Lola Sayu was a planet that looked like someone had tried to forge a world out of broken glass and bad intentions. Its surface was a jagged, sulfurous nightmare of obsidian spires and bottomless pits, illuminated by the sickly orange glow of volcanic fissures. In the center of this desolation sat the Citadel—a fortress-prison designed specifically to hold Jedi, a place where hope went to be interrogated and forgotten.
The Black Pearl drifted through the upper atmosphere like a ghost in a machine. Its Automatic Stealth Generator was operating at peak efficiency, mimicking the background radiation of the planet's turbulent ionosphere so perfectly that the Separatist blockade ships might as well have been looking for a needle in a nebula.
Revan Shan stood in the center of the bridge, his hands tucked into the sleeves of his matte-black Beskar-filament robes. His hood was pulled low, masking his 23-year-old face in shadow, though his eyes sparkled with a manic, Doctor-ish curiosity. Beside him, HK-47 was recalibrating his blaster rifle, the red glow of his optical sensors pulsing with unbridled anticipation.
"Admiral Kaine, status?" Revan murmured, his voice carrying the rhythmic lilt of a man who found high-security infiltration to be a delightful afternoon stroll.
"The 596th is holding position in the gravitational shadow of Malastare's gas giants, General," Kaine's voice crackled over the kyber-quantum link. "The Separatists haven't even twitched. Eleven has successfully embedded itself within the Republic's engineering corps on the surface. Slicing protocols are active."
"Splendid," Revan said, popping a lemon candy into his mouth. "Try to be nice, Admiral, but if they move, be very, very kind with the turbolasers. Cortana, bring us in. I believe our friends are about to have a very 'stiff' arrival."
The Carbonite Greeting
Inside the Citadel's high-security landing bay, a group of Republic shuttles had already touched down. The plan, orchestrated by Anakin Skywalker and Obi-Wan Kenobi, had involved being frozen in carbonite to bypass the facility's life-form scanners.
As the carbonite slabs began to thaw, a hooded figure leaned over the block containing Obi-Wan Kenobi.
"You know, Obi-Wan," Revan's voice echoed through the bay, sounding far too cheerful for a prison break. "I've seen some questionable career choices in my 135 years, but 'Self-Inflicted Sculpture' is definitely in the top five. It's a very bold look. Very... minimalist."
Obi-Wan stumbled out of the thawing slab, coughing and squinting against the harsh lights. "Revan? What... how are you here?"
"I took the scenic route," Revan quipped, gesturing vaguely behind him where the Black Pearl sat under its optical shroud. "And look at Anakin! He's still got that 'I just woke up and I'm already annoyed' face. It's impressive, really. The consistency is admirable."
Anakin Skywalker shook off the last of the carbon-freezing sickness, igniting his blue blade. "Master Shan. I should have known you wouldn't miss a chance to break the rules."
"Rules? No, no, Anakin. Rules are just suggestions made by people who don't have a Sonic Screwdriver," Revan retorted, pulling the silver-phrik device from his belt and giving it a playful whir. "Now, shall we go find Master Piell? I hear he's having a terrible time with the room service."
The Infiltration: Sarcasm and Sabotage
The strike team moved through the Citadel's corridors with a precision that was constantly interrupted by Revan's commentary. While Anakin and Obi-Wan focused on the tactical maps and the looming threat of Warden Osi Sobeck's droid legions, Revan was busy investigating the "ambiance."
"Honestly, the architecture here is so aggressive," Revan remarked as they bypassed a laser corridor. "It's all spikes and cold durasteel. Whoever designed this place clearly had a very unhappy childhood. Probably didn't get enough lemon drops."
When a squad of BX Commando droids rounded a corner, Revan didn't draw his lightsabers. He simply raised a hand. Force Stasis. The droids froze mid-stride, their glowing eyes flickering in confusion.
"HK, if you please," Revan said.
"Requirement: With pleasure, Master," HK-47 stated. The droid didn't just shoot; he moved with the Form VII Juyo data Revan had programmed into him, using a Vibroblade to dismantle the frozen droids with surgical, horrifying speed. "Statement: I find that 'kindness' is much easier to distribute when the target is unable to move."
"He's terrifying," Ahsoka Tano whispered, watching the droid.
"He's an artist, Ahsoka! Just... a very metallic, very stabby artist," Revan countered.
As they reached the central elevator shaft, Revan tapped his gauntlet. "D6, are you in?"
Side-Mission: The Shadow in the Data-Well
While the Jedi moved toward the detention level, R2-D6 (D6) had detached from the main group. Utilizing its thrusters and a thin Beskar-alloy chassis that resisted the Citadel's magnetic traps, the astromech slid into a maintenance port near the prison's primary data-hub.
D6's Kyber-Quantum Slicing core hummed to life. While the prison's security focused on the physical intruders, D6 was diving into the "underworld" of the Citadel's transmission logs.
"Vision didn't have anything on the Shadow Collective because they do everything face-to-face," Revan had told the droid. "But even the most analog syndicate needs to pay their bills. Find the grease, D6. Find the connection."
The droid hit a goldmine. The Citadel wasn't just a prison; it was a neutral disposal ground where the Separatists and the Syndicates occasionally 'offloaded' troublesome assets. D6 found encrypted logs of a meeting between Osi Sobeck and a representative of the Pyke Syndicate. The subject: the transport of 'The Brothers' and their connection to the Black Sun.
