Space

[Kirana Sunrider]

"We're going to the new Helix Station." Kira watched as the space outside of the viewscreen reverted to a black backdrop with scattered stars. She put in the next set of co-ordinates, knowing that they wouldn't be tracked having taken all the precautions before they again disappeared into streaks of light that indicated hyperspace...

[Balance]

.:Necropolis:.

 

Father Darkness...

 

From the heavens above to the deepest existence within one's heart, did this deity exist. From his within loins, did my soul transpire. I was born of darkness, found comfort within it's reach, and worshipped it's blackened beauty. For quite some time now, it had encompassed my thoughts, dreams, my reality. But now as light began to pierce the veil of my father, my brother's embrace loosening and my return to this miserable existence we call life growing closer, i couldn't help but fear. Ah, dearest mother.

 

Mother Fear...

 

Her realm existed within the unknowing, birthed from the nature of man. Finding myself within her bosom, i came to harbor the cold touch that most would coware from. Fear's touch was seductive, like that of which a child would experience beneath the comfort of a blanket. I found joy within it. Opening my gaze, i looked around me. A strange place it was, to awaken to the cold steel below me and lining the walls of my would be cell. Saying farewell to Brother Death, i came to consciousness, sitting up.

 

"What strange place be this?" I pondered, the memories of my death causing my head to ache. Now the Sister Pain had joined me by my side, i felt complete. "Is it strange that this is not my home? Or has my home became a stranger to me? It does not matter. For i am home, wherever home is."

 

Tearing the tubes and contraptions from my body, the realization that i was no longer myself came to me. My original had long been dead, a choice my former Master had made for me long ago on Mechis III. In fact, my former Master had made that choice for me twice now. I chuckled silently as i stood, only to fall upon my face with a large thud. He seemingly held a great sense of humor, and for that, i held a fondness for him. Perhaps one day i would return the favor. Sitting there briefly, i waited just a little longer, allowing my strength to return.

 

As i sat there, i wondered the fate of my former Master, and the other Apprentice i had so playful toyed with during my apprenticeship under Master Ason. Did they still live? Or had they had fallen to the weak? My family's protection did not extend beyond myself after all. Standing up once more, i made way to a near by shelf in search for clothing. Within it, i found my sword, robes, and other possessions, soon finding myself clothed and ready for departure. Now for my way off this rock.

 

Necropolis, as i later found out in my search for a ride off the planet was a giant graveyard for the dead of the Core planets. A perfect place for my reincarnation, my Brother's choice a fine one. Within his realm, i had been reborn. Such was my brother's humor. I would one day return to claim the planet, but that's a story for a different day. Finally i found my ticket off the dead planet, an old beater than hung only by a thread of life. After a few minor repairs, and a little luck, i soon found myself within Father's blackened embrace as i shot off into the darkness of space above.

[Jhoren Zeur]

The Argent Star sped through hyperspace, en route for the Jedi Base on Haruun Kal. Jhoren sat at its helm, using his comm unit to send an encrypted message to the guards unit on the Jedi-controlled planet.

 

<: This is Jhoren Zeur, Jedi Knight of the Order. I request clearance to land in your sanctum, over. :>

 

He paused. The comm on the other end gave off nothing but static.

 

Narrowing his eyes, he tried again.

 

<: I repeat, this is Jhoren Zeur, Jedi Knight of the Order. I would like to request clearance to land, over. :>

 

He waited another few minutes, before finally shutting his communications system off.

 

Nothing...

[Cephi]

Once the Bounty Hunter's shuttle had gone fully into hyperspace, the Nagai warrior allowed himself a bit of time to relax. Soon, and very soon at that, he would be a Sith Lord, an honored class, and one his master had never bestowed upon an alien before. Perhaps Cephi himself had broken his master's racism, at least toward him, due to his extreme malice and cruelty he had for the galaxy. When Cephi thought upon the moment this wondrous honor would be bestowed upon him, and the thought of the God of Sith himself granting him that rank, a smile rose to the Nagai's shark toothed mouth and for the first time in sometime the emotionally crippled being felt joy in moment not yet arrived.

 

Then reality set in, and the drugs Cephi had overdosed on were beginning to fade in their effectiveness allowing the crazed mind of the sociopath within to gain more and more control over him. Soon the internal battle would be over, and Cephi's true self would return. While he still had his mind, for what was left of its logical notions, the Sith thought of his master's orders, something even when his control is gone, he would not disobey.

