Request received... and compliance forthcoming....

Graysith didn't even have to slow the momentum of the craft when something once again opened up in their direct line of flight; something which allowed them entry into the hidden spaceport of Ch'arlingua. The ship howled to its berth therein, swallowed up by rock and something not quite of the "normal" realm of living things...

...and immediately stopped, its mission complete.

Graysith flicked a graceful finger along a particular row of mysterious sigils, letting the ship know it was indeed truly home, and that its occupants likewise were seeking there own. The ship responded by immediately opening its hatch and extending its gangway, before once again sinking back into cyberbiotic slumber.

The Chosen Daughter rose from her seat, and proceeded aft.

As she continued to follow, Shayla could also sense the lurking--and somewhat surprisingly more contented--presence of Erik. He was somewhere nearby, probably aware that plans would soon be discussed. Nodding to herself, she sent a tendril of affection out to him alerting him to her presence, and continued forward to meet with the others.

...although steps this time leading them into a room she had never been in before. She paused in the doorway, momentarily taken aback by its quietly rich splendor: ancient and rune-carved furniture, well appointed with deep and luxurious cushions, were scattered tastefully about, highlighted here and there by the quiet elegance of individual tables provided for the use of the room's guests. An immense stone fireplace took center stage, its glowing light warming the air and the souls of all who entered therin, reflecting off the face of one Erik Kartan. That particular individual reared up from the chaise-lounge upon which he had been semi-reclining, his face glowing with more than just the fire's light.

Aelvedaar went to the fireplace, turned, and spread out his hands in welcome. She followed in his footsteps, feeling all her inner tensions beginning to drain away, somehow knowing within her very soul of souls that everything would somehow turn out right.

"She's got your spirit, you know," he said softly, smiling more broadly. Then, his look softening, he added, "And she's already stolen my heart. Like mother, like daughter," he chided. Then, turning completely serious, he reached out and took Galen's chin in his hand and pulled her lips to his, drinking in her warmth and basking in her wonderful proximity. Then he pulled back, still staying close by so that he could again look deeply into her eyes and simply swim in them. "I love you so very much, Ms. Galen Danner."

Saying that, he gently pulled her more closely to himself, quietly thanking Khaandon and whatever other gods that would listen for the great grace they had bestowed upon him and his small family.

Life was at last peaceful and so very, very good...

"I believe my Sire will be wanting to have discourse with him, in but a few moments," she replied lightheartedly as the Sith Lord turned back to his guests. Then she smiled up into her Sire's exotic features as he came up to her and offerred her a goblet as well.

"Miss me?" she asked, reinacting his words to her on Khar Delba.

He smiled at her and leaned forward, giving her another long and full kiss. Then he leaned back to look into her eyes, smiling broadly. "Does that answer your question?" he quipped, finishing the reinactment.

Matt, beside him, merely rolled his eyes.

Jasyn moved the half-drunken goblet before his eyes to survey the remaining contents, considering the shimmering liquid. "Sith brandy..." he muttered, as though trying to memorize exactly what it looked like should anyone ever offer it to him again. And Matt had a suspicion he was doing just that, just so he could argue with anyone who didn't give him something vintage.

"I wonder where the Boss is," Jasyn mused into Matt's thoughts.

Matt turned his green eyes to his co-worker, who was taking another good sip of his brandy. "I think you can put two and two together and figure that out."

Jasyn shot him a lopsided grin. "Would that be two and two, or two and one, or..." he hesitated, grinning further, One and One," he ended with, snickering.

Matt rolled his eyes again, taking a sip of his own brandy. "You could grow up sometime soon," he then commented lightly.

Jasyn scowled. "Hey!" Then, as if realizing Matt had a point after all, he shrugged it off, the former lopsided grin returning to his face.

I come to a halt before Graysith, and with a small motion indicate she remain seated. I now turn my eyes to Recinis, then after briefly raking the One he his holding with a most serious look, I speak in a low voice meant for his ears alone.

"I see you have been instructed to watch this one," I say thoughtfully, cocking my head now to scrutinize once again the one called Loban. "He looks harmless enough--"

"I met up with him in orbit of Tattooine, he claimed to be a member of the Jedi Council, and offered me a chance to become a Jedi..."

Lo-Ban continued,"He asked of me one thing, to 'prove' myself, by completing a mission... a mission of the utmost importance... The mission was to rescue Shayla Petrolu..."

Lo-Ban gave the man one more bit of information,"His true intentions are yet unknown..."

Lo-Ban quieted, awaiting the being's response...

I blink but once, then hiss softly so that none others may hear our discussion:

"And so, on the command of one you do not know, and whose true intentions you have no indication of knowing anything about, you set off to chase after a young woman hidden on a planet that no one ought to have been able to find."

I pause now, crossing my arms, and strengthen the look I give him. My chest expands as I take in a deep breath, my eyes fairly burning into his own pair as I finish with:

"And there is nothing... discomfiting ...you would find in this entire scenario? Where would you have taken the adept had you managed to persuade her into going with you?"

Lo-Ban paused, then answered the second question,"The plan was to take her to Tattooine, and rendezvous... today..."

"Perhaps we should send this one into Tattooine orbit, and lay in wait with a Sith ship, to discover for ourselves just what kind of threat this Tyberius really may be."

As do I now in regard to the young Loban.

"Perhaps my Chosen One has come up with an interesting idea. While there is much we have yet to discuss, we do not need the interference of this possible danger to her Adept. Perhaps the All in its wisdom has sent you to us, boy, that we might discern for ourselves just how much of a threat this Tyberius may be.

"Would you go willingly... or if not, we can certainly make it under duress."

My eyes slit into golden shadows as I smile, nodding my horned head to indicate the suddenly smiling Recinis. Beside me, my Chosen One's lips curl into a predatory smile of anticipation.

The guy is more unnerved about all this than he'll probably EVER admit...

Shawn's eyes then wandered to where Shayla and Erik sat on the couch together exchanging words and looks. He could feel the love simply radiating from them, and smiled at that.

Took you long enough, didn't Shayla? he thought to himself.

Likewise, he could feel another love radiating from somewhere; as well as the inner peace of a child in slumber.

He smiled even more at that.

Though inward thoughts that could be construed as "evil" flitted from here and there every so often, Shawn decided for the most part that there was nothing--absolutely nothing--that seemed untoward here.

Shawn sat back and considered that. Perhaps the Sith had truly been misjudged. The Sith that the Jedi knew...were different. These he now saw were of a different variety...perhaps of a higher class--and not meaning within a social heirarchy, but rather on a mental and psyhological level.

"This one shall follow along with you, young warrior, and lay in wait beneath the protection of an All-shield. No Force user may penetrate such a device, only those who are skilled in the ways of the All. Together you two will watch that no harm comes to the adept, and that both she and the boy will be returned safely here. It is hoped with additional information, or perhaps with this Tyberius as yet another "guest" of the Sith."

For one moment I let that darkness within me rise up to rule my being, the thought of where that latter possibility may lead was that beguiling. My lips slowly curl into a smile of pure anticipation, my eyes fairly radiating actual heat.

My Chosen One cocks her head toward me, and lifts a brow in... amusement?

I let the darkness subside, and straighten up a bit before the Look she is sending me. Then I turn and stare directly into her eyes.

"War strategist though I may not be, this is the by-way I have decreed shall be followed. We dare not ignore the possible threat this Tyberius poses to us... for we dare not risk letting slip the wonders of the All into other hands."

Graysith immediately ducks her head before me, easily reading the meaning inherent in those words I have just spoken. I continue, to clarify just a bit further.

"This one desires access to the adept, something I find strange indeed. Yet he has the ability to find her from a distance, hidden away beneath the protection of a chronotic shield. The latter I feel to be a result of the vagaries of happenstance, but the fact remains he has devices unknown to us which he has fashioned, or at the very least control of.

"The thought comes to my mind as to why one with such abilities of his own would seek one whom to others is merely a padawan who has disappeared from a jedi school of learning. There is something about her he is truly seeking, and will not stop if this one--"

I wave a clawed hand toward Loban.

"--fails in his mission to retrieve her and bring her to him. There most certainly will be others to come, and one of those others would be bound to succeed. We dare not wait like sacrificial lambs for him to choose that moment. Padawan she is no longer.

"We dare not let the All fall into his hands."

Once again, though that final statement is spoken aloud, it is meant for the ears of my Chosen One. She bows her head, again clearly reading the full meaning behind the words. For a moment she remains in this humble posture, then raises her head before me.

"The boy was to meet with Tyberius this day," she replies coolly. "It would therefore behoove us to implement this plan immediately."

With that she gives me a short bow, nods once to Recinis, and turns to bring the news of this sudden development to her adept.

