He reviewed the council before him...

An audacious council member spoke up,"The question is: What do we do about it..."

"The surface dwellers' act was no mere accident, and yet they are not altogether at fault..." Elnas said, as he stood, signifying the end of the session...

All but one left the chamber, he approached Elnas...

"Your Eminence... We cannot go against the directive, we must stay out of the affairs of the Galaxy..." The subsidiary voiced his appeal...

Without moving, Elnas answered his plea,"These sith must be stopped, at any cost..."

[ 02-14-2003 12:29 AM: Message edited 1 time, lastly by Elnas ]

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He approached this orb, touching it with his bare hand, it came to life with brilliant illumination...

The outlook he saw through this sphere was inauspicious...

The prophecy is amiss... the stranger from the future has not come...

Elnas peered more deeply into the orb...

He nearly gasped at his recognition...

This stranger has already made contact... with the savages of the surface...

He now sent out a call, to this stranger, through the orb...

For only this stranger can handle the upcoming threat...

[ 02-14-2003 11:20 PM: Message edited 1 time, lastly by Elnas ]

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On a planet wide scale, the surface dwellers were taken under authority by the population from below...

This was their punishment... their punishment for their crimes against the galaxy... wrongs that would have to be righted, but not by the governing administration of the Guardians...

But, by someone else... capable of such...

Kamino was now a civilization of two peoples, Kaminoans and Guardians, the latter the administer of power...

[ 02-18-2003 12:29 AM: Message edited 1 time, lastly by Elnas ]

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Kamino airspace was now closed off to visitors... until the call for manifestation was answered...

[ 03-01-2003 12:54 AM: Message edited 1 time, lastly by Elnas ]

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Cartina awoke in a sea of pain, and garbage...

Taking the helmet from her head, she wiped a long thread of blood from beneath her nose down her chin...

She placed her helmet back upon her head, Cartina carefully rose to her feet...

Staggering to the restaurant, she slid into the booth she'd occupied only an hour ago...

From underneath the table, Cartina pulled a listening device...

Thoughts collected, She headed straight for The Otana's Rival....

Once inside her ship, she played back the end of the recording...

"We'll meet you at the rendezvous point on the edge of Kamino space then, ok?"

The woman's voice filled the small cockpit...

The ship exited the Sullustan atmosphere, entering the very same vector the Lambda had only an hour ago...

Kamino it is...

[ 03-03-2003 02:15 AM: Message edited 1 time, lastly by Cartina ]

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The proximity warnings of the Raptor jolted Jasyn from blissful slumber, and slowly he wafted unwillingly to consciousness, knowing that reversion was imminent, knowing that what he was about to attempt was of the utmost importance. Stretching a bit, he was pleased to discover that the majority of his hangover, excepting a little gnawing at his mind, had been slept off.

The starlines of hyperspace reverted to stars, and Jasyn secured orbit a safe distance from the cloning world of Kamino. Then he sat back considering that planet, biting his lip thoughtfully.

Sure hope this trip won't be the death of me...

Sighing at that, Jasyn shook himself from that particular line of thought altogether and turned his eyes to a much clearer navboard.

Then he made the necessary calculations to begin the landing cycle. He wasn't even gonna try stealth at that either; he was a techie, not a pilot...

...and he intended completely to make his arrival fully announced...

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

I decided after about 30 minutes of sitting there watching the starlines stream by with DINK, that I needed some more training for the dangers that may be ahead of me. Why did I agree to go? I don't really have an answer for that, but I do know that GALEN asked me to do something to help her, and fosome reason I just can't say no to that woman!!!

"DINK, are you alright at the helm???"

"OOO-TEE-DEE" he replied again.

So I left him to whatever it was that he did in his spare time. I went to my training room, and began. The hours flew by, I was exhausted!!! and that little warning beep that we were approaching out destination sounded. I hope I trained hard enough!!! I thought to myself.
"Let's go have a look at this oversized asteroid!!!" I sat down in my piloting chair and awaited a message or sight of GALEN's Lambada class starship...

