...when at length she finally came to a far courner of the courtyard which was not decorated with any lavish greenery or statues. No, the decoration which graced this place was enough to make Shayla stop and shudder...

...for it was an altar built of bones, various kinds of teeth...

...and something that looked distinctly like Sith horns.

Shayla shuddered again, tearing her eyes from the altar to the ground below. Around the base of the altar were various strange objects; but in the dead center were two stone cylinders which met the size specifications Panthar had mentioned.

Desiring nothing more than to leave this disturbing place, Shayla worked to free the two cylinders from the ground where they had been encrusted, as though they had been sitting there for some time. After taking a few minutes doing this, Shayla quickly headed for the Supernova, loaded the cylinders with the eerie statues her husband had already taken on board, and headed back for the Temple, no doubt not too far behind her returning husband. As she walked, her mind reeled in curiosity as well as something else she couldn't quite put her finger on. But one thing was for certain:

Oh, how she wanted to get to the bottom of whatever Panthar was up to...

[ 07-10-2003 09:57 PM: Message edited 1 time, lastly by Shayla Stargazer Petrolu ]

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The room she entered was dimly lit, musty, filled with statuary and paintings laying about in disarray. After pausing for a moment in the doorway she moved in, drawn by a rising curiosity which drove away, at least for the moment, all darker thoughts pertaining to the particular circumstances she now found herself in. Every so often she reached out a pale hand, leaving a spider's trail in the dust which covered the art work laying about like so much driftwood.

That part of her which was yet Jharmeen Jhin'Dar, daughter of xenoarcheologist Dr. Andreyus Jhin'Dar, cried in pain to see the condition they were in. The once rich colors were darkened and stained, the intricately carved frames pitted and cracked. What would be magnificence as far as Sith artifacts go lay unforgotten, tossed away like junk, the exotic woods and metals and gems upon them dimmed by the the mere fact that they had been abandoned here in such a manner.

She paused before a scene showing a group of Sith approaching others. In the background, a very familiar Temple loomed; beyond that the shadows of broadleaf plants cast a jungled look upon the scene.

Flashback: walking to those doors in that temple, opening them with no trepidation, no hint of fear, entering therein....

She shook her head, and moved on. Stopped before a statue having a more abstract bent. It was of three Sith, all melded together, their arms clasped strongly about each others', their horns interlocked. She had been taught well enough by Aelvedaar that she read the title carved into its base with no problem whatsoever.

Unity.

Carefully she lifted it from where it lay at an awkward angle, half hidden by other discarded pieces. She set it upright, now using a corner of her tunic to begin cleaning off the dust. Fiercely brilliant eyes were soon uncovered, glowing and vivid turquoise... and emerald... and violet.

She shuddered and backed quickly away, letting the statue fall from her supporting hand. It rocked upon its base before thudding back against the wall where it was when she first found it. Wrapping her arms about herself, she backed yet further, distancing herself from the statue as though it were something poisonous, ready to leap out and attack her. A flutter of something caught her eye; it was a cloth of some kind, tossed haphazardly over some other forgotten work.

She grabbed that cloth, threw it over the statue, covered it with other items until it was buried. Then she turned and hurried from the room, closing the door and melting the locking mechanism with one blast from the All.

The frown upon her brow matched the thin line of her lips, and the explosive fires of the Glyph. She turned and went into the Dining Hall, only to continue ghosting about therein.

Sunset couldn't come quickly enough....

[ 07-13-2003 03:12 PM: Message edited 1 time, lastly by Graysith ]

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...and Jasyn Lancaster and all of his companions.

Coincidence?

Not likely, considering they'd all arrived at the same point in the same sort of condition...

...and now to add to the fray was all this about a Sith planet and about a woman that his wife had supposedly been connected with...

...only to be told on arrival that the woman didn't exist. Somewhere something was askance, and Erik Kartan wanted answers soon...

...and that alone was one of the only reasons he was conceding to the wishes of this Panthar fellow. That and the fact that he knew Shayla somehow needed this...

A flash of something caught Erik's attention as he paced and he whirled to face whatever or whomever it might be, his senses quite on the alert. It was Panthar.

"Well, are you finished here?" he queried impatiently even as Shayla entered into the Dining Hall herself. "I'd like to get out of here while that's still a possibility..."

