With that I hollered over my shoulder again.

"Start hauling in the line, now!" I said before turning the full force of my concentration back to keeping the ship steady. I hoped everyone understood that I couldn't simply fly up and out with them; to rise straight up would only fry them to a crisp, and to take off at an angle in order to avoid that, well...

There were lots and lots of trees on Dagobah, sure as there's treasure on Roon!

So I kept her side-to-side motions as minute as possible, and trusted that the muscle of the guys would get Terrin and the newcomer safely aboard.

[ 05-01-2007 10:44 PM: Message edited 1 time, lastly by Graysith ]

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Good luck with your story!))

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Daiosk looked up to see if they could make it in time. The worm creatures had come even closer, and they didn't look like anything was going to stop them.

He reached his good hand up and turned his goggles on. His vision got alot better, and he looked at the worms. They were coming hard, but not faster. Daiosk watched them as they went from a full crawl, to a slow creep, then eventually stop.

Why had they stopped? He was about to ask the man, but then the worms started to move again, but then stopped.

...and it simply wasn't important for him to know just who was there. What was important was getting that line moving up, carefully, but quickly. So, setting his mind to the task, not looking completely back, Jasyn hollered over his shoulder:

"We've gotta get this thing moving steady, together! Pull!"

Then, throwing every ounce of energy he had into it, every bit of muscle he could muster, Jasyn began to pull, counting on his strength, in combination with whomever might be helping out, to be enough.

There just wasn't any time for any doubt.

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He reached for them, grabbed onto them with his free hand, while still hanging onto his injured charge, moving as carefully as he could to help the man from hitting any of the branches, shifting himself as well as the man to work their two bodies around the impeding branches.

They made it fairly unscathed through the first set of branches, but Terrin knew this wasn't going to be easy, and that they weren't going to make it all the way back up without a few additional injuries for each of them. So he planned to make certain that he took the brunt of any incoming injuries while he worked his new charge up, as they continued to be pulled fiercely by the line. The next set of branches were already incoming, and Terrin could feel the pull of the line back to his right as well. Again he began working around whatever he could, moving Daiosk as best as he could from getting entangled in any branches and tree limbs, taking a few blows as he did, adrenaline keeping him going despite new pains of his own.

"Hang tight," Terrin finally managed to comment to the man, his teeth clenched. "Whtever those worms are doing done there, we aren't going to be around to find out."

Then he set himself to work once more. No matter how far they had risen in the past few minutes, Terrin knew one thing for absolute certain:

This was going to be a long haul back up to the ship.

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I frowned, chewed my cheek as I thought.

I guess I should have let well enough alone, for suddenly a gust of wind came flying from the canopy, sending the ship sharply to the port side.

"Oh, kriffing hell!" I cried as my hands shot to the controls in a vain attempt to steady the ship before she moved too much. Another curse from the aft made me wince--

Oh, sheesh. That didn't sound good...

--and work all the faster to bringing the ship to her somewhat canted "even keel." I wanted nothing more than to contact Terrin to make sure he was all right, but truth be known I wasn't too keen on the idea of letting my hands from the controls even the short time it would take to do so.

Damned Dagoban weather--!

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The enivitable happened as a result: He and Diaosk when slamming into a tree: the latter head first. For what seemed like an eternal moment, all Terrin saw were stars...

...and all he felt was a definite resounding pain in his side. Clenching his jaw harder, Terrin reached out for the nearest and strongest tree branch he could find and steadied the both of them even through the pain in his side. He spared a moment to glance at Diaosk, and realized with a start that he was suddenly laying limp, totally out of the loop and possibly unconscious.

That only motivated him to move with more effort, regardless of any pains he might be having. Looking upward, Terrin could begin to make out the shape of the ship above them.

He had to get this guy up there, and soon.

[ 05-07-2007 10:39 PM: Message edited 1 time, lastly by Mara1Jade ]

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"Dammit!" he blurted, holding tightly, his muscles already aching, sweat literally dripping as they all dealt with not only the weight of two grown men but also the interruption of trees in the path as they pulled the two up to the ship.

His teeth clinched, Jasyn grunted out another curse, and pulled harder. "Keeping pulling!" he called out behind him fiercely, giving it all he had, never letting go, never intending to.

After a good fifteen or twenty minutes more of constant strain and pulling, Jasyn could finally see the two men fairly plainly just below them. He gritted his teeth more, and pulled even harder.

"Hey, can someone back there get some first aid supplies ready?" he yelled without looking back.

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Now, however, she found a means to be truly useful. "I'm on it," she called over her shoulder as she hurried to the ship's small but adequate medical niche. There she found a bewildering array of medicines and other supplies; not really knowing what would be the best she grabbed some bandages and something bearing directions for use in alleviating pain. Before returning to Jasyn she quickly prepared the sole medical cot, in case someone needed to be laid there. Finally, en route out the door, she spied a type of flexible stretcher; grabbing it as best she could she dragged it along and dropped it close to but out of the way of the men.

