Tyberius pressed a button and sent an order to the bridge,"It would be best to disguise ourselves while in orbit, just to play it safe..."

The Endeavor turned into a very small moon, and aligned itself in an orbit as just that... undetectable...

"We shall wait, young Lo-Ban..."

Indeed, this ship has served us well, the momentary thought sidetracked her from their current path. I wonder who its former owners were, and what they had designated as the name for so wonderful and unerring a servant?

Her lips curled into a smile as she allowed herself to idly consider one name after another, the forward viewscreen showing nothing before them but the raging otherness of hyperspace.

Beside her, Recinis shifted a bit uneasily. She immediately turned to him, laying one slim hand softly upon his forearm.

"Worry not, my protector," she said with a smile. "The pair before us are still clearly in our sights." Here she paused to indicate one particular glyph on the command board, which was flashing a steady and most peculiar shade of green. "The boy will not dare to attempt any trickery; if so, my adept will be more than capable of handling it."

Now she removed her hand from Recinis, turning her gaze inward once more, reviewing what had transpired over the last hours:

One more uneventful journey to Khar Delba, there to pinpoint and easily repair Loban's wounded ship. The transfer of Shayla and the young jedi-wannabe from the Sith ship to his own. Her holding her breath as Loban guided that ship with Shayla's assistance through the hole in the planetary magnetic field... where it unassumingly enough went into a brief orbit, quietly waiting for the larger ship to arrive.

The coordination of coordinates...

...and now pondering what unknowns lay before them.

Her jaw clenched unconsciously as she wondered to herself just who or what this Tyberius would prove to be. This was not the time to be having to sidetrack from seeking her child, but if the slim possibility of yet another alliance against Lord Roan existed....

She sniffed slightly, still staring at the forward viewport yet not seeing the ravening splendor there. All that floated before her inner eye was the raven-haired, violet-eyed image of a Babe...

...one who's hair suddenly segued into that the color of pure copper. One staring up, unafraid, into eyes all chrome and electric blue.

She shivered suddenly, placing her arms about herself, and in thus a manner hunkered more deeply into her seat, her eyes staring stonily but now seeing nothing as they continued on in their All-shielded ship toward a planet known by many as being the dregs of the universe:

Tattooine.

[ 08-13-2002 08:27 PM: Message edited 1 time, lastly by Graysith ]

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In the alley next to the cantina, the bounty hunter Tylon Kincaid drank the Krayt Juice he ordered at the bar. He was standing in the darkest corner, his helmet off, as he still does not want his face to be seen.

This is extremely dangerous, Tylon. The dead Jedi's voice said. The bounty hunter shook his head.

"It's been two years since the last time I drank out in the open...especially on Tatooine..." he replied aloud. "Speaking of which, why did you have me come here?"

You'll see... was all the voice said.

[ 08-13-2002 09:41 PM: Message edited 1 time, lastly by TheKnot ]

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Great, she thought irritably, I'm stuck in close quarters with a Jedi-wannabe!

She succeeded in not letting a lick of this show on her face, fortunately. Shayla just merely remained aloof and kept her look completely inscrutable. At length turned her blue-green eyes into the pair belonging to Loban.

"So, what exactly is this Tyberius guy expecting you to do with me when we show up, and did he say anything in regards to how you should "capture" me?" Shayla asked quietly, her greeny-blues looking at him quizzically.

[ 08-13-2002 10:29 PM: Message edited 1 time, lastly by Mara1Jade ]

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Lo-Ban paused, then looked into Shayla's eyes...

"I apologize for being so forward with you when we first met..."

Lo-ban gave his apology a moment, for sincerity...

"May I ask about the great powers you wield, I am curious..."

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Lo-Ban reached behind Shayla, and took out a protein pack...

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"You have a beautiful smile, you should make a habit of it..."

Lo-Ban took a bite of his protein bar,"That IS terrible..."

"...or when I'm around certain people," she said, the barest hints of a wistful look crossing her face. After only a moment, she pushed that little errant thought back and turned another blue-green gaze to Loban, somehow seeing something he might not have even known was there.

[ 08-13-2002 11:23 PM: Message edited 1 time, lastly by Shayla Stargazer Petrolu ]

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Her teeth flashed at him in the dim lighting of the command center, white and even.

"I am monitoring the situation, Recinis," she laughed, leaning her head against one slight fist. "Indeed, perhaps more so than this boy would desire I do."

