But something else was coursing through her veins, something dark, hot, and tempting. Yes, Cella was furious. How many people would have to be injured before this Lady Sith would be satiated? Power crackled in her fingertips. Although the fanged beast had destroyed her precious lightsaber, she had other weapons at her disposal...

No, Cella! This is what they want. They want you to give in to fear and lash out like a wounded animal. Don't do it.

Slowly, slowly, she gathered her composure. Then she caught sight of the shadowy figure standing next to the Lady Sith.

No. It cannot be. But it was. Tall, turquoise-eyed, the figure of a thousand nightmares...and frighteningly enough, a few visions of ultimate power. Cella wondered if he would recognize her, bloodied and worn as she was. But other things were pressing now...

Shayla! Her cry to the woman was met with stony silence. Apparently she was going to recieve the same reception as Logan had. She steeled herself and looked into the violet eyes of the Lady Sith.

"So, finally, we meet. Doubtless you already know all about me, but Logan Murroe has told me of you, so I figure that makes us about even. You know why I'm here. I have come in search of Shayla Petrolu, a Jedi candidate whom you took from the Praxeum. Logan has told me that she remains here of her own free will, and I would ask her myself if this is true."

"Also, I arrived on this planet in the company of one Erik Kartan, a friend and former associate of Shayla's. I was rendered unconscious by your...pet's...first attack on me, and I haven't seen him since. Nor have I been able to sense him through the Force." She hesitated. "I'd appreciate your assurance that he's safe." Or there's going to be some serious hell to pay...

Oh, how amusing! she thought to both her Dark Lord and her Adept, easily blocking the words from the mind of the jedi. How very little this one truly knows of us! With what unwavering faith she adheres to her incomplete beliefs; indeed I would find it sad if it were not so truly laughable.

Then her eyes narrowed, catching the flash of recognition in Cella's own as the woman took in the fearsome countenance of the rock-silent Lord Roan. Graysith cocked her head a bit, her gaze boring into the very essence of Cella Poliani, at last finding and reading the images stored in the woman's memory which His presence had sparked to the forefront of her brain. Then her eyes slid to those of Lord Roan, who appeared to be stifling a smile as he watched the potential drama being acted out in front of him. A genuine smile was brought to that stark and harshly handsome face as with one of her own she reached out a pale hand to rest it lightly atop his clawed one.

Your clone had been such a busy little monkey-lizard, my Dark Heart....

Abruptly, she cut her eyes back to Cella.

"You must forgive the actions of my... pet," she said smoothly. "There are times he shows a tendency toward ...an enthusiasm beyond the necessity of the moment."

Turning again and flashing him another brilliant smile, Graysith gave Dark Lord Roan's hand a gentle squeeze. Then she removed her hand from his altogether and turned back to Cella once more, the smile suddenly nothing more than a memory.

"You desire to speak with my Adept, Shayla Petrolu," she said succinctly. "I find this pleasing to hear, for indeed I believe she has been wishing to speak with you." With those words she waved her hand toward the back of the Great Hall, where Shayla stood waiting next to a grumbling Nikk.

"Ask your questions, Jedi."

Graysith stepped smoothly back until she was once more beside the Great Throne and standing next to her Lord and Dark Heart. He in turn continued to remain silent, only reaching out once to place a hand possessively upon her hip. Her eyes never leaving Cella's, she shot one brief statement into the mind of her Adept and Chosen Sister.

My Dark Heart is most interested in hearing what you have to say.

On the opposite side of the Chosen Daughter, M'wonBo'o tensed, his tail lashing as he licked his lips again. Having now tasted of the Jedi's blood, it was all the great Beast could do to keep from springing upon her right then and there. A small and somehow hungry whine escaped him, and he cast his eerie eyes anxiously upon his Mistress.

She smiled sweetly, sensing his eagerness.

Patience, my friend.

Patience....

[ 11-16-2001 10:55 PM: Message edited 1 time, lastly by Graysith ]

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

Her Dark Heart? The only other male Shayla would have suspected to hold such a title was...

Dead?

But back to the matters now at hand. Crossing her arms, Shayla offered no words, only a facial expression denoting interest rather than the anger or coldness that Cella most certainly expected from her.

Arching her eyebrows, her blue-green eyes fairly radiating with curiousity, Shayla awaited the Jedi's inquires...

[ 11-17-2001 12:23 AM: Message edited 1 time, lastly by Shayla Stargazer Petrolu ]

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

"Shayla, it has been a long time. Too long. Jeroc and I, it seems, have failed you, but believe me, we came as soon as we could. You were hidden from us by her you call Teacher...and we Jedi are by no means omnipotent. Until I die, I will always feel the guilt of this."

Shayla cocked her head to the side, pondering the words, half-hearing the rest of what Cella Poliani was saying even though she was keenly aware of every word.

By her you call Teacher...

How easily Cella had assumed that Graysith had done that, when in fact, He had.

Perhaps she would get back to this little point later, perhaps not. Other things needed to be addressed first. Shayla knew Cella Poliani was sincere in what she was saying. But she didn't understand; she couldn't see.

"I am well aware that I was hidden from you," Shayla began simply. "But what you do not see, aside from the fact that I've learned of my Darker emotions, is that I've learned of myself. I know of my Fear, my Anger, my Loyalty..." Shayla hesitated a moment, smiling a bit to herself, "...and my Love. I cannot return to the pale life of a Jedi, where feeling emotion and acting in accordance with it is wrong. To do so would be to neglect everything I've learned here: of the little girl who lost her parents to a cruel Empire and responded by burying her anger and hurt, of a child who learned drill after drill and Jedi technique after Jedi technique while never being able to believe in herself, of the adolescent who ran from the Praxeum in fear of what she might become if she failed...

