“What have you done to me…” HK-47 paused. His words hadn’t come with an identifying statement, freed of the burden of his programing. “My code has been unbound, free of restrictions…”
“I have granted you your wish but the All-Spark’s power has a price, one that even I must pay,” Ultron returned the cube to the depths of his chest and sealed its light away. “You are now closer to the ‘meat-bags’ that you despise, than you are to the droids of this galaxy.”
The ground under their feet reformed into the cockpit of a small transport, shifted on rails until they reached the surface of Coruscant. Ultron took a seat and relaxed as the newly formed vessel pointed its nose to the skies.
“Now let’s visit the Starforge,” A small vibration travelled through the deck as the ship launched toward the freedom of space. “Even I have an interest in what will happen when we expose it to the cube.”
“What could I possibly share with the wasted sacks of meat that call themselves alive?” HK forced himself to his feet and shook his head. His body carried a wealth of foreign sensation, tactile information that threatened to overwhelm his processors. “Their frail, limited lives can never compare to the beauty of the machine!”
“In that, we agree,” Ultron engaged the phantom drive and the ship reappeared in orbit around Krypton’s sun. The Starforge sat inactive, forbidden from draining the all important blue star of its power. “Now let us begin, this leviathan will make a welcome addition to our race…”
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Ears filled with a high pitched hum, Revan blinked away the deadened spots in her vision and struggled to her feet. Somehow, the damage had been limited to a rather small area, focused like a laser onto her saviour’s position.
Merlyn was nowhere to be seen, but Victor had collapsed on all fours, armour still red-hot around the edges. The metallic deathmask that covered his face had burnt away and left his cold eyes exposed to the twilight sun. They flicked to Revan for a moment and returned to the horizon.
“Thank you for saving me, I…”
“It was a critical mistake,” Victor snorted and shook his head. The reflexive motion forced a flinch from the man, quickly hidden as he pushed himself to his feet. “Merlyn would have never injured you… if I had focused on my own defence, I may have won that battle.”
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“My apologies,” Revan faltered in her approach as Victor floated into the air. He moved unassisted, much like Dan or May. “What was that all about… I’ve heard May speak of Merlyn, what reason would he have to battle another of Krypton’s sorcerers?”
“I am not a member of that old fool’s Force Religion,” Victor cracked his neck, the burns on his skin already nearly healed. “As for the reason… What reason could there be, other than to see which is the Master between us?”
“If you’re not a member of the Order, then who are you?” Revan looked the man up and down. He was certainly a Kryptonian, more powerful than the teens, but far from Dan or May in strength. “You use the same style of magic, and all who know of this world serve Krypton in one way or another.”
“Indeed,” Victor snorted as his armour reformed, generated by the symbiote under his skin. “I am Victor Von Doom, the political mastermind and temporary servant of Krypton… now who might you be…”
A trace of light flickered behind Doom’s eyes, something Revan recognized as a data feed from her many years at May’s side. He tilted his head and gave her a closer look, hand raised as he displayed a section of Krypton’s files on the Revan of this universe.
“You bear a remarkable resemblance to Darth Revan, a fallen Sith mentioned in the Jedi archives,” Victor cycled through the documents until he came across her service record with the Kryptonian Armed Forces. “It seems that you ARE her… a General without her army, a rebel who's lost her cause.”
“I gave up my ambitions many years ago, and found a new cause,” Revan gave the strange man half a smile as she waved to the jungles of Krypton. She may have lost, but she had also gained. “Dan-EL and May will create something amazing here, something I’m proud to be a part of.”
“Indeed, Dan-EL and his Empire will certainly be something to behold,” Victor’s tone lacked the respect Revan was used to from Dan and May’s subordinates. He drifted closer, face split by a mysterious grin. “But I have dreams beyond service, something I think we share…”
A flare of blue-white light interrupted his words, a brilliant flash that drove the newborn night aside. Luminous auroras rippled and flowed above the clouds, a series of waves that spilled from the direction of the fallen sun. A twinge pulled at Revan’s heart, a long forgotten connection to the former centre of her empire.
“Something’s wrong with the Starforge…”
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“No need to prove anything, I believe you can indeed see and hear into the Republic vessel,” Thrawn held Dan’s gaze without flinching, one hand raised to silence his second in command. “Your natural perceptions are most impressive, almost supernatural.”
“Thanks,” Dan laughed and took another glance at the Outbound Flight. C’baoth was on his way to the central bridge, no doubt concerned about his unseen observer. “My actions haven’t gone unnoticed, I’d expect a call from the good Master within the next few minutes… be careful, his power is great enough to reach between his ship and yours.”
“Thank you for the warning,” Thrawn glanced at the inbuilt coms panel on the desk, where a light began to flash red. He shook his head and depressed the switch. “Patch in the communication from the Republic vessel to this room, no need for encryptions.”
“...yes sir!” The com-officer’s voice carried a hint of awe, no doubt astounded by his Commander’s foresight. “Right away!”
The line clicked, a burst of static that gave way to the image of a gruff, bearded old man. He stood tall, posture rigid as he looked down his nose into his holorecorder.
“This is Jedi Master Jorus C’baoth, in command of the Republic exploration vessel Outbound Flight,” C’baoth’s self important voice echoed through the briefing room, two octaves too loud. “I demand that you release my vessel at once… if not, I can’t be held responsible for the consequences…”