That young man is sitting now alone upon his couch, the firelight softly highlighting the scowl which darkens his features at once again being left behind. Blinking a bit in bemusement, I approach him, and clap him upon the shoulder as I did earlier.

"She will be more than protected, my young friend," I let the words come softly into his ears. "Indeed, it is best you remain behind, should a rescue in any manner need to be mounted."

Now I quickly raise a clawed hand, stopping the words I hear forming in his throat, words which so easily and so quickly come hand-in-hand with the sudden widening of his eyes.

"She is with Sith," I remind him quietly; then step back to encompass all with one sweeping glance.

"This room is indeed quite comfortble, my allies, but scarcely where one would make hearth and home. While this Temple does have room for all within its walls...

"...there is, after all, an entire city without, waiting for you to command."

Matt eyed him. "Hey, a whole Sith city to explore ourselves!" he said, curiosity sparkling in his eyes.

Jasyn merely sat back, throwing an arm against the top of the couch. "I'll stay here and enjoy the reserves, thank you."

Matt rolled his eyes and stood. His look all but read, You are going to be SO sorry in the morning...

Jasyn, however, ignored it, and propped his feet up on a plush ottoman, a lopsided grin forming on his face. He held up his goblet in a shakey salute. "Go have fun, my friend," he blathered.

Matt paid him no further mind, but turned to look at an unsuspecting Erik. "Oh come on, someone's gotta be interested in traipsing the town besides me," he said, then eyeing Shawn.

Shawn cocked his head, and Erik stood, nodding. "I'm up for it," Erik commented, stepping closer.

Shawn in the meantime stood, gathering blue jedi robes about himself. He didn't say anything, but simply waited.

Behind them, Matt could distinctly hear the sounds of a somewhat unsteady Jasyn pouring himself ANOTHER goblet of brandy...

Then, straightening, she looked Loban dead in the eye. "Two days isn't gonna cut it. We need to move NOW."

Pulling the All about herself, about Loban, and about the entire little L-pod in which they traveled, Shayla one last time opened a portal in the All. Still a very young All user, she made the step through the portal successfully, but she shuddered at the effort as the L-pod slipped through the portal into orbit around K'eel Doba.

She leaned forward as her small frame shivered a bit, both from the strain of the effort and from emotions she was keeping beneath the surface.

She forced herself upright, then played her fingers across the navboard, ignoring the gaping Loban for a moment as she continued to search, looking for anything she could use. She knew there had to be some way to contact the spaceport...

There. Just as she'd hoped.

"There's an outlaying signal coming from down there. Tap into it, and send a distress signal. Aelvedaar will know what to do..." she said, trailing.

Lo-Ban looked at Shayla,"Are you ok? What in the hell is going on!?"

"I'll be allright," she said in a near-whisper. "But something is terribly wrong. Someone has taken Graysith."

She paused a moment, her eyes growing misty and vague. "And I'm afraid I know exactly Who..."

I send a great frown of consternation out across the city, then close my eyes to briefly let drop the shield....

And the supernova erupts against the very flesh of my heart, chilling me to the bone with its undeniable heat.

Something has gone very, very wrong... there is emptiness I sense... there is the Adept, and the one called Loban, but... where is the warrior?

And fates, why do I not sense my Chosen One????

Pain now flares outward, uniting with the fires of the exploding sun, rushing through me, upwelling, seeking out my every pore, my every cell, every part of me that is my being, aye, stabbing into my heart and my very soul.

I do not even realize that I have begun to run....

At length they came to the Sith transport. Shayla must have been more weary than she originally realized; for the Sith Lord had already arrived.

Though perhaps he had already arrived because he sensed what might be coming. After all, why would an Adept return so suddenly without her Teacher?

Shayla's greeny-blue eyes met Aelvedaar's, and she knelt out of respect, her dark blonde hair cascading over the sides of her face as she did so. Then she looked back into his molten eyes, answering the unvoiced question.

"We were dealing with matters on Tatooine with Graysith and Recinis behind us in space, when Tyberius, who seems to somehow be able to block even those with the All from sensing inside his ship, simply vanished for reasons unknown to us. As we were preparing to leave the planet to return to the others...."

Shayla paused, deep concern and something else entirely beginning to well up inside her. As she began to speak again, her voice quivered with that which she had to speak, and not for reasons of fatique.

"...Something hit me through that link I share with Graysith. She was...in pain..." Shayla's eyes dropped to the ground as she struggled on. "But now she is gone. I cannot even sense her through the link we share...

I could not find the Sith ship or the Warrior who was with her, and knew I must come back immediately to Prinn'chatka..."

She trailed again, once more seeking to calm the horror which now filled her. A spark of something at last rose up inside to begin replacing the sorrow. Shayla jerked her face up to Aelvedaar so that her green-blue eyes met his yet again, the next words escaping her lips without so much as a quiver, but certainly with an edge of something.

Anger began to rise.

"He has taken her..."

"RECINIS!!!" the cry rings out like thunder through the All, into his ears, with the overpowering command to come before me where he most surely will come to realize how terribly he has failed in his mission....

A sigh escaped his lips and he looked away for a moment, then bowed slightly.
"I....im sorry..." he his voice now losing the strange calm that had been so clearly readable before.

He froze in place. Sought out a bit further to analyze this perplexity.

SHAYLA...???

At the name, a certain brand of personal Hell became his to share with the One whom he loved more than any other. Tendrils of Anger and Agony shot up and down his spine as though they were almost tangible things.

Erik didn't know what happened. But something was terribly wrong. He turned to the others, reading looks ranging from perplexity to concern. "We need to get back to the Temple," was all he said. "Something has gone wrong with the mission..."

Erik trailed at that and then merely turned back on his heel and headed for the Temple to be met with their newest calamity.

I draw in a great breath, then let it out in a silent wail of grief which somehow unites me with Recinis.

"There is nothing you could have done against Roan's familiar," I state, the words heavy with grief. "He is near impossible to strike, let alone kill, even for those who have the power of the All on their side."

I fall silent, now letting my face fall where I scrutinize the ground at our feet, almost as if seeking a solution to make itself evident there upon the pavement. It remains mockingly blank; once again I let out a brief exhalation, then raise my head.

"Come my friends," I finally say heavily. "We must return to the city and determine if there is indeed anything we can do. I fear greatly for my-- for Graysith," I hastily amend, now ushering everyone into the transport. The file inside to sit in a cloud of solemnity. When all have found seating, I close the door, and set the transport back to the tunnel leading to the city proper. The soft blue light does little to ease our mood; sensing us, it dims to a red so quiet as to almost not be noticeable at all.

I let the words I dread to speak enter into that gloomy atmosphere.

"For the first time since I have been with Her; aye, since I even first chose her, I cannot sense her through the All.

He was really in the dark, he wanted to understand... but, he didn't think it was his place to ask...

Lo-Ban shot a look at Shayla, as if to say WHAT IN THE HELL IS GOING ON!?

Her Sister. The One who had chosen her. Had taught her. Had befriended her and acted on her behalf on more than one occasion.

Had loved her as a Sister?

Shayla's eyes again blurred with moisture as the sorrow consumed her. Then an errant and rather painful thought surfaced.

This is all YOUR fault. Tyberius was looking for YOU. It was because of YOU that Graysith was away from the protection of Prinn'chatka...

Again she shuddered at this thought, unaware if anyone else sensed what she was thinking.

Perhaps if she hadn't become Graysith's Adept, she wouldn't have become endangered...

Shayla paused at that, considering the logic--or lack thereof--of what she was thinking.

Whether you were the Adept or not, YOU weren't the Traitor. And there were many times that Imp of Roan's could have taken your Sister aside from this once; it just happened this time and not at some other.

He would've stopped at NOTHING to take her, if that was what he intended to do.

Mission to discover the Adept's seeker or no.

Aelvedaar's words still had a great impact on Shayla, regardless of this revelation.

"I fear for her."

He fears for her. The mighty Sorceror Lord of the Sith fears for her.

This was beyond anyone's worst nightmare...

WHAT DID LORD ROAN HAVE IN PLANNED FOR HER? AND WHAT HAD HE DONE TO BLOCK HER FROM THE ALL?

Shayla unconsciously pulled her fists into tight balls, letting her sudden upsurge of anger flow. Only with the greatest efforts did she not slam them into the nearest thing--whether inanimate or not.

They simply had to find Graysith NOW. Roan had to be stopped...

A sigh heaves forth from my breast.

"Call the others to meeting, and seek the ways you can of finding my Chosen One and her child. As for I..."

I now remove my hand, and turning from her begin climbing the steps to the apex of the Temple.

"I shall seek what ways I can in which my sorceries may divulge this mystery to us."

