Prophecies: Don't Abandon Me

[Altered Beast]

To anyone sensitive to the Force, it and its brethren appear as twisted scars, a sickening slash of muddled energy where ordinarily there would be simply a light or dark presence. They bubbled up out of crust-level Coruscant, climbing up the cityscape like reptilian monkeys, appearing suddenly without warning around Jedi in the city and retreating just as quickly once reacted to.

No Jedi had yet seen the beasts with their own two eyes; each report that came back to the Order was just of the scar in the Force, which moved rapidly about in a jittery fashion until disappearing altogether. The most bold movements were reported by the Padawans, some expressing regret that they hadn't been able to confirm the nature of the creatures, others fearful of what they might have seen had the scars come into view.

Padawans were under strict orders to move about the city-planet only in pairs, preferably with a Knight or Master beside them. This plan was working well; even pairs of Padawans reported that the scars skirted just at the edge of their senses, and retreated if approached.

Its master and creator was becoming impatient. He required a Jedi--any Jedi--to continue his work. Since dispatching his beasts in pairs and trios had become obsolete, he had settled on sending a single beast, hand-picked as the fastest and strongest of the horde. This one he would dispatch to the Order itself, where Padawans would be more likely to roam alone. There, the beast would strike quickly, snatch its prey, and hopefully escape before found. Otherwise, much more drastic measures would be required...

It's night on this side of Coruscant, and raining heavily. In spite of this, the beast sees clearly in the night, hovering outside the estimated range of Padawan Force Sense, looking in at the covered balconies dotting the dormitory walls. Some of the balcony doors were open to invite in the sound of the rain. Others were tightly closed against the tempest. It watched these open doors for a sign of the occupants. It was content to wait patiently for as long as it took to find the perfect prey.

[James Prent]

Arms laden with datapads - big, thick and old fashioned ones from the Jedi Library - James elbowed the door controls and exited one part of the building into the large garden area between the dormitories and the other parts of the Temple. A slight pause as she adjusted her balance, and then she walked across in the semi-darkness, instantly soaked by the rain.

She didn't mind, in fact she enjoyed the refreshing feeling of being washed clean by nature, but the 'pads would not last long with moisture on them. James dashed for the dormitories, hesitating under the shelter of a thick leafed tree to tuck her outer robe around the stack of datapads. J'ktal was meeting her in the morning for more lessons, and she had to work twice as hard to keep up with his sharp mind. Going over Jedi history was a chore for both of them.

She turned suddenly, feeling that something wasn't right... but could see and sense nothing behind her. Which, was wrong. The Force rippled around and through something big, but just as she was focusing her senses on the muddled space, her commlink beeped. James snatched it up and flicked it on. "Hello?"

"James.... its Dasquian."

"Master Belargic," she said, immediately thinking of his twin brother Aaron and blushing. "How may I help you?"

[J'ktal Anajii]

J'ktal could not sleep. It was not due to insomnia, stomach trouble, stress or even an uncomfortable mattress--for he'd imported one of the best--but because he had work to do.

His computer hummed, though his screen was dark and his keypad remained untouched, but in the dim light of his living room, his left eye flickered with an unnatural light. Screens of information flew over it, half in the flowing script of his people, half in blocky basic, and he could read all of it, entering his own notes and answers. That information in turn fed back into his computer via the cable linked from his wrist, and his reports flew back by datastream to Nehantish, his home planet.

More than any other Death-Shadow before him, J'ktal was partially cybernetic due to a serious injury he sustained as a teenager in training. His left eye, part of his brain, and much of his left arm beneath the skin was all synthetic, and he had used the opportunity, as well as a considerable amount of government funds, to not only repair, but upgrade himself. But, his reports finished, the glow from the retinal projector in his left eye shut down, and he pulled the black cable from the jack in his wrist.

