"Gooood... goood, my little one," he purred blackly as the child tried to scratch and kick harder. "I feel the hate in you... use it, little one, as you have already. No backing down now, the deed is done, child!"

Now his head tipped back into the carressing shadows and lushious flames that carried them along, and he turned his attention to distant matters. His eyes glowed torquois in the surroundign dancing shadows, lighting them both in an unholy light.

There was trouble at the Temple... clearly he could hear the sith begging him to come back....

He sighed and looked again at the child in his claws. So sweet... so young... but now, time to put away the toys at hand. Grimmacing in a snarl, showing his blackend fangs to the little one, he came to an end of the journey and flung the girl into another dim little cell, this one too protected by a blossoming force bubble.

"Enjoy your stay!" he snarled before refeurleing himself into the glowing flames and shadows, and departing in their dissepating red and purple splendor.

Behind him, the child found the strenght to lift her head and pear tearfully around herself. But even as she tried to get to her feet, a soft voice came into her ears.

The voice of a woman...

"Don't be afraid, I'm here."

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

But I couldn't shake the growing fear that I had bitten off a lot more than I could chew. Couldn't resist a chance to play Jedi again, eh? nagged my pessimistic inner voice. Never mind that you've been living happily and productively as a "normal" person for a while now. You just had to get out there and prove yourself, prove that what that Sith did to you didn't make you a bad person. Well, girl, you're in for it now.

After a few hyperspace jumps and a lot of vain attempts to shut up that inner voice, I popped into realspace in sight of the Hornett and the rest of the Eagle fleet. I opened up the comm. "Paladin's Banner to Hornett, do you copy? This is Captain Margoly Eris requesting permission to dock with you."

A burst of static, then a woman's sharp voice. "Lay off the charm, Barnes. I'm not doing this out of my undying love for you. I'm doing it because there's a little girl in trouble out there and I have to do waht I can. Eris out."

Logan had hardly ever been so relieved in his life, but he still played it cool. "So your friend's an ex-Jedi, eh? You really think she can help?"

Aaron glared at him. "You think I would've dragged her out of her bed on Corellia if I didn't think so? Look, maybe she's not a full-fledged Jedi, but I've seen her do some creepy stuff, creepier even than what your Master and his lady can do. And, well, she's been around this dark side stuff..."

Logan felt himself growing cold. "What's that supposed to mean?"

Aaron just refused to meet his eyes. "You'll figure it out when you meet her." A voice called up from the direction of the hold.

"Aaron, the Paladin's Banner is docked and Captain Eris is requesting to meet with you and Logan."

Aaron gestured for Logan to follow him. "Now would be a good time to find out about Margoly for yourself..."

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

...well, I assume it was a long time; strange how Time seemed to be at a complete standstill here...

...just hunkered into a miserable little ball, pining for Terrin and feeling sorry for myself. Compared to this place, the dungeons of the Temple where I had been flung, ripped and torn and broken, were a tropical paradise.

Comparatively speaking, that is.

And now the flame had come back to make this hideous place even more awful to bear, or so I thought. Much to my surprise, that demon from hell didn't materialize to... to repeat what he had done to me en route to this place but rather just his evil voice flicked into my meagre existence.

"Enjoy your stay!"

I perked my ears up at that, daring to loosen up a bit from the ball I had instinctively rolled into, and peeked up to see what was happening. Instead of...Him or It... I hadn't quite made up my mind yet; instead of his black and purple form shooting into the room, a small and softly vulnerable lump cascaded out of nowhere to land with a slight thump on the cold stones of the floor across from me.

I gasped as I realized it was the body of a child... a young girl, who couldn't be much older than six or seven.

Oh dear Khaandon, please... she can't be...

I cut off that thought as I scrabbled toward her on all fours, heaving a sigh of relief as I realized she was moving, her slight body wracked with uncontrollable sobs of fear and perhaps pain. I hurried on, reaching out to her, trying to soothe her and prevent further alarm as I announced my presence with a rather succinct, "Don't be afraid, I'm here."

