Erik lead Shayla through the portal Lord Aelvedaar had opened and into the warm light of Tattooine's twin suns, all the while a dark look plastered on his face.

He didn't like this risk Shayla was so willingly taking. He had a bad feeling about it, regardless of his lack of training.

Perhaps it was just part of him that just didn't want to see her hurt. He'd seen enough of that.

Jerking himself from these thoughts, Erik turned and looked as others began to step through the portal. He still kept a steadying grip on Shayla, who still seemed to be slightly befuddled even though her greeny-blues were clearing. "So where do we go from here?" he queried to no one in particular. "A room? A quiet eating establishment?"

Jasyn Lancaster stepped through the portal about this time, hearing Erik's words and adding two of his own. "A bar?"

Erik frowned a bit, shaking his head. "Somewhere quiet," he reiterated, waiting for suggestions from others.

And then it sent out a subtle tendril into the mind of the one who carried them both...

"I'm fine," she then said to Erik, in one smooth motion stepping away from him and out of his grasp, surprising even herself.

She looked up to the two blaring suns of Tattooine, frowning. "Let's get somewhere away from all this heat," she said simply.

Terrin stepped through the portal with Galen, the light of the two Tatooine suns almost blinding. He squinted a bit, immediately surveying the landscape...

...and wondering something very specific, and very important.

"Where the kriffing hell are we?" he queried out loud, raising a hand to cover his eyes to see if anything was immediately visible in the fortunately setting suns. "After all, I don't particularly care to be standing out here in the middle of nowhere--if that's even where we are--in the middle of the night. Strange things go on in the desert in the evening, and it can get cold."

Terrin could almost hear Jasyn's comment before he grumbled it. "I hate the cold..."

"I'm not even sure what planet we're on...

...but twin suns and deserts screams Tatooine to me, although I suppose I could be mistaken."

Pausing at that, Terrin frowned thoughtfully. "Any way any of you can get lifesign senses to direct us somewhere safe to go?"

"Oh sure this is Tatooine; I mean, of course it is, how could it not be? Tatooine, after all, is the only desert world in the entire galaxy with twin suns now, isn't it?"

Snorting a little, I uncrossed my arms, using them now for balance as I stepped out onto the shifting surface. Tiny granules of sand flowed down and away with each step I took, causing my feet to sink a little before twisting slightly one way or another; sand wasn't the steadiest surface to walk on, you know.

Maybe three of four meters away I gave up and came to a stop. Still in sarcastic mode -- for sure as there's Treasure on Roon, what we've been through would take the patience of Khaandon himself! -- I pointed off in one direction, wobbling a little.

"Yeah, can't you see? I recognize that sand dune; Mos Eisley is over there--"

I whirled a quarter turn, still pointing toward the absolutely featureless horizon.

"--which would mean the Dune Sea is that way, and Beggar's Canyon--"

Hw I managed a full one hundred eighty degree turn without moving my feet I couldn't say, but it wasn't easy.

"--is that way."

Unwinding myself, I planted my fists on my hips and glared at the sand which spread out in all directions. It didn't do anything other than look innocent, remaining quietly smooth and inoffensive that tiny night creatures could begin their evening foray out for food.

Sighing, I plopped down where I stood, waved one hand wearily about.

"I suppose it could be Tatooine, but who knows? And even if it is, who's to say we're even on the same side of the planet that Mos Eisley is? Assuming we'd even want to go to that hellhole.

"I say we see what we can do to just stay alive where we are, and wait for Aelvedaar to get here with Jharmeen. I'm sure he wouldn't be placing us in a compromising situation now, would he? I mean, yeah he's got some strong powers and all, but let's not go making it any more difficult for him to find us again.

"I just hope Aelvedaar doesn't take too long; I sure have no pressing desire to meet any sand people or desert creatures. But, hey!" he then said suddenly, "Maybe they'll at least bring some food with them."

Still scowling, he looked off into the distance. "I hate the desert..."

Of course Aelvedaar would leave you in a compromising situation, it whispered into her mind insidiously, He did it before, back in Prinnchatka.

Then her look shifted to Galen, and another thought surfaced, equally as black and oily, And of course she doesn't care about moving. She doesn't care if there is a threat to Jharmeen, she's tried to kill her before, and she killed her child. And he...

Her eyes shifted miniscuely to Terrin. ...he helped her, as did all of the others.

And Erik tried to take you from Khar Delba, and from the only true Sister you ever knew.

And Shawn...

"Oh, now I get it," Shayla spoke up suddenly, darkly. "You all would prefer her to be dead anyway."

She paused, her greeny-blue eyes so distant they didn't see the looks anyone might be directing her way, her mind now formulating a plan that didn't even make sense to her.

"If no one else here will make a move to protect her...

...then I will."

And in that moment, something totally unpredictable occurred. In that moment, Erik reached out a hand to stop Shayla from whatever it was she was doing, to stop the words she was speaking...

...only to be force-shoved several meters across and into the desert sand. Much the same happened to a stunned Shawn Petrolu, as well as Terrin Danner and his men, the action so fast that perhaps not even a second had passed.

Shayla turned icy greeny-blues Panthar and Galen's way.

"Don't either of you dare follow me," she darkly, under her breath, her final look clearly directed Galen's way, "Or your fate will be worse than theirs."

Blinking, I cut an incredulous look to Shayla's departing back, watched in utter shock just for another nanosecond or two as she disappeared swiftly into the heat-hazed distance.

Wha--??

Common sense waved a flag; my muscles thawed, finally loosening enough to let me run to Terrin's side. I dropped to my knees beside him, laid a concerned hand on his cheek.

He was down for the count...

"What in Hell's Seven Circles was that all about?" I whispered to no one in particular, then letting my hand slide to Terrin's shoulder.

"Terrin hon, wake up," I said, giving his shoulder a shake.

...and the next moment he was seeing stars, and all went black.

Man, it's been a while since you slept, a little shoulder devil popped up and snorted, one which was immediately truncated with the certain knowledge that this just wasn't right. And then there was that little bit of a gentle shake trying to grab his attention...

He strained for it for a few minutes, trying feeling for the universe like he'd been hit by a ton of durracrete blocks. Finally his eyes fluttered a little bit, and the first word he thought of sorta croaked out of his mouth before he ever got his eyes open.

"Galen...?"

A few more flutters of the eyelids, and Terrin finally managed to get them to stay open. He was still seeing stars...

...but ringed in those stars was something that looked a whole lot like Galen's face.

"You allright?" he asked worriedly, trying to sit up but then grunting, that feeling of durracrete blocks slamming into him returning to his senses. He grunted and winced, settling on looking Galen's way. "What the hell?"

He frowned then, considering the words Shayla was flinging at them, and came to a simple realization. His look darkened. "She sounded like Khar Delba, all over again," he muttered, his blue eyes locking on Galen's, a new concern filling them.

He focused on her form, staring hard and intently, and let her essence waft into his senses. He closed his eyes and allowed his powers, weakened yet strong enough to feel her aura, search for the answer.

He gasped, his eyes flying open. His hands went to his temple and he staggered backwards. Thoran caught him before he went down completely, and the Master allowed one knee to settle onto the sand.

“What do you mean, old man?” he demanded. “Just what the sand blast do you know about this?!”

Panthar paused, realization setting in.

“Oh no,” he said. “It’s that black tar stuff, isn’t it? The stuff that was in me? That stuff that was all over you?! You said it was dead, you lying piece of poodoo!”

Panthar doubled a fist, then stayed his anger. He looked around at the others.

“I can go after her,” he said. “We need to know where she is going, and we sure as hell can’t lose her! If she’s got that stuff inside of her, then she’s in so much danger it’s not even funny. And if it somehow works its way into Gray, then we’re in even in worse trouble! We have to stop her from doing whatever it is that the stuff is telling her to do!”

Panthar turned to the Master.

“My strength is gone,” he said gravely. “But yes, I can sense the darkness. It is still small within her, not yet strong enough to give her the powers it holds. We can still stop her if we can get through her own abilities. But I know not how much time we have before it completes its influence on her, and worse yet before it overtakes the spirit of Graysith. It cannot use the All, for that we can be grateful, but it can have a very strong influence upon its host, and if its host has the All… well.”

He sighed, waving a shaking hand before him.

You're a Force-user, man, and you're laying here while your wife is walking into the night in something that seems to approximate nothing other than madness.

Oh Shayla, not again...

Erik reached to the Force, quickly becoming more and more conconscious til at length he was able to open his eyes and sit up, his dark browns immediately scanning the area for Shayla.

She was long gone. But to where?

