After all, everyone knows which is the quickest way to a Man's heart...

[ 03-23-2003 03:35 AM: Message edited 1 time, lastly by Loban ]

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"Here." I walked over and set it on one of the nightstands. "Help yourself. Then heal yourself. We've got things to do... that is, I have things to do."

Amazing... that short walk to the kiosk and back and what it did to my mindset... simply amazing....

"I'm going to go check on the Eagle and see if there's anything she needs. Or maybe see if I can get hold of Aaron Barnes on Hornett."

For quite suddenly the path before me cleared a bit... and it was one leading straight to Coruscant. And to get there, I was going to need more than a jedi and a sith belt....

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"Perhaps you can help me... as you can see, this is not something I'd wear in public.. given the choice, that is... do you have a lost and found, or something... I think I left my clothes in one of your rooms..."

The clerk looked Cartina up and down, then shook his head in the negative...

"You could purchase a full set of armor we picked up this morning..." The clerk retorted with a smile...

Cartina left the hotel distraught, tired, and no having where to go... she entered the local cantina...

Lying in a booth to sleep off the medication from the tank she spent the past hours in, she dosed off...

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Sheesh, the hospital keeps patients no time these days, he thought. Of course, she'll still be out of the bounty hunting business for quite some time with that injury...

That thought then transitioned to another, and Jasyn wondered if Galen and Loban had gotten somewhere so that his injury could be taken care of. There was one possible way to find that out...

...and aside from that, Jasyn also wondered if, since Galen had been on Kamino, she had found out something concerning Darra. Pulling his left arm up, Jasyn used his right index finger to dial in the secure frequency for the Eagle. He pulled the wristcomm a bit closer to his lips so that his voice would carry over the hubbub of the cantina.

"Hey Galen, it's Jasyn," he started out. "I just wanted to get in contact and see if Kenobi got some medical treatment after that bounty hunter fired on him. I would have checked sooner, but I've been a bit...

...preoccupied seeing that our bounty hunter friend is out of business for a while. I also wondered if perhaps you'd found out something about Darra since you had been on Kamino. Give me a reply whever you can and let me know," he ended with, keeping the connection open to recieve that reply and taking another sip of the remainder of his caf, one eye steadily on the apparently sleeping Cartina...

[ 03-25-2003 10:50 AM: Message edited 1 time, lastly by Jasyn Lancaster ]

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I looked upon Lo Ban... disconcertingly enough, he was half-propped in the bed, the fruit he had chosen still held in his hand, his eyes still open. But they seemed to have a rather peculiar and far-away look in them, or at least that's how it appeared to me.

I frowned, my lip quirking upward to compensate.

Must be a jedi thing....

Still smiling, I whispered over to him and laid a hand on his good shoulder. No response-- with a sigh, I leaned down and kissed his cheek. Then I turned and wound my way back to where I had left Eagle.

I gave her systems a thorough once-over, and then some, finding a few minor repair needs which I called in to the appropriate people on Bespin, praying that they'd take Republic credits. Luckily, these establishments were only to happy to oblige, at exorbitant interest rates, but what's a pilot to do? Eagle needed to be at her very best, and if that meant that the auxiliary back-up for the head-flush system was to be fixed, then as sure as Khaandon made little green worrts it was going to get fixed.

Among other things....

It was only after I finished my third check of her systems that I turned to the little light flashing on the communications board. I flipped a switch, then reared back in surprise as the voice of none other than Jasyn Lancaster filled the lambda.

Wondering about Lo Ban, is he? the thought popped into my head at the same time that a nicely fuzzy feeling started flooding me. Smiling, I sent back a quick reply along the connection he had left open for me to do so.

"This is Eagle responding. All is well on this end; Lo Ban has found medical attention, and is resting while he heals. We are on Bespin; I'm not certain how much longer we're going to stay, but I plan on heading back to Coruscant from here.

"Jasyn-- Sorben has Darra there... and I aim to get her back."

I paused a little longer, considering... then went on.

"Look Jasyn, watch out for that bounty hunter. You know they never mean any good to anybody but themselves..." I fought down a wince as my thoughts immediately rushed to a bounty hunter with whom I had once had what I thought to be a perfect relationship "...and they can be terribly sneaky.