Turning back now to the viewscreen, she stared off into the white otherness which represented entire systems smearing themselves alongside them. Her soft chuckle brightened the alien beauty of the command center with the accompanying music it shed.

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Lo-Ban then snapped his fingers... grabbed his discarded protein bar, and placed it into the garbage...

But then, she thought, unconsciously smiling a little smile, He might not find it amusing for long...

[ 08-14-2002 12:33 AM: Message edited 1 time, lastly by Shayla Stargazer Petrolu ]

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"I hope the pair will not end up tearing out each other's throats before we achieve our goal," she commented to him lightly. "For it is yet another two day's travel to Tattooine."

Grinning, she snuggled against the luxurious Sith seat, basking in the not-quite-leather of it, and enjoying thoroughly how it molded to her slight frame. The thought immediately popped into her head of other "accommodation" equally molding... but meant for one instead of two. Her fingers now lifted to her lips, and she laughed aloud.

Now her head flopped back against the headrest. "It is good to find a modicum of rest for the soul, though it be at the expense of my poor Adept." She sent a silent promise out to Shayla that she would see to making most definite amends to her when all was said and done.

Then she sobered at the following thought, one which darkly hinted that soon enough such light-hearted play would be all but forgotten, like mists disappearing beneath the onslaught of a desert sun.

She let a small sigh escape from her at that unsettling shadow, then turned her head slightly in Recinis' direction.

"It is a long trip yet to the desert world," she began softly, then she shifted more sideways in her seat. "Tell me of yourself, Recinis," she began formally enough. "Tell me again of your past, and why you have been sent here to protect me."

Settling down into the cushions like a child nestling down for a bedtime story, she waited for Recinis to answer her.

[ 08-14-2002 12:46 AM: Message edited 1 time, lastly by Graysith ]

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Oh yes you are, some little voice persisted. You're mad cause you could be with Erik about now, and you are stuck in this rat-trap ship with someone you don't wanna be in close proximity with. Admit it.

She glared at that, fire in her eyes. Just what did this "Master Tyberius" want with her anyway?

She frowned at that, knowing she really didn't have the faintest idea and not liking it one bit.

Well, you'd best get some sleep so that you you are completely ready for whatever lies ahead.

Sighing at that, Shayla shot one more irritable glare in Loban's direction and huddled against the side of the cockpit, pulling her knees into the seat and still sitting upright. She closed her eyes and began to drift, knowing how ridiculous a position she was in when she could be laying at least somewhat flat.

In the back of her mind, a little voice persisted that she shouldn't give Loban the satisfaction...

[ 08-14-2002 01:14 AM: Message edited 1 time, lastly by Shayla Stargazer Petrolu ]

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"i was born, to my knowledge, on Khar delba, my father had done many deeds for the Lord of the sorcers, and on his death, my mother was sent to live there...i was born there, and trained there...when i reached an appropriat age, the sorcerer began sending me on missions...he told me then that i must be put to rest...and awaken to serve a woman by the name of graysith...he only told me that the fate of the sith could reside in your hands... i guess now i understand why that is..."

He then stopped, taking a few more deep breaths I now know why that is...i cant believe im one of the last...

"i....I cant remember much more right now...my memories seem very distant..."

He then sighed to himself "im sorry i can not explain myself any better..."

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"It is enough to relate what you do recall, Recinis," she responded at length. "Do not apologize for what you feel you may be lacking. More shall come with time.

"And," she went on, now turning her head to gaze fully into his eyes. "Cast aside your sorrow at being what you feel is the last of your kind. Think instead of yourself as being of the first in the new empire the Sith shall surely come to know again."

With those last words she reached out to lay her hand lightly on his forearm, holding his gaze meaningfully with a deep one of her own. Then she let her hand drip from his arm, and turned once more to stare out into the mysteries of hyperspace once again.

The Sith ship yowled on....

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His eyes snapped open in surprise.

Shayla just smiled sweetly at him. Then she faced forward again and pushed her seat all the way back, looking him dead in the eye with her cool greeny-blues. "You even think about pulling anything and you will so wish that you hadn't," she said in an equally cool voice, the look in her eyes in utter contrast to the sweet smile still on her face.

She held his gaze for another moment longer, then turned to look upwards, closing her eyes and falling asleep.

Yet even so she was still aware...

[ 08-14-2002 01:41 AM: Message edited 1 time, lastly by Shayla Stargazer Petrolu ]

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