Panthar's words wafted into his ears, as well as those of the Master's. A warning flag begin to wave in his mind's eye, and he turned to Panthar. "I have a Force link with her, and she is my wife," he stated. "I can track her and find her..."

He paused, trailing a moment, memories rushing up from a place deep within where they were buried. "...I've done it before," he then finished, beginning to make an effort to get standing once more. For although he had the Force to help bring him back to wellness, even the Force takes some time...

“I’ll help you,” he said. He looked around the group, seeing the same expression of shock and concern in everyone’s face. All except the Master, that is, who had collapsed with dignified exhaustion into a heap in the sand.

“With him out, the only magic type person we have is Thoran. Just as well, I don’t trust that Master guy. But I wish Galen or Darra could control their powers, it would be handy.”

Panthar sighed and tried to give a smile.

“I guess it’s up to cunning, Force, and good looks. At least I know what part I can offer.”

Panthar looked back to everyone.

...it might take something more than what any of us have right now to stop it."

"No way, no kriffing way in hell!" I shot out, sending dark glances toward everyone. Especially toward Phalomir's dear ol' daddykins--

You bastard. You're the one who got us into this mess to begin with! No way am I moving an inch away from where I can keep my peepers peeled on you--!

But that wasn't the only reason I wanted to stay put.

"Look."

Groaning a little, I got to my feet, brushing off sand from my person as I did so. Then I took a stubborn stance, hands on hips, chin out, eyes glaring.

"I've seen Sissy pissed, and I've seen her ornery, and I've seen her mean and nasty, and I've even seen her all high-falutin' and full of herself and just plain dark.

"But if she's got that stuff inside her now... no way am I getting anywhere near her. I know what she can do; no way, no kriffing way in hell.

Ever the true Jedi that he was, ever devoted to the ultimate goal, he stretched to the Force for strength as he became conscious once again. His greeny-blue eyes opened, his vision cleared...

...and for a long moment he simply listened to the conversation around him, particularly the varying views on what to do next.

He came to a conclusion.

"Galen is right," he then spoke up, sitting up as he did so and brushing sand from his blue jedi robes. "And I know my sister well enough to know that once she's convinced of something, nevermind that this is perhaps having to do with something other within her, she won't be easily stopped. If whatever is going on with her has anything to do with the tar that was in Panthar, we're going to need Lord Aelvedaar to help her. Going after her unprepared may only worsen the sitaution.

We don't want to push Shayla so far away that we can't get to her when it is time to help both her and Jharmeen."

He trailed, his look darkening, "...more importance," Erik then finished. "No way am I letting Shayla wander off on her own to do gods know what and go gods know where. You forget she is an exceptional pilot, and can quite easily blast her way off this planet and go to any destination she damn well pleases.

If that black stuff is as insidious and dark as you claim," he continued, turning to the Master, "I think it'd be getting her the hell off this planet. And to where, I have no idea. But I'm going to find out. I've lost her once, a long time ago..."

...or any number of any other random settlements on whatever desert world she might be on. The only thing she was quite certain of was that there was sentient life out there, and she was heading for it. In short, these possibilities didn't mean anything in regards to just where she was going, or where she was, in the least.

Regardless of these facts, however, Shayla certainly knew where she was not staying.

This sudden decisive decision on her part lead to the the realization that, if she intended to be on her way unmolested and uninterrupted, she'd better take precautions. The desert, regardless of which one she was in, was known for its creatures and rough natives; she wasn't going to risk having to deal with any of them. And she was not going to risk being tracked by those she left behind, either. Not while there was still something she could do to stop them from doing thus.

So, stretching out with her Force-abilities, Shayla quite easily and effectively blocked any of the major Force-links she had, especially those with her own husband and her Jedi brother.

If someone was going to stop her, it would not be either of them. And knowing them both, they would be dragging their feet and debating for so long before they did anything she could make good distance from them in the meantime.

She had done so quite effectively in the past.

Now turning her attentions to the other possible hinderance to her goal, Shayla then drew the Force to herself as a shield to ward off any unwanted attention from whatever beings and creatures might be lurking out in the deserts. The suns now setting for the evening, Shayla knew that the time was right for scavengers to come out seeking unsuspecting prey.

Only she was not unsuspecting, nor was she unarmed. The sudden reminder that she had no material weapon of any sort was immediately thrown to the wind with a resounding memory.

You will soon have no need of such... toys.

At this thought, a somehow dark and knowing smile crossed the features of Shayla Stargazer.

Indeed. Why have need of such toys when other, much more effective avenues, can be utilized?

Still keeping her quick pace across the sands, Shayla still saw nothing but sand in her visual field. She had far to go just yet, but Shayla would get wherever it was she was going...

...and she would take care of Jharmeen in the process, with the plans now formulating in her mind. She had no need to trust those she left behind, for she was suddenly so certain of the fact that in the end she would not be able to trust them regardless.

Besides, she had her Chosen Sister. And she needed nothing else.

Pausing a brief moment, Shawn stretched out to assess that possibility. His suspicions were confirmed, and he shook his head, his eyes now defocused. "I can't sense her, she has me blocked."

His greeny blue eyes snapped alert then, and he looked back to Erik. "Lord Aelvedaar has a connection with Jharmeen, that is the link that will lead us to her. And he is the one we must wait for."

"She may have blocked you," he said to Shawn, "But she wouldn't block me, she wouldn't..."

He trailed, sensing out as Shayla's brother had already done...

“Hold it you two!” he finally burst out. “You mean she blocked the links she had with you? It’s got her, that’s all there is to it. And I’d lay odds it’s either pounding on Jharmeen’s door or already has her, too. And if Shayla can block links like that, I’m sure it will convince Jharmeen to knock out hers as well, including the one with Aelvedaar. It’s mighty persuasive…”

Panthar looked out into the distance in the general direction Shayla departed. The night was coming down on the sand, and the wind seemed to carry tendrils of the darkness with it. Panthar squinted and exhaled slowly, feeling tears suddenly wanting to well up. He choked them back shook his head.

“It’s so strange,” he said. “I can almost see her in my head…”

Panthar stopped, realizing that he actually could almost see her in his head!

“It’s still with me,” he said slowly. “The darkness, I mean. It’s gone, but it’s not. It left a mark on me, I can feel it.” He looked to the others, his face serious. “And I can feel Shayla… or at least I can feel that creepy stuff in her. I don’t think I could track her, but I know she is still out there.”

Panthar turned to the Master.

“It is completely gone from me,” he said. “I feel no trace of it whatsoever.”

The lie was simple, but if he expounded on the nightmares that still plagued his thoughts then they would kill him for certain.

“Um,” he started. “I, um… I’m not sure how it happened. I mean, I was sorta watching things happen, and my buddy Diffy was there and found me. I mean, he used that link thing we have, and spoke to me in my head, where I was at the time… I mean.. Oh, hell! I don’t know what happened! I think he came over and tried to eat me, and that’s when it left me.”

Panthar looked around helplessly.

"That is all I know of what happened."

Pausing at that, Shawn's eyes defocused briefly, and he frowned. "Please, do be mindful. My sister has always had a proclivity from blocking others from her when she desires to be left alone, darkness within her or not. I do not want to jump to any sort of conclusion...

...but at this point we can't be absolutely certain how much of this is Shayla, and how much of it is not. Some of what she said did sound very much like some things she has said in the past, after all."

Even as he finished this observation, Erik frowned at him darkly, but said nothing.

Goo-oo-oood... it breathed, sending waves and waves of pleasurable warmth cascading throughout her. For the spirit had subsided, appeared to sit back, was no longer wailing. In fact, it appeared a bit...

Curious.

If the blackness could have smiled, it would have at that point.

Remember...

Again the image of her standing before Darth Wicked flashed before her, bringing with it the dark and heady rush of joy she had felt when she had blanketed him in the stripes of pre-All, effectively entrapping him. That image segued to the following day, as in the breaking of her fast she ripped off the head of the little marsupial, consuming it not merely for his approval...

But, surprisingly enough, for her own.

Another rush of power, of indomitable strength swept through her. The door peeped open a bit further, and she peered through despite herself.

Now she was at the side of Lord Roan, in the days before his betrayal of her. Again the swell of sheer black power was more than enticing. It filled her, fulfilled her, left her satiated in its wake. And then later, when he turned against her...

The shadowy image of Dagobah now rose up, the memory still hot and fresh in her mind. Once again the foursome stood before her, their hands behind their backs, hiding the weaponry they held: Lords Recinis, Roan, Aelvedaar, and Darth Wicked. All presented her with a choice; she had at the time chosen power over love.

