NationStates Jolt Archive

Jacen turned back to Liam. "What can you teach me about the Force, the gray side? Can we walk and talk about it?"

Jacen stood.

"Certainly..." Liam replied as he too stood and straightened his gray cloak before continuing out the door just behind him.

"However, you must understand that there is no... 'Grey Side' per se. The Grey Path is a blending of the Dark Side and the Light Side. It is in the middle. Look at it like a spectrum of the Force: On the far right is the pure Jedi, the extreme of the Light Side; On the far left is the Dark Sith, the extreme of the Dark Side. The more you move away from the extremes, the less Dark and Light you become. Eventually you find a place in the middle where the two sides meet." He stopped for a moment to let Jacen take everything in as he caught his breath.

"You see why it is so hard to walk the Grey Path. Because there is only one point where it exists. A step to the right and you are back in the light. A step to the left and you fall to the Dark Side. And believe me, I have known many that have taken that fatal step and fallen forever..."

"Certainly..." Liam replied as he too stood and straightened his gray cloak before continuing out the door just behind him.

"However, you must understand that there is no... 'Grey Side' per se. The Grey Path is a blending of the Dark Side and the Light Side. It is in the middle. Look at it like a spectrum of the Force: On the far right is the pure Jedi, the extreme of the Light Side; On the far left is the Dark Sith, the extreme of the Dark Side. The more you move away from the extremes, the less Dark and Light you become. Eventually you find a place in the middle where the two sides meet." He stopped for a moment to let Jacen take everything in as he caught his breath.

"You see why it is so hard to walk the Grey Path. Because there is only one point where it exists. A step to the right and you are back in the light. A step to the left and you fall to the Dark Side. And believe me, I have known many that have taken that fatal step and fallen forever..."

Jacen walked along with the Master. "Certainly Liam, the Gray Side does seem the most difficult of the two. But I have walked both of those paths, and I have been unhappy with both. I feel I could never return to either effectively, although I teter on the dark side."

Jacen inhaled deeply then let it out.

"The extremes are so polar... yet so alike. As the old saying goes, 'The Jedi gain power through understanding, while the Sith gain understanding through power.' In a way they are highly similar. Both have the same goal. Wisdom and power."

Power...

"In fact, even the power they have is shared. Just developed in different ways, but pretty much the same. The Force. A constant battle and good and evil. But who determines what is good, and what is evil?"

"You are learning..." Liam commented with an amused smile on his face, though it was hidden by the darkness of his cloak.

"Yes, right and wrong; good and evil. The words everyone has been attempting to comprehend since the beginning of time. So very complicated and so very simple that even a child can understand," he again smiled.

"It is much easier not to think about them at all and rather do or not do something based on the results it would yield and the effort required."

"Come... I must make contact with my ship," he said as he entered the bridge of the ship.

Parsecs away, on board the Sith Trawler Winnower, another lesson was being meted out.

Shamman sat in his command chair, from which he navigated and controlled his ship, and watched a fearsome holoimage that had materialized in front of him.

It was almost man-like, in that it had the things that one would expect of a humanoid: a head, arms, legs. But Shamman had seen that the twisted features that passed beneath the hooded cloak of his master. Even the hood could not obscure the tubes that snaked into his lungs at the base of his throat, little clouds of fluid moving slowly outward as they drew away the poisons that, but for their presence, would have ended his master's existence long ago.

Darth Solous cleared his throat--a sickening, wet sound--and spit something out as he began to speak again.

"And you failed to secure the boy's services BECAUSE--?" he said, his voice changing from a vile rasp to a baleful tremor as his anger became more evident.

"I was left singly to contend with four high-level Jedi," he said. "I was hopelessly outnumbered. It was all I could do to maintain control of the artifact."

"And how is it that you were so careless as to allow these intruders to infiltrate your defenses?"

"Two masqueraded as renegade Sith, and one as an errant droid."

"And you fell for their disguizes? YOU UTTER FOOL!"

"No! It's not--achkkk!" Shamman choked as Solous raised his hand and slowly began to squeeeeeeeeze his fingers.

"Tell me their names, weakling," Solous said.

"By far, the most powerful among them is one called 'Liam.' His powers--which I countered easily--included Force Lightning and--achhkkk!"

"The Jedi do not USE Force Lightning."

"He--ack--could be a Sith."

"No. I have heard of this 'Liam.' It is said that he desicrated a Sith Temple on Koriban before he found you. He is neither Sith nor Jedi. Yet, your assertion is correct: he is extremely wise in the ways of the force. In his hands, the boy could be turned into a fearsome force against the Sith. He will have to be dealt with, and soon. Who were the others?"

"One was a Jedi. His name was P'do."

"Of him I have heard nothing. Obviously, a mere stuffed shirt. Still, with the other one, his powers could have been amplified. Go on."

"There was one called 'the Metal Man.' He is a cyborg of deceptive capability. Something about his nature counteracts the Force."

"This one, I have also heard of. His prowess as a warrior has made his name known across the galaxy. And many would pay a handsome price to study the body chemistry that makes him immortal. In fact...I want him, Shamman. I want to tear his few remaining cells apart molecule by molecule and find out what makes him--." Solous broke off into a fit of wet caughing.

"Still," Solous continued, "I can understand how, as you put it, their numbers could overwhelm you. I did not anticipate that the Jedi would send such high-level agents to review such an insignifigant artif--hhmmmm. (Hoochhhhhhk!) Perhaps what we have in our posession is more than we considered. When was the last time you went inside of that second artifact?"

"Shortly before I had to abandon Koriban."

"Perhaps it is time for another trip."

"While I'm the only one who can pilot this ship?"

"Greater rewards are worth greater risks."

"It would still be much easier for me to begin my sojourn after I've rendesvoued with Relentless Agony. There, at least some attempt can be made to monitor my condition."

"Actually, I concur with you for a change. Besides, I would much rather feel your throat in my grasp as you start to whine of your failures than mete out punishment through the force. I'll be waiting. Whatever you do, don't be late." The image faded, leaving Shamman to wonder how his life had suddenly become so complicated, and where the good choices had gone.

"You are learning..." Liam commented with an amused smile on his face, though it was hidden by the darkness of his cloak.

"Yes, right and wrong; good and evil. The words everyone has been attempting to comprehend since the beginning of time. So very complicated and so very simple that even a child can understand," he again smiled.

"It is much easier not to think about them at all and rather do or not do something based on the results it would yield and the effort required."

"Come... I must make contact with my ship," he said as he entered the bridge of the ship.

Jacen tilted his head slightly downward. "Thank you."

He followed Liam to the ship, and stepped inside. He found a nice seat on the bridge and sat down at the controls. He was a natural pilot, and felt at home sitting besides the hundreds and thousands of buttons and levers and computers.

"Liam, do you think the Sith will attempt retaliation. I have been thinking about that for a long time. I think they might. And the Jedi...

Once they hear of me and what I did to P'do on Korriban, they will hunt me down as well."

Jacen tilted his head slightly downward. "Thank you."

He followed Jacen to the ship, and stepped inside. He found a nice seat on the bridge and sat down at the controls. He was a natural pilot, and felt at home sitting besides the hundreds and thousands of buttons and levers and computers.

"Liam, do you think the Sith will attempt retaliation. I have been thinking about that for a long time. I think they might. And the Jedi...

Once they hear of me and what I did to P'do on Korriban, they will hunt me down as well."

"No need to fly," Liam commented as he saw Jacen sitting down at the controls, an obvious natural. "We are simply going to contact it via an encrypted channel and a coded stream."

