Star Wars - Tales from the Outer Rim

"Descent Into the Unknown, Part 1"
by: Rylaa Lyssander - PC
Lani Vissip - NPC+
Lorgal - NPC+

Location: Avalon VI
Date: Rheudis 7, 4ABY

***

The entrance to the Jedi temple lay like a gaping maw before Rylaa and his friends. Somewhere inside was a force that had taken, and possibly killed, the two doctors just a few days ago. Lani had mentioned that she could still feel the thing in there, a dark presence somewhere in the back of her mind. She didn't know how, but the feeling alone was enough for Rylaa to announce that only the three of them would be heading inside. Until they came back, no one else was the enter the temple.

The three of them, Rylaa, Lani, and Lorgal, all wore climbing harness in addition to their combat armor and various weapons. Lorgal had decided that carrying a portable fusion generator with his was impractical and so had on a pair of repeating blaster rifles. Around them were not only the remaining workers and doctors of the camp, minus Doctor Carlyle who somehow ended up as one of the casualties of yesterday's battle, who were patiently waiting for the expedition to return so they begin their studies. No one was quite sure what Doctor Carlyle was doing in the Imperial Camp, nor did anyone question that his head had been turned 180 degrees or that there were no blaster burns on him anywhere. No one really did miss his brash and superior attitude however.

They walked carefully through the entrance. The light from the morning sun ended several feet into the long hallway and darkness enveloped them. A simple flick of a finger, however, and all was laid before them in the green glow of nightvision. In order to be able to differentiate between them and anything else they might find down there, all three wore a tiny infrared LED on their shoulder, which showed up clearly on the nightvision.

The long entrance hallway was totally bare. It appeared to have been scrubbed clean quite recently, as there was not even dust on the floor. The air tasted stale, but more like filters that hadn't been changed in a starship, not several thousand years.

"Droids," Rylaa said cryptically. The other two turned and looked at him, Lani raised an eyebrow. "Somebody had to clean this up," he said, pointing to where a pile of dirt was carefully swept into the corner. The others nodded slowly, twice as on the alert as before. Though it was extremely rare in the death of the Old Republic, it was not known whether or not the Jedi of long ago used defensive droids.

That question was answered when a mechanical voice speaking in an ancient Basic dialect said, "We are sorry, but this Temple is closed. Please come back another time." After a few more feet it said, much more sternly this time, "Very well, as you have seen fit to trespass, we have no choice but to take defensive measures."

"Jedi with a sense of humor?" Lani asked, looking over her shoulder.

"Anything was possible in the Old Republic," Rylaa replied solemnly. They grinned at each other, the joke went over Lorgal's head.

They came to what could only be the greeting hall of the ancient Jedi Temple. The stump of a long dead tree sat surrounded by and empty basin which in turn was surrounded by stone benches. In front of the tree was a pair of rather aggressive looking humanoid droids, they were carrying blaster rifles.

Rylaa and Lani dove in opposite directions as the blasters opened fire. Green bolts spattered against duracrete, one spattered against Lorgal's head, leaving no lasting damage and in fact polishing his scales just a little more. The big barabel grinned and hefted one of the repeaters. His return fire tore the droids apart, they simply disintegrated under the torrent of energy.

"I tweaked it a little," he replied to Rylaa and Lani's silent question about the rate of fire of his weapon.

"Alright, split up and see what we can find," the chubby criminal said. "Keep in constant contact, I want to know the second something happens."

"What about, that, thing, that's still in here?" Lani asked, there was a glimmer of fear in her eyes. "I can still feel it in here, feel its hate. It's not directed at us, right now, though, so maybe it doesn't notice us."

"We should be fine, as long as we don't draw attention to ourselves."

"If you say so, I'll follow your lead."

"Right," he looked down at the mini datapad strapped to his forearm. "Lorgal, you take the main passage, I'll go right, Lani you go left."

They both nodded at him and headed on their separate ways.

*** Main Passage ***

A number of rooms branched off the main line. The main power of the Temple was off and Lorgal decided that he didn't quite like that. After all, it was unnatural that he should have to stare at everything in green, a color he particularly despised. And that wasn't just because it was the most common of color of Trandoshans, a hated enemy of the barabel. It just that it made everything so... boring! He sighed and pried open one of the doors with his claws.

Inside looked like it was once a bedroom, though it was kind of smallish...boring. The next room was a storage closet... very boring. The third room he checked, however, turned out to be very interesting indeed.

Rank upon rank of old battle droids stood with blasters ready, deactivated. Lorgal had found a way to alleviate his boredom, and get some exercise. He opened the door all the way, walked up to the first of the droids, and slammed it as hard as he could in the side of the head. You can believe he was surprised when the droid took the hit, looked up, and pointed the blaster at his stomach.