Later, she had changed her mind.

Intolerable.

Whether that insidiously whispered sentiment was her own thought or that of the Dark, even she did not know. She only knew what was being presented for her edification: a refresher course, if one would have it.

Remember...

What had power wrought? She had done her part in the revival of the Sith. She had stood up against adversary after adversary. She had become the Dark Lady of the Warriors, and by her own hand.

And she had begun to lay plans of her own...

Remember, the sweetness...

The spirit of Jharmeen stilled it's virtual heart, nodding in slow acquiescence as that door opened a bit further.

Where has love gotten you? Who did Lord Aelvedaar take as his true Chosen Heir? How did the Lords Aelvedaar and Recinis, aye, and Darth Wicked himself, respond to the love you had for them; how true was that which they professed to have for you?

Sheer wisps upon the wind. They betrayed you, one and all.

And now, Lord Phalomir, did you see him with the group who had come to receive your spirit?

No.

Ice rushed throughout her being, filling Shayla with a sudden chill. That was immediately followed by a hot flare of fire as Jharmeen now peeped out even further, coming to her own conclusions about matters, more and more of her own being filling with anger and hatred and the growing need for power.

For the perceived lack of the love she needed had to be filled by something.

Somewhere deep within her psyche, a door slammed solidly closed. And another. And then another, as all Links she had with anyone other than Shayla were cleanly snipped asunder. That accomplished, she reached out to Shayla, the voice that whispered into the young woman's mind belonging to Graysith and nothing other.

"Hurry, my dear Adept," it coiled sinuously within her mind. "Find the means to return to Dagobah. Return my spirit to my form.

"Great riches and power await us when this is fulfilled, my dear, Chosen Sister and friend."

Almost purring with content, the spirit of Jharmeen Jhin'Dar Q'utaro curled around Shayla's mind, hugging her fiercely, filling her with the hot fires now fueling herself.

"We do not need any other..."

As if in homage to that sudden certainty, the great Beast within her rose to its feet, cast its flat eyes about its pewter world, lifted its virtual lips on high and yowled forth in victory. For what other was that Beast but Jharmeen herself? Indeed was this a cause for dark joy, that no one had come to realize what truly had been lurking within her after all.

The dark oiliness grinned evilly, knowing its goal had been accomplished. Then, as the link with its other remnant parts were so obviously felt, it oozed from the spirit of Jharmeen, seeping unnoticed from the pores of Shayla to puddle upon the shifting desert sands. For they no longer needed it, or its guidance.

They had found themselves.

Erik loves you, it whispered softly, seductively. But he does not understand and cannot see who you truly are. Indeed, he does not even truly accept all that is within himself, so how can he truly know you?

And who are you, Shayla Stargazer?

Blinking at this question, the young woman dug deeply within, quieting her mind to find the answer to the simple yet very complex question. For indeed, what and who had she been the past few years? She was a mother, a wife, and a friend...

...but these things did not define who Shayla was. They defined who she was to everyone else.

Who are you, Shayla Stargazer? What is it that lurks within you that speaks of your true potential?

She dug deeper, this time searching for something with clear intent, remembering her days when she had found the All, and the reasons she had struggled. And, in the end, the reason she had been able to succeed in this.

You were just beginning to find yourself when it was all stripped away and blocked from you, Shayla, and not the voice within, observed.

You are a Healer, a Sith Adept, and a Chosen Sister...

...but again, these are names by which others define you.

But who are you?

Slowing ever-the-slightest, Shayla paid keen attention to the query.

You are Shayla Stargazer, and that is enough. You are a part of That Which Is, and All That Is. And your True Potential is the very essence of all that you feel and do.

When you were aware of these things, and they came for you the first time, you were strong and steady. You did not waver in your path. You stayed by the side of your Sister.

Indeed, you do not need the rest of them, nor their estimations of you. For in the end, all that matters is who you believe you are. If they cannot accept this...

...well, then Damn them to Hell.

In the dimming light, Shayla again began to pick up her pace, a dark yet somehow content smile crossing her features and remaining there for some time.

Jharmeen is the only one, the only one, who has encouraged you to find yourself, and to be yourself. The only one who has not defined you in her own terms.

Strength and poise flooded Shayla's very essence.

You are powerful when you define yourself by your own terms, and concern yourself not with any other's estimations.

So it will be thus.

At this final realization, the strength with Shayla pushed aside the barriers she had built within, the barriers that allowed her to do and be what the others important to her wanted.

They matter not, she thought darkly to herself. All that matters is getting Jharmeen back to her material body, and getting back to K'eel Doba...

...and in reclaiming what it is that belongs to us. All of it.

As this one, final thought filled Shayla's mind, the oil within her being, much like with Jharmeen's own essence, pooled out onto the desert sands, no longer needed.

For Shayla Stargazer had found and accepted herself at last.

The desert then, now falling into darkness, cooed and purred in seeming approval, though Shayla heard it not and needed it not. Instead her deep, greeny-blue eyes caught the flash of something overhead, something which would give itself as an offering to that which she sought to do now.

Leave this place and return to Degobah.

Stretching out to the small ship passing by to go to a destination possibly yet on the other side of the planet, Shayla stretched with the Force into the mind of a man who had no idea why he suddenly felt the need to land. However, he did just that...

...and never saw the hand of the one who reached within his essence, channeling her healing Force abilities to not only drop him into a healing trance...

...but then to stop his very heart from beating ever again via telekenetics. After all, with each of her Force links now broken, she could not spare to leave any evidence of her departure behind. As his life drained from him, Shayla left him where he was, entered the small freighter and began to aquant herself with the ship's navboard.

All the while she stretched out warmly to that treasured link with Jharmeen.

We'll soon be on our way, my dear Sister...

...and I will not fail.

She stopped on the final choice, nodding in satisfaction.

...and Bespin.

Now certain she was on Tatooine and that no immediate blockade was present on her side of the desert world, Shayla began the take-off cycle in her newly-acquired YT-4000. The ship, a nice classy frieghter with the trademark YT oval hull, sported ion cannons, 2 laser cannons, a retractable blaster cannon, and one missle launcher. Nothing too extreme to warrant any concern.

As Shayla soared through the sky and the atmosphere began to shift to space, she opened a standard communications frequency, seeing the looming blockade some distance from her, yet not out of her visual field. As she did so, she checked the identification of the frieghter as well. "This is the Radical requesting a departure vector to Bespin," she said, sending the request off with the puosh of a button...

I'm wasting myself out here, he growled to himself as, shooting a rather haphazard glance at the readouts scrolling across his boards, he cleared his throat and opened a channel to the patiently waiting freighter.

Hmmm... a new one. Nice ship--

"Roger, we copy Radical request Tatooine-Bespin vector," he then stated crisply, all business now.

"Come to geosynch orbit at N32deg14min57sec by E19deg16min07sec. Maintain orbital position seventeen minutes forty-five seconds, then roll to 87 niner ninerZ and impulse to 47 megaklicks. From there, port yaw 57deg zero min 32sec before engaging hyperdrive.

"Flight plan stated brings your ETA Bespin space at fifty-seven hours, twenty-three minutes time relative to ship.

"Imperial Flight Control will monitor your progress until engagement of hyperdrive; confirmation of Bespin stationfall required.

"This is Imperial Flight Control confirming coordinates to Radical: Come to geosynch orbit at N32deg14min57sec by E19deg16min07sec. Maintain orbital position seventeen minutes forty-five seconds, then roll to 87 niner ninerZ and impulse to 47 megaklicks. From there, port yaw 57deg zero min 32sec before engaging hyperdrive.

"Imperial Flight Control, over."

Following the commands given to her by Imperial, Shayla stayed in orbit the requested seventeen minutes and 45 seconds, meanwhile keying her own commands into the navboard for the ship to roll 87 niner ninerZ and impulse to 47 megaclicks. On the heels of that input, she added port yaw 57 degrees zero minutes 32 seconds.

And she sat back a bit, waiting for the ship to give her countdown to throttle for hyperspace...

...and keenly pondered just how she was going to return Jharmeen to her material body. The plan had been for Thoran to place her spirit back...

...but Shayla did not want to return to the means of trusting anyone other any longer. She was a healer...

...and Jharmeen did have the All. Surely with Shayla's ability to connect with Jharmeen's body and send healing energies into her mind, Jharmeen could then use the All to place herself back in her own body via a healing Force connection and via the All.

Shayla submitted this as a proposed plan to Jharmeen, whom she knew was most certainly within...

