The emerald canopies of Onderon were a deceptive mask of tranquility, concealing a world that had become a pressure cooker of civil unrest and Separatist occupation. As the fourth week of the seventh month of 20 BBY commenced, the 596th 'Maverick's Roughnecks' fleet dropped out of hyperspace on the fringes of the system, deliberately avoiding the primary sensor net of the Separatist blockade orbiting the capital of Iziz.
On the bridge of the Sovereign's Grace, Revan Shan stood with his hands tucked into the deep sleeves of his matte-black robes. The Beskar-filament weave of his cloak shimmered under the dim tactical lights, and his hood was pulled low, casting his face into a permanent shadow. On his belt, the Westar 35s—remade with a Beskar-Phrik-Cortosis alloy—sat ready, alongside his two unique lightsabers and his cyan-emitter sonic screwdriver.
"Admiral Kaine," Revan said, his voice carrying the rhythmic, slightly manic lilt of a man who found galactic warfare to be a particularly loud form of performance art. "The Separatists have really settled in, haven't they? It's like they've tried to turn Iziz into a very large, very gray paperweight. Terribly unimaginative."
"General, the Separatist presence is significant," Admiral Kaine reported, his eyes fixed on the holographic star chart. "They have three Lucrehulk-class hubs and a dozen Munificents forming a tight perimeter. The Grand Army of the Republic has tasked us with supporting the local insurgency. Apparently, the Council thinks a 'Maverick's touch' is what this rebellion needs."
Revan chuckled, a dry, clever sound. "Support the insurgency? You mean teach them how to break things without getting caught. Splendid. I've always been a fan of the underdog, mostly because they have better stories."
He popped a lemon candy into his mouth, the tartness grounding his 23,000 midichlorian count as he felt the Force-eddies of the planet below. "Lara, Spock—keep the fleet in a defensive 'Jump-Snap' posture. If the CIS fleet twitches, I want the Uprising and the Phoenix to remind them why our shielding is rated for capital-class dreadnoughts. I'm taking the Black Pearl down. HK, D6, and a strike team are with me."
The Descent into the Jungle
The Black Pearl slipped through the atmosphere like a ghost made of shadow and Beskar. Its Automatic Stealth Generator was tuned to mimic the background radiation of Onderon's heavy ionosphere, making it invisible to the Separatist digital eyes. Revan piloted the ship with a fluid grace, weaving through the jagged mountains and the towering trees of the Onderonian wilderness.
"Cortana, darling, do we have a fix on our 'freedom fighters'?" Revan asked.
"Signal located, Master," Cortana's voice chirped from his gauntlet. "Coordinates lead to a hidden camp in the forest. Sensors indicate approximately fifty lifeforms. High adrenaline readings. It seems they're expecting company."
Revan landed the Black Pearl in a small clearing, the ramp hissing open to reveal the humid, floral scent of the jungle. He stepped out, flanked by HK-47, who was currently armed with a SaberStaff and a pair of Westar 35s, and R2-D6, whose Kyber-Quantum Slicing core was already scanning for local droid frequencies.
Waiting for them in the shadows were two figures: a young woman with a sharp gaze and a bow—Steela Gerrera—and a muscular young man with a look of restless aggression—Saw Gerrera.
"You're the Jedi?" Saw asked, his voice skeptical as he eyed Revan's black armor and the hood masking his face. "You look more like a bounty hunter."
Revan tilted his head, his voice light and sassy. "And you look like you've been sleeping in a hedge. Appearances can be so distracting, can't they? I'm Revan. This is HK-47, who is currently fighting the urge to call you all 'meatbags,' and D6, who is significantly smarter than anyone in this clearing."
"Statement: My master is being uncharacteristically generous with his descriptions of your biological processing units," HK-47 added, his red optical sensors glowing.
Steela stepped forward, her hand resting on her hip. "We need weapons, Master Revan. And we need to know how to take down the droids. The Separatists have Iziz locked tight."
"Weapons are easy," Revan said, pulling his Sonic Screwdriver and giving it a playful whir. "But weapons only get you so far. You need to know the why of the technology. You need planetary ecology, sentient sociology, and a bit of advanced engineering. Or, failing that, you need to know how to make a droid's logic core think its primary directive is to self-destruct."
The Training of the Insurgency
The first week of the mission was a masterclass in unconventional warfare. Revan didn't just hand over blasters; he and his droids began a systematic overhaul of the insurgents' tactics.
While Commander Check and a strike team of 100 dechipped clones provided tactical training, Revan focused on the "Maverick" approach. He taught Steela how to use Mechu-deru—not the Force technique, which she couldn't use, but the fundamental understanding of machine logic. He showed her how to identify the cooling vents on AAT tanks and the frequency shifts in droid communication relays.