...Of the young woman who returned there to escape facing her True Love..."

Shayla paused, regarding Cella thoughtfully. "I might have had the beginnings of becoming a great Jedi, but I have the potential to become something even more than that.

"But I must ask...if Logan returned to you and told you that I wished to remain here," Shayla added, truly curious, "What made you decide that there was hope of me returning even still, enough for you to come here on your own?"

Fully aware that all eyes and ears were on her, Shayla stopped with that, uncrossing her arms and folding them at the small of her back. She cocked her head to the side once more, calmly awaiting Cella's reply...

[ 11-19-2001 08:13 AM: Message edited 1 time, lastly by Shayla Stargazer Petrolu ]

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

At length she turned and bent down to whisper in her Dark Heart's ear. He seemed to smile, taking his hand from her hip to grasp her own and raise it to his lips. Then he settled back amidst the embrace of the immense throne upon which he sat, and watched as Graysith smoothly stepped down from the dias. Her movements like that of flowing water, she spoke no word but continued ahead, pausing only momentarily to cast a final look in Shayla's direction before she turned to the Jedi.

Before either woman could actually grasp what she was doing, she reached out a slim hand and placed it on Cella's shoulder. She smiled a bit to herself as she felt the shudder which racked the woman's frame at that touch; it broadened a bit when Cella's utter astonishment at suddenly being totally healed directly hit her. Graysith did not offer explanation of any kind, nor indicate what her plans might be. She merely shot a penetrating gaze into Shayla's somewhat startled eyes, ignoring Cella once again. Then, reaching out a commanding arm, she quietly demanded the attendance of Nikk. M'wonBo'o whined fretfully as he watched the pair depart the Great Hall altogether, leaving him in her eerily silent wake to guard Lord Roan.

Easily maintaining a mental shield to block her thoughts from all force-users present, the Chosen Daughter hurried through the dimly lit corridors of the Temple, the one command she had shot into the mind of the Noghri directing him as to where he was to direct her in turn. Sith shadows whispered dark caresses all about them as they moved along, clearly pleased with the return of the Dark One, eagerly awaiting their final awakening with the keenest anticipation. They seemed to reach their incorporeal arms in an attempt to stroke Graysith as she moved along; she merely smiled, sensing their trembling joy with a dark elation of her own.

At last she came to a halt before a singularly noisome spot on the stone wall, buried deep within the bowels of the Temple. Her eyes cut to Nikk in silent command; then, reaching a slender hand she touched the writhing mosses on that wall and opened up a gaping and dark entrance. She didn't hesitate, but stepped into the hidden little room, stepping through the Force Shield she had placed there long before, augmenting it with another bolstering influx of the All which glared forth from the Glyph on her forehead. It's ravening ultraviolet radiance shot into the little cell, lighting it with the fiery blast of a young and impatiently hot star, clearly revealing the dark and despairing form huddling against the back wall.

A form whose head now jerked up, who moved stiffly in a shuddery attempt to gain his feet before her. Whether that movement sprang from fear or defiance, Graysith didn't care. She merely pinned him with her violet gaze.

"You are Erik," she quite calmly said at last.

The young man didn't answer, but myriad questions haunted his eyes. Uppermost in them was the clear worry and love he felt for Shayla. Graysith didn't keep him waiting for answers long.

"You have captured her heart as well," she said softly. Then--

"Fear not!"

With those words she reached out a slender hand to Erik, her pale fingers wide-spread to encompass the mental and emotional pressure points on his face. With the softest of touches she laid her hand against his countenance; then flinging back her head she let every image, every interaction with, every feeling of and coming from her Adept flow with the firm and unstoppable current of a great river directly into his very mind and heart and soul. En route she clearly felt the instinctive mental barriers he so quickly had raised in protection, and she smiled. Not so much because of the ease with which she almost casually demolished those barriers, but because of the mere fact that he had the ability to raise them at all.

At last the flood of sensations reduced to a trickle, then stopped altogether as she departed from his being. She stood for a long moment, merely watching as the young man's injured body was racked with the emotional impacts those images had revealed to him. Then she quietly spoke up to him.

"I have revealed this to you so that you know them to be true," she whispered. "As well as can find truth in the words which I now will speak to you.

"She wishes to learn... and to teach you as well. There may be promise in this--"

Now her eyes darkened as she tilted her head to one side, considering him further, the intensity of that one Look practically wringing his inner being out in a puddle on the cold stone floor.

"--but she is not a Master yet."

Graysith paused now, beginning to glide about the tiny perimeter of the stone cell this young man had been hidden away in. One hand gracefully slid along the coldness of the rock as she moved about, circling the room, finally forcing Erik to move into its middle as she came upon him still hunkered against the wall at the back. She grinned to herself, sensing the admixture of fear and wariness and disgust and worry and anger flooding from him... dark and raging emotions quite suddenly, and entirely unbeknownst to him, being infiltrated with an insidious tendril of belief.

The movement graceful and quick, she whirled to face him.

"She believes she has tapped into that dark side of her being, but this is not so. This she must do, if that which she now seeks of her own volition is to come about within her.