With no more words I depart from her presence, and am soon on my way to my sanctum sanctorum. There, I vow, I shall stay until I have found Her and the child....

"By now, all of you know that Graysith has been taken. What you may or may not know is that she was taken from her ship by...Lord Roan's familiar." She paused, the disgust in her voice apparent. "We cannot sense her through the Force or the All, which means that she has somehow been blocked from us. It's possible she's with Lord Roan, and he has them covered with a Chronotic shield..."

At that, Shayla stopped and cocked her head, considering any other possibilities. "It's also possible...since Roan is allied with the one who has Graysith's child, that she has been taken into Vong territory.

"So the question is...how do we find Graysith, or Lord Roan for that matter, without the All to help us?"

Scanning the group, Shayla extended both hands outward as if to encourage responses. Then, she simply waited.

What if...

"What if we use the device..." came blurting out of Lo-Ban's mouth, eager to help he was...

He awaited Shayla's reply...

Perhaps his words had merit. But the device had been flung into Elseness by Graysith...

Shayla paused at that thought.

Well, she had been placed in Elseness by One, and removed by Another...

...and considering that Maladius was Graysith's attacker, there HAD to be a blood sample accessible...

Shayla couldn't help but shudder at that thought.

...but then, that device was linked to the whole Tyberius thing. And Shayla didn't know if it was wise to use that device in order to track Graysith. Might lead this Tyberius person, who for all she knew was ALSO allied to Roan, right to them.

But then, it was DEFINITELY a possibility, if the device could be retrieved...

"That's a possibility," Shayla confirmed, nodding in acknowledgement to Loban, "But that device is linked to Tyberius somehow. I don't know if I dare use it unless there are no other options. Still, it is a good idea."

She turned to one of Terrin's men, the one she vaguely knew from back when they had established Stargazer Corporation. "Matt, can you retrieve a blood sample from the large Sith ship berthed just inside the spaceport?"

Matt nodded just once, stood, and headed out.

"Any other suggestions?" Shayla queried, again scanning the room, looking to everyone, but her gaze at length falling on Recinis's brillant--yet somewhat dulled--green eyes.

Buddy, had she been wrong!

What exactly was this all about, though?

She sent a slight smile in his direction, again cocking a brow in question. "Would you care to explain?" she asked. Then, as if sensing his wish to remain somewhat vague, she added, "If you wish not to divulge to everyone here, you can speak with me privately in anteroom."

Shayla didn't know what it was, but she was inclined to trust Narcolm. After all, he had been concerned enough to assist in healing Graysith after she had pulled the entire planet of Khar Delba into Elseness.

She affixed his blue eyes with her greeny-blue pair, and waited for his answer...

“I have no problem laying my cards on the table, after all I am among allies am I not?” The last statement carried a hint of irony. He brushed his robes aside and fingered the pommel of his Mandalorian sword subconsciously.

“A friend of mine, A long disembodied Sith sorcerer named Freedon Naad, posseses an arcane book called the book of the ages that serves as a retroactive biography of living Sith. It’s written in the ancient language of the Sith but he reads it without difficulty. He could easily tell us about this Roan character. Though I have encountered him in the past,” he shared a knowing glance with Recinis, “and he is no push over. But finding him should be no problem. Naad would be a problem to locate however, I remember him giving a portion of himself to my Master,” he looked at Shayla, “he is the one who assumed my body after I took control of Atma’s. Anyway, all I need to do is go back to the temple on Khar Delba where my Master lies, no doubt dead in his bed, and use the medallion he has to communicate with Naad.”

Shayla stood quietly for a few moments, turning over the two suggestions that had been supplied so far, analyzing the strengths and weaknesses in both of them.

In order to have the best possible success, they would need BOTH ideas. The locator could help them find Graysith, but finding Roan would be necessary as well because they couldn't assume that Graysith was with him.

The Book of Ages would have to be found...or at least accessed, and the locator would have to be retrieved from Elseness.

"I think a combination of both plans will gain the best results," Shayla said aloud. "But first I must confer with Aelevadeer. I do not have the talents necessary to retrieve Loban's locator, and we must consider the possibility of Graysith being in Vong space. While we could certainly enter Vong territory via Vector Prime, it could take simply years to reach her once we are in that Galaxy.

"That is clearly not acceptable. This will take the skills of the Sorceror. I will go divuluge these things to Him and see if He has determined anything yet himself.

Meanwhile--" she paused and, in a surprising move whirled to face Terrin Danner, "I'd like you to consider the best coordination of all which we must accomplish and as well consider our approach. If we enter Roan's domain, it's going to be largely out of your hands, but if we enter Vong space--"

She paused again, her look clearly denoting that she expected Terrin to take charge if that were the case, "We must consider the approach and mode of travel."

Terrin nodded to that, and at that time Matt returned, carrying something.

"The sample has been retrieved?" Shayla asked, now turning to the red-headed man. He simply nodded.

"Good," she replied. "I shall return shortly. Continue with your discussion, so that we may coordinate all that we have decided upon."

This order given, Shayla departed the room altogether and begain to climb the steps to the apex of the Temple, yet upon arriving she could not find Aelevadaar anywhere. Knowing he had probably gone to quarters that she was aware of to seek the whereabouts of his Chosen One, Shayla sat on the rooftop of the temple, letting the breeze blow her hair as she sat, knowing that she only had one option if they were going to use that locator.

She reached out into the All...

As molecules move through time, they all move together. Between each second is a series of nanoseconds, and between each nanosecond is something even smaller than that; until at last time is divided into something so small that it is moving at such a rate that, if someone were placed within that incremental span of time everything around them would stand still.

In that place, between the smallest measurement of time and the next, existed the Elseness in which Loban's locator had been placed. Shayla reached out, between one nanosecond and the next, to retrieve the locator from its secure hiding place...

Within his mind recinis stood silently, the dark about him intense, the world had ceased to exist as far as he was concerned.
The mental image looked about its suroundings, untill finaly he seemed to be satisfied that there was nothing left of the outside world to disturb him.
Slowly Recinis mental form sat down, and began meditating, a strange form of concentration that he had been required to perfect before he was placed within the sorcerers sleep.

as recinis' body went through there relaxing movments, and his mind meditated within itself, he slowly fell into the deepest calm that was possible for the warrior to achieve, thoughts glided easily through him and he quickly analized each of them, and discarded any that had no baring untill he was left with only himself.

Recinis suddenly appeared within himself yet again, and he called forth the memory of graysiths capture. but this time he was a spectator, watching from the side.

The memory played itself several times, and recinis attempted to learn all he could from it, trying to find a flaw in the demons actions, studding the things movments and behaver. After he had learn all he could from that, he bagan looking for clues as to what could be done, but nothign showed itself in the memory.

The image of the cockpit suddenly melted away, and recinis stood in complete darkness once again.

Suddenly an image of the strange device that loban had possesed appeared in front of him, floating pointlessly, he reached out, and grasped the metalic object, turning it over within his gaze, taking in everythign he could about it, considering its uses.

-a trackign device of somesort-

-a blood sample, no doubt maladius had spilled blood, but it was likely to be tainted...and of no use to them should the thing require blood...-

suddenly another memory played itself, and he watched from a third person view as he cleaned graysiths cut, and daftly discarded a cloth that had her blood on it, he then watched as he placed the bandage about her hand.

-there is our blood sample, all happens for a reason...now this one becomes apparant-

It didn't take long to enlist the help of Ysla's band, they had been having a slow month and were all too willing to accept this job, despite its similarity to a search and recovery job. He had told them to go to Coruscant and seek out a man named Sorben Tarnus and ask him what had become of Gravin Dark's lightsaber.

They needed to coordinate what they were doing. Place things in priority. And, as Shayla said, discuss modes of transportation. And that was his stock and trade.

The locator would be retrieved before the book, so they would probably know Graysith's whereabouts long before they would Roan's. So the question was, should they proceed with finding Graysith after establishing where she was through the locator, or should they retrieve the information concerning Roan's whereabouts using the Book of Ages before they went after her?

Terrin thought about this only a moment, then he spoke. "Although we will have the locator and possibly the information regarding Graysith's whereabouts before we have the Book of Ages, my thoughts are that we must also retrieve the information about Roan's location before going after her. This will determine whether we will be facing Roan head on when we go after Graysith or whether we will be battling on more than one front. That information is necessary before we decide who goes where and in what sort of ship.

He shuddered at the thought of that, having heard stories of how the things attached themselves to ones body.

But in the meantime, we can rig that signal from the spaceport so we can piggy-back some messages on it. Something tells me we might be needing it.

Jasyn?"

The crewman, who had been silent up until this point, goaned in response instead of simply asking what Terrin needed, clearly still experiencing the effects of a hangover.

Terrin just rolled his eyes. "We need your technological wizardy, my friend.

