I rubbed my hands over my face, ending with them threading through my hair, which to tell the truth was becoming more and more disheveled what with the manner in which all plans were being made...

...not to mention the sudden insertion of the kids into said affairs.

When my hands came back down it was to grab my drink and knock back a healthy shot. Then I slammed my glass on the table and turned back to Thea and Cel. My immediate reaction, of course, was to let them know in no uncertain terms that there was simply no place for kids where we were going, when I paused to reflect on the look I was getting from the little gal.

Those eyes, shining so bright with open curiosity... and something else. A deeper disappointment, ready to flare out once more; hadn't she already shown a tendency to go trotting off with whoever might just up and come down the pike, offering her candy and dangling a carrot in front of her nose? While I knew this would never happen aboard the Hornett, whose to say that she wouldn't turn away again, seeking something, someone else, if she felt betrayed again?

Gods knew she'd already been derailed from her life's goal too many times already.

I rubbed my face again, agonizing. Then I gave a short, definitive nod.

"Only the one, so far," I began as an aside to Thoran before I looked Thea straight in the eye and set out to be totally honest with her. The kids deserved that at least, I thought.

"Thea honey, yeah, I was going to leave you in safe hands here on Hornett, because we--"

I indicated Aaron and Thoran with a wave of my hand.

"--are going off on a little trip that might, in fact probably will, be very dangerous. We have two routes open to us: one involves confronting the Imperials, the other..."

I fumbled to a halt again, shaking my head at myself. How in the world does an adult tell a child that the Boogeyman is real?

"The other is a shortcut through a very dangerous place, one filled with terrible creatures and no light, and one whose people don't care if you're a kid or grown up.

"If they catch you, you're dead, and that's the simple truth."

I paused yet another moment, letting this sink in.

"Our eventual goal is to go to another world, Thoran's world, the Sith world, honey; Galen and Terrin and all our other friend are there and we want to bring them back here. We don't know if they're in danger there or not, but it could simply be that they can't leave because of the Imperials there blockading the planet.

"We're going to sneak in, find them, and get them out of there. I'm afraid it's going to be awfully dangerous, with a very low probability of success; do you honestly believe you are up to what might happen?

"I think that I can do it. I know that I'll be safest with you. And... if you go and something happens to you I'll never know about it. You'll never come back and I won't ever really know why. But if we both go... I've lost too many people that I've cared about already..."

The faces of her lost friends swam through her mind - Jeroc, Cella, Logan, Shayla, Loban - she couldn't fathom the thought of adding any more to that group.

"One, since when am I a kid, I know as much about surviving and the crime underworld as you do. I'm good with a blaster and odds are that I have a higher bounty then you."

I took a long drink from my Caff and slammed the mug on the table.

"Two, stop hidding things from me. I have seen just as many horrors as you and know how dangerous the galaxy is... don't sugar coat it because I'm younger then you."

The final slur against our host's cuisine and hospitality was the straw that broke the ronto's back, however.

"Are you quite finished, young lady?" I asked her sternly, cocking my head a little to regard her in a growing and extremely frosty silence.

A couple seconds ticked inexorably by in a silence broken only by the soft sounds as someone fidgeted, someone else took a swig of his drink. After a few moments more, I slid off my seat, helped Thea from hers and propelled Cel by a fatherly pull of one arm until she too was on her feet. Her sullen behavior notwithstanding, I then took her by the shoulder and forced her to face me.

"We are not hiding anything from you, Cel. This is something that has only just developed, something that we only now are discussing. While Thea has presented good reasoning on her part as to why she should be allowed in the rescue party, I'm not so certain that, while what you say might be true enough, the behaviors you tend to display would be something we'd need or wish to have with us. Besides, I haven't decided whether or not to allow either of you along yet; the invitation has yet to be extended."

I stood up, looked down at Cel. Then taking both kids by the arm I turned them toward the door into the establishment and gave their backs a gentle push.

"This place is not one for non-adults; Aaron, would you find someone who can take these two somewhere more appropriate for their age to find dinner and so on? Then I'd like to talk a little bit more about what we're going to be getting ourselves into.

"Thea, I'll comm you when we've come to a decision, but I do want you to know you've made some good points for us to consider."

