Release the prisoner from the cell, and remove him to the nearest medical bay. There full repairs are to be put into effect. See to his well-being and comfort; he is to know that while we are not to be taken lightly, we are not complete monsters.

Inform me when he has healed.

~Lt. General Sorben Tarnus

I cast a quick glance over the command missive before folding and sealing it. Rising to my feet, I placed it in the already outstretched hand of the courier, who saluted smartly, turned, and left. I turned then as well, moving to stand in front of the viewports which where behind my desk.

The stars didn't seem to be telling me much today. Just like most; try as hard as I might, I could never find the answer to the one question which, if the truth were known, governed more and more of my personal views concerning this blockade we had placed here.

Yes-- it was crucial for the growing order to know what was happening upon those mysterious worlds. It was crucial that when the time came for the untold trillions of beings in this galaxy to be informed of the most momentous occasion to interfere in their lives to date, that they were not being left in the shallow end of the pool. That the Empire was and would still be in control, that order would be mantained.

That peace would reign.

But of greater importance to me was the fact that I knew, down to the nucleus of every cell in my body, down to the very heart of each atom...

I knew that my baby girl was down there.

Somewhere.

I was going to find her, and Khaandon help whoever or whatever tried to get in my way.

[ 09-04-2005 05:26 PM: Message edited 1 time, lastly by Sorben Tarnus ]

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

It was delightful.

He watched through the glass as he was taken away on the covering tube, then left the interogation chamber, and made his way to the Lord General's office, knocking to make his final report as a small data-message in his eyepiece informed him that the prisoner was being treated.

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

I nodded toward him, was about to give him leave to speak when my eyes widened behind the black enigma of my helmet's lens. Behind the Interrogator stood the familiar figure of Landarian, who had an extremely dark look upon his face.

"One moment if you will, good sir," I said to the Interrogator, pushing him from my ready room with a wave of my hand. A look something like startlement crossed his face, but he backed off, allowing the Captain of Relentless to enter in his stead.

The hatchway whooshed shut, enclosing us to the view of the stellar field behind me. The good captain, as usual, wasted no time.

"You know of the ship that had come from the sister planet's surface--"

The words were not a question, merely a statement of fact. Nevertheless, I nodded.

"It has disappeared. Right under our noses. Sensors can't find anything."

I froze at that.

Why, the little vixen! So she's managed to find another fighter--!

Of course I knew full well what was going on. Hadn't I been with Galen, time and time again, aboard that fantastic little ship? Wasn't I with her in the dismal lair of Gravin Dark, when she found the Sith belt bearing the invisibility device? Hadn't she and I used it together more than once in our adventures together?

I shook myself from the brief reverie.

"Fear not, my friend. The situation, believe it or not, is well in hand."

I paused a moment, one gloved hand rising to my chin while I thought.

"We are going to appear to be undergoing a sudden, partial systems failure," I announced, quite out of the blue.

"A certain few strategically placed tractor beams are going to blink out of commission, say for about... 15 seconds."

Fifteen seconds. An eternity. If they couldn't sneak through in that time, then they deserved to be captured.

A promise, no matter by what it is driven, is a promise, after all....

Landarian stiffened, acquiesing to shock at this unusual order.

"Let them go," I whispered, nodding to punctuate the words.

"They'll be back..."

Landarian's momentary gaffe dissolved before a fresh wave of military professionalism. He straightened, nodded, saluted, and departed.

I slapped the control that guided the door, preventing it from closing fully in his wake. There, framed in the outline, stood the Interrogator, undoubtedly wondering what in Hell's Seven Circles was going on.

"Come in," I said simply, then turned back to study the starfield once again.

[ 09-04-2005 06:56 PM: Message edited 1 time, lastly by Sorben Tarnus ]

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

Father, where have you gone? He wondered, looking at the still open door of the chambers, and stepping inside. It was as though everything had vanished, with no sudden explanation. No footsteps in the thin dust to suggest it had been carried, no appearance of damage at all, aside from the fact that it was indeed, simply gone.

"Why would you abandon us all?" He queried to the open air. "No you wouldn't... this is merely a mechanation of your plan, to bring balance, order, the thing that the galaxy truely needs for the greater picture..."

Pulling the sith robes around him tighter, as the air had a bone-deep cold in it, he sat in the center of the floor and merely thought.

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

He paused, observing the general, that ceaseless question in his mind asking what the man looked like. "I would like to note that the-" There was a blink upon the Generals desk from one of the data-pads there, the quick code dotted out was quite obvious, even from my distance.

