He returned to the ensign's station, and opened a return line.

"This is Imperial destroyer Carnage, returning comm to unnamed vessel and Ms. Stargazer-Petrolu. A request from Lt. General Tarnus: has the item he requested you search for been found?"

Hitting the relay button, the Officer moved his hand to the commboard, resting his weight upon it as he awaited their reply. Beside him, the young ensign sat ramrod straight, trying to look occupied while silence stretched out between the two ships.

--------------------

Shayla shot a quizzical look in Phalomir's direction. "Tarnus requested us search for something?" she queried, an eyebrow quirked in suspicious query. "Funny, you never mentioned it...

...just what exactly was it you were supposed to be looking for, and what do you want me to tell the Impys concerning its search?"

Falling silent at that, Shayla merely waited, her eyebrow still raised, to see just just what Phalomir might say.

[ 09-30-2003 09:57 PM: Message edited 1 time, lastly by Shayla Stargazer Petrolu ]

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“Ah, yes, Sorben’s request. Tell them that this trip regrettably did not allow us time for a thorough investigation, but we intend to return and shall have an answer for him shortly afterwards.”

Phalomir sat back as Shayla relayed the message, then turned back to him with an inquisitive look.

He met her gaze with one of his own.

“Assuming I survive my trip to the Temple of the Weapons Clan, I have much to tell you. But there are still questions I need to have answered for myself, things that must make sense to me before I can try to relay them to you.”

He looked in turn to all three of his shipmates.

“I trust you, all of you. That is what has been missing from me for quite some time, the ability to trust. But it does exist within me, and now I ask you to trust me just a bit further. I feel that there is something waiting for me at the temple.”

He focused on Shayla.

“I understand you have suffered greatly in your life. It shall not be in vain, and it shall be better for you.”

With that, he turned to face the viewscreen and said nothing more.

--------------------

"Lt. General Tarnus is concerned with your brief stay within this system. Please relay your destination."

A flick of his finger sent the message off, and the Officer on Deck straightened up, rolling his head around a bit to relieve the cramp he had managed to get in his neck.

[ 10-01-2003 09:16 PM: Message edited 1 time, lastly by The Empire ]

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Seeing no need to go into any further detail unless it was required of her, Shayla simply fell silent and waited for whatever other questions the Empire might have for them...

...and all the while something was trying to point out the fact that perhaps the Empire was getting a little suspicious concerning what they were doing...

[ 10-01-2003 09:21 PM: Message edited 1 time, lastly by Shayla Stargazer Petrolu ]

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The Officer on Deck nodded in mute agreement as he sent out a final reply to the ship.

"Affirmative on request to depart Khar Delban system. Be advised that in light of your destination, an escort of TIE defenders shall accompany you. Please relay flight vector and destination coordinates to your escort.

"This is Carnage, out."

He straightened as he closed the link, turning to initiate the orders in followup to that message. He had lifted a finger to make it officially so, then stopped. A smile crept across his features as a neighboring port showed the quadruple lines of four defenders' ion propulsion, pushing away from each of the little fighters, which in turn sent it heading in the direction of the Sith ship, all four in perfect synchronization with each other. Another glowing green light went red, indicating a dropped tractor beam; the defenders took up a position spaceside of the disengaged tractor, and silently awaited the arrival of their assigned target.

[ 10-01-2003 09:54 PM: Message edited 1 time, lastly by The Empire ]

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"They don't trust us," she muttered, reaching then to the navboard and flipping a switch in preparation to send the requested coordinates. Her eyes turned a bit dark.

She'd bet her last credit that once the Impys found out this was a Sith planet they were heading for--

that was, if they didn't know so already--

--that they'd have a blockade up around it within a standard day at the very most.

"But--" she then said aloud, "There's little need in fighting this one with them. Gods know that those defenders could blow this transport into space matter should we try to...

... disagree with them."

