...and so that the ties she has with that insolent Rykounagin can be severed."

She paused, the look in her eyes growing deepr yet. And so the honor of having hair, flesh and bone burned from the body can be bestowed upon him.

Shayla was quite aware that Graysith would know these thoughts. As was she quite aware of other things as well.

"As for that which I must learn...

...I am ready to begin, now. My Force abilities are strong, but have been lacking in training for quite some time...

...and as for the abilities Lord Aelvedaar blocked from me, those were restored to me on Degobah, when I gave my life in exchange for yours."

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

Phalomir emerged in a cockpit, inconvenient to his height. He saw Rykounagin at the controls, his back to Phalomir. Phalomir cleared his throat.

“Thank you for dropping from hyperspace,” he began, readying to react to any threatening moves. “Forgive the intrusion, but our system is under a blockade and this was the most direct way to interface. We mean you no harm, and in fact seek your insight. Will you hear me?”

At the first sign of danger, Phalomir had his defenses ready and his foot next to the portal.

[ 11-08-2006 12:11 AM: Message edited 1 time, lastly by Phalomir ]

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

I said simply, watching him with suspicion. Last I had encountered him, he had still been very much a supporter of the witch, though I knew not her position towards him.

Either way? I did not like this.

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

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

I put my hand over a glyph. "If you try that, I'm going to get upset. Now, why don't you bring your taxi-portalling friend through to join the conversation, before I force you to leave. You see, while I am comfortably strapped into this chair, you are standing. Rather independant might I add, of any such restrains. This here is a glyph that will conveniently open the hatch to this cabin, which will, unless you departed rather hastily, suck you into the void."

I drummed my fingers only a centimeter away from the glyph. "Now, why don't we all have an amiable chat with all the players sitting at the sabacc table, as opposed to the dark lady's lapdog talking for her or whomever his new friend's are, hmmm?"

I continued to smile, a cold anger within me that he thought I would be so easily manipulated. For once, in doing what I wanted to do now, I had nothing to gain, only something to give the one I loved. That made it all the worth while.

I looked to the portal and called through it. "Why don't you tag along, eh Aelvedaar?"

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

The Portal closes, this time making no sound as it vanishes.

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

I was more interested in watching as Phalomir was tugged back towards the hatch itself. I began to yell over the howling.

"Tell me something Phalomir! What has happened to make you dare come to me? What could you and your all knowing friends need to find out from me?"

I opened the hatch another inch, the pull of the void growing stronger. I smirked as I saw Phalomir's grip upon the bulkhead slip slightly.

"What makes you think I actually give a damn about you or the rest of the sith anymore? What makes you think I care if I live or die for this? Tell me!"

I held my hand on the glyph. With one twirl, I could open the hatch entirely, possibly sucking him out into the cold void unless he could concentrate enough to save himself; or I could turn it the other way and shut it just as easily.

Though it would be extremely hard to tell with the sound and the obvious difficulty he would be having in responding, I did not admit that the lack of oxygen was beginning to press upon myself.

"TELL ME!"

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

...I can only reach out to Lord Phalomir, contacting him in the only manner available to me.

"It is useless, my fellow Lord. Can you not see? He responds with threats, with hatred, with the passion of an animal trapped and seeing no escape. You made no move toward him which threatened, yet he responds in the manner in which he does.

"I am not fearful of you being sucked into the void, although should that happen I am here to bring you back home. Remember your early schooling, my friend: as more air departs the ship, less is available to carry you out. Your hold is yet strong; now the threat is one of simple oxygen deprivation.

"Shall I retrieve you now, before the poor lad manages to remove every last bit of air from the ship?"

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

"You must remember to not over-reach yourself, my dear," she admonished gently as she raised her head and looked Shayla straight in the eye. "For the harder you reach to control that of which you are learning, the more elusive it will become to you."

She paused a moment, chewing her lip a little before continuing.

"It took me many months to begin understanding the beauty of the All, and longer yet to start really using it. Even now I am not utilizing its full potential; I wish--"

She snipped the words off as a mantis snips off the head of her mate, turning momentarily away from Shayla to study the patterning of a nearby wall. For a long moment silence hung over the pair, a heavy pall, one so strong as to even seem to begin banking the fire which crackled in the great stone fireplace of the room.

Finally Graysith straightened her shoulders, and turned smoothly about to face Shayla once again.

"I cannot agree with you more; indeed, finding what my wayward daughter is up to is our first priority. I believe the most direct means of finding exactly where it is she has gotten herself off to would be to utilize the Revealer; shall we retire to the Grand Library, my dear?"

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

“What makes you think--” began Phalomir, his voice cold in the thinning air. Soon there would not be enough air for the sound waves to pass through, but the words were still audible for the moment. “—I care if you live or die?!”