"A ship approaching?"

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

"So it would appear," I agreed as I calmly reached out to disengage the signal. The little blip immediately faded from view as I turned to the Interrogator.

"I'm certain the Captain has things well in hand; now, as you were saying?"

With that I went to a small sideboard which hovered genteelly by, and poured myself a cup of caf. Inserting a drinking straw into the hot liquid, I stuck it under the edge of my helmet and into my mouth, and took a good long draw, wishing for all the world that it was something a touch stronger.

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

He snorted as the little ship fled from Choyapenthe, zooming effortless along an impossibly steep trajectory which in the case of more "normal" ships would have sent them, gasping and choking, back to the ground from which they came. But Sith ships are far from those of a mundane ilk; built more like a plane, it behaved like a rocket. Even then it scoffed at the more sane approach of letting the planet's rotational spin assist in its departure; it simply flew up.

The sorcerer didn't have long to fume before the slight bumps and jiggles produced by the steadily thinning atmosphere lessened and finally ceased, announcing his release into clear space.

He sighed, pursed his lips in thought. Every instinct told him the boy was crazy: there was no blockade, goodness no, for who had the might to oppose the Sith? Hadn't they ruled the galaxy for hundreds of years, bringing peace and prosperity to its inhabitants? What crazed individual or individuals would even harbor a notion of trying to stand up to them?

Why look a gift horse in the mouth?

He thought some more, thinking along the lines of orbiting the planet a time or two before returning to the rash young Rykounagin, there to reveal that his "generous offer" had been "graciously denied."

But something made him reach out to open a viewport instead....

He gasped, shrinking involuntarily back against his seat.

What was this? Where had this massive number of ships come from... and the ships themselves! Oh, the ships were immense, sleek and deathly, held together by an intricate weavery of energy beams.

Who were these people? Where had they come from?

Another thought struck him: was he but a fly against such apparent power and strength? A fly most easily swatted?

Do giants eat with flies?

His hand trembled with indecision.

How dared he approach those ships...? But then, how dare he not. For the youth, albeit human as he was, did bear the Tattoo of Entitlement upon his wrist. That did afford him respect for his wishes, even though in the case of this particular sorcerer it was an insincere one.

He sat in a quiet dither, wondering as to his best move in what appeared to be a suddenly dire predicament. Then it came to him; his fingers danced a tarantelle upon the boards in front of him, sending out communication in all directions, almost willy-nilly, at all frequencies for he hadn't a clue as to which one the giant ships might capture.

"Your Lordship is invited to dine..." the words blatted out for all the galaxy to hear, repeated twice, thrice, then shut off.

Then, appearances be damned, the Sith grasped the controls and turned the little ship head-over-hiney, heading now toward another continent where his family's summer home was.

He quirked his brows, looked toward the Interrogator, then handed me a missive. I frowned at the weird look on his face...

...and the frown only became deeper when I read this latest bulletin he had brought.

His Lordship? Invited to dine?

With the Sith?!

Curiouser and curiouser...

I looked up at Landarian, whose face bore an expression somewhere between amusement and consternation.

"Anything more specific than that?" I asked, knowing the Interrogator was probably all ears by this time, but knowing as well that he couldn't gain anything from the words I spoke. I know my Captain; his reply was equally tacit.

"It would appear a place befitting your station, Sir," he said, working his mouth to keep the grin which wanted to burst forth from doing so.

I shook my head slightly, eyeballed the missive again.

His Lordship?

Before me, Landarian only raised his brows, and waited in silence.

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

He cleared his thoughts. "Is it that the prisoner should be further treated as a guest under guard or as a common prisoner reguardless?" However, his mind was quickly distracted.

What strange message had the Lord General recieved? "Lord General?" Arcanemel dared to query.

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

But then another thought struck me, one which rolled that budding mirth into a tiny little wad and flicked it away with a snap of its fingers.

I frowned behind my mask, lifted a hand to stay Landarian, and turned to the Interrogator.

"The former prisoner is to be afforded every facility and amenity this ship has to offer, other than those open to authorized personnel only. He is to be healed, catered to, wined and dined if you will. He is not, and I repeat not to be treated in any way, shape or form as a prisoner under guard.

"He will be given a true honor guard--"

Indeed, if he knew the answers to some of the questions that were beginning to float about in my head, that guard might end up being more than honorary, as far as he was concerned.

"--and treated with every respect. And when he is able to receive visitors, let me know."

I waited for the Interrogator to bow and depart before I turned back to Landarian.

