For the fourth time I came barrelling into the heated atmosphere of Sullust, Eagle's gleaming white skin reflecting the eruptions of the volcanic landscape below until she glowed red like a veritable ball of molten lava. I gritted my teeth as I flew her down to the sole spaceport, my eyes darkening as I took in that wild and fiery landscape surrounding it.

It suited my mood just fine.

Eagle screamed through the thickening air like the bird of prey she was named for, arrowing down like a stooping raptor to finally blast to a stop amidst a flurry of running technicians and port authority figures. My eyes darkened further....

Let 'em run. This is the new me. It begins now... and everyone just better get damned well used to it!

My little lambda had scarcely begun venting her excess heat when I popped the hatch and clambered out. As I did a flashing light on the console caught my eye. A quick glance confirmed that it was the indicator light in communications; someone had left me a message....

Maybe it's from Lo Ban....

I frowned, firming my resolve. Then I simply turned away from Eagle and continued on toward the tunnel entrance which would lead me down into the underground capital city of Piriingisi. Whatever that light was all about, I'd check it later. For now, I just wanted to get myself established here.

Not knowing of any other place to go to, I made a determined trek to the Azure Planetoid, and there obtained a room. I winced at the room number the desk manager handed to me:

Room 14. It had to be room number 14....

Then girding myself with as much inner strength as I could muster, I proceeded back into the city streets to find somewhere that I could obtain some credits and get a bite to eat before returning to my room for some much needed rest.

((OOC: The post following this one has been deleted on 4-13-03 by crazed author: basically, Lo Ban Kenobi had followed Galen to Sullust, and had gone into the Blue Asteroid where he found and joined Cartina. Thank you.))

Thus it was that as I entered the restaurant, I really wasn't seeing where I was going. It was only when something sharp jabbed into my hip that I was jerked from my reveries. I blinked, realizing I had just run into the corner of a table...

...and an occupied table at that.

"Excuse me," I stated reflexively, blinking my eyes a bit to focus on where I was. "I wasn't--"

It was only then that I realized just who it was sitting at that table.

My heart -- recalcitrant beastie that it is -- soared to the sky...

...and immediately came crashing back to earth when I saw that he was not alone at that table. Not to mention the fact of just who he was sitting with....

I froze, my eyes widening to huge, pain-filled holes in my head. Then--

Well Galen, you promised this to yourself back in Cloud City, didn't you?

--I simply reached into the pocket of my flightsuit, withdrew that golden ring Lo Ban had slipped on my finger, gods... was it merely a day ago-?

And threw it straight on the table in front of him.

Then I whirled on my heel and stormed from the establishment, somehow managing to retain enough dignity to refrain from running until I hit the streets of Piriingisi. There I did indeed run, faster and faster, letting my feet carry me of their own accord until I came at length to that familiar tunnel I used to take, so many times, so long ago, after Roan had had his way with me and everyone was so caring about my well-being, and Yaoksi Joao would sneak after to make certain I wouldn't do anything foolish...

...there on the fiery, volcanic surface of Sullust.

Without so much as a rebreather to help fend off the noxious atmosphere I clambered up a crazily tilted pile of broken basalt columns. There I hunkered down on my haunches, drew my legs up beneath my chin, wrapped my arms around them and, laying my cheek atop my knees, just sat there beginning to cry, wishing to Roon that the universe would just up and go away and take me along with it....

((OOC: The post following this post has been deleted 4-13-03 by crazed author: basically, Lo Ban Kenobi had then continued on to the lobby of the Azure Planetoid, thank you)).

Heaving a great sigh I clambered down from my perch, coughing and shaking my head against the overpowering rotten egg smell of the Sullustan atmosphere, and began picking my way back to the tunnel from which I had exited the underground city. For a brief moment a flash of deja vu struck me and I turned, expecting to see the lanky form of Captain Joao leaning against the rock face of the entrance, but no. There was no one foolish enough to brave the poisonous air of Sullust but me.

Coughing repeatedly I made my way back into Piriingisi, and there on the walkway onto which the tunnel emptied I paused, briefly contemplating food while I gained my breath. The only establishment I was really familiar with was Blue Asteroid, and Khaandon knows I didn't want to go there. Besides, I suddenly found food to be the furthest thing from my mind.

So I merely let my feet retrace the path back to the Azure Planetoid, now looking forward to obtaining whatever rest I could. I wound through steadily increasing foot traffic, passing tunnel and spa entrances, the soft inviting lights of the latter in sharp contrast with the yawning aspects of the former. At length I reached the hotel and entered the lobby, intending on gaining the hallway in the back, across from the entrance. But that was not to be so.

There he sat, as if knowing all along I'd be here, simply waiting for me to enter. My eyes flew into his like homing birds seeking their nests and waited there, tying to read his, to determine if he would jump up and leave or what he would do.

Frozen like a Gandy Rak in headlights, I stood in silence, my eyes round with shock and pain and anger and expectation...

...and hope, dammit.

And hope.

So Ruhatt sat in the lobby next to a guy who was staring right at the red-head woman.

The Imperial shuttle dropped out of hyperspace above Sullust, carrying the insidious Romanus so he could complete his mission.

As soon as the stars resetted themselves to being still objects, Romanus felt his stomach twist and his mind drowning out the sounds around him as the Force went on alert.

Just like before...and I ran into that Jedi and the crew of Force-users...

As the ship entered the planet's atmosphere, Romanus can sense something familiar of the planet.

Did they come back?

((OOC: The post following this post has been deleted 4-13-03 by crazed author: basically, Lo Ban Kenobi had then ignored Galen and turned to Ruhatt, asking if he could help him with anything, thank you.))

"OK. Listen up as soon as we land, Stun the jedi and put him in the sack, then we go to a hotel and go in throw him in a room and then leave as soon as possible. Any Questions. Good."

The guy came up to me with his stun weapon.
Not again. AAAAAHHHHHH I thought.

