Prophecies: Abandon Me

[imported_Altered Beast]

Thunder clapped, rolled across the sky in waves of unholy bass that made the Altered Beings vibrate. They sat without, senses focused on the window before them. The room of Salemn Lysce faced the gardens, with lots of trees. Perfect for them to hide in. Perfect for an attack. Tonight the Jedi had company, her Padawan. The pair had been up late, performing some manner of research, and chatting as girls do. They had fallen asleep an hour ago, right in the middle of the floor where they sat. There was one obstacle, but it was nowhere to be found. The time was nearly perfect...the Altered awaited another bass roll of thunder to cover their entrance into the room.

[Salemn Lysce]

She had asked for Lillian to come over to her Quarters, where they would do some research together on the planet Hoth. Salemn was already laying out the schedule for Lillian's training - the places, the dates, and what exactly the Padawan would be learning.

Time passed quickly, however, and little Lillian had fallen asleep on the floor. Her black hair contrasted with the pale skin, making her look even more angelic with her frail body.

Salemn looked at the disorganized papers littering the floor and frowned, beginning to pick them up and putting them in order. She wouldn't wake her Padawan for Lillian needed the sleep, especially for the little training session scheduled for tomorrow. It would deal with lightsabers, and then she would be asked to construct one of her own.

After placing the papers on the small desk, the Jedi Knight stifled a yawn. She hadn't slept for about a month now, and sleep had become a foreign word. Maybe if I just close my eyes, she thought. Just for a little while ... Suddenly the bed seemed too far away and she laid down next to Lillian, closing her brown eyes.

And fell into a dreamless sleep.

[imported_Altered Beast]

Rain poured in sheets, spattering the window. A flash of lightning illuminated the gardens briefly; hundreds of Altered waited in the trees, the foliage, lurking in the shadows of boulders. A wave of thunder clapped. An Altered leapt through the window, landing on all fours, jaws unhinging, long tongue hanging out. It glared menacingly, a nearly sadistic smile creasing its face. It shrieked, joined by several of its bretheren.

[Lillian Snow]

Lillian awoke with a start.

"Wh-what..."

Here eyes grew wide with fear at the slavering beast towering over her. She struggled to speak, but finding no words, opted simply to scream.

[Salemn Lysce]

She had fallen into such a deep sleep that the thump of a creature landing on the floor didn't wake her, nor the unearthly shriek that escaped its jaws. It was the fear that emitted from Lillian - along with the high pitched scream - that jerked her back to reality.

Opening her eyes, she sat upright and looked over towards the window. A huge creature stood looming over Lillian, drool hanging from its tongue that hung out. She drew in a sharp breath and was immediately at her feet, reaching out with the Force to see if any others like it were there. To her dismay, there were. Several more.

She grabbed her lightsaber, Truth, from the desk and ignited it. A white beam shot furth and a gentle hum filled the air as she spoke in Lillian's head.

< Lillian, move out of the way ! >

[Lillian Snow]

Lillian crawled backward, drawing up into the corner. Reason had suffered damage recently, and was self-repairing in her room, in warm shutdown. Logic was gone, vanished without a trace. Neither droid would be able to help her this time...she had to rely on her master for protection.

[imported_Altered Beast]

The Altered drew back from the light blade, hissing and shrieking. This was the lightsaber, the famed weapon of Jedi. They weren't afraid of it, but wary of its power. The other girl was in the corne defenseless, easy prey. Several launched themselves at Lillian, two more tackled Salemn.

[Salemn Lysce]

More had seemed to materialize out of thin air and two threw themselves at her, trying to distract her from the others that went after Lillian. One came up behind her and she spun around, swinging the saber at it. The creature ducked and tried to swipe at her with its clawed "hand", but a well aimed kick caught it right in the mouth. After it stumbled back, she shoved her saber where its heart was and then pulled it out, glaring at the other. It tried to intimidate her by rising to its full height, but her lightsaber cut easily through its torso.

A few who surrounded Lillian found themselves yanked back and then thrown out of the window by something invisible - which was indeed the Force. One of the creatures reached out for Lillian, but suddenly a white beam sliced off its hands. It let out a howl of pain and swirled around, facing Salemn. She rammed her shoulder into its chest, sending it stumbling backwards into the wall. There, she sliced through its body.

< Get out of here, and fast ! >

She didn't know how many more would come in, but she didn't want Lillian to be caught in it.

[imported_Altered Beast]

The injured Altered shrieked and hissed.

"Lizard! Lissssaarrd!"

More Altered flew through the window, each bearing a small animal. The famed ysalimir. They renewed their attack, an overwhelming 10 of them.

[Lillian Snow]

Lillian gasped, it felt like her heart had dropped out of her body. Her Force sense was lost.

"Master Salemn! What is going on?"

More Altered overwhelmed her, and she screamed.

[Salemn Lysce]

It felt as if she had just plummeted to the bottom of an ocean, the darkness surrounding her as she gasped out for breath. The Force ... it had just vanished without a trace.

She dropped her lightsaber, reaching up with both hands and grabbing her head. No, this can't be happening ... No, no, no ...

"Master Salemn! What is going on?" Lillian.

She tried to reach out with the Force and tell her to run out through the door while she could - to gather more Jedi and tell them of the invasion, but couldn't. Every time she tried to beckon the Force a wave of excrutiating pain would overwash her, nearly knocking her down.

Gritting her teeth together, Salemn took in several deep breaths while trying to calm the panic that rose up in her chest. Just because she was broken off from the Force didn't mean she couldn't defend herself and Lillian. Or did it ? She stooped over and picked up her lightsaber as she repeated the Jedi Code to calm herself. There is no emotion; there is peace. One of the creatures saw this as the perfect opportunity to rake their claws on her back, sending her into the wall. Her hand gripped the lightsaber firmly and she rushed towards the creatures that surrounded Lillian.

All she could think about was protecting the defenseless girl from these horrible things, and even then her mind went blank. The loss of the Force was beginning to drive her insane and she swung her lightsaber around wildly, not caring if it sliced through one or not.

[imported_Altered Beast]

By now, defeating the pair was a simple matter. An Altered struck Lillian in the head, the girl sagged like a doll and she was carried out the window by one of the beasts. As for Salemn...a blow from behind knocked the Jedi to her knees, and striked on her arm dislodged the saber from her grasp. A blow to her head brought unconcious on her, and the Altered escaped with their prey.

"Yess....we have...done...it..."

The Altered crowded around the girls, hissing and shrieking.

"We...brought...them..."

The girls were strapped face up to operating tables, Force senses nullified by the ysalamir wandering freely through the room.

[Salemn Lysce]

Because she had lost 'herself' in the frenzy, the creatures had an opportunity which she would forever curse. Taking advantage of the situation, they had rendered them both unconscious and dragged them off to an unknown place.

It was now that Salemn stirred, wincing from the pain in her head. The rest of her body ached also, but she could feel blood trickling down her back. Attempting to sit up, she realized that she was strapped down a cold, steel table ... an operating table. Even though she knew that her and Lillian were in danger, her mind was still foggy and all she could do was close her eyes.

[Lillian Snow]

Lillian stirred, moaning from the throbbing in her head. She opened her eyes and gasped at the Altered, trying to draw away from them. She couldn't move, she was tied to a table.

"Oh....no..."

She shut her eyes and turned her face, expecting them to attack her at any moment.

[Armaiil Kryatir]

"Leave us, children..."

At the command the Altered cleared, and the women had a perfect view of Armaiil. He had wild hair, naturally green, and wore bright, cheerful clothing under his bloodied lab coat. He grinned sadistically.

"Well well...two young jedi females. What to do with you? Alter you? No, it would be a sin to spoil such beauty...I'll simply torture you instead..."

He stood from his low tray table where he sat, taking up a scalpel and walking between the tables and examining them.

"What to do first...hm...but first..."

He took a steel collar from where it hung on Salemn's table and clapped it roughly around her neck. The Jedi coughed and gagged, broadening Armaiil's smile.

"Your names..."

[Salemn Lysce]

At the sound of a male voice, her eyelids fluttered back open and she watched as the creatures moved aside, leaving. A man clad in a labcoat stained with blood moved forward, his green hair sticking out like a sore thumb. Her brown eyes widened slightly as soon as he said he'd torture them, and she tried to break free of the metal cuffs that bound her down. Without the Force aiding her, though, she was once more a weak girl rendered helpless.

When he forced the collar onto her, it pressed down on her throat and she began to cough, nearly choking. He asked for their names, but she couldn't speak ... unless that collar enabled her to "speak".

"Salemn," she said experimentally, then broke out into another coughing fit. It had worked, even though it made her voice sound mechanical. This was the first time she remembered speaking, but quite frankly, she rather hated it.

[Armaiil Kryatir]

Armaiil laughed.

"Hate the sound of your own voice? Let's make it more accurate..."

He twisted a control on the collar, tightening it. When next she spoke, it would recreate her voice more faithfully. Which was good. It would recreate her screams more faithfully as well. Now he turned his focus to Lillian.

"And you are?" he asked, turning her face to look at him.

[Lillian Snow]

Lillian shuddered, and cried out, cringing as he touched her, guided her face to look at his eyes. She watched him, trembling in fear, wondering what he wanted of her...what he would do to her.

"L...Lillian..."

She coughed, spattering his hand and arm with blood.

[Armaiil Kryatir]

The evil doctor cackled with malicious glee. This one coughed blood even before he had begun. He didn't bother to wipe his hand clean, they would be dirtied soon enough.

"Salemn and Lillian...Salemn and Lillian..." he repeated in a sing song voice.

[Salemn Lysce]

She could feel the weight press down on her trachea and it caused Salemn to wheeze. There is no emotion; there is peace. She would not fear this old man who's mind had perverse thoughts swarming through his head.

She tried to move her lips to speak again, but only a croak came out. Since she only used her mind to speak, she no longer knew how to form full sentences.

Oh, how she tried to tell him he was making such a big mistake - that if he carried through with whatever sick plans he had would bring punishment.

"N-n .."

No use, even though he had given her the "gift of speech", she was still rendered mute.

[Armaiil Kryatir]

"Oh come now, surely you can do better than a simple stuttering 'n' sound!"

Armaiil jumped up on the table, lying over her, bringing himself literally nose to nose with her.

"What's the matter? Can't find it in you to talk? You're not mute, you are capable of speech."

He smirked at her helplessness.

"You. Talk. Like. This." he said mockingly, enunciating his words with exaggerated clarity.

[Salemn Lysce]

His foul breath made her cringe momentarily as she tried to sink into the operating table, away from him.

"Nn ... N-no," she stammered out, trying to twist her body as an attempt to shove him off. This only fueled the scientist's taunting more, and suddenly her brown eyes widened.

Salemn.

It was then her body felt as if it were yanked through the physical realm and pulled into that of the spiritual; it was bittersweet. Salemn could see herself standing in empty air as she reached out with a pale arm, her fingertips brushing against nothing. Then .. a face. A little boy, no older than six, stood staring back at her with black eyes. The right side of his face was burned, the skin hanging loosely, but the other side was unscathed.

