...but he knew for a fact he wasn't. Sure, he was a Force user, but he had quit his training before his final trials to be a smuggler. He'd turned his back on his Corellian Jedi heritage...

...and it was that very heritage which they all needed now. Even as he thought this, he felt Shayla's gentle Force-touch try to allay his concerns...

...and he firmed in that.

Now when was it that this woman which he had fallen in love with transformed from the more hesitatant and cautitious person she was to this strong and steadfast individual?

The answer came simply, and surprisingly easily. It was when she finally learned to accept herself and all that she was, no parts omitted.

Which is precisely what you need to do now.

Finding even more strength with this realization, Erik nodded mostly to himself and stepped up, re-embracing a part of himself he had left back on Corellia in his teenage years...

[ 01-08-2005 02:17 AM: Message edited 1 time, lastly by Erik Kartan ]

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“Galen, I apologize. I thought you were joking to relieve the tension. As I said before, this is not like the planetary repulsors of today. The propulsion to move the planet comes from outside of the gravitational pull of the planet. Worry not, you shall open the portal from space, Galen. When we begin, this ship launches. Now, if you please, take your place with your sister so you may use your powers to assist her?”

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"Ummm... this-- this ship?" I stammered, stepping back and taking a look around.

"You have got to be kidding!"

Then I did a literal double-take as the rest of the Sith Lord's words sunk in, my jaw gaping as I quickly whirled to face him.

"Did- did you say, my powers?"

[ 01-08-2005 02:23 AM: Message edited 1 time, lastly by Galen ]

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[ 01-08-2005 02:23 AM: Message edited 1 time, lastly by Phalomir ]

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My All powers???

"Ahh... 'scuse me again, but I think you have your sandcats all in a wad.

"My All powers? I think you have me confused with somebody else."

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[ 01-08-2005 02:33 AM: Message edited 1 time, lastly by Phalomir ]

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She only smiled, and nodded to me. Calm, cool, and very sure of herself.

Oh hell, we're in trouble now....

Then I shrugged, inhaled deeply, and stepped up where Phalomir had indicated. There I stood, feeling superfluous as all get out, not knowing what in Hell's Seven Circles I was supposed to do.

Yeah, I've had hunches. Yeah, something shot out from me that one day, knocking that nasty canasta of an ex-Dark Lord of the Warriors heels over hiney, the day we cut off Sissy's finger...

Ok, Galen, no need to go traipsing down memory lane. There have been enough inexplicable events in the last few years of your life that maybe, just maybe, this guy might be correct.

If nothing else, I've got a ringside seat from which to enjoy the show....

[ 01-08-2005 02:41 AM: Message edited 1 time, lastly by Galen ]

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“Don’t worry,” he said. “He expects me to fly this thing after about 45 seconds of training.”

The reassuring smile faded into a concerned scowl, then he brightened and smiled once more.

“But hey, at least I won’t need to worry about running into anything out there, once the planet is gone.”

Panthar heard Phalomir call out for launch. He nodded, and pushed a series of buttons in what he hoped was the same sequence Phalomir had told him. The floor began to shake, and a definitive sensation of lifting came over everyone. In a matter of moments the shaking stopped and the screen in front of Jharmeen buzzed to life, showing a receding Korris’ian.

“Hang on, you guys, here we go,” he called out to the center of the room.

He pushed a few buttons more, and the lights on each of the platforms shot up to the ceiling, bathing each of the four in the center of the room in a different light. Each of them stiffened, and a swirling globe of light formed above their heads. The globe grew, forming white clouds within it. As it swirled and grew, each of the four appeared more and more stressed, until finally the cloud shot up into the ceiling itself and out into space. The four remained in place, unmoving, still under obvious stress. The colors from the platforms formed four distinct columns that now seemed to meet at the ceiling.

[ 01-08-2005 12:20 PM: Message edited 1 time, lastly by Panthar Dantares ]

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He was capable of so much more than perhaps he realized...

Focusing all of her thoughts and senses on what was at hand then, Shayla simply opened herself up further and further to the Force, letting it infuse every pore of her body, heart and soul. And even as she did, she could literally feel that energy she was tapping into being focused eisewhere, and by something other.

