...or the mere inkling of a desire.

She straightened into the command chair, bringing the ship into a completely unnecessary looping orbit about K'eel Doba, letting it spread its figurative wings and taking up that space beneath them, ordering it into utter obedience. It complied meekly enough, giving the ship rights and ownership to what some have called the ether; the ship proceeded to play with its new toy with the greatest of delight.

Now Graysith grinned. Bringing the ship about one last time, she came upon the pitiful form of Sorben Tarnus's incapacitated ship. Though her eyes didn't move from the forward screens, the directive she now uttered was clearly meant for Recinis.

"The presence of that ship is a disgrace in my vision, and indeed somewhat of a danger to our secrecy here. You may destroy it at your will, my protector."

With that she fell into silence, leaving it to Shayla to show the young Sith where the controls to the molecular disintegrator were, and waited for him to follow her light-hearted command.

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...then the ship simply wasn't there any longer.

She let a breath she hadn't known she had been holding leave her in a whoosh. Now none would be alerted to the fact that there was anything other than dust and rock and crater on the surface of K'eel Doba... as well as none would be alerted to the technology of the Sith. Well she remembered the little "present" she had left for the hunter's return; she frowned a moment, wondering at his absence.

Then she shrugged thoughts of him from her mind. If the All decreed their paths should cross, then so be it. In the meanwhile, she had other plans to attend to.

With no further ado she set about adhering to those plans. Letting the ship indulge itself in one silent victory roll over the space formerly occupied by Sorben's ship, she then straightened out its trajectory and bee-lined off for Khar Delba.

In but the space of a few moments she found herself in a geosynchronous orbit high over its northern magnetic pole.

Now shooting a cat's-eyed look to Shayla, she gripped the controls more tightly in her slim yet determined hands. In but seconds, she had gracefully maneuvered the large ship through the tiny opening in the chronotic shield where those mag-field lines converged, a hole most pilots would swear no ship larger than a TIE figher could manage to slither through.

With the exception, of course, of a Sith ship....

Now she allowed herself to settle back against the seat, letting the cyberbiotic homing mechanism of the ship kick in in recognition of what lay ahead, and thus bring itself to landfall on the icy lawn in front of the Great Temple. She sighed in satisfaction that once again they seemed to have outpaced Fate by their uneventful arrival...

...until the life-signature of someone extremely familiar suddenly kicked into her awareness.

Her eyes turned to those of a rancor in recognition of that signature, and she actually growled. Then she turned to the others, who likewise had sensed the intruder and were probably awaiting her comments about it.

"There is another one here, my friends," she whispered, her voice hardening to that of black silk. "I believe we must first deal with him, before we continue on with our plans.

"Nothing... and no one! ...may be allowed to stand in our way."

With that she stood gracefully, and approached the hatch. It popped open like a silent cork, allowing her egress from the ship. For a moment she stood at the base of the gangway, drawing her cloak about her as protection from the whine of the ever-present wind, her hair flaming out to whip about like the living coils of Medusa.

Then, after sensing about like a nosing Nek, she set off rapidly in a particular direction, heedless of the cold or the wind or the dark.

[ 08-11-2002 10:49 PM: Message edited 1 time, lastly by Graysith ]

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As well as who he was with.

But her brother seemed...detached from this one. Still, she hadn't a clue as to why Shawn had left the Temple.

She decided she probably didn't want to know either.

She then reached out and touched Graysith's arm. "This one," she said softly, "Was here before we left. I confronted him myself and told him to leave. I shudder to think exactly why he has chosen to remain...

...but he seemed to have an...interest in me. And he commented to the fact that he'd been sent out here to find me..."

At that, Shayla trailed, continuing forward and waiting for any reply.

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But now, he had the effrontery to return to Khar Delba, and after being explicitly warned not to do so.

Her teeth fairly ground together, so tightly did she grit them.

"The reason that he returned here has no bearing, my Adept," she growled, continuing forward, her feet kicking up great gouts of powdery snow with each stride she took. "The fact remains that he dared return at all.