*** Left Passage ***

The passageway to the left of the main entrance hall spiraled downwards slowly. Lani followed it around carefully, watching for any activity that might signal another set of droids or worse. A soft light-blue glow emanated from whatever was below, leaking light through cracks and small holes. As she came to the end, she lifted up her night vision goggles and sucked in her breath sharply at what lay before her.

A beautiful scene was spread out in a rough cut underground cavern. Though it was not big, the end of the spiral passageway obviously lay at the center. The light was coming from the thousands of light-blue crystal which were everywhere, on the roof, the floor, and the walls. Surprisingly enough, the cavern was warm, not cool as it should be underground. Then Lani realized that she could feel the crystal somewhere in the back of her mind. This was a Jedi Temple, so it was possible they were meditation aids or, she thought, they might even be rare lightsaber focus crystals, like the ones that made Dathomir so popular with the old Jedi Order.

Her breath came in small gasps as she stepped out into the sea of crystals and felt their warmth wash over her. It was like a thousand tiny minds trying to reach out and brush her but falling just short. Emotions of lust, and ecstasy rolled through her mind, powerful feelings as if she were with a fantastic lover. Where were they coming from? It took all of Lani's self-control and will power not to simply drop to the ground and shudder in pleasure.

There was something obviously not natural about the way the emotions were being projected, though they felt so good. She shuddered as she asserted her dominating sense of self-control over her body and pushed what she could from herself. When she had flushed what she could, she took another step deeper into the garden. Instantly the waves of lust crashed into her barriers, harder and harder the deeper she went.

At the other side of the garden lay a small chamber with a thick transparisteel wall and a small door set off to one side. Inside of what looked to be an old fashioned washroom. Lani used her mental discipline and focused her thoughts around this singular point. Soon, she was through the crystals as well as the small door. She bent almost in doubling, gulping down breaths from lungs craving air. She did not even realize she was holding her breath. He entire body was covered in sweat, it dripped from her nose into an ever-growing puddle on the dark tiled floor. Muscles were cramped in places she had forgotten she had. It was if she had a marathon then fallen down a hill afterwards.

After a couple minutes, she had caught her breath and wiped the sweat from her brow. A quick scan of the room showed a pair of large doors at the far end, they were made of stone and engraved in the same manner of the exterior of the temple. These carvings were much more ornate, and instead of scenes of Jedi in battle they were scenes of a Jedi Master and several of his students in various forms of meditation and relaxation. There were also smaller scenes of a Master teaching his students lightsaber forms. How the artist was able to go into such detail with a lightsaber was unknown to Lani, but she appreciated his work.

Still breathing a little heavy, she walked up to the stone doors. They slid open with a grinding sound as she approached, inside was darkness. Lani stepped through. The doors closed behind her, leaving her to the inky blackness. A voice said, "Good morning."

*** Right Passage ***

Rylaa wandered down what could only be called the most average passageway he had ever seen. Everything was clean and in its place, the walls were bare, and the lights overhead were dark and even the sharp outline of the doors in the green glow of the night vision seemed dull. The chubby criminal sighed, he always seemed to get the boring spots, even when he was the one doing the assigning. Deciding to simply pick a door from random, Rylaa stood in front of it, waiting for it to open as he was used to. When nothing happened, he raised an eyebrow in question at its strange behavior. Then it came to him and he was tempted to slap himself. The power was off, the door wasn't going to open. The emergency reserves had probably died long ago.

He looked around for something the he could use to pry the door open with. Nothing, the passage was just as bare as it had been a minute ago. Rylaa sighed, he was going to have to go with the hard approach. He reached into one of his many belt pouches and pulled out a small lump of grey putty-like material. He grinned evilly and a few minutes later after the smoke from the plastique had cleared, the door was open.

Rylaa looked around the corner, gun first, not trusting anything. Inside was a simple spiral staircase leading down. A sign above it was written in a dialect of Basic he had never seen before, but the large lightning bolt was clear. Down there was something to do with the power, more than likely it was the fusion generator.

The explosive charge he had used had not been very large, nor had it been very loud so he hope that nothing had heard, especially at the bottom of these stairs. They were not very long, Rylaa noticed as he descended to the next level and into the generator room. The fusion generator itself was shoved into one corner and looked horribly small to power such a large temple, but he assume that the ancient Jedi that lived here knew what the heck they were doing so he walked over to the control panel.

Nothing was lit, go figure. Even the reserve power for the generator controls had died, leaving him with no way to bring power back online. He stared at the panel, concentrating on what else he could do. While it wasn't necessary to turn on everything, he had plenty of plastique and there were only so many doors, it would make life much easier. Then it came to him, every generator has a mechanical backup, just in case this sort of thing happened! It should be on the big machine itself.

