She stood silently before the wondrous otherness that swirled in greeny-golden splendor before her eyes. Bound by what perhaps would be Lord Aelvedaar's greatest achievement, the union of Sith magicks with the All, the Great Crystal Octahedron didn't lie. When asked a question, it provided a reply, reaching out via magicks amplified with every force that ever existed to seek such.

Even if the answers to said questions resided in dimensions beyond the ken of the average citizen of the whirling pool of stars that was the Galaxy.

She shivered, tears standing in her violet eyes, hugging herself tighter and tighter as one question prompted the next, some given by her, the others commanded by her dear Adopted Father. Astonishment swelled, spilled from her being to fill the room, joined with that equally fevered coming from the Dark Lord. Apathetic to such frailties as emotions, the device merely went on, as image after damning image rose in its coiling depths only to blur away once again.

It was true. What the Master had claimed... was true.

The eruption of joy she felt with the knowledge that her dear Phalomir was indeed who she believed him to be paled before the enormity of what was being presented to them both. She numbed, ignorant to her immediate surroundings, glued to the display, the golden swirls, the Great Revealing. And at length those images faded, replaced by the simple splendor of Everything which was in fact the Octahedron in its innate state.

"True..." she whispered, feeling as if her aching heart would burst. The now-reinstated Link with the Dark Lord supplied her with the instant knowledge that he too appeared to be as dumbfounded as she.

It was true. The All had not been discovered by the Dark Lord Aelvedaar... at least not initially. Its discovery had been nearly as old as Time, as humans reckoned it, held as a much-squabbled-over, precious gem by certain few of the Sith, thousands of years before Aelvedaar was even born.

For some reason this surprising revelation hit her smack in the heart, stabbing her deeply.

It is difficult to slide lightspeed-quick from being a special one, The Chosen Daughter, to one of a few that may have been even more than that. Dreams of ushering in the re-ignition of the Triad, to join in peace with the rest of the Galaxy, crumbled into ashes beneath the sudden diminishing; shuddering, she didn't even feel her adoptive father's clawed hand come down lightly upon her shoulder with a reassuring squeeze.

[ 08-01-2012 11:06 AM: Message edited 1 time, lastly by Graysith ]

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

I squeeze her shoulder again, wishing to do nothing more than sweep her into my arms, to give her the solace of my robes against that which she more than likely considers to be cruel. But to do that would be to accept her as nothing more than human, and She was always, and has become, so much more than that.

"What was found has been lost, but has again been discovered," is all I say to help capture her focus, to bring her out of what I hope to be momentary sorrow.

"There is yet much to be done, and it cannot be accomplished without you, my dear Chosen One and Daughter."

As I speak, something catches in the corner of my eye. I turn back to the Octahedron just in time to see a flicker of violet fade into gold.

I frown to myself and blink. I have been through much, as has she. Much has been revealed, and there is the worrisome problem of who exactly is behind the stealthy approach of the Vong. For to that query all the Octahedron revealed was my Brother Rean's reaching out to it... and his untimely death at the hands of the masquer-cloaked Dark One who stands in command of those who approach.

Why they approach, and at whose beckoning they do so, is a question for which, surprisingly enough, even the Octahedron gives no solid answer. It only shows the eerie ship of yorik coral as it blazes between Time's seconds, each moment drawing it closer and closer to us.

It must just have been something in my eye.

[ 08-01-2012 11:28 AM: Message edited 1 time, lastly by Aelvedaar ]

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

But now, time to speak it is.

Close I sidle, the pair to reach. Difficult with exoskeleton to hunker, say the soft-skins, but this I manage. Into the conversation between them do I put myself, into the space so personal of our newest friend.

Clawed appendages reach out I. Fierce and cutting can they be, but surprisingly gentle as well. I clatter my mandibles, the human upright I bring as to my own natural height I return.

"Sense I no fear," I state truthfully. I loosen one manipulatory appendage, to the Sith lady do I gesture. "Food and drink, suggests this one," I state, my head nodding once.

"Perhaps the brandy of which Jasyn so fondly speaks..."

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

Instead of repeating what the voice had said, Jasyn turned and merely nodded to K'kihl. "Yeah, food and drink..."