"Keep your wits about you, and keep me updated as to your progress in whatever you do. We haven't planned exactly how we're going to rescue Darra yet, but the time may come where I need more oomph than what I've got, and you're my only link in that arena.

"Keep in touch, Jasyn. Eagle out."

With that I closed the connection, pursing my lips a bit as I wondered to myself just where all this would lead. Well-- perhaps not where, exactly; that I knew as well as I knew the back of my own hand.

It was the "how's" that had me a touch concerned....

I grunted briefly, and rose to my feet. Then I hurried from Eagle, and headed back to the suite where I had left Lo Ban to finalize the healing of his wound, however it was that jedi managed to do that.

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He felt renewed strength, as he moved to the spacious window overlooking the high clouds of Bespin...

There, he contemplated a small sort of mixed feeling he had felt from Galen...

Does she really need me?? or, is it more important that she want's me?

[ 03-26-2003 05:01 PM: Message edited 1 time, lastly by Loban ]

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He remained standing where he was, his back to me, seeming to be staring out over the brilliant clouds of Bespin. I faltered just a touch, then continued across the room to come to a halt behind him. I slipped my arms around his waist, ready to greet him, when I stopped.

Was that some strange tenseness I felt in Lo Ban? Something seemed to be bothering him...

A little chill rippled down my spine to tickle deeply in the pit of my stomach. There it remained, the tiniest of knots, coiled like something ready to strike. I did my utmost to ignore it, and laid my cheek against his back, my arms still wrapped around his waist.

"Credit for your thoughts?" I opened, battling with a trepidation that was coming out of nowhere.

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Lo Ban took his arms over his head, elbow height, turning in Galen's grasp... then lowering them to take her in his, as well...

"...any thoughts in that pretty little head of yours?"

[ 03-26-2003 10:08 PM: Message edited 1 time, lastly by Loban ]

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Darra, on Coruscant, in Imperial hands with Tarnus. Actar, who had repeatedly sought out Galen and Darra, his intentions dark. Add to that mix an impressive Imperial blockade, easily capable of blocking out anyone or anything that didn't belong...

Getting that baby out of Imperial hands and back to her mother was going to take some oomph indeed, and Jasyn knew where to go to get some of that. Pursing his lips a moment, Jasyn sent one more message to the Eagle.

"I'll make sure and be careful concerning the bounty humter," he commented first, smiling a bit at the concern. "If you need anything, let me know, and I'll keep you informed as to what I'm doing. I'd had plans to stay here on Sullust for a bit longer..."

...Gods, why did he want to stay here anyway...?!

"...but on second thought I think I'll be heading back to the Hornett. Getting through that blockade at Coruscant and getting to your daughter is going to take some oomph indeed...and some careful planning. Aaron's acquired Stargazer Corporation in a business exchange, so I plan to fish around and see if there's any information regarding holes in that Coruscant blockade...

...or if it's simply going to have to be done the hard way. Whatever your plans are, the Hornett is at your beck and call, and I'd be happy to help you in any way I can. You are, of course, welcome to stay aboard the Hornett as you are deciding just what you are going to do to get to your daughter as well. For now, I'll leave you with my personal comm frequency, which is 51880, and Aaron's, which is 61848. I'll be in contact and will let you know if I find anything out concerning getting past that blockade. Lancaster out."

With nothing more than that then, Jasyn closed the comm frequency he'd been keeping open to the Eagle and stood, throwing on final bit of credits on the table to pay for the rhyskate and tip the waitress. Then, casting one final glance towards the still-sleeping Cartina, he proceeded out of the cantina and back to the repair shop where he'd berthed the Raptor. After paying for the water damage repairs, he took the now immaculate little lamby, fired up her systems, and retrieved a departure vector.

In moments he was in the sky, where he opened a secured frequency with Matt Stanza. "Change of plans," he commented. "I'm on my way to the Hornett, and I need some coordinates."

In short order, those coordinates came streaming across the secure frequency, and Jasyn programmed them into the navboard of the Raptor. Moments after Jasyn pulled the hyperspace lever the little ship faded into starlines...

