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.

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.

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.

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..."

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

"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.

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."

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...

"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.

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...

"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..."

"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.

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...

They were yet at it....

Blinking, she turned to where Recinis lay relaxed beside her, his muscles softened yet somehow ready to respond to any peril that should come their way, as unthinkable as that probability was at the time. For a moment she studied him, the growing yet unspoken altercation between Shayla and Loban tickling stronger and stronger in her very essence.

Then--

"You have heard my Sire and my Adept and I speak of this wondrous thing called the All," she broke the companionable silence softly. "Perhaps one day you will come to know it as intimately as do I.

"In the meantime, experience it, my protector, and share with me this one small delight."

Without hesitation she now reached out, placing a slim hand alongside Recinis' face, seeking pressure points there and through them releasing a great onrushing flood of the All. It roiled into his very essence, bringing with it the vision of happenings aboard the craft shared by Shayla and Loban, a vision as clear as though it was being enacted before his very eyes.

For indeed, through Her, and through the All, it was.

Smiling a bit more to herself, Graysith now removed her hand from Recinis' face, and placed it quietly in her lap. Silence stretched between them before she quietly broke it once again.

"Mmmmmm, no, no... ARRHHHHHHHHHH!" Lo-Ban shot up from his seat, so quickly... He planted his head in the lowest part of the cockpit canopy, and dropped back into his seat... "Son of a... I hate it when that happens..."

Well, THIS was interesting...

She at length opened her eyes slightly to regard him, still laying back. "Does this happen often?" she queried into the quiet little cockpit.

Lo-Ban then turned to shayla, and apologized for waking her...

What if this Tyberius guy was somehow connected to all of this? What if this could somehow be used to help them assess their possible opponent before they arrived?

Then again, it could be something completely different...

...but better to explore all possible clues than to step into a situation uninformed.

And the information-smuggling tidbit of Shayla Stargazer was itching to seek and analyze.

Lo-Ban awaited what she would do...

She encountered a flitting shadow accompanied by something akin to fear, one that was deceptively hidden--probably by someone other than Loban. Try as she might, Shayla couldn't get a lock on the face or the figure. Still, she remained there in the young man's mind as a guide, waiting to see if, with her link, Loban could clear the blur of the image she had found...

With an inquisitive look, Lo-Ban asked,"Anything?"

Then, out into that link she maintained with Graysith, This one has haunting dreams of a shadow which cannot be revealed...

"The All..." he muttered absently "could you tell me more of it?" he then looked over to graysith, a look of wonder on his face.

"The All is more than what the jedi refer to as the Force, my friend," she began, speaking quietly into the moment. "It is beyond living energy. It is all energy, all force which exists in the Universe, and binds not merely the living to the living, but the past to the present and the future as well.

"This is the legacy of the Sith, for although its presence was theorized by your race for several hundred years, it wasn't until the very end-times that Lord Aelvedaar found a way to actually control it."

She raised a hand slowly to that mysterious rune upon her forehead, fingered it thoughtfully. Then she continued.

"The ability to connect with it is within the grasp of every living creature... but probably remains the most difficult accomplishment to ever achieve. Not only must perfect balance be maintained within a user, but willingness to act at any time from all aspects of it. Perfect realization and acceptance."

She shifted in her seat a bit, now staring meaningfully into Recinis' eyes. Once again her hand reached out to touch him lightly on his arm.

he then looked up and faced graysith. "If it is meant for sith to use..then i will find a way to use it...but i fear i might not be able to achieve total balance..."

"Calm your concerns, my friend," she assured him. "Remember that though the Sith were aware of it's wondrous power and beauty, it took them hundreds of years to actually learn how to control it. This monumental accomplishment was achieved by Lord Aelvedaar, who then taught me...."

When she opened her eyes, they were huge, the pupils dilated far beyond that physically dictated by the amount of lighting within their ship.

Over and over, the hard planes of Darth Wicked's face segued smoothly into the laughing features of Lord Roan's, whose blackened teeth were exposed in a full-fanged taunt at her own naivete....

