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Sorry IMAGE: forums.escapepod.net/cgi/smilies/blue.gif - Continue on in this thread

She had but little time to accomplish her task.

In one languidly graceful gesture, one hand played about her navboard, widening her view until she was able to focus upon the comforting atmospheric turmoil of the gas giant which dwarfed Yavin 4. The thought of tossing a certain person into those roiling clouds brought a sweetly evil smile to her lips.

The thought did not escape the awareness of her companion. Curled beside her in a rather cramped manner, the tuk'ata lifted his fearsome head, his pupilless eyes fixing themselves upon the pale face of his Dark Mistress. //Mistress needing this One in assistance being, needing aide in blood hunt-blood-letting being?// he inquired in his rather unique manner, one long face-tendril curling furtively about her leg.

She slid her eyes from the viewport, and bestowed her companion with a genuine smile. Yes-ss, my faithful One, she thought back to him. You shall have the opportunity to make amends for your error, though fault of your own it was not.

The tuk'ata hung his head at the words that came into his mind, as a picture of his leap completely over Galen and into his Mistress, and her resultant "miscarriage" momentarily overwhelmed him. Blood-hunt Oath is this One giving, he finally growled. No error being.

Graysith merely smiled, directing her attention to the fourth moon once again. She had easily tracked her sister here by following her sense trail; Galen's love for a certain bounty hunter had cut a disturbingly shining swath in the Elseness large enough for a space slug to hide in. The Chosen Daughter of the Sith smiled an even more evil smile. No bounty hunter to come to your aide now, my "sister," she thought with satisfaction. She leaned forward, about to reach out with all the magicks at her disposal... but was brought up short as the presence of another slammed into her.

He was there, the one she had briefly met in the forest of Khar Delba. She sensed the Dark in him beckoning like a comfortably bubbling oil slick. He was there, and in the same room as her sister.

Unfortunately, there was another. Someone powerful with the Light Side. For a moment Graysith shook her head in disgust, thinking how small and weak these beings were who segregated themselves from the All... then she drew in a great breath, contemplating her next move.

Very well, a slight distraction was in order. While she had no fear about overcoming the Jedi, she did not wish to make so obvious a move. Mysteries were better ways to fill voids...

She reached out, sensing, touching, finding... another. Two others, in the nearby vicinity. Perhaps this could be put to use.

With a sudden wave of her hand, the Chosen Daughter of the Sith reached out and grasped the Elseness which truly bound all life to non-life. Her hand twisted in a curious move...

..and upon the surface of the little moon, from within the Great Jedi Praxeum where she was hiding and eavesdropping, the being known to some as "Shayla" suddenly found herself encased in corporeal blackness...

...and transported in the blink of an eye to Graysith's ship.

The Chosen Daughter smiled cruelly, the rune upon her forehead flaring into the higher energy frequencies beyond gamma, her violet eyes blazing in equal brilliance, her Beast howling at her side. She revelled in the startled fear she saw filling the eyes of the woman before her.

He felt it. That wasn't something he was expecting at all. "She's gone." he said to himself, but lous enough for others to here. Quickly, he put his hand on Galen's head and said, "Don't be scared." Suddenly she fell over, in a deep sleep. He picked her up and put her over his shoulder.

Then the silent Jedi who had watched the whole ordeal spoke up, and tried to stop him, but Admiral Actar put his finger in the man's face and said, "Don't." He didn't know if that would stop the man or not, but considering the power he knew the man felt and with his quick action, he figured it would. He walked out of room carrying Galen. Walking as fast as he could, without hurting the baby inside her, he reached his ship a short time later.

He knew. Her sister was near, very near. He had to get out of there as fast as he could. He boarded the ship, laid Galen on the floor, and took off. Once far enough away from the planet he contacted his fleet and told them to be ready, and that he was on his way. That's when she woke up....

Blearily, I opened one eye and peeped around. A sigh exploded in my chest as I saw that my suspicions were justified. Just one glance brought the knowledge that not only was I no longer in the Praxeum, but judging by the metallic look of everything about me, I was no longer on that beautifully jungled moon.

But where--? I sat up, and took a better look about.

A ship. It had to be a ship. Which meant...

A slight rustle behind me made me whirl instinctively about. Great Khaandon's Ghost, but this is beginning to be a touch wearing... and old, very, very old....

He was standing there patiently as I knew he would be. A shadow in black, the only bit of color about him were his strange eyes. The studied me steadily, intensely, almost as if...

With a resounding start, it was as though a curtain had been lifted. I remembered everything.

I remembered him.

I shrank back a bit, but kept my eyes defiantly glued to his. After a few seconds of this seeming impasse, I found a voice again, albeit a rather shaky one.

"You!" I said in a hoarse whisper. "Why have you taken me?"

Khaandon, I hope this guy had either a very short memory or a very forgiving nature....

HIM! He has interfered! He has taken her; but where? And more importantly, why???

The Chosen Daughter shook her head, her sudden flare of anger dying down to a steady but fortifying irritation. Very well, this is how he wished to reunite with her? Over this matter?

Then he shall. She would see to it.

A slight noise interrupted her thoughts; she blinked with the realization that she had all but forgotten the young LightSider she had taken. The young woman still stood before her, shaking like a leaf but to her credit refusing to drop her gaze from where it was glued to her own. Graysith cocked her head to one side, her long flaming hair tumbling down as she contemplated the student. She knew with a calm dispassion that the woman was deciding whether to jump at her or not; the Chosen Daughter blinked slowly, just once, and stretched an arm out.

"Be thou still," she commanded, her voice like spun spider silk. Then she turned aside.

"My dear and faithful one, assist this 'guest' in accomplishing that one small boon I have requested of her. Navigational matters take me away.

"But only momentarily..."

She turned abruptly, seated herself at the navboard, played the sigils and runes there like a musical instrument. Her viewscreen changed abruptly from a view of the gas giant to a view of smeary starstreaks. In the middle of those soul-rending screeches, a small and brilliantly blue light beckoned.

The Chosen Daughter of the Sith merely smiled to herself, removing her attention completely from the frozen Shayla, leaving her somewhat indifferently to the tender auspices of M'wonBo'o.

She played an overture... and her Sith ship leapt out like a pod racer on Boonta Eve, hot on the trail of Actar's ship.

The woman before her seemed to be enjoying her shock very much. Her eyes shone in violet brillance, revealing in the fear Shayla knew she must be showing.

She would not shake. At least...she would try not to. Even so, she couldn't stop it. She'd dealt with thiefs, murders, and smugglers, but never in her life had she ever dealt with this.

How was it that she was so cruelly snatched from her safety zone? She wished for it now more than ever...the Praxeum which she had so much disliked when she first arrived had become her home, and Logan had become her friend.

Logan...would she ever see him again? And what about Erik? She was damn sure of one thing, Terrin Danner couldn't compete with this being that was before her now, smirking and basking in the glory of being feared.

Fine, she'd quiver. She'd give this...woman...this evil being...what she wanted. But she would not look away. Only a coward would do that, and Shayla was no coward. Finally the woman spoke.

"Be thou still," she commanded, her voice like spun spider silk. Then she turned aside.

"My dear and faithful one, assist this 'guest' in accomplishing that one small boon I have requested of her. Navigational matters take me away.

"But only momentarily..."

Til then, Shayla had thought she and the woman were alone. But then she saw the other...a hideous creature that Shayla had no words to describe was before her.

Shayla froze in horror at the sight of the thing. What the two of these horrid monsters planned on doing with her she couldn't possibly imagine...and loathed to find out...

She could stand the terror no longer...her heart was pounding like a drum in her ears. Don't be a coward Shayla...she tried to tell herself...Don't give into fear...that leads to the Dark Side...

Even so, fear was creeping in...

Between the two women, the tuk'ata crouched, his 10-inch claws scraping the deck, his 6-inch fangs glistening with the promise of death either quick and easy, or slow and painful. His depthless, pupilless eyes likewise remained glued upon those of the young padawan, anticipating, judging, waiting...

Graysith glided smoothly forward, a slender hand reaching out to rest upon the slender, tendrilled head of the great hunting Beast. "You have done well, my dear Companion," she spoke directly into his mind. "But now you may go and find sustenance so as to strengthen yourself for when I call upon your services once again."

The lithely muscular tuk'ata looked toward his mistress in surprise. //Mistress not-not this One in assistance being?// he inquired plaintively, his tone of thought ludicrous coming as it did from the fearsome form he presented. //This one not strange one watching being? Angered is Mistress, toward this One being?//

Graysith merely smiled, stroking his silken head and tweaking a tendril playfully. "I need you at your best, for soon we shall have our strengths tested. Go now, and fear not for my safety." she repeated. "Leave me to this one alone, my friend."

Her smile broadened as the deep grumblings of her tuk'ata came to her ears. But the great carnivore was faithful to her with an unbelievable obedience; abruptly he turned and left the navigation area, leaving his Mistress to deal with the Jedi student alone.

Her smile then sublimated into ice. With an intensity that could stop a Star Destroyer if she wished, she approached the quaking young woman, her smile reappearing inwardly as she felt the growing waves of fear spilling from her like waves upon a shoreline. The Chosen Daughter realized it was all the woman could do to keep her feet, and to remain silent. Graysith's inner smile broadened yet again in approval of the strength she felt within her.

She came to a halt before her, and for a moment just stood there. Then she reached out a slender hand, and gently stroked the young woman's cheek. "You are a strong one," she whispered softly, her voice like the kiss of an adder. Beneath her delicate touch, the woman's skin seemed to ripple as a shudder raced through her body.

Graysith slowly circled Shayla, her fingers trailing down her cheek, now her chin, now around her neck to finger her hair in a gesture that was almost a caress. Suddenly she leaned forward from behind her, her breath soft and warm in the young woman's ear. "You have been misled, deceived... your abilities are being held in abeyance. You have strength you do not realize... power untapped and untappable.

"I can show you your potential. You would have some use to that which is to come. You think of freedom as the only life there is; I can give you ever so much more.

"There is more than what you know, and Fear leads the way to true freedom. Dark and Light, Fear and Joy, Evil and Good... all two sides of the same coin, all two halves of a Whole.

"I can show you this whole, make you whole..."

The Chosen Daughter began moving again, her fingers still softly caressing the woman: now in her hair, now on the back of her neck, now delicately tracing her ear. The languid movements then stopped as she came back around to the front of Shayla, letting her hand drop to her side, as she then stood in silent anticipation.

Waiting...

There, better. Was this woman actually saying what Shayla thought she was?

Fear leads to anger, anger leads to hate, and that leads to the Dark Side...

Shayla knew she had to speak, and she knew even more that she had to refuse, regardless of the consequences.

"Evil never made anyone whole," she finally managed, her voice sounding a little strange and strained.

The other woman seemed to be waiting for more of an explanation than this. Or maybe she was merely waiting for Shayla to give into her.

"I am training to be a Jedi. I know the danger of using the Dark Side. Whether you use Light, Dark, or both, if you are using the Dark Side that's crossing the line regardless. I'll not be a part of whatever plan you have, and I'll not be your puppet."

Shayla could sense the danger in front of her, but she knew the danger would be greater if she gave into this. Whatever was ahead, she had made the right choice, and she had to stick by that.

She folded her arms at her chest, put on a determined face, and waited for the woman before her to respond...

Then he did a very strange thing. He placed his hand on Galen's head and caused her to fall asleep. Jeroc moved forward uncertainly, opened his mouth, but the man stopped him with a word. "Don't." He picked Galen up and was gone as strangely as he'd come.

Jeroc finally spoke. "Was that the right thing to do, just let him walk away with Galen? She is powerful, and so is the child inside her...Once it is born, it could so easily be used as a tool."

Cella glanced at Jeroc. "I don't know. That man has darkness about him...but somehow, I trust him in this. I don't think he intends to harm Galen, and I know that--that which I felt and still feel, will harm her. What could--"

That's when the two of them heard Logan's howl of dismay from the hall. "She's gone! Shayla!"

Cella rushed out, finding Logan standing baffled in the hall, looking around him. He looked at Cella with an openmouthed expression of surprise. "One minute she was here...and now she's disappeared into thin air." He grabbed her arm, more visibly upset than Cella had ever seen him. "It was the dark side. I felt it...smelled the stench and heard the crackle."

Jeroc came up behind them, nodded firmly. "Whatever it is that wants to harm Galen, I think that's what did this to Shayla. She didn't disappear--she was taken."

Cella was horrified. "Taken where? And for what purpose? She's but an apprentice, hardly even that! What would they want with her?" Her throat was tight, and tears stung her eyes. A new comrade-in-arms...a new friend. Thing in the sky, you should have taken me. But then, you probably knew you couldn't even hope to bend me. She smiled bitterly.

Logan looked at them with hard eyes. "There's only one thing to do, and you both know what it is. Cella, I need to borrow your ship."

Cella saw his purpose instantly, and shook her head. "No, no, no, my dear young man, nobody, but nobody pilots the Pride of Yavin but me."

We're being followed

A short time later they were close enough to the fleet to see it. He started to speak, "You see that?", He turned his head to see her with her necked arched looking out the window, "Nice isn't it?" He turned back towards the window.

He turned autopilot off and took control of the ship once again. He flipped the switch to talk to the bridge of the SSD and said, "General, it's good to be back."
"It's good to hear your voice again, Sir." The General replied.
"Yes, and yours too"

The ship glided smoothly to the docking bay of the SSD....
---------------------------
OOC: I know I ought to write a little more, but I've been distracted...

