She started to take her hands from their seemingly new resting place on his cheeks..

He suddenly stopped her from doing so... and simply, lightly held her hands so...

Slowly caressing her right radius with his thumb...

He waited if and when she would easily release from his gentle touch...

His face twice as red as Galen's, but that pearl might have had something to do with it...

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

Eternity itself froze.

Dammit, dammit, dammit!

The shuttle faded away as my vision narrowed to two tiny slits in the face I held in my cupped hands, slits through which a pair of electric blue eyes strove to see... my senses blocking out everything around me save for the utterly unexpected jolt which raced up my arm from where his thumb was lightly caressing the inside of my wrist, the light grip on them both, the almost hesitant feeling behind that one small motion on the part of Lo Ban which said so much, so very much.

DAMMIT.

It wasn't supposed to happen. It just couldn't happen, could it? I was lonely, right? Lonely, and fighting a big, bad universe all on my own now, hunting for my daughter, then here comes Knight in Shining Armor, right? That was it, wasn't it?

He's a Jedi! They can't DO this...!

I almost convinced myself....

I might have murmured something, hell if I know. All I did know was that I was suddenly drawn down to him like a magnet, my lips lightly brushing his.

Behind me Malf roared, although whether in approval, hunger, dismay or a combination of all three, I really didn't know.

Nor at the moment did I really care....

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

The only pain Lo Ban now held came from his lips...

And, yet, it was a pain of frustration...

Coming from the one that had lightly planted the kiss...

You can't do this... she's obviously lonely... yet her strength persists... she knows what she's doing... she wants this as much as we do...

Lo Ban compromised, finishing the light kiss with a small forcefulness of his own two lips...

He took her person closer to his body, holding her in a supportive embrace...

He kissed the top of her head, waiting for her to do something... anything to stop his advances..

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

I trembled in his arms, feeling his grip tighten about me in response.

What else could I do? I just pressed myself against him more tightly, at least as much as I could considering he was half prone across two seats and I was kneeling on the floor beside him. My hands pressed into his back, relishing the feel of the soft homespun of his robes.

His Jedi robes, Galen... JEDI.

I closed my eyes, ignoring that, and just waited while around me the lambda muttered and whiffled to itself as it continued on through the darkling void, a fragile shell against that Night which held inside of itself something much more fragile....

[ 03-05-2003 03:55 AM: Message edited 1 time, lastly by Galen ]

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The swelling down far enough, he took a look through the pools that were his eyes...

He sat up, lifting Galen with him...

Lo Ban now had a chance to look into those deep browns, the temptation they represented...

Lo Ban could not hold back for the life of him... he stood, now nearly towering over the shorter Galen, he never let loose his gaze...

He came down to lay a passionate kiss on her lips, not daring to loose his focus within her gaze...

He moved his hand down Galen's back, and up again...

It was difficult to say whom was the seducer, but Lo Ban had gone past the point of no return...

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

I couldn't stop myself if I tried. I didn't know what I was feeling, what he was feeling, if indeed either of us was feeling anything but the one emotion that great wave was flooding throughout me with the force of a tsunami, and that was a great yet somehow simple need.

Everything else faded into insignificance before that need, and I reached up my arms, tightening my grip around the back of Lo Ban's head, pulling his lips more fiercely against mine even as I pulled him down with me to the deck of the lambda.

My father used to say there was a time and a place for everything. And while this might not have been the most appropriate of places, it certainly did seem to be the time....

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

Gradually the interior of the shuttle blurred into focus as reality returned to me, taking me from that wonderful place I had found myself and back into the awareness of where we were.

Something red was flashing somewhere, reflecting off the bulkheads; I blinked, momentarily distracted. Then I returned my gaze to that which had taken it up when reality had come swimming back into focus.

A pair of electric blue eyes were staring at me, as well as they could do so for the swollen lids encompassing them and the swollen forehead above. But the smile beneath them was unimpeded, and quite real. I couldn't determine the rest of Lo Ban's expression; jedi are very good when it comes to their feelings and command thereof.

As well as when it comes to expressing those feelings, and the connection they have the uncanny knack of making with others.

Damn.

I smiled back, reaching a finger out to lightly trace a line down his cheek. Confusion raced rampant through me, but one thing was certain: I didn't want him to think badly of me for the loss of control I had just exhibited.

I told him as much, still laying there on the deck and making no move to get up and re-attire myself, even though the proximity sensor was blaring in a rather impertinent voice that we had way overshot the coordinates I had programmed into the navboard, and would somebody please come and do something about it?

In the background, the sounds of Malf's gentle snores gave me a modicum of relief as to what the big furball had been up to during my unexpected interlude with Lo Ban.

