“As much as I hate to say it,” he began, “I get the feeling this is going to be a tough sell. Maybe you’re right, if we at least try to find Shawn and--”

Panthar’s words were interrupted by the squawk of some large thing in the distance, perhaps an enormous bird or horrible lizard. He looked in that direction but could not see through the jungle. He was about to take a guess as to what made the sound when another noise caught his attention.

“What-- Hey, was that a blaster?”

Panthar listened for another blast, but all that followed was the scream of the animal.

“There is some action going on that way, that’s for sure! Why don’t we start in that direction?”

Panthar looked at his companions, then began walking across the damp ground.

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

Now without a blaster for the fact he'd dropped it when he was picked up by the raptor, Terrin had little else to defend himself with. Granted, he still had the portable Force-cage Galen had given him, but he'd carefully stowed that in a pocket when the thing in the sky had first attacked.

Still, he fought as best he oculd against the swamp-creature,struggling and kicking. Not that this did alot of good, however, for the thing was strong, and its squeeze was beginning to wear him down. And aside from that, lack of oxygen was sooner or later going to get to him...

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

"Maybe someone is just out hunting for some food," he observed optimistically. "Hey," he then added, talking towards Panthar's back, "Don't you think you ought to take hold of this vine like you suggested?" he queried, holding it out in his direction. Behind him, Stargazer took the cue and took hold of the vine. As she did, Aaron frowned as a darker thought occurred to him. "I sure hope that whoever is out there is friendly. After all, even the people we came out here to help might be likely to shoot at us if they are feeling wary."

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

Terrin... I don't know what to do. If that warrior couldn't get to you...

Hell's Seven Circles. Pacing and moaning and hand-wringing wasn't going to get him. Neither was the Sith warrior, obviously.

I secured the blaster against my hip, and taking a deep breath I flipped the invisibility device on my Sith belt. Protected at least from the keen vision of any predators, I waded unsteadily into the swampwater and kicked out as quietly yet quickly as I could.

I hope they don't hunt by motion detection or sensing electrical impulses...

I couldn't repress the thought no matter how hard I tried, for now red flags were waving in logical and urgent warning, pointing out the murkiness of the waters and asking patiently what on earth could a predator see in the pea-soup I was swimming in?

I ignored the annoying little voice, and kept on swimming...

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

Darra's cry rang through the dense air of the swamp, propelled by fear and a strange sort of anticipatory anguish. Stumbling over the matted, soggy plantlife she managed to follow where Galen had trod, coming to a halt at the edge of the greenish-gray water to peer out over it in horrified anxiety. One arm reached out, as if the motion alone would bring back not only her mother, but stepfather and the warrior as well.

But nothing happened. She knew there was something within her, but it was still something she couldn't control. She closed her eyes, tried to reach out, straining against invisible forces which were, in reality, nothing but her own fears and self-depreciations... but which were obviously quite enough to hold back the mysterious ability she had been born with.

"Mother," she moaned, and could do nothing more than just stand there, one arm reaching out, unable to even sweat for the oppressing humidity in the air.

[ 11-03-2007 11:19 AM: Message edited 1 time, lastly by JhinDarra ]

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Galen and Darra are still up there, a little voice whispered.

And that did it. Terrin's fight or flight instinct got its second wind, and he began to struggle once more, wishing more than anything that he still had his blaster to maybe fight back with. Still, that may not have even worked once submerged in swamp water.

All he could truly rely on was his own body.

Realizing this, Terrin reached around with both of his arms, and felt about his torso where the tighness existed, unable to see clearly. At length he finally made contact with the tentacle of the creature which held him...

...and clawed it with all of his fingers, fiercely, not lettng go despite his body's urgent warning that he didn't have much energy left to push himself further before falling unconscious. This action, fortunately--or perhaps unfortunately--did not take much to grab the attention of the diagona. Suddenly the creature pulled him inward to itself, the noise of its growl audible even in the murky waters. Still, Terrin didn't let go. He couldn't see what the thing was or where he was going...

...and it was a good thing, for he was headed directly for the creature's mouth. The angry dianoga, no doubt intent upon stopping the pain Terrin was now inflicting upon it, clamped down on the arm now closest to its mouth--his prosthetic arm. And while Terrin had been quite thankful the arm was fitted completely with neural processors...

...at this point in time, he wasn't particularly so, for pain shot through it, pain very reminiscent to the time when he'd lost his real arm. Suddenly, however, the dianoga let go of his arm and then his body...

...and simply disappeared entirely.

Almost too exhausted to swim due to lack of oxygen and his fight with the creature, Terrin half-swam, half-floated back towards the surface of the swamp waters, hoping like hell that the dianoga that had held him hadn't brought any friends along, or had at least taken them back below along with him...

