Md’diffnnd sensed the decisions forming in the mind of Panthar and decided it was time to act. As if in his own answer to Panthar’s question, in one smooth motion he lept from his haunches and bounded to the ground, trotting proudly to the base of the ship’s steps. He then sat and stared regally at Panthar, sending a message through the link they now shared.

we go, we go, Dark Lord needs us

“So, anyway, should we take him? Looks like he wants to come with us. Or maybe he just wants to find Phal…”

[ 11-24-2003 08:31 PM: Message edited 1 time, lastly by Panthar Dantares ]

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

Find the Dark One, repay him, devour him.

Md'diffnnd sat for only a few more seconds while the two bipeds did nothing. He growled a low guttural sound and stood, bounding up through the hatchway. Panthar was shoved to the side as the tuk’ata entered and his inertia carried him to a seat where he sat down hard. Md'diffnnd turned his head to Panthar and growled, letting it trail into a soft whine. He then looked at Erik and sat back on his haunches once more, as if waiting. The tuk’ata’s massive body filled the back end of the shuttle.

"Have a seat," he said in the meantime, waving to the empty copilot's chair as he continued working the controls. As he did so, he snorted a bit as an errant thought came to his mind. "Who knows, maybe this tuk'ata will come in hand when we have to explain to the Empire what we're doing back again and minus two of our party..."

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

“Yeah, I’d like the see the look on old Sorby’s face when he sees this wild thing. Maybe we should tell him that it ate Shayla and Phal, and then we tamed it.”

He stroked a face tendril of the tuk’ata, then rubbed above the left eye.

“Yeah, there’s a good boy, Fido,” said Panthar, mushing his voice as if speaking to a baby. “You ate up that nasty Phalomir and spit out his silly robes, didn’t you?”

Md'diffnnd stared at Panthar and gave a bemused growl.

“Then you ate that Shayla and we’ll never see her again, will we? You big bad beastie…” Panthar stopped and looked a Erik.

“Oh, Erik, I’m sorry! I’m so sorry, I didn’t mean that… We’ll find her, I know we will.”

He smacked his hand into his forehead.

“Oh, cripes, what a thing to say! I am SO sorry!”

[ 11-28-2003 10:07 PM: Message edited 1 time, lastly by Panthar Dantares ]

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

...things he had picked up by simply watching his wife do so. But when it came to plotting a hyperspace vector...

...Erik quite suddenly realized that this wasn't going to happen. "Uhhhh we have a problem. A big problem" he said, his eyes turning dark as he looked to Panthar. "Unless you can read Sith star charts and coordinates...

...we won't be going anywhere..."

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

“What do you mean?” he asked. “Don’t you know how to fly this thing? Oh crap, CRAP!”

He stood and began searching under various items.

“Maybe there’s a instruction book or something! Come on, you can’t tell me we’re gonna be stranded here on this stupid planet until Thoran comes back to kill us too!”

He paused.

“Oh cripes, I didn’t mean that he killed Shayla. I meant… No, I mean she’s probably not even dead…. Well, not probably, but… oh, never mind! Just land this silly thing so I don’t get sick!”

He continued searching.

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

At this he trailed, his eyes darkening further and defocusing, worry and concern clouding them. He closed his eyes a moment, reaching out in the Force towards a treasured link...

...which seemed distant but no longer severed.

Shayla? he thought out towards that link, unsure of whether he would be heard or not.

"She's alive," he then said aloud, his eyes opening once. "I can feel it."

At this he fell silent a moment more, pursing his lips thoughtfully and regarding the darkening skies. "You might as well sit back and rest for a bit...

...I'm gonna try to figure out this damned transport. I sense that Shayla is out there somewhere, and I've called to her...

...but we may be too far away for her to hear me. Which means we still need to find a way off-planet. At the moment, this seems like our only option so...

...I'm gonna give it everything I've got and see if I come up with something. If not...

...we might have to go on a search and find and see if perhaps we can come up with another transport out of here."

He paused, shrugging. "It might not be a great plan, but about now it's all I've got. Unless, of course, you have any ideas..."

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

Md'diffnnd glared and growled, a face tendril wrapping tightly around Panthar’s hand… too tightly.

“Ow- oww! OK, maybe he wasn’t!”

The grip loosened.