Salemn.

I can't speak ... He stole my voice !

Did you forget me ?

You can't hear me ...

When will you come back ? I'm so lonely here. It makes me cold.

Don't ... go .....

Her eyes began to glaze over as her body went into shock.

[Armaiil Kryatir]

Armaiil sat up and posted his fists on his hips, raising an eyebrow at Salemn.

"What now?"

He reached onto the table next to him and took a syringe. The doctor inspected it, then injected the entire contents of the needle into her bloodstream.

"While we wait..."

He switched tables.

"Surely YOU can form a coherent sentence."

[Lillian Snow]

Lillian screamed and turned her face away.

"No! Don't hurt me!

Tears began to flow freely down her face, and her body shook with sobs.

"What do you want? Why did you hurt Master Salemn?"

She sobbed, cringing under his gaze.

"I want to go home..." she whispered.

[Salemn Lysce]

Salemn.

Stop it !

You left me, Salemn. You left me all alone to die. And I did. I burned, you see ? Look at me - look at what happened !

It was then an excrutiating pain overtook her voluntary muscles and they began to spasm uncontrollably, sending her into a seizure. Her body shook violently as the bindings were pulled because of the liquid that was injected.

After a few minutes, however, it ended, and the Jedi Knight laid still. Her brown eyes stared at the ceiling emptily as she let out a sigh.

[Armaiil Kryatir]

The creator smiled, leering at Lillian and licking his lips.

"Poor child..."

His head snapped to the side as Salemn awoke. He changed tables, looking her in the eye, almost eyeball to eyeball.

"And what of YOU?"

[Salemn Lysce]

As soon as he shoved his face in hers, she spit on him. He disgusted her, this scientist. Even the very way he moved made her want to ... want to what ?

"Y-ys.."

She couldn't even make out the word 'ysalimir', and a single tear rolled down her cheek. The realization that she was at his mercy finally hit her.

[Armaiil Kryatir]

Armaiil grinned. It was a predatorial grin, the look of a hunter that knew his prey was fully at his every whim. He sat up and backhanded Salemn across the face, then jumped down, pacing between the tables.

"Did you see that?" He asked Lillian incredulously. "She spit on me! Like this."

He spat, nailing Lillian on her cheek. The girl cringed, threatening to cry even harder.

"Oh come now, its not THAT bad."

He rubbed her face roughly with one hand, patting her mockingly on the face.

"Better, hun? Yes, it is..." he said, taking the tone of a man playing with an infant. "Yes it is...poor girls..."

He took up two scalpels, spinning them between his fingers with natural ease.

"Pooor, poooorr girls..."

He turned to look them in the eyes and placed his scalpels at their collars.

"Stripped of their Force, stripped of their dignity...pride..."

He slid the scalpels slowly down, cutting the fabric of their clothing without touching their skin.

"Soon to be stripped even of the clothes they wear..."

[Salemn Lysce]

The sound of scraping metal caught her attention and she turned her head, only to see him spinning two scalpels. She closed her eyes, imagining the worst - the blade slicing through her skin and her arteries as blood poured out, drenching the table and floor, his maniac laughter filling the air. What she didn't expect was to have him cut through her Jedi robes.

She bit down onto her lower lip and drew blood, but ignored it as the cold air touched her skin. This ... monster ... such outrage ! He was exposing her for his own selfish thoughts, and what he would do to her - the thoughts were unbearable.

[Lillian Snow]

Lillian watched the scalpels, wide-eyed in terror, crying endlessly in anticipation of the blade. It lowered toward her and she cringed, turned her face away, heart beating faster and chest heaving as she tried to stay calm, tried to breathe. The scalpel began to cut the fabric of her robe.

"NO, STOP IT!"

[Armaiil Kryatir]

Armaiil halted, halfway down their torsos.

"Stop?" he repeated. "Whatever for?"

He continued his cut, slitting the robes to their hems. The girls cringed and he affected a hurt look and tone.

"Do you think me to be so shallow? Derobing you for my own pleasures? Oh please..."

His eyes grew wild, his grin sadistic.

"Do you honestly expect to experiment on you with your clothing on? It gets in the way of things."

He tore the robes off, laying them bare. He threw the scalpels lazily over his shoulders and placed a cold hand on each girl's stomach. His hands worked slowly, fingers tracing small circles, searching, searching....

"Hm..."

[Salemn Lysce]

As soon as he placed his calloused hands on her bare stomach, she felt her gut tighten up and fought back a wave of nausea. He kept rubbing his fingers over her skin as if for looking for something, but she couldn't figure out what.

Lillian - oh, God, the girl ! How could she have forgotten all about her padawan ? Panic surged through her and she let out a feigned whimper, trying to somehow find a way to comfort Lillian.

[Lillian Snow]

Lillian cried out as he touched her, his hands were cold, and the rubbing was turning her stomach.

"What...what are you doing..."

She coughed blood onto the table, and looked at him through eyes half closed in humiliation, pain, and sickness.

[Armaiil Kryatir]

The doctor cackled as Lillian coughed, grinned wickedly as Salemn whimpered.

"I'm CHECKING!"

He said in a hushed whisper. His index fingers tracec circles around their navels, fingers working from side to side, up and down, in ellipses, diagonals...his hands traveled up and down their stomachs, palms pressed to their bare skin...

"Isn't it obvious?"

[Lillian Snow]

Lillian squirmed, trying to break free.

"What...what are you checking for? What are you doing..."

She stopped struggingling and broke down into another fit of sobs, body shaking, tears running unchecked down her face.

[Salemn Lysce]

This man .. he needed more help than she knew !

She shook her head, desperately wishing this was all a dream. What was he looking for ? A place to make the perfect incision, an organ, a ... baby ? Could it be that he was checking to see if they were with child ? A groan escaped through her chapped lips as she continued to watch him in silence.

[Armaiil Kryatir]

His hands worked steadily lower on their bodies now, still in their never-ceasing patterns.

"Baaaaaabiiiiiieeeeesss..." he said in a sing song voice. "I'm checking for little baaaaaaaaabiiiiieeeees...."

He stopped at their waists, a look of mock-thoughtfulness on his face.

"Dare I go lower?"

[Salemn Lysce]

"No ... NO !"

She jerked her body, trying to call upon the Force one more time. A wave of crushing pain hit her and the wind was knocked out of her chest, causing her to panic. She, a respectable Jedi Knight, caught in a situation like this ?! The Order ... what would the Order think once they found out ? Would they look down on her in shame and disgust, laughing in her face because she was too weak to prevent this from happening ?

Would she be banished ?

".. No."

[Lillian Snow]

Lillian shrieked, struggingling against her bonds fruitlessly once again.

"Please! Please no!...no..."

Lillian looked at him, eyes pleading. She was so ashamed, felt so utterly violated...it was beyond words.

[Armaiil Kryatir]

"No?" he repeated.

Armaiil was basking in their pleas, their shrieks were music to his ears, symphony of melodic suffering. And each fruitless movment, the sudden spasmodic vortex current that he felt each time Salemn attempted to call the Force was too beautiful. He had to maintain a professional attitude. But it was so difficult to. No longer was his task work, it was pleasure. Armaiil was having fun.

"No...?"

He turned his hands, moving slowly, idly downward, just above their skin. The girls cowered, and he held up his hands in a show of innocence.

"I've done nothing...yet..."

[Salemn Lysce]

Fear filled her. The foreign emotion for which she had so often scolded Lillian for now invaded her body like a plague. Bitterness filled her mouth as Salemn eyed him warily, becoming the lost child she once was.

See what happens when you're afraid ?

The voice, it was driving her mad. She grit her teeth together in an attempt to make it go away, but to no avail.

Fear leads to anger ...

[Armaiil Kryatir]

Armaiil shook his head.

"Pooooor little girls...lost and alone, at the mercy of a mean, vicious EBIL doctor!" Armaiil said with a malicious mock-sympathy.

He traced his fingers back up their bodies, following a random path, bringing his fingers straight up the middle of their chests to catch hold of their chins. He twisted their faces sharply, and his eyes rolled in seperate directions to look at them both at once.

"Do you fear me? Be honest. I do so HATE when people lie to me..." He puncutated his last sentence with a growl and slight shake of their heads.

[Lillian Snow]

Lillian stared fearfully into his eyes, throat tightening, almost to the point of being unable to speak. She swallowed hard, chin quivering, and at last, she spoke, a hushed, strained whisper broken by her sobbing.

"Y...yes..."

[Salemn Lysce]

How could she answer him ? It wasn't him that she feared, but the consequences of his actions.

"No."

How pathetic she must've looked, trembling and frail in the bright lights installed in the ceiling. He had total control of her while she was held captive, and, in all honesty, it was that power he enjoyed.

It would be his greed for such power that would bring him to his downfall. That she would see to.

[Armaiil Kryatir]

"On one hand...yes...the other...no..."

He smiled evilly.

"Then we will change that for you, Salemn, and as for Lillian..."

He was interrupted by a burst of insane, maniacal laughter.

"I will increase that fear TENFOLD!"

The creator retrieved his scalpels, fidgeting with them as he approached.

"What to cut...where to cut...how deep to cut..." he repeated this in a chant, eyeing the girls' bodies with an animalistic hunger.

The scalpels tapped them as he moved, running lightly up their legs, hovering for a small moment to see them squirm as he considered, then up their stomachs and to their necks.

"We begin...here..."

He made a shallow cut starting at their collarbones, running between their breasts down to their navels.

"Next...I wonder..."

[Salemn Lysce]

She clenched her jaw tightly as to not let a sound escape while he dug the blade's tip into her skin and dragged it down. It was sharp and piercing, making every nerve in her body jump alive. The bastard would pay for this dearly.

[Lillian Snow]

Lillian drew a hissing breath. If her master refused to scream, then so would she...

[Armaiil Kryatir]

"No screams? Perhaps I didn't cut DEEP ENOUGH!"

He moved to his original starting point and drove the scalpel in to its plastic handle and cut once more.

[Salemn Lysce]

This time he received a gasp, but it ended quickly and was soon replaced by silence. The pain was greater than before and already her whole chest felt like it was on liquid fire. His eyes seemed to glitter cruely as he continued to slice back down her stomach.

[Lillian Snow]

Lillian clenched her teeth, pressing her lips tightly together, muffling her scream. She wouldn't scream out loud...she wouldn't cry out with pain...

[Armaiil Kryatir]

A gasp and a supressed shriek...he was gaining ground...

"It hurts, ne?"

He traced the curvature of their breasts with the blade, pondering, hesitating, allowing some suspense to build...then cut deeply again, following the lines he'd traced.

[Salemn Lysce]

"Ungh .."

This time, a muffled groan. He was doing it so the incisions would leave painful scars to remind her of him the rest of her life. Lillian was trying so hard to be brave, though, not wanting to yell out to prove herself to Salemn. The girl was so helpless ... she didn't deserve this.

"L.. let ..h- ..."

She tried to tell him to release Lillian, but the words wouldn't pass her lips.