 

Soon enough, Cephi had returned to himself again, and he lusted to do his master's bidding. A malicious smile grew over his face and he howled one laugh before he set the ship to autopilot toward Naboo and got up from his seat. Making sure his swords were securely in place he marched toward the door to the cargo hold and typed in the keypad code allowing the door to zip open.

 

The room was dark, nothing but one dim light in the back over the prisoner herself. The dimness gave her gaunt-like features on what used to be a pristine and beautiful body. The Nagai never noticed such things, but licked his lips in anticipation of the kill. She appeared broken and weary from her travel and capture by the bounty hunter. The leader of the supposed Link, stuck in the back of his shuttle, her life forfeit by the one last person she had to trust.

 

The Sith took one step forward to come into the room itself, and keyed the door shut allowing the lights in the room to come on fully exposing not only Zara Nargal in full, but Cephi himself also in full as well as the Ysalimir which laid nearby Zara. The room was cramped, leaving only a few feet between the hunter and his prey, and with her weaponless, defenseless, and without the use of the Force, her life was in Cephi's hands. The very hands that brought her reputation to shame and caused havoc in her life many of times thus far.

 

The Sith only had one mission however, and the great unholy Lord Ar-Pharazon did not trust the woman, nor this shuttle, on his planet. In fact he didn't care to see the life taken from Zara himself, he gave this pleasure to Cephi to do in space, in transit, where no hope can be found, no last minute weapons lying on the ground or in the pocket of a bystander, no friends can come to the rescue, nothing. The woman had successfully allowed her death to be an unstoppable thing.

 

The Nagai cleared his throat and smiled to the haunted soon-to-be-dead in the corner before he moved forward one step. He placed a hand on his sword, preparing it to strike at any time. And the blasters hidden within each finger tip on his other hand slowly opened in case he needed to fire a spread of blasts in any given moment. He was prepared to kill her by any means. The computer in his brain calculated all possible movements, and set the blasters in his hand to fire at certain spread points should she make a move, and an electrical surge powered the servo's in his joints to ensure his durasteel plated bones would be able to go at the agile speed Cephi had when he was truly an organic being only. With the preparation set, as with all evil beings, Cephi started his monologue.

 

”œMiss Zara Nargal, a pleasure it is to meet you in person,”

Edited September 19, 2009 by Guest

[Emily]

The events of the past few days were almost impossible to believe, but nevertheless, Emily almost suddenly found herself in the Shadow's Shine, traveling through hyperspace. She remembered very little--for example, she had no recollection of getting her ship--but she did know that Master Quietus was dead. That, she remembered very clearly. It burned in her, a searing anger that once again, anyone she had attached herself to had abandoned her.

 

The ship was heading for Coruscant, but Emily's hands rested on the controls. She had the oddest feeling that she wasn't supposed to return to Coruscant just yet. Remembering Quietus' words, she gritted her teeth and dropped the ship out of hyperspace, ignoring the warning beeps that told her she had not reached her originally programmed destination.

 

What am I supposed to do now? I want to learn the ways of the Force, but I'm left with no one to teach me.

 

She idlly pulled up the planet charts as she thought. When she stopped, she realized she was looking at a chart of the planet Naboo, a pleasant-looking world of fields and mountains and lakes. Perhaps I need a vacation. I've never had one...

 

She shrugged. It wouldn't hurt to go there. She could always use that time to decide where she was going to do next and what she was going to do. Besides, it felt like the right decision.

 

That was enough for Emily, and she quickly punched in the coordinates and sent the ship on a course for Naboo.

[Dagon]

An urgent encrypted message arrives for Ason, requiring his immediate attention.

[Anilara Kadav]

((this is continuation from Black Sun thread))

 

I calmly agreed to go on this trip with Sol to see some carnage done, but something about me wanted to come for a different reason. Something in my nature changed slightly when I was following my past back to my previous life. I couldn't explain it, but I seemed to value life a little more. I was still me and I could easily kill someone if I wanted, watching their crimson gold of precious minerals run to the floor, but something about the appeal of the prospect lessened.