“But if she is alive then either she got away or he had some other purpose in mind for her. Either way, we’ve been here for a while without any other contact from anyone, so I guess I can resign myself to being here a while more.”

He leaned against a bulkhead.

“I guess I could go find some food and water while you figure this thing out. Maybe I’ll find some clues or something inside.”

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

Erik stopped short as a wealth of warmth poured into him from his link with Shayla. She was trying to tell him something, but he couldn't quite make it out. His eyes grew alert once more as he returned his gaze to Panthar.

"Hey," he then said, "I think I've finally gotten Shayla's attention. From what I can feel, she's allright...

...and I'd venture to conclude that she knows we're stranded here. I don't know her circumstances but with the feel I get from her...

...I'd guess we'll have help coming this way."

He paused then, his look darkening a bit. "As for Thoran...

...I worry that he has some other plans for her as well. I don't think Shayla would fall for anything he has to say just yet, she's too hard-headed. I have to suppose then that she's probably gotten away...

...and perhaps may have an angry or plotting Thoran on her heels. But she's probably already aware of this."

Pausing at that, Erik turned his attentions to the viewport of the Sith transport and completely changed the subject. "Are you sure you want to go out there?"

[ 11-29-2003 02:16 PM: Message edited 1 time, lastly by Erik Kartan ]

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

“So… you’re saying you have some kind of telepathetic link with Shayla, right? So, how does that work exactly? I mean, it took us 19 hours to get here in hyperspace, and you can just blip blap with her in your head?”

He scratched his head and chuckled.

“Must make it awfully hard to surprise her on her birthday.”

He laughed heartily at his own joke, leaning back on the tuk’ata. It gave Panthar a bemused look and slapped gently at him with its face tendrils.

“So, you just want to wait here for help that might be coming? For 19 hours?”

He looked around at the stark surroundings of the shuttle.

“I don’t know… I think I’d rather go explore a bit with Fido here than go crazy in here. I mean, there has to be a comm-link in here somewhere, right? So you can let me know when they show up… if they show up?”

He looked into Erik’s eyes.

“I mean, come on. I’m an archeologist.”

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

...or at least you were. Too bad you can't remember exactly why you sold the company...

Erik jerked away from this thought, hoping to completely avoid the nagging obscurities in his head. "I can't communicate with Shayla as easily as you think from this distance. It's more of a feeling i get from her; this far away that's about all I can be certain of. Now if we are in close proximity...

...yes, we can talk back and forth via our Force link."

He paused a moment at that, considering the cabin of their little Sith transport. Suddenly, speading 19 hours in that little cramped space seemed rather uninviting...

...and try as he might he couldn't completely ignore his smuggler's sense telling him that there was a good line of information right in front of him.

He finally conceded to it, standing. "Allright, if you're going to go nosing around, the least I can do is go along in case you get into trouble," he said. "Besides, maybe looking around this place can jog some of my missing memory regaurding the Sith. You and Fido take the lead."

He paused a moment, then motioned in front of him. Then he ended with, "Shayla will let me know if and when she arrives here..."

[ 12-08-2003 10:17 PM: Message edited 1 time, lastly by Erik Kartan ]

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

Panthar moved to the hatch door and it slid open as he approached, the gangway automatically moving to the ground. As if on cue, the tuk’ata brushed Panthar’s face one last time and bounded down the ramp, pausing at the bottom to turn and wait. Panthar looked to Erik, took a deep breath, and skipped down after.

Panthar reached the bottom and looked around at the surrounding forest. Nothing stirred, and the sounds he normally attributed to such a wild place were mute. He scratched his head and turned to the temple, glancing up to the shuttle as he did so.

“Well,” he called up to Erik. “So far, so good. Nothing’s eaten me yet. But hey, the day is young!”

He chuckled quietly and began walking to the temple steps, the wind seemingly carrying his long strides even further.

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

...if only for the very fact that the wild area around them was so quiet you could probably have heard a pin drop. Erik quickened his pace, clearing his throat.

"Something's not right here," he said quietly as he got closer to the archeologist, "It's just...

...too quiet. Almost as if...

...we are being watched. Maybe we should go back while we still can...

...this was a bad idea..."

He trailed at that, still walking behind Panthar but unconsciously reaching for his blaster holster as he did so...

