Raelgosh began slowing the ship, and once it stopped, it decended to the ground, where Raelgosh disembarked, not caring if Sa'kal came with him. He sniffed the air, and moved in the direction that the traitorous scent of Aelmaar still lingered. He went to the ground where the sith ship had sat, looked at the imprints in the dirt for a moment, then howled into the decending nights air.

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

...and for a moment, she simply turned away from everyone, closing her eyes.

What is it that Graysith would have wanted? You were a Sith adept, Shayla...

...and a Jedi padawan. There is no way you can truly turn your back on all that you have come to learn and accept as truth. And admit it, if you simply went with what your heart longed for and yanked Jharmeen from here, would you ever forgive yourself for leaving behind all that must still be fought for?

Even as the answer to this question sprang forth in Shayla's mind, a large lump grew in her throat, and even more tears sprang to her eyes. With effort she turned once more, making no effort to cover her emotions. She then rose a shaky hand to lay on one of Jharmeen's shoulders, and gazed steadily into her quietly resting face.

"Oh my dear friend," she spoke softly then, "All that you have fought for will not be thrown to the winds. All for the Greater Good indeed..."

Trailing then, Shayla let her hand simply drop, and looked up then to Phalomir, the tears in her eyes clearing as her determination was bolstered. Even so, the lump in her throat remained.

"Galen is right," she then spoke up softly to him, "We cannot leave behind all that she has fought for in exchange for giving her a life in which she will never understand just who and what she is."

[ 10-23-2004 06:57 PM: Message edited 1 time, lastly by Shayla Stargazer Petrolu ]

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

And both Shayla and Galen were correct, she deserved more than what Phalomir could offer her in Aelvedaar’s “deal”. Whether of her own will or not, she had sacrificed her father’s life for the Sith and had her own life severely rearranged. Galen’s life was also thrown to the winds because of the Sith.

Phalomir’s first instinct was to take Aelvedaar’s offer, to give up on the Sith and wander the galaxy, and leave the race to its fate. But what sort of life would this bring to him and the others? Jharmeen would have no knowledge of him, he would be a stranger to her. She would have no memory of killing her father, lose all of the experience she had gained in her years. Nor would she remember her son. Indeed, all she had been through, everything she had done the past several years, would have been only to serve Aelvedaar.

And that would be unforgivable.

He looked up to Shayla, her face echoing her words from a moment ago. He glanced to Galen, then held her eyes in his own gaze.

“He will not rest until we are dead,” he said. “As long as we carry the symbols of entitlement, his goal of a single ruler of the Sith will never be fulfilled. Though she now has my power, if Aelvedaar can somehow break through those defenses then he can strip her of the All. It will be perilous.”

He turned his attention back to Shayla.

“But I am willing to remain defiant, if you both agree.”

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

I pursed my lips and suddenly held my arms out to either side.

I shrugged.

"Hey, you know I'm in. I mean, what the hell is life anymore if not filled with the fear of impending death and/or doom lurking around every corner? Boring, that's what.

"But-- option? You said that 'one option' was to hit space with her and she'd be restored; what's the other option open to us?

"Unless that's this defiance thing you mentioned, well. If so, hey, like I said, in for a credit, go for the crown. If I'm gonna be up against someone against his wishes, hey. Better the Big Boys, right? I mean, you've got this power--"

I stopped in mid-sentence as Phalomir's words fully and finally soaked in. I blinked, and looked at Shayla.

"And you're a Jedi--"

Again, I paused, chewing on my lip, remembering the powers my sister had and then amplifying them one hundredfold in my brain. Added an entirely new variable into that equation: that of Sith magick.

"We're dead men walking, and don't even realize it yet. But..."

I took a breath.

"You know I own... er, that is, Terrin and I own Eagle Enterprises."

I sent Phalomir an apologetic look, but it wasn't meant for him.

"We've got something in the way of ships and power, yeah. And in a pinch, maybe I could persuade Sorben to--"

Again I paused, closing my eyes now. The backs of my eyelids flamed with the fiery horror of full-blown war. I shuddered a little to blink that image away, and then continued.

"Well there's that. I don't know if any of this would be enough to stand up to Aelvedaar; we do have Aeylmaar on our side, and he seemed to be using this weird magick stuff that Jharmeen has, too.

