He didn't expect her to answer, since she cut herself off when she was explaining, and he he could assume what the answer be, from talking to Actar....

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

The image of my sister going into that cave... and returning not my sister, but something Else. Something with glittering violet eyes and a weird Sigil and a strong arm which rose and fell, rose and fell, as it hammered a rock against our father's dear face.... Something which stalked me as a beast of prey stalks its next dinner, which left me to die alone in the dusty, sand-driven eternal Twilight of that hideous place, alone to bury Dad and to seek escape, to in turn seek... revenge.

I sighed a bit, then focused on the Admiral again. "I don't think you'd understand if I tried to explain it, for I don't understand it myself. I don't know if you really want to know.

"A part of me just wants to curl up and let all this madness go away." I sighed a bit ruefully. "But I know that can't be done.

"I don't know what the hell happened to my sister except I know she is dead. That thing coming after me is no sister of mine, and never will be again."

I paused to pace the room a bit, my heart rate quickening as the difficulty of my position rammed home with sudden force. Here I was, taken by Admiral Actar, supposedly into a haven of sorts. I, however, was not fool enough to underestimate my ex-sister; I knew she would scour the Galaxy until she found me.

What would these guys do then? Would they continue to give me succor and assistance? Or would they hand me over, wiping their collective hands in a "good riddance" gesture?

I whirled and pinned the Admiral's gaze with my own.

"Tell me," I blurted. "Are you here to help me too?"

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

To try and make things seem not as bad he added, "But, I'm sure, if she were to come here, we'd have you off this planet and on the other side of the galaxy before she knew it...."

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

I drew in a sharp breath. "Coming here?" I zeroed in on that succinct statement. "If my sister is coming here?

"You know something, don't you? Oh Khaandon, we've got to do something; you don't know what you're gonna be up against!"

I closed my eyes briefly, recalling the few times I had witnessed her ungodly Powers in action... as well as when I had been on the receiving end of them. I gave an uncontrollable little shiver, which I'm sure did not go unnoticed by Swatzi.

My eyes snapped open as a new thought erupted in my head. "Look," I began quickly. "Why wait? I mean, why attempt getting me off-planet after the fact? If she's coming here, you'll never slip me past her."

I paused, weighing my next words, then burst forth with: "Why not now? You guys say you want to help me; well, why not get me outta here now? Believe me, all the military force you have at your disposal is gonna be bantha poo-doo to what she can do; the best escape is the single, stealthy kind.

"Believe me, I know..." My thoughts drifted back to the times I had managed to flee from her, with Sorben and K'kihl my comrades-in-arms.

Oh, Sorben. Dear Khaandon, how I miss you....

I jerked back to the reality of the moment. "In fact," I finished. "Why don't you just be nice and give me a ship or something, and just let me go? I can handle myself, and I'm really a pretty good pilot.

"But I have to get off-planet. I know you mean well, but I feel trapped here."

I finally wound to a halt and just stood there, staring into his eyes as I waited for his much-hoped-for reply.

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

As she had noticed before, there wasn't much to her room. Just the refresher, the bed she had been in, and four white walls...

And a closet door to the left of the bed. Curious, Shayla opened the door and gasped. There before her she found a wardrobe full of the items she usually wore. She first spotted three everyday jumpsuits: one silver, one purple, and one white. She also found a couple of very elegant but modest evening dresses, one in purple, one in green, one in yellow and the other in silver. She also found two flightsuits, a siver and a purple.

Flightsuits???

The word seemed to ring in Shayla's head.

I'm a pilot...

Something else was bouncing around in her head about a silver flightsuit...a memory from somewhere and something that she wasn't quite ready to face.

I'm a pilot...I wonder if I get my own ship, since I have flightsuits?

She shoved the thought away. Of COURSE she wouldn't get a shuttle of her own. She would stay here, with her new-found friend, her sister......the only one around who still cared about her existence at all.

But why were these flightsuits here if she would never use them?

Shayla shook the thoughts off, realizing that she was once again feeling extremely tired. Deciding to slip on the purple jumpsuit, she took it from the hanger. After switching clothes, she hung the silk robe on the newly-vacated hanger, closed the closet door, and wandered back over to the bed.

Just a little more sleep...

[ 07-28-2001 09:49 PM: Message edited 1 time, lastly by Shayla Stargazer Petrolu ]

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

"You would be interested in taking a Jedi in Training, perhaps you can answer that question yourself." He paused, closed his eyes and thought, The girl who disappeared at the Praxeum...that must be who Shayla is....

"The Shuttle..." he paused, "is Piloted by a woman...she's a Sith. In case you're confused, you don't want to mess with a Sith, especially her. You best bet at getting Shayla, is waiting here until she comes, and hope she dumps her. But, of course, you can do as you wish, but remember, I warned you. Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm tired and need my rest." He closed the door, not giving Terrin a chance to say anything.

Just as was walking to his bed he sensed....her. She's coming. He grabbed his coat and lightsaber and rushed out of the room. He had to get to Galen....

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

He hoped she understood....

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

He wasn't going to help me get off-planet, and Khaandon help us all but I know Jharmeen is on her way to get me. I'm never going to be safe, never never never....

I blinked back the sudden tears of desperation that flooded hotly into my eyes. No sense being seen as a weakling; now was when I had to be my absolute strongest.

And not only for myself.

"Look," I finally spoke up, swallowing back my rising panic. "It can't be as 'out of your control' as you say it is. You're what, an Admiral?"

I reared back and cocked my head, scrutinizing the insignia and ribbons and various sigils and decorations that colored his chest. "Yeah," I answered myself. "An Admiral.

"Surely you can, umm... bend the regs a little bit? Surely you have your own craft or something you can sneak me off-planet with? Surely you have the power to do something???"

I stopped, biting the words off with a click of my teeth before they sounded too much like begging. I never was one for begging.

"Look," I finished. "Just for a little bit. Just to get me away; then I'll let you bring me back. I promise."