Phalomir’s magicks, the deep innate powers that were his birthright, sealed the remaining air about him. Within the confines of the Sith fighter, he held on tightly to the bulkhead, aided further by the magnetic strength of the magick that now coursed through his blood.

The memories of a thousand generations of Dark Lords now rushed through his mind. Once, seemingly now ages ago, Phalomir had walked the line of the Armorers, taking upon himself the burden and privilege of leading the oldest of the Clans. He had made a promise that day, and in exchange was given the knowledge of the Clan. All the power, all the tradition, it meant more now than ever with the survival of the Sith as a whole threatened from both inside and out.

“I offer you the chance to speak as a man, to hear and be heard. And you attack!? Well hear this, assassin!”

Phalomir’s hand darted outward as his other arm propelled his huge body forward, closing the space in the small cabin within a heartbeat. His hand wrapped around Rykounagin’s throat as Phalomir stared him in the eyes.

“Your lust for power has progressed far enough! You will live within your station, assassin, and remember the penalty for attacking a Sith – a DARK LORD.”

Phalomir watched as Rykounagin convulsed, a neuron pulse triggering within him. As a Cult Assassin, he was genetically forbidden to attack a Sith of the ruling class without direct orders from another true Sith, and a safeguard had now kicked in, effectively paralyzing him. Phalomir released his grip on the bulkhead and pounded his hand on top of Rykounagin’s, twisting it in the opposite direction. The hatch slid shut and the pressure began to return.

Phalomir released his hold on Rykounagin and stepped back, hunching to avoid hitting his head. The boy remained immobile, except for small twitches.

“There is more to think about than your own petty quest for power,” he said. “I came to you to speak of the future, and you spit on the very race that created you. I feel the pain you have endured, as I also feel the hatred it has spawned. But as you see, you are a Cult Assassin, and you are bound by the ancient ways.”

Phalomir leaned forward, pressing his horns close to Rykounagin’s forehead. He raised his hands to his mouth to shield them so only the boy could hear – or see. “No longer will you kill on orders issued by a dead master. Now you will kill on mine.” He touched his horn to Rykounagin, sending into him a magick bond that all Dark Lords along the ancient lines would impart unto their servants.

Phalomir reached to the nav pad and punched in a quick sequence. He then turned to another pad, a small set of strange symbols, and typed in another sequence to lock the controls. He then leaned back.

“And when I come for you, you will see the true benefit of serving a Dark Lord. There is no offer of adoption, no false offer of love and friendship, only the bonds of an unbreakable ancient accord.”

Phalomir pressed the engage button, sending the small fighter towards an outer moon. The ship would land roughly, and even though Rykounagin would soon be unconscious for more than a day, he would survive well enough.

Phalomir waved his hand before him and looked up, signaling Aelvedaar.

[ 11-09-2006 12:51 AM: Message edited 1 time, lastly by Phalomir ]

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

Still watching the image in the Octahedron, I re-open the Portal, experiencing the eerie sense of being in two places at the same time as I see it form in the cabin of the fighter in complete synchrony to it's awakening behind me. Moments later, the sound of rustling robes announces the presence of my fellow Dark Lord; I make a motion with one hand and the Octahedron obliges by panning out to a wider view.

I stand in silence as I observe the trajectory of the fighter, watch as it aims directly at an outermost moonlet, draw in a deep breath as it tries nothing whatsoever to avoid the obstruction but comes to a rocky landing on its surface instead. Zooming in once more, I sigh with relief to see the hull is secure.

But the engines are not so fortunate. One has sheared off entirely and lies in a twisted and crumpled mass accompanied by a thousand bits and pieces which lie scattered over several square miles of moonlet. Nodding that the boy is in no immediate danger of death, I close the Portal I have opened between the ship and my position in my Inner Sanctum. A quick sweep of my magicks assures no automated tricks of any kind had somehow been emplaced here during the time an opening existed between the two...

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

"If I could take care of my personal appearance first, however..." she commented, trailing as she still stared in the mirror, not really seeing her own image but instead hot burning fires blazing around someone other than herself.

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

Her thoughts quickly transferred to days when she worried about her own looks for the sake of others, and a slow smile came across her features.

"Why, of course my dear," she said smoothly, smiling gently as she took Shayla by the hand.

"Come let us retire for the moment to my chambers--"

She stopped at that, thinking. Then she went on, letting a brief and almost school-girlish laugh escape from her lips as she spoke.

The tiny outburst came nowhere close to touching her eyes.

"Let me show you to your own suites, which are yours to use as you like from now on. For one occupying the role of my new Second needs chambers befitting to her."

With that she led Shayla out of the Healing Chamber and through myriad twists and turns within the bowels of the Great Temple of the Warriors until at last she came upon the corridor leading to her own suites. Down this corridor she went, leading Shayla to the third door from her own, one glistening with rich oils and inlaid woods and great age.