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

A female’s voice, indistinct, shouted something in the distance ahead. This was followed by a splash, and another female voice shouting “Mother!” very clearly.

“Galen?” said Panthar, glancing back at the others. His eyes hesitated on Aaron, then flicked to Shayla. He immediately dropped the vine and shot off towards the sounds.

He ran through the wooded area, and came quickly to a clearing. He stopped short here, seeing that the ground before him was increasingly wet, and just a few yards more the grasses gave way to a marsh. He scanned the area, seeing how the marsh opened into a deeper lake to the right, and on the shore of that lake knelt the red-headed lady he had met back on K’eel Doba. Jharmeen’s daughter.

“No,” he muttered, “Galen’s.”

He cupped his hands to his mouth and shouted.

“Darra!” he called. “It’s Panthar! What is happening? Where is Galen?”

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

Terrin's head.

The sight was enough to change my gasps into those of joy; I was about to hail him when I noticed that although he had surfaced, there still were other ominous lumps and mounds circling about. Every so often one would glide in more closely to him before moving away again, as if checking him out, testing to see what danger he presented. Obviously these creatures weren't often induced to letting go of their cuisine, and they seemed to want to know why.

Before moving in for the kill again? Get moving, girl; we're not out of the water yet!

I shuddered and set out again, swimming as hard as I could. So far it didn't seem as if I'd attracted anything; either I was extremely lucky in this regard or they simply hadn't noticed me yet. Both seemed highly improbable; I tensed inside, waiting for the touch of death which so far hadn't come.

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

"Mother and father; they're out there, in the water! With those things!" she cried, desperate.

She pointed toward the swampwaters yet again, where far out a tiny blob showed a touch of pink against the prevailing greenish-gray: the mysteriously released Terrin, raising his face from the murky water. Galen was nowhere in sight, but an equally mysterious wake originating at a strangely distorted spot revealed her position, a not-quite-empty point that was slowly arrowing toward Terrin. All about him, other humps and blobs surfaced and submerged, and every now and then one would head off toward Galen's position, as if to investigate.

Darra gasped again.

"Help them!" she cried, tears of fear and anguish filling her blue eyes.

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

And for her, the solution was quite nearly child's play.

Stretching out with her abilities and innate talents, Shayla sensed and probed through all of the nearby life forces, particularly those swarming about in the swamp waters until two familiar entities registered in her mind's eyes. Closing her greeny-blue eyes then, she kept a firm mental lock on those two essences--those of Galen's and Terrin's--and levitated both directly out of the swamp waters, pulling them away from the dangers of the humps and bumps bubbling about them. In literally seconds, both were on dry ground...

...and invisible to the eyes. Knowing that she may still not be trusted even after this, Shayla chose to remain where she was.

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

Well... relatively dry land, that is.

I blinked, coughing and spitting up water my instinctive gasp of shock and surprise had drawn into my throat, then rolled onto my back and hit the light-bending button. Immediately I popped into the view of-- well, whoever might happen to be standing nearby.

As did Terrin.

"Terrin!" I exclaimed happily as I threw myself against him, wrapping my arms around him in a joyful hug. That only prompted him to spit up swampwater; as he got to his hands and knees, head hanging, to relieve himself of the rest of the nasty stuff I took the opportunity to clamber unsteadily to my feet. My eyes darted anxiously about.

"Wha--? Who--? How--?" I spluttered, waving my arms in a combination of excitement and haplessness. Coming at a run was Big Red, and standing quietly off to one side was..

Dear ol' Sissypoops little cohort.

"Did you do this? Was that something my sister taught you?" I gasped, those occasional coughs still coming from my body unable to eradicate the growing distrust radiated by every other aspect of my body language.

[ 11-07-2007 01:00 PM: Message edited 1 time, lastly by Galen ]

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"Levitation is a Force ability I have had strength in since I was a small child," she answered simply. Then she directed her eyes to where Terrin still sat on his hands and knees, coughing up the remainder of swamp water in his system. Her instincts were to assist with her healing abilities...

...but she dared not rush in too quickly. "He will need medical attention..." she observed, cocking her head towards Terrin.

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

"Your Force-abilities worked out handily for you back on Tatooine as well," he sputtered, ignoring the pain in his shoulders and ribcage. The dianoga might have broken a rib or two in the process of squeezing him, but Terrin certainly wasn't going to let on about it at this point. He considered the portable Force-cage which remained hidden on his person. "Stay right there," he then continued, yet breathing in gasps of air, a hand wandering now towards his side.