He walked over to a panel near the communications board of the bridge and began pressing numerous buttons quite fast. Obviously, he had done this before. "Yes, I most certainly do think they will attempt retaliation... sooner than we think, in fact," he commented while he continued typing. "Then again, if I think they are going to strike back earlier than I think... how can that be."

He waved off the paradoxical statement as he finished typing in the code and sent it through. "And the Jedi... well, your master is still alive, so we can not know if they will attempt to track you down. But if they do... you will be ready."

"It should only be a moment longer," he commented as he rested against a slanted panel and waited for the response from his ship...

Shasta slowly strode the hall of the Jedi temple. Surrounding her, scores of Jedi's dashed back and forth to their different tasks. Shasta herself was on a mission, but it required far less urgency and far more contemplation.

After returning to the planet Shasta had sent her master to a bacta lab and reported to the Council herself. It had been a very tense meeting, and the Jedi were infuriated that Jacen had attacked P'do. They were even more angry to hear about his survival in the first place. They thought they were rid of the boy forever.

"But he's just a boy!" She had yelled at the Council and reminded them, "He made the right decision in the end."

Her efforts were made to no avail, the Jedi had made their decision. As soon as P'do was healthy enough and refitted with some new limbs, he and Shasta would track Jacen down, and this time kill him. The Council claimed he should have been executed long before, and that exile was too good for him.

Shasta meditated as she slowly strode forward. I have to kill Jacen... I don't have a choice. P'do can't do it. He's too old, though very wise. And what of Liam? He will oppose us? I tried to warn the Council, we don't want to get on Liam's bad side. Or Jacen's for that matter...

This was a difficult situation. Within a couple days they would leave on their mission.

"That is odd..." Liam muttered as he repeated the process several times. He continued to press buttons and type on the panel, but every time he waited for a response... he was left waiting as no response came. "Very odd..." he added as he raised a finger to his cloaked face in thought. He turned around towards Jacen, though not really facing him, and then strode across the room passed him.

"Come. We must find The Metal Man or Jenghis... or whoever is in control of this blasted ship..." Liam commented as he passed through the doorway and into the corridors.

He could feel their presences around the ship and began following his instincts... or rather where the force led him, in his search for them. Soon he arrived outside the room he could feel they were in and knocked on the door before striding through. "I have a slight problem..." he said as he looked up from the ground to meet the stares of the others.

"My ship... it has gone missing; I can't contact it. We need to track it down and see if there is a problem with its long range communication system."

For a moment, the Metal Man's whimsical smile faded away, replaced by a look of ancient but somehow ageless wisdom.

"My ship is at your disposal," he said, rising from his chair. "How can we help? Was there anyone onboard? Perhaps Jenghis can try to use his telepathic powers to contact them if they were there and still are."

Miriam blinked. "Woah," she said. "Something's not right here."

"What is it, m'love?" Jenghis asked. The Metal Man walked to the far side of the room.

"It's--strange. I keep getting the sensation of light turning to darkness. I don't know--."

"Contact the Jedi," Jenghis said.

"Find out about P'do," the Metal Man added.

"Yes...P'do is involved," Miriam said, getting a far-away look in her eyes. "Yeeeess...Metal Man, the Jedi have scorned your gifts."

From his place at the communications console, Jenghis smiled. A holoimage of Shasta came up over the console.

"Well met, m'lady," Jenghis said smoothly. "How is your master?"

"Well met, your excellency," Shasta returned. "He is well. The new limbs are --."

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

OOC:

"Excellency" is the term one uses to address an ambassador, which is what Jenghis is.

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

IC:

"New limbs?" the Metal Man broke in. "What happened? I regrafted the old ones myself. I used my own blood to accentuate his healing process and make it possible for him to--."

"I don't know why they decided to do that."

"Wonderful," the Metal Man replied. "Is there anything else that we should know?"

"The council has decreed that Jacen is to be hunted down. If he is with you now, you could make it much easier on yourselves if you would turn him--."

"You know better than that," the Metal Man said. "He is here, and Brain Jar is sanctuary. I hereby declare that he is under our protection."

"You can't be serious. You would defy the council's decree over--."

"I would give them time to reconsider a hasty decision."

"You don't understand what you're dealing with--Jacen is very dangerous."

"He is destined to walk a long and lonely path," Miriam returned. "You can profit by this, or you can suffer great harm."

"The agreements between us," the Metal Man said, "go back over a century. Will the Jedi dishonor them now, at the first sign of inconvenience, even after we have dutifully performed a mission that you yourselves were loathe to participate in and freely given you the results?"

There was a pause.

"We will honor our commitments," Shasta finally said.

"Thank you," the Metal Man replied. "You are, as always, intelligent and wise."

The communication ended.

"Not to mention bloody damn ungrateful," Miriam added.

"Now, now," the Metal Man said, turning to Liam.

"It seems that you've another minor problem, and a choice. You can choose to remain within the confines of our networks, or you can attempt to sneak away from the Jedi. You are mighty in the force. You and the young man can probably persevere even against the Jedi. Yet, while you choose to remain among us, we will offer you whatever aid we can, if you choose to accept it. And we will never, under any circumstances, force you to stay."

"My ship is at your disposal. How can we help? Was there anyone onboard? Perhaps Jenghis can try to use his telepathic powers to contact them if they were there and still are," the Metal Man said.

"Yes, there was one sentient being onboard," Liam replied as he thought of the sith he had left not so long ago. "However, I myself have tried to contact her through the Force and yet I cannot find her. Her aura has seemed to... disappear," he explained. It was doubtful that she has been able to mask her force aura from Liam, especially because he knew it so well, which could only mean one thing that he dared not suggest: she was dead.

"The rest of the crew are just droids, and I have tried contacting them via the long distance communications system... but they have not responded. I gave them orders to stay hidden and only respond to my personal, encrypted signal... and yet not even that they have responded to." It was something to worry about as never before had they not responded when Liam had contacted them from afar.

"This," he said holding up a small metal rectangle that he had produced from the inside of his cloak, "Is a tracking device I personally installed during the ships creation. If we insert this into your navcomputer, it should be able to pick up the ship..."

It was at this point that Liam watched the altercation with interest, though his real focus was still on the status of his ship and crew.

"Now, now. It seems that you've another minor problem, and a choice. You can choose to remain within the confines of our networks, or you can attempt to sneak away from the Jedi. You are mighty in the force. You and the young man can probably persevere even against the Jedi. Yet, while you choose to remain among us, we will offer you whatever aid we can, if you choose to accept it. And we will never, under any circumstances, force you to stay," the Metal Man explained.

"With all due respect," Liam began, "I would rather hold off on that decision until after we have sorted out the mystery of my ship..."

"Agreed," said the Metal Man.

In a moment, he had taken the tracking device, interfaced it with Brain Jar's sensor and mapping systems and had a 3-D picture up over his nav console.

"Not good," he said. "The ship is in normal space now. When you joined us, it went into hyperspace. I'm setting a course to take us straight to it. I'm also going to charge the shield and weapons systems. Executing new course...now."

With the press of a few buttons, they were on their way.

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

"I told you, master, if my mind is damaged in the artifact, it would mean the eventual loss of this entire ship. Even if you consider me expendable, --."

"I do," Solous said with an evil laugh.

"--there are still the other people and droids on the ship, not to mention the worth of the ship itself."

Solous lauged again. "It is good to know that you are," he chuckled again, "protecting my investments, but whose worthless hide, besides yours, is on that ship?"

"Thyron," came the reply.