"Can anyone think of anybody else who might come to our assistance? Anyone who would wish Aelvedaar dead, someone with power, who might be coerced into helping us?"

I stopped then settled to the deck in a cross-legged position, feeling every bit as if all I had been doing was babble improbabilities in order to stave off the assured death I knew lay ahead for us.

I thought of one thing more, and jerked up my head.

"What about the Sith themselves, the warriors?"

[ 10-25-2004 08:08 PM: Message edited 1 time, lastly by Galen ]

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

"Ahhh," he started out, unsure of just how to voice the question in his head, "You and Terrin own Eagle Enterprises?"

He trailed, cocking a brow. Then, "I think I've had too much to drink, cause it sure as hell seems like I'm suddenly missing something. And in the 'who else might be able to help' category, what about Yaoksi Joao? Or that Petrolu guy--Shawn? Granted, he's one single Jedi, but he's been of assistance before, and he knows about the Sith already. Not to mention he's one of the few Jedi I think I've ever been able to stand..."

[ 10-25-2004 11:46 PM: Message edited 1 time, lastly by Jasyn Lancaster ]

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“There is another,” he whispered grimly.

Two others, in fact. He thought. Each of which appear to have been betrayed by Aelvedaar, though in what form their assistance would come in I cannot say. But they are powerful beings, and perhaps do not share in Aelvedaar’s dreams for the Sith. The enemy of my enemy is my friend. This could hold true even for the likes of the Master and Lord R—

He opened his eyes and looked to Galen. He shook his head and looked back to Shayla.

No. Some enemies are too horrible to befriend in any means. I will attempt to contact my father, the Master, somehow, and leave Roan out of this.

Shifting Jharmeen’s light weight, he reached into his robe and clutched the Eye of R’lous.

This mysterious object, so secretive in its motives, yet so powerful, must be of use here.

Phalomir could feel the warmth pulsating from the sphere as he wrapped his long fingers around it. He felt sparks fly betwen his fingers as they moved around the smooth surface. Though his magick was apparently gone, he could still feel the power emanating from the Eye.

Help me, he thought, trying to focus on the Eye itself. It was so much simpler using Sith magick to send thoughts, but if the Eye was still somehow attuned to him then perhaps this could work. Help us.

[ 10-26-2004 12:26 AM: Message edited 1 time, lastly by Phalomir ]

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

And then Phalomir's one single spoken thought grabbed her attention.

"Another?" she queried. "Are you referring to the Eye?"

Falling silent at that, she let the words fall for a moment. Then she turned to Galen once more, addressing her final question. "As for whether the warriors might aid us...

...perhaps it is possible. They have already been seasoned to feel angst against Aelvedaar--they may feel even more if they knew he has tried to take their leader from them. How we would approach them about this, however..."

She trailed again, looking to Phalomir, "...could the Revealer help us with this?"

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

A grunt of annoyance escapes me at the interruption. I am so close, so close, and now to have to deal....

I now sigh, and after settling my thoughts to a state of icy blandness, send reply to the Cult Assassin.

"Indeed, it would appear that your companion does not live up to the expectations of your type," I send across the ether.

"Nor of mine. Deal with him as soon as possible; his continued ineffectual presence may otherwise end up being more of a hindrance to me than any help."

I turn away from this line of thought then, and once more focus everything on the drama being enacted on the Sith warship.

So close...

So close.

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

With Phalomir's lips he then spoke, now struggling for the words he must use to convince a man who would no doubt be difficult to convince concerning his strange existence.

He pursed Phalomir's lips. "Jasyn," he began, "This is Terrin...and my spirit is within Phalomir. It's a long story, but the long and the short of it is that I knew Galen was in danger, and came across Phalomir and Graysith in the Darker Realms. I wanted to be certain Galen's safety was achieved, since at the time I last saw her she had been taken by Roan."

He trailed then, "I know you will find this difficult to believe...but you must know that it is me. After all, how many others would know about the ysalamiri farm you once maintained on the Hornett?"

He paused once more, allowing the words he had spoken to sink in. "And, concerning all that has happened...

