He paused then, frowning a bit, considering the screams of terror that had fallen into silence during one of his meditations. He chose not to ask about it for the moment, however, not wanting to worry anyone with incomplete news. But he did ask one thing. "Before you go, did you happen to find my brother in law?"

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

"Yes, we did," I finally replied. "He was, er, well... wrapped up in some vines, all hidden away. We were lucky to find him; he got a little injured during his removal from the trap he was in--" I winced again "-- but is recovering nicely in our little sickbay.

"He'll be taken better care of once we get him aboard Hornett, as will you, Shawn."

I paused a moment longer, weighing the need for rest against his obvious need to hear a human voice.

Hell with it.

"How have you been holding out? Are you well? Has that whatever-it-was, dragonsnake thing, that chased you to where you are ever shown it's ugly mug?"

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

...but meditation seems to hold me over the best. I hope Erik is doing some meditating himself; I worry more about his mental state than his physical one."

He paused then, considering all that Galen had said, troubled by the condition they had found his brother-in-law in.

Shayla, what have you done?

He left it though, knowing that worrying would do him little good. "It'll be good to see you all, hopefully sooner than later," Shawn then continued with, stretching out with the Force. "I'm truly grateful for your persistence."

[ 07-25-2007 11:44 PM: Message edited 1 time, lastly by Shawn Petrolu ]

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I hadn't a clue what it meant, but I knew it was Shawn, and that in this manner he was telling me that he was all right. I was still smiling when I raised the wristcomm to my lips.

"Ok then; I think I'll get back to the ship so I can rest up a bit before we make rendezvous with Hornett. I'll contact you when she's here, and when we have more of an idea of what we're doing; oh, my daughter has been nursing Erik, so he's in good hands."

Willing ones, if not entirely skilled. Ah well, it's the thought that often counts more.

"Unless there's anything more that you feel I should know, I'm signing off and going back to the others.

"Galen, out."

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

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

But the warm fuzzies relaxed me enough that my body was able to almost flow around the offending projections, and with the aid of whatever hands were upstairs tugging I soon found myself being hauled out into the greenery once again.

"He's all right," I grunted as I clambered to my feet, then stooping to brush myself off.

"He also said he was worried about Erik's mental condition, and considering all that he's been through I'd say he has good reason to be. It's a good thing we've come up with this plan; I don't know if it would be good to impose this kind of pressure on him, not now, now while he's still healing and especially not now after what Shawn said."

I paused, wiping grimy hands upon my thighs, while behind me someone was busy freeing me from the rope.

"I think a nice relaxing drink is in order, and then some sleep. What do you guys say to that?" I finished, stretching to get the kinks out as I headed off to our little ship.

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

...for once. He was first to the galley to pull out the Whyrene's Reserve and distribute it.

"Ahhh, nothing like a good Correllian drink," he practically purred. "But something a little strongesr would be nice."

This time he did get the reprimanding look. "Hey!' he then spouted off. "I'm used to Sith brandy now! But you know, this stuff will do in the meantime..."

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

We WERE going to get him out of that cave, I just KNEW it, I could FEEL it... and without the use of magick or mumbo-jumbo, just good, honest sweat and diligence.

I raised a lazy glass on high.

"To friends, who always stick together," I announced, then lowered my glass and took a big ol' swig.

[ 07-26-2007 12:27 AM: Message edited 1 time, lastly by Galen ]

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...and love ones that had gone the distance to bring him back from the dead. Literally.

Which says a whole kriffing hell alot about the calibar of friends and loved ones that they are.

Smiling a bit to himself then, Terrin yawned. "Allright, I'm up for some sleep. Not sure how much bunk space this ship has though...

...so ladies get first pick."

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"Sleep sounds good; any ol' where will do," I said, my voice low and mumbly now for suddenly I felt as if I'd gone to the ends of the earth and back again. Well, I had in a way, not quite the ends, but down a bit into the bowels, just enough to wear me out right down to my very bones.

I stretched again, then handed off my glass to an eager Jasyn.

"Finish this for me, wouldja? I don't need any more than the one toast, not if I'm going to be flying us out of here in a few hours."

I stood up, put my hands on the small of my back and stretched backward. A cricking noise reminded me that I had been more tense than I thought, and now with that tension suddenly relieved I was little more than a pile of wet noodles.

"I think there's some bunks in the aft section, and there's a small cargo area, and there's always the galley floor..."

Before I knew it I had plopped back down in my seat, which suddenly had taken on the unexpected comfort of a queen's bed.

"I'll go check in a li'l bit--" I drowsed, even as my body slumped down and my cheek hit the tabletop, of which I was completely unaware.