Then I had her gathered into my arms, and hunkered over her possessively; I don't whether for her own sake or mine, rocking back and forth, back and forth, my hand behind her head as I tried to quiet her fears as well as those of my own.

[ 12-06-2001 09:19 PM: Message edited 1 time, lastly by Galen ]

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[ 12-10-2001 12:01 PM: Message edited 1 time, lastly by Padme of Hidden Lake ]

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But being grabbed by that... that thing didn't reckon at all into the picture. I hadn't a clue who in Hell's Seven Circles he was, for that matter. The Wicked I remembered from K'eel Doba was far more...

Human.

I shivered involuntarily, hunkering the child closer to me. Khaandon, what was this innocent doing here?!

"I don't know, sweetie," I murmured, tilting my head to softly kiss the top of hers. I could feel her little body shivering uncontrollably; my arms tightened in automatic response as I tried to pass whatever warmth and security I could into her tender form. "I have no idea what that was that tossed us here, wherever this is. But I'll tell you one thing..."

Now I drew back, holding her out at arm's length for a bit to peer deeply into her tearful eyes.

"We're gonna get out of here. That's a promise, or my name isn't Galen Jhin'Dar."

I then snuggled her close to me again, rocking back and forth, trying to still her sobs and hiccups as I wondered to myself if I could live up to the promise I had just given this little girl.

[ 12-10-2001 06:25 PM: Message edited 1 time, lastly by Galen ]

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

The sleep of innocence. Khaandon, but wouldn't it be nice? I don't think I had slept a wink since I had been snatched and flung here... wherever this was.

Sighing a bit, I climbed stiffly to my feet, and began prowling the confines of our little prison. Granted I had made the perusal when I was first released here, but now I had a greater motivation than before. Now I wasn't only seeking egress for my own sake, but for that of this sweet little girl as well. I frowned to myself, patting the cold stone walls as I moved along quietly so as not to awaken her, hunting for the slightest crack or imperfection in the rock which might eventually be worried into an opening large enough for at least the girl's body to fit through.

Nothing. All my questing fingers encountered was continually strong and unmarred rock, and the continual presence of dried up vines and weird mosses which seemed to writhe strangely beneath my touch.

I paused with a sigh, my head bowed as one hand slipped down to lay on my belly. Behind me, the soft sounds of the little girl's steady breathing were a constant reminder of the new obligation she now presented to me... as well as the obligation toward the one I yet carried in my own body. My one hand clenched unconsciously, gripping the weird mosses which lay beneath my palm.

It wasn't fair; it just wasn't FAIR! From out of nowhere there suddenly came a great wave of anger, supplanting the quavering fear and self-pity that I had been wallowing in since I had been taken from Terrin's tent.

All I asked out of life was just that, a life. All I wanted was my life with Dad and Jharmeen, a life of questing academia and exploration. But did I get that? No... it was taken away. Then there was Sorben; all I wanted at the time was to remain by his side, sharing adventures, sharing excitement with the father of my unborn child, but could I stay there? No... I was forced to leave, for his own sake. And now, there was Terrin....

I frowned a little, letting the tears of anger and sorrow well up and drip down my face as my thoughts continued to traipse freely down the path they were upon.

It was different with Terrin. There was something more... more real there, more of a commitment than I ever could have expected to gain with Sorben, more than I thought I would find anywhere for that matter. Well aware of the entire spectrum of possibilities, of dangers and permutations of a fate entwined with mine, he yet steadfastly remained by my side, wanting me by his...

...for life.

But now, again, I was yanked away from that happiness, possibly for... life.

And, dear Khaandon, I never got a chance to reply to his proposal....

With a suddenness that would have surprised me had I been aware of it, the growing anger within me was replaced by nothing more than inrushing and completely overwhelming RAGE. Had I been consciously aware of it, I would have been utterly taken aback to find I had the capability within me to feel thus. It was as if that human portion of my mind, of my very soul, had politely stepped aside to give a primal creature allowance to take over and use my body, ranting and yowling, reaching out sharpened talons with the desire to rend and tear the flesh of certain sentients I had recently been in contact with. Yet somehow, a dim little part of me really wasn't too shocked to feel that this intensely focused rage not only had a direction, but a deep and driving delight that accepted it and wanted oh so very much to be given free rein...