"Doesn't it strike you as strange that the people of a world who have only just returned to this time know we are here?" I asked him, even as I moved to once more stare out the viewport at the immensity of eternity, my hands clasped behind my back. I remained thus for a moment or two longer, then turned back.

"Let the invitation go unanswered," I ordered, moving to my desk where I took a seat.

Before me, Landarian nodded, saluted and left, the door whooshing closed behind him to leave me alone with my thoughts.

[ 09-04-2005 11:33 PM: Message edited 1 time, lastly by Sorben Tarnus ]

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

It was not long before he realized that he did not. His knowledge of the temple was extremely limited.

He was about to relay this to Graysith when something else, something within his own mind, caught his attention. Focusing upon it, he realized his mind was telling him it had sensed something. A familiar presence.

It was Rykounagin. The boy was in this temple, and not very far away.

Apparently, the powerful bond they had formed was still intact. Even though they had not had contact for some time, Ragorian could still sense where Rykounagin was.

And it stood to reason that since Rykouangin was now Aelvedaar's "Chosen Son," or whatever it was he had said, he would probably be with the Dark Lord in his inner sanctum.

Again, Ragorian was about to tell Graysith
of this, but he stopped himself suddenly, thinking hard.

If I tell her I can sense Rykounagin's presence...would she not ask how that is? After all, she does not know we were once allies...

And if she were to ask how we came ot have this bond, that could lead down a potentially nasty road of questioning...

...That could end with her finding out that it was I who attacked her and forced Rykounagin to steal the Axis.

And that would most certainly not be good for building trust between us.

Ragorian felt a certain amount of disquiet at deciding to lie to Graysith, but attempted to quash it. When that did not work, he spoke reassuringly to himself.

I will, of course, tell her eventually, he reasoned. But we are in them iddle of a potentially dangerous situation. Now is not the time.

He had a hard time believing his own words, though.

Finally, he spoke to Graysith.

"I...I believe I do know the way, at least vaguely, milady," he said, shame rising in him as he spoke.
"I believe it is this way..."

And he focused on the link with Rykounagin, leading her down the passageways towards the young lad's presence.

He sincerely hoped they would reach areas he, or Graysith, truly recognized before they met the lad...or the truth would come out anyways.

I did the right thing in not telling her! he insisted forcefully to his own conscience. Now is not the time!

His conscience, however, was having none of it. It chuckled amusedly.

Liar... it hissed.

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

Thus she felt Ragorian's brief stab of shame... but did not recognize it for what it was.

Holding the Sword, she retreated on cat's feet back the way she had come, until she came to where the tiny corridor had split off from the larger, moss-ridden one. She hesitated at the confluence the barest of moments; then, following another incorporeal urge she went off in the other direction, away from the dimness and the writhing parasitic plants.

A sense of foreboding seemed to shadow her as she moved along, swiftly but silently. Bit by bit the corridor darkened, tha wall sconces which yet held feebly flickering candles growing fewer and farther in between.

She came to an intersection, turned left.

Now, without having any real reason as to why she should believe it to be so, she knew she was descending. The corridor yet remained straight and flat, there were no stairs. Yet some strange, inner sense told her that they were steadily moving down.

"I believe you may be correct, Ragorian," she dared to breathe quietly into the increasing gloom.

"We are descending deeper... I believe Lord Aelvedaar's Inner Sanctum is indeed in this direction."

Suddenly the possibility of being correct loomed at them in the form of a great wooden door. Unlike the one she had just left, this one bore no words in High Sith. No names were emblazoned boldly upon it, no jewels of any kind decorated it's oily blackness.

Only runes too strange and noisome for her to interpret ran over the wood; she shivered, wondering why she had never noticed them before.

Taking a breath, her knuckles white for the death's grip she had on the Sword, she slowly pushed the door open and entered into a room that was utterly dark.

The tiny hairs on the back of her neck prickled as that strange sense told her this chamber was immense...

[ 09-05-2005 11:15 PM: Message edited 1 time, lastly by Graysith ]

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

My eyes flashed open, the read pupils easily adjusted to the darkness as they had been closed for some time now as I rose quickly and silently, survivalist and assassination instincts mixing almost violently as I felt the Blade of the Black Lotus come to my hand, rolling silently to a side before the light from the open doorway could reveal me, making a final dampening of my link to Ragorian.

I could now see the figure, a silhouette yes, but one that had haunted my small dreams and my fears for days now as I looked upon the doorway from my small cubbyhole in the side of the room.