 

It seemed one of the only reasons I came on this trip was to be close to Sol. So, seeing as how the ship was on autopilot I though I would sneak up on him keeping a quiet watch on things as he sat idly in the cockpit chair. I could see him around the little hatch in the back sitting as he did in his chair and like a snake I wrapped myself amongst the chairs quickly and quietly to avoid detection. Once I was within range, I tackled the side of the cockpit chair giving him a rather large smooch on the side of his face and hugging him tightly. "Hey babe" I said in his ear, "wanna fool around while the ship takes its bloody time?"

[Sol Kadav]

Not long after the operatives had their 'joyful experience', the Silver Hawk's navicomputer indicated that they were close to the end of their deep space voyage. The almost sing-song tone that whistled from the console captured Sol's attention. He stood up, smoothed out his hair and jabbed his thumb down on one of the buttons. The signal came to an immediate end.

 

"We're almost there," he said, turning back around to face his counterpart. "Let's hope that the fur ball isn't heavily guarded."

 

The more he thought about it, the less it made sense. Why would the Republic want to get their hands on a wookiee? Was the brute who Sol had taken out back at the citadel 'wookiee royalty' of some sort? Were the furred beasts of Kashyyyk allied with the men and women of the Republic Order?

 

He hoped not.

[Dagon]

Zara is not restrained and has unarmed combat skill, kill post nulled.

[Guest]

Having sat on the edge of the bed since the shuttle had taken off, Zara slipped the straps off her shoulders, the pack containing the ysalamari resting on the bed beside her now. She read through the datapad again, her eyes scanning everything on it. Zara missed her twins terribly and was very worried about them. The young woman hadn't left her room, hadn't had to since she had an adjoining ensuite. She hadn't felt hungry at all so hadn't bothered to go into the galley or living area of the shuttle either since they had lifted off.

 

As the door opened, the Dathomiri Witch looked up, her expression registering shock that it wasn't her pilot at all but her enemy, before she carefully schooled it again, only a little concern showing now from her worry regarding her twins. She took in the appearance of the Nagai, noticing his eyes more dilated than what was normal for one of his kind. Was he on something?

 

The ysalamari bubble encapsulated the spacious luxury room of the Link's private shuttle. Zara was quite used to the effects from having trained in both areas of the Casino for as long as it had been built so she was used to the dulled reaction times of not having the Force on tap. She watched as the dark creature stepped into the room and into the ysalamari bubble, clearly meaning her harm. Her assumption was confirmed by the malicious grin that split his features, and his words as he spoke.

 

Since she was still sitting on the side of the bed, she carefully reached her arm over towards the small bedside table, her movement hidden by the position her body was, in comparison to where Cephi was standing by the now closed door. She slid the draw open, her hand encompassing the handle of the blaster she kept there and brought it out, still keeping it hidden from view by her body. This took only a small amount of time, the Nagai still talking.

 

As he drew his sword, Zara spoke, her voice quiet though even, "Yes I do know who you work for. And if you think that I am afraid of death you have another thing coming." As she said the words, she could see him hesitating as if arguing with himself over what he should do to her. She took advantage of this moment while she had the element of surprise on her side.

 

In a smooth movement, Zara quickly brought up the blaster and fired, the stun bolts aimed directly for Cephi's chest before she dove towards the open ensuite door, the ysalamari still lying on the bed. In there she fired another shot around the corner at him before closing the door. Adrenaline surging through her, Zara secretly sent off a message with her internal comm, requesting help and how they could find the shuttle, also activating the shuttle's beacon. She rushed over to the amenities cabinet and pulled open a draw. She brought out a dart and small launcher, her fingers moving swiftly to insert the dart. She inched open the door and took aim, firing at Cephi. If this didn't work to capture him, she had another trick up her sleeve... one that was ready to trigger in an instant.

 

<>

[Dashel Illioni]

Once the ship was in hysperspace, he rose and then motioned for Kala to follow him, drawing his lightsabers and activating them.

 

He went through the ship listening to the force and heading to where the internal systems had indicated there were anomalies. Curiously, the force did not warn him of any danger. Dashel kept his sabers ready.

 

When they got to the spot in the cargo bay where the internal sensors indicated a malfunction, Dashel found himself in an open area below the Delta 12 in its cradle. He frowned and looked at Kala. He listened to the force for a moment and found himself guided to a spot in the floor.