Here he trailed, glancing over to Cazun, who still wasn't looking so good. "And maybe some rest too," he added, quirking a brow a bit as a mental addendum came with that: and some privacy. On a Sith world...

Haha.

He turned and nodded politely enough to the awaiting attendant.

At least Cazun was really going to like Sith Brandy. And it was poetic justice, Jasyn supposed sarcastically, considering how many times Terrin and the gang had put up with his drunken rear end...

[ 08-01-2012 02:30 PM: Message edited 1 time, lastly by Jasyn Lancaster ]

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

"If you will follow me then," she stated demurely, turning with the words to lead the little group out of the Throne Room and down the corridor beyond to yet another grandiose, jewel-inscribed door. Dark mosses writhed amidst the gems, lively as dianogae, moving to cover one stone while revealing another to the eye. The Adept gave this no heed, but plunged her hand into the plant life, touching a particular jewel here, a hidden sigil there.

The gigantic greel-wood doors oiled open slickly, revealing a chamber more grandiose than the doors. A huge stone fireplace dominated the entire far wall, and had several sofas and couches scattered in front of it where diners might sit in lush comfort while they partook of food and drink. For those wishing a bit more privacy there were dark booths hidden about the chamber's perimeters, some entirely closed by frosted glass retaining walls and smaller bejeweled doors of their own.

It was to one of these booths the Adept now led the little party. She waited by the open door as they filed into what was more of a small room enclosing a large, circular booth; as they took their seats she bowed her head. Her hands were clasped genteelly against her robes.

"An assortment of food and drink, including brandy, will be sent to you," she allowed, giving the Verpine a slightly bemused look. The insectoid merely chattered his mandibles, and tried to make himself invisible against the nerfhide cushions where he sat.

"If there is anything else that you desire, please do not hesitate to call upon any of our attendants; they will in turn call upon me that I may continue to assist you."

She waited a moment or two longer until a small bevy of underlings arrived bearing trays of meats, pastries, and fresh fruits. On their heels were a couple more, one carefully carrying a silver tray upon which an elaborate carafe of water dominated an array of equally elaborate, silvered glassware.

The other carried two bottles holding that which Jasyn held close to his heart.

The Adept waited until the entourage delivered their goods, and had disappeared into the darkness of the Great Dining Hall. She tilted her head a bit to one side, smiling fully now, her fangs glinting in the dim lighting of their booth.

It hits me then, and my eyes widen. Fool that I was, not to have seen this myself.

"You are not upset simply that I am found not to be the first to find the beauty of the All," I state in a low voice. She shifts beneath my touch, now turns her head up and pours her liquid violet eyes into my own volcanic pair.

"It is not that we few are the ones able to use its Great Mystery. But rather that..."

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

"Would it show us this?" she wondered further, already discomfited by the fact the device didn't seem willing to show her anything about the Vong other than what she already knew, and had known for quite some time: that they were coming, and they were not alone.

She turned back to Lord Aelvedaar. "I believe a calling of the Triad is in order," she said, and raised a hand in preparation of twisting open a portal into the Elseness, there to find her love and her daughter, and bring them here so that they might profit from their input.

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

Never thought you'd get your hands on this stuff again, eh pal...?

Jasyn did his best to ignore the voice. He wasn't very successful. In another few short moments, he distributed the silvered glass mugs. Popping the cork off the brandy bottle, he poured some first into the mug he had placed before Cazun, and then into his own. The lighting in the room played tricks in the color of the liquor, making its green color literally shimmer.

Jasyn reached out, grasped the mug before him with both hands, and rose it to his lips, there to take a good, long, loving sip.

Brandy, you're a fine girl....

Pulling the mug away and sitting it back in front of him, but not moving his hands from the mug, he turned his attention back to his commrades. Glancing a moment at K'kihl, he idly wondered for just a moment what a Verpine eats and drinks...

...then, dismissing the thought, turned his attention to much more important things. "I need to let the Boss know we are back on Khar Delba," he opened with, "And without a mode of transit again," he added blackly. "Unless we can get a ship to go and seek out Matt, who I am very afraid may be dead by now, I'm not sure how long our stay will be."

He paused, his look darkening. "This is happening way too often..."

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

...only to be treated like honored guests by them. Given food, drink, and Great Ghodz of the Universe actually left alone.