"Oh. The assassin. I need to talk to him. Perhaps you're not completely incompetant after all. You're dismissed. Send the assassin," there was a wet, choking noise for a moment, "on through."

"Master Solous wishes to speak with you," said Shamman gruffly. Thyron was very quick in reaching the bridge. Solous didn't like it when his followers were late. Or on time. You always had to be early.

Thyron dropped to his knees as he entered the room and shuffled up to the holoimage of Solous. Thyron didn't like humans, but he particularly despised this specimen. Completely disgusting. But of course he never mentioned it to a soul.

"What is your bidding, Lord Solous?"

Jacen followed Liam like a shadow. In silence. Jacen typically preffered silence and isolation, something he had taught himself to accept during his exile.

Sounds liek we now have a situation... and it figures that I'm the problem.

When Shasta came up on teh viewing screen Jacen lurked behind Liam and did not get close enough for Shasta to see him. He didn't want to make the situation worse than it worse.

Good = TMM and his friends want me here.

Bad = The Jedi and the Sith want me dead.

It seems the gray was the only side of the Force which would accept him.

Jacen telepathed a message to Liam: "I'm ready to defend your life as my own. I don't want to cause trouble. If the Jedi attack us, I assure you that I will not allow you to be killed by my own relations with the Jedi."

Kreynoria']"Master Solous wishes to speak with you," said Shamman gruffly. Thyron was very quick in reaching the bridge. Solous didn't like it when his followers were late. Or on time. You always had to be early.

Thyron dropped to his knees as he entered the room and shuffled up to the holoimage of Solous. Thyron didn't like humans, but he particularly despised this specimen. Completely disgusting. But of course he never mentioned it to a soul.

"What is your bidding, Lord Solous?"

Though the holoimage was of reduced size, it still filled the consoles over the emitter. The huge, wire-and-tube-encrusted form of Darth Solous, rendered more hideous by the lack of his usual cloak, would have commanded the attention of any who could see it no matter what size it was shown at, though. The palid, wrinkled skin, the glass implants over his eyes, the holes in his flesh that did not bleed--these things made him look as a dead man walking.

"I am to understand that you were up to your old tricks again in the temple," the Sith Lord said, his voice turning stilleto to match his eyes. "How many times musssst I tell you not to kill our troops in the height of battle? Does the wastefullness of your actions never weigh upon you? No matter. It will now."

The Sith lord raised a shaky hand and crossed his gnarled fingers. In a moment, an unimaginable weight bore down upon the assassin.

"What have you to ssssssay for yourself, traitor?" the wheezing voice hissed. "Make it quick--I'm not exactly known for my patience."

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

OOC: I decided to give Krey a hand. I figured it would be in Solous' character to find some excuse to punish his underling--always keep the ol' intimidation coming. You know that Sith stuff. So that's what I did--found an excuse. I'm not sure that the two of them have anything to talk about, but it would help to develop their characters if they had a meeting of the minds.

Yeah, Solous is just causing pain so that the others know he can hurt 'em. He's that paranoid.

Jacen telepathed a message to Liam: "I'm ready to defend your life as my own. I don't want to cause trouble. If the Jedi attack us, I assure you that I will not allow you to be killed by my own relations with the Jedi."

"Do not worry..." Liam telepathed back. "The Jedi would be quite foolish to attack us or this ship. It would not be in their interest or standard of ethics. That aside... I don't plan on dying anytime soon."


The ship wasn't located far away according to the navcomputer, so it would not be long now that they were traveling through hyperspace. However, what would greet them when they arrived was as much mystery as it could be intrigue.

ooc: Just have them arrive and whatever.

Though the holoimage was of reduced size, it still filled the consoles over the emitter. The huge, wire-and-tube-encrusted form of Darth Solous, rendered more hideous by the lack of his usual cloak, would have commanded the attention of any who could see it no matter what size it was shown at, though. The palid, wrinkled skin, the glass implants over his eyes, the holes in his flesh that did not bleed--these things made him look as a dead man walking.

"I am to understand that you were up to your old tricks again in the temple," the Sith Lord said, his voice turning stilleto to match his eyes. "How many times musssst I tell you not to kill our troops in the height of battle? Does the wastefullness of your actions never weigh upon you? No matter. It will now."

The Sith lord raised a shaky hand and crossed his gnarled fingers. In a moment, an unimaginable weight bore down upon the assassin.

"What have you to ssssssay for yourself, traitor?" the wheezing voice hissed. "Make it quick--I'm not exactly known for my patience."



"Master, the Sangheili attacked first..." groaned Thyron under the pressure of tremendous weight. The weight only increased after the statement. "I have...nothing to say in my defense. My life is forfeit."

Kreynoria']"Master, the Sangheili attacked first..." groaned Thyron under the pressure of tremendous weight. The weight only increased after the statement. "I have...nothing to say in my defense. My life is forfeit."

"Imbecile," wheezed Solous, increasing the weight ever more, "I am not talking about any Sangheili. I am referring to our own soldiers you took out your little temper tantrum on. You are quite right, your meager life is forfeit. But..." he added, suddenly taking the weight off Thryon, "I ssstill have further use of you. The Jedi Master P'do, I want him dead. If we are to bring Jacen to the Dark Side, we must eliminate any other influences on him, starting with his ex-master. Do you think you can handle this, Thyron? Because if you can't, you might be taking a little excursion to the Room of Misery."

Thyron's eyes widened at the mention of Solous' torture chamber. The pains were said to last for years. "Yes, yes Master. P'do will be dead by the end of the week."

"I hope so, for your own sake. If you fail, call me. And, please don't call me. Now get out of this room."

"We've arrived," Jenghis said, his hands spreading the dark cape that he wore to reach out into a sensory console, "and it doesn't look good. No company, but the ship's completely dark--no power source of any kind. Still, I don't detect any hull breaches. She may be salvagable."

"She may be boobytrapped," the Metal Man replied. "No direct contact. Whoever goes can use either a shuttle or Liam's fighter--AFTER we send in a few scouting droids."

"The droids won't be necessary," Miriam said. "There's nothing harmful there...now. It all left."

"You've developed a prophetic tone," Jenghis said, a look of approval spreading across his face as he glanced again at his wife.

She shrugged and smiled back. A look of approval spread over her face, too.

"If it's all the same to you," the Metal Man countered, "I'd just as soon not link us up directly anyway. There might be something residual there--a computer virus or a dormant biological weapon, for example."

"Sensible," Miriam replied.

"So," Jenghis said, looking at Liam and Jacen, "who should be going? Would you like us to send a droid first?"

"No, the droid will not be necessary," Liam said as he thought deeply about the strange feeling he had received. "If there is any danger... we will receive a warning from the force. Besides... I do not sense any beings on the ship," he added, though purposely leaving out the 'alive, that is' part as he did not want to consider the possibility yet.

"I will go alone if nobody else wants to put themselves in any danger," Liam said with calmness in his voice. "It is my ship after all and my responsibility. However, I will not stop any of you should you choose to investigate." He paused for a moment as his eyes crossed from one face to another. After the silence had set in he turned quickly and headed through the door, his cloak flowing behind him, towards the docking bay where his fighter still was parked.

Jacen quickly followed the gray force user. "I'm going with you Master. I can't let you go alone." His long cloak flowed as he chased Liam. His lighstaber rattled on his belt as he hurried along.

Reaching the hangar, he walked up to his fighter (which had been recovered before leaving Korriban) and hopped in. He waved to Liam as he watched the Master heading for his fighter. "I'll meet you over there. Rather than radio communications, I think it would be better to keep in contact via the Force. That is, if we need to in midspace."