With that I crossed my arms again, watched as Aaron lifted his comm to his lips and summoned a tech, who appeared at the door after just a few more seconds had passed and took both Thea and Cel into his hands.

"It won't be long, Thea," I called as the tech disappeared from the doorway with them. Sighing a little, I turned back to the others, slid back onto my seat, took another slam of my drink and plopped the empty glass back on the bar.

"Well?" I asked, although concerning specifically what and to exactly whom at that moment I really couldn't say.

Aaron trailed for a moment, considering. "She's rough and tumble and has alot of technical abilities. We could use her skills as well...but I worry about her attitude. Is she going to know when to trust us as being more experienced and more knowledgeable, or will she stick to her guns?"

"I don't know either, Aaron," I sighed, leaning on one elbow as I twisted to face him.

"I mean, as much as it worries me, I'm in agreement with you about Thea. She's got every reason to come along and help; you've got to give her some credit at least; she did make herself a lightsaber after all. That's got to count for something; if she's got it in her to do that, and yeah, with all she's been through, and all the big n' baddie's she's faced--"

Yaoksi, you're going to have to sit down with her and ask her to start opening up about all that. She's never spoken much about it in anything but sweeping generalities and vague hints.

"--I think she could pull her weight if the going got tough. Besides, we've got Thoran here, who I'm sure would make it his number one priority to yank her away if the going got too tough for her; he's got all his Sithy hoo-doos to help protect her, right Thoran ol' buddy?"

Now I twisted the other way, clapped a friendly hand on Thoran's broad shoulder, the grip both friendly and ripe with unspoken meaning. Then I let the hand drop, and went back to nursing my drink.

"I don't know about Cel; that kid's too hard for her age. What we might face is either gonna crack her...

"You're right." I stifled a yawn, pushed away the remainder of my drink, stretched and got to my feet.

"I think I'm going to give K'kihl a head's up-- you know the ol' Cricket won't be either willing or able to stay back here while we're out there with my-- er, I mean his--"

I rolled my eyes.

"--beloved ship."

A small smile quirked the corners of my lips; turning to the door, I called back over my shoulder.

"I'm going to contact him and then hit the hay; let me know when our final meeting is going to be before we take off. In the meantime, why don't you call that tech and pass along the word that the little gals get some shut-eye too..."

I paused in mid-step, turning on the spot to give Aaron a direct look.

"But don't let them know yet what's going on. That I think should wait until after we all get some rest, those kids especially, and Thea in particular. I don't care how much sleep she thinks she's had; that was healing sleep which is different from a few hours of good ol' shut-eye."

Nodding to Thoran, I took my leave, hastening to the hangar where my beautiful, beautiful Devil sat in all her brand-spanking new repaired and fully refurbished glory. Finding K'kihl, I quickly gave him the scoop; then not wanting to bother with going all the way back to the quarters Aaron had given me I simply headed to my bunk aboardship.

Saying nothing futher than that, Aaron departed the bar, headed for his quarters aboard the Hornett, and fell into the bed. Before he drifted off to sleep, however, something of minor importance--in the grad scheme of things, that is--pressed heavy on his mind. He reached for his commlink and opened the frequency to the Hornett's service department.

"Give the Hornett a thorough cleaning, and make sure everything is running at 110 percent," he ordered, not deigning to explain the reason for this request any further.

“Well, there’s nothing like a nice ‘see ya later’,” he said. “And that was certainly nothing like one. Of course, if anyone wanted to know what I think, I’m sure someone would ask. Of course, I’d say let the kids do their thing. Life’s too short to be coddled, and nobody learns from being safe all the time. Besides, we could use the fodder.”

Thoran thought for a moment, then shrugged.

“I was kidding about the fodder part. Mostly.”

He took a bite of roasted meat and looked back at the bartender.

“But they better not be treating me like some low member of this crew, because I’m not one. I’m a high ranking dignitary, and the only one who knows how to get their sorry butts to where they want to go. And I’m the one who came to them with the offer to help in the first place, so don’t just go running off and telling me to sleep.”

Thoran ate the last bite of his food and pushed his plate away from him.

She sat down and looked over at Link, "What do you think they are going to say? Will we get to go or are we stuck here waiting for them?"

I stared off in the distance for the moment until one of the waiters came by.