Without waiting for Phalomir to say anything further and somehow sensing that he probably agreed with her on this little matter, Shayla's hands played across the navboard til at length their destination coordinates were sent. Then, knowing that the tractor beam had been momentarily lifted due to data she had retrieved from the navboard, Shayla moved the transport into position between the awaiting defenders, one hand hovering above the hyperspace pad. Her greeny-blues scanned the area, keenly aware of the defenders surrounding her. And at that, one final errant thought swam across her mind as she waited for the Empire's next move.

Dear gods, it would sure be nice to have a much more well-equipped ship...

[ 10-01-2003 10:00 PM: Message edited 1 time, lastly by Shayla Stargazer Petrolu ]

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*PSSHK-kktk*

The Officer on Deck straightened up as odd symbols began rolling across the navigation ensign's screens. "I say, this is peculiar," he commented as he tried to make heads or tails of the strange symbols the Sith ship's computers had obediently sent to the mainframe aboard Carnage, literally pixel by pixel.

"Have this translated at once!" he barked, reaching to increase the scroll rate until at length something with a familiar patterning popped up. Something cool and soothingly mathematical.

He smiled, encrypting the lot and sending it off to Relentless. Then he tilted his head to focus upon the main viewport, and was just in time to see all five little ships leave space in a blazing welter of light.

--------------------

Some say that is the length of time for all the matter to be created which in turn ended up creating the Universe. To a person on death row, it is the fleetingest of appointed time, yet strangely enough time in which an entire life may be reviewed with crystal clarity. To others, it can drag like the ominously steady approach of entropy itself.

And for four TIE defenders....

*PSSHK-kktk*

"Bravo-delta zero niner, this is Bravo echo niner one; why have we dropped--"

"Say Charlie-foxtrot, ought-seven in transit-- what--??"

"CARNAGE, CARNAGE, ZERO NINER SILENCE, I REPEAT ZERO--"

"MY GOD, the sun, THE SUN, it's too clo--"

.....

The Officer on Deck whirled, shock and dismay warring on his face as he raced to the nearest commboard and tried to raise the defenders. The ensign there pushed aside so his desperate fingers could play the tune they needed... to no avail. He turned his eyes up to meet those of his superior, whose own were now filling with dark anger.

Another quick relay of a message to Relentless, and he began an impatient wait....

[ 10-01-2003 10:37 PM: Message edited 1 time, lastly by The Empire ]

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"Identify," I said succinctly, even as I reached for the helmet which lay handily upon my reading table. That hand froze when Landarian's deep voice responded, again bringing with it a slight note of... well, trepidation would be understating it.

"Come," I said, settling back into my seat, and waving him to take one of his own. He shook his head as he approached, all protocol tossed to the wind as he held out a chip to me in silent accusation.

"They never had a chance," he opened tersely, then fell silent. I frowned at that, turning a bit to slide the chip into my desktop. The last frantic transmissions from the defender escort I had ordered rang loudly in my quarters, and remained ringing for some time afterward in my rapidly darkening thoughts.

"We had the entire transmission that Sith ship sent analyzed," Landarian went on. "It appears to be a fast-acting virus; initially undetectable, but one which scrambles coordinates and triggers involuntary drop from hyperspace. It appears to be a built-in defense mechanism to prevent any ships from following the sender...."

He trailed, his eyes growing dark with anger and pain for the loss of the men, even though they were stationed aboard another ship. I know my own eyes mirrored his; perhaps even carrying a bit more emotion in their depths.

So much for trust, I thought to myself as I rose and placed a hand on the captain's shoulder. Why would Phalomir send that transmission otherwise?

We stood there a long moment, eyeballing each other in silence, until I came to a decision.

"When and if that ship returns, do not allow it entry into this system without notifying me first."

Landarian nodded, performed a delayed -- if perfunctory -- salute, turned and departed. I sat back down in a fog of whirling questions, questions I hoped would coalesce into possible answers even as I played that chip again, seeking those answers therein.

