The shadows in the background spit out an even darker one who had been standing in an aloof and haughty manner in their depths. His vibrant turquoise eyes blazing in complete and indefatigable self-assurance of the strength and sure success of his plan, Dark Lord Roan approached the cloaked form of his old and wizened, but nevertheless extremely dangerous, new ally.

Desolist turned round from the great crystal polyhedron into whose depths he had been peering. He clasped his vein-besotted hands together as a cackle of glee escaped him.

"Ahhh, my young friend! Such a marvelous device you have created here for me!" He indicated the crystal with one wave of his hand, then folded both members deeply into the sleeves of his cloak. In less than a heartbeat his evil grin had transformed into a thin line of cruelty.

Lord Roan merely shrugged. "It is an easy enough device to create, Desolist," he offered in an offhanded manner. Then he fell silent, not really caring if the old dark jedi found his creations amusing or not.

He only cared for one thing. And nothing would stop him from achieving it.

Now he raised his voice to Desolist once more. "As you skim the goings of the galaxy, have you determined if your hunter has yet procured his prey?" he inquired, his voice like the caress of raven's wings upon the night.

Desolist cackled again. "All is proceeding according to our plans, my young friend," he chortled. "None can stop us this time!"

"Our" plans... stop "us".... Roan's enigmatic yet somehow charismatic and fem-attracting features creased into a momentary frown of annoyance. Then he smoothed his innermost thoughts from his face altogether and spoke up once again.

"We will succeed, Old One." Though his voice was mild and there wasn't so much as a hint of expression on his face, somehow the very atmosphere of this dark and secretive place became imbued with a sense of... of sneering.

He turned away from Desolist and walked away, knowing there was nothing strong enough in the entire galaxy to stop them. Not even his so-called brother and that woman he secretly and so pitifully loved, "the Chosen One," as he called her. Their combined strengths would be as nothing in comparison to those of the children he planned to breed... to raise to call him Father and assure the ushering in... oh yes indeed! ...of a truly new and glorious Age of the Sith.

Not to mention his iron fisted control of it.

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

My booted footfalls sound like the dirge of death as I approach the wrinkled form of my Master. His pale and watery eyes stare deeply into my own, seeking to find the strength he sees there and take it for his own.

He will not succeed in this, but at least for the time being....

"Yes, Desolist," I say with a bow of my head. Never humble; all the while my golden eyes remain affixed to his own. He looks at me with a sneer, then waves his hand.

"It seems our dear Mr. Tarnus has made a slight change in course, my friend." The darkly evil whisper comes into my ears like the soft kiss of an assassin's blade. I frown and smile all at once; the hunter always was a slippery dianoga when it came to evading me. Time and again he had always managed to escape, but that was before I had come into even greater strengths of my own.

That was before--

My thoughts I cut off with a mental snip. I bow my head again, then straighten it.

"I will see to things, Desolist," I say in an offhanded manner just shy of one being deferential. His eyes alight with anger, but there is nothing he can do.

Really he is lucky I choose to remain with him. But as things stand, if I hadn't....

I smile, turn and clump away, heading to where my own sleek and highly modified little infiltrator lies in wait. Mr. Tarnus shall not elude us -- me -- again...

...and neither shall that infuriating unretainable woman he has chosen to marry.

Sorben leaped to his feet at the same time I did, trying to look at me, at the navigation board, and the viewscreen ahead of us all at the same time. The navigation board was lit up with red lights like a certain district in the Corporate sector; I was looking as innocent and as puzzled as I possibly could; and the view screen was gradually filling with a drably ochre colored planet which got larger and larger as we approached. This apparent growth slowed and finally settled into a hemisphere as the onboard computer checked it's final default settings, set us into orbit around the closest inhabitable planet it could find, let out a gasp of cybernetic frustration, and gave up the ghost.

I turned and pinned Sorben with my eyes, still maintaining my innocent look.

He didn't buy it for one second.

I got to my feet and beat a hasty retreat away from anything looking remotely like a control as he bore down upon me. I'd never seen the kind of look in his eyes before that he was shooting at me now, and I hoped to Khaandon I never would again. It was a combination of the deepest and most soul-filling rage that I had ever seen... combined with a fear rooted just as deeply. He raised his hands as he approached me, actually crooking them into something like claws as though he wanted to rip out my throat right then and there.

