...and suddenly feeling very edgy. But he was keenly aware of how trusted Shawn had been in times past, both by Captain Barnes and Captain Danner. And Taylor knew that to earn the latter's trust was a major accomplishment...

...and it spoke volumes. He certainly hoped those volumes would continue to speak with the decision he was going to make now.

Kesh is clear. Allow Manth to proceed, he quickly typed out and sent to the main deck officer. On the deck, the message was recieved and instructions for Manth to proceed were immediately relayed to her ship the Forbiddance.

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

"Well, there you go," she said offhandedly to Kesh, waving to the communication panel in the wake of her clearance to dock.

Saying no more, she busied herself with the minutia of coming to safe dock in the hanger bay to which she had been assigned. The velvet touch of space was soon replaced by the rough thunk of her ship settling to rest, which was followed with the usual creaks and hisses and pings as metal warmed and expanded, and gases vented themselves into the great chamber without.

She leaned back in her seat for a moment, smiling.

That forty thou was as good as in her hands.

Well... at least she hoped so.

"Shall we go, my friend?" she then said, rising even as one hand slapped down upon the control which opened the main hatch. Turning from the navigation center, she went to where Nefrai was still standing, swathed in cloth, his face dark and hooded.

She peered up into it.

"I know your facial covering is pretty hideous, but I really don't think you need to go to this extreme," she said, cocking her head trying to see his eyes.

They remained beyond her scope; shrugging a bit, she merely waved a hand.

"Let's go see if what we brought is what they need."

Gods of the Universe, I pray that it is.

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

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

My Characters: Rathal, Narcolm, Freedon Naad

He shifted his cloak, but kept it folded around his body. Many of the galaxy's paranoid, would say it was to hide weaponry or some other secret device.

His true intent was merely to disarm himself in immediate appearence as the monster he physically was.

"Then we should leave into the other vessal to deliver the cure to the 'client'." He said slowly, measuring his words and their unfamiliarity, particularly cure and client.

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

...and he was rewarded with something that was very noteworthy.

Former Occupation: Bounty Hunter.

Oh, now that was very interesting.

Taylor looked up at Rathal as he finished his rather indignant remarks, and merely arched an eyebrow. The other man looked as though he was either waiting to be fired...

...or waiting for an opportune moment to punch the lights out of him. Possibly both.

You know, Taylor suddenly thought, How would this Rathal have known about the bounty hunter Tarnus and the kidnapping of Captain Danner's wife? You don't even know that much about it, the info on it was kept rather quiet, for only a priveleged few to be aware of...

...this guy has to be telling the truth.

"Allright," Taylor said at last, standing up, "I believe you."

Pausing at that, he pursed his lips, a thought coming to his mind as he recalled the former profession listed on Rathal's file. "And perhaps there is something you can do for EE...

...but it will be risky. I have something I must currently attend to," he continued then, raising a hand to stop any protests Rathal may have, "But I would like for you to accompany me to meet some people."

As he said this, Taylor reached for his communit, and dialed in a frequency. "Jedi Petrolu," he then said into the unit, "I am on my way to the main docking bay."

After saying this, he closed the comm frequency then reached for a switch on his desk, one which caused the metallic doors of his office to whoosh open. He took a few steps forward then paused a moment, turning to make certain Rathal was at least following behind. As they exited the office and proceeded into the corridors of the Hornett, Taylor was utterly silent. But once they entered a turbolift which would bring them to the level of the main docking bay, Taylor sprung a seemingly random question on Rathal.

"Tell me," he started, "What do you know of the Sith?"

...for easily could he sense Nefrai Kesh's presence, Shawn froze, his hands folded in front of him, hidden once more in the sleeves of his blue robes. The only others who joined him at the bottom of the ship were a few EE gaurds, some maintenance men, and a few docking bay staff. The Forbiddance's hatch popped smoothly open, and Kesh, wearing a shadowy cloak exited along with a Bothan.

Shawn didn't say a word to Nefrai but merely nodded towards him, then giving him an unreadable and steady look. A moment passed in silence...

...and then Shawn turned to the Bothan. "Commander Garrison will be arriving in a few moments," he started, pausing a moment as something familiar about the Bothan registered. He furrowed his brow, trying to place that familiarity. Then it dawned on him: Tatooine.

