The Healer looked down at the still form, actually having to force himself to make the physical contact with her that he had.

Such indescribable darkness lay within her.

And he had no idea whether or not it would lash out at them or not.

"Quickly!" he repeated, gripping her beneath her arms.

"She appears to be locked in some kind of thrall."

"What ails her?" He asked as he watched the healer.

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

"I do not yet know," he admitted slowly, reaching out tentative hands to once again lay them upon her face.

Once again he recoiled, almost as if physically forced from her small frame. He turned eyes dark with concern toward Kelvendar.

"This is no disease, nor is it any mental ailment descending upon her," he finally stated.

"There are dark magicks afoot here; she will need the assistance of a Healer stronger than I.

"Where would we find such a being? This is the temple of warriors after all. We would have to go to the clan of sorcerers and request their aid.... A thing I am not sure our lady would relish... but if she is at risk do we have a choice?"

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"I agree with your assessment, and as for how the Lady would feel..."

He trailed a moment, lifting a brow toward Kelvendar.

"I find it far more acceptable to risk her wrath than to risk her possible death. At the very least, unless this darkness within loosens its hold upon her, she will remain in something similar to a coma for an unknown period of time."

He paused, letting his words sink in, giving Kelvendar time to fully assess them.

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"Master Petrolu how goes things?"

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

For all he knew, the Dark Lady's life could be in the greatest of dangers. He cursed the machine to move quicker, for each moment could be of the essence.

With small natural prejudice, he did hope that when he arrived the foolish nature of those who would dedicate themselves to the weaker sides of Sith nature would not bother with pleasantries, send their best, and would come and heal the lady before going on their dainty ways quickly.

With a quick relapse he cursed it to go faster again, and waited, his spear tapping the ground in a slow rythmic beat borne of nerves.

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He glanced about the ships in his immediate area, and went to a small courier, capable of carrying eight and with fast sublight capabilities for it's time.

Kalvendar quickly boarded, and began to prep for takeoff. With the blessings of S'slan, pray that I be not too late for the Dark Lady.

The ship began to rise up, and dart towards the atmosphere, cutting through the layers swiftly.

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

He began to lope ahead, and sniffed the air.

Civilization.

The familiar smell of technology, oil, and the other signs that were familiar to him had begun to reach him. He began to follow the scents, wondering what it was, until-

"That must be it...." He breathed, looking down upon the spaceport of Ch'arlingua (not that he knew the name), and began his loping jog down the hill he had been standing upon taking him, with every step, closer to the destiny that lay before him.

Whatever it may be.

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Captain Barnes, this is Shawn Petrolu. Have you done any tracking of the Eagle or the Raptor, as you previously suggested? Please give me an update, we have had no success here thusfar.

Then he turned his attentions to Sarisa's gentle Force query, sensing her concern. All is well, for the moment, he responded, knowing she would not understand his actual words but rather feel the associated emotions.

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He stared at the dark blade for a moment, then looked up at a small sigil flashed to show they were out of the atmosphere, and now he could see-

"Dear Ss'slan... what have you brought upon us?" He asked, staring in horror at the blockade around the planet, stunned as he looked upon it.

"How could anyone- how could...?" He was almost speachless, and continued to stare as with every moment the ship darted closer.

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

You won't be able to use any information on the tracking systems of either ship, unfortunately," he replied. "We have no trace on them. Please let me know if there is anything else I can do to further assist you, however," Aaron commented, then closing the frequency.

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

However, with a klaxon and a blinking sigil flashing and wailing, he was jerked from his stunned reverie, and jerked the ship up and over the Star Destroyer that he had been so close to smashing into.

He breathed a sigh of relief, his heart pounding as he corrected the ships course to head for Khar Delba, towards the snooty, weak, and stuckup sorcerers, leaving one blockade behind....

...and another one ahead.

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He trailed. "...I sense Nefrai."

Sighing at that, Shawn could only hope Nefrai would not be causing futher trouble.

Think about how you are approaching the situation. I KNOW You've got it in you.

His greeny-blue eyes refocusing, Shawn finally let his feet move under him once more as he began to descend the rocky mountain upon which they stood. Although he couldn't be certain, there was some sort of life down there. Now, whether or not that life would be friendly after everything...