Ok, so the innocent look wasn't getting me anywhere. At this point, I realized, any little bit of energy saved was energy able to be delegated elsewhere; I dropped the look and gave him a cautiously assessing one. He didn't even pause, but took another step in my direction, his eyes ablaze.

Yet... somewhere in the depths of that glacial glare, I read one pitifully raised word. Why??

I took yet another step backward, then came to a crashing halt against the bulkhead. Damn, I'd forgotten how small the bridge actually was. Now my hands were raised defensively.

"Sorben--" I began, then bit off anything else I was considering saying with the sudden knowledge that I had overstepped some undeclared line.

Well, yeah... but what else did he think I was going to do?

I just stood there, letting him come closer, letting my eyes widen and fill with moisture, pleading silently with him, shooting myriad excuses and reasons into his mind with the mere power of my look...

...until he was within kicking distance, where he made a fatal error.

My leg lashed out in a hooking roundhouse and slammed into the side of his face. His head jerked to the side; I'll give him credit for staying on his feet. Then I settled the score by lashing out yet again, following this with a simple roundhouse to his upper ribs. I met his chin halfway with the heel of one hand, flinging his head in a direction totally opposite to the way momentum had been taking him mere seconds before.

You should never have taken off your helmet, babes....

He fell like a stoned dewback, remarkably only stunned. I knew I didn't have much time. Whirling, I shot from the bridge, heading toward one of the escape pod bays I had seen somewhere along the way. In moments I had manually control of it, and in a likewise manner sent it shooting out of the orbiting Aftershock.

A few seconds more, and I was losing myself in the stagnant atmosphere of this unhealthy planet, flicking the onboard computer system into "search and find" even as I piloted her down in a gently increasing spiral.

Somewhere on this planet was something that would be of use... if I could only find it, and then only if Terrin was indeed on my heels as I prayed he would be. The things certainly wouldn't be of much use to me in this dismal place.

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

"Search for the Aftershock," Terrin told Matt, who had resumed control of the copilot's station. Behind them were Shawn and Jasyn, while everyone else was still back in the living area.

"She's orbiting," he said. "And she's dead."

"Galen's on the planet," Shawn said flatly, out of the blue.

"What?!" Terrin said, whirling in his seat to face the Jedi. "Where's Tarnus then?"

Shawn's eyes grew distant a moment. "Aboard the Aftershock, for the moment."

Terrin frowned. For the moment.

But better a moment than none at all.

"Go to ground," Shawn said. "Tarnus isn't going anywhere from here unless he goes in an escapepod. And he'll know where Galen headed to. We'd best beat him to the punch."

Terrin nodded, turning and removing the ZZ'Shzq from orbit.

As space began to lighten into atmosphere, he hoped like hell that he could remember to land a ship this size...

[ 05-27-2002 09:05 PM: Message edited 1 time, lastly by Terrin Danner ]

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

Damn you to hell, babes! I thought with a grimace. So this is the way you want it?

Placing my hand in support over what was at least a bruised rib or two, I now focused my attention on my ship. My jaws clenched in another rush of anger as I realized what Galen had done to her.

Damn her! Damn her to hell! I gritted my jaws in icy determination to find retribution for the damage she'd done to Aftershock and... well, face it hunter.

To you.

That last little thought didn't hang around long; I refused to let it. Now my teeth were gritted in a different sort of determination as I moved off-bridge, stiffly at first, then with greater confidence and smoothness as my conditioning leapt in to take over from the pain I was feeling. Without any further thought but one, I came to our quarters -- MY quarters -- where I donned armor and helmet, checking to see all my various and sundry devices were still with me and workable.

All was good; she at least hadn't sabotaged my personal equipment.

Probably didn't have the time, or--

Swallowing back any sort of feelings I might have, I reached into a particular pouch and brought out a private communications device. I hit a sequence on the tiny keyboard, then closed it up and replaced it. The message whirled out over the spaceways at the speed of light; it would get where it was meant to go soon enough, I decided. At least in enough time to let me hunt down and take my wayward wife into hand once again.