--------------------

He saw the others drifting off, and realized that it been many hours since any of them had slept. Indeed, he himself felt weary. He allowed his mind to slip into a quiet trance and eventually fell asleep.

---

Phalomir walked in a long, dark stone corridor. The walls were covered with moss and a damp, musty odor permeated the entire hall. He continued on, lights from an unseen flame playing along the wall. He heard shuffling sounds ahead, and stopped. At the end of the hall a figure emerged, slender and dark, but the light reflecting from the red hair and violet eyes told Phalomir who it was. He walked quickly to her, and as he drew near she opened her arms to him. They embraced, Phalomir sending all of his emotions towards her to warm her spirit. But Phalomir felt his love stop, and the lady stiffened and backed away, her face set in an emotionless stare. He tried to understand, but could not. He simply stared into her eyes blankly, until an image took shape in the reflection there. An image of a small bundle floating in a void… a small human baby, much too small… much too frail… much too… unnatural….

---

Phalomir’s restful sleep was broken by the sounds of the ship’s alarm signaling the end of the hyperspace jump.

--------------------

All seemed secure... and she moved on through the corridors toward her chambers, a slender and somehow displaced wraith, where she removed her finery, ran through a few stretching exercises, and finally retired for the night upon the soft and regal vastness of her bed.

She had a dream.

Unexpectedly it came, at first no more than mere sensation, then an increasing coalescence from the seeming void until her whole world was engulfed in green. It was a warm green, a caring green, a loving and vibrant green, like that of a new spring day... and it was one she had seen and felt before.

Her body tossed and turned in reply to that verdant shadow even as her psyche squinted its ethereal eyes and concentrated on giving substance to incorporeality. And finally obedience came in the aspect of a face which formed from the cloud, a green-eyed Sith who stared deep into her very heart.

At first she recoiled... then stopped and held herself steadily, staring with unblinking aloofness back into the depths of those green eyes as if reaching for something deeper. A part of her she was unaware of screamed out how wrong this was, so very very wrong... even while a logical portion understood the oxymoronish aspect of the entire affair and laughed aloud to see it.

Now other images came: the turquoise-eyed Darth Wicked, whose eyes segued into yet another turquoise pair, which gradually changed in hue, losing the blue until they too were green and Lord Recinis's face smiled down upon her; another pair of eyes rose silent into this throng, dark and fathomless eyes, eyes shining out from a human face rather than that of a Sith....

And over it all, a brilliantly flat and pewter pair stared and watched and glinted and strained to see further, deeper, more secretively....

She awoke with a start, finding herself reaching, both arms outstretched to what she didn't know.

[ 10-02-2003 01:17 AM: Message edited 1 time, lastly by Graysith ]

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...and with new images lying therein. She just couldn't escape the image of that Sith apparition beckoning to her...

...it was simply everywhere.

But why? Was this Thoran? And if he had been in her past before...

...why hadn't she ever remembered him til now?

Shayla awoke with a start as the Sith transport began to bleep, signaling their imminent return to realspace. Snapping alert, she sat forward and let her hands play across the navboard in an almost automatic fashion, and in moments starlines returned to stars. But as they reverted, Shayla didn't yet see the planet in front of them...

...nor did she see anything else for that matter. She froze, only her eyes moving to scan that blank void of space in front of her...

...and around her. Something in the Force tremored in...

... warning perhaps...

...or maybe it was something else.

Minutes ticked by, and not a soul in that Sith transport uttered a word, as if everyone was hanging on a thread in expectation for the arrival of their escort...

...which, unbeknownst to them, would never happen.

At length Shayla could stand the silence no more. She whirled to face Phalomir.

"Where ARE they?" she whispered urgently, the Force almost literally screaming that something was wrong. "Somehow I don't think the Empire would simply back out of the possible exploration of a Sith world...