Jacen clicked a button in the cockpit and the fighter top slipped down. He blinked, as this was his first time behind the controls of his vehicle for at least a few days. He flipped a few controls over and waited as it powered up and rose from the deck of the hangar. He radioed to Jenghis, "Please open the hangar doors. Thanks."

"As I have said, that is fine with me. I am not stopping anyone from accompanying me... just discouraging it," Liam said over his shoulder as he sensed the young Jedi ((ooc: Note that Jedi is being used as the broad sense of anyone who wields the Force, not one of the Jedi Order.)) was following swiftly behind him towards the docking bay. Perhaps he will learn something of the Sith while we are there... Liam thought, as his own meditations had brought him to the miserable conclusion that the Sith were somehow involved in this mysterious event and if fears were confirmed, in this act of murder...

"I hear you..." Liam replied via the Force. He certainly had lots of experience in telepathing and contacting via the Force, but he wondered at what distance his young apprentice could maintain the ability. Liam climbed into his fighter and looked around at the controls. He flicked on a few switches and heard the hum of the engine start up. Reminds me... he thought, remembering back to when he flew the fighter towards the Brian's Jar a few days ago and had the same thought, I need to get a new ship...

All the systems on his fighter whirred to life and soon it was floating in the docking bay, ready for space flight. "Whenever you are ready..."

"You're clear to go, Liam," came the Metal Man's voice. "Be advised that long-range sensors are picking up shipping traffic. My guess would be that the Jedi are going to try to pressure us. I'll leave them to Jenghis--I'm going to change suits and follow you in. If there is anything wrong in there, I'd like to help set it right."

In a moment, a very small, round pod ejected from the bottom of Brain Jar's hull. It moved directly to the closest hatch on Liam's ship, and arrived at the same time as his fighter.

"You'll find that I've installed a custom scramble on your communicator," the Metal Man said. "Let's keep in touch, and let's keep our conversations private for now.

"I'm at the airlock, and I'm closing the outer hatch now."

"Let them come..." Liam responded over the communicator which he now had been told was secure - though if that was really true was as much knowledge as guess. "If they want a fight, they will have to look no further then advancing at me upon my own ship."

Liam set his fighter down in the single docking bay. It was then he remembered that the starship's bay was only big enough for one ship to fit in - a safety precaution as it was much harder to board this way. "Forgot about that..." Liam communicated to Jacen. "You will have to figure out a new way in... either that or lose your ship in the process. You could get the edge of it past the field ((ooc: that purple field you see that allows things to pass through but keeps the air in.)) and then leap from your ship... but then it would drift off into space. Alternatively, I could attempt to get to the bridge and attach the extender arm to lock onto your ship... but that will take a few minutes... and besides, I doubt anything like that is working." It was true that it probably wasn't. There were only the backup emergency lights on and all of the panels and screens that would have been in use were turned off.

"Time to go searching..."

"Jacen," came Jenghis' voice, "this is Brain Jar. We've got a docking module that's compatible with the rear utility hatch that the Metal Man just went in through. If you'll swing back, we can attach it with our manipulator arms."

"Roger that, Brain Jar," came the Metal Man's voice. "Make sure that Jacen has switched in the scramble. If he has, let him know that the rear hatch is pretty primative. It doesn't have an air lock, per se. You just open the doors and let the air go through.

"Liam, you're amid ship and I'm close to the back. What do you say that you check the command and control sections while I give a look to the power plant, engines and guidance system? That way, each of us has the least ground to cover."

Liam's ship was basicaly a large frigate--just small enough to land at a planet's spaceport if called upon to do so, but big enough to pack some serious firepower if she needed it. She had one main airlock that would hold Liam's fighter and not much else and a few access hatches scattered throughout her hull. From her design, it looked as though she would work best with a crew of about six, but had room for as many as thirty people to live in without getting overcrouded.

The bridge was in front, the engines and power units were toward the back, and six living quarters--each large enough for two, but one, Liam's personal quarters, arranged for a single occupant--arranged in two rows of three above and slightly behind the docking bay.

While he waited for Liam, who owned the ship, to grant him permission to get to work, the Metal Man brought up a schematic of the ship's inner areas--not just those accessible by humans, but also smaller areas that creatures like a halo xenomorph might hide in. He plotted a course to the main generator, a midsized fusion unit, making special note of places where something nasty could be waiting. Even if this had been a Sith attack, they could still have left a booby trap or two.

Jenghis had been wrong earlier--the ship actually still had some of her emergency power. That was why the main airlock still worked, and why the ship was still warm enough to be habitable even in the cold of space.

Right now, there were three priorities: sweep for surprises, survey the damage and restore main power. The lights were out in the hall, but that didn't mean much to the Metal Man. The main heaters were still working, and he could see the corridor he found himself in--in fact, he could see six centimeters into the wall plating--just by taking a thermograph. Nonetheless, just to be safe, he readied a small survey drone with an active sonar system. That way, there would be no loss of life if the wrong kind of something started homing in on the active scan system.

Jacen's ship flew out of the hangar of the Brain Jar and into the the cold darkness of space. The constant chatter made Jacen's head hurt, but he kept up with it to figure out what was going on. His ship darted in and out of the stars, and Jacen used his expert skills to avoid some the random debris that remained in this part of space.

An incredible telepath force communicator, Jacen immediately used it when Liam contacted him about the problem of the single docking bay. "Ok... I'll see what can be done here..."

When Jenghis' voice came over the com, Jacen finally replied with his voice. "All right, I'm going to go in. I'll hit my thrusters and power through the shield, then open my hatch and get out. However, my ship will fall into space. I'll set the reverse thrusters to burn, and the auto pilot will take it back to the Brain Jar."

In an instant, Jacen's ship was flying for the pinkish shield which still seemed operational. His fighter picked up speed as it roared towards the opening, then all at once, the two collided. In a matter of an instant, several things happened. The ship broke about halfway through the shield, the hatch for the fighter flew open, Jacen slammed two controls: the reverse thrusters and auto pilot, and finally, Jacen flew out of his cockpit and landed on the deck on Liam's ship, lightsaber in hands and engaged. Jacen's ship reversed while Jacen was mid-air, and was already returning to the Brain Jar.

"Liam," Jacen telepathed, "I'm aboard."

Jacen looked around. So far, so good. Everything in teh ship around him looked dead, cold, and dark. "Where should we meet Liam, I'm not sure how to get to the docking bay... maybe you could find me easier..."

Jacen's ship flew out of the hangar of the Brain Jar and into the the cold darkness of space. The constant chatter made Jacen's head hurt, but he kept up with it to figure out what was going on. His ship darted in and out of the stars, and Jacen used his expert skills to avoid some the random debris that remained in this part of space.

An incredible telepath force communicator, Jacen immediately used it when Liam contacted him about the problem of the single docking bay. "Ok... I'll see what can be done here..."

When Jenghis' voice came over the com, Jacen finally replied with his voice. "All right, I'm going to go in. I'll hit my thrusters and power through the shield, then open my hatch and get out. However, my ship will fall into space. I'll set the reverse thrusters to burn, and the auto pilot will take it back to the Brain Jar."

In an instant, Jacen's ship was flying for the pinkish shield which still seemed operational. His fighter picked up speed as it roared towards the opening, then all at once, the two collided. In a matter of an instant, several things happened. The ship broke about halfway through the shield, the hatch for the fighter flew open, Jacen slammed two controls: the reverse thrusters and auto pilot, and finally, Jacen flew out of his cockpit and landed on the deck on Liam's ship, lightsaber in hands and engaged. Jacen's ship reversed while Jacen was mid-air, and was already returning to the Brain Jar.