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

“I share your sentiments,” said Panthar. “I too feel distastefully uncomfortable as the day progresses. I am prepared to leave as soon as your wife returns with success.”

A slight glimmer caught in Panthar’s eyes. He tilted his head slightly to the right, his eyes shifting to the left, and the tiniest hint of a small crossed his lips. He raised his voice, “Sunset approaches too slowly, does it not, my lady?”

He then turned to face the Dark Lady, who was quietly lurking in the shadows on the far side of the dining hall.

“In time," he said, "we shall all understand our roles. Thank you for your hospitality.”

Panthar bowed deeply at the waist, pausing to offer a long look at the Dark Lady. When she made no movement, he completed the bow and turned back to Erik. Shayla stepped next to Erik and gave a raised eyebrow to him.

“Were you successful?” ask Panthar.

[ 07-13-2003 12:03 PM: Message edited 1 time, lastly by patternghost ]

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Someday she would have to find out the truth of it...

Shayla jerked herself back into the moment. "Thank you for your patience with us," she said towards Lady Jharmeen, giving a respectful nod then turning back to Panthar. "Now, unless you have something further which we must do here, I suggest we be on our way before we overstay our welcome."

Even as she said this, Shayla turned towards the entrance to the Dining Hall, somehow certain it was indeed time to go...

...but perhaps not for the last time after all.

[ 07-13-2003 02:04 PM: Message edited 1 time, lastly by Shayla Stargazer Petrolu ]

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Decided the time for subtlety was long past.

"I say this but once. You do not know the so-called role that has been placed before me, nor do I find any great need that you should. Depart from us now, and return to those of your own kind. But return here not again, for if you should, you shall surely die."

She paused, her eyes glittering something deep and dark and flat pewter. All three turned their eyes to her at her words; her lips curved in a smile.

"This I promise you."

Then she tilted her head in a final travesty of etiquette toward them, even as the Beast began to rumble in her soul, igniting the Glyph once again with its indomitable fires.

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He involuntarily reached out to send a parting message, stopping himself in time. But that brief flicker of power managed to touch just a small piece of the lady’s essence, sending back to Phalomir a slight sense of fear, distrust, anger and something else… hope?

He raised an eyebrow and watched the Dark Lady turn to exit, regal and proud. He had to bite down hard on his lip to stifle a sudden urge to laugh out loud. This was the most inappropriate time, but it still took all of his effort.

When she had at last left the room, he turned to speak to Erik and Shayla, his hazel eyes bright and wet.

“We, um… pfft!” he attempted. “We should go… hahahaha!”

He could not contain it any longer. He sat down at the nearest table, put his head down in his folded arms and laughed out loud, trying his best to muffle the sounds.

[ 07-13-2003 03:24 PM: Message edited 1 time, lastly by patternghost ]

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...giving way immediately before the flare of outrage at the sheer audacity of it all.

She paused, while at her side M'wonBo'o wrapped a tendril about her waist, rumbling a whining concern. That reaching hand now changed course to toy with one of his face tendrils.

"Not yet, my dear," she finally whispered, struggling to squelch both the wonder and the anger. It was only when she had her roiling emotions under control that she spun gracefully about, and re-entered into the Dining Hall. She stopped when she saw Mr. Dantares' body slumped over a table, his face buried and his shoulders shaking with mirth. Behind him hovered a concerned Shayla and her spouse.

"Is there something you find humorous about your situation, Mr. Dantares?" she asked coldly, her voice ringing across the room from where she stood framed between the double doors that led into it.

[ 07-13-2003 04:36 PM: Message edited 1 time, lastly by Graysith ]

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Panthar lifted his head and wiped away the tears from his cheeks.

“Oh, hi! Sorry! I was just trying to share a joke with my friends here, to lighten the mood, you see! I get that way when threatened with death, it’s an old habit that stems back to my early childhood days when my father would use me as rancor bait and said it built character. But, that’s neither here nor there, see, because they didn’t get the joke anyway and that just made it that much funnier to me, but it doesn’t really matter now anyway because we really need to be on our way now. And don’t worry, from what I’ve heard, I’ll never be back here again! Unless, of course, you change your mind about sharing that dinner and drink with me sometime? No? Oh well, you’re loss! You probably wouldn’t get the joke either.”

Panthar stood and stepped between Erik and Shayla, and wrapped his arms around them both.