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

“Go back if you want, ya wuss!” he called behind him. “I’ll bring back a petrified stool sample for you!”

Panthar laughed aloud and leaped over the rubble at the base of the entrance, disappearing into the blackness, followed by the tuk'ata.

A few seconds later Panthar's head poked out from the ruins.

"Hey, you coming or not?" he called to Erik.

[ 12-15-2003 10:06 PM: Message edited 1 time, lastly by Panthar Dantares ]

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

...only for it to finally register in his brain that he was unarmed.

Oh, hell...

Erik looked to Panthar smugly. "Well, it's a little late to turn back," he growled. "This better be worth the risk we're taking."

With nothing more than a reluctant sigh then, Erik at last stepped into the blackness of the grand ruins of the Temple of Koris'ian, clueless as to what they may find...

...but quite suspicious that it just might be something he wouldn't like.

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

“I guess the tour doesn’t stop here,” Panthar said. He looked back to Erik and raised his eyebrows, then turned back to the tuk’ata. It huffed and resumed walking down the hall.

Panthar chewed his lower lip, contemplating.

“Hey, Fido,” he said. “We can’t see in the dark, you know. If we keep going then we’ll run out of light.”

The tuk’ata paused, not looking back, and lowered its head. Panthar cringed and closed his eyes in anticipation of another snarl. Instead, an eerie, haunting growl issued from its throat and echoed through the halls beyond, followed by a chain of soft clicks that seemed to resound through the temple, dissipating into the ancient structure. Panthar opened his eyes and was amazed by a soft light that now spread its way down the hall, seeming to emanate from the very walls and ceiling.

The tuk’ata moved ahead once more, and Panthar shrugged his shoulders and followed. He glanced behind briefly to see if Erik was following, and then happily turned his attention back to the tuk’ata.

“I think the Armorers did more than make armor,” he called back to Erik. “Looks like they had their hands pretty deep in the magick as well. Maybe Phal should think about taking on this gig instead of trying to be the Lord of the Barbarians… or whatever they are called. Warriors, yeah, that was it. And the sorcerers, yeah. Naw, this is way cooler. What do you think?”

[ 12-24-2003 12:48 AM: Message edited 1 time, lastly by Panthar Dantares ]

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

But there were things that must be attended to before the Dark Lord’s return.

For one, there was a dark presence afoot in the temple. It came and went, but always in the same room. Md’diffnnd could feel the darkness when this presence was in the temple, for it had been his duty for many years to guard the ruins and wait for the new Dark Lord, and he knew well the comings and goings of living things in the temple. He had killed all who had entered, save those few who had a place here, but the dark presence had eluded him.

But now… yes, now… with help, he would find the intruder. It was here now, now…

The tuk’ata rounded a corner, Panthar looked back to Erik and turned also, nearly stumbling into the large animal as it crouched before a door.

A pair of voices bantered from behind the door. The sounds were muffled by the door but loud enough to allow Panthar to make out some of the words.

“You have honored your part, I have now honored mine,” came a loud, boisterous voice. “These are yours, do with them what you will. But why leave them here?”

A darker, slower voice replied.

“Come, our time here is done.”

The tuk’ata roared and lunged for the door, the ancient wood splintering around the hinges and crashing inward. Panthar rushed in behind, catching the faint traces of reality warping back into place as it had when Thoran had taken Shayla. The room was empty, except for two large crystal blocks sitting in the far corner. The tuk’ata roared in rage in the center of the room.

Panthar looked back through the door to see if Erik had followed.

“Erik!” He called. “Quickly!”

[ 12-25-2003 10:58 AM: Message edited 1 time, lastly by Panthar Dantares ]

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

...at least, not yet. And there was no time for it.

Reaching Panthar's side, Erik came to a smooth halt, his eyes already adapted enough to the dimness of the chamber to make out the two large crystals in the corner of the room. The chill swept over him once more. Without even saying a word, he slowly started towards the two blocks. His hand crept towards his empty blaster holster once more. Only a few feet away from those blocks, Erik simply froze in place, and his eyes widened.

There was something inside each of those things. No, strike that; there was someone.

One of the two blocks in particular had all of Erik's attention.

"Holy hell," he whispered then, utter shock ringing clearly in his words as he looked at the red-headed and violet-eyed being inside the block, "She looks exactly like the Dark Lady..."