Jasyn merely nodded, and Terrin wasn't sure if he was indicating understanding or trying to clear brain fog. Either way, the assignment stood.

"Let's get going with this while we are still waiting..."

Suddenly recinis motion stoped, and his eyes snapped open from there trance, his head clear, filled with only that which he needed.
he quickly returned to the temple, and approached those sitting about discussing plans, he noted that now Terrin was leading the plannign, and that shayla had gone not of yet returned. sitting down he looked about and sighed.

Lo-Ban didn't know if this was the best time to introduce himself, but... Lo-Ban wanted to do something, something to help... He then approached Terrin...

Then, turning from Recinis, Terrin became aware of the words the young Loban was speaking to him. He sent a bemused grin at the young man, all the while keenly aware of the somewhat-unstable Jasyn, who was heading for the door to go to the spaceport.

Might as well make the kid feel useful...

Terrin pointed in the direction Jasyn and Loban were heading. "Keep an eye on those two."

Matt nodded and headed off, and Terrin leaned back a bit, scanning the room at the remaining parties.

Himself, Erik, Shawn, Narcolm, and Recinis.

"Wait," she said, causing everyone to turn and stop what they were doing, "I cannot find Lord Aelevadaar, and cannot retrieve the locator although I have tried. We need to go forth and try to get in contact with Lord Narcolm's source immediately, which will require my attention.

But, I must know," she said, turning to both Jasyn and Loban, "Is it possible for us to replicate the locator technology?"

I waste no time with preamble.

"I have found her," I say, quickly raising a hand to still their outcries and comments. "But the All is not only a beautiful Mistress, it is a commanding one as well.

"Intentions for the Greater Good must always... always ...be maintained, no matter the cost. And in this the All demands perfect balance to be used."

Now I pause momentarily, fighting with myself a short while, not willing to say the words I know I must speak, knowing the full import which they carry upon their backs.

"I cannot retrieve her," I whisper in a voice which crashed upon them to echo in the suddenly pregnant silence.

Not intending to be impertinent in any form or fashion, Shayla still couldn't stop the one word which escaped from her lips. "No."

Like a rising and falling tidal wave, her innermost emotions shifted back and forth from anger to sorrow, falling in tandem with the thoughts which clouded her minds eye.

She wasn't willing to give up. She WAS willing to do whatever it took...

...Dark Lord Roan had done this to Graysith. To the Sith. Damn Him. Damn Him to Hell...

...they couldn't let this defeat them. They couldn't let HIM defeat them...

...and they couldn't risk...

Shayla paused at the thought which now began to upwell inside of her as a sudden realization snapped in place.

Why would Dark Lord Roan want to capture Graysith while leaving everyone else to scurry about and look for her? What did He wish to accomplish?

Well, what had he been intending to do all along?

The answer had been well known. He was going to create a Sith Empire of His own. Which meant...

...which meant...

Shayla shuddered at the very horror of the thought.

Roan thought Galen was dead. Or at least useless to His cause. So therefore, his initial plan to use Galen as "breeding stock" had been foiled. But he already had one child with Graysith...

...why not remove her from the wonders of the All and then try for yet another? And perhaps he even thought that he could sway Graysith to his side...

Shayla gasped at the conclusion rising inside of her, oblivious to anyone else in the room. Her eyes locked on Aelvedaar's molten pair, sensing that he was aware of her every thought.

She began to shake her head from side to side, and that one word escaped her yet another time. "No..."

I draw back from her mind, once more looking about the assembled company. Then, as if to underscore my former revelation to them, I speak up once more, quietly and succinctly.

"I cannot retrieve her, only replace her," I reiterate, the words falling like a death knell of a funerary bell. "And this must be done through the sorceries of the Sith, and not by use of the All. For she is indeed within a ship of the Yuuzhan Vong, where Force-sense is eradicated, and the wonders of the All strangely impacted."

I pause, unwilling to bring forth additional words which in reality have only sprung into being from nothing but conjecture... and the firm knowledge I have of my erstwhile "brother." My jaw works, anguish welling up that I cannot send myself to take her place.

...And if Graysith couldn't be found and retrieved with the All...

...Perhaps...

Freedon Naad and the Book of Ages. They might not be able to find Graysith, but at some point, quite logically before ten years if all she and Aelvedaar feared was correct, Roan would have her brought to him, if only for a time so that certain...things could occur.

Maybe they couldn't retrieve Graysith just yet. But they could most certainly find Roan with the Book.

And Shayla knew within her heart of hearts Roan simply had to be stopped before his ally reached the fringes of the Galaxy, or else he might arrive with the other child needed to complete a Sith triad already born.

"If we leave her to his devices we could quite possibly already be defeated," Shayla whsipered. Then, "Lord Narcolm tells us of a Sith Sorceror he has contact with by the name of Freedon Naad, who has something at his disposal known as the Book of Ages. Our conclusion was to return to Khar Delba to retrieve a medallion from the dead Naber K'oth which would allow us to contact Naad and retrieve the whereabouts of Dark Lord Roan...should Naad be willing to assist."

At this Shayla quieted, clearly still not willing to give up, waiting to see what else might be said.

Another sigh wrenches from my very soul, and I bring my face more closely into their midst.

"You do not understand, I fear," I drag the words out from the very deepest wellsprings of despair. "Sith sorceries cannot retrieve her... for she desires we do not do this.

"She would not bring harm to us by being the bait to draw us out to do battle properly; the only means by which I can bypass this reluctance to be saved is by replacing her with another. The All will not let me; it impedes even my full use of magick in this.

"She does not know we have found her... and by her very last thoughts she unknowingly blocks our completely successful rescue of her... and we do not have much time."

I pull back, then briefly drop my eyes before finding the strength to utter the last words that I must, words not meant to persuade but to inform, so all cards will be placed upon this particular table.

"Even now she is devising ways of ending her own life...."

This meant there was only one thing she could do, and that was to trust that which Aelvedaar had decided upon.

Shayla pinned him with blue-green eyes that blazed with determination. Around the table, others watched the exchange like some sort of death-match, waiting breathlessly to see what would happen next. "How?" Shayla asked quietly at last. Then, "And...who...?"

My eyes tunnel into her own.

"Who is the one, you have the effrontery to dare to even wonder--?" I whisper, that one single word crescendoing in my being until I can hear no protests or explanations she may have been trying to utter. It crashes head-long into my instinctive willingness to send myself in the stead of my love... and immediately recoils with a quiet little whimper.

"I would have thought that you would have been the first to make offer of yourself!"

I now begin to fling her from me as though tainted by the mere touch of her flesh against mine... when I pause, my eyes narrowing to scrutinize her thoughtfully. My claws tighten their hold on her, as with the other I make a motion warning the others not to move so much as an inch in their seats. I draw her face even more closely to mine, melding my soul with her own, not liking what I see therein.

"You do not deserve that which She has so openly allowed you to learn."

And with no more preamble I close my eyes, reaching now into her very being with my talents, slashing into her mind to seek out every little neuron, every storage place within the tissues there where she has placed all her learnings of the wonderful power I so clearly can see her misusing. She has no time to raise a barrier before my onslaught; indeed, it would do her no good if she could. The motion a repetition of how my love once stripped her of her very emotions, I now strip her of all knowledge she ever held of the All...

...and place within her a block against ever learning of it again.

A great sigh heaves from me, and I let her drop loosely from my grasp. Then I turn about to see if anyone else has anything to offer us...

...to offer me...

...or if indeed we shall have lost the Chosen Daughter of the Sith forever.

...something.

The words and events were still there, but some understanding somewhere was missing.

Something was gone.

But what?

Shayla frowned and shuddered.

Her. She was missing. The one she knew as sister. Something was being discussed to retrieve her...

...everything was so muddled...

...where was she...? How could she be helped?

Ah yes, she was in Vong space or something.

...How on earth could they get her from Vong space...?

Her Sister. The only Sister she had ever known. The only Sibling she had ever truly known...

...as opposed to OTHERS.

And how was it again that she had become a Sister?

Stripped of the one thing which would secure understanding, all Shayla understood was that Graysith was gone. Her Sister was gone. The one whom she Loved more than even her own Blood-sibling was gone.

But what was it that this Man now said he could do to save her? Who exactly was he again?

What exactly was it that her Sister was so important for? Chosen Daughter of the Sith, was it...?

Shayla firmed, trying to get a grip on the confusion.

But the confusion didn't matter! Her Sister was gone, in danger!

Though fragments of her mind were clearly missing and inaccessible, Shayla knew for certain her words had been misunderstood.

But what was it that had been misunderstood exactly?

Shayla shuddered again, tormented by the utter confusion.

Why was everyone staring?

Ah yes. He had...done...something...?