"Graysith..." I murmured, a flash of memory comming over me, the claw upon my flesh as I had vowed falsely to the witch for the bastard now clung in her hand who had abandoned me for her now. The feel of that Axis in my hand as I had stolen it, the grip of the sith who had caught me, and the even harsher and colder grip of that hell she had put me into.

"So they've come for me, come for me at last..." I felt a wave of coldness wash over me as the grip of something with more will, more power, more fury came over my mind.

HATRED

I shrugged off the weak bonds of the boys mind as the key to my existance stood before me, fearfully clutching that foolish blade in her hand. That blade was just as pathetic, as foolish to have betrayed me, just as she had. It was his fault after all that she had.

He was as guilty as her I thought as I silently moved along the side of the room, another well hidden shield of "invisibility" clinging over me like the musty air I breathed, feeling the black blade in my hand. However, even as I moved, I felt a strange "otherness" stealing over me... this would have to go quick, or it might get out of hand.

It WOULD have to be quick, for with a snap of her fingers that witch could condemn us all to that prison again, a thing none of us could envy as a choice of places to stay. Still, soon she would be dead, and our vengeance complete.....

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

But on them.

"Ragorian, take heed!" she hissed as within a heartbeat she had flashed from Jharmeen Qu'taro into Dark Lady of the--

Warriors.

She had not been given that title merely upon her good looks, after all...

The Glyph on her forehead blazed forth it's ultraviolet splendor, sending radiance into the gloom, beating back the shadows.

"I know you are there, come out from hiding, be you friend or foe, ally or assassin!" she cried, gripping the Blade and casting an alert glance all about herself, ready to attack or defend, or to simply remain still, as need be.

[ 09-05-2005 11:49 PM: Message edited 1 time, lastly by Graysith ]

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

He had been following Rykounagin's presence through their bond, leading Graysith throughout the corridors of the temple, until at last they had come to the huge doors.

Behind them, Ragorian knew, Rykounagin awaited.

As they had entered the room, Ragorian had felt a rush of the boy's familiar presence, and then...

Nothing. The bond had vanished. It had gone out like a candle in strong wind.

Now, as Graysith sensed the unseen entity in the room, Ragorian knew what had happened. Rykounagin must have quashed their link.

And there could be no doubt that this was now he.

Remembering how they had last parted, at the cold fury Ragorian had shown towards him, Ragorian felt a wave of sadness crash over him.

And Ragorian clearly remembered the hate Rykounagin had felt for Graysith after she imprisioned him in the Elseness.

The two being Rykounagin hates most, together, in the same room as he? Ragorian sighed.This could get dangerous very quickly.

Reluctantly, Ragorian reached out, allowing his magickal power to fill him. He prepared himself, stretching out with his senses, ready to launch any sort of offensive or defensive spell as they were needed.

His power quickly climbling, Ragorian spoke to Graysith, to warn her.

"Milady...this unseen being...it is Rykounagin."

And Ragorian waited, warily, silently, and with an ever-heavier heart, for the boy to do something.

[ 09-06-2005 12:05 AM: Message edited 1 time, lastly by Blade of Chaos ]

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

What a pathetic attempt to lure me out... I thought as I called upon another silent magic, the sound of running foot steps in the distance echoing through the chamber, just as some seemed to come behind the door, around in a circle, step after step echoing in dozens of directions, circling and crashing together as suddenly a piercing scream of a dying person came from elsewhere, another yell, a cry of distress, voices shouting, yelling, screaming for a great cresendo of sound.

Then the shadows of the chamber began to take form, shadows dancing about, walking across the walls as though firelight flickered and danced within the room, adding to the babble of voices steps, sounds, adding to the chaos and confusion, all as I took step by slow and gentle step forwards, now slightly behind and too the left of the hated duo.

Again I projected illusions, many a "me" walking slowly forwards, a handful of expressions from hate, to terror, laughter and all the like stalking forwards. Not the "new me", but the old one, the one those two knew so well.

Yet again, slowly we all raised weapons, the same dark blade rising to strike, save for the one they could not see, who only watched with a cruel glee.

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

"There are magicks here, the boy knows more than I thought!" she called mentally to Ragorian.

"This is your arena, my ally; I shall do what I can to aid you in your assistance of me. For I know you, Ragorian; you may have thought I had forgotten, but I remember you well--

"--as do I remember the attitude you used to bear!"

Knowing the wily sorcerer was with her, she raised her free hand, directed it toward the ceiling overhead, and sent out a mighty blast of the All.