...no matter what form I remain in, I'm in this with you too, no matter what you decide to do." His look then darkened. "Aelvedaar is a clever deceiver, and was clever enough to even fool me into trusting him with the two people in this universe I would die a thousand deaths for. If he's that convincing...

...convincing enough, in fact, to deceive almost every single one of us on this warship...

...he simply has to be stopped before he has the whole galaxy at his fingertips. So, in whatever way I can help...

...I will."

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

Or sanctuary, Galen; maybe some day...

I jerked away from that line of thought as if it was a branding iron ready to burn me.

No use getting your hopes up, kiddo; even if the ability existed to put Terrin into another body, which obviously does exist, where in Hell's Seven Circles can it be put?

So instead, all I said was, "Yeah, Jasyn, believe it. That's him in there."

And hunkered down into an even smaller little ball on the floor.

[ 10-26-2004 03:14 AM: Message edited 1 time, lastly by Galen ]

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

...which, once again, was saying alot considering he almost always had a comeback to everything, usually of the sarcastic nature. But now he was truly at a loss for words. No one, save Matt, Aaron, Terrin and perhaps Galen, would have known about that ysalamiri farm. And aside from that, Jasyn knew Terrin's words simply by the length of time he'd worked for him and with him.

The move totally purposeful, Jasyn upturned his brandy bottle and drank every last drop of the remaining contents.

"Oh kriffing hell, it is you, isn't it?!" he erupted with then, throwing a sidelong glance at Matt Stanza. Then he turned back to Phalomir, uncertain as to whether Terrin was still in control. "But this is all so weird..."

He trailed as another memory then registered. He turned to Shayla. "If Terrin's spirit could be placed in Phalomir's body, couldn't he be returned to his own?" he queried to her. "After all, Lord Recinis put something on his wounds that healed them, I saw it with my own eyes. And I'll bet some of that stuff Recinis used also preserved his body...

...that's not uncommon. Hell, he wasn't even buried...just laid out on a stone pillar and covered in satin sheets. I know it's a long shot, and it's probably crazy...

...but I really don't kriffing care. After all, with all we're talking about facing here, I have a gut feeling we're really going to be needing the Boss..."

[ 10-26-2004 03:51 AM: Message edited 1 time, lastly by Jasyn Lancaster ]

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I leapt to my feet, neatly and quite figuratively side-stepping to avoid tripping on my jaw, which was laying on the floor now right smack where I had been sitting.

"What?!" I croaked, somewhere between a fierce and joyous shout and a cautionary whisper.

"You mean that his bo-- that Terrin is still in his all-together back on Koris'ian? Why didn't Recinis say anything?

"Why didn't you?!"

I turned a look something of a cross between the most demanding hope and angry disbelief first upon Jasyn, and then Shayla. But it was to the strangely quiet Phalomir that I directed my next words.

"Is this true? I mean, is this a Sith thing? Can his body exist in a state that can receive his spirit...

"Can he be put back together again, the way he was?"

[ 10-26-2004 04:05 AM: Message edited 1 time, lastly by Galen ]

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Sa'kal stepped out of the ship and quickly realized that Raelgosh was returning to the ship. Without hesitation, Sa'kal unsheathed his blade and walked to Raelgosh, knowing that he had not found the traitourus Aeylmaar. As Raelgosh neared him, Sa'kal said, "Aelvedaar is not pleased with your efforts. He has giving me the order to kill you." With that, Sa'kal'ishaalas' blade cut through Raelgosh's arm. "You should have followed my lead, and you might of been allowed to live." Sa'kal said as he spun the blade around through Raelgosh's other arm. Raelgosh fell to his knees before Sa'kal'ishaalas, his arms losing blood at a rate that would leave him dead in minutes.

"Before I kill you, I'll tell you that there is another assassin out there. My brother. I will seek him after this, once you are dead." Sa'kal said as he took his blade behind his soulder, "And know this; with your death, the Cult of Assassins will not end, but will be forever changed."

Sa'kal brought the blade around and cut off Raelgosh's head. A great pain seared through Sa'kal as he killed him master, and his rnes began to glow more intensly, eventually turning white. He stumbled onto the ship and fell over, thinking only of reawakening the lost powers in his brother, and slowly slipped into darkness as he realized something. I am no longer compelled to do Aelvedaar's bidding, in fact, I feel fre...