"You swap sides too much." Unable to say anything further, Terrin remained on his knees, continuing to just breath...

...yet preparing to make as fast a move as possible to the hidden cage if need be.

[ 11-10-2007 09:32 AM: Message edited 1 time, lastly by Terrin Danner ]

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...and wondering just what he should say, glad just to see that both Terrin and Galen were allright...

...and instinct taking over. He moved nearby both Terrin and Galen. "Thank the Fates you are both allright," he then stated sincerely, getting to the ground nearby Terrin. "I can't say how good it is to see you...

...alive." He trailed for a moment, considering the final word. "You should get some medical attention...

...but I'm assuming you won't do so until we find Shawn, which is why we are here."

He paused again, looking slightly to Petrolu, then to Galen and Terrin both. "She says she has Force connections with him through blood, and she seems to have changed. She may be the best connection to the Jedi that we've got."

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

"NO!

The word burst from my lips before I could think to stop it.

"A damned powerful Sith warrior was killed just now! By a miracle Terrin was returned to me after being killed by a tuk'ata. I almost lost him again, just now, and in the pursuit of what?"

I glared at Shayla.

"In the pursuit of rescuing your dear brother!"

I stumbled over the wealth of words that now tried to escape me all in a bunch; it was only after taking a deep breath and forcing myself to calm down -- at least a little -- that I was able to continue at all.

"He's a Jedi, some big hotshot level of a Jedi, from what I recall, right? Well, am I right or not? And after seeing how easy it was for you to do what you just did, it only makes me wonder what in Hell's Seven Circles kind of a Jedi your brother is, that he can't get himself out of a much less dangerous situation!

"He's a Jedi; they're supposed to be able to take care of themselves! So he'd just better start taking care of himself right now! Terrin was almost dinner for not one, but two creatures; who knows what else we'll maybe run into. That dragonsnake, oh yeah, forgot about that... no way, sister!

"I'm not risking Terrin again; go save your brother yourself!"

With that I turned back to Terrin, draping his arm around my neck to support him as I began dragging my wounded warrior back to the safety of our ship.

I was that fed up. And as far as I could see, there wasn't anyone or anything that was going to change my mind about this.

[ 11-10-2007 06:33 PM: Message edited 1 time, lastly by Galen ]

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“Hey!” cried Panthar, pulling up to walk along the pair. “Looks like you could both use a hand back to the ship. You all right? I could probably carry both of you.”

A smile tried to make its way out, but it stopped just short as the weight of the moment caught up.

“It’s good to see you both, I’m sorry about the timing. Crap has been going down all over the place and I got a lot to tell you. Like Shayla there, she was taken over by the same icky black stuff that got into me a while back, and same with Gray. It’s gone now, and she’s trying to make up for the stuff she’s done. I know you don’t trust her, but I think somehow I’d know if it was still in her, ya know?”

Panthar looked at the both of them with concern. “I really could carry both of you, at least let me help with Terrin.”

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

"Thanks, Big Red. Be careful; I think that thing actually hurt him. If anything, Blondie back there was right in that he needs medical attention."

Ye gods. Nothing like stating the obvious! For the flying thing that had first snatched him had been up fairly high when induced by my blaster to drop him; hitting water from that altitude simply had to hurt at the very least, and more than likely had broken something somewhere on his person. Said break overlooked, undoubtedly, for the fresh pain inflicted by the second creepy-crawly; I shuddered at what almost happened, then realized the anger I was feeling was still dancing in my eyes.

I softened the look I was sending to the big guy.

"Thanks," I said simply then drew to a halt, still doing my best to support Terrin.

"And as for Shayla... well! My gut is telling me something ain't right on Dantooine, if you know what I mean. Horses changed in midstream are still horses; it's gonna take more than a sweet smile and promise to be good to get me to change my mind about her!"

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

“I know what you mean,” he said. “But let’s get Terrin somewhere before we worry too much about it. After that, there’s some other things to worry about now, too. Phal and Gray are back together, and you know that whenever that happens something big usually happens. And this time, that something is this Darkness thing. It has Phal—sort of. It has a clone of him, and apparently has possessed it and is off to cause all sorts of problems. Even Aelvedaar is worried. To make it worse, the Empire blockade that was around the Sith system got zapped by your sister. Well, it was the Darkness, too, but it doesn’t matter. She and Phal went off to talk to that Tarnus guy, to try to make nice with the Empire and see if we can all work together against the Darkness – oh, did I mention it has something to do with the Vong, too?”

Panthar stopped talking and sighed.

“See? I told you there was a lot of crap to tell you. And I know you’ve both done more than you ever needed to, but there was something I needed your help with. Nothing to do with swamps, this is technical pilot stuff. But that can wait, Terrin needs help, and soon.”

