Who would fight against who, indeed; and how...?

--when he paused, wincing. He stumbled back a step or two, his hand flying to his head in apparent pain... even as he spoke his final ominous words. Her eyes quickly cut to where the body of Panthar had been adhered within the gray-tendriled grasp of the mosses; indeed it was there no longer.

She turned back to Phalomir, struggling. Every bit of logic she possessed screamed at her to go back to the main part of the temple, to raise alarm, to seek Salandaar and his squadrons, to emplace them within the Temple and without....

But something stopped her. That struggling, tautly stretched connection she yet managed to feel stopped her in her tracks.

He had, after all, removed the ice-fingered madness which awakening emotions had thrust upon her. He did place a comforting bit of himself within her for protection, even as she had done with her last child between herself and Recinis.

He had handed her the channeller, had he not? He did now remain quiet before her instead of attacking her, here and now, deeply hidden away from any prying eyes, when she was at her most vulnerable....

Why? Or rather, why not?

The Beast within whined against the onrush of another fairly recent memory: that of the red blast coming from him to knock her back when he had been sharing ghosts in Panthar's body... and his subsequent actions. She struggled further, letting her eyes go back and forth between the empty wall and the staggering Sith. Something within her told her most assuredly that this was not a moment to retreat from, but rather a nexus of sorts. A point of choosing. A time for decision.

She cast a look down upon her wrists: one tattoo quiet gold, the other velvety black.

No answer there.

Her thoughts reverted automatically to her Sire....

No answer there as well. Indeed, not.

She closed her eyes then as if utterly ignoring Phalomir's pain, as if utterly dismissing the fact that Panthar had vanished as utterly as a morning mist before the oncoming rays of the sun.

Focused within. Wavered.

Realized that, at the very least, events were being put into place against which her warriors, with all their prowess, probably had no real defense. Realized that the only real magickal defense she might have just could be in this Sith, who now was struggling to meet her eyes even though the pain he was showing had to be enormous.

She bit her lip, once more drawing blood. And finally made a choice. One slim hand raised slowly, to point to the empty wall.

"I cannot help but feel--" she began; stopped. Realized the oxymoron she had been about to state; wondered how to continue.

All she could do was take a small step toward him, that hand which pointed now swinging out to him in confusion, while within her that stretched essence pulled more tautly, as if seeking some sort of help from her.

A strange sensation within which, she finally had to admit to herself, she could not discern the tiniest speck of danger or beguilement....

[ 11-02-2003 01:11 PM: Message edited 1 time, lastly by Graysith ]

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The captain merely nodded, and remained where he was.

The Officer on Deck retured his attention to the console, leaned over the ensign's shoulder again.

"Identify yourself and the purpose behind the clearance you seek," he ordered clearly yet succinctly. Then he flicked the switch to send that order on its way, straightened up, but remained where he was in the event that order received an immediate reply.

[ 11-02-2003 01:29 PM: Message edited 1 time, lastly by Graysith ]

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Yet in that rainbow, pulsating and writhing, lay a bizarre sort of clarity.

“Do not concern yourself with Thoran, my lady,” he managed to say. “I will find him. You must lead your people – our people. If unity is to come, it will come on its own, I cannot and will not force it… as I cannot and will not force you to trust me, or be fond of me. But just as strongly I cannot help my feelings, my lady, and I shall continue to love you though it be unreturned. I will protect you, as I have promised, and I will protect Shayla.”

Phalomir winced again, but it was quickly replaced by a weak smile.

“Take this, my lady, may it protect you even if someday I cannot…”

He found the thread that connected him with her, and focused on sending some of his magick through it to her. By her reaction he could see that perhaps it worked, and the channeler glowed softly.

“Thoran has the Eye, but I have the Eye’s power… if I can locate him… I can use it against him...”

He closed his eyes and allowed the rainbow to flow more freely within him. The ball of madness was still contained, the pressure eased a little by letting some of it out. He reached outward, seeking the power that the Eye could manipulate.

But it was not to be found…

"He is gone... I do not understand this... I sense another user of the All, whom I dare not disturb at this time... and I feel the power still within you... but I do not sense Thoran as I have sensed him before."

He looked to the Lady. "How could this be? How could he just... disappear?"

[ 11-02-2003 02:33 PM: Message edited 1 time, lastly by Phalomir ]

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"my identity is one among thousands, I am Recinis. My purpose is one equaly simplistic, i am returning home."