He eyed a plate of food that a last-minute underling had passed onto their table before backing discreetly away from them, leaving them to their ablutions and their privacy. It looked like nerf, but smelled utterly...

Alien.

But actually not bad.

Now he raised the glass, took a careful sniff. Cut his eyes to Jasyn, who after taking one gigantic draught of the shimmery green liqueur was eyeing him with something approaching laughter. Cazun gulped, and took a sip.

The stuff flowed down his throat like liquid velvet, most of the tiny sip seeming to absorb into the tissues of his mouth before even heading on down his gullet. But that last bit that did oozed down, hit his stomach...

And exploded into utter bliss.

He sighed, closed his eyes, sank back against the cushions and for a moment actually managed to forget where they were. But the moment passed, necessitating he open his eyes and drink in his surroundings once again, before drinking in more of the Sith brandy.

"Ssso-oo-oo..." he sighed as another, larger swallow filled his innards with love. "You said something about some friend of yours who's here or somewhere, or something.

"And something about a ship..."

Funny, the terror he had felt mere moments before seemed to now transition from the stuff nightmares are made of into dream-fluff. Now he felt, well... good.

Safe. Secure.

Amongst friends.

Tastes like nerfmeat...

...and a hearty swig of brandy. He savored it for a moment, sighing in satisfaction, then turned his attentions to Cazun's query.

"Yeah, one of my fellow coworkers and a very good friend left from this world to go to the other Sith world with an associate, and has not been heard from since."

Jasyn paused, frowning. "He had a commlink on him but I can't get a response, and for a long time have not been able to even get a connection. I am wondering if the Sith here might give us a ship so we can head to the other world to look for my friend, Matt..."

Jasyn trailed, frowning a bit more. "Or if they will even entertain such a request at all."

He paused a final time, shaking his head in concern. "I wonder if he is even still alive."

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

"We are approaching our destination, sir, so please make any final preparations necessary."

Having stated this, he turned once more and keyed an access code into the pad on the bulkhead next to the autohatch. The hatch instantly whoosed open, revealing adequately furnished quarters.

"You will be notified when you are needed. Until then, you may rest and refresh yourself."

Saying nothing further, the crewmember nodded once, smartly, then departed, leaving Erik to step into the quarters. As he did, the autohatch closed immediately behind him. For a long few moments Erik remained where he was, pursing his lips as his mind slipped into thought as to what lay ahead. Then, his steps decisive, he headed for the fresher beckoning beyond to clean himself up. For while he would very much like to rest before he Seus potentially called for him, he did not want to be unprepared to get moving should he do so sooner rather than later.

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

"Sh'tan," he announced himself tersely.

"Sir, per your order we are entering the target system from galactic north, coming down along the z-axis along a vector which would intercept their stellar..."

Seus merely closed his eyes, then nodded as the bridge commander proceeded.

"I have adjusted course so as to remove the threat of collision, as well as determine the most..." A somewhat sly pause ensued.

"...ahh, insidious means of gaining actual entry. The system seems to consist of the primary star, and two orbiting bodies; sensors cannot determine the presence of anything further; there are no asteroid belts or systemic cometary comae that we can find."

Another pause, the inherent question mark it carried obvious for the way moments ticked off into seconds. Seus leaned forward, thumbed a button.

"Recommendations?" he asked nicely enough.

More silence, one which he now suspected was filled with a whir of activity on the other end as bridge staff of all rank and duty attended to their various consoles, gathering and presenting data to his Second, who then had the dubious task of assimilating it and providing a worthwhile suggestion on-the-spot.

"Sir, sensors indicate that both worlds appear to have reached a technological level, albeit not quite to the extent as have we. However, the closer world seems a bit more technologically advanced; I read the presence of a rather large spaceport nearby what appears to be the area of its largest urban growth. The outermost world, however, while appearing to have the capability of space flight, indicated by the presence of ships scattered here and there, does not seem to have a major spaceport. The ships we are reading may be atmospheric only, sir. It is somewhat difficult to ascertain."

Seus nodded again to himself.

So, they have identified the twin worlds; what did Sorben call them? Karl something, Dobo... no. K'eel Doba and Khar Delba.

The Warriors and the Sorcerers.