With sudden nerves of steel, Shayla again stood, willing to lay her life on the line to get her point across. She didn't know what had happened, but she knew this..."The One whom I hold as a Sister closest to me has been taken! I don't know what has happened exactly and I'm clearly confused but...

...I know that I have been misunderstood. I love her dearly...and would do whatever would be required of me to assist her..."

Suddenly overcome by sorrow that she had somehow been able to hold at bay until this point, Shayla fell back into her seat and held her head in her hands, wracking sobs overtook her.

The words? What words?

What was it they were going to do for Graysith again?

...something about taking her place...

...or something like that...?

Yes, that it was.

Shayla again rose her head, still keenly aware of the confusion, horror, and shock on everyone's faces.

She didn't know exactly how but somehow she knew that she had erred.

She would not be the weak link when it came to saving her Sister.

But someone must somehow take her place...

Shayla's greeny-blue eyes locked on to Aelvedaar's firey molten pair. She gave a little shudder, then firmed, and answered in an even tone.

"She is my sister. I will take her place."

"you say that the 'Greater good' prevents you from taking action...that the 'all' and graysiths own wishes prevent you from using your full power to retrieve her...this is understandable... BUT" he said the last word, picking up his sword, and returning it slowly to its sheath. "If you should choose another...graysith's place in the univers also fades...then likewise her place in this 'greater good' of yours fades away. while i do not know all the details behind your words, i can say, that if you can reach into the future, as you must have done in order to spark the power of the 'all' within graysith in the first place, then you can likewise either reach into the path and retrieve her yet again... or perhaps, Look to that which the 'greater good' can not see, graysith being left in there hands, whether she dies or lives, can only mean defeat for the sith. should she die, then all her knowledge passes, all that she contained ceases to be... With that, what provents roan from using her absense, to devestate the univers?" he then pauses, allowing all present to think of what he had said, continuing shortly he slowly came back to aelvedaar

"Should she live...that also means defeat...Roan would use her to create his own sith empire...or so i have heard...should this happen, where will we be? lost...defeated beyond beliefe. No matter what happens to us...she must live, and she must be with us. Graysith has chosen to die, but that can not be... Roan has forsaken our own access to her, but that likewise can not be, Should the 'greater good' truly be recognized, graysith must be returned to us-"

One thought then loomed in his head.

Graysith...if by some chance fate allows thoughts wings...here this...you must live...hold hope...

Now I sigh, opening my eyes to find them locked directly with those of Recinis.

"And you her protector would be...." I say in a voice barely above a whisper, but one that I feel shatters into this young Sith's very self-estimations. Then I rear back and gaze around the allies gathered together here. One hand raises to point directly at Shayla Stargazer Petrolu.

"By her own mouth, the words have been said. Now I may proceed with the All."

...Shayla was certain it was something so very important. Something to do with the revival of the Sith, was it?

Very well then. To save her life, this is what Shayla would do.

She turned and followed the Sith Lord, willing herself not to look back, her heels hitting the floor with the knell of sudden assurety...

But now, as Fate loomed like a shadow, he suddenly understood his sister was about to take the place of Graysith aboard that Vong vessel.

As if in the same mind, he and Erik shot up at the same time. But Shawn placed a hand on Erik's arm, sending him a look and a thought.

Shayla will need you here. I...am her brother. I have misunderstood her time and time again, even to the point that she does not know how much I dearly love her.

I will do this, for the good of you all. Trust me.

With that, Shawn ran after Shayla and Aelvedaar. "Wait!" he said, drawing the attention of both the others, who whirled.

"I will go. My sister is needed here."

"And in what way is this one so necessary, Jedi?" I query softly. "Your skills may be necessary here; there is more afoot in these dark hours than the threat of Lord Roan and his new companions.

"She has spoken the words, my young friend. And for the life of the Chosen One. I believe this is not the case with yours."

With that I turn my back, and continue the way to my sanctum sanctorum.

"Shayla has the same skills that I do in the Force if not more; although you seem to have taken something from her just moments ago," Shawn spoke up. "And consider just how the Chosen One will react to having Shayla take her place.

"I will take Graysith's place," he insisted.

With that Shawn stood firm, ignoring the unreadable expression Shayla was now sending his direction.

This must be done to defeat the evil which is bound to enter this galaxy. Graysith must be here.

And it matters not what has been taken from me. Clearly, in not looking deeper into the words Lord Aelvedaar has spoken I revealed that I do not yet understand all that there is to know here.

What I do understand is that there is something I can do for the Greater Good, right here, and right now.

My decision is final. I will be the one to take Graysith's place."

"Understand this, Jedi!" I allow myself to sneer. "The words you speak are for the wrong reasons, meant for the benefit of the one who has reached true understanding in this matter, and has freely offerred herself in Her stead.

"The All will not let me send you, for you do not offer this for the sake of the Chosen Daughter. Only that your sister should be spared.

"How would Graysith feel to know I exchanged the one she herself has chosen for her very life? I ask you this: how would she feel to know that she has been the cause of unending pain of that same woman, should I send her own brother away from her for what may be eternity?"

Darkness lowers within the corridor, and I can clearly sense this Jedi struggling to not simply grab up his sister and run off with her. She merely turns her head to him, and stares quietly at him in the dim light. I draw in another deep breath.

"The words have been spoken, freely, of her own will, and for the sake of the Chosen Daughter of the Sith. Only via this can I implement the exchange, as long as Graysith remains alive."

What have I gotten myself into...

He scanned the room, and those sitting, he came along one face... the man Shayla gave the 'look' towards... Erik...

"Excuse me, Erik... I would like to introduce myself, I am Lo-Ban Kenobi of Tatooine, what the hell is going on... unless someone else would like to shine some light on this subject..."

Lo-Ban waited for a reply...

Then he stood, speaking to the boy, but somehow addressing them all in the statement. "Shayla is taking Graysith's place aboard the Vong ship so that Graysith can return here safely," he said, a touch of sorrow rising onto his features.

Without further word he turned and left the room altogether.

Then he addressed Terrin,"Shall we get back to our task, or are we beyond that course of action..."

Terrin raked a hand through his blonde hair, watching sympathetically as Erik departed. Now it all made some sense. Graysith wasn't going to allow herself to be used as bait, but that would put her in deadly danger. The switching part didn't exactly make sense at the moment, but then again, what did he know about this Sith stuff?

A voice interrupted his thoughts, and he turned his attention to the question Loban was sending his direction. Beside him, Jasyn continued to grumble.

"I think..." Terrin said, pausing a moment, "That we wait."

Then he stood, realizing they were pretty much at a standstill and not seeing much use in everyone sitting around and staring at each other. Besides,the paranoid part of his brain was telling him to go check on his wife and daughter.

"Everyone just...take it easy..."

Yeah. Right. Like that is going to happen.

"...I'm gonna go check on Galen and Darra."

As he turned to walk away, Jasyn called, "Know where they keep that brandy?"

Terrin turned back and frowned, actually knocking Jasyn across the head. "Lay off the stuff, will you buddy? We're in the middle of something sorta important here, if you haven't noticed."

"Owww!" Jasyn growled, rubbing his head. "Point taken. You didn't have to be so rough! I'll lay off..."

Terrin's look lightened a little at that. "I hope that's a promise. You've been drunk ever since you got here. I know you are nervous, but you aren't helping matters. What's rattling you is not simply going to go away."

"Allright, allright," Jasyn agreed. "It's a promise."

Terrin's look relaxed further. "Glad to hear it. And if you need to talk through something, there are plenty of us around. Got it?"

Jasyn nodded. "Gotcha boss."

"Allright then. You know where I'll be."

With no further word, Terrin turned and left to find his wife and little girl.

...Aside from One other...

At that, a sudden understanding slammed into her.

"I would have thought that you would have been the first to make offer of yourself!" he had said.

And before then:

"I cannot retrieve her, only replace her. And this must be done through the sorceries of the Sith, and not by use of the All. For she is indeed within a ship of the Yuuzhan Vong, where Force-sense is eradicated, and the wonders of the All strangely impacted."

Something niggled and prodded in Shayla's mind, dancing about to gain her attention. And suddenly, that something had reached the outermost parts of her psyche, absolutely demanding that attention.

She had misunderstood him. While he had been asking for someone willing to swap places with Graysith all along, she had initially thought that he simply saw no way to reach Graysith. That he had given up on her.

She should have known better, based on how much she knew Aelvedaar cared about Graysith, but at the moment that he'd originally spoken the words, all Shayla had understood, based on his sorrow, was that he believed they had been defeated. That the only solution to counter this defeat was to find a new Chosen Daughter of the Sith. Only later, when she'd been stripped of...whatever that was...did she realize he was talking about a trade in places rather than a complete replacement. Realized that she had been very wrong.