"Go away I'm not hungry."

I turned back and faced Thea.

I got up and started to lead the way back to the rooms, Thea might not be tired but for the longest time I have been sustained on ungodly amounts of caff.

...but it's been my experience that it's better to face them than to go through life avoiding them..."

“I’d rather just shoot a stim pack,” he said. “I had a dream, you see. I had a – well, an experience. A really bad one. And this dream is just brutal, see? And if I go back to sleep, it will happen again. And that is something I do not want to have happen.”

Thoran noticed the dark liquid in the mug on the bar, brought there when the kids left.

Thoran finished his drink in a gulp and pushed it to the bartender.

“Wow, know what? That stuff is really strong."

Feeling the stimulant of the drink working into him, Thoran stood shakily. His muscles began to relax, and his head felt heavy. He plopped back down.

"You sure this is a stim? Guess you never know how you're going to react to something, eh? Seems to have the opposite eff--"

Thoran yawned deeply and rested his chin in his hand, putting his elbow on the bar.

"Maybe you can just tell them to meet me here..."

The world swam away from the Sith as sleep finally caught up with him once again.

I procedded to my bed and ripped all the covers and pillows from it tossing it into a corner and making a makeshift nest-bed. I took my blaster and switching it to kill placed it into the mess of covers and pillows ready to draw at any moment. Some habits die hard.

"I've been running long enough on caff, I need actual sleep."

Aaron didn't realize how many times he'd hit the snooze on his chrono til an hour after it had first started going off. Finally floating to enough alertness to realize the time, he sat up with a jerk, rubbing his eyes to clear the sleep from them.

Wow, how long has it been since you've really slept??? he wondered to himself, truthfully unable to answer the question.

How so great a commotion, this one making can, when asleep he is, he couldn't help thinking as once again he reached out a chitinous arm to poke at the lump. It only garbled something unintelligible, then settled down into another series of snorts and grumbles.

K'kihl cocked his head in the other direction, exasperated.

"Yaoksi, Captain, waking up time it is," he announced with a clack of his mandibles.

Nothing.

Poking the lump somewhat more definitely, he tried again.

"Yaoksi, rising and shining you are now. Going we must be."

Holding aloft a steadily bleeping comm-link, he then shoved it smack into Yaoksi's ear, holding it there with cupped digits that only amplified the sound.

"Arrgggh!!"

I shot upright in my bunk, coverlets flying, arms flailing as a great cacophony suddenly erupted in my ear. Somewhere along the line my eyes managed to open, showing me the blurry outline of K'kihl who, chitinous though he was, was still managing to turn his immobile features into one gigantic smirk.

I blinked, growing more irritated with each passing second as my gaze swept from his face to his neck, then his shoulder, following his arm up to where it was truncated by the side of my own face. It was only then that I realized that he was holding a comm against my ear, a comm that was delivering a simple message over and over.

Piqued, I shoved him away, letting my hand run down his retreating arm to snag the comm.

"I'll get it, buddy," I grumbled with a yawn, then swung my legs over the side of my bunk and sat up to pay proper attention to the message. It took three more replays before I was awake enough for the words to register, and to realize that I had almost hit my ol' cricketty pal.

Not that he would have minded; he wouldn't even have felt the blow...

"Ok, K'kihl; that was Aaron. We're to meet in his ready-- ok, okay! I"ll meet him in his ready room, you stay here and get the systems fired up and ready to go."

With another yawn I slid from my bunk, tottered to my fresher and did everything in my power to wake myself up. It took some doing, but finally I felt I could at least go out and face the universe in general without being decked by anyone or anything; donning a fresh pair of khakis, a loose shirt and an old but well broken-in nerf leather vest, I grabbed up the comm and shoved it in my pocket before heading out the hatch.

Leave it to my buddy there to keep on top of things! I smiled to myself as I hurried along, letting my fingers brush against the smooth metallic device in my pocket. After about ten minutes of wandering I found Aaron's ready room and walked on in, in spite of the funny look an assistant-cum-guard gave me.

"Here to see Aaron." I waved the comm-link. "Ahh, there he is--

"Aaron, I hope your coffee's hot and ready to drink. We'll be able to take off shortly; what's the scoop and where's the kids? Have you contacted them?"