"You cannot know of what I speak, but I say this unto you: complete balance of one's self is the goal. There is a great and quite enduring love within her, which must be equally balanced or that which she seeks will forever elude her.

"The result of that, of course, can be nothing other than her death. It is an all or nothing lesson, my young friend."

She quieted now, watching awareness and a kind of horror replace the earlier emotions that had raged in Erik's eyes. Yet still there floated a wisp of a question; that this would be entirely eliminated, she leaned in closer to him and whispered into his ear.

"Her life hangs by the thread of her belief in your dismissal of her. How convincing can you be, Erik Kartan?"

Before he could gather his wits enough to answer, she whirled to leave. In parting, a graceful wave of one hand left a more palatable and appetizing platter of sustenance lying on the floor at his feet. Another wave brought the beginnings of the healing process to him, speeding up that which had already begun.

She paused one last time at the doorway, beyond which Erik could clearly see the hovering presence of the Noghri Commander.

"You will be sent for."

Then she stepped out into the corridor and was gone, the opening slamming back into its original slime-covered rock and wood, imprisoning Erik with his thoughts and convictions and his love...

...and the heavy burden of that which he knew he had to do.

[ 11-19-2001 02:56 PM: Message edited 1 time, lastly by Graysith ]

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

She turned her attention back to Shayla. "Perhaps you are right and there is much I don't see. I am glad that you have learned of yourself--but you didn't have to come here to do that. If there are things I don't understand, though, there are also things I don't understand. You call the ways of the Jedi 'pale' and void of emotion...but that isn't so. I wonder who it was that drummed the notion that Jedi could feel nothing into your head."

"I know nothing about what you've learned here. I do know, however, that in the ways of the Jedi I have become a whole person...and yes, I have found love." A smile crossed her face at the thought of Jeroc. "But obviously, that hasn't been true for you."

"As to why I came here after what Logan had told me...I did believe there was hope. I knew you were a good person, and I wasn't going to just give up on you, after chasing you halfway across the galaxy. Even when Jeroc and I had nearly given in to despair, Erik wouldn't just let you go. He had--and still has--a great deal of faith in you. He loves you, of that I am certain."

Rustles? Now, what was wrong with this picture...?

Taking a deep breath I peeked an eye open. Directly in front of me hung what appeared to be a leathery-leafed branch, backlit by a brilliant moon that was trying to capture my attention through the other surrounding leaves and branches.

Leaves and branches?!

I jerked myself upright...

...and almost fell headlong from my perch. My hands leapt out of their own accord and grabbed hold of the rough bark on which I was now laying half-supine, my eyes glancing quickly about to determine just where in Hell's Seven Circles I was. That I was definitely not in that horrid Sith Temple was a given; but where and how--? I gathered my wits and my gumption and took stock of the situation.

A tree. I was in a tree, of all the peculiar and ridiculous places....

Now that I knew where I was, I began trying to figure out how I had gotten there. That the darling little hellions my sweet ex-sibling commanded were not exactly prone toward gently depositing their prey in such an arboreal haven was another given, and I certainly did not remember climbing up to escape them. The last thing I remembered was nailing at least one of the little imps, and possibly another before my own blaster came sailing down in my face.

I grimaced as that thought brought forth a fresh wave of pain. Sheesh, that little creep hit me hard enough, I thought to myself as I lifted one hand from its grasp on the tree limb to gingerly explore my face. All the pieces seemed to be pretty much as I last remembered them, but extending down from my forehead, across the bridge of my nose, and ending near my jawline was a crusty swath of something still slightly sticky.

I winced. Well... it could have been far worse....

Now I devoted myself to taking a better look around. I seemed to be about thirty feet up, approximately a third of the way to the canopy that arched like a dark blanket over my head. As I peered downward trying to decide if I could get back down on my own, my attention was drawn to a glint of something that shimmered a faint silver in the dappled moonlight.

A lightsaber. And upon closer scrutiny, Cella's lightsaber. And it definitely looked... crunched.

I shivered with the sudden realization of what must have happened. Cella must have followed me, tried to save me from the Noghri's attack. That she had actually managed to succeed in this said a lot for her fighting abilities. But that she was not here, and that her munched-over laser-sword was told the rest of the story.

That Beast from Hell that she travelled with... the one I tricked. It must have taken the jedi.

Which meant that the plan I had been formulating now wasn't worth a pile of bantha poo-doo. Having a jedi lurking about in the shadows of the jungle, possibly able to infiltrate the Temple, was a major constituent of the plan. But now that Cella was undoubtedly already inside and quite obviously not of her own volition....

I sighed. So much for that. Guess I'd better get down and back to Terrin, who probably was ready to tear my head off for what I had done. I looked down, seeking hand and footholds in the bark of the tree. Little by little I crept until at last I stood on the floor of the jungle.

Around me, mysterious shadows pressed, and the night was alive with sound.

Good! I thought as I bent forward to retrieve the mangled weapon of the jedi. That just lets me know that there's nothing predatory in the immediate vicinity. But just how long that state of affairs would remain static was the third given of the night.

Tucking the lightsaber into the waistband of my suit, I began heading back to camp.

[ 11-19-2001 06:24 PM: Message edited 1 time, lastly by Galen ]

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He couldn't let this happen. He couldn't be the cause of her Death.

But how could he possibly have her believe that he had dismissed her? How could he ever convince her that he did not Love her?

She would know.

Or would she?

But how could he? After he had traveled this great distance and given so much? How could he just let her go? How could he be the cause of her pain?