...and then turned her attentions back to the navboard, the time for her roll and port yaw now arriving. She took the ship from autopilot, and completed these manuevers manually with the aid of the ship's countdown. As she began her port yaw, the hyperdrive indicator began counting down from 32 seconds...

...and Shayla's mind and soul became one with the Force, one with the ship, and one with space. She barely needed the ship's countdown indicator, she was so in tune to all that surrounded her, and in fact, all that she was a part of.

She reached out for the hyperdrive lever, throttled in perfect timing...

...and the Graystar exploded into the majesty of starlines to dance within the shadows of the hyperspace continium to Bespin, and then to Degobah...

"Do not fret, my dear Sister," she purred back at Shayla, sending a quieting tendril of herself throughout the young woman's psyche to allay any rising doubts.

"I will easily be able to reunite myself; remember, it was through the magicks of the Sith that disembodiment is achieved. Magicks and that pitiful remnant the Jedi call the Force are but a speck in the reality of the All..."

...well, in short, that would never do.

Sitting up then and keying several commands into the navcomputer, Shayla easily pulled up the information in regards to her current location within hyperspace, as well as to her corresponding location in realspace. After requesting the navcomputer to show her via a split screen on the navboard monitor her current hyperspace and coordinating realspace location, Shayla could calculate the timing for her reversion.

But, leaving the monitor for a brief moment to then return her attentions to the navcomputer, Shayla pulled up the coordinates for Degobah and programmed them in for easy access. After this was accomplished, she turned back to the navboard monitor, calculated for the closest, safest reversion point, keyed the change in flightpath into the computer...

...and reached for the hyperspace lever as the ship began counting down to the safest reentry point into realspace. A few minutes passed before this reentry was possible, but Shayla's mind was calm, focused, and patient as she again became so much of the expert pilot and navigator that she was she was literally one with the ship and the space around her.

She throttled forward, and the Graystar made her smooth reversion at Shayla's adept piloting hand. Turning back to the navcomputer, Shayla pulled up the current coordinates of the Graystar, programmed them in, and retrieved the preprogrammed coordinates for Degobah, settng them as her new destination. The ship took a brief few moments to plot the new course, properly oreint herself...

...and began clicking down the seconds for the jump to hyperspace. Shayla's hand was already on the lever as the countdown began. The motion smooth and assured, Shayla throttled back and the stars of realspace spread out into the fabric of the hyperspace continium once more, blanketing the Graystar and her passengers.

Shayla smiled to herself, and stretched out to her link with Jharmeen once more.

We are enroute to Degobah, my Sister. You will be reunited with your physical body at last...

I frowned, opened my mouth to add in yet another two cent's worth when I noticed something. Oh, it wasn't much, nothing dramatic or anything, in fact it was a quite usual circumstance. But one which, due to the continued yammering of "yes we go after Shayla" and "no we do NOT go after Shayla" and "where in all the known Universe would Shayla be going anyway?" seemed to be totally ignored.

I moved away from Terrin then and clambered up a nearby dune. Though it was a small dune, as far as the dunes surrounding us went, it was still nearly 300 feet in height. It took me a moment or two longer than I thought to reach it's shifting apex, where what I most definitely did not want to see now splayed out before my eyes.

"Uh, guys--" I began, cutting into the aformentioned yammering. Whether they stopped or not I couldn't say, I was tottering 300 feet over their heads, after all.

"Uh, guys, the suns are setting," I called louder, now turning and waving my arms in a somewhat theatric and expansive gesture. Ok, so the arm waving wasn't to get their attention; once again the sinuous sand shifted beneath my feet. It was all I could to to keep upright.

Sighing, I headed down-dune, letting my feet sink and slide where they wanted as momentum finished the job it was hired to do by gravity. The going was much easier than the reverse; soon I was huffing into their midst.

"It's going to be dark soon, and cold, if I remember from the last time I visited this wonderful Shangri-La.

...and paused, if not for the frown now developing on the Boss's face, then for the idea which was now forming. "Hey, we could start a fire with this stuff...

...and maybe if we had some rocks or something to keep it burning..."

"Oh, Hell's Seven Circles!" I finally burst out irritably. Grumbling, I slithered over to where our intrepid Jedi stood, energy source in hand, waiting for someone to start a fire.

"Geez--" I began as I slid to a halt next to him, then drew myself up short.

Galen, not everyone here had a father who taught at a university, and who knew and taught him or her physics, however simple...

"Ahh... er, hey. How about this?" I tried another tact, one rather strange for me.

Courtesy. Imagine that.

"Here, look. If we do this..."

I went to my knees, began scooping up sand into a mound. Much of it rattled down into a tiny angle of repose slope, but enough remained to hold itself together. Encouraged I began piling more and more sand into the steadily growing mound, tamping it as firmly as I could as I went along.

"If we make a nice mound, kind of like a rock, and then Jedi Petrolu sticks his lightsaber into it... well, wouldn't that heat it up?"

He snapped his fingers and the tip of his thumb burst into a small flame.

“Yup,” he said. “Still got it in me.”

He snapped his fingers again and the fire went out.

"I doubt that we'll attract any attention whatsoever, even if we did have a large fire," he commented, looking momentarily to Thoran. "The life I sense on this planet is quite some distance away, for it is very faint."

Pausing a moment, he frowned. "Shayla has a long way to go, if she is intending to get off this rock."

As he finished these words, he glanced at his sisters sulking husband, a bit uncertain as to just how long Erik would hold back from what he so transparently was wanting to do.

"Nope," I replied as I then clambered back to my feet, brushing off sand as I did so.

"That sand is going to heat to slag and radiate forever. We ought to stay nice and warm, especially if you put up the shield you were talking about, so I don't think it's necessary to do anything other than what we're doing right now. I mean, yeah, Jasyn offered his whatever it is in the flask thingy he has going on over there, but actually--"

Now a sly look crossed my face and I went over to him. He gave me a look which seemed to say, "uh-oh," and drew his flask closer to his body.

I just stuck out my hand and waggled my fingers.

Forcing himself to put on a more bland expression...although probably not a convincing one...Terrin crossed his arms, his eyes moving from Jasyn to Galen, the mirth in his eyes evident as he just looked at her for one moment before looking back to Jasyn.

"Hey, ladies first pal. Didn't your mother teach you any manners? After all, if you're going to pilfer items from the Sith liquor closet and then show them off to everyone else, you'd better be ready to share."

He couldn't keep the grin off his face at all at this point.

Jasyn merely scowled and forked over the flask of what Terrin had no doubt was Sith brandy to Galen. His grin was lopsided by now. "So glad to see you had the foresight to bring some substainance along, my friend," he quipped, falling silent then.

“Hey, guys,” he said. “Not to spoil the mood, but if you guys really think we’re on Tatooine… Well, um, you should know something. I used to do a lot of work for one of the big time Universities, freelancing and such. Back when I was, well, human. I spent nearly a year of my life in the northern Dune Sea, working with the locals on a University project. It involved a lot of… well, digging. But I got know the desert more than I wanted to, and I might even have a contact or two left in Fort Tusken. Not to say that we’d get there, but hey.”

He sat on his hauches, looking at the mound of sand that was growing hotter by the second.

“I um, met some Tusken Raiders once. Nasty bunch. Faint life signs aside, are you sure this won’t be too bright?”

I widened my eyes, wiggled my brows at Terrin before turning back to the still seated Jasyn. One arm waved outward in an obviously grandiose manner, and I bowed from the waist to him.

"The lady would thank the gentleman with a curtsey, but then--

"I ain't no lady," I finished before cutting myself off with a great swig from the flask. For a moment I simply let myself give in to the heady warmth rushing down my throat; then, Panthar's words leaking into my ears, I lowered the flask with a sigh.

"I think you're seeing things, Red," I commented to him as I moved to Terrin and offerred him a slug of brandy.

He plopped down on his backside into the sand.

“I can’t be the only one worried about why Shayla did what she did, and where she is going, right? That oil stuff seemed to have a purpose when it was in me, like it had something it was trying to do. So I’m thinking of what that could be. Since Gray is a spirit, you don’t think she could use her powers? And if not, then wouldn’t she be wanting to get back into her body as soon as possible, especially if the darkness is influencing her? And wasn’t Shayla’s last words here something about getting Jharmeen back?”

He scratched at his horns.

“I hope Aelvedaar gets here soon,” he said, closing his eyes. Then he opened one and sat up.

“And give me a drink of that,” he added.

He trailed a moment, glancing towards Erik, who was skulking somewhere nearby in silence. "...but that's not going to be enough, considering it took Aelvedaar's powers to get get the oily stuff out of you. And considering that both Shayla and Jharmeen have extra abilities of their own, that several of us know from past experience can be used very effectively.