He spent the next few seconds in rapid, personal debate. Then:

"Bring us into an orbital position above the outermost planet at extreme range of our sensors. Take us around, gather what you can. See if you can determine if there is anything hidden beneath the surface of the world or not, technologically speaking."

He doubted that would be the case, as judged by what Sorben had reported. And though he was still inwardly furious with the man for abandoning his calling to kow-tow to the Impys, he had to begrudge him one thing:

He knew how to gather intelligence. He had been the Top Hunter of the entire Guild, after all.

But it never hurt to check things out. Who knew what the capabilities of a magickal race actually were.

"Sh'tan out."

[ 10-04-2012 01:31 PM: Message edited 1 time, lastly by Seus Sh'tan ]

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

"Well... Ummm. I mean, ah..."

He frowned a little, noticed his glass was full, and raised it to his lips. When he set it back on the table, it was to reveal a rather large and dreamy smile planted on his face.

"Why don't you jus' ask 'em and fin' out?"

He took another sip, beginning to waver a bit in his seat now, said movement which came to a sudden stop as his increasingly muddled thought processes marched onward to what was, at least to him, a logical conclusion.

"I' fact, they oughtta give us' ship," went on. "The La-lady, I was help'ng 'er on Bessin, sh-" *hiccup* "Sh' needed my help, n' I was there!

"Sh- she owes us, pal!"

With that he raised his glass to Jasyn in a toast before then attending to it with the full concentration it warranted.

That was, in his opinion, simply not acceptable.

So he sat cross-legged on the floor of the chambers and, much as he had before in the training room, closed his eyes and stretched otu to the Force, finding that every time he did so it became increasingly natural as it once had been, years ago. At first, all he sensed was calm and quiet...

...but, a vision began to take hold. One he was all too familiar with:

There before him, Shayla stood, lightsaber in hand, dark look in her eyes as she approached. He saw himself as well, holding a lightsaber as well, this time stepping towards her as well. Her essence was that of Power and Self-Certainty...

...and their lightsabers met, her purple blade against his blue. But then, in an instant, her blade faded into nothing and with a jolt he was pushed backwards at the flick of her hand, by something dark and unseen and somehow more than just the Force.

Erik's eyes snapped open, and for once he wondered why, at this point in time, the Force would be showing him something like this. Oddly enough, he was beginning to view it from more than just a personal level...

...because whatever that something she had jolted him with did not seem normal. Erik frowned, figuring he was simply allowing thoughts of her to creep in once more, and shook his head as if to clear it. Then he closed his eyes once more, stretched out to the Force, and sought the inner peace he knew was within and without...

...only he did not find it. And while this time there was no vision attached, something did just seemed oh-so-very out of place.

Like Sith in a timeline that they don't belong in, who have connections to what else, Fates only knew, came the unbidden thought.

Erik forced suddenly tensing muscles to relax. When the time came, there was so much more he wanted to find out for himself this time, and not via one whose heart and soul had long since been won over by the Sith...

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

For once he knew how Terrin and Matt had to had felt all those times he'd been drinking himself into a kriffing bloody stupor...

With effort, Jasyn lowered his glass and arched an eyebrow at Cazun.

"Yeah, but I doubt it will be that simple. You see, they are the variety here that whatever you are asking generally has to be important enough for them to accommodate you. I'm not sure Matt's disappearance is going to rate all that important to Graysith or any of the others. Of course, giving us a ship may get us out of their hair so..."

Jasyn paused, shrugging. "Guess it's worth a shot."

He frowned as a mental addendum raised its ugly head. Or they might decide you might be in need of being shot...

He waved his hand, drawing an eagerly awaiting attendant to the table. "Not to seem unappreciative of all the kindness afforded to us here...

...but before other events came into play I was hoping to look for a fellow coworker by the name of Matt Stanza, who left here some time ago with one named Panthar Dantares. Neither have been heard from since. I know Lord Aelvedaar and the Dark Lady must be occupied in greater matters, but they too should be aware of this situation. I'd like to find out if my friends and I could gain access to a ship, to go look for them both. I would speak to the Dark Lord and Lady directly regarding this, if you would feel more comfortable with that."

He quieted then, awaiting the reaction of the attendent.