I have been here before, he thought.

“Of course you have,” came the reply from the elderly Sith suddenly sitting across from Phalomir. “We have spoken thusly before. It has been some time indeed, what is it you wish to discuss on this occasion?”

“What is it?” asked Phalomir. “Do you not know? Lord Aelvedaar has laid siege upon the spirit of Jharmeen, and unless we agree to relinquish our claim to anything Sith and leave the Sith worlds forever, he shall…”

“Shall what?” asked the stranger. “Shall strip her of her powers? Take away her title? Kill her? Tut tut.”

Phalomir stared at the strange man in disbelief. The man held out his hand and a small colorful butterfly landed on it. He stroked it gently with a finger.

“How can you be so calm and light-hearted about this? Don’t you see what this means?”

“Phalomir,” the man said. “One thing that you must learn, and I have tried to show you this over and over again, is that in the All, there must exist a balance. There is a greater purpose, a harmony that must be observed.”

“Even if she dies?” cried Phalomir.

The old man sighed as he caressed the butterfly.

“Leaning too much in any one direction brings the entire structure down. While I stroke this insect, it brings joy to me. But what does the insect feel? Indeed, does it feel at all? Am I merely depositing harmful oils from my finger upon its wings?”

Phalomir looked again at the old man.

“If you have a point, please come to it. Time is of the essence.”

The man laughed. “Oh, dear boy, how impetuous you have become. Time means little here in the meadow. But what does have meaning is the balance of all things. You deem yourself good? Perhaps then Aelvedaar is evil? Have you always done good, sir? And from what perspective? Indeed, perhaps a unified Sith would be mean much more for the greater harmony. Do not be hasty to judge.”

“But,” said Phalomir, “what of Jharmeen’s perspective? What is fair to her? She has no say in this, she has been used, duped, and now is to be discarded. Aelvedaar has no right to do this.”

“As you have no right to decide for her. Yet here you are, wanting me to interfere. There is always another side. What if things were set to where you wanted them to be? Is it fair to have two clans united?”

“You don’t understand, I—“

“Of course I understand! You love this woman. You would do anything for her, even give up your magick, your title, your people. Would she do the same for you? Would you want her to?”

Phalomir was quiet for several moments. “No,” he said at last. “I would not want her to do that.”

“Then you have your own answers, Phalomir. What will you do with them?”

“What can I do with them? Even in deciding, how am I to back these decisions? My powers are gone.”

“Are they?”

Phalomir found himself suddenly standing in the battleship, holding Jharmeen in his arms. He looked around and saw everyone looking at him, especially a very intent Galen.

“We must speak with Aelvedaar,” he said calmly.

[ 10-26-2004 05:00 AM: Message edited 1 time, lastly by Phalomir ]

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

It fell to the floor again with a crash of sheer disbelief.

"What?!" I cried, not even noticing that my hands were clenched. I did feel sudden warmth in my suddenly sweaty palms, however.

"You're crazy. You've gone space-happy or something, hell!"

I took a step towards him, and then another until I was right up into his personal space and glaring up into those intense green eyes he had.

Somewhere therein, I saw a flash of blue.

"No way, buster, no way in Hell's Seven Circles. You've got Terrin there inside you; there is no way in all the universe I'm going to let you go anywhere near that bastard as long as you hold the key to his spirit and possibly his life!"

I knew it sounded a bit on the dramatic side, but I didn't care. I had finally found Terrin, and I wasn't going to let any harm come to him.

Not again.

I stood there, glaring up into Phalomir's face as if by that sheer look alone I could pin his feet to the deck, hoping someone would come to my aide and speak some sense to this guy.

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

"Yeah," she started with, "I have to agree with Galen...

...at least partially. I realize that Terrin is a spirit within your body...

...but as such, he is a living entity whether he has a body of his own or not. He has stated his decision to fight with us, but is it any more fair to drag him into a hasty confrontation with Aelvedaar than it is to decide the course of Jharmeen's life from this point?"