I drew in a deep breath, forcing myself to keep from crossing my fingers behind my back. All I could do from that point was wait, and hope.

[ 07-31-2001 06:02 PM: Message edited 1 time, lastly by Graysith ]

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

The most energy efficient weapon at her disposal, however, was the one which she now used as she walked completely unnoticed by the late-night population of the quieting city. With an effort synonymous to an afterthought, she kept herself easily hidden from the view of all who still roamed the streets, appearing to be merely another one of the citizens hastening on towards home. In thus a manner she strode purposefully along, unerringly homing in on the trail of fear and rising desperation she so clearly felt, and with equal clarity knew would lead her directly to Galen.

Then she came to an abrupt halt, sensing another. Him. That Other. The One she had met on Khar Delba....

Graysith pursed her lips, a slight frown creasing about the Glyph on her forehead as she pondered this newest sensation. What was he doing here? she wondered to herself. And why was she suddenly sensing a slight but slowly rising emotion of worry and concern that drifted from his essence like ebon smoke?

She closed her eyes, concentrating, seeking to investigate the two pathways which were both slowly but steadily increasing in intensity. The Glyph upon her browed flared slightly as, calling upon the awesome powers bestowed upon her by Aelvedaar, she reached out, ahead, into That Which Was Yet To Be, following both trails being blazed in the cementing Timescape...

Her eyes snapped open with sudden realization. The two paths were destined to converge. The Admiral was heading toward Galen.

She smiled an evil little smile to herself, and hastened on, her slim fingers playing about with the Tooth as a lover would caress the limbs of his beloved.

Soon, she promised silently, grimly. Soon...

She hastened on....

[ 08-01-2001 12:19 AM: Message edited 1 time, lastly by Graysith ]

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

There upon the balcony of a residential facility stood a man, his outstretched arm pointing to the glittering star canopy which arced richly overhead. Positioned where it was in one of the outermost arms of the Galaxy, Ambrian nights were not only strewn with the "Milky Way" of its galactic core, but nearby galaxies shone like the jewels of a wealthy empress, highlighting the dark skies with a rainbow of shapes and colors.

At the side of the man stood a young boy, his mouth wide in wonder and awe, his ears open to receive the instruction clearly being delivered to him.

Graysith stood hidden, her head cocked slightly to one side as she contemplated the pair. The picture they presented jiggled a corresponding memory in her, which immediately resulted in a tendril of her essence snaking away via the link she maintained with the women she held quasi-captive aboard her ship.

Her eyes widened as she "saw" Shayla wander about the quarters given her, and deepened with dark pleasure when the young woman discovered the flightsuits Graysith had provided. She nodded to herself in approval as she watched Shayla dress herself and lay back upon the bed to rest once more.

"Ahh... my newfound sister," she purred a velvet whisper. "All shall readily be revealed to you...."

Her eyes closed in concentration as, conversely, the Sigil upon her forehead flared in abrupt and ultraviolet splendor. Dancing energies played and twined about her face, seeking, touching... and finally found the linked pathway. At lightspeed they darted up, out, into the Elseness which connects all things, combining their strengths with that inherent to all existing matter, and in such a way touched and then entered the mind of the sleeping Shayla.

Even in her trance-like state, Graysith smiled. The closed circuit between the two was still firmly implanted; she was still linked to Shayla's mind and memories.

With simple grace, the Chosen Daughter reached deeply into a hidden core of her own being, and found an almost forgotten image. One of herself, and her true sister Galen, laughingly assisting their xeno-archeologist father on a dig to a certain Sith site he had uncovered. With impeccable mastery, she tweaked the image of Galen, until it was Galen no longer but an image of Shayla who now laughed and sweated and dug side-by-side with them.

She took this new image, and inserted it carefully and deeply in Shayla's sleeping mind. Then with equally quiet care, she backed out.

Upon the surface of Ambria, standing unnoticed by the man and his son and indeed to any other passersby, the Chosen Daughter opened her eyes, and shivered. Then she firmed, and craned her head back as she too looked up to the sparkling starscape overhead.

"Strong you are, my young one," she whispered into the night. "And indeed sister to me you shall be."

A satisfied smile gracing her features, Graysith turned her attention and her stride back to her original purpose, that being ridding herself of the irksome being who had the effrontery to be her actual sister.

Born of blood... and destined to die that way.

[ 08-01-2001 12:22 PM: Message edited 1 time, lastly by Graysith ]

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

And certainly this was the woman who had saved her from the nothingness...

Shayla's eyes snapped open, and the dream ceased...

Or did it? Was it a dream at all?

Shayla looked into her intermost memories, and found the image of the two girls together again, just as she had seen it in the dream...

This woman, the woman who had rescued her was, according to this memory, her sister...

But then, what of her other memories? Jeroc, Cella, Logan, Erik and...her brother Shawn?

What was reality, and what was an illusion? Why couldn't she place the true memories from the ones that couldn't be?

She was at the point of crying hysterically, frustrated with struggling to know herself.

And then something snapped.

Stop it. Stop it right now, Shayla Stargazer. The true memories matter not. What matters now is that you are here, and that this woman, whether she is your true sister or not, has helped you and provided you safety. Push the images, the real ones and the illusions, away to the back of your mind for now.

When the time comes...the Truth will be made known...

[ 08-01-2001 09:33 PM: Message edited 1 time, lastly by Shayla Stargazer Petrolu ]

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

Yes-ss-sss...

But as seconds lengthened into minutes and his returning gaze never wavered, I knew there was no hope that he would change his mind. Whatever or whoever his loyalties were directed toward- Actar, no doubt -was too strong, too overpowering to allow even the idea of his helping me to freedom to but flutter once in his mind.

I sighed, shivering with the sharply increasing panic that was welling up steadily within me.

Galen, ol' girl, it's up to you now....

I pursed my lips, fighting to hide my rising tide of discomfort. And before I knew what I was doing, I was operating on sheer instinct.

