I looked over at Jharu, to answer his question.

"No offense but last time I was in your healing chambers the people that entered looked worse then when they left. All I want to do now is take a nice shower to get all this dirt, blood, and who knows what else out of my fur. Then sleep"

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As he lead the children down the hall with seeming confidence, he couldnt help but wrack his brain over where there might be quarters next to eachother that were unoccupied...for yes the temple was his home...but it was a home he had been away from for some time...

He decided to stick with what he knew, and lead them nearer to his own room, he was sure that there were a few empty rooms in the vacinity.

As he lead on something of thea's earlier question came to tickle at his conciousness, and he turned to her as they walked and couldnt help but ask...

"before...you said that your people base there respect of you on the strength of your force, and skill...Forgive me...but could he explain this more? I dont mean to judge your people...but it seems somewhat barbaric to give someone respect based on how forcefull or strong they may be...do you fight to prove yourselves? or..."

he let his words trailed off, inwardly imagining a grand battle royal between humans, the winner being granted the highest respect...completely misunderstanding thea's meaning of the word "force" and the reference to the strength and skill of it.

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

"Pardons, M'Lord, but the guest quarters are in that direction--"

Her rosy eyes pinned to the stones beneath her feet, she made a gesture indicating a corridor they had recently passed by.

"So they are, It seems im not quite as familiar with the temple as i should perhaps be" he let out another quiet laugh along with a little smile as he reached out to gently pull the young siths eyes upward to meet his gaze "thank you" he said in his quiet sincere manner.

He then shifted the troup so they migth head in the correct direction.It will take some time getting used to things...

[ 01-29-2007 11:34 PM: Message edited 1 time, lastly by Jharu ]

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Phalomir exhaled deeply. “There is another thing, however. Your daughter, Thea. She seems quite different from the other…” Phalomir lowered his voice on the next word. “…jedi… I have known. Shayla and Shawn seem much more sure of themselves and their abilities, and do not dwell on the past. I mean no disrespect in asking this, but I do not know what we shall face when we reach Dagobah. Are you sure she is capable of handling danger should it arise?”

Phalomir held his hands before him, raised slightly.

“There is another Sith world, where the Clan of Sorcerers makes its home. We could take her there, where she would be safe with Lord Aelvedaar’s adopted son, away from Shayla and the young girl’s fears. I leave this decision with you.”

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

Now, that was something I'd been pondering upon since the lil gal had been placed into my care. Now, however, while every fatherly instinct within me was screaming that she and her little Ryn friend should be tucked away safe and sound somewhere, deep in my heart I knew that wasn't the best move to make.

That's just thinking of me, of me wanting her safe... not allowing her to spread her wings and fly...

She'd already passed through the Darker Realms unscathed; what could possibly be worse than that?

I said as much to Phalomir.

"I think that it would be best to keep them along with us; she's been wanting to help find Galen, and would never forgive me if I checked the reins now."

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

Phalomir stood tall and stretched, then sat on the corner of the table.

“We have a few minutes before the servant returns for you, do you have any questions for me?”

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

Jharu's question however was troubling.

"It's not our force its The Force. And fighting contradicts the nature of the Force except in defense. You don't know what the Force is do you? Well, it's an energy that surrounds all things and is in all things. It comes from the very life of the universe and protects life, without it life could not exist. To have strength in the Force we must work hard and practice meditating and clearing our minds so that we can hear the energy of life around us. Those that are truly strong can communicate at great distances with each other, they can see what is happening across the galaxy, they are also subject to feeling the great sorrows of the universe - death and destruction and the loss of life. To be strong in the Force is to have the life of the universe coursing through you and to be able to touch it and know a connectedness to everything around you. We all aspire to that level of connection to the universe and all life around us. And to have skill in the Force is to know how to use this energy to manipulate things around you. To lift or move things without touching them, to deflect weapons with a thought, to read others minds and help convince them of the truth, to help speed cleaning, some can even create energy masses and direct them to safeguard life. Basically it is our mental powers that earn respect the stronger your mind and more disciplined you are the more respected you will become. And the older members tend to be stronger because of more years of study."

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"I...Think i understand..."
This force...is in some way similar to the powers mother holds?