The Shadow Collective wasn't just a rumor; it was a business model. D6 began a massive data-dump, routing the information back to the Black Pearl and, ultimately, to Luthen Rael's Axis Network.
Malastare: The Blueprint Heist
While Revan was teasing Obi-Wan about his inability to stay out of trouble, Eleven (R2-B11) was finishing its mission on Malastare.
The campaign on the fuel-world was winding down, the Separatists in full retreat. The Republic's Electro-Proton bomb—the 'Big Boom' that Revan had prevented from being dropped earlier—was currently being loaded back onto a heavy transport.
Eleven, using its four extra control arms and its own Kyber-Quantum core, had bypassed the Republic's security perimeter around the weapon's technical data. It didn't just copy the blueprints; it performed a deep-scan of the bomb's internal circuitry and the specific resonance of the proton-trigger.
"Analysis complete," Eleven chirped to Cortana via a long-range encrypted relay. "Data secured. Dr. Smith will find the energy yield... fascinating."
Revan had no intention of using the bomb for mass destruction. He wanted the tech for his own "Defensive Infrastructure"—a way to disable planetary droid fleets without the radioactive fallout.
Rescuing Even Piell and the "Negotiator's" Pride
The team finally breached the high-security cell of Master Even Piell. The small Lannik Jedi looked up, his one good eye widening as he saw the motley crew before him.
"Took you long enough," Piell grunted.
"Master Piell! Love the eyepatch," Revan said, stepping forward. "Very 'Outer Rim Pirate' chic. I'm Revan. I'm the one who didn't get frozen in carbonite because I actually value my skin's elasticity. Come along, we have a ship to catch and I've heard the prison warden is throwing a very loud tantrum."
As they began the escape, Revan noticed Obi-Wan's discomfort. The "Negotiator" was clearly frustrated by the lack of traditional decorum.
"Don't look so glum, Obi-Wan," Revan teased, catching a blaster bolt with Tutimimus and tossing the kinetic energy back into a droid's face. "I remember when I brought you to the Temple. You were such a quiet little thing. Now you're a General, leading suicide missions into obsidian prisons. They grow up so fast, don't they, Anakin?"
"I'm trying to focus, Master Shan," Anakin muttered, though a smirk tugged at the corner of his mouth.
"Focus is boring! Feeling is where the fun is!" Revan laughed. He unleashed a Force Repulse that cleared an entire bridge of B1 droids, sending them spiraling into the lava pits below. "See? I felt like they should go for a swim, and so they did. It's all about the intention!"
Protecting the Ancient: The Zillo's Secret
As the group fought their way toward the landing pad, Revan took a moment to double-check the Malastare data. The campaign was over, but the Zillo Beast remained a target for the Chancellor's scientific curiosity.
Utilizing his gauntlet's remote connection to the 596th Legion's satellite network, Revan triggered a series of "Geological Disturbance" pulses around the sinkhole where the beast slept.
"Cortana, initiate the 'Ghost-Trail' protocol," Revan commanded quietly.
The satellites sent false readings to the Republic's geological surveys, indicating that the fuel-pits had collapsed and the beast's remains had been vaporized by a localized methane explosion. To the rest of the galaxy, the Zillo Beast was a tragic footnote. To Revan, she was a secret ally, resting undisturbed until the Force decided she was needed again.
"Kindness," Revan whispered to himself. "Sometimes the kindest thing you can do is make the world forget you ever existed."
The Escape: Month 6, 21 BBY
The escape from the Citadel was as loud and chaotic as Revan could have hoped. As the Black Pearl de-cloaked on the landing pad, HK-47 provided a wall of suppressing fire that left Osi Sobeck's guards in pieces.
"Get in! The tea is getting cold and D6 has some very interesting stories to tell about our syndicate friends," Revan shouted, ushering the Jedi aboard.
As the ship snapped into hyperspace—utilizing its Class 0.5 hyperdrive to leave the Separatist fleet in the dust—Revan sat in his Sovereign's Command Chair. He watched as Anakin and Obi-Wan tended to Even Piell and the other survivors.
"You're an enigma, Revan," Obi-Wan said, walking onto the bridge. "You fight like a Sith, speak like a madman, and act like a guardian. Who are you, really?"
Revan pushed back his hood, his youthful face lit by the blue glow of hyperspace. He offered Obi-Wan a lemon candy.
"I'm just a man with a very long memory and a very high-quality ship, Obi-Wan," Revan said with a wink. "Try to be nice. Do good. But never fail to be kind. And it was very kind of me to rescue you before you got a suntan from that lava, wasn't it?"
As the Black Pearl headed back toward the Malastare system to regroup with the 596th, Revan looked at the data D6 had recovered. The Shadow Collective was out there. Maul was building a kingdom of ghosts.
"Month six," Revan mused. "The war is changing. The droids are getting smarter, the Sith are getting bolder, and I... I think I need a new hobby. Maybe I'll take up Sith Alchemy. I've always wanted to know how to turn lead into Beskar."
Hyperspace flickered, and the Jedi Maverick leaned back, ready for whatever the Force had planned next.
| Current Statistics: Month 6, 20 BBY | Value |
| Maverick Trust Credits | 7.2 Trillion |
| Clone Retirement Trust | 220 Million |
| Loot Secured | Electro-Proton Blueprints, Shadow Collective Logs |
| Zillo Beast Status | Hidden / Protected |
| Revan's Mood | Highly Sarcastic |