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

Something deep, oh so very deep, in the soul of she who was once Shayla Stargazer sought to bury itself deeper yet, sensing Illanda's intent. For while she was dead, there yet remained a link, although barely one, to who and what she was. Said link grew in strength just enough to for a primordial scream of utter terror to ring out to Someone who knew her, knew her well, and to the Only One who she ever truly felt cared for her at all.

In that same moment, Shayla eyed IllaAndra blackly, sensing the threat...

...and finding herself uncaring. For she who now existed snorted in derision at the old self, seeking instead for the True Power death held.

Nooooo.....

Shayla responded ot IllaAndra by leaning forward, and whispering into her ear.

"Do it."

Deep within, that remaining shred of humanity trembled in terror, hoping for its call to be heard, and not just by those who sought to destroy...

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

Oh, it wasn't that they didn't have the right equipment, because they in fact did. It wasn't that they weren't capable of it, for I knew each and every soul aboard was carefully gleaned from the best our world could offer.

It was simply that from orbit, we could determine nothing further. I nodded, stared at the image planted upon our forward screen. The world below, or at least the portion of it beneath us, glistened with the blue-white beauty of a polar region. Crystal clarity informed me even as did our sensors that the ambient temperature there was well below that in which water froze; no use in setting my spy loose in the desolation below.

Reaching out, I hit a control; the image zoomed away, the field of view covering more area until it revealed the north pole of Khar Delba in it's entirety. Limned here and there with mountains and ridges, there wasn't a speck of anything to be seen. No fluvial evidence, no hint of growth; just the gleam of ice and snow.

I toggled a switch, and the image slowly rotated, until we were viewing the planet as though hovering over it's equatorial region. The new view made me smile; here was something more to my liking: a thin band of green, interspersed with open patches which could only be due to the presence of urban -- if not rural -- communities, all reduced by one large patch centered exactly at zero degrees latitude. I zoomed in a bit, let pixels resolve from blurry little spots into more sharply defined edges, until at length the sight of something that looked like a Temple of sorts, surrounding by smaller obviously artificially built structures, revealed itself.

Nodding again, I zoomed out just a tad, bringing more of the surrounding green back into view. It appeared to extend perhaps 5 degrees north and south of the planet's equator, fading along its northern and southern perimeter to lighter green interspersed more and more with white. Finally that thin, green line disappeared entirely before the snow and ice which covered the majority of this mysterious planet.

I hit a control, and a small cursor popped up on the viewscreen.

"Get me the jedi," I said tersely, then began moving the cursor about, passing the short period of time until he arrived upon the Bridge. As I moved the cursor along lines of planetary longitude the world rotated, and coming to that particular one upon which the large patch had been centered I zoomed in a little bit. Not enough to clearly show individual structures, but close enough to where the outline of the larger area holding the massive Temple-like one was apparent, and to where the band of green above and below it was likewise clearly shown.

A small noise indicated that Erik had arrived. I cut him a quick glance, then used the cursor to point to a spot I'd chosen that was due north from the center of the patch, just at the edge of that (total) 10 degree band of green.

"Make planetfall here," I said, now nodding to another one of my men even though my eyes never left the screen. A quickly murmured, "Right, Boss," announced that worthy leaving the Bridge to head off and ready an armed transport with which to bring Erik to the planet. I wiggled the cursor around in a small circle, then let it rest as I finally turned to face the man.

"It's not going to be easy, but you're going to be far enough away from what appears to be the center of their civilization that your landing will hopefully go unnoticed. Once you have disembarked, the transport will return here; we will remain in orbit until you return from recognizance."

I paused a moment, giving him time for this to sink in.

"It's up to you to show me what you've got, what you can find. We can only determine so much from orbit, and I plan on keeping as quiet about this as I can. Electronic sensors can be easily discovered; it's much easier for a single individual to slip about and gain information. When you've got it all, contact me with this."

I nodded to another member of my crew, who rose and handed Erik a comm-link before returning to his own console. I gave the jedi an even more earnest look.

"I highly recommend you do not lose this. It's your only means of contact. Find out what you can, as much as you can. I want to know just what kind of threat these people are to us.

"How you do this is up to you, Kartan. Show me what you've got. But remember..."

I leaned back, giving the man a krayt dragon's smile.