But he had also misunderstood her. While she had not been willing to give up on Graysith, believing that he had, he'd believed she was refusing to accept his only possible solution. That she wasn't willing to risk herself, no matter the cost, to save Graysith.

And that wasn't the truth of the matter. She'd lay down her life, right now, if that would bring her back. In fact, that's exactly what she intended to do now. But then, she also trusted that, if at all possible, the Sith would save her.

But then again, if it wasn't possible...so be it. The Greater Good was far more important. And the life of the One who had Chosen her as well.

"I am the only one who can go, for I am the only one who loves her enough to willingly take her place, aside from One other who cannot," Shayla finally responded to Recinis's question, turning to gaze at the red-skinned Sith Sorceror.

I reach out to her, place a hand alongside her face.

"You will need defense where you are going, and your Jedi force abilites will not work."

With that one motion, I remove the block I had placed in her mind, and replace all the teachings Graysith had given her. I hope the ability to manipulate the environment will act in good stead for her, for I know she will not be able to step through so tremendous a dimensional space, nor erect the all-protective chronotic shield.

And with the next movement, one in which I tilt my head back, reaching one hand to her and the other toward the Octahedron, fingers loosely curled, my being reaching out to seek permission of the All to accomplish that which I know I am able to do...

...I send this one away from this place.

There can be no joining without separation.

There can be no good without evil.

All the elements making up all in creation, all come together in unity blazing in sunlit brilliance for their differences. For opposites cannot exists without their counterparts to bring measure, and thus cannot unite without being first perceived as being two.

In this manner is perfection of balance achieved in the unity of all. And balance is what maintains all that is, and slows the encroachment of entropy.

Here in this place, a balance is offered, another is sought... and both are in agreement.

Shayla was gone. He knew it. And he'd just sat by and let her go.

But why had he done that? Why had he let her tell him to back off in the matter?

He sank to the ground, crossing his arms and closing his eyes. He leaned against a wall behind him, and simply let this question sink in for several minutes.

Could it be, that after all this time, he was now understanding that she trusted the Sith? Was he learning to trust them too?

With the knowledge of all that he'd seen and done since he'd been with Shayla, and since he'd been with the Sith, the answer was obvious.

Yes, he trusted them. And with his Beloved now gone into the darkness of intergalactic space, he knew he had to trust.

He was learning.

Erik sighed again, another realization slamming home.

He wanted to spend the rest of his life with her. Oh how he loved all that she was--her light-hearted humor, her quck wit; her loyalty, her assurety; her fire and passion...

Would he ever be able to see those wonderful things in her again?

He simply had to believe that he would.

Suddenly, he was jarred from his thoughts with the knowledge that someone had placed a hand on his shoulder. He opened his eyes and looked into the equally concerned ones of Shawn Petrolu.

"She won't give up..." was all that he said, his eyes belying the true import of those words despite his otherwise calm demeanor.

"I know," Erik replied quietly. "I know..."

With that, Lo-Ban exited the room, and headed out towards the sith city... not sure what he was looking for, he went for a walk...

He was about to turn a corner... he spotted Shawn and Erik a block away, he didn't wish to interupt... he would wait until he was alone, to approach Shawn...

"Fear not for the adept; she is well-armed to withstand the short time she must remain in her confinement."

Shawn squatted. "I think there is someone who wishes to speak with me. I'll should be back shortly."

With that he stood, and headed to where he found the young Loban silently waiting, clearly wanting to say something.

"And I believe I understand what he intends to do. We need not fear for her. She would not desire us to do so. Besides, I firmly believe she will be returned to us shortly."

Then, beginning to walk, Shawn addressed yet another question in Loban's direction, curious as to what his answer might be. "What is it exactly that you believe you understand, and why would it be more than you wished for?"

Terrin sighed with contentment at the scene, then came up behind Galen, wrapping arms about her waist and smiling to his daughter.

Galen leaned into him and he tightened his grip on her, his look suddenly turning serious as the concern he harbored over the most recent events returned to the forefront of his mind. Galen couldn't see his face, but she seemed to sense something and turned in his arms. Between them, Darra snuggled into the warmth and protection both of her parents were offering her, kicking and cooing.

Galen directed her big brown eyes into his blue ones quizzically. He hesitated a moment, not wishing to worry her, but knowing she could read him like a book. He'd might as well tell her what was going on.

"Your sister was taken by Lord Roan's familiar while she was traveling aboard one of the Sith ships. They are doing what they can to retrieve her..." was all he said. He continued to hold both she and Darra close, waiting to see how she might react.

There really wasn't much else to it. "How can that help you trust any more, Loban? And what is it about the Sith that truly is disturbing you?"

Again he stopped, turning to the boy and laying a hand on his shoulder. "I can't say I agree with every single thing I've seen here. I've struggled with much of this alot lately. But to see my sister truly happy, and in love for that matter, has made me reconsider alot of those things I formerly believed. And Shayla was never one to trust easily--yet somehow she does trust here."

Shawn paused, his eyes a bit distant as he again continued to speak, "I haven't always listened to her and understood her as I should have. I think it's time I start paying more attention." Then, all evidences of regret fading from his features, Shawn looked Loban dead in the eye. "There's an old proverb from my homeworld which states that true understanding begins where your nose ends. Keep your eyes and your ears open. Consider everything with the utmost attention, and leave your past assumptions behind.

"These are not the Sith that the Jedi claim they know so well."

"Has it not occurred to you yet the thin line you walked to get here? Haven't you once considered the fact that Graysith could have easily left you stranded, or worse, on Khar Delba? Yet you remain here walking about free and assisting.

"And you can't establish trust based on all this? If you struggle with the simple task of seeing with your own eyes and listening with your own ears and can only hold to the point of view from which you've established truth in your life--a truth which, I might add, is based solely on what others have told you...

...then you simply don't deserve to be a Jedi."

With that, Shawn walked away...

Lo-Ban ran up to Shawn,"I apologize, I must keep my guard up, it is the only thing I have right now... The problem is, I do trust these people, but I know I shouldn't..."

"Use your heart and instincts. Forget what you've always "known." Decide if you are going to hold to those truths which you cling to or if you are really willing to learn. For as I said, until you can do that, I cannot teach you.

"For you need to learn to see with your eyes and your heart, and not simply with your mind first."

Sending Loban one final measuring gaze, Shawn again stepped away and headed back to where he knew Erik Kartan was still lingering with not just a bit of worry, clearly still needing a shoulder to lean on.

"Is there anything i can do to help?" he muttered, half to himself, half to the great sorcerer.

Returning a sorowful gaze to graysiths still form, Recinis awaited a reply, and let his mind wander...

if only you had been faster...more alert...perhaps this would not have happened...Graysith would be fine...and Shayla would still be safely within the sith city...

he spent some time rolling that thought back and forth through his mind, trying to find a flaw to its shameful implications, but somehow not truly haveing the will to deny its truths...
Had he been faster, and more alert, this would indeed have been avoided...but was it right to blame himself for limitations that no matter how hard he tried...he simply could not over come? everyone has there limitations...
Looking at Aelvedaar for a moment his mind began working once again.

His powers are seemingly endless...he had pointed his limitation before...but had easily overcome it, along with the strength of Shayla...
again he turned the thoughts over and over in his head, again trying to find a fault with there truths.

EVERYONE has limitations... Even this mighty sorcerer... that is a simple fact...but it is when we are TOGETHER that the possibilities become endless... i must try to become...NO... I must BECOME stronger, failure in this aspect is not an option...I must help the possibilities become endless...every stone is important, when looking at the house...

He closed his eyes... He saw his uncle, for indeed, this was his uncle's saber...

Oh, how he missed his uncle, that was one reason he had left Tattoine... to forget the pain it had caused him...

Lo-Ban's eyes opened, he griped the curved metallic rod even tighter... he ignited it, a blur of pure red came forth... he did a bit of circus tricks, and then started pinging on some debris scattered in the streets of the sith city... he couldn't believe the power of his uncles saber had unleashed onto him, much better than the crude model he had lost on Khar Delba... indeed he was lucky he kept his uncle's saber in his ship, the only possession left to him...

And Lo-Ban continued threw the city... faster and faster he went, harder and harder...

At last, after a seeming eternity, I feel her shift a bit beneath my hands. My head flings up in sheer joy, and I turn molten eyes to Recinis.

"This one is returning from the Shadowlands, my friend," I say to him, reaching out to place a hand on his shoulder, now letting my gaze penetrate deeply into his soul to let him know I am not only aware of his thoughts, but approve of them as well.

The sole exception being his tendency toward constant beratement of self.

I squeeze his shoulder for emphasis.