A brief inspection located the necessary levers and soon the generator was humming with power of fusion. Rylaa looked around with satisfaction, at least he had done something useful.

"Decent Into the Unknown, Part 2"
by: Rylaa Lyssander - PC
Lani Vissip - NPC+
Lorgal - NPC+

Location: Avalon VI, Jedi Temple
Date: Rheudis 7, 4ABY

***

The lights came on with satisfied clicks as power flowed through the temple. Everywhere doors opened and closed in self test and long dormant droids became active. The few self-sufficient cleaning and guardian droids sighed mechanically as they backed into charging stations to refill their sputtering micro-fusion batteries.

Rylaa climbed out of the generator room and stepped over the rubble that was the remains of the door. He lifted up the night vision goggles he was wearing and looked at the passageway in the real light. Nothing had changed, except the color. It was still bare and boring.

Being the intrepid explorer that he was, Rylaa figured that he would go and find Lorgal or Lani and see what they were up to. As he re-entered the main hall, he heard the sounds of a fierce battle raging to the north. It seemed to be getting closer.

Lorgal ran from the passage with a pair of battle droids hanging onto his back. In one hand he carried the much beaten upper half of another. It was obvious he had been using it as a weapon. Behind him charged many more droids, some carrying blasters and others bare handed.

Rylaa rolled his eyes and unslung one of the few ion rifles they had brought with them from his back. His barabel secretary turned around and, much in the way of a baseball player, hit a grand slam through the charging droid ranks, bowling many of them over.

The rest of the fight was vicious and short, ending with Lorgal monkey-stomping the remains into a fine powder. Panting, he looked up at his boss who was busy changing out the power packs on his rifle.

"I found some droids, boss," he said matter-of-factly. His clothing was torn and burned in several places and he had lost a large patch of scales off his stomach.

"Well good," Rylaa replied, shooting a still twitching pair of droid legs with the ion rifle. "At least we don't have to worry about them in the future."

The big barabel nodded and gave one of the droids a good kick out of spite. "So what now, boss, we go find Lani?"

"No, she's probably fine wherever she is, she can take care of herself. Let's explore some of these other rooms."

"Kay, boss."

*** Underground Room ***

Lani froze at the sound of the voice and a chill went through her spine. The air inside the room was freezing cold and tasted stale. For several minutes she remained still, her shallow breaths the only sound. Then the lights flickered on and her breath caught.

The room looked as though someone had taken a sphere and cut it in half, then filled the inside with shelves and burnt-out candles. Red tapestries, faded with time, hung down from the ceiling. Each had the symbol of the ancient Jedi Order in blue threading. The center of the chamber was sunken in several feet and surrounded by steps. In the exact center of the room was a gleaming white marble pedestal, upon which sat a tiny translucent blue cube.

"Is it not customary to say 'good morning' back?" said the voice again. It seemed to be coming from the cube for at the same moment it had flashed a brighter shade of blue.

"Err, good morning," Lani said hesitantly. Despite the chill, she was sweating. Whatever this was in front of her, it was clearly important. "Who-- what are you?"

"I am Jedi Master Vindoo Sharr," the cube said, "And I am a holographic chronicle."

*** Present Location, 3,952 years ago ***

Today was the day that Jedi Master Vindoo Sharr and his apprentices would leave their home forever. It had taken him some time to construct, but the Jedi Master had decided that the work would be worth it. Some day this temple would be opened again, and eventually whoever opened it would find their way here, past the defenses he had set up, and find his legacy.

The tiny box sat in the palm of his hand. Though it was small in size, the holocron contained the lifetime of knowledge that Jedi Master Sharr had collected as well as his own personality.

He hoped that the holocron would fall into the right hands, for the knowledge contained within could be devastating. That was why he constructed his crystal defenses the way they were. Only someone with the mental discipline of a Jedi Knight would be able to pass through unharmed. Someone who easily fell to temptation, such as a Sith, would be unable to make their way through.

Jedi Master Sharr reverently laid the tiny cube on the marble pedestal in the center of what had been his meditation chamber. As the door closed behind him, he remembered to set the holocron so it would activate when a Force Sensitive came near.

*** Present Day ***

"A holographic chronicle?" Lani asked in an awed voice. She was speaking with a Jedi Master who had to have died thousands of years ago!

"Yes, I am a storage device made to hold the teachings of the Jedi Order as well as the personal knowledge of the Jedi Master who created it. This Temple was dedicated to teaching the Guardians the many lightsaber techniques they used in combat."

