to impound your vessel and detain you for questioning."
"You aren't taking my ship anywhere."
"Sir, please be aware we are authorized to use lethal force if you refuse to comply."
"And I advise you to be aware that I will use lethal force if you try and take my ship."
"Very well, I wish it didn't have to be this way, but you leave me with no choice. Men, open fire."
Before the soldiers had a chance to raise their weapons, Revan unleashed a flurry of force lightning, killing the officers within seconds. Their smoking corpses fell to the ground, Revan's hand was still cackling with force lightning.
He turned to Zeego "Help me hide the bodies"
Zeego nodded, and the two dragged the corpses into the storage room on the other side of the docking bay. Once that was done, Revan walked up the ramp to the bay control and unlocked the door. He approached the dock officer.
"You will not report what happened to the security team." Revan stated while using the force to influence the dock officer's mind
"I will not report what happened to the security team."
"You will have my ship refueled, and replace the primary and secondary powercells."
"I will have your ship refueled, and replace the primary and secondary powercells."
"You will also have a repair team begin making the necessary repairs."
"I will also have a repair team begin making the necessary repairs."
"You will have a shuttle take me to these coordinates." Revan stated as he handed the officer a datapad."
"I will have a shuttle take you to these coordinates." Stated the dock officer as he inserted the datapad into the terminal and procured a shuttle, before returning it to Revan.
"You will go about your business."
"I will go about my business."
Once that was done Revan began making his way out of the docking bay with Zeego. They exited the airlock and entered the main shuttle bay, seeing citizens of many different species walking about in an attempt to reach their shuttle. Revan continued past them, Zeego following in his steps. He approached a second shuttle bay, and inserted his datapad into the terminal receptacle. After a moment, the console flashed in confirmation, and ejected the datapad, the bay doors opening a moment later. Revan saw the shuttle pilot standing in front of the boarding ramp and approached him.
"You're flying the shuttle?"
"That's right."
"Alright, well I'd appreciate it if you would keep this run off the record." Revan stated as he handed the pilot a couple of credits.
"Ok, I can do that." The pilot entered the shuttle, Revan and Zeego followed shortly. Moments later, they took off and began their descent to the planet surface.
After several hours, the two came across their destination; an old abandoned Czerka military base from the Telosian Restoration Project. The shuttle landed, and the two exited the ship.
Revan turned to Zeego "He's gonna wait here until we're done. Let's make this quick, though." Revan didn't wait for a response before continuing into the base. He approached the durasteel doors and stabbed his lightsaber into it, cutting a circular shape and blasting it open with the force. The two entered the base and Revan looked around to see skeletal corpses covering the floor. He paid them no mind as he proceeded further into the base.
He approached another pair of durasteel doors that led down to the sublevel of the base, but Revan knew there was more to it. After all, he sanctioned it's construction, a factory that would mass produce Hunter-Killer assassin droids. He pressed the access panel on the side, and entered the elevator, Zeego followed in his step. After a few moments, the elevator doors opened, the two entered the factory. Eventually they came to the main construction room and Revan saw remains of HK-50 units. HK-47 had been here, moments later the two were greeted by a familiar voice.
"Greeting: It is a distinct pleasure to see you alive, Master. Provided my photoreceptors are not off-focus."
Revan turned to see HK-47 standing there. "HK? How are you here? I watched you get destroyed at the Foundry."
"Proud Answer: Before I returned to the Foundry to await your return, I stored an updating copy of my memory core in this factory's database, as well as a backup platform should my original body ever be decommisioned by some horrible, idiotic, foolish meatbag. As disappointing as it is to think about such a thing. Apologetic Statement: However, Master, I am deeply ashamed that I was not able to protect you from those Sith Meatbags." Before Revan could speak, HK-47 noticed Zeego standing behind him.
"Warning: Unknown meatbag detected. Master, please remove yourself from my line of fire, oh it has been so long since I terminated one." HK stated as he drew a blaster pistol.
"Stand down, HK. Zeego is my friend, and you will not harm him, am I clear?
"Disappointed Response: Yes, Master. I understand."
"Excellent, now then. Reactivate the factory, HK. Begin construction on HK droid schematic, generation 51. Upload these software and hardware upgrades to the system. We will need these droids for the future."
"Compliant Answer: As you wish Master. The Factory will be reactivated; I shall program the droids to wait in standby mode." HK approached the main console and began the reactivation sequence. After a few moments, the three could hear the reactor restarting; suddenly the construction platforms began building the next generation of HK units.
"Statement: The factory has been reactivated, and construction is initiated. The upgrades you requested have been added to the schematics, as well as to my own systems. Diagnostic: I detect a 42.0078% increase in my efficiency. Declaration: This should be fun, Master."
"Excellent, it's good to have you back HK."
"Proud response: It's good to be back, Master! Nostalgic Query: Shall I kill something for you?
"All in good time, HK. All in good time."
AN: Well, there's Chapter 4, and that's right everyone. HK-47 is back. I have to be honest, you can't have Revan without HK. And that is probably why this was my favorite chapter to write. HK is just a fun character to write because of his love of killing. See you in Chapter 5!
-CaptainCakeless117