"Tend to her physical wounds, my brother," I command him quietly. "I shall now turn my focus on returning the Adept to us. A simple enough matter; I am certain she harbors no averseness toward leaving the Vong ship. Perhaps she will have gleaned some information while she was within it."

Not to mention the Sith themselves...

He reached for a goblet and poured some brandy that still remained when he noticed Matt sending him a green-eyed look that read Don't you dare!

Jasyn just scowled and leaned back. Actually turned to Narcolm and offered him the goblet.

And Matt wondered about this Book of Ages. He was an info smuggler at heart, and he couldn't help but be a little curious.

And just how exactly how had Narcolm come in contact with a Sith Sorceror? Not like they were easy to come by...

"If you don't mind my asking..." Matt started, "...can you tell me how you came into contact with Freedon Naad and his book of Ages?"

Ahhh, my head... where am I, oh, yes, now I remember...

He sat up... he was completely nude, and his clothing no where in site... the only thing he had was his uncle's saber...

He stood up, grabbed the saber, and started searching... not only for his way back to where the others were, but... to find something to wear... and dry off, he was slimier than a greased pig...

Matt nodded to Narcolm, indicating his appreciation for the explanation. After all, Narcolm could have simply told him to back off.

"Well," he finally said, "Might be something to look into further later, although I'm certainly not the one calling the shots here. Still," he said, now looking to Jasyn, "We could get a head start on piggy-backing that signal while we are waiting..."

Upon closer inspection, this was no pile of rags... it was his clothing, torn off as if an animal had mauled him...

he then bent over, and gently lifted her from the ground. Glancing one last time at the sorcerer he quickly departed, and walked through the temple slowly, untill finaly finding a suitable room.

He gently laid graysith on the bed, and placed a few soft sheets over her, and set the lighting to a gentle color, that would not alarm her should she suddenly come awake. he then fond a small cloth, and wet it, finaly placing it on graysiths forhead.

he then looked at her for a moment, as if considering something. walking over and sitting next to the bed, entaris inspected the bandage he had put on her hand before this incodent had accured. a frown crosses his features, and he removed them, and cleaned the cut again, then replacing the old bandages with new ones.

Or perhaps she will find us another ship. I have missed the X-wing terribly. Although Shayla believes she is flying it, I know better. Sometimes it is difficult being a droid.

After working my way through quite an obstacle course, I had finally managed to get outside. I was interested in exploring this new place in which I was finding myself, and had nothing else to do. I had been tootling and whistling to myself for simply hours, wandering along assessing this new environment and mapping it into my systems when I recieved a surprise straight out of some holocomedy Shayla might have watched.

But then again, she usually was not the type for this sort of comedy.

A young man, dressed in some poor excuse for a kilt, was traipsing through the Sith City skittishly, as though he was hoping no one would spot him in his unusual position. And I am only a droid, but I certainly wish I had not seen him still. He caught sight of me and possibly saw me as some sort of lifesaver, for he came closer. I splatted harshly at him and backed up, wary. He did not register in my databanks as someone I was familiar with. Still, I have no clue as to how else he might have found himself in this city; as I understand it not just anyone can get inside. Rolling my optical lens to assess him, I tootled something that I hoped he could translate.

Quite bluntly, the translation was: Who the hell are you, and where the Hell are your clothes?

Splatting disgustedly, I turned and headed back to the Temple, not sending another verbalization in his direction. If he was smart, he would follow me and get some clothing before he scared the living daylights out of someone. If not, his problem...

Certainly the oddest acting droid I have ever met...

Only this dream didn't fade.

Taking in a great breath, she looked down, verifying the existence of her own body, one hand reaching up slowly to trace a soft line upon the smooth skin at the hollow of her throat, the other laying beside her and beginning to finger the soft satins of the bedclothes through the clean bandages in which it was swathed.

Where was the hard prison of the Vong ship? Where were the sensations of pure evil of which the very atmosphere of that ship had been made? Where the moist and unsavoring feel of the cold and clammy wall at her back, chilling her through the thin cloth of her gown? Where the place in which she had laid down to die?

Or had she?

Now uncontrollable fits of shivering began to wrack her slight frame, sending fingers of uncertainty and not a little fear racing throughout her.

This couldn't be. Something was wrong. If she were back in the blessed confines of Phrinnchatka, where was the loving embrace of the All she had come to regard as more of her essence than her own very soul?

This had to be death then....

As if afraid to find confirmation, one hand now slowly raised to touch the silent Glyph on her forehead. The fingers of that hand lay there in quiet denial and despair...

Looking upon graysiths awakened form a sligth smile crossed his face, but it was quickly replaced with a frown as he noticed her confusion.
Aproachign quietly recinis sat next to the bed, and looked at graysith for a moment.

"Recinis?" she whispered, her eyes widening further. "Wh-why are you here? Have you died as well?"

They-- who is this "they?" No, him... her Sire... Aelvedaar; he had taken her, saved her from death, brought her back from the very brink of it, from the hideously singular existence she had experienced being the sole human being aboard a Yuuzhan Vong ship in intergalactic hyperdrive... he had somehow reached out and found her, taken her back...

...but at what great expense?

Her eyes widened further, and a sudden crunch could be clearly heard as her teeth clamped down upon the rim of the glass Recinis still held.

Shayla. She had....

Taken her place? What madness was this?

Another long and drawn-out moan wrenched from her soul to fling from her lips, and her hand flung reflexively out to crash against the glass in front of her. It tumbled from Recinis's hand, flying through the air to shatter upon the flagstone floor of the room.

"No-oo-ooo!" Her head flung back, her hair tumbling about, wet with tears and with the sweat which now sprang out upon her body. Blindly, her hands scrabbled out, seeking something, anything, finding contact with the rich robes Recinis wore, her fingers coiling and kneading the silken fabric as though she would tear it into bits. Great shuddering sobs began heaving her breast; her head now began turning from side to side in a kind of desperate denial of the fact, that the very action alone would bring surcease to the pain now flooding every atom of her body.

Shayla in that awful place... subject to that, that chrome-eyed whatever-it-was, at constant threat of being "visited' by the one she had at one time called Dark Heart, one who had perpetrated certain indignities upon her flesh and who more than likely would not hesitate to do the same upon that of her Sister....

She had to stop this. She had to help... but how could she? Where was the All which would enable her to do so?

Slowly, her pounding heart lessened, slowing until it beat at something close to its normal rate. Slowly the utter despair and mindless fear began fading from her visage; even more slowly the tremors that had assaulted her body began to quiet until they finally ceased altogether.

She still knew what had happened. But now she believed there was hope.

Her jaw worked, and she swallowed to relieve the sudden dryness in her throat. The shining green brilliance seemed to envelope the entire world, bringing yet more certainty to her mind, and hope to her heart.

She stared Recinis straight in the eye, her head now cocking to one side as though recognizing him for the first time.

"Recinis..." she whispered through another little hiccup. Then, quite on the impulse, she reached out and wrapped her arms about his broad shoulders, leaning forward to bury her face within the soft folds of his robes.

"Thank you...."

At length Graysith pulled her face slowly back from the rich folds of Recinis's robes, her grasp about his shoulders loosening a touch. She stared mutely at a spot centered on his left collarbone before finally tilting her head back a bit to gaze up in his eyes. The look she gave him now was steady; had the Glyph been alight it would have been glowing with the soft radiance of the near ultraviolet.

That errant thought of the Glyph flashed through her mind, bringing a shadow to flit momentarily across her face. Then she quieted her inner self, and firmed.

"Thank you, Recinis, for allowing me to... re-orient myself. There is nothing else I am needing to know other than when Lord Aelvedaar will be finished with his task of bringing my Adept back to us, that I might perhaps have another little matter taken care of...."

Her voice trailed off as one hand reached up without her conscious knowledge to lightly brush the quiescent rune on her forehead. Then she remained still, yet staring up into the face of her Protector, secure in her safety here yet somehow, deep inside, suddenly feeling so very, very alone.

She turned sideways upon the bed, swinging her feet over the edge and letting them dangle there before her. They looked somehow vulnerable there, bare as they were. But the expression which crossed her features was far from that.

"You search for something, Recinis," she finally said in a soft whisper. "What is this thing that you seek?"

"Indeed you are among friends. Never forget that, Recinis."

Then her eyes clouded, and her smile faded a bit. For long moments she stared off into middle space, allowing her expression to grow vague as she wrestled with something she had not been aware of until mere moments before. Within, the Beast lifted his head with a questioning growl; she gave it a mental slap and focused on Recinis once again.

"You must... cease thinking of yourself only in the light of others," she offerred, frowning a bit to think that what she was trying to get across wasn't quite becoming clear.

"The All may be blocked from my use at this time, but nevertheless I can sense there is so much more to you than you allow yourself to believe."