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Another user of the All?

Another thrill rippled through her as a sudden realization cemented within her.

She knew she had its use – once. Other than Roan, who was dead, the only one she could think of to use this power would be Lord Aelvedaar. But…

But.

The thought had simply never crossed her mind that other Sith from the future might have this ability. If one had used its strength to manipulate time as Lord Aelvedaar had so easily done, and if this unknown personage happened to be one who wished to prevent some event from occurring now, perhaps to alter circumstances yet to come…

There was absolutely nothing she could do to prevent it. For all she knew, this unknown person might even be Lord Aelvedaar; in either case, not having the ability to touch the All any longer, how could she hope to combat? To stop, to prevent….

She jerked her attention back to Phalomir. He was standing there quietly enough, as if waiting for her to say something. She heaved a sigh of despair… and it struck her.

She might not have use of the All… but she was not unaware of it, nor was she ignorant to its abilities. Perhaps she could yet be of some use.

“There are only two scenarios of which I can think in which Thoran would so thoroughly disappear. Either he has learned to create a chronotic shield about himself as a defensive move, or he has removed himself from reality as we know it.\

“It is doubtful whether he has managed the former, unless he is a highly skilled wielder. Lord Aelvedaar is the only one other than myself who can accomplish this—“

A pained look crossed her features, which she quickly tried to squelch.

“It- it took me a great deal of time, and much effort and practice to be able to create this type of shield. Thus, as I said, unless this Thoran has had much practice using the All, and had a Master Instructor, I feel it more likely that he has taken himself away from reality altogether.”

Another pause for breath, before she finished with,

“I feel he has placed himself in a dimensionless plane of non-existence I have learned is called the Elseness."

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

Phalomir closed his eyes once again and sighed. He again felt for the presence of the All, and found it on a distant planet, and assumed it must be Aelvedaar. He did not touch the presence, but used its essence to keep a more focused bearing on what he sought elsewhere. He then reached… inward… and allowed the power of the Eye to touch the wavering madness circling within him. Surely to Phalomir the “elseness” could only be described as a sort of madness, and perhaps he could use his own ribbon of madness to find it.

Phalomir jerked in pain, bringing his head quickly down and to the left, and leaned against the wall. Bizarre images of distorted creatures swam before his eyes, Sith children with eyes much too large called his name and beckoned him to join them in play, eerily mocking his efforts. He felt himself slipping into a downward spiral of despair, leading mercilessly into a pit of nothingness, while the strange children danced around his mind. He staggered, his consciousness slipping away into the realm of insanity.

A thread within him tightened, and a new vision appeared before him at the center of the spiral. It was the Dark Lady, eyes wide with concern. He focused on her and felt the thread pull at his being, drawing him away from the spiral. The madness about him veered, as if a sphere of clarity now grew outward from him. Remaining focused upon the Dark Lady’s image, he reached out for the familiar presence of Thoran. He felt the power of the Eye, riding along the waves of insanity, and envisioned the search for Thoran as if peering through a long, narrow tube. He continued to follow the power until it reached a barrier. He fed into the power more of his own Sith magick, and the barrier gave, allowing him to see the image of a very startled Thoran… and Shayla.

“I have him!” he cried out loud, already glowing red from the sudden burst of energy feeding into him via the power of the Eye. “But he is not alone… Shayla…”

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

“He has found us!” he exclaimed.

“Now is the time to decide, Shayla! Which of us shall you believe?”

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...when at length, something she was once taught and still held to her heart erupted forward into her pscyhe.

There is no right or wrong...

...only what is in the interest of the Greater Good.

This in mind, she eyed Thoran, considering all that he had told her of Phalomir's crimes and of the plot to catch him; all of it seemed rather grandiose, rather farfetched. Still, the idea of him bringing harm to Graysith was troubling...

...yet also waying heavy upon her soul was Thoran's presentation of facts without proof and his demand for her to choose a side now. Once upon a time another had presented her with a new view of all that she knew and believed...

...but that other had given her the freedom to choose, and in her own time.

It was time to stand her ground. "If what you speak to me is true, now is your chance to prove it," she said simply, glancing towards the portal and clearly sensing Phalomir on the other side of it. "The question is, however, whether you intend to give me the freedom to find the truth for myself...