"We've met before, haven't we?" he asked her. "Tatooine, wasn't it?" he finished then, falling silent.

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

Though he had promised himself to make his best attempt at restraining his almost constant seeking of revenge, however, now as he watched this man, he could feel the urge to rend him swiftly and quickly.

His claws began to grow in the folds of his cloak, and he could almost feel the movements of his legs as his mentality began to leap forwards into the time he would do so. Hold.

A small voice came from the back of his mind. Hold, you know what you have thought about this entire time. You will not attack him, you are not a monster, you will never be one again.

He felt his claws slowly retract, and his body reset itself back into an eased position, which consisted of his usual guardian like appearence.

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

"Thier a nasty bunch. They fight with lightsabers like the jedi, and I heard could kill you with a look. I also hear thier the kind of people who take great pleasure in making thier victim's deaths slow and painful. Thats what I know," Rathal said, and then added cautiously, "Why?"

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

My Characters: Rathal, Narcolm, Freedon Naad

That Minna's memory was sharply honed was to put it mildly. That her ability to pick up on the slightest of body nuances was even more so had proven her well in more than one incident. Thus it was that now she could feel the slightest bit of puzzlement emanating from the jedi, who she remembered very well, thank you; far overshadowing that was her companion's inner struggle.

If she wasn't a spy she would have smiled in approval. But being a spy, she kept her expression carefully bland.

"Yes," she said quietly, reverting back to the more usual throaty whisper she used when speaking to clients or anyone else to whom she wanted to appear as merely a spy. There weren't many she had allowed past that soft facade; a particular bounty hunter-turned-Imperial bore the inenviable title of Numero Uno in that regard, a certain leonine and apparent Sith came in a close second.

The third and only other individual to whom she had ever come close to behaving naturally toward was the tall and shadowy figure standing next to her, who was growing more and more still by the minute.

Why such an extreme reaction? she couldn't help wonder, but kept her expression neutral and continued with a small offering of her own.

"The Blue Asteroid, was it not?"

With that she simply fell silent, offering nothing in return, taking in all she could see.

She was, after all, a spy first and foremost, and acting in such a manner was more than second nature to her.

[ 12-15-2004 01:43 PM: Message edited 1 time, lastly by Minna Manth ]

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

Falling silent a few moments at that, Shawn looked once more to Nefrai, his eyes quite nearly reading that he felt much the same way regarding Kesh's return to the Hornett. After all, what were the odds? His next words were directed towards Kesh as well.

"You have returned with she who bears an antidote for one aboard this ship, and have even assisted her in finding it. Yet you once told me you had no purpose other than to kill and destroy despite my own beliefs. Now I am certain there is more to you than that."

Pausing once more, Shawn's greeny-blue eyes meet Nefrai Kesh's skull unflinchingly. He felt the conflict within Nefrai without having to intrude upon his thoughts whatsoever, and it was that conflict which further verified Shawn's earlier estimations of him.

"Your assistance in searching for and finding this antidote is greatly appreciated."

In the moments which followed Shawn's final words, bootsteps were the only thing which marred the silence.

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

If one could have observed his eyes with scientific expertise, they would have noted that his pupils had shrunk, his expression full of utter hate.

Aside from his eyes, his hands, his fingers, had grown longer then previously observed by any of those still alive that had encountered him, the once semi-normal fingers extending to a near .5 meters, barely hidden by his cloak.

Though to those around him, nothing seemed to have changed physically from what any could see, he had just reached the brink of his temptation to return to the monster.

He lunged forwards, and wrapped one of his now extended hands around this seemingly calm and riteous man that stood before him, and raised him to his eyes level.

"You dare to asume, you would cast your beliefs that you were right and I was wrong. I will always be that creature, I may have my differences now, but what I am will never change. The sands of time will pass, you will pass, this ship will pass, but I never will. Once all of you are gone, who is there, who will be there to keep me in check, keep me from reverting to what I was?!"

He held him, quivering in the utmost fury, then released him, dropping him to the ground a near two feet, as he quickly withdrew his arms into the shadowy cloak he possessed.