A school filled with Jedi lightsaber masters? That certainly explains the carvings along the outside, Lani thought. "So you are like a computer bank then, one that holds data and has a personality program installed, right?"

Something flickered above the cube and a hologram of an old human appeared. It spread it hands and said, "Not exactly. A holocron, the much more common name for a holographic chronicle, is much more complex than that. You see, a holocron is made of a very dense crystal, like the ones outside this chamber. It is capable of storing vast amounts of information, whereas a computer of this size could hold very little. Each holocron is assigned a gatekeeper who is responsible for accessing the information. That would be me.

"This crystal contains my cognitive thought matrix and as such is able to act much as I would in life. In this way, I can dispense my knowledge and teach other Jedi."

"But how did you know to activate?"

The image in the hologram tilted its head to one side in question. "Is it not obvious? I recognized that you can use the Force and so I turned myself on so that I might instruct you in what you want to know."

Lani's jaw dropped in disbelief. This thing, this holocron, thought that she could use the Force? "Use the Force? But I'm no Jedi, and only Jedi can use the Force."

"Not a Jedi?" the image asked, "But surely you must be. Though you are not yet strong in the Force I can sense in you great potential, and you are obviously trained in control techniques or else I would not have activated at all."

Lani thought back to her training when she was a child with Master Tia Tomlinson, the Echani duelist who had taught her his ancient art. He had always mentioned that she was special, that her skill would one day surpass his meager teachings. Did he know?

"I can use the Force?" she thought out loud in a wondering voice.

"Yes," Master Sharr said, "It is amazing that an adept was able to obtain the necessary control needed to spark my crystal matrix. And your discipline must be strong for you were able to pass through the defenses that I set outside my chamber."

The image brought a hand to its face in thought. "You have great potential you know, I can feel it in you. With the proper instruction, I can bring that out in you. Of course, I could never replace the instruction of an actual Jedi Master, because I can only judge what is safe for you to know and what is not. I cannot give you the actual instruction and guidance that you need."

"You're saying I should go and learn with the Jedi? But I'm too old to enter any sort of training like that! I've had twenty-eight years to perfect my Echani, it would take a miracle to change that."

"So you think miracles do not exist do you?" Master Sharr asked. "Well believe in them. With life as dangerous as it is in this galaxy, I believe it is a miracle that you lived as long as you have. I believe it is a miracle that you have come here by sheer chance. You see? There are miracles everywhere, you only have to look for them."

Lani thought about that for a minute then decided that the image of the Jedi Master was right. "Master Sharr," she said, "I'm going to take you to the only Jedi Temple I know. Perhaps they will be able to use your knowledge and your teachings. And maybe, just maybe, they will let me train with them."

"Very well, until then I will rest. If you have any questions, please feel free to ask."

"But how do I activate the holocron? It has no switches or buttons that I can see."

"Now that I know you, all you have to do is call for me and say that you have a question, I will activate myself."

Lani nodded and the hologram in the air wavered then disappeared. This was certainly a find, one the she knew the Jedi would be pleased with. Disbelief still hung with her, though. Who would have thought that she could use the Force, had been using the Force, all her life. Despite what other artifacts they found in this ancient temple, nothing was as valuable as the tiny crystal cube she now held in her hand.

"Descent Into the Unknown, Part 3"
by: Rylaa Lyssander - PC
Lani Vissip - NPC+
Lorgal - NPC+

Location: Avalon VI, Jedi Temple
Date: Rheudis 7, 4ABY

***

Rylaa and his barabel secretary Lorgal were pillaging the belongings of a long dead apprentice when they heard the door open behind them. They whipped around as best they could in the cramped quarters, ready to face any threat. Before them stood a very pale looking Lani, something clutched tight in her hand. Her eyes seemed distant, as though she was looking far out into space.

As she fell forward, Rylaa rushed to meet her. He lowered her body gently to the floor, freshly scrubbed by several rather energetic cleaning droids, and fussed over her until Lorgal pulled him away. The big barabel bent down and listened for breath closely while Rylaa, who had rudimentary first aid skills at best, danced from toe to toe wringing his hands.

Finally, Lorgal made his diagnosis. "She'll be alright," he said solemnly.

"What the hell happened," Rylaa asked the second her eyes opened.

"I learned something about myself and I'm not sure how I'm supposed to react," she replied.

Rylaa pondered this for a moment or two before saying, "You learned something about yourself? Like what? What could you have found in a dead Jedi temple to cause such a life shattering alteration?"

Lani simply held out her open hand. Resting in her palm was the small blue crystal cube. The Jedi holocron of Jedi Master Vindoo Sharr. Rylaa stared at it, the eyes of a trained thief picking out every nuance of the valuable crystal. He found himself licking lips suddenly gone dry.

