At least, unknown to him.

Aaron found this very disturbing. "Better finish that up," he then said Thoran's direction. "I'd like to get this little side trip of ours done and get to the business of finding friends. It's been entirely too long already."

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“Nice trick!” he said. “I’m ready whenever you guys are, lead the way.”

He turned to Thea, finishing the pastry.

“Hey, don’t get brave when we’re in the Darker Realms. We won’t have to be there long, but if we’re noticed then it’s going to be a problem. Weapons won’t do much good, at least not the kind you’re thinking of. This goes for everyone, when we are there, it’s going to be horrible for you. Think of the darkest, most evil place you can imagine and then multiply by one thousand. The only thing that you can do if we’re spotted is fly that ship fast and get us away from whatever it is that found us, and hope you don’t run into something else. I’ll need a minute, maybe less, maybe more, to build back the energy needed to open a hole that big. But I can’t do it if something is right behind us, because chances are it will come through too.”

He licked the icing from his fingers and smiled.

“All right, everyone ready?”

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Then he stepped out from behind his desk, motioning for the door as he then began heading that way. "Let's go."

Heading out the doorway to his office, Aaron stood and waited for everyone else to follow, something deep within him rising up anxiously, expectantly. He watched each member of the party as they departed his office, then punch a code on the panel at the side of the door. It slid closed and clicked, the locking mechanism activating.

Aaron nodded in a particular direction of the corridors, turned, and began walking that way, heading to a nearby turbolift. Even as he continued moving smoothly in that direction, a mental note caught his attention.

Maybe the next time he traversed this hallway...

...the true Captain of this ship would be here again.

Reaching the turbolift, Aaron keyed it open and extended a hand, allowing everyone to enter before he stepped inside and keyed in their destination. The doors to the turbolift slid shut, and obeyed the electronic orders it had been given, spiraling downward from the office suites to a level below before stopping without so much as a squeak or jolt. The doors slid back open, revealing the level where the main docking bay was housed.

He turned to the others as they left the turbolift. "Almost there," he observed unnecessarily, for most in the party had already been to the main docking area at least once.

But the statement filled the silence nonetheless.

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“Oh, wow, good thing we’re not leaving in that…”

Yaoksi had already rushed forward to the ship, and was extending a hand to an insectoid… thing… with a hydro-spanner.

“… thing … over in the other direction, away from this fine looking ship in front of me. Hey, Yaoksi, nice ship!”

Oh hell…

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"She might not be an Imperial destroyer, pal, but she'll do 2.5 lightspeed, and her center of gravity's where it belongs...

"In the center! She can turn on a credit and give you enough change for breakfast... well, maybe not your breakfast."

I gave the remaining pastry crumbs still glued to Thoran's puss a good strong once-over, and then turned to the others.

"C'mon, she's set to go. Let's get the kids aboard--" I cast a look Cel's way that clearly said Do Not Start, and then turned round and boarded Devil, that I could greet them all properly as they came on.

Hydro-spanner in hand, the Verpine waited, obviously the last man to come up. When all were aboard I turned to Thoran.

"All right now, how do we do this. I presume we need to be up and running, right? Shall I ask for a departure vector, or do we just sit here looking silly..."

[ 12-27-2006 08:53 PM: Message edited 1 time, lastly by Yaoksi Joao ]

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“We should be in space,” he said. “We don’t want anything getting inside the bigger ship through the portal. Once we’re out there, you tell me when you are ready to go, and I’ll open a portal right in front of us. We go in, I close it. I collapse, I get my strength back, you keep away from the nasties. Hide, stay still, whatever. You’ll have a minute or so to keep hidden, or keep away, and then I’ll open a portal out of there as soon as I can. Then we blast the hell through it and I close it behind us. Got it?”

[ 12-27-2006 08:58 PM: Message edited 1 time, lastly by Thoran ]

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"This is Captain Aaron Barnes, requesting immediate clearance from the Hornett via the Devil May Care, platform 1138.

"Copy that request Captain. Departure vector incoming shortly, sir," came the crisp reply from deck. Only a few moments later, departure coordinates scrolled across Aaron's wristcomm screen. He gave them to Yaoksi, pressing the message button on his wrist comm after. "This is Captain Aaron Barnes, transferring command of the Hornett to Commander Taylor Garrison. All hands are to continue their posts without pause, and all are to respond to any direct order he may give until my return..."

...or the return of someone else, came a mental addendum.

"Captain Aaron Barnes, out."

Closing the comm connection then, Aaron looked over to Yaoksi. "Guess it's now or never," he observed. "Let's do it."

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He only looked innocent; snorting now, I gripped the controls more tightly.

"All right, baby; let's show 'em what you've got...

"Full power thrust!"

I don't think there was another being in the entire universe who felt the depth of sheer and utter joy that I did at that moment. For to a true spacer there was nothing-- nothing! that felt better than the sensation of flying space beneath one's helm.

Ok. How about a pair of big blue eyes, braids, pretty little ribbon...?

That only reminded me of where we were going, and why, and who was aboard.

I grunted, gripped the controls, and flew my angel out to about half a billion klicks from nowhere.

"All right, Thoran ol' buddy; it's up to you now!" I said, tossing the words over my shoulder in his general direction.

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I took a quick look around the room. carefully taking it in.

"By the way are you sure you can handle a blaster."

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He opened the portal in front of the ship. It began as a shimmering rip in space, then widened as Thoran poured more and more of his willpower into it. Not born a creature of the Darker Realms, but definitely one now, the doorway opened wider and wider, welcoming him home. The door was large enough just time, and the ship passed through it.

Thoran released his hold and the portal schlicked shut behind the ship. He turned to Yaoksi, surprised that he was still standing. He had never opened a portal that large before.

“All ri--”, he started. A sudden emptiness filled his head, his eyes rolled back, his knees buckled, and Thoran fell backwards, unconscious.

(((OOC: Follow these shenanigans into Siege of a Soul in the Jedi Praxeum & Sith Temple forum. Thank you!)))

[ 12-29-2006 06:46 PM: Message edited 1 time, lastly by Thoran ]

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