I threw myself at the guy and fell on top of him. The only problem was I couldn't punch him, because I still had cuffs on.

The guy threw me off and stunned me before i could do anything else. I fell to the floor into blackness. Again.

...but Lo Ban had the unmitigated gall to turn to him in pleasant discourse, while here I stood, seven kinds of fool, my heart hanging out on my sleeve.

My mouth must have indeed opened after all, as I heard the distinct snap of teeth meeting as it closed. I drew in a shaky sigh, now shaking my head in tandem.

I couldn't believe it.

I sent Lo Ban a long, heartfelt look straight into those damnably electric blue of his, turned on my heel, and strode from the lobby. Soon I came to room 14, entering with something more than a flourish, to say the least, and stormed inside. A quick kick to the door to make myself feel better, a quicker visit to the 'fresher to tidy up a bit, an even faster peel out of my flightsuit, and I flung myself upon the bed, flat on my back with my hands crossed behind my head.

Maybe another hot shower would calm me enough to sleep, I thought, followed by, or a midnight visit to a hot spring. That would be soothing.

In fact, the latter idea didn't seem at all to be a bad one. I nodded to myself, trying to put thoughts of Lo Ban from my mind and to put plans of how to retrieve Darra back into it as I swung my feet over the side of the bed and got to the floor. There I padded toward the 'fresher unit to see what this establishment offered in the way of towels, when my bare toe stubbed against something.

It was the belt to my Sith suit, laying askance upon the floor. I grunted, eyes flashing back to seeing red as I thought exactly why my belt was there and not carefully hung up as I usually did; then the anger simply boiled up from deep within me to flow uncontrollably out. In one fluid motion I scooped up the belt and threw it from me as hard as I could.

It hit the wall, impacting... and as I turned away, grumbling to myself, my foot moved out somewhat from beneath me once again. There was an immediate click as a section of flooring flipped up, catching me off-guard and nearly sending me to my knees. I flailed my arms a bit for balance, then looked to see what I was standing on.

Or rather, in.

It was a hidden compartment. I blinked in surprise and lifted my foot, peered into that opening. A neatly stacked horde of data chips lay within.

Now, this is isn't right....

My first reaction was to simply close the cover and forget the discovery. That didn't last long; casting a somewhat furtive glance about myself I retrieved the data chips, and held them in my hand.

Data chips hidden in a Sullustan hotel room... gosh wee, Galen ol girl; ya think it's directives to the maids on how to properly make a bed?

I didn't think so... nor did I really think the information contained upon them was anything honest or legal. Which meant the chips held potential merit... or should be turned in to the authorities.

Or both.

That thought settled matters for me. I retrieved my flightsuit from where it lay abandoned upon the floor, and carefully placed the chips in a storage pouch attached to it. Another visit to the 'fresher, and I donned that suit, belt and all.

I'll take 'em to "Eagle" and see what's on them; maybe make a copy.... I thought as I headed out. Then I'll turn the chips over to the proper authorities.

I then nodded to myself and headed out, having every intention of doing just that.

Ruhatt stopped talking as 4 guys, 1 with a sack over his shoulder came into the hotel lobby.

"We need a room now." One of the guys said to the clerk.

"I'm sorry but none of the rooms are avaiable."

another one of the guys took out his blaster and shot a rodian coming out of the elvator.

"Now you have a free room."

"But, you..."
The guy shot the clerk and he fell to the floor dead and the guys went down the hallway into the elvaotar.

Ruhatt got up and went over to the Rodian, but he was already dead. He went back over to the guy he was talking to and said.

"Do you have a blaster or something? So that we can stop those guys, before they kill anymore people."

I don't want to spend another minute on this hellhole. I need that job with the Empire, otherwise I'm out of business... he thought.

Romanus spotted the Azure Planetoid, and began to head for its doorway when he spotted a red-haired woman heading the opposite direction.

He sensed the Force within her, but it wasn't very strong...nor was it very weak...

Almost as quick as he saw her, the woman disappeared amongst the crowd. Romanus fixed his eyes back at the hotel...

Again after he stepped through the doorway, he felt the presence of other Force-users in the Azure Planetoid.

This is getting suspicious...

A simple walk up the stairs and down the hallway to Room 14 followed.

Twenty thousand credits...I'm made for life. Romanus thought as the door slid open.

There was no one, in or around the Azure Planetoid, that could not hear the violent scream of rage that erupted from Room 14. Within seconds, Romanus was back down the stairs, his face red and his right eye twitching. He shoved an incoming Sullustan out of his way of the hotel entrance.

A group of people stopped to stare at the red-faced, bald human standing in the street, looking around as if he was searching for something...

Someone has them. That panel had a timer on it, so it was opened recently!

Romanus's mind back-tracked trying to see who or what was leaving the hotel when he arrived. He used the Force to "slow" his memories, allowing him to have a better look...

...And all he saw was the red-haired woman leaving...

"No one Move!" He said.

The 4 smugglers put there hands up.

"Open the sack up." Ruhatt said.

The 3 guys obeyed and opened it up, while he was ocuppied with them the 4th guy crept around the door way and knocked Ruhatt out. Then the guys left, but as soon as the guys shut the door and left, they came face to face with an object flying in the air.

This stuff was incredible, simply incredible. No way in Hell's Seven Circles that I'd run the risk of losing this to anybody, as outlandish as the thought of someone finding me with this data might seem. As long as there was the remotest possibility, I was taking no chances, and just the fact that I had the chips instead of them being hidden beneath the floor of my room was possibility enough, however minute, that someone could know they was gone.

The hatch securely latched I returned to my seat and continued reading.

Reborn... the Empire had troops of something called Reborn. And listed here was anything and everything about them: numbers, capabilities, weaknesses, deployment...

...and in the very last file, the coordinates to the Valley of the Jedi itself.