"I'm not sure what it is," he admitted, "but I know that crystal has to be some of the rarest in the galaxy. I've seen every type of gem from the lowest grade Correllian Durnofs to the highest grade Alterian Sunfire Crystal, and I have never seen anything like that. It's value on the open market would be incalculable, and to think of how much you could get in closed auction! I can't even fathom how much that cube is worth."

Lani gave him a hard look. "I know exactly how valuable it is."

Rylaa's eyes widened in surprise. "Really? How much?"

"More than any one man or government can pay," was her simple and cryptic response.

"I don't understand," Rylaa said as he knelt next to her.

"This cube contains knowledge, invaluable knowledge that could alter the very course of the galaxy." She sat up without difficulty, some color had returned to her skin.

"Knowledge?" Rylaa all but laughed. "Information is worth something, but knowledge? What good will that do us?"

"The knowledge contained in this crystal is about the ancient Jedi Order, their teachings, their ideals, their techniques." The criminal's eyes lit up even more and he started to reach for the crystal, almost without thinking. Lani snapped her hand closed and glared at him. "And I lay claim to it."

Rylaa blinked, "What?"

"I said I lay claim to it. I found it therefore it's mine."

Knowing that both her temper and her stubborn streak would prevent him from changing his mind he sighed and dismissed idea of getting more credits than he could swim in. "Alright then, it's yours, do with it what you will." He helped her to her feet and looked around the cramped room. "Huh... he was right," he said cryptically.

"Who?"

"Dargus Kandran."

"That crime lord that we met at the Jedi Temple?"

"That's the one. Something about the way we parted told me that we would meet again. Somehow I knew that he was thinking the same thing."

Lani shook her head, "I don't get it, what does he.... ohhhhh, I get it now. He'll still be with the Jedi, right?"

"Correct, my dear, he'll probably still be there. As evil as he may once have been, he is the kind of man that keeps his word, no matter what. I assume that you are going to turn that over to the Jedi when we get back to Tae'karada?"

Lani nodded, "Yeah."

"I'll support that. It's better than letting that thing fall into the hands of say, those two Empresses. With the teachings of the ancient jedi under their belts, they could probably conquer the whole system."

Lani glanced at him with an incredulous look. "I thought you supported them? You sold them plenty of weapons and armor at any rate. And there's those three ATSTs as well."

Rylaa laughed the kind of laugh that can only come from deep in the belly. "Lani, you're killing me! Of course I don't support them, I don't support anybody. Times of upheaval are good for business, and besides, I sold those weapons to the government, not to the person or persons sitting in it. When those little girls get tossed on their backsides by whoever wants to take over next, the weapons and the contract will be theirs. Nieme really should have had one of her legal advisors take a look at that contract before she signed it."

Lani could only stare at him with her jaw hanging open. Lorgal chuckled deeply. "You swindled an Empress?"

Rylaa grinned like a little boy, "Yeah! Isn't that awesome? I think it's the best swindle I ever pulled, and there's no way they can back out of the contract either, it's already been filed with the New Republic."

She slapped him lightly on the shoulder. "Why you wily old con man, I can't believe you!" His joy was infectious and soon she found herself smiling too. Lorgal just leaned against the wall and chuckled.

Rylaa stepped closer to her and said in a strangely serious tone, "There's still a mystery in the temple, though."

Lani raised an eyebrow, both at the statement and the fact that Rylaa still had slipped an arm around her waist. She didn't ask him to move it though. "Oh?" she asked him. "And which mystery is that?"

Rylaa turned and the most serious look she had seen this adventure crossed his face. "What the hell happened to Doctor Kojik and Doctor Queso? Something on here snatched them... was waiting for them, but it has yet to make an appearance or even a sound since we got here. You said you can sense it, where is it? What is it doing? Is it moving?"

"Calm down, Rylaa." She pressed her hands to her temples and tried to concentrate. She opened her mind slightly, allowing her senses to spread out. Instantly the thing was on her, black hatred and pain enveloping her mind in an inescapable cloud. She screamed out loud and her two friends were on her in an instant. She could see them talking to her, asking her what was wrong, but she couldn't hear them over the sound of her own voice. The thing inside her head had firmly seized control and was beginning to pick its way through her memories, trying to find who she was. It was the most excruciating thing Lani had ever felt. Deeper and deeper it burrowed until it at last came to her childhood. The memory of her Master, Tia Tomlinsson, burned in her mind like a beacon.

The thing in her head glanced at the memory, and then was gone like it had never been there. Lani stopped screaming and she collapsed back to the ground. Lorgal managed to get a claw under her head before it bounced off the flagstone. The surroundings were only dimly aware to her as she contemplated what had happened. Rylaa and Lorgal were still trying to talk to her, but she couldn't hear a thing. Her breathing slowed and her eyelids drooped. Somebody grabbed her shoulders and began to shake her violently, but soon even that became numb.