...and to my great and utter shock, the stone beneath my hand obligingly disappeared. I literally fell through that unexpected opening, finding myself in a small, stone corridor. It loomed mysteriously in the light of the candles which suddenly sprang into wavering life upon it's walls.

I was never one to look a gift ikopi in the mouth. Somehow I sensed that this strange boon wasn't going to be offered for any great length of time... and certainly not again. The wheres and whys of the mysterious exit would have to wait until I had the time to figure it out... right now I couldn't let my thoughts focus on anything other than using this unexpected largesse to try and escape further.

Hurriedly, I re-entered the dismal cell and shook the little girl. She sprung instantly awake, springing to her feet as well, her eyes big and moist with questions... and trust. I gritted my teeth to see how she so simply gave that trust to me.

Trust I was NOT going to mishandle, Khaandon help me....

"Hurry!" I whispered to her, placing one hand on her shoulder. "I don't know how much time we've got." Another nudge propelled her through the opening and into the corridor beyond, where I joined her. I looked up one way, and down the other.

In for a credit...

"C'mon!" I hissed to her, unconsciously feeling a need to remain stealthy, no matter how abandoned and empty this strange place appeared. Khaandon knows that during all my escapades that is one thing I had definitely learned:

Nothing is ever as it appears.

We hurried along the little corridor, coming to others, taking them at random, following a sense of, of... exit which I didn't know I had; where it had come from stumped me as well. All I knew was that a little niggle of something urged us to go first this way, then that...

...until at last the light of the candles was dimmed by the slightest bit of brightening. I peered into the gloom, at last seeing it.

There, another opening, through which soft light poured....

My feet now winged, I practically yanked the child off her feet as I rushed to that opening. We hurried through, to find ourselves standing outside the ruins of what once was a great and ornate Temple. Above us, the full moons...

Moons? Dear Khaandon, this wasn't Khar Delba! Where in Hell's Seven Circles were we?!?

...poured down their magical light, brightening the atmosphere enough to where we could clearly see our surroundings.

All there was, was that Temple ruined... and harsh and foreboding rock and stone all about. I somehow had a sense that we were up very high... creeping forward to what looked to be an edge of something, I peered cautiously down.

We were up high, would have been above a treeline had there been any trees, surrounded by nothing other than bare rock. The full moons above us seemed to laugh as a fit of shivering now slammed into me, bringing with it the cold around us at first held at bay from the adrenalin rush of our escape.

I sighed, then firmed my shoulders. I sure hope this girl can climb....

"C'mon, sweetie, we've got a lil bit of work ahead of us. Don't be afraid. Just follow me."

Waiting until I felt her little fingers grasping the belt of my flightsuit, I carefully stepped forward and began the arduous climb toward what looked to be a desert floor very, very far below.

Khaandon, please be with us! I begged silently as we picked our way along. It's so very, very exposed here....

[ 12-11-2001 10:38 AM: Message edited 1 time, lastly by Galen ]

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These things are never good, Aaron thought to himself. Instead he said, "Yes?"

"Sir, we've been monitoring activity in the Khar Delban system..."

Aaron braced himself. This was not sounding good.

"...and just a bit ago, we lost all sensor readouts of Khar Delba. Nothing seems to even been getting through."

Aaron arched an eyebrow. "Meaning?"

"Well, it's almost as though they've suddenly put up a planet-wide shield."

Well, that's nice. No way to get in, no way to get out. How the Hell were they supposed to contact Terrin and the group? "Has anyone tried to contact Terrin or the others to confirm?"

"That's where it gets worse, Sir."

Jeez. As if it isn't already bad enough.

"Our comm signals aren't getting through either. We can't contact them or the Eagle."

Some planetary shield. Where the heck did a planet as abandoned as Khar Delba appeared to be get a shield like THAT anyway?

"Meteors aren't even getting through this shield Sir. In fact, they are...disentegrating before impact."