Double checking my equipment a final time, I hurried to an escape pod. Thank the fates she hadn't taken my personal one! In but moments I was planetbound, my private pod shielded from any sensors or force snooping, thanks to yet another one of Seus's mysteriously procured devices. I never have found out where he finds these, and frankly, I really don't want to know.

My jaw worked coldly as I let the pod rush planetward, thoughts of what Galen and I had once had and might yet have recovered being supplanted more and more by thoughts of what most certainly was going to happen to her now.

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

Shawn suddenly stopped, bringing he and Matt and Jasyn to a hault. They'd left Yaoksi and Nasrail'en on the ZZ'Shzq for saftey measures.

"What now?" Terrin asked worriedly.

"Sorben Tarnus's Force signature just fizzled.

"As in dead?" Terrin question, confusion covering his features.

"No...kinda like when Shayla disappears in and out..."

"Oh this is not good."

"On the up side, I think you tracked the possible destination of Galen's escapepod fairly well. She's very close."

"Good then, let's move," Terrin said, motioning onward.

"Agreed," Shawn said simply, turning and starting forward once again.

It could have been a few minutes, or an hour, but at length, amongst the rocks and craters, Terrin could have sworn he saw a rather familiar figure not too far in the distance.

Great. NOW you are seeing things.

Still, he couldn't help but ask. "...Shawn?"

The Jedi, with his hood over his head to keep dirt from his eyes, nodded a yes.

Quite suddenly, this all seemed too easy. Shawn must have felt this as well. "We better make it quick. With a little bit of speed, we'll reach her in fifteen standard minutes. I sense we haven't much time to waste," he continued, quickening his pace and at the same time sending a mental niggling out to Galen that he didn't know if she'd get or even recognize. But it was there should she be able to. Then he continued, "Tarnus has been out of contact too long."

We're right behind you, Galen, he thought to her, carefully touching her mind then just as quickly backing out.

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

Although Cella couldn't say she was glad to be on Keel Doba, she was glad that Galen had been found, and something told her the baby wasn't far from being found either. She whistled softly to let Terrin and his crew know she was with them, and sent a brief message to Shawn. You were right, she thought at the other Jedi. Together is safer...and I'm thinking this is going to be a job for two Jedi.

We're right behind you, Galen...

Joy burst through me like an erupting volcano, spreading heady warmth throughout my entire body. Oh Khaandon, that was the Jedi! I'd know that whisper anywhere; that meant they were close to me!

And that means that Terrin--

I didn't think I could feel any more joy than I had, but I found out it was possible to exceed even what I thought to be its upper limits.

They were here. They were going to find me. We would find my -- OUR daughter. Somehow I'd get this farce of a marriage anulled, and marry the man I really loved, if he'd still have me after all this mess.

I frowned a bit at that, then spurred myself into motion. I had to get down to the bottom pronto, and see if what I hoped was there still was....

Slipping and sliding in haste now, not caring what noise I might be making, I pushed myself downward into the kilometer-deep crater some ancient asteroid had blasted into the skin of this blighted place. I was in such a rush that I slipped and actually fell more than once, skinning my face and the palms of my hands, but never so much as making a scratch on the strange and impervious fabric of which my Sith suit was made. Downward I went, sending scree scrabbling ahead of me almost as if in introduction, half bounding, half sliding, moving sideways as quickly as I could, not even bothering to make certain one foot had a good foundation before the other was lifted and yet another three or so slippery feet were gained.

I was soon at the bottom. Breathless, I pushed onward, an instinct telling me to hurry, to rush, not to waste one moment.... I aimed for the dead center of the crater, my eyes searching the ground frantically. I knew it had been over a year, but...

Then I caught it: the twin glints of metal flashing in the meager sunlight. I hurried forward, crowing out in silent victory as I picked up the two devices and scrutinized them in glee. Then I unzipped the front of my suit, stuffed them in securely, zipped it back up.

They were still here. I found them. And these were certainly going to prove useful to us.

Then I just plopped down in a heap and waited for Terrin and his Jedi pals to come and pick me up before Sorben had figured out where I had run off to in such a hurry....