Panthar glanced ahead, pointing with his nose.

“I’ll follow you. Or, hey, there’s lots of room up here if you want to ride, too,” he said, winking.

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

"Thanks, but I'm a little old to be playing piggy-back! C'mon."

With that I just went on, continuing back the way we had come as fast as I could, so we could get to the ship and then up to Hornett before anything untoward happened to us again.

[ 11-10-2007 07:18 PM: Message edited 1 time, lastly by Galen ]

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...but I can't leave Petrolu down here to who knows what. He might be a Jedi, but the last I knew that didn't make them invincible. Caves are big and loaded with mazes; I don't know how he could just find his way out of one on his own without some help."

Pausing at this, Aaron considered, recalling how Stargazer had switched from a seeming "good guy" to a "bad guy" and back again. Maybe it was being back around Terrin that did it, but his own trust in her was wavering. "You all go back to the ship and get medical help. I'll stay here with Stargazer...

...and make sure she helps find her brother as she is promising to."

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

"Matt and Jasyn are already searching in the caves," he said quietly to Aaron. "Stay in contact...and be careful."

Trailing then, Terrin took a few deep breaths, coughing a bit. "Petrolu has been too much of a friend to leave no one but Shayla to find him...

...especially when we can't trust her. I mean. We saw what she did to her own husband..."

Quieting then with a deep breath, various pains occurring on and off throughout his person, Terrin waited for anyone to throw their two credits in before they headed off, realizing with sudden clarity that they weren't walking out of all this by far.

...and remembering exactly who was being tended to in the Hornett's medial bay already.

[ 11-11-2007 07:18 AM: Message edited 1 time, lastly by Terrin Danner ]

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"We ought to change the company name from Eagle Enterprises to Eagle Rescuers," he growled, pausing to take a breath, practically hanging from the rope. "You're sure we've got enough line to get down?"

Matt shrugged in response, which didn't go very far towards comforting Jasyn. Not venturing to take the question any further, however, Jasyn began climbing down once again. Around him, occasional rocks and pebbles fell, sometimes hitting them on their way downward, leaving scrapes and scratches. At length, however, Jasyn thought he could see some ground...

...but then paused, frowning, for the ground seemed to be moving.

"Ummm...Matt?" he said over in the other man's direction. "Is it my imagination, or is that water down below us?"

Matt looked down and assessed their surroundings, using a glowstick to get a better look. That only confirmed Jasyn's suspicions.

"Kriffing hell," he said then, "I'm not getting in that water; we know what kinds of things dwell in those waters."

Pausing then, he looked around for an alternative. as Matt contiued to search the area with the glowstick.

"Hey," Matt then piped up, shining the stick in a specific direction below them but to their left approximately 100 meters. "There's an opening."

"Oh, wonderful," Jasyn responded a bit blackly. "I always look forward to a little unplanned adventure."

As he said this, he reached for his commlink and fingered it on to a general frequency, unable to dial a specific one while hanging on to the rope. "Hey Petrolu, this is Jasyn Lancaster. Do you read me?"

He sent the message off, and cocked his head slighly Matt's way. "Allright, here we go. Let's hope this little trek isn't for nothing..."

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

"Since when does being supposedly invincible preclude the application of a little common sense?" I spat, becoming more and more disgusted as my thoughts moved along to one simple and logical conclusion.

"He got where he is somehow, right? Yeah, cave systems can have large winding connecting passageways, but most I've ever been to didn't! Big corridors that you can just saunter along are rare; if he's in a place that big right now, and had gotten there to begin with, why in Hell's Seven Circles can't he just go on back the way he got in?!

"Some Jedi!"

I snorted, turned my back and returned to Big Red, who had stopped a moment, Terrin in his arms, the most uncomfortable look on his broad face.

"Sorry guys; let's get out of here," I muttered as I pushed past, and kept on walking.

[ 11-11-2007 06:56 PM: Message edited 1 time, lastly by Galen ]

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"Let's..." he started, glancing Galen's direction. "But let's keep in contact."

He paused then, frowning a bit. "That Jedi back there is the only one I trust."

He trailed then, assessing the pains running thorughout his body once more, taking note of the fact that, despite them, he felt pretty lucid. His leg, which he had already injured earlier while trekking through trees to save what's-his-name aboard the Hornett, wasn't feeling so good, however. His shoulders and ribcage continued to throb as well.

He grimaced, disliking being carried around. "I should walk to assess the injuries," he then said, even as annoying little pain shot up his side. He grunted a bit. "I think some things are broken..."

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