Then a strangely sweet smile crossed her features, and her two slender hands reached out to cup Shayla's face. The inner terror picked up by that light touch struck her like water bursting through a dam; she tilted her head to one side, softening her gaze, sending small tendrils of quiet into the mind of this quaking young woman.

"You still do not disappoint me, young one," she began lightly. "You say exactly what I expected to hear, exactly what you have been taught to reply, to think, indeed to believe.

"But you do not think beyond your own nose. You are being lead, do you not see that?

"Of course you would be taught that the 'Dark Side' is evil, the ruin of the galaxy and all sentient beings within it. But you are being told only half of a whole truth, my dear. Of course those telling you this would be biased...

"Have you never stopped to consider that there really is no real 'Good' or 'Evil?' It is all a matter of perspective, of one's point of view. It has been said that one Man's treasure is another Man's trash... and indeed this is a true statement indeed.

"How can you make an honest judgment call when you do not have all the data at hand? How can you judge me without hearing me out? Are you so ready and eager to give up the needs of the one to fuel the supposed needs of the many?"

Graysith paused, tilting her head to one side, and merely contemplated the young woman. Her face did not change expression, but inwardly she smiled again. She knew the young padawan was taking in her words.

"By what yardstick do you judge that which is 'good' from that which is 'evil?'" she ended with. "And how is it that you can tell that what I offer is not truly the Good which you seek?

"I am calm, and at peace, young one. Can the same be said to be true of yourself?"

Graysith then turned round and regained her navseat. Her fingers flashed upon the board; without the ship, a strange Elseness collected itself out of the very fabric of space and time, boiled about the little Sith ship, and snatched it back into that hidden little place between one second and the next.

The Chosen Daughter then turned in her seat to regard the young woman. Unheard by Shayla, a deep voice in her mind was vibrating along the nervous pathways there....

"Well presented, my love...."

Graysith merely smiled and waited.

It didn't matter though. Shayla had to stand up for what she knew was right, and she was never one to stray from what she knew...in her heart.

"My yard stick is my own senses. I am not lead by what I am told alone. You present calm, but yet I know nothing about you. I don't even know your name." Shayla knew the woman was listening to her intently, calculating what her next rebuttal should be. Just as she had considered the woman's every word and measured it against what she knew, the woman before her was doing the same. Shayla wondered how long the "debate," as it were, would continue before the woman decided that she had truly made up her mind.

"The line between the Light and the Dark may be blurry," Shayla continued, "but I decide for myself where that line exists. The Force guides me, and it is ultimately my choice how to use the Force ability I have been given and how much of it to use, just as it is your choice to use both. I have drawn the line at the Dark Side, and I have chosen not abuse the gift I have been given. I will not use the gift for my benefit alone, nor will I use it to aid you in whatever it is that you seek to do, for I sense evil in your motives. That is my final answer."

For a moment she regarded her intensely, her head cocked to one side. Then she spoke, her tone of voice soft and and sounding rather... disappointed.

"You still do not understand, young one. You persist in viewing the All in stark black and white. You truly do not see those myriad shades of gray which, rather than 'blur' the demarcation which you so blatantly cling to, are in actuality true representations of that which you see as 'black and white.'

"I would have taught this to you, would have shown you the truth of Existence. You could have had a comfortable place in that existence which is coming, which I shall usher into being when the destiny I seek is fulfilled.

"And fulfilled it shall be. I once had a sister; I would have greatly enjoyed having another one share the splendors of the New Life with me."

The flame-haired woman took a few steps away from Shayla, flipping her cloak out of her way as she approached and came to a halt before the viewport. For a long moment she stood there in silence, contemplating that which no mortal should ever lay eyes upon and still retain his sanity: the raging otherness of hyperdriven non-Time.

She sighed again, then whirled to face the apprentice once more.

"Do not flatter yourself in the belief that is was to offer you this that I took you from your 'bed,' she announced suddenly. "Indeed, I had... other... plans at the time, but had to unexpectedly alter them. Indeed, adaptability is one of my better characteristics!

"But in that alteration, I felt what I thought to be strength in you. I see that I erred in this, for you adhere to your pitiful tunnel vision as a child adheres to it's mother's breast. There is no strength therein... merely fear, to cling to such minimalistic beliefs so tightly.

"I truly desired no death regarding you, no killing, no action of the sort you automatically categorize into 'Evil.' Neither against you nor by you."

With each word she uttered, Graysith came closer and closer to the jedi apprentice, until she was close enough to caress her once again. This time, however, she did not.

"But now my dear, I fear I must once more alter my plans."

As sure and swift as a stooping falcon, her hand darted out and placed itself upon Shayla's forehead. Before the young apprentice could begin to attempt raising whatever pitiful little mind shields she had learned, the Chosen Daughter of the Sith was in her brain. She let herself be free there, ravening this thought of a loved one, a Logan???-- irrelevent, no longer needed-- POOF!! all thoughts of him were erased from the woman's brain; ravishing that thought of home and family... and utterly destroying all thought, all inner pictographs, all memory of her and her ship and the power she wielded.

Onward now, deeper, the woman chosen to usher in the New Age of the Sith rampaged... until she found that basic emotional core so deeply hidden, and so unique to every human being. It lay in the heart of Shayla's very being, a shining nugget gleaming steadfastly amidst terrors and fears so buried the woman was unaware they even existed.

Her eyes dark with triumph, the Chosen Daughter called upon those Sith magicks taught to her so well, and in one implacable gesture ripped the emotion from Shayla's being.

The now permanently emotionless body of the unconscious apprentice fell limply toward the deck of the ship, all memory wrenched from it.

Her body never struck the deck.

With an offhand flick of her wrist, indeed, the movement utterly dismissing the young woman altogether, Graysith pulled the roiling Elseness to her command once again, both held back and roiled Time and the fabric of Space...

...and sent the woman to the only logical destination she could think of.

The hidden Sith dungeons on Korriban were not quite as cold and empty as Shayla's mind now was. Perhaps her Sire could warm her up a bit....

For the briefest of moments, the brilliant violet of her eyes faded to an equally brilliant turquoise. The aristocratic planes of her features softened to those of a young woman who was once called Jharmeen. The nearly incorporeal shadow hovered about the Chosen Daughter, staring a bit blankly at the spot the jedi apprentice had so recently vacated. Then full lips opened, and a quiet whisper issued forth:

"The use of the All... both the Dark and the Light... perhaps not a path I had chosen...."

Abruptly, the shadow was squelched as the rune on Graysith's forehead erupted in an ultraviolet flare. It then de-escalated down the electromagnetic spectrum as, fatigued from the efforts required of her ministrations, the Chosen Daughter of the Sith retreated to her quarters to rest. His ten-inch claws clacking, her tuk'ata trailed behind, to curl up as guardian without her door.

Following it's own brain, still hidden from the Universe within that timeless place where one second greets the next, the ship ravened on. At length its proximity sensors recorded the steadily increasing blip it's target ship represented; the greeny-golden vessel immediately came to a smooth halt, completely unnoticed by the great SSD and the fleet it led. There it waited, trailing the lead ship, until the Chosen Daughter chose to rise and tell it again what to do.

"Whatever ship it was that took Shayla away, I'm sure it's made tracks for hyperspace by now. I don't know what we can do, Logan..."

Logan slammed his fist against a nearby wall, and Cella was startled to see blood flowing freely from his hand. "Sithspawn! You two are full-fledged Jedi...There's got to be something..."

Cella placed a comforting hand on Logan's shoulder and looked at Jeroc. "Actually, there is something, believe it or not. This dark Force user is so strong--I don't know if you're picking her up as well as I am, but I can feel her so strongly that I'm almost sick to my stomach. Jeroc, if you and I link up and go into a deep trance...we can find her, find the path she took through hyperspace and her destination."

Jeroc shook his head. "That's almost unheard of, Cella! How're we going to avoid running the ship into the core of a star, or coming out on the edge of a black hole?"

Cella breathed deeply, feeling the Force flow through and around her. "I can do this, I know it. We can do it." She smiled at her friends, feeling strangely confident. "What we can't do is let Shayla go...and I've got a feeling it's going to get worse for her if we hesitate. The way I figure it, we have about an hour to make arrangements, and then we've got to leave."

Just then, she remembered something. "And there's someone I think we ought to bring with us..." She reached out in the Force for Thea's light, trying to locate her in the Temple. Somehow, this little girl was going to be important in the coming days. She turned on her heel and headed for the mess hall.

Suddenly, Cella's mind was ripped again by another cry of anguish from Shayla. The anguish, however, wasn't quite as bad as the nothingness that followed. Cella shuddered and continued on to the mess hall. We may have to change our plans...but we've got to find Shayla, no matter the cost. Hang on, Shayla, we're going to try and save you. No, dammit, we ARE going to save you!

I smiled to think of the reaction my presence will receive when she fully awoke. If, of course, there was anything left of her to react to my presence.

Maybe he forgot about the lightsaber and the blaster... With a guilty and furtive gesture, I fingered the weapons I still had hidden on my person; hopefully he really will have forgotten about them and I would have them for a "rainy day." Although something told me that whenever it really did rain, it was gonna pour....

I opened my mouth, taking more and more comfort in the fact that I was still standing near this guy, looking at what appeared to be the bridge of one humongous ship. For a moment I just stood there, my mouth hanging stupidly open, as I pondered what in Hell's Seven Circles I was going to say.

On one hand I was nearly scared out of my skin. On the other... there was something about this guy that was pushing me towards trusting him.

Maybe not as much as I trusted Sorben, but oh dear Khaandon I would never have the opportunity to trust him again.... Maybe I ought to try to trust this guy?

I cleared my throat, and found a small voice hiding somewhere in the middle of my stomach.

"Umm--," I began hesitantly, for the lack of anything better to say. "Nice ship...er, ships.

"Are they yours?"

The sudden realization of how detached and actually stupid that little speech sounded hit me with the force of a herd of runaway nerfs. I exploded.

"And why in the name of Hell's Seven Circles did you grab me, and where do you think you're taking me, and do you know who my sister is...?!"

Oops....

The troops greeted Admiral Actar with a royal welcome when he docked in the docking bay of the SSD. He walked past the troops quickly, ignoring everything around him. Galen walked a few feet behind him, not exactly sure where he was leading her, but trying not to fall too far behind. They were greeted by the General and other officials. After saluting and shaking hands the Admiral continued to walk towards the bridge, followed closly behind by Galen

What Galen didn't know was coming up shortly in a large hallway. Admiral Actar was still walking rather fast when he held up his hand and out of no where 20 Stormtroopers appeared and surrounded Galen. Actar turned around and spoke to the obviously frightened Galen, "Drop the lightsaber and blaster.", she did so, and put her hands back in the air. "Take her away." He said, and continued walking toward the bridge, but spoke to her in her mind, Don't be afraid, I'll come talk to you later. Your sister is near, you'll be safe.

That was how many steps to the millimeter the small "quarters" I now found myself in allowed me to pace. I stopped in mid-step, just to alter the mind-numbing tedium, as I once more looked about for a way, any way, out of this cramped and dismal little room.

Of course there was none to be found. All I had was my own company, four walls, a meager bunk, the all-too-intimate knowledge of the number of Imperial Troopers standing outside my door...

... and the imperious-- should I say, rather, "Imperial?"-- final words which bounced mockingly in my head.

My sister was near, and I would be safe? Now... what was wrong with this picture?

The combination sent a fresh attack of the creeping williwaws washing through me; I began pacing once again. Great Khaandon's Ghost, there wasn't much else I could do.

Where oh where was a Jedi when ya needed one?

One... two... three... four... five.....

And like a newborn child who is ripped from the safety of the mother into scorching light, blarring sounds, and unfamiliar sensations, she saw a strange being before her that scared her very soul. But she knew not the name of the emotion she was feeling, or how to respond to it. She knew not how she would have reacted had she been herself.

What she did know was inborn in her from the first time she was born, twenty-two years before. So she slowly began to cry, and the crying turned to sobbing.

And all along the being before her just watched, intently, wondering what to do with her.

Strangely, although she knew nothing of herself or the world around her, she could feel something...one tiny spark of light in the darkness far away from her. In her meager untrained Force senses, she felt something...like the spirit-guide of a small child, seeking her presence and reassuring her that everything would be okay.

Still sobbing, she locked in on that one small link in the void...a link she didn't understand and that the being before her didn't notice.

I smiled more broadly, watching her eyes capture mine, all wide with innocence and trust. Truly a child, this one....

[ 05-31-2001: Message edited by: Aelvedaar ]

When Cella was only about halfway down the hall to Thea's room, she found the little girl headed hurriedly down the hall herself. Thea was visibly shaken, and Cella suspected that this was because she felt whatever had happened to Shayla as well if not more than everyone else.

But what had happened to Shayla? Cella stretched out with her senses, and felt that horrid evil presence that made her sick to her stomach still eminating, but possibly moving further away. But Shayla didn't seem to be there at all. Something was very wrong with this.

Thea, who seemed relieved to see Cella, said something about being able to feel Shayla and that she couldn't explain how she knew it but that Shayla was in terrible trouble.

Wait a minute, Cella thought, Thea can feel Shayla's presence still?

"Thea, can you still feel Shayla out there now?" Cella questioned, a small tinge of hope pulling at her heart.

The little girl nodded, seeming somewhat confused and surprised by the question.

"Don't worry, Thea," Cella said, answering the her unasked question. "We are going to find Shayla. Want to go on a little trip with Master Mahoy, Logan, and I?"

Thea nodded yes emphatically.

"Okay," Cella said, taking her hand, "let's go then."