[ 12-19-2004 11:04 AM: Message edited 1 time, lastly by Nefrai Kesh ]

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

Minna's first and wholly instinctive reaction to Nefrai's sudden attack upon the jedi had been to make herself invisible and vacate the premises while his attention was busy elsewhere. Stubborn beastie that it was, logic tsked and reared it's head, telling her of the obvious futility in that maneuver. Instead, once more, it was her wits she relied upon to break the iron-bound tension now filling the air.

Strangely enough, as the words to distract and calm raced through her brain, offering themselves to this end or that, words she scrutinized in less time than it took to tell them; as the words raced through her an odd little feeling came rag-tag upon their heels.

And this was the simple realization that she was not now speaking to merely save her neck or that of the jedi's.

For a reason as yet unfathomable to her, it was to save his.

"You have changed," she repeated softly as she took a quiet step closer to him. Her movement was at first quick and just as quickly truncated; at length it found fruition as she reached up and laid a gentle hand upon the shadowy thing that was his arm. It took all the self-control she possessed to not jerk away in distaste when she felt it move about in a manner which was far too weird, with joints placed far too strangely, for a "normal" arm.

Fighting the instinct to back off, she instead squeezed his arm delicately.

"No one can make you who or what you are but you, Nefrai," she whispered, calling him by name for the first time.

"Your body and your power are nothing against that. You are who you choose to be, just as I choose you to be my--

"My friend."

[ 12-20-2004 12:17 AM: Message edited 1 time, lastly by Minna Manth ]

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

"A friend? But such...." He found he was having difficulty speaking, and took a pause.

"Then in your belief, I make my own path, my own road? But even with such a friend, could I make such a road, with my appearence and past? Is it even possible to achieve such a thing?"

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

"Yes," Shawn stated simply. "It is possible. I mean not to preach," he then continued with, "Only to bring you to the realization that the conflict within you now shows how capable of overcoming the past you indeed are. Those who would look upon your appearance to define who you are would be nothing but foolish...

...the friend you have gained here is very wise."

Falling silent at that, Shawn's hands went into the sleeves of his jedi robes once more, his look in his greeny-blue eyes utterly serene despite Kesh's attack upon him.

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

He turned, and quickly strode up the ramp into the ship, out of sight and went to the closet he had preoccupied earlier.

He closed the door, and began to play the datapad again. He watched it once, then held it in his hand for a moment, then crushed it. I will never be that monster again.

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

She blinked, let her arm drop to her side.

"Oh," she said, at first taken a little aback. Concern for her friend blanketed that; she took two steps forward toward her ship before logic hit home and she stopped in her tracks.

He will be all right... I think. He won't hurt the ship... I think.

Well, he knows she's all I've got, and so far he hasn't hurt me, so....

So I guess I'll give him what he needs. There is more at stake here anyway.

Smoothly she turned back to the jedi, acting as if this sort of thing happened every day. She reached into the pouch on her belt and withdrew the strange little vial Nefrai had found on Dxun.

"I believe this to be what I was contracted to find," she said simply then fell silent, one ear pricked back toward the hatch of her ship.

[ 12-23-2004 02:06 PM: Message edited 1 time, lastly by Minna Manth ]

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

"Unfortunately, I do not have a full chemlab on board," she replied, somewhat archly.

"I have had no means of testing this material. However, it may be what you sought; there was not much of it to be found in the place where I looked, and I would think the creators of the poison would not want it to be otherwise.

"But, this of course remains to be seen. We can only hope."

She bowed her head then straightened, staring the men straight in the eye. But her attention was focused behind her, every cell straining to determine whether Nefrai would be coming back to join them...

...not to mention whether or not the services he had mentioned to Minna, even if only as an aside, would really be needed after all.

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

"Yes sir, commander?" the guard queried even as he stepped up to the group.

"Take this to the medbay at once. Tell them that it is to be tested at once against the Captain's blood."

Taylor paused at this, waiting for the guard to acknowledge him and follow his instructions. Shawn handed the vial to the man, and he saluted to Taylor. "At once, Commander," he replied, then turning smartly on his heel and departing for the medbay.

Only then did Taylor turn back to Manth. "Would you like refreshment while we await the results, and will your..."

Here he paused, looking momentarily to Shawn before returning it to Minna, "...your companion will be joining us?"