A simple push of her hand opened the door, revealing the opulence within.

"Here are the suites of an Heiress to the throne; I believe you will find all you need within. My own suites are but three doors away; you may come to me when you are ready."

With that she leaned forward, gave Shayla a little peck on the cheek, and retired to her own place to wait.

And to think.

And to plot.

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

And a desire to somehow seek revenge for her near-death experience.

So, she quickly went to the large wardrobe of the suites Graysith had given her, stripped off her burned clothes, and dressed herself in a black practice tunic and pants. Then she pulled from the wardrobe a soft hooded black cloak, putting it on as well.

Heading to the Sith equivalent of a 'fresher, Shayla surveyed the damage to her hair...

...and, using a grooming utensil in the area, evened out her hair, trimming it entirely. Her now short dark blonde locks curled about her head, now groomed so that they would grow out evenly in time.

Satisfied with this, and not wanting to waste a moment more of her time and still somewhat weakened strength and energy, Shayla departed the chambers, headed to the suites Graysith had indicated were hers, and knocked out of respect for the privacy of one she held near and dear as a Sister, Friend...

...and Teacher.

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

A slow smile curled her lips.

The hand dropped the tiniest bit... to the lock below the opener; with a darting movement she locked the door, knowing fully that Shayla would be able to clearly hear the bolt sliding home.

Then she leaned forward and placed her lips against the rich wood of the door.

"Come in, my dear," she invited, then took a step back.

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

Sometimes how you get in and out of situations relies on the most simplest of solutions...

Stretching out with the Force abilities inherent to her, Shayla could easily reach for the lock on the other side of the door, and could just as easily use her telekenetic abilities to slide the bolt out of the way.

And she did just that, reaching for the knob of the door then and opening it smoothly, revealing Graysith waiting intently on the other side.

She stepped into the suites, cocking her head, slightly. "What shall we do now, my Sister?" she queried, waiting. "I am most interested in what the Great Library might reveal to us."

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

"To the Great Library, where I hope all our questions can be answered. But wait--"

Moving quickly to an enormous armoire, she reached inside and drew forth her own practice doba. Quickly shedding the robes of state that she yet wore, she donned the former, topping it off with her signature cloak of rune-encrypted smoke.

She turned back to Shayla with another smile.

"Now let us be off," she said, opening the door with but a wave of her hand and leading Shayla out, through the corridor, winding through the temple until at last coming to the final, broad thoroughfare leading past the Great Dining Hall, to the Grand Foyer and the courtyard beyond. There she headed toward the little stone archway, which would spit them out into the grand stone stairway, which in turn would lead them down into the streets of the city.

It did not take the two women long to reach those streets, where Graysith then slackened her pace a bit. One hand went out in a simple gesture, waving as if to show Shayla the wonders of this city, one that was not only ancient and mysterious, but deceptively high-tech. Feature after feature she pointed out as they strolled along, a pair of sisters laughing and enjoying their time together, pointing out great globes which rose up stairs of electrons to a sizzling apex, only to float as if of their own accord to the other side of the street where they would settle down upon the soft grasses of the adjacent lawns. A moment or two would ensue, and the globes would repeat their mysterious journey, gaining the other side of the street again, coming to a halt to rest and repeat. Over and over and over.

And that was but one mystery, one bearing the weight of the ages upon it's back.

Graysith smiled and chatted of this and that, moving slowly along and letting Shayla drink in the sights. For to tell the truth, she didn't know if the young woman had ever had the opportunity to really look upon this, the grandest city of the Sith, and one which she was destined to have at least some say-so in governing.

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

"Oh, how beautiful," she marveled simply. Then she turned her widened eyes to Graysith. "I want to know all I can about the Sith, as much as possible," she breathed somewhat breathlessly. "What a beautiful city, and a beautiful people," she continued. Then she looked to the great globes, yet awe-struck. "How?" she queried quietly then, yet taking in all there was to see...

...and not able to get enough of it.

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

"A most beautiful city indeed, one deserving of every bit of protection that we can provide. And the people, my beloved adopted race--"

She paused a moment, chewing on her lip a little as she struggled to put into words the great swelling emotions now filling her. For indeed was she linked soul-to-soul with the Sith; having been essentially made into who she was by the Dark Lord Aelvedaar, having encountered and endured so much in her quest to bring the race back to their truncated life and then throughout the events which transpired afterward, having been through all she had, many lifetimes of being crammed down into the space of but a few years, she had quite forgotten how she used to live before, when she was Jharmeen Jhin'Dar. Daughter of a professor, sister to Galen.

Those days were but dreams, receding further and further from her with every passing moment.

"The Sith... my beloved Sith," she repeated.

