Rorn walked out of the tiny med-station on the back-system planet and thanked the proprietor . He had stopped here for a new cybernetic hand, since Ari had trashed his old one . He motioned to Ari who was oohing and ah'ing at a jewelry stand and then had to drag her back to the ship as she couldn't be persuaded to leave the shiny baubles . Walking onto the ship, Rorn dropped Ari into a chair and begant o prepare the ship for liftoff . " Ari, can you try to behave ? We have to get Eoghan and Byss is where I am sensing him ." He begged, while his hands were holding Ari's out of a small catch of sweets, bought while he was on the planet ." Of course I can, young Padawan . A Jedi Master always behaves approriately ." Rorn blinked, still not used to these changes in personality , but glad that the evil version was gone ." Uh ok, Ari, just um, let me take off and get into hyperspace and um, then we can talk ." Ari nodded, toying with one of the cutaway chunks of crystal .
Moments later, in hyperspace, Rorn turned to Ari and said," Alright, torture me with your life story ." Ari stared at him and then noticed the slight smile in his eyes and began to answer .
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Ric activated his commlink, waiting for the buzz that would ensure him of a secure connection . A blueish holo image of Darth Rakar shimmered into view and the ancient Sith lord greeted him ." Selaschk, my leader, what is it you wish ." Ric fought his way out of a cloud of pain and answered him ." I have been poisoned . Bring a Star Destroyer to the south side of the planet and pick me up on the highest cliff . I shall activate a beacon so a shuttle can find me . " Rakar nodded," As you wish, my lord ." RIc shut down the commlink and gazed up at the setting sun . Soon it would be night . His time .
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Rorn tried not yawn as he glanced at the wall-chrono for what seemed like the ten millionth time since Ari had gone through yet another personality change and was happily prattling away in her strange accent about pushing a button and the house floating away . Sounded weird to him . " Ok Ari, I think its time to go to bed . You can use the bunk, I have to watch the bridge ." he said, trying not to sound too desperate . Ari stopped talking and stared at him . " Bu wi, Ah'm noot tar'd . " Rorn sighed and listened to her start another story that her didn't understand a word of .
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Ric watched the ship come down into Byss' atmosphere, its hull glowing with the friction . A universal painkiller had granted him some temporary relief and now Ric could feel two presences onboard the incoming ship . Not Rakar and Hyrinin, but Jedi . That accursed Korbchek and another, a juvenile-behaving ... Jedi Master . Ric's fingers clenched around a log that he was leaning on, not even noticing as his fingers squeezed through the heavy bark and splintered the wood below . Korbchek would die this day, and his companion also .
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Rorn set the ship down gently on the crumbling rock landing pad .'Ok Ari, we're here . Time to........" "Ca'eh, ca'eh, Ah wan' mo" ca'eh !!! " Ari came literally bouncing out of the ship's lounge, her face and hands smeared with sticky goop ." Rorn groaned as he stared past her and saw the empty package of sweets ." Ari, did you eat all of that candy ? " Ari stopped and stared at him ." Ca'eh, ca'eh, u goot mo' ca'eh ?" and jumped at him ." No, no, no more candy .Ari, I don't have anymore . Ari, put that down, no no, put it down , aaaahhhhh, help ." Rorn screamed, running as fast he could and leaping out of the ship as Ari ran after him with an activated lightsaber ." Ca'eh, Ah luv ca'eh ! " she sang at the top of her lungs, while beggining to bounce off the walls again ." Fi', fi', fi' ." ( Translation : Fun, fun, fun )she yelled waving her lightsaber at a very expensive game board that Don had just installed .
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Rorn listened to the crashes and bangs from outside the ship, wincing everytime something sounded expensive . Suddenly, he felt a cold chill run over him . Whirling, Rorn drew his pair of borrowed lightsabers, Dart's and Saraan's . As he saw the source of the cold, his eyes opened wide and he gasped out, " Ric ! "
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Ric grinned hideously as he pulled a long silver cylinder from his belt ." Recognize this ? " he laughed, the mirth never reaching his burning red eyes . He enjoyed the shocked look on the Zabrak's face as he saw his own lightsaber in the grip of a Sith lord . " my apprentice took it from you, remember ? " he prompted, " The same apprentice that kicked you into last week ."
****************************************************************** Rorn remembered the Cathar who had humiliated him so, and lunged at Ric, his lightsabers both poised and ready . Ric sprang into action, the blue blades of Rorn's lightsaber under his control . Rorn fought as well as he could, but its was hard, as the techs who had installed his new robotic hand, had not calibrated it right .
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Ari bounced off yet another wall and was heading for the next, when she stood up straight, and stared around ." What happened here ? Where is everybody ?" she said, thinking it looked like a tornado had gone loose in here ." AND WHY AM I COVERED IN CANDY GOOP ! burp ,she yelled . Then walking over to the doorway, Ari heard the distant sound of lightsabers clashing and two different voices shouting . " What the heck is going on around here . Me covered with sticky gunk and them not even able to sit down and talk without bringing the lightsabers into it ." She muttered, strolling toward a viewport and glancing out . Immediately, Ari whirled and ran toward the airlock, her lightsaber flying to her hand from the floor where she had dropped it . That Padawan was in trouble, fighting a dark force user .
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Rorn was having a bit of trouble, twice in the last two minutes, his new hand had released his lightsaber, without any reason at all . Now he force-threw some dirt up in Ric's eyes, causing the mutant to stagger back, rubbing at his eyes furiously . Rorn pressed his momentary advantage, ripping his double bladed lightsaber from Ric's grasp with the Force, and re-attaching his borrowed sabers to his belt . Ric cleared his eyes of the offensive material and glared at Rorn while he pulled his multi-weapon from his sleeve . They both froze as they heard a high pitched yell from the direction of the ship . Slowly turning, they saw, Alatriel of Dorthonion, charging at them, lightsaber held high .
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Ric felt the power of the Force from this approaching person . A strange feel to it, but there was no questioning the power she commanded . Ric knew he had no chance against both of them and turned and ran . His feet pounding against the soil triggered the wracking pain from the poison that Tann had injected him with . Still he ran on, it was almost time to be picked up by his apprentices .
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Rorn watched Ric dash into the bushes and turned to face Ari . " Nice work there, I think you scared him off ." Ari stared after Ric ." Who was he ?" she asked, flicking her lightsaber off ." Ric Gronard, last time I saw him he was just an apprentice, but now he has the power of a Sith lord ." Ari nodded, and looked back at Rorn, who all of a sudden , got a really bad feeling ." Ca'eh, you got mo ca'eh ? " She asked, her Jedi personality banished for the moment in the throes of a extreme sugar high . " Rorn began to run as Ric had, just in a different direction, his yells of" NNNOOoooooooo! " echoing off the trees . Ari chased him , her lightsaber held high and her high-pitched voice shouting," Ca'eh, ca'eh, Ah luv ca'eh ! "
Posted by Nate at September 17, 2004 05:45 PM