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

This was certainly an exciting trip for me, my second time actually flying in a ship. The first time as a stowaway on a freighter from TATOOINE.
But I quickly learned how boaring space travel can be... I mean you can only watch those starlines pass by at that phenomenal rate so long! So I decided to work on my latest invention, since that guy cut my last one in half, the MAGNETO RAY!!! The hours flew by, and before I knew it I was done, and just in time too, we were about to cut into sublight space again. Dash said that we are just waiting on Landing instructions from LOBAN , GALEN, and MALF, what the heck is he supposed to be anyway???

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

"Let it come... be on guard, for it is doubtful this is our savior..."

"Aye, M'lord..."

The Junior Guardian exited Lord Elnas's quarters, and sent word to the once-cloning colony...

Make he feel at home, until evidence is shown to be absent....

[ 03-04-2003 10:07 PM: Message edited 1 time, lastly by Elnas ]

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Lo Ban's resolve to find Galen's babe, and her uncertainty clouded the cockpit of the Lambda shuttle...

Yet, there was more than that...

Both seemed to pay most attention to their mutual buddy, Malf...

Also, Lo Ban had a nack for distancing beautiful women with stupid actions, and a big mouth...

Keep it together bud, almost there... just watch the furball eat another cockpit adornment you once thought inedible... you're almost there... talk all you want when there are more peeps around... less likely to make a fool...

His train of thought was interrupted as he caught Galen's eyes wander in his direction...

Obvious she didn't like the uncomfortable silence any more than he...

"So... how much time, now?"

How much time now??? what are you a child, now? are we there yet, ey?? good job lo ban ol' buddy... good job...

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

Then what DO you like? some little voice of a memory queried.

Jasyn just sighed and sat back as he started the landing cycle, planning to berth the Raptor nearby the facility, but not too close...

Kriffing hell, this means you are going to have to walk in the rain...

The landing gear of the Raptor made contact with ground and she settled her engines to idle. Jasyn waited long enough to let the engines cool, then stood from his seat, taking a moment to stretch then grabbing a satchel of personal belongings before he departed from the Lambda altogether after making sure she was secure and began making his way towards the building in the pouring rain. He really wasn't that far from the bulding, but by the time he got inside he was literally soaked...

...and freezing.

He scowled even more disgustedly, shivering a bit as he was approached by what appeared to be a Kaminoan greeter.

Jasyn didn't miss a beat. "My name is Jasyn Lancaster, and I'd like to speak with someone about a recent cloning project you undertook. It’s of the greatest importance, and I’m willing to wait til someone is available to speak with me if necessary.”

With that Jasyn then simply fell silent as he waited for the Kaminoan’s reply.

[ 03-04-2003 10:49 PM: Message edited 1 time, lastly by Jasyn Lancaster ]

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I don't know if I could ever get close to anyone again, the thought pushed through the little bit of light-heartedness that was struggling to rise up in me, evoked as Malf tried to nibble on a lightswitch. The humor promptly died, and I sighed.

He's kinda cute, though... and has certainly been a perfect gentleman. Khaandon knows there aren't too many of those about the universe nowadays...

..but he's a Jedi, I answered myself, as if that explained everything.

That thought segued into one who had never been a gentleman in any way, shape or form of the word, and I frowned. There had just been something of the scoundrel in Sorben that had the right combination of charm and darkness to intrigue me....

And then there was Terrin.

I sighed again, my frown deepening.

Another scoundrel, but one turned gentleman. What a surprise, that one. And I had been lucky enough....

I squelched the thought cold, fighting the trembling which now threatened, then rising in my seat and reaching toward Malf.

"Hey furball, that's a proximity alert, it's not edible-- HEY!"

Alarmed, I shot to my feet and went to Malf, taking hold of his arm and by dint of sheer effort -- ok, so he probably let me; he just HAD to have let me! -- pulled him entirely away from the navigation boards and flung him to the back of the lamby amidst the carnage of the doggy bags we had brought with us from Sullust.

"Eat the crumbs, buddy; we're almost to Kamino!"

Shaking my head I went back and plopped in the pilot's seat, casting a sidelong glance toward Lo Ban as I did so. He sat in a peculiar silence of his own, occasionally glancing at me...

...and at that particular moment our gazes crossed... and held.

Another small eternity passed.

Then, my lips trembling, I turned away to the navboard... just in time to see the proximity sensor Malf had tried to eat begin blinking. That roused me quick enough.

