A soft footfall echoes into my chambers and comes to a halt, bearing with it the arrival of my Chosen Son. I smile, albeit somewhat sternly, as I gaze into the Great Crystal Octahedron which yet shows me the movements of the little party we had been… entertaining here within my Temple. Aeylmaar remains silent; I can clearly hear his fidgeting nervousness as he stands respectfully just inside the doorway to my Inner Sanctum.

“Such behavior is not becoming of a Sith, let alone the heir apparent of the lordship to the Sorcerers,” I chide him gently as I now turn to face him. He bows his head, clasping his hands as he remains silent before me. I regard him a long moment before letting my eyes slide from his frame to another image more shadowy, hidden in the corners of this room.

It is the Sith incubator, which yet holds in stasis the son of the Stargazer. I wave a clawed hand expansively toward it.

“It is not so much that we ourselves need this child as they simply cannot have it. For eons Sith have led and ruled Sith, and Sith have led and ruled the People; it shall always be thus, forevermore.”

I quiet at that, not needing to go into any great detail. He has stood with me as I opened that door to a possible future… he knows the consequences. I know he stands firm with me in this, no matter how much he may disapprove of my other actions. That pains me, but I understand it; sometimes it is difficult to see beyond the immediate and take into consideration the entirety of the Big Picture, as I so colorfully put it to my Chosen Daughter.

She at least understood this….

I relish the ripple of pain that sweeps through me at the thought of her, knowing that in that anguish I am truly alive. Then I let out a deep sigh, and turn once again to my Son.

“If the Stargazer or any other of this party returns here again, kill them,” I order, feeling alive in the pain of this as well.

“That is, unless they do not survive to leave Khar Delba at all….”

A darker smile takes over my features then as, with a wave of one hand, I beckon. From shadows deep in the perimeter of this, my hallowed place, there comes answering snarls and growls and muttered replies as from those shadows there now steps forth a group of lithe and muscled shapes.

It is my little army of Noghri, the tattered remnants of those remaining when Darth Wicked left this place. I had quite easily discovered their hiding place in the greenbelt surrounding the Temple and its grounds; after a bit of… ‘persuasion’ they were more than happy to post their allegiance to me. In gratitude for that promised loyalty, I provided them with tuk’ata escorts, each one mentally linked with its handler. They will stand with the assassins until death… unless betrayal brought forth the necessity of that death coming earlier, and to the Noghri not the tuk’ata.

“Go,” I speak the word softly, letting it dagger into their brains. The leader growls a reply, turns, and barking an order departs with his little horde. The wonderful, diminishing sound of their claws clattering against stone echoes in my ears, until at length the silence bespeaks of their departure from the Temple of the Sorcerers.

As well as it speaks of a flush of disapproval I sense from my Son. I shrug mentally at this, and turn back to the Octahedron. He may think what he will, but he knows well what the end result will be.

Indeed, what it has to be.

“Come,” I then say, turning away from the magickal device and approaching Aeylmaar. I place a fatherly arm along his shoulders.

“Let us leave events to unfold as they will, and allow ourselves a modicum of surprise at their fruition. I desire food.”

With that I lead him from my chambers, letting the suspended chronotic shield re-establish itself about my Sanctum as we depart, that nothing and no one would enter therein in our absence.

I thought for sure she’d suggest that she would be the one to leave, I thought as I met her steady gaze with one of my own. Then I shook myself and really thought about the words she had just finished speaking. Although she hadn’t mentioned it explicitly, the clear implication in those words was the fact that I would depart from this place in something non-Sith, probably the TIE fighter promised by that Sith dude, and in that implication was making it clear to me that she was looking at the hanger in which it was berthed.

Why in Hell’s Seven Circles couldn’t I see this?

“Hey, what is going on here?” I burst out with as I took a step backward. I shot another gaze about as I turned a quick three-sixty; nope. Nothing to be seen but that hazy lawn, the hulking distant shadow of the temple we had just left, and the crooked, thorn-haunted path in front of us.

My frown dug itself centimeters deeper into my face, and I turned it upon the others.

“What gives? What are you doing, Panthar? Shayla, what is going on?

”Where in Hell’s Seven Circles are we supposed to find that TIE in this mess of a forest?!”

I jerked the words following that outburst out of alignment with them, lest they slip out of my mouth and offend someone. Why I did that only Khaandon knows, usually I don’t give a hoot what others think of me.

But—

“There’s no hanger, and there’s no ship. There’s only forest and thorns and shadows and something growling in the distance; can’t you hear it?”

I silenced with that as those snarls came closer, carried upon footfalls as silent but as omnipotent as the approach of Death itself.

...and it was then that reality slammed down upon her like a landing Super Star Destroyer. And even as it did so, the images of a building shifted into a mess of tangled trees and forest, with Panthar yet standing there with one hand extended as if holding an invisible door open and the other now slowly dropping from its position of invitation for everyone else to step inside.

"It's an illusion, an image placed in our minds," Shayla whispered, her eyes widening even as she took a step back from where Panthar was standing. The howls of tuk'ata could be heard in the distance. "It's a trap..."

She trailed, her eyes darkening as she sensed outward, her heart flying despite the calm looking she was at least attempting to maintain. "...and we are being surrounded by several sentient creatures even now..."

As her words dropped off this time, her hand fell instinctively to her weapons belt as she took another step back, only to be painfully reminded that she was armed with nothing other than the Force.

Snarls transcended into gutteral yowls all about us, becoming louder by the minute.

"Ok, so they know we're here!" I hollered, trying to keep my voice from trembling.

"Everyone grab on to each other, and let's get the hell outta here!"

I felt a hand grab me, I don't know whose, and I didn't bother to look as I slapped my Sith belt and enabled the light-bending device on my waist. We popped out of existence like a chick from an egg...

Er-- make that the inverse....

"They're coming from the southwest," Shayla observed in a whisper, still using her Force senses to track the progress of their pursuers.

Besides, I told myself as I ducked under yet another low-hanging branch. They’re probably too far away to really hear us. Those Noghri hunt by smell…

That reminded me of another time that I was fleeing under the protections of this device, the time Sorben and I had found and rolled in a pile of poo-doo to fool the Noghri who were on our trail at that time. There was none to be found, however; I gulped and set off faster, knowing that while the device might protect us from the Noghri master’s those sweet little killers wouldn’t be fazed in the slightest.

We have to find that hangar….

Aloud, I shouted in a terse whisper: “Try to stay downwind of the sound, that might buy us a little more time!”

I moved quickly on, hunting for the elusive hanger I knew was still here… tucked away somewhere in the forest immediately surrounding the Temple.

Problem was, it was a helluva big temple…

The group continued to run through the night, trampling flowers and kicking over small plants.

“That’s enough,” he said. “Stop now!”

Panthar skidded to a halt, grabbing Erik’s hand tighter and stopping the human in his tracks. His own grip upon Shayla was enough to stop her, as she tripped and yanked Galen backwards until all three tumbled with into a small mix of limbs. Panthar continued to hold onto Erik.

“You people are nuts, there is nothing out here except flowers and plants and bugs! And a hangar with ships in it. Why the heck would Ally-maba-meer send us here to get away just to have something eat us? He could have squished us himself and had us pre-chewed for whatever you think is out there! Now calm down and let’s get back to the ship, you nutzoids!”

...or at least, glared in the closest direction to his head within the tangle of their threesome.

"It's all an illusion!" she growled, "I know it, I saw what you were seeing at first but..."

She trailed, perhaps the tinest inklings of doubt creeping over her. "...but the image suddenly changed, and then I felt the tuk'ata..."

She had to stop a minute and think. Why would Aeylmaar leave them out there just to be eaten alive, when he could have taken care of them in an instant. Logic then nodded its sensible head as a possibility wormed its way into Shayla's brain.

"It could be that Aeylmaar lead us to the correct place...

...and someone else is now meddling with our minds, seeing that we don't leave here. But why is it that this phenomena wouldn't be affecting you?" Shayla queried. "Somehow we've gotta ascertain the truth, especially if that was indeed a hangar back there; after all, that hangar may be our last chance out of here. But if it isn't a hangar and there are tuk'ata...

...what then...?"

Panthar trailed, his eyes diverting to the glow coming from the pulsating object in Shayla’s pocket. The Eye throbbed a bright red beneath the material.

"I think it's trying to show us the way," she said to Panthar, finally untangling herself from the others as she spoke. Then she turned her innermost thoughts to the Eye, praying it would respond so that she would know the truth.
Which reality is real and which is false? she queried. Then, her eyes darkening, she realized that the Eye would most likely not be reacting unless it saw an out. It is the Dark Lord trying to deceive us, isn't it...?

Even as she had these thoughts Shayla stood, ready for action. "I think we're gonna have to make a break for it soon...

...and that we're simply going to have to trust what the Eye is trying to tell us. I could be wrong...

...I thought what I saw was wrong before...

...but I do believe there is in fact a hangar back there. That is, unless the Eye indicates something different to me..."

The glow of the Eye grew dimmer.

“There is a ship where the heir had promised. There are also Noghri about. Both are true, yet through Sith magick the hangar is hidden to those without Sith eyesight. This I sense, the Dark Lord’s hunters are searching for you, while the heir wishes for your departure. Strange it is, this conflict, with The Master in the middle. Find the ship, escape.”

She turned then to Galen, her greeny-blues meeting brown, "The tuk'ata and Noghri are real as well," she stated, "We've gotta go back the way we all came, and it's got to be now, before they get our scent.."

That's creepy, almost like she read my mind or something; blasted Jedi anyway....

I let that thought die an abrupt death, then dropped my hand.

"That's a good idea, in fact, it's a great idea. One I've found to work in practice, in fact."

With that I quickly gave everyone the short version of my escape from another hunting pack of Noghri, leaving out all but the most pertinent of details.

After all, what's history is history; they don't need to know about me and Sorben and our earlier escapades now, do they Galen ol' spit?

"I found that poo-doo of the local fauna works best at fooling Noghri, especially if it's fresh. But gosh wee, speaking of fresh, I think we're fresh out; hey. You're a jedi, aren't you? Can't you do something to mess with those pea-brains of theirs and buy us some time to get away from them?"

Now would be a good time, too....

"Well," she then started, "There is only one thing I can think of right off the top of my head, and unfortunately it may not throw them off the scent...

...but it sure could keep them all busy. I've used my telekenetic ability in past times to throw off pursuers, and it seems to work well when you can be seen...

...so I think it should work even better while we're all hidden by the Sith belt. It's not much, but it's as good as I've got...

...and I'm afraid we don't have alot more time for discussion. My Force-senses are very aware of active, sentient life-forms, though they haven't seemed to close in on us...

This light-bending device sure had its good AND bad sides to it! I couldn't help thinking as I nosed around like a questing hound until I was sure I was "facing" the blond jedi.

"Ok, that sounds good," I whispered. "You mess with their minds, and I'll go off and find something that would be good to cover our scent with. No use all of us trampling around; it would be better to split up, at least momentarily, rather than sit around like so many entrees on a smorgasbord.

"Stay here so I can find you again; I'll be right back."

Panthar sighed and gripped Erik’s hand.

“So do we need to keep holding hands like young fools?” he asked. “It was nice while it lasted, though, don’t get me wrong, but enough is enough.”

He looked around, taking in the night sky. He then lowered his gaze to the surrounding brush and trees, and was happy to see no movement. Then he glanced in Shayla’s direction.

“Looks like it’s still all clear around us. Nothing moving, anyway. And we’re not that far from the hangar, really, but I suppose you still can’t see it, can you?”

He screwed his face in an odd grimace.

Though I cannot find my acolytes, it will all become clear in due time. My acolytes could not have wandered far, but they do not answer my call, so I must be ready for the worst, He thought topping a rise.There she is, but not sith. Not one of my acolytes either. Why would these be here then? I will have to envestigate further.

I had to flee from Aelvedaars Temple when the sith returned, and in several temples I studied more of the anceint sith runes, and focused my powers even further with my runes and my blade. But I must return to Aelvedaars Temple, as my senses can feel the dark side beggining to pulse from the temple once again.

I also sense my master is near, closer than ever before. I feel it is time to once again reveal myself. I also must find my brother, as I know he is sill alive. He may not be at his full potential and may still not realize his full power, but that is what I intended when I changed his memories to protect him and me. With as many enemies as we had, it was neccessary not to draw attention to myself or my brother, so sent us both into hiding. I will soon free his memories once again, but do to this I must find him. I know he is no longer where I left him, but first I must find my master.

"I don't guess we do have to hold hands anymore," she observed even as Erik dropped his hands from Panthar's, a momentary look of amusement flashing in his eyes. "...and no, I can't see the hangar yet. As for the Eye, it seems to have declared me its guardian. It tells me that there is something I must do, but I haven't figured out..."

Her voice suddenly trailed then, a new sentience grabbing her attention. Surprisingly, however, Shayla sensed no threat from it...

...but then it disturbed her that it seemed to be heading their way.

"Someone is approaching," she then explained, her voice dropping to a near-whisper. "I sense no threat, but..."

She paused again, frowning, "...we should stay close and keep on gaurd. Meanwhile...

...I'm going to see if I can establish a link with Galen, and get to work on the TK."

Falling silent at that, she briefly reached out, gently touch Galen's mind. "A link for protection and communication...

...but only with your permission," she thought, knowing that Galen would not hear the words but would probably be able to pick up on the general idea. And even as she kept her keen senses trained on that link, Shayla began her telekentic work, brushing several trails through the Khar Delban forest by moving plantlife, trees and dirt...