"And all that aside, night is falling, and it's getting colder. We've been at this awhile, and everyone needs to get some rest. We won't be doing anyone any good if we rush off blindly now."

"Yeah, Terrin's right," I slurred mildly.

"It's too late to go anywhere or do anything, really. I mean, if you guys want to go rushing off into the dark, be my guest, but this lil red sandcat is going to hit the hay.

"Or sand, as the case may be--"

Chortling a little at my own joke, I moved away from where the others were grouped and plopped down onto the ground. The granules of sand had warmed conductively from the slightly glowing mound I had started and Shawn had finished; rooting my rear around a little, I dug myself out a nice little body-hugging depression and nestled down for the night.

"Red there can keep guard, and if anyone else is worried I'm sure Firestarter can assist.

"Me, I'm going to sleep. See y'all in the morning..."

Shawn raised one hand as if to say "That's allright."

Terrin nodded. "Well, if you need anything..."

And he trailed, suddenly feeling pretty blasted. And really, he was exactly that, having been Force-whammied across desert sands only a short while ago.

And they wanted to go trotting across the desert in the middle of the night after all of that, with no specific Force links or trails? No kriffing way in hell...

Hunkering down then beside Galen, Terrin yawned once more, finding sand more comforting than it probably was for the fact he was exhausted and brandy was doing his work to help him along.

His frown actually shifting to a bit of a smile at that, Jasyn tried to make himself a little hole in the sand, his scowl returning as he did so. "I hate the sand..." he growled, glancing up to see Matt join Shawn, clearly intending to be certain no one was needed before he went to sleep as well.

"Goodnight, Firestarter," Jasyn quipped then, glancing to Panthar. "And really, buddy, you look like you could use some sleep too. Matt and the Firestarter have it covered there, I think."

And with that, Jasyn plopped down into the sand, no doubt to dream of better sleeping conditions...

...or perhaps someone...

...would appear there. Shawn had a pretty good suspicion that the latter was indeed the case. Moving away from the fire, Shawn stepped into Erik's personal bubble of space, making him stop short from his path of walking back and forth. He placed a hand on Erik's shoulder, and waited a moment til Erik directed brown eyes full of worry and hurt his way.

"We're going to go after her, Erik," he said softly, then continued with, "But we need to wait until the time is right. I don't like the idea of her wandering out there alone any more than you do..."

Shawn trailed a moment. "...she is my sister. I would do anything to keep her from harm, but Shayla is a big girl, and an independent one at that. You know this...

...and you know that you're letting your love for her cloud your feelings and your logic."

At this Erik pulled away from Shawn and crossed his arms. But he didn't wander, he just looked Shawn dead in the eye, the look in his own brown eyes becoming somewhat more pained.

"Be careful where you let your thoughts and feelings take you, Erik," Shawn said quietly. "Shayla loves you, and she wouldn't want you to go running blindly into danger on her account. We will go after her," Shawn then reiterated, falling silent but not leaving Erik to his own thoughts just yet.

...and he didn't like it much. For a long moment, Erik didn't say anything, but then he quietly spoke up at last. "I can't imagine life without her, should anything happen..."

He trailed then, his brown eyes defocusing for a long moment. Then they snapped alert and he looked at Shawn once more. "And logic is the only thing that's keeping me here now. If I had any way to track her..."

Again Erik trailed, this time closing his eyes. "She is the only thing that matters to me," he then stated, opening worry-filled brown eyes and directing them Shawn's way again. "I'm sure you think I'm tumblingly perilously close to the Darkside. And you know what..."

He paused, pursing his lips. "Maybe I am. But I'm no Jedi, and my wife holds no particular love or dislike for the Jedi either. There's a time to follow your convictions...

...and a time to follow your heart."

Simply letting that statement fall into the void for a moment, Erik's eyes defocused once more as he recalled his exchange with Shayla on K'eel Doba, when he had told her what he'd done in the Darker Realms. "I think Shayla has been trying to get that across to me for some time now," he observed then, looking back to Shawn.

"I'm afraid this is going to end up being like my first visit to Khar Delba all over again," he admitted flatly. "The Jedi disappointed me then," he continued. "I don't doubt that you love Shayla as your sister...

...but I'm hoping the Jedi that is a very real part of your life doesn't disappoint me as well."

At that statement, Erik squatted, looking out towards the darkened skies, his brown eyes scanning once more before he sat completely on the sand, crossing his legs and turning to Shawn one final time.

"There is no way I'm going to sleep tonight," he admitted, turning away and then closing his eyes, seeking something he was fairly certain he wouldn't find, but yearning for it nevertheless.

I sighed, staring at the twin suns which were now dragging themselves down into sunset, then frowned.

A little food would have been nice, and some water; I don't know how long we can hold up like this...

Glaring into the reddening sky, I stooped down and picked up a rock from the myriad spread out before me. Giving it a hard throw toward those damnably implacable twin balls of flame, I followed through by digging my toe into the spot where it had lain.

Nope, not nary a drop.

I sighed again, and plunked down onto the ground. To my left a dune stretched upwards of forty feet; to my right, nothing but desert hardpan and the taunting white flecks of playa stretched out as far as I could see.

No water. What in Hell's Seven Circles was that Sith thinking of anyway, letting us traipse here with no provision, and then taking his sweet time in getting here.

Gads, I hope nothing has happened to him...

I sighed again, rose to my feet and after brushing myself off began stumbling back to where the others were sitting, trying to conserve their strength. All eyes cut up to me as I approached and plopped down again; Erik's were rather red, landscaped with worry and lack of sleep.

I lifted a shaky smile to everyone.

"Another day, another credit, right guys?" I tried bravely and then shut up. Not even my brand of irreverent humor could erase the cloud of gloom and worry that was growing deeper and blacker with each passing, silent hour.

After all, the path of wildlife would mean the pathway to water, most likely.

He turned back to the others. "If we have to stay here much longer, we're going to need to get out of the sun somehow as well as the sand during the day."

He paused then, pursing his lips in thought. "I have my robes, if we had the right materials...sticks, stones, or something, we could make a makeshift tent. We might also consider following any local wildlife that might lead us to water when the sun sets as well.

...but only after the sun sets, with the heat. Maybe going into a healing trance would be the best solution to keep our body metabolism low, and our brains from the thought that takes so much of that metabolism to begin with..."

“Wow,” he said, yawning. “I thought the days here were longer than that. I couldn't have slept that long... could I?"

Panthar looked around, coming to terms with the idea that he could have possibly slept for so long.

“No Aelvedaar yet?”

He looked at the Master, who was still sleeping, but looking more red around in the face. He only assumed that with a Sith, that was a good thing.

“Maybe something did happen to him. I mean, I don’t think Alvedaar would strand us here with nothing if he didn’t intend on coming right away. What if Shayla somehow was able to get there? Maybe Thoran was wrong, and Gray really could use the All in her spirit form, and opened a portal? What if we woke up the Master and made him take us there?”

Unless of course he has other plans afterward, a shoulder devil popped up and stated with a snort.

Terrin ignored this. "We do have a Jedi here to help guide us, Thoran has some magic, and Galen, the guys, Kartan and I are not without survival skills. Aelvedaar knows this. I think for now the best thing to do would be to follow through on some of Shawn's advice, and draw from some of the other brains we have here to think of any other survival techniques we can use. First and foremost, we can pool some resources and build a shelter...

...and then maybe we should venture a bit--together!--and try to find some water sources. Eating is probably not a good idea, just because that will increase our need to drink. And, speaking of drinking..."

The scowl grew a touch darker for a moment, and then Jasyn shifted to other thoughts, recalling how he and Matt had survived in the Korriban desert once before. "Matt and I had to dig for water once when stranded on Korriban," he stated, now actually pursing his lips. "Not sure how productive trying that would actually be. But as for shelter...

One that's going to drive into your heart in the very near future if something isn't done to stop it!

Sighing, I stooped and retrieved a rock, then stuck it in my mouth in the hopes of generating up a bit of saliva to swallow. No dice; the rock was hot and distastefully dry, and I was as dry as a stone anyway.

I spat it out, glowered at the sky, grateful for the rapidly cooling air...

Rapidly cooling air. Hey-yy-yyy, wait a minute...

Frowning, I closed my eyes in earnest, striving to remember something dad had showed me once way back during one gawdawful dig or another. It had been a desert world, per usual, and our water supply was not keeping pace with the degree of work that dig had warranted.