The information had long finished before I jerked myself out of wherever it was I had gone to. A million questions ran through my head: who had obtained this information, and how? How current was it? Who had hidden it in room 14 of the Azure Planetoid and why? And most importantly: where was it destined to go, and to whom?

The latter question had me stymied. Admiral Actar's attack on the galaxy had been too recent for any real resistance to form. I might be the farthest thing from a war strategist, but even I knew that it took longer than mere months for disgruntled persons to form into motley cells, which would then grow into bona fide, coherent rebel groups. Especially on a galactic scale.

I reached a numb hand out and took the primary data chip from the input slit and held it in my hand, all the time looking at it as though it would bite me any moment. Slowly the import of what was contained upon those chips began to sink in... along with a fresh worry.

What the heck was I going to do with this info now that I had it?

The answer was obvious; my lips curled in a cold smile as I placed the last chip back into the input slit and hit "copy." Then, after much thought, I scanned through Eagle's maintenance records until I found that which I was looking for: the digital address to the Eagle Enterprise branch that Terrin had set up when we had first come here to slip away from our troubles. It didn't take long to link in and upload the information to our computers there; then I erased all trace of the transaction ever crossing through Eagle's systems and put an encrypted protection code around the upload.

I removed the last chip and tossed it into the air. My smile broadened as I caught it in my hand, then tucked it and the others down the front of my flightsuit into a hidden pocket.

Suddenly I was very, very certain that I would have Darra in my arms once again....

The smile still planted on my lips, I departed Eagle, securing her hatch with a retina-match guardian lock, and headed back into Piriingisi once again. I had to get back to the Azure Planetoid where I had last seen Lo Ban.

I had to talk to him about a great many things... and I sure hoped he was still there for me to find.

Then I looked at the floor and saw none other than my friend Ruhatt Luthan. I went over to him and arose him.

"Ruhatt are you okay?" I asked him.

"Yeah, but I have an awful headache though." He replied.

"Come lets get you out of here. I've got a lot to tell you."

As we left the room, in the hallway not far from the room we were in were 4 bodys, or what used to be 4 bodys. Now it was just human body pieces evrywhere.

"Guess i got a little carried away. I was pretty mad."

We got in the elvaotor and waited while it took us down.

He was determined to kill this woman, and the thought that she is the only one who knew where the data chips were, in fact if she even has them, was lost to Romanus.

Trying to cost me a fortune...I swear, I'll nail her to a wall...

Moments after he thought that, Romanus spotted the redhead, apparently going back to the Azure Planetoid.

Seizing an opportunity, Romanus reached inside his trench coat, and gripped one of the knives he had attached there. He balanced the tip between his fingers, and prepared to throw it.

A horde of people were in the way, but Romanus only needed a second to have a clear line of sight. He waited...and waited...

The Force revealed the moment to him, where every person stepped out of his view. Romanus threw the knife at the red-haired woman, watching it cut through clothing, hair, and leaving cuts on people's necks who were too close.

He used the Force to push it faster to his target.

Dammit, but from out of the blue, here was another one of my famous hunches....

I hadn't a clue what was going on. For all I knew the roof was about to cave in, or someone was being robbed, or someone had inadvertantly stepped on somebody else's toes. But amidst all the noisy hustle and bustle that surrounded me...

...something just was not RIGHT.

Thus it was that I suddenly found myself crouching, whirling about on the balls of my feet as I did so. And at that exact moment, the crowd of people behind me seemed to magically clear to either side of an imaginary line....

A line connecting the dots my eyes represented... to those of a man who although unknown to me certainly was no stranger.

I remained in that defensive crouch, my eyes wide as something whizzed over my head, glittering in the light of nearby wall sconces as it did so. But I didn't pay much attention to what had to be a blade of some sort.

I was too busy staring directly into the enraged eyes of the man I had yelled at, and most rudely, in the hallway of the Azure Planetoid.

I walked around the people and walked right up to her.

"Hello Galen, I sorry about what happened last time, I was a little frustrated, but i'm ok now, so I hope you'll forgive me."

((OOC: THIS post has been edited by the admin for clarification, thank you.))

"Sheesh!" I blurted, reaching up and grabbing this kid by the arm. I yanked him down to face level with me....

Briefly.

"I suggest you make tracks, kid!" I hissed, my eyes never leaving those of the menace in the black trenchcoat. "This isn't going to be a safe place to hang out in much longer!

"In fact..."

In one sweeping motion I pushed off with my feet, shoving the kid from me as I did as hard as I could. He fell back against some bystander or another, I wasn't really sure as to who because quite frankly I had more issues on my mind at the time than worrying about being impolite to a stranger.

"Time to go!"

Using the momentary distraction I had thus created, I took off running, dodging and weaving through the crowds, trying to get somewhere, anywhere other than close proximity to that ominous stranger.

For sure as there's Treasure on Roon, he wasn't playing games with me. Not in the slightest. And this I knew with something more than a chilling certainty, for even as I ran something came slicing into my left shoulder from behind.

I staggered, nearly fell, somehow managed to retain my footing and fled on, weaving and ducking now in earnest, the feel of my own blood warm and sticky as it ran down the inside of my flightsuit.

Me and Ruhatt sat in the cockpit of his ship.

"I'm going to send a message to Dash first." I said. I typed in the frequency and then said over the comm.

"Hello Dash this is Jebbua, don't worry about me i'm fine. I'm on Sullest where I will be for a few days, so I hope you get this message before I leave, but if I do leave i'll send another message to let you know.
Jebbua out."

I leaned back in the co-pilots chair and fell to sleep for the first time in a long time.

Got her!

A smile curled on his face, but it slowly faded away as she got back on her feet and continued running.

At this point, the people finally saw him throwing weapons into the crowd, and a panic quickly spread out. As they ran back and forth, they blocked his eye sight of the red-haired woman. With a snarl, Romanus used the Force to knock a group of people in front of him to the ground.