"Think of a droid as a very fast, very stupid librarian," Revan explained during a training session, his voice echoing the "Doctor" persona he often adopted. "If you ask them too many questions at once, they tend to drop all the books. We're going to give them a lot of questions."
He utilized his 15 Sith Training Droids to simulate droid ambushes. The insurgents were shocked by the speed and brutality of the droids, but under Revan's guidance, they learned to use the environment—the treacherous Onderonian jungle—as a weapon.
Saw, however, was more interested in the "Big Bang."
"Why sneak around when we can blow the gates open?" Saw argued, pointing toward a holographic map of Iziz.
"Because, Saw, 'blowing the gates open' is a great way to get a lot of people killed who didn't sign up for your drama," Revan retorted, his tone dropping the sass for a moment of cold, ancient authority. "Try to be nice, do good, but never fail to be kind. Kindness on Onderon means ensuring the people in that city still have a home when the droids are gone. We use the scalpel, not the hammer."
Skirmishes and Stasis
As the month progressed into its second and third weeks, the insurgency began to strike back. Revan led several surgical raids on Separatist supply depots.
During a particularly intense skirmish near a mountain pass, a battalion of B2 super battle droids and a pair of Droidekas pinned the insurgents down. Revan didn't draw his lightsabers immediately. He sprinted into the middle of the droid line, his movements a blur of Force Enhance.
"Hello, everyone! Terribly sorry for the intrusion, I was looking for a decent cup of tea, but this looks much more energetic!"
He slammed his palms together. Force Repulse. A massive shockwave of kinetic energy erupted, shattering the front row of B2s into scrap metal. As the Droidekas deployed their shields, Revan flicked his wrist—Force Stasis. The blue energy of the shields flickered and froze, the droids locked in time.
"HK, if you please," Revan called out.
"Requirement: With pleasure, Master. Conducting mandatory disassembly in three, two, one..." HK-47 charged in, his SaberStaff carving through the frozen droids with the Form VII Juyo data Revan had programmed into him.
Behind them, the insurgents used their newly upgraded blasters—refitted by Revan with Kyber-refined focusing lenses—to pick off the remaining B1s. The battle was over in minutes, with zero insurgent casualties.
The Loot and the Logistics
Between battles, Revan was never idle. He viewed every Separatist depot as a personal shopping mall. Utilizing his Sonic Screwdriver, he bypassed the encryption on high-level Separatist crates, securing:
* Loot Secured: 150kg of reinforced Phrik alloy, 12 high-yield droid capacitors, and a rare Separatist tactical core.
"D6, upload the tactical data to the Sovereign's Grace," Revan commanded. "I want Admiral Kaine to have the latest droid movement patterns for his orbital simulations."
He also maintained his bi-weekly meetings with his financial trio via a holographic uplink from the Black Pearl.
"Kaelen, how are the 'Stable Rhythmic Anchors' performing?" Revan asked.
"The Maverick Trust is at 7.9 Trillion credits, John," the holographic accountant reported. "The investment in Onderonian grain futures is already showing a 200% projected return once the occupation ends. And the Clone Retirement Trust is holding steady at 245 million."
"Good. Make sure the 'Roughnecks' get their extra rations. Jungle warfare is hungry work," Revan said, closing the link.
The Shadow of the Beast
As the seventh month bled into the eighth month of 20 BBY, the pressure on the Separatist-appointed King Rash increased. The insurgents were no longer just a nuisance; they were a ghost-army that hit with the precision of a Jedi Master and the ferocity of the jungle.
Revan sat on a high ridge overlooking the city of Iziz, his mask tucked away in the ship's safe but the weight of his legacy heavy on his shoulders. He looked at the stars, where the 596th stood sentinel.
"The war is turning, Cortana," Revan whispered. "But the Sith are still in the shadows. Dooku won't let Onderon go easily. He'll send someone soon. Someone with more than just droids."
"Master, I have detected a strange energy signature in the palace," Cortana noted. "It matches the resonance of an ancient Sith ritual site."
Revan's eyes sharpened behind his hood. "A ritual site? On Onderon? This just became a lot more than a simple insurgency. Tell Steela to prep the next phase. We're going into the city."
He stood up, his black robes billowing in the mountain wind. The "Jedi Maverick" was about to bring his own brand of kindness to the capital.
Status: Month 8, 20 BBY
The insurgency has gained significant ground. The Separatist blockade is being harassed by the 596th's starfighters, and the ground forces in Iziz are terrified of the "Ghost in the Black Robes."
| Current Statistics: Month 8, 20 BBY | Value |
|---|---|
| Maverick Trust Credits | 7.95 Trillion |
| Clone Retirement Trust | 250 Million |
| Loot Secured | Phrik Alloy, Tactical Cores |
| Onderon Status | Insurgency Active / City Breach Imminent |
| Revan's Mood | Intrigued by Ancient Shadows |