[ 07-26-2007 12:45 AM: Message edited 1 time, lastly by Galen ]

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"I'll get her somewhere more comfortable than that," he said simply then, getting to his feet and taking Galen in his tired but somehow still capable arms. Only after he'd deposited her in one of the said bunks in the aft and tucked her in did he fall into one himself.

Absently, he raised his wristcomm to his lips and fingered a frequency in. "Hey Matt," he said, hoping to the fates he'd dialed the right frequency. "Tell everyone to get...sleep...for about 8 hours."

Sending off the comm, he shut the lights off in the bunk area, and he was out.

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

Still over a standard hour to go; I'm wide awake, but Flyboy is sleeping like a baby...

Softly so as not to awaken him, I crept from my bunk and tiptoed forward. Once I'd gained my seat I spent the next half hour going over all the systems, and otherwise readying the ship to depart from this soggy rock and climb into orbit. I gave everything three thorough pre-flight checks, and then another one for good measure... and still found myself with hang time on my hands.

Oh blast it all anyway, no use just sitting here waiting for something to come along and try to eat the ship--!

With that I engaged thrusters and, pulling back on the control column sent Rescue One up into the atmosphere. As soon as I lifted above the canopy a blast of light rushed into the ship; squinting against the brilliant morning light -- which so rarely can worm completely though the trees to strike the ground-- I continued steadily upward, and soon the robin's egg blue darkened to royal, then navy, and finally to the deepest of midnight blues.

I smiled, and leveled the ship in a high orbit above the swamp world. Then I settled back to wait; I figured I might have a bit longer than I normally expected, for I'd jumped the gun just a little by departing Dagoban soil early. But in this case, with the cleanness of space in my eyes, I didn't mind the extra wait in the slightest.

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

And that was what finally brought him back to the universe as it was known. Cracking an eye open a bit reluctantly at first, Terrin eyeballed his chrono...

...and realized just how close it was to their rendezvous time with the Hornett.

And that woke him up completely. Sitting up, Terrin looked across the way, knowing that Galen was already doing one of the things she did best, and that she wasn't there. With a final stretch, Terrin got to his feet and headed towards the cabin, stopping briefly for a couple of mugs of caf in the galley, where Jasyn and Matt were already lurking.

Then to the cabin, he offered Galen one of the two mugs of caf, took a seat at the copilot's station, a smile creeping on his face as he did so.

"Sleep well?" he queried, cocking a brow slightly in her direction...

...unable to keep from glancing starboard every so often into the still-empty space before them.

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

"60 seconds to reversion, sir," said a voice as it broke into the otherwise normal sounds that filled the command deck.

"Very good," Taylor replied. "Everyone stay at posts and keep your eyes open."

A few moments of quiet.

"30 seconds, sir."

Taylor remained where he was, his eyes glued to the viewport. Generally he didn't go to the deck for reversion procedures...

...but this time was different. He realized with a start that he hadn't any idea what sort of craft Galen would be piloting.

"10 seconds sir."

The countdown had begun. Taylor idly wondered when the last time was that a Star Destroyer reverted into space near Degobah, if ever. But then the time for such musings were cut short as the Hornett burst forth from hyperspace into realspace and established orbit around a decidly green and brown planet.

"Sir, there's a small freighter in orbit around the planet," an officer on deck anounced.

"Good, send her a hail," Taylor commanded. "If it is Ms. Danner, she should respond."

"Sir, there's a small freighter in orbit around the planet," reported an officer.

Rathal was unable to conceal his relief and sighed audibly. Perhaps he would not need to set foot on the wretched world. Somehow he doubted it would be that easy. Things seldom were.

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

My Characters: Rathal, Narcolm, Freedon Naad

I nearly fell onto the floor.

But nanoseconds later I was beaming a big ol' smile, gleaming teeth and all as my dear ex was wont to say, and quickly scrabbled to respond to the hail which followed.

"Hey, Hornett, this is Galen on Rescue One. Are we ever happy to see you!"

With that same sappy grin still plastered on my face I sent off the reply, confirming that the hail had been most heartily received. Then I sent out the joyous news on shipwide comm.

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

"Open a commlink frequency, please," he said to the officer stationed there. The officer quickly complied, then nodded to Taylor.

"Galen, you have clearance to land in the main hangar, platform 1138. I will meet you there with one other person I have selected to work on your team. See you shortly."

After finishing the message, Taylor nodded once to the officer to proceed. Within moments the message was sent on its way to Rescue One. Only then did Taylor turn to Rathal.

For a split second I wavered, recalling my promise to Shawn that I'd notify him when the ship arrived. Then I shrugged.