Struggling with herself, she at last reached out and grasped Recinis' concern like a lifeline, and with the greatest of personal efforts she finally brought herself back into some modicum of control. Her body let a final shudder rack it, then she managed to quiet at least the external aspects of it.

Within, the battle raged on, now set upon by her own raging Beast who refused to give it release.

Her fingers gripped Recinis's arm like a vise, her nails nearly sinking into his very flesh. At length she managed to speak,

"Yes, Dark Lord Roan is a formidable enemy, I fear. But with the strength of the Warrior which I sense in you, and the use of the All shared by my Sire, my Adept, and myself, I believe he will be eventually overcome."

She fell silent with that, staring deeply into Recinis' eyes, willing him to somehow convince her of her very words. For indeed she knew there would be more she would have to offer of herself if she wished to ever see her child again.

Slowly Shayla began to wake from what was a rather peaceful sleep, all things considered. She yawned and stretched, sitting up ever-so-slowly, opening a pair of bright blue-green eyes.

She turned to Loban, who may have never gone back to sleep for all she knew, and looked him dead in the eye.

What she wouldn't give to do a little atom tweaking right now. Maybe provide them with a nice enough breakfast of something ENTIRELY more edible...

But no. Their needs were being met, albeit with a rather tasteless protein bar. No need to wrecklessly use her talents in front of oen who was so inquisitive to them. Not yet, anyway. Only when the time and situation deemed it necessary. At this point, however, there wasn't any need for her to expend the energy.

Smiling as she continued to tear into the bar hungrily, she said, "Got anything to drink?"

Is he trying to impress me...?

Lo-Ban paused, and then answered her inquiry...

She laughed lightly, and sat back, the empty water-glass in her hand. She waited to see what Loban might reply...

She paused at that, the look on her face darkening. "But noooooo, in you walted to Khar Delba, a completely protected planet, to find a padawan who had been gone from the Praxeum for longer than even I remember now. Didn't you at least consider that, when I appeared and was completely happy where I was, that just maybe you should go back and report to your supervisor that your "rescue mission" was unnecessary?

Or is it that you still know something about him that you aren't telling any of us?"

Lo-Ban paused, then continued...

"I would have been happy to tell Tyberius you did not need rescuing, had I the chance... your allies came to me with this plan..."

Lo-Ban awaited Shayla's response...

Shayla looked at Loban suspiciously. "If I didn't know better from being in your mind, I'd say you're trying to cover your tracks. And I still can't believe you didn't have enough logic to figure out that something about all of this just wasn't quite right.

How did that thing of yours manage to locate me anyway?"

Lo-Ban paused to consider another one of Shayla's questions...

She trailed at that, frowning even more deeply.

What she wanted...what she really, really wanted at this moment was to huddle into Erik's embrace and forget this all until she actually had to face it. She had every confidence in what she, Graysith, and Recinis could do. But that didn't mean she liked conflict any more. The true Sith were quite honestly a peace-loving race...

"The first rule in coming against anyone," Shayla commented at length, "is not to underestimate them." Then she added, "Especially when you don't know exactly who it is you are going to face.

I just want to get this all over with, and get the Hell back where I belong..."

With my Sister and our allies.

The bounty hunter stood in the middle of a road, looking upwards at the stars. Unknowingly, his right hand gripped the lightsaber tightly, as though his life depended on it...

Something's coming... he thought-spoke to the Jedi. And you knew about all along?

He heard a small laugh in his head. Oh yes. After we left Ahmad, I sensed that something of interest will be coming to this dustball soon. If you are wise, perhaps you should prep your ship...

Tylon shook his head. Don't tell me what to do, Jedi.You fail to understand, bounty hunter. You don't have any other choice...

"Want any food, or liquid?" He questioned, in a clear procise voice, through his frowned lips. Through the leather seating, the man behind him could noticably catch a tightened fist, showing the how nerve-rattling those words were to his pride.