"Um- ," I began a bit hurriedly. "Look, I'd just love to sit and yakk all night... "

Hah...

"...but it really is kinda late, and I'm really kinda tired. Long day, too much to assimilate all at once, that kind of thing, you understand..."

I babbled inanely on even as I moved forward and came in contact with him, gently reaching out and grasping his arm. As smoothly as I could, I continued moving toward the door, still rambling, keeping my grip on his arm soft but firm. He turned with my insistent guidance, and soon was in the doorway.

"Thanks so much for coming," I finally blurted out, practically shoving him out the door now that we had reached it. The surprised Admiral suddenly found himself in the hallway, with my door shutting behind him as I gave it a shove.

"We'll have to do this again sometime," I finished to the greel wood door as I locked it. Then I whirled, strode over to the sliders, stepped out onto the balcony.

The early morning lights of Bim Renna lay before me like a glittering beacon, beckoning.

Somehow, some way, I'm gonna get outta here...

And the sooner, the better.

[ 08-02-2001 06:50 PM: Message edited 1 time, lastly by Galen ]

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

Great for anyone with a yen for photography. Not so great for me.

I pulled back, finishing my scrutiny. No way was I going to get out of here by going down. Just as I knew there was no way I could ever slip past the guard outside my door.

But....

I leaned out over the balcony again, the early morning breeze whiffling my short hair into a mantigrue's-nest as I turned my face and my gaze...

Upward.

Hope flared, a rushing tide of warmth.

I was a mere couple stories from the roof of this building. If luck continued to hold, there would be other doorways upon that roof or that of its neighbors'; there generally were, if only for emergency and systemic repair purposes.

Now I studied the very walls of the structure with a different eye. The eye of the daughter of an archeologist, one used to dealing with rock of all sorts, and one belonging to someone both experienced in such things and desperate to boot. While being overall smooth in texture, the building wasn't the newest thing to come down the pike, and various fissures and lumps presented themselves here and there upon its surface.

This wasn't gonna be easy... but then, it seemed my life had quit being that quite some time ago.

I blinked my thoughts away from the direction in which they threatened to venture, and into the total concentration I knew I would need. With the sparest of movements, I returned to my suite, dug about in the closet again, and soon found what I was searching for. I exchanged the Kaladorian dress I was still wearing for a simple jumpsuit; the nerf-sandals for friction-soled slippers.

Thank Khaandon someone was thoughtful enough to place them there, no doubt to prevent the build-up of static electricity as the room's occupant shuffled about on this rather luxurious carpet....

I then turned to the balcony. All my mental processes, all my determination, everything within me was focused on that little rectangle of steadily rising light. I went back out, turned around, studied the wall stretching upward into freedom...

...and reached out. Found a handhold, looked about. There. Another minuscule bit of building material, partially eroded to stick out from the rest of the wall. I placed my hand upon it, grasped it with the very tips of my fingers.

It held.

Now my toes sought purchase, scrabbling, feeling, digging into the sides of the building, the highly vulcanized bottoms of the slippers coming into play to help me somewhat "adhere" to the cracks and crannies which crazed the the wall. Like the spider from whose silk my dress was spun, I began my climb, creeping along, lost in total concentration, not looking down, neither looking up, just focusing on the few square inches of stone which lay in my direct line of vision, lost in a moment which seemed an eternity, yet felt conversely to be but a mere fleeting second of time....

Quite suddenly, my grasping hand encountered thin air. I blinked out of the utter focus I had encased myself in, to find it waving above the lip of the roof. A great wash of relief and hope buoyed me over the edge, and I found myself upright, exhilarated.

I had done it. The first step was complete. But now the most difficult path lay before me; I had to find passage off-planet.

Somehow, some way....

I walked to the edge of the building, and in one easy leap traversed the distance to it's neighbor. Thank Khaandon they were all of the same height; must be some kind of Impy building code or something. Bent over like a hunting noghri, keeping to shadows, I moved from building to building, varying my course from a straight line so as to make tracking all the more difficult.

At length I decided I was far enough away from my erstwhile prison, and stopped. There before me stood a maintenance doorway. It beckoned like the saving grace it was.

I hurried to it, and lo and behold, it was not locked. Yanking the door open, I entered the small stairway, and fairly flew down them. Soon I exited the building altogether, and found myself upon a little side alley of sorts. Partially obscured by the canyon-like walls of the surrounding buildings, the fading stars beckoned.

I'm coming... I promised them. Then I hurried out into the streets of Bim Renna, and proceeded to lose myself among them.

[ 08-02-2001 03:15 PM: Message edited 1 time, lastly by Galen ]

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

It was, rather, twin arrows of mingled fear and desperation which had captured her attention, one emanating from her prey, the other...

My sister.

Closing her eyes, the Glyph on her forehead flaring its steady heat, Graysith concentrated, following the mental link she kept so firmly implaced within the mind and soul of Shayla, traversing it easily and at it's terminus reading with equal ease the cause of the panic and fear she had sensed.

She smiled slightly, sending a corresponding arrow of warmth and steadying calm into the young padawan's conscious thought, and unconscious mind.

Be at ease, my sister, she purred silkenly. There is much confusion within you, much fear and pain that I can sense. Be not led astray by the seeming strength of these false images which plague you so.

For I am the True Strength which can offer you succor and easement of pain. I am your sister, blood of your blood, who truly does care, and the One who desires nothing but that you reach...

The questing tendril suddenly came upon a kernel composed of two mere little words, yet words buried deeply within Shayla's very essence and guarded with a fierce and loyal jealousy. The Chosen Daughter smiled even more broadly, reached out, and assimilated the words with almost offhand ease.

...your TRUE POTENTIAL...

Fear not, my young one. I shall soon return to you, that we may leave this place. Calm your fears; all will soon be revealed to you.

Her message delivered, the Chosen Daughter of the Sith now opened her eyes, their violet hue now darkening with bloodlust, the Glyph flaring out in hateful radiance. In thus a manner, she turned her attention to her prey, which surprisingly, she found to be on the move.