(((OCC: Follow Jasyn to It Can't be Hopeless in the Empire and New Republic, thank you.

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"I'm ready when you are, love," I began, never letting my gaze drop from his. But--"

Now I paused a little bit, wondering how to go on. Finally deciding the best approach was a frontal one, I pushed on.

"You seemed distant for a moment, Lo Ban," I began again. "I-- I don't know what about, but I'm all for complete honesty and sharing between us. Maybe I'm imagining things..."

I trailed off, but that persistant hunch niggled. Suddenly the time seemed so appropriate to say something that had been slowly developing inside me for some time now.
In for a credit...

"I need to say this, Lo Ban, so I will. I know it's as if we just met yesterday, this all came along so suddenly... but, I want you to know that I need to make you happy; I want whatever it is you want. I need you to need me... I-- I want to be in your life.

"Maybe you already know this, but just in case I want you to know that. I do love you, Lo Ban, and I'm happy you have come into my life. You've shown me a part of me that needs completion... and I find that completion in you."

I stopped then, suddenly embarrassed for all I had blurted out seemingly from nowhere. Then I planted that smile on my face again, and just stood there, waiting. For the realization struck me: it didn't matter if he had already sensed the above from me.

What mattered was that the words had been spoken aloud.

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[ 03-26-2003 10:41 PM: Message edited 1 time, lastly by Loban ]

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"Don't ever doubt this. Ever. I meant every word I said to you. And I'll keep on saying those words forever, that's a promise."

Now I stepped back, still holding on to him but raking him up and down with an appraising eye.

"Soo... how's the shoulder coming along, love? I thought you were healing youself, so I popped off to check out the Eagle's systems, and ordered some minor repairs on her. She'll be ready to space tomorrow, or so I've been told.

"Oh, Jasyn Lancaster commed; he was concerned about you. He's going to keep in touch; we might need Eagle Enterprises to reclaim Darra from the Imperials... that is, if between the strength and power of a jedi and the intuition and determination of a certain red-headed loudmouth it can't be done."

I grinned; then my expression softened to a smile. I looked down at my toes, which I shuffled a bit against the flawlessly white carpet in which they were practically buried.

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[ 03-26-2003 11:04 PM: Message edited 1 time, lastly by Loban ]

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"He was a co-worker and very close friend of my- my ex-husband, Terrin Danner," I offerred simply, shivering a bit at the welling memories the mere mention of Terrin's name still brought. "Terrin told me his capacity within Eagle Enterprises, but I'll be damned if I can remember exactly what it is.

"But he's the guy we rescued from Kamino with the bounty hunter... when you got lambasted yourself, love."

I paused with that, lost in memory of where that injury had led... and smiled. Then I sent a coy look up into those fantastic electric eyes of his, fighting down the wave of goose pimples now cascading through me.

"Looks like your jedi healing skills are going to be put to the test, Lo Ban," I teased, taking a small step closer to him. "You've been hurt twice since you've been with me; maybe I'm a jinx!"

I fell silent then, still smiling, hoping my lighthearted teasing would pull him away from that distant place he seemed to have gotten himself to once more.

This might be something I'm going to have to get accustomed to....

[ 03-26-2003 11:35 PM: Message edited 1 time, lastly by Galen ]

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On Kee'l Doba, the same guy that had been aboard the Bounty Hunter's ship... on Sullust... he was also with us on Kee'l Doba... he, and... Aaron, was it??

"...he was with us on Kee'l Doba, wasn't he? the heavy drinker... now I remember him, a few memories... none of the admirable kind..." Lo Ban finished with, the memories of stumbling in a drunk stupor through most of that sith temple on Kee'l Doba...

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"You're right, that was Jasyn... and yes. He did seem to have quite an... er, affinity for Sith brandy."

I paused then, as a shiver ran through me at the mere mention of the name.

Sith.

In an instinctive motion I wrapped my arms about myself. My mouth worked a bit as I continued on, flailing to find the words to fill the empty space that single word had created.

My mind was suddenly light-years away... and the highly populated Sith world of Khar Delba whirled below as the "Eagle" soared about it in low orbit... and somewhere down there was a person who had once been my sister and who often tried to kill me... as had others... then the exotic technologies of K'eel Doba exploded in my head as I remembered back to yet another world, with yet other Sith, where I was amazingly enough so briefly happy....