"He shall soon rue the day he decided to follow that particular fancy!"

Within her breast, the Beast now rose up to growl a menace of its own making. Her violet eyes taking on the hue of nightfall, she grinned darkly, giving it full rein within her. It yowled and scrabbled within her, questing about with its flat pewter eyes, its claws reaching out to rend and tear, urging her onward faster and faster and faster...

...until, quiet suddenly, she had arrived where the two were nestled together against the elements. The Glyph on her forehead now blasted into ultraviolet glory, lighting the image of a small tent whose walls whipped like a gunshot beneath the onslaught of the wind, half of it buried in snow.

She stood there in the dark, allowing her presence to swell into the awareness of those who occupied that small shelter, nay, forcing the awareness of herself and her party upon them. For a moment nothing could be heard but the moaning of the wind.

Then, in a voice which made even that cringe back for its iciness, she cried out to them:

"You shall come into my presence... NOW! ...and relate to me just why I should stay my hand from the BOTH of you!"

Her body a slim yet deadly silhouette against the pervasive and ebony dark, she waited for her command to be obeyed.

[ 08-11-2002 11:13 PM: Message edited 1 time, lastly by Graysith ]

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he then opened his mind to the way's of the force, and nodded to himself. "It seems one of our allies is with this being..." he said, more to himself then to anyone else.
Felling slightly paranoid recinis reached a hand down impulsivly to his swords hilt, and then quickly removed it.

Hopefully that will not be needed
He thought to himself.

When they arrived at the "camp" Recinis stood quietly, somewhat suprised by graysiths none restraint...somewhat... One had been warned before,and the other... well, he should know better...

[ 08-11-2002 11:22 PM: Message edited 1 time, lastly by Recinis ]

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Shawn eyed him and glared. "I warned you! Now we're both in for it!" he said, stepping forward without any further hesitation to meet the ire of Graysith head-on, not looking back to assess what Loban's actions might be.

Shawn came out from the tent, his blue robes wrapped about himself. He huddled in the warmth they were promising him, and crossed his arms, meeting Graysith's icy glare after taking a moment to regard his sister. "The young one was left alone and seemingly stranded. He has however been warned, several times by me, that he should leave. Unfortunately he was unwise and wrecked the one ship which he might have been able to depart on."

Shawn left it at that, waiting to see just what else might happen.

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"And, pray tell, why it is you felt it necessary to come to this rash one's assistance?" she asked sweetly... although the tone of her voice didn't come anywhere close to being reflected in the flatness of her eyes.

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"I do apologize for my presence... this has been one big, and planned, mistake... Would you care to hear my explanation of this dire situation, or are you a being with the power to move me across this galaxy..."

She was upset... Lo-Ban awaited Graysith's instructions...

He shook his head, mostly to himself. "I sensed his presence and his suffering. I knew he'd been stranded, so I came to assess the situation. Once he was seen to I advised him to leave, and that's all there is to it--though he seems to be wanting a Teacher and has yet to agree to leaving the planet."

Then he was interrupted as Loban came from the tent and interjected his "explanation" into the darkness. Shawn cringed to hear it.

The cockiness will get you squashed into Bantha poodoo! he thought. And the self-centeredness doesn't go very far towards helping you either...

Shawn turned a stern look to Loban for a moment, then returned his gaze to Graysith, again waiting.

[ 08-11-2002 11:34 PM: Message edited 1 time, lastly by Shawn Petrolu ]

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Dismissing the jedi's explanation as something rather expected, she now intensified the glare she was giving the somewhat confused Loban.

"Do you always plan mistakes of this magnitude?" she asked him at length, then followed this with:

"Speak now, before I change my mind as to why I am even bothering to listen to you."

She relaxed her stance just a fraction, and waited. Within her breast, the Beast licked its lips, and waited as well....

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Lo-Ban gave quick consideration towards Shayla, and then continued...