Taken a bit aback by the resourcefulness displayed by Galen, she hesitated. She had planned to hold discourse with Actar, and thus win him over to releasing her paternal sister into her eager hands. But even her powers were no match to that of moving Time; as close to the cemented Now that the seeming-converging lines of essence had been, she now realized that Galen had eluded the Admiral.

Truly in constant motion was the future, be it eons or mere seconds distant.

Graysith gritted her teeth in rising anger. So be it. Her plans once again needed alteration. Drawing her cloak more tightly about her, and in one smooth motion removing S'slan's Tooth from it's sheath, she turned away from the Imperial Headquarters ahead of her, and set off in a new direction.

This little womp-rat would not elude her again.

[ 08-02-2001 02:39 PM: Message edited 1 time, lastly by Graysith ]

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

Terrin had had enough of playing by the Moff's rules. The Moff would be angry enough with him anyway since Actar had blown him off.

I'm getting the hell off this rock, Terrin thought to himself.

Still seething over being pushed out of Actar's room, Terrin stormed to his quarters, packed his few belongings, and changed out of his uniform into pilot garb. After slinging the backpack with his other things in it over his right shoulder, he keyed a code into his wristcomm and said, "Stanza, this is Danner, you read me?"

"Yes, Captain. What is it?" a deep male voice inquired.

"Where is fleet?" Terrin asked him.

"We aren't too far from Ambria, just about 3 lightyears."

"Good. Send the coordinates to my personal shuttle frequency. My work here is finished. We're never getting paid, so I'm getting out."

"Yes sir. we will be expecting your arrival, Captain," Stanza commented.

"See you shortly. Danner out."

With that, Terrin pressed one last key on his wristcomm, closing the link. Maybe the Moff would trace him. He didn't care. His fleet had enough fire-power to bust out of the place.

Taking one last look at the luxurious quarters, Terrin hurried out of the Imperial base, and headed for the streets. He'd have to forge his way out of Ambria without clearance, but this wouldn't be the first time.

Still in a cloud of thought and fuming over what his next step would be, he turned the corner of the street leading to the docking bay where his personal shuttle awaited him. He was so focused on the task at hand that he missed her...a wanderer like himself, heading in the opposite direction.

Terrin rounded the corner at a mad pace, and gave the woman no time to react. Before she could move right or left, he slammed into her, and they both went backwards and fell to the ground.

"Oww!" Terrin growled as he hit the ground. He was about to add explecitives when he got a good luck at her.

She had short red hair, and intense brown eyes that looked right through him. She was beautiful.

Terrin decided the first approach of snapping at her for not watching where she was going was a bad one for making a good first impression. Instead, he stood back up, straightened his backpack, then offered her his right hand.

"Name's Captain Terrin Danner" he said, smiling at her. She accepted his offered hand, and he pulled her up. "Sorry to run into you like this, my mind is too set on getting off this god-forsaken planet to see anyone coming," he explained. "Of course, you might not think the place is god-forsaken at all," he added, making sure to cover all his bases. At least he still seemed to have her attention.

Damn, she's good looking. Might as well go ahead and ask her name, buddy. She isn't going to keep standing there forever with you rambling on like an idiot. "And what might your name be?" Terrin asked at last, shooting her one of his rarely-if-ever seen sincere looks.

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

The thought froze atop the myriad others that had rushed through my head during my abrupt collision with this new stranger. Thoughts and emotions ranging from utter fear to heightened rage.

I settled on confusion laced with a good quantity of trepidation, and iced with a bit of wariness. And who in Hell's Seven Circles are you? I thought, as this tall--ok, kinda good looking, too-- guy hauled me to my feet after so unceremoniously dumping me from them.

I stared at him for a moment, assessing him. Blond hair of medium cut, tall and lanky, a free-flowing kind of ease in his movements which somehow indicated he was not the Impy I had first thought him to be. They were always so... stiff. As if they were afraid to walk anywhere on their own device.

But this guy...

I cocked my head to the side, my initial fear leaving me in a rush, then jumped a little as I realized my hand was still in his. I smiled a brief flash of a smile, unobtrusively withdrawing my hand as I searched into his blue eyes, still assessing.

Dammitall, why in the name of Khaandon did he have to have blue eyes...?

With a little jerk, I dropped my eyes from his, took in his well-worn pilot's suit, the carryall slung upon his shoulder with a casual ease which indicated it was quite at home there, as at home as was the aforementioned flightsuit on him.

Captain...? the word wormed into my initial trepidation, provoking a little niggle of hope to raise its head and peep about. My smile broadened.

I decided to chance it... especially after noting how he was looking at me. I'd seen that Look before....

My smile broadened to a genuine one. "No problem, I should have watched where I was going.

"But... you're not the only one in a hurry to get off this rock." I flashed him a sincere look. "I wasn't paying any attention, either."

The Look in his eyes deepened with intrigue. Good, Galen ol' girl, you've still got it! I took a deep breath.

In for a credit, I always have said.

"Unfortunately, I don't seem to have passage of any sort, and I'm really, um... kinda anxious to get away from here.

"My name's Galen. I don't suppose you have room for me aboard your ship?"

I batted my big brown eyes the way I used to look at Sorben, and waited.

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

Well, I usually don't take passengers, but something tells me to go with this one. She'll be in for a rough exit from Ambria though...

And direct honesty usually isn't my style, but in this case I think it's what needs to be said.

"Well, as I said I'm in a hurry. I've got a Moff mad at me and I'm looking for a missing...friend of mine," Terrin started. She looked down, probably disappointed with the sound of where this line was going. "But, if you are willing to put up with what will probably be a rough exit off the planet and a ride with a bunch of smugglers, then I might be able to help you out, provided you have something that you can offer me for my services, of course."

She cocked her head, seeming to consider this. But Terrin knew he couldn't wait forever. If the Moff had his quarters wired, he might already have a search team out.