Okay. Time to take action. Something weird was going on, and Terrin and the group were obviously stuck right in the middle of it. Time to send out some sort of reinforcements, should the shield go down or should they find a way to get out.

"I want a scout ship sent to K'eel Doba to orbit and monitor the situation. And," he continued, crossing over behind his desk and retrieving a datapad, "Have them contact these comm frequencies once upon arrival and if the shield goes down--these frequencies match with the comlinks the group took in. They should also notify me if there is any change. Got it?"

"Yes sir."

"Okay. I want the scout ship out on the double."

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

"My baby is just fine," I assured her, cocking my head to somehow... sense that those words were completely justified. "And thank you for asking.

"But now, sweetie, I think we'd better save our breath for the energy we need to get off this mountainside. We still have quite a distance to go, and even with those moons the light isn't very good."

The little girl just squeezed my belt, and continued along the trail I was blazing. Where we would go when we hit the desert floor, or what we would do was beyond me at the moment. All I could focus upon was getting us down.

Then a little stray tendril of my thoughts raised its mischievous hand, wiggling its fingers for attention. I couldn't help it; soon I was directing more and more of my attention toward appeasing that particular little subconscious imp, letting that something within me continue to guide us down the slope.

How strange it was, wasn't it, that the opening popped so obligingly for you back there, Galen Jhin'Dar, the inner shoulder-imp mocked. Where in Hell's Seven Circles do you think that came from?

Strange as well, all these niggles and urges and unconscious directions you seem to be receiving all the time. Really now, let's be truthful, ol' girl; have you ever had these before in your entire life...?

I cocked my head a little, still picking my way carefully along, frowning into the silvery light around me. Bit by bit we traversed the slope, bit by bit we approached the rock-strewn and inhospitable floor below us. Bit by bit the air grew warmer as we descended... and bit by bit more and more of my thoughts turned to the inner puzzle I wrestled with.

I thought back to all that had happened, beginning with that archeological expedition with Dad and Jharmeen, forcing myself to replay it over and over, scrutinizing every minute detail my near-eidetic memory had emblazoned upon itself.

Nothing presented itself. Easy answers laughed and skittered away into my unconscious.

She, Jharmeen, went into the cave with Dad while I hovered anxiously without. She, NOT Jharmeen, exited with him... and killed him right in front of my shocked eyes. She, NOT Jharmeen, tried then to find and kill me... and then deserted me there, to die alone...

Something happened there. Something changed her... and did something to me so that the child I now carried was going to be... Something Else as well.

And there my thoughts stopped, consistently led to that one focal point. Over and over and over. What this meant, if anything at all, I hadn't a clue.

I shook those musings from me, and concentrated once more on our descent. Ahead of us, the dusty desert floor loomed larger and larger as we drew closer and closer to it.

[ 12-12-2001 12:43 PM: Message edited 1 time, lastly by Galen ]

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So that’s precisely what the group did. Jumping out of hyperspace, the little ship established orbit and sensors were set. Khar Delba was still under some sort of shield, but K’eel Doba....

“Hey,” one of the guys said, arching a brow at the sensor array. “I get a reading of only two life forms on K’eel Doba.”

“Wasn’t K’eel Doba supposed to be abandoned?”

“Yeah, that’s what I thought,” he replied. “Readouts indicate one female and one young girl, to 90 percent accuracy.”

“A girl? You think maybe that’s the kid that the Jedi are looking for?”

“Could be. Oh, and sensors also indicate that there is an 80 percent probability there is a third life form, but it’s faint.”

The other man on the ship, who had been sitting behind the other two, finally voiced his opinion. “We should go down,” he said simply.

The other two men turned to look at him. “That’s not in our orders.”

“Think about it. One female and a child? And if this system is TRULY abandoned, what are the chances of it being anyone other than this missing kid and the female from the Captain’s group. This is supposed to be a system controlled by the Sith, and they did say that a Sith took the little girl.”

“Well, does anyone know if the female from the Captain’s group was missing?”

The man in the back seat bit his lower lip, his green eyes looking deep in thought. “Actually, I think she was. I just have a gut feeling about this. And you wouldn’t want to be the one that had the chance to help out the Captain’s interest if he finds out.”