"I thought you may be able to offer me some assistance, and I would be happy to provide you with my own assistance."

When neks fly....

It took all the control I possessed to keep from bolting from the spot where I stood. Every tiny little hair was standing up stick straight on my neck, and an entire legion of goose-bumps turned my flesh into a miniaturized and crawling glacial moraine. All I could do was stand frozen like a gandyrak in headlights, and stare agape at this Sith who had appeared like magic behind me, and who was speaking to me with a cordiality I was positive to be in indirect proportion to the actual danger he presented.

I raked him with wide eyes, slowly letting my hands drift to the light-bending device on my belt. It touched it by muscle memory alone; a tiny flip of my wrist and it turned off.

His red eyes seemed to bore holes into my head.

Where's his horns? The non sequiteur popped unbidden into my head.

I thought all Sith had horns... unless he's not Sith....

"Wh-who are you, and how is it you saw me?" I gulped, trying to push down my fear beneath a facade of courage.

"What do you want?"

I tensed, ready for anything...

"I could only sense you, just as I can sense you and your friends plight. Aside from sensing you however, I have learned different magicks that have aided me many times, but now is not the time to explain I believe."

Information...? The word squirted into my brain between shards of rising fear. Who in Hell's Seven Circles is this guy anyway, and why in all the universe deems holy does he want information from me?

I forced myself to smile a little, letting my eyes dart furtively about for an escape route. Nothing looked immediately satisfying, however; it was with a certainty felt deep into my bones that I knew this guy would be all over me like mynoks on engines if I moved so much as my big toe in an attempt to escape. So I just smiled a little bit more, still tense as a rock.

It was then that a blessedly warm whisper niggled some of my fear aside. I grabbed it like a lifeline.

Hell yes, I give you permission, Shayla! I cried out inwardly as loudly as I could think.

Talk about serendipity....

There's this really weird red-skinned dude who calls himself the head of assassins or some such; he's standing about three meters in front of me, and he was able to find me while I had the Sith invisibility shielding on...

Help, I finished in that same mental scream.

My smile plastered into a grimace on my face and I returned my attention to the enigmatic being in front of me.

"Wh-what information do you want?" I finally croaked, then cleared my voice as I struggled valiantly to clear my head of all fear and suspicion and yes, even a touch of terror too, for the aura oozing from this guy struck me just like that from Roan had, making me want to run off in blind panic as fast as I could.

I gritted my teeth instead, and held my ground, how in Hell's Seven Circles, I'll never know.

He ran his hands along where his horns had been, and scanned the area around him, looking for what she would be searching for alone out here.

"What is it you search for alone." He asked, his hearing beginning to pick up on something. "I shall not distract you from your task until it is completed, I fear you have not much time."

"Umm... actually, I'm kinda out on a nature trip, you know, hunting for er... specimens of the local fauna and so on, heh.

"So really, thank you for the offer, but I don't think I need any help, and really, I think that I am quite capable of keeping away from whatever it is that's howling out there. I've done so before, they're only animals, right?"

My smile was a rictus upon my face.

"And considering I don't know you from a stone on the ground, I can't imagine any way I could possibly be of any help to you at all, so if you'd just excuse me...."

I began inching away, berating myself as I did so.

"I would normally believe you for this, but for a few things that cause me not to believe you. One, You have light bending techknowledgy, of which I am familiar."

"Unless you would work for the sith, a possiblility I highly doubt, it is most unlikely you would have such a thing."

"Also, those are the cries of what I know as Tuk'ata, not, common animals. These beasts are often deployed by the sith clans and their dark lords to hunt down escaped charges or prisoners."

"Hence I shall come to the conclusion that you are lying. Now, speak the truth, or I will force my hand."

...but she had heard Galen's replies. Quickly she turned to Erik and Panthar.

"Galen's in trouble," she spoke up, feeling more and more unease rise in the now-secure link she had with the other woman. "We've gotta move in."

And with no further explanation and without waiting for a reply, Shayla began to move, using her link with Galen as the compass to guide her steps. As she did this, she also felt outward with her Force-senses, and immediately picked up on the life force nearby Galen's, one which seemed to be emitting feelings of desperation and growing ire.

This was not good. Wrapping herself up in a Force-blanket then, she sent a Force-message to Erik, not wanting to attract any attention to their nearing location.

You might want to stay a bit back with Panthar, just in case what I'm up to fails.

Knowing now that the lifeform near Galen was most likely a Sith, Shayla made her final decision regarding what to do. Using her telekenetic abilities, Shayla stretched out, stirring up dirt and dust into the eyes of the Sith confronting Galen. Even as she continued to do this, she also reached out to a large nearby tree, snapping a massive branch from it. She propelled it into the air, directing it right to the Sith. Continuing such distraction, she also reached to Galen, her words short a concise.

Galen, I'm nearby. Run...

However, unless his assailant was an expert at hiding their power, they would pose no true threat. He was pleased with himself that he had prepared for this kind of possiblity.

He began to complete the magick he had begun earlier, his eyes burning from the sand, just as the branch smashed into his shoulder, a minor distraction.

In his left hand, a large sword coated in the dried blood of past foes came into existance, his other hand stretching to the ground and finishing the spell.

The ground began to crack in the womans direction, the ancient roots of the near trees comming to his call, jutting up around the legs of the woman and entangling her legs. Not as effective as it would have been, I was aiming for at least the torso. Now for the caster.

“We’ve gotta move in?” he repeated. “Well, crap!”

He stood and moved quickly, his powerful Sith legs carrying him to catch up with Shayla. As he neared her, he saw her looking off at a nearby tree just a limb came crashing down from it and into a figure in the distance. He stopped and cocked his head as the person seemed to pull a sword from thin air and use it in some night club ritual, causing the roots of a huge tree to spring from the ground and entangle Galen, who had begun running a few yards away.

“Hey, it’s Galen,” Panthar said.

The sounds of movement from all around them suddenly caught his ears. He glanced around, finally seeing the shapes of little freaky people riding some nasty looking tuk’ata.

“Well,” he said. “I guess you guys weren’t crazy after all. This keeps getting better all the time.”

He glanced around quickly, looking for an escape route. Surrounded by trees, huge flowers, and bushes, the only way through was the garden path that extended from their present location either back to the main temple or to…

“The hangar!” he shouted. “Shayla, we have to get to the hangar!”

Without looking back, he darted past Shayla and bolted for the entangled Galen. He cast a fierce, pointed look at the man standing nearby, barely noticing his Sith features, and began tearing at the roots with his powerful arms.

I hadn't needed Shayla's instruction to get my feet moving. In fact, they were still trying quite valiantly to carry me as far away from this slimeball as possible.

Only for some reason, I didn't seem to be making any headway.

Terror iced my veins and deafened me, narrowing my focus to a desperate scan all about myself. Everything seemed to be in working order, in quite fine working order, actually, an order trandescent to the point that I swore I should be kilometers away from my assailant by now.

But I wasn't.

Strange.

Then my narrowed focus narrowed further, and fell to the tree roots entangling me. Well, almost that is. As if from the very depths of hell they had come, writhing and reaching and quite capably ensnaring one of my feet.

It felt like a dianoga, crushing me there.

I chilled further, and did the only other thing I could do. I tugged and pulled and strained... and finally gave the blasted thing a resounding kick with my free foot.

Then I tore into it like a sandcat, trying to physically shred it with my nails.

I couldn't, of course.

Now, that really just set me off. Terror turned one-eighty, and I flipped an angry glare at my captor.

"You let me go!" I seethed, when from nowhere Big Red came leaping in to my defense, lending his strength to mine....

...while all around us an army of Noghri came thrashing in, hauled behind a veritable flock of the nastiest beasties I'd ever want to meet.

Oh hell, Shayla, you'd better make yourself scarce.... I thought, and tugged harder at the roots, tossing the hair from my face to glare at the still silent mystery standing nearby, when Big Red's words wormed into my ears.

I poured a look of pure astonishment his way.

"What the hell are you doing; that's the guy who did his magick whatsis and made these blasted roots grab me; ya want him to come along with us and knit doilies or something??? Sheesh!"

Then I turned another defiant look back to my captor, and just glared daggers at him.

Panthar chanced a glance around as he tore at the roots. From all around, little freaky people were closing. He hoped Shayla and Erik had been able to get somewhere, and as he waited to see what the other Sith-type person would do, he suddenly feared the worse.

“Dang roots, anyway” he grunted. Pulling one root free, he grimaced and grabbed at another. They were rigid and strong, and Panthar felt like he was prying up heavy metal rods rather than living wood.

Raelgosh severed the energies holding the woman, loosening them into a natural state. "I'm not finished with any of you, run."

He then turned towards the fast approaching Tuk'ata. I can't loose them now, I'll have to protect them, damn it all.

He crouched into a cerimonial position, and began tracing lines in the ground, using the sword to suport him.
"By that hells that spawned us, by the hells that spawned me, by the hells that consumed me, and by the hells that returned me, consume my foes, consume those whom I dispise, and may they fall into eternity..."

He could sense they had begun to flee behind him, all the better that they were not close, he doubted any of their frail bodies, save the sith, could survive this.

He finished the last few words of the enchantment, and felt every last bit of mental resolve and physical energy drain from him as it surged forth into the power of the destructive spell.

He felt the ground before him tremble mightily, then suddenly in a great explosion, spliting the rock before him, a line of fire burst from the ground stretching as far as the eye could see to each side.

He saw the Tuk'ata and their strange masters halt before the flame, beholding the sith that stood upon the other side.

"Flee back to your master, and plea his forgiveness for your failure, and deliver him this message. The Cult of the Assassins will rise again, and once again, it will serve it's rightful purpose."

With that, he stalked off in the direction they had fled, feigning strength while actually struggling to keep moving. He hoped that they would retreat, he knew that the line of fire would only last for a short while, but he hoped by then, that the creatures would have left by then.

BOOTS....

I didn't bother to speak. Even as the mystery dude was off muttering futher intentional abuse, I just up and yanked my foot as hard as I could... completely out of my boot. The momentum of my effort sent me tumbling backward, but that didn't stop me one whit. I kept it up by a nice backward somersault, ending up in a ready crouch.

"Let's sky!"

With no further ado I slapped the light-bending device on, took off, grabbed Red's massive hand, and continued running as fast as I could, yelling like a banshee.

It worked.

The Noghri paused. The beasts snarled and whined.

And we barreled right through flame and bursting rock and yowling beasts and snarling Noghri and in all the confusion managed by some incredible luck to actually get through them all, disappearing like shadows into the woods...

...and all the while I kept up a persistent mental cry to Shayla:

"Where in Hell's Seven Circles are you??? Find us, find us and find the hanger and gods above get me the hell off this blasted rock!"

Raelgosh knew he had already drained most of his energy, and knew that the flame that encircled the Tuk'ata and their masters would wear away soon.

He stopped moving after them, and let out a gutteral roar of fury and frustration. Why did they all fight against him, why would none aid him?

He knew he could not give into a self pitious state. He had to think upon how he could catch up those he had fought and saved.

He then laughed at himself. Long had he gone without using any of his magicks or other powers, that he had forgotten many of the powers he had often used before the change.

He let himself flow into the river of magicks that fueled him, and called upon one of the first ones he had ever learned off.

...and finding herself on the other side of flame from the others, excepting Erik. He ran up behind her even as Galen's cry registered clearly in her mind.

"We have got to get out of here," she whispered, feeling the chill of death through the Force. She could feel along its paths rising anger, along with tendrils of panic. Erik took her hand, his brown eyes falling into hers as he stepped in front of her. "We've got to get away from them first," he stated, pointing in the direction of approaching Noghri, tuk'ata with them.
That grabbed Shayla's attention. She nodded once, gripping Erik's hand. "Hang on tight and help me," she stated, closing her eyes. Even as they rose from the ground she felt him connect with her...

...and in moments they were back on the side with the others. And as Shayla's feet touched the ground, her now widely open Force senses slammed into a closeby non-ness approxamitely the size of a large building.

"Oh my gods," she whispered then, her eyes snapping open and shooting to Erik, "I think I know where the hangar is."

Even as she stated this, she thought the same thing across the link she shared with Galen.

We're right behind you, she then thought, throwing caution to the wind with one final glance to her husband. He read the look in her eye clearly, and they took off, the added aid of the Force giving wings to their feet. They didn't have to run far or long before they caught up with Galen and Panthar.

"Don't stop!" Shayla then stated aloud, anticipation and hope ringing clear in her voice. "Whatever it is I'm sensing...

...or not sensing...

...is not far in front of us."

She paused to take a few breaths. "We better there quick," she then added, "We haven't quite gotten rid of whoever that was back there...

...but we still stand a chance."

Even as the words fell from her lips, their surroundings began to look familiar to her, and the tree bearing the branch Panthar had earlier been holding out as if it were a door stood tall as though it were a lifeline...

...and by all means, it most certainly was.

Pulling away from Erik, Shayla ran for it, taking hold of it and pulling it forward as Panthar had done. Even as she did this the images she had been seeing again shifted, and the cold of a metal door latch in her hand wafted into her senses. And she could finally see the hangar into which that door lead.

"Don't be fooled by what you might see," she then stated to the others, motioning them inside, "The Sith and the Noghri and the tuk'ata are most definitely real...

He could sense them ahead, along with, something else. Then suddenly, he saw two of them soar overhead.