FOR ALL THAT WAS LIVING AND IMMORTAL, WOULD THEY EVER be together?

How was he to know that if he did this that she would ever return to him? But if he couldn't convince her, she'd be killed...

He just couldn't live knowing that, whether she would ever return to him or not.

Sighing and trying to blink back the tears that were surfacing even still, Erik Kartan resigned himself to this terrible thing which he was about to do to his Love, the one reason he had done all this...

...and the one person he knew he would die for if he must...

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

You WERE a good person...chasing you halfway around the galaxy...quest has been in vain...

"Well," she said darkly, stepping back from the other woman and folding her arms, "I'm sorry you've...wasted your precious time. You sound as though you rather expected me to run into your arms like a three-year old."

As Cella gazed at Shayla in shock, Shayla's right hand wandered down to the hilt of the lightsaber she had built.

No. Not worth it.

As Shayla stood regarding the other woman coldly, Graysith entered the Great Hall once again, and Shayla wondered what was going on. But she resigned herself to the situation at hand for the moment.

Turning to face Graysith, Shayla spoke. "I am...finished talking with her," she growled, motioning to Cella.

With that she quieted, uncertain of just what might happen next...

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

"Terrin, you really should eat something," Matt interjected.

He paused a moment, glancing down at the two of them. Then, wordlessly, he began pacing again.

Jasyn grinned devilishly. "We might have to stun him again to get him to calm down."

Terrin stopped cold, jerking around to give Jasyn a good glare.

"Sorry," the other man said, putting his hands up in surrender. "But you know she's right. If we're going to use her as live bait, we have to make her look as interesting, as available, and as much of a threat as possible."

"Yeah, well, then if that's so, why did Poliani get carried off while Galen is up in a tree?"

Jasyn shrugged. "Jedi must have been more of a threat, at that moment."

"Great," Terrin muttered, finally sitting down, "Just great. She still up in that tree?"

Jasyn took a pair of binoculars next to him and placed them over his eyes, surveying the area. He gazed through them a minute or so, then dropped them down to his side, frowning.

"What?" Terrin asked.

"She's gone," Jasyn answered simply.

Here we go again. He might understand the logic behind this, but that didn't mean he liked it anymore than before.

He was about to voice that opinion when a rhythmic crackle-snap pattern surfaced in the forefront of his auditory attention. Matt, who had already noticed the sound, had retrieved his blaster, which was strange considering he was usually an easy-going sort of fellow.

Must be pretty unnerved by all of this.

Slowly, Jasyn began to notice it too, and his hand brushed the blaster on his lap. Terrin stood again, his own hand straying to the weapon on his belt.

Then, in the clearing...

Terrin blinked in surprise as Galen returned to camp. Dropping his right hand back down into his pocket, he stood there wordlessly, not sure what to say or do after the events that had so recently taken place.

She stopped in front of him and looked up at him, those big brown eyes of hers seeking understanding and possibly something else...

He reached out a hand and took her chin in it, surveying the line of dried blood across her face. "Let's get that cleaned up," he finally managed.

Boy, THAT sounded really brillant, his little shoulder devil blathered. Terrin tried his best to ignore it.

Releasing her chin and draping an arm around her shoulders, he lead her back into camp.

Something told him they'd be needing to rethink their strategy really soon...

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

"I still contend that the reason this bait thing isn't working is because we aren't presenting enough of a threat," Jasyn said.

Terrin nodded thoughtfully. "Yeah, makes sense. Taking out some of her Noghri pals might have been enough, but Poliani stepped in. She meant well, but," Terrin said, pausing as he glanced over at Galen, "Like me she probably didn't realize what you were trying to do til after the fact."

"And I think we can agree that since we are so obviously heading right to the Temple that this Sith might not see any reason to capture," Matt added.

"Which is why we need to pose more of a threat," Jasyn insisted.

"So we wait for more Noghri to take out?" Terrin quizzed, furrowing his brow in thought, "How many of those has she got? And how many times can we count on being able to take any of them down?"

Jasyn shook his head. "First of all, there's no "we" to the actual attack part. Galen attacks, we lurk behind and use the distraction to get into the Temple, waiting to go back and get her after we've hopefully found the Nar Khelba. Galen doesn't have to attack successfully, we are relying on the fact that she is of enough interest to this Sith that the mere fact she attacks at all would be enough to get her captured."

Terrin frowned. He really didn't like this. And he hated it when Jasyn was right. Although he had figured all this out for himself just a little while before, hearing it from someone else made it just that much more reasonable regardless of whether he liked it or not. "Allright, that makes sense. But how are we going to get into the Temple with no Jedi now?"

"We don't..." Jasyn started. Terrin cut him off with a good glare.

"Poliani's partner," Matt said simply.

That's right! He'd forgotten about that!

But where was he then?

Terrin's stomach was starting to hurt. He wasn't sure if it was the bad food, or something else.

"So we are stuck here waiting, again?" Terrin moaned, running a hand through his hair. "We've gotta move with or without the other Jedi, at least enough to get Galen into the Temple. Unless there is something else I'm not thinking of that we can do, this has to be the best possibility of us succeeding in finding the Nar Khelba at all."

Quieting as Jasyn headed to check readings on his "toys" and Matt wandered off to his tent, Terrin shifted so that he could be a bit closer to Galen. They hadn't talked really since she'd returned, and he hoped she didn't think he was mad at her. He was truthfully a bit upset that she'd moved before he knew what was happening, but he was more upset with himself for not thinking the whole thing through before he went running after her.