"Here," she said softly and then stood quietly, waiting to see what condition her adoptive father and the newcomer would be in when they finally gained the relative safety of the ship.

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He was sure he now had brain damage.

The wind was still going strong, and he had no way of trying to grab on to something. He felt helpless depending on someone else to carry him.

But right now he had all the admiration in the world for the man that was helping him. He couldn't really move, he didn't have alot of space to maneuver around. He looked at the man.

"I'm really sorry about putting you through all of this" Daiosk said as they still swung.

He looked up to the things that were pulling them up. They were probably giving alot of heart and muscle into pulling them up against the wind.

Daiosk tried his best not to move, it would only make pulling them up harder.

The man pulled them to a branch, through pain Daiosk could see, and leveled them. Daiosk could feel the energy draining out of his body.

He began to lean to the side, almost feeling as if he wanted to die, but he used his good arm to bring himself back into the right position. He was losing alot of blood, but he had to hang on...

"Hey, Boss, give the new guy a boost in this direction, I'm gonna try and get a hold on him as carefully as possible."

Working as cautiously as he could then in the position he was in, taking whatever help he could get from an obviously worn-down Terrin, Jasyn called back. "Hey, keep hanging on, I'm gonna let go and help pull our injured man in," he said, carefully releasing the line and getting up off the bulkhead of the ship, stepping out even more cautiously as Terrin worked his charge over towards the ship. Jasyn cringed at the injures on the man, trying his best to avoid hurting him any more than he already was, probably not having the greatest success. Still, after about ten or fifteen minutes of careful back and forth, Jasyn finally had a secure enough hold on the man to pull him into the ship and lay him gently on the flexible stretcher Darra had found before returning to the hatch to help Terrin the rest of the way back into the ship.

When he was satisfied tha this was accomplished, Jasyn heaved a sigh of relief, and closed the hatch before turning towards the cabin of the ship.

"Galen, everyone's aboard!" he called out, turning then to see who he could assist, clearly aware that while Terrin didn't look so good, their new commrade looked really bad.

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I heaved a sigh; "Gotcha!" I called out as I quickly pulled the ship up and away from the rippling green sea of leaves she had been hovering over for far too long. She seemed thankful too, to finally spread her figurative wings and gain the freedom of the skies.

I couldn't help but smile a little as I returned to our previous course.

One-- no, two down; one more to go...

Piece of cake, right?

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Nodding to herself she snatched it up, and returned to where the others were in the process of sorting themselves out.

"Here, father; you look as if you could use this," she said softly as she dropped to her knees beside him to hold out the wine. Then she turned to the newcomers, who was laying in jaw-clenched pain on the deck, waiting to be transported to the medbay.

"Don't be afraid, you're safe now and will soon be taken care of properly," she said softly, laying a cool hand upon the stranger's fevered brow.

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"These will help while we move him; looks like they are fast-acting," eh then stated, his green eyes intense and carefully trained on the wounded man.

Then, turning only slightly, Matt turned and quickly assessed Terri's injuries as well. He was fairly covered with scrapes and scratches and seemed to be in some pain, so Matt gave him a pain pill as well.

"We're going to get this guy to the medbay, Terrin. Got anything major hurting?"

Terrin shook his head to this, waving off any concern for himself and indicating the other man as if to indicate that his needs were, at the moment, much more important.

Matt got to his feet, moving to take one side of the stretcher. "Hey, can someone give me a hand? We're going to have to take this nice and easy..."

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The man not establshed as Terrin had to be a strong man. He had risked his life to save a complete stranger. He had almost as many scratchs as Daiosk did.

Daiosk tried to talk but as his pains started to fade away he felt sleepy.

As he started to fade he said in a weakened voice "Thank You Terri...n"

He felt awake but wasn't able to talk. He let the men handle his body, they were trying to help him. He rested his head back but managed to look at his arm.

I hope they have a good doctor.

She raised the bottle a little bit, looked down upon it, let it drop with a muffled thud to the deck. Then she returned to the door behind which Lord Aelvedaar remained in mysterious communion, and seating herself leaned back against it. She pulled her knees up and rested her cheek upon them.

These humans, she surprised herself by thinking.

I'll never understand them...

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"I think this guy is going to need more than a good rest," he said then, nodding towards Diaosk, "Some of these breaks look really bad."

[ 05-13-2007 10:10 PM: Message edited 1 time, lastly by Mara1Jade ]

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He trailed a bit at that, frowning, suddenly realizing that he was exhausted. "Kartan is in the one sleeping area on the ship. I think I'm just going to head back towards where everyone else is...

...and find a place to sit and get some rest."

He quieted at that, once more waving off any concern for himself. "I'll live until we are more certain of his status," he said, once more indicating Diaosk. "Let me know if he gets any better or worse."