It wasn't as though he was running on a deadline. But best not to tarry, he continued to walk/sprint towards them, closing the distance swiftly. Then it seemed as though their presences were consumed by the void ahead.

He stopped to quickly ponder this anomally, then decided to move on.

He could understand why they would flee the Tuk'ata and their masters, but why would they flee him? True he had attacked, but he had heeded the other sith's words, and in turn released the red haired woman. Yet they fled him like children, fleeing a monster from their bedtime story in a bad dream.

I nearly fell over as Big Red slammed bodily into me, but managed to keep my feet.

"Shayla answered me... finally," I whispered through my teeth; nevermind the poor dude probably hadn't a clue as to what I was referring to.

"It's this way."

Without further preamble I took off in a direction about one-thirty-seven from the line we had been running along, plunging deeper and deeper into the lush forest.

All around me the cries and yeeps and chirps of the local fauna told me there were yet others nearby, urging me to greater speed and greater silence.

Finally: a break in the green. There ahead, hidden in the dappling shadows was a flicker of ghostly gold. I beelined after that glint of moonlight on hair, and soon found myself coming upon the others. The tiny hairs rose on my neck again as Shayla turned to face me before I had turned off the device, then settled with my following thought that we were probably sounding like a herd of feral bantha.

I slapped the control, and Big Red and I popped into sight like a seed squirted from between one's teeth.

"All right, where is it?" I panted, tugging Red along behind me to come to a halt in front of Shayla. I cast a quick look around.

"I'll believe anything you want me to believe, but sure as there's Treasure on Roon all I see are plants and trees."

I concentrated harder, willing that damnably elusive hanger to come into being.

"Where did you say it was? I don't think we have much time."

She paused, glancing down once more to the glistening metal latch in her hand, "It's right in front of you. Apparently it's ahhh...

...enchanted...

...or something like that."

Even as she said this, she caught the glint of humor in her husband's eye. "Sith voodoo, eh?" he commented then, smirking. "I sure as hell haven't seen a hangar yet either, but if you say it's there it must..."

He paused, gaping. "...ok, so it is there."

Shayla alloted him the barest of return looks, then turned back to the task at hand. "Allright everybody," she then said, "Follow me."

With no further ado than that, Shayla lead the way inside, her senses highly tuned to all that surrounded her. No sooner had she stepped inside then did her eyes fall on the blessedly welcome sight of a Sith fighter. She turned to Galen, cocking her head slightly.

"Do you see the hangar and the fighter now?" she queried, the look in her eyes hopeful, and entirely earnest. "Looks like you're finally gonna get out of here."

Quieting at that she awaited Galen's response...

He ran his hands over what he thought to be DuraSteel. The tracks pooled here, but they've disappeared.

He dragged his claws along the side of it, feeling for a crack. There it is, now where is the access pannel. Ah, there it is.

No way, there just ain't no way in heaven or hell that I'm going to let him stop us now!

I gritted my teeth, and shot Shayla a glance.

"Lead on, MacDuff... and do it quickly!" I shot into her mind along the link she had opened with me. My eyes fell to her hand, then, and widened with a growing certainty.

Sure as Hell's Seven Circles looks like she's grabbing hold of something... like maybe a latch to a ship? Like maybe the door is open?

The sheer probability of that thought lent my inspiration wings. Before bozo could press any further attack, I made my move, shooting forward toward Shayla and running directly past her. To me it looked like I was running between a couple of peculiarly straight trees, but with a glance I saw that I was on the right track.

Her growing smile told me I was at least entering into the invisible ship, and booted footsteps assured me that I wasn't the only one moving now. Suddenly there came a ringing clang, as if a hatch had been secured.

I let a sigh of air escape my lips, and slid down against a handy tree... which wavered and misted and suddenly segued into a shining bulkhead of something not quite metal. The blessed familiarity of this fighter sent a grateful smile flickering about my own lips, and I ran a hand through my hair.

But they seem not to wish for my aid, and deny me their own. Perhaps I am to walk alone along my path, never to find the truths? No, I will not accept that.

"Would you take me with you to be your friend and ally, or would you deny the plea I give?" He continued to scream.

...and Sith cloak would be highly helpful. Everyone sit and strap in."

Even as she said the words, everyone agreeably complied, and Shayla quickly activated the Sith ship's engines. Flying the ship came back to her as if she could do it in her sleep, and in moments the engines were at full capacity.

"Sit tight everyone," she then said, "We're about to blow this joint."

Looking towards a particularly inviting glowing sigil on the navboard then, Shayla stretched out and punched it...

...and in an instant the fighter went from motionless to something approximating a smoothly gliding speeding bullet, and Khar Delban sky registered in the viewscreen in the barest of moments.

He stalked out of the hanger and began to move towards the Tuk'ata and their masters, of whom had just arrived.

“See, I told you there was a hanger there.”

Panthar looked out at the planet’s topography as it shot past underneath the ship.

I reach out and gently take it into mine. It's blade is quicksilver sharp beneath my questing thumb.

"And so it begins--" I murmur to no one in particular, then set the knofe down carefully in its place.

I lift my eyes to my Chosen Son, and with some amusement read the disapproval storming within his amber eyes. They fairly glow with his effort to mask this; my smile broadens in direct proportion to his ire.

"You do not think I should have sent my Noghri after them?" I chide his look gently.

"You believe I should just have... let them go...."

As he so transparently has; I wonder why...

I shake the thought from my head, and turning, dismiss Aeylmaar for the moment. A single thought, and a mystic aide is at my side, bowing.

"There is one coming to me; see that he finds me here."

The aide says nothing but his bow shows his obedience. I follow his egress with an amused gaze, then turn it back to my Son.

"Perhaps the game is not yet over, my dear boy."

I silence with that, and quietly await the introduction of the assassin who skulks without my gates.

He suddenly found them at an abrupt halt, and felt himself being roughly led up a long flight of stairs.

Up ahead, he could see more of the short two legged beasts that held him, and another figure who didn't quite match their discription.

4,000 years ago, to be exact.

"What is it you seek from me, Cult Master?"

I place heavy emphasis on the title-which-is-not, showing my scorn for those who would join with the Ruling Clans and lead the Sith, but who the people in their wisdom had denounced.

I smiled, leaning my head back and rolling it to one side to send a relieved gaze Shayla's way. My estimations of her raised a trifle more:

She doesn't seem as... well, uppity as some of those blasted jedi can be, I thought to myself as I watched her manipulate the navigation panels. Her fingers flew from one mysterious sigil as swiftly and surely as my own; it was with this observation that a slight frown creased my growing comfort.

"Hey, where did you learn to fly a Sith ship?" I asked, curious. "These babies aren't just out and around for general flyer's ed, you know."

With that I quieted, but not before yanking my hand from Big Red's massive paw.

"Very funny," I whispered out of the side of my mouth, but let humor carry those words into his ears. I was simply too happy to be where I was, and going where we were...

"But even though I have spoken that I seek nothing, this is a Facade. I wish to know what has happened. Things have changed. One of my assassins stands outside your gates, he carries all the appropriate signs, yet I have never before seen him. All my other assassins have disappeared, and I have seen many things in the past three years that have disturbed and confused me in my unworthy and pointless existence."

"Now I ask only a trade, though I can asure you the better end of the bargain. As you know, and have used, the Cults services have and always will be of the highest quality for your lordship. All we ask in return is your acknowledgement, and to know what has happened."

It is simply that I wish not to sully myself with it.

"I believe you may be of benefit to me, Cult Master," I reply without preamble. Rising, I leave the table, ignoring the growing curiosity and consternation upon Aeylmaar's face, and lead all from the Dining Hall. Travelling deep into the bowels of this wondrous temple, I lead them to my Inner Sanctum; with a wave of one hand I drop the chronotic shield I have placed about it, and wave the pair into my chambers.

Therein, the incubator glimmers in green-golden beauty, yet holding the embryonic son of the Stargazer.

Beside it, my Crystal Octahedron awaits my bidding.

It is to the latter that I now proceed. A wave of my clawed hand... and a particular blot against the fabric of space and time is revealed. Another slight motion...

And that blot writhes, shimmers, and crawls in upon itself to disappear against the backdrop of stars. In its wake there hovers a beautiful Sith warship.

Yet another wave... and the interior is shown. I smile to see her and the one who would be Lord, and indicate the pair to the Cult Master standing respectfully behind me.

"You may begin with these two, I have no need of them," I say calmly, noticing but choosing to ignore the protest flying upon Aeylmaar's face. I turn to the Cult assassin.

"Take care, the female uses a power strange to you, one that Sith magicks alone might have some... difficulties with. But be heartened; she is young in their usage.

"I trust you are adept in your chosen profession, are you not?"

"I only ask three things. The first is that you allow me to rest momentarily so that I might regain my powers."

"The second is that you tell or give me a way to reach them, as I have no transportation aside from myself."

"The third, is that you might answer my question, unless in the unlikely event you do not know, or that you wish not to tell me. Which of course, is perfectly alright, for I have no right to question your motives and thoughts."

"But of course, it is only natural that you should desire to know what has occurred. Some of our people are aware, many are not.

"In my disclosure of this, you may consider yourself one of the... chosen few."

A dark smile flickers about my lips for a moment, then I continue.

"This is not the time of which you think, my friend," I say, now approaching the Cult Master and laying a friendly arm along his shoulders. He shivers beneath that touch, whether from annoyance, fear, or delight I cannot determine and truly do not care to do so.

"This is 4,000 years... ahead in your future."

Again I pause, letting this astonishment sink in, before continuing briefly on.

"All you need to know is that beings who have come to be known as dark jedi came along 4,000 years in our past, and with a force strong enough to combat our sith magicks, eliminated our entire civilization."

My eyes darken with memory; again I feel that final slice of lightsaber into my flesh....

"There is a power, that which... She has come to use minutely, which we sorcerers had been studying for many years, a power which transcends all, a power mighty enough to turn the pages of time into another direction, and allow our people to be brought forward into this time, instead of facing death at the hands of the usurpers."

I turn to face the Cult Master, now letting the expression on my face inform him that of this power, he needs know no more.

"I shall have a Sith fighter waiting for you; hmmm. I trust you are familiar in piloting such a vessel? We did use them in the past, you know, when we were young and strong and ruled the universe...."

I pause again with the thought:

As we shall do so again....

Then I turn back to the hornless Sith.

"My son will show you to chambers, and return you to the Grand Dining Hall, that you might partake of our bounty before departing on your... quest."

My smile darkens, and I nod to Aeylmaar.

Raelgosh began to follow the other sith, then paused. "I would not think to question your judgement, but would we not owe this human a great debt. Of course I have no doubt you have long repaid it of course."

He then followed, leaving that thought in the air.

As he was lead to his quarters, he was astounded at the change in this ancient place. The architecture had not changed, but more of the small creatures moved about the temple, their quickness and sharp tones suprising them as he listened. They seemed to have replaced the many sith that had filled these halls origonally, though there were still a few of these as well.

Finally he arrived, and thanked the other sith deeply, and stepped into his new chambers.

My eyes darken further, and I turn away. Behind me, Aeylmaar stands in mute disapproval, his own amber eyes shuddering forth the color of new-mown hay.

"You have further question?" I ask him abruptly. He remains mute, and at length drops his gaze from mine.

"Very well then...."

I nod him from my Inner Sanctum, and with a final glaring look he departs. I then raise a hand, and pull the protective blanket of a chronotic shield about myself and these, my private chambers, that none will disturb me further. I then return to the Octahedron, and gaze deeply into its glistening, emerald-shot depths.

I can still see her standing there, alertly poised, like some fey creature of the wood. Even as I watch she cocks her head, that wondrous hair flaming down as she takes on an attitude of...

Of search.

I lay a hand upon the Octahedron, and sigh deeply. When I pull it away, the image within has roiled away into nothing....

Aeylmaar glowered, then once pausing, slammed a fisted hand against the stone wall. His knuckles shredded against the sharp clasts within the building rock, leaving a smear of blood standing as mute evidence to his restrained and growing ire.

For though he was loyal to Lord Aelvedaar, and loved him as any son would a blood-father...

...this simply wasn't right.

At first he planned upon following the assassin, hoping that he could dissuade him from his given task. But the realization that he probably hadn't a snowball's chance in hell of accomplishing this stayed his course, and for a moment he merely stood in one place, considering.

What had happened to change his Father so? He hadn't been like that; he used to be kind and giving; how often he had stressed the importance of life, of finding balance within it, amd pressed him to always seek avenues of problem solving that would not bring harm to others...

But this. This was senseless, unforgiving..

Impossible.

Why would he seek the death of his own Chosen One, the one through which great wheels had begun churning, which had culminated in the revival of their entire civilization? The assassin was correct; they owed her a debt of gratitude.

Not a death-warrant.

He pursed his lips in growing frustration, then lifted his chin as an idea struck.

He was, after all, the Chosen Son and heir. While he might not successfully get the assassin to go against his Father's order, perhaps there was something else he could do.

His mind made up he hurried on, quickly flitting through the shadowy corridors like an amber-eyed ghost, and soon had departed the temple altogether. The moment he was outdoors he quickened his pace, and soon found himself at the hanger toward which he had directed the others.

An empty bay proclaimed their victory in departing from the temple grounds, and perhaps from Khar Delba altogether. He sighed; so be it. This might take a little bit longer.

But She had to be warned.

It was not long before he had boarded another little Sith fighter, immediately going to the pilot's seat and making himself at home there. Moments later, and another blaze of something other than regular exhaust brightened the Khar Delban skies, and he headed up and out.