"I apologize for missunderstanding your words. I hope i didnt offend you."

they rounded another corner and an idea came to him.

"if it is indeed mental prowess that your people hold in high regard, you might wish to visit our library sometime...Any added knowledge will always benifit-..." As the words came from his mouth he looked up to realize they had reached, as far as he could tell, there destination.

"-Ah...here we are... You may stay in these rooms here."

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

I opened the door and headed into the room. It was a decent size room with two beds, a couch, some chairs, and a fresher. One thing I noted was it didn't have a sani-steam, but an old fashioned shower.

"Thea, you humans have it easy, with just that little bit of hair on your head it must be easy to keep clean. Hopefully you didn't need the shower first because I'm going to take a while."

Heading into the shower I turned it on then removed all my gear, enjoying the feeling of my fur being purged of all the things that went wrong with today.

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"You didn't offend me. We are often misunderstood by even others of our own races who are unable to learn to connect with the universe. My first Master and his apprentice both gave their lives to protect the other children at the Praxeum - our school - from others who sought to destroy them just for wanting to learn. I'm just glad that you wanted to learn, not get rid of me for aspiring to be a Master someday. Many people would have chosen that road, others would run in fear over what they don't understand. A library sounds wonderful I'm sure ours was destroyed when the school was. I loved spending time there even though I was just learning to read at the time. But I do need sleep now, its been a long day. Thank you for helping me feel better. I'm still afraid of Shayla but I think it is a little better."

She followed Link in the room waving goodbye at the door. She didn't bother to answer Link when she asked about the shower and just fell into one of the beds fully clothed and curled up to sleep.

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

Fashioning the materials into what appeared a nest I looked around the room and found a small glass vase on a table. I took it and stashed it into my 'nest'. Without my blaster I will need something I can easily break and use as a weapon if I need one.

Settling into my 'nest' I took one more quick look around before falling asleep for the night.

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"I believe i will return to the dinning hall for a time," his words were soft and as smooth as his motions while his body turned to begin retracing his steps. Perhaps he would finaly eat something, and perhaps lord phalomir could give him a better understanding of the current situation...

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

Notwithstanding the simple fact that he was towering over me even more closely at the moment--!

At any rate, I could feel tension beginning to ooze from me; giving a little grunt I straightened in my seat, but not before shooting a quick glance at K'kihl. That worthy was blissfully engaged in emptying the basket in front of him; whether he was tired or not, who could tell. All I knew was that if I didn't hit the ol' sack but soon I'd be a puddle on the floor.

And that could be right embarrassing.

"Well... not really," I finally said, lifting a hand to my mouth to hide the yawn I just could not manage to stifle. I blinked, toying around a bit as to whether or not I should bring up the little matter of Devil-May-Care again. Dammit but it was getting to be like missing limb syndrome:

I sure as hell missed the ol' girl!

[ 01-31-2007 11:33 PM: Message edited 1 time, lastly by Yaoksi Joao ]

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“Then I suggest you all get some rest. Eight hours will pass quickly, and you will need to be fresh. I will make arrangements and investigate the state of your ship, if possible. I shall meet you back here in a few hours!”

Phalomir looked to the servant, who nodded and waited for the men – and cricket – to follow. Phalomir leaned his back to the wall and watched them all depart.

He looked down at the glass in his hand, now half empty. He didn’t usually drink much, but the brandy was going down easy that night. He would stop with this one, his third. He turned the glass around in his hands, watching the light play on the crystal. The brandy was doing its job, and he began to appreciate the liberating feeling in his head. He had too much body for the brandy to make him inebriated, but his thoughts were suddenly incredibly clear.

He looked around the hall, taking in the immensity of it. He would need to make arrangements for a way to Dagobah, but he had an idea. He was about to finish off the rest of the liquid when he saw Jharu in the doorway. Phalomir waved and sat back down.

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Giving a polite bow of his head jharu let his words roll out softly, "i apologize if i am keeping you lord Phalomir, i did not mean to invade. Please do not allow me to inconvenience you"

after which his teenage instincts invaded and he could not help but sit down and snatch up something he could fill his stomach with, though he did so in the most polite way he could...most likely.

