She was being moved yet again, and into the presence of yet others with whom she felt a strange kind of bonding, a unity springing from deep within her inner being that was more than mere flesh and blood and bone. And accompanying her and these unknown others was that wave-producing thing that, while annoying her earlier, at least had kept her fed and warm.

She kicked and cooed and gurgled in delight, wave-producing being nonetheless. A strength reaching out to seek kinship with that within her slid insidiously into her being, there to trigger a portion of herself which had already delighted in striking out against one demonic imp and one little girl. Somehow she felt an upsurge in that part of her being, an upwelling which laughed in dark joy and reached out figurative arms to be taken up and held in a protective and indoctrinating manner. Even as she reacted on this deep cellular level to the presence of the squad Korr had gathered together, another part of her sensed something akin to the inexorable onrush of time and space about her.

She laughed and cooed again, instinctively knowing that there was something she had yet to recognize as an adventure in the making, a journey which promised her the means of determining all which was about her, once it came to an end. A bit of drool traced a shining trail down her chin as at length she quieted in Thea's arms, her uncanny eyes staring up at her as though challenging her in any attempt to alter as yet unformed but solidly preordained views.

Still beyond her capability of truly understanding, hyperspace ravened, and the pod raced back in the direction from which its mother ship had come.

[ 04-11-2002 04:55 PM: Message edited 1 time, lastly by ShaRhylla ]

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

Suddenly Thea thought of something, she remembered from her time with Galen that that horrid Sith woman had wanted her child, and Shayla was still with that woman. This Thing didn't seem to have anything to do with her, especially now that she had spent time on his ship - and thier manners were so different, perhaps Shayla might help her, if only for the child she held now, later she and the Jedi could get the child away from the Sith but she had to get back first - and she didn't know who could reach them first especially with that Sith woman's way of just snatching people from far away. Thea shivered at the memory but her mind was made up - before she was taken any further from the Praxeum she would try anything just about to escape. Taking an few calming breaths she remade the images in her mind adding the child and thought out very carefully to Shayla through the link that had remained dispite how she felt about the woman's change of heart.
"Shayla, Help me! I need your help and so does this child, they are taking us away - and fast and I don't know to where. I don't know if the Jedi can follow fast enough. Your Mistress's technique may be our only hope. Please Shayla. We were friends once, don't turn your back on me now."

[ 04-25-2002 10:15 AM: Message edited 1 time, lastly by Padme of Hidden Lake ]

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

Words which had no meaning came into her ears: one of the Vong was responding to a directive sent to them from the mother ship, now myriad light-years behind them.

"Yes, my Lord," the Vong in command of the little pod replied stiffly as he shot to his feet and saluted the view-villip. That creature's exterior had segued into the semblance of the electric-eyed Abaddonis, who eyed the interior of the little pod with almost aloof unconcern. "We shall double our velocity; the captives shall be back in our headquarters within fourteen cycles." The Vong subcommander ended his comment with a short bow, fist to opposite shoulder, eyes closed.

The caricature of the Dark Lord only sneered. "See that you halve that!" he commanded darkly. "Neither of the two humans can go long without sustenance; if harm comes to them because of your slackard ways you will have me personally to deal with!" The view-villip seemed to shudder in response to the words it was forming, for the image rippled briefly before settling back into solidity once again before the subcommander's acquiescent form.

"I will obey."

Rhylla gave her legs another kick as she instinctively felt the aura of subservience oozing off of the Vong, who was by now turning from the wilting villip to implement his Lord's latest demand. What had been said between the two, and now between he and his own troops, wasn't in the slightest bit comprehensible to the little halfbreed. But the aura he exuded was.

She delighted in it, somehow recognizing it for something quite naturally due to her, and cooed in response.

Then that coo dissolved into another demanding cry as, the rumbly feeling suddenly deepening, she kicked again to gain the attention of the thing still holding her. Food was in order, and she wanted it immediately.

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

Thea carefully stood up holding the delicate yet lively little bundle in her arms and carefully yet deliberately walked over to her captors.
"Excuse me but she's hungry. Do you have anything I could give her?"
Thea stepped back a bit and waited for their response.

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

Drawing into himself to avoid physical contact with the little girl, he just stared down at her. At length he spoke, deigning to accent his words with a brief wave of his clawed and thorn-ridden hand.

"Are we a Dining Hall to be at the beck and call of the likes of you?" he grated with an imperial snort. His hand took in the entire interior of the escape pod they were confined in, as well as the few other Vong sent along to accompany him. They all glared at Thea in disdain, then turned back to what they had been doing.

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

For a moment all remained stalemated thus. Then a small battle began waging inside the primevial mind of the little halfbreed. This thing had been producing wave after wave of annoying sound and love. Now it was producing waves of darkness, and of such magnitude as to momentarily capture her focus away from the annoying rumbles which were increasing steadily within her stomach. An odd and unconscious sense of kinship with the thing suddenly sparked into life inside Rhylla as that dark within her reached out seeking kinship with yet other dark. That blanket spread out from her, encasing Thea in its muffling folds and connecting the two of them on a level so deep neither one was consciously aware of it.