The moment the instruments informed him that he was in the Khar Delban ionosphere, he flicked on the light-bending device, rendering himself invisible to regular sight, knowing that the unique properties of the fighter's hull would protect him further from all but the most persistent and perfectly targeted of scans.

Settling back against his seat, he closed his eyes, and using the All-talents his Father had started to teach him, reached out with a clear image of the flame-headed Chosen Daughter of the Sith.

Along with that image he sent forth a clear mental sense of warning and danger....

However, as he went about this he pondered. The smaller sith, he asumed was Aelvedaars aprentice or son or the like, seemed discomforted by the Great Sith's decree of execution. He did have to wonder at his loyalties. But it hardly mattered.

The young sorcerer turned back to the limp and bleeding figure he and his niche-brother had stumbled upon as they wended their way through the temple en route to their classes. The fact that they would have been a touch late was now a moot point; indeed they would never know what their instructor would have divulged to them upon this day.

I can get someone's notes...

The non sequiteur flicked briefly through the Sith's head as he knelt there upon the cold stones, the echoes of his companion's bootsteps diminishing in the distance. The figure he supported shed rich, ruby blood upon his robes; this too was ignored as he cradled the young man's head, marvelling at his human frailty.

It would be nothing to snap his neck, he thought, one fang peeping forth as he smiled. But this was not what they, as sorcerer apprentices, were taught; indeed, life was something to be revered, cherished, hallowed.

Even if it is not Sith life.

He raised his head and called after his departing comrade:

"Hurry! This one seems fading; he is in dire need of magicks stronger than I am able to wield!"

With that he turned his focus back to the apparently dying man, and laid a surprisingly gentle, clawed hand atop his forehead.

"Hurry, oh hurry, Master!" the niche brother's high voice rang stridently, full of urgency. "He is near death!"

Well... perhaps his state is not quite that severe, but he is far from regaining consciousness, the sorcerer apprentice thought as he rose in the face of the other two, bowing to show respect to the Master.

That worthy said nothing but immediately knelt at the man's side, laying a broad hand atop his face, the claws of his thumb and little finger reaching from temple to temple. He gazed down upon the youth, then directed bittersweet eyes upward to the others.

"I have sent healing energies into this one, to assist his body in its rejuvenation."

Indeed, the bleeding had stopped, and the pale being's breathing seemed to be somewhat easier.

The Healer rose to his feet, continuing to stare down at the one from whom he had waylaid seeming death.

"Take him to healing chambers, and see to his welfare. I do not wish him left unattended; please call upon me should he awaken.

"And now..."

He smiled, his fangs dripping down over his full lips.

"I am expected as a guest speaker in class...."

Still smiling, he bowed his head briefly before turning and departing. In his wake, the two young apprentices cast startled glances at each other; then each taking up an arm and a leg, they transported Rykounagin to the nearest healing chamber. There they deposited him upon a soft, antiseptic bed, and took up guardianship by his side.

Normally he wouldn't have entered, due to the large amount of the small creatures near the door. He walked in, and stood.

He did not dare seat himself at a table of his betters (as all sith were), and waited for permission to do so. It was difficult to resist sitting to devour the food of which sent stomach churning aromas to him. But if they wished not for him to disgrace them, then he would gladly stand.

The words fell into silence for a few moments, as if no one was quite certain what to say. Then Shayla quickly changed the subject, not wanting to linger on past memories for long. "For the moment, however, we have to face the problem of gettng past the hovering Imperial blockade we're heading into. I'm going to calculate a short jump out of the system. With the Sith belt and this ship's capabilities, I'm thinking we can elude the Imps. If not...

...I'm thinking we might have some trouble. I don't know what everyone else's plans are from here...

...but I've got to get back to Korriban, retrieve Jasyn Lancaster and Matt Stanza, and get the Eye to Phalomir."

She paused, turning back to the navboard even as Khar Delban sky began to grow darker and darker. "But in the meantime...

...we've still gotta get out of here first."

Turning her full attentions to the navboard then, Shayla quickly reached out and punched the sigil that would take them to hyperspace, knowing that the Sith ship's ability to move to high speeds in less than a second should indeed save them from the blockade ahead.

Aeylmaar smiled, drawn from his concentration by this newest, if somewhat feeble, attempt to keep rein upon his world.

Well, he amended that thought. It may not affect us one whit, but it does serve a purpose in keeping others out.

He frowned to himself for a moment, wondering why this blockade was there, and who had put it around Khar Delba. Perhaps at the instigation of his Father? Nothing would surprise him anymore when it came to the Dark Lord; he had changed so much in so short a time....

He shook his horned head, and reached out to the navboard. Sigils blinked in staccato symmetry beneath his touch; moments later, and stars smeared into the streaks of hyperspace as his little fighter blasted into that improbable realm from an even more impossible proximity to a planet.

Ahh-- thank you, Armorers....

He settled back comfortably, letting the ship carry him out and away from the Khar Delban system, cleverly eluding the rather primitive tractor beams which would hold normal matter in check.

Sith ships, however, weren't made of matter that was quite... normal.

He counted to five... and knew he was far, far away from his starting point. Returning to normal space, he consulted his logs, identifying his position. Then he simply let the ship stand in stasis while once again he sent forth his mental cry of warning, overladen with an image of a flame-headed woman.

Something gave him pause. His eyes flew open, and he straightened in his seat.

Something had niggled back....

A smile crossed his features as he caught a mental whiff of Sith magick, a feather's touch tickling from somewhere lightyears distant. Distance, however, was another matter of relativity; a new firmness overtook his features as he let his own mental quest seek further, nosing about until that returning niggle was at its absolute strongest, then double checked against his star charts.

Still smiling, he set his course, and once again disappeared into the protective womb of hyperdriven space.

((OOC: Aeylmaar takes off into, Catch as Catch Can in these forums, thank you.))

He had heard voices, but he thought them to be voices from halucinations or dreams. And what strange dreams he had had. He had dreamed of a barren plain, and something waiting there for him. He had gone to it.

Then he had dreamed of standing in a horrid place that filled him with dread, but he could hear his own laughter.

Then he felt himself trapped in light and darkness. Truely nothing. And then he was here. He then realized that these were not dreams, but things of the past, that they had already happened.

In his half conciousness, his eyes cracked.

The sith laughed. "Why in the nine hells should I let you in you pathetic human?" Sa'kal could already sense what the end result of talking his way through would be. Besides, he doubted any of them would ever even listen to him unless he forced them.

He called upon the magicks imbued into him by his inheritence. Blasts of scarlet and violet energy leapt from his hands and arms and burned away one of the sith, even though the sith had raised stronger defenses than Sa'kal was used to.

I draw in a breath and seat myself, all the while taking note of the fact that my Chosen Son is nowhere to be seen. My roving gaze settles back once again upon the ramrod Sith.

"Please," I wave a genteel hand. "Seat yourself, and partake of food and drink. You have toil ahead of you, and need your strength renewed before you depart."

I smile as he seats himself, and fall into silence, all the while aware of the not too distant yet extremely shadowed presence of another. Something within me coils in readiness, but to all present I am calm and bordering upon joviality.

"What mystery is afoot within these walls?" I wonder to myself as I reach for my goblet and take a sip of brandy.

But he is needed; I wish not to sully my hands with this distasteful task.

"A Sith fighter awaits your departure in my private hangar, just without this temple," I begin smoothly.

"Unfortunately we have but two of these ships at our disposal; the remainder are docked in the spaceport of Ch'arlingua, just outside Phrinnchatka on K'eel Doba."

I smile broadly, exposing my fangs. They gleam by the light of the flames which dance seductively in the nearby, heavily ornate, fireplace.

"You are free to begin working according to our..." Again, a smooth pause interrupts.

"In accordance with our contract."

Now my eyes darken a bit more.

"As for the assassin who waits without my doors... "

I close my eyes, reaching easily outward with both the All and my inherent and highly honed Sith magicks, and with a clarity so great the image might actually be physical beings moving before me, I see them.

"Why, he should be en route to me at this very moment, escorted by my apprentices.

"I find your knowledge of his presence, as well as your concerns regarding him here, interesting to say the least."

Something dark and dangerous flashes in my eyes. I grasp hold of his, and let that something fly between us. It is evident that we both are merely dancing for the sake of each other; with an indrawn breath I let my smile come out once again, and casually lift my brandy.

"As for the whereabouts of your quarry... need I perform your task for you, Cult Master? I thought you were more adept in such matters. Need I find other recourse in this?"

My voice trails politely enough, drowned out as I take in a heavy draught of brandy. But when I set the goblet back upon the table, my eyes are aflame and burning once more into those of the Cult Master.

"My assistants will see you to your fighter. With the abilities in your possession, you should find it a simple thing to follow your prey and her accomplice.

"And do not return unless your task is completed."

With that I nod to my aides, who hasten forward to flank the Cult Master on either side. He rises, bows deferentially, and departs with them, leaving me waiting to speak with the next one due to come into my presence.

That being this secretive assassin who has been lurking so patiently without my door.

"Greatings great Dark Lord Aelvedaar. I offer you my services as a member of the Cult of Assasins."

"Indeed," I then state flatly, allowing one nostril to flare in a small indication of the distaste I am feeling. Not only have I been confronted by one of these cultists in the immediate past, but now I find another one before me.

I sigh a bit inwardly, although my outward demeanor remains frozen in an attitude of regal lordship. It was only logical that these kind of Sith would come to me, as they had throughout our history. As much as I preferred not to admit it, we didn't rule the vast systems that we did merely on our fighting and magickal abilities alone.

Sometimes certain circumstances demanded a touch more from us.

My thoughts segue smoothly to this one once again. He remains in respectful silence, but I know his thoughts are not quite so deferential. At last I nod to him.

"Yet again," the words glide smoothly from my lips. "But... serendipitous, to say the least."

Now I lean slightly forward, and cock my head to one side in thought. He remains yet silent, waiting.

"I have sent another of your kind on an assignment," I finally speak aloud.

"He has just been escorted from here by my accolytes, and will be approaching my private hangar within the half hour. I wish you to accompany him on his mission--"

Another pause, wherein I smile like a rancor who has just found fresh blood.

"--and see to it that said mission is fully carried out. If he balks, or does not fulfill his duties, then your objective is to eliminate him in turn, and complete his task."

I lean back and gently replace the goblet I was holding back upon the table. He blinks, but no words yet escape his lips.

"Do not think I will not be able to follow your progress, my friend."

The reminder is soft in tone, but carries the full weight of my magickal powers upon its back.

"The assassin's prey must die. See to it that you do not become prey yourself by failing me in that with which I now charge you."

Taking up my goblet once more I lift it to him, then take a great draught. Then setting it down, I make a sign in the air; immediately two Sith accolytes appear and position themselves expectantly on either side of this, the second assassin who has come into my presence this day.

They boarded the sleek black sith ship, and Raelgosh took to the controls. He quickly set a charted course to the last noted location of the sith warship his quarry was supposed to be on. They took off from the bay, and activated the cloaking device as they passed the blockade.

However, something on the sensors caught his notice. Strange, two recent Ion trails. There should be one from the party of the red headed woman, but where did the other come from?

It didn't matter really, Raelgosh thought as they entered hyperspace. I suppose I should fill in my cultist.

"Now, Sa'kal'ishaalas, we are being sent to kill the human female by the name of Graysith by our great lord Aelvedaar. You will assist me, but also follow my every command."

He turned away, and went into a light trance to restore some of the still not replenished energy within him as they sped towards the Warship.(((Cult Master Raelgosh and Sa'kal'ishaalas speed off after their quary to, Catch as Catch can, in this forum, thankyou)))

He tried to sit up, only to hit the glass that covered the small tube. The sith turned at the loud clunking sound, and one of them said something that he could not hear through the glass.

He lay back, and tried to clench his fists, the action of which would ignite his lightsabres. If graysith had not taken them.

"He stirs; quick!" Full of excitement at the prospect of being part of something strange and unusual, he popped to his feet. His robes swirled about him.

"I shall go fetch the Master, as we have been instructed. You remain here and watch over this one."

The niche-brother nodded in reply as the other then fled, running as quickly as his feet and decorum would allow. It did not take long before he was at the doorway leading to where he was supposed to be attending classes; his stomach twittered a bit as he hesitated a moment, then burst into the room.

The Master Healer caught himself in mid-word, his own chromatic eyes at first widening in surprise, and then darkening a bit.

"And thus, my learners, do we utilize our magicks for the good of others, and not to their destruction... even though perhaps circumstances might warrant otherwise.

"I must depart from you now; it would seem I am needed elsewhere...."

It was a statement as to his station that no one spoke a word. The instructor rose from where he had been sitting, and passed the Healer as the latter then walked carefully to the door.

No words needed to be spoken; he merely nodded to the young and excited Sith.

"Patience, my friend. Let us go."

Not much time passed by before they were back in the healing chambers. The older Sith took one look about the room, and strode immediately to the healing tube. A quick manipulation of a hidden sigil, and the glassine confine slid into obscurity, releasing Ryknounagin from its clutch.

The Master placed one hand under the human's back, and assisted him to a sitting position.

"Take a care, my friend; you have been through much," he said simply as he then placed a clawed hand upon Rykounagin's forehead.

And I would much desire to learn more of this....

The latter was not spoken aloud, but silently, as if waiting to see if the other had any special abilities that would enable him to pick up on this.

He lost all breath, but then suddenly, it seemed to cool. What in the hells? Must be that sith's magic. But I didn't know they could do that.