One of the other guys rolled his eyes, turning around to work at the navboard. “Allright, we’ll go down. But if you’re wrong about this, you’re going to explain it to the Captain and Mr. Barnes.” Adjusting the nav data to drop the lambda-class ship down right near where the life-form readings were presenting themselves—apparently quite near and perhaps even ON what appeared to be a mountainside. Taking the shuttle down out of orbit, he lowered it, hitting atmosphere and below, til he finally reached the surface of a desert-floor, just near the mountainside he’d already known would be there. Not powering the ship down, he pointed to the other two men on the ship. “You two go out there and find out what’s going on. And comm me if you need me. If these are in fact who we think they are, we are going to have to make a break for it.”

Nodding, the two men got up and exited the little ship, and stood gazing up the mountainside where, several meters above them, a familiar woman and a little girl were descending.

Under his breath, the green-eyed man muttered. “Hope the Captain gives us a bonus for this...”

The other man rolled his eyes, then turned to call to the woman, who was now turned marginally. “We’re from Ealge Enterprises. Thought you might like a lift....”

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

And people claim there is no Khaandon!

Grabbing frantically at a nearby outcrop projection, I dared to lift a hand to wave a reply. "Hellooo, Eagle Enterprises!" I hollered at the top of my lungs, letting whatever stealth I thought we needed fling uncaring into the winds of this miserable hunk of rock. "Sure as there's Treasure on Roon we could use a lift!"

I reached the waving hand around behind me to squeeze the arm of the little girl, voicelessly sharing my relief and joy with her. Then I concentrated once again on descending, that aforementioned relief and joy drawing me downslope with the nimble assurety of a rockskipper. I'm positive the little girl's feet only made physical contact about 40 percent of the time, so rapidly did I tow her.

And then... thank Khaandon indeed! ...we were down, puffing and panting, falling to our knees as the two men rushed forward to lend us assistance. I gasped, lifting my hand to run it through my sweaty hair as I raised my face to that of the green-eyed man.

"I'm Galen Jhin'Dar, and this is, this is--" I paused, indicating the little girl with a rather exhausted wave of my hand. "Someone I met at the Praxeum on Yavin IV, strange as that might seem.

"But thank Khaandon you found us!" I exclaimed away the fatigue, getting to my feet now to grasp the man by his arm. "Are Matt and Jasyn ok? Is Terrin with you, too? I have GOT to see him; there's something VERY IMPORTANT I have to tell him!"

I fell into silence then, letting the men tend to our immediate needs by escorting us to the awaiting Lambda class shuttle, hoping that Khaandon yet extended his grace over us and that I would hear the words I so desperately wanted to hear fall from this guy's lips.

[ 12-12-2001 03:31 PM: Message edited 1 time, lastly by Galen ]

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Heading for the ship and its cabin, the man continued as he strapped in, allowing everyone else to strap in as well, "The shield seems pretty inpenetrable, so unless there's some way around it that we don't know about, we're stuck til it goes down," he finished, nodding to the man at the navboard to head back to their primary orbit and waiting for Galen to reply.

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

"I think I know what this is, but I'll need to get to Hornett and check out some things using its sensors," I finally replied. "Let's just get away from... from here, okay?"

I started to hunker down in my seat, beginning to relax at last, when another thought struck me. I leaned forward, and tapped the green-eyed man on his shoulder.

"I want to thank you for finding us. I don't know how you did it, but I just... I just want to let you know that I appreciate your efforts. As much as Terrin is going to appreciate them, too, when we go get him.

"We're gonna, you know."

With that, the vow not uttered in any fierce or illogical manner, but in a voice both calm and rational, I sat back, luxuriating in the rush and roar as we took off from the dustball and headed into the clean and awe-inspiring wonder of space.

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

"Sir, the Falcon has just returned."

"What?!" Aaron blurted.

"Well, we have some good news. And some not so good."

"Allright, let's hear it," Aaron said, leaning back and crossing his arms.