"So," Terrin prompted her, "Can we strike a deal here, or should I be on my way?"

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

Fear leads to anger...

Who said that, she couldn't recall. Or rather, she could recall, but wasn't sure what she was recalling was correct. Alot of things seemed to be going that way.

Feeling frustrated, Shayla sat on the floor with her legs crossed and hands on her knees, closing her eyes and taking a deep breath. This was a Jedi calming technique she had been taught on Yavin IV, and she hoped it would do the trick.

At least she thought she'd been taught the technique on Yavin IV.

As Shayla cleared her mind, pushing all the conflicting images out of her short term memory processes and relaxing, something else came to her attention.

A little girl, crying out.

"Shayla!" the little one screamed. "Help me! I can't get out of here and no one else knows where I am! Help!"

Shayla was feeling tense, but she managed to keep calm. She had to reach out and touch the soul of this young child in the distance. She was scared, and Shayla ached for her.

As Shayla reached out her hand in her mind's eye to the child...rather, the little girl, something else became clear.

She knew the girl.

"Thea, I'm here," Shayla answered the little girl. "Do not be afraid." Suddenly, Shayla felt a need to comfort Thea further and take care of her. She didn't know how she and Thea were linked, but what she did know was that Thea seemed to be the only one from the Praxeum that she could sense at all. "I'll make sure that you are safe," Shayla told the little one.

Then, suddenly, without any warning, the connection between Shayla and Thea snapped. And Shayla was almost positive she heard the little girl scream as the connection between them was severed.

"Nooo!" Shayla cried out loud, anger welling up within her. But Thea was gone, at least for now. Shayla would keep her mind on the girl, and make sure she was there if Thea established contact again.

But for now, Shayla was feeling very hungry, and she realized she had not eaten for a long time.

Now's the time to try that door, I suppose.

Shayla stood up and stretched, not realizing she had been on the floor so long. Then, she wandered over to the closet, put on some ankle-boots, and walked over to the door.

She tried the handle. To her surprise, it turned and the door opened.

But Shayla knew she wasn't alone.

The creature, whatever it was, still guarded the shuttle, although Shayla was certain the woman had left the ship for some reason. At least leaving her creature behind meant she would be back.

And surely she will not protest to my getting something to eat.

With the presence of the creature in mind, Shayla stepped out of her room, closed the door, and wandered down the hallway of the shuttle in search of a dining area.

[ 08-05-2001 02:07 PM: Message edited 1 time, lastly by Shayla Stargazer Petrolu ]

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

Strike a deal... something in exchange... a Moff after this guy... rough exit?!?

All the factors added up to the same equivalency: he was probably going to be my best... if not only means of getting off this godforsaken hole-in-the-wall. With a Moff after him, at least it sounded like he bore no special love for the Empire. And I was getting mighty tired of it as well.

But how I could get him to take me to the Jedi Praxeum was yet another unresolved question. Maybe an unresolvable one at that.

The important thing, though, was that there were no alarm bells going off in my gut, no niggling hunches trying to persuade me to hotfoot it away from him with all due haste.

Haste did have to be made, however.

I turned my head back to him and looked him square in the eye. I flashed him the biggest smile-ala-Sorben that I could.

Gleaming teeth and all.

"I can, um... see that you're in a bit of a hurry," I began, doing my utmost to remain calm and smoothly detached. "Matter of fact, to repeat, so am I..."

No need to tell him about what was hot on my own tail... at least, not yet....

"...and I'm not only in a hurry, but I could get out of it quicker 'n nergon 14 can explode! Er, that is, under normal circumstances."

I paused for a breath, giving this attractive smoothie a final once-over, digging deep within myself for any tiny warning niggle I might have overlooked.

Nothing.

I drew in a big breath, went for broke.

If he has heard anything, and put two and two together, assuming there was a two and two TO put together as yet, then by this one disclosure I could be digging my own grave. But I had to risk it.

"I'm a pilot, and a damned good one at that," I said rather bluntly, hoping he would dismiss the fact that, dressed in the jumpsuit and slippers that I was, I probably looked more capable of cooking his dinner than flying his ship. I cocked my head a little to the side, scrutinizing his flightsuit once more. Being a captain meant that he had crew beneath him; while some captains were known to fly their own ships, he looked too... self-assured to be bothered with that. "Unfortunately though, one who has been removed from her ship.

"Perhaps you could make use of my... services, in this regard?" I finished smoothly, putting a touch of silk in my own voice.

My brown eyes bored into his damnable blue ones as I waited for his response, fighting down a sudden sense of unease which I knew from the bottom of my being did NOT emanate from him....

[ 08-05-2001 02:29 PM: Message edited 1 time, lastly by Galen ]

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And well, buddy, you are going to be in a bind real soon.

These are the times he missed Shayla. She had always been a wonderful pilot, and loved flying his personal shuttle The Eagle about as much as her own Starlight.

Damn you Shayla Stargazer, you'd have really come in handy for me in a pinch if you hadn't been too danged dedicatated to your moral obligations to do the things I wanted, Terrin thought sulkily.

He pushed the thought back in his mind. Now was not the time, and Shayla would get hers soon enough.

"Allright, Galen," Terrin finally said, realizing that he'd been standing there daydreaming for at least a minute, "If you can help me get off this rock like you imply you can, you've found yourself a ride. Follow me, my shuttle The Eagle is just right down the street. We'll be out of here in no time.

Or at least I HOPE we'll be out of here in no time, Terrin added mentally.

[ 08-05-2001 02:29 PM: Message edited 1 time, lastly by Terrin Danner ]

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Keep impressing the hell out of him, heh. The little thought warbled devilishly in the back of my head, as I stuck out my hand in agreement. Something told me that I had gotten on his good side, and would remain there, only by keeping him impressed.

And I sure as Roon's Treasure didn't want to impress him with what was after me... something I knew was at the bottom of that building sense of unease I was feeling.