[Lillian Snow]

Lillian screamed at last, unable to withstand the pain. The cuts would scar, no doubt she'd live with them for the rest of her living days...if she lived...

"Stop it...please...don't kill us..."

[Armaiil Kryatir]

At last! Results.

"Kill you? Why in the world should I do that? If I kill you, you won't scream anymore."

He chuckled lightly to himself.

"Depending on if you can afford a bacta treatment, the scars should fade...though by the time I release you and allow you that opportunity, it may be too late..."

He turned to Salemn and tapped the opposite side of the scalpel along her collarbone and chest at varying points, as a high school boy would drum on his desk.

"You had something to say?" he asked as he cut a horizontal slash across Lillian.

[Lillian Snow]

Lillian shrieked, then drew a shuddering breath, gasping for air and strugging against the pain she felt.

"No..." she pleaded weakly. "Please no..."

[Salemn Lysce]

"L-lill...ian ! Let ... h-her go."

And hopefully, if Lillian was let go, she could inform the Order of the situation and help stop this madman from wrecking further destruction and be brought to justice for illegal experimentation.

[Armaiil Kryatir]

"Let...h-her go?"

Armaiil sneered contemptuously.

"What in the hell for? LISTEN TO HER!"

He sliced her again across the stomach, basking in her cry of pain, soaking up the look of anguish in her eyes. He forced Salemn to look at her padawan.

"Do you not SEE? HEAR? The beauty of this girl's pain?"

He cut her once more, forcing Salemn to watch, listen, as he tortured her.

"Isn't it MAGNIFICENT?"

[Lillian Snow]

Lillian screamed, the pain was unholy, five thin streams of blood seeping from the cuts. She looked to her master, gasping for breath, crying her very heart out as tears fell from her face to the table. Her eyes, her big, expressive eyes, pleaded for mercy, begged for release from the anguish and pain Armaiil was wreaking upon her.

"Master...Salemn..."

[Salemn Lysce]

As he forced her to watch her Padawan suffer at his cruel hands, she found herself becoming more lost within oblivion. Lillian was too young to be inflicted with such physical wounds, and the mental damage that could be done would be ten times worse.

"S-sto-stop."

If she could actually speak, she would tell him that he could do anything he wanted as long as Lillian was set free. She would be his guinea pig to experiment on and torture when he pleased, just if Lillian was set free.

Set free.

Like a trapped bird in a cage, battering itself against the wires of the birdcage endlessly until it breaks itself, welcoming the freedom of Death. Would she die ? There is no death; there is the Force.

[Armaiil Kryatir]

"Stop? Again, I cannot. The allure of her physical beauty...of her pain, her suffering, her sorrow...I cannot..."

He cut Lillian twice, two long vertical streaks below her breasts, drawng ragged screams from the girl.

"Listen! Listen to the harmonious melody of sorrow...of despair..."

He idly drew his blade across Salemn's body, relying on the table's automated restraints to hold the girl's face in position, to continue to show Salemn Lillian's pain...

[Salemn Lysce]

What went wrong, Salemn ? Did your hands drop the trust I gave you ?

"No," she whispered, staring blindly at Lillian.

Twisted beauty stares back in your face.

"No."

She could feel it in her fingertips, traveling through her body like an electrical current. The fear ... it was beginning to be replaced by something else. Another emotion she had forbidden to let herself experience since she joined the Jedi. Anger.

Anger at the scientist for senselessly kidnapping her and Lillian just to satisfy his sadistic needs. Anger at herself for being so foolish and naive in the Living Quarters, losing her concentration when it was needed the most. Anger at everything.

Anger leads to hatred.

[James Prent]

There is no fear...there is...... James screwed up her face in thought as she walked to the academy for her early morning training session with Master Salemn. Augh, what the frell is it?! There is no...sleep? Ha, no sleep for the padawans, at least. She yawned and walked through the automated doors into the garden...

..and stopped in her tracks. She was a few minutes late, and Salemn was nowhere in sight. Which was, in and of itself, bizarre. James blinked, and fiddles with her robes, searching for a visual on her master. After a minute it was apparent that Salemn was not to be found. James frowned, and slowly left the room, walking through the halls once more.

That's strange...she's never late! James took the walk back to the LQ slowly, and then found herself walking by Salemn's room. She paused, unsure of whether to knock...or what. James depressed the intercomm button on the side of the door. "Master Lysce, it's James. I was wondering, did we have a trainined session this morning in the garden? Are you even here?" Probably talking to myself, as per usual. James backed away from the door, and then jerked as it suddenly opened, as if by its own accord.

Unlocked, doofy. She stepped inside, and gasped at the visuals. The bed was overturned, the closet emptied and clothes and robes all over the ground. The desk and the wall had a smoking hole in them: as she stepped gingerly into the room James could see Truth, Salemn's lightsaber, still activated and leaning against the bottom edge of the desk, balanced on its pommel.

She picked it up, holding a lightsaber for the first time, and carefully searched for the switch. Finally turning it off, she noted the open window, and looked out. Nothing. Just a trashed room. James backed out of Salemn's quarters, and took off at a run for Avalon.

[Armaiil Kryatir]

"No? Always with 'no' you speak."

He traced a perfect circle around Salemn's navel, cutting a little deeper with each pass until the scalpel was buried to its handle in her flesh.

"Why not continue, Salemn? Tell me. Why should I not continue to bring your Padawan pain, when it brings me such pleasure?"

[Salemn Lysce]

Searing pain shot through her body as she arched her back, blood spilling out from her stomach. He did want to kill her, and possibly Lillian, too.

Her vision was beginning to get clouded as she sank back down to the table, going limp. Her breath was getting fainter and fainter as her heart began to slow down. Salemn was dying..

[Armaiil Kryatir]

"No answer? Then I'll continue."

She was about to lose conciousness, blood loss was getting to her. He injected a needle into her, one that would stop the bleeding at her cuts and compensate for the lost blood. That should wake her up. Armaiil pressed a button on his work counter and the tables became vertical, and spun to bring the girls face to face.

"Salemn, are you up for a bit of a lesson? I'll use Lillian as my visual aid, if you don't mind."

[Lillian Snow]

Lillian trembled, chin quivering, trying to form words. All she could do was watch helplessly and sob. He was killing her master...he would kill her next, she was sure of it!

[Salemn Lysce]

After he yanked the scalpel back out, he injected another needle into her bloodstream. More agony spread through her body as her tissue began to mend itself.

You're pathetic.

She blinked repeatedly as to clear her vision.

I hope you die.

The tables had become vertical and now made the two face each other. She could see Lillian's chest heave up and down as she gasped for air and the dilated pupils from fear.

"Lillian ... No ..."

It was then when all of her pent up anger released itself and she let out an unearthly shriek, struggling furiously against the bindings. She hated him - if she could, she would rip this scientist apart as soon as she laid her hands upon him. He was filthy and disgusting, the scum of the earth !

Hatred leads to suffering.

[Armaiil Kryatir]

"Ah, then let us continue with the lesson..."

Oh, how he loved her rage. Her hatred. So like his successes...most notably, a rage paralleling his most perfect specimen...

"Lillian's legs have two large arteries. Right...about...here..."

He drew his thumb along the inside of the girl's thighs, drawing a frightened gasp.

"If I cut in a long parabola, like this..."

He traced the path with the blunt end of his scalpel to demonstrate.

"...then her blood supply would simply drop out of her. Like cutting the bottom off of a paper cup. Imagine the ease of it...one smooth cut laying her legs open to the bone, creating an instant puddle of blood..."

He smirked.

"And dat'd be da end of our paper-cup beauty..." he said mockingly, patting Lillian's cheek before slapping her hard across the face. "Shall I?"

He brandished the scalpel and grinned maniacally at Salemn.

[Xenil Loctrie]

The fear, the anger, the hatred... it was music to the rogue Sith's ears. It called out, beckoned for more, beckoned for him.

Reaching up with a gloved hand, he used to the other to tighten it. "Time to see how Armaiil is doing with my precious," he muttered, which was followed by a sadistic laugh. He had asked for the two Jedi to be brought here for Armaiil to help rouse these "forsaken" emotions within the two. Of course, the mad scientist had no qualms about being supplied with two, fresh bodies.

He had already clipped his lightsaber hilt to his belt, which was silver, and now glanced in the cracked mirror. A man with blond hair stared back, his dark eyes glittering cruely. Xenil would enjoy this very, very much.

Striding out of the room he was supplied with, he slammed the door shut and glared at the Altered which patrolled the hallway. "Get out of my way, furball," he snapped at one as he brushed past it. Its hideous jaws snapped behind him as if to warn him not to provoke it.

After hooking a right, Xenil made it to the laboratory and stepped inside. There, he could see two tables lifted into the air as two girls were strapped down. He leaned against the doorway, enjoying the view.

[Salemn Lysce]

She watched with horror as the scientist demonstrated how he would like to cut open Lillian, explaining the process as he went along.

"NO !"

She continued to struggle, anger and hatred blinding her. Dark thoughts began to swirl in her mind; thoughts of torturing and killing him. Thoughts of making him beg for mercy.

You're slowly falling from the light.

[Armaiil Kryatir]

"No? Xenil, this Jedi keeps telling me...'no'..."

He pressed another button, drawing the tables back to the edges of the room. He'd never used this function before.

"Do you know what this is for?"

Armaiil took up a handful of scalpels and leaned agains the table, putting an arm around her waist by slipping it between her body and the table.

"I used to play darts, as a child. I thought this might work in much the same way."

He took careful aim at Lillian and winked at Xenil.

"Watch."

He threw a scalpel with practiced ease, watching it spin end over end to lodge itself in Lillian's stomach, below her navel at her waist.

"Impressive, ne?"

[Salemn Lysce]

As Lillian cried out in pain, Salemn growled and fixed her brown eyes on the scientist.

"Hurt m-me," she said, struggling to get out the words. If he just focused on hurting her instead of Lillian, one of them just might have a chance to escape.

[Armaiil Kryatir]

"Whatever for? You don't scream. You don't struggle. On the other hand...Lillian is great fun."

The creator threw another scalpel, missing Lillian's face by millimeters.

"Watch her cringe."

Another scalpel, this one in the girl's arm, drawing a shriek.

"Hear her scream. YOU?"

Armaiil drove his handfull of scalpels into her and withdrew them.

"Nothing. And besides, every time Lillian screams, it pulls at your heart, your soul...you feel for her, and that is just as good as any physical pain I can inflict!"

[Lillian Snow]

Lillian sobbed helplessly, letting out a keening cry of pain as the scalpels bit into her body.

"Stop..." her voice was an inaudible plea, a final cry for mercy. "Please..."

She looked helplessly to her tormentors, to Salemn...

[Xenil Loctrie]

He watched with amusement as Armaiil played a round of "darts" with Lillian, taunting Salemn at the same time. The Jedi Knight's anger was so intoxicating that he knew she was at the perfect peak.

"Armaiil... It seems as if our little Jedi are rendered helpless at the moment. I wonder what they would do if, oh let's say, their Force powers were returned?"