"Terrin, Jasyn, and Matt are still on Khar Delba. But we've found the little girl the Jedi are looking for, and...we've found Galen Jhin Darr."

Aaron leaned forward. "She's on the Falcon?"

"Yes sir. She was on K'eel Doba. She and the little girl.

Aaron jumped to his feet, pratically leaning all the way over his desk. "Where is she?"

"On her way to talk to you. She wants to get some sensor read outs of Khar Delba. Wants to find Terrin and the guys."

Aaron almost fell over his desk. "Tell her she can have anything she wants to help her out. Tell her..."

he froze mid-sentence, as the door to his office whooshed open, revealing his team, a little girl, and Galen."

He managed to shove himself to an upright position.

"Sorry we came back so soon boss," the green eyed man said, "but considering the situation on Khar Delba, we didn't think this little...modification of orders would be a problem."

Aaron shook his head. "No, not at all. You did the right thing. And," he said, turning to Galen, "Glad to have you back. I've been informed you need sensors?" he asked. Then, spreading his arms wide, palms upward, "Take whatever you need."

[ 12-12-2001 01:44 PM: Message edited 1 time, lastly by Terrin's Crew ]

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I waved a hand in her direction, as I moved forward to glance quickly over the sensor readouts. "Someone take care of her, would ya?" I murmured, sitting down as a polite crewman moved aside for me. "She's been through a lot."

Then I concentrated on the readings, my forehead scrunching into a wrinkly frown as once more something unknown rose up inside me and niggled.... In unconscious response, I began to tweak dials, narrowing the electromagnetic frequency input sensor to seek out a somewhat narrow frequency field, then scanning the entirety of the planet. My frown deepened as I read the results... then my brows struggled to hit the top of my forehead.

I caught my breath. Couldn't be, I thought to myself. And I thought they were impregnable.

I tweaked a dial again, aloof to the undoubtedly curious glances the men were no doubt passing back and forth to each other. Abruptly I sat back, a smile beginning to shadow my features. I pointed to the monitor.

"Look," I whispered. "Here, near the poles. There's a hole."

The smile erupting fully now, I turned to face everyone, only to meet their looks of blank wonderment. Oops....

Still smiling, I explained further. "Look, I don't have the time to go into how I know this, but trust me on this, okay?" Everyone around me still looked blank, but they all managed to nod an affirmation. I continued, pointing as I explained further.

"This is a chronotic field," I said. "What it does is disperse energy across the spacetime continuum both forward and backward in time. It also has a nasty lil tendency to convert any matter into its energy equivalency and disperse that too.

"Believe me on this," I added, noting their sudden scoffing looks of disbelief. "I've had experience with it before. That is what it does... it was created by the original Sith."

I turned back to the board, not wanting to see the looks on their faces at that little gem I dropped. I hurried on, tapping toward the northern magnetic pole of Khar Delba.

"From what I can deduce, this shield follows the magnetic field lines of the planet itself. Now, this field is naturally weakest where the field lines are farther apart, near the equator; it's strongest near the poles.

"BUT!" Here I paused, tapping the image on the monitor. "Here, in the exact center where the lines converge at the poles, there is a little hole. I mean, there has to be; we're talking about forces of an exact nature to each other trying to get in close together. You just CAN'T shove two north ends of a magnet together, nor two south ends. They repel. And here..."

I tapped the monitor again, sensing the interest of the others as they leaned in for a closer look. "Here, even though the lines are converging, there is a tiny hole smack in the middle where they are forced away from each other.

"I'm betting there's a hole in the chronotic shield there, too. And I'm betting that there's the only place we'll be able to slip into the atmosphere and land on the planet again."

I leaned back once more, swivelling in the seat to face the men, crossing my arms in an attempt to appear nonchalant. There was only one real way to test my theory, and if I was wrong....

"Well guys, what do you think?"

[ 12-12-2001 02:12 PM: Message edited 1 time, lastly by Galen ]

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"It's risky," Aaron said finally, gazing over the scanners, "But it just might work. And I really don't think there's any other option but to wait. And no sense waiting if the logic stands on its own."

