The crew met Mara Zros approximately five kilometers from the mid-level pillar that was the senate tower. She was dressed in deep black light battle gear and lacked weapons of any sort; obviously, they were tucked into the armor itself, but they were hidden so well that not even Van could guess where they were. Next to her was a large box with a series of flashing lights atop a hover cart. "You're late," she said simply.

"No we're not – we're early," Van retorted.

"Yeah... I just always liked saying that, Vanny, and you know it," Mara replied. She took a deep breath and rubbed her palms together. "Well, you boys can push the ionized plasma cutter. It's a bit of a trek."

"Um, what are we doing with this thing, oh fearless planner?" Revan asked. He looked over at the plasma cutter. "Cause the midlevel walls are really thick. This won't cut it."

"Punny, really," Mara responded, her voice dripping with disgust. "If you must know, there's a section that is already cut out on the inside. This cutter can slice through a half-thick wall. From there on, it's a five person job. One person will head with me to the vault. One of you will have to take section security on the next floor down so we aren't found out too quickly. That leaves two for the diversion."

"What diversion?" Van asked, annoyed. Mara Zros merely grinned in response. "I know that smile – that's a bad smile."

SWSWSWSWSW

"I hate your mom," Revan hissed at Van. They stood in a shaded enclave leading in to the main atrium of the Senate tower. "Completely hate her."

Van shook his head and activated the holo-mask around his neck, turning his head into a miniaturized rancor head. The toothy mouth moved unnaturaly as Van's distorted voice came out. "I do too," he said. Revan nodded sympathetically and activated his holo-mask, turning his face into that of a Rakghoul. "Well, let's go hold the senate hostage."

"Did I say that I hate your mother yet?" Revan asked as he primed the blaster rifle in his hands. Van nodded. "Well, I haven't said it enough."

"Ready?" Van asked.

"Ugh..." Revan groaned. "Yeah." He walked forward into the atrium and fired his blaster into the air. The people around him began to scream as the armed assailant entered the room.

Revan screamed to the senators and dignitaries. "Now, unless you hostages feel like dying any time soon, I recommend you all hand over any communication devices you have on your person," he said cheerfully, "or we'll shoot you. You have five seconds to drop them in front of me, or I begin shooting."

The communication device in his ear buzzed. "Wow, you are a terrible actor," Zros said over the channel. "Your girlfriend and I are about ten minutes from the vault. You and Vanny can run in twenty to meet us back at the exit. Rhen – send the guards to the atrium. Good luck, Vanny."

Wow, even I hate his mother, and I'm dead, the voice in Revan's head remarked. This is a terrible plan.

"If you will all also be so kind as to deposit any... expensive things in my friend's bag, you might keep your life," Revan continued. He motioned for Van to begin walking through the crowd, collecting jewelry and cred sticks. Communicators and holo-phones clattered on the ground at Revan's feet.

"ALL HANDS TO THE ATRIUM! WE ARE UNDER ATTACK!" Rhen's voice screamed over the speakers in the tower.

"Who contacted them!?" Revan asked loudly. He aimed his blaster at the closest senator – a Neimoidian – and growled. The noise, combined with the voice distortion and Rakghoul mask made the man piss himself. "Kriff!"

Revan shut his eyes and prepared for what he knew he had to do. That didn't mean he liked it, but he had to do it for the mission. Revan leveled his blaster rifle at the Neimoidian senator's kneecap and fired a single bolt. The senator screamed in pain as the red light tore through his leg and crippled him forever. "All of you! On the ground, or next time my friend and me won't be so nice!" Van shouted. The senators screamed and there was a sound of mass movement. The senators fell to the ground, cowering in fear.

"You there! Freeze!" a voice screamed from the balcony above. Revan aimed his blaster upward at the guard, who was aiming his own blaster at Revan, and flicked the settings to stun. The bolt flew through the air and collided with the soldier, who fell fifteen feet to the ground in a heap of limbs and purple cloth. He turned around before the next guard even made it into the room and another blast of light collided with the soldier, who fell mid sprint onto his face.

"Okay, they made it to the vault and have collected everything. Beat it, now," Rhen commanded over comms.

"Gotta get out of here, man! The fuzz are on our tail!" Revan shouted, trying his best to sound like a criminal.

"The fuzz?" Van asked, incredulously.

"The fuzz?" Zros asked, incredulously.

The fuzz? The voice asked, incredulously.

"You know what I mean!" Revan snapped at the three voices before aiming a random stun bolt into the crowd of senators. There was a mass scream throughout the room as the representative was hit with the energy bolt. "Let's run!"

Van's rancor facade nodded and he threw the bag of valuables over his shoulder. Revan took off down the hall, listening carefully to Rhen's orders over the comms. "Four soldiers in the upcoming right turn. Stun grenade... now!"

Revan pulled the blue grenade from his belt and rolled it down the specified hallway as soon as Rhen commanded. The metal ball ticked for a half second as it rolled into the center of the group, then exploded, releasing a powerful electric shock into the air around the four guards and immediately incapacitating them. "Two at the top of the stairs, same at the exit."

Revan turned the corner to see the two purple-clad senate guards and fired off a quick volley of stun fire. The soldiers gasped in pain and crumpled to the ground. Van ran up behind him and another blaster shot rang out. Revan turned around to see Van's blaster smoking and another stunned soldier on the ground. "Thanks for the heads up, Rhen," Revan snarled.

"You survived, didn't you?"

Van shook his head as Revan opened his mouth to argue. Revan sighed, but acquiesced. He opened the door to the stairs and motioned for Van to go first. "Got your back," Revan assured as the pilot sprinted down. Revan followed close behind. As the duo neared the floor that they were going to exit from, Revan stopped Van. "Wait." He pulled a stun grenade from his belt and tossed it to the door. The metal gate flew open to reveal the two soldiers standing guard.