No sense landing again and risking injury skinnying down that blasted crevasse, I told myself as I plugged in the coordinates Hornett had sent.

That would just take more time; he'll be a far happier camper for the fact that the next time he hears from us, it's when we tell him that peeps are there and working to get him out.

After once more sending out a quick shipwide announcement that we were docking with Terrin's ship--

No. Our ship!

--I punched enable and settled down to drive. Moments later we were free from Dagobah's soggy atmosphere, and out into the crisp cleanliness of open space. Light from myriad suns burned steadily, sending their chromatic greetings as we buzzed along; then gradually a peculiarly shaped grouping of them seemed to black out, to disappear.

I smiled again, knowing we were approaching Eagle Enterprise's flagship. And that smile was still planted firmly on my puss when I brought us in to dock, touching the old freighter down with all the respect I could possibly show her. For what we would have done without her, I just didn't want to think about.

When Rescue One finally settled down to vent and degas I powered her down, letting the ol' girl indulge herself with a good nap. Then I turned on shipwide communication for the final time.

"Hey guys, we're here!" I announced before opening a hail to Hornett in order to request permission to disembark.

Purely out of politeness, don'tcha know, since I owned half of her, sure as there's treasure on Roon!

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

Heading towards the assigned landing platform, Taylor didn't have to walk very far until he came upon it. The ship that was landed there definitely had seen its day.

So many similiar arrivals aboard this ship, so many different outcomes...

The feeling was bittersweet, for not every arrival had followed with happiness. But then, the ones that had...

Terrin smiled a bit to himself at that, turning to Galen. "It's been so long," he said simply, cocking a brow torwards the hatch, his meaning clear. Then he his smile turned a bit lopsided and sentimental at the same time. "I seem to remember a time when I was the one bringing you as the new introducee here." He paused, turning a bit more serious then. "Thank the gods for the changes that day made in my life."

Quieting for a moment then, Terrin offered a hand to help Galen up, motioning with his free one towards the hatch where others had begun to gather. "Shall we go see how our ship can help find Shawn and get us all the kriffing hell off this blasted swamp rock?"

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

"This is going to be a great homecoming, isn't it hon?" I smiled as I took his hand and proceeded to leave, trusting the others aboardship would be following suit.

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

Ever. After all, he was supposed to be dead.

"Galen, Jasyn, Matt, it is good to see you are all well," he managed, still taken totally aback as his eyes locked on Terrin.

He paused a moment. At least, not anymore...

"Galen and the guys went to great lengths to...

... find me."

Pausing again, he cast a brief thankful look in the other's direction, his eyes falling last in Galen's brown pair and remaing there for a moment before he returned his attention to Garrison.

"But before we celebrate any homecomings, we have some concerns. Aboard this freighter is a man we rescued on the planet below who needs medical attention. And we need to access the Hornett's sensors to scan the surface of the planet and get a better picture of what we're getting into, and how to find Shawn in the most efficient and timely way.

We'll have time for homecomings later; right now getting everyone off this planet and onto this ship safely is the primary concern."

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

"Jedi Shawn Petrolu has become stranded inside a rather large cave system; we've mapped the system out, and know his approximate location. Unfortunately he's in too deeply for our ship's radio to reach him; so far the only place to communicate with him has been within a crevasse some distance away. For some reason comm-links work there."

I paused for a moment as the worrisome question of why they worked there, so much farther away from his known position, brought to mind the uncomfortable possibility that perhaps he was in more deeply than we first thought, although probably closer to the crevasse where Panthar and I had first spoken to him. The idea of one crack in the rock being the only crack in the rock was simply ludicrous...

And cracks meant rock that was inherently more unstable than rock that was solid. At least I believed so.

I shook myself and continued. "At any rate, we have an approximation of his position; we just can't figure out a way to get to him, and hope that Hornett will have the resources to do so."

I shot Terrin a questioning look, for to be frank I hadn't a clue as to what all we had aboard.

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

"If we go to the Captain's office and ready room, we should have access to what the Hornettk has on hand." He paused a moment, thinking. "Perhaps there is some ship or another that has been acquired which may have something we can use; unless things have changed Aaron was always up on novelties and unique features as much as I was."

He trailed again, frowning. Where the hell was Aaron?

"Anyway," he continued, shaking himself from the thought for a moment, "The computer in the ready room should give us access to all that information. We might find a ship specifically designed for mining or something of that nature, I hope."

Finishing those thoughts, he quirked a brow Garrison way. "I'm assuming the Captain's ready room has been in order and in use?"

Garrison nodded.

"Good," he responded. "Let's head that way."

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