Xenil chuckled, knowing full well this wouldn't happen. Walking over to them, he flashed the mad scientist a grin before turning his attention to Lillian. Reaching out, he ran his fingers over her wounds, watching her flinch.

"The fear... the pain.... it's a masterpiece."

Withdrawing his hand, Xenil looked over at Salemn.

"And you... what would you do if you had the chance to escape?"

[Salemn Lysce]

He was right. The crazy old man was right. Lillian's fear and screams were fueling him to keep torturing them, and if she could, she would reach out with the Force to help knock Lillian into a dreamless sleep. Unfortunately, it wasn't so. The scientist had taken precautions to present the laboratory with ysalimir.

She continued to struggle, another shriek of rage escaping from her mouth. Blood ... blood everywhere.

"The fear... the pain.... it's a masterpiece." Another man had appeared from nowhere, and was touching Lillian's wounds before turning to her. "And you... what would you do if you had the chance to escape?"

Kill you, she thought bitterly, but remained silent.

[Lillian Snow]

Lillian whimpered as Xenil touched her, his fingers stung her cuts. She wanted to go home, wanted to go and lie in her bed, with Reason standing quietly at the end of the room, and just lie down and sleep, forget that she had been violated by a sadistic mad doctor, was now being violated by a Sith Lord. Her body shook once with a sob, and Lillian fell silent, giving up on any thoughts of escape, losing all hope...

[Armaiil Kryatir]

Armaiil grinned maliciously. She had fallen. Lillian Snow was his to do with as he pleased. Xenil stepped aside as the mad doctor scuttled across the room like a lizard and flung himself up on Lillian's table.

"Ehehehheheeeeheeee! At last! YOU ARE MINE!"

He spun and glared evilly at Salemn over his shoulder.

"Let's have some FUN..."

[Salemn Lysce]

She watched as the scientist flung himself upon Lillian's shivering body, cackling like the sick fool he was. "Let's have some fun," he said, looking over at her.

Look at him touching the innocent girl with such impureness, tainting her. Do you like that, Salemn ? Do you ?

"....."

Can't you feel the hate ?!

"M-make it stop," she mumbled.

Can't you feel the anger ?

The voice, the voice .. Maybe it was it's fault, making her think this was reality when it was a dream ! Yes, that was it. This was just another nightmare.

[Armaiil Kryatir]

"I'll bet you wish you could wake up..." Armaiil said idly to Lillian. "Just...sit up in bed...all comfy and cozy under your blankets...sleep it off, like a bad dream..."

He stroked her face, almost lovingly.

"Just wake up and none of it be real...wouldn't that be great?"

He took a rough tone with her and grabbed her roughly by the face.

"Too bad, this is your reality. I will show you the true extent of my art..."

[James Prent]

James ran and ran, and ran some more, until she found herself at the closed doors of the Council chambers. It was still early, and they were locked. Panicked, James threw herself against them. "Help! Someone help!" She pounded on the doors, and then was roughly peeled away by a helmeted guardsman in deep blue robes.

They didn't speak, Council guard never spoke, but their intent was clear: getting her away from the doors. "No..please! I need help...the Council! Please!" James' voice broke as she pulled towards the doors, too frantic to even think about the Force.

[Dasquian Belargic]

“Gentlemen, please.”

A voice spoke from behind the guards, who both turned to attend a lightly robed figure that the recognised as the Jedi Knight Belargic. For a moment Dasquian regarded the guards and instructed them to stand down for the moment, explaining that he would deal with this fluster. He paced forward towards James and smiled warmly in an attempt to comfort her as one hand was raised to set upon her shoulder.

“Padawan, what is the problem?”

[James Prent]

Her situation again changed, for the better this time, as a blond man in Jedi robes approached. The guard released her, and she stumbled forward, nearly catching her toes in the long robes she was still getting used to. "Ma-master..." James flushed at her stammering, and started over as the Jedi put his hand on her shoulder. As she took a moment to regain her composure she recognized the man as Dasquian Belargic, newly risen to the Jedi Council.

"My master is gone! Salemn Lysce...we were suppoed to have another early morning session today, and she wasn't there, y'know?" James looked earnestly up into his eyes. "She's never late, and I wasn't early. I went back to the LQ, and walked by her room...but the door was unlocked and the windows open...and the room is trashed." She dug into her pocket with a trembling hand, Frell I need a cig, and produced Salemn's lightsaber. "She left her lightsaber behind, and...and I don't know...wh-what to do."

[Dasquian Belargic]

He looked at the hilt and recognised it as being that of the Jedi Knight Lysce.

“We’d best not jump to any conclusions. It is highly likely there is a rational explanation for this… come, we’ll go to her room.”

Making a quick detour from the council doors to Salemn’s quarters, Dasquian looked inside and felt a pang of fear. The room had been ransacked, and there were huge damp footprints retreating out of the open window. Quickly he moved to the sill, and looked out onto the landscape below, where similar tracks lead off into the distance.

“… Oh dear.”

[Salemn Lysce]

Lillian. Lillian. Lillian.

"So d-disgus..ting."

Dirty old men, believing they can get away with this.

She couldn't help but stare at the scientist as he spoke to Lillian, caressing her gently and then grabbing her face. Why .. why was this happening ?

[Armaiil Kryatir]

"Disgusting? Am I?"

Armaiil got down, his spastic, sadistic demeanor gone, replaced by a more serious tone.

"And why do you say that?"

[Xenil Loctrie]

Xenil held a hand out, a gesture to Armaiil to stand down.

"Calm yourself, friend. Your actions are fiendish enough, this girl can offer you no constructive criticism that will improve your sadistic ways or offer new methods of torture. You, Armaiil, are at the top of your game."

He walked over to Salemn and stands a few paces away, eyeing her, sizing her up. He licks his upper lip with a small hint of a smile.

"I should like to take this one for my own purposes."

[Armaiil Kryatir]

Armaiil smiled.

"You give me too much credit Xenil. Very well. But take a few of the ysalamir with you."

[Lillian Snow]

Lillian tugged at her restraints.

"No! Leave Salemn alone! Don't hurt her!"

If they took Salemn, then she would be alone...the sight of her master was all that she had left to hold on to.

[Xenil Loctrie]

Xenil smiled and dealt Salemn a fierce blow to her stomach, knocking the wind from her so she would not struggle then unstrapped her.

"Don't worry your pretty head, Lillian. Your master will be juuuust fiiiiine..."

Xenil threw her over his shoulder and lifted one of the ysalamir.

"Have fun with Armaiil. Don't treat him too badly," he said mockingly.

The Sith stepped outside and moved to the turbolift. He pressed a panel on the wall and the turbolift moved down, past the ground level and deep under the planet's surface. It came to a stop and he stepped off into a small, dark room. In the center was a table, not unlike the ones upstairs. The only difference is that this one is a torture rack. Xenil straps Salemn to it and tilts the table up, then stands in the door. The room is too dark to see the walls.

"Tell me, Salemn. What are you?"

[Salemn Lysce]

Just remain silent ... Maybe then they'll leave you and Lillian be. No such luck. The blond man wanted to take Salemn away from Lillian to torture her in private, causing her padawan to panic.

"Nn..N.." Great, now she was forgetting how to talk, which probably caused Lillian to have a nervous breakdown.

Then she was hit in the stomach, knocking the wind out of her petite frame. Her brown eyes widened slightly as she gasped for breath while he unstrapped her. After throwing her over his shoulder, she glanced helplessly at Lillian to show her that everything would be fine if Lillian could keep up her courage.

After exiting the room and entering a turbolift, she slowly began to regain her breath as they moved down, deep into the planet. After the doors opened, he took her into a dark room and shoved her onto a rack, strapping her in.

The only result he got was a groan as she felt the cold bite into her bare skin.

[Xenil Loctrie]

Xenil leaned forward against her, folding his arms and resting his chin on them, looking at her face.

"Salemn, what are you?" he repeats. "Are you a Jedi? You sure don't seem like one."

[Salemn Lysce]

What ?! Such outrage ... Lies, of course I'm a Jedi.

She struggled to raise her eyes and look at him, a wave of nausea washing over her. Her lips tried to form the words again, but they were beginning to get numb from the chill in the air. The metal wasn't making it any better.

To her dismay, Salemn could only make sounds now like an animal instead of being able to speak, but that didn't stop her from thinking.

He only wants to see me cower and tremble before him, but deny him that pleasure ! Don't give in, Salemn, don't you dare give in.

She only stared.

[Xenil Loctrie]

"I mean, if you were a true Jedi, your apprentice wouldn't be in the hands of the most sadistic mad surgeon alive. She would be well protected, safe and sound, at the Greater Jedi Order. But...I suppose its too much to ask of a Jedi Knight to defend those weaker than herself. Oh, I wonder how the poor child is doing up there? Let's see, shall we?"

On the wall was an intercom. Xenil turned it on, and a loud, shrill shriek filled the room. Clearly it was Lillian.

"Poor, poor Padawan...neglected, abandoned by her master. You've failed her, Salemn. Worse yet, you've failed yourself."

[Salemn Lysce]

She winced as Lillian's shriek filled the air, hanging her head in shame. He was right. She had failed Lillian and now the girl was suffering at the hands of a mad man. And as for herself ... Pledging her loyalty and life to the Jedi Code, but now letting things like this happen. How could she ? Was she so involved in her own little world that she fogot to notice that there was evil and insanity in the galaxy ? How could I forget what Nash kept telling me ?! Never put down your guard, but I did exactly that.

Nash. The Knight who took her in under his wing and taught her everything, and then just got up one day and left, leaving her to fend for herself. In a way it made her stronger, realizing that there was no one else you could fully count on except yourself. It also made her realize that nothing lasts forever.

The Order won't forget about me, and my other Padawan, James, will surely note of my absense and tell the Council ! And then ... they'll find their way here, dealing out justice and restoring the peace.

So then why was she here ? It just takes time, that's all. Don't be irrational, Salemn ! Get a grip of yourself. The man's brown eyes were practically boring holes in her as she raised her head to look at him once more. Pervert.

[Xenil Loctrie]

"Salemn Lysce...you have gotten yourself into some deep, deep trouble. Let's assess the situation, shall we?" he asks, leaning against the torture rack. "You and your Padawan are trapped in a building full of ysalamir. You cannot use the Force. You cannot defend yourselves in any form. You don't know where you are, and the Altered leave no traces by which they can be tracked. You are, in every sense of the phrase, utterly screwed."

He presses a switch on the rack's underside and it begins to stretch her painfully, pulling her body past its limits.

"Nothing can save you, Salemn."

[Salemn Lysce]

"Ungh .."

She grimaced and grit her teeth together as the rack began to stretch out her body, panic seizing her. What is he doing to me .. ?!

Ripping you apart.

Her left arm popped out of its socket and she let out an anguished cry, tears stinging her eyes. This was pure agony as the pain pierced through her muscles, and she realized that the man was just as sadistic as the scientist.

First you left me, now you abandon Lillian.