The way clear again, Romanus took off running, enhancing his speed with the Force yet again.

No good, no good... this is it, Galen ol' girl....

Gasping, I slid to a halt and fell onto my hands and knees. I grimaced in pain as another brilliant bolt sliced through me, one that created a fresh stitch in my side to add to my woes. I hadn't a clue where I was; I had no idea if I was still following the main arterial walkway of this underground city or had unknowingly run off into a side tunnel. What I did finally realize was the fact that it was all too quiet around me, save for the wretched pounding in my ears. A pounding suddenly amplified by an adjoining echo as booted footsteps came into my ears, footsteps that seemed to slow down the closer they came to me.

For a brief moment I remained on all fours, panting like an animal. The image of Darra flashed before my eyes.

Darra, baby, I'm sorry... Mama is so, so sorry....

Then I gathered all the courage I could and rose shakily to my feet. The pounding in my ears began to abate a bit, the black spots to lessen. I drew in a deep breath, ignoring the stab of pain that brought on, and turned round to face my trench-coated pursuer. My hair hung in limp strands across my forehead.

"I'm going back to my house for now, but I'll come back later." Ruhatt said.

"Ok, I'm going to the cantina so, i'll be out too. Meet back in about a hour." I said.

A simple swing and she won't be a bloody nuisance anymore, he thought. Fortunately for her, Romanus's rage died down a bit when he attacked, and leaving another body on Sullust would ensure a bounty on his head. Besides, he still didn't know where she took the data chips...

"You stole something of mine. Data chips, resting in a floor panel back at the Azure Planetoid. I'll either have them...or your head."

((OOC: The post following this post has been deleted 4-13-03 by crazed author: basically, Lo Ban Kenobi suddenly pops up, lightsaber ready, and challenges Romanus, thank you)).

"Reckon I should've seen you coming. After all, you were hanging around her last time at the Inn..."

His remark hid the surprise he felt when this new Jedi appeared out of nowhere.

I didn't sense him coming...and as he young as he is he seems about as powerful as a Master.

The thought was quickly dismissed along with his fear, and held his saber up in a guard position.

The smile was still on his face as one of his hands darted into his coat. "My skill with the saber is indeed far quicker than my mouth..."

As he pulled his hand out, a spike was set between each finger.

"But are your eyes just as fast, Jedi?"

Everything was all in a whirl about me. Time seemed to strobe somehow, taunting me with flashes of tunnel and distant light and glowing green lightsaber and predatory grin and...

...and the wonderful electric blue of another lightsaber, Lo Ban's lightsaber...

...which was quite suddenly there, seemingly from thin air.

I blinked, gasping still as pain seared hot and red through me, sweat now cooled into almost icy droplets dripping from my hair to sting my eyes. Trying my best to ignore the continuing slices of fire emanating from my left shoulder I tossed my head, both to get the hair and sweat from my vision and perhaps to ignite that pain a bit more in order to clear that vision. Shards of glass did seem to grate through every nerve ending on my entire left side, but I did finally manage to focus on where I was.

And who was with me.

Lo Ban. He had found me. He was here, really and truly here, and telling me to move back slowly....

My lips whitened in pain as I moved back as he requested of me, all the while keeping my eyes pinned on the action ahead. Then I grimaced for an entirely different reason as I saw the underhanded tactics employed by my trenchcoated pursuer. Never mind that Lo Ban seemed to be doing very well against him, thank you; the fact that this guy wasn't adhering to anything close to honor in battle made me see red for an entirely different reason.

Not to mention give me strength to put in my two cent's worth.

Maybe I can help distract this guy, I thought to myself as without any further thought I reached around with my right hand and yanked the blade from my shoulder. It felt like a rancor had dipped his claws in molten lava and had then raked one completely down my side, but I managed to put my initial reaction to that feeling on temporary hold -- albeit a brief one. Grunting a bit, I widened my stance, flipping the knife end for end in my hand. Raising my arm back, I let 'er rip, aiming straight for the back of this guy's neck.

And would wonders ever cease, though I missed his neck the blade at least impacted and stuck in his flesh, right between his shoulderblades. Hadn't a clue as to how hard, but at this point I considered myself lucky to just have had the blade hit home at all.

I then backpedaled as fast as I could, looking quickly around myself to see if there was anything else I could make into a weapon to help Lo Ban fight off this guy who so badly wanted to see me dead.

I rushed over to her.

"Galen, are you all right?"

From the looks of it she still wanted to fight, so I took out a really sharp knife.

"Would you like this to help you?" I asked her offering it to her.

This kid-- again?!

However, at that point in time I wasn't about to look a gift ronto in the mouth. My hand trembled just the slightest as I reached out and accepted the profferred knife.

"Thanks, kid," I gritted between my teeth before hauling back and letting fly with the second blade. I wasn't as lucky as with my first strike, though; this one only managed to nick my target lightly, slicing into the sword arm of the man in the trenchcoat before continuing on to land somewhere in the tunnel behind Lo Ban.

But the pain slowed him down, and he was barely able to parry the Jedi's counter-attack as he backed up.

His face turned red, the smile long gone now, and snarled as he went back to the offensive with a fury. His next wave of attacks came too fast and too strong for the Jedi, his rage fueling each swing.

The Jedi began to lose his grip on his saber as Romanus advanced closer and closer, until they were practically face-to-face. In a sudden move, Romanus head-butted the Jedi hard, sending him flat on his back.

At that moment, he had a perfect opportunity to finish him off, but the Jedi was not the real target of his anger...

Without showing any sign of the searing pain that occured on his face, Romanus reached back both with his arm and the Force and yanked the blade out.

He glared at the red-head woman, saw that another man was with her, but he didn't care about him. Romanus threw the knife at her, again using the Force to propell it almost at impossible speed...

"AAAhhhh." I sreamed out with pain, because the blade was so far in and it kept pushing.