...or if you intend instead to force a role upon me regardless of my personal views so that you may achieve your desired ends. Indeed you are correct; I will play a part in this...

...though perhaps it will not be the part you wish if you do so force me into choosing a side now..."

[ 11-02-2003 11:24 PM: Message edited 1 time, lastly by Shayla Stargazer Petrolu ]

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...and for the first time really giving Almar a chance to contribute. "Allright," he said aloud, his look still thoughtful although it was directed towards the other man, "If you could get some readings on this planet while we're up, it would be a big help in our search for Galen. You should come up with some unreadable spots in your sensor sweep; those are probably the places Kelderon suggested we search first," Jasyn explained.

"Still," he then continued thoughtfully, "Holding someone you don't want found on the very same planet you are seems entirely too obvious to me, even if that the planet is difficult to get into..."

He trailed a moment, pursing his lips once more and realizing deep down how much he needed some other opinions. His ideas were few and far between. "Hell," he then said, "For all I know of these Sith, they could have stuck her on Hoth or Kessel or anywhere in the damned universe."

Once more he paused, his brown eyes growing even deeper in thought before he finally gave in to his need for another brain on this, "Where would you stash away someone if you didn't want them found...?"

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"Shayla!" she gasped, pain running through her to think how close to death her once-Adept might very well be at this time.

"Can you release her? Can you take her from Thoran before it is too late?"

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

Yet there was the tug on the thread… and along that thread he sent a thought, unsure if it could be felt through the madness. Anything for you… everything for you…

“Yes,” he said aloud. He concentrated on the energies emanating from Thoran, sensed the entity within him, and felt power draw through the hole in time and space, as if it were a misty red vapor being sucked through a tube. His skin pulsated a bright red.

Be my beacon…

[ 11-03-2003 09:30 AM: Message edited 1 time, lastly by Phalomir ]

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“By not acting, you have chosen with me,” he grinned. “I thank you. Now allow me to protect you…”

Thoran called upon the power of his master, focusing the energies of the All with his own powers. The mingling of All and the dark forces within his own being swelled into a bright yellow ball on his hand. He turned his attention to Phalomir and grinned even wider.

Then he felt it… the pulling of the power from him, the strange draining of the All from the ball of energy in his hand… but the Eye still resided within this body, Phalomir had no control over it now…

Unless…

Thoran searched for the Eye within the body he occupied. He did not find its essence…

“Phalomir, you deceitful bastard…” He felt the power draining further, and then let a dark thought enter his mind. He smiled once again, and then thrust the remaining ball of energy right into Phalomir.

Phalomir glowed brightly. He used the power sucked from Thoran and thrust it back at him, latching on to the small portal-like tube and opening it wider until a real portal opened before him. He sent an energy burst into Thoran and held a hand out to Shayla.

“Shayla, come!” Phalomir called. “Hurry!”

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

By not acting, you have chosen with me...

Shayla gulped, a wave of something rising within her at these words. Then she forced herself to remain alert, her eyes now only for Phalomir, whose hand was extended to her in a undeniable urgency. And once upon a time not seemingly so long ago she remembered another stay she had in the Elseness, one which was ended only with another extended hand, one which was offered but not forced upon her. And yet here it was again...

...the extended hand. And once more, the choice was hers to accept or deny that hand. Much unlike the forced choice given to her by Thoran.

By not acting, you have chosen with me..

Shayla closed her eyes, a brief wave of pain sweeping over her...

...and then she gathered her wits about herself and reached out a hand to accept Phalomir's extended one...

[ 11-03-2003 10:03 PM: Message edited 1 time, lastly by Shayla Stargazer Petrolu ]

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“Yes?” I queried as I rubbed the back of my neck with a towel. That towel came to an immediate halt then, as the major on the other end gave me the lowdown as to what was happening in the vicinity of K’eel Doba.

Recinis? Wasn’t he a bodyguard to Galen’s sister… or something? I pondered, a frown coming to my face.

Where in hades did he pop in from?

And, more to worry about…

Why?

I chewed upon my lip for a moment, thinking. Here was a Sith who, at least at the time we had all parted ways, seemed to be a companionable sort, willing to accept the weirdness everyone had been plunged into at the time. Perhaps it would be in the best interests of the Empire to continue fostering that goodwill…

… especially when every nerve in my body was screaming out my distrust for the other Sith I had become acquainted with, that Phalo-whosis fellow.

