"My past I cannot let go of, because every where I go, everyone has the same look on thier face, because I am ryn. They don't care if I don't act like ryn or if I've never met another ryn, to them I am the lowest form of life. And every day I see at least one person who sees me this way. You know its true and you can't deny it."

I took Yaoksi out streched hand and clung to it tight.

"All I ever wanted was to be wanted for who I am, not what I am or what I can do. And finaly I think I found that."

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

he turned about and shuffled down the hallways untill he reached the great doors and slipped in quietly.

Slowly he wandered through the hall, letting his nose guide him, trying to find something that perked his appitite.

yet as he slipped through the hall the sound of something caught his attention, it was low, and he could only just make out part of it...
"My past...cannot let go... everyone has the...look...thier face...because....They dont care..."

he couldnt make out the exact details...but the feelings felt familiar, he slipped in hoping to hear more of what was transpiring, but attempted to remain hidden, not wanting to interupt.

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

“I understand both the confusion and the pain you all feel,” he said. “I have much of my own.”

Phalomir leaned back and regarded Thea.

“First,” he began, “young lady, I it appears we share a common philosophy when it comes to the Dark Jedi, and life itself. You will find that although we have our good and bad, like you humans, we are not an evil race, and I offer you whatever help I may provide in your quest. I do not know what happened to your master, but I do know Shayla, and whatever happened that day is far in the past. I realize you have just seen Shayla do something terrible, but you must believe me that this is not truly her. The same with Jhar—with Graysith. I love them both, Shayla as a dear friend and Graysith as my own, but right now there is a painful darkness that inhabits them and I fear what I must do to remove it. I only hope it can be removed…”

Phalomir’s face darkened and a sadness beyond expression suddenly tried to break free from him. A realization crossed his mind, one that he never even considered to be a possibility until that very moment, and he struggled to force it away. But it was planted, and now a niggling doubt that he would actually be able to save his dear ones crept its way along his thoughts.

“But for you, Cel, is it?” he forced himself to speak. “I know nothing of your race, and care nothing of what I am supposed to think of you because of what you are. I could only hope the rest of the galaxy would do the same for my race when we reintroduce ourselves to it, but I expect we will not receive a warm welcome. One of my many worries, I’m afraid.”

Phalomir lifted his head to the ceiling as if to let a bit of the sudden stress wash down his back. When he looked back, a lone figure in the proximity of the table caught his eye.

“Jharu?” he called. “Jharu! Come join us.”

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

"excuse me Lord phalomir... I did not mean to intrude... As warry as i was, i could not find rest...so I decided to try a bit of food to relax me...thats when i overheards a bit of the happenings here... I didnt want to interupt...im sorry"

The words seemed to rumble from him, his timidness was a shifting thing...for he could be filled with self confidence and bravery at times...but this was not one of those times...

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

Bowing to him, she quickly related the desires of the visiting Dark Lord; the pair had cast quick glances at each other then dismissed her. Then they had turned right round, the Lieutenant seeking the Servant's quarters where he might find runners, the Captain going himself to seek the Warden in his chambers, and send him on to Lord Phalomir....

___________________________________________

The Warden, having just laid down to rest for the night, had that pleasant moment interrupted by a fierce and urgent knock at his door. Opening it to reveal a Captain of the Guards, he stiffened, bowing his head in mutual respect for the pair of them were of equal ranking in the Sith heirarchy. His initial query was nipped in the bud as the Captain wasted no time, speaking word for word the command Lord Phalomir had sent him forth with. The Warden merely nodded, dismissed the Captain, and after watching him disappear down the corridor returned to his chambers, now taking the time to freshen up and robe himself, that he would be fitting to have so near a private audience with the Dark Lord. Finding himself presentable at last, then he hastened to the Dining Hall, where he quickly found the table where Lord Phalomir and his growing group were seated.