... I have a bad feeling about this..."

--------------------

As soon as he stepped onto the soil, the smell got stronger. He was close. It wouldn't take long to find this creature.

Suddenly, Ragorian felt a pang of hunger shoot through him, an internal arrow of pain. Romanus' body crumpled as Ragorian silently cried out. He had forgotten...it had been so long since he had fed. His dependancy on the spirits of living beings for strength had become too strong. Shaking, Ragorian pulled himself to "his" feet. He needed sustenance soon.

And, as he suddenly noticed, his presence was having its effect on Romanus' body as well. He could barely keep it standing, and sweat coursed down its face and arms. He could not go on much longer. Now was the time for speed.

Putting all his hunger and pain aside, Ragorian took off at a blistering pace, towards his prey. His existence could very well depend on his getting there in time.

--------------------

Hope still remains.

We begin upon a ship entering the Khar Delban system, per request of yours truely.

Call it a favor, or pilot ambitions to savor one's life.

I care not. Not about life, death or the here-after, I've experenced them all.

I stand, in bitter anticipation of what the evil inside me will do next.

"Pilot, are you being received?" I ask him, knowing his response shall waist away his final breath.

The vessel comes to a stop before a mass of Imperial ships, as I position myself between the optical viewer giving the Empire their first look at the pilot aquiring permission to enter orbit and the small window pearing into space ahead.

"Yes," came his final word. I toss an energy-orb, with enough power to vaporize a low level sith, from hand to hand with the ease of a child's ball.

This was my moment to take surprise over the mighty-enough Empire. I find it complacent on most occasions, but less so to orb my constitution from ship to ship, or planet to planet for that matter. As I cascade the pilot with eluminating death, I focus my limitless powers on the nearest starship.

A simple grimace is all the pilot afforded at my expense, an afterthought. A thought that leads me to a familiar path, a path I abandon before I can remember another moment from my past.

I appear to a low-grade officer plad in grey, much like a ship would de-cloak to it's prey.

He, like countless others, had no chance.

With Ord MAndell far behind us I couldn't help but think about Master Jebbua. In our haste to resume the search for Galen Danner, we had left him behind. Sparring no time for a return trip to Ord Mandell to retreive him, we pressed on into the long hours of the night. The K'eel Doba system was not far off now. Matt dropped us off mere parsecs from the Rendezvous point. Just out of long range sensor sweep range of the Imperial Capital ships. Now the wait for Za'in was on. I wondered just how long Jasyn was willing to wait. My wager was on not long!

--------------------

I close my eyes, to a bright(somehow, still dark in nature) orange hue comes the starship bridge.

"Stop, you," my hand points accusingly in the direction of the officer controlling navigation,"take this vessel planet-ward, I want my feet on solid ground in 20 minutes, that is your manifested task. You really don't want me coming back."

As I stare into his appalling glance, his eyes meet mine. From the fires of Hell, to the farthest plain of the darkest of dark realms, my pain is expressed in his fear.

"really."

Phalomir reset the view and turned to Shayla.

“I must concur,” he said. “I too have a bad feeling about this.”

He cocked his head slightly.

“I wonder,” he said, reaching for the comm switch. He touched a few buttons to change the output intensity. “This is shuttle Truth Seeker, to Relentless. We have just emerged in orbit around Koris'ian, and your escort fighters have not joined us. We will continue with our business and hope they arrive shortly, and that by the time you receive this message all shall be well. Truth Seeker out.”

He turned back to Shayla and shrugged. He then focused the viewscreen on the nearby planet. He smiled, studying the rugged outline of the coasts, the green of the jungles and forests, the lights… wait… there were no lights…

“Shayla,” he said. “There are no lights. Something is not right here, this should be a thriving Sith planet. Unless… Can you take us down there?”

He played with a few more controls, working the console with apparent ease. The viewscreen changed, zooming in on a portion of the planet until a large temple at the heart of a grand, empty city filled the view.