I fell to the floor. I tried to get back up, but manged to crawl only a little bit before I fell again. the blade finally stopped pushing in my shoudler, but it still hurt.

"Galen, get the blade..."

Then everything went black as I fell unconsisce.

Alexis woke with a start. She felt pain, her brother. Alexis went to the cockpit and saw Dash still in the pilot seat.

"Dash, how long till we're there?"

Lo Ban was down. Coming to my aid.

Nothing mattered, other than that.

Something in me snapped. Something took hold of me then, something I had never felt before. I really don't think I was seeing much at all other than the extremely tunneled form of this black-coated man who even now was rounding, lightsaber in hand, to finish Lo Ban off.

I let out a primal scream of pure rage and pushed off from the rock wall, launching myself over the unconscious form of the kid, from whose quivering shoulder I yanked the offending blade as I passed. Momentum and my own fury kept me going...

Khaandon help this guy, whoever the hell he is, if Lo Ban is dead--!

...until it seemed that I too was propelled by that thing called the Force. And then-- perhaps I was at that. Perhaps it did exist for all, coming in response to the unknowing summons of common man when pushed to extreme limits of endurance, whether that endurance be physical, mental or emotional.

I didn't know. And I certainly didn't care to discuss the possibility as an investigative committee. All the sheer edges of awareness was letting me know was the fact that somehow I had found the strength to completely ignore the crippling pain in my shoulder, to yank the deeply imbedded blade out of the kid's shoulder as if I was plucking a flower, and to propel myself faster than I ever thought I could straight into the back of this... this creature who had the effrontery to put Lo Ban down.

I hit him solidly enough, but it was probably sheer surprise which made him fall beneath my slight weight.

Probably....

I rolled with him until he was on his own back, then straddled him, the blade pushed into the flesh of his neck, slicing through skin and muscle and then held there in such a manner that any movement, any movement at all, whether made by him or me, would make that razor's edge slice deep enough to impact something vital. It wouldn't take much; I could see the jugular throbbing comfortingly close to that blade as I leaned down until my face was close to his own, the sweat of terror-turned-fury now dripping down to land in his eyes.

"If you kill or harm me any further you'll never know where those data chips are!" I snarled, wanting to spit in his face, dismissing his still ignited lightsaber although not unaware of its presence. "And I guarantee that if you've killed him, then whatever slim possibility you might ever gain regarding those chips is null and void, and you'll never, ever find them!"

Somehow I managed to control the further words and epithets which were scrabbling for release and fell silent, putting my weight into the blade as well my last tattered remnants of restraint, the latter being the most difficult thing I had ever done in my life.

I was more than seeing red, and every atom in my body simply screamed for me to wrench the life from this creep. That was a feeling I found quite new to me...

...and deep inside me something was smiling at the revelation that the feeling was so completely and utterly exhilarating.

((OOC: The post which would follow this one has been deleted on 4-13-03 by its crazed author. Basically, Lo Ban revives and approaches Romanus and Galen, kicking Romanus's lightsaber out of his hand. After moving Galen off of Romanus, he then turns to challenge Romanus again, giving him back his lightsaber to fight honorably. Thank you.))

No.

"No," I said, not quite certain even then if the word had been voiced aloud or not. I shook my head, gripped the knife more tightly.

"Not for me. Don't you dare die for me Lo Ban, no!"

I must have spoken the words aloud for their impact upon my own ears sent a corresponding chill rippling up and down my abused body. That ripple reawakened the pain, which I proceeded to then simply ignore yet again as I threw back my head and howled my anguish to the rocks which vaulted overhead.

I will not let you die for me! Live for me instead!

My wordless cry rang stridently in the confines we were in, bouncing and echoing for a great deal of time before finally silencing somewhere in the distance. Every cell in my body straining to go to his aid, I forced myself to remain where he had planted me, understanding that this was his fight, yet dying a little bit inside with each passing second that it progressed.

Not for me....

Ha! Won't kill an unarmed man. Honorable Jedi...stupid, but honorable.

As the Jedi "Lo Ban" was being distracted by the woman's shrieking, Romanus placed his palms on top of the ground. In a single move, he was back on his feet, though his lightsaber was not resting in his hand. Half a second later, he backward somersaulted over the two and swiftly backstepped to the third guy laying unconscious on the ground. He outstretched his hand, and the lightsaber finally flew up and into his palm.

He stood over the kid's body, the green glow of his lightsaber showering his face. The point of it was barely an inch away.

All the time, Romanus still had that evil grin on his face.

"Anyone moves, either you two or this kid, and he won't be waking up again."

And through it all I could only think of one thing:

That data simply must not get into this guy's hands... if only for the simple reason that he wanted it so badly.

Not to mention the fact that once he knew that, my life -- and that of anyone else present here -- probably wouldn't be worth so much as a pile of bantha poo-doo.

I curled my lips into a snarl even as my eyes flicked to the quiet form of the kid; I clenched my hands even more tightly.

"You can go to hell and take the ronto you rode in upon with you!" I spat, quivering now with rage to see the terrorist tactics employed by this trenchcoated excuse of a man.

Amazing speed; simply amazing...!

--while I merely crouched to lower my center of gravity, drawing in a few deep breaths and flipping the knife into attack position. I wanted to be ready if this guy would try anything else in my direction, or at least as ready as I could ever be.

I stood with my back against the rock, waiting to see what would then transpire.

Romanus anticipated the move, that the Jedi would recklessly attack to save the life of another. Had Lo Ban waited, he would have noticed Romanus concentrating the Force on something else...inside his trenchcoat...

He parried the slash brought down on him, but he held the Jedi's saber to the side, keeping him from bringing it up. It was then that the Force did his bidding, and pushed a silver dart out of his coat and aimed for Lo Ban's neck.

It flew fast and stabbed its target, the lethal yet slow-acting poison immediately pumping into his bloodstream.