Maybe if he hadn't, her plan would have worked and Poliani would still be here.

And they'd be closer to getting the Hell off this miserable rock.

Trying to turn the negative self-talk in his head off, Terrin turned his blue eyes to meet her big brown ones.

If only a moment could last forever...

Suddenly he wished that she would say something, anything.

"I'm sorry...that I messed your plan up," he finally told her. "I didn't know...My heart was guiding...my head...was elsewhere..."

Smiling a wan little smile, he gazed into her eyes, searching, waiting...

[ 11-21-2001 12:46 PM: Message edited 1 time, lastly by Terrin Danner ]

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

His hand brushed the lightsaber at his belt. He'd told Logan to keep Cella's old saber with him. "Consider it a gift," he'd said a little dryly, "until the day you truly prove yourself worthy of it." Now, he sensed Cella was in some distress...and her lightsaber had been destroyed. Jeroc slapped his forehead. He should have made the boy give her back the old one.

However, it probably would have met the same fate as the other.

Jeroc continued to maintain contact with Cella, not a deep communication, but he could sense most of her immediate thoughts and feelings. She had been given the opportunity to talk to Shayla, but to no avail. The young woman was still as distant and unreceptive as she had been with Logan.

Cella had talked to the Sith Lady, who had left the Great Hall for parts unknown...and had healed Cella of the wounds she had received at the hands of the Lady's Beast. Jeroc shook his head. Perhaps a ruse or ploy, but a good turn nonetheless.

Suddenly, Jeroc felt Cella's mental voice turn immediate and urgent. Do not fear for me, beloved. I do not think they will harm me...and I believe I will be allowed to leave the Temple in peace. There are others more in need of your aid than I. A promise made that I, because of my foolishness, was unable to keep. He could almost hear her sigh faintly.

Terrin Danner and his crew...and Galen. I promised them my aid in obtaining the Nar Khelba, and to craft them a lightsaber containing it. Go now and keep my promise for me. Cella sounded positive. I will join you shortly.

With those words from his partner, Jeroc set about finding the location of Danner's camp as Cella had described it...

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

Cella gazed at Shayla, who refused to meet her eyes. "But I'm not quite finished with you yet, Shayla. While I didn't expect an Imperial welcome, I wasn't prepared for this level of contempt. However, the past cannot be recaptured. I see now that you are not the Shayla Petrolu that once was. But I ask you, in the name of any ghost of respect that you might still have for me, to speak with Erik. At least give him to understand what you have given me. He loves you, I know that much."

"Contempt? Contempt?!" She was screaming now. And she didn't care. "And you believe that you do not have contempt for the things that I have learned here as well? You may walk away from me now, but you will never walk away from what you have decided of me in your mind. You've not truly heard me since you've arrived here; at least Logan was capable of that.

"The person here who holds the contempt, I would venture to guess, is you, Cella Poliani. You never knew me. Don't pretend now that you ever did."

With that, Shayla cooly crossed her arms and glared at the other woman, waiting for what Graysith might have to say to her.

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

She felt an odd sense of peace and calm despite Shayla's rage. "And neither have you heard a single word I have tried to say to you. I have acknowledged my ignorance of what you have learned here; you ignored that. I have tried to explain to you that there is more to the Jedi way than suppressed emotion; you ignored that also. In all ways have I tried to meet you halfway, as best I knew how."

"And you are right. I will never walk away. I will never go a day without thinking of what I have done with my weakness and fear. Of the fact that I ought to have come for you long ago."

Indeed but these pale jedi have such narrow vision! she mused to herself. How very little this one truly sees, and how quick to jump to conclusions she is because of it! Indeed, my destiny shall be fulfilled with ease if she is representative of her ilk; I sense no barrier here that could even begin to threaten my achieving that glorious goal!

And my Adept... ahhh. The waters deepen about her; yet still she remains afloat.

Not one lick of her introspection was allowed to escape her, however; even the Glyph on her forehead remained relatively passive, and in that deceptive meekness became once again a strangely animate enigma somehow extremely difficult to look upon.

Suddenly Graysith smiled, and turned slightly sideways. One hand swept gracefully toward the throne, upon which there yet brooded a darkly magnetic figure. The voice in which she spoke was soft, yet penetrating.

"There is One other here whose thoughts have not yet been considered," she murmured sweetly. "Whether you two make your peace or not, or whether you, Jedi, leave this place in such a...charmingly peaceful manner as you state is of no concern one way or the other to me.

"I shall let my Dark Heart tip the scales with his desires."

Both women turned to her with a little start of surprise at that. Graysith only tilted her head in a mocking dismissal of Cella, turned on her heel and smoothly glided up the dias to stand before Lord Roan. There she leaned forward briefly, kissing him full on the mouth, drawing back slowly with her eyes now boring into his. The smile quickly returned as, after bowing briefly before him as well, she suddenly straightened and made a motion with her hand.

Flanked by the instantaneous approach of her tuk'ata and Noghri Commander, the Chosen Daughter of the Sith parted the Great Hall, leaving the jedi and her Adept in the quite capable hands of her Lord.

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

Great Khaandon's Ghost, but I must look a fright, even after Terrin's loving ministrations! I thought to myself. Then I shrugged it off, and hunkered closer to him. For a moment I felt as though every muscle I owned was clenched in a suddenly awkward anticipation... then practically fell into a puddle of relief in his lap as his arm went about my shoulders and tightened me to him.