“There, that is our destination.”

--------------------

It was hard to tell from all the way out of wherever they were. They had been on a distant fly from where they planet Za'in once called home. This place was far, away from his adventuring zone and it was all brand new.

Brand new.. He mused, the tone in his head the sound of a baby with a new toy.

"Quiet exciting, master?" Za'in's protocal droid chimmed in, a smile growing on Captain Almar's face. He simply nodded and waited for a familar comm. unit freq. to come on the screen before he moved another muscle.

--------------------

The strident bark brought the navigations officer to his feet as if he was a puppet whose strings had been handily jerked. He stiffened, whirling to face the onset of the approaching Major, who did not look the least bit happy about the state of affairs. That worthy gentleman stormed up well inside the younger man's territorial imperative, and stuck his nose millimeters from his face.

"Have we broken orbit?" he asked in a fierce whisper.

The lieutenant paled a few shades, and stiffened further.

"No, Sir!" he replied smartly, letting his clenched hands press against the sides of his legs to keep him on his feet. He stared straight ahead into that vague middle space which exists in the air directly in front of every superior officer's forehead.

The Major scowled.

"I thought I saw--" he began, then snapped his mouth closed. An uncomfortable sort of silence expanded outward from the pair which impacted every other man on the bridge of that ship. They in turn studiously examined their stations, unwilling to stick their noses into what was going on behind their backs, each man inwardly happy that he wasn't the one called out on the carpet.

The lieutenant shifted his gaze to another vague spot just on top of the Major's left cheek. He in turn scowled.

"The tractor beams are interlaced yet with our sister ship?" he inquired, leaning a bit to one side to view the readings displayed on the navigation board. "It is imperative... imperative!! ...that we maintain our position and do not let that beam drop!"

The lieutenant leaped upon this small crumb like a starving rancor.

"Yessir!" he exclaimed, sweat now cooling upon his face. "The status quo will be maintained as directed... Sir!"

The Major nodded then and turned away to address the issue of another ship popping into space a few million kilometers away from the blockade. He leaned into the communications mike, and cleared his throat.

"Unidentified ship, relay your name, entry code if you have it, and destination," he barked, soothed by the fact that with this simple order he was able to retreat back into his comfortable world where his forces were in command, and did not have to deal with ships which seemed to flicker about in their orbits, willed there by ghosts who seemed to have the ability to make it so....

Meanwhile, the lieutenant stood by at stiff attention, chewing somewhat nervously on the inside of his cheek.

--------------------

The young officer had called my bluff.

I slip further back into the darkness, waiting for my next advantage.

For a moment, she closed her eyes to clear her trepidation, then she opened them and glanced at the image Phalomir had retrieved once more. This time she carefully pushed all traces of any emotion far away. Her greeny-blue eyes shifted to Phalomir. "I know this place," she said simply then. "I too find it strange that while K'eel Doba and Khar Delba are bustling with life, this planet remains dead as it was the last time I was here..."

She trailed a moment. Dead...

With nothing other than that, Shayla turned and began to work at the navboad, easily bringing the Sith transport into Koris'ian's atmosphere. Locking in upon the destination Phalomir had provided then, Shayla guided the ship towards the Temple and simultaneously pulled up some data on the life within the planet...

...which was mostly to occupy her time. Shayla was already keenly aware that there was little life here, and that what was here was probably not sentient.

"We'd better be careful and land right near the Temple," she stated then suddenly. "This place has some deadly wildlife..."

Again Shayla trailed. "...very deadly..."

Pursing her lips at that, she fell completely silent and focused on matters of getting the Sith transport down to the surface before the Temple which, though grand, wasn't nearly as elaborate as either of the other two Sith temples she had seen. Only when her descent was finalized did she turn back to Phalomir once more, this time expectantly. "Well, doesn't look like there's any life here...