...but before Shawn could comment to say as much, something unseen and unexpected and deathly dark seemed to simply grab him where he stood, causing Shawn to come to a forced halt with a gasp for breath. Losing his otherwise sure footing, his feet took out from under him, and Shawn fell to the ground, sliding down the mountainside for a bit before once more being able to feel his senses which had momentarily be overwhelmed by a very real, very present Darkness. And while his Jedi robes had helped so that he only had minimal injury to his actual person, Shawn was very shaken.

For a few moments, he could only remain where he was, one elbow on the ground to brace himself up somewhat, his greeny-blues suddenly very distant.

Finally he was able to utter some words, to whomever might be there to listen. Something...something has happened," he commented quietly, elaborating no further.

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

His brows shot to the top of his forehead.

"Sir!" he called out even as his fingers repeated their rapid-fire tattoo on the board. Behind him came the sound of approaching bootsteps as the Officer On Deck responded to the alert.

"There seems to be a ship at close proximity.. very close proximity, I-- I think--

"Sir."

He turned in his seat, shooting his superior officer an apologetic look before returning to another furious attack on his console.

"I-- Sensors can't quite pick up on what's out there, I think it's a ship, a small one; it came up from planetside and...

"Well sir, it almost hit us, then flew over us. It seems to have slipped through the tractor beams. That is, I think that's what happened; as I said, Sir, sensors aren't quite picking up anything.

"It's almost like a shadow, Sir."

The OOD frowned and leaned over the other's shoulder, studying his console. His lips thinned into a serious line.

"Did you get a trajectory on this-- this shadow?" he queried at length, raising upright.

The officer shook his head, cut the motion in mid-shake, and segued it into a nod.

"Yessir," he said, this time with a greater ring of conviction in his voice.

"It seems to be heading to the sister planet of this system."

The OOD thought for a moment. Then--

"Send this information to Relentless, and keep your eyes peeled for any further shadows, Mister."

The officer kept himself from squirming at his post.

"Yes, Sir!" he said, letting his fingers fly again as he followed the order and sent the message winging on its way.

[ 12-04-2005 11:59 PM: Message edited 1 time, lastly by patternghost ]

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As Shayla stepped through the portal Jharmeen created along with the others and back into the Dining Hall of the Temple at Princhatka, Shayla instinctively stretched out with the Force to gauge the climate of her new surroundings. She found her initial frown almost immediately segue into a look of utter surprise. She looked to Jharmeen to explain what she felt...

...knowing Jharmeen probably already knew without any words whatsoever.

"Something is not right here," she said simply, stating what was probably already obvious before continuing with, "And I sense my brother."

Pausing a moment, the surprise once more flitted through her eyes. "He is here, on K'eel Doba."

Another silent moment passed then, one in which Shayla was uncertain of what else to say. She keenly sensed Panthar's distress concerning the injury to his hand, however, so she turned to him.

"Maybe I can help alleviate some of that pain," she commented, coming a bit closer to him...

...and noticing the somehow darkening look in Erik's eye. She shrugged it off, for the moment, however, and took Panthars hand in both of hers, one final comment escaping her lips before she stretched out to the Force to heal Panthar's wound, cocking a brow and looking to Jharmeen once more. "What is Shawn doing here?"

And with nothing further, she then attended to Panthar, who seemed most grateful...

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

"I have no idea why your brother should be here," she said, chewing her lip a little while she watched her friend and adept tend to Panthar's hand. That esteemed worthy was trying his hardest not to wince; whatever had happened to his hand, although seeming a slight enough injury as far as the Sith went, certainly seemed to be painful.

"Can you sense where he is? Is he close? If so, I can send out an honor guard to escort him here."

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

"He's very close," Shayla replied, sensing outward a bit more. "I'd say no more than five to ten kilometers away."

Pausing once more, Shayla frowned. "I sense...

...other beings nearby him as well, all sentients. Strange..." she observed, then fell silent, returning her attention to Panthar once more.

[ 12-11-2005 09:44 PM: Message edited 1 time, lastly by Shayla Stargazer Petrolu ]

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He looked upon one of the sleek craft, and ran his hands over the odd material of the surface- feeling a strange crackling.