Romanus quickly backed off as paralysis, the first step that occurs from the poison, took effect.

I now have TWO hostages.

He went into a defensive stance towards the red-haired woman, prepared for any surprise attacks she might throw at him.

"ok, but I hope we get there in time, when we get there we need to run by my house, then you need to search for my brother with the force, because i'm not that good at it... Yet." Alexis said.

"OK"

Alexis got back up and stood in the doorway.
I hope we get there in time, I fell like something bads happening. She thought.

Through the standing tears in my eyes, I still saw red.

Lo Ban...

I drew in a shaky breath, and pointed my weaponless hand at his still form.

"Why in Hell's Seven Circles should I trust you?" I seethed, the words barely choking out of my throat.

"Why should I believe that if I comply, you'll follow through and leave us alone? I have nothing to go by to warrant that; I'd trust a rancor before I'd trust you.

"As far as I know, you've killed him already... and if I give you what you want you'll kill me as well."

"You pilot the ship in and I'll find Master Jebbua."

"At my house I have..."

She was inturrupted when the hyperspace light was blinking. She pulled back the lever and realspace revealed before them.

"Anyways I was saying, follow me to my house and you can use my mothers lightsaber that she gave me before she died."

Alexis landed the craft with a soft landing and opened the boarding ramp.

"Follow me!" she said. as she ran down the ramp and into the streets.

His eyes shifted slightly to the left, as if an insect just flew by. Romanus felt the presence of other Force-users nearby...and closing...

He returned his gaze back to the red-haired woman. "Others are coming, as well. I'd really hate to leave you here with two dead Jedi if they turn up soon. Just give me the chips, and I promise I'll hand over the antidote and be on my way."

Romanus still sensed the woman's disbelief, realizing that this stalemate is about to end real soon. "I'm a professional, and a man of my word. I have yet lied to you so far, and if your as wise in the Force I think you are, you know I'm telling the truth about Lo Ban."

"Time to choose."

"Here it is, but please be careful. I don't won't you to get hurt like my brother. Now hurry, We must find my brother before its too late."

Me?!

I shook my head in sheer disbelief at that, swallowing heavily as I stood my ground.

What the hell was he talking about? I was no force user; I never have been. Sense Lo Ban's lifeforce? Only by the link he had given me...

A link along which I suddenly realized that a particular life force was yet dwindling. I closed my eyes, trembling at the choice presented to me.

Two lives for... for information that, in the right hands, could save millions... or in the wrong hands kill just as many.

Again I shuddered, actually turning my eyes inward as I pondered further.

A man of his word... yeah right. He'd give the antidote as soon as I forked over what he wanted to know... not in my lifetime, certainly, which undoubtedly would be truncated just as prematurely as Lo Ban's if I did as he asked. And if I died, that information would indeed die along with me; it was of the greatest importance that it got to the right hands....

I jerked a little with that realization, suddenly knowing that I would never follow through with what I had originally planned to do with the chips. Tears welled in my eyes as the possibility of never seeing Darra again came crashing in to impact in my heart alongside the knowledge that I was losing Lo Ban as well.

Why oh why did I ever have to have stumbled across that damned data....

I gulped again, blinked the tears from my eyes and straightened up before this guy.

"I-- I don't believe you have a word by which to stand if you tried," I finally said. "And as far as whatever truth it is you've supposedly told me about Lo Ban... well, that would be that he is not dead.

"At least not now he's not.

"I still have no cause to believe that particular paradigm will alter if I do as you ask, nor do I believe my own life would not also then be automatically forfeit. No honorable force user would use the tactics that you have; I do not deal with terrorists, nor do I believe the so-called word of one.

"You Force users believe in destinies; well. LoBan put his own life at risk to save mine; I am not going to let him die in vain, if indeed death should be the path he has to travel."

I picked Alexis's small feminine frame up into my arms and ran as quickly as I could, using Force enhancment, to the Fighting!

I took a quick second to examine the scene.

Loban was down, Master Jebbua was down, Galen was... "GALEN" I yelled. "Get out of here. I'll handle this" That all to familliar SNAP-HISS sounded out as I brought the Yellow bladed SABER to life. I could feel the ANGER swelling in me. "I don't know who you are. But you will pay for what you have done to my friends!!!"

With almost blinding speed, I waded into my opponent, using an all out attack pattern. Mustering all of my emotions inside me to make me quicker, stronger, more agile.

Sweep Low, block high, stab high, parry, parry, thrust, parry, high sweeping arc, roundhouse kick to the solarplexes, Force push!

I had knocked him off balance momentarily.

"Leave now and you can still save face, I'll allow you to surrender, and leave unharmed." I said to the man through gritted teeth. "I'll only offer this once"

DASH?!

"Quick!" I burst out as I backpedalled to get out of the way of the flashing lightsabers.

"Lo Ban's been poisoned by this guy, and he has an antidote on him! Don't let him get away!"

"I'll accept your offer." he said, though he was a little too late. He waited until after the surprise from his answer wore down before he continued. "Help your friends, but this one..."

Romanus pointed at Lo Ban, his body pale and still now. "He's beyond your skill of healing."

He looked back to the red-haired woman, "Galen" as the Force-user called her.

"Maybe you are right, Galen. Though I don't believe in destinies myself, perhaps this is Lo Ban's fate; to die defending the life of another. But you forgot one thing...a question..."

"What if...?"

Romanus turned around and switched off his saber. He began to walk down the tunnel behind him.

It's still not too late...and you can see now that any attempt of harm I put upon you or the other Jedi will be easily stifled. he thought, directing it into Galen's mind.

"You heard the pretty Lady. Give me the Antidote. NOW! Or I promise you, that you will die a more horrid death than any poison can impart on a victim." I waited a few seconds for a reply, carefully keeping watch on my opponent.

I darted a desperate look up at Dash, then to the departing thug. My eyes fell back to Lo Ban again.