"M'Lord--" he said as he came to first a stiff attention, fisted hand over his chest. Then he bowed, retaining that posture until the Dark Lord should speak and release him from it.

____________________________________________

Finding the Verpine took a little more effort on the part of the Sith. However, the Temple's network of runners was vast, meant as a means of communication in times of duress: it took the sending out of nearly eighteen of that swift group before one of them found K'kihl as he hurried up from the direction of the dungeons. The runner lifted a brow at this but said nothing, and recognizing the Verpine as a guest and one desired to join the visiting Dark Lord merely indicated that he please follow him back to the others who awaited him.

The Verpine made no noncompliant action but came eagerly to the side of the runner. Thus it was not long after the Warden had come up to the Dark Lord's table in the Grand Dining Hall that the missing member of their party was likewise escorted there as well.

Considering the circumstances.

I was starting to fidget, for this Phalomir fellow was seeming to take his sweet time in responding to the official Sith, when another one popped out of the figurative woodwork as well.

And wonder of wonders, he had a particular Cricket of my acquaintance in tow.

"K'kihl, pal! Where have--" I began, half rising from my seat. But then I froze.

Now Verpine, having exoskeletons, aren't much in the way of being expressive creatures. They can't blink their eyes; they've got no eyelids. They can't quirk their lips; they've only got mandibles. They can't waggle their brows; they haven't got any.

But there was something about his posture that, having had him with me now for some time, I was able to read.

Something was bothering him. Sonething wasn't... well, cricket.

Immediately I covered myself by issuing a series of fake coughs.

"H-hey, pal--!" cough, hack "--it's gr- great to see ya again!" choke, wheeze* "Guess the air isn't agreeing with me here; ya wanna have a seat, pal? The conversation's just getting good..."

With that I blinked meaningfully at him and sat back down, acting as if everything I had found myself involved in over the last few hours was the most natural thing in the world for me.

[ 01-25-2007 02:48 PM: Message edited 1 time, lastly by Yaoksi Joao ]

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

"Sure, Yaoksi Boss," he finally said, and only after he saw Joao's brief shadow of a frown in response to his use of that term did he seat himself at the table next to theirs, casually helping himself to something edible sitting in a basket in the middle of it.

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

She looked right at Phalomir, "Sir. I agree that in some ways we feel the same about the Dark Ones, in general. But you say you trust these two, and that I cannot. They have tried to kill me before, and only the intervention of another Padawan and his Master saved me. I am not out for revenge, but I will not throw away my own life, not to them, not now. We know joining the Order that we might die for it someday. Master Jeroc and Logan did - defending Younglings from the Empire when they attacked the school. And that I could do. But how can I trust someone who has tried to kill me, or trust those that are allied with them. I'm not out for revenge I'm just not stupid and I know I need to protect myself and those I care about first. I want to be around long enough to finish my training and do some good in this universe."

[ 01-25-2007 07:22 PM: Message edited 1 time, lastly by Thea Morgan ]

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"Forgive me if i do not know the full of your circomstances...But here please here my words... I know not what binds you, but i can tell you this... If anything binds you to hatred, and it is indeed hatred that flows through you as you speak these things, you should disregard it...For even if those you seek to destroy are evil...If you let your distrust of them, your foul memories of them, and most of all your dislike and hate of them...Then should you ever succeed in killing them...you will have become them... You should only fight to protect those you love, or that which is important to you... Once something is lost, it can never be brought back...Holding a grudge of losing it, will not make the loss any easier."

He then gave a sad little smile and shook his head, "the truest way to defeat those who have wronged you, and to hold true the memories of those who are lost...is to forgive. As anyone who is truely evil, has no purpose but to spread evil...only through forgiveness and love can that evil be stopped."

at that he fell silent.