"We're coming into Kamino!" I called, even as space reverted to realtime around us. Then I was too busy to even think anymore, as I simultaneously sent a transmission out to Shimmering Scimitar that Dash would know where to land... and proceeded to descend through the wicked atmosphere Kamino possessed.

Soon the Capital City hove into a murky view... and just beyond it, the smaller stilt city where Sorben and I had feigned our shipwreck. At least I knew the Greeter of that city; and so, it was to that particular construct that I headed.

I brought the lamby to a somewhat shaky landing, what with the buffeting of the winds and the lashing of the rain. Then I popped the hatch.

"Let's go!" I said succinctly, and headed out. I wasn't disappointed; as I neared the primary entrance into this stilt city the door slid smoothly open, revealing a foyer of glittering white which dazzled the eye all the more for the depth of darkness we had just come in from. Framed in the doorway was the Greeter who had leant me the privacy of her quarters... for a price; gads but I hoped she was still as willing to earn an easy credit as she had been before.

She bowed her head to me in greeting, and politely inquired what it was that brought me back to their city.

At least she remembers me, I thought, then went into a brief explanation of how there were two others in our party yet coming, and I hadn't forgotten her earlier hospitality toward me, and wondered if she would be so kind as to repeat the gesture. My hand slipped down to surreptitiously jingle my credit pouch as I talked, and lo and behold her eyes glittered most un-scientifically.

I smiled and fell silent, knowing we at least had the privacy of her home. I decided to go no further than that, and merely waited for either Dash to show up, or for Lo Ban to add in his two credit's worth, if he chose to do so.

[ 03-04-2003 11:53 PM: Message edited 1 time, lastly by Galen ]

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She took him into what seemed to be a waiting room...

"Please, wait here..." She said, as a seat appeared from the whiteness of above...

The Guardian left the room,"It is not he..." She said into a wall comm...

Lord Elnas's Chamber...

"It is not he..."

Elnas closed the connection, taking a seat...

Not he...

At that moment, Lord Elnas was alerted of two more ships entering the Kaminoan atmosphere...

On a city not entirely important enough for the Guardian military to take the surface dwellers under constant watch...

"Send reinforcements to take them... send them to the quarters our first guest awaits..."

With that, Elnas's orders were sent in motion...

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

"I'll get it..." He said, fully expecting Dash to be on the other side...

Guardians were in every city, though they were silent observers in ones without scientific purpose...

Lo Ban opened the door...

He was met by two heavily armed, and substantially short, Kaminoans...

"Yes?"

"You are to come with us..." the Guardian said, sounding as much like a storm trooper as Kaminoanly possible...

Lo Ban's first reaction was to comply, but he turned to Galen for acknowledgment...

[ 03-05-2003 12:11 AM: Message edited 1 time, lastly by Loban ]

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My jaw dropped.

How did they know we were there? I thought I had paid the Greeter what Sorben had first bribed her with; perhaps I should have tossed her a little more, considering she was to be on the lookout for the other two in our party....

Be that as it may, there was no use crying over spilled jawa juice now. The fact of the matter was that here the two goons were -- er, as "goony" as a Kaminoan could be, at least -- and we were apparently to go with them someplace.

I cut my eyes to Lo Ban, a touch worried. He on the other hand seemed perfectly at ease.

Why shouldn't he? the thought pressed into existence. He's a Jedi; he'll keep a finger on top of things, so don't worry Galen ol' gal, there's nothing to worry about, see? He doesn't look worried one bit.

In fact the ones who ought to be worried were the Kaminoans. I finished silently as Malf came up with a questioning little purr.

They're going to have Malf's stomach to deal with if there's anything worrisome lurking in the corners of outward appearances....

With that I sent Lo Ban a little look, and sidled a tad closer to him.

Lead on, MacDuff....

[ 03-05-2003 12:28 AM: Message edited 1 time, lastly by Galen ]

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The Guardian warriors led the party of three to a nearby transport...

"I'm sure Dash and the Jawa will find they're way..." Lo Ban whispered to Galen, attempting to put her mind at ease...

The transport landed on a pad... now shared with the Raptor...

The guards were the first to enter the rain, Lo Ban let Galen pass him... he draped his top robe cover over her head... making the perfect raincoat...

Doing thus, revealed his lightsaber hilt...

The three exited the transport, stopping in their tracks as the Kaminoans began shouting in a foreign tongue......

Dark Jedi weaponry!!!