“Allow him entry into the system, and give him an escort through the shielding,” I ordered, laying the towel around my neck and holding it there. “Make certain the beams are interlaced again, and at optimum strength.

“Tarnus, out.”

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

He brought the ship down quietly into a little landing bay

As they shut down the ship and prepared for exit recinis looked to his son, giving him a brief nod. "shall we be off then?" with his sons approving nod they left. Stepping accross the plateform he approuched a pair of warriors. These two were older then many of the young boy's who made up the latest soldiers for this clan.

The two seemed to gaze at him for a moment, taking in his features, his stance. they looked at eachother momentarily before nodding to recinis.

He spoke quietly "Greetings... May i ask of what events have recently transpired? I have been... Away."

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

“Very well, then,” Thoran sighed, the hurt obvious in his words. “Perhaps your chance shall come at another time, dear Shayla.”

Thoran’s eyes met with Phalomir’s. “And now what will you do, Phalomir? You cannot follow me here, for I shall surely trap you. Do you feel strong enough to kill me? To capture and torture me?”

“No,” said Phalomir. “I do not wish to kill you. I only want answers.”

Thoran’s eye sparkled. “Ahh, the poor Sith Lord has still not found the answers he seeks. The death of the Dark Lady was not enough to jolt those thoughts back, eh?”

Phalomir’s eyes narrowed. He cocked his head and studied Thoran, then stepped slightly to the right, allowing Thoran a view of the Dark Lady backing down the hallway behind him.

“She still lives…” Thoran said loudly, genuine surprise in his voice. His eyes shot back to Phalomir. “This will certainly change things… Phalomir, I am impressed, I had thought you to be a slave to your programming.”

Phalomir furrowed his brows. “What do you mean, ‘programming’? What programming? Please, tell me! Why am I here? Who am I?”

Thoran considered him a moment, then shook his head.

“No,” he said. “I don’t believe you just quite yet…” He then raised his voice, a chuckle in his tone. “Tell me, Lady, has he proposed yet?”

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

Then her attention was yanked away at Thoran’s words. While she couldn’t quite see that dark one, hovering there in the yet darker environment that was the Elseness, she could clearly hear him. As well as the evil he tried to mask with oily charm.

Or so it seemed to her.

She straightened then, chin held high. She might not have the use of her powers for the moment, but she did have the strange weapon Phalomir had passed on to her. The fact that it was yet linked to… something was evident by the steady glow the Channeller yet emitted, by the heat which bathed her thigh in reassuring warmth.

And even if she hadn’t a lick of any kind of power to her name, she was still the Dark Lady of the Warriors.

“I hear your foul words, Thoran,” she spat as she took another step forward, and yet another and another yet until she was beside Phalomir and staring coolly into that eerie noneness hovering there in the dim light of the corridor. One slender hand went instinctively to Phalomir’s broad shoulder and lay there, offering him the same reassurance she herself was so suddenly filled with. The other fell to the hilt of the Channeller, lingered readily near.

“What he says or not to me is of no business of yours,” she went on, striving to present a steady and calm front but unable to completely mask the darkness and anger growing inside of her.

“Your words have no meaning to me, and in all honesty should be paid no attention by any other as well. Why should one such as yourself, who has placed my Adept—“

A pause, a quick turn, a meeting of the eyes… a sense of returning warmth.

“—My Adept into such peril such as you have, be listened to? By your actions you have spoken more loudly than any words you might utter; should you have issue with our people, you will speak to me and not this one who is not of this place and time.

“As you are not, either!”

She fell silent at that as, giving Phalomir’s shoulder another squeeze she then let her hand drop and moved forward until now it was she who presented a blockade, as slight as that might be, to the darkness which she so clearly sensed wished nothing more than to inject discord and danger into the world and the future of the Sith.

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

Took in the tattoo glowing gently there.

Frowned… and hauled himself upright to whisper to his companions yet again. At length the Sith turned to fully face Recinis.

“We recognize you, Lord,” the highest ranking one of the group stated, now taking a step forward. He fisted a strong hand, clapped it solidly against his chest, bowed over it.

“But,” he continued as he straightened, now waving to his fellows who quickly ringed the green-eyed warrior. “I am afraid we have orders by none other than the Dark Lady herself that you are to be… er, retained upon your return to K’eel Doba.

“Forgive us, Lord.”