Falling silent with that, Terrin turned and began heading towards the front of the ship where the others were, taking a seat in a small nook and leaning heavily against the bulkhead. Nearby Lord Aelvedaar remained in meditation behind a closed door...

...and on their side fo the door Darra sat, knees to her chest, looking very distant and very forlorn. Terrin frowned at this, and a sudden realization slammed into him.

For someone of her apparent physical age, she really hasn't had these sorts of experiences in her life. Ever.

"Things aren't always this way," he then spoke up softly in her direction, not really aware of what was bothering her. "You've been a big help."

Then he closed his eyes for at least a few moments...

[ 05-13-2007 10:32 PM: Message edited 1 time, lastly by Terrin Danner ]

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She blinked, swallowed to see the straits he was in. Rising to her feet, she whispered to where he was sitting and joined him, not letting her body's weight come in contact with him but just brushing against him. A tentative smile crossed her features.

"Thank you," she said softly then closed her eyes, unaware that something was now coming into play between them, an innate ability she had yet to learn to consciously control. Strength began flowing into her adoptive father's body, and his scrapes and bruises began to heal.

Her eyes still closed, Darra had no idea what was occurring. She only knew that Terrin hadn't meant to dismiss her earlier, and found this discovery to be an extremely pleasing one.

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But it felt good.

Kriffing hell, he then thought to himself, I suddenly feel worlds better...

Cracking an eye open at this realization, Terrin initially didn't notice anything different about himself. Not until he realized that scratches and brusies that had been there only moments before were suddenly fading, rapidly.

His blue eyes opened and widened as reality dawned on him.

"Woah," he then said suddenly, looking over in Darra's direction, "You're healing my wounds," he observed then, almost stupidly. "Thank you..."

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"Don't worry, my child," Graysith had purred, her eyes warm with promise.

"The day shall come when you will discover using that within you to be as natural as taking a breath; when this day comes, so shall come the salvation of your family."

She had wondered at the time exactly what the Dark Lady had meant by those somewhat cryptic words; now, remembering, it only brought back how frustrated she had been at the time--

Which only made her grow a bit frustrated now, for although she couldn't really tell for a fact, she somehow knew that the Thing within her had abruptly left, to creep back into hiding once more.

She frowned, knowing now that she was no longer healing her adoptive father, even though she hadn't a clue how she had to begin with. Blinking a little, she bowed her head.

"I-- I don't know how I did that," she murmured to the floor. "But now it's gone."

Raising her head, she tilted her head, giving him a quick if somewhat naive appraisal.

"You seem to be almost back to normal, Father," she ventured at length. "Would you like some of the Sith drink now that I had brought you earlier?"

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...and don't be surprised if you have sudden company. If Jasyn hears anything about Sith and drink in the same sentence, he'll be eager to join in partaking."
"Did someone say Sith drink?" came a query via a familiar voice, almost on cue.

Terrin couldn't help but smile slightly at that. Turning more serious then, Terrin continued with, "As for your abilities...

...I'm certain the control will come in time, though I honestly have little understanding of the hows."

He paused, pursing his lips. "Seems you come upon it when you aren't even really thinking about it though."

He shrugged a bit. "I think the Sith are the best ones to help you understand it yourself."

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"Here," she began, then paused in whatever she had been going to say. Terrin's final words came floating back to her, causing a slight frown to wrinkle her forehead.

"I do not believe the Sith can help me with what is inside me," she said abruptly. "Only mother; for I well recall her explaining that what I bear is something of which most of my people have no knowledge. Mother has it too, and commands it well; I suppose she would be the only one to teach--"

She cut herself off abruptly, her blue eyes widening and her hand flying to her mouth seemingly of its own accord, as if by covering it she could take back the unconscious gaffe that had flown so unthinkingly from her lips.

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All Galen had EVER wanted was to be with her daughter, and she had literally been stolen from her, multiple times. And in horrid ways.

With some effort, Terrin jerked himself from these thoughts, accepting the bottle Darra had offered and taking a sip. "It's allright," he opened with, trying to reassure. "But I hate that you were deceived like that," he admitted. "We looked for you for so long, and you were taken from Galen--your mother--so many times..."

He trailed for a few moments, memories playing across his mind's eye. Memories of the Sullustan springs, of Galen's labor on the ZZ'Shq, of their final reunion with Darra as an infant after Actar had nearly killed Galen. And finally of their most recent reunion, after once more searching for her. "But you are correct. Your aunt holds significant control of that which is within you--it's called the All. A few of the Sith--Lord Aelvedaar and Aeylmaar-- have it as well.

But there are those who have these abilities who use them for dark purposes too."

He grew a bit distant once more, but ccontinued to speak. "I don't know if your aunt told you that she was your Mother for your protection, or for some other reason. But I don't understand it..."

[ 06-04-2007 11:10 PM: Message edited 1 time, lastly by Terrin Danner ]

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