"We'll use nature to help us, kiddo!" he had laughed when I had moped to him with my concerns that we were probably going to die of dehydration if he didn't let me fly us out of there. Instead of leaving, he went to our little ship and rummaged about inside. Returning, he had held out his hands, displaying the silvery gleam of a survival blanket he held.

"Come along, dear," he said, then dragging me into a small hollow he had begun excavating, only to abandon when the initial foray was coming up empty handed. Now that little hollow was destined to save our lives.

He pushed me inside, then with rocks he barred the opening with the survival blanket. I immediately burst into a sweat; Khaandon, but it had been hot in there, and now it was both hot AND humid. I couldn't help but pant, which only raised the humidity, then began hinting that perhaps we'd better depart...

Dad had only smiled, checked his chrono. Time ticked inexorably past, one dreadful, close, sweating hour after another. Then---

"Time, my dear," he announced as with a sudden move he ripped the cover from the opening, revealing the extremely dark star-studded night without. I practically swooned as I stumbled from that humid hellhole he had created, gasping in lungsful of the cold desert night air which rushed past my ears to fill the void in my wake...

I remember his triumphant cry to this very day.

"Water, Galen; here is water!"

I turned in disbelief, to find him carefully scooping and scraping active condensation from the walls of that hollow. For a moment I had paused there, then hurried to assist.

Khaandon be with us, there had been enough to fill our canteens. Enough to fill a small reservoir. Enough to keep us going yet another day...

"Hey guys, how about this?"

Rapidly I told them my little survival story, then fell silent, knowing that having the knowledge but not necessarily the means to utilize it are two entirely different animals.

Wait a minute. What about Jasyn's brandy flask...?

"I'm honestly not sure how we'd make a good hollow and cover it, unless we use what few stones are around here and combine it with someones shirt or robe or something...

...but we do have Jasyn's brandy flask, which could trap water as well, although not very much."

Terrin frowned at this, not liking the lack of possibilities facing them. "Are we sure we should just stay here, where we are? Maybe there are some rocks or caves here somewhere that could help us do exactly what Galen is suggesting."

The silence of the shimmering Tatooine eventide was shattered as, upon a dune perhaps three kilometers from where the others were attempting to make and maintain their camp, a rip in the very atmosphere suddenly appeared. For the barest of seconds the inexplicable raucous sounds of swamp-slingers and treebirds shattered the quiet of the desert, sending a distant bantha to roaring in defense of it knew not what. Then in a waft of moisture-laden air a figure tumbled out, one writhing and twisting against the thousands and thousands of tiny white things which carpeted it.

The eerie Portal snickered to a close.

The being fought on...

I dare not open my mouth, for the damnable arachnids would soon be there. How I kick myself now, knowing them for what they have revealed themselves to be; how angered I am that I did not recognize this before, how arrogant to believe they came in response to the will of those who think they command reality...

I twist, a great roar of defiance rising in my chest, my eyes shut tight-tight-tight. Now something filters through the writhing mass upon me: heat. I feel heat, a dry heat, not that of the Dagoban swamps but of another place.

I know I have failed. I have been expulsed. Why--

I would shake my head, but that would only enrage the spiders into new heights of sadism. For Life they are, Life they protect, and to do so upon Life they must feed.

A glaring reality: Life begets Life; how well I understand the simplicity of the concept now, coming too late.

Such arrogance has filled me; I cry out in anguish, seeking to expunge it from me as the Planet of Living has so handily done with me.

I do not succeed; there yet is a mote of dark within.

I was right, I was correct, She was the One; oh, how I knew this and overlooked the assurety, the deeply convoluted nuances of All that tiny statement held within its tempered hands...

Struggling, flailing against the mass of white spiders, spiders who laugh against the All, for are they not the very embodiment of it? -- I do the only thing I can do.

I send out a mental cry for help, and hope that those I have sent to Tatooine can somehow miraculously hear it...

She took a small step in one direction, stopped, stepped out in another, as if trying to instinctively home in on something.

The weight of questioning eyes beat at her back.

"I-- I felt something, like a cry for help...

"Somewhere, I'm not certain where."

Pausing helplessly she then turned to face the others, her blue eyes wide with wonder. For possessor of the All that she was by birth, as yet unknowing as how to employ or even touch it...

...just by being born who she was with what she carried made her innately empathetic to the pain of others.

"Someone is crying out in pain..."

Reaching out a hand before him, and following the sudden thought stream that flooded into his mind, he ripped open a tear into the Tattooine air and beheld a sight that warranted another gasp.

The Master stood, then stepped through the portal. Aelvedaar was covered in small white shapes, spiders of some sort. Frowning in disgust, the Master held his hand forward and let loose with a small blast of energy, sailing through the air in the form of lightning. It landed on many of the spiders, intended to boil their insides and let the dead shells fall to the ground.

But it did nothing.

The Master blinked, then shot another blast into the white creatures, having much the same effect as before. His frown deepening, he bent down and scooped a large handful of sand and threw it into the white moving sea. The spiders the sand touched paused, the continued their business. The Master, face set in a rage, called through the portal.

“It is Aelvedaar!” he cried to the surprised faces on the other side of the portal. “Help!”

He turned back, resorting to what his mind could produce in the tired and twisted state it was in, and threw himself to crushing and plucking the white spiders from Aelvedaar. He ripped them from Aelvedaar’s skin, one by one, throwing them away into the burning sand. He speed through his task, delighted to see that the number was decreasing drastically, until he realized with a jolt of pain that they had moved to him. He flung himself into the hot sand and rolled about like a madman, shifting and flailing, attempting to free himself from the seemingly mindless creatures.

"Wha--?" I started, whirling from the others and heading toward the Portal.

"Does he have--"

I stepped through.

"--Jharmeen..." I finished weakly before both my feet and my mouth came to a screeching halt.

The Master yelled in pain, Lord Aelvedaar waved an arm ineffectually. I stood there, momentarily at a loss.

"Oh, Hell's Seven Circles!" I finally blurted out before running forward again, heading toward the Master -- who seemed to be covered more thickly than the Sorcerer with tiny, white bodies. Grimacing in distaste I forced myself to reach out and grab one, yank, and send it flying as far as I could throw.

It came scuttling back, something dark and foreboding appearing to radiate from it.

"Khaandon!" I yelled out a louder expletive, one pushed out of my mouth by nothing but sheer anger.

"What in blazes are these things, anyway?"

...and all and all, chaos. But Shawn knew what to do. Being a Jedi student well after the times of Anakin Skywalker and Luke Skywalker himself, the Jedi Master's were not so unwise as to fear teaching the ways of the Living Force.

That which binds all living things to each other.

Many Jedi were known for their proclivity in the Living Force, and their ability to "speak" with other creatures and understand them. And while this was not necessarily Shawn's greatest ability, he was not lacking in that demension of the Force either.

Stretching out to the numerous little beings, Shawn tapped into that Living Force and, as it is often said, became one with it reaching to gently touch and influence them. Even as his eyes closed and the others yet struggled, probably wondering just why it was he was standing back in the midst of it all...

...the reason became clear. Using nothing other than the simple Living Force to "speak" to the spiders a resolution to the very real problem at hand would result.

“Come on,” he cried back. “Let’s go while they are gone!”

And to find out just what in the Fates was going on. He still couldn't sense Shayla, and he had a bad feeling about all this without really having to stretch out to the Force to sense a thing.

You do rely on it quite a bit, pal, a little voice whispered in something Erik knew he'd heard before. And you rely on her more than you know too. What will you do if something has happened to her...?

Erik briefly paused, closing his eyes and trying his best to shut out his rising fears. He helped the Master steady himself as Terrin Danner helped Galen to her feet and through the portal, Jasyn Lancaster, Matt Stanza, and JhinDarra following in their wake. Shawn, meanwhile, waited a moment to be certain everyone got through the portal safely.

Always concerned about everyone else, and never your own sister, came the thought as Erik turned and regarded the Jedi...

...and his brother-in-law at that.

"Let's get out of here," Erik then spoke up unnecessarily, motioning Shawn through the portal before he stepped through as well, assisting the Master as he did so and then waiting for the him to close the portal behind them all.

...but then, there was something at that moment he had to deal with first and foremost. Shawn was keenly aware of the fact that Erik did not understand this, and he hoped that someday he would.

But hope would do little to help anyone in their current situation. Looking to Aelvedaar, who had been bitten the most by the white spiders, Shawn turned to Erik as he headed through the portal with the Master.

His Jedi Master instincts took over. "I've gotta get to Lord Aelvedaar, he is wounded significantly," Shawn said to Erik, then nodding to everyone else who had wounds themselves. His greeny-blue eyes locked on Erik's brown pair, and they demanded no arguments at his next dirction. "If you want to do something to get us out of here more quickly, then help them," he stated. "The Force is with you, and you can do this; I have faith in that."