[ 01-25-2007 07:36 PM: Message edited 1 time, lastly by Jharu ]

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

"Listen, I don't hate her, I hate what she has chosen and if there were a way to convert her back to the ways of the Light Side I would try it. The problem I have now is that I'm basically trapped in the same building with two people that have tried to kill me, that want to kill me, that won't hesitate to kill me if they are given a chance. And no one seems to be doing much to get me out of here. Shayla and I shared a link once, she will be able to sense that I'm here. I can't hide from her when I'm this close and I can't trust that I'll be able to get away from her again. Like I said others saved me from her last time, and they aren't here now. I don't know enough to defend myself from her. And I've just been told that at least Palomir here trusts her. So I can't depend on protection from him. And as much as I love Yaoksi and Link and even Aaron I know they can't stand up to someone using the Force well enough to protect any of us. I'm not safe and there isn't anyone around I can trust to protect me. I want out of here and to somewhere safe, away from her."

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

I drew in a deep breath and shook my head, hurt to the very core by what I hoped had been an unthinking statement on her part.

So young... and in the naivete of the young, so persistant in only seeing one path before her...

But what a path.

"Thea, honey," I began, once more shooting a glance toward the Dark Lord, trying to explain in that look that Thea was indeed only a child, had been through much, and really didn't mean any insult in the words she had just spouted.

"I think what Lord Phalomir is saying is that there is something else beyond just the people who are Jharmeen and Shayla; that it's this something else that we have to battle..."

I trailed, seeing confusion in her face. Pursing my lips, I decided on a different tact.

"You've never spoken of this to me before. What exactly did Shayla do to you when she tried to kill you? How are you so certain that she means to do this now? I mean, wouldn't she already have done so? We are here, without a ship, dependent solely on the hospitality of these people-"

I nodded respectfully toward Lord Phalomir, all the while widening my eyes and waggling my brows at the young Jedi-wannabe.

"--and there is something else to consider in all of this: that being there seems to be another power, a something else that I don't understand that I don't think even the Force can stand up against..."

I shot another look in Phalomir's direction; seeing the unverbalized agreement there I went on.

"Thea, all we've got is each other; you've got to understand that, and trust those who state they are here to help us..."

Once again I trailed briefly as the stunning realization struck that I was speaking those words more to myself than to Thea. I cut another sidelong glance at the Sith Lord, and seeing his slight smile of acquiescence went on.

"Thea, isn't a Jedi supposed to be mindful of everything that is around him? Do you sense any evil coming from any of us seated here? Don't you think you're operating from past assumptions at the very least?

"Please tell us all what has happened to you, in detail; perhaps we can at least set a few things straight."

I stopped with that, knowing that the evil behind what had happened to Terrin and Cella and Nassy was something deeper, something other, than the mere simplicity of a good Jedi gone bad.

[ 01-26-2007 07:14 PM: Message edited 1 time, lastly by Yaoksi Joao ]

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"Please, M'Lord, if I may speak..."

It was the rose-eyed young Sith, who had been charged to assist Thea and Link however she could. Emboldened by the fact that she yet considered them her charges, she now approached the table and bowed. And when she straightened, hands clasped respectfully in front of her, it was at Thea toward whom she directed her words.

"You played your device, that I might learn of you and your history," she began carefully. "And on that device was much wisdom by those you call je--"

She stumbled, then quickly moved on.

"--your Teachers," she amended. "They spoke about fear, something of how fear leads one down the path to anger, which then leads one into hatred... which then leads ones into the even more frightening and despairing realms of suffering.

"This you related to me, by your device. Yet...

"This is a path you seem ready to follow yourself, for you are so very, very afraid. Please, do not go down this dark path, do not be afraid.

"We are here to help you-- I am charged with this."

He smiled a half smile at Yaoksi, trying to remain focused. But his mind drifted, and he thought of Jharmeen, remembering the strange time he had been able to walk with her spirit inside her very mind. He remembered then how fragile she was. There had been a beast, a truly ferocious manifestation of something within her psyche, that held down a small mote of something. He had fought that beast spiritually, only to discover the beast had been holding back the insanity that threatened her. As it unleashed through her, he had taken it into himself, and locked it away within his own mind, where it remained tightly wound into a ball of power.