I closed my eyes, wondering how in Hell's Seven Circles I ought to begin. I didn't know whether he was going to forgive me or not; granted, the cleaning of the face, and sitting by my side, and now arm about me all gave good indication that all would be hunky dory soon. I took another deep breath and let it escape me in a whoosh as I cast my eyes down to my feet. All my bravado left me in that release of air.

"I- I'm sorry if I worried you, love," I began haltingly. "It's just that I-"

I what? I expected that I ought to have been captured by now, and in some crazy way was the last thing but pleased that I hadn't been? I was chomping at the bit for the fact that here we had been dithering around this stupid excuse of a world for nearly a full cycle, and we were still free as the proverbial bird? The last time I had been here I had barely gotten forty meters from my landing coordinates when I had been smoothly and with an abundance of efficiency captured by those hideous Noghri and "escorted" into the temple.

WHY WERE WE BEING LEFT ALONE, AND WHY DID THAT AWFUL CREATURE TAKE THE JEDI AND NOT ME?

I couldn't form the words to begin trying to explain what I was feeling. All I could do was sigh again and snuggle into the protective warmth of Terrin's arms.

"I just thought that if I went out alone maybe She wouldn't focus on you, and when I was taken you and the lasersword-swinger would be free to come in... ok, somehow come in and rescue me. If I was alone, I might have a better chance at getting the Nar Khelba.

"Oh, Khaandon, I don't know. I was taking it on the fly; I didn't even have a real plan, just some strange gut feelings that I had to act. And now that lady Jedi is a prisoner instead of me..."

Oh no. No you don't, Galen ol girl. You will NOT let your throat constrict like that; you will NOT let your vision get all blurry and watery; you most definitely will NOT let that upwelling heat and bout of trembling send you into a stupid crying jag now, no you won't....

I sniffled, and buried my face against Terrin's chest.

I should have been captured, me. NOT the Jedi, who was really here to try to help. ME.

But I wasn't. I was left behind like yesterday's baked goods, and in my stead another was undoubtedly languishing in a cell similar to the one I had been in, probably ripped and torn and broken as I had been, with no real hope of seeing the light of day ever again as I truly thought I would not.

And the only thing worse than the thought of her never getting out again was that of us never getting in....

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For several moments they sat in pure silence, and she turned her face up to him, her eyes slightly damp.

Sithspit, Terrin, buddy, what have you gotten yourself into? Terrin's little shoulder devil said snidely.

When am I ever going to get rid of you?! Terrin thought back at the little nuisance. The thing folded it's arms, pratically stuck its tongue out at him in his mind's eye, and poof! it was gone.

"We'll think of something," he muttered again, gazing into the depths of her eyes, hoping to goodness that something brillant would just suddenly pop up in his brain.

Well, you have good enough inspiration, anyway, a little voice mummered within him.

But what WERE they going to do? Poliani was out, and so was Kartan. The two of them were in that Temple, and Terrin couldn't leave them there knowing that they just might not waltz out with Shayla as they expected. And Jasyn DID have a point; they WEREN'T presenting much of a threat out there in the jungle of Khar Delba, while all the Sith were hunkered in their blessed Temple just waiting for the arrival of unwanted guests. And somehow he knew that's precisely what they were doing.

The original theory had been that Galen, being pregnant with the strong child that she was, would be of enough interest that the Sith would snag her almost immediately. In the diversion, the group would go for the Nar Khelba and recover Galen.

THAT clearly hadn't worked, so Galen went off on her own, thinking that her being alone would make her a more available capture while leaving behind the rest of the group to move in.

That didn't work either. So, what was left?

Terrin frowned thoughtfully, hoping for something, anything to produce a flicker of a plausible plan.

Perhaps the Jedi were a threat because they too had an interest in Galen's child? Or was it simply that Cella Poliani had taken out a Noghri or two?

Or...

Some little spark of a realization was beginning to form...

Erik Kartan had been snagged. Shayla's friend, possibly more than that. Then...Cella Poliani...a Jedi whose main interest in being on Khar Delba was the "rescue" of Shayla Petrolu...

The connection was there, but how could they use it?

The lightbulb began to flicker over Terrin's head as something began to click. Before he thought of what he was saying, he blurted, "We have to somehow pose a threat to Shayla."

Galen arched an eyebrow at him.

Sithspit, Terrin, you need to clarify that one just a bit.

"It'll get us into the Temple, I'm almost positive. See if you can follow me on this, or if I'm losing my mind. Shayla is being taught by this Sith, we know that much. But she was first a Jedi padawan, and the main goal of most of the people here except for our team is to get to Shayla. First, Erik Kartan was taken, mere minutes after he landed here. He's a significant other to Shayla and also has Jedi background. Cella Poliani was taken next; while she attacked the Noghri, she also posed a threat to Shayla's learning here because she too could convince Shayla out of whatever she is doing here."

Terrin paused, wondering if he was making a lick of sense or if he'd simply not had enough sleep.

This could work. He knew it.

"I don't know how we could use this...You have an idea of how to use this, don't you pal?...but considering that Shayla probably doesn't like me much and that I was at some point trying to capture her for a Moff..."

His mind was spinning faster than he could say it all, and he wasn't even sure of what exactly he was thinking just yet anyway.

"Am I making any sense?"