I focused my gaze on him, and just waited, my eyes wide with sudden trepidation of what he might now say or do.

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

Damn aliens. Can't even give a guy a towel to dry off, he thought, scowling and folding his arms as he continued to pace, trying to warm himself up.

Sure could use a drink about now... some little voice insisted.

The scowl on Jasyn's face grew. Not AGAIN Jasyn Lancaster. Sheesh...

He hugged his arms to himself a little more.

Kriffing hell, how long are these guys gonna make me wait...?

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

There seemed to be two ships in the system, Cartina wasn't ready to show herself, she piloted down through the rain of Kamino...

She came to a platform occupied by a small transport...

This platform was filled with two dead bodies, and several broken weapons...

She made her way inside, Bryar pistol ready...

Cartina heard someone coming down the corridor, she jumped into the first unlocked room...

The very same as one cold and wet, waiting man...

[ 03-05-2003 12:24 PM: Message edited 1 time, lastly by Cartina ]

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Gee, a bounty hunter wearing madalorian armor. Where have you seen THAT before buddy...?

Jasyn reacted in a heartbeat, grabbing his blaster from the holster, water dripping from it, and aiming it. He didn't take the time to figure out if it was on stun or kill, but rather just squeezed the trigger. Too bad the blaster was so wet it had manulfunctioned...

...no fire, no stun, nada.

"Uhhhh..." Jasyn started, still holding the blaster out.

Wow...you are being so brillant right now... a shoulder-devil then snickered. Jasyn scowled.

Then, as if just realizing he had the blaster in his hand at all, he reholstered it. Water dripped out of the barrel as he did so.

He turned his eyes to the bounty hunter again and strove to make his expression as unreadable as possible, trying his best to appear as though he was right where he was supposed to be.

Try to be diplomatic Jasyn. Maybe this isn't what it looks like...

"Are you the one I was sent here to wait for?" he queried, hearing distant footsteps approaching down the hall.

Ok, maybe not...

...this CAN'T be good...

[ 03-05-2003 12:42 PM: Message edited 1 time, lastly by Jasyn Lancaster ]

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certain regrets...

No matter how small, he wished to ease them...

"Sometimes passion can only result, when you loose control of the situation... passion is one emotion we can't live without, Galen darling... not even I, a padawan..." He used the term loosely, then continued,"not even I could hold back from temptation... your beauty is only exceeded by your caring bed side manner..." he quipped...

"...those lips..." He kissed them...

"...that neck..." He caressed kisses down her neck, her scent intoxicating...

For, in fact, Galen is as Dash was to her...

Simply irresistible...

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

In fact, Cartina wasn't even aiming her blaster...

Although, as soon as this became apparent she drew it up again...

"Follow me..." She said in the masculine voice of the helmet...

She motioned him to exit the room first... Cartina led him out in the rain, and into The Otana's Rival...

It was then when things got out of hand...

A strange energy pulse hit the ship, knocking both Cartina and Jasyn out cold...

They awoke in what seemed to be a holding facility...

Jasyn was now dry, and Cartina was still clad in armor...

Although, their weapons no where to be found...

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

A pain I knew would never be erased, due to the death of someone whose footsteps across my heart could never be filled, but perhaps walked beside in a manner unique to a new owner of said feet.

--even as the butterfly touch of his lips utterly electrified me, flicking from my lips to my neck.

Emotions rose and sang. Further confusion added its voice. Logic tried to get into the fray. And all the while the proximity sensor bleeped and flared, and Malf garbled and snored, and I just reached my arms around Lo Ban's neck and let myself go in face of the utter impossibility of the moment.

Passion indeed. How very, very right he was, the thought managed to rise above all the others jangling around in my brain.

And who indeed would understand the truest, deepest sense of the word better than a jedi? Ok, a padawan... I amended simply, holding him fiercely to me with the realization that it was this passion that indeed had been missing in my life, even with Sorben, certainly with Terrin.

I buried my head against Lo Ban's chest, suddenly not wanting him to see the tears that were welling inexplicably in my eyes.

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

He kissed the very top of her head, the fiery red hair enchanted him...

This felt so right, she felt so right...

How could he ever let go of this moment, of her...

Now his mind clouded with thoughts of her despair she had told him when they reunited on Sullust...

He felt the tears run down his chest, tears somehow he knew to be more so of joy and release...

He took her away from his body, peering deep into the her watery browns...

"You're beautiful Galen... we now share this burden..." He brought her forehead to a rest against his, the gaze never breaking...

He waited for any reply from the ripe beautifulness that inhabited Galen Danner...