As they turned to go, the blatting of an R2 droid interrupted the quietness of the hallway.

Izzy! Cella thought to herself. She turned her head far enough to see the little purple and silver droid rolling out of Shayla's vacant room. "Come on Izzy, we'll need you too," Cella said.

The droid whistled something that sounded like a charge. Cella thought that even though the droid couldn't feel the Force at all, she had definitely picked up that her owner's presence was somehow suddenly missing on the Praxeum. Considering what little of the droid's personality Cella had seen so far, she suspected the R2's unit's loyalty to Shayla drove her to seek out the others and assist in finding her mistress.

Cella stretched out to feel for the young woman's presence in the Force once more and frowned. Shayla wasn't just missing at the Praxeum anymore...Cella couldn't feel her at all. It wasn't the sort of feeling one got when a person died, for even a dead person's presence could be felt. And furthermore, Thea could still feel Shayla out there, and this meant that Shayla, in some form or another, was still alive. In what shape she might be in though, Cella couldn't imagine.

Cella just hoped that with Jeroc's strength in the Force, her wisdom, Logan's determination, Thea's innocence, and Izzy's tracking abilities that they could find Shayla before it was too late...

[ 06-01-2001: Message edited by: Mara1Jade ]

I smiled. The woman before me tilted her head in unsettled wonder. And somewhere far, far away, a little human girl slept....

[ 06-02-2001: Message edited by: Aelvedaar ]

She felt the touch of a small human soul...one that seemed very familiar. She heard a scream...a voice...what was that name?

She wrinkled her brow in frustration and wonder.

Shayla...Who was Shayla? And what was this little soul that clung to her?

Suddenly, the link between the small human child and the older female snapped, and the woman started. But the girl was still out there...she was still close...yet far. She was intertwined now with the being before the woman, in a seemingly hopeless state.

Shayla...

The young woman didn't know who this Shayla was, but she longed for the warm touch of this little one once more. Even though the being had tried to make her at ease, the woman felt something was still amiss.

She felt...

Something else strange was bouncing back and forth in the young woman's mind, something that she didn't know what to do with. Small fragments of a memory, a forgotten past, had been transferred to her from the Force-touch of the little one.

Shayla...

Although it might be a risk, the young woman took the untuned and child-like Force powers she possessed, and quickly, without hesitation, reached out and grabbed the young child's presence once more.

The being before her noticed this immediately, and went to sever the link once more. This link was most important to achieving the final goal, and he would not have it so wrecklessly stolen from him. The child still slept, but the woman and the girl were in tune even still.

Shayla... The child whispered to the woman in her sleep.

Yes, this link must be broken at once. But even with all the Sith magicks, it seemed to be a difficult if not impossible task. The being was furious. For in its haste to assume that the woman before him could not possibly be anything more than a shell, he'd missed a complete and solid will. A strong will that would not so easily let go of the child's presence this time. A will that would not be easily broken, and could be very dangerous. A will very characteristic of the true woman before him....

Shayla...

Then, to assure nothing can touch this one further, I employ another method my Daughter so delights in using. With a final wave of my hand, a certain... Elseness... roils from the very fabric of space and time, coils about this woman's body, and quicker than an attacking sandcat, yanks her to that special non-place in space and time where one second meets the next. Away not only from this planet where I hide with my ancient devices, but from this very timeframe in which the Universe exists.

To all intents and purposes, she has indeed truly blanked out of existence. Only I know she is still alive...

...and aware.

I smile to myself as I head back to my chambers, wondering just how long it will take her to go mad.

And elsewhere, a human child sleeps on....

[ 06-03-2001: Message edited by: Aelvedaar ]

She turned and soothed Thea, asking her what was wrong.

Still sobbing, the little girl relayed a description of a horrible creature, and it was only then that Cella realized how strong this link between Shayla and Thea really was.

She turned from her thoughts to ask Thea if she knew what she was seeing, when she noticed that the child had strangely fallen back asleep, when only moments before she was in sheer terror.

Cella felt the hair on the back of her neck stand up. There was something very wrong here...this sleep that Thea had fallen into was not a natural one.

"Thea, wake up," she said, shaking the girl only slightly. No response. "Thea!" she persisted.

She looked over at Jeroc, who shook his head. Whatever had Shayla must have sensed Thea's Force-grip on her, and must have taken steps to stop it.

Thea sighed deeply in her sleep, then started a little bit.

Who in the galaxy was doing this? Only someone with many powers could be controlling two people with this much control at one time.

And Thea had seen whatever it was.

Maybe it was time to take further steps to find Shayla. Currently they seemed to be following nothing, so Cella decided it was past time.

"Should we..." she started. Jeroc took her intentions immediatly, and nodded yes.

She only hoped she could do what she needed to..."Jeroc, maybe you should do this."

He shook his head no, insisting that Cella was perfectly capable.

"Very well then."

Taking a deep breath, Cella gently placed her right hand over Thea's forehead and closed her eyes. She searched through Thea's short term memory, and saw the face of a red-skinned creatur of some sort. She also saw Shayla there.

But where were they?

That was when the surroundings hit a memory with Cella. A sith temple.

She opened her eyes, removed her hand from the little girl's forehead, and looked over at Logan and Jeroc, who were waiting patiently.

Or at least Logan was trying to. He hadn't said much of anything since they started their trip, probably because he was anxious to find his new friend.

"She's at a Sith Temple with some sort of creature there. I don't know how it happened. But now we have a lead. Logan, I want you to pull up all possible locations for Sith Temples. Til you pull up all the information, I'll keep my eyes on the controls. When you find everything let me know and we'll go from there."

Logan nodded and turned, then began busily working at the copilot's seat.

Cella looked at Thea, angry that someone would stoop so low as to entrance the mind of such a very young child. "Can you help her?" she asked Jeroc, her hear aching. "Please?"

The name was still ringing in the young woman's head when her grasp on the little human life once more snapped and she was suddenly Force-caged by the being before her.

Just as she was about to scream, she saw starlines before her eyes like those that one would see upon entering hyperspace. But this was not hyperspace. For a moment she couldn't catch her breath, then suddenly, it was over.

And she found herself in a place she did not know. Not that she would know it anyway in her current state of mind. But did she really not know this place? It seemed eerily familiar to someone who didn't even know who she was.

"Shayla!" There was that name again. But this time, it was no longer only in her head. Someone was calling that name...and she could hear them...

It was then that she noticed one of the bars of the Force-cage seemed slightly melted...probably from the sudden jolt that it experienced.

And she just had to find out who was calling that name...

"Shayla, where are you? We are all going down to the swimming hole! Come out!"

The young woman squeezed out of the cage where the bar had once been, barely fitting through and nearly pinching a finger in the process.

"Ouch!" she cried. Then she gasped. Where'd I learn these words? And how is it that I've forgotten them? They were in my head along!

Where was she anyway? She looked at her surroundings, and found herself in a large room with high vaulted ceilings. The room seemed like it was set up as some sort of gym, with exercise equipment scattered all over the place.

"Shayla! Are you in the practice room again?!" It was the voice of a human boy, about the age of ten. He wandered into the room the young woman was standing in, and walked right past her, not seeming to notice her at all.

Strange... she thought, but shook it off.

He walked over to a young girl, about his same age, that she had not seen in the room before. The little girl was petite, with long blonde hair up in a ponytail and deep blue eyes. She wore common clothes suitable for play. She was working fiercely trying to complete some sort of work out, but stopped when the other approached. "What is it Shawn?" she asked, panting to catch her breath.

"Come on Shayla, let's go to the swimming hole with the others. Master Skywalker says that you've done enough practicing for the day."

"But it's not good enough yet!" she growled.

"Oh come on...we want you there. And you know that I do. Come on, Sis."

The little girl sighed. "Oh, allright Shawn. Let's go."

The little girl and boy walked out of the room.

Mystified, the young woman proceeded to follow after the children to see what would happen next.

The names of the two children sounded so familiar, as if she'd just heard them yesterday. Shawn and Shayla...Shayla and Shawn...

[ 06-04-2001: Message edited by: Shayla Stargazer Petrolu ]

This was getting worse all the time.

The four of them, with Jeroc carrying a lifeless-looking Thea, stopped on a small planet to refuel, freshen up, and grab a bite to eat. From there Cella didn't know what they would do.

Cella felt as though they weren't doing something they should in not following the original shuttle that Shayla seemed to have been taken to.

But Shayla's not there anymore, Cella thought frowning. Although whoever is on that ship must know what happened to her from there.

It was then that Cella came to a drastic decision. "I think we should split up."

Logan spat out a What!? and Jeroc just looked at her inquistively, but silently listened for a reason.

Damn you, Jeroc, Cella thought, smiling slightly. Always playing the part of the solid listener, never speaking without thought, always giving a person time to reason their thoughts out. Just once I wish you'd tell me what you really feel.

But back to the matter at hand. "I want you to take the Pride of Yavin and look for Shayla in every Sith Temple you can find. Take Thea with you," she said, motioning to the still sleeping child. "Maybe if you can get her back she will be of help."

Logan suddenly perked up when Cella mentioned that they take the Pride of Yavin. She never let anybody pilot it but herself, and certainly never let it out of her sight. And it honestly pained her to think of letting the ship go, but she had a feeling this had to be done.

Jeroc gave her a And what about you? look.

"I'm going to stay here, find a pilot with a good fast ship, and follow that shuttle that Shayla was last seen on. I have a bad feeling that if we don't pursue it, we'll miss some clues that we need to find Shayla."

Jeroc seemed a bit hesitant at leaving Cella alone, and probably didn't know if it was wise for her to just trust anyone...but then again, he knew Cella wouldn't do that. If she needed either he or Logan, she knew how to contact them. Finally he agreed to it.

The four of them split on their seperate ways, Jeroc, Thea and Logan to find Shayla and Cella to find a navigator.

Now...to find someone who seemed trustworthy enough to work with, Cella thought to herself. Hopefully this wouldn't take her too long...

[ 06-04-2001: Message edited by: Mara1Jade ]

[ 06-04-2001: Message edited by: Mara1Jade ]

But for now, whatever little dive I could find here would have to suffice. I had just finalized my delivery; will wonders ever cease? The Corp had no other requests of me, so I was a free bird. Normally I would have put up a bit of a complaint; no credits to be earned running an empty ship, but there was something to be said about running legally... and with enough credits to see me six ways from sundown.

That thought put enough bounce in my step I had to consciously force myself to settle down. That's a good way for a man and his credits to be parted... not that I couldn't, er-- assure that they wouldn't be parted from me. There weren't many I had run across who could match my blaster skills... and that was but one of the weapons I had more than a nodding acquaintance with. A guy's got to be able to take care of himself, in this day and age....

I continued meandering along, glancing now and again at the faded signs that wearily beckoned passersby to enter into one establishment after another. "Calnath's Jewelers," (whatta joke, I had already checked them out; nothing but heat-treated and foil backed glassine facets, shown in doctored lighting); "Beylindar's Clothier;" "Blue Asteroid, Fine Cuisine and Aqua Spirits."

The latter brought me to a halt, my stomach obligingly starting to growl. I had been heading to where my lil fighter was docked, but... I checked my chrono... I had time for a bite. My stomach reminded me again that if I would be good to it, it would be good to me. I smiled, and entered the dingy doors.

Inside, I found even dingier surroundings. Dusty stone parquet flooring held up mock-marble tables with Flyyrb-tree wooden chairs. Sad pictures of nebulae and asteroid fields sprinkled the walls, grimly portraying themselves to the few gentles who were ignoring them completely.

At least the chairs were nice...

...and as I entered, I saw one looking very nice in particular. The one snugged up to the table in the corner, occupied by a nice-looking young woman about five years younger than me.

The sorrow on her face made her look three times my age; the depthless determination in her eyes was ageless. I slid into a chair, not too far yet not conspicuously close to where she sat nursing a glass of... egad, was that mynock milk? I didn't think anyone this side of the Nebular Core could stomach that stuff... she must be tougher than she looked.

I slouched comfortably back in my chair, and waved down the Twi'lek waitress. She hurried my way, her leku and menus waving, her mouth sputtering apologies and the daily special. I barely heard her, as I kept a furtive--at least I hoped it was furtive!-- eye peeled toward the woman, wondering if I ought to get up and introduce myself. There was something about her that made me want to do that. The more I studied her, the more I began to realize she looked as though she had just lost her best friend.

Now, I'm not one to go getting myself involved with other peeps. No can do that, and continue to run the merch that I do. It's not wise, nor safe. Besides, I had had too many "close calls" with those of the feminine persuasion... I could easily run out of fingers ticking off those I had left broken-hearted (ok, maybe just rancor-mad) on one planet after another.

No reason to get up, no cause to meet this one. Yaoksi, ol buddy, just eat your nerf tenderloin, drink your Alderaanian ale, pay the check and get up and go.

Then why did I find myself looking more and more in this woman's direction?

She was no idiot, and she wasn't up for dealing with a smart-mouthed pilot who wanted to flirt, but even so she couldn't deny the Force was leading her to this guy. He seemed very michevious, but he did have the look of one who had been many places and seen many things.

So what if he didn't look exactly like what she had imagined? The Force had a tendency to lead one in ways that were not as originally planned, and besides, she could take on an ego-driven male so long as he had a good mode of transportation.

Very well then, Cella thought, I'll talk to him.

She got up from her chair and wandered over to him, feeling pretty stupid. What was she going to say? He watched her as she made her way over, and seemed somewhat surprised that she had singled him out.

Just be straight to the point, Cella, she thought to herself.