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

She was up to something...

"She's done whatever she went to do," Shawn said, motioning to the slope.

"Oh come on, there has got to be a faster way than going down there and climbing back up."

Jasyn pulled something from his hiking pack.

Synthrope. Always count on your outdoor expert to think of these things...

"Throw her the rope," Shawn said. "And I'll give her a Force-boost."

Then, he comminicated what they were doing to Galen, fairly certain now that she could sense his words to her.

Terrin nodded as Jasyn began to lace the rope down the incline. Suddenly something popped in his head, and he placed a hand on Jasyn's shoulder, sending him a meaningful look. Jasyn took the hint, and handed Terrin the rope.

Dear gods after all the hell they'd been through and might still face, he wanted to be the one at the pulling her out of the valley...

[ 05-27-2002 11:31 PM: Message edited 1 time, lastly by Terrin Danner ]

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

Sheesh, what the heck were they mucking with that for? I couldn't help but wonder as I hauled myself to my feet. Do they think I'm going to be hauled up a kilometer by that thing?

Must be the galaxy's longest rope....

Then I was running toward the upslope as fast as I could go, one hand against my chest to hold my secret toys safely within the confines of my suit, the other pumping at my side and sending added impetus to my legs and feet. Soon the ground beneath those feet began to slope uphill, gently at first, then at a steeper and steeper degree.

My free hand reached down ahead of me in support as I began scrabbling up the way I had come.

Nothing was going to stop me now.

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

If only the ship had been closer, they could have just landed in the crater...

As it was, he honestly didn't want to risk going back to the ship.

His thoughts were cut off as someone suddenly gave the rope a little pull.

She'd made it.

Now with a firm grip on the rope, Terrin dug his heels into the ground and began to pull her up. He was immediately thankful for the added assistance coming his way via Shawn. What might have taken a few minutes was only going to take a few moments.

Hope you're ready for this ride, sweets, he thought.

At length, he could see her in his line of vision, those two wonderful big brown eyes looking up at him. Jasyn took hold of the rope and Terrin walked to the edge of the slope, lying down so as not to tip into the crater himself to pull her up and onto the side of the slope...and into his arms.

For the moment all he could do was gaze into her beautiful brown eyes and hold her...

[ 05-27-2002 11:59 PM: Message edited 1 time, lastly by Terrin Danner ]

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

Hmmm... now this certainly looks familiar, doesn't it buddy?

--my thoughts going back to a happier time when I had played the part of the cavalry coming over the hill and with the help of K'kihl--

Sure do wonder whatever became of the Verpine....

--I had snatched Galen into my arms and whisked her from the jaws of that witch Graysith, her hidden Lord, and had killed, or thought I had killed, my nemesis Mr. Gravin Dark. Sure wish I had; my mistake for dragging him along with us at the time....

Now following a moving source of body heat which simply had to be her -- no other soul alive on this boring blotch in the eye of the universe -- I looked up from my sensory device to find the crater's lip a mere 50 meters or so ahead. I pressed on, ignoring the pain in my side, secure in the sudden change of plans.

I just might be able to pull us out of this in one piece after all. The thought lent me added impetus, made it easier to ignore the knives which were stabbing into my side. My latest little communication had assured me of that....

With a final grunt I hauled myself up to the top of the lip...

...only to see her on the far side, going up, another pair of specks standing out upon the far rim like gleeberflies on rotten fruit. Even as I watched, the tiny speck that was Galen Tarnus seemed to take wing and fly to the top of the crater. The three specks merged into a larger blot, then disappeared from sight.

I stood there, my jaw clenching in mingled disgust and annoyance and anger, breathing heavily as I tried to get myself calmed down enough to talk. Then I reached for my communication device again.

After a little chat which was most enlightening, I turned and scrabbled back the way I had come. Soon I was back in my escape pod and heading heavenward, aiming for a set of coordinates I had been issued where I would find succor and a place to take the time to make my next plans.

You may have outfoxed me this time, darlin', I scowled to myself as the viewport darkened to encompass a million stars beyond it. But don't count your banthas yet.