The voice was so familiar ... But who - ? I must be insane.

[Xenil Loctrie]

"There's your left arm. Surprised it didn't take your right at the same time. Hm. I wonder when it'll pull your legs out too?"

[Salemn Lysce]

It wasn't too soon afterwards when her right arm also popped out of joint. Her tears tasted salty on her dry lips as she let out another cry of anguish.

Lillian.

Another wave of pain washed over her petite frame as her legs were also pulled out of their sockets, and this time she let out a shrill scream. Her mind went blank as her eyes stared blindly at the man, waiting for her torso to be ripped in half.

[Xenil Loctrie]

Xenil stops the rack and looks her in the eyes.

"It's painful, yes. Being pulled apart. Not just physically, but mentally, emotionally..."

He cups her face in his hand and guides her to look at him.

"There is an escape Salemn. Would you like to escape this pain?"

[imported_Altered Beast]

James and Dasquian are pacing, talking between themselves. James is panicky, while Dasquian is actually quite calm. The Altered can hear them. There's just one...one is all it takes to deliver finished specimens back into their original environments. Lillian is a special one, it seems. She has not been altered in any way, and her memory is intact. The Being knows by smelling her. It cannot risk being seen or caught by the Jedi. It pulls back one mucular arm, holding Lillian by her stomach. She whimpers quietly, gagged and tied, still naked from Armaiil's tortures. It pitches her up, a full five floors, to land amongst the broken glass on the floor. Then it makes it's escape into the brush.

[Lillian Snow]

Tears roll freely down Lillian's cheeks. She...she was just...by...it's too much for her to bear. She feels beaten, lower than even this creature that's bearing her to GJO on it's shoulder. She's been tied hand and foot, still naked, gagged to prevent her screaming. To prevent her Force, a ysalamir hangs on it's other shoulder, in addtion to the smaller one resting atop her head. It stops beneath Salemn's window and heaves back, digging it's claws into her stomach. She whimpers, a keening cry muffled by the gag, before being lofted 5 stories into the room. She lands on broken glass, cutting deep scores in her back. She arches and shrieks, then curls into a ball to cry. She doesn't want to live like this...she'd rather die...

[James Prent]

James frantically looks around the room, and then stops, looking at Dasquian. "Did you hear that?" It sounded like a puppy, or something outside the window. There was at least a five story drop to the next ledge out the window, and she started to walk towards the broken window, her feet crunching on the glass underfoot.

Then confusion erupted as a body came hurtling through the window, crashing into James and sending her flying to the ground. She was too terrified to scream, her heart catching in her throat and then trying to escape through the soles of her feet. It was Lillian. There was something else as well, and a feeling of nausea hit her as something in the room changed.

James carefully turns the girl's body over, and grimaced at the furry lizard that was trying to clamp onto Lillian's bare back with its wicked looking claws. She grabbed it around what she hoped was its middle, and tossed it away, smacking it against the wall of the room. It seemed weak, as any yslamiri would be without a proper tree, or nutrient frame to cling to. But James didn't know what it was, and didn't know what it did.

She took in Lillian's ravaged body with a glance, and looked up to find Dasquian staring out the window with his excellent eyesight. James fumbled with a commlink, ripping a quilt off the rumpled bed to lightly cover Lillian's nakedness. "Its going to be ok, Lillian. Hello? I need a medical team in Salemn Lysce's quarters, yesterday! I don't - ...its on the fifth floor of the LQ, number 52. Hurry, please!"

[Dasquian Belargic]

When the body had crashed through the window, Dasquian had just narrowly dodged being taken down with it. His concern whipped from what was outside, to the girl, and back again in a split second, as he peered down into the shadows to try and see what could have possibly hurled a human being such a great distance. There was nothing distinguishable in the darkness, not even the usual darker shade of black within the murk that would usually betray the presence of a Sith.

Between James’ panic, and the young Padawan’s pain, there was another more subtle feeling in Dasquian’s mind. It caused his gaze to linger on a certain point outside for longer than he had intended to, and nudged ever so gently at his conscience. What it was telling him, exactly, was fairly vague, but it was along the lines of this – there was a disturbance in the Force on the grounds below, though it was strangely not a rise, it was a decrease. There seemed to be an absence of the usual indentations in the Force, trailing away into the night.

“Lillian,”

He turned, grimacing visibly as he again caught sight of the apprentices’ current state.

“A medical team is on its way to help you.”

While speaking he tried to keep his tone as comforting as possible, but a little authority slipped into it by accident as he wondered if the girl knew anything about the whereabouts of the Jedi Knight Salemn. Mingling his mind with hers for any clues was useless; her thoughts were chaotic and too fraught with fear to reveal anything helpful.

“There’s something out there still,” Dasquians’ fingertips were itching to pull his saber from his belt,

“…We’ve got to go after it whilst we still have a chance.”

[James Prent]

James looked up, the feeling of nausea leaving her as the lizard in the corner died. "Go after it? Where is Salemn?"

Lillian whimpered and tried to pull closer to James and further away from Dasquian. James wrapped her broken and bleeding body in her arms, and nodded to the Jedi Knight. "I can't leave Lillian here, y'know?" He looked at her, and then at the door, and James flushed as the medical team burst into the room.

"Oh." Within moments Lillian was in their capable hands, and James was looking out the window with Dasquian. "How are we going to get down there without losing the iniative? I can't jump out a five story window. At least, I don't think I can." James peered down, trying to get her bearings, and feeling a little dizzy as her untuned senses stroked the place where the Altered Being was beginning to move silently away. "What's that? It's like there's nothing there."

[Dasquian Belargic]

Truthfully, Dasquian doubted his own ability to leap from such a height and survive. There were no crevices in the wall that could be used as foot and hand holds, so they were going to have to either simply jump or take the long journey down the stairs to get outside. He gave the window sill a hard squeeze, as though testing it stability, and leant forward to get a better look out of the window.

There wasn’t a moment to loose.

The Jedi Knight turned and motioned for James to follow as he dodged past the medic crew out into the hallway. Each of the floors was identical, and there was a fire escape at the far eastern end of the hallways. If they headed for this, they could get to ground level within a quarter of the time it would have taken to go down in the turbo lift or stairs, and end up in a much better state then had they jumped out through the window.

His shoulder driving against the door to knock it open, Dasquian grabbed onto the railing of the stairwell and hopped straight over the small safety fence, swinging himself downwards onto the level below – all his training back home in agility paid of immensely in situations such as these, when it appeared he was almost able to defy gravity itself.

Able to sense James was following behind, the Knight descended quickly in a series of bounds, landing on the concrete within a matter of minutes. Off to the left he could still feel the trace of the disturbance, and concentrated on its route as he began to jog off after it, keeping his pace at a minimum until his fellow Jedi caught up.

[James Prent]

A thrill of excitement coursed through her as Dasquian ran out the door, and she quickly followed him. Her years of running had kept her in good shape, but the Jedi robe wasn't something she was used to. Her foot caught in the hem as she made it to the stairwell behind the Jedi and she stumbled as he leapt over the railing.

She cursed under her breath, and scrambled out of the heavy robes, leaving only a short shift and leggings. She thundered down the stairs, not sure of herself enough to jump over the saftey fence. On the last stairwell she bit her lip and then climbed over the fence and dropped the last six feet to the ground. Once her feet hit the ground her shoes dug into the concrete and she darted after Dasquian, who was well ahead od her by now.

She quickly caught up, and hoped he wouldn't say anything about the way she was dressed. James didn't bother trying to talk, it was better to run and save talking for later. She followed Dasquian until they reached the far edge of the building. The ledge wrapped around, but he was staring straight down.

She gulped, and knelt at the edge, the wind whipping her short hair around her face. What's this? James picked a dark hair out of a crevice and felt a revulsion creep up her arm. It didn't seem natural to her. The wind caught the hair and drove it out of her fingers as Dasquian pointed out the dark shape on the edge of the 'scraper. A speeder zoomed by, and James dug her fingers into the ground to keep from being swept off by the backlash from the engines.

"This is insane! We can't follow it down there!" Underneath Coruscant was...well...a lot of things, and not many of them were pleasant. But the climb itself would put a professional freeclimber to shame. James felt a wave of desperation threaten to overtake her.

[Dasquian Belargic]

There was only one reply to that statement

“We have no choice.”

The underbelly of Coruscant was a dark and depraved place, and it didn’t surprise him that whomever – or whatever - had done this was fleeing for the cities bowels. As Jedi Knights they were powerful and received a fair deal of respect from the surface dwellers of the planet, though the lower the level of the city you found yourself in, the less people tended to like you.

As Dasquian hazarded another look down into the massive drop below, the pit of his stomach turned. For the first time they were beginning to get a better picture of what they were chasing, and the Jedi almost wished they hadn’t. The hulking shadow that was moving so quickly down the wall seemed to be defying the laws of physics simply with its presence.

Of course, there was little time to think. A plan was needed, and it was needed fast. Belargic’s violet eyes flicked back and forth in front of him as he looked for a ladder on the edge of the building, or a door that might lead to a life or stairwell of some kind. None could be found. He leant out to the side, over the drop, to try and see if there were any outcroppings below – and almost was toppled clean over from behind. He spun on his heel and pressed up against the wall, taking in quick shallow breaths as he watched what had almost knocked him.

A large trough was hovering past the building at a snails pace. On the side it bore a large putrid green insignia, stating ‘Coruscant Sanitation Department’. Around the lip of the container there were a few miscellaneous items – which Dasquian didn’t care to think about – hanging over the edge.

As he watched it pass by, he noticed that below there were similar crafts passing back and forth, riding the building of its waste. Each left the building on the far right, where they stood now, and travelled outwards to some unknown destination before swinging back to the left portion of the building and re-entering it. Their progress, as far as he could tell, was staggered, so that they left and returned at intervals. The way they were arranged now looked almost like …

“… How far do you think you can jump, James?”

[James Prent]

She grabbed at his legs as he was almost thrown off the building, but her hands missed. James cursed as he caught himself and found herself itching for a cigarrette. Not really the time, James. She was referring to herself in the third person, which was never a good sign.

“… How far do you think you can jump, James?”

She looked at the fair haired Knight and then out and down at the sanitation crafts. "Oh....probably far enough." Maybe? Her voice didn't sound very sure. But Salemn was out there, and judging from the condition Lillian was returned in, the longer they waited, the worse it was going to be for her Master. She stood to her feet, and swallowed hard. "I can do it." Resolve hardened her voice, and she refused to look at the drop below.

Dasquian nodded, and took a running leap off the building. He landed in a garbage trough, and she threw her courage to the wind, and followed him before the craft decided he was too heavy and started to dip lower. With a silent plea to the cosmos, she darted towards the edge of the building and launched herself into space.

For a heart pounding minute it looked as though she wasn't going to make it, but then strong hands were grabbing her and she was ankle deep in something disgusting. James gagged at the smell, but as soon as she was steady, Dasquian was gone, halfway to the next sanitation scow. She shuddered, and climbed up on the edge of the trough, trying not to think about what was squishing through her fingers. The next one was closer, and she pushed with her legs, dropping through empty air towards it.