It was working. They could do this...

[ 01-09-2005 10:06 PM: Message edited 1 time, lastly by Shayla Stargazer Petrolu ]

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Thoran looked to Shayla, who seemed to doing well. His eyes shifted to Erik, bathed in orange light. His eyes were closed, but he seemed intent upon channeling as much of the Force as he could into the device.

Phalomir, in his red light, seemed very tense. His eyes were wide open, but they seemed to be staring off into nothing. He was sweating, and the veins on his neck were standing out. He suddenly let out a yelp and the light around him brightened.

Shalya let out a short gasp, and suddenly didn’t look so good. Her eyes were shut tightly and rivers of sweat were streaming from her forehead. The light shining about her was a bright green, but in it she seemed pale.

Wait, he thought. Is Phal is putting out more energy that I am? He is a true sorcerer, while my powers come from… well, hang on. If that’s the case, maybe he is somehow linked to Shayla, which would maybe mean that she has more of a challenge in keeping up with his energies.

In the middle of his thoughts he could hear Panthar’s voice screaming out something, perhaps having to do with needing more power. It was all he could make out before the drain within him increased as the intensity of the blue light around him increased as well. He managed to keep his eyes open long enough to see Shayla sink to her knees, then he lost control of his eyelids.

“Oh hell,” he thought, or said, he wasn’t sure. “If this keeps up she’ll be dead.”

But how could do anything about that? Why should he do anything? She has been against him from the start, even when he pretended to be on their side to get to the Master, she was never trusting him. Would she trust him after this was over? So what if she dies? What is one less Jedi in the universe?

But still…

He forced open his eyes again, and through a slit saw Shayla on her knees, shivering in the light.

Green light… Phal is red… wait, blue for me, orange for dinglebutt… they’re complementary colors! He is tied to me, his Force is binding with my magick, her’s is going with Phal’s. Oh cripes, I need to increase my output to match Phal’s, or we’re either not going to have enough or the device is going to suck Shayla dry.

But why do you care about Shayla?

I don’t know!

Thoran concentrated, focusing on his magick. He felt it gather within him, then winced as the device started it flowing out of him at a greater rate. He suddenly felt no longer in control, his thoughts all but ceased as all he could concentrate on was channeling more and more of the magick that came naturally through him. But it was going further now, siphoning off the powers that existed within him. He could feel his consciousness slipping away from reality, but still he continued to focus all of his magickal energies into to the flow.

He barely heard Panthar scream in delight about the planets moving before he slipped completely out of Terrin’s mind.

[ 01-09-2005 10:19 PM: Message edited 1 time, lastly by Thoran ]

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...and the next moment, it was like that weigt was totally taken off him. Upon initial shock, he fell to his knees, sweat pouring from his forehead.

What the kriffing hell? Was it over???

Suddenly realizing that his eyes were squeezed shut, Terrin focused on forcing them open, meanwhile calling out to Thoran.

Thoran, what the hell just happened...?

He paused, opening his eyes, and with no response.

Uhhh...Thoran? he thought out again. Still nothing.

Now his eyes snapped open, fully alert though body ached.
"Oh, hell!" he then exclaimed, looking up to the others in the room, "Something's happened to Thoran..."

[ 01-09-2005 10:25 PM: Message edited 1 time, lastly by Terrin Danner ]

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Somewhere north of midline, another bright speck moved about against the starfield.

It was working. It was working!

She turned to Galen, reaching out to her.

"Quick, Galen; lend me your aid!" she commanded, the tone of her voice refusing to even consider anything Galen might respond with other than immediate obedience. Galen must have sensed this; although she opened her mouth nothing came out of it, and instead she reached her hand and took up Jharmeen's in hers.

They clasped their hands tightly, joining sister with sister, blood with blood, strength with strength...

All with All.

It was as if the fabric of spacetime itself ripped... which of course it did. For suddenly the starfield behind the sun and Korris'ian and the little bright speck blotted out, as a great, roiling non-ness whirled into existence, wrung from the warp and weft of That Which Is.