He winced as a strange jolt seemed to course through him as he moved closer. "How odd...' He said, not sure of what had happened- save that it had indeed hurt. "Who would build such crafts? And for what purpose?"

[ 12-11-2005 10:30 PM: Message edited 1 time, lastly by Nefrai Kesh ]

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"Sister, if you do not mind..."

Not waiting for Shayla to reply she reached her hand around from the side and laid its palm gently against Shayla's forehead. Closing her eyes, she let her consciousness sink into herself, that by letting herself go completely she could touch upon her own considerable talents to see outward, following the link her friend held with the jedi.

Outward then did her essence seem to fly, following the emotional spoor like a hunting nek sniffs out its prey, until at length what she was experiencing became less and less simple feeling and more and more sensible awareness of her surroundings. She drew in a breath of air, opened her eyes...

...to see the vision of the not-too distant Ch'arlingua, a loping form making a swift and steady bee-line toward it.

She shook her head, letting reality overcome her once again.

"They are close to the spaceport," she said, letting her hand drop as she moved to a nearby bell-pull.

"I shall summon an honor escort at once."

Not elaborating any further, she tugged on the pull, and soon was rewarded by the sound of swiftly moving feet. A high-echelon servant burst into the Dining Hall.

"Yes, Lady Sha-" he began but stopped in shock when Graysith turned round to fully face him.

"M-my Lady?" he queried then, losing enough of his decorum to actually let his mouth drop open, his eyes blinking and widening in surprise. Then he snapped his gaping mouth shut as, fisted hand slamming across his chest he fell to one knee.

"You must pardon me, My Lady, but it-- it is good to see that you...

"Are well," he finished somewhat lamely before quieting to receive his orders.

Jharmeen smiled and moved to the servant.

"Rumors of my death have been highly exaggerated," she said, her lips curling with humor as she then reached out to take the servant by the shoulder.

"This is a matter that will soon be attended to; in the meanwhile, there are visitors approaching from the northwest whom I wish to be provided with an honor escort. Please see to it's implementation, at once."

The servant managed to keep the rest of his shock and surprise at bay as he nodded, saluted, then rose and left.

Graysith smiled as she watched him go, then turned back to the others, her smile becoming dimmer then.

"Who should try to kill me, and have the ability to make it seem as though it could have happened?" she asked to no one in particular, then moved over to Phalomir's side. Sinking into his warmth, she remained quiet, watching Shayla administer to Panthar and utterly ignoring her own sister, who seemed to be growing more and more uncomfortable by the second.

[ 12-11-2005 10:17 PM: Message edited 1 time, lastly by Graysith ]

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I tried to recollect, but it was a faint blur. "Retrieve the axis and then return." What a curious command it had been, and more curious how I had followed it. To simply fall asleep in my contemplations.

I cursed, and scrambled up to listen to whoever were speaking.

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

...and instead watched everything that was going on very carefully, suddenly very concerned with all that was proceeding...

...and for one very specific, very important reason. Looking at Galen for a moment, he could read her discomfort with the demon still on her back...

...but he sensed another deeper, more palpable discomfort, lack of Force ability be damned.

"And with someone with such ability, what of your own daughter?" Terrin queried, the words directed to Jharmeen. "And what about Darra?"

[ 12-11-2005 10:35 PM: Message edited 1 time, lastly by Terrin Danner ]

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"Are you insinuating that my own daughter may be the one who has set up this ruse? Or that she too is in danger; a possibility that my dear, sweet sister has already put forth."

Her gaze shot briefly to Galen, then settled back upon Terrin once again.

She sighed, all bravado and haughtiness laid to immediate rest. Bowing her head, she let her memories flow back to those horrible days when she had last entered into the Darker Realms, when ShaRhylla had been held in thrall to the demonic Entaris. Recalled clearly what her daughter had been like, knew with terrifying clarity what she had gone through.

Realized what she might yet be harboring, in spite of the love and healing and teaching given to her upon her rescue and adoption back into Sith society.

"I-- I do not know," she said, a tinge of misery moistening her voice.

"I-- do know that my daughter was once under the spell of pure evil, was in fact herself close to being as evil as the personage who held her in his grasp.

"As evil as your daughter is innocent."

She raised her head and stared Terrin directly in his blue, blue eyes.

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