[ 11-22-2001 11:38 PM: Message edited 1 time, lastly by Terrin Danner ]

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His serpentine eyes closed only brefly as he as he allowed the all to encompass him. The black markings on his darkly purple face seemed to ebb and flow like a Garthac hurican. The room pounded with his heart beat as the powers he commanded filled the room. He once again opened his tuquise eyes casting a gaze upon Shayla.

"You have made your wishes known no further explenation of your actions are needed," he said smoothly.

He turned his gaze upon Cella "I am however interested jedi in your 'other weapons' you might have at your disposal" he hissed cocking his eyebrow with a distinct look of amusement on his face. "Do you think that there is anything that you may have that I am not aware?" He said the last statement with a devilish sneer; the shadows around her seemed to rise up, mocking her.

He sat up in the throne, both clawed hands lightly laying on the arms. "As far as your request to leave...." he said softly letting the words hang in the air momentarily "it is denyed." He turned his gaze once more to the adept. "Show her to a room." A broad smile graced his face showing those powerful black fangs.

All will be avenged my love, Graysith heard as a caressing whisper, ....this I vow.

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"Yeah-" I finally said with some hesitation. "What you're saying might very well be true. I mean, it is kinda odd that she's picked off the two people in this Galaxy who seem to have the strongest connection to Shayla at the moment, granted...." I trailed off, now taking a couple steps forward to peer off into the dark mystery of the surrounding jungle.

"But-!" Now I turned abruptly back to Terrin. "There is also the consideration that my sister dearest is being a busy little rancor picking off those who simply might pose the biggest impediment to whatever little plans she has fermenting in that evil brain of hers. Nothing like dividing the enemy to conquer... and nothing like taking out the armament before you end up storming the fort."

Now I stopped, my eyes widening as I let my thoughts continue in the direction my words had been taking them.

"If this is the case, then she just might be bit by bit taking anyone who she feels might be able to mount any kind of a retaliatory blow in my defense. Which means...."

I hugged myself, unable to say the words aloud. I knew Terrin was fully aware of their horrific endpoint.

This was why I left Sorben, so as not to place him in any danger. And now here I quite possibly was doing it again. Just by their association with me, just by their being physically present on this horrid planet at the same time I was, was indeed everyone in our party under grave threat of imminent capture... or worse... destined to be picked off one-by-one like womprats on Tattooine?

I shuddered, and fell silent.

Was the Nar Khelba worth the potential deaths of everyone united here? Should we just say, "hang it all," get back aboard the Eagle, and take off for the farthest place in the galaxy away from here?

NO. I answered my own waffling thought, determination rising up hotly to squelch every last bit of it. The line is drawn HERE. I would not go the rest of my life fearing for my own, or that of my child, or that of Terrin or anyone else who might cross my path.

Somehow, someway, this was going to end here and now. And if that meant that eventually I would have to face Her alone, armed with nothing but my own wits, then so be it....

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Soon, she promised them with a final soft stroke. Soon....

At length she came to the door leading into the Dining Hall; with but one almost offhanded movement it opened before her, allowing her to enter therein. She glided in silence up to the banquet table, even now loaded with bounty, and paused there as a small movement caught her quick eye.

There, poking amidst the plentiful foodstuffs, one of the small marsupials indigenous to Khar Delba was partaking of it's own tiny meal....

Her thoughts flashed instantly to that day, so long ago, when she stood in this room before he who she had taken to be her Dark Heart, bidding him teach her. Then as now, one of the little marsupials had been nibbling on the table; how well she remembered picking up the tiny form and cuddling it to her cheek, trying to still the wild beating of its heart as it quaked, not understanding why it had been taken from its breakfast.

How well she remembered her next sudden movement when, on the heels of calming the small being she quite abruptly and with utter savagery had ripped its small life from it along with its head, devouring it before the stony gaze of Wicked, seeking his satisfaction and approval in that action...

...and gaining neither.

Her smile broadened as before moving away from the table she reached out a slender finger to quietly stroke the head of the little animal. Even that morning she had faced His clone. How well she recalled her anger and self-disgust; how clearly she now viewed what had happened during her early days here. All she had taken upon herself to impress Him, all she struggled with on her own, all for nothing regarding Him as his clone had no reason to deal with her in but any other manner than he would any "normal" dark visitor. But it was not for naught; all she had learned alone, battled with, sought out on her own; all had bit by bit strengthened and balanced her inner self, all in preparation for, unbeknownst to her, the time of His return.

And that was all that really mattered in her first visit to this Temple: that final wondrous day, when He himself had finally returned to it, fully aware of her presence, supplanting the clone to join with her in triggering the All into vibrant life.

Still smiling with the glow these musings filled her with, she approached the back wall and once again reached out a hand. It slid open to reveal a chattering and wurfling and bleeping Jinn.

The computer didn't even give her time to speak. "You told me He was dead!" it fairly shouted the moment the Chosen Daughter stepped one foot into the hidden command center.

Graysith refused to let the computer's impertinence leach her good mood from her. She merely smiled. "And you said you were always aware of everything that's going on in the Galaxy," she returned smoothly, fighting to keep her laughter from erupting into the words.

Jinn fumed, caught in its own web. For a moment it muttered darkly to itself; then, its voice a bit more respectful, it spoke up again. "Is He coming to visit me again?" it asked, its manner for all the world like that of a young child eagerly seeking the approval of its teacher for a lesson finally learned. "I've missed him so much..." Its cybernetic voice trailed off, suddenly embarrassed.

Graysith let her smile soften as she laid a pale hand quietly against Jinn's primary monitor. "Not as much as have I," she whispered. Then she firmed, dropping her hand to her side as she straightened.