And be sure to watch your back....

My little pod, ensconced safely in its Force-blanketing cocoon, howled on. Inside, I could only press my lips together in sudden bitterness.

This wasn't over yet.

OOC: Follow Sorben Tarnus into the Back on Coruscant thread in the "Empire and New Republic" forum. Thank you.

[ 06-02-2002 07:47 PM: Message edited 1 time, lastly by Sorben Tarnus ]

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

At least that's what some stupid med-droid would try to have me believe. No way.

Then I threw my arms around Terrin and pulled him to me with more strength than I thought I possessed.

"Get me out of here, love; oh please! Just-- just get me out of here!"

I pulled back to look up into his eyes... and couldn't stand it any longer. Sudden waves of conflict rose up within me in a threatening manner, but I merely pushed them all aside as reaching up, I laced my scuffed and bleeding hands into the hair on the back of his head, and drew him down in a kiss that was sweeter than I ever had remembered it being.

Sheesh, and you a married woman....

I flicked that errant thought off with a mental flick of my fingers... and let myself go in the sight and touch and smell and all that existed in my immediate universe, everything within it adding up to all that was Terrin. I never, ever wanted to be apart from it again.

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

A small frown of nothing more than annoyance crosses my ebony features as the Force signature of a Mr. Sorben Tarnus fuzzes into obscurity and disappears from the universe entirely. I sigh; how absolutely stupid of the hunter to try to outwit this Hunter.

I sense outward... and find the woman's mental scent. She is now surrounded by others... abruptly, their signatures fade into nothing as did that of the bounty hunter.

Now I smile, sending a brief transmission to he who probably ought to know of these events. How wonderful; now I may once more stretch my hunting prowess into the apparent unknown, as I have done so many times with this man and his lady.

Only this time I shall not fail.

I sit back and regard the stars without as my infiltrator orbits in silent mastery this dreary world below, its sensor-repellent hull keeping me just as safely hidden from prying eyes and ears as the strange devices Mr. Tarnus always manages to get his hands on.

That has no meaning to me; there are ways to track him of which he is unaware. My Master has assured me of that.

Now I send out my equally sense-repellent probes, seeking the nearest craft in hyperpace or without, in which the woman and her companions may be fleeing. Mr. Tarnus can wait... this female is of the utmost importance to my Master, although what he needs with her when there is another, stronger. one is beyond me.

That, however, is his choice. Mine is to make sure he gets it. I continue my course, following in the screaming darkness behind the woman who at the moment is feeling as far from danger as she could possibly imagine....

Not that he wasn't overjoyed to have Galen back with him, he thought, cutting his eyes to the side to look at her a moment. But this was just all too easy. What the hell had happened to Tarnus? What about all their baddies?

He forced himself to lighten up. They could only take things one step at a time.

But it'd be rather nice to know where they were stepping next.

And hell, where WERE they going next? Where could they be safe from these demons and this bounty hunter? Terrin couldn't help but know that sometime, probably a hell of alot sooner than he would like, Sorben would pop up again. After all, he'd be looking for his wife...

Eesh. Forgot about that one, didn't you buddy? a shoulder devil sputtered out of nowhere.

With a mental slap, the little imp popped out of existence. And the question still remained. Where could they go that was safe?

Safe...

Oh dear gods, they STILL hadn't looked for the baby. And Galen had said she thought she was on Khar Delba...

...and so maybe this wasn't a Sith ship, but it certainly was a shielded one. And why not take advantage of their location?

Turning to look at Galen, Terrin quirked a brow, tilting his head a bit as the ship began to hit atmosphere and glide into space. "Think the baby is still on Khar Delba?" he asked.

Then he let the question hang, completely ready to step into yet more danger to help her find her baby...

their baby.

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

Something wasn't right here. Sorben Tarnus's force signature was gone. Dark and Desolist had yet to show their faces...

Yet.

His Jedi premonitions were all but literally screaming that something horribly dark even still awaited them.

The really disturbing thing about this premonition though was that, if the dark was headed their way, he couldn't feel a lick of it.