 

Together they searched the small area for something that was out of the ordinary.

 

It was a curious R9 who had come late to the bay whom found a cleverly hidden projector behind a staunchion holding the Delta 12 in place. He and Kala examined it, before deciding to let R9 disable it. When they did so, a portion of the cargo bay far from where they had searching simply changed.

 

To Dashel's surprise, Burksed was there along with an un-identified female and several small children. One of the children squealed at the sight of the lightsaber and rushed forward. Dashel deactivated the lightsaber and looked at Burksed.

 

It was the female with Burksed that replied, ”œWe're sorry, but Roman was trying to get my husband to act against the Alliance and we didn't know what else to do.”

[King Kheldar vos Correlli]

On Cephi's Killshot on Zara: A lot of behind the scenes work and planning went into this one. What would have been a straightforward killshot by Cephi is balanced against preparations by Zara. Both were firing at nearly point blank range, with Cephi taking the extra action of attempting a sword strike at the same time.

 

Cephi has the advantages of cybernetic prep in his shots, versus Zara's own armorment, not accounted for by him, giving her an element of surprise. Zara took the initiative of firing during Cephi's indecision, which would give her shot priority in this case while Cephi charged after his moment of indecision.

 

Given the cramped room of the shuttle cabin where the duel took place, as well as these elements suggests he stunblast would connect, catching him off guard.

 

Killshot countered- Capture goes to Zara.

 

On a related note, Cephi explicitly posted keying the door shut behind him with a code, locking it. Zara is trapped in the shuttle's cargo bay.

[Dahar Raikanda]

The Fireflight held steady in Adumar space. Dahar knew in his heart that a life awaited him outside of his homeworld. He pondered what the voice had whispered to him, "There is more... follow the Force."

 

He had heard of the Force before, and the religions that followed it, but that was the extent of his understanding. How could it be something that he could follow, that would guide him? Yet deep in his core a new fire was kindling. He could feel something inside of him, a connection with all that is and was. The more he entertained the thoughts of leaving his home the stronger the feeling felt.

 

"Was this the Force?" he wondered to himself. "Follow it? I don't even know where to begin!"

 

Sitting in his pilot seat, Dahar closed his eyes.

[Guest]

Zara cautiously peeked out from around the corner of the ensuite to find the Nagai stunned on the floor. Still wary she reloaded the dart launcher, shooting Cephi with the paralysing dart she'd gotten from Draken Shadowlord, so even if he recovered from the stun, he wouldn't be able to move. The ysalamari would keep him from using the Force though she would take extra precautions. Zara crossed over to the draw, bringing out a neural collar. While Cephi was still out to it, she placed the collar around his neck, slipping the controls for it into an inside pocket. Quickly she retrieved the other items around the room that she had placed in strategic locations for easy access if she'd required it... which it turned out that she had. With nothing left that could be construed as a weapon, Zara turned towards the fallen enemy. She searched him, taking anything that was obviously a weapon, though she knew she couldn't remove all. The neural collar and paralysing agent that had been used should be enough to keep him under control. She moved the ysalamari to a hidden panel in the wall over the head of the bed so that Cephi wouldn't know where it was and therefore couldn't destroy it.

 

She moved across to the door to see that it was locked. Zara glanced down at the Nagai again, then pushed her sleeve back to reveal her wrist unit. This one differed from the other unit she had, the one exactly like Kat's though both of them required her own special codes to access it. If it was removed no one would be able to access the information on them... well not without hours of work trying to hack into it. By the time they'd get in, any codes it had would be replaced by new ones. She placed it up to the key pad and hit the codes that would override any that Cephi had used. It seemed he'd forgotten that this shuttle was the Link's and that as the owner of the Link she would have means to access or override controls. It didn't take long for the override to kick in, allowing Zara to open the door.

 

She stepped out of the room and turned to lock the door with a different set of codes. Cephi would be held here until she decided what to do with him. Zara headed to the cockpit and checked the navi computer, discovering that she was in Naboo space. She would send a message to the controlling powers that be and see if they wanted her prisoner, otherwise, she may just dispose of him out of the airlock.

 

(continued in Naboo thread)

[Dahar Raikanda]

Dahar sat quietly at the helm, lost in thought. Taking in slow deep breaths he concentrated on the voice that had spoken to him and the vision of the man in white. What did this all mean?