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“You are not keeping me,” he said. “After all, I invited you to come back if you wished. I do need to make arrangements, but I would like to speak with you. So much has happened since last I saw you, and even then we did not have a chance to know each other very well. I have things to tell you, but perhaps you could first tell me something about yourself. You seem to be much, um, larger than I remember you to be. What, um… what happened?”

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

He looked at phalomir quietly for a moment and looked back into his mind.

"the passage of time is a strange and mysterious thing... Forgive me if i cant give you details, but the exact details are not known to me... Away with my father, i've spent the last few years trying to peace together who i am, and my reason for being here..."

He looked outward once more to find phalomirs eyes, "My past is not something I can be sure of... I finaly decided that the past can not be what you base your future on... I retrained myself, and found comfort in my being...That is what is important...its now that i'll move forward and make my place in this universe."

A bit of boyishness crept into his features with a sincere little smile, "Regardless, i will always be the sad little boy who wishes to be with his mother... I want to help with whatever is going on"

[ 02-03-2007 03:09 PM: Message edited 1 time, lastly by Jharu ]

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I shot him a frown, and leaned my head a bit in his direction.

"K'kihl," I hissed in a low whisper. "It is kinda late, pal; do you think you could possibly manage to--"

The rest of that admonishment was nipped abruptly in the bud. Still moving along, he simply turned his face to me, cocked his head a bit into the direction that we were traveling, and moved his mandibles.

Damn, there he goes again. There's something about his posture...

"What is it, pal?" I asked, all thought of remaining quiet for the sake of the lateness of the hour slipping from my mind like water. But he refused to speak, just turned to contemplate our forward progress and remained thus until we were brought at last to a wooden door.

It was beautiful in its simplicity: richly carved, shining and darkened with age, hints of inlay and golden studs providing subtle patterning upon it. The Sith merely paused, opened that door, and gestured we enter therein.

I waggled my brows at K'kihl and did so, pausing a few feet inside to gawk. Behind me came a characteristic clatter as K'kihl came up then shouldered past me, to jump upon one of the two richly adorned beds and bounce upon it. This was followed by Aaron's short chuckle.

I turned back to the Sith, jaw agape.

"Tha-" I began, but she merely bowed, stated the children were in the adjoining room, and left.

I blinked at the rapidity with which I found ourselves alone in such luxury.

"Wow, guys; a man could get used to this!"

Grinning like ten kinds of fool, I started moving about the suites allotted to us, fingering rich tapestries and furs and woolens and satins and gem-encrusted furniture and--

The clatter of mandibles sounded from the bed and I turned, all appreciation for the rooms gone.

"What is it, buddy?" I asked as I moved to a sideboard where something green in a crystalline flask beckoned. I poured myself a glass and took a sip, gesturing toward Aaron with the bottle even as I turned back to K'kihl to hear what he had to say.

[ 02-03-2007 12:39 PM: Message edited 1 time, lastly by Yaoksi Joao ]

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"Yaoksi... Boss Sorben... here he is, in dungeons is he... prisoner have they made him..."

He paused again, cocking his head a little when Yaoksi only shot him a slightly confused look. Moving his mandibles silently, he finally finished.

"Boss Sorben... Lt. Sorben Tarnus is he.

"And here, locked away, also he is. Truth is this, Boss Yaoksi; I saw him..."

Not knowing what else to follow these startling words with, the engineer merely returned to bouncing slightly on the bed.

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

One shiver raced through my body which, with some effort, I managed to suppress.

"Are you certain, K'kihl? I mean, that's a rather--"

Again my words were nipped in the bud with his simple and immediate nod.

I drew in a deep breath, let it out in a long whoosh.

Gods. Who could we trust now? That hulking Lord had mentioned there was evil in that Graysith and the blond; maybe this evil was the author of what was happening here but he did profess to love them both...

And who in all the known universe would have the power to imprison the man who was in charge of the Empire, for god's sakes...

I shuddered again, now remembering the strange doorways through which we had traveled to get here.

And who had opened them.

Gads. Had we been that naive...?

I drew in another breath.