"Great!" I exclaimed brightly, trying to beat down both inner demons in one fell swoop. "Um... I'm ready now. Lead on, and the gods of spacetime be with us!"

Especially time, I muttered under my breath as he gave me a final and rather disarming look. Then he turned and began heading off, his expression full of an unspoken determination and a purposeful stride to his step.

I hurried to keep up with him. He was tall; I was short. Someone else do the math; I was forced to maintain an almost jog-trot as we moved rapidly through the steadily brightening early morning light. But I didn't utter one sneering comment or complaint; I knew very well that this sudden Red Carpet he offerred could quite easily be yanked from under my feet at any given moment.

Soon we came upon our destination: a personal vessel docking bay. It looked absolutely huge, spreading out quite suddenly from the almost claustrophobic canyons of streets and buildings we had exited, and sprawling out over what looked to be several square kilometers. Somewhat sandwiched between the streets of Bim Renna below, and the larger floating landing platforms which received official issue shuttles and other more military and governmental craft, it was filled with ships of all sizes and makes...

...and swarmed entirely way too much with those blasted men in their little white armor.

I paused briefly, my eyes cutting to my sudden savior. He totally ignored me as if I wasn't even there. In fact, he didn't even stop. He just kept up that even, steady stride, making a bee-line to a magnificent little Lambda-class shuttle sitting off to one side, trying to be unobtrusive.

It failed miserably.

Wow! Now it was my turn to be impressed. He flew a Lamby? Whatever did I do to warrant this stroke of luck? Those things could be fa-aa-ast...! Back in the days of the Rebellion they were always being stolen by one faction or another, and even now they were hard pressed to be topped for their perfect union of modifiable speed, defensive measures, and comfortable apportionments.

I cleared my throat to mention... something, anything, but stopped before the words could escape me. A sly grin coming to my own lips, I resumed my dogtrot, and soon was by his side.

I knew what he was doing. In looking to be so in control of the situation, he very well could make those Impys think that he was.

My eyes cut up to the hard plane of his cheek, and I smiled a little smile. I bet he's a helluva sabaac player, too....

Striving to maintain a look that said, "Yes, we really DO belong here; no, no one after us, nosirree, what would make you ask that?" I moved quickly and quietly beside him, trying to make use of his height in hiding myself. And Khaandon must have been with us, for we made it to the ship totally unmolested, even by the one Impy who actually waved an arm in our direction.

Terrin had merely smiled and waved in return, and we continued on, the Impy going about whatever docking bay business it was that took up his time and loyalties. Luckily it wasn't checking for clearance papers.

I almost stopped in my tracks at that, but kept moving. He probably has clearance anyway, nothing to worry about Galen ol' girl, I tried to calm that worry away. I mean, so what that a Moff was after him; it didn't necessarily mean that that particular Moff was on this particular planet now, did it?

Although I had never seen so many Impys all congregated together in one place before....

I shook that worry aside with the realization that Capt. Danner had come to a halt, and was speaking to me.

Directly before me, the opened hatch to his shuttle yawned invitingly.

I gave him one final, approving nod, and strode aboard. Terrin followed hot on my heels, and behind us, the hatch closed with a particular kind of finality.

[ 08-05-2001 03:45 PM: Message edited 1 time, lastly by Galen ]

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And about that time his wrist comm went buzzing.

"Damn!" he muttered.

Galen, who had turned to go into the cabin, half-turned and looked at him suspiciously.

Oh well, she'll know sooner or later. And I'll bet a large amount of credits this is the Moff.

"Do me a favor," Terrin told her. "Get the ship warmed up. I'll be right there."

Galen shot him another one of those damned suspicious looks at him, but nodded and headed off to the cabin.

Now, back to the wrist comm.

He pressed the accept button. "Terrin Danner, who is this?"

"Danner, if you don't get back here immediately, I'll blow the roof off your shuttle to get to you. What do you think you are doing!?" the Moff questioned, his voice booming even over the comm channel.

"I'm on a lead to find Shayla. I had no time to discuss-"

"Right!" the Moff sputtered, cutting him off. "Your shuttle will be detained, and your clearance is being revoked. You blew our connection with Admiral Actar, didn't you?" the Moff accused. "Until this is straightened out and we find Shayla, you will be staying on Ambria unless I say you can leave, got it?"

Why did I ever get tangled with this stupid idiot?!

"Like hell I'm staying on planet," Terrin growled. With that, he switched off the comm and headed for the cabin. He rushed in, and plopped into the copilot's chair.

"Looks like I get to give your awesome piloting skills a good once-over. And I hope you weren't kidding me about them, because I've known some impressive pilots. That and plus if you've lied we just might both be dead. Moffs have a thing with trying to get their way at any cost."

She looked over at him from the controls, arching an eyebrow at him.

"Clearance or no clearance, we're getting off this planet. Show me what you got, Galen."

[ 08-05-2001 06:49 PM: Message edited 1 time, lastly by Terrin Danner ]

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Deeply hidden in the Elseness which existed between the very passage of Time itself, her ship remained hidden. Hidden as well was her erstwhile prey and soon-to-be sister. That Shayla would join her, body and mind and soul, was a certainty; it was merely a matter of which pathway she, the Chosen Daughter of the Sith, would decide upon placing before her in her travels to that glorious state.

So part of her remained linked to Shayla's mind, and in thus a manner, to the young child she now recognized through the padawan as "Thea." As she tracked Galen's Force-scent, a great portion of her being was busy examining this new child, and it's importance to the one she would have join her.

There came an uncomfortable cry; with little effort, she severed all links between Shayla and Thea, and continued on, pondering what had just happened.

This Young One meant much to her sister-to-be. Young and vulnerable it was; no threat... yet. And yet, further examination was necessary.

She filed that small incident away for future use, turning her thoughts now to another essence she sensed. One which had briefly flickered close, oh so very close...

...but one which now was trying to hide, some lightyears distant.