"Descent Into the Unknown, Part 4"
by: Rylaa Lyssander - PC
Lani Vissip - NPC+
Lorgal - NPC+

Location: Avalon VI, Jedi Temple
Date: Rheudis 7, 4ABY

***

Rylaa knelt beside Lani's body. His skin had gone pale and a look of shock was plastered on his face. His hand trembled as he lifted it up to stroke her cheek one last time. She couldn't be dead, she simply couldn't be. He wouldn't know what to do without her, she had always been there for him, since the day that they had met. Even after that fiasco a couple years back that had kept them separated and put her in an Imperial jail, she had come back to him. He lay his head on her chest, a single tear rolled own his nose and got lost in his moustache. More would have followed but Rylaa hear something he didn't expect... a heartbeat.

He listened for a moment more, just to confirm that it was indeed a heartbeat, and it was. An ear placed near her nose showed that she was still breathing, if barely. "Pick her up!" he order Lorgal. The barabel was taken aback by the outburst from his boss, who rarely spoke to anyone that way, but the commanding power in his voice was unmistakable. "We need to get her out of here, into some fresh air." Lorgal nodded but said nothing.

A loud noise echoed through the dead corridors of the Jedi temple, freezing Rylaa and Lorgal in their tracks. It sounded like an explosion, deep in the underbelly of the forgotten place. When the last of the echoed faded Rylaa remained frozen, his keen hearing picking up nothing but his own heavy breathing. Something in the pit of his stomach told him that he needed to leave, now. The trained instinct that he had learned to trust prickled at the very thought of staying another second here. "Go! Now!" he shouted. His secretary wasted no time in leaping to a dead sprint, Lani's inert form cradled by the alien's huge arms. Rylaa was a little slower, but not by much. A slow thief never lived long and as overweight as the little criminal was, he could still sprint the length of a football field.

Desolate wailing filled their ears from out of nowhere. A wordless keening of ultimate despair and longing. It clouded the senses and made one misstep, almost tumbling headfirst down a short flight of stairs. Just behind the wave of noise were several more booms. Rylaa was able to make as guess as to what they were now... doors being blown from their hinges. He assumed that Lani had mistakingly woken up whatever it was that had lain dormant for centuries, waking up only to feast on the two doctors. It was now after her, he figured, and it was hungry again.

He fought the crashing wave of bleakness that had wrapped around his mind with as much discipline as he could muster. His steps began to falter as he slipped further and further into despondency. When all seemed lost and he was about to give himself to the thing chasing them, a memory passed though his head. It held the key to his survival somewhere inside.

*** 20 years ago ***

A 16 year old, and much slimmer, Rylaa Lyssander was sitting in the co-pilot's seat of the Corellian Freighter Easy Pickings. While the name of the ship was not altogether enough to garner attention, the owner and pilot was. Tragon Ventiri was an elderly human well into his eightieth year and was a wholly unremarkable sort of person, if you overlooked the fact the he was the most wanted smuggler in over forty systems. A failed Jedi Padawan, Tragon had developed a skill in smuggling that simply baffled the authorities. No matter what they did, they could never seem to predict his routes or ambush him in any way. As far as the paperwork was concerned, he was a respectable and loyal citizen to the Empire. To the people he scammed or simply went around, he was a menace that needed to be stopped.

The old man had picked up the much younger Rylaa in Coronet after the youth's insistence that he be taken to Coruscant. After a bit of background, the older smuggler had agreed, and had also decided to take the young boy under his wing. There was great potential in the young scam artist, and Tragon hoped to steer him down the right path. That path being smuggling of course, as all other crimes paled in comparison. Of course, if you asked that question to any other criminal type, they would all say the same thing.

Rylaa spent the entire journey in rapt attention as the old man explained the delicate art of smuggling. Everything from hidden compartments and their placing to bribing techniques used in different parts of the galaxy were explained in the weeks spanning the slow travel of the freighter. Tragon taught the young man as much as he could, but he never thought that the one piece of advice he had given Rylaa as a joke would save his life.

"So you were a Jedi?" the young man had asked him.

"In training, boy, I was a Jedi in training," Tragon had replied in his gravelly voice. He always sounded grouchy when he spoke, it was a trademark.

"But you left?" he had asked.

"Yeah, didn't work out with me," the smuggler replied.

"Why not?" the boy asked, oblivious to the signs Tragon was giving that this was a touchy subject.

