HK-47

> "HK-47. Revan's favorite, or least favorite, however you look at it, droid companion. The only person you genuinely respected."
> — Jarik Shan, while identifying HK-47
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**HK-47** was a Hunter-Killer series assassin droid and Jedi hunter constructed by the Dark Lord of the Sith, Darth Revan, shortly after the end of the Mandalorian Wars in 3960 BBY. In the wake of widespread destruction caused by the Mass Shadow Generator, a superweapon used during the final battle of that conflict, Revan was inspired to seek more subtle methods of defeating his enemies. HK-47 was sent throughout the galaxy on his missions and successfully assassinated countless targets whom Revan had deemed threats to galactic stability and peace―at some point, he, Revan, and the latter's apprentice also encountered the terrifying being known as Oryx, who they barely escaped from. Eventually, HK-47 was badly crippled and captured on a mission in Mandalorian space shortly before Revan himself was captured by the Jedi Order.

As per protocol with Sith assassin droids prior to going on missions, HK-47's memory core was wiped of all knowledge of his original master. His memory could only be restored upon fulfilling his mission, and successfully returning to his master. As he never managed to return to his master, the automatic recall function was never activated, and he couldn't remember Revan. He went from owner to owner, many of whom he inadvertently slew personally. Eventually, he ended up on the planet Tatooine, where he was sold to and unwittingly reunited with Revan, whose memory had been erased following his capture. The droid went on to aid Revan after his return to the Jedi Order in his campaign to find and destroy the Star Forge, an ancient factory that Revan had used during his reign as the Dark Lord of the Sith. HK-47 was also instrumental in the defeat of Revan's former Sith apprentice, Darth Malak, who had since begun utilizing the Star Forge in an attempt to conquer the Galactic Republic.

HK-47 accompanied Revan to the edge of the Unknown Regions along with Revan's utility droid, T3-M4, before being left behind in Revan's starship, the *Ebon Hawk*, as the redeemed Jedi Knight journeyed on to face a threat he had remembered from his time as the Dark Lord. Sometime later, HK-47 was damaged and was left aboard the *Ebon Hawk*, which eventually ended up in the hands of one of Revan's allies from the Mandalorian Wars, Meetra Surik, also known as the Jedi Exile. During this period, HK-50 assassin droids, a newer version of HK that G0-T0 had mass-produced, became active in the galaxy, working as bounty hunters and saboteurs. Surik repaired HK-47, who recognized her as his new master and accompanied her in order to find the source of the HK-50s, whose very existence he considered an insult to himself. HK-47 also aided Surik in her search for the Jedi Masters who survived the First Jedi Purge and even advised her on techniques to more efficiently kill Jedi so that Surik could better defend herself.

HK-47 eventually succeeded in finding the HK Manufacturing Plant, where the HK-50s were created. There, he convinced the HK-50s to join his and Surik's cause. This action eventually culminated in a final confrontation on Malachor V between HK-47, assisted by the HK-50s, and G0-T0, whose interests conflicted with that of Surik, and the latter droid was destroyed. After his time with Surik, HK-47 set out on his own to attempt to find Revan, his original master, not knowing that Revan had since been captured by the Sith Empire and was being held in stasis. Eventually, after being unable to find Revan, HK-47 was tasked by one of Revan's friends, Canderous Ordo, to guard Mandalore's Mask in the tomb of Freedon Nadd on Dxun, with orders to only allow a descendant of Revan to claim it for the purpose of reuniting the Mandalorians.

Over three thousand years later, HK-47 was brought back online after detecting intruders in the tomb, and sought to eliminate them. He ended up not doing so, however, after discovering that the leader of the group was Jedi Knight Jarik Shan, the last living descendant of Revan. Seeing that his directive from Canderous needed to be fulfilled, HK-47 granted Shan and his allies possession of Mandalore's Mask, and decided to join him now that his mission was complete. In the following weeks he assisted Shan and the Rebellion―mostly out of loyalty to Revan, as Jarik was his descendant―in the fight against the Empire, participating in the Battle of Atollon and the Mission to Mandalore. He was then left behind with the Alliance of Mandalore, Shan felt the droid would prefer the company of Mandalorian warriors than the Rebellion’s leaders whom the droid considered far too passive and soft to successfully conduct a War.

## **Personality and traits**

> "Musing: I can't imagine very much as more insulting than that. And you berate me for being disrespectful?"
> "Are you saying that you aren't?"
> "Statement: Of course I am. I just don't deny it."
> — HK-47 and Crassus Sohl
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HK-47's personality programming caused him to appear misanthropic, bordering on sociopathic, to those who encountered him. The droid enjoyed observing—and often causing—death and destruction, showing complete disregard for bystanders on more than one occasion. Despite this, HK-47's programming caused the assassin droid to maintain a protocol of professionalism, preventing him from senselessly slaughtering his way to his target.