Folding his hands in his Jedi robes, Shawn stood, knowing the ship had just slipped into hyperspace, and somehow even aware of their next destination. Quietly, he moved away from the living area and slipped into the ship's cabin, the door whooshing open then closing in the same manner behind him as he stepped inside.

Terrin and Galen turned to face him at about the same time, while Matt, who was sitting in the back, just simply...waited.

"We need to talk," Shawn opened with.

Terrin quirked a brow, indicating he should continue.

"I sense something very wrong here. We had reason to believe that two very evil individuals were behind all of this, and we haven't seen hide nor hair of them. And Mr. Tarnus's Force signature has become completely untraceable. He could still be behind us. His employers are probably still after you," he continued, turning to Galen. "We'd best proceed with caution. I assume we are headed to Khar Delba?" he asked, the question directed at no one in particular.

Terrin simply nodded, then added. "ETA twelve hours. I'm thinking we should all get some rest, then talk through whatever might be going on, as well as take care of a few...things...while we still have the opportunity. I tend to agree that this was all too easy."

Shawn nodded. "Allright. I'll meet you in the living area in four standard hours. Comm me if you need me before then, I'm going to do some meditating to see if I can clear some of this fuzz from my mind."

With that, the Jedi exited the cabin for his quarters, hoping to seek and find some answers to his concerns...

[ 05-28-2002 11:02 PM: Message edited 1 time, lastly by Shawn Petrolu ]

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

His and Galen's quarters.

She stood there, gazing out into the blur that was hyperspace. He wondered what she was thinking about, then quietly stepped in behind her and wrapped his arms about her waist, laying his cheek against her head for a moment in a gesture that was almost...protective. She turned in his arms to look up at him, and he leaned down and planted a small kiss on her forehead.

"I've missed you so much," he opened with, searching her brown eyes with his blue ones. "I took the liberty of making a few calls," he continued. "It will be no great difficulty to have your...marriage to Mr. Tarnus anulled."

Here he paused, waiting for her to understand that he knew about this. As well as giving her a moment to understand that he understood why she'd agreed to it to in the first place.

But there was something of far more importance to him that he wanted to say to her now, before something of this nature happened again. He took her hands in his, searching for the words. "Galen, I know this is sudden, but after all of this...I just don't want to wait another day to have you at my side as Mrs. Terrin Danner. We've struggled through so much to make it here--and there's possibly so much more to come. I want to go into it as husband and wife. I have it on good authority that a Jedi Knight can legally wed two people...

...so do you think you'd be willing to make an ex-smuggler's day and become his wife?" he finished with, gazing into those big beautiful brown eyes of hers, somehow knowing the answer before she said a word...

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

He knew! The tangled rush expanded out into coherency. He knew what you did... what you had to do, and why!

And he still wants to go through with marrying you!

Now my face grew hot and flushed as tears burst into being from absolutely nowhere. The strong planes of Terrin's face wavered before me as I just stood there, staring up at him, my mouth working like an opee out of water as I struggled to put everything I could into my answer: my heart, my soul...

Embarrassingly enough, I could scarcely garble a single syllable. I just buried my face against his chest, gripping him fiercely to me, letting my actions speak far, far louder than any words I could possibly speak, and remained in that position until I finally got myself under some semblance of control.

I tilted my head back, letting myself drown in those wonderful blue eyes, and finally managed to whisper,

"Yes, Terrin. And soon."

Then the joyous expression on my face clouded with my eyes, as I realized I had more to say. Suddenly my mouth was dry as the deserts of Tatooine; I tried to wet my lips but only succeeded in chewing on them. All the while Terrin stood waiting, his brow crooking now as puzzlement rose up in his face.

I couldn't stand it; I buried my face against his broad chest again, sniffling a little and refusing to look up anymore. I just didn't want to see his expression at what I had to say next.

"Terrin," I murmured in a sad little whisper. "I- I slept with him."

Then I let my voice trail off, and merely waited to hear his response.

[ 05-29-2002 06:41 PM: Message edited 1 time, lastly by Galen ]

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

And that day Terrin had talked with Shawn, the words had come from his own mouth. Sorben Tarnus was using the marriage as a reason to make advances on her. And gods knew what would have happened had she refused...