"They deserve a new leadership, a new triumvirate, one not led by testosterone-driven males whose sole reason for existence is war and intrigue and mayhem. They need instead a silk-gloved hand to guide them with wisdom and strength."

She stopped a moment, for the tiniest bit actually stunned by the enormity of the words she had spoken. Then that last bit of rationality disappeared into the ravening maw of that which was hidden inside her; increasing her pace a touch she continued on toward the Great Library of the Sith.

[ 11-10-2006 12:20 AM: Message edited 1 time, lastly by Graysith ]

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

...and to learn of their language as well. After all, in order to help in leading a race, one must understand all of its intricacies."

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

"Books and tomes there are aplenty in this place, but that which can show you in the greatest of detail is the Revealer."

So saying she came up to the door, and with a gentle but firm touch upon it pushed it open. Together the two women entered into another world, one of age and mystique and mysteries past and silence.

Of the Librarian, there was no hint. But sitting in its customary place center-stage in the main chamber of the library was the aggregation of floating spheres known as the Revealer. The spheres were colorless yet somehow embued with the vivid hues of the rainbow; they remained completely motionless yet seemed somehow to dance with the very joy of life itself.

Graysith came to a halt before it, cocked her head, and cleared her throat.

"I wonder--" she began, and was interrupted by a deep basso voice that both flooded her ears and was flooded with excitement.

"A Question!' it boomed and echoed, its language Sith yet strangely understood by all.

"There has come, finally, a Question!"

Graysith smiled, turned to Shayla, and waving a hand toward the Revealer merely cocked a brow.

[ 11-10-2006 01:24 AM: Message edited 1 time, lastly by Graysith ]

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

"Where is Graysith's daughter, ShaRhylla?" Shayla asked as she looked to the Revealer. Almost immediately the spheres which made up the device began to spin and move, playing about electrons as the space between them suddenly came to live, in vivid detail:

There stood ShaRhylla, surrounded by equipment and instruments in a small chamber, the look in her eyes dark and foreboding. Somewhere on one of the many instruments within the room, one directly before her was blinking a red sigil insistently. In tandem with the blinking, the tinest beeping noise could be heard.

Shayla pursed her lips thoughtfully. "Where is this place?" she queried, not necessarily to the Revealer. Still, the Revealer responded, once more immediately as the spheres once again moved and the image of ShaRhylla shifted. Shayla and Graysith suddenly found themselves standing within the image of an asteroid belt, one very large asteroid in the field directly in front of them.

Shayla's eyes once more widened. Where in the universe WAS this place? she wondered.

Then, aloud. "Coordinates will be very helpful..." Shayla then said aloud, falling silent at that as a gridwork indicating the asteroid field's location superimposed itself over the image they were viewing.

[ 11-10-2006 09:25 PM: Message edited 1 time, lastly by Shayla Stargazer Petrolu ]

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

"Interesting," she finally murmured, reaching out and then tracing a line of declination with a delicate finger. "I am not familiar with this place, but then the universe is big and I have seen but a tiny portion of it."

She straightened, cocking her head to one side as she continued to stare thoughtfully at the living image.

"I found it interesting as well that my daughter was alone, and judging by her demeanor, appeared to be somewhat ruffled if not outright angered by something. She knows nothing of control panels and such; I wonder if something has happened to her consort to leave her alone and obviously bewildered where we found her to be?"

Turning to Shayla, she finished with, "What are your thoughts concerning my line of reasoning, my dear?

"And your recommendations?"

[ 11-11-2006 11:25 AM: Message edited 1 time, lastly by Graysith ]

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

...or perhaps another. After all, he is Dark Lord Roan's puppet."

Shayla paused at this, pursing her lips once more. "Then again, perhaps something has happened to the boy to seperate the two of them. Perhaps we need to know the reason for his disappearance before we determine precisely how we should move next?"

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

"For by having some idea as to why ShaRhylla is so angry will only aid us by giving us insight as to how best approach her. She does seem to be a touch... volatile at times, after all."

Letting a small smile momentarily lift her lips, the Dark Lady of the Warriors then straightened, and upon clearing her throat addressed the Revealer.

"Show us the whereabouts of the cult assassin, Rykounagin," she said before falling silent... and an amused silence it was indeed. For it did not take the Revealer long to put its mysteries into action, now bringing to life around the two women the three dimensional image of the unconscious Rykounagin as he yet snored in the little fighter.

Graysith turned to Shayla and cocked her brow before requesting the Revealer now show the pair the location of the fighter in which the sleeping lad lay, which it did with the obedient alacrity only a created device can give.

A tiny moonlet blacked out the starfield behind it... a starfield which upon Graysith's command was quickly identified.

Her lip curled, now with a touch of cruelty.

"It appears the fool sleeps while his ship lies in tatters about him; what a waste of a good fighter.

"Your thoughts, my sister?"

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