Immediately the molecules within the stone began to vibrate, adding their own brand of chaos into the mix, shaking and jiggling with ever more energy, until they created enough friction to heat themselves to incandescence.

The harsh white light glared throughout the entirety of the immense chamber, clearly revealing to her a shadow hiding amidst trickery.

"Rykounagin, are you so afraid that you strike like a nek, lurking in the shadows, creeping about, placing your ill-gained magicks about yourself like a cloak against the inevitable?

"Fear me that much, do you?"

Even as she tossed the taunt his way, she sent another message into the sword.

"Be prepared, my ally..."

And before either one could say or do anything else, she ripped a mental link between herself and Ragorian, one as strong as the one she had open with her Adept. Indeed, now the three of them were totally interconnected.

This action was followed by one even quicker. Her aim impeccable, she flipped the sword, grasped it near it's point, and hurled it at Rykounagin. He dodged... but not fast nor far enough to keep the blade from grazing against his ankle in passing...

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

As Graysith spoke to him, as comprehended her words and what she was asking of him, she released with a blast of that fascinating, awe-inspiring power of hers, the All.

The entire structure of the room began to vibrate, so intensely that they began to glow, and the room was bathed in hot white light, revealing a shadow of their foe. Of Rykounagin.

As Graysith taunter Rykounagin, Ragorian released his amazement at her power, and begna gathering every mite of power he could, preparing himself for the task he saw ahead.

Then, suddenly, his mind was reeling ,as Graysith tore open a powerful link between her and his mind. Quickly, as she bade him be ready, he righted himself and waited.

But not for long.

His Blade flew from Graysith's hands, soaring across the floor towards Rykounagin. Ragorian saw the moment coming, waited for it, turned all his focus upon it.There.

The blade clipped Rykounagin's ankle as he dodged. A small touch, nothing noteworthy.

But it was all Ragorian needed.

With a burst of mental energy, Ragorian leaped across the momentary bridge between his vessel and the lad, alighting in Rykounagin's mind...

...Only to find it was not Rykounagin at all that he faced.

Instead, he was immediatly assailed by a roiling, burning infero of emotion, so strong that he gasped in shock at both the purity and the intensity of it.

It was raw, seething, furious hatred. And it was directed at him.

This intense flame of hate was emanating from a huge, preadatorial beast. Slaver dripped from its long, curved, serrated fangs. Its huge, gleaming claws tore at the air in its rage. And its eyes...

Its eyes burned red with the pure, savage emotion that was now assailing Ragorian.

This Thing, this Beast of hatred, Ragorian realized, was in control of Rykounagin's body. Where the actual lad was, he did not know. This beast had apparently swept him aside and taken command.

The initial shock at this unexpected Creature's appearance fading, Ragorian felt a cold anger rising in him. This Thing was the reason Rykounagin was attacking them so furiously. This Thing stood between Graysith and her goals.

This Thing stood between him and the boy who had once been his closest friend.

This, Ragorian would not allow.

He would oust this Creature from its control of Rykounagin.

His magick rising to a crescendo within him, Ragorian stepped forward calmly, towards the beast.

It turned to regard him, baring its teeth viciously, but still he walked steadily towards it.

He would break this beast and drive it away with its tail between its legs, yes.

But he would let it make the first move.

[ 09-06-2005 12:50 AM: Message edited 1 time, lastly by Blade of Chaos ]

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

I glowered malevolently at the foolish sorcerer who DARED too step foot into our collective mind. I would rend his mental flesh with my fangs, tear him assunder with my claws, devour him easily.

I charged forwards, the manifestation of my claws sweeping from the side to take him in the throat and leave him dead, but no, his hand almost easily blocked me! Perhaps it would require stronger powers.

With a great belching roar I let out a long gout of flame towards the sorcerer, to burn his flesh and turn his bones and traitorous arrogance to ashes!

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

Before her Rykounagin had frozen stock-still himself, his form popping out of the magick he had enshrouded himself with like a womprat popping out of its burrow. Off to one side of him, the Blade lay, somehow defiant still, in shining quietude on the cold, stony floor.

She blinked... for clearly there was something happening.

Not wishing to disturb the process, knowing through the link that Ragorian was involved in a terrible heated battle, one she could not join, she sidled to where the blade lay forlornly and retrieved it from the flagstones.

Sliding it back into her thrimm, she stepped back, taking care to maintain the light all about them, and waited to see what would develop next.

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

Raising a hand, he caught the Creature's first claw swipe, stopping it cold. This seemed to surprise the Creature.