"I didn't like the fact the Jedi screwed with people's heads, ok?" he said with anger evident in his voice. He had said it rather harshly, as Rylaa had shied back. "Let me tell you something boy, those Jedi, they aren't all really sugar and sweets like they show everyone. They manipulate behind the scenes, reading minds and then changing them as they see fit."

"Really?" Rylaa had asked with a voice full of awe. "But how did you manage to get away?"

"I played Sabacc, boy." Tragon said cryptically. At the baffled look on the lad's face he explained. "I played Sabacc in my head. See, the way the whole mind reading trick works is that they glean surface thoughts off the top. Well, if you are doing something in your head that's trivial, playing Sabacc or counting blades of grass for example, then they can't get inside your head!"

Rylaa just sat an listened to the old man talk, absorbing the information like a sponge.

*** Present ***

Play Sabacc, Rylaa thought to himself, Remember what Tragon said. In my hand I have the four of Staves, the eight of coins, the Master of Sabres, the Evil One which is plus or minus fifteen as I see fit, and a six of Flasks. If I lay down the six... The criminal ran as he played a game of Sabacc in his mind, against himself and two other imaginary players. In reality it was a game he had played awhile ago but for now it would do. The game must have confused whatever entity had entered his brain because soon the thickness lifted from his mind so that he was able to think. As well as to notice the cloud of pure inky shadow that was racing towards him down the passageway.

Shit! came the unbidden thought as he turned and sprinted towards to entrance. The terrible wailing started up again as Rylaa saw daylight ahead of him. His lungs burned and he found himself gulping every desperate mouthful of air in an effort to keep himself ahead of the thing. Legs turning to jelly, he was able to make out the outline of his men, including the four armored troopers, waiting for him to emerge. Lorgal was in the background, a trio of medics knelt beside Lani. Thank the stars, she's going to be all right. The thought of her spurred him to push himself past his limitations and to achieve greater speeds. The inky blackness was still gaining as Rylaa burst into daylight.

"OPEN FIRE!" he screamed with his last lungful of air. His security force needed no further orders as a stream of crimson energy poured forth from their weapons. The malevolent cloud screamed in anguish and at the loss of its prey before retreating back into whichever pit it had come from. Rylaa lay on the ground, gasping for air and feeling much like a bag of beating Jell-O. The adrenaline that had been pumping through his system had faded and he much wanted to simply fall asleep.

"Seal it," he told his captain, who bent over to make sure his boss was ok. "We'll come back and deal with that thing later. For now, seal that entrance." The captain nodded and dispatched two of the PAX-25s to take care of it. Rylaa managed to catch his breath and stand up to check on Lani. She was pale and withdrawn but awake and she smiled as he walked up, he couldn't help but smile back. When he thought about the fact that he had almost lost her, it brought him to his knees next to her.

His unexpected embrace caught her a little off guard, but Lani found herself returning it with force. "I'm sorry, baby, but I lost what little treasure we could find," he whispered into her ear. Her smile grew wider, Rylaa was still thinking of money, even during a time like this.

She poked him in the shoulder and he looked up, startled, as she opened her hand. The holocron lay neatly in a pocket of flesh that had been made when her hand instinctively closed around it with a grip like iron. "Not all of it," she told him. Rylaa didn't even notice. He was too busy realizing that the true treasure gained in this adventure had already been his for many years, he had just failed to notice it. He then did something so out of character that it surprised even him. He drew Lani off the ground and kissed her solidly on the lips.

"Unwilling Arrangement"
by Ferrig Mullerin
and Zari Zathmir

Location: Jedi Temple, Tae'Karada
Rheudis 7, 4ABY

***

Ferrig Mullerin strolled through the Temple with a spring in his step and a cheerful grin on his face. He hadn't expected to be here, but after a night spent at home with Raeila and Kael, he was here. He hadn't been part of the conversation, but as it had been told to him by his sister and then by her husband, they'd decided to visit the Temple today so that Rae could visit with Dani. Apparently waiting until Dani was approved to leave the Temple to visit the desert wasn't long enough. Though, given how giddy Raeila had been on the trip here, he was definitely inclined to believe her. Still it was a joy to see her happy again.

And, now, as Rae and Kael visited with Dani out in the gazebo, he was free to roam. He approached a room where he could see sunshine streaming in through the coloured windows. It looked like a very pleasant room, and he was slightly surprised when he stepped inside to see it occupied. Sitting cross-legged on one of the meditation couches sat a very serene looking Zari Zathmir. He smiled at her as she seemed to glow in the sunlight, unaware of him.

He'd seen Talara, shortly after parting from Kael and Rae. She seemed very distant and didn't respond as he'd expected when he tried to kiss her. There hadn't been heated words, though he was surprised when his lips brushed her cheek. She seemed more mature than he remembered. She was warm enough for the most part, but the relationship they shared, the love they shared, seemed to have vanished. He did see something in her eyes, a hint of...he couldn't tell. Apparently she was late for meditation or something and excused herself with a promise to meet up with him later. They could share a meal in Orn's cafeteria.