Damn him. Damn him to HELL for using her like that. For treating her like that.

Gently, Terrin took her chin in his hand so that her eyes met his. The sadness in that look was enough to break his heart, so he spoke the words to drive that sadness away. "I know, love," he whispered softly. "Shawn and I had suspected Sorben Tarnus intended to use the marriage as a way to get you pregnant and make Force-babies all along ," he explained, shuddering a bit at this very diabolical conclusion. "As far as the anullment, with the circumstances surrounding the marriage to begin with, it's not going to be a problem, Galen. And our two Jedi friends understand, so there's no problem there either," he said, wrapping his arms about her once again. "And it doesn't change how I feel one bit, sweetheart. You did what you had to do to stay safe, and I completely understand that," he finished, pulling her closer to him as though to offer her all the warmth and assurety he could. Then, he quieted, simply waiting to see what else she might have to say.

[ 05-29-2002 07:55 PM: Message edited 1 time, lastly by Terrin Danner ]

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

In each and every aspect I could possibly think of, the bounty hunter kept falling short. Oh Khaandon, I don't know what I ever did right in my life, but I thank you so much for sending this man to me! the words shot through my head, provoking another onrush of tears to blind my eyes.

Sniffling a bit, I drew back, tossing my head in a vain effort to clear my vision. I sent a moist smile up at Terrin.

"You know, love," I managed at last. "When I was speaking those vows, I wasn't speaking to... to him. I was speaking them to you. And somehow... I just knew you would hear that."

Now my hands found themselves reaching upward, seeking to lace about my love's neck as I stood up on tiptoe to reach him. "Let's make it for real this time, ok?

"I do so love you, Mr. Terrin Danner."

Then I spoke no more. There simply wasn't any need for it... at least not for the moment. Now was the time to reacquaint ourselves, to rediscover ourselves and our love...

...and most definitely not the time to worry about a little statement which had dropped from his lips in so brief a manner. The little logical part of my brain began urgently waving its figurative hands, trying to give warning.

Breed Force-babies?!? Yeesh....

I shuddered, and then slapped back the little inner hands and put the thought from my mind, utterly losing myself once again in the one whom I would alway consider as my husband, anullments and legal vows be damned.

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

How did he know there was danger coming near them yet he couldn't sense a lick of it? Why couldn't he feel the evil of this Desolist and Gravin Dark heading towards them? Why couldn't he sense it at all?

Something was oh-so-terribly wrong about this, and the possibilities presenting themselves did little to settle Shawn's mind.

The way these guys had themselves hidden was so similiar to the way Shayla had disappeared in and out of the Force lately. Was so similiar to how she was missing even now. And Shayla had chosen to become part of the Sith...

...was the Sith somehow behind all this then? Were they the source of this mystery?

Shawn frowned to himself, the answer to that question still a negative one. Granted, the Sith had been after Galen's baby, and might even think of something as utterly horrible as using her to produce more of these powerful children.

But there was just one little thing that didn't fit. Why would the Sith, who could pop in and out of everywhere with disturblingly offhanded ease, choose a bounty hunter to come for Galen? Let alone a bounty hunter who had once been involved with her?

Did they think she'd regain her feelings for him and totally miss their threat until it was too late?

Even if it wasn't the Sith, the fact someone had chosen to send the bounty hunter who was once Galen's significant other seemed like a bad tactic all around.

A piece of this very horrible and possibly very deadly puzzle was still missing, lurking.

About this time, Shawn's comm beeped. He scooped it off the nightstand and pushed the accept button. "Shawn Petrolu here."

"This is Jasyn Lancaster. Terrin wants everyone to meet in the living area in three standard hours. And he said for you to give him a comm in about an hour."

"Allright," Shawn said. Then he added, "In the meantime, if you have a stash of Whyren's Reserve around here, I could use a glass..."

[ 05-30-2002 09:17 PM: Message edited 1 time, lastly by Shawn Petrolu ]

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When the comm finally beeped, Terrin was about half asleep, his arms around Galen. He rolled over, pulling the comm from the nightstand. "Terrin here," he said, stifling a yawn.

"It's Shawn. Jasyn said you wanted me to comm?"