"Jas- um, Jasyn probably really isn't that bad to get to know, I guess," I stammered, not really paying attention to the words which were stumbling from my mouth. "I'm sure Terrin wouldn't have had a drunk for an employee... maybe it was, ahh... the circumstances...."

I fell silent, my fingers digging into my arms, seeing nothing but too many painful memories beginning to unreel in front of my eyes.

Oh Khaandon, if the nightmares would just go away...!

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"I'm sorry, love... I know, I know... this just keeps popping up, you just don't know, it's been too long, too long, too much..." I babbled on, trying to express what was bottled up so deep inside me and only sounding more and more like the village idiot with every word I spoke. Now I turned my face into his chest, burying it against the rough homespun of his robe. I held it there for a long moment, before finally pulling away just a fraction so I could breathe... and speak.

"It's the Sith, Lo Ban," I said in a muffled whisper. "I'm so very, very afraid... and so tired. So damned tired. All I want is my baby girl and a normal life with someone I love. Is that too much for a person to ask for?"

I choked into silence, my face still buried against Lo Ban, a few recalcitrant tears welling in my eyes to wet his robes with their salt.

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[ 03-27-2003 12:56 AM: Message edited 1 time, lastly by Loban ]

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His father was killed by the Sith?

I gulped, swallowed, and pulled back a bit in Lo Ban's embrace. Even as shudders of anger and sadness and despair racked my frame, they were joined with a building anger as I thought of even more death brought about by their hands.

His father was killed by the Sith...

...but who? The Sith peoples had only recently been brought into the future, and up until that moment the only Sith frequenting our galaxy that I was aware of had been Lords Aelvedaar, Recinis and Roan... and their adoption of my sister, Jharmeen JhinDar.

I hiccuped a little, now reaching out to try to banish his own pain.

"Lo Ban, oh Khaandon, I'm sorry to hear that, let me share your grief with you as you are sharing mine with me; please, love. Together let's try to erase the nightmares we hold."

I didn't know what else I might have said after that. All I know is that I reached up to cup his suddenly grief-stricken face between my two hands, even as fresh tears welled in my eyes and cascaded down my cheeks.

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More tears came flooding as just saying the word brought another vivid memory searing back.

"He- he defiled me too, Lo Ban, the Sith Lord, on Sullust; oh Khaandon, now you know... now you know...."

I fell silent then, unable to cry, unable to get past the huge lump in my throat, unable to come close to forming words or thoughts or anything other than the fear that now Lo Ban knew and now he would leave.

For how could he not? I had never said the words aloud, and hearing them now made me want to escape from myself.

I gripped him tighter, and just stood there, afraid to even look him in the eye.

[ 03-27-2003 01:45 AM: Message edited 1 time, lastly by Galen ]

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His lungs distastefully full of air, Lo Ban shouted them empty...

"ROOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAANNNNNNN!!! ROOOOOOOOOOOOAAAAAAANNNNN!!!!" His head lifting to face the ceiling, as his last breath escaped him...

He fell from Galen's grasp, straight down to his knees...

He knelt there, hugging Galen about her waist...

No...

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I gripped him more tightly, bent a little to place my cheek on the top of his head. I knew he could feel my tears wetting his hair.

"Just don't leave me, don't ever leave me, oh gods I couldn't stand to lose you too, I've lost too much, please don't ever leave me...."

I trailed off into sobs, closing my eyes against the awful vision of my new fiance facing off against the grinning and self-assured and oh so very powerful Dark Lord of the Sith. Now I fell to my knees, and from there wrapped my arms as tight as I could around Lo Ban's head, drawing his face into me.

"He'll kill you, Lo Ban! You don't know-- he's powerful, there's no stopping him; he comes and goes where and when and as he pleases; oh my love! Please! Let's just go find Darra and go away somewhere, to some nice little planet far, far away, and stay happy with each other forever, oh please don't seek revenge for my sake!

"I love you too much to lose you, and if you would die I know I would die as well."

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[ 03-28-2003 12:58 AM: Message edited 1 time, lastly by Loban ]

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