She paused then, letting the words sink in. Then she continued with, "Need I remind you that I, Graysith, Galen, Matt, Jasyn, and Terrin have already had dealings with Aelvedaar, ones which lead to strings of deception? How could we trust him now, by his word alone? Perhaps part of our strategy should be to talk with or confront Aelvedaar...

...but we should be ready for whatever results such may bring. I for one think it would be a good idea to travel to Kori'san...

...not only to see if something can be done so that Terrin is totally in control of his decisions and actions, but to arm ourselves for whatever may lay ahead. After all, you are the Dark Lord of the Armorers, are you not?"

[ 10-27-2004 02:18 AM: Message edited 1 time, lastly by Shayla Stargazer Petrolu ]

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"Ahhh...speaking of Kori'san," he spoke up then, the entrance of his voice into the conversation seeming to suprise some of the others, "When Panthar and I were left there alone, right before the Master dumped us on Khar Delba with Galen, we saw something which might be of significance now. There were a couple of life-size blocks of ice in the final room we entered before the Master appeared, and inside them looked to be a frozen Phalomir...

...and a frozen Graysith. Now I am just wondering, if the Master has been in cahoots with Aelvedaar, and Aelvedaar had been planning all along to kill Graysith...

...then what exactly would he need to have a frozen Graysith for, unless he still has further plans for her, and desires for us to all believe she is dead?"

[ 10-27-2004 02:52 AM: Message edited 1 time, lastly by Erik Kartan ]

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((OCC: Sa'kal'ishaalas and Dash (now a captive of Sa'kal), zoom off to The Flame Triumphant Burns in the Jedi/Sith forums

“But before he did that, he said that he was working with Thoran and Aelvedaar, but they no longer saw eye to eye. All he wants to do is find Phalomir, they left him for dead or something and he wants to destroy them. Maybe we can go to him for help?”

Panthar paused a moment.

“Oh, but then why did he send us straight to Aelvedaar?”

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

"Why in Hell's Seven Circles do you want us to go to Aelvedaar now?"

I turned a glare Phalomir's way with that.

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

...it'd be stupid to just jump into this unarmed. We've already said this is going to be dangerous business...

...so why would we, after coming to this conclusion, just go blasting on our way haphazardly to 'speak with Aelvedaar?"

He paused a moment at this, eyeing another bottle of unopened brandy. With effort, he returned his gaze to Phalomir and finished with, "I sure hope we're operating in a democracy here, pal, cause as it stands, the decision on what our next move should be is at least three to one..."

[ 10-28-2004 03:24 AM: Message edited 1 time, lastly by Jasyn Lancaster ]

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At Jasyn’s words he shook off the look and faced him.

“The Eye represents balance in the All. It was unwilling to do anything to help, and just spoke of different perspectives. It asked me of my intentions, and if I would want Jharmeen to do for me what I intended to do for her. Of course, I would not. We cannot simply give up, but we cannot continue in an eternal struggle with Aelvedar. If the All requires balance, then perhaps Aelvedaar’s perspective is not entirely the evil as we see it. Perhaps he can be yet reasoned with.”

He smiled slightly.

“It is only my life I shall be risking, not anyone else.”

[ 10-28-2004 03:26 AM: Message edited 1 time, lastly by Phalomir ]

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I crossed my arms emphatically, and leaned against the nearest bulkhead, muttering to myself under my breath.

[ 10-28-2004 03:30 AM: Message edited 1 time, lastly by Galen ]

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...at least, he is for the moment...

...and we're all currently with you too. And you have still not answered one thing...

... Why the kriffing hell are we rushing into this with no ammo? No plan? No safety measures? If you are the Dark Lord of the Armorers as Stargazer says, then why not pay Kor'isan a little visit and see if there is anything that may assist us in this task? Not to mention that I really think Terrin would like his body back...

...but isn't that what the Dark Lord of the Armorers should do? Arm the unprotected?"

[ 10-28-2004 03:35 AM: Message edited 1 time, lastly by Jasyn Lancaster ]

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"You mean, he's the head mucketty-muck of the Sith Armorers?"

Not that I understood too much of their politics, but at least I could figure out what Jasyn meant.

I jerked a thumb Phalomir's way, then followed with another glare.

"Oh Khaandon help us all...."

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