"My name is Cella Polliani. I'm looking for a navigator with a ship who would be able to help me trail someone," she explained. And I'm willing to pay anyone willing to help me," she added on a sidenote.

My immediate reaction was to give this little looker my usual once-over, head cocked to match the eyebrows, mouth widening in a calculatingly widening grin, but oddly enough, as I saw her heading my way I refrained from all the above.

There was...something about her that made me want to put on my best bib and tucker. I don't know what it was, but I suddenly found myself wondering if I had bothered to comb my hair.

I sat up a bit straighter in my chair, trying to look natural for a change. Certain that I was failing miserably in the attempt, I went to "Plan B," slouching back again with the look on my face my ship was named after. I toyed with my ale, listening to her somewhat surprising words.

Her small addendum that she would pay for my transporting her was almost an afterthought to the credits I had on my person. But credits are credits, and there was something about this lady that made me want to get to know more about her.

I leaned back even more, and ran a finger around the rim of my glass.

"I might be... persuaded to taking you on," I began, keeping my voice toned as though it wouldn't matter to me one way or another. "I just happen to have a free spot in my schedule at the moment."

Youksi, ol bro, what ARE you doing? Trying to impress this one with your witty acumen? SHEESH....

I sat up, and leaned forward over the table. For a moment, I just studied her; then abruptly, before I could do anything as hideous as blush, I stuck out my hand.

"The name's Yaoksi, Yaoksi Joao." Cautiously, I let out as natural a smile as I could. (I had almost forgotten how to do that...) "Maybe you might want to tell me exactly who I would be helping you trail?"

"Well," she started out. "I'm a Jedi who teaches at the Yavin IV Academy. One of our students was taken from us, and the ship I want to trail was her last known location."

Yaoksi leaned forward a little, seeming interested.

"Although Shayla-that's the student's name- is older, she's still not trained, and her captor is certainly a Dark Force user. And we've lost Shayla in the Force. She's in trouble."

Yaoksi nodded thoughtfully.

But why did she know that? Why did she have such a connection with this young little girl?

Still curious, she stayed with Shawn and Shayla when the other children finally left the swimming hole to get ready for dinner. Shayla was sitting on the side of the swimming hole, letting her feet dangle over into the cool water. She had her elbows on her knees, and her head in her hands. Shawn, who was still in the water, finally jumped out and sat next to her, putting a concerned look on his face.

"Shayla, what is it? I know you've been upset all week. Now what is up?"

"I was just thinking...maybe I don't belong here. I'm just not good enough..."

"Don't think that way," Shawn said, shaking his head. "You're one of the best students at the Academy. You get the best marks in our classes, and you work the hardest."

"But Shawn, I don't feel it like you and the others do. You live and breath the Force. I just don't."

"Well, maybe you try too hard. Just try to enjoy it more. And talk to Master Skywalker. He can help you."

Shayla looked over at Shawn for the first time since he'd sat next to her. She had a few tears in her eyes. "Okay, I'll try. But you gotta help me."

"And you'll talk to Master Skywalker or one of the other teachers?"

Shayla hesitated, but nodded finally. "Yeah, I will."

This whole thing was getting stranger all the time.

What all does this mean? And why am I seeing this? the woman wondered as she watched.

After the two children left, she took off her boots, sat by the swimming hole, and dangled her feet in the water like the little girl had done.

Why did she feel like she had once been here? And why did she feel like she had even been here not all that long ago? She didn't even know who she was or what she was doing here, let alone if she'd actually ever been here before. But still...

A flash of an image...a young boy with strange eyes ran through her memory. Although he seemed a bit unusual to her, somehow the memory warmed her a little even though she was feeling very alone and frightened.

But who was he and what did he have to do with where she was now?

She sat there trying to piece the whole thing together until the sun began to go down, and she realized how very tired she was. Not knowing where else to go, she wandered to the doors of a very large building...a temple of some sort, and pushed the door open, desperately seeking refuge.

No one seemed to be in tbe hall, and as before, no one seemed to notice her. Somehow even this place began to seem familiar, as though it were somehow in her past. She roamed through the halls until she found an empty room.

Feeling relieved, She stepped in, closed the door, and walked over to the bed. She took her boots off once again and unmade the neatly kept bed. Completely exhausted, she laid down on it, pulled the covers over her, and fell immediately into a deep, peaceful sleep...

A Darkside user? A tiny portion of my brain was screaming loudly, waving both arms frantically for attention; all the while warning bells and whistles were bleeping and wailing.

I ignored them completely. OK, Yaoksi ol bud, so if you take this lady on, there's a good chance you're gonna be sneaking out and rubbing more than just your elbows with something pretty dangerous. But this gal's a Jedi--wow, what did I ever do right in this Universe to warrant this meeting?

I shook my head slightly, irked at how easily my thoughts had derailed. I wasn't like that; a spice runner didn't stay a spice runner very long if he wasn't anything but completely focused an in command of himself at all times. But there was something about this ginger-haired beauty....

I snorted, then raised a hand to my mouth, trying to disguise the snort as a cough. It transmuted to a choked garble. A touch embarrassed, I quickly stood up, and leaned forward over the table. This woman, Cella, remained seated, cool as a korsammer, eyeing me with those liquid eyes she had, waiting for my answer.

Somehow, I knew she knew what I was gonna say, just as I knew what my response would be when she first brought up the subject. There was no way in the Galaxy I was gonna let this lady walk away from me. And I knew dead straight that she would easily see through any facade I could erect.

I sighed a little, inwardly. Guess you're gonna have to start acting more... real, I suppose is the correct word. Wonder if I remember how to do that....

"OK, Cella, you've got yourself a pilot. But let's get one thing straight." I did my best to put on a stern yet sincere demeanor. "Onboard my ship, I am Master, and I don't care if you're Luke Skywalker himself. You do what I say, when I say, and you don't ask any questions, or give any orders. I'll take you where you want, but my hide and the skin of my ship come first.

"At the first sign we're in serious trouble, I'll haul us back into the Safety Zone. Savvy?

"Now, c'mon." I tossed a handful of credits on the table for the Twi'lek to deal with; Sheesh, Yaoksi, you left a big enough tip, didn't you? What gives here? "If we're gonna go, there's no better time than the present.

"Let me take you to my ship."

Without bothering to see if she was taken aback, amused, angered or what, I just up and strode out of the Blue Asteroid. Then I smiled to myself, my heart suddenly a little lighter than it had been in years, when the slight clatter of bootheels informed me she was right behind me. Not daring to turn around, I wended my way amidst the native and alien peeps which crammed the narrow walkway. Directly ahead was the port where the "WannaBee" was docked.

I led her to it, then turned to face her at last. With a wave of my hand, I indicated my little Imperial fighter.

"Well, whaddya think? Shall we depart this rock and see what slimeballs have been troubling you so?"

He's really enjoying this.

Cella choked down the urge to say "What a piece of junk" and changed her look to a more impartial and unreadable expression.

So when the dreams finally started coming to her, the young woman had no idea what she was dreaming was the present.

She saw a Jedi Master and an apprentice-the boy with unusual eyes from earlier-on a trip with a small young girl who appeared to be sleeping soundly. They seemed to be searching for something...or someone. They seemed to be struggling to achieve their goal, but they continued on.

She also saw in her dreams a woman with ginger-colored hair who was with a man, some sort of pilot she guessed. The woman too was seeking someone, and she was on the trail of a shuttle...

A very familiar shuttle. A place that the young woman was certain she had been before. In fact, it seemed to be one of the last memories she had before time seemed to have evaporated...

She woke up very confused and feeling like she had just fallen asleep. Even so, the sun was rising. Although she seemed to be in the same room where she had fallen asleep the evening before, something was different about the place.

She sat up and slowly shoke the rest of sleep from her head, knowing that she would once again be a spectator of a world in which she somehow did not seem to exist.

With that in mind, she swung her feet over the bed, ran a hand through her ruffled her to smooth it out, and put her boots back on. She was curious as to what scenes she would see today...

I cleared my throat, opened the hatch, and bowing at the waist, indicated she enter before me. "Welcome to the WannaBee," I muttered, trying to smile an invitation. "I hope you don't mind being... cozy."

I straightened up as she passed and watched her calmly step into the little TIE-fighter. It didn't take her long to install herself in the modified seat I had placed next to that of the pilot's. She didn't say another word, just got in and settled down as best she could in the cramped quarters.

I shook my head slightly, and hoisted myself aboard. Taking the pilot's seat next to her, I began strapping in, turning a bit to flash my most devastating smile in her direction. The smile wavered just a bit at the uninterrupted silence she continued to throw my way.

OK, sweetie, if that's the way you want it... I gave my harness a very brief but very intense scrutiny, ending with a couple of vicious yanks to tighten it. Then I turned to her, once again under a semblance of control. "Shall we go?" I asked lightly.

She merely looked first at me, then out through the forward viewport. I heaved a small sigh, and directed my attention to matters at hand. Playing my console like a Bith plays his fanfar, I requested and obtained departure clearance. Then with a quick little jerk, we were airborne.

OK, so maybe I was a little heavy-handed on the controls. Maybe I took the departure vector a tad too steep.

And maybe I wasn't really as gladdened as I thought I would be when I saw her knuckles turn white with the strength of the grip she gave the arms of her seat. I eased back on the controls a bit.

"You might want to tighten your harness," I offered into the tomblike silence. "The pausal layers of this planets atmosphere are really turbulent. We might be in for a bumpy--"

My words were no sooner out of my mouth when they were abruptly truncated, as the fighter bounced and swayed as though attached to the invisible strings of some master puppeteer. Cella jounced with the movements, bumping into me and making me suddenly very aware of her unaccustomed presence in my little craft....

Business, Yaoksi; remember, it's business...

Gradually, as the upper regions of the atmosphere were gained, the molecular density tapered off as did the turbulence. Soft blue-gray was replaced with crystalline black, dotted with every color of the rainbow and then some.

I adjusted a control, and the little TIE fighter leapt ahead like a pod racer leaps from the starting line. Soon we had left the planet and it's gravity well far behind. I flipped the auto-pilot, and wriggled back a bit in my seat, sighing with satisfaction. It didn't matter if I had authorities or the light of a system's stellar on my tail, I really enjoyed take-offs.

Still glowing with the heady rush, I turned slightly to face her. "Ok, Cella," I began. "We have a little trip ahead of us. You might want to help pass the time by letting me know exactly where it is we are going to go."

I then did my best to position myself in my habitual, comfortable slouch, one finger idly tracing star patterns on the viewport, the other hand resting lightly on the butt of my blaster... and, incidentally, brushing lightly against the side of her leg as well.

Sure was cramped in here....

She should have asked what type of ship Yaoksi had before she accepted the offer. But then again, she was the one that asked him for a ride in the first place. She wished she hadn't given Jeroc and Logan the [iPride of Yavin[/i], but there were three of them and only one of her. Besides, if they found Shayla at all, they would probably need a better ship.

Shayla...

Cella kept herself from shuddering as she realized she hadn't felt the young woman's presence since she'd left Yavin IV. But somehow she know Shayla was out there somewhere. Where in the Force she was though, Cella couldn't guess. Maybe Jeroc had a better lock on Shayla's presence than she did, and would have a better chance of finding her...

She was interrupted from her thoughts by Yaoksi, who was trying to make himself comfortable in the very tight quarters of the ship.

"Ok, Cella," Yaoksi said, "We have a little trip ahead of us. You might want to help pass the time by letting me know exactly where it is we are going to go."

Yikes. That she hadn't thought of before. How in Sith's name was she going to tell him where to go? Cella wondered to herself.

There was only one really good way to find that ship, and Cella knew she'd have to trust herself enough to find that dark presence again and lock in on it.

Cella tried to ignore the fact that Yaoksi's hand was touching her leg as she tried to focus.

This guy is worse than Logan when it comes to thinking all the ladies want him.

She brushed that wandering thought aside and refocused on the task at hand.

And finally she sensed it. The location she was picking up was so unusual that at first she wanted to doubt it. This is not the time to doubt yourself, Cella, she told herself. The darkside presence was there, she was sure...although it seemed somehow muted. Maybe it was the distance, or maybe the user was not as actively using the Darkside as before...

Either way, it didn't matter. That was their destination.

"We are heading for the Yappyh Sector," she said, trying to sound as certain of herself as possible.

Yaoksi looked at her, arching his eyebrows in surprise.

And Cella understood why. The Yappyh Sector was in the Outer Rim. In fact, it was so far out that few people ever ventured there at all. Furthermore, there was very little going on in the sector. Then again, things weren't always what they seemed.

Cella decided she'd address the unspoken thought. "I know it's a long way out, and it's a very strange destination. But you've gotta trust me, the ship I want to follow is there."

And you've gotta trust yourself too, Cella... she added wordlessly.

I arched my brow in surprise, staring at Cella. The look on her face was utterly sincere; nope, she wasn't pulling my leg.

I-- on the other hand-- was still brushing hers.

Starting a little guiltily as I noticed this, I pulled my hand away from my blaster (and her leg), trying to make the furtive gesture look naturally smooth, and less like the instinctively respectful one that it really was.

Sheesh, Yaoksi, what are you doing? That's not like you....

I cleared my throat in another attempt to divert her attention-- and my own --from my hand. I knew she was keenly aware of it though, simply by how calmly she was ignoring it.

"Uh-" I began, "the Yappyh sector? What in the name of all the spice on Kessel is way out there?