"The moment we're discovered, we're out of here. That doesn't necessarily mean with you aboard, either. Throughout our history we've become very, very good at keeping ourselves quiet, away from prying eyes; it's one of the basic skills a Hunter has to have to survive. Therefore I will surmise that the discovery of our presence up here would be a direct result of yours down there; this ship comes first.

"Don't ever forget it."

With that I raised a finger, and a third one of men appeared at my side.

"Take Kartan to meet his ride," I said, then turned to stare at the viewscreen once more. The slight swoosh of the Bridge door closing told my that final order was a done deal, and that the time had now come for my ship to do what Hunter's do best.

Wait.

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

Shayla--!

Her hand fisted closed, she whirled to her Adoptive Father, her violet eyes wide with alarm and shock and even a bit of terror.

"Our link, it is back!" she exclaimed, not ignorant to the questions such an exclamation would raise, as cryptic as that announcement appeared to be. With anybody else; by now her easy familiarity with Lord Aelvedaar assured her that not only was that comment superficially understood, but also in relationship with everything that had transpired in her life pertinent to and leading up to it this very moment.

Such was the strength of the Link they had shared since she first discovered his presence in the Great Temple, when that temple was under the not-so-tender auspices of Darth Wicked.

"She is in great danger!" she followed with, albeit unnecessarily. Indeed the Dark Lord of the Sorcerers could feel Shayla's terror as easily as if the link the two women shared included him as a third member.

She gave Aelvedaar an agonized look, unclenched her fist and positioned the fingers thereof into that unique pattern needed to open a Portal... but his time into a different brand of improbability. Something made her stop; she cocked her head a bit to one side, reaching back along the slim tendril snaking between that which was real and that which was not, sensing out, pushing aside the sharp thorn-ridden daggers of fear that she could see through Shayla's eyes that which was tangible about her, differentiated from that which was distorted by the tumult of terror.

Here eyes smacked into another pair, a pair of brilliant turquoise...

A pair which felt somehow... natural to her.

Quickly she yanked back, let her hand drop to her side. It trembled there, as if it was a delicate bird exhausted from a long flight.

"There is another..." she whispered, now letting that hand drift up to place over mouth, as if trying to keep the very words from escaping.

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

Alarm fills me with unfamiliar trepidation, and I reach out to stay her hand.

"She is dead, Daughter," I state gently, knowing the pain the statement will surely bring, pain all the more sharply poignant for the fact that my Daughter's dear friend more than likely has yet to come to grips with this fact.

[ 11-12-2012 01:48 PM: Message edited 1 time, lastly by Aelvedaar ]

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

She whirled in anger.

"I have dealt with this before, Father!" she cried, forcing the words between lips that would not cease trembling, choking against the flood of tears wanting to desperately to rise and give relief for the horror she had so clearly felt. She would not allow it, for with such an allowance comes acceptance, and with acceptance...

Would come the beginnings of healing.

She would not heal; she could not. She had been there before, she had dragged her own daughter from so similar a circumstance; surely she could do the same for Shayla! But admittedly she was terribly lucky the last time; she had taken the Darker Realms by surprise. She was not stupid enough to presume they would remain rooted in earlier naivety, but had instead learned from their earlier mistake.

Perhaps that was the strange connection she had felt? The Realms response to another threat from her, seeking to pre-empt whatever plan she might be making by disorienting her enough that she would no longer take it under consideration?

No. She refused when it came to ShaRhylla; she would refuse this with equal vehemence when it came to Shayla.

But she would not go there uninformed.

She whirled to the Crystal Octahedron, flung back her hair, cried out a great command.

It, of course, replied by showing her...

Absolutely nothing. Nothing happened but that the greeny-goldness within roiled about with a bit more turbulence, a watched pot suddenly come to complete boil. She knew then that there was Something Else, Something Other, something More at play here, something perhaps which in the playing was able with laughable ease and efficiency to reduce all she knew to a tiny mote of irrelevancy, and flick it away.

Which made her madder than the absolute Hell she knew had Shayla in its icy grips.

"Do not try to stop me, Father!" she cried, raising a hand once more to rip open the fabric between space and time, that she might travel into that other non-dimension to yank Shayla from it's grasp, just as she had done so for ShaRhylla.

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

I sigh with relief to find a calmer form of determination now filling them.

"Do not go alone, my Child. We shall not."