"Liam," Jacen telepathed, "I'm aboard."

Jacen looked around. So far, so good. Everything in teh ship around him looked dead, cold, and dark. "Where should we meet Liam, I'm not sure how to get to the docking bay... maybe you could find me easier..."


Forgive me, Jenghis relayed to Jacen, but I could not help but "hear" your powerful telepathic signals. I'm one of those myself.

The rest came not so much in words as in a single mental impression. According to the schematics we have here, the living quarters are directly above you. Even if you don't rendesvous there, it would be a good place to search for clues as to who attacked the ship. In fact, I recommend that, rather than rendesvousing, you take up a search there while Liam covers the bridge and the Metal Man goes to main engineering and tries to restore main power. As the impression came, so did a basic map of the ship.

Jenghis smiled. It had been a while since he had been in the company of someone with whom he could use the full measure of his ability.

As Jacen's ship came drifting toward Brain Jar, a tractor beam caught it and began to pull it into a small receiving area. If the ship had someone in it, the beam's tendency to accellerate the craft would have made it too dangerous to use, but, with it empty, this option was open. They could pilot it back with the force if necessary.

The only complication, Jenghis noted, was the four Jedi ships that were now plainly visible on long-range scanners. If they arrived before Grey's Flight was operational, there would be little that anyone could do to avoid a conflict between the grays and the Jedi. If the Sith had known about this, they would be laughing. Jenghis hoped that Jacen hadn't picked up on that thought--he wasn't sure just how tight their telepathic bond was.

"Liam, you're amid ship and I'm close to the back. What do you say that you check the command and control sections while I give a look to the power plant, engines and guidance system? That way, each of us has the least ground to cover," the Metal Man said as they were now all abord the Grey's Flight.

"That sounds fine with me. When you get to the engine and weapon's room, check the comm units to see if they are still working - I will be at the bridge waiting for contact," Liam replied as he began walking carefully from the Docking Bay that lay near the middle of the ship to the Bridge that was at the very front.

As he was walking towards the Bridge, Liam heard Jacen's message in his mind, "Where should we meet Liam, I'm not sure how to get to the docking bay... maybe you could find me easier..."

Liam thought about it for a moment. "I would like to be the first one to check out the living quarters." He paused momentarily, still deciding what he could have Jacen do. "I want you to come up here. I will check out the Bridge, but we are going to see how knowledgeable and useful you are with a ship once you get up here. Just follow either of the corridors in one direction... you will eventually make it here. If you somehow can't figure it out, though it is quite easy, just trying following my aura."

After the short mind-conversation had ended, Liam had arrived at the Bridge. There was no door to it per se. The two hallways that were on either side of the ship made slightly less than ninety degree turns and eventually converged into one. It was there that there was an opening to the bridge - about ten feet of walking and you would be fully in the room.

Liam ignited his lightsaber, though not expecting trouble, and slowly made his way into the room. When he peered around in the dim lighting of the emergency light, he saw that the control panels were shut off and some had blaster scorch marks in them. On the floor, in many pieces, lay the six droids that were responsible for the ship...

OOC: Time to bring back some old friends.

IC:

The cold dark space stared back at the two force users. They stood aboard the bridge of a small Republic diplomat ship, and sped at the max speed towards a certain edge of space.

The force had led them here.

P'do could see it. Although it was beyong visual range, his grasp on the force could detect the ship just out of range. It was coming up fast. It was not friendly. A few hours ago P'do had been cleared, and had been sent immediately to go after Jacen. Predictably, he wasn't alone.

Shasta turned to him and held his gaze for a minute, then turned back to the stars. "Do you feel it master?"

"Yes."

Jacen...

He was close.

They could both sense his presence as they moved closer and closer to the two ships that now appeared. one way or another, they both knew their duty was to kill the young bot. It just so happened that they were under orders to kill Liam if he stood in the way as well. No one could defy the council.

Both Jedi stared at the ships fast approaching. They both knew Jacen was on the ship on the starboard side. They would get in their fighters and get to him as fast as possible. Approximate meeting time with Jacen... twelve minutes.

---

In a flash Jacen knew something was wrong. He could feel it instantly. A dark aura had taken over the room. And strangley enough it didn't feel like the dark side. It felt like cold light. Yes, Jedi. Master Kly P'do and Shasta were on their way. He could feel them. Then again, intercepting Jenghis' preminition had helped a little.

He could hear Liam's response and quickly replied, "I'll be on the bridge in moments."

His lightsaber remained engaged as he walked the room slowly. He stepped up a few steps to the hallway, and followed it 'till he came to a blast door. Locked. With a quick decision he slammed the lightsaber into the door and charred a small hole into it. As the cut metal fell away from Jacen, he stepped through the hole and onto the bridge.

Within a step, Jacen remember Jenghis' words. He replied quickly, "I'll check the living quarters in a bit..." He hoped that would be satisfactory. He had to meet with Liam in this bridge. Jacen reached into the force and felt his ship drawn into the Brain Jar and safely procured. Now only two more complications existed.

Searching the ship... and dealing with the Jedi.

Jacen rounded the corner and ran directly into Liam. Strangely enough, he ran into Liam's side with his own, and his reflexes at once went up to block the blade that Liam extended. The two lightsabers clashed and Jacen suddenly spoke, "Liam, I'm here. Obviously. Have you noticed we're going to have company soon?"

He getured with his lightsaber out the bridge cockpit towards the edge of space.

Liam sensed the young Jedi racing towards the cockpit and raised his lightsaber to meet the uncontrolled and wild boy. When Jacen had been stopped in his spot, with his lightsaber raised, Liam put his down and deactivated it. "Yes... I know," he said with an unrelated, raised eyebrow.

In his other hand Liam held a set of datachips that he slipped into his robe's pocket. All of the sensitive and important material that the attackers had been unaware about of unable to retrieve.

"You will stay here and work on the Bridge. Most of the panels have been damaged, but see what you can get working. The Metal Man should contact you soon via to the comm unit if it is still working. You two will have to coordinate your efforts to salvage this ship..." Liam ordered as he passed by the younger Jedi.

He stood at the Bridge's entrance and turned slightly. "I will finish checking the ship..." The living quarters...

"Excuse me Master... perhaps I'm a bit reckless..." Jacen said, casting his eyes to the floor, aware of his disfavor. Then again, it had been partly Liam's fault, he could have at least admitted that much. But no matter...

Jacen's lightsaber deactivated and he dropped it into the air, the force guiding it back to his belt. With a click, it was put it place by the force. Jacen would keep his sense aware, as one never knew what to deal with on a craft that had likley been hijacked or attacked some how. There could be traps anywhere... or an enemy lurking in a corner. He would remain in a defensive posture in the case of a possible attack, where there was.

Jacen turned to look around and monitor the damage. Looked pretty heavy, but in his free time during his exile he had become a very knowledgeable pilot and engineer. "I expect to have it ready in no time Liam."

He walked over to the contols and firstly the communications unit. It appeared out of commision, but easily fixable. "I'll get this working and contact The Metal Man. I'll keep in contact with you too... I don't think it would be wise for us to be apart when the Jedi show up."

Jacen turned back to the communications controls and checked the wires and computer. Wires seemed intact, but computer looked severely internally damaged. He hit a few keys bringing up the main view. The problem became immediately appearent, someone had jammed the communications computer with a virus of some sort. Jacen pulled up a screen and used the Force to tap into the source of the virus. "Drive R, Subdrive 243".