Ferrig looked around as he started slowly toward where Zari sat. No one else around. Zari shifted, her eyebrows raising slightly as her face came up to face forward. With her eyes closed, she looked like she was trying to see through her eyelids. Ever so slowly, her gazeless gaze shifted upon him, and then her eyes opened.

"Ferrig," she whispered.

"Hey, Zeezee," he said and indicated the couch she was sitting upon. "Mind if I sit?"

"Go ahead," she said. "I thought you were in the desert."

"I was," he said with a chuckle. He took a seat on the couch. It was fairly small, so he ended up sitting fairly close to her. "Rae wanted to come up and visit with Dani, so where we are. How have you been?"

"I'm fine," she said, as she tried to shift further away but there was nowhere to go. "Busy with training, and taking food out to Dani, and...and training."

"I've missed you, Zee," he breathed, seeming to loom over her.

"You too," she lied. "Ferrig, I have to go. Master Vorrel will be upset if I'm late to her class."

"You've still got a few minutes, don't you," he asked as he caught her hand in his. "For a friend?" He raised her hand to his lips and gently, sensuously kissed her palm and slowly began working up to her wrist.

"I...I should..." She shivered at his touch. He was very gentle. Stop that, she scolded herself. "I should go..."

Zari stood quickly and started toward the door. The problem was that Ferrig still had a hold of her hand, was much bigger and stronger, and when she reached as far as the tether her hand in his made, just a slight tug on his part brought her right back toward him where he deftly caught her in his arms.

Before she could tell him to let her go, his mouth was on hers. The kiss was frantic, terrifying. Her body was crushed to his, and there was no way to get free. Her touch with the Force, fragile as it was, shattered in her panic. While one of his arms held her tightly against him, the other groped its way over her body. She couldn't bring her own arms up to push him away. His tongue found its way into her mouth, and she knew she was fighting a losing battle. She couldn't scream; she could barely breathe.

His hands were extremely dexterous, and her eyes widened in shock as she felt her pants slip down to the floor. She prayed someone would come in and find them, stop him, save her. She tried to look around frantically, but could see very little. What she could see though was that they were no longer at the couch, no longer in the center of the room. She felt her back pressed against a wall and realized he'd maneuvered them into one of the alcoves. Even if someone came into the room, they'd have a difficult time seeing them.

"Don't scream," he whispered in her ear. With a thrust, he slipped himself inside her.

"Please, Ferrig," she whispered, tears streaming down her cheeks. "Please...please, I'll get in trouble. I'm...I'm not supposed to..."

"Then it'd be best if no one finds out," Ferrig whispered. "And, no one will know, right? You keep quiet, and I will. I won't tell a soul, Zari, and you won't get in trouble."

"Thank you," Zari sobbed quietly. She gasped as he pushed himself further inside. "I don't want to get in trouble."

He kissed her as he started working himself into a steady rhythm. "That's my girl," he whispered. "Now, I know you're not supposed to have sex or you'll get in trouble. Well, here's the deal, Zeezee, I like having sex with you and I know you don't want to get in trouble. So, as long as you don't resist me, I won't breathe a word of this to anyone, and you won't get in trouble."

"You're so mean," Zari managed between sobbing gasps.

Ferrig let out a loud grunt followed by an even louder moan. "Oh gods, yes...oh--"

"Oh gods, oh gods, alright," she rasped. Ferrig was suddenly quiet again as he continued his thrusts. "What do I have to do?"

"When I'm in the mood, we'll find a private place, and do just what we're doing now. You can handle that?"

More tears slipped down Zari's cheeks as she nodded, her fear of getting caught building. She couldn't force herself to make a sound. She nodded.

"Good," Ferrig whispered. "That's my girl."

The next minutes seemed to take forever to pass, until finally Ferrig found his release. He pulled out and pulled up his pants. "You're a good girl, Zari," Ferrig whispered and wiped away her tears with a thumb, then kissed her. "Just remember you're my special girl. Now, you'd better hurry or you'll be late for Master Vorrel's class." He gave her a grin that made her skin crawl, and turned and strolled away, leaving her half-naked and with his discharge dripping down her thighs.

She looked down at herself and choked back a sob. She began straightening her clothing, and nearly panicked when she noticed the time. She was already late and a terrible mess. She bolted from the room to run back to her room to clean herself up as quickly as she could, unable to stop the tears left in her wake. Worse than being late and having her Master upset with her, she couldn't stop hating Ferrig.