Their weapons were then charged... two saber blades apiece, one in each hand...

Lo Ban quickly took his lightsaber from his waste, yelling for Galen to get the hell into the transport...

Throwing a protein bar into the transport, Malf was happy to jump away from the action about to take place, carrying Galen with him...

The Guardians converged on Lo Ban, he stood at a defensive stance... waiting...

Rain was a new element for Lo Ban, but even more so for the earth dwelling Guardians...

The first came against Lo Ban's left side, he quickly parried and slashed at the Guardian to his right...

This would go on a few more times, then Lo Ban found a weakness...

The first Guardian went down... there was one left...

"Give up..." Lo Ban said, panting slowly...

The Guardian simply grunted...

Charging Lo Ban, he chose to use the poison edge of his remaining Saber Blade...

This was not successful, as Lo Ban sidestepped the exhausted attempt... the blade merely cutting into his attire, he sliced his lightsaber into the outside metallic band of the saber blade...

The plasma flow of the saber blade was exposed, it exploded with great fury...

The blast killed the Guardian immediately, throwing Lo Ban 10 meters into the side of the Raptor...

The warriors were great, Lo Ban was much better...

[ 03-05-2003 01:15 AM: Message edited 1 time, lastly by Loban ]

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Then I saw the fireworks, and heard the awful sizzle of... something exploding, followed by a tremendous and horrific thunk I could almost feel myself as something came flying out of that momentary brilliance and impacted the side of the lambda. And when I saw what, or rather who it was....

I redoubled my efforts.

"Lemme go, Malf!" I shouted, kicking and wriggling and hitting him ineffectively with both fists. He just kept heading on into the transport, hopefully to find somewhere to place me out of harm's way.

Then I can go....

But, no. He just came to the end and stopped, with me still draped over his shoulder.

Now I was way beyond furious and into near panic, for enough time had passed that Lo Ban should have entered the transport. No one so much as peeped a nose in, which went a long way toward justifying my sneaking suspicion that the two goons were maybe down for the count....

But what about Lo Ban?

"Malf, I think he's hurt! Lemme go!" I hollered, and wiggled all the more fiercely. That at least captured the furball's attention; he pivoted and stumped back the way he had come, halting in the entry to the transport.

I peered out into the driving rain, only to see what I feared I might: the crumpled form of Lo Ban laying on the rain-pocked duracrete. My efforts to free myself quadrupled, and with a garbling sort of moan Malf finally relented and placed me on my feet.

I raced to Lo Ban's side, and gently turned him over. The only outward indication of injury that I could see was a great reddening area on his forehead, which was slowly beginning to rise. I winced and touched it lightly; that had to hurt, and clearly showed what part of his anatomy had stopped his forward projection against the shuttle.

Quickly I patted him all over, and found nothing broken... thank Khaandon. But that rising lump had me worried.

I looked up at Malf, rain cascading all around, wetting my hair against me until tendrils of it fell limp and dripping into my eyes. "Malf!" I cried out, still kneeling beside the fallen jedi. "Help me get him into the lambda, quick!"

I then turned my worried gaze back to Lo Ban.

Great Khaandon's ghost, Lo Ban! Please be all right....

[ 03-05-2003 01:20 AM: Message edited 1 time, lastly by Galen ]

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"II'm okk... I'm ok... are they gone?" He asked, knowing it would be nearly impossible for him to do anything about it if they weren't...

"Help me up... I'll take care of the rest..." He said, attempting to move... his lightsaber no where near within his grasp...

"Is Malf ok?? Are you ok?!" The blind Lo Ban went on, waiting for replies...

[ 03-05-2003 01:27 AM: Message edited 1 time, lastly by Loban ]

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He's going to be all right....

I jerked at the realization of the particular tense in which I had expressed that particular verb. Indeed, it was clear that he would be all right... but at the moment he was anything but, no matter what he tried to lead us to believe. The fact that he couldn't see diddly was evident by the manner in which he was surreptitiously holding out his hand for his saber... and not instinctively looking toward that hand as the weapon proceeded to nestle there in obedience to the command.

I hollered over my shoulder for Malf to quit daydreaming, and hunkered over Lo Ban, my hands quietly pressing him back to sit down upon the wet duracrete. With him being unable to see anything, I didn't want him hurting himself further. I sank down on my knees to steady my own stance, and pushed lightly against his chest.