Jacen slapped a few buttons on the touch screen and instantly the virus was erased from the communications computer. Too easy...

Wait... that's it... it is too easy...

I think this is being tapped...

"Metal Man, this is Jacen, come in. Beware, I think this frequency is being tapped into, so you might want to monitor your speech. I'm gonna need some help to work on getting this ship operable again."

Jacen lifted his head from the station and looked out on the horizon of space. The Jedi were approaching... fast.

Liam left Jacen to his work on the bridge and slipped out silently, once again into the hallway that broke off into two separate corridors. He took the left one - the one on the right of the ship if facing forward - and began walking. The lightning was quite eerie and ominous as he reached the living quarters. His was the one on the far left, closest to the docking bay, but he did not enter it as he knew it would simply have been destroyed after the attacker's search came up empty. No. He went straight for the middle room.

Liam stood outside of the gray door silently for a minute; mentally preparing himself for the terrible scene he knew lay ahead of him. Finally, he touched his finger to the pad on the right of the door, and it slid open. It was dark inside - pitch black. There were no windows or emergency lights in the rooms. The Grey Jedi took a step forward and his right foot hit a small metal object that moved an inch with the force. His eyes moved slowly down and the little light that the emergency lights from the corridors provided poured over the object... a lightsaber.

His worst fears were confirmed in an instant. Liam's eyes moved across the floor to the edge of the light and he saw a limp hand reaching in vain. There was no need to investigate further; he knew that the woman's body would be burned with blaster marks and lightsaber cuts. He stepped back and closed the door, locking it...

"OK, Jacen. Any time now..."

A metal hand reached out and threw a switch. As it did, the lights on a small, round pod situated in the center of the Grey Flight's engine room wend dim for a moment. A muffled explosion and a high-pitched revving sound were followed by the brightening of all the lights onboard the ship.

"I've jury rigged some batteries," he lied into the monitored channel, knowing that Jacen would understand, "but I won't be able to get the main power on until I've completely swept the control systems." The truth was that the power systems could be run entirely on manual override.

It hadn't taken the Metal Man long to reach the engine room, and it had taken him even less time to sweep it for bugs and bombs. After that, a simple analysis had shown that the main generator had failed when its fuel tank had run dry, that there were four other fuel tanks and that no one was on hand to switch from one to another. Thus, with the batteries from the pod to throw a little kick into the system, it was an easy job to reinitialize the injector nozzles and fire the power plant back up. In under a minute, it would be warmed up and back at nominal capacity. At that time, the emergency cells would begin recharging.

He had disembarked from the pod. His current suit, which looked something like a man-sized light saber handle that tapered toward the bottom and had black panels around its torso, had simply levitated out and moved into position. It was a technical suit, and, with it, the Metal Man could fix almost any problem that a space ship might have short of a reactor overload. The metal claw retracted back into the front-facing panel as if it had never been.

"Tell you what--I don't see much sense in bringing up the control software," he lied again, "so I'm going to sweep this place once more and then either join up with you or leave." If they were listening in, they'd gotten themselves a nice helping of disinformation.

The Metal Man fired up the standby engineering computer. Grey's Flight was an older ship, and thus had a back-up computer system that most of the modern variety didn't. The Metal Man doubted that whoever had attacked even knew that it existed, so it was probably safe. Still, it wouldn't hurt to be careful. He started a self-diagnostic. Shortly, he'd have navigation and ship's sensors fully back online, and be able to troubleshoot the bridge consoles.

The pod's charge indicator returned to "full." The Metal Man disengaged the power cord from the generator, retracted it back into the pod and then brought his technical suit back into it.

"Looks like I've done all I can here," he said, truthfully this time. "Jenghis, how much time do we have to set up the party before the guests arrive?"

"My best estimate is about six minutes. You know, Jacen would be safe if he were with us."

"No time. Besides, this fool's errand is going to have to be run sooner or later. We might as well get it out of the way now."

Sensors came up.

"Liam, the living quarters are showing clear," the Metal Man lied again--they were showing that Liam was in them. In another minute, the computer would completely finish its activation sequence and they'd have full control of tactical and weapons systems. "What would you like me to do now?"

In a surprisingly nearby quadrant Relentless Agony shuddered balefully through space. Though she was not technically at war, the cries of torture victims still occasionally rose from her prison and, more commonly, medical wings.

Deep within her bowels, Shamman's body lay on a cement slab in a darkened room, the lines of his bearded face the only color visible in a sea of darkness--except for the azure blue of a fairly large amulet that he held with dark-gloved hands against what sufficed for his heart. Slowly, lazily, his eyes opened. When they did, they could be seen to be glowing the same blue as the orb in his hands.

His mouth opened slowly also. His lips did not move, but sound issued forth nonetheless.

"Nnnnot....hhheere," his voice said.

"Then go deeper," another voice said.

"Nnnnot...enough...power."

"I'll help you." To Shamman's left, a gnarled arm threw a switch on a hitherto darkened panel. It sprang to life, and, as it did, a device that looked almost like a large chandalier began to glow a white light on the ceiling above the slab. As the device lowered, it became obvious that there were three emitter guns with rather phallic white crystal lenses placed at even intervals around the device's circular girth. As they came into place, the gnarled fingers of Darth Solous twisted a small knob on the panel. The emitter guns began to glow a cold, white light and a series of slider-indicators in the panel came to life.

"Ahhhhhhhh...."

"Don't fight it, you fool!"

Shamman's eyes and mouth closed again. As they did, the lines on the indicator rose higher, and the orb's glow grew brighter.

"Goooood," Solous said. "I can feel your improved powers."

Shamman's eyes opened again.

"De...sta...bil...izing."

On the console, on of the indicator sliders went from yellow to red.

"No," Solous said, "not now! We're almost there!" He reached down and turned the knob again, increasing the power still further.

"Can't...hold..."

The orb cracked, and Shamman's eyes turned completely black. His mouth opened again, this time to emit an ear-piercing scream. Then, his eyes closed again, and he fell silent. The console, too, shut down.

"A-CA-chey!" Solous cursed under his breath. "I've lost another apprentice! Now I'll never find out--."

Shamman's eyes opned. They were still as black as the night, but it was a dark light that they burned with. He started to laugh a hideous laugh. As he did, the orb in his hands pulsed one last blue light and disintegrated, exhausting with it all light in the room.

And then the orb that Solous now wore around his own neck began to glow.

Slowly at first, then more and more vibrantly, its cool aquamarine light filled the chamber. As it did, Solous could not help but notice it.

"So...you've found its secret, haven't you? Well--what it it?"

Shamman's only reply was another burst of hysterical laughter.

And then the emitter device changed color, and, from which it was suspended warped to bring it to bear on Solous' orb. As its emitters began to glow again, Solous felt a disturbance in the force that he had never felt before.

"What? You mean to challenge me? Impudent whelp! We'll see about--."

In a moment, the world around Solous warped. He felt the floor at his feet turn to quicksand. He sagged into the now liquid metal. Shamman laughed again.

In another moment, his hand was on the orb. "So...that's it," he said with a wet cough. His palid eyes narrowed. "A reality altering device." And, in that moment, the dark Sith Lord brought himself into attunement with the Orb of Forever.

In that moment, the Sith Lord found himself standing at the center of everything. Gone was the floor, the emitter gun, even the entire room. A short way off and at his feet was Shamman, but it was not the Shamman he had known. Rather, it was a shattered likeness, with different parts in different states. Some showed pain, some evil glee.