The only organics HK-47 displayed any respect for were his masters, although he indirectly caused the death of almost all of them―he also held a measure of loyalty to the Shan family as a result of their connection with Revan, though he still felt some contempt for almost all of them, excluding Revan himself. He was more than willing, on several occasions while serving Revan, to dispose of anyone who annoyed the Jedi. From Revan's point of view, the droid was much too eager to act on his programming, which unnerved the amnesiac Jedi. This view was also shared by his own descendant, Jarik Shan, over three thousand years later, who had the same issues with HK-47 regarding the droid's bloodthirsty temperament.

HK-47 displayed several unique behavioral tendencies as a result of his programming. He had a definite sense of pride and considered himself to be superior to all organics and droids except for Revan, who was the only person he seemed to admire—mostly for, what the droid considered, the "creative atrocities" that Revan performed as a Sith Lord. Similarly, he also approved of the more brutal approach of the rebel group known as the Partisans, which only served to add tension between him and Rebel Command, particularly Mon Mothma. Although Revan seemed to be the only organic that HK-47 respected as superior to him, he did ironically hold a grudging respect for Jedi Master Shaak Ti, as he was surprisingly intimidated by her; it frustrated him to no end, and he refused to ever admit that to be the case. HK-47 was also completely unapologetic, and did not hold any regard for who he offended, no matter how badly: this proved to be the case several times, as he would frequently mock and make fun of the Mandalorians, as well as the Rebellion.

The droid also had a peculiar and perverted idea of the concept of love, which he described as "making a shot to the knees of a target 120 kilometers away using an Aratech sniper rifle with a tri-light scope." He further mused that love was a matter of odds and found it odd that although most "meatbags" could not make such a shot, not many would derive a feeling of love from it. HK-47 had a unique speech trait and vocally prefixed all of his sentences with a word conditional that described the type of sentence that it was. For example, if asking a question, he would first say "Query:" before beginning to speak.

Due to his appearance, HK-47, as well as his subsequent models, was often mistaken by many for a protocol droid. He used this to his advantage on more than one occasion, hiding his true nature in order to covertly achieve his goals. HK-47 was a proficient killer, as well as highly innovative, using many varied techniques, most notably when hunting Jedi. The Jedi Exile briefly installed the HK protocol pacifist package, which gave HK-47 a short-lived appreciation for peace and pacifism and led him to a deeper understanding of his prey. This upgrade had to be removed, however, for the simple reason that the droid found himself horrified at the very thought of causing harm to another being and by the fact that his new behavior disconcerted the Exile. When the program was removed, HK-47 strongly suggested the Exile scan any future packages before installing them, as the thought of becoming a pacifist in function seemed to appall the droid.

## **Appearances**

* *Legacy of Jarik Shan - Volume 4: A Jedi in Exile* — "Chapter 2: Searching for Tano" (first mentioned)
* *Legacy of Jarik Shan - Volume 4: A Jedi in Exile* — "Chapter 10: Nightmares" (voice only)
* *Legacy of Jarik Shan - Volume 5: Rebirth* — "Chapter 46: The Hunt for the Mask" (first appearance)
* *Legacy of Jarik Shan - Volume 5: Rebirth* — "Chapter 47: Vader's Vendetta"
* *Legacy of Jarik Shan - Volume 5: Rebirth* — "Chapter 48: Against All Odds"
* *Legacy of Jarik Shan - Volume 5: Rebirth* — "Chapter 49: Goodbye, For Now"
* *Legacy of Jarik Shan - Volume 5: Rebirth* — "Chapter 50: Through Imperial Eyes"
* *Legacy of Jarik Shan - Volume 5: Rebirth* — "Chapter 51: Secret Cargo" (indirect mention only)
* *Legacy of Jarik Shan - Volume 5: Rebirth* — "Chapter 52: Old Wounds"
* *Legacy of Jarik Shan - Volume 5: Rebirth* — "Chapter 53: Terror From beyond"
* *Legacy of Jarik Shan - Volume 5: Rebirth* — "Chapter 54: Zero Hour Pt 1"
* *Legacy of Jarik Shan - Volume 5: Rebirth* — "Chapter 55: Zero Hour Pt 2"
* *Legacy of Jarik Shan - Volume 5: Rebirth* — "Chapter 56: Zero Hour Pt 3"
* *Legacy of Jarik Shan - Volume 5: Rebirth* — "Chapter 57: Next Move"
* *Legacy of Jarik Shan - Volume 5: Rebirth* — "Chapter 59: Technical Difficulties" (mentioned only)
* *Legacy of Jarik Shan - Volume 5: Rebirth* — "Chapter 60: Exploring Old Ruins"
* *Legacy of Jarik Shan - Volume 5: Rebirth* — "Chapter 61: Return to Mandalore"
* *Legacy of Jarik Shan - Volume 5: Rebirth* — "Chapter 62: Night of a Thousand Tears"
* *Legacy of Jarik Shan - Volume 5: Rebirth* — "Chapter 63: Aftermath"
* *Legacy of Jarik Shan - Volume 5: Rebirth* — "Chapter 64: Heroes of Mandalore"
* *Legacy of Jarik Shan - Volume 5: Rebirth* — "Chapter 65: Strife Among the Alliance" (mentioned only)
* *Legacy of Jarik Shan - Volume 5: Rebirth* — "Chapter 67: The Deal"