[Salemn Lysce]

"Yes," she rasped, gasping. She could hardly hear him, but the last three words stuck out like a sore thumb. Licking her lips, Salemn tried to focus her vision, but everything was still blurry. Then, she saw Dasquian.

Well, not quite. It was actually Xenil, but because of the blonde hair and violet eyes (not to mention her disorientated vision), she saw Dasquian. Trembling, she swallowed while squinting her eyes.

"D-dasquian ? H-hel ... help m-m-me ...."

At last, they had come to save her ! Hope sprung inside of her chest as she 'realized' that she wouldn't rot in this hell hole.

[Xenil Loctrie]

Xenil can't help but raise a brow. Dasquian?

"Oh...Dasquian."

Now he remembers. That damned Knight of the Order, the one that attracts more attention for his looks than his prowess with a lightsaber.

"He won't be saving you...instead...let's find out what it is that makes you suffer so..."

Beckoning, Xenil calls a probe droid from the darkness. It fits itself over Salemn's head and begins to scan her mind, focusing into the waves that are creating much of the fear and anger she feels. They move liked tendrils back, back into the depths of the girls mind, coming together like a thread to find...

"Oh...oh ho..."

Xenil can hardly contain himself at seeing the droid's display.

"I see...I see now, Salemn...I will save you from the pain you feel inside," he says, idly placing a hand over her heart. A sudden thought strikes him and he looks back at Salemn.

"Armaiil is a bit zealous, isn't he?" Xenil asks, gesturing at her naked body.

[imported_Altered Beast]

The building goes for miles further down, but the Altered stops here, a mere thirty stories below where Dasquian and James are jumping through garbage scows. It turns it's head a full 180 degrees, looking up the building at them. Followers! The ysalamir on it's back clings shakily as the Altered coils and leaps. There are over 20 lanes of air traffic between this building and the next one, a dilapidated storage house. It clears the air highway with ease, clinging to the sheer durracrete wall on the other side with the ease of a spider climbing its web. It crawls further down and disappears inside a broken window.

[Dasquian Belargic]

As the Being vaulted itself across to another building Dasquian was just jumping down to another transport. The creatures’ movement caused the trough to take violently, forcing Dasquian to grip onto the durasteel for dear life. Crouched where he was, he could see over the top of the garbage unit across to the next building. The broken window which their quarry had disappeared through was one of many on a tall sky scraper that looked as though it had definitely seen better days.

Whilst Dasquian tried to figure out how they were going to get to this new destination, James landed down behind him. The craft was slowly but surely moving out of range of the building as it made its sweep off towards wherever the rubbish was disposed of. From the looks of things, it would pass by the second building, but no where near close enough to allow them to use the same technique of Force-powered leaps to get to it.

The Jedi felt something hard underneath his palm. A glance down and he thought he could see something blinking beneath the piles of waste. Tugging back a few of the items, he found a tiny control panel, flashing a dull green. It read ‘Auto Pilot Engaged’.

“Blast!” If Lion had been here, he would have been able to disable the function easily.

Not willing to wait and see if their path would close enough to the building, Dasquian pulled his saber from his belt and took a few steps away from the console. The orange beam was released with a sharp hiss and driven instantly into the tiny computer screen. It passed straight through out of the durasteel before being drawn back to its wielder.

Tiny little sparks of electricity sprung back and forth over the hole created by the lightsaber as something beneath the Jedi’s feet began to tremble. There was a mechanical groan from the unit before it slowly began to rock back and forth. Its route was beginning to change, if slowly, as it was swayed by the rocking. The back-burners of the engine were still pushing at full force, though the navigation system had gone to pot, leaving it speeding up and slowing down, swerving and shaking, towards where the Altered Being had last been sighted.

Luck was on their side. Within minutes the craft was ploughing towards the broken window, its nose dipped downwards in a speedy dive. The frame of the window shattered, as did the wall around it, on the impact. An almighty clash resounded as they crashed through into the room, both being thrown like rag dolls against the inner-wall of the trough.

[James Prent]

James coughed, having landed on her shoulders, upside down, with the rest of her body up against the wall. She slowly slid until she was completely on the filthy flooring, and looked around for Dasquian. She felt dazed, and the left side of her face was warm where blood from a cut on her hairline flowed. Scalp injuries were like that: a lot of blood, but not much damage.

At the moment, however, she didn't even know she'd been caught by a piece of glass on the way in. She struggled to her feet, unable to locate Dasquian in the disaster of a room they'd crashed into. "Dasquian?" James hissed, peering in the semi-darkness.

She felt sick to her stomach.

James looked around, associating that disorienting feeling with the furry lizard that had flown through the window at the LQ with Lillian. Whatever it was they were following was close. The feeling slipped away, and for a fleeting moment James could feel an emptiness. Then it was gone. "It's getting away!" She lurched forward, and bumped straight into the Jedi Knight, who had already found himself.

She winced as blood ran into her eye, and frantically wiped at it, holding her hand against the soreness she assumed was a cut. It stung, but hopefully would clot soon.

[imported_Altered Beast]

The two Jedi pause as suddenly the hole in the Force ceases to move. It's stopped further in the building, direcly down the hall from their current position.

[Dasquian Belargic]

Dasquian had been toppled out of the craft as it had skidded into one of the rooms walls, rolling across the floor to come to a halt – face down. A churning feeling welled in his stomach as he felt the effects of the ride come over him. When he stood up, he found he was almost knocked back down instantly as James bumped into him. On looking up, even in the shadows, he could see the blot of crimson around the Padawan’s eye.

“It's getting away!”

The Force flowed through Dasquian at a higher intensity than normal for a moment, as Dasquian searched for the place in which the void had gone. A moments searching revealed it had stopped, oddly. Though he doubted it would remain as such for long, he capitalized on the moment and held one hand up to James’ eye. With a bit of concentration and visible effort, he hurried along some of the healing process.

“…I think we’re going to have to fight this creature,” Dasquian said to no one in particular as he let his hand drop down to his belt, satisfied with the results of his attempted healing.

Turning, he began to slowly walk over the floorboards in the room. Bit by bit he crept to the doorway, which was bare of any door and pressed his body against the inner beam of the threshold. He could feel, outside that the beast was there, some twenty feet to the right. Before he would be able to reach it, it would undoubtedly flee – this presented a puzzle.

Dasquian turned back into the room and looked upwards. His eyes scanned over the ceiling quickly before darting back out into the roofing in the hallway. The tiles which lined each of the walls were thin plaster and could be shattered with a light hit. Above them, however, there would be either thicker material, or if they were lucky, a space between the two floors where wiring and such was laid.

The Knight moved over to a partially ruined bookcase in the room, and with help from James, pulled it over to the wall nearest to the door. The Jedi leant it so that it was at a slant, and effectively became a ramp. Then, pushing some of the book aside, Dasquian began to climb it. All the while he listened, mentally, for any further movements from the creature, though it still made none when he reached the top of the structure. Looking up, he traced one hand over the tile directly above him before balling a fist and driving it right through the surface.

Thankfully, he hit nothing but air on the other side. With a quick tug at the substance the tile was torn free from its place and cast down onto the ground. He then, with a fair amount of grace, planted both hands onto the edge of the opening and swung his legs forward. After some struggling and tenacious effort he found himself inside a tiny space that stretched out in front and behind him for miles.

Dasquian blinked down through the shadows at James, before holding out a hand to help her up. Once she was up the two would be able to use the force to guide them to right above the thing, so they could suprise it from above.

[James Prent]

James ducked under a light shower of plaster as Dasquian punched a hole in the ceiling, and then she looked up, wondering how she was going to get all the way up there. Dasquian wriggled through the hole, his long legs disappearing, and then he leaned back down, extending a hand for her. His strong fingers wrapped around her wrist, and she was soon through the hole, using her legs to propell herself into what appeared to be a ventilation duct of some type.

I hope there aren't any rats. But then, rats would be the least of their worries. James edged after Dasquian, small enough at barely five foot tall to fit nicely in the horizontal shaft. The Jedi Knight in front of her didn't seem to make any noise as he crawled forward, and James cringed as the metal underneath her pinged.

Dasquian paused, and she looked downwards, putting a hand to her forehead as a wave of nausea came over her. He looked back at her. "Follow me."

Just like that? We're dropping from above onto gods know what, and 'follow me' just like that? Y'know I don't think I signed on for... James' thoughts slowed down as Dasquian handed her Salemn's lightsaber, and her resolve tightened like a steel trap. I have to do it. Salemn needs us. She'd had some lightsaber training, although not much, but she knew enough not to cut her own head off.

Which was good....sort of. James waited for Dasquian to make his move.

[Dasquian Belargic]

Ventilation shafts – these were the things heroes lived for. You couldn’t go through your life being a ‘good guy’ without wriggling your way through a cramped space in search of an escape from your enemy. In this case, of course, the tables were reversed, but the concept was still present in its essence.

So there they were, the two wriggling (mostly) soundlessly along the shaft. Beneath them there were the rows of plaster tiles, and on occasion a plate of metal to provide reinforcing strength. Dasquian being a fair bit taller than James was finding it difficult to not bump his head, but managed to good at least a few minutes before his forehead dashed against the plaster above.

As he had handed James the lightsaber belonging to her Master he had taken his own – which was a little worse for wear after short circuiting the garbage unit – into hand. A short distance ahead soft light ebbed through the floor into the shadows, breaking the darkness in the duct. The Jedi came to a halt just above it and peered down below.

The creature stood perfectly still, albeit trembling on occasion through breathing. Each time it exhaled it sent a wave stench upwards and Dasquian found himself having to hold his breath so that he wouldn’t cough as a result.

This was the second key point in the ‘hero crawls through ventilation shaft’ scenario. The heroes, having found there way to the exit, would spy on the inept guard from above before bursting down onto him completely unexpected and disarming him whilst still sounding off a witty quip.

Somehow Dasquian didn’t picture this scene as playing out the same way.

With some strained movement he managed to shift around so that his heels were digging against the grate that would drop open, and with a solid kick he knocked it out of its place. It dropped and thudded against the Altered Being before clattering to the floor. No sooner had the beast looked up to see what had caused the displacement, than Dasquian had descended upon it. The soles of both of his feet planted against its forehead; knocking it backwards the Knight was propelled by the force of the manoeuvre to land on the damp carpet in the hallway.

An angered roar escaped from the things gaping maw as it vaulted back to its feet, throwing itself at Dasquian – who was palming his saber to life – just as James left the chamber above.

[imported_Altered Beast]

The beast stands still, unmoving save for the slight tremble of its breathing. It snuffles a bit, seeking their scent, but comes up with nothing but dust. It sneezes as Dasquian drops from above. The beast flails, loosing a guttural, enraged scream as it throws itself at the man. It stops short as his saber ignites. It knows about this sort of weapon...it is a survivor of what it's master calls "The Perfect Specimen Fiasco". It knows about glowing blades. They hurt. Alot. It turns to run.