Now, it was Solous who laughed. He reached his hand toward his former student and, with barely a thought, encased him in a Wall of Darkness. Reaching farther, he restored the room he had been in. And then, quite unwillingly, he left the orb and returned to reality.

His body staggered and fell to its knees. A fit of coughing shook him. His right hand still clutching the orb, he reached out his left to stabilize himself.

"I will have," he said between coughs, "to learn to use this object more fully."
He turned to his former apprentice.

"Thank you, Lord Shamman," he said. "You have accomplished your mission. As a reward for this, I will allow you to continue to live--but, as punishment for your disloyalty, I will force your mind to remain locked in a Prison of Darkness. You will remember all that has happened around you, but will be unable even to react to the memories--a sort of shadow existence."

He stood up--slowly, waveringly.

"And, more importantly, I will now have to plan just exactly it is that I will use...Ultimate, Unlimited Power."

He walked over to a communications terminal behind the now-dead console and pushed a button on it. "Medic," he said, "I've got a task for you--someone whom I want you to keep alive and well for a long, long time."

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

OOC:

And so begins the end game.


Mwa ha haaaaa!

Shasta grimaced as she hopped into the two seat fighter. According to the minute by minute reports, they were extremely close to the Brain Jar, and even closer to the other unidentified ship. They had recieved a communication form the Brain Jar, but had quickly decided to ignore. Let the vampire-like-creature radio all he wanted, the Jedi had a job to do. And that job was to kill Jacen. From the instant the unidentified ship came into visual range, both Jedi had sensed Jacen aboard it. They now would steer their ship toward it.

"Steady now..." P'do said from the front seat in the cockpit. The two sat back to back, Shasta piloting with a remote system, while P'do kept his senses in check, controlling the weaponary and communication, as well as all other relavant information.

A buzz came over the intercom... a message from the pilot of the Republic delegate ship. "Master, we've recieved another urgent message from the Brain Jar."

P'do blinked, this was getting ridiculous. "Disreguard it." Shasta held the ship steady as they flew out of the hangar and into cold space. They ploughed onward, and finally manuevered until P'do had a visual. "Shasta, it looks like the hangar is damaged, we won't be able to land. We're going to fly into the emergency hangar and flip out before the fighter gets sucked into space. Captain, be sure to use a tractor beam to capture our fighter. Don't let it get away."

Shasta nodded (at least, that was what Kly P'do sensed), and the response came from the Captain, "Yes sir."

The fighter flew towards the strange ship at an alarming rate, and then finally approached the secondary hangar. "Ready?" P'do questioned his second. "Ready..." the apprentice replied quickly. The fighter broke the shield, and the two instantly flipped out of the cockpit which flew open. The fighter hung there in the middle for a long second, then slipped out into the void. The Republic ship soon retrieved it.

Shasta turned and looked to her Master. "Jacen..."

P'do nodded back. "Let's go."

They headed for the bridge, using their senses to guide them.

---

Jacen nodded as the Metal Man spoke his instructions, understanding that they were throwing the listeners for a loop. He played with what was left of the onboard computer, and was strangely enough able to fix part of it. The computer could now function at 45%. Jacen walked over to the controls. Something wasn't right. He reached his hand under...

"Ahhh...." he said understanding. His hand touched a small device. A bug. With the flip of his hand, the tap flew into the air, and in a stunning display of mastery, Jacen's lightsaber jammed into action, destroying the little device in a moment. Laughing, he replaced his weapon on his belt with the Force.

"The Force allows you to see things otherwise unknown..."

Where had that come from? Jacen looked up into space. The Republic cruiser was very close now, and a small fighter was leaving it. Instantly, Jacen realized he had remember a quote. A quote from his former Master. P'do...

The boy had not thought of the man in the past day or so, but now the anger rushed back upon him. Jacen shrugged it off, and tried to refocus. The Force... walk the line of the Force. As a gray Jedi, he would have to. He spoke now into his communications device. "Liam, we have company." Even as he spoke, he felt the presence of P'do on the ship. And he had someone with him. Shasta...

Jacen sat and breathed calmy. The Jedi were headed his way.

Even as he sat there, he felt Liam, somewhere on the ship. Liam had seen something. Something in the man's past had come back. Something had happened... to Liam. Or maybe someone Liam had known? Something was wrong.

Either way, these were urgent moments. "Metal Man, Liam, the Jedi are headed my way. I'm waiting here, awaiting your orders."

Moving to the scrambled frequency--and not using his vocal synthesizer so that the ship's coms would not pick up what he "said"--the Metal Man got in touch with Jacen.

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

OOC:

Yes, Jacen just destroyed the bug, but, not being a force user, the Metal Man does not know this.

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

IC:

"Roger that, Jacen. I'm heading your way. My best guess is that P'do is still half-crazy from the blood I gave him. Maybe we can talk Shasta into declaring him insane. Try not to let the party start without me, but be prepared to give the old man another lesson in swordsmanship. You've suprassed him--there's no way he can beat you. He's come here for his death, and I want to know why."

The cyborg ditched the pod, which was too bulky to move quickly, and, using the more maneuverable tech body, reached the bridge in a hurry--so fast, in fact, that the Jedi had not yet arrived. He hoped that Jacen would recognise him. Right then, he looked a lot like an engineering droid. It was the third suit he had worn in the last day, and his changes of appearance were known to confuse humans.

As the Metal Man set down on the floor between a pair of damaged consoles, P'do and Shasta arrived on the bridge. The cyborg raised a set of occular units--though he didn't need it to see, it looked vaguely like a head under a hat, and did a bit to soften the appearance of the tech body that he was in. "Greetings, Master P'do," he said.

"What are you doing here?" the Jedi asked.

"Fixing a broken ship," the Metal Man replied. "I often give aid to those in need--you, for example. I saved your life earlier today."

"You must turn the boy over for execution immediately," P'do said.

"I'm afraid that this is impossible. He hid when you arrived, and I don't know where to find him."

"No matter, then. Through the force, all things are possible."

"If you'll pardon my asking, sir, I could not help but notice the outcome of the last square-off that you and Jacen had. Might I ask how you're going to avoid--."

"Do not interfere again," the Jedi said, hand moving to his light saber. He took a step forward toward.

"Interfere--? I don't--wait a moment here. You forsaw your death in this, didn't you, P'do--and I unwittingly used my power to change destiny when I prevented your death, didn't I?"

The Jedi stopped cold. "I had heard such things of you," he said. "But no, what I saw wasn't death--it was...ENLIGHTENMENT!"

"P'do, my blood can alter a man's mind. It's at work within you now. You're not yourself! If you die now, you may not be able to make it back from the nether reaches of the force! For the sake of your soul, master, turn back!"

"You speak so commonly of others' souls," the Jedi replied. "Pity that you have none of your own.

"If I didn't, it would mean that I know how precious one is, and how horrible it would be to waste one."

The Jedi merely turned to go.

"If you will not aid me, do not stand in my way."

"Shasta! Stop him! His mind isn't whole! The path he treads is a path of revenge! It leads only to the dark side!"

Now, it was Shasta's turn to look up.

"You would have me forsake my master's word for that of a man I've hardly known a day?"

"Search your feelings," the Metal Man replied. "You know that what I say is true."

In response, Shasta cast her eyes on the ground. "The council has charged us with this task, and we are committed..."

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

OOC:

Now would be a good time for Liam and Jacen to make their entrances.