A deep, booming chuckle resounded throughout the ship then, as the entire two-planet system began shrinking, dwindling as it headed toward the immense Portal Graysith had opened with the help of her sister.

The tiny speck blinked out.

In sequence, the sun and Korris'ian disappeared.

Filling the screen then, nothing but blackness, a darkness born of more than non-light, a touch less than the simplicity of death itself.

"Galen, release me!" Jharmeen Qu'taro cried then, struggling to pull away from her sister's frozen grasp.

A jerk, a shudder... and Graysith separated from Galen. The stars burst back into view once again.

Of the little sun, and half of the Diamond of the Sith... there was nothing to be seen.

The deep chuckle segued into words.

"Resolution accomplished; let the Game continue.

"All is as it was...."

With that, Shayla jerked, shuddered, and fell to the deck, bereft of the All once again.

Graysith's eyes grew glassy and she joined her Adept on the cold deck, unconscious, while deep within her being a pewter-eyed Beast rose shakily to its haunches, shaking its massive head from side to side as if awakening from a drug-induced sleep....

Without the ship, time simply moved on from one second to the next, as if the most momentous event in all the Universe hadn't occurred at all.

Which of course, from the viewpoint of that Universe, it hadn't.

[ 01-09-2005 11:17 PM: Message edited 1 time, lastly by Graysith ]

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Then stopped.

“Well, I hope this ship has enough fuel to get us somewhere, since our other ship is now in the Elseness.”

He turned to the others, and his eyes widened even more. Jharmeen lay on the floor, unconscious. Galen sat on the floor, her back against the wall and eyes closed. Shayla, Erik, Terrin, and Phalomir all were sprawled on the various platforms, Terrin the only one moving. Matt and Jasyn were both looking around, until they noticed each other.

“Whoa…” said Panthar. “What do we do now?”

[ 01-09-2005 11:01 PM: Message edited 1 time, lastly by Panthar Dantares ]

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...at least, mostly. He gasped for air, and put a hand down to keep himself stable while the other remained on his forehead. He looked up to the others, particularly Panthar. "We can start...by helping them," he said unevenly, nodding towards the others who were sprawled out on the floor. Then he frowned, turning inward.

Thoran?

Still no answer.

His eyes gained focus, and he scanned the room, immediately seeing Galen against the wall, her eyes closed. With every single bit of energy he probably had in him, he crawled his way over to her, concerned.

"Galen?" he called in concern as he finally managed to reach her, placing a hand on her shoulder only after he steadied himself somewhat by leaning against the wall too.

[ 01-09-2005 11:19 PM: Message edited 1 time, lastly by Terrin Danner ]

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But then a voice, a booming clarity, came to him.

"All is as it was...."

It took a moment for Thoran realize where he was. But then familiarity crept in, and a strange feeling mingled with it. It was almost… warm, cozy… joyous?

I’m here, Terrin. It put me back here. But not for long, I promise.

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...gone. That realization, however, didn't seem to truly bother her, at least not for the moment. It was just simply what was. Resting a moment in this feeling of acceptance, Shayla felt a strange sense of comfort coming from somewhere...

...and then logic reared its ugly head and destroyed the moment.

If the All been removed from her, as she had been before, then...

Stretching out now in horror, her mind and soul still quite weary, she reached for the essence of her beloved teacher and friend and sister...

...and was immediately met with something dark and foreboding, and though perhaps momentarily weakened, still very real. Its pewter eyes calmly assessed her...

...and in that moment, her own eyes still closed, Shayla let out a blood-curdling scream.

"Noooooooooooo!!!!"

[ 01-09-2005 11:36 PM: Message edited 1 time, lastly by Shayla Stargazer Petrolu ]

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He stood, his legs crying out in protest, and stumbled for Jharmeen. He fell to the floor in front of her, his legs wanting to cooperate, and pulled himself to her. He reached within for his magick, but the device had drained away his reserves and there was very little to call forth. He must wait for his inherent magick to recharge.

“My lady,” he said quietly, “No.…”

He hung his head and rested it on Jharmeen’s arm. After a moment he lifted his head.