He wondered if the ball was now unwinding, for he found himself more and more disinterested and distracted, and this was not like him.

The words from the servant brought him back, and he suddenly found interest once again. The teachings of the Jedi, yes. Fear and anger, the milestones on the path to the dark side of the force. Interesting, something such as the Force, binding the galaxy together yet having two distinct halves. Was there no middle ground? No gray areas? And yet when spoken of, it was always the light and dark side, not the good and evil sides.

Was the same true of the All? Was there a light and dark side? Or was the All really the thing that encompasses everything about the universe? The universe was balance, and that was what he remembered of the All as well. Balance. Light and Dark, not good and evil… Balance…

Jharmeen…

The darkness within her was powerful, this he knew from the Master. But in order for Jharmeen to be so powerful, enough to worry both the Master and Lord Aelvedaar, there had to be something just as equally powerful within her to balance this. Yes! There HAD to be, and that meant that she was still there, perhaps hiding within her own mind. The darkness was in control, that was certain, but it needed the light, the love. He had to turn those tables, somehow.

But that meant that the darkness could not be taken out of her. BUT, it could be forced into retreat, perhaps.

“Fear and anger,” he said. “I do not need to be force sensitive to feel that within you, Thea. But you will find that in all of us at the moment, I think. Tell us exactly what happened, and try not to fear.”

[ 01-26-2007 07:56 PM: Message edited 1 time, lastly by Phalomir ]

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

The serpent coiled within, and a darkness shifted momentarily, but the feeling subsided after a slow breath.

A child...alone, and scared...he could understand those feelings, he had felt them most of his life...

from no where he allowed his words to creep into the air, "i can not offer much... But if it would help you, as you have said you have no one here to protect you, and no one you can trust, I will take you in as my personal guest, and take your protection under my responsibility while you are yet stranded here...You perhaps can not trust me...But regardless, i can offer you, under my honor as son of the Lady jharmeen and Lord Recinis, that so long as you are our guest, no harm will come to you..."

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

Then he turned to look at Thea. "And as for anyone's ability to fight against whatever evil that is going on here, I wouldn't dismiss any of it. Terrin, Galen, Matt, and Jasyn have managed to defeat insurmountable odds in the past...

...and I think the same may be true here. Don't misunderstand me, I'm not dismissing the dangers here by a longshot. What I am saying is that the best thing for us to all do is to simply stick together.

"Especially considering you are talking about wanting to be a Jedi; and your Master Petrolu will, hopefully, be here soon. I'd hope you'd trust him to be able to help you learn, and protect you as best as he can, as we all will. And especially considering that the person called Shayla whom you fear so much is his sister. He believes in her, has been searching for her...

...and it doesn't much seem the Jedi way to threaten to kill one who is not directly harming you, even if they have done so in the past. After all, isn't there some Jedi adage about not dwelling in the future? So why then would you dwell in the past? There is something far greater going on here then what was past...

...and we need to deal with it here and now, together."

He paused, focusing in on Thea. "You know deep in your heart who you can trust."

[ 01-26-2007 10:47 PM: Message edited 1 time, lastly by Aaron Barnes ]

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

Jharu took a breath and shook his head and a few words came from his mouth below a whisper "i almost feel as though im no longer that scared child myself, though i do not think that will ever truely pass"

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

"I know I can trust you Yaoksi, but I don't think you could stand up to her if she used the Dark Side to attack. She can sweep all your weapons away like crumbs. As great as you are and as much as I know you and Link, and Aaron could protect me against Imperials or street thugs or anyone using a physical weapon, I don't want you hurt because you tried to get in the way of her power."