Ahh... this one again, the One after her sister-to-be, with the young man, so arrogant, so cocky...

Her eyes blackened with sadistic pleasure as, her lips curling into a near-snarl, she reached easily out across the icy reaches of spacetime, and found Yaoksi Joao's mind, breached it as easily as one would slice into an over-ripe t'plykk fruit.

She laughed in pure delight, the musical sound ringing off the stone walls and duracrete pavement which surrounded her. How easily was he manipulated; how small a threat the Other with him, rushing to assist and protect him from himself...

Her laugh lessened slightly. No. Rather... to protect him from Her....

Her eyes slitted. Ahh-hhh... here was Challenge, something she had not confronted since the days of Malice and Gravin Dark. Yes, and even her own Dark Heart, Lord Wicked.

She smiled, as something dark and very, very assured rose to the forefront of her essence, reaching outward, upward...

...but suddenly jerked back with a vicious yank. One with such strength as to actually make her whirl about in surprised anger.

In her playful musings and meddlings with the minds and emotions of these other pitiful beings, she had committed a Great Sin. She had let her focus almost completely slip.

And somewhere in that slippage, that accursed Galen was busily occupied in evading her yet again.

For a long moment she stood in silent anger, all tendrils of her black essence now safely ensconced for the moment within her even blacker being, as she considered her next move.

Soon it would be daylight. She knew precisely where Galen was, and how she was planning to escape... as well as who she was escaping with.

Graysith's eyes became as pools of pure obsidian, a strangely fearful violet glow shimmering in their depths. She had once brushed against this other being's essence as well, and now easily called forth the name he associated himself with.

Terrin Danner.

She jerked back to the reality of the moment, glancing toward the horizon which was trapped in the chromatic throes of sunrise. Soon there would be many people about. Stealth, her greatest ally at the moment, would flee before the rays of Ambria's stellar.

It was not that she could not still remain hidden, even in their midst. It was just that after all the mind games and soul slicing she had occupied herself with, she now found that remaining invisible suddenly took too much...

...Energy. Energy which now needed to be put toward a triumvirate use.

Galen and Terrin. Shayla/Thea. And now Cella and Yaoksi.

A soft little sound interrupted her thoughts, and she whirled, overly angered to be thus interrupted. She froze into a grim statue at the almost improbable sight which toddled into her view.

There, coming from a doorway to the building she was standing beside, came a young child, perhaps three years old. One hand clutched a ragged strip of covering; the other was busy wiping sleep from its heavy eyes.

That it was sleep-walking was only too obvious.

The Chosen Daughter of the Sith smiled a grim smile to herself, her eyes now beyond black, escalating to that totality displayed in the depths of some hideous cavern.

She reached out for the child, murmuring soft little noises to allay any fears it might experience upon awakening unexpectedly away from its bed. Her pale hand came in contact with its tousled head, and ran coolly about it in a mockery of a caress.

A vision of a small and equally vulnerable marsupial swam before her eyes... one she had once devoured alive before the coolly approving gaze of Darth Wicked, seeming a lifetime ago....

Moments later the stone wall of the building was awash with violet incandescence as, partially renewed and refreshed, the Chosen Daughter of the Sith straightened from this small diversion. Her eyes glittered with new determination.

She shot one small glance upward, sent one last niggle of ice into the mind of a smuggler, and the heart of yet another child.

Then waving her hand in a casual manner, she reopened the Gateway, and with studied grace and aplomb stepped through it and into her ship once again. There she proceeded directly to her quarters, and secreted herself therein, to rest and to plan what strategies she would next employ.

[ 08-05-2001 10:09 PM: Message edited 1 time, lastly by Graysith ]

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It had only taken a matter of moments for me to familiarize myself with the pilot's console, and to get the little ship's systems up and running. I studied the dials and buttons as Terrin hung back a bit behind me, speaking with someone on his wristcomm.

Pitch, yaw, trim controls there... navigational comp input here... impulse thruster control over there... terrestrial altimeter and airspeed tucked over there... foil elevators and shield instigators and blaster arming levers...hyperdrive ignition mechanism....

I pulled myself back to reality as Terrin thumped into the copilot's seat next to me. He graced me with that disarming smile of his, although to be truthful, it did look to be a tad bit on the strained side.

"Show me what you've got, Galen."

I flashed him a grin in turn, arched a brow at him. "I don't suppose you have the clearance codes to depart this rock?" I asked briefly, not really expecting an affirmative at this point.

He merely cocked a brow in turn, giving me all the answer I needed. Clearance codes provided one with departure vector coordinates; without them I would be basically flying blindly into quite possibly very heavy air traffic.

My cheeks puffed out as I blew out the breath I had been unconsciously holding. Suddenly my entire stay on this little rock, all the confusion and trepidation, and yes, fear, had coalesced into this one little moment.

I was really gonna get off Ambria, but in a cowboyish blast for freedom, and probably with pursuers on my tail.

I gripped the main directional controls fiercely. So be it. If we had to blast outta here, then blast outta here we would.

I then shoved all emotion from me, and became one with the Eagle. I needed every bit of focus I possessed if I was to get us away from this dustball. I had formerly planned on a primarily instrumental departure, blast shields lowered against the possibility that Actar had discovered my presence here, and would send annoying Impys firing upon us.

But now, without any clearance coordinates, I didn't dare fly blind. I had to keep the blast shields raised, as I had to fly out of here by line of sight.

I gripped the "joystick" more firmly. "You wanna see what I've got?" I muttered beneath my breath. "Ok, glad to oblige.

"Here we go...."

With a suddenness that was surprisingly easy, I lifted the Eagle from her docking pad. The graceful shuttle rose a few meters, and hovered briefly while I ran several options through my head.

In that few moments I could see little white forms running toward us, their arms either waving about frantically, or...

...or steadying in our direction as though pointing something at us.

"Sheesh!" the word exploded from my lips when the ship rocked with a blaster bolt. Thank Khaandon that one merely resulted in a bit of harmless carbon-scoring on the hull; we might not be so lucky the next time.