Turning to the Master then, Shawn made one final suggestion before attending to Lord Aelvedaar. "If and when you've got it in you to open a portal and get us off this rock, now would be a good time."

Saying nothing more than that, Shawn then went over to where Panthar had the Dark Lord, and knelt at his side, stretching out to the Force to then channel healing energies into him.

“I am well enough to tend to myself,” he said. Then glancing at Panthar he added “Although I appreciate the concern.”

He waved his hand and the portal schicked into oblivion. His face swelling from welts, he turned then to Lord Aelvedaar. He walked to him, helping Panthar lay the Dark Lord down upon the ground. He put his hand upon Aelvedaar’s forehead, feeling his way into the outer layers of Aelvedaar’s mind, touching the basic instinctive levels and sensing the damage done by the insects.

"Healing is my strength," he said simply to the Master, now reaching a hand out to the Dark Lord and laying it on his forehead. As my sister is as well... came an instinctive response, one that Shawn was able to dismiss for the moment as he cleared his mind and attuned himself to Aelvedaar.

In that moment, nothing else existed in the Universe for the Jedi. Instead he was merely a vessel, a channeler for the healing energies of the Force. Those energies poured like a fountain through every fiber of Shawn's being, transmitting the tacticle synapse created by his hand first, and then through the Force link he now opened with the Dark Lord as well. And, although Shawn did not know the workings of the Sith mind completely...

...it indeed was not all that dissimilar to the human mind. Shawn was certain that Aelvedaar's healing would progress more rapidly if his body was able to use some its own defenses...

...so he stretched out to those cells which acted in the healing process, bolstering them with healing energies as well, promoting their spread throughout the Sith's body to deal with the damaged tissues and blood vessels. Even as Shawn continued his quiet work, he was keenly aware of Aelvedaar's weakened yet very discernable life-signature...

...and he did nothing to put it into a trance or healing state, knowing that, if he could bring the Dark Lord to a place where he had enough strength, perhaps he could assist in the healing process as well.

He came to them, kneeling, placing a hand on Galen's head as Shawn had done with Lord Aelvedaar and stretching out to the Force, reaching for healing energies...

...but that thought lead to another with a sudden jolt.

JhinDarra,as an infant with Tarnus back on K'eel Doba, after he'd been whammied by ShaRhylla. The strength that she had given Galen, although not consciously, back when that bastard Roan had done...

...what he had done to her...

Terrin's blue eyes shifted up from where he was keeping a concerned eye on Galen to look into the equally concerned blue pair of their daughter's.

"Darra, she needs your strength, and you already have a connection with her. I know you can do it."

Falling silent then, Terrin simply waited, knowing that JhinDarra would help in every way that she could.

The spiders themselves were not touched by the All, but their venom is easily expelled.

“What were they?” he asked himself out loud. “Single-minded, set upon a course to – feed. Taking life, sucking it from me. I can feel the venom, I can gather it within me and expel it… but a strange venom it is. Not meant to bring death, but to allow for the sapping of life.”

The Master shook his head slowly, sending the venom molecules out through his skin. When it touched the air it evaporated into steam.

But the Master, he was just fine. In fact, he had just opened his eyes and was looking about, a weird shine on his body. It looked like sweat, but it seemed a bit more sticky.

“The Jedi can save her,” he said flatly, “if he is strong enough. It is Aelvedaar who must live. He is filled with venom, that must be expelled.”

“Aelvedaar is doing better,” said Panthar through clenched teeth. “You can help him AFTER you help Galen!”

Panthar’s grip tightened, and the cool eyes of the Master seemed to glow for a split second. His finger moved, and his eyes narrowed as if contemplating some grim end for Panthar, but then his gaze softened.

This was a value shared by the Master. But for lack of friends, his devotion turned to the one thing with which he remained true, the saving of the Sith. And to accomplish this, he needed to ensure the safety of Phalomir, and only these people knew his wherabouts.

The Master brushed the sand from his robes and moved slowly to Galen. He placed his hand upon her head, ignoring the looks he was receiving from Erik.

“Trust me if you wish her to live,” he said, without looking at Erik. “Keep yourself focused on healing her wounds, she is infected with venom that I will expunge.”

And with that, the Master set to locating each drop of the venom within her body, isolating it from the human building blocks, and drawing it forward through her skin. In a few moments she was sweating a sticky clear substance that permeated her clothes.

The Master stood then.

“Remain with her, heal the bites, for they will annoy her to no ends. And upon the soul of R’Lous, she is difficult enough to deal with when she is happy.”

The Master turned back to Shawn and Aelvedaar.

I did nothing, she berated herself silently, staring off into middle space now. Just the thought of actually watching what was hoped to be the healing of her mother only underscored and strengthened the fear and hopelessness now rising within her.

What could I do? Mo- Aunt Jharmeen told me I have this power, mother and father both have mentioned it came to their aid in the past...

...but where is it? Where is it!? I do not feel it within, I merely feel--

As the Master approached Galen's pale and limp form she jerked, her body moving forward just the tiniest bit, as if in protest.

Mother! I feel this-- it is...?

She paused, frozen in bewilderment and confuseion, her helplessness laced now with a fright of such proportions as to be utterly unwarranted by what was happening. She blinked, focused now on the Master.

He backed away from Galen, who sticky and sweating, was beginning to groan. One hand lifted feebly to scratch without any real strength at a line of welts running down her throat before it fell to the desert hardpan like a wounded butterfly. The Master turned away from this as if it was beneath his notice, heading to where others were working on Lord Aelvedaar.

I feel-- wrong.

Tears flooded her eyes then as, the movement light and inherently graceful, she turned away from the others then, heading at an angle across the face of a nearby dune until she came upon a small "hollow" created by the confluence of the dunes. There she dropped, staring at the shifting sands, feeling not so much helpless any longer as utterly useless to the others.

"He is gaining strength and the intensity of the venom is lessening."

Even as Shawn stated as much, he felt Lord Aelvedaar move slightly beneath his touch.

He is growing stronger.

"He is beginning to come to consciousness, but your assistance would aid him in returning even more quickly."

Fear.

Glancing around the group, he saw that Erik was still with Galen, and she was beginning to moan and stir, and that Terrin Danner and his men, along with Panthar, were sticking close by. But someone was missing...

Shawn looked back to the Master. "If you could look to his wounds for a few brief moments, I will be right back," he said, standing, sensing a probable response to this sudden movement on the Jedi's part.

"Only a moment," Shawn then reiterated, following the nearby familiar Force-signature and coming up to JhinDarra.

"I-- I don't know," she said at length, her voice so soft and low that Shawn was unsure at first if she had spoken at all.

"I-- I did nothing, I just stood there, Mother and the Dark Lord were hurt, and I did nothing, even though I am told, and had just been, that I have the ability to help, only I--

"I couldn't. I don't know how!"

Another pause, a slight gulp before she quickly raised a hand to wipe tears from her eyes. Feeling a bit more under control then, she finally looked up into Shawn's kind face.

"There is something wrong," she whispered, fighting against another onrush of tears the overwhelming concern so evident in his face was threatening to provoke.

"I don't know what exactly, I just feel there is..."

Focus on the moment, the here and now. You have the ability to feel, and that is a good thing. But while you continue feeling no matter what, there are moments when you must concentrate on the things that are happening where you are."

Pausing at that, Shawn sensed outward with his Force senses, nodding once then. "As for the something wrong you feel..."

He pursed his lips slightly. "I feel it also."

Quieting a moment, he attuned his senses, then continued with, "As to where or what it is, however...

...I am not yet certain. I can, however, help you in regards to your struggle with healing."

"Could you?" she queried softly, getting gracefully to her feet.

"Can you help me learn to use that power everyone keeps on telling me that I have? I would like nothing so much as to help others with it, help Mother--"

She trailed into silence then and just stood there, sending a steady and hopeful look directly into Shawn's eyes.

...and I can help you help your mother, for healing is within my realm."

He paused, his greeny-blue eyes calm and understanding. "Come," he said softly, motioning the young JhinDarra to follow him back to where Erik was still attending to Galen, Terrin supporting her as he did so.

"Erik, if you could go help the Master for a moment?" Shawn queried then. Erik Kartan looked up, nodded, and switched spots to then go attend to the Dark Lord.

Shawn knelt by Galen's side then, motioning for JhinDarra to do the same.