Thea then turned to the girl, "And you are right. Fear has been the greatest obstacle to my training. That is why I'm here with Yaoksi instead of with Master Petrolu. He told me that until I could approach new people without fear I wouldn't improve as a... Padawan. He said that fearing someone just because they are new is damaging to our mission. But that the same time caution when you know someone or a situation to be dangerous is imperative if you plan on surviving it. Even talking to you all is a great improvement for me from that time."

Thea then turned to Aaron, "You said my Master will be here soon? Have you heard from him? Is he alright?"

Thea looked at all of the others in turn before starting her history, "As for what happened to me, in its entirety it is a long story. For starters Shayla was one of the first people to greet me at the Praxeum. She was an older student and was asked to take me to my rooms when Galen arrived asking for protection from her sister. The Masters needed to help her so Shayla and Logan, another Padawan, took care of me. In the confusion of the day I can't remember all that happened but at some point Shayla was ripped from the Praxeum by this Graysith. I could still sense her though Cella, Jeroc, and Logan could not. So I went with them to get her back. Well we tried but she turned to the Dark Side before we got to her. We tried to convince her to come back to us and didn't give up hope but the two of them ripped Logan and myself away from our Masters, they sent me to Hoth alone with only warm weather clothing on. If I didn't know the planet from my father's stories of his time in the Rebellion I wouldn't have survived a day - I would have frozen to death. As it was I contacted my parents and they got me out and back to the Praxeum. Then they sent one of those things - the ones that attacked the Devil - to take me from the Praxeum again. I was left with a baby to take care of and then when she didn't need my care anymore dropped into a cell where I was told I would stay as long as I could survive. I was told by the servant who dropped me in there that he was the last other being I would ever see. Luckily he must have put me in the wrong place because Galen was in the same cell and she broke us both out and we were picked up eventually by Jasyn and a few others. But they managed to get a hold of me again and tried the same trick. A man named Freedon Naad rescued me that time and we met Loban who was Master Petrolu's other apprentice. We ended up at some sort of Palace coming face to face with Shayla who tried to use the Force to kill me, Loban stepped in and stopped her - he was much older and much more trained than I was. He got me out and back to Master Petrolu who got the two of us off the planet and safe. And then we're getting to where Loban dissappeared and Master Petrolu left me with you to go looking for him. So she tried many times over in many ways and usually after toying with my mind for a while. It wasn't until the third time that I gave up on trying to convert her back to the Light Side and the Code. By then I knew it was too late."

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

I merely hid in those arms and listened in on the conversation unfolding; the arguments back and forth, the introduction of new characters. I pulled Yaoksi's arm back because now he was starting to put pressure on my broken arm, using my tail I wrapped it around my broken arm to support its weight.

I listened in on Thea relaying her past to the group, how it seemed to make her more at ease. While in a way the same applied to me when I shared mine with Thea I was not ready to do so with Yaoksi or Aaron as of yet.

"I has been a long day, I fear that we are reaching our limit for rational conversation for the day. Personally today I have been thrown back and forth in a ship, crushed, broken an arm, run around a large complex, seen furniture randomly explode, and tried to be converted. On top of it I have had no caff."

I took a quick look around and scanned across everyones faces.

"For ryns and humans I believe we have reached the limit of rational thought before exhaustions takes over, I can't assume about sith or verpine but I would venture a guess its similar. Seeing as to how we have no reliable means to leave anyways perhapses we should reconvene in the morning or whatever time it will be in 8 hours."

While I was truly tired I merely wanted to get away from these sith and talk with Yaoksi without them present.

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

“I agree, you should all sleep, it was been a long ordeal for you. I shall procure transportation to Dagobah, to seek out Lord Aelvedaar and your friends. I shall have you summoned in eight standard hours, to meet here. We shall eat and be away.”

Phalomir cocked an eyebrow to Yaoksi. “If that is to your liking, of course.”