But then, after all, it was acting on pure hatred. It made some sense that it would charge in, unwary of its opponent.

It had underestimated him, and it would pay dearly for that.

The Creature reared back, and let loose a burst of flame that raced towards Ragorian.

He calmly raised both his hands, concentrating ,and a glowing blue aura appeared around him that quickly expanded into a bubble. It looked similair to the filter he had made for Graysith...

...but it was far more effective. The flames crashed against its surface, roasring furiously, but they merely flowed around Ragorian's protective shield. He felt some of their intense heat, but was otherwise unscathed as the flames ceased and Ragorian calmly dropped the bubble back to an aura.

The Creature stared at him, now seeming both alarmed and still more furious. It let out a howl of unfiltered rage.

In response, Ragorian merely smiled.

He felt confident as his old talent at this rose back to him. This was a battle of minds. This was his territory, his arena.

He had not been taking over minds for nearly five centuries to be beaten back by this slobbering, mangy cur.

My turn, he called out to the Creature.

Raising his hands, he let loose with his own blast of power. Bolts of golden lightning blazed from his hands, racing towards the Creature, seeking to strike at it, drive it back, send it out of Rykounagin's mind howling.

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

How very nearly so...

Her eyes narrowed then, flashing from beneath lowered brows.

"Come, my ally," she whispered to him, carefully so as not to provide him with any kind of distraction.

"Let this thing loose from the boy, that I might assist in turn..."

Tensing, she waited, every cell focused on the icy form of the statue-still Rykounagin.

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

Suddenly his right hand opened and the brilliance of light that only a sun could produce seemed to fill the sight of both entities until the vision of the chamber at hand returned to them both showing the blade to now rested within Graysith's firm grip, a slight edge of blood upon it, the Lady Graysith watching as though unsure, the events played out.

~~~

Rykounagin grinned and held up the Lotus in his right hand, his eyes gleaming with a great.... something;

"Missed me? Or do you only remember me by name? After all, Rykounagin was just a little boy who played with grownups. But now he is one, and he wants to show them what he's worth." He expression went from a strange smile to a coldness as he held up his right hand, flame gleaming from it.

"Come then."

[ 09-06-2005 01:33 AM: Message edited 1 time, lastly by Rykounagin ]

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

Then she softened, straightened, lowered her arm.

"We do not always play at war, Rykounagin, although some may erroneously believe that to be true."

With that she just cocked her head, letting a steady, calm gaze wash over the blustering youth, the light from her Glyph bathing him in violet splendor.

[ 09-06-2005 01:39 AM: Message edited 1 time, lastly by Graysith ]

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

Rykounagin paused. "For every minute of that hell you left me in, I plotted killing you. Do you know why? Because being left alone is something that NO ONE should EVER have to endure, NO ONE, should EVER, have to wonder who they are and WHY they were left to rot by someone else." He felt his fury rise.

"Do you know WHY in the name of the nine HELLS I even gave a damn about that piece of sentient crap called the axis? Because OTHERS want it. Don't you get it? It's the bloody pandora's box of the universe. It offers you everything, then screws you over royally. It did it to me, it did it to your daughter, and had I no faith in my father, I'd almost guarentee it would do the EXACT same thing."

Rykounagin let the Lotus go, almost no longer seeming to have no care for any of it any more, the flame gone from his hand. "Do you know why I ever got involved with you or that thing before? Do you care? Well like it or not, the reason is because that shiney bastard in your hand told me to get it for him. And I trusted him like a fool because of one thing. I wasn't alone."

Rykounagin closed his eyes and shook his head, looking at the floor, almost amused now. "There is no greater tapestry when it comes too that object of power, for that matter, any object of power. They just lure you in and use you. The higher you are, the further there is to fall."

Rykounagin chuckled. "Now with all this in my head I doubt I could fight you well, for that matter I doubt I could break that sword if you gave me a welding torch. Why? Because I just realized it's not worth it, such a thing couldn't possibly be worth it. So I leave that thing in your hands for now. Break it, keep it, whatever you like. Maybe some day I'll end up killing you, or you killing me, who knows? In the end, no one can see the greater picture accept for him."

Rykounagin sighed, and looked up.

"I was meditating on certain matters before you arrived. I wasn't expecting you actually, I was expecting company from orbit, but the occasion suits either way I suppose. I had a dinner prepared, and I do suppose it would be hospitable of me to offer you a chance to dine and rest with all the hospitality that I'm sure my father would afford you."

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