Slowly, Ragorian's spirit stirred from its long, despondant sleep that it had fallen into. After Rykounagin had been trapped in the strange...other space that Graysith had imprisioned him in, Ragorian had despaired, feeling his last chance at reincarnation had been abruptly severed, and had slowly slipped into a comatose state of mind, attempting to not give heed to the silence, stillness, and darkness that threatened to once again suffocate his very being. Now, for an unknown reason, he had awaken from that slumber. Clearing the layer of haze that had settled upon him with sleep, Ragorian searched for what had awoken him, called him back to his conciousness.

After a moment, he discerned that some mind had called out to him, albeit faintly, awakening him from his slumber of sorts. But...that was impossible. The only true mind he was linked to now was Rykounagin's and, last time he had checked, the lad had been trapped in Graysith's prison, visions from his hidden past haunting his being. Curious, Ragorian opened his link with the human, searching for why he had called him.

Moments later, Ragorian was wide awake and exuberently taking in all the information he could garner from the boy's senses. Impossible as it was, it seemed Rykounagin had escaped from his otherwordly prison and back into the safety and freedom of this dimension, though how he had managed it, Ragorian could not fathom.

What untapped powers does this young one have? Ragorian mused, remembering the odd runes that covered the boy, for he had sensed deep magicks within them, and within the lad himself. But how did he access them, after all this time? They were incomprehensible to me, and he remembered nothing of them. What happened to him while he was imprisioned?

Ragorian put aside his interests for the moment, feeling that he should respond to the call that had awoken him, for he had many questions he wished answered. Opening his link to the other's mind, Ragorian spoke to him along it once more.

Rykoungain? Are you well?

Stopping suddenly, Ragorian considered his query and found that, to his surprise, it seemed he was feeling actual concern for the boy's well-being. Which seemed impossible, since Ragorian had never felt any concern for another being before. Putting aside these feelings, Ragorian continued speaking to Rykounagin.

How did you manage to escape that...prison you were trapped in he asked, trying to keep his amazment at the task out of his voice. And...where are we now?

But whose magicks, and to what purpose--?

He frowned further, then drew completely back from Rykounagin and folded his hands inside the flowing sleeves of his robes. Upon his chest, a tattoo of his own office was aburst, unseen beneath the folds of cloth but clearly felt by him.

What is this strangeness? he again asked in a pointed and entirely mental attempt at communication.

Aloud he merely replied, "Rest easy.

For what good is a clan if they cannot stand alone on their own merit?

"As I have spoken before, am I to perform your task for you? Have you nothing between your ears? You are assassin, and assassin is synonymous with cunning; have you departed from your cult, then, as something beneath the notice of their eyes and the acceptance of their kin?"

I let the accompanying snort whisper along those mysterious passways, directly into the mind, soul and very cells of the recipient. Even from this distance I can feel him shudder slightly; I smile.

"She deals in things of the Sith; she has been made the Dark Lady of the Warriors. There are four major Sith worlds to which she might travel, Khar Delba being one of them.

"Which, of course, you should know...."

I pause briefly, letting my words settle around his brain like a hunting dianoga, curled patiently there yet ever poised to move.

Time ticks on....

"Follow your own instincts, assassin; use your own skills. This is, after all, why I charged you with this task.

"And-- approach me no more. This grows tedious in the extreme; I expect no further contact from you until that moment you stride back into this Great Temple of the Sorcerer's with her head on a platter."

With that I silence, but leave that small mental touch within the mind of he who called out to me as a child to its mother. In this manner, I shall not lose contact with him, and through him of the pair of assassins and their progress along the trail I have set before them.

He managed to catch, "-is this strangeness?" He wondered, it was a voice different from his masters. Mayhaps it is this sith before me.
I know not of what you speak. If you speak of my thoughts, it is none of your concern, though of the markings I do not know.

There is yet something here.... he thought to himself, careful to not direct this comment to Rykounagin or what he suspected to be another entity somehow incorporated into his mentality.

What it is, and what it wants, I know not; this is of concern.

He then allowed his unspoken works free leave to enter Rykounagin's mind again.

"Impressive, human. I find it surprising that you have this capability within you.

"Are you of the Jedi Order?"

A dark shadow swooped down to carry that last query into the neurons of Rykounagin's brain; how well this Master knew of the fate of the Armorer's and their kin on Koris'ian.

At least the majority of them are safe here with us on Khar Delba, he couldn't help but think before he finally responded aloud to Rykounagin's final question.

"Hardly. I serve no false prophets and their lackeys." He then vocally responded to the next question.'

"Graysith is known as the Dark Lady, last I saw her or anything else, she was on Keel Doba. When I find her, I'll...."

He had begun to speak a threat upon graysith's life, but he felt a gentle nudge in the back of his mind, and he cut short. I have to keep my objectives upon my masters quest.

...that you would know of such matters of the Sith....

The Healer didn't let any of that finishing and unspoken statement slip from him, but kept a firm and iron-fisted mental control upon himself.

Outwardly, he let a soothing smile spread across his face.

"You are on Khar Delba, in the Temple of the Sorcerers, among the Sith," he answered smoothly.

"And as for my so-called 'Master,' why..."

He trailed again, shifting his weight a bit.

"I have to speak with him. Not to be rude..." He almost sneered, "But I have more important things than your queries and prodding."

Hot-headed and unthinking is this one, he commented to himself as his eyes darkened to the twilight's hue.

And very sure of himself; undoubtedly with some supportive reason. For only a fool would think not.

He stiffened, sending a disapproving glare right back into Rykounagin's eyes.

"It would appear that you are the one issuing all the 'queries and proddings,' human," he finally said, a touch of oil coming into his voice.

"You would do well to remember exactly where you are... not to mention the fact that you are alive because we were kind enough to administer healings upon your body to that effect."

He rose to his feet and stared down at Rykounagin.

"I shall approach the Dark Lord and offer up your... request for audience. It is, of course, none of my doing as to whom he speaks, and when."

He was willing to have bet that he'd toed the line of reason in that sith's mind, and that he'd probably made some sort of presumption. Well, I'm not going to sit here and wait for their stupid policies and proceedures to hold me back.

Yet here the quandary was, plopped right into their laps.

The smaller of the pair remained where he was, shooting an uncomfortable look back and forth between his companion and Rykounagin's back. The other one, the one who had summoned the Healer in the first place, let this be so for a pregnant moment or two; then he leapt to his feet.

"Sir!" he cried, coming up behind Rykounagin.

"You cannot-- you mustn't; Sir! Where do you intend to go? The Healer goes in your stead--"

He reached back and grabbed the sith's arm and twisted violently. Not concerned for his own discomfort as he turned it a near 300 degrees.

He then kicked back with a foot and felt it connect with some part of the sith. The let go and began running towards the exit, the sith's shouts ringing behind him as he heard footsteps come to pursue. I don't have time for this.

That was enough to prod the younger into action. He flashed to the other's side, and knelt next to him.

"I shall not let this one leave us, brother!" he cried out, eyes beginning now to blaze with what he was rapidly seeing as righteous retribution owed to the human, and dealt out by himself. He leapt back to his feet and was in the act of leaving when his brother's strained voice came to his ears.

"No, remember who and what we are... what you are. Remember the teachings...."

The young Sith paused and turned, now looking down to where the other's hand lay grasping his ankle, bidding him not leave. Two pairs of eyes met... and the younger let his anger leave him in a puff of exhaled air.

"You are right, as usual," he admitted as he plopped down cross-legged beside the other.

"Thank you; whatever would I do without your wisdom, my brother?"

Unspoken agreement passed between the two budding sorcerers then, and after a brief moment in which both struggled to bring wildly beating heart and surging pain under control, they finally both discovered the inner composure needed to attend to the matter as they should.

They closed their eyes, and sent out a cry for help. Their powers were not yet focused enough to arrow directly into the senses of the Guardians of the Temple; thus the cry was sent out in a flaring and general blanket for anyone to pick up on.

The Sith who had moments before stood about in shocked surprise as Rykounagin burst through them now acted accordingly. Widened eyes narrowed, general hue and cry erupted, and at length the Guardians of the Temple arrived, their weapons gleaming in the light of the flickering wall sconces. They were quickly informed of the direction of the rapidly disappearing Rykounagin, then took off in hot pursuit of him.

Their own magicks led them to him as if they were following a map; it didn't take long for eight of the powerful and highly trained Guardians to move quickly and lithely about the man, ringing him with their spears and swords. The most senior of the group raised a hand, palm out, and with a light magick touch sent Rykounagin to his knees as easily as if he had physically picked him up and then placed him there.

The circle grew smaller as they tightened it about Rykounagin, waiting while the leader sent out a mental call to their Lord.

As he lay there, he stared up at the beautiful architecture of the cieling, and had a moment of appriciation for these people. As he lay there waiting, almost ignoring their words as they spoke and whispered about him, he had to wonder. Am I to live my life not knowing who I am, or living in an eddie of life, stuck in the swirling but never moving space. Or will an opportunity pull me back into the true flow of the river?

Rykounagin. What's going on?

Not waiting for a response for his first query, he launched into another one.

Is your life in any danger? And do you require my assistance?

They merely waited, and were indeed prepared to wait a lifetime in the attitude they presented.

Their speartips did not quaver in the slightest. Never once did their focus leave Rykounagin's form.

The minutes lengthened into an hour.

And dripped over into another.

A rustle of clothing was heard as one shifted his weight slightly; then all was quiet as they turned themselves into stone, giving their Lord all the homage due his station simply by waiting as they were, the rash young human held amidst them.

If he chose to reply to this miniscule incident, so be it. If not...

They were, after all, prepared to wait until they literally dropped in their tracks from hunger or thirst.

The second hour began approaching a third...

Focusing on the shard the boy held with him, Ragorian allowed some of his magick to flow through it and into Rykounagin, countering the weakening magick the other Sith had placed on him, and filling his limbs with much more than their usual strength and vigour, an aid to the boy's already-impressive capabilites in hopes that it would allow him to escape the soldiers.

Be careful, Rykounagin, he warned. You will not be able to fight all of them. Try not to anger them furthur, at least until you've found out what they want with you. Save this strength until then, if you can. I will be watching.

"We are summoned," he said flatly, then nudged Rykounagin with his spear, taking care not to injure him as he used the flat of the blade to prod him to his feet.

The human, not in the slightest bit restrained by their magick, and indeed never having been, rose to his feet and began walking in the direction the Sith's opened ring aimed him. The cadence of their combined footsteps marched against the stones as he was escorted down one corridor into another, finally coming to a halt in front of an impressively carved and bejewelled set of double doors.

They slid open in front of the standing group like the maw of some great and fearful beast.

The Sith wasted no time, but prodded Rykounagin through the door.

It would do me good to watch this one, who comes here for--?

"Who are you, and how did you come here?"

He jerks in surprise as I step forth from the shadows to address him face to face. I let my gaze sweep over him, studying him, assessing him.

There is something...other about him, easily picked up by my innate magicks.

I frown, and raise a hand, palm out.

He grunts and jerks, and a small shard of something leaps forth from him, coming to rest against the flat of my hand.

I close clawed fingers about it, feeling the surging power, the warmth....

"Why have you come to Khar Delba?" I ask, and slide my fisted hand into the sleeve of my opposite arm.

After a moment of examination, it became clear that Rykounagin no longer held the shard of the blade, Ragorian's vessel, that had been given into his possesion. Someone else had taken it.

No, not just someone, Ragorian mused to himself. A Sith.

Excited though he was at contact again with his lost people, Ragorian remained cautious. It took only seconds of examining the Sith to gather that he was one of great power, more than a match for Ragorian in his worn out state, and more than likely too strong for Ragorian at the peak of his power. Rembering his humiliation at Graysith's hands, Ragorian avoided contact with this new entity, surmising that he would simply be eliminated if he attempted to take possession of this Sith.

Nothing visible shows itself, but the rash one is quite suddenly sitting on the stone of the floor, shaking his head in wonderment of how he got there.

"I would expect better behavior from a human, especially one to whom we have extended our hospitality by taking you under our care and tendering you medical aid...

"Rather than killing you on the spot. Humans are not usually allowed within the walls of this temple, much less our city or the planet upon which you have seemed to helplessly find yourself."

I pause a moment, cocking my head to one side as I continue to pin the youth with a piercing look. In my hand, the shard seethes warmth and strength.

I tighten my grip upon it yet further.

"Do not behave as a child, but strive to act in a manner that is honorable and worthy of one's respect, whether the other is friend or foe. Now tell me--

"Who is this 'witch' of whom you speak, and how did she place you into that which you called Elseness?

"What do you know of both?"

Of course I am fully aware of who it is, but I wait to see what he is willing to divulge to me.

But at the rate he was going, and his current situation, he might as well speak the truth.

"Elseness is a gods forsaken hell hole of eternity that has no form of entertainment or enjoyment. I got out because some sorta hole opened in it. As for the witch, that's Graysith. She used some sort of thing my mast- I heard was called an All."

He paused, he had nearly revealed Ragorian twice now when he had been forbidden to do so.

My smile broadens, then vanishes like fog before the blast of warming sunlight.

"Indeed," is all I reply, and smile further, letting patience now be my guide as I stand in utter and rigid silence, and just...

I smile, knowing the magicks can no longer reach this lad, and finally make reply to him.