Of course, if this little shield was what she said, she would also be risking her life on it. But Aaron knew as well as she did that they better take the opportunity regardless of how small it was.

Aaron reached a hand up to rub his chin. "I say we go for it. You can take the Falcon, or whatever ship you think will work best, and some crew members to assist, if you like. But my gut tells me we need to move on this, while the opportunity is there..."

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

So it's back to Khar Delba we go, tra-la, tra-la! Giddy with hope and fear, I pushed that little concern aside as well. I got to my feet, setting the sensors back into their normal monitoring mode as I did so. Then, nodding to the crewman who had given me his seat, I turned to the others.

"Thanks, Aaron," I said softly, reaching out to grasp his hand in the two of mine. "We'll get in; I KNOW my theory is sound. I think I will take you up on the Falcon,... and maybe these two boys would like to lend a hand as well?"

Here I turned to the two unnamed men who had rescued Thea and me. They blushed, then grinned in affirmation. I looked into Aaron's eyes, and read the consent therein.

"Ok then, I guess there's no time better than the present," I stated, pushing back the fatigue and hunger that once more threatened to overwhelm me. Plenty of time to eat in camp... if this works, that is.

"I'm ready to go when you are, fellas."

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

Because the system the fleet was in was only one system away from Khar Delba, the hyperspace jump only took a matter of minutes, and again they floated in Khar Delban space, stretching sensors out to find the "hole" in the shield that they were hoping for.

"There," Aaron said, pointing to the sensor monitor excitedly, "There is a hole! Not very big...we'll have to manuever carefully to even get the Falcon in, but it's there."

Galen nodded and turned back to the navboard, adjusting the little ship's controls and concentrating. Not so much as a breath could be heard from anyone as they began their entrance into the atmosphere.

A silent minute passed, each man praying to whatever deity that they believed in, their pilot too intent upon her goal to do anything but achieve it.

At last...

Khar Delban sky.

Aaron exhaled the breath of air he didn't know he'd been holding, eyeing the monitor for ship stats.

Good. Everything still operating.

"Allright," he said, thinking a moment. "Let's see, there are three lifeforms that resemble male humans just a bit Northeast of us. I'd like to hope it's Terrin and the group, since sensors also read something that might be a camp nearby them."

The ship hit the surface of the Khar Delban jungle, and Galen powered it down.

On the group's way out of the ship, Aaron glanced at the hull as if to make sure it was in one piece.

There is a god, he thought to himself.

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

Still awaiting the Jedi's reply, Jasyn was suddenly interrupted from his own thoughts when his scanner started going crazy. He looked down at it and gasped, not believing what he saw.

"What is it?" Matt asked as the Jedi arched an eyebrow.

"A ship just landed a little Southwest of us."

Matt gulped. "Not another one of those funny looking ones?! How the Hell did anyone land anything here anyway?"

"I don't know," Jasyn said, a grin pulling at the corners of his mouth as he fiddled with the controls of the sensor device. "But we're in luck. It's the Falcon. I think we have the reinforcements we need."

[ 12-12-2001 03:01 PM: Message edited 1 time, lastly by Terrin's Crew ]

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"I'm sorry that I couldn't protect you, the way that Cella and Jeroc told me to. I'm sorry that you had to experience that nightmare."

He shook his head. "Anyway, we'll be with Jeroc and Cella in no time...I hope."

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

But they couldn't do that just now.

Terrin gazed curiously at the spot where the Falcon should have landed. Where were they? Probably just behind. After all, they were following. No time to think over technicalities.

Terrin would have loved to, at that moment, fall into bed for three days. But the fleet needed to be redirected, the Nar Khelba needed to be placed in the lightsaber hilt Master Mahoy had constructed, and the Jedi Master probably needed to regroup with his padawan, the little girl, and this Margoly Eris that Aaron had said he'd called on for help.

Giving the Falcon's empty spot another questioning look, he turned and headed for the command deck of the Hornett.

Time to get started with step two. Fashion a lightsaber with the Nar Khelba, and give Galen time to learn to use it.

And, if and when they were ready, return to face off this ex-sister of hers...

...to settle the score...

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