Those brilliant violet orbs widen with the knowledge that rather than impede her, I would travel there at her side. For after all, I have my own form of revenge which needs be released against this place.

"Finish your first task, for the Triad is indeed needed here."

With that I remove my hand from her wrist, and wait for what I know is next to come.

I am not disappointed in the least.

[ 11-12-2012 02:14 PM: Message edited 1 time, lastly by Aelvedaar ]

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

Then her fingers assumed the odd horned pattern, pointer and pinky upward, the middle two curled against her palm, her thumb holding them surely there. She tweaked, and the interstices of space and time bowed to her command. A strangely bubbling blackness vortexed open, the other side of which she could not see but could feel as clearly as if she stood within it.

"This will take but a moment, Father. Your trust in me shall hasten my -- our return."

With that she stepped forward and passed through the Portal she had created, this one between the realm of the real, and that one known by no other name than Elseness.

For indeed, no other title could come close to describing this non-dimension's utter strangeness...

The Portal snickered closed in her wake, leaving the great Sorcerer Lord alone with the roiling Octahedron and his even more roiling thoughts.

((OOC: Follow Graysith into Motes in an Electric Eye, in the "Jedi/Sith" forums, thank you.))

[ 11-12-2012 05:26 PM: Message edited 1 time, lastly by Graysith ]

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

Erik was unsurprised by a thing that Seus said to him, especially regarding the safety of his ship coming first and foremost. The Hunter had every reason not to trust him just yet, and Erik had every opportunity now to prove that the Sith were a threat to the entire galaxy...

...which meant finding just the right information, and just the right artifacts.

Before following his escort off the bridge of Seus's ship, Erik directed an earnest look the Head Hunter's way, and nodded smartly in his direction, indicating that he both understood the parameters of his mission and the conditions surrounding it. Then, without a word, he turned and followed the escort, departing the bridge of Sues's ship, it's autohatch closing behind with a resounding whoosh of finality, as if to announce the closing of one chapter of his life and the beginning of a new one.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Being a pilot, Erik kept keen attention on the way Seus's pilot made planetfall on Khar Delba. The pilot did not disappoint, either; clearly he had been well-trained in stealth as he smartly used the cover of the atmosphere and the planet's terrain to make their arrival as untraceable as possible. Within minutes they landed in the midst of what appeared to be taiga-like terrain; mossy-like ground cover and pine-like trees, trees which Erik suspected were only green due to the fact that they were of the evergreen variety, for he also could see glimmers of ice in them and on the moss-like ground.

Seus was right; this wasn't gonna be easy, and not just from the standpoint of finding what he wanted, but purely from the physical demands. Still, he was ready. While he had been in the quarters provided to him on the ship, Erik had taken the time to gather up supplies in a back pack; among those ration bars, a canteen pre-filled with some water, a datapad to record information, an extra blaster, a small knife (mostly for food/hunting), other minor camping tools, a close-fitting green cap, and most importantly for the moment, a camouflage coat. The latter two he donned over the dark green jumpsuit he had selected from the wardrobe that had been provided for him, then placing the pack with other supplies on his back where it belonged. As he did he briefly eyed the commlink he had aready attached to his wrist, which had been given to him aboard ship, as if to make sure it was secure there. He also took a moment to adjust his weapons belt, fingering both his blaster and lightsaber, again as though ensuring they were indeed in place and ready for use should he need them.

For most certainly, that was indeed what he was doing. Still, all of this truly only took a few moments, which was Erik's intent. He did not want Seus's man on the ground any longer than necessary to ensure that they were not discovered and that the pilot made it back to Seus's ship quickly and without detection once he departed. This would be the first way in which Erik could prove himself to the Head Hunter.

Certain then that he was ready to depart, Erik turned and saluted the pilot once. Then, with nothing more than a nod and a motion, Erik headed to the hatch, which the pilot extended open. In but a few moments, Erik had disembarked into the inhospitable terrain of the area in which they had landed, and the pilot retracted both the hatchway and his landing gear, never having cooled the engines of the ship. In another few moments he had departed, gone to atmosphere, and out of Erik's eye shot entirely. Nodding to himself in satisfaction that the pilot had made it off safely, Erik turned his attentions to the moss-laden, somewhat icy terrain surrounding him, pulling a compass from his supplies to then begin plotting out his first move, already having an idea of what he would be looking for first, and potentially where he could find it based on what he knew of Khar Delba.