“Now, my good dark woman, if you would excuse us, we really must be out of here before sunset. We certainly would not want to block the view!”

He began walking towards the door, forcibly moving the couple along with his seemingly unnaturally strong arms.

As they passed the Dark Lady, Panthar looked her way and winked.

"Sorry about the mess."

[ 07-13-2003 04:13 PM: Message edited 1 time, lastly by patternghost ]

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She let them get perhaps thirty feet away from her before she reacted. Almost without thought the Claw-bearing hand flashed out as she reached forth with the talents placed within her, guiding them with the knowledge taught to her by her Sire. The very essence of reality seemed to ripple and churn then, as the molecules of the stone before their feet abruptly....

Melted.

The trio came to a halt as abrupt.

Graysith's eyes narrowed as she regarded them, the glacial tone she then spoke with in direct contradiction to the supernova blazing upon her brow.

"Take a care, my friends," she seethed quietly. "I do not speak lightly; you would do well to control yourselves until you are at least away from this place."

[ 07-13-2003 04:26 PM: Message edited 1 time, lastly by Graysith ]

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Panthar felt a strange heat rising in his abdomen, reminiscent of a time not very long ago in which a strange power blasted out of him and really sent Jharmeen into a tizzy.

“Oh Phalomir, old buddy,” thought Panthar, “do you really think now is a good time for this?”

She must allow us to leave; I am prepared for her if she does not

“Oh, crap,” thought Panthar, suddenly wishing he were elsewhere.

“Please, Lady Jharmeen, we just want to leave…” he said softly.

[ 07-13-2003 05:40 PM: Message edited 1 time, lastly by patternghost ]

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Her eyes darkened even as the Glyph raged brighter, angry at herself for her indecision in what should be a fairly simple and straightforward matter.

The Triad would indeed return; nothing would stand in the way of that. And she would not rest until that Triad took its place to lead the Sith into the destiny the dark jedi had taken from them four thousand years in the past.

An inarticulate cry erupted from her then, and her hand flew up... up... higher and higher. Energies screamed and connected with the weft of spacetime itself, grabbing it eagerly, greedily, rending and tearing and opening a portal which floated directly in front of Shayla and Panthar and Erik. At it's other end, Supernova beckoned.

"Depart now..." she trailed, still struggling with herself, and not only in keeping her anger at bay, but also in self inquiry as to why she even had to struggle as she did.

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When they arrived at the ship, Panthar let out a long sigh and released his grip on the two.

He turned and saw the portal close.

“There, that wasn’t so bad, was it?” Panthar said. “She’s really a nice lady once you get to know her. Cold, heartless, pissy, and conniving…. But nice.”

He glanced around to make sure she wasn’t there in the hangar.

“OK, let’s get the crap out of here!”

[ 07-13-2003 06:53 PM: Message edited 1 time, lastly by patternghost ]

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But even as he said this, Shayla turned, the Supernova not fully warmed, and frowned scoldingly at him. Then she looked over towards Panthar. "I don't know where you intend for us to head next, but I do know this: there is a massing of Imperial ships on the outskirts of this system...

...or at least there was at some point in the recent past. I'm not up for dealing with them, so I'm going to hit and fade and get us the Hell out of here before we progress any further."

She paused for a moment at that, then glanced to Erik before returning her gaze to Panthar. "You both better strap in and hang tight. This could be a rough ride."

With nothing more than that Shayla turned, pre-calculating a brief hyperspace jump and programming it into the navcomputer before ever leaving the surface of K'eel Doba. Then, in one utterly smooth motion she lifted the Supernova into the skies, through atmosphere and past. Even as she did so she increased speed, all the while jinking and rolling the frieghter til at length they were just beyond the gravity well of K'eel Doba...

...and in that precise moment she reached out and activated the hyperdrive. Even as she did so, the space before the Supernova stretched out into starlines...

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"Phalomir, buddy?" he thought. "You there? I have a bad feeling about this..."

Be still, my friend. The 'Imperial ships' she speaks of shall not notice us.

Panthar felt the heat rise within him...

[ 07-13-2003 07:52 PM: Message edited 1 time, lastly by patternghost ]

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"Yes--?" I ask, even though I am fully aware of what it is she has to say. But she was after all my Chosen Daughter; I allow her the charity of speaking on her own.