[ 12-25-2003 11:22 PM: Message edited 1 time, lastly by Erik Kartan ]

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

“And this one is Phalomir…” he said heavily.

He looked to Erik, deep concern on his face.

“Who the hell was that?” he asked. “And how did they do this? And WHY?”

Panthar walked around the back, scanning the block for any type of control panel.

“It’s not like carbonite, there’s no control panel or anyth—wait, what’s this?”

He knelt down at the back of Phalomir’s block as Erik came around to join him. He reached his hand to rub away what appeared to be dust from a darkened spot, then stopped before his hand reached it.

“It’s cold, I can feel it already. Is this… ice?”

He wrapped his hand in his shirt fold and wiped away the dust, which he realized quickly was actually frost. Under the frost was a small, dark indentation in the shape of an “x”.

“Well, maybe this is the keyhole, eh?” He shook his head. “This is way too bizarre.”

Oh hell, he thought. If this is the work of Thoran, then who the heck has he teamed up with… and if he was able to do this to BOTH Phal and Jharmeen, then what has happened to Shayla?

He looked to Erik, the worry on Panthar's face betraying his thoughts.

[ 12-26-2003 08:57 AM: Message edited 1 time, lastly by Panthar Dantares ]

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

"No," he whispered in answer to the unvoiced question he saw lurking there, "She's alive, I would feel if it were otherwise..."

He trailed, his eyes defocusing as even darker thoughts haunted him.

Can you feel her really, Erik? She may be alive, but you already know she is far away...

...so how can you be certain she is safe? How can you be certain this will not be her fate as well?

Erik shivered. "...she's alive," he repeated, unwilling to even face any other possibility. "And how do we know for certain that this is really Panthar and the Dark Lady? Stranger things have happened..."

He paused a moment. "...I think. Look, maybe we should get the Hell out of here. Whomever that was who was here...

...they might come back, and I don't think I want to be here if they do. We've gotta get the hell off this rock, and I've gotta find Shayla," he continued worriedly, quieting at that and waiting for Panthar's response even as Md'diffnnd gave a protesting growl.

Shayla, where are you? Dear gods, but I hope you are allright...

[ 12-26-2003 10:33 PM: Message edited 1 time, lastly by Erik Kartan ]

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

“Look, Erik,” he said. “I think you’re right. She’s OK, and this isn’t Phal. I mean, look at the robes he’s wearing. They’re not the same as his normal rags, way too… froofy. And hey, look at the three gold tattoos on his head. He didn’t have those.”

Panthar looked over the frozen image of the Dark Lady. His eyes rested on her forehead.

“And look here, her forehead doesn’t have that glowy shimmery thing on it! So, come on, this is got to be some sort of sick joke or something.”

He looked around the quiet room, a sudden chill racing up his spine.

“But yeah, let’s get the heck out of here. This is way too creepy.”

The tuk’ata, who until now had been crouched on its haunches near the door, bellowed a deafening roar and stared wild-eyed at Panthar. It quieted, but kept its gaze fixed upon Panthar’s Sith body.

“Well… maybe we can stay. Um…”

He looked to Erik for support, or at least a better idea.

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

...and it was looking at Panthar as though it was waiting for him to do...

... something.

Erik scowled. "I thought the damned tukata was supposed to be on our side!" he growled under his breath so as not to over-excite the already agitated animal. "It acts like it wants you to do something...

...and shucky darn, I'm afraid I'm no good at tukata translating."

Erik paused, frowning as he let his eyes wander the room. At length his eyes fell on the two crystals. "Maybe it wants you to do something with the ice King and Queen...

...perhaps bring them along with us?"

Erik quieted and shrugged, waiting to see what Panthar would respond.

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

But no, Md'diffnnd would try. There was something about this one, and though he appeared to be of the magick people, there was much about him that was different. Something… alien.

Then he felt it, the quivers of the link he shared with Phalomir. It was there in this pretend Sith, as if somehow the two had shared their thoughts at some time. Perhaps the Dark Lord had left an imprint upon this one in some strange feat of magick. It mattered not, for now that Md'diffnnd had a common thread to work upon, perhaps he could link with this being.

He growled once more, bellowing his concentration into a single message meant for Panthar, letting it blast through that small thread in hopes of opening it into a wider channel.