 

Let the Force guide you... Well what in the galaxy does that mean?

 

He let his mind empty, leaving behind the thoughts of dueling that so often flooded his thoughts, the wealth and fame that he had left behind on Adumar. Continuing with deep breaths he slipped further away from the here and now, until...

 

Haruun Kal

 

The phrase boomed in his mind with a deafening urgency. It was the same voice, the whisper. Was this itself the Force? Could the Force actually speak to him?

 

Haruun Kal

 

Again the words echoed in his ears. Dahar was slowly beginning to discover a talent deep inside of him, one always there, but until now unknown. He was learning to communicate with the Force. It was becoming clearer and clearer. Still not understanding what was going on he brought up the Fireflight's navagation system.

 

Well there it is, Haruun Kal. That's practically the other side of the galaxy! Is this where I'm supposed to go?

 

Dahar set the nav computer for Haruun Kal. He glanced down at the planet Adumar below him.

 

Can I really leave it all behind? My family? The fame and glory?

 

And then a sinking feeling hit him deep in his stomach. He thought about what he would miss the most, and what he was running from, both the same thing. The rush of the kill.

 

Yes, this is what I must do. There has to be more than...

 

He took one last look at Adumar and, taking a deep breath, made the jump into hyperspace.

[Sgt. Slaughter]

Following proper tradecraft, the pilot of the Bon Mot made a randomized hyperspace jump before performing a full sweep of the ship's interior and exterior for homing devices, then made another randomized jump before finally making its way towards its final destination.

[Jhoren Zeur]

The Star was soon amidst the great blue tunnel that was hyperspace. Jhoren was sitting at her helm, thumbing through a datapad but paying no mind to it. He eyed the scanner on the control interface. Gala was less than six minutes away.

 

Relaxing comfortably in his seat, he settled back against the headrest, but not before slipping out of his robe. In a few minutes' time, they would arrive at their destination...

[ObliviousKnight]

While en route to Onderon, Armiena did her best to explain everything, no matter how horrified he might have been.

[Lord Ar-Pharazon]

Ar-Pharazon's ghoulish spacecraft liberally barreled through cold hyperspace like a screaming bullet being fired into a Senator's targeted heart. Checking his bone-laden gauges to see that things were running smoothly, the Sith Master was satisfied that his ship was on its set course. Unless shit went wrong, he would arrive upon Coruscant in a matter of a few short hours. In his actions and in his very soul, he lacked charity and compassion. There was no love in the man's heart. No forgiveness, no empathy, no sympathy no kindness, goodness, patience, nor peace. No gentleness, no self-control. Nothing. Just anger; and a complete urge to ruin good souls. That's it.

[Dashel Illioni]

Dashel was awakened by two simultaneous warning sounds. One of them was the blaring of an alarm signaling that the ship was about to revert to realspace due to gravity shadow.

 

The other was his astromech's shrill voice plowing through several registers in sheer panic.

 

"Calm down!" he shouted, trying to get the little mech's attention, "and find out where we are!"

 

The planet below him was nothing like he had ever seen. He hated thing the words, but there the cliche was staring him in the face.

 

It was then that he realized that he was viewing the world entirely through the force. His jaw fell downward, exposing feline canids in a soundless roar.

 

"You can't see it can you? All you see is a void against the stars. Trying extending your scans outward to detect the gravity shadow."

 

The astromech whistled, then settled down as it found the planet through the less precise method.

 

"No, I don't know how its done. Its not a planet sized cloaking field, that much I know."

 

///The traveler comes. Call him, Call him. Tell///

 

Dashel recognized the communication through the force, but instead of single voice it sounded as if a multitude was calling him, but filtered through a sinlge lens.

 

///Traveler call no more. Traveler fold the points///

 

"What?" was his verbal response.

 

An image played through his mind, followed by another, followed by another until he saw that they repeated themselves.

 

It was good that they did, otherwise he would never have recognized all those times he had ever telerported.

 

Although, he was pretty sure he did not remember ever touching foot on this planet when he did so.

 

What came next froze him in mid thought. The image was a correction to what he had been doing with the technique.

 

It would take time to master. Intensive meditation would be necessary to understand everything they showed him.