"The Dark Lord is dead," she begins without preamble. I say nothing, but bow my head to her, my horns casting shadows upon the ground which leap and dance up to her feet. From my viewpoint it is as if I have her entrapped between them; I smile at the thought and give her leave to continue.

"There is One, He who has killed Roan. He is--" I interrupt her, raising one clawed hand. Now I stare directly into her glowing eyes, my own lighting with volcanic fires as I clearly read her intent. I remain silent, however.

"He-- he is gone... again; and with my son," she finishes, lowering her head briefly, hiding the emotions I know are playing across her face. For who? This I really know not, nor do I care.

In the long and the short of it, it is irrelevant.

I inhale deeply, nodding to her once again. Behind her I see a shadowy movement; it is my Chosen Son and Heir, standing by, ready to assist if needed, although against her I am afraid his budding powers would prove naught.

I, however, have no inhibitions, nor any weaknesses in that regard. I simply stare at her for a long moment.

"Is there anything else you wish to divulge to me at this time?" I ask, pleasantly enough. She lowers her head again, shaking it mutely.

I am not fooled. I know what is on her mind... as she fully knows what is on mine. I step toward her, and reach a hand to her face, bending down to kiss her softly on her cheek.

"Thank you, my Daughter," I say to her. "You may go."

I turn back to the Octahedron, even as I sense her departure back to her own place....

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Surprisingly, for the Imperials had never been known to have velvet-gloved hands, at least not in Palpatine's day, it never came. The officer on deck merely paced around the debriefing room and finally took a seat back at the desk before which he had been standing.

"Did you get the signature of that vessel, Ensign?" he asked mildly. His fingers splayed out on the shining metal of the desk as he waited for a reply. It was not long in coming.

"Sir, yes Sir!"

The ensign opened his mouth as if to offer more, wisely closed it. This was not unheeded by his superior.

"And you have already initiated a trace of it's identity?"

Again came the immediate and affirmative reply, celery crisp. The officer nodded, turned from the ensign, dismissing him with a wave of his hand.

"Two extra watches, over two days," he said offhandedly. "You may go."

The echo of the ensign's boots sounded in his ears as he now opened a line to his superior, none other than the Second officer to the captain himself. A short but extremely informative discourse followed, which ended with:

"A hit and fade tactic was used as the vessel escaped, Sir. This is not something used often by the general populace; found among such riff-raff as smugglers and pirates and so on...."

He trailed; the Second obligingly filled the airspace with an almost offhanded, "Indeed; this is so."

Time crackled along the airways... and the Second returned.

"I have direct orders from the captain," he said without preamble. "Proceed with Chalarian-Echo, phase one. This system is becoming far too... busy for one that is supposed to be not only off the charts, but devoid of life!"

The link snikked to a close as the officer on deck rose from the desk, and from the debriefing room proceeded to the bridge. There he began implementing the delicate maneuvering of the immense super star destroyer into its own particular position in the blockading of Khar Delba and K'eel Doba. He smiled as the Relentless began moving out from where it had been lurking, taking her sister-hounds with her, and finally settled nicely into a high orbit around the extremely tilted planet of Khar Delba. He flipped on a connection to the outside, his lips now quirking as he watched the others begin placing themselves in exactly calculated positions from not just Relentless but from others, forming a gridwork of gleaming death which slowly but inexorably began to close about the planet like the jaws of a vise enclose what it grips. Elsewhere, K'eel Doba was being similarly blockaded.

A bulkhead broke in two as a door whooshed open, spilling Captain Landarian onto the bridge. He strode within and came to a stop, tall and firm, before enabling another switch to display what the officer had been watching onto the general screen. The officer on deck could see his captain's chest swell with pride as all hands jerked their attention briefly to take in that beautiful sight, then returned immediately to their individual tasks to make it so.

The Captain nodded in satisfaction and remained silent. He had his orders...

...which he proceeded to obey. He moved over to the communications officer, and leaned over his shoulder, his fingers busy on the gleaming board in front of him.

"Get me a link to Lt. General Tarnus, at this frequency," he ordered, rising up and giving his uniform jacket a jerk to straighten an imaginary wrinkle.

"I'll take it in my ready room...."

((OOC: This thread continues in Down the Rabbit Hole in the "Jedi/Sith" forums, thank you....

[ 07-16-2003 10:12 AM: Message edited 1 time, lastly by The Empire ]

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