Seus was right, this wasn't going to be easy. But Erik was ready.

[ 11-24-2012 10:20 AM: Message edited 1 time, lastly by Erik Kartan ]

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You've been ignoring this type of stuff for the longest time, Kartan, it whispered. Stop and listen to what your gut is telling you: you are Force-sensitive and were an almost fully-trained Jedi. Listen, dammit.

So, pursing his lips, Erik stopped and did just that, squatting on the ground and lowering the bag of supplies from his back. Raising an arm, he put a hand over his eyebrow, to act as a visor, so he could look outward, for the sun, although it was providing little warmth, was high in the sky. Taking note of this, Erik knew he would have to settle soon, for night would soon be coming.

And he knew damn well all sorts of things could be out in this sort of terrain, things he didn't want to run into in the dark....

...like for example that creature that had snagged him the first time he had come here, dragging him to the Temple...

Erik shook his head at this, and reached a hand to his pack, pulling from it some binoculars. Standing, he looked into them, doing a slow, calculated three-sixty degree turn.

Not that there was anything to see. Except...

He froze, binoculars still raised, and chewed his lip. Then he frowned.

What the...?

Erik couldn't be sure, and maybe it was absolutely nothing, but there was something glistening in the snow quite some distance ahead yet. Granted, it could be a trick of the sun high in the sky, or something completely benign, but he still felt a persist nudge through the Force.

Go, and look...

Squatting once more, Erik put the binoculars back in his bag and stood, placing it on his shoulders before heading in the direction he had just been looking, noting to himself that, while it was not taking him totally off his path, this was still not quite in the direction of the main city. And that was perfectly fine with him.

After all, as far as he knew, the Sith had this whole planet to themselves. He would not be surprised if there was more here than what was in the primarily inhabited parts of the world. In fact, he already knew better...

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...at least, nothing of any use to him. With a brief curse, Erik tossed it back on the ground, casting a final black look its way before turning his eyes upward once more to the sky. The sun was beginning to set, he noted, and he should probably make camp for the night. Still, he couldn't ignore the persistent niggle he felt within. Whether this was merely due to his eagerness to move and find something or the prodding of the Force he wasn't entirely certain. But Erik suspected it was both.

Dropping his bag from his shoulders once more, Erik squatted back to the ground, his eyes still turned heavenward as he cupped a hand over his eyes to look outward. There was still nothing but snow and ice for kilometers, he knew that without use of binoculars or any technology.

Face it, pal, you are just hoping to find something here, way out in the boonies. Yeah, right, chortled a little black demon in the corner of Erik's mind.

Shaking his head, mostly to clear his darkening thoughts, Erik lowered both hands to the icy ground, balancing himself out so that he could retrieve needed supplies from his pack.

But once his left hand hit the ground, he froze in place, for there was something very unnatural feeling about the ground beneath it. Granted, there was nothing readily apparent, for it was still covered with snow and ice...

...but what was so different had nothing to do with how things looked. Instead, there was a distinct difference in the way this ground felt: it was far too firm to be soil beneath the snow and ice...

...and far too smooth to be rock. Turning, Erik began brushing off the snow and dirt. In little time he'd uncovered a dirty white metal object with a handle. When Erik reached to pull it and see if it was small enough to pull out of the snow, he quickly discovered that it seemed to be part of the ground itself. His mind immediately flashed back to the time he and Shayla had brought Panthar with them to Khar Delba, and eyeballed the metal more thoughtfully.

They hadn't been out this far from the Temple at the time. Or at least, he didn't think so. But there was certainly SOMETHING down there...

Despite his efforts, whatever was beneath him would not budge, at least not via the handle. As he tested it, Erik noted that there were runes, similiar to those aboard Sith ships and in the Temple, on the surface of the metal. He also noted there were other markings, ones which he did not recognize at all.

Interesting.

Pausing fromm his efforts, Erik pursed his lips thoughtfully, realizing as he looked at the metal he uncovered that it really looked like a hatchway of sorts.

Too bad you can't get it open, the devil snorted in his mind.

But then the Force prodded once agian, for Erik was certain this time that was what he was feeling. In a smooth motion, he reached for his weapons belt.

There is more than one way into this...

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