Then the rumbles broke through that blanket as another insistent complaint launched itself from Rhylla's stomach. The babe now turned her strange eyes away from Thea's direction, and began to kick and cry more vigorously.

Nothing happened. Nothing came from nowhere to be placed in her mouth and fill the growing void within her. Nothing happened at all; the arms about her didn't even seem to tighten in response. Then-- perhaps they had; the babe wasn't aware of it if indeed they had strengthened their grip about her. All she was aware of, on a deeply primal level, was that she was hungry, and none had come to her command.

Intolerable....

Something suddenly flashed out from the kicking babe, something unseen and totally unexpected; something similar to what had leaped out from her twice before when she had first subconsciously used the abilities within her to flail out at Maladius, and then Thea. But during those two times, what had flared out had done so in response to mere annoyance. This time it was fueled by anger.

Strangely enough, the mysterious force left Thea unharmed. It lashed through the entirety of the little pod though, striking each and every Vong there and knocking them to the deck with its uncanny strength. As they lay there, shaking their collective heads and trying to recapture their rattled wits, the interior of the pod seemed somehow to blink... and the All obediently responded to the little babe's first real demand of it.

Out of nowhere, a female Nek appeared, obviously taken from her own young as evidenced by her swollen milk-bags. It stood there in startled fear, snarling and growling and trying to focus its attention in every direction at once. Then it's carnivore eyes found Rhylla, and its entire demeanor changed.

The snarls of the Nek slid down the scale from threatening visciousness to purring affection. It padded forward on its clawed feet and, totally disregarding the absolutely motionless Thea, reached down and plucked ShaRhylla from her lap. It then carried the babe to a nearby shadowy corner beneath a protruding control panel where it curled up, placing the infant down alongside her. Slowly she began licking Rhylla's head as in turn the babe found the necessary equipment and began at last to still her hunger.

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

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

He shook his head again, now peering about to see what had hit them.. All seemed absolutely untouched... save for their human captive, who was now curled up empty handed trying to sleep, still wracked with occasional tremors of fright. And as for the tiny one....

His eyes widened in the closest approximation of fear he had ever allowed himself to experience as they took in the form of the growling beast and the red-haired baby suckling alongside it. They locked on the incongruous figure the two presented to him, then slit as he began to take a step forward. The Nek sensed him, and raised her head, growling a warning deep in her throat.

The Subcommander suddenly stopped as the impact of what had just happened finally really sunk in. He stood there a long moment, staring back and forth between the animal and baby, and Thea. His eyes slit yet again as he weighed the evidence displayed before him, finally coming to an almost thoughtful halt on the curled form of Thea and resting there....

His Dark Lord, instead of enslaving or just killing these two as was the usual modus operandi of the Vong, had commanded they be brought back to their world unharmed. At the time he had briefly wondered as to the reasoning behind this variance from the norm; now he seemed to have been given an answer.

He grunted acknowledgment with himself and his line of reasoning. Then he stepped forward, pulling an object from his belt-bag as he came to a halt in front of Thea. He nudged her into startled wakefulness with his toe, tossing a pod of some sort, plump and covered with moisture-dripping bumps, onto her lap where the babe had so recently laid.

"Keep yourself nourished and alive with this, human," he snarled down at her. "We have yet some time to travel."

He then whirled on his heel and stalked back to his men, there to continue overseeing their flight back home. Although not a speck of this was shown in his demeanor, he suddenly was filled with a pressing sense of urgency. He wanted nothing as badly as he now wanted to get back home, and be rid of his two uncanny passengers.

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

Leaning forward a bit anxiously, the Subcommander willed the pod to go faster. Two days at the most, and he would be home. Two more days in which he still had to bear the sight of various and sundry milking creatures popping in and out of his little ship.

He shuddered at the mere thought of them. Always they had come from the very air, and always had they disappeared when the tiny entity had finished suckling. Never again had that unexpected and mysterious blast repeated itself; while the Subcommander didn't have actual proof of it, he highly suspected that it had been produced by one of their captives... although why such power had yet to actually attempt freeing them was beyond him.

The mere thought made him shudder again; the possibility of jeedai being allowed safe entry into his very front door--? Fighting against rising questions and concerns, questions he had no right to be considering, he shot a sideways glance toward the babe now sleeping in the little girl's arms. He gritted his teeth.

Soon, soon he would be home and rid of these two. No coward he... but the idea was suddenly very, very appealing.

He straightened and stared out the forward view-villip, glorying in the brilliance of the stars laid before his eyes like millions of jewels sparkling in the night, and wishing to himself that they could somehow increase their velocity from the topspeed at which they were already racing.

Home never looked so good to him before.

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

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

Slowly her uncanny eyes opened wide and peered into sights no one but she could sense. Other than that one small movement, she lay utterly still in Thea's arms, not even minding that the little girl was now hugging her in a desperation born of yet another rising fear. In this manner she remained absolutely quiet, letting her instincts decide for her just which of the two beckoning darknesses would prove the more enticing to her.

Were she able of conscious thought, she would had shrugged and muttered, "That is anybody's guess...."

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

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

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

Who had every intention of maintaining that title.

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

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