"We- we're going to have to spring him, guys," I whispered, now sitting on the bed myself. Beside me the ol' Cricket merely nodded with enthusiasm, as if planning the jailbreak of someone who in himself represented what could be yet another enemy, from the bowels of a temple on a planet filled with people hardly anyone even dreamed existed, was the most natural thing in the world to do.

I sighed again and let myself flop backward, ignoring both roommates to stare upward at the ceiling arching dimly over our heads. It too was richly designed, made of tiles and stones in startlingly detailed bas relief. I blinked, stared closer, started seeing images up there: images of battles and...

People dying? Being conquered?

I didn't even hear the Old Cricket as he moved from the bed to a couch wehre he would sleep the night. I paid no attention to the soft rustles of Aaron as he too moved quietly about. I just lay there, staring and thinking, shivering and wondering what in all the Universe we were going to do now.

[ 02-03-2007 12:56 PM: Message edited 1 time, lastly by Yaoksi Joao ]

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"Not to complicate matters further," Aaron then spoke up, "But how did the guy who runs the Empire get captured here, alone? And why would he be here alone?"

Aaron didn't really know the answer to that...

...but he had to wonder. He'd been there when Galen and Jasyn were plotting to get into Coruscant to take Darra back from the Empire, after Terrin had been killed. And the last time he'd seen Terrin alive, his partner was enroute to Coruscant after sending Galen and Darra there...

...with another man, according to Terrin's own words.

But what other man?

Aaron's frown deepened. Why was he vaguely remembering Galen mentioning a "Sorben" back when Terrin had first brought her to the Hornett? Was there a connection, or was he dreaming things? Maybe he'd had too much of the green stuff...

Aaron shook his head, clearing his vision enough to look back and forth between Yaoksi and the Verpine. "How could he be here alone, with the resources of the Empire at his fingertips? And why haven't they come after him, unless for some reason they were instructed not to do so? Or unless something has happened to them too..."

He trailed then, chills now running up and down his spine. The very thoughts that little suposition brought were much more than just unpleasant. "Eagle Enteprises does not have the best relations with the Empire...

...but maybe we need to make contact and let them know about this, because I'm not sure we have the resources to spring him effectively...

...and I'm not so sure someone isn't waging war with the Empire with this move." Another chill. He looked over to Yaoksi. "You're saying you had a bad feeling about all this...

...I agree. I don't know who to trust...

...and now how utterly convenient is it that Terrin, Galen, and the guys are on Degobah, some of them in precarious situations as well? And all of us now stuck here?"

He frowned again. "I wonder...I think Petrolu is in good graces with the Empire," he said then. "I know he's had interactions with Tarnus. We just might be needing him, soon...

...but then again, by the time we get to him it might be too late..."

[ 02-03-2007 09:15 PM: Message edited 1 time, lastly by Aaron Barnes ]

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"Excuse me lord phalomir, but i have just remembered something that requires my immediate attention. I hope to be able to continue this conversation in the near future"

with another quick bow he turned and made haste through the hallways, untill locking himself away in his quarters.

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Phalomir stood and walked to the doors, and in a few moments was headed out on a late night shuttle to the shipyards. He needed to know what had become of his ship, and if was still in working order. He was happy to discover that the ship was exactly as it had been left. When they had landed in it, the Warriors were in the middle of a crisis with the “death” of the Dark Lady and the usurpation of the throne by ShaRhylla. He was very happy to make this discovery, and after a brief inspection he stepped out and returned to the temple.

Once there, he checked the main receiving hall for Jharmeen, but she was not there. Assuming she had gone to bed, he headed for his own quarters. He was soon standing inside the grand room, and sat down on the edge of the ornately carved bed. He closed his eyes and fell backwards onto the silky bed covers.

“Jharmeen,” he exhaled. “What has become of you, my love?”

His softly spoken rhetorical sigh was answered by what sounded like a stifled laugh from the far corner of the room. Phalomir opened his eyes as he swung upwards and around, coming to sit on the bed once again, facing the corner.

“My Lady?” he asked the hidden shadows.

[ 02-07-2007 09:25 PM: Message edited 1 time, lastly by Phalomir ]

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"You say something?" I asked, stifling a yawn myself.

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