...but there's no harm in at least taking a look; who knows what we may find..."

A momentary hesitation. "Shall we have a look?"

[ 10-07-2003 06:34 AM: Message edited 1 time, lastly by Shayla Stargazer Petrolu ]

--------------------

"Fly casual," he muttered then off-handedly. Matt merely rolled his eyes in response, and Jasyn's eyes drifted back towards the blockade.

Now or never...

As he scanned the area, Jasyn caught sight of Za'in's ship hovering nearby, almost expectantly. Automatically then, Jasyn reached for the comm unit and punched in Za'in's comm frequency. "Almar, this is Jasyn Lancaster. Since you insist you can get yourself in..."

He trailed for the barest of moments, scowling, "...we're going in. You may tell the Empire that you are with me when they approach you; that's the best help I can give you since you decided upon bringing your own ship. See you on the other side, I hope."

With nothing more than that, Jasyn snapped off the comm frequency, and opened a general frequency to then transmit the clearance code that he had been given...

...and had memorized...

...to the Imperial blockade before him. Then he simply held his breath and prayed that the Empire wasn't going to suddenly change its mind on them...

[ 10-07-2003 09:11 PM: Message edited 1 time, lastly by Jasyn Lancaster ]

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For someone.

"This is Imperial ship Carnage replying. Clearance already given per order of Lt. General Tarnus; you have entry clearance only into this system.

"Carnage, out."

He flipped the switch to send the return winging on its way, then fell silent, his eyes hooding as he waited for a reply from the yet unidentified ship which was remaining so obstinately and ominously quiet.

[ 10-07-2003 09:59 PM: Message edited 1 time, lastly by Graysith ]

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“Perhaps I should go on ahead?” he asked, he 30 yards suddenly seeming further than it did a moment before. “Cover me?” He looked back to his three companions, who all looked at him skeptically. He then realized that not one of them had a weapon.

Phalomir swallowed hard.

“Very well then,” he said. “Shout loudly should you see something then.”

Not waiting, Phalomir turned towards the temple and began walking. The forest around him was alive with the sounds of birds and small animals. Ten yards down. The trees teemed with life, greener than most areas he had seen even on his homeworld. 20 yards down. A large flock of birds burst upwards towards the sky to his left, startling Phalomir into pausing. He watched them trail away deeper into the forest and turned back to the temple. He was nearly to the first step, only a few yards to go. He put a foot out to take a step then noticed the extreme quiet that suddenly bore down upon him from the once bustling forest.

He looked to his left. Nothing. He looked to his right. Nothing. He chanced a look behind him, catching the anxious faces of his companions. A single thought dashed to the front of his mind, and the innate power within him propelled the thought forward into the minds of those who waited at the base of the ship.

GET BACK INSIDE NOW!

He turned and began to run for the temple entrance. His foot landed on the first step as he heard the sound of breaking twigs to his left. He bound up the steps three at a time, his heart racing. He heard the unmistakable sounds of heavy claws on stone somewhere behind him. He saw the temple doorway, the ancient door long ago fallen, along with many of the large statues that once were placed above the doorway, into a massive heap, blocking all but a slender portion the opening. He felt a sudden urgency even more immediate than the moment before and dove for the doorway, hitting the stone floor inside with a loud scattering of rocks and dust, and rolled to the side as a huge clawed foreleg slammed to the ground beside him. He glanced up and saw the leg and maw of a huge tuk-ata in the doorway, the rest of the beast too large to fit past the rubble.

Phalomir sat and stared at the animal, letting his heart slow to a dull pound and his breath return. The tuk’ata pulled its paw back out and peered through the opening at Phalomir.

"Well, my friend," said Phalomir. "I trust you will guard the door for me until I return."

The answer came in the form of a low growl and the sounds of shifting stones outside.

[ 10-07-2003 10:04 PM: Message edited 1 time, lastly by Phalomir ]

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