[James Prent]

James heard the roar of the thing underneath her, and the snap-hiss of Dasquian's saber as it ignited. She clutched Salemn's saber in one hand, and dropped out of the hole, landing neatly on both feet just as the creature turned around to flee.

Turned around...and faced her. It paused for one moment, as if acessing the threat she posed, and rose up to its full height. It towered its hairy bulk above her, a full two feet taller than the diminutive padawan. Without thought, and almost of its own accord, the saber in her hand sprang to life, its glowing blade extending directly towards the creature.

[imported_Altered Beast]

The beast scuttles back on all fours, hissing and bristling, its breath washing over James in a foul blast. It knows it's surrounded, and despite it's diminuitive intellect, finds instinct taking up the slack and calculating its odds. The small one is weaker. It bursts forth, moving in a reptilian fashion with great speed at James, trying to knock her over. The Force null bubble of the ysalamir proceeds before it, bringing it's effects to bear on the Padawan.

[James Prent]

James bit her lip in concentration as the beast fell back away from her, hoping that Dasquian would be able to deal with it. Unfortunately it didn't allow him the chance, choosing instead to leap directly at her.

She didn't scream, but simply held the lightsaber in a death grip, keeping it between her and the beast and pointing towards it. The creature bent low, and slammed into her legs, her arms involuntarily flying upwards as it carried her to the ground. James choked on its awful stench, and started retching as it bounded past her.

There was another smell, one of burnt hair. Dasquian helped her to her feet and pointed at the ground at a chunk of the creature. It wasn't recognizable as a body part, but it included both flesh and fur. James deactivated her saber and held it tightly in her hand, strangely satisfied that she'd managed to hurt it. Dasquian tugged on her hand, and she jerked back to the present, and ran after him as he tracked the beast.

[Dasquian Belargic]

With its pride – and flesh – dented from the attack, the beast was making a quick getaway. It lopped off along the hallways of the building, but in such an empty place it was hard to loose track of where it was headed. Thankfully, there were no other people in the upper levels of the building, as it was night, so there was no chance of the thing endangering other lives.

The Knight halted as he came to a T-junction in the corridors. As he looked left he saw a gaping hole in the wall, with tatterings of fur and blood on one of the broken planks of wood. Slowly, he climbed through it, as he looked back towards James, his attention focused solely upon her as he assessed her for any further wounds.

“This thing just isn’t willing to give up, hmm?”

[James Prent]

James looked into Dasquian's shadowed face, and shrugged, feeling a twinge of pain in her shoulder and stomach where the creature had stepped on her. Probably bruise up later. "At least we can find it easier now."

Cutting it seemed to have released an awful stench, from the blood, or perhaps a defense mechanism, like a skunk. James climbed through the hole in the wall after the Knight, trying not to touch the edges. "There wasn't this much mess in Salemn's room, there wasn't even a hair." She'd have to do more thinking about that one.

James jogged along on the heels of Dasquian, trying to find a peaceful spot in her mind. Tracking a deranged beast into the underbelly of Coruscant wasn't exactly usual for a newly accepted Padawan. I can do it though. Anyway, I'm just here to help Dasquian. She almost laughed at the thought of Dasquian needing help, but held herself to a chuckle as they found themselves at the top of what appeared to be a short stairwell. It twisted around, and once they reached the first landing, it became obvious that the stairs went down several layers.

James shrugged, "Blind corners. But at least we have light." As if reading her lips, the lights flickered, and then started going dim. "Frell."

[Dasquian Belargic]

As the lights went down, Dasquian’s eyes desperately struggled to adjust to the change. His pupils expanded and drew in what faint light they could from above, and with the Force by him he was left with fairly good, if primitive form of, Nightvision. None the less, all that he could make out was black upon black, in a subtle range of shades. He fumbled about for a banister and found it, beginning to pace down the stairs.

“I hope we aren’t too late,” he muttered to no one in particular. He neglected to use his saber’s glow as a makeshift lamp, as he did not wish to alert the creature to its pursuer’s presence any early than needed.

Trooping down the stairs, he could feel the creature below. It left an echo of sorts on the stairs, where it had ricocheted off of the walls in its descent. Its blood must have tainted the walls and floor too, as the potent smell from earlier was drifting through the air.

Or perhaps it was infact closer than they thought.

[imported_Altered Beast]

The Altered has neglected it's first law; leave no trace. Though any who pass through here will think nothing of it, simply another murder in another abandoned building. It bounds down the stairs with surprisingly little sound, leaving a faint echo of rattling metal to go sounding up the shaft at the Jedi. it lurks beneath the stairwell, motionless and silent, melting into the deep shadow. The only give away is the lizard that sits forgotten on it's shoulder...

[James Prent]

James stood still for a moment as the lights went out, terror nearly overcoming her. Dasquian's figure nearly melted into the darkness, and she put out her hand, lightly touching his back so as not to lose him in the black.

Strangely enough, in the sudden darkness, what was most noticeable was the lack of noise. There simply wasn't any. James could hear Dasquian breathing, and was aware of her own heart thumping in her chest, and there was the light tread of their feet on the stairs. Other than that...nothing. It must have stopped moving, unless it's a lot quieter than I figured it is.

Her shoulder ached, but she dared not lift her hand from the Jedi's back, in case she got lost. Dasquian stopped moving, and she halted behind him. He seemed to be listening, or something...and she took a moment and closed her eyes.

There was no difference. She felt herself becoming detatched from herself...as though she had no body, and was simply floating in darkness. Dasquian cocked his head to the side, and put his hand on the railing, feeling for vibrations. There were none. James' eyes flew open into complete darkness, and her heart seemed to suddenly remember its job, beating quickly in her chest.

How did I know that? I can't see. Her hand trembled against Dasquian, and she carefully switched arms, trusting her steps to his guidance as he moved downwards once more.

Two more turns of the stairwell, and there was a faint glimmer from a distant hallway reflecting up the stairs. James felt calm, but on edge, all at the same time. Where is Salemn? Is this thing even leading us there? In the silence she dared not voice her fears. They were almost at the bottom of the stairwell.

[Dasquian Belargic]

The Jedi made their descent with each step causing more tension. It seemed that at any second the thing could leap upon them from the shadows, and both Dasquian and James were on edge due to this. More so, Dasquian was on guard. For some time now his hand had been on his saber, though as they stepped off of the stairs he wondered whether it would be wise to use the blade or not – the beast had ran when it had seen it; but was this not what they wanted?

It was a confusing situation to say the least, and Dasquian would be extremely happy to see the end of it.

They walked, or rather edged, forward in the shadows. Without the railing to guide them there was little hope of finding much in this room, wherever it was. Never the less Dasquian surveyed what he could see, turning full circle to pick up on any details in the dark. As he did so they walked backwards, and James bumped into a door handle – success, at last.

A glint of greenish-black caught his eye and he focused in on the speck mere feet away from where they stood. He didn’t have long to narrow in on it however, as it suddenly rushed through the air towards the Jedi!

CSSH!

Dasquian was pummelled back into James, as the door buckled beneath the Padawan. It had jumped upon them with high force and pinned them both in against the door. Behind the Knight James was probably being crushed, and so Dasquain fumbled frantically for the door handle. In the end he had no need for doing such things, as the creature knocked the door right off of its hinges and bowled both lightsiders off of their feet into the next room – a docking bay.

[imported_Altered Beast]

The beast scuttles into the bay, the ysalamir thrown from it's shoulders. Without the lizard's null sphere to mark it's position, the Altered is now untracable by the Jedi. It lurks beneath an old, decaying shuttle...watching.

[James Prent]

The doorhandle was smashed into James' back as the beast slammed into Dasquian. The tiny padawan squeaked, and thankfully was pushed to the side, the handle scraping roughly as she ended up centered a little more on the door.

Her ribs creaked and her lungs fought for air as the larger Knight was pressed into her, and then the door went off its hinges and the three beings went flying into the next room. James gasped for air and threw her hands out to stop her tumbling body as the sudden lights hurt her straining eyes. All in all, it still wasn't very bright in this larger room, but compared to pitch blackness, it was impressively light.

The ground was littered with rough pieces of previously smashed duracrete, from some long ago shootout in the docking bay. James groaned as her body came to a stop, and she wished she were wearing her padawan robes again. Bulky or not, they would have provided some much needed protection to her bare skin. In her shift and leggings, she'd taken a beating. Her exposed skin was scraped and raw, and she slowly picked her head off the ground.

"Dasquian?" James was getting to her knees by an abandoned shuttle. She saw the lizard-thing on the ground, and picked it up and threw it away from her. It landed with a pathetic thump. The blond Knight wasn't far away. "It lost it's passenger."

[Dasquian Belargic]

The force nulling creature was curled on the floor in a small ball, yet still managed to emit a wave of effect that as Dasquian passed through it left him feeling momentarily drained. As he had rolled past the thing and to his feet with a groan, he had desperately tried to keep a visual look on the creature – but to no available. He couldn’t see it at all now.

“This is hopeless,” he sighed quietly to himself as he stood, pacing back to help James up. It seemed that the more they chased this thing the more they got hurt, and it didn’t bring them any closer to finding Salemn. Perhaps this thing was only just a decoy to lead them off the real trail and all of their efforts were for nothing. Of course, now, after such a chase it wasn’t worth giving up, not after they had come so far.

Looking around, all he could see was old shuttles. There were a few that looked salvageable whilst most seemed to be beyond repair and in total disarray. Feeling disheartened by the whole scenario, Dasquian began to trudge off to search the area – disengaging his saber as he did so.

“I have a feeling we aren’t going to be getting any rest from this anytime soon…”

[imported_Altered Beast]

The glowing blades dissipate, and the Altered's lips curl into a bizarre grimace that could almost be a smirk. It climbs to the top of the shuttle, leaping with a silent grace from one decrepit vehicle to the next, paralleling the Jedi as they wander through the hangar bay. With a powerful leap it makes the ceiling, hanging to it by the claws of its feet and hands. The Jedi draw near, cueing the beast's next attack. It drops upside down, hands out to catch itself on the Jedi.

[James Prent]

“I have a feeling we aren’t going to be getting any rest from this anytime soon…”

James was inclined to agree. Her body hurt! but she was determined to keep on going. The hangar was lit, but not fully, deep shadows clinging to the decrepit shuttles and transports that history had forgotten about. She stayed close to the taller Jedi, but not too close, letting her eyes take in their surroundings.

And then her body tingled. She looked up and saw a dark shape detatch from the ceiling and drop towards them. Without thought she rolled to the side, away from the beast, Salemn's saber igniting with a snaphissss as the creature missed her all together.

[Dasquian Belargic]

Dasquians response to the sudden disturbance was much like James’ – he drew his saber upwards and ignited it straight into the path of the creature. The blade scythed against the beast’s body in an acute arc as the Jedi Knight side stepped outwards, barely avoiding being crushed to the ground under the things weight. With the altered beast down, Dasquian jutted out a foot to attempt to pin it to the ground as he swung his saber down as a warning, hovering it over the creatures back.