Rising from his chair, the gray-furred mongoose paced to his window. He had donated a sigificant amount of funds to the Jedi order so that he may be granted two standard living quarters with a good view, and join them into one larger, far more impressive apartment. Striding to the bay windows which looked out on the city below, J'ktal watched the rain slide down the glass. Rain, a sight seldom beheld on Nehantish. It never failed to capture his interest. Thunder tolled overhead, and lightning would flash, intercepted by one of the many rods mandatory on the surrounding high-rises, but simply he watched, paws clasped behind his back, his tail flicking idly.

Then it flicked hard, and J'ktal spun, his handgun already in his paw, but there was no one there. His left eye flickering as he ran through several scanning options, it then went out as he verified no one else was in his room. Holstering his pistol, the mongoose sighed. Perhaps working for two masters was taking a greater toll on him than he knew. Maybe both the agencies he worked for were right--he could not be a Death-Shadow and a Jedi at the same time, but he would not give either up.

A trip to his medicine cabinet and a few needles later, his nerves were calmed, and the pain in his arm subsided. His bed seemed inviting, but first it was time for a midnight snack. There was just something about cold chow mein that seemed so right on a rainy night.

[Dasquian Belargic]

“My apologies for calling upon you so late in the evening, James-”

Beneath the pitter-patter of rainfall, Dasquian Belargic's voice sounded formal, terse even. It always did, no matter how he tried to seem otherwise. You could take the Jedi out of the Old Republic...

“But I'd like to see you in the Council chambers. As soon as possible.”

[Altered Beast]

Its eyes swept the courtyard, seeking its best target. It had briefly considered the furry humanoid that stood watching the rain stoically, but then, a more vulnerable target presented itself. James Prent, burdened with datapads, distracted by her comlink, made the Beast fairly salivate with pleasure. Yes, this was going to be easy.

It leapt out to the wall of the courtyard, feeling it crunch and crack beneath its bulk, then it jumped again in a long, low arc that would carry it right to Prent. Lightning flashed as it landed, spraying mud in all directions. She could see it clearly. It stood seven feet high, was nearly three times as broad as she was, and colored a sickly green and brown. A long tail lashed behind it, scaled and spiked all the way up from the tip to the base of the creature's neck. Lightning flickered again and thunder rolled as it lunged to sweep her up.

[James Prent]

"The Council Chambers?" Distracted by the sliding pile of datapads, James frowned. "Uh, okay I think I can make it, jus' have t' drop off, oh man!" A few 'pads fell into the muddy ground, and she knelt to pick them up.

Looking up as thunder rolled, and getting ready to tell Master Belargic just what she thought about the current Coruscant weather protocol for the area, James was transfixed by the sight of a huge something leaping at her from beyond the wall. She threw up her arm as it landed heavily nearby, mud splashing up on her, the datapads scattering everywhere.

"Master -!" She yelled in the direction of her dropped commlink, grabbing for her lightsaber. "Its - Aaaa!" The beast lunged at her and pinned her arms to her sides, knocking her head against the tree and plunging the Jedi Knight into darkness.

[J'ktal Anajii]

Upon a thorough inspection of his refrigerator, J'ktal recalled he had eaten his Chinese leftovers already, and now had nothing suitable for a midnight snack. A grilled cheese sandwich sounded good, yet he had no desire to cook at this hour. Closing his fridge once more, the gray-furred mongoose sighed and looked out to the rain. As much as he enjoyed looking at it, he had never liked being out in it. Though it appeared he had no choice, if he wished his cravings fulfilled.

The night before, his jedi robes had arrived. Circumstances related to his other occupation, as well as issues surrounding the other Nehantite at the Order had postponed their delivery, yet now he looked them over clearly. Black, with accents of charcoal gray and crimson, they appeared hardly befitting for a Jedi, yet he could not complain as he had picked their colors.

Five minutes later, he found himself fully dressed, and had to admire the tailor who had fitted his robes. They rode perfectly, and with ease he clipped his lightsaber to his belt. A once-over in the mirror assured him he looked fine, and still highly professional, so, turning out his lights as he left, J'ktal Anajii boarded the turbolift down to the main courtyard, intending to take a shortcut to his speeder. Thankfully he'd put the top back on it, as he certainly didn't fancy getting soaked on the drive.