I winced a little at my own last statement, for even as I spoke it I realized that I had never contacted Thea back as I promised I would. I held out the comm, dangled it between my fingers in Aaron's direction.

"Do I need to call them?" I asked.

"Nah," I finished over the rim of my cup.

"I'm gonna give that little gal every opportunity I can to let her take herself in her own hands, if you know what I mean--"

Even if I still keep a watchful eye out from afar...!

"I'm sure those two can find their way here with a tech in tow; you know that's just how it's gonna be, considering those two-- and especially Cel!"

Smiling, I took another swig, happy to note that it was that swig; you know, The One That Finally Wakes You Up. Pleasantly buzzed on the strong caffeine, I paced across Aaron's ready room to where a platter of yummy-looking pastries beckoned.

"Don't mind if I do; d'ya have any eggs?" I asked, turning back to him with a mouthful of sweet.

"Link... Link... They are ready to talk to us. Wake up Link. Someone will be here in a couple of minutes to pick us up and take us to Aaron's office. Link!"

...but hey, we can get you some if you'd like. After all, we might not have such good food at our disposal pretty soon," he observed, sobering a bit. "I hope this hasn't already been true for those that we are searching for."

He grew more somber. "I failed them, as a friend, for waiting so long to take matters into my own hands."

"We aren't far," she indicated to the two, trying to keep things from being too quiet as they continued on. A few winding a twisting corridors more later, they reached an entirely official looking area, one lined with offices whose doors were made of the most secure metals. The ensign lead on all the way to the end of the corridor. At the end were two adjacent offices, both lacking the numbers above them as did the others in the hallway. Above the office to the right read "Captain's Ready Room" and above the one to the left were the words "Commander Aaron Barnes's Ready Room."

"Come on in, guys..."

And more than likely Cel's as well, in spite of her studied attempt to appear nonchalant and all business about things.

Letting a brief smile flicker across my features I turned away from them, walking to the server to pour myself another caf. Aftar a moment's hesitation I filled another cup, and brought it over to Cel.

"Here you go, partner," I said as I handed her the cup. The tone of my voice was light but the look in my eye was anything but as I swept my gaze back and forth between the pair.

Gods. They're just children!

I shook that off with an indrawn breath.

"As I was just about to say to Captain Barnes, K'kihl has Devil up and running and rarin' to go. We can take off anytime we're ready..."

I paused minisculely, then forced myself to say it.

"All of us... including you."

The looks the EE patrons were directing his way was more than enough to prompt the new bartender to do otherwise. Reaching underneath the counter, the bartender pulled out a bottle of something granulated that was the color red. He moved to where Thoran was sawing logs, scowling a bit, and took the top off the bottle. It was labeled "Tatooine smelling salts."

It always did the trick.

Rolling his eyes at Thoran, the bartender didn't hesitate, but lowered the opened bottle and placed it right under Thoran's nose.

"Talk later... Caff first."

Slamming my head back I downed the entire mug of caff. Feeling the stimulants flowing through my body I relaxed a bit.

“Mmmm…” he said. “That’s nice. Reminds me of home.”

Thoran stretched, popping his back. He rubbed his hair into a semblance of place and looked at the bartender.

“I asked you send a message to look for me here,” he said, rubbing his eyes. He opened them again and looked at the bartender. “Oh, you’re not him, are you? I mean, you’re another him. Well, that explains that. Did the last guy send the message? I’m waiting for the captain and that other guy, um, Yuksti? Yukser? Yaksti? Anyway, Cap’n Barnes and him and me are meeting sometime. Can you tell someone on the bridge I’m here? Name’s Thoran. Lord Thoran.”

Who knew how she had gained those... or why? I considered her from another angle. Then deciding to give her the benefit of the doubt, I smiled down upon her, now striving not to act or look too fatherly.

"We were discussing out imminent departure, Cel," I explained.

"We're going to go into Sith space, to a Sith planet to look for our lost friends. But to get there we have to go through a magickal doorway -- Sith are magickal, you know, or at least that's what someone told me -- into a place called the Darker Realms where death is alive and demons will rip your arms out and stuff them into your liver as soon as look at you."

I stopped, straightened upright with my arms crossed on my chest. Caf-cup a-dangle, I stared down at Ryn and Thea.