"Besides trouble," I finished lamely. I shook my head. Yapphy was far enough away from the local spacelanes that I knew if anything nasty happened, there would be no authorities to assist us. As much as I disliked rubbing elbows with them on any occasion, I had discovered they were useful the few times I had encountered various pirates in the course of my career. To be totally away from any help, and on our own...

Well, it wouldn't be the first time. And I wasn't totally helpless at that. Besides, I had taken her on as paid transport. I might be known hither and yon for a great many things, but backing out on my word wasn't one of them.

I straightened up in my seat. "OK, sister," I said more firmly. "To Yappyh we go. But if we wanna get there in our lifetimes, we're gonna need a faster ship."

I grinned a little as I homed in on an approaching asteroid field my proximity sensor was weeping about. Artfully dodging the errant objects as we headed deep into the field (which chased the color completely out of Cella's face), I whipped around a particularly potato-shaped one, zipped between a gravitationally bound pair, and zeroed in one one the size of a small moon.

We zoomed directly toward it, aiming for the ancient lair of a long-defunct space slug (compliments of yours truly... Hey! A guy grabs hidey-holes wherever and and however he can find them, and sometimes the appropriation of said hidey-hole needs a little "inspirational staking out.").

About 5% of my concentration removed itself from the task at hand to observe my passenger's reaction to the sight below us, and one growing bigger in the forward viewport by the second. I grinned a little, enjoying this thoroughly.

We barreled down the yawning tunnel bored by the slug, finally slowing down as we entered a cavern whose immense size could be literally felt, even in the pitch darkness we were in. In another totally instinctive motion, I flipped on the forward hull light I had installed on "WannaBee."

There ahead of us, hovering in the zero-gravity of this hidden spot, and waiting for us with open arms was my Marauder-class corvette, modifications and all. I waved my hand a little grandly.

"Welcome to the Devil-May-Care," I announced, not without some pride in the tone of my voice. I then completely focused on the delicate task of docking a TIE-fighter with it's parent ship inside several kilometers of solid rock.

And at least I won't have to sit in a cramped modified Tie, she reminded herself.

This change in transport would also allow her to be in contact with Jeroc and Logan, which she wanted more than anything. She tried to tell herself that it was only because they were out looking for Shayla too, and she wanted to stay in contact, but there was more. She and Jeroc had been training students at the Praxeum together for quite a while now, and she had to admit that she was very found of him.

But that didn't mean she was ready to admit that to anyone else, YET.

But for now reminding herself of a possible interest in Jeroc was good for her with Yaoksi trying his hardest to flirt with her. She had to remain at a distance from him.

But still, she could at least try to be a little more civil. After all, he was giving her transport, even if he was getting payed. This would be no easy job.

Sitting in a bedroom similiar to the one she had just left was the little boy from the day before, Shawn. Only now he wasn't quite so much of a little boy, he was growing into a young man. He sat there fiddling with his hands and looking a little upset.

She wondered what was the matter.

About this time, Shayla walked in. She had under her arm a purple helmet, and was clad in a silver flightsuit. Behind her trailed a purple and silver R2 droid, whistling and beeping in a merry tone.

"Yes Izzy, we did have fun today," the girl said, turning for a moment and smiling at the little droid.

She stepped into the room, only to find Shawn sitting there waiting for her.

"Hi, Shawn," she said happily, sitting down on the bed next to him. Then she noticed his demeanor. "What's wrong?"

"You weren't supposed to go out in your X-wing, Shayla," he said, looking sternly at her.

"Shawn, I haven't been out in weeks. I need to keep my skills up, and we have the day off. I'm not going to sit around and waste time when I can be out flying," she said angrily.

"But Master Skywalker said..."

"That I need to concentrate on feeling the Force more fully," Shayla finished, cutting her twin off. "Did it ever occur to any of you that I feel most in tune with the Force when I fly? How will I ever transfer it everyday life if I'm not allowed to experience it in the situations that I can?"

Shawn sighed. "But it's not safe..."

"It's as safe as me sitting here meditating. Maybe even safer, since up there I'm armed. When are you going to learn to trust my judgement?"

"I trust your judgement. But you don't trust yourself"

Shayla seemed thrown by that statement. "Of COURSE I do."

"Then why do you train endlessly in everything that you do--lightsaber technique, telekenesis, flying--and never think you're good enough? You could fly an X-wing in your sleep, Shayla. But still you insist on practicing in order to 'keep up your skills'. You don't believe in the talents that you possess."

"It's easier said than done," she said, frowning.

"That's why you aren't supposed to be out flying, Shayla. You have to give yourself time to trust yourself and know that you've learned all these things as best as you can. You've gotta meditate in the Force and get in tune enough with yourself to know that you are ready for the situations that you may face."

Shayla had to admit that he was making sense. But habits were hard to break, and she didn't like the idea of not making sure she was ready and idly sitting back when she had to be ready for anything. Still, she had to appease him. "I'll try to do more meditation and not go flying," she said.

Shawn knew better. He knew she was once again aiming to please him, and be the best she could be. He wondered what it would take to change her ways. "Yeah," he replied numbly.

"I WILL," she reiterated.

He nodded, trying to look a little more upbeat. "I trust you to do the right thing, Shayla."

As the woman watched this exchange between the two, she realized that she knew the feelings of Shayla, and that she could tell by the look in Shawn's eyes how he was feeling as well. She wondered how it was that she could do this...how it was that she knew these people so well.

There was something she was supposed to be getting from all of this, she was sure of it now. But what that might be, she wasn't sure of.

Transport? Transport! I bet she thinks my baby is some kind of fleebin' shuttle...!

I opened my mouth to begin spouting off remonstrative explanations of my corvette, thank you very much... but stopped. For a moment I just looked at her, mouth agape. I closed it, choking back my words.

No sense beginning our journey by flying off the handle, ol buddy, I thought to myself, trying to smooth my ruffled feathers. It was taking every bit of willpower I had; hey, I couldn't help how I felt about Devil-May-Care. I had owned her for quite some time, and had put a lot of blood and sweat and modifications into her... and she had saved my hiney on more than one occasion.

I managed a smile. "This...corvette, all 195 meters of her, can hyper through space in less parsecs than any other ship around... maybe better than the old Millennium Falcon." I paused for breath, waiting for her to obligingly fill the momentary gap with a dutiful "ooh" or interested question.

She didn't say one word, but I thought I detected a smile niggling around the corners of her mouth.

I snorted, and popped the hatch of WannaBee. Clambering out, I then turned and extended a hand in helping her follow. She was nice enough to oblige; the coolness of her hand in mine sent a jolt clean through me, all the way to my toes. I hastily averted my gaze, trying to fight against this.

Sheesh, Yaoksi, what gives with you? I wondered. Maybe it was me... or maybe it was her. Who knew what the heck powers Jedi had at their disposal. Maker knows I didn't understand all this mystical "Force" stuff; give me a good blaster and a fast ship, now that I understand. But for all I knew, the responses I was experiencing in her direction might just be relative to her being a Jedi. I might be simply reacting to this... this Force they all used with such lack of effort.

Or perhaps not.

I shrugged mentally, and finished assisting her from the little fighter. "C'mon," I said, turning from her. "Lemme show you to your quarters."

As we left the docking bay I pointed to where the WannaBee's counterpart, the Bee sat, sleek and deadly looking. No mere TIE fighter, that baby was an interceptor. Heavily modified of course. I opened my mouth to go into my spiel about her, but refrained. I didn't want to overwhelm Cella with the armament at our disposal.

"No matter what or who we run up against, I think we're gonna come out ahead," I settled for. She smiled at that, and I led her on.

I watched her eyes widen as we made our way through a majority of the the Devil-May-Care's length. Heh... I don't think she had truly realized how big she was. Coming into her presence as we did sort of, well, fore-shortened her. I smiled a little, basking in the knowledge that she approved of my ship.

As well as in the knowledge that it was more than capable of keeping her safe during her quest.

At the entry to the guest quarters, I stopped. "Here's where you'll be staying," I said, uncomfortably aware of how shallow that sounded. "Ahh-hhh... there's a comlink system in there. If there's anything you want, just holler, ok?"

I opened the door, and she entered. For a moment I stood there foolishly, my hand still on the frame. She stopped, her back still to me; then the door whooshed shut.

The smile planted on my face as I turned from her quarters surprised even me. I let it linger there a few seconds, then got myself under control.

No time for mooning; we had to hit the Yappyh sector. Whatever and whoever for... now, that was the crux.

I made my way to the bridge, and fired up the systems. Soon the ancient den in the even more ancient asteroid was aflame with the energies of my thrusters, and we shot out and into the relative freedom of the asteroid field itself. A bit of fancy maneuvering, and we had left it in our stardust.

Soon the stars themselves stretched into hyperdriven majesty, and we were on our way.

Cella was happy to have the chance to clean up a little and get some rest. This whole search for Shayla was wearing her out, and she'd been ignoring the exhaustion that was creeping up on her.

She spent about fifteen minutes in the refresher, then laid on the bed for a short nap. As she fell asleep, dreams began to come.

Shayla, and her lost memories of recent events crept into the mind of Cella Polaini.

A woman slowly circled Shayla, her fingers trailing down her cheek, now her chin, now around her neck to finger her hair in a gesture that was almost a caress. Suddenly she leaned forward from behind Shayla, her breath soft and warm in the young woman's ear. "You have been misled, deceived... your abilities are being held in abeyance. You have strength you do not realize... power untapped and untappable.

"I can show you your potential. You would have some use to that which is to come. You think of freedom as the only life there is; I can give you ever so much more.

"There is more than what you know, and Fear leads the way to true freedom. Dark and Light, Fear and Joy, Evil and Good... all two sides of the same coin, all two halves of a Whole.

"I can show you this whole, make you whole..."

"Evil never made anyone whole," Shayla replied, her voice sounding a little strange and strained.

The other woman seemed to be waiting for more of an explanation than this. Or maybe she was merely waiting for Shayla to give into her.

"I am training to be a Jedi. I know the danger of using the Dark Side. Whether you use Light, Dark, or both, if you are using the Dark Side that's crossing the line regardless. I'll not be a part of whatever plan you have, and I'll not be your puppet."

The temptations from the older woman and the refusals of Shayla continued a little bit longer, but Cella, though she was dreaming, could feel the tension building between them even still.

"My yard stick is my own senses. I am not lead by what I am told alone. You present calm, but yet I know nothing about you. I don't even know your name." Shayla finally said.

"The line between the Light and the Dark may be blurry," Shayla continued, "but I decide for myself where that line exists. The Force guides me, and it is ultimately my choice how to use the Force ability I have been given and how much of it to use, just as it is your choice to use both. I have drawn the line at the Dark Side, and I have chosen not abuse the gift I have been given. I will not use the gift for my benefit alone, nor will I use it to aid you in whatever it is that you seek to do, for I sense evil in your motives. That is my final answer."

Cella could feel the anger building in the other woman...

Oh Shayla...

"Do not flatter yourself in the belief that is was to offer you this that I took you from your 'bed,' the woman announced suddenly. "Indeed, I had... other... plans at the time, but had to unexpectedly alter them. Indeed, adaptability is one of my better characteristics!

"But in that alteration, I felt what I thought to be strength in you. I see that I erred in this, for you adhere to your pitiful tunnel vision as a child adheres to it's mother's breast. There is no strength therein... merely fear, to cling to such minimalistic beliefs so tightly.

"I truly desired no death regarding you, no killing, no action of the sort you automatically categorize into 'Evil.' Neither against you nor by you."

With each word she uttered, the woman came closer and closer to the Shayla, until she was close enough to caress her once again. This time, however, she did not.

"But now my dear, I fear I must once more alter my plans."

As sure and swift as a stooping falcon, the other woman's hand darted out and placed itself upon Shayla's forehead. Before Shayla could begin to attempt raising whatever little mind shields she had learned, the woman was in her brain. POOF!! all thoughts were erased from Shayla's mind, utterly destroying all thought, all inner pictographs, everything, gone...

Cella woke up with a start, sweating. She felt like she had been asleep for hours, when in fact it had only been a few minutes.

Oh Shayla, what terrible things you have been facing! Cella thought. But even in the face of a temptation, Shayla had remained solid. And now she was paying for it...

They HAD to find her, soon. Cella took a deep breath, and decided she would contact Jeroc and Logan. She needed to tell them of this dream, and she needed to know what progress they were making.

Shayla needed them now more than ever...

This time Shayla was packing, rummaging through her things and Shawn had disappeared, only to return, busting through the door.

"Shayla! What are you doing?!"

She turned to look at him, sadness filling her eyes. "I'm leaving"

He shook his head. "No...don't do that. Please Shayla..."

"Shawn, I can't stay. I've got to face the fact that I'm not cut out for this."

About this time, a short man with clear blue eyes entered the room where the children were.

"Shawn," he said calmly. "Let me talk to your sister."

"Yes, Master Skywalker," the young boy replied. "I'll...be in my room."

He glanced over at Shayla momentarily, then left.

"Shayla," Skywalker said, sitting on the bed in front of her, "Leaving here won't help you rid yourself of your troubles. You'll still have to deal with them someday, whether here or somewhere else. You might be able to delay it, but you can't stop it."

"Master, I can't stay here. I've trained for years, and I have all the skills, you've told me that yourself. I'm just not Jedi material."

"Yes, Shayla Petrolu, you are. And someday you'll have to choose whether to trust what you know or whether to step over into the Dark Side. You have every skill down to the letter."

"Nothing you can say will stop me from going," Shayla insisted, frowning at him.