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

Thoran, dispose of them both. Now.

Thoran’s eyes sparked, dark energies pushing stalwartly through his essence and combined with the All forces fed to him from the master, creating a blast of killing power that any bearer of the Claw would have known.

“I am truly sorry, both of you,” said Thoran sincerely. “I should have liked to known you better, but the master was very specific about this. You are now dealing in events neither of you should know of, and there are too many plans riding upon what unfolds now. I’m sure you understand, great lady. There is no ill will intended here, but the fact is that you simply must be dead in a few short seconds. And, unfortunately, since he remembers too much of his past – or future, if you will – roles, he must die as well.”

His hands came immediately in front of him. A large yellow ball appeared between his hands, and a small tear formed in his eye.

“And don't think too harshly of him, he really did love you in his time. Well, goodbye!”

[ 11-05-2003 04:17 PM: Message edited 1 time, lastly by Thoran ]

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“Listen to me, before you do or say anything else! It was Thoran! He attacked and then Shayla blasted him with something and knocked him out and then Phal came out of the temple and must have seen Thoran doing something because he leaped on him and they both disappeared and then a little bit later the air opened up and Shayla got pulled into some hole which closed up again and then the beastie thing licked my face I came out here and here we are!”

He took a quick breath.

“So what do we do?”

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

It wasn’t so much for herself. Not even for the sake of Phalomir and Shayla, whose comforting presences she felt hovering close.

But for the Sith.

Always for the Sith…

Her lips couldn’t help but tremble as she took yet another step forward. Now she was hovering at the very lip of the portal into noneness, the Channeller somehow findint passage into her hand. Her lips pursed into nothing but determination as she presented that Channeller forward, holding it out as if it was a shield to protect them all.

Them… All.

What in the name of Khaandon’s Great Ghost was she doing here? She was not worthy… how could she be? How could one who had murdered her own father, the first great love of her life, be worthy of anything? How could she lead the warriors, how could she be their Dark Lady, how—

Swallowing, she tossed her head to toss away those words of self-recrimination. Steadied herself further and took hold of the Channeller with both hands. Lowered her brow and stared intently at her intended prey.

She could because she was the Chosen Daughter of the Sith. Surely that would come forth now, even if it lead her to death.

But death she would meet as the warrior lady she had beem chosen to ultimately be.

She aimed the Channeller….

[ 11-05-2003 04:36 PM: Message edited 1 time, lastly by Graysith ]

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Burried deep within him was his mothers essence. A bond that was unbreakable even with the boundries of time and space...

And at that moment the bond was tugged taught.

Something came loose in that instant, instinct broke his concious, his mind clouding with the great rush of unthought action.

His eyes exploded from there emerald encasing, burning a deep violet.

A sudden calm encased his essence as he looked up from his temperarily downward gaze.

"no..."

His hand went to his side, removing the blade which resided there.

The sith about him turned in a startled manor, drawing there weapons and ordering him to stand down, he gazed ahead unseeing.

The blade decended in a brillient arc, slicing open the fabrics which held space and time as one Stepping forward through that rip He sheathed the blade and glared at the one whom focused his energies against his mother.

"you'll not touch her" he breathed venomusly

His hand rose, he flicked his wrist, an immense wave of energy errupted from the hand, Jharu's energies flowed through him and into Phalomir and his mothers chanaller, all happening on a base level of instinct for jharu...

The wave moved from the channaler and then through space with regard to time in an odd dance of warped perfection, blasting into the man and throwing him away from jharus mother.

"i will die before you harm her"

His glowing gaze focused intently on the form of his target.

[ 11-05-2003 04:42 PM: Message edited 1 time, lastly by Jharu ]

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Her eyes widened, and she raised up one hand.

“Jharu?” she whispered, unable to do anything other than that, so great was her shock at his unexpected arrival literally from nowhere.

[ 11-05-2003 04:52 PM: Message edited 1 time, lastly by Graysith ]

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However the voice of his mother was a blade that could rend the strongest of his defenses... He softened slightly, calming but still ready should anything occure...

Jharu reached out a small comforting tendril to his mother, though to comfort her, or himself he was unsure of.

"yes mother... I'm here... Dont worry... I will never let you be hurt..."

he turned slightly then, giving her a soft smile. "ive missed you mother...Ive missed you so much" as he spoke tears began filling his eyes, but with a few blinks he managed to push them away...

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