As the conversation, or, rather, confrontation progressed, Ragorian began to worry what the Sith was going to do with the shard of his vessel. Paying attention to this, he couldn't stop himself from giving a mental cry of alarm when his mental connection to young Rykounagin was suddenly severed. It was there one moment, and then it was gone, cut by the Sith sorceror as easily as Ragorian's blade cut flesh.

As he discovered this, Ragorian suddenly realised he had indeed cryed out mentally, which would have certainly alerted the sorceror to his presence along their faint link. In response to this, Ragorian quickly retreated farther back from the link, attempting to find soem way to reestablish a link with Rykounagin.

But if there was a way, he could not find it.

Resignedly, he tapped into his powers, not gathering them, not using them at all, but simply having them there, comforting in a way, his only defence against whatever the unpredictable Sith sorceror decided to do next. For in this game, the next move was certainly his.

My fingers move along the slick, warm surface of the shard, almost in a caressing motion. It thrums with hidden currents beneath my touch.

Pausing, he considered the word he had used at first..."was." Why had that slipped out? Though his body was gone, he was certainly still Sith, in mind and spirit.

But then, if that was true, why was he so apprehensive of this Sith, a member of his own race?

Putting these thoughts aside, he spoke again.

I bound with the human because I had little in the way of opportunity, good sir...

He paused in his explanation a minute, then voiced a qustion of his own.
Might I know the name of who I am adressing? For I can sense that you are one of no meager power yourself, and the identity of a Sith of such strength does intrigue me.

Falling silent, he waited patiently for a response.

A corner of my lip curls up as I sense the confusion of the lad when his fist impacts what must look like solid air. One can arrange the latticework in such a manner that light can pass entirely through it, after all....

"Take care, boy, before you find more than your hand smarting."

Another gentle and invisible shove sends him flying back again, once more to land on the part of a human's anatomy that suits such things best. Now that he is, at least for another moment or two, far enough away to not bother me with his pesky attacks, I turn my focus back to the shard and address Ragorian once again.

"I am Aelvedaar, Dark Lord of the Sorcerers," I say quietly, giving this fellow sorcerer a mental bow of recognition.

"May I inquire as to the circumstances which have placed you in this bit of metal, and afterward binding you over into the trust of a human child?"

He looked about, and took interest in two statues that stood to either side of the entrance. They formed an archway above the doorway, but more important to him was what it depicted.

On one side stood a sith, lunging towards a dark cloaked man with a spear. In response, the man appeared to be swinging a sword. However, the most interesting thing to him, was the fact that these weapons were real rather than stone.

I am in the presence of the Dark Lord himself? he replied, a slight feeling of awe tinging his voice. Forgive my ignorance in this matter, good sir, he added, returning the Dark Lord's mental bow with one of his own, but I have not been among our people for some time.

Your query of how I became imprisoned in this shard? The tale itself is fairly lengthy. Suffice it to say that this imprisonment is a fate I imposed on myself, a hasty choice made to escape imminent death. This choice, however, left me without a body of my own, and unable to move myself. However, I find whenever I come into physical contact with another living being, I am able to bond them to me, and, in most circumstances, control them. The boy is merely the most recent of my...transporters, or hosts, I suppose you could say.

I lost track of him recently in Graysith's extradimensional prison, however, and only recently found him to be in your palace, dark Lord Aelve-

Ragorian suddenly ceased speaking. The name...Aelvedaar...surely he had heard it somewhere before? Taking a moment to delve into his centuries of memory, he searched for the source of the spark of recognition the name had caused.

When he found it, his mind reeled in surprise for a moment as the impossibility of the situation hit him. Realising he had been ignoring Aelvedaar for several minutes, he spoke to him again, his tone quizzical now.

Aelvedaar? Dark Lord of the Sorcerors? This is a name I have heard...the same name of a Dark Lord of the Sorcerors nearly four thousand years ago. Pausing for a moment, Ragorian affirmed again that this fact was true, at least to his memory.

But...you cannot be he. You would surely have died of old age by now...unless you discovered magicks that would allow you to live forever. But...that is impossible.

He stopped, then continued tenatively.

Suddenly he realized. Could he be speaking with ragorian? Would master give his presence away so swiftly? Rykounagin frankly didn't know, and began to wonder what his master was plotting.

Rykounagin turned back towards the arch way, and leaped up to the sword statue. He physically pried the sword from the statue, but to his dismay, broke off part of the hand in doing so. Not like it was important, or at least I hope not.

The sword appeared to be built as a small weapon for a sith, though in turn it was fairly large for himself. Rykounagin waved it around a bit, and familiarized himself with it. He had to admit it was well built, probably by a master craftsmen. Well, I've got a weapon. But I can't leave without Ragorian, so what am I to do? I could attack this sith, but he keeps blocking me somehow.

Rykounagin sighed and sat down, then winced, and thought to himself that he should have waited to be fully healed before he left.

How far do I trust this Aelvedaar? he thought quietly in his own chamber of his mind, carefully staying away from their mental connection. How much do I tell him? True, he could, with his magick prowess, be a powerful ally to me, but he could be an even more powerful enemy if conversations go sour. And as it is, I already have enough enemies. I'd best ware my words for now.

Turning his attention back to his mental conversation with Aelvedaar, he spoke again

This shard is not all that I am, Lord Aelvedaar. It is simply a piece of my vessel, sent so that I could watch over and assist this boy. Little damage would be done to me if it was destroyed, for very little resides within it.

"Why should kith fear kin, Ragorian? Have you truly something to hide?"

Something to hide? he asked quizzically. No, not at all...

I suppose you are right in detecting fear, Lord Aelvedaar, he continued, but this fear is simply a wariness, if you will, against others who could, perhaps, threaten my existance. This wariness is what has kept me alive these years. Sadly, though it makes me immediately wary and mistrustful of any being with considerable power that I meet...

Even one such as myself. I cannot even bring myself, at first, at least to trust a Sith.

Reflecting on this fact, Ragorian relised it was all too true. He heaved a small mental sigh.

My apolgies if I have offended you, Lord Aelvedaar, but this is simply who...or what...I am now. I cannot do anything about it.

"This is who and where you are."

As Aelvedaar seemed to consult the object, Ragorian attempted to also make contact with it, to look into its depths and know the limit of its powers. But for all his striving, he only garnered confusion, a jumble of mismatched images and colors that only served to further befuddle Ragorian. He desired to ask about the object, but decided to wait until his...host...was finished communing with it.

As Aelvedaar broke away, Ragorian was about to speak, but was startled when Aelvedaar spoke first. Even more startled was he when the question revealed that Aelvedaar had somehow learned the truth behind his vessel and its location. Apparently this artifact had provided the Dark Lord with this information, which only served to highten
Ragorian's interst about the item.

As to his location, though, Ragorian knew there was no hiding it.

Yes, he said. That is the location of my spirit.

She gasped, turning brightly colored eyes upon him, working hard to steady herself.

"S-sir," she finally managed in a politely toned voice, realizing from his stance and the way he had so obviously just exited from Aelvedaar's chambers that he was a guest of some high standing.

"I do not understand your meaning. There are none prisoned here; people come and go as they please, and many have left the temple to go about their business within the city.

"I am sorry, Sir, but I have seen none other like you this night," she finally said, blinking her lashes.

"Other than one cloaked in dark of whom I only caught the barest of glances. He was fleeing in that direction."

Beginning to point with the cumbersome tray, she suddenly realized that she was standing there in front of a guest and rudely witholding refreshment.

Instead, he turned his curiosity outward, sizing up his situation as best he could. Rykounagin, he could tell, had departed, which was discouraging, considering that he was Ragorian's only ally, most likely, in this place.

Wherever 'this place' even is... he though to himself, sighing slightly.

Using his senses, he quickly located Rykounagin, who was moving through the Sith city at a brisk pace. Much too far away for communication, he realized, his frustration spiking.

Or...was he?

Focusing on the corridors of his own concious, Ragorian was surprised to find he still felt some sort of...link to Rykounagin, one that pulled at him, pointing in the boy's direction.

An interesting phenomenon, Ragorian thought, but then, he and I have been through much. And he always did seem to have strange powers.

Closer examination of this unpalpable thread that linked both of their spirits brought only confusion to Ragorian. This bond was of a completely alien nature to him. He could not even discern if communication was possible through it. Still, he figured that it could not hurt to give it a try. Focusing his mind on this link, he spoke.

He threw caution to the winds, and approached a sith. "Excuse me, did you see a cloaked figure of somekind. A sith pointed me in this direction and-"

"Aelvedaar, this is Sa'kal'ishaalas. I apologize, but Raelgosh and I failed to defeat this Dark Lady. We are investigating something that Raelgosh saw on our flight to a life sign we found on the planet. Should I carry your orders out to kill Raelgosh due to his failure to help me in killing our targets?"

Realizing his attempts at speaking were hurting Rykounagin, Ragorian stopped, listened to his reply, and attempted to imitate the pattern and direction of thought Rykounagin had used.
Rykounagin, I am still with Aelvedaar.

He debated internally a moment. His initial plan had been to call Rykounagin back to Aelvedaar's room, or send him off to scout, but now he realized that the lad was pursuing his own interests. Something very important to him, it seemed Normally, Ragorian would not have cared one iota, but...he owed the lad much. He could give him what assistance he needed.

Tell me where you are, Rykounagin, he continued. And how I can help you.

Rykounagin sent, wondering where he was. He left the place, and began heading back to the audience chamber where he had seen aelvedaar. When he reached the entrance, the sith stopped him.

Ragorian sent his reply quickly and forcefully to the young lad.

Trust me, Rykounagin, you do not want to confront Aelvedaar now. Nothing would you accomplish by doing this. I know not how or why, but I can communicate with you still, and with time I shall learn, hopefully, to aid you with my powers once more. I am in no danger, and can remain in Aelvedaar's possession for the time being.

Sighing, he hoped his reasoning would have an effect upon the brash young Rykounagin.

For now we should focus on getting you off this planet, or out of this city at least. Then we may begin searching for those you seek.

"Yes my master. It will be done."

"Guards, send for the Healer!" he barked into the dim hallway beyond. Then he pulled back, kneeling at the human's side, and placed a clawed hand on his shoulder.

"Be at ease, the Healer is coming," he said, all the while wondering if the Healer could work his magick on this obviously non-Sith.

A few moments passed, then booted footsteps announced the arrival of the Healer and his small entourage. They paused in the act of opening the door.

The Healer's brows shot skyward.

"You again?" he said, half laughing, half worried. Then he motioned to his interns.

"Take him to the Healing Center, and see his bed is a soft one."

The others nodded politely, then seized Rykounagin between them. Each one taking hold of a limb, they carried the human in this fashion back to the Healing Center from which he had so abruptly departed, not too long ago.

They laid him on a bed, drawing back as the Healer entered the room and came up to him.

He said, glaring at them, though the glare weakened as the pain from his runes began to fade. "I suppose I owe you thanks. But I Must leave this place, retrieve my master from aelvedaar, and find graysith."

"Retrieve your master?" he said softly, stepping back a bit as he removed his hand from Rykounagin's forehead. His sky-blue eyes roved over the young man's form, took in the strange runes enscribed upon his body.

And being a healer... recognized them.

He cut his eyes to one of the interns, and nodded. Once.

The other closed his eyes, bowed, and quickly left, going to take the message to their Dark Lord.

The Healer turned back to the young man.

"Tell me, son," he began carefully.

"How is it that you have come to have Sith runes upon your flesh?"

"I've had these as long as I can remember, which is roughly about two months." He frowned, feeling the etchings around his neck move slightly. "How would I have gotten them? What are they exactly?"

At length, he reached out one clawed hand and, taking Rykounagin by his chin forced him to stare him straight in the face. Their eyes met for a long moment, as the Healer sought for the barest hint of deception lurking in Rykounagin's soul.

He found none.

Letting his hand drop, he got to his feet.

"The answer to this is not my privilege to release," he said quietly, bowing his head to the human. He turned and left Rykounagin's side, but paused at the door which led to the corridor beyond.

"I shall see to it that you come before Lord Aelvedaar. Remain here."

Sa'kal focused his attention on the blockade surrounding the planet as he and Dash exited hyperspace.

"I'll let you go, but you need to give me any information you have about Graysith and Phalomir. I no longer need to kill them however. But I just might to regain my honor. But from watching Raelgosh fail, I'm starting to believe that it would better for me to admit they are stronger than I am..." said Sa'kal as he turned the cloaking device on. They once again passed through the blockade and landed on the planet. "Stay here, I must do something."

I reached out with my Sith magicks and found them to be even more powerful than before. "Hmmm, that is interesting," I said to myself. I sensed Rykoungin to be not far off, but I determined it would be better for me to confront Aelvedaar first. I entered the temple and saw several sith rushing to Aelvedaar's chambers.

I got up from my seat and walked out behind Sa'kal.

Stay here. Right. I wish I had a lightsaber.

"What are you doing?" I asked as stopped behind Sa'kal.

A few moments later, Rykounagin was free from the healer's scrutinization for the time being. Taking the opportunity, Ragorian spoke to him.
Are you all right, Rykounagin? What happened?

Before he could continue, something caught his attention about the boy. The runes that covered him, which Ragorian had never taken the liberty to examine fully, were now red, a sharp contrast to their usual black. And, looking at them through Rykounagin's eyes, Ragorian found that, oddly enough, he could almost...almost recognize the runes.
What is this? he thought in confusion, his words also being spoken in Rykounagin's mind.What are these runes? Why can I almost read them?