Thoran stood, the sleep not quite gone from his legs. He steadied himself on the bar and paused, then walked out of the bar and into the hallway. He kept a hand on the wall as he walked down the hall towards his door.

He fumbled with the keypad, and after a few failed attempts finally opened the door. He walked in a yawned, then noticed a light blinking on the com pad on the wall. He leaned over and pressed the button. He was greeted with a message from the Captain, giving directions to his office. Smacking his lips together a few times, he disrobed and walked into the fresher.

A few minutes later Thoran was walking full stride through the halls, following the directions from the message. His eyes were still fairly blurry, but he felt much better. He found himself standing in front of what he assumed was the office, and knocked on the door.

Well it didn't sound quite the same but any system that ryn hunting was still legal came close.

"I believe that I can handle this darker realm. After all in our last adventure I wasn't the one pinned down by a slug thrower."

Just then there was a knocking sound emminating from the other side of the door.

...do not take this lightly, nor assume that just because you've been able to handle a lot that this will be a piece of cake. I have friends who've been lost there, fought battles there..."

He trailed a moment, eyes defocusing, "...and have died there. And while I don't have much direct experience with being on these worlds, both Captain Joao and I have had associations with several persons and things connected to these worlds, and have some knowledge in regards to them."

He paused then, looking towards Yaoksi for a moment before returning his gaze to Cel. "I hope that you will be willing to trust us at our word on things when we go there...

Well that was mostly true I've never actually met another ryn, I was raised in a multi-species enviorment. But from what I've heard our way of looking at things is different from most species.

"I'm new on this trust thing... in my line of work trusting others often can be a liability"

I took I brief look at Thea then back to Aaron.

"I'm working on it, but in return I need you and Yaoksi to realise that the life you are living in your adult life is the only life I have ever known. I'm not your average 14 year old who aspires to do well in school, go to a good college, and get a good job and family. I'm the 14 year old ryn who carries a blaster , can slice into any system, has more bounties then the average revolutionary, and a nice layer of white fur."

Without another word then, Aaron pushed the button on his desk to once more allow the doors to slide open, revealing Thoran.

“Watch out for this stuff,” he said. “It puts you to sleep. These, however, are great!”

He took a bite of a pastry and relished the sweet flakiness. He turned to face Aaron, and found everyone in the room staring at him.

But that still didn't make her out to be an adult in my eyes. Instead, it made her all the more vulnerable.

I clenched my jaw, fighting against a sudden urge to sweep her into my arms in a bearhug. Instead I directed my discomfiture in Thoran's direction.

"Well well well, look what the rancor dragged in!" I scowled, making an issue of staring at my chrono.

"It's about time; K'kihl has Devil ready to go."

I paused to take a final look round at our little party, drinking in each face, for who the hell knew if we'd all make it to our final destination together.

If at all.

Sighing, I turned to Thea.

"I think there's something onboard ship you can use as a weapon; ever handle a blaster kid?" I asked her with an arch of my brow as I nodded toward the door. It was all I could do to refrain from scooping her up in my arms and planting a big ol' embarrassing kiss on her cheek, too.

Somehow I had the feeling she wouldn't want that.

At least, unknown to him.

“Nice trick!” he said. “I’m ready whenever you guys are, lead the way.”

He turned to Thea, finishing the pastry.

“Hey, don’t get brave when we’re in the Darker Realms. We won’t have to be there long, but if we’re noticed then it’s going to be a problem. Weapons won’t do much good, at least not the kind you’re thinking of. This goes for everyone, when we are there, it’s going to be horrible for you. Think of the darkest, most evil place you can imagine and then multiply by one thousand. The only thing that you can do if we’re spotted is fly that ship fast and get us away from whatever it is that found us, and hope you don’t run into something else. I’ll need a minute, maybe less, maybe more, to build back the energy needed to open a hole that big. But I can’t do it if something is right behind us, because chances are it will come through too.”

He licked the icing from his fingers and smiled.

Then he stepped out from behind his desk, motioning for the door as he then began heading that way. "Let's go."

Heading out the doorway to his office, Aaron stood and waited for everyone else to follow, something deep within him rising up anxiously, expectantly. He watched each member of the party as they departed his office, then punch a code on the panel at the side of the door. It slid closed and clicked, the locking mechanism activating.