He went down the ramp, and saw they were still standing there conversing. He heard the officers last words, and cringed inwardly. Does it pain them so much that they would not know or recognize me by name?

He stepped up behind Minna, and spoke, deciding to give the man small grief over what he had said. "Yes, I will be joining you."

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

Once again she laid a hand gently upon his arm.

"I'm happy to see you have changed your mind, Nefrai," she said softly, concern for what had concerned him evident in her dark, soulful eyes.

Whatever it was you have changed it about, that is....

Then giving that arm a comradely squeeze, she turned smoothly back to Garrison, utterly disregarding the black scowl which thundered across his features.

"Yes, I would very much like some food," she said, very much aware of the fact that it was undoubtedly Nefrai's reappearance which had produced that scowl.

"Perhaps we can go dine together? The journey to find what we hope to be the antidote has been rather taxing...."

[ 12-24-2004 12:02 AM: Message edited 1 time, lastly by Minna Manth ]

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

Dashawn had managed to take some sort of meditation since the unexpected exit of Shawn. In the end he came to the conclusion that it was for the best, even though he knew he would sooner or later have to reveal something about his past, though he would hope to avoid it aslong as possible.

Taking a quick sitting on the floor. He felt a coldness about the weird steel from some forgein planet that he hadn't felt, even when he was training on the Battle Station during his stormtrooper years. Those times were interesting. He occasionaly was taken off the battle station to planets to have land training, but rarely. Where he had been applied in the Forces wouldn't involve any wastelands that some other training courses had been taken.

He was just an average stormtrooper, though he accomplished numerous things that alot of his class didn't. However, from that perspective, that paradigm the galaxy as it was now seemed all the more weird. The ground...the feelings, the touch, everything personified it.

It seemed to come with the ability of the Force. The ability to outstretch, feel, understand more, the knowledge of it was enough to make one arrogant. Something of which many concluded, in his time, the reason for the destruction of the Jedi. Yet, at that lesson, of which he learned in his earlier trainings, he was certian not to take that cocky attitude onto a level that it shouldn't. It'd probably create more problems for the people around him and himself than should be.

So, he calmed his mind of these troubles that seem to travel at a flashing pace through his mind. He had grown steadily better on focusing on absolutely nothing, and however in a sense, focusing on everything. It was a weird concept, and even he had a hard time explaining it to even himself. But he managed to do it. One of the numerous mysterys that he would hope to have revealed to by the Jedi.

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

...and then he turned to Minna Manth, nodding once. "I can take you to a place where you can refresh yourselves, and then we can proceed on to dine. It is likely it will at least take a few hours for our labs to fully evaluate the effectiveness of the antidote you brought, so you should have plenty of time to relax after your journey."

Pausing at this, Taylor motioned to Rathal as if just remembering he was along for the ride. "This is Jovonar Rathal, an employee here at Eagle Enterprises who is seeking advancement. He will be joining us to dine."

Feeling that there was no need for any further explanation at this time, Taylor then motioned towards the turbolifts. "If you will follow me now."

Manth sure seemed to like the stuff, he thought absently, If her antidote works, I'll make sure she gets a lifetime supply of it...

About this time, Taylor's wristcomm went off, alerting him of an incoming urgent message. Excusing himself from the dining area, he stepped into a corridor just outside where he could hear the news he knew was coming. He pressed the receive button.

"This is the medcenter, sir," came a crisp voice, "We have the results..."

**********

Only a minute or so after his departure, Taylor Garrison returned to the dining hall and took his seat, the look in his eye somehow darker than it had been before. Petrolu must have caught on to this; he looked towards the young commander with an arched eyebrow. Taylor merely closed his eyes, and shook his head. Then he cleared his throat. "I have unfortunate news," he then opened with. "The antidote has failed to cure the Captain."

Pausing at this, he let the words sink in. Manth's look was quite unreadable, but Taylor had no doubt she was seeing her credits going down the tubes.

"I am willing to pay you 15,000 for your trouble. My lab techincians were able to trace the antidote you brought us back to some sort of Mandolorian roots, so you were apparently at least on the right track. Now as I understand it, the Commander is stable...

...thus he will remain in a coma permanantly until he receives the proper antidote. If you are willing to stay on the hunt for this antidote, I'm willing to up the stakes for your work to 50,000...