"I have no intentions of trying to stop you. The Force will guide you to what's best for you. But I want you to know that you have been an excellent student, and that I'd prefer you stay here. But sometimes it takes leaving here to realize your true potential..."

POTENTIAL...TRUE POTENTIAL...

As if time were nothing more than a vapor, the scenes before the young woman began to move at such a fast rate that she didn't know what to make of it...

[i]Shayla with a man named Terrin Danner, who had believed in her talent as an information smuggler then backed out on her...

Shayla struggling to start her business, working diligently, yet alone, to pursue her goals...

Shayla, with a man named Erik: One who cared for her greatly but whom she continued to only be friends with...fearing what she might have to deal with if she trusted herself not to hurt him...she even saw him stay by her side during a crisis in which she was nearly killed...

And in that crisis, Shayla had made the drastic decision to return to the Praxeum, and to hone the Jedi skills she once had, and still did...

POTENTIAL...TRUE POTENTIAL...

Then the young woman, not knowing what she was viewing or what to make of it, saw a woman standing before Shayla on a shuttle just outside of Yavin IV, but somehow undetectable...

"I can show you your potential," she told the older Shayla.

Then the woman watching the vision realized what, or rather whom it was she had been watching all this time.

The young woman before her, in the vision, was not just Shayla Petrolu...the woman before her was HER, Shayla Stargazer Petrolu...

She didn't feel fear at what was happening, and she didn't even feel reminiscent. She didn't understand that what she was seeing and what she was now connected with was very dangerous.

What Shayla did understand was that she had made a choice not to give in to the other woman's temptations. Shayla knew that she had passed the test, at least the first test, and she had resisted...

Therin...her true potential lay...

If only she'd continue to trust in herself...

The "adder" uncoiled, regurgitating a carefully hoarded treasure. The emotional core yanked so brutally from that hidden spot deep within the young human. Task accomplished, it withdrew, back into the black nest which had spawned it deep within Graysith's heart.

The Chosen Daughter took in a deep breath, her violet eyes opening. About her, her sanctum was awash with the brilliance of the energies spewing forth from the Rune upon her forehead. She got unsteadily to her feet; then firmed.

There were more weapons, and those far more deadly, to be utilized than mere physical or electromagnetic armaments. Psychological terror was the greatest weapon of all.

Let it now grow in the mind of this young one, taking firm root and bursting out in blackened lushness. Graysith smiled, knowing the terror would indeed be spread, and to her favor, once she brought the young woman back...

Her thoughts now turned in another direction. Galen....

Still smiling, she departed for the bridge of her little ship, M'wonBo'o padding faithfully alongside her.

Ambria... so that was where the lead ship had wound up. An interesting world....

Still hidden in that little bit of elseness between one second and the next, the Chosen Daughter of the Sith hovered in orbit...

...watching.

Her emotions. Every one, in such horrid vivid detail that it almost made Shayla sick to her stomach...

The scenes before her transformed themselves into darkness, and she felt as though she were hanging in nothingness, able to feel herself and no one else.

Where were they all, and why couldn't she touch their minds with hers? And where was she?

Then she remembered the horned creature, and the woman...

And she knew that they had done this evil and horrible thing to her.

She knew she should probably resist it, but after not being able to feel for a time, one does not remember how to manage their emotions. Terror so sickeningly strong invaded every fiber of her being, and the nausea returned.

She was beginning to feel so overcome with sickness and fear that the world...or whatever it was before her, began to go black...

She needed rest...she needed rest and time to sort all of this out...

She opened her eyes, momentarily closing the link into Shayla's mind and being. A serene smile spread across her features as she delicately timed her next move.

Upon inquiring what they had found, Logan told her that they were getting nowhere, and that Jeroc was unable to even get a track on Shayla at all. [i]She was just...missing from the Force. She was out there somewhere, just missing...

And the sense that Jeroc was getting from Shayla, according to Logan, was the same as the one he was getting from Thea, who was still in a sort of sleep that no one could seem to wake her from.

Logan promised Cella that they'd keep contact with her, and that if something didn't turn out soon they'd turn around and follow Cella and Yaoksi.

Images flashed before her, so quickly that it was all she could do to keep from screaming aloud.

As the terror grew, something else dawned on her. How much did this woman know of what she did? Did she know of the others...did she know of Logan? And ERIK?

Shayla knew Erik would not rest til he found her, even though he might not even know yet that she was in fact missing from the universe.

The universe...WHY CAN'T I TOUCH IT, DAMN IT! Shayla's terror shifted to anger, like a child's, as she realized she was trapped in a vacum where no one else seemed to exist. It was as though she was a prisoner in her own mind, and that greatly horrified her.

And she was back to the terror. Her mind wandered back to thoughts of Erik, the one whom she loved. Whom she loved?

She wished he knew just how much she did care about him...she wished she'd told him...And I may never get that chance to tell him again, she thought mournfully.

She took a few steps towards the door, then froze.

Cella! Help me! wrung in the ears of her mind...and the voice sounded alot like Thea's.

Cella struggled to reach out and touch her, but either because of the distance or because of the forces that held Thea in sleep, she couldn't.

Cella wondered how she had ever heard Thea's silent plea at all.

Someone is playing some really nasty games, Cella thought angrily.

This whole thing was getting out of control. Jeroc and Logan were across the galaxy somewhere searching for a Sith Temple that didn't seem to exist, and had a child with them who seemed to be locked in the sleep state and pining to get out...and child that only days before probably hadn't been a few meters from her parents, now to be somehow forced into a demension not even her own.

And Shayla...she had just come to the Praxeum once more after a long hiatus. Cella regretted that she hadn't been with the young woman enough to get to know her well, but judging from the strength she showed in the dream, Cella knew she'd like her.

Besides, Cella thought, a grinning pulling up the corners of her lips, Anyone who can gain Logan's friendship must be pretty likeable.

Years might have passed in the "normal" spacetime continuum as the Chosen Daughter hunkered in her hidden orbit above Ambria, idly waiting for the correct moment to either reach out into that eerie less than void, or travel out into the real one. Or- perhaps only fleeting seconds had ensued since she had hidden herself thus. Even with all the Powers she carried and commanded, Graysith really had no clear sense of the passage of time outside the sphere of elseness in which she had hidden her ship.

What she was fully aware of, however, was the fact that no matter how "timeless" she felt in the elseness in which she lingered, the being named Shayla was experiencing something far worse. For that being had no idea there was even a possibility of the existence of the the strange non-space between seconds, much less that it was able to be penetrated by living flesh.

The null-ness of it must have been terrifying.

Graysith smiled as she contemplated the juicy picture that thought conjured in her mind. She yawned and stretched; then, idly giving M'wonBo'o's muscular neck a playful tweak, she sent forth a tendril of her mind once again, following the path she had broken there, seeking the mind she planned likewise to break.

Her smile deepened to blackened evil as she encountered the depth of the terror Shayla was battling with. As insidious as a Stennes shifter, the tendril easily breached what feeble mental barriers Shayla still managed to maintain, and wormed icily into the deepest recesses of her being. It's camoflague blended seamlessly with the growing terrors and inner demons which danced in Shayla's mind as, probing with almost gentle persistence, it sought even more fuel for the fire Graysith intended to ignite.

That fuel was found with ease. Erik....

The Chosen Daughter inspected the sudden flare of warmth associated with this deeply hidden image, uncomfortably aware of the likeness this bore to a turquoise-eyed image she once had hidden away deeply within her own psyche, and as jealously guarded.

For a moment longer she stopped there, a small part of her own being showing a surprising gentleness in wanting to back away from that hoarded image, to leave it alone to the woman who hoarded it, recalling the welcomed warmth of a similar kernel once hoarded within her own soul.

Then the fading turquoise was overwhelmed by onrushing crimson, the lingering warmth she yet might have been holding yielded to flames more intense than coronal plasmas. Filled with fire and fury, she reached into Shayla's mind with all the care of a stampeding ronto, grasped the image of the one called Erik, and played with it.

Twisted it into pure grief, and with that image implanted securely into Shayla's mind the certainty that her love knew she was dead, and sought her no longer.

A vaccuum is not a dense enough medium to carry sound, but Graysith clearly heard the despairing moan suddenly emanating from Shayla with the clarity of a bell.

They seek you not... she whispered quietly into Shayla's trembling mind. HE seeks you no longer. To them you are dead; they have other tasks with which to occupy themselves.

And look.... An image of Erik with another woman crept into Shayla's mind with silent certainty, someone known to Shayla, one named... Cella....

...look. Already he has found another, you are forgotten as a fleeting thought on the wind.

I, however, I do not forget you, nor do I forsake you. I can give you surcease of the pain you feel. I can end your terrors.

Feel, my... sister....

With masterful timing, Graysith sent a flash of warmth and comfort flooding into Shayla, offerring a lifeline for her to grasp. Her own image floated to the front of Shayla's mind, her violet eyes calm and beckoning, her smile genuine, her hand offered in comradely sistership. Something close to but not quite akin to love likewise flooded Shayla, attempting to fill the little void beginning to grow around that image of Erik.

The choice is yours to make. I will not force you.

Aboard her ship, Graysith shifted her weight in her navseat, lounging more deeply and comfortably therein, as she waited to feel how the young woman would respond.

No Erik! I'm here! I'm here and you cannot reach me...cannot find me...

"I, however, I do not forget you, nor do I forsake you. I can give you surcease of the pain you feel. I can end your terrors," the woman from what seemed so long ago said to her...the woman who was in her head...

Shayla almost succumbed to her terror again, longing for his touch, and longing to be away from this awful nothingness. Then logic began to seep through.

If I can see things from the past in this void, things that have already happened and cannot possibly be happening again, then what is to say that what I'm seeing now, in my head, is no more than a vision of what COULD come, and not absolute truth?

And how she longed to be back to reality. More than anyone could possibly know, except one....

POTENTIAL...TRUE POTENTIAL... If only she'd trust in herself...

Time to face reality, Shayla, she thought to herself. You are stuck here so long as you continue with these ridiculous emotional battles. These emotions, the ones you have been so desperately seeking, are doing you little good unless you learn to control them. And that will take time, time you don't have to be sitting here in absolute nothingness fighting a battle you cannot win.

POTENTIAL, TRUE POTENTIAL...

Shayla's mind was made up. She had to trust herself on this one, and she needed reality now more than ever. All she had to do was surrender and accept the hand this woman had offered. That was all...

Although the possible outcomes of this move could prove disastrous, there was no reason to worry about what might happen in the future just yet, for it was all in motion. For the present, Shayla knew she needed this woman's help, and if she wanted out of the void, accept it she would.

And at last, with only a moment's hesitatation, she reached out to the link that had been opened between her and the woman, and accepted the hand...

For a second...no, less than even a second, she swore she could feel Shayla in the Force. It was as though Shayla was being pulled from nothingness momentarily and then was pushed back into it.

That feeling was odd enough, but Cella also felt something else when Shayla had briefly flickered. Something very eveil, reminiscent of what Cella had felt back at the Praxeum.

Whatever it was, it came and went from her Force-detection just as Shayla did. this confirmed Cella's suspicion that the two of them were together, and that she and Yaoksi were on the right track.

Thinking of Yaoksi, Cella wondered where he was. And she was curious as to how much further they would have to travel to reach their destination. She decided she'd find him, and figured he was probably at the controls of the ship.

So, collecting herself, she made her way to find him.

"Hi there," she said, trying to be friendly. She had, after all been a little cold torwards him in all her worry for the others--Jeroc, and Logan, and Shayla...

Shayla...

Cella had the sinking suspicion that something very evil was going on with her. Although she hadn't felt the young woman in the Force since her momentary flicker just a while ago, Cella knew she was out there, under the influence of something very powerful.

And something very evil.

She realized she was daydreaming, and had missed Yaoksi saying hello to her. Now he was just looking at her quizzically, probably wondering why the heck she had come to say hello to him if she weren't going to talk to him.

Maybe she should warn him, too. Cella didn't exactly feel right about bringing a non-Jedi into the situation. She was pretty sure he was capable enough with flesh-and-blood enemies--his worn blaster was proof--but she needed to tell him about what they might be facing.

He was still bent over the console when Cella cleared her throat, and unexpectedly started to blush. Skies, what was wrong with her? Level-headed Jedi did not act like this. It must be just her hormones getting the best of her.

"Yaoksi, I need to be honest with you about what you--we might be--en---running into--" Dammit, she was stammering like an adolescent! He turned to face her, and she looked him in the eye, regained her composure.

"I know you've seen plenty of action in your day--but I don't think you've ever seen anything like what we're about to face. I don't know--how much you know of the Force. But I want you to know one thing, right off. I have a very strong feeling that blasters and laser cannons are going to be helpless against--" She breathed deeply, remembering the horrifying vision of the red, horned creature. "Against this enemy. Maybe you wouldn't have taken me on, if you'd been fully aware." Fully aware? What am I, an adjucator?

Our eyes met, and froze together. I was suddenly keenly aware of the blush which still warmed her face... as well as of the equally warm one that was striving to rise in mine.

What gives here? I wondered to myself. First she seeks me out for hire, then treats me like space-slug detritus, and now she's suddenly so all-fired concerned about my well-being?

And what really does give with that blush, anyway?

I blinked that thought away, and rose quickly to my feet, flipping a final nav-button in the process. When I cleared my throat to speak, it sounded louder than a gravel storm on Tattooine.

"Look... Cella," I began a bit hesitantly. My hand flew to my head, seeming of it's own accord, and I scratched my hair. I lowered it a bit, and stared at it as though I had never seen it before.