 

Immediately, he was aware of new things in his cockpit. The hyperspace ring was damaged beyond his or his droid's ability to fix.

 

He keyed the comm and waited for a response form Helix Station

 

The response was immediate and far from what he expected. His ship came out of hyperspace near his position. He did not questiong how it got there, he was Jedi.

 

He flew the damaged civ spec fighter into his cargo bay, looked for the family that had been there and when he didn't see them, asked Kala where the were.

 

She had an answer for him when he go to the bridge.

 

"Harumn Kal."

[Vladimir Faust]

Still aboard the Solo-Wing, Faust goes over his Lusef Aryan persona en route to Haruun Kal. He double checks his prosthetics, voicebox, and robes. The ruddy face, short black hair, and even friendly moon face smile seemed perfectly unnatural.

 

What to wear would be at issue. His armor, while useful, was a dead give away, as would be his Sith sword. In the end, he settles on a couple lightsabers, his belt full of goodies including magpoons, micro-explosives, and a few other tricks, and one good disruptor pistol. A couple vials of poison, a couple knives for his boots, and he was in good shape. A few high grade explosives wouldn't hurt either if he needed to leave a surprise for the Jedi, but he could wait.

 

He considered other mischief, such as stealing a few holocrons, killing everyone, looting their databases- all of that would take priority over simple demolitions. No, the explosives could wait.

 

He had a few hours to arrive, and spent it rehearsing his voice, manners, cover story, and the like.

 

All-in-all, this would be fun.

 

And may the Force have mercy in its pitless heart on those poor souls when he was done.

[Nhagathul]

The ship hurtles through hyperspace, its select few passengers confronting truths and lies amidst the passageways within its bowels.

 

OOC((Start playing out your PMs and once things reach fruition we'll land on Nhagathul proper.))

[Delta73]

Delta stood in the turbolift with the others, he still had his E-11s in his hands, but he was no longer at his high alert mode. But still if an idiot decided it was a good idea to attack a bunch of Jedi/or perhaps Sith, since you could never tell with Miralukas, he would be ready for any attack. Delta sighed, he was tired, and a bit lonely”¦he had never really paused to consider how many friends he had lost over the years”¦Crosa, Jacen, Kailen, Commander Tal'Rang, his squad mates”¦so many”¦so many friends lost to the wrath of war.

 

 

It was at that moment, when his guard was down that he heard his helmet beep. It was his comm-link, the one that was used for overreaching commands or interpersonal squad chatter. It beeped again, and this time static burst through his ears. It wasn't an ordinary sound, it was the tinny kind of static as heard through a Clone War era device. It continued, and he started to recognize the static that he was hearing, and it filled him with dread. The date was nineteen years before the battle of Yavin. One thousand and eighty-nine days after the battles of Geonosis. Order sixty-six. A voice broke through the static at last.

 

 

”œCa'Aran?”

[ObliviousKnight]

The turbolift ride passed in awkward silence. Really, between four complete strangers in the midst of a flying mausoleum, what was there to be said beyond the tersest of instructions? The silence was only broken by Delta's shout””Armiena got a sudden compulsion to duck””and the soldier's blue-tinted helmet went sailing over her shoulders, bouncing heavily against the walls until it landed over the Jedi Grandmaster's fist.

 

What had happened that compelled a man wearing the armor of the Republic Commandos to do such a thing?

 

A soft chime emanated from the ceiling of the suddenly claustrophobic lift, helpfully announcing an end to the ride. After the door opened, Armiena pressed the emergency cut-off of the turbolift. Until the lock was overridden, the turbolift would remain completely inert. Turning away from the door, she spoke to her apprentice behind her back, the worry straining her voice. ”œArlan”¦ you”¦ go, go on ahead with the Miraluka. We'll catch up in a second.”

[Arlan Vass]

Discomfort filtered among the souls on the turbolift. Armiena was the only other person in the small compartment whom Arlan knew, and even she seemed to be feeling the same way. The afflictive atmosphere didn't lighten the matter. He shifted uncomfortably, unable to shake that feeling of dread that had surfaced the moment they entered the lift.