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

We.

Somehow, somewhere I had gone from singular to plural....

There was another in my life, another to share, to excite, to wonder in. How could this happen? I really hadn't thought it could again, had taken for granted that it wouldn't.

Then I recalled Lo Ban's words about passion, and realized how deep a meaning that word really did hold. It was not so much the mere biological reaction of one gender to another, but rather the glorious display of life itself, and all it carried: all the wonder and beauty and eternity of it, yes, and even the heartache and the pain.

Passion, the offspring of life meant growth. And in growing, new life could thus be found.

It was as easy as that.

I blinked, losing myself in this new wonder, savoring the simplicity of the word we again and knowing I was a half of something more than a whole. Wondering how I managed to be so lucky, enthralled by the sheer manner in which life had seemed to do its utmost to lead right up to this one exquisite moment.

I pulled his head down for a kiss in which I tried my damnedest to express all the above. Then, literally shuddering with the effort, I pulled back.

Life stretched forward in eternity for us....

But now... but now....

"I-- I think we'd better think about how we're going to get Darra," I finally whispered, my eyes scant centimeters from his wonderful blue ones, blocked though they might be.

Wonder how this guy felt about kids?

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

He expressed this through his expression of relief, she did what he could not...

And, perhaps he even thanked her aloud...

He really didn't notice, or care about anything but keeping this little lady as happy as she seemed moments before...

For the rest of their lives, if she'd eventually give in to such...

He thought to himself, as she walked away...

Wowsers, she looks better going than she does coming...

A smile crossed his features...

utter satisfaction...

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

I jerked myself from the insidious approach of another daydream, focusing on the controls again.

There is a time and a place, Galen ol' girl, just like Daddy used to say....

"I'll get us back to the rendezvous, and then we'll give Dash a little time to find us," I announced as I put action to the words. "Then we'd better figure out how in Hell's Seven Circles we're going to get into wherever it is they're hiding Darra on Kamino."

I paused at that, swiveling around in my seat to send a concerned look Lo Ban's way.

Damn those blue eyes....

I gulped that reaction away, continued on after the merest hesitation.

"Why would the Kaminoans treat us like that anyway?" I asked him, recalling the way I was treated the first time I had come here with Sorben, and the second time as well when I had ordered my clones. Being treated as a sudden criminal just seemed too... weird.

I fell silent, staring at Lo Ban... trying to keep on task, all the while his eyes made that a tad wee difficult.

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"I don't know, babe... but I intend to find out... your guess is an educated one, as this is my first visit to the mysterious cloning world... rest assured, they will pay for their actions... I sense your... Darra is still alive, I will not rest until she is safely in your arms..." He stopped at that, the words causing Galen to instinctively turn back to the controls...

He hugged her from behind, laying a loving kiss on the inside of her collarbone...

I will not rest...

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All over, in fact.

Smiling, I turned round, meeting his eyes -- which were becoming more and more apparent as the swelling reduced, seemingly by the second; nice trick these force users have when it comes to injuries -- and falling into them.

"I believe you, Lo Ban," I said softly, simply. "Somehow, I sensed how earnest you were about this when you first showed up on Sullust."

For a moment my smile broadened to a grin as memory of just how he had arrived there burst into my thoughts. Then my eyes widened, and I glanced down at myself.

Now my grin was more like a little smirk.

"Perhaps we'd better get dressed before Dash finds us, not to mention Sleeping Beauty over there," I nodded toward the grumbling Malf, who twitched in delta-sleep long enough to scratch his hairy armpit.

I stood up, stepping aside from my seat.

"Rendezvous point is coming up...."

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

Awaiting word from Dash...

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

I touched down at the rendezvous point... I figured I'd better get some air, and apparently a little rain as well. "DINK, you coming? Let's go get some air. They must have gotten lost too. We can wait for them here."

We departed the SHIMMERING SCIMITAR, only to find a welcoming comittee.

I whispered to DINK, "I've never even been here before, I don't know what these people are like, be on your guard."
Instinctively I reached for my LIGHTSABER with my right hand, and my blaster with my left, being careful to conceal my motions. DINK prepared for the worst as well. I watched as he pulled out a very odd looking blaster, careful also to keep his actions hidden from the 'WELCOMEING COMMITTEE'!

"Well met." I said to the two human sized creatures who walked toward us.

"The only thing you'll meet here is an untimely death!" one of the men said as he came at me with a VIBRO-AXE.

My purple blade sprung to life, just in time too... I managed to cut the VIBRO-AXE in two as it came at me, I still got hit, but there was no force behind the falling top half of the weapon. I recoiled in pain as my left arm absorbed the follow through of the severed shaft the man still held in his hands. My blaster flew over the egde of the landing bay.