"Yeah," Terrin replied, glancing over to a quietly resting Galen. "The anullment came through about thirty minutes ago."

Terrin could practically hear Shawn's jaw drop across the frequency.

Hey buddy, you don't sell big ships to the big guys just for the profit of it. There's always the possibilty of later being able to ask a favor or two. Nice to have friends in high places, occasionally.

"Does this mean you are going to ask me to do something for you?" Shawn replied, his tone lightening with a gleam of humor.

Terrin simply smiled into the darkness of the room. "Yeah, it does," he responded. Then he added, a touch of humor creeping into his eyes, "I knew I needed you Jedi on board for some reason."

Shawn laughed a small laugh at that. "Thanks for the vote of confidence."

"You know me," Terrin replied.

"Okay, you pirate, I'll see you in a couple of hours. Comm if you need anything else. Petrolu out."

With that, the comm went quiet and Terrin laid it back on the nightstand, once again wrapping his arms around Galen. She shifted a bit in his arms, those big brown eyes of hers peering into his own.

He smiled at her. "Looks like you and I are going to be Mr. and Mrs. Danner really soon, sweetheart," he said. Then he fell silent, simply basking in the warmth of being with that one person in the Universe who would ever make him feel so...complete.

[ 05-30-2002 10:23 PM: Message edited 1 time, lastly by Terrin Danner ]

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The sheer fact that he could look into her eyes and say "I do" was enough. The fact that he could hear the same little statement come from her lips, with that beautiful look on her face, was far more important than all the frills in the Universe.

Because he truly knew this was the one person he wanted in his life til death parted them, and even beyond then, if there truly was anything to the belief in an afterlife.

And he'd known she was the one from that day seemingly so long ago when he'd run into her on Ambria and his life had turned upside-down with one look. He simply couldn't imagine, and didn't want to imagine, for that matter, where he'd be now if the Maker hadn't blessed him and dropped her into his life.

Sure, they'd faced horrible danger, and they'd face more. And it wasn't that he took any of it lightly. Rather, Terrin found that these difficult times were when they truly had grown together and drawn support from each other. And that's when he'd learned just how deeply he loved her and how deeply she loved him.

No person, no event, no danger forseen or unforseen would ever change the fact that he loved her.

In this small yet significant way, he could show her just how completely serious he was in his commitment to her. To offer her all that he had and would ever have, if that was only his love for her, in front of friends.

So that they could be husband and wife...

...at last.

Leaning over, he gently met his lips with his new wife's in a sweet connection to seal the joining of their two lives into one.

Nothing, not even death, would seperate them ever again.

[ 05-30-2002 11:19 PM: Message edited 1 time, lastly by Terrin Danner ]

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This just simply was not over yet. And the moment they stepped off this ship they would be immediately open to discovery by any Force-users searching them out. For that matter, the moment they slipped from hyperspace, they'd be up for discovery. The ship had a nice enough design to narrow the possibility of visual contact, but that didn't mean it was impossible.

Shawn shifted his blue-green gaze outward, looking over at Terrin and his new bride. Somehow he knew that she and Terrin both had finding the baby not too far from their immediate thoughts.

Now how to address this carefully...

...Sithspit, there was no way to address this carefully.

So Shawn decided he'd throw out what he'd been thinking into the lull in conversation and see just what thoughts anyone here had on the subject. "So," he started, "How do we plan on finding and retrieving the baby safely once we reach Khar Delba, if that is in fact where she is?"

Conversation wound to a screeching halt as all eyes turned in his direction.

Well, that got everyone's attention...

"We've gotta face it. Sorben Tarnus and his employers will still be on our tail, and going to Khar Delba will open us to more danger in the form of Graysith and her allies..."

...and my sister...

"...We simply have to think this through. We have a couple of Jedi here, but we're going to be up against several evil beings. The only way we'll face that successfully is if we have a plan, and I've never been to Khar Delba and faced these Sith, so anything you have to offer will be of help."

With that, Shawn quieted and waited to see if anyone had anything to say.

[ 06-01-2002 10:49 AM: Message edited 1 time, lastly by Shawn Petrolu ]

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