"Soon, Jakob...we will meet again soon..." he quietly spoke to himself. Paul thought about his apprentice, wondering how deep his plans go for the galaxy.

I should have returned to Kati' Shyn. Its been nearly 10 years...who knows what Jakob could have been doing in that time.

Paul sighed. He sat on the floor and started to meditate...

"I considered doing something for you, but you snobby dumb Jedi's dont pay attetion!" Sean's lips curved into a larger snarl, slamming the protien bar across Paul's face.

The Jedi did not react...despite being whacked by a protein bar. He simply sat there, and meditated.
There was a peaceful silence (despite Sean's snarling) and it lasted for only a few moments...

"Are you going to eat that, or fix the hyperdrive with it?"

In those moments, light discourse was underway between two aboard a modified pod-racer.

Elsewhere, others had entered the vicinity, following a destiny of their own.

Graysith's eyes grew a bit vague as she continued to stare into the cooling green depths of Recinis' pair, just remaining absolutely quiet, allowing herself to drown in them just a bit, and to believe with all her heart the words he had spoken to her.

Indeed, her daughter would be found. Dark Lord Roan would pay the price for the evil he had pressed upon her and her allies.

The Sith would rise once again.... Now she clenched a fist so tightly that her nails pierced her palm, and blood began to drip freely from the wound. So intent was she on her inner focus, she didn't even notice.

The Sith would rise again... and she and her daughter would take their rightful places amongst them.

Then shaking herself from her strange reverie, she pulled back the intensity of her gaze a bit.

"How far are we from Tatooine, my protector?" she broke the silence with the softly spoken question, the tone of which was in complete opposition to the ire beginning to roil up within her breast.

"You know," Pauk started to say, his voice taking a serious and more wise tone, "The fate of many is now on our shoulders. What we do from here on will change the destinies of many a man, woman, or child."

Right before Sean was about to say something, Paul continued. "No more questions, now. We're nearing Tattooine, and you should prepare yourself. And before you ask, these are not orders, just mere suggestions." The Jedi slightly looked back.

Tylon sat in the cockpit of The Merciless, still looking upwards at the stars. Yet, for some reason, he feels as though his sightseeing seemed...forced.

The bounty hunter wondered about how many of those stars he had seen throughout his hunts, finding wrongdoers and bringing righteous justice to them, no matter how severe. But, now he feels regret.

Why now? What's happening to me? he thought to himself, although he knew his companion would still hear it.

Interesting. Most interesting. came the Jedi's voice. Tylon sighed. "What amusement do you find in my mind now?"

Oh, not you Kincaid. The dead Jedi replied. Its just that...my master...he's coming here!

"WHAT?!" The bounty hunter sat up. "He's coming here to Tattooine?"

Oh, yes indeed. I'm sure its by coincidence; he fears me more than the end of the galaxy.

"Why?" Tylon asked. "He's your Jedi master..."

Its...a very long story. And you will hear it, and more, soon enough.

The bounty hunter shook his head. "Your riddles begin to annoy me, Jedi."

"we seem to be more then halfway there. we should reach our distination in approximetly 9 to 10 hours"

Looking about the ship once again his mind became blank, and he no longer quite understood what it was the readout meant...but something deep inside him told him as time progressed, all would be clear.

"Hmm, you were right Jedi! We are only seconds away from exiting hyperspace." He slyly stated, as he leaned back in his chair, with the ship ejecting from the blur of stars.

She smiled at Recinis, clearly sensing something bordering upon confusion running through him. Instinctively she reached out a companionable hand... only to pause in mid-motion as she realized her palm was still bleeding. Not wishing to stain Recinis thus, she smoothly let the hand drop to her lap.

"I sense questioning within you, my protector," she said to him after a bit. "While your presence here is admittedly somewhat of a surprise to me, I have faith that everything will be explained in this regard. You will know of your past, and why you yourself were chosen to assist in the creation of the future of the Sith."

Her lips crooked wryly to the side, and for yet another moment her gaze grew vague. Then with another small effort she snapped herself out of the momentary fugue.