I was suddenly and quite acutely aware of the ridiculous picture we probably presented should an outside observer somehow be watching, both of us standing and staring at each other with steadily reddening faces. The thought flashed through the rising heat I was feeling, cutting through it like a vibro-blade.

I suddenly found myself back to myself, my gleaming teeth bared in a wide and honest smile. I spread my hands out to the side.

"Look," I tried again. "I know you're a Jedi and all that, and I really do appreciate your concern. But I don't back down once I have accepted a contract, be it written or verbal. I said I would take you to the Yappyh sector and help you find whoever it is that has this 'Shayla' you are hunting for, and I'm sticking to my word. I may not have this 'Force,' or whatever it is you Jedi seem to have at your beck and call, but I do have this-"

I patted the blaster at my side, taking comfort in the feel of the well-worn stock and grip that so coolly lay against my fingertips. My smile widened into a grin.

"...as well as this-" My free hand waved expansively, taking in the Devil-May-Care in all her hyperdriven glory.

"...and I'm not backing out now. I'm pretty good when push comes to shove, and lady, you have my curiosity up now. No way are you ridding yourself of me before I finish what I set out to do.

"Besides," I finished, turning to my navboard and flicking a final switch. "We're here. There's a planet we're homing in on; I think it's called Ambria.

"Welcome to the Yappyh sector. Shall continue in stealth mode, or speak loudly and carry even a bigger stick?"

I grinned more broadly yet, waiting for her reply. And then all hell broke loose, as my proximity sensors began bleeping and wailing and flagging and making a general nuisance of themselves.

"SHEESH!" The thought barely had time to form as I flung myself back into my seat, my fingers playing a desperate tune upon the console. In less time than it takes a rancor to turn something living into something edible, we were back in hyperdrive, swooping out and away from the systems little stellar, seeking haven several parsecs away where I finally brought my corvette to a sliding halt about a rogue moon wandering idly along.

I studied what the console was waving it's figurative arms so wildly about, then turned to my comely passenger.

"Imperials." The word dropped from my mouth like a rock. I leaned back in my nav-seat, and crossed my arms.

"Jedi, Dark Users, and now Impys. You wanna tell me what in the name of Hell's Depths is going on here?"

I tried to get angry, but I couldn't. I could only just sit and wait to hear what she had to say.

"Nope, Yaoksi, this wasn't in my plan. Looks like somebody just threw a skifter into our deck..." She sighed, turned from Yaoksi to look into the blackness of space, shuddering slightly. She wondered briefly if this had something to do with those threats to Yavin IV slightly before she'd left, then pushed those thoughts aside.

"Okay, the presence of the Imps means we need some new strategy. Why don't we pitch camp on this moon for a day or so, give ourselves some time to regroup?" She quirked an eyebrow at him, put on her best endearing look to try and make up for nearly leading him into the jaws of the Imps. Try and make up for? What kind of thought is that? Okay, I'm just going to forget this facade of dignity and ignore these weird reactions.

"And possibly have some time to get to know each other better." What am I thinking? Okay, Cella, forget everything you've ever learned and just go with your instincts here. But you can't forget Shayla. She's why you're here. A pang of pain twisted along Cella's spine. She didn't know whether it was Shayla's or hers. You have to find her at any cost.

There was so much pain seeping through her forced collectivity I simply could not react to her as I usually do to those of the feminine persuasion.

At least I think that's what prompted me to hold my tongue.

I uncrossed my arms and, searching once more into the shimmering pools of her eyes- Damn it, man, focus! -I turned back to my console.

"Damn Skippy, that's the best suggestion I've heard yet on this trip!" I smiled, playing the sensors with practiced ease. I studied the results quickly but intently.

There, on the far side of the little moon over which we were skating, a highly magnetic outcrop waved it's silicon arms, no doubt blasted into relief from the myriad meteoric impacts this planetary body had received over the course of its eon-long history. That would do nicely.

I turned my gaze back to Cella's, and favored her with a flash of my teeth. "Looks like I've found us a hidey-hole," I announced with that smile, then turned back to the nav-console. Soon the Devil-May-Care was homing in on the outcrop, which was huddled safely amidst others of its own ilk. With masterful ease I brought my corvette in for a landing, hunkering between the sensor-blinding magnetized rock like a womp-rat seeks to hide in its Tattooine den.

A few final flicks of levers and switches, and the Devil-May-Care lost herself to outventing and general shutting down of the majority of systems. Soon we were encased in the relative quiet of a space ship at rest...

...a quiet which suddenly seemed to stretch before me like an eternity.

I moved about a bit uncomfortably in my seat, then leapt to my feet.

"Look, Cella," I began. "I, ahh- er, I know I didn't quite start this trip on the right footing with you, and I'd kinda like to make up for that."

Yaoksi, you ol' pirate, what ARE you doing?!? I pushed that shoulder-devil off into obscurity, and bestowed my brightest and most sincere smile I could upon the Jedi.

"Why don't we go into the galley? I'm a pretty fair cook; let me rustle us up something to eat, and we can recoup ourselves and rest a little and decide where the heck we're going to go from here.

"And don't you even think of trying to talk me out of continuing to help you, either," I called out, now over my shoulder as I began leading the way from the bridge. A moment's hesitation... and the soft sound of booted footsteps echoed behind me.

Yeah, I'd kinda like to get to know you better too, Cella.... the thought pushed its way to the forefront of my focus, toying with me. Usually that conditioned little thought continued on into... well, an arena which in turn had resulted in a string of abandoned peeps of the feminine persuasion, scattered hither an yon on one planet or another.

Strangely enough, not this time.

I shook my head, jerking my errant thoughts back to the matters at hand. We needed food, we needed a plan...

...and I needed some hard answers before deciding- helping to decide -the best course of action from hereon.

I still couldn't quite totally remove the goofy grin from my face which I knew was firmly planted there, as I led her onward. Gods were with me in that she couldn't see it, behind me as she was....

Soon we were in my little galley, where I showed her to a seat and provided her with a cool beverage. Then I busied myself amidst my gleaming counters and utensils, chopping and slicing and otherwise converting general foodstuffs into something both attractive and edible. Cella watched me in silence, which strangely enough, was a comfortable one.

At length I approached the table where she sat, and with a flourish presented her with her meal. "I'm sorry I don't have any mynock milk for you. I can't stomach the stuff, and I don't keep in on board."

After a slight hesitation, I sat down to join her, carefully keeping my distance across the table. I took a bite of my food; now, I'm a really good cook, but for some reason everything tasted like rancor-droppings.

Hope her's wasn't awful. I studied her; nope she was digging in heartily. Must be me then....

I suddenly put my eating utensil down, and steepled my hands together, elbows carelessly on the edge of the table as I searched into her eyes.

"Maybe now's the time to tell me something about this Dark User you keep mentioning," I began as an opener. "Since I kinda have a feeling we're gonna cross paths, and probably sooner than we think from what my history has taught me."

At first sight, he'd seemed to be one of those men that didn't like a woman who was better than him at anything. Perhaps he was, but Cella was getting the definite feeling that he was behaving himself better than usual around her. Good man, very solicitous...but not Jeroc. She suddenly found herself missing him from the very core of her person. Well, her inexplicable longing to speak to him could wait until they formulated a plan to get past these Imperials. Cella was sick to her stomach when she realized how long that might be.

Cella was jerked out of her reverie by a query from Yaoksi, who was looking into her eyes with that disconcerting ease he had.

"Maybe now's the time to tell me something about this Dark User you keep mentioning, since I kinda have a feeling we're gonna cross paths, and probably sooner than we think from what my history has taught me."

Cella gulped down the last bite of her food hurriedly, felt her stomach lurch. And it wasn't just from indigestion. She remembered the unspeakable pain from Shayla, the absolute malevolence of this...this thing.

"Well," she began uncertainly, "I don't know much about this Sith, except that he, or she, is one of the most Force-powerful beings I've ever felt in my life. Luke Skywalker himself was one of my masters...yet I've never sensed such raw strength." She paused and took a deep breath. "Like the strength of...of a ravenous wild beast, except a thousand times more intense and intelligent."

"I first felt her--" Cella had decided to use the feminine pronoun, out of a gut feeling. "--shortly before Shayla was kidnapped. And this kidnapping wasn't like anything I've seen before. She didn't even have to come out of orbit--Shayla was simply snatched out of thin air." Cella tried to swallow the lump of fear threatening to choke her.

Fear leads to anger. Anger leads to hatred. Hatred leads to suffering...

"Anyhow," Cella continued with difficulty, "my partner Jeroc, his student Logan, and I decided to launch a rescue mission to find her...Make a long story short, we split up, and I'm not surprised that I found this Dark User first, since I seem to have a...a heightened sense of her."

I was a pretty good sabaac player to boot.

For a long moment I merely stared at Cella over the tips of my steepled fingers, my eyes searching into hers.

She's really scared, I suddenly thought to myself. Practically terrified. It's boiling off of her like lava from a volcano; I might not have the- the "Force-sense" she commands, but even I can sense that.

The little chilled knot doubled in size at this realization. What in Hell's Depths could provoke such fear in a Jedi? Who in Blazes was this Dark User, anyway? And why did the trail lead us to this backwater little hole-in-the-galaxy, swarming with Impys as it was?

I fought down a sudden flash of near-terror, as an image of the Old Empire struck me. An Empire run by Sith, enforced by Imperials... and with a collective and heavily used blade upon the necks of sentients everywhere. Smuggler though I might be, somewhat removed from such machinations, even I knew this was still a politically rocky time for the galaxy. Although years had passed since the destruction of Palptine and the death of his monkey, Vader, it would take years more to finish recovering from the disaster of its former life. Years of cementing new bonds, delineating new ideals and developing new democracies.

But years which represented a time of extreme vulnerability, a vulnerability unbeknownst to the general populace.

A slight frown creased my face, temporarily squelching that cold knot and turning it into a merely dull ache. Something here wasn't quite right....

I sat back, raising my head with a jerk, lowering my hands to the table top, my eyes still glued to the huge pair before me.

They narrowed a bit as I tilted my head to the side a little.

"Ok," I announced suddenly. "Now you might want to tell me a little more about this Shayla, who she is, where she came from, what does she know. About- I don't know; anything I suppose.

"But there has to be some reason why she was kidnapped by this-, this Dark User..." I stumbled momentarily, searching for the correct moniker "...and I think that reason might come in handy in our finding her."

Then another thought struck me, and the cold little knot homesteaded once more in my gut. I hesitated a little, considering.

How much do you really know about these Jedi, Yaoksi ol pirate? I thought to myself. And what of that which you do know is fact, and what is mere rumor?

I shook off that disconcerting thought, and pursed my lips. Before me Cella waited, her eyes moist and slightly reddened, other than that completely calm to all outward appearances...

...with the exception of her hand, which trembled slightly.

She caught me glancing at it, and quickly moved it to her lap. The knot doubled in size in my gut.

Well, Yaoksi, it's now or never. You have to find out exactly what's going on, or you just might not be walking away from all this....

My mouth opened, hung there as I tried to figure out how to word my concerns. I finally decided the best approach was a direct and frontal one. I leaned toward her, my gaze darkening a bit as I pinned it to her eyes even more fiercely.

"You talk of this Force-sense, and how yours is heightened, and how you've been following this Dark User with it, kinda like a homing beacon. All well and good.

"But from what I have heard, as little as I know, I do know that this 'Force' is supposed to connect everyone together. You're supposed to be able to read everybody alive."

Now my voice lowered to a whisper, and my hand unconsciously dropped to my blaster, my thumb flicking the safety strap which held it holstered on my hip. I didn't quite grasp it, just let it settle there quietly.

"All you mention is this Dark User," I continued, following up with: "But what I want to know is why you haven't been tracking Shayla. Why aren't you following her sense instead?

"I also know you Jedi are not supposed to be aggressive or something. Yet here we are, searching for someone you say exists yet whose, um... well, being, for lack of a better word, you don't sense, or at least haven't told me about it. All you talk about is this Dark User, not Shayla.

"That means she might be dead. And what I wanna know is what in Hell's Depths we're doing here, should that be the case?"

I stopped at that, my heart leaping inexplicably into my throat, my eyes boring into hers, and my hand cool and steady on my blaster.

Somehow, something about this entire scenario still wasn't quite right, but I wasn't gonna take the time now to study it. A successful sabaac player might hold his cards close, but when he has 'em, he plays 'em.

"Shayla was a former student at the academy. She left when she was a young girl, as far as I know, because she didn't think she was fit to be a Jedi, didn't think she had the Force strongly enough. I believe she became a freelancer, much like yourself, until the day she returned to continue her training. I have no idea why this Dark User would want her. She can be Jedi, yes, but she is otherwise unexceptional."

She took a deep breath. Something malevolent was at play here. Much more was at stake than just a simple answer to a simple question.

"And I can't find Shayla because of what this Dark User did to her. Took her, wiped her mind clean like a schoolgirl's slate. Destroyed her very self, Yaoksi. And somehow, made it impossible for me to find her."

Moved by long instinct and Jedi reflexes, she stood quickly, reached across the table, and grabbed Yaoksi's hand.

As cold metal brushed against her skin, she realized it had been resting on his blaster.

Trust me, she tried to say with her eyes. I don't need this from somebody who's supposed to be an ally. Please. He tried to move, but something seemed to be holding him back.

She laid his lean hand on the table, placed both of hers on top of it. "And if Shayla is dead? I still have to confront this Dark User. I have to face my destiny. I can't let such evil continue to exist. I am one small Jedi...but it only takes a cup of water to lessen the flame. If I give my life, it would not be too much."