“Wait, things have been reset, changed back to what they were, presumably before the game paused… before time stopped. So then the Claw of Sla’an should be here…”

He took her hand in his. The pale artificial finger was bare.

“But it is not,” he said. “So not everything is the same…”

He reached out with what remaining magick he had left within him and touched Jharmeen’s thoughts, her mind. She was still whole, the power of the Eye of R’lous still flowed within her.

“She is still whole,” he said. “She lives, her life force is strong. But there is something else… something dark…” A flash of blackness and a loud roar sent Phalomir’s magickal probe reeling.

“The beast…”

Phalomir sighed. He believed that she could, with the power of the Eye within her, fend off the attacks of the beast by herself, At least he hoped.

One by one the group regained consciousness, with the exception of Jharmeen. Phalomir aided in helping the others to their feet and checking for injuries. Luckily no-one was physically harmed. When everyone was moving, he returned to Jharmeen and sat beside her, cradling her head in his lap. He remembered what they had done during the stoppage of time, he remembered visiting the temple and finding the Shaltok, he remembered the visions of the Dark Lords and their advice, and he remembered the decision he faced and its outcome.

But he no longer had the knowledge of the Dark Lords.

But his goal remained clear. Not only for the sake of Jharmeen, not only for his own happiness. No, there was much more at stake. And power would be the answer to the future of the race.

“Panthar,” he said. “I hope you remember how to control this ship. Perhaps Shayla or Galen can help, it is a Sith ship. We should return to K’eel Doba for the time to recover.”
Then We must seek out Aelvedaar,

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I bet I know where he really wants to go, I’m surprised he didn’t say to set a course for there. But oh well, we’ll get there eventually, I’m sure. Maybe this little rest will give me a chance to look for Galen’s daughter once more. OK, now, let’s see. Set the controls for K’eel.Doba…

The few seconds of training Panthar received had only included running the device, taking off, and steering. The rest of the navigation board remained a mystery to him, and the array of flashing lights, colored buttons, and touchpads made his nose twitch. He turned to Shayla, who was still sitting on the other side of Jharmeen, back to the wall, her eyes closed. He then looked to Galen, who although was stirring, was still not quite comprehending the world around her.

He bit his lower lip and turned back to the controls.

“Right… K’eel Doba.” He said to himself. He scanned the controls for labels, and managed to pick out a few that seemed to make sense. The ship appeared to have hyperspace capabilities, and a navigation computer, so at least maybe could program that if it had a good enough interface. Thanking his lucky stars he could still read Sith, he followed the logical progression of commands and reached the point in the programming where he would need to input the coordinates.

“Oh great,” he said. “Does anyone have a log book of coordinates? I need to figure out the… oh wait.”

He saw a small map symbol next to the coordinate input screen. He touched it and a star map popped up on the display. He studied it for a moment and managed to locate what he was sure was K’eel Doba. Just for fun, before he chose K’eel Doba, he looked up to where Korris’ian and Korriban had been, and was pleased to find them shown as a single planet with a large moon. Wait, no…. TWO moons. The last time he checked, Korriban had no moons. One of them was Korris’ian, but what happened to the other one?

Panthar glanced left. Everyone there was still pre-occupied. He glanced right, every one was still either unconscious or attending to the sleeping ones. This information would have to wait. He pushed the glyph for K’eel Doba and the computer beeped its acceptance. He then pushed the button for hyperspace, and the ship smoothly went into motion.

“There,” he said, kneeling down between Shayla and Phalomir. “So easy even an archeologist can do it. Now, is everyone going to be all right? And has anyone given thought as to what we do to avoid having this ship fall into the hands of that blockade?”

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

Pausing at that, she let her eyes close completely once more as she considered his other question, the one he had asked before.

What SHOULD they do?

"And as for what we should do," she then said, finally opening her eyes and looking directly at Phalomir, "I think going to Aelvedaar is a horrible idea, and I believe we've come to this very conclusion before. Remember...

...that's why we were going to the Master?"

Quieting a moment then, she gave Phalomir a frustrated look. "I know we left him back there in Elseness, and he didn't quite frankly he didn't meet my idea of a good ally...