"With your ability to feel, I know that you most likely are already able to feel your blood connection with your Mother. Many healers speak of how they "channel" energies into a wounded individual...

...but this is not entirely so. For when one is adept in the Force, as well as in that which you possess, the strength truly comes from within. You are part of that grand energy that we use to heal others with.

Therefore all you need do is lend your mother the strength that is in you. Worry not about directing or channeling that strength anywhere for the moment; just feel for that link you have with your mother."

Quieting then, Shawn reached out and took one of JhinDarra's hands in his, and moved her hand to lay it atop Galen's forehead.

"Do you feel the link?"

It hovered there, wavering like liquid silver against a velvet sky, taunting her for it's proximity, chastising her for her inability to grasp it. Feeling the rise of frustration, she gritted her teeth, strained harder, stretched harder, only to have the silvery tendril snap away, laughing. It flipped back against a dark, gleaming door, adhered to it, scrolling about into a semblance of a language she couldn't begin to decipher.

But there it stayed; laughing now, she approached it, reached out a hand to touch the knob it was wrapped around, but her hand slipped sideways.

She frowned, tried again. To no avail.

A brief blurt of anger rose; the tendril merely slipped about the door, preventing her from touching it or coming anywhere near opening it. She tried again and again and again, biting her lip with the effort, sweat beginning to pour down her face...

And then she quit. Folded her hands and placed them in her lap. And bowed her head.

"Mother," she called out silently, tears of anguish rising within.

"Open the door..."

Only then did the tendril flash out in glowing splendor, whipping toward her, into her, wrapping itself around her thoughts and her heart. From somewhere not inside or betwixt and between but somehow around them both, a doorway opened and bolt after bolt of brilliant copper light now flowed back from her, following along the silvery tendril as does a major bolt of lightning follow the preliminary trail of a feeder...

...and keenly aware that Mother was the one who reached out first. But, that wasn't the only thing that happened. For the healing energies Shawn was familiar with took time and patience. But even as he sensed the connection between Darra and Galen further solidify...

...he began to see Galen's wounds reduce visibly.

And thus it is that in many times the Teacher ends up being the one who is taught.

Looking to JhinDarra, Shawn smiled and patted her on the shoulder reassuringly. "Yes, that is it. Look, already you are making progress."

Quite amazing progress.

Even as Shawn made his mental observation, Galen began to moan a bit less, and her muscles relaxed as the pain lessened. But that link...

...it remained. "Sometimes we must simply open ourselves to what is already present, and wait for it. And there are the times that the Master is indeed the learner.

"You're doing it. Just keep letting that connection with your mother be what it is, because it is most definitely strong and present."

...and then a great flood of warmth burst into the pool, turning it from arctic iciness to the bubbling warmth of a mineral spa, sending strength and comfort and life...

Ohhh-- it felt so damned good...

My eyes shot open. There was a blur of red above me as something or someone flashed quickly away. Following that flash as if tethered to it, I found myself sitting upright, staring about myself, blinking.

Two pair of eyes stared back at me, running the gamut of worry and pain to joy and relief--

No, make that three: verdant turquoise, baby blue, and another pair, the intense blue of a tropical sea.

"Wha--" I croaked, blinking eyes sticky with near death.

"What in Hell's Seven Circles happened?"

For of course I couldn't remember a thing, sure as there's Treasure on Roon.

When she awoke and sat up, he let out a “hmmm” and return his attention to Aelvedaar. A quick internal check and he was satisfied, and sat on his haunches next to the Dark Lord.

...and we left them wherever it was that we found Aelvedaar and got back here. If it hadn't been for Erik, Shawn, and Darra..."

Terrin trailed, his blue eyes shifting to Darra in appreciation. On the heels of that look Terrin's eyes shifted to the Master as Lord Aelvedaar began to stir as well. "But only upon threat of bodily harm, in some circumstances," he then commented, scowling blackly. Then he looked back to Galen. "Feeling okay now...

...excepting the scorching heat and need for water?"

He paused, speaking up then, to no one in particular. "You know, it would be a good idea to get the kriffing hell off this blasted ball of sand soon."

Blast it, anyway.

The Master stood and walked to the others.

“Lord Aelvedaar shall recover,” he said. “But there are truths we must now face. Obviously something unexpected has happened on Dagobah, and I for one find it safe to say that Shayla and/or the spirit of Graysith was involved. I can also find it within speculative reason that if Shayla found a way to reach Dagobah and attack Aelvedaar, then she is more powerful and resourceful than she seems, and Graysith has very likely been restored already.”

He sighed, long and deep.

“I for one am not satisfied with speculation, and am willing to take myself and whoever would follow to ascertain the truth of what took place on Dagobah. I would first move Lord Aelvedaar to safe location, leaving those who would not go to Dagobah to watch after him.”

The Master looked long at the group of individuals before him.

“I understand your fear and hatred of me,” he said calmly. “But realize that my actions were those of a man not only obsessed , but possessed and consumed by the power and darkness of a realm best left to the dead. Don’t you see? I have the curse of knowing certain future events, and the responsibility to stop them.”

After a half beat, the Master looked back to Aelvedaar.

He paused then, his look growing even more dark, his eyes growing vague. "Shayla wouldn't have done such a thing to Lord Aelvedaar as this...

...she couldn't have," he insisted, his eyes now snapping alert and locking on the Master. "If perhaps Jharmeen's spirt had something to do with all this, that does not mean that my wife also did. She was the vessel, and possibly only that. And even at that...

...there were implications of forces from the Tower also possibly being a part in all this. It is not safe to assume anything just yet, my friend. The only thing that I dare assume is that my wife could be in as serious a danger as the Dark Lord was...

He paused, pursing his lips, looking very thoughtful for a moment before he continued. "The one person here who will seperate fact from fiction for us is Lord Aelvedaar. We need his input, above all else, before we rush blindly into any of this. He alone knows what happened to him, and he may very well know if Shayla went to Degobah at all and if Jharmeen's spirit has been returned to her body. As for a safe place...

...I am in agreement with both Erik and the Master," he clarified, eyeing Erik a moment as if to say, "Don't be so suspicious."

Then he continued further with, "The Temple of the Sorceror's seems like the logical place to take Lord Aelvedaar to continue his recovery."

I wet my lips again. Words thunder in my ears. A wavelet laps away, leaving me cast upon the beach. Of course I am; I can feel the hot sand beneath my body...

"To-- Tem-ple..."

It is all I can manage. I trust the stranger who yet clasps my hand will know how to get there.

Not to mention what to do once we arrive.

“My Lord,” he said, leaning close. “I shall take us there now, for well do I know the Temple.”

Indeed, though in a future timeline now lost to the shifting sands, the Master was Aelomir, Dark Lord himself. He long ago abandoned that title, giving his allegiance to the Darkness in trade for powers that would save his people. But even that partnership was dissolved.

But now he could return, and that filled him with hope.

The Master focused on the inner lounge of the Dark Lord, where he had spent many hours in study in future days. He waved his hand, now steady with the resurgence of strength, and a portal shimmered before him. The Master looked to Panthar, his eyes sharp and keen, then stepped through the portal.

Almost immediately came an urgent shout echoing from within the portal, as the Master ordered a shocked servant to fetch Aeylmaar.

(((OOC: Follow The Master into Silence of the Lambs in the "Jedi Praxeum and Sith Temple" forum, thank you!)))

(((OOC: Follow Panthar into Silence of the Lambs in the "Jedi Praxeum and Sith Temple" forum, thank you!)))

...and that wasn't a very comforting observation.

Gently picking Galen up from the ground, Terrin looked to her and stated as much quietly, then added, "I don't trust him yet...

...and I'm not sure that we should, considering he was more than willing to dismiss your injuries to deal with Lord Aelvedaar's alone, feeling he was the more important of the two of you."

Terrin paused, his look darkening. "In my book, every player in the team is important, no matter who they are or how they contribute. You never know when you might need them."

Another pause. An admission. "I don't like him."

Then, turning to a scowling Jasyn Lancaster a patiently waiting Matt Stanza, a quiet Thoran, a deceptively calm Shawn Petrolu, a distant looking Erik Kartan, and JhinDarra, Terrin nodded towards the portal. "Let's get out of here."

And with nothing further, Terrin carried Galen through the portal to the Temple of the Sorcerors on Khar Delba, hoping for all kriffing hell that he never spent another moment on the dustball of a rock they had just left behind as everyone else followed in his wake.

(((OCC: Follow Terrin, Galen, Matt, Jasyn, Shawn, Erik, Thoran, and JhinDarra back to Silence of the Lambs in the Jedi Praxeum and Sith Temple forums.)))