Aaron nodded in a particular direction of the corridors, turned, and began walking that way, heading to a nearby turbolift. Even as he continued moving smoothly in that direction, a mental note caught his attention.

Maybe the next time he traversed this hallway...

...the true Captain of this ship would be here again.

Reaching the turbolift, Aaron keyed it open and extended a hand, allowing everyone to enter before he stepped inside and keyed in their destination. The doors to the turbolift slid shut, and obeyed the electronic orders it had been given, spiraling downward from the office suites to a level below before stopping without so much as a squeak or jolt. The doors slid back open, revealing the level where the main docking bay was housed.

He turned to the others as they left the turbolift. "Almost there," he observed unnecessarily, for most in the party had already been to the main docking area at least once.

“Oh, wow, good thing we’re not leaving in that…”

Yaoksi had already rushed forward to the ship, and was extending a hand to an insectoid… thing… with a hydro-spanner.

“… thing … over in the other direction, away from this fine looking ship in front of me. Hey, Yaoksi, nice ship!”

"She might not be an Imperial destroyer, pal, but she'll do 2.5 lightspeed, and her center of gravity's where it belongs...

"In the center! She can turn on a credit and give you enough change for breakfast... well, maybe not your breakfast."

I gave the remaining pastry crumbs still glued to Thoran's puss a good strong once-over, and then turned to the others.

"C'mon, she's set to go. Let's get the kids aboard--" I cast a look Cel's way that clearly said Do Not Start, and then turned round and boarded Devil, that I could greet them all properly as they came on.

Hydro-spanner in hand, the Verpine waited, obviously the last man to come up. When all were aboard I turned to Thoran.

"All right now, how do we do this. I presume we need to be up and running, right? Shall I ask for a departure vector, or do we just sit here looking silly..."

“We should be in space,” he said. “We don’t want anything getting inside the bigger ship through the portal. Once we’re out there, you tell me when you are ready to go, and I’ll open a portal right in front of us. We go in, I close it. I collapse, I get my strength back, you keep away from the nasties. Hide, stay still, whatever. You’ll have a minute or so to keep hidden, or keep away, and then I’ll open a portal out of there as soon as I can. Then we blast the hell through it and I close it behind us. Got it?”

"This is Captain Aaron Barnes, requesting immediate clearance from the Hornett via the Devil May Care, platform 1138.

"Copy that request Captain. Departure vector incoming shortly, sir," came the crisp reply from deck. Only a few moments later, departure coordinates scrolled across Aaron's wristcomm screen. He gave them to Yaoksi, pressing the message button on his wrist comm after. "This is Captain Aaron Barnes, transferring command of the Hornett to Commander Taylor Garrison. All hands are to continue their posts without pause, and all are to respond to any direct order he may give until my return..."

...or the return of someone else, came a mental addendum.

"Captain Aaron Barnes, out."

He only looked innocent; snorting now, I gripped the controls more tightly.

"All right, baby; let's show 'em what you've got...

"Full power thrust!"

I don't think there was another being in the entire universe who felt the depth of sheer and utter joy that I did at that moment. For to a true spacer there was nothing-- nothing! that felt better than the sensation of flying space beneath one's helm.

Ok. How about a pair of big blue eyes, braids, pretty little ribbon...?

That only reminded me of where we were going, and why, and who was aboard.

I grunted, gripped the controls, and flew my angel out to about half a billion klicks from nowhere.

I took a quick look around the room. carefully taking it in.

He opened the portal in front of the ship. It began as a shimmering rip in space, then widened as Thoran poured more and more of his willpower into it. Not born a creature of the Darker Realms, but definitely one now, the doorway opened wider and wider, welcoming him home. The door was large enough just time, and the ship passed through it.

Thoran released his hold and the portal schlicked shut behind the ship. He turned to Yaoksi, surprised that he was still standing. He had never opened a portal that large before.

“All ri--”, he started. A sudden emptiness filled his head, his eyes rolled back, his knees buckled, and Thoran fell backwards, unconscious.

(((OOC: Follow these shenanigans into Siege of a Soul in the Jedi Praxeum & Sith Temple forum. Thank you!)))