First they came to where Sa'kal'ishaalas stood in growing impatience, his arms crossed, his red eyes showing his growing ire. They stopped before him, nodding in unison as they opened their ranks, then closed them as he stepped within. As one unit they then whirled, turning about and proceeded to go back the way they had come, toward the sacred Inner Sanctum of their Dark Lord.

As they passed a particular passageway a group of four broke off from the main body, and made a smooth detour away from it. They followed this passageway for some time, turned where it came to a T-intersection, traveled another corridor, climbed a set of stone stairs, and finally came to one of many healing bays scattered widely about the temple. Entering therein, they found the equally glaring Rykounagin waiting inside, his dark hair falling over and partially obscuring his turquoise eyes.

The Sith stopped, staring at those eyes.

Then they nodded; the tallest of the group spoke up.

"We are to take you to the Dark Lord; you are to come with us."

He went along the hall, and suddenly felt a rune on his neck burn. Whats going on?

"Stop! I must see him," I pronounced. As the sith steped away, I knew it was him. "Leave us!" I ordered, and when they did not comply, I summoned my sword and threatened, "Leave now or you will regret it." At this, the sith left us, but were not far off.

At last I speak.

"Your success brings you honor, Sa'kal'ishaalas," I state smoothly, stepping out to greet them, one hand raised, every defensive magickal shield I know of raised as well.

I am, of course, not a fool.

"Strange, with what harshness it is that you greet your brother... one toward whom you must not behave in such a manner.

"Else you join the ranks of the Master of the Cult...."

"Brother? You're my brother? You don't even resemble me.... But I remember you." He grabbed the front of Sa'kal's shirt and tried to pull him forwards, but only dragged himself forwards instead.

I quickly hit Rykounagin, and he falls limply to the floor. "And now to free those memories." I mumble as I place my hand over his head and focus my Sith magicks into his brain, tearing apart the walls I placed there, and allow the memories to flow free. As a second spell, I realease the magick's I had placed on his brain. These magick's prevented Rykounagin from getting any older, and the release on them allowed his brain to realize that it was years in the future, and the body began to change into what Rykounagin should have already looked like.

"I suggest he returns to a bed. It will be a while before he wakes up," I say. "In the meantime, Aelvedaar, I'm sure you have noticed that I am no longer bound by runes on my body. I do however, choose to remain by your side and work with you. I however, do wish to create a new blade. It seems that this one is not the same as it used to be. I must wait anyways until Rykounagin awakes to begin my jobs of assassination once again." I say, allowing no time for Aelvedaar to respond. "I'll take him to the medical facilities, and then I'll retire to beging the creation of my new blade."

Something deep inside me raises a head to growl at the cheekiness of this human. I know full well just who and what he is; it is time now to remind him of just that.

"It is not yours to say with whom you will bind yourself and who not; these simple magicks of which your body bears evidence are nothing to me. They come from a time long, long ago--

"And from a level of magick now considered to be quite elementary."

I pause a moment as the human turns to look at me, something which looks to be surprise on his face.

Surprise which is quickly overcome by anger.

It matters not.

I turn to retreat further into my Inner Sanctum, so as from there to preside over events occuring at a place far from here, events of more importance to me than this haughty human's need to create for himself another blade.

But I stop.

"Am I to be honored that you have chosen to be at my side?"

I let a hint of warning seep into the tone of my voice; it is far too coincidental that this one should appear now, of all times, when I am so close to that which I seek to obtain. My hand curls into a fist, and I point a long finger at him.

"Why should this be so, when it is my kind, my cast who has enabled you to be in existence in the first place? What need have I of one with lesser abilities; why should I taint my being with one originally meant to be subject to the will and desire of my people, human?"

Hidden within the flowing sleeve of my robes of office, my other hand tightens about the shard I still carry. Here is the one who is of interest to me, not this pale doppleganger of a human being.

I cock my head a bit to one side and stare at him where he stands, the unconscious body of his brother held limply in his arms.

But it was nothing compared to what he had possessed in the long past. But soon, it began to teach him lessons of the recent past, about the beastial beings that came to hunt him, the warriors that roamed the plains. Finally, it had given him his assignment, and he had gone forth to complete these tasks. But all hell had come. He had gone with Graysith, and sworn a false loyalty to serve his master, and failed as he was cast into the eternal limbo of hell, to finally escape and come to the small hell he was now trapped im.

One he now seems to be now tainting with dishonor.

Ragorian knew not what or who it was, but for some reason, something had caught his mind's eye back in Aelvedaar's sanctum. As he shifted his conciousness back to the shard the Lord of Sorcerors carried, he noticed immediatly that Rykounagin was in the room, unconcious and in the arms of another individual. Ragorian quickly took the opportunity to establish a link between the lad and the shard, strengthening the admittedly weak link they shared otherwise.

As he slowly made contact with Rykounagin's mind, he sensed immediatly that something was...different about him. A quick, deeper look revealed what it was...something that caused the normally calm Ragorian not a few moments of surprise and alarm.

Ragorian's memory had been restored. And along with that returned memory came something else...power. More power than Ragorian had ever felt from any human seemed to be welling up inside Rykounagin, as though it had been hidden away, waiting to be released.

What this meant for his continued relationship with Rykounagin, Ragorian didn't know. Part of him wanted to flee, but the other part of him felt an emotion towards this boy that Ragorian had not felt in a long time: compassion. And that side would not willingly let Ragorian abandon Rykounagin to an unknown fate.

Focusing along the now strong, powerful link between the two of them, Ragorian attempted to call out to Rykounagin's mind, not sure if he could or would hear.

Rykounagin? It is Ragorian...

Remember, under those runes both Rykounagin and Sa'kal'ishaalas are human. But once the Master to which he was bound was dead, then he would be free to use what magick he learned as he saw fit, rather than having that ability constrained by the Sith Master through the runes placed on his body.))

Quickly, his face began to age from the 15 year old face, several years seeming to pass in an instant, and in sa'kal'ishaalas's arms lay a man of around 20.

His hair darkened, and began to lengthen, the short hair in the dark stone band stretching from a previous length of a few inches, into a few feet of flowing dark hair that slowly came to rest on the floor.

His eyes deepened, the turquise fading into a dark blood red, his pupils shirinking slightly. The runes on his body grew, and some that had not been visible before, grew and cut open upon the surface of his body.

He exhaled a small whisp of visible red air escaping his lips, his eyes were open, blinked, then closed.

His breathing slowed, and he was soon asleep, laying there, his dreamless mind full of an indirected rage.

SCRATCH THAT!!! Big mistake...I changed some stuff but its back to normal

"You think that it was possible for your kind to simply inscribe the runes on the body of humans and give them powers. You make me laugh. I do not fear you, as you have no idea how powerful I really am. I allowed myself to appear weak to you as to not lead you to the truth. Your kind believes they controlled us, while in reality it was just the magics they used. It took years for the Cult of Assassins to be formed, not because of trouble with others hunting us down, but because our original master had to find the right human. In reality, both me and Rykounagin are partly sith, born from the special union of sith and human, to create a being that appeared to all human, with the powers of the sith. The runes on our bodies contained the knowledge of those killed in the past due to the law of the cult, such as my mother and father. These memories are revived by killing the sith cult master, and I knew this because of another...the reason I put my brother into the memory block is I met one of the sith who was brought back with you, and has taught me much. The purpose of my leaving his tutoring was to lift the limits of the runes on me, as the granted me power in the form of a human, they also supressed my sith heritage and blood, making it difficult for me to learn new spells. My second objective was to free the thoughts of my brother and bring him back to my new master," Sa'kal bluffed as he constantly got closer and closer to Aelvedaar.

With his speech finished, Sa'kal'ishaalas got out of Aelvedaars face, grabbed his brother and left, clutching in his hand the shard of metal in his hand, using magics to make Aelvedaar believe he still clutched it. Sa'kal quickly began to run out of the temple with the metal, knowing Aelvedaars wrath would be swift if he did not leave quickly. Using his ability to move at blinding speeds, Sa'kal swiftly left the temple to find his new master.

Thank you.))

I smile to myself, knowing it is not the shard at all... just as I know the pair don't have one drop of Sith blood between them.

"The little fool," I whisper, going to the Octahedron and making a motion before it. In front of me the greeny-goldness swirls into images of the fleeing duo; I smile as I watch the human, burdened with his brother, flee as a swamprat on Dagobah would a hungry dianoga.

I look again to my hand... and watch as the shard dissolves into brilliant golden insects, which buzz about my hand once more before flying away.

My smile deepens. I raise my face to the cold stones above me, close my eyes, concentrate, calling on the combined powers of that inherent Sith magick within me, that I was born with, that I have honed over many years of careful study and use...

And that of the All.

Then I open my eyes, and gaze once more into the Octahedron. I smile to see the shard in the possession of the fleeing one suddenly...

Dissolve back into its constituent molecules, which dissipate as did the quasi one I had held.

From a dark and unseen corridor, I hear a manic, desperate howl of rage and fear as that essence within the bit discovers its freedom...

...and before the fleeing quasi sorcerer can react, I reach calmly out with my own strengths and pluck that bit of this hidden Master from the very air, open a tiny Portal into the Elseness...

And thrust him therein.

There shall he remain, that bit of whatever or whoever was within the bit of sword, until I deem to free him. After all, we were to have a leisurely chat at one time, one I am most looking forward to.

And now... to deal with the fool who has fled when he should have remained.

He would have made a fine ally, indeed; but now...

Let him run. Let him use the pitifully weakened Sith magicks he has learned.

He shall meet what he is destined to meet with... all in due time.

But for now, there are other matters of greater importance with which I must deal....

He got up, hatred for his brother racing through his mind. "You bastard! You self serving, murduring fool!" He recheached out to the dark energies he had just recovered, and almost instandly found what he wanted.

A short dark blade grew out of his palm taking form as he grasped it. "I'm going to kill you!" He slashed at his brother, cutting him across the chest, then he reached to the force and smashed him to the floor, driving the blade through his shoulder as he fell.

However, though he was furious, his cold dark nature had already begun to take dominance over his anger. "You.... will die..... you've killed yourself.... you, are no longer my brother."

He turned, ripped the blade from his brothers shoulder. "Heal yourself, and run. I hold no love for you, nor will I ever. I should strike you down now-" His voice had slowly gone from a horrible angry tone, to a cold and cruel voice.

One way or another....

He raised his arms, and extended his ring fingers, quickly tracing them in a perfect circle before him, drawing up a shield with his magick. "But you have walked off the edge of the board." He summoned a dark energy as soon as he completed, and smiled at the visual illusion standing before him as a dark portal seemed to open at Sa'kal'ishaalas's feet, dark tendrils comming out to wrap around his arms legs and torso.

He knew his brother was strong enough to break free, easily for that matter, but he decided to play the lowest card he had. Not that he cared.

"I'm sorry to cut this small engagement short, but I'm afraid I've checked you." His eyes flashed, and he opened his mouth widely, a loud shrieking sound eminating, the words all jumbled into one hiss: "Atraitor!Atraitor!HehasdeniedAelvedaar!"

He closed his mouth. "I suggest you run, but remember. I am giving you the chance to walk away, for right now, killing you would be pointless. You have to lead them to your sanctum, then it will no longer matter."

I watch his approach in silence, and only when he has but meters to go to reach me do I hold out my arm. My sleeve falls gracefully from my upturned palm.

"You are strong, Rykounagin," I say then, nodding once to him to show my respect and approval.

"Join me as my Son, and together we shall rule the Sith with wisdom and compassion."

The image of another, Chosen Human flashed across my mind, red hair flaming like the sunset on Tattooine. She failed to meet her final destiny in the drama yet unfolding; the Sith adept I had chosen to replace her failed me as well.

I shall see if this human has the wisdom and strength to succeed where the others did not.

"I disrespected you once as a child, an ignorant fool. I shall replace that disrespect with respect as it is due, to the great sith you are, Aelvedaar. With wisdom and compassion there shall be, but with no weakness will there be as well."

With that, I quickly break free of Rykounagin's magicks and summon my own into play on the forces of Aelvedaar. A sword materializes in my hand, but instead of bringing it into action, I summon the magicks into the ground around me, causing the ground around me to tremble as columns of fire surround me, enveloping the sith in flames. They scream in their doom, and I smile. The magicks may drain the power of the runes, but to so easily defeat the lesser adepts of sorcery, it was worth it.

"Brother, you will regret the day that you crossed me, but for now, I must find a way to get off of this planet," I say to no one, and walk through the ruined ground, to the temple in which I left my other resources to meet Aelvedaar for the first time.

I straighten, and lay a clawed hand on his shoulder.

"Stand on your feet, son, beside me," I say tersely, guiding him upright with a squeeze of my fingers.

"Come."

I say no more, but turn and retrace my steps back to the Crystal Octahedron. A wave of my hand, and an image begins to form: that of the hurriedly striding, white haired human assassin, and behind him--

My grimace deepens; though I do not turn I clearly sense Rykounagin standing next to me, staring in silence at the horrendous scene.

"Tell me, my son: what are your thoughts of one who would take life so uselessly, so senselessly? What think you of this blood-kin of yours, who indeed not long ago struck out against you in the dire manner in which he did?

He continued watching the crystal ball. "I know a small thing about the powers of the sith. I do not know what you call it, but I have personally been trapped in a voided place that holds not feeling, no hate, no love. I can personally tell you, it would near destroy him, as much as it did me."

The word escapes my lips in a hiss, echoes softly about our heads, impacts against the crystalline surface before us and slides down to lay at our feet. I can almost feel it there, a palpable and dying thing.