Sean laid back within his seat, staring toward the ceiling of his ship, as his fist tightened up, concealing all of his power before he came to a strainful stand. It had been long time before he had his good walk on Tattonie, and now he was back again. Rolling his feet about the metal surface ramp, horiziontally platted into the ground, he felt the sense of his comrade follow behind. Sean grapsed his trench coat, throwing it over his stature, as his sandals crossed along the foundation.

Oh, for the luxury of a bed to sleep in right now...

She sighed, not really paying Loban any mind as she laid her seat back. "Better get some sleep before we arrive..." she muttered, then floated off into slumber.

Moving his feet one motion by another, his feet crossed the sand, as he arosed his emotional elements, as the hour slowly passed by as the drifting wind did, and the suns made a shadow upon him. His hair blew back in the winds, as his hands were left clutched behind his back. Thoughts warped into his skull incarcerated brain, feeling the great urge of more knowledge, as if it was something that he had felt much more times then once. It wasn't the knowledge of anything, but something known to him as the Force. HIs teeth cringed at the thought of endolging in the arts of the Force but it was shockingly, and horridally apparant to him that it was something he was arosed, and enjoyed doing.

In disgust of his own thoughts, he spat at the ground as he went slowly over a small hill, gaining speed in his steps, as if he was to run away from his thoughts. Moving quicker, but timidally he flurished into a jog, as his trench coat fluttered like a flag in the wind. Beating against the thrusting sigh of the air, throwing winds toward him, straining his movements. HIs ligements began to weild a stress, but he still moved on. HE was running from his past, what he didn't know anything of. Something that haunted him in his dreams, but never in reality. But now it was there, hopping about him quickly, like a fire, dancing with its light flashing on his flesh. Sean couldn't handle such intense thoughts, and kept running until he felt as if his lungs would collapse. Falling to a kneel, he hit the surface before the introduction signal of Mos Eisley.

Swimming up now before her vision was the image of the last one to take up her hand in so similar a manner,

--then paused. Swallowed, not without a bit of difficulty. Lowered her head so her hair flamed down to momentarily hide her features. When she looked up again, it was with her customary control.

She looked at him a moment more, then gracefully rose to her feet.

"Thank you, Recinis," she said, dropping her glance to the tidily bandaged hand. "I shall not be needing anything further, other than you obtaining some rest yourself. And now I bid you good rest."

Quickly dropping behind an alley, a small crew of men placed their guns toward one man, as he stared angrily at them, clutching his fist on a few credits. Sean could absorb the sense of jungle atomsphere in the air as he glazed at the situation. Watching the confrotation continue, with his bottom lip curving inward, and his top teeth bit. He had stated before he didn't care, but just the morals of his existence told him otherwise. He needed to help, he couldn't allow one to be thrown around, losing his pride and ego in the process.

A brush of the force went clashing against the body, and as it fell to the ground a scream went cruising through the bieng's mouth. He hadn't allowed the Force to penetrate, and the being ahd crushed into a million pieces. Sean's eyes throbbed with sheer confusion before a fist slammed him back into reality. Colliding with the wall, he came back with a stern fist, slamming it into the teeth bridge of the man, and threw him down harshly against the surface. Throwing hsi eyes from on point to another, he glazed at the male Twi'lek who had been held up.

"Leave....me-" He simply stated grabing his skull, with the followign action of a furious scream. It was all of puzzedlment to him, but now he had weilded the Force, but it hadn't ever came out so fluently before. In motion of his own body, instead of mind. The tool...no the friend, the Force had suddenly creep back into the door of his reality, and excereted itself at his enemies, and adversaries.

Sean's mind began unwillingly implacing images of the Future, much like many Jedi's began their life in the academy. Throbbing with the mind boggling task of forseeing the Future. It was a blur to him, but it still was there. It was so real as well, he couldn't ignore it at all. He threw his fist against the wall once, and took a quick rush toward what he thought to be the area of the situation....

((OOC: Please follow Sean Hortkron into the To Face A Tyrant thread in this forum, thank you.))