Now her eyes cleared, and another smile showed her white teeth in the dim light of the room.

For a moment he sat thinking, wondering about the possibilities that were set before him. While he felt confused, and a bit lost, he knew that he had indeed been given a great gift in being sent here, One that he would charish for all his existance.

He wasn't a Sith. He was just the significant other of a Sith Adept.

Hell, he wasn't even a Jedi.

Erik frowned at this thought, pausing from his worry and concern.

Who was he, really? Simply the loved One of Shayla Petrolu? And why was he?

He wasn't a Jedi. He'd never completed his trials.

And why not?

He'd seen them as pointless. Seen the whole idea of suffering through a trial to prove Jedihood merely a task to display something that could be seen in another more practical light.

But that wasn't all of it, was it? There was yet more to why he'd never completed his road to Jedihood. Yet another reason why he'd left Corellia.

Becoming a Jedi had never been what he had wanted. Granted with certain gifts from birth, people in his family had naturally assumed he must become a Jedi.

But he had always wanted something else. The life of a Jedi, even by Corellian standards, tied one down to obligation and goodness. And while Erik was neither one to shirk responsibility or not seek out the best for himself and others, he was more than that. He loved life; while Jedihood would have brought him in contact with many people and allowed him to help those in the galaxy, he would have never known himself.

He didn't even quite know himself now.

Who was he?

He was Erik Kartan, an Information Smuggler.

But why was he this? To make a descent living? To meet others? To acquire knowledge?

No. To live life to its fullest.

And, in the grand spectrum of things, Erik Kartan realized that part of living his life included one very special person who was risking her life for the cause she so deeply believed in.

A cause to save the Galaxy that hadn't even realized what lay in store.

Erik actually smiled at that.

What a way to live life, eh buddy? To fight for the ultimate protection of an entire Galaxy, however small your role, however misunderstood you might be. To live...for something more than even yourself.

But first, to know what you yourself are.

So who was he?

Erik Kartan, Corellian Information Smuggler, Ally of the Sith, Lover of Shayla Petrolu...

...and a Liver of Life to the Fullest.

Only now, however, would that living truly begin. Right here and now.

At that thought, Erik suddenly turned on his heel, much to the surprise of Shawn Petrolu. Without a word he proceeded into the Temple and walked towards the sense which he was beginning to identify as Recinis, curious as to if the Protector knew of what was proceeding. Finally he made his way to a set of double doors and paused, not wanting to intrude.

One hand reached out with a vicious shove to open those doors, then she strode angrily through them onto the stone balcony beyond. There she paused, looking out upon the ancient city of Phrinnchatka, so silent that the distant cry of an infant came wafting clearly into her ears.

For a long moment she merely stood there in apparent contemplation, all the while fighting against the sudden upwelling of fear and anguish which rushed up within her. She reached out and clenched the carved stone railing so tightly her knuckles turned white.

"He shall contact us when he succeeds, Recinis," she broke that heavy silence with the succinct statement. "This is the manner of my Sire; in the meantime, I shall remain here, waiting."

She fell silent then and merely stood looking out across the city once again.

He paused at that, seeing the form of the Choosen Daughter on the balcony.

Erik smiled at the purple and silver R2 unit, then turned his brown eyes into Loban's.

What the Hell was with this kid? Didn't he have a CLUE what was happening here? What was going on...? Just exactly WHAT had he been doing to get into this situation?

Erik didn't let any of these thoughts show however. He just merely pointed to a set of suite doors across the hall; the set of doors belong to the suites he and Shayla had shared...

He paused at that thought for a mere moment, then pressed on. "You can take a clean jumpsuit from the wardrobe in the suites across the way," he said, waiting to see what the boy would do.

Lo-Ban was quickly out of there sight...
ah.... warm water... it has been a while...

Lo-Ban took quite a long bath, he even fell into a slumber... for the first time, he could remember his dream... he was in a large room, very dark, he could hear only one thing... a hissing sound, coming from all directions... 'it is your destiny' over and over, his uncle came to him, from the darkness... he handed him his saber,'it is your destiny'

Lo-Ban shot up from the tub... He couldn't believe what he had just witnessed in his dream...

He quickly dried, and went to search for something to wear... he came across a jumpsuit Erik had designated for him, he quickly put it on...a bit tight... but considering the alternative...

Lo-Ban looked at his wrists,"Not used to seeing that much..." He then tugged at the collar, and quickly gave it no more consideration, it would do...

Lo-Ban came to where he had left his 'kilt' and his uncles saber... he placed his saber on the jumpsuit's belt, and exited the room...

So-- empty, not to feel the subtle splendor of the All. Once a constant and comforting blanket, it now seemed as though that blanket had been ripped off from around her, leaving her chilled and shivering in its wake.

A frisson of ice did ripple up and down her spine at that thought, and she wrapped her arms about herself reflexively. For a moment she wavered, her chin trembling...

So... tired. So very, very tired. Perhaps it is all for nothing. Perhaps now that the Child was born, the coronet could be passed along to another. Perhaps she was really needed no longer as the Chosen One...

...before thoughts of tiring strength gravitated even further back in time to when that strength was fresh and new and undefeatable. An image flashed from nowhere, dancing in front of her eyes, taunting her: an image of herself, standing before an ancient and splendid Throne, upon which One sat in utter assurety of His own strength, eyes the turquoise blue of a distant and exotic sun.

What was it she had done? Strode up to him, her head held high, her chin leading the way like a herald before her; she had come to a fearless halt before him. What were the words she had cried out into that strangely echoing silence?

Ahhh... "I have, at last, arrived. To all the pale Jedi, I lift my face and cry, Beware! For the Universe is in blackness, and I have touched the Night! Who is here to begin the confrontation?"

How fierce she was in her convictions. How utterly unmoving in them. How she had stood up before him, and even against him when the circumstances had warranted it.

Him... her Dark Heart.

Who was dead.

Now her head dropped down so that her hair hid her face, and for the first time truly faced that fact head-on. A great ball of icy fire rose up within her, spreading out to engulf her entire body, and yet another flood of tears welled up in her eyes. For a moment she remained absolutely silent, sobbing out her grief, old despair, and every last bit if uncertainty she had been unconsciously holding within her since her Lord had died. All the more painful it was, for to her, he had truly died twice.

At length the sobs choked into nonexistence. She stood sniffing quietly, contemplating, considering further.

What would her Dark Heart think of her now?

Her head flung up, her eyes iced to amethyst. This would not be her legacy to him.

Deep within her, a little door quietly closed. Behind that door the grew a great rush of resolve, which now flooded through her to replace the chills that had so recently racked her small frame.

The All or not... she was still the Chosen Daughter of the Sith.

And alone or not, there was still a destiny to fulfill.

Now she turned abruptly round, strode back into the bedchamber, and came to where Recinis was questioning Erik. Across the corridor, the young man named Loban was exiting the room.

"Is there something the matter here, Recinis?" she asked turning to him, new fire and strength flashing in her eyes.

"I am here, as you can see, and quite fine," she offered, spreading her hands out to each side, a smile on her face. Then she seemed to start a bit, and looked down upon herself. Although her wounds had been taken care of, she was still dressed only in the gown she had donned before she had left Phrinnchatka. Bloodstains marred its midnight beauty, and great rents in the silken fabric revealed just a bit too much of herself than she perhaps would have liked.

"But I would like to clean and refresh myself with a bit of rest," she continued smoothly, now turning back to Recinis, completely ignoring the tears in the gown, letting her demeanor transform the tattered garment into the robes of an empress.

That's exactly what I wanted to hear...

Lo-Ban followed him outside, and waited...

Why do I get the feeling this one is going to get himself into trouble, AGAIN?

As if she somehow heard his thoughts, Izzy squawked again behind him. He turned to eye her. "I bet you are in need of some power," he said suddenly. She whistled something that could be none other than an affirmative.

There was something dark and elusive lurking in this one.

Shawn wondered if Loban was aware of this darkness within him, or if it was all subconscious. He also had to wonder if it was this, rather than his experience with Tyberius, that fueled Loban's unreasonable distrust in the Sith.

Maybe this was something that should be explored further, Shawn thought.

Shawn considered this, and at length opened his eyes and stood. He approached Recinis and Loban, who were standing in the center of the court square.

Dueling? Shawn wondered. For someone who has never even trained, this could be difficult.

But then, for someone who had never trained, how had Loban come across a lightsaber to begin with?

Shawn again frowned as this new realization hit home.

Something about this simply did not mesh.

He kept that thought to himself, then nodded once to Recinis, and once to Loban. The former merely nodded back, the latter responded with something that could be approximated as aloofness.

Shawn simply ignored this and folded his arms, waiting to see what would happen.