He then turned his attention to Thea one more time. “There is something more you should know, young friend. You say Shayla was taken be Graysith and was concerted to the dark side of the Force. Graysith is not a Force-user, and could not have converted Shayla. In fact, Shayla is not a dark jedi, she is one of light. However, she is currently under the influence of an evil that goes beyond the concept of dark or light jedi, and once this is gone from her you will see that she is not the evil person you believe her to be.”

Phalomir hoped he was right.

“If you will,” he said, looking at the servant. “Show everyone to their chambers. However, either Yaoksi or Aaron, would you care to accompany me for a moment longer?”

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

"If you could see to adjoining rooms, one for Thea and Link and one for me and K'kihl, I'd sure appreciate it," I said, shooting both of the youngsters a glance which I hoped conveyed to them the fact that I wasn't doing this to be bossy but simply to expedite matters.

Besides, truth be known, I was getting a little ragged around the edges myself.

"But if you have something you'd like to, ahh... finalize, I'd be more than happy to remain behind a little bit longer."

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

"I'm sure someone could point me in the right direction for some R&R...

...and maybe a bit more of this," he added, holding up his empty goblet of green liquor, "...when we're finished."

[ 01-28-2007 10:32 PM: Message edited 1 time, lastly by Aaron Barnes ]

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

Phalomir waited as the young ones and the verpine were led away, Jharu leading the way with the servant. He felt much compassion for the boy, and hoped he would return to converse. After a moment he turned his attention back to the two men before him.

“I could obtain more of the Sith brandy for you, but I would suggest only one glass more. It is quite potent to those not of the Sith, and you will need your wits about you in eight hours. I wish to tell you exactly what is happening so you know what to expect. I also understand you have found yourselves in a most peculiar situation, and find yourselves in a very uncomfortable situation of dependency upon us. But please, have no fear, we are very hospitable.”

Phalomir leaned forward.

“But there are things you should know. To begin, Thoran is not a Dark Lord, as I surmise he has led you to believe. He found himself in a situation that called for a foolish stunt, and he took the chance. He was truthful in his offer to lead you to your friends, they are indeed within reach and involved in the affairs of the Sith. They may not all wish to go with you, but they will certainly not be prevented from doing so.”

Phalomir bowed his head slightly, then raised it once more. “Graysith and Shayla are not to be trusted at this time. There is an entity, one I believe to be from the realm where your ship was lost. It is a most difficult situation, for Graysith is very powerful with an ability beyond the Force that Thea speaks of. But I must save both of them, I must find a way. Shayla is a beloved friend, and Graysith is my love. But to do this, I need the aid of my colleague Aelvedaar, the Dark Lord of the Sorcerers. He traveled to Dagobah to assist your friends, and I expected to see him by now. So, when we travel there, it could potentially be a rescue mission. I hope he will arrive sometime within the next eight hours, we shall see. Assuming we fly, however, we shall need a pilot. Since you know Galen, can you can pilot a Sith ship?”

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

Thea turned her attention to the younger man leading them. He didn't seem much older than Logan was and yet he seemed to have the respect of the much older man. This puzzled Thea, "Excuse me but I don't know much about your people, and well it just seemed that Phalomir gave you a lot of respect. How do you determine who is of a higher... level? Age, strength in the Force, and skill are what we base our structure on, but you are much younger than he is."

She let him decide how to answer for a moment and turned to Link, "Does your arm hurt a lot now?"

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

"No," I finally replied. "I'm afraid I'm not personally familiar with your ships. However, in my experience I've found that in the long run, other than the big military guys, ships are ships; I suppose I could fly one if given the opportunity to study the controls."

I drew in a deep breath, trying to push back the rising image of how Devil last appeared as we were fleeing her...

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

Jharu looked down at his hands for a moment and shook his head.

"someday I hope i will have the respect of the sith for my own actions..."

He then slowed his pace a bit and looked towards link, "If you are hurt, We can stop by the healers chambers if you would like?"

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