...but what's the alternative?" she queried. "Aelvedaar is most certainly not an ally, and the Master is most certainly his enemy. And maybe, just maybe Thoran is right. In exchange for the right things, the Master may help us restore Jharmeen, and against Aelvedaar...

...we will desperately need her. But I fear the Mster's price to help us may be too high, unless he can be deceived some how into giving us what we need in exchange for something that's not quite what he believes it to be. Or unless you have another idea as to just how we're going to save Jharmeen from Aelvedaar's clutches...

...and believe me, I'm more than open to anything aside from going back to the Master. That little display of his back there was well more than enough to put him on my 'least likely to be an ally' list..."

[ 01-10-2005 11:09 PM: Message edited 1 time, lastly by Shayla Stargazer Petrolu ]

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“Aelvedaar is the key to all of this. He feels he is right, which makes our task even more difficult. He feels that the Sith must fall under a single ruler, and his betrayal – his usage – of Jharmeen is but a small part of that plan set to motion. Facing Aelvedaar requires two choices: one is to choose if he is right or wrong. You must choose for yourself, all of you, but I believe he is wrong. The Triumvirate has withstood for centuries, and to forsake it now is folly. Therefore the next choice I face is how to stop him. This is the same choice I was given within the Shartok, and my answer now is the same as it was then, as it always shall be.”

He turned his head to face Shayla.

“Not power. That is all the Master could offer, pure power. I wish to seek out Aelvedaar not to defeat him, but to bring him back to the Sith.”

[ 01-11-2005 09:57 PM: Message edited 1 time, lastly by Phalomir ]

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...remember the book on the warship? I've seen that vong warship, and the vong who appeared to be in charge. Anyone who can even mess with something and someone like that..."

Shayla paused, shuddering slightly. "I just dont' know if I could ever trust."

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Something about this conversation bothered him, and he stood to pace. His attention was caught by Galen and Terrin, and he walked to them. Terrin sat with his hand on her shoulder, and she sat looking a bit dazed. He sighed and knelt beside her, and put his hand on her other shoulder. He then shook her back and forth, making a bubbling sound with his lips as he did so.

“Red One to Red Leader, wake up Red Leader!” he shouted. “You all right? Give me a sign of life here!”

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

"Wait a minute," he said then, raising a hand to indicate that Panthar should stop. "She's probably pretty wiped out, after using her..."

He paused, recalling how he had always thought that there was something special and powerful deep within her.

"...her All abilities," he then finished. Then he reached out to massage her shoulders gently, hoping to help her relax and return gently to reality after what was no doubt a very taxing task, both physically and mentally. Slowly, it seemed like her eyes were starting to come into focus once more, less dazed than they originally were.

"Galen?" he called once more, gently, concern still evident.

[ 01-12-2005 11:23 PM: Message edited 1 time, lastly by Terrin Danner ]

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“Maybe we should try smelling salt?” he said. “Try taking your shoes off.”

He shook his head and started to walk back to Phalomir and Shayla, feeling suddenly very irritable. He paused before reaching them, however, and turned back to Terrin.

“But, dang it,” he growled, “If we are going to avoid those imperials, we are going to need her awake, and soon. And hunny bunny massages aren’t gonna do it.”

Panthar walked back to Galen and pushed Terrin aside. He took Galen’s head in his hand and stared her in the eyes. Still dazed, they couldn’t quite focus.

“Listen up, Red,” he said sternly, “you tried to pull something like this back in the maze, now get your butt together and come out of this.”

There was no reply, her eyes still remained unfocused.

Panthar grunted and stomped to the console. He scanned the buttons, then scanned the writing on the wall panels. Finally he found the Sith words for “emergency rations”. He opened the panel, rummaged through it briefly, then pulled out a bottle and opened it on the way back to Galen.

"I'm only doing this because I care, and we really need you."

Terrin stood to stop him, but not before Panthar managed to dump most of the water on Galen’s head.

As she was sputtering and gasping, Panthar drank the remaining water.

[ 01-13-2005 12:06 AM: Message edited 1 time, lastly by Panthar Dantares ]

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