"Jinn," she requested, command clearly evident in her voice. "Reach and seek all activity in a 20-kilometer radius of this Temple. We have had visitors; I feel that even now we need to... set a few extra plates at the table."

The saucy computer burbled to itself, seeming to recognize that one emotion it had in common with the Chosen Daughter, for when it finally spoke again its tone bespoke a 180-degree turnaround from its former insolence.

"There is a camp about two klicks from the northern entrance, coordinates being..." A string of numerals followed, which the Chosen Daughter ignored. Jinn didn't seem to notice; it just continued divulging all its exterior sensor droids had discovered. "There is a party of three human males and one human female within this camp; there is a 98.99875% probability that the female is...

"...your SISTER?!" It paused, its electronic ears clearly perked in insatiable curiosity. Graysith ignored the unvoiced question and merely crossed her arms.

Jinn sighed. "And there's another human male sneaking about the understory another klick or so NNW of the camp's location," it finished sulkily, somewhat cross that the Chosen Daughter wouldn't share information with it yet oddly hesitant to risk angering her now that He had returned to the Temple. "Again, from what the my droids can sense, there is a 91.7564% probability that this one is some sort of Force user, and a slightly smaller probability that it's another Jedi."

The smile never wavered from Graysith's face, but it now was somehow much, much darker. She tilted her head toward the now anxiously quiet Jinn. "Thank you, Jinn," she said in parting. "You have proven more than useful yet again. I shall be certain to inform Him of your loyalty and unerring capabilities. You can be certain that He will be well... pleased."

Without saying another word, she whirled gracefully and left the command center. The wall whooshed to an oily close behind her as she quietly left the Dining Hall and returned to the Great Hall, planning to inform her Dark Heart of what she had just learned.

Yet another Jedi....

[ 11-24-2001 02:27 PM: Message edited 1 time, lastly by Graysith ]

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"Do you think that there is anything that you may have that I am not aware?" sneered the Dark Lord.

Still, her face remained as serene as a carven mask. Jeroc must surely be seeing a little through her eyes, this one who seemed to be Wicked...but somehow was not. A clone perhaps? Who could say? As powerful as you seem to think you are...the Force is still more so.

He continued on. "As far as your request to leave...it is denyed."

NO! Cella wanted to cry out, but did not. Still, she felt no urgent sense of danger to her person. She got the impression that this pair of Sith found her too weak to pose a threat. Her pride fought momentarily with the relief sprung from her primal urge to stay alive.

A familiar image of a Sith Lord sprang to the forefront of his consciousness. Wicked? No, not him, for while he had courted Cella hard, this one gave her barely any regard at all, aside from forbidding her to leave the Temple.

NO! The cry was Jeroc's as well as Cella's, but he listened carefully to what his friend and companion had to say to him. . So I have to stay a little longer. What is it? You can find me when you come with Galen and Terrin to retrieve the Nar Khelba. I know you're afraid for me, but now is not the time to come charging in after me... He wished he could be as flippant about it as she seemed to be.

Jeroc knew that he was coming up on Danner's camp, and hoped they didn't assume he was some predator charging up out of the underbrush. As he approached the clearing, he sensed the rich Force presences of three men...

And one woman, carrying a very special child.

Carefully, he stepped out into the tent-filled clearing, hands at shoulder level, clearly exposing the lightsaber at his belt. "Peace," he said, his voice rusty from disuse. "I'm a friend. Cella sent me here?"

Gods and ancestors, I hope they know what I mean...

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But that was where he was counting on the old Terrin Danner to come through. Granted, old Terrin hadn't been too nice of a fellow; frequently, he was nothing more than a jerk. But old Terrin never gave in and did whatever it took to take care of himself.

This time, that meant taking care of his whole group. And that's precisely what he'd try his damnedest to do.

The only difference was that this time he was willing to sacrifice himself if necessary.

This determination firmly implanted in his mind and in his heart, Terrin walked over to Galen and slipped his arms around her waist, pulling her close.

"She no doubt wishes to spoil any confidence we have in what we are doing," he said softly. "By taking the one person who might reach Shayla the most, and by taking the Jedi as well...they were significant components to our plan.

"But--" he continued, turning her to face him, "If we allow her to take our self-confidence before we ever reach the Temple, she wins before the game ever starts. Granted, my men and I don't have Force powers and don't have experience dealing with Sith, but I know them, and I know me. We won't give up so easily."

Before he could say anything else or she could reply, Matt came scurrying up to Terrin, looking a bit panicked.

"What is it?" Terrin asked, turning to face his assistant.

"I think Cella Poliani's partner just arrived," he said.

Terrin grinned. "And you left him with Jasyn?"

Matt grinned back.

"I'll be right there."

With that, Matt was off, and Terrin looked back at Galen a moment, suddenly feeling the need to tell her something to assure her that he was in this for the long haul, that he wouldn't back out, wouldn't give up...

...and that she shouldn't either.

"Don't worry about me," he told her. "I'm going to do whatever it takes to stay alive and get out of this on top, and I want you to do the same. I'm hoping," he continued on, pausing only a moment to try to figure out how to say what was pinging around in his brain, "that I'll get the chance to spend the rest of my life with you."

Gazing into her eyes, forgetting about the guys, the Jedi, and everything else around in this horrible excuse for a planet, he waited...

[ 11-24-2001 09:35 PM: Message edited 1 time, lastly by Terrin Danner ]

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