"I'm right here, Lo Ban, and Malf is coming," I said, rain dripping down my face and into my mouth. "You eliminated the two goons, but I don't know how long we'll be safe. I think we'd better take one of these two vehicles and skedaddle while the skedaddling is good...."

It was only then that I caught a glimpse of the name enscribed upon the hull of the lambdy:

Raptor.

Hmmm. Now where had I seen that before?

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comfortable?! on wet duracrete, and the pain emitting from your forehead?!

The forehead...

The pain...

I can't see!!

Lo Ban would have jumped out of his skin at this realization, had Galen not held a supportive hand to his chest...

The pain was taking over... yet, Galen's voice... and her lovely aroma kept him conscious...

He hadn't noticed these things about Galen earlier...

Much more than red hair, and a pair of the deepest browns in the galaxy...

He reached a hand out, to return Galen's gesture... finding her, he lightly squeezed her shoulder, at least he thought it was her shoulder...

As if to say everything would be all right...

A funny thing, when bad things turn out for the better...

[ 03-05-2003 01:53 AM: Message edited 1 time, lastly by Loban ]

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Then the subject of warmth was a moot one as Malf lumbered over and swept Lo Ban into his hairy arms. He stood there holding him, garbling at me in a questioning tone of voice, clearly asking me what he should do with him.

It didn't take me long to make a choice.

"Let's borrow this lambda and get back to mine," I decided, getting to my feet and approaching the shuttle. The hatch slid obligingly open, and I stood to one side as Malf carried Lo Ban inside and laid him gently across a couple seats. Then he hunkered against the back and gave vent to his distress about the situation in general; apparently he hated getting his fur wet.

"We're outta here!" I announced, sending the Raptor on its short jaunt to the stilt city where we had landed. Moments later and we had settled nicely enough next to my lambda, and but moments thereafter had transferred ourselves into it and departed the landing pad altogether.

As we were leaving I caught glimpse of the incoming Scimitar; before Dash could land and find himself in possible dire straits, I commed and told him of how our first choice of plans had been changed for us. Giving him a set of coordinates where he was to meet us, I closed the link and concentrated on getting us away from Kamino's gravity well.

It was only when we were safely away that I put the shuttle into autodrive, and turned back to see how Lo Ban was faring. I went over to him and knelt beside him.

"How are you doing?" I asked anxiously, placing a hand on his arm to give him what little comfort that I could.

[ 03-05-2003 02:15 AM: Message edited 1 time, lastly by Galen ]

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"Where are we?" He asked, as he sensed Galen leave his side... to fetch water, no doubt...

[ 03-05-2003 02:18 AM: Message edited 1 time, lastly by Loban ]

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"That depends," I answered, trying to lighten the atmosphere. "How bad do you feel? You don't look particularly awful, except for this lump on your head the size of a krayt dragon pearl...."

Then again, you never did look really bad, y'know?

But I kept that particular thought to myself... at least for the moment, and finished by telling him that we were spaceborne once more, and heading to another rendezvous with Dash to figure out Plan B.

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

"I think the swelling has stopped..." Lo Ban said, as Galen's hand slipped... causing his head to hit the seat a little harder than he wanted...

"well, it did..." He said through the pain, almost laughing...

"I'm glad you look better than I feel..." He said with a smile, still a small amount of pain evident...

[ 03-05-2003 02:43 AM: Message edited 1 time, lastly by Loban ]

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The glass hit the deck, the remaining water spilling around me -- yet somehow not soaking up into the strange material of the Sith flightsuit I was still wearing -- as I instinctively grabbed Lo Ban's face with both hands. True the gesture didn't do much toward stopping his head from bouncing against the seat; I hoped after the fact that my reaction would prove it was merely an accident.

There I paused, my hands on either of Lo Ban's cheeks, suddenly flushed.

Another eternity passed.

"Jedi, heal thyself," I finally managed in a very small voice, wanting him well and whole again and as soon as possible. To my great surprise I found myself still holding his face, even after the fact struck that we had both been silent for well on to a full minute or two.

I blinked, embarrassed for the apparent aggressiveness on my part, and started pulling away. Somewhere behind me, Malf hollered for food, per usual, but his roar was somehow very distant....

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