The turbolift slide gracefully to a stop, but the moment the doors opened, J'ktal paused. His nose twitching, there was something foul upon the air, and immediately his lightsaber was in his paw. With great caution, the Death-Shadow stepped out into the courtyard, his synthetic eye running through every scan he had, but nothing was there. Still he could not shake the menacing dread he felt upon the air, and he scanned the courtyard once more.

The fizzling pop of a shorting datapad caught his ear, and immediately J'ktal was on the move. Beneath a large tree lay a pile of old-style 'pads, and the mongoose hurried to get them somewhere dry, lest they hold sensitive information. On his way back to grab the last one, J'ktal heard someone approach from behind, and he spun, his lightsaber igniting with its wicked, red glow, to level at whoever was there.

[Dasquian Belargic]

The blade snarled towards it target, the beam hissing and popping as it cut through the rain. In the blood-red aura it radiated, the unknown figure was illuminated and revealed.

“Padawan Anajii.”

Though he'd only stepped out into the rain for a moment, Dasquian was already soaked through. His pale tan robes hung heavy and his hair clung to his temples and neck with the damp. The unmistakable shape of a lightsaber hilt was clutched with one hand, but the weapon had not yet been activated. Whatever threat he – and evidently J'ktal, also – had sensed, it was too nebulous at this point to be challenged with a lightsaber, yet his senses warned him to remain on guard.

Violet eyes touching on the malfunctioning datapad for a moment, Dasquian quickly glanced about the area, feeling the residual traces of emotion still lingering in the air.

“James..?” He frowned, pacing towards a patch in the earth where something suspiciously body sized had fallen and flattened a patch of grass into a smear of mud. He crouched and touched the muddy earth, faintly aware of the echoes in the Force that surrounded the area.

“...Somethings wrong.”

[Altered Beast]

At the sight of the lightsaber it had leaped four stories up the dormitory wall, landing the railing of a balcony. The stonework crumbled under its bulk and fell to the wet ground below. It looked down after the debris, and found two pairs of eyes looking back up at it. It roared and set itself in a threatening posture, an attempt to intimidate with loud noise and by trying to appear bigger than it was, its signature in the Force strengthening as it leapt out to the wall and then out into the street.

[J'ktal Anajii]

"Master Belargic," J'ktal greeted Dasquain as he lowered his lightsaber. He was about to state he'd found a stack of datapads in the rain, but the Jedi Knight beat him to the reason why.

"James?" the gray mongoose asked, then realized what the datapads had been for. His lightsaber hissing madly in the falling rain, J'ktal blinked and his left eye began to glow faintly green, then red.

"I'm not seeing her," he stated flatly, though he could not repress the flicking tip of his tail which said he was curious.

The roar of a foul beast cut off both of their searches, however, and J'ktal spun to see the... thing... leap from the wall and off into the night, carrying something on its bac--and that something was James!

"Belargic, come on!" J'ktal snarled, taking command as he was so used to doing in his prior position. Datapads forgotten, the Death-Shadow ran. Ran through muddied grass, then half-slid across marble floors before bursting through the doors and onto the street. His lightsaber retracted, its silver hilt gleamed in his paw as his eyes blazed red, though there was still that tint of green in his left.

J'ktal didn't know if Dasquain was behind him or not, and quite frankly he didn't care. His master had just been kidnapped by something which very much resembled a demon of J'ktal's own homeworld. No one had seen a demon in a thousand years, and the mongoose had to know just what the thing was, his natural curiosity demanded it!

[James Prent]

Dazed, James couldn't comprehend what was going on as the world spun and fell around her. Her arms were trapped against her sides, and it was difficult to breathe. It felt as though there were bands of iron around her chest, constricting her.

Blinking in the driving rain, the Jedi Knight caught a glimpse of the Coruscant skyline, then whatever was holding her dropped straight down. She screamed.