Her lips felt cold as ice, heavy as stone. "Please," was all she could think to say. "Yaoksi, you have to be with me on this. I'll do whatever I have to...but I want you as an ally. I need you as an ally."

In the nanoseconds which followed, I tensed automatically, then quickly forced myself to loosen up in preparation for the impact I knew would soon follow. I gritted my teeth...

...and promptly fell to the deck with an embarrassing whump as my loosened muscles obligingly let gravity win the fight against my body and my legs, which up until that very moment had been doing a superlative job in keeping me upright.

"OH, HELL'S RAMPANT ELEMENTS!!!" I burst out with, scrambling to regain a modicum of dignity, as I likewise scrambled back to my feet again. I turned a near-frantic grin in Cella's direction, which crashed head-on into the frozen compilation of near terror and desperation and anger still planted on her beautiful face.

She blinked as I quickly sobered. "Wh-was that the 'Dark User' you had been telling me about?" I whispered as, suddenly shaky, I fell back into the chair I had been sitting in, seeming a sudden lifetime ago, when Cella and I had been simply sharing a meal together.

I looked at my plate. The food looked so... inconsequential for some reason.

In the nanoseconds which followed, I tensed automatically, then quickly forced myself to loosen up in preparation for the impact I knew would soon follow. I gritted my teeth...

...and promptly fell to the deck with an embarrassing whump as my loosened muscles obligingly let gravity win the fight against my body and my legs. Up until that very moment, they had been doing a superlative job in keeping me upright.

"OH, HELL'S RAMPANT ELEMENTS!!!" I burst out with, scrambling to regain a modicum of dignity, as I likewise scrambled back to my feet again. I turned a near-frantic grin in Cella's direction, which crashed head-on into the frozen compilation of near terror and desperation and anger still planted on her beautiful face.

She blinked as I quickly sobered. "Wh-was that the 'Dark User' you had been telling me about?" I whispered as, suddenly shaky, I fell back into the chair I had been sitting in, seeming a sudden lifetime ago, when Cella and I had been simply sharing a meal together.

I looked at my plate. The food looked so... inconsequential for some reason.

An equally shaky little sigh came to my ears. "Yes, that was... Her," Cella whispered, seating herself once more as well. There wasn't a hint of amusement on her face regarding my too-close-for-comfort brush with that Force User, despite its otherwise comical conclusion.

I gulped back a sympathetic rise in terror myself. Egad, ol boy, I thought to myself. THAT is what you're gonna be up against? Sheesh, I hope the Devil-May-Care is gonna be a big enough ship....

I drew in a deep breath, and studied Cella more closely. She was staring at me with such intensity I almost fell off the chair and onto the floor again. It was almost as if she was afraid to hear what I would say to all this.

Well, sweetheart, you don't have to worry about THAT.

Sudden determination flooded me, along with just a touch of anger toward this unseen being who had the temerity to gain entry into my mind and mess about in there as she had, nevermind my own feelings about it. Such an entity ought not to be allowed to be such a threat to such innocents as myself...

...Ok, ok, so maybe I'm not such an innocent, BUT...

...and even though I didn't have any "Force abilities," or whatever they called it, even though all I had to my name, really, was my ship and my weapons and my determination and my mores...

Wow. Impress her more with your wonderful armament, Yaoksi ol pirate....

...even though all that I had might seem to some as being ineffectively pitiful against the awesome Power I knew for a fact we were going to be up against...

...it was firmly and with the most heartfelt of inner vows pledged entirely to this Lady Jedi and her quest.

I reached across the table, and took her slim hand in mine, my green eyes pinning hers to them.

"This kind of, of... thing has no right to be roaming about the galaxy," I asserted in an almost vicious whisper. "If this is what has your friend, you can count on me to help you get her away.

"She has to be stopped... somehow."

But how?

I looked into Cella's eyes, that question dancing in my own, and disconcertingly enough, found no immediate answer there.

She was also furious. Who did this Sith think she was, trying to attack a non-Jedi like that? If the Dark One had a bone to pick, it was surely with Cella, for Cella had initiated this foray into the Dark One's territory. To touch Yaoksi was unacceptably aggressive...

But Dark Force Users never had been much for following rules of honor.

Cella turned her thoughts again to Yaoksi, trying to banish fear and anger. She clasped his hand warmly and smiled. "Yaoksi, I don't have words to express my thanks. After a promise like that, anything I could say would be stupid and trite."

So let me express my appreciation in a much more meaningful way...

Cella pushed away the offending and adolescent thought and continued speaking as if nothing had happened. "So just know that you have a Jedi indebted to you, for life."

Yaoksi finally gave her his disarming grin again. "Let's hope I'll never have to call in that debt, Cella."

Cella somewhat reluctantly detached her hand from his distracting one, went to the comm console. "I sent my partner, Jeroc, a message a while back, giving him our coordinates. He should be here shortly...so we need to just hold tight."

Cella hoped that wouldn't be too difficult.

The uncontrollable adolescent in the back of her mind also wondered how Yaoksi and Jeroc were going to react to each other. And if absence really did make the heart grow fonder.

Cella was jolted rudely out of unconsciousness by a pair of male hands shaking her awake. She batted at them sleepily. "Go away, Jeroc," she mumbled. "Why don't you ever just let me sleep in?"

Then she opened her eyes in irritation...and saw Yaoksi standing over her. She immediately turned red as a Garqi tuberroot. Skies, why did this embarrassing stuff always have to happen? She looked like bantha fodder, too.

Cella drew herself up and tried to draw her shredded dignity about her, as well as her blankets. "I thought I told you not to wake me."

Yaoksi was trying to suppress a grin. "I got a voxcomm from your partner. Apparently he's pretty close to here."

Cella leaped up, forgetting pretensions, and dashed to the comm unit, Yaoksi following on her heels. She replayed the comm, revelling in the sound of Jeroc's voice.

"Cella, Logan found a way to get this through to you, and we're on our way. The Pride is making good time, as usual--" Cella beamed with pleasure at the thought of the sleek engines racing.

"And we're about 14 hours from the rendezvous moon. We're also bringing some business associates of Shayla's, and they've got some pretty sturdy ships, which should be a big help. So get ready to meet our new allies, and take care. Jeroc signing off."

For a moment I stood motionless, completely transfixed by the unexpected and totally overwhelming energy bolt that blazed through my nerve endings in response to Cella's act. My mouth dropped open, working a bit, as I strove my utmost to remain steadfast to our business relationship by not returning the embrace and wrapping her in my own arms. The internal battle was a ferocious one...

...as well as one thankfully short-lived. Still beaming, Cella removed her arms from where they had gripped my body, and took a step back from me. Her cool eyes sparkled as she looked up at me, her two hands still lightly holding my arms, as she waited expectantly for me to say something.

Well, c'mon ol pirate, say something then...!

"Ahhh--" I managed the syllable from my still-gaping mouth, then suddenly realized the picture I was presenting to her. "Ah-HEH!" A shaky and probably ridiculous grin broke over my face as my mouth closed off the inanities I was threatening to babble. Still grinning like a Kowakian monkey-lizard, I forced myself into motion by reaching up and gently taking her hands from my arms, my mind racing at the implications inherent to what she had just told me.

As well as at the look that had crossed this lady's face when she heard the voice of, what's his name again? Jeroc?

"Th-that's just great!" I finally managed, carefully extricating myself from her hands. I smiled down at her, finding growing strength to do just that by a quick yet somehow studied adjustment of my acoutrements. Then I cleared my throat, getting back under control once again.

I don't even think she noticed this little slip....

"Fourteen hours until they get here, ey?" I tossed out, trying to change a subject I believed only I was tippy-toeing around. "Good! I mean, that's plenty of time to... I mean, not that I'm not ready to do anything, ahh... what I'm trying to say...."

Shut up, shut up, SHUT UP!!

"Oh sheesh, I think I'll go check the engines and the weaponry systems. They'll have to be in top shape for whatever we'll be going up against.

"In the meantime, you have the freedom of the Devil-May-Care. I'll let you just... go do whatever it is you Jedi do."

With that I turned on my heel and marched from the bridge, seeking the haven of the engineering section. With each step I grew more and more uncomfortable, and this time it wasn't from the insidious influence of any Dark User. In fact, my apprehension wasn't even directed toward that malevolent unknown.

It was butting directly against the dilemma of my vow to remain with and help Cella, a vow I wanted to keep with all my being... and with the fact that in doing just that, I would be forced to face and likewise assist the male who I sensed would be the one to take her away from me.

For the first time in my life I found myself sliding into a situation regarding the opposite sex where the tables were turned against me. The Yaoksi I was all too familiar with would deposit Cella into the tender auspices of this Jeroc, and leave. But this unknown Yaoksi, the Yaoksi who had been responding in so atypical a manner this entire trip... this Yaoksi was now struggling in waters completely foreign to him, waters that roiled as though at the convergence of two disparate tributaries raging in battle against each other. And I truly didn't know which battle would be the more difficult: the impending physical one against the unknown Dark User... or the more personal emotional struggle I was waging against myself.

Jeroc! Seeing you again is gonna be so great...I mean, forget about Jedi self-restraint, I'm already planning a reunion you're gonna love...

Cella stopped. Jedi self-restraint. Exactly what she had failed to use when flinging her arms around poor Yaoksi back there.

She slapped her forehead and cursed herself. Dumb, dumb, dumb. It had only been an impulsive expression of her joy...but Yaoksi might think it was something totally else. Cella might be conservative when it came to men, but she wasn't blind, and she was definitely sensing some...confusion from Yaoksi.

Confusion was not even the word. Cella refused to think of them as "tender feelings".

Skies, she probably owed him an apology. She just needed to be honest and explain the whole situation with Jeroc. She opened herself to the Force to try to figure out where Yaoksi was...

Wait.

Cella sensed the Dark User, but not in the vicinity of Ambria. Moving away from it. She reached further, but her sense was clouded and she could see no more.

I pursed my lips to myself, and with a jerk brought my wandering attention back to the digi-padd readout for the umpteenth time.

Ok, Yaoksi ol pirate, systems looking good....

Yeah, right. Who in the Name of all the Spice on Kessel do you think you're fooling?

I sighed, running a hand through my hair, and giving the rapidly scrolling list of numbers and characters only half an eye. Ok, so I really couldn't say how good the systems were looking at the moment, because I really wasn't focusing on them as well as I ought to be. Try as I might, all I could see was the sparkle in a certain pair of eyes at the mention of a certain name...

Yaoksi, this isn't getting you anywhere. Give it up, man!

Throwing the padd a final once-over (ok, so things checked out with their usual 110% optimum efficiency rating) I got to my feet. I gave my chronometer a quick glance.

Kessel! Had I really spent that much time zoned out, trying to pretend that I was making certain all was well when really...

When really all I wanted was to sit down with Cella and, for the first time in my life, try to get serious with a woman.

I shook the thought out of my head, my frown increasing a bit. This would never do.

Yaoksi, I berated myself. You saw the look. There has never been any indication that a gal like that and you could--

I bit that off in mid-sentence, suddenly not wanting to inspect it too closely. I shook my head to myself again, trying to cement a sudden defiance I was aiming at myself. It wasn't working very well; with my shoulders slumping a bit I headed off to my quarters to clean up a bit. I sighed again.

Yaoksi, maybe what you ought to do is the logical thing for once in your life. You were needed as transport; this lady now has people coming. See her safely into their hands, bid all a fond adieu, and head off with your newly-won credits to the Corporate Sector for a little vacation.

Another thought struck me as I came to my rooms and entered, and I eyed it closely. You've always claimed it's better to be a Lone Nek than a herd-bound ikopi; but... wouldn't it be nice to run with a partner? It has been nice having Cella... having her here; you could use some company, couldn't you ol' boy?

Maybe you ought to go off and find yourself a partner or something....

I had just given myself a quick 'fresher break, and had sat down upon my bunk to reconnoiter with myself when my vascillating thoughts were rudely interrupted by an auxillary proximity sensor which began bleating like a baby ronto crying for it's mother. I jerked from my reverie with a start.

Incoming transmission! That thought had barely registered when the door to my quarters opened to reveal Cella standing without. For a moment that was uncomfortably long, we only stared at each other. Then she seemed to gather a part of herself together.

"The reinforcements Jeroc promised are here. Shayla's friends. You'd better go talk to them--it's a sizable fleet."

I clenched my jaw, struggling to keep my thoughts only upon business, nodding a bit tersely as I got to my feet and approached her. I was all too keenly aware of her presence as, coming up in front of her I paused for a brief moment, and stared directly into those wonderful eyes of hers.

A heartbeat passed. I opened my mouth, but no words could come out.

Quickly changing loosely held lips into something approximating a casual smile, I brushed hurriedly past her and headed to the bridge. There I seated myself in the command chair, my fingers dancing on the communication panel as I simultaneously replayed the transmission and snapped on the forward viewscreen.

Sizeable fleet? Kessel! There were enough ships floating around out there to arm an entire Rebellion wing, back in the days of Palpatine! Who the heck is this guy? And, was this Jeroc with him as well?

I voiced as much in my acknowledgement.

"Captain Yaoksi Joao of Devil-May-Care" I introduced myself a bit tersely. "Welcome to my little hole in the Galaxy. Are you the fabled 'Knights of Olde' I've been expecting? If so, I think there's someone aboard who's a touch anxious to speak with you.

"More on that later," I concluded, cutting off that train of thought before my focus derailed again. "Right now, I think we'd better be making some arrangements for a gab session.

"My place or yours?"