While everyone had left for the cafeteria, or gone to the gym, Corvus had been left to his own devices within the office.
Looking down at his hand, he saw the blurry outline of something. As best he could tell, it was a blurry outline of some sort of image or character. What it was, he had no clue, but Lucien Draay, the Jedi Master within the holocron would not speak to him unless he could see what it was.
Corvus was in no hurry to find out, as he figured his natural progression in learning the Force would reveal the symbol, message, or whatever it was in time.
While he was eager to learn from an Old Republic Jedi-as those guys were bonafide badasses-he would be patient.
What he couldn't be patient with, however, was the execution of Armand Isard, and his daughter Ysanne Isard. As the heads of Republic Intelligence, now Imperial Intelligence, they were a pair of hyper competent Imperials.
The deaths of the Isards would be crucial to the continued existence of any hiding Jedi or Rebel cells.
With the way the timeline accounted for travel time, Corvus figured Anakin had likely left for Mustafar by now, and Obi-Wan/Yoda were either on Coruscant, or a day away from reaching the planet.
That meant Palpatine would still be here as well.
Since it was roughly a three day journey from the Core Worlds to the Outer Rim with a Class One hyperdrive, and then three days back, Corvus felt that his window of opportunity would be three days from now.
With Palpatine off Coruscant to chase after Vader, Corvus felt he could go to the Senate District, and cause a little ruckus.
As for why he didn't link up with Obi-Wan or Yoda? Well for one, he felt like he would just get in the way. Because there was no way in Hell he would post up against Sidious or Vader.
Secondly, he didn't think he could sway either of them into becoming active rebels. If he really needed their advice, or to speak with them, he knew where their hiding spots were. Corvus figured he would meet with them whenever he wanted, or should the Force will it.
Since he wasn't going to meet with the two famed Jedi Masters, Corvus had to prepare himself over the next 2 days.
With Palpatine going to be leaving for Mustafar likely sometime in the next 15hrs, Corvus felt as if he needed to strengthen himself so that he would be prepared for any accident or unexpected obstacle.
The 501st and Coruscant Clone legions were still present, and if he let himself get complacent, they could mob him with numbers, or take him out with an orbital bombardment if worst came to worst.
Ideally, he wouldn't be found out in his mission to assassinate the chiefs of intelligence, but on the off chance he was, Corvus wanted to have a fighting chance to flee for his life.
Hence, his plan to farm exp from disabling mines.
Stepping into the laboratory wing, Corvus spotted a miniature hospital suite, a communications hub, and several workshops.
Within one of the labs that Korvus passed by, he saw Kazden Paradus was using a blowtorch in one mech hand, and the Force to assemble a custom battle droid from parts laying around in the shop.
When he saw the genius machinesmith at work, Corvus was reminded of his quest to repair Jax's arms.
He needed to start grinding, but there was one thing he was curious about, and that was the '???' part of Jax's quest.
Restoring the teen's arms was the prerequisite condition for success, and the Jedi Orders premier engineer was right in front of him.
So he decided to take a couple minutes of his time to ask the skittish Jedi Master for help.
Corvus stood at the entrance to the lab, and let his presence be known.
"What is it, I'm busy?" The tiny alien shouted over the sound of welding in an annoyed tone of voice.
"Jax's arms, can you take the mechanical arms from the armor in the office, and give them to the boy?" Corvus yelled to be heard.
"Can? Yes. Will? No." Paradus succinctly spoke, and continued his business.
"Well, why not?!" Corvus raised his voice even more, slightly outraged.
"No anesthetic. No bacta spray. I do not like causing pain to others." Paradus shook his head, and grimaced.
'It's kind of refreshing that he's so considerate, but damn the Jedi of this era are so soft!' Corvus palmed his forehead.
"I can get some anesthetic, and I am a Jedi Healer. Does this satisfy you?" Corvus all but growled.
The welding stopped, and Paradus took off his goggles to look Corvus in the eye.
"I didn't take one so grim to be a healer…Very well, we will perform the procedure in twelve hours. Now go, I am very busy!" Paradus waved him off, and got back to work.
Corvus withheld a curse under his breath, bowed to the Master, then saw his way out.
Whatever minor interlude that was, dealing with some sass was worth it if he could restore the kid's arms. No one deserved to have that done to them, and if he was being honest with himself, he felt slightly guilty about the whole ordeal.
When he decided to save Jax from the clones, he felt like he had some responsibility for the kid.
"Whatever. The kid will get some new arms soon enough." Corvus muttered to himself, and headed to an adjacent room that had both a workbench and a lab station.
Thankfully he could make medkits, which should satisfy Paradus's need for an anesthetic.
While he was here, he would also be making Taozin Amulets, that when worn, would mask the bearer from other Force practitioners.
Pulling up to the lab station, Corvus saw that everything required the ubiquitous 'chemicals' to be made.
If he wanted to make a [Average Flashmine] for example, he would need a Demolitions skill of 8, and 125 chemicals.
What was a chemical?
Nothing specific, or anything Corvus wanted to think too hard on.
He was more focused on what chemicals could do.
With the Kotor system, it could make things like: medicine, implants, stimulants, and explosives.
The best medicine, the Life Support Pack regenerated skin and bone. Implants could turn someone into a cyborg on par with General Grievous. Then there were stimulants that could even allow someone to move as fast as a Jedi.
Add on the Workbench, and Corvus could make weapons, armor, shields, and all sorts of things.
Theoretically, he could become a one man factory, and supply a burgeoning rebellion with everything it needed, save starships.
It was an awesome thought, one he planned on delving into later, but for now, he needed to make a medkit, and a mine.