DINK seemed to be fareing a wee bit better than I was at the moment, the second man, armed the same as the one on me, seemed bound to ... well... himself! I had heard a ZZAPP!!!, but I thought the guard had fired on poor little DINK. I was wrong, DINK actually got off the first shot! And what a little device he fired off. The MAGNETO RAY aparently makes you into a GIANT magnet, and you stick to anything metal, or in this case anything metal sticks to you. So the attacker was subdued for now. Too bad the MAGNETO RAY takes 10 minutes to charge between shots!

The attacker on me, began taking 'pot-shots' at me, I did my best to deflect the shots.

I deflected 4 out of the 5 he had shot, I took another hit, in left shoulder this time. Suddenly something inside me took over, I stood up, not feeling any pain, and began advancing on the aggressor, delfecting the blaster shots the whole time.
I felt all tingelly inside, like someone was controlling my actions. For now it seemed to be helping, so I gave over full control of my body to.... my subconscious!?! I ducked and darted towards my attacker, with the precision movements of a JEDI KNIGHT! And with a mighty swing of my LIGHTSABER it was over... for now! I slumped to the ground, suddenly in total control of my body again, delerious with pain and agony! The last thing I saw was DINK, standing over me...

[ 03-05-2003 10:01 PM: Message edited 1 time, lastly by Dash Kelderon ]

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Ahhhhh...a holding cell. Now THIS is certainly familiar...

And...

He frowned, shooting a look at the quiet bounty hunter. Or at least the quiet somebody in mandalorian armor. He regarded said bounty hunter for a long moment with his broody browns, pondering the strangeness of the situation. Then he finally spoke. "Let me take a guess that these guys didn't expect you here either..."

He quieted at that, not quite sure what else to say at a time like this. He took another look at their surroundings, scowling a bit.

A holding cell...AGAIN...?!

Then he pursed his lips thoughtfully. "I vote we get the hell out of here..."

He didn't know if anyone was listening in...

...and at the moment, he didn't particularly care. That bad feeling of his...

...well, it was growing into something gigantic with each passing moment...

...and he didn't particularly want to be around when it exploded...

[ 03-05-2003 09:26 PM: Message edited 1 time, lastly by Jasyn Lancaster ]

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"How, exactly, do you plan on doing that?" The hunter asked...

Her arms crossed at her armored chest...

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

...when he finally realized that his blaster was gone and theat the hunter seemed to be stripped of his weapons as well.

Jasyn just scowled more blackly, leaning against a wall. Fine, take the damn blaster! It was broken anyway! he thought angrily.

Then, Here I am again, in a holding cell, with no weapons, and with another person...

...but at least the last time I was with a person I actually knew...

At that thought Jasyn's look actually darkened to something unreadable. Then he flicked his browns back towards the bounty hunter, the look in his eye still somewhat vague, but somewhat sadder, not totally unbeknownst to himself. "Allright, scratch that then..." he muttered, trying to appear a bit light hearted.

It wasn't working.

Dammit, you are gonna die here on Kamino with a person you don't even know...

"Look, if we're gonna be waiting here a while..."

He paused, chewing the corner of his lip. Then he continued, refraining from blurting out You mind telling me who the hell you are?! and instead saying, "we might as well start with names. I'm Jasyn, Jasyn Lancaster. Any idea what the hell just happened to us?"

He quieted then with that, frowning, trying to recall just what in fact had happened all the while...

[ 03-05-2003 10:12 PM: Message edited 1 time, lastly by Jasyn Lancaster ]

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Nada. Not so much as a handy lil ol rogue comet trundling by, wagging its tail as it went.

At length I pulled back from the console with an exasperated sigh, and struck it with both fists. The ominous silence just didn't bode good, and I could only think of two explanations for it.

One: Dash had changed his mind about assisting us. That, however, just didn't seem right, since he had after all been careening into Kamino as we were leaving. Unless he himself had some secretive purpose to be on that remote and storm-driven planet, then he had indeed been following through on being there to help us.

And two: in following through, something dire had happened... and he had never left.

I turned in my seat, and sent Lo Ban a worried look.

"I just don't see him anywhere," I finally said, tweaking the controls to get another quarter parsec's sensing out of them. No dice. Space remained as empty as... well, as space.

I pursed my lips, frowning.

"You don't suppose those goonies who attacked us got him, and he's in trouble on Kamino?" I asked him. Then I fell silent, waiting for his input.

Dammit but I'm getting tired of people getting hurt and in trouble on my account....

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