"this woman... needed my rescuing... and I have yet to understand it fully, but I do believe that it has something to do with what she took with her... That is my only explanation for why they 'needed' me... used me, in fact..."

Lo-Ban paused for a brief moment, then continued,"That is a brief overview of this situation, I would be glad to go into further detail if you so wish... but understand this, it was planned, and a very important mission it was..."

"And just who is this 'they' to whom you are referring?" she now asked, her voice like the purr of a kitten at milk, the meaning behind it more menacing than the sound of the stampeding of a thousand banthas in the Tattooine desert.

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"I do not know of who 'they' are, but I might be able to find out..."

Lo-Ban continued,"The man I was in contact with referred to himself as Master Tyberius... He claimed to be of the Jedi Council... He is probably wondering of my progress as we speak..."

The name, of course, had no meaning whatsoever to the Chosen Daughter of the Sith.

But it was a name, and one supposedly linked, no matter how convoluted the manner, to her Adept.

This was a surprise to her; indeed, she thought the only Jedi bothering to trail after the disappearance from Yavin IV of the young padawan were Jeroc Mahoy and Cella Poliani. And those two had long ago fallen by the wayside.

Perhaps she should not completely let down her guard when it came to her attachment to Shayla... and to those who would attach themselves to her.

These words crossing her mind, she pulled back again, and directed her violet eyes smack into Loban's. To give the young man credit, he didn't flinch before her gaze.

"This wasn't quite the interest I heard you had with this One," she now whispered, stepping back to reveal Shayla's presence behind her. Cocking her head to one side, she once more waited to see how Loban would respond.

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Lo-Ban directed his attention towards Shayla,"I apologize, M'lady..."

At length she spoke, her voice cutting icily through the blasts of the ever-present wind.

"Indeed, there is a time and place for everything... and everyone. Young one, consider yourself lucky that the words you have spoken have perked my interest.

"We shall continue this discourse in the Temple, where we may do so with a modicum of comfort.

"Recinis!"

She turned to the shadowy form of the tall Sith warrior, who lurked behind her.

"See that this one does not stray from this path now placed before him!"

With those words, and a passing nod to Shawn, she turned and began leading the way once again, back through the dark and the cold and the snow to the Great Sith Temple, which waited for her return with the demeanor of a master awaiting the coming of his lady.

[ 08-12-2002 12:46 AM: Message edited 1 time, lastly by Graysith ]

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Who would be looking for her, and for what purpose...?

Continuing along, she once again placed a hand on Graysith's arm, leaning slightly and whispering in her ear, "I still have the device this One brought with him..."

[ 08-12-2002 12:48 AM: Message edited 1 time, lastly by Shayla Stargazer Petrolu ]

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"Give it to me!" she demanded, holding out her hand for the device, with the other reaching round toward Recinis who followed on her tail, her hand now coming into contact with the shirt of the young Loban and jerking him forward and into her personal body space.

"What is this thing, boy?" she whispered like death into his ear.

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[ 08-12-2002 12:58 AM: Message edited 1 time, lastly by Shayla Stargazer Petrolu ]

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Placing a hand gently on the mans shoulder he spoke, his voice came forth without any hint of emotion what so ever. "Tell her all that you know...No riddles...no deceptions..."

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"For your own sake, you had best pray to whatever gods you believe in that this is not an explosive device, my young friend," she now whispered directly into Loban's ear.

Then she turned and continued on toward the Temple, the others trudging in her wake. After a short length of time, a dark shadow hulked up against the blackness surrounding them; with a simple wave of her hand, Graysith commanded the ornate double doors to open before them.

They smoothly responded, and she and her curious entourage made their way into the ancient and mysterious Temple of the Sith, to finally come to a halt in the Receiving Room of that mighty ediface. There she reached out with her essence, thus alerting Captain Danner's men of their arrival, and where they were now waiting for them.

She turned back to face young Loban, her eyes flashing violet. Not saying anything, she only continued to smile.

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He started,"I do know what I was 'told' what this... unit... is capable of..."