 

He shuddered. This was unlike anything he'd ever seen before. The now-deceased Darth Quietus's cruiser didn't even compare to this one. Unlike it, the ship they was aboard now was riddled with perilous evil and calamity. The damned turbolift possessed that same inkling. It was incorrigible; no matter what he did or thought of to avert his mind to a more light-hearted subject, he couldn't. It was as if somebody was controlling his mind for him.

 

Again he trembled, unable to help himself. His grip around his saber tightened. The turbolift rose even higher, and for a fleeting moment, he wondered if it would ever”“

 

Without warning, Delta tugged off his helmet and flung it away. He had fallen to his knees, and now, he looked around, as if he hadn't just made a spectacle of himself. The Padawan stared at him in subtle awe.

 

Silence. The lift came to smooth stop. The doors slid open, and Armiena activated the emergency cut-off. She spoke, then. To Arlan. He peeled his gaze away from the trooper and snapped to attention.

 

”œArlan”¦ you”¦ go, go on ahead with the Miraluka. We'll catch up in a second.”

[Oculus]

The constant passing of the blood red circular lights as the lift scurried to the heavens gave the surroundings of the four a deathly aura of sorts, a sacrilegious standing within a ring of cold fire as the timely gasp of compression came and went with the passing of the lights. Luna stood solid, her back nearly pressed against the other's as they readied for the unexpected, unknowing of what laid in wait for them just above.

 

It was here that the other's begin to act strangely as well, first with Delta's sudden outburst that nearly took her head off. Luna, startled, looked around at the other's, noticing that Armiena had ducked as well, the projectile no doubtingly crossing her path as well as it was flung toward them by the once unwavering commando. What would make a soldier act in such a way? Even Luna would admit she was a tad bit freaked out right now.

 

The lift arrived at their destination, the doors shooting open with an horrifying 'hiss'. Luna's gazed peered out into the darkened corridor as the other's grew to the ready, a lump of fear gathering within her throat as she viewed no one but themselves- no one to call her name as they had done. And as the Padawan reacted and ran toward an seemingly unhurt Master, Luna's paranoia strengthened tenfold.

 

Luna had had it. She soon disembarked the lift, slightly weirded out by the others and glad to leave their side. Her mind wandered, wondering if this hellish place had driven them mad, if this ship had conquered their minds. Was her's next? Armiena was seemingly the only sane one left besides herself, and in her mind, Luna was doing her a favor by going off on her own. It would be one less to worry about. Blastsword in hand, Luna turned around the corner and disappeared alone into the shadows.

 

"What have i gotten myself into this time?.... What a day."

 

Straight out of the hands of an assassin and into the frying pan. What a day indeed.

[ObliviousKnight]

The commando said nothing in reply, an unexpected response that did almost as much to frighten Armiena as anything she'd so far. The veteran had predicted the Delta-73 would give her the reply that came almost automatically to any soldier that she'd served with: that he was fine, ready to get on with the job. With only a single exception, that had been the answer she'd heard from a soldier that was asked that question. Maybe this man was just an imposter that had no business wearing the armor of the Republic Commandos, but seeing him falter was deeply disturbing to Armiena.

 

Already on edge from how badly this mission was going””and definitely a little unbalanced by what she thought she'd just heard””she flinched when Arlan shouted out and knelt beside her with a set of bandages. Her shoulders tensing up, Armiena whirled around, grabbed the front of his robes, and shoved him back into the corridor just outside the turbolift.

 

”œArlan, stop.”

[Silas]

It's time. It's time to go home.

 

The voice echoed through the back of Vesper's mind, startling him. Thus far he hadn't seen anyone on the mysterious ship other than his team. Maybe it was the same voice that had told him that it was time to leave Corellia for a while telling him that his break was over and that it was time to return to work. Either way, Vesper knew that he needed to find his way to the cockpit. He couldn't leave the scene of his crime until he could get this rusty old bucket of bolts into the air.

 

As he began to move towards where he thought the cockpit should be, he was surprised to feel the ship lurch and moan as if it were taking off. The hum of the engines firing confirmed his suspicions. He silently motioned for two members of the three man team to head to the cockpit while he and the remaining agent stayed here to make sure that there wasn't anything unwanted wondering about the ship.