Hovering over the lab station, time stopped as an interface menu popped up.
Scrolling over the items he owned, he went to break some down, and turned them into chemicals.
Interestingly, he had scooped up some waste from the sewer earlier to test a theory. And right now, he was pleasantly surprised that the gross gunk could be broken down into the ubiquitous 'chemicals!'
This was a great achievement for him, and unlocked so much potential.
Corvus well and truly couldn't wait to become the chief arms supplier of rebel cells everywhere.
However, this line of thinking could wait.
Now that he had made a mine, it was time to start grinding.
The way that farming mines in KOTOR worked, required Corvus to plant the device in one room, walk to another 'zone' then come back to disable it.
That meant that going from his office to the hallway would be the perfect place to carry out his plan.
Yeah, he would look like a dumbass going into his office, arming the mine, leaving-making sure to close the door this was the crucial part-than returning.
Anyone would look highly suspicious if they kept leaving their room repeatedly, but it was what Corvus had to do if he wanted to farm free exp.
Setting his plan in motion, Corvus began doing just that.
He planted the mine in his office, left and came back.
When he returned to see the mine sitting on his office floor, Corvus's mind went blank as he worried about defusing it, or if he could. This part of the plan was sort of shaky.
But he wasn't too worried, as when he worked at a lab or workshop, his body moved on its own, and completed the task. Corvus was hoping a similar principle would apply here.
Thankfully, as he approached the mine, and thought about completing this task, his body seemed to move on its own, and moved just like it was a game character performing an animation.
+100exp
'Success!' Corvus thought to himself with joy.
Right now he was at 1,050/21,000 exp required for level 7.
The entire act of arming the mine, leaving, and returning took a minute to complete.
That meant if he mimicked this process for an entire hour, he would farm 6,000 exp points.
If he spent 8hrs with no breaks or lollygagging inbetween, he would farm 48,000exp.
This was pretty great, especially since he wouldn't have to kill anyone for it. However, what sane individual could work for 8hrs straight without even taking 10-30 seconds here and there to do nothing? There would surely be discrepancies in this method of farming.
Furthermore, he was still at a low level. His class promotion wasn't until level 15, and by doing some quick math, that was about 504,000 exp away!!!
That would be 84hrs of non stop exp farming. This is the equivalent of working 7 days for 12hrs each. OR if Corvus literally never stopped this task for even a moment, he could reach that goal in 3 days and 12hrs.
Now Corvus prided himself on a lot of things, but being able to do the same mindless, repetitive motion for 3d, 12hrs was beyond even his minor autism.
….however, the Emperor would be gone sometime later today, or tomorrow, and wouldn't be back until 5-7 days from now…
The class promotion at level 15 was significant. Of the options available, one of them offered perfect invisibility. As well as being undetectable to just about every scanner, sensor, or Force sense that there was.
He HAD to get to level 15 if he wanted a perfect infiltration. With a body similar to that of a game character, it wasn't impossible. He could do this. He had to do this!
'Sorry Jax, those arms are going to have to wait a couple of days. A Coruscant free of Palpatine's presence is the best time to act.'
Shaking his head, Corvus got to grinding. He only had so much time, and had a few things he had to set up if he wanted to take out the Isards.
Whilst he was leaving/returning to his room, planting, and disarming mines, he thought about the grind for exp, and his next steps.
Frankly speaking, the work he was doing with these mines was mind numbing, and Corvus was tempted to farm exp by exploring the Path of the Jedi questline.
[Path of the Jedi III: Help the Innocent, Vulnerable, Pure, Just or Weak: 1/10. Reward: 4,500 EXP]
In comparison to the mines, this was a good way to gain some exp, it broke up the tedium of grinding, and it had the benefits of helping real people.
As a healer, Corvus could foresee himself moving through the lower floors of Coruscant, and performing acts of kindness, then disappearing on the fly.
In fact, this idea led him to develop the beginnings of a plan.
He was going to construct a tiny, coin sized emblem of the symbol of the Rebellion. Then, when he healed the people of their wounds or illnesses, he could slip this coin into their pockets.
Once he finally started the Rebellion against the Empire, he would have made thousands of sympathizers!
Corvus was slightly giddy as he thought this plan up.
As for why he chose not to use the symbol of the Jedi?
It was simple, really. There were so many negative views surrounding the Jedi, a lot of the people hated them. Especially the people on Coruscant.
The war with the Confederacy was ongoing, and the battle over Coruscant occurred just a few days ago. Many people on this planet viewed the Jedi as failures when they couldn't protect the capital of the Republic.
Not only that, but tons of ships crashed into the megalopolis, and intense street by street fighting had claimed many, many lives.
It was no surprise how sour the people would be, and while healing then would work in favor of the Jedi Order 98% of the time, all it would take is for that 2% to snitch on him for a reward. And that was a level of heat Corvus was unprepared for.
Thus, it was that he opted for the symbol of the Rebellion.
Healing people on the streets was something Corvus was looking forward to. It helped the innocent, gained exp, built contacts, let him get a feel for the land, and build contacts.
The next two days were going to be a tight schedule as he farmed these mines, and walked the streets.
Six to seven days from now, the Emperor would return from Mustafar, and when he did, he was going to be pissed.
Sidious may be a masterful politician, and a powerful Sith Lord, but he was only a man.
No government could operate on charm and Sith sorcery alone. When Corvus killed the most competent Imperials, and hacked their systems, then the charred Darth Scrotum would finally realize terror.
The terror of a fully realized bureaucracy!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
AN: I release Mon, Tue, Wed, Th on pa t r on karpqq
Read up to chapter 22 over there
Publically release on Fridays