Terrin shot me a somewhat unnerved look, but bless his heart he kept quiet. I felt a brief flash of pain for him... His beautiful ship....

I frowned with determination. Then, my hands cool and steady and very, very rapid, I gave myself over completely to the shuttle, becoming one with her controls, thinking her thoughts, and almost quite suddenly actually seeing the immediate future laid out for her.

I aimed for it.

The shuttle rose gracefully a few more meters, then suddenly whirled about its x-axis. It yawed upward at a near-stalling angle, and suddenly shot out from the docking bay like a pod-racer from its starting line.

From stop to half-impulse in two seconds. Not bad... and wonderful inertial compensator she possessed as well....

Begging to stretch her wings and fly now, the Eagle strained ahead, zipping along beneath the non-commercial landing platform above us, hugging into it like a child to its mother. I peered out the forward view, gaining brief impressions of startled faces as we zipped along the underside of that monstrosity, judging nanosecond by nanosecond our proximity to the uncountable tons of durasteel and permacrete which hung over our heads.

But skimming this closely was the only thing that prevented ground units from firing upon us. They didn't dare hit the repulsor units that kept the thing afloat; instead, the police units who were so suddenly scrambling to give pursuit had to man their own vessels, warm them up, get vector coordinates of their own...

That gave us a precious 5 to 8 seconds, I figured. Seconds I planned to be put to the best use I could put them.

Suddenly I saw it. The edge of the landing platform directly ahead of us, coming at us with all the inexorable promise of an old Imperial Super Star Destroyer descending on some hapless rebel. And in less time than it took to tell about it, we were in open air.

Completely vulnerable. But truly free now to maneuver as well.

"Hold on to whatever it is that's most important to you!"

The words burst almost unthinkingly from my lips as, my hands descending and playing upon the console with a speed I forgot I possessed, I made our bid for freedom. Terrin twisted in his seat to stare at the screen which received data from the rear port. A small swarm of fighters were rising in the distance, buzzing like angry gorflue gnats.

"Uh, Galen..." he began warningly. Then seeing my complete and utter focus, he fell silent, and did the only thing he could do at the time. He waited.

Grim determination filled me, and I gave the controls a vicious shove. The shuttle responded immediately, pitching to the side in one barrel-roll after another while her nose aimed heavenward at a near 65-degree angle, zipping about a small freighter which suddenly appeared in our line of flight. I gave the "joystick" another push; the Eagle now roller-coastered downward, still pitching, and now yawing a bit as I threw that directional command into the fray.

Now streaks of pursuing laser blasts flashed about us but swung wide as the Eagle gracefully eluded them, and with almost offhanded ease at last left the slower police shuttles far behind us.

Exhilaration filled me. "WHAHOOO," I threw back my head and hollered with pure joy. "Are we having fun yet or what?" I had forgotten the sheer joy of a responsive ship and its accompanying adrenalin rush. To say it was heady was a complete understatement.

Beside me, clutching the copilot's seat a bit, Terrin looked a little green about the gills....

Now our receiver was beginning to babble. "Eagle, this is BR Control. You are in an unauthorized flight vector; come to all-stop and return to ground. Repeat, Eagle, this is BR Control...."

"Oh, shut up," I muttered, risking the removal of one hand from the controls to snap off the receiver altogether. Chattering box that it was, it wouldn't do us any good now anyway....

A sudden blast rocked us as a wave of compressed air struck our bow. I grasped the controls with both hands again, my eyes roving about to see what in the name of Khaandon that had been.

There, off to the side. An old Imperial infiltrator was sneaking in from about 98-degrees. It had just fired across our bow in the one warning we would probably ever receive.

At least somebody wanted us alive, and not dead.

I pushed that thought away, and shoved the controls to full-throttle. The Eagle leapt ahead, still pitching and rolling, the invisible curley-cues of her own air-trail vortices reaching out and knocking this new threat quite literally from the skies.

Quite suddenly, I noticed the atmosphere ahead of us was beginning to darken. Bit by bit it was filling with stars. I allowed myself a brief smile; we had to be passing through Ambria's ionosphere. At least the solar activity there would play havoc with any laser blasts which might be directed at us.

Another precious second, maybe two....

I didn't wait about to count 'em. I was scarcely out of the envelope of the main part of the Ambrian atmosphere when I slapped two controls. The Eagle gave a responding little murmur of delight, her foils lowering to their distinctive triangular orientation as she prepared herself for true flight.

Then the brightening stars about us lengthened to streaks of ice as, daringly, in a maneuver I implemented closer to any planetary body than I had ever done before, she leapt out from the bonds of gravity and of spacetime itself, and hypered away to freedom.

[ 08-06-2001 02:20 PM: Message edited 1 time, lastly by Galen ]

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Get a grip on it, man. She did get us out of Ambria after all.

After making sure they were safely in hyperspace, she looked over at him, the thrill of piloting shining from the smile on her face. The smile faded to more of a concerned look as she arched an eyebrow at him. "Terrin?"

It was then he realized he was still clutching to the sides of the copilot's chair for dear life. His stomach had finally stopped spinning and had settled somewhere in his toes, and he hoped he didn't look as green as he felt.

He looked over at her, tried a not-very-convincing smile, and opened his mouth to thank her for the escape...only to discover that it only came out in a little squeak. "Thanks," he managed, feeling nauseous.

He wanted to add that he hadn't seen someone with her talent in a long time, and that was true. Only Shayla Stargazer could fly a shuttle like that, and he'd not seen her equal until now.

But regardless of what he wanted to tell her, it wasn't going to happen, not right now.

He was feeling humiliated already...he'd forgotten how he hated narrow escapes....but he was going to be even more humiliated if he hurled here and now, on the control panel.

"Be...back..." he managed, in a near whisper.

Before she could say anything else, he clambered out of the copilot's seat, and hurried out of the cabin.

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