The Force--? Me?

Although it seemed lifetimes were passing, every strange incident I had ever encountered now began flashing across my eyes. The times I had been taken from Sorben, locked away and yet somehow able to reach out that Seus could find me. I remembered each and every strange, and always correct hunch that had ever come down the pike.

And really... had it been Darra alone who had forced Roan and Graysith away from me, that day long ago in the Temple of Khar Delba? Darra, yet an unborn baby...?

There was nothing for it but to leap to a conclusion resulting from a very familiar feeling niggle.

I placed my hands over Lo Ban's face and his heart, tossed my head back, closed my eyes, and began willing every ounce of life and strength and restoration into his beleaguered body that I could. I didn't have the slightest idea if I actually would manage to revive him, if I might be lucky enough to just hold off his slide into death at the place where it now was...

...or if this would do any good at all. I just knew I had to try.

Probably because I didn't remember my FORCE abilities until After we parted ways...

But now LOBAN was in danger and I had to help him.

"Alexis, get Master Jebbua up and see to him, I have to help GALEN and LOBAN."

Who, at this very moment, are healing Lo Ban, he thought, regretting showing mercy when he was at the point of his saber. Yet, something kept him from doing so...

That Jedi Lo Ban...he seemed familiar. As if I've met him before, but I didn't even heard of his name until now.

Romanus shook his head, thinking thats its best not to ponder on it until he got patched up. He was walking defeated, and he knew this for a fact. Yet he did so willingly.

A thug-for-hire, lightsaber-swinging, muscle-man he may be, but Romanus was not stupid. He knew when the odds were against him, even if half of them suffered slightly fatal wounds...

His bluff failed, even before it had a chance to work. Romanus would never have given them the antidote BUT the poison could still be destroyed by the Force. Again, the timely intervention of the Force-users kept his hostage plan from working.

Argh, there goes my job for the Empire. I'm completely screwed now...

Frowning, Romanus pulled his hand inside his coat to re-hook the saber to his belt. When the action was done, he heard something clank against the ground. When he looked down, he couldn't believe the twist fate had brought upon him.

There it was: the data chip! Resting on the wet, rocky ground of the Sullustan tunnel. Romanus, wide-eyed with disbelief, bent down to pick it up. As he touched the chip, events of the past started rewinding in his head as he saw how this could have happened:

Back when Romanus was chasing Galen, he had used his lightsaber to strike her. The blade must have sliced through her flightsuit, and the chip slipped out onto the ground. However, neither Romanus nor Galen noticed it.

After being smackdowned by Galen, Romanus performed a somersault to get to the young Jedi to use him as a hostage. As he called upon the Force to retrieve his lightsaber, the chip must have followed into his hands. He had never seen it, nor even felt it in his hand, as the grip on his saber was ever tightening.

As soon as the "vision" was done and Romanus was back to reality, he quickly picked up the chip and pocketed it. There was no smile, no hint of joy on his face. He had gone too far now to screw it up.

Before, Romanus had been walking to the Imperial shuttle. Now, he was running as if it was for his life...

((OOC: Sorry to cut this short, but if I don't, SOMEONE is going to die. Follow Romanus to "Return to Tomorrow" in the Empire and New Republic forum.))

I sat back on my heels and heaved a sigh, running a hand through my hair when I thought of what lay at the root of all this trouble. My eyes widened a moment in trepidation... then my questing hand reached inside the front of my flightsuit, finding that hidden pocket with a comforting bulge outlining it. But my questing fingers found the pocket to be open; a frown crossed my face as I reached inside and hauled out the chips I had stashed there.

They were all there, save one. It must have fallen out somewhere. But a careful scrutiny showed that the most important of the color-coded chips was still with me, that one bearing the coordinates to the Valley of the Jedi. I gripped it in my hand, debating with myself as to whether or not I should simply destroy these things while I had them.

In fact, now that I was not planning on trying to use them for barter, perhaps that wouldn't be such a bad idea after all.

Quickly I rose to my feet and went to a hidden little enclave in the rocky wall of the tunnel. There I lay the chips down upon the cold stone floor, and proceeded to grind them into dust beneath my boot. I then began kicking that dust into the tunnel proper, where the ever present little breeze which accompanies such things promptly picked the remnants up and dispersed them into oblivion.

Then I went back and joined Dash.

"Master Jebbua. Alexis." I cried out.

"Alexis is Master Jebbua alright? When I first arrived and surveyed the situation, I noticed that he has a wound on his shoulder. How is he now? Does he need GALENS Healing powers???"

I looked at the LIGHTSABER I had subconsciously hooked onto my belt. I unhooked it and gave it back to Alexis. "Thank you, but I beleive this belongs to you!"

She went over to Jebbua and roused him and he finally opened his eyes slowly.

"Alexis, I guess you got my message." He said.

He stood up slowly and gave her a hug, Then walked over to where Galen was.

"Are you ok Galen?" Jebbua asked.

Alexis walked over to Dash.

"I want to thank you Dash for evrything you've done and now I think we should all get some rest. If you'll follow me to my house." Alexis said as she started to walk off.

If it hadn't been for the timely arrival of Dash and his companions....

"I told you it wasn't a safe place to hang around, kid!" I said, half lightly and half utterly serious. He looked at me, and something passed between us. My smile broadened at the look: it was that special one shared between soldiers who have gone into battle side-by-side, have been wounded but have come out again alive, together.

That thought brought me back to our real rescuer. I turned once more to Dash and simply studied him a bit. Once again he was just that affable blue-skinned being I had run into in the Blue Asteroid, pheromones and all.

But for a moment there....

I shook myself inwardly. Indeed, it seemed there would be much to discuss when the time was more appropriate. But this was definitely not it.

I laid a hand on his shoulder, stiffening in response to his natural body chemistry, and paused him in his tracks. We exchanged a look; then I turned toward the departing young woman and called out, curious as to who she was but realizing that, as before, now was not the time or place for introductions.