"What was that noi -" the soldier was cut off by an explosion of electric energy that incapacitated both him and his partner.

"We're at the exit floor," Van said over comms.

"Good, we'll be there in a few minutes," Mara insisted over comms. "Get to where we entered."

"I'm on my-" Rhen began, but he was interuppted by the opening of a door.

"You're under arrest!"

Blaster fire began to echo over the comms. "Kark," Revan cursed. He turned Van. "Get to the exit, I'll meet you there."

"That's crazy, I'll go with you!"

"No, I can do this," Revan insisted. "If we don't get back..." Revan took his earpiece out and crushed it. "If we don't get back, call the triumvirate and have her arrested."

Van gulped. "O-okay, man," he said.

"Don't worry, though – I'll be back," Revan said with a grin. He slapped Van's back and rushed away, drawing his lightsaber as he went.

SWSWSWSWSW

"Don't move, schutta," the senate guard commanded. The man's purple armor glinted menacingly in the low light. The Mando'a design didn't help matters, and served the intimidate even Rhen. The two blasters leveled at his head were the real issue, though. The three guards all were ready with primed blasters and aggression in their body language. Rhen sighed and looked at the ground through his holo-mask – ironically a very, very fat lethan Twi'lek.

"What do we do with him, sir? The holo-mask is genetically locked and we can't take DNA without his consent." one of the soldiers said. "We can't ID him."

"Remove the mask," one of the guards demanded.

"Or what? If you aren't going to take my DNA, you sure as hell aren't going to kill me, an unarmed prisoner," Rhen said. He looked up at the soldier and scoffed. "You won't do anything to me."

"I think you overestimate me," the commander said. His finger began to tighten on the trigger of his blaster rifle.

"What's this!?" a voice asked as the door hissed open. The soldiers spun around and aimed their blasters at the newcomer. The familiar hum of a lightsaber and the smell of burning ozone began to permeate the room. "Were you going to kill an unarmed prisoner? Well, Soldier!?"

"Who are you!?" the commander snapped.

"A Jedi. I don't answer to you – you answer to me," Revan said. His voice had adopted a slightly condescending and authoritative tone. "You'd do well to remember that."

The senate guards looked between each other for a moment, but their weapons remained trained on Revan. "We'll need some identification," the commander said as he slightly lowered his weapon.

Revan sighed and shook his head. When he looked back up, his durasteel gray eyes had taken on a misty gaze. E raised his hand and waved it in front of himself, while saying, "You don't need any identification."

"We don't need any identification," the soldiers behind the commander said, their voices dull and emotionless. Their weapons dropped and they moved to the side.

"What are you doing!?" the commander snapped at his underlings. He raised his weapon back up to Revan. "Who are you?"

"Move along," Revan said, exerting more of his will on the commander.

"I... um..." the commander stuttered, his weapon moving between Revan and the floor. There was a loud thunk and the man crashed to the ground. Rhen stood behind the crumpled body, shaking his head.

"I had this," Revan said, extinguishing his lightsaber.

"Almost. They believed you were a Jedi, almost. You sounded off, though," the Twi'lek replied.

"I was just pretending to be you," Revan retorted. Rhen's eyes widened – was that really what he sounded like when talking to his former friend? A haughty, unapproachable... well, schutta? Rhen's thoughts were interrupted by Revan grabbed his arm. "We need to run, now."

Rhen nodded. "Then let's go... partner."

SWSWSWSWSW

"The boy will come to us, now," Nihl told Wyyrlok and Kralle. "I doubt he will be ready to follow just yet, but I have plans in place."

"What is thy bidding, Master?" Wyyrlok asked. He knelt onto one knee and bowed to Darth Nihl.

"Indeed? What is your bidding?" Kralle asked. Nihl noted that she refused to bow. Still, she was necessary for the coming plan.

"Kralle, you will return to Coruscant. When the boy Falls, it will be there. The entire galaxy will quake from his power in that instant. Reveal yourself to him only then and help him, bring him to me," Nihl commanded.

The Zeltron bowed slightly. "Of course. What should I do with his friends?"

"Kill them, if necessary, but do not seek them out," the Sith Lord explained. His grip on his throne tightened and he smiled with a manic glee. "Theron Fel should have the honor of executing those that betrayed him."

Kralle nodded. "Yes, Lord Nihl," she said before leaving the room.

"And I, Master?" Wyyrlok asked, staring up at Nihl. The Sith was desperate to prove himself.

"You will go with me to take the artifacts from the smuggler and the boy. Defeat his allies when they inevitably attack," Nihl commanded his most loyal servant, "but do not kill them. As I said, that is Theron's duty. Then, and only then, will he become Darth Revan and stand at my side."

Wyyrlok's gaze dropped at that, jealousy or disappointment. He believed that he should stand as Nihl's apprentice. The Sith Lord knew that, eventually, he would have to pit the two against each other in a battle for succession. "He will take the artifacts back."

"What!?" Wyyrlok shouted, rising to his feet. His hand drifted to his saber, and Nihl thought that the young man would indeed strike him down for weakness.

"They chose him, my apprentice," Nihl explained. He exerted his will on reality and, using the Force, made his apprentice bend knee once more. "Artifacts of the dark side so close to him will only hasten his Fall and bring the destruction of the Jedi to ultimate fruition."

Wyyrlok frowned and looked at the ground. Then. "Yes, my master," he said, bowing deeper to the leader of the Sith.

"Gather troops. We are due soon," Nihl stated. His grip on the throne loosened and he brought his hands up to tent in front of his face. "We will soon rule the galaxy."