 

Vesper was beginning to relax. That was, until he saw the first face. A gruesome, white-eyed, blank stare looking at Vesper, piercing his very soul. Normally a dead body wouldn't have fazed him beyond the normal shock of seeing a rotting corpse when it wasn't expected but there was something in this face that scared Vesper immensely. He recognized it. Due to Vesper's former life and former acquaintances this ship could end up being his downfall. Perhaps he had tried his luck one too many times and it had finally run out.

 

With this thought sitting in the back of his mind Vesper began to look around the rest of the corridor that he was in, noticing the other bodies strewn about haphazardly. His dread began to grow when he realized that he recognized more than just one of the faces. He recognized all five bodies in this single corridor. They were all part of an old smuggling team that he had betrayed in his early days with Black Sun. It seemed like a life time ago that this had all happened.

 

Vesper did a double take when he thought he saw one of the bodies, a man that he had once considered a valuable friend, wink at him. When he actually focused on the face it was as immobile as any other inanimate object he had ever seen. There was no way that the corpse had just winked at him, right? They were dead and it was all just a trick of the light, right?

 

The next realization was possibly the most startling. He recognized this corridor. It was where he had stood, all those years ago, to confirm with his contact inside Black Sun the arrival time and crew of the ship. This was where he had finalized his betrayal and made his journey towards membership in the Black Sun complete. But that wasn't possible, was it? He had watched with his own eyes as this ship and all of its occupants were blown to oblivion by a few well-placed rockets.

 

Vesper continued to stare in wonder and disbelief until he heard a voice behind him calling out.

 

"Hey! HEY! You there...you there!"

 

Vesper and his agent simultaneously turned and drew their weapons, training them on their best educated guess at the voice's location. What he saw before was alive, thank the gods, and had a similar weapon in his grip.

 

"Who the hell are you and where is this ship going?"

[Delta73]

Delta sat silent, in response to Armiena, he was absolutely silent not of his own accord, his mind was racing but he could not speak. He tried to speak but he could not. Fear had impacted his mind, it had never happened to him before, and his was scared speechless. Images of his time as a commando hunting down his old commanders flashed through his vision. Guilt overwhelmed him...and a single tear ran down his face. The feeling woke him from his stupor, and he stood as Armiena went to her Padawan, she must have been put off by him not speaking, he went to their side, and more tears flowed down his face. He wiped at them with his gloved hand and straightened up when he heard a distant scream echoing down the corridor, it was a scream that he had heard before, it was the scream of utmost terror.

 

He looked to Arlan who seemed crazed...they were all experiencing a terror of some kind, all facing their worst fears, Jedi or Commando it was the same. All would fall to the frailty of their own minds.

 

Delta crouched next to Arlan and Armiena and picked up the discarded bits of bandage, he felt that he had to do something to help. It was not much...but every supply could not be waisted. He returned the bandages to their discarded containers and sat them next to the two Jedi. Another scream echoed down the halls.

 

"Ca'Aran what are you doing? NOOO!!" it continued with another high pitched scream that ended suddenly in a blaster shot...Delta raised his blaster in alarm and stood in front of the two kneeling Jedi, what ever there was down the tunnel it could be dangerous, and the two Jedi where still dealing with Arlan's sudden acts. They would need protection, Delta fell back into the groove of a commando...he was ready for anything, but not the sudden flashes of memories. He kept his blaster up, but he fell into a type of stupor again, tears running down his face, filled with the memories and guilt of what he had done in the past...

[Arlan Vass]

Arlan struggled, trying to raise Armiena's sleeve. Blood persisted to flow from some unseen wound. His eyes were still ablaze with fear. Fear for his Master, their companions, and himself. He hated this damned ship. Hated everything about it. He wanted to leave, but knew he couldn't. He - they - were trapped. Trapped and going to Nhagathul. There was no turning back now.

 

WIthout warning, Armiena grabbed him and shoved him against the bulkhead in the corridor.

 

"Arlan, stop. I'm not wounded. I'm not hurt - anywhere."

 

"B-but... you're b-bleeding..."

 

He blinked, and the hallucination faded. No more blood. No wound. Only gauntleted flesh. Arlan stared at her arm, then looked at her mouth. She hadn't been bleeding at all.

 

"How...?" he trailed off, utterly confused. He glanced at Delta, who appeared to be taking up a defensive stance to protect them. His cheeks were glistening. Tears?

 

"Are you all right?" he asked, alarmed by the trooper's sudden emotional swing.