Jacen was in the shadows of the bridge, well hidden through the Force. It seemed that the older Jedi was losing his touch, even ealrier in the week he could have easily sensed Jacen. Obviously Shasta had, as she had glanced back his way once. Yet, Jacen could tell she was not certain of his distance. She seemed to glance past him, as if she believed he was in another part of the ship.

No matter... time to deal with this situation.

Jacen immediately dropped his concentration of hiding himself in the Force, and quickly stormed up to P'do. The older Jedi was caught off guard, and fell back instantly. Much farther than Jacen expected him to. Jacen now realized he would have to cross Shasta to get to his former Master. All this happened within a milisecond, and Jacen made the decision to pass the girl. No sooner had she sensed him coming, then her green blade flew into her hands, diving into Jacen's path.

Totally prepared, Jacen's own saber easily caught the green blow in midair, and Jacen flipped over her with ease, let the tension between the two blades dissolve. Jacen now stood beside the Metal Man.

"Hello there..." he spoke for the first time, only a second and a half after his appearence. The entire block and flip move had taken only that long. Such were the ways of adapt Force users. Speed was the most valuable asset, after patience.

"Thank you Metal Man for your talk, you had me convinced." Jacen nodded to the cyborg beside him. "But yet, this uncivilized half-crazed Jedi cannot be convinced. Do you find me dangerous P'do?" Jacen looked to Shasta whose green sword was not readied. "Put your blade away girl, you're only making the situation worse. This isn't your battle." In response to his own speech, Jacen disengaged his own lightsaber and used the Force to guide it to his belt.

P'do was seething only meters away. It was obvious that the blood of the Metal Man had a deep effect, and the Jedi's emotions were running wild, even worse than Jacen's had been previously. At least Jacen had learned to curb his own somewhat. It was a strange moment as the old Jedi and former Jedi stared each other down.

---

As Shasta looked on, a shocking realization came to her. The once calm and well mannered Jedi Master was now seeking revenge. Looking to kill for the sake of emotion. Yet, the once vengeful and emotional Sith mercenary, was now calm, collected, and deep. Very deep. Shasta could feel that Jacen had grown much in the Force in the recent events. Far too much for P'do to handle, even in full health.

Yes, P'do had become the true Sith now, and the Jedi in this situation was Jacen. It pained Shasta to understand this, and as she did her blade came down, and clipped to her belt. She would not interfere.

"I cannot stop this. If P'do does not kill Jacen, I must. I have been mandated by the Council to kill this boy, we both have. Yet, I will do what is my duty, while you," Shasta said higher, turning to P'do, "my Master, are doing this for revenge. Please, control yourself."

She breathed deeply. "You kill for history, while I will kill for duty. I'm sorry," Shasta said, turning to Jacen, "that I have been given such a task. I know the Council is wrong, but I cannot go against them. I must follow my orders. But first I will allow Master P'do to do what he feels is best..."

Shasta stepped backward out of the way, and back into the corner Jacen had previously dwelled in. She waited, silently.

---

Jacen smiled. He knew that he may have to kill the girl later, but right now he loved her. He always had liked her, although Jedi orders were totally against it, but today her sense of duty prevailed over his heart. She had won him. But then again, Miriam had too. More important matters were at hand.

"Well Master P'do... what will it be? Leave, or I will have to kill you."

Jacen looked up to the hall. Liam should be here any moment now. Maybe he could talk some sense into the Jedi turned lunatic.

The Metal Man was going to have to risk it. He turned on the comlink so that Liam could hear what was being said.

"Tell me, Shasta," the Metal Man said, "when the council reached its decision, was it not based on Master P'do's testimony?"

In response, Shasta only stared at him. Of course it was.

"Are there no provisions for the council to reverse its decisions if they are made...in haste?"

At that comment, P'do sprang to his feet. "NO!" he yelled. "DO NOT INTERFERE WITH THE AFFAIRS OF THE JEDI!"

"Do not worry, P'do. I made a gift of your life to you once today and, if you choose to run screaming into the abyss, I will not pull you back again. I have a deal for you, though, Shasta. It's very simple. These two gentlemen both appear to want a duel. Let's give them what they want. The rest of us, however, will remain neutral. If P'do wins, you may return to the council with Jacen's body--but if Jacen wins, you must return to the council and tell them what has happened here. You must call for them to reverse their decision. You must take back the data that we gathered on Koriban and warn them of its implications."

"And if I turn down this deal of yours?"

"Then, you and P'do will be crossing swords not only with Jacen, but with Liam and myself as well. Is this blood lust of yours worth the unnecessary confrontation?"

P'do looked at the Metal Man. "We'll deal with you when this is over," he said, but his sword remained in its holder.

"I take it, then, that you accept my terms," the Metal Man replied.

"Your deal isn't with me, is it?" he said, eyes narrowing. "It is not mine to accept or reject--but it satisfies me regardless of her decision."

"Well, then, Shasta, I would expect that it's time for you to use that wonderful Jedi training of yours and make the right choice."

Shasta continued to stare, wide-eyed, for a moment longer. It was all germain with the laws of the Jedi. A decision of the council could be appealed if important evidence was found that rendered it...questionable. And Master P'do was out of control! She sensed that, if she tried to stop him, he would strike indescriminantly at anything near him. He could not be saved. And she knew of the Metal Man, and his dislike of violence. She had seen him take fire rather than give up a life--Master P'do's life. For him to threaten to take up arms would mean that this would be something very important to him. And Jacen was--changed. Gone was the loose cannon she had seen on the planet. She searched her feelings and found that, in light of all of these facts, she could no longer abide the council's will.

Slowly, carefully, she relaxed her sword hand and powered down her blade.

"I accept your terms," she said.

"I thought you might become disloyal," P'do said. "No matter.

"Whenever you are ready, boy."

"If I may, P'do, I'd like Liam's permission to use his ship for this. If he doesn't give it, I shall arrange a space on Brain Jar where you and Jacen can settle your differences."

P'do only looked on.

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Jacen defeated P'do, but decided to spare him his life. Boy, was P'do angry. Boy, did Jacen get his revenge.

While they were fighting, the Metal Man shared the things he had found on Koriban with Shasta and the Jedi. They interpreted the glyphs and figured out what they were dealing with.

Then, Liam, Jenghis and the Metal Man went into the Orb of Life and, with the unwitting help of Lord Kanth, learned a thing or two about how to do battle inside of mind-chrystals. They defeated Lord Kanth in the process and sent him back to the real of the nonexistant.

Then, Jenghis, Liam, Miriam, Jacen, Shasta and the Metal Man took the fight to Darth Solous. By that time, Solous had learned how to warp reality. He almost defeated them, and would have, but for their new skills and the Orb of Life. As it was, Jenghis was temporarily turned to the Dark Side.

Liam and the Metal Man ended up together with Solous inside of the Orb of Forever. Through a dashing display of self-sacrifice and teamwork, they defeated Solous, with Liam taking him out of the chrystal for a little one-on-one attention :) while the Metal Man stayed behind.

The Metal Man used the Orb of Forever to heal Shamman's mind, and turn him back from the Dark Side of the Force. Shasta took him back with her to renew his Jedi training. Then, the Metal Man turned Jenghis back, too. Then, while still inside of it, the Metal Man cause the Orb of Forever to crack, ensuring that its power would never again be used for evil--and driving himself stark-raving bonkers insane in the process.

Liam and Jacen went on to continue Jacen's training. Shamman and Shasta went back to the Jedi. Jenghis and Miriam carried what was left of the Metal Man back to Brain Jar and they were off to other adventures...in a year or two, after TMM's mind settled down...everybody hoped. :) :) :)

THE END.