"Thank you for the offer, but I have a better idea...."

She stopped in her tracks, and turned to face us. I let my hand drop from Dash's shoulder and went to stand beside Lo Ban.

"Look, I agree we all need a place to go lick our wounds and debrief. But something is telling me to get away from here...." I stopped myself a moment and sent another look into Dash's eyes.

Later, friend. Later.

"I have a lambda and it's in great shape. I also have a place where we can go and be absolutely safe. If you would follow me..."

I trailed off, watching while Dash nodded and stooped to pick up Lo Ban's limp body. Then he nodded in readiness; I turned and led the way back up the tunnel until we came into the main Piriingisian travel artery. There I paused a moment to orient myself before pointing and setting off.

"This way, c'mon," I urged, picking up the pace a bit.

It seemed I had run far in my mindless panic, for it took about half a time unit to get back to the tunnel leading to the surface. But at least the crowds had lessened; as far as I could figure it was somewhere in the wee hours of the Sullustan morning, and most people had more than likely gone home to bed. We hurried through that final tunnel, at last breaking out onto the edge of the Sullustan space port.

I led everyone quickly to Eagle, let her scan my retina, and opened the hatch.

"Let's go!" I urged, suddenly feeling a greater need than ever to get away from this hellish planet. No one said a word in reply but trooped up the ramp behind me and settled into the travel seats. I fired 'er up, letting her engines warm a bit as I quickly scanned for any untoward probes or homing devices or anything that wasn't originally placed upon her by EE engineers. She was clean as a whistle.

"Time to go!" I announced when the scan was complete and my clearance vector came through. Moments later Eagle screamed up from the surface and not long afterwards came out into the cool beauty of space.

And in just a few moments after that we were safely amidst the starstreaks of hyperdriven space. Destination: unknown... for the moment.

Soon to be rectified, I hope.

"Galen, do you mind if I send a message to a friend? He still thinks I'm on Sullest i Beileve, so i should tell him I left."

"Not in hyperspace, I can't send a message," I replied, turning to stare this kid in the eye. A thought struck me, and I continued.

"Look, I kinda grabbed up everyone in a hurry back there. If you had other plans on Sullust, tell me now and I'll turn us around and take you back.

"But I have to get Lo Ban to a medical facility and see if he'll ever recover; I don't know what that poison was...."

My eyes drifted from Jebbua's face and wandered to where Lo Ban was sprawled limply in one of Eagle's passenger seats. Then I turned back to the control console, waiting to hear what Jebbua wished to do.

It was only then that I finally noticed the message light which had been blinking there steadily, patiently waiting for my attention to be captured, so I reached out and enabled the readout of that message.

There were more than one, from none other than Jasyn Lancaster. I read his messages, commtting his communication frequency to memory, then flipped the message off.

Well, isn't this a small universe! I thought to myself as I then busied myself with a reply.

"Jasyn, this is Galen aboard Eagle. I'm in hyperspace, exiting Sullust. Things have taken a turn for the worse; Lo Ban has been poisoned... he's been, ahh-- stabilized for the moment, at least I think he has-- but I could use the medical facilities aboard Hornett about now.

"Not to mention a safe haven... I can't go into too much detail now, but if you could send me her coordinates over a private channel I'll head there asap.

"I've got some friends with me at the moment, too... but again, I'll explain later in person.

"I'll be looking for your reply. Galen, out."

I then took manual control of Eagle and in short order dropped her from hyperspace long enough to send that message along the private frequency Jasyn had provided. Then the stars streaked around us as once more I took my little lambda and her passengers back into the blessed haven of hyperspace.

Jasyn was so caught up in digging through some computer files in Terrin's office that he nearly jumped when his comm beeped, alerting him of an incoming message. Still half-caught up in whatever was on the computer screen, he punched "recieve" with his index finger. The voice and the words that came streaming forth finally were enough to gain his full attention. Almost immediately after the message was complete, he opened a private channel to the Eagle and with no further ado sent the coordinates Galen had requested. Then, after alerting the bridge of the incoming Eagle and requesting that he be notified when she landed, Jasyn turned his attentions back to what he was working on, hoping he could come up with something to help Galen get to Darra...

...no matter how small that something might be...

No use ending up clear across the galaxy! I mused ruefully to myself as I slowed our pellmell escape from the volcanic world of Sullust. I had scarcely slowed us to a fraction of our former velocity when the communications board began singing for attention; I smiled and toggled a switch in response. That smile broadened as I listened to Jasyn's message, and it remained on my lips as I quickly typed in the coordinates he had sent me.

"Thanks, Jasyn," I said to the com-board as the message came to a close. "We'll be seeing you soon!"

I reached out to hit the hyperdrive lever... then paused.

"Hey Jebbua, who did you want to send a message to?" I asked, turning sideways in my seat so I could see back toward the rear of the shuttle. My eye fell across the too-quiet form of Lo Ban; I shuddered a little, then pushed that image to the back of my mind.

He'll be okay... he has to be okay....

I put in the frequency and then said the message.

"Hello Ruhatt, this is Jebbua, sorry i didn't go back to the ship. I sorta find some friends and we're heading somewhere right now. So until next time. Jebbua out."

I finshed the message and hit send.

"Now where should we go to get some rest? Some place nice and quiet."

"Hello Ruhatt, this is Jebbua, sorry i didn't go back to the ship. I sorta find some friends and we're heading somewhere right now. So until next time. Jebbua out."

It was Jebbua, so thats where he was. Oh well, he'd just explore the gaxaly and find something to do.

"We're going to the Hornett," I said simply and fell silent.

Then I shuddered a bit at the thought of all which had transpired to where I could make that statement, and turned my gaze inward once again. Hopefully once we gained the haven of my SSD--

MY SSD...!

--things would take an upward turn for us.