My smile grows serious as I then turn to face Rykounagin.

"What he has done is indeed unforgiveable," I state sternly.

"Life is not given lightly, it should never be taken as thus. But--"

I cast a glance to the fleeing Sa'kal'ishaalas; by his stride, I can see he is propelled by more than a mere desire to reach his destination quickly. My arm reaches out, and I point toward his image within the Great Crystal Octahedron.

"See him there; he does not flee me. He flees himself; it is fear and anger which prods him onward.

"And pain. Pain and fear of now being alone, of losing his brother, anger with himself for doing what he did; he now reacts in unthinking haste, trying to make himself larger in his own eyes when deep within his heart he knows how small his actions have proven him to truly be."

I turn back to Rykounagin, and lift my chin a bit higher.

"You speak of the Elseness, of that place which exists between one second and the next; the dimensionless non-ness where time and matter have no real meaning."

Ahh-- but my Chosen Daughter has been a busy little bee now, hasn't she? But assumptions and suppositions alone prove nothing if foolish....

"I however, escaped to this place. A small pocket I found in it, I forced my way through, to come to this place. After that, I made my misguided attempt to escape, and you know the rest of this story."

I draw back, laying one of his articles of armor back along his shoulders.

"You shall first learn to call me Father, and not Master," I say, and taking his arm in my hand begin tracing upon his wrist the Tattoo of Entitlement to the Dark Lordship of the Sorcerers. The point of my claw pierces deeply into his flesh, sending blood welling up and out; he does not flinch, but stands quietly before me.

When I am finished, his tattooed body bears yet one other: one of my House, and my clan, and etched in the blackness of coagulating blood.

"When the day comes, there is one you shall have to battle for Inheritance," I state, letting his arm go free.

"For there can be but one Heir Apparent to each caste; and there is one other who bears this mark I have placed upon your flesh."

I pause and stare deeply into his eyes before turning back to the image in the Octahedron.

"And now, my new Son. What justice is it, as Heir to the Dark Lordship, that you deem we place upon your erstwhile brother?"

He quickly as possible located the sith fighter he had landed outside the Temple of Sorcerer and got in, and started to scan the Diamond of the Sith in order to attempt to find the sith warship, hoping it was still in the area. He found that it had landed on the planet Koris'ian. He took off and set the cloak, and plotted a course to Koris'ian, and slipped unnoticed into hyperspace.
((OCC: Sa'kal'ishaalas races off to The Razor's Edge in the Jedi/Sith forums.))

The word echoed through his mind, seeming to reverberate through its corridors, gaining presence in the space around him, repounding off itself, and growing louder and louder, deafening in the silence, utter and absolute quiet of the place.

Certainly, he had not expected the other human to whisk the shard away from Aelvedaar and run. That had been a move he had not forseen. And most definitely, he had not expected the pain, and the sudden horror, as a part of his spirit, a part of himself, was torn free of its vessel, and imprisioned here.

Why he had been taken, and why Aelvedaar had seen fit to imprision him, he did not know, and his mind, his only companion here, offered no answers.

Still, it was an odd feeling indeed, to have most of his spirit residing in one dimension, and another bit residing here in the next. It made him feel thin, stretched out, and seemed to require effort not to keep this...piece of himself connected to the whole.

But it was an effort he would definitely have to make. The consequences were too severe otherwise.
Yes, he thought to himself. Keep talking to yourself. Ignore this prison. Ignore the silence all around you. Close it off. Keep it away!

That task proved difficult, however. Ragorian had spent nearly four thousand years alone, in silence and solitude. He still carried the mental scars from that experience, and to him, this place, a place of silence and lonliness absolute, was more than just a prison. It was hell.

Voices in his mind rose, up, babbling inanely, screaming at nothing in particular, just trying to end the silence that stretched on. This, Ragorian knew, was a side of him that had been spawned from his time of isolation, a side he had tried and tried to suppress since he had been discovered, but had found he could not. This was the side of him that had fallen. His insane side.

Ragorian wrestled with it, stifling its screams and jabbers, pinning it down and ordering it to silence. It obeyed, scurried off as a whipped dog would, back into the dark corridors of Ragorian's mind where it resided. Reapeatedly Ragorian attempted to appease it, reminded himself that he was not trapped completely. In fact, his sane side reasoned, this was an opportunity that could be taken advantage of.

For he was still pitifully ignorant regarding this other demension, this Elseness, and here he had been given a perfect opportunity to study it. Quickly the task was assigned by the greater part of his spirit, and quickly did the imprisioned bit of it begin, methodically focusing on the demension around him, perusing every detail, engrossed in study of this unfamiliar anomaly.

But still, his other side, his mad side screamed. Stop it he could not, so Ragorian took to simply ignoring it and focused on his study of the Elseness, passing the time until Aelvedaar, or someone, came back to recover him, and free him.

And so he waited.
((OOC: Follow the trapped part of Ragorian and his thoughts to the topic Elseness in this forum. Thank you.))

"Of course, this is as nothing to the Great Crystal Octahedron," I state with quiet aplomb, taking quite for granted that which I am certain he is quite overcome with awe in confronting.

"In fact, my Son, her current whereabouts is of some concern to me as well; let us take a look and see what we can see."

With that, I wave my hand, sending an unspoken command into that wonderful device of my own design, and of Sith creation. It responds with obedient alacrity, and soon the greeny-golden swirls within its matrix coalesce into the images of those upon the distant warship.

I lean forward with interest, for a moment forgetting Rykounagin who hovers so closely by my side. The barely-felt impact of his runes, trembling at a delicate point between the palpable and non-discernable, prompted by the quickening of the Octahedron, draws my attention to his presence once again; I frown briefly at my inattendance, and point a clawed finger at the images slowly taking shape in front of our very eyes.

"Behold," I state with utter simplicity, and watch as the bridge of the Sith warship whirls into existence before our hungry gaze. That image reveals the sister of my once-Chosen, fire in her eyes as she stands before a quiet Sith, who holds in his arms the death-quiet form of... Her. In the background I see the Stargazer, whose infant son yet slumbers near me in incubated sleep, and another Sith, who is engrossed in reading a book of some type.

I lean forward, intent upon reading what it is that he reads, my interest in the human, flame-headed female momentarily lost.

"Tell me, my Son," I say then as I draw back a bit from the device.

"What do you see herein? What does this image reveal to you? And...

"Can you read the book which seems to hold these weaklings in such thrall?"

He brought his attention back to Aelvedaar after another moment, and spoke. "Within I see one I dispise above others, though for now I will wisely hold back my contempt. I can see her pet Sith, who follows her constantly and now holds her like the helpless child I now see her to be."

He examined the book closer, and almost laughed. "A history, though I cannot read it fully, I can easily see it to be a history of......" He trailed off as his eyes scanned the miniscule lines, runes near his eyes glowing faintly.

He watched as they closed the book, and spoke of a long line of Tukata, but then his attention was drawn away, and he glared at the octahedron. "My brother seems to have planned his escape more than I might have exprected...."

I just walked down the long hallways hoping to find someone.
I have to get out of here. This whole place gives me the spooks. I thought.

As the starship exited hyperspace, Sa'kal was thinking about the best way to get the Imperial's blockading the planets to bombard the temple. But as he was coming up with plans on how to do this, Sa'kal remembered that he had left the Chiss, Dash, in the temple, and felt that he should rescue him. It would not be easy to do so, but it was in his best intrest to not have someone killed that could possibly be his ally. Considering that no one seems to want to work with me Sa'kal thought in irony.

I smiled and looked around.

I turn to Rykounagin.

"The first thing that I shall teach you, my son, is patience. That... and the fact that the fate of all who trespass against us is not necessarily always held within our hands alone...."

With that I place a fatherly arm about his shoulders and lead him from my Inner Sanctum, going out into the antechamber and then into the corridors beyond. Our destination...

The Grand Dining Hall where we might partake of a meal together and get to know one another better.

"I shall learn patience, that I shall...." He entered the dinning hall, and was unsure to where he should seat.

"I'm afraid, in all my training, I never did learn ediquite for dinning with sith father. Another lesson I will learn at the same time again." He smiled inwardly.

I smile pleasantly at Rykounagin, not letting the expression on my face reveal my secret trepidations regarding this lad. While I feel in good time he will live up to the image I foresee of him, at the moment he is quite a rough purse.

"His life must have been as difficult as his manners," I think to myself as I dip my clawed hands into the wetting bowl daintily presented to me by a young female Sith server. She bows, turns to Rykounagin, and with another bow of respect presents it to him. I let a crooked grin pass over my features as I see his reaction to this.

"Although we are of the Sorcerer's Clan here, we follow some of the guidelines of the Warriors. A clean body is a strong one, no matter the type of battle that body prepares for, be it physical or magickal."

The grin on my face grows slightly more as, with a scowl, he turns to the serving wench and dunks his hands into the bowl. Water splashes out and wets the table; without batting an eye the wench immediately switches the bowl to one hand and with the other uses her luxurious hair to dry the puddles.

With another bow, she backs away and leaves us, soon to be replaced by an entourage from the kitchens who present us with platter upon platter of foodstuffs, primarily meats and fruits.

I reach out and tear a haunch off of an entire roasted animal which lays in front of us in its entirety, crimson jewels replacing its eyes, its own hide coiled and interwined skillfully about it.

I wave the haunch toward Rykounagin even as my other hand reaches for some choice t'plikk fruits.

"Eat, eat," I state simply, then lean back to observe his behavior.

It was not that he did not trust his new father, for he new that to not trust his one ally, was to be foolish.

He observed the food laid out, then inwardly smiled, and waved a hand out over the food, small trickles of magic washing over it to sense whether it was "clean".

He smiled, feeling a slight taint in a few of the articles of food.

He waved his hand again, and slowly lifted a small amount of fruit raised to his plate, followed by some strange bread that he had found to be pure and had caught his eye.

He puzzled over whether to use further magick to go through the simplest of motions to part his food into eatable sizes, but felt he had already used enough for the meal.

He placed a hand on the food, and tried to repair his failed attempt at the water dish, by eating slowly, and neatly as he could, and in secret, using the force to keep the crumbs from falling.

He ate slowly, and wondered at his brothers motives as he ate. No, it is as my father said, I need to avoid the thoughts of him at the present.

"So, father." He said, using a napkin to dab his lips gently. "Is it also polite not to speak while during a meal?"

"Why do you want Graysith to trust you and what do you mean by her and her company?" I asked him.

"I do not trust you." I said.

My hand grasped his hands and we shook.

"but I will join you for now. Perhaps overtime you will gain my trust."

I released his hand and it fell back to my side.

My lip quirked in annoyance, and I sighed as I reached for the padd.

Not another ship departing from that blasted planet, I thought to myself as I opened it. Much time had passed since I had ordered the blockade about the pair of unknown worlds my ships prowled about, time that remained serenely unmolested save for the very few times those tiny Sith fighters had risen into the heavens and shot on their way. Each time, unbeknownst to their pilots, they had gone with our blessings, their trajectories tracked, their exhaust trails hounded by our minute and indetectable probes.

For the most part, those ships had only traveled between the twin planets this blasted red dwarf of a sun harbored: rising quietly beyond the atmosphere of one to shoot to the sister world and quietly disappear.

I wondered what in Hell's Seven Circles was going on.

It would be easy enough to find out, I thought idly as I flipped open the data padd.

We have plenty of firepower and unceasing resources....

But I was no fool. I knew the capabilities of the tiny fighters; the warship -- at least I assumed it had been something of that class, judging by its size -- presumably was far more powerful.

And until our men crack the secrets of the Sith on that ship they're working on, I'm not going to place us in jeopardy of any kind.

At least not until that course of action is our last and only course.

Jerking my thoughts away, I tilted my head to read the missive. The words reflected in the T-shaped lens of my helmet, as I in turn reflected upon them.

A Sith fighter approaching us... wishing to speak to me?

I raised my head and stared off into middle distance, then snapped the data-padd closed. A flick of my gloved finger opened a direct link to Landarian's private comm.

"This is Tarnus, general welcome is to proceed with all due caution."

He knew fully well what I meant by that. I smiled to think of the armed troops who would greet this bold stranger, who seemed to be walking straight into the lion's den.

A den he should have no awareness of, actually, considering how far away our blockade was positioned from the worlds.

We were positioned several billion klicks from their sol; the flagship still held her position high above the planet in the Z-axis.

I was silent the whole time, opening up to the force an searching the ship, the people inside and for this commander.

A human and a blue-skinned Ch'iss.

Behind the T-shaped lens of my visor, my brows arch. However, I am careful not to betray whatever emotion I might be feeling at the time; I merely lift my head a little but other than that remain absolutely motionless.

The guards bring the two men to the shining table at whose end I am seated; a flick downward of my eyes, and I see their reflection there upon the tabletop. My lip flickers, once, in the briefest flash of a smile:

That is always such an impressive sight.

Silence rolls by, broken at length by the creak of my armor as I settle more comfortably into the chair in which I am seated. I say nothing, the guards remain as statues with their weapons available but not threatening; all would appear to the casual eye as nothing more than a stalemate...

...or the last move before checkmate.

I have learned many things in my long experience as a bounty hunter, but the first and foremost of them is patience. That and the stark truth that one should never, ever, assume anything about anyone.

Actions so many times speak louder than words, after all....

And so, I remain silent, and wait to see how these two will deport themselves under the rather unique circumstances they are in.

((OOC: Follow everyone in this thread to My Enemy, My Ally in the "Jedi/Sith" forums, thank you.))