[imported_Altered Beast]

The Altered makes no move. It's pinned in.

"Hyou...whiilll never fhhiiiind mhyy mhaassster!"

It's voice whistles eerily, it's long tongue creating the hiss that sends chills along their spines.

"Hhiiii whiiilll nhot ghiive yhhou hissss location!"

[Dasquian Belargic]

Dasquian’s brow furrowed as he stared down at the thing. That it could talk was astounding.

“You will tell us,” he stated calmly as he applied an iota more pressure with the sole of his boot. Mentally, he was weaving the Force in the direction of the thing, trying desperately to pick into its mind and draw from it Salemn’s location.

“Or your refusal to comply will be the end of you.”

[Salemn Lysce]

Scowling, she stared at him with clouded eyes. If you don't like it then frelling do something about it ! The droid felt heavier and heavier, and her head hurt after it scanned her brain, causing her to become even more disagreeable.

They'll come for me, I know they will. I hope Lillian is safe ...

[Xenil Loctrie]

"Yes...he's quite out of line...stripping you as he has..."

He dresses Salemn with his own robe, neglecting her injuries and being sure to cause her some pain. He unstraps her and eyes the ysalamir sitting on the floor at the base of the the table. He waves the droid off of the girl and boots the ysalamir away. Xenil's intent is to utilize his powers of illusion...if she believes him to be Dasquian in her delusional state of pain, it shouldn't be too hard to maintain it. He begins the illusion as the ysalamir's null bubble fades, but his powers are slow to return...

[James Prent]

James squatted on her heels, far enough away from the beast so she wasn't in any danger. Not that it was about to cause any, with Dasquian's saber at its throat. If indeed it's throat was a kill point. Ah well, cut off anything's head and it should die...eventually.

She felt a slash of pain, and cried out, losing her balance, and stumbling to her feet. James checked her body and found no new wounds. What the ever loving...? She whirled around, ignoring Dasquian, and walking towards a few of the shuttles. Behind them....

...was a solid wall. She placed her hands on it, and reached up as far as she could, and then out to the sides as far as she could. Nothing. It was cool to her touch. What did I feel!? Whatever it was, somehow she knew that Salemn was beyond this wall. Or that the wall had something to do with her. "Dasquian! Get rid of that thing and come over here, I ...she's here I know it!"

James pounded on the wall as she waited for the Knight to dispose of the creature, and then leaned back against it in frustration. Salemn was near, somehow James could sense her presence, but the Padawan didn't know enough about the Force or the nature of Force signatures to be able to tell exactly where, or even exactly what she was sensing.

She leaned against the wall, and something clicked. Not in her mind, but literally. James jumped away from the wall as part of it slid open, revealing a clean elevator.

[imported_Altered Beast]

They've found it! The beast roars, throwing Dasquian off of its body with no regard for the lightsaber. It pierces the thing's shoulder, tearing out a large part of the being's arm as it checks Dasquian into the elevator, taking James as it does so. The door slides shut and the turbolift descends, delving deep into Coruscant's crust. The elevator is large, enough to easily hold seven or eight Altered Beasts. Plenty of room to fight. Plenty of room for it to kill them before they find its master...

[Dasquian Belargic]

Pummelled into the elevator with James, Dasquian grimaced in pain as the beast pinned him against the wall. There was a shudder as the lift began to descend, the wiring creaking and moaning under the weight of the carriage. As the Knight struggled not to accidentally deal a wound to James, he span on his heel towards the Beast. The screech of metal against metal caused all inside of the lift to groan as they were plunged down into the depths of the building, their combat not helping the already frail lift.

Dasquian, deciding that there was no way to simply knock the altered being out, span the hilt of his saber upwards in a tight arc that would surely cleave its beastly head from its body should it move even an inch forward.

[James Prent]

James scrambled to the far side of the elevator, trying to stay out of the way of Dasquian's blade and the beast's claws. She scrabbled for Salemn's white lightsaber, but did not ignite it, her back pressed into the corner of the elevator's smooth walls.

[imported_Altered Beast]

The creature roars, it's voice carrying down the shaft and into the complex below. Every beast in the compound knows something is wrong. It lashes wildly at Dasquian, no longer caring for its own safety. If it should fail, its brothers will finish the task.

[Dasquian Belargic]

Dasquian darted backwards and used the wall of the elevator as a foothold to push himself into a jump. Swinging his saber upwards into the air, the tip of the blade trailed across the lighting in the elevator – shorting it out and causing a spray of deadly sparks to rain down from above. They burnt against both the beast and Dasquian, though the creature took the brunt of the damage as Dasquian’s saber descended upon it, driving straight down through its chest.

As the Jedi landed from the jump, so the beast came with him, only deepening its wound as the sabers tip punctured its body within.

[James Prent]

James squealed as the sparks fizzled around her, covering her head, and trying to brace her feet against the sides of the elevator. It felt like it was falling out of control, but it was most likely just her fear intensifying the feeling.

As Dasquian's blade came out the other side of the creature, a rancid smell permeated the elevator. James staggered to her feet, hand over her nose and mouth, trying not to retch. Her head snapped to the side, towards the door, as the elevator suddenly came to a stop.

A white blade appeared in her hand, Salemn's saber joining with Dasquian's with a hum. Dasquian pulled his saber out of the beast, and it fell to the ground, twitching, but already dead. She looked at him, the fear on her face replaced with determination. "There are more out there."

And if they're any bigger than this one, we're in trouble.

The doors opened.

[imported_Altered Beast]

The doors open with a soft tone, and the two Jedi look out. On the other side of the door is a huge chamber. It's filled with beasts. On the floor not five feet from them is the remains of a bantha leg, stripped of most its muscle with huge marks scraped across the bone. A low moan escapes from the horde; apparently this bantha is still alive, and the beasts are feeding. At the elevator's tone all the creatures turn to look. They stand, simply watching the two intruders with bloodshot, colorless eyes. One beast stands from it's position atop the bantha's carcass. It's a full ten feet tall, with a wingspan of over 22 feet. It folds it's arms self importantly, drumming the claws on it's fingers and toes idly. The fate of the two Jedi hangs on this beast's next actions. Dasquian and James have found the alpha male of the horde.

[Dasquian Belargic]

Truly the Jedi’s fate did rest in the gigantic hands of the beast, and as Dasquian saw it look at him he couldn’t help but feel a pang of anxiety in his mind. It was, of course, shelved away and replaced by the resolve to find Salemn.

There must have been around eight of the creatures, though they were large enough to fill the majority of the room with their size. The alpha alone took up an immense area of space.

Dasquian remained perfectly still as the lightsaber in his hand shrunk back into its cylinder. There was no way physical violence would allow them passage through this sea of angry fur – something far more subtle would have to be employed. Sadly, at this time, the Knight did not know what.

[James Prent]

James peered around Dasquian's shoulder, and then pushed past him to stand resolutely beside him. The enormity of the winged creature astounded her, and the others were still nothing to sneeze at.

She looked up at Dasquian, who looked a little anxious, and then calm again as his lightsaber disengaged. "You have a plan, right?" James followed his lead and turned Salemn's saber off.

[imported_Altered Beast]

"Whhhhat are hyyyou doing hhheere?"

The alpha is speaking now, the other beasts become silent as stones and cease to move. It's voice whistles as well, adding 'h's where there should be none.

"Mhoore importantlhhy, how dhhiidg hyyyou fhiiind us?"

This one's not your regular run of the mill mutant. It's intelligent.

[Dasquian Belargic]

“Apparently, your Master did not inform you of our arrival,” Dasquian stated, in an voice full of authority and confidence.

“I am Dasquian, and this is James – we are agents of the Al-Akar, here on business with your Master. He requested our presence to aid in the interrogation and torture of the Jedi Knight he has captured.”

Behind them, the lift doors tried to close, but jammed hard against the corpse of the beast they had slew inside of the carriage.

“Your fellow creatures would not comply. I am sure you Master will understand the small loss of life.”

[imported_Altered Beast]

"hhYou Lhhhiie! All visitors, be they sphhecimenssss or otherwissse, arrhhive bhhyyy one method...us."

[James Prent]

James kept her face and her body still, waiting to see how much further Dasquian intended to take his act. She was terrified, and could think of nothing that would make their situation any better.

So she kept her mouth shut, and her finger on the activation button of the lightsaber.

[Dasquian Belargic]

“Incorrect. Your Master knows that the Al-Akar are careful about who knows the location of their base of operations, therefore we were told to make our own way to this compound,” Dasquian replied.

The fear ebbing from James was almost tangible, and Dasquian glanced over to her for a moment to try and offer some reassurance.

“I presume your Master will be most displeased should you halt us any longer.”

[Armaiil Kryatir]

"You're half-right, half-wrong. You are correct in thinking that I am displeased with my creations. You should both be dead by now. They're not doing their job. You're wrong in that I give the location of my laboratory to no one. My beasts are the only way to or from this place."

Armaiil has entered from the side and is leaning on the wall with a bemused smile.

"I must commend you. I suppose you followed my messenger back."

[Dasquian Belargic]

Dasquian knew that once the doctor arrived the rouse would be up, and so he found no shame in nodding.

“We did. We have come for the Jedi you are holding captive,” he replied.

“We will be returning her to the temple on Coruscant, preferably with your co-operation…”

[James Prent]

James inwardly quailed at the words of the creatures, but when a humanoid appeared, claiming to be the doctor, rage bubbled up inside her.

Calm, James. She tried to remind herself about the ways of the Force, but her grip tightened on Salemn's lightsaber even so.

"We will be returning her to the temple on Coruscant, preferably with your co-operation…" Dasquian was addressing the man.

James stepped out slightly from his shoulder, and added, "Or without, as the case may be."

[Armaiil Kryatir]

"Oh, I wish I could, but Salemn is no longer in my care. I don't know where she is now. Lillian could tell you, since I restored her Force ability before she left...but I imagine she's in no state to say much of anything."

[Dasquian Belargic]

“Lies! You must know where she is! You must know who has her now. There must be some records of who you transferred her to.”

Dasquian’s fingertips itched to grasp his sabers hilt.

“Tell me, Doctor,” he spat, “Or I shall beat an answer from your horrid lips!”

[Armaiil Kryatir]

"I know who has her, but I know not where she has gone. You could try to find Xenil, I suppose...he has a rather strong dark Force signature I'm told. But this compound is a maze of ysalamir, and my perfect specimen's children also bear the mark of darkness upon them. You may enter a room expecting to find your goal, but instead interrupt Anuberis or Nefertati...then you will have to fight them as well as Xenil, I expect."

[James Prent]

Three? James didn't like the sound of more people being in other rooms. "Why don't we just take him hostage?" She muttered to the Jedi Knight, flipping Salemn's saber hilt up and around in her hand, ready to activate it.

[Dasquian Belargic]

“I agree.”

Motioning to the ‘Doctor’, Dasquian frowns.

“You will come with us, and order back your … creatures from attacking us.”

[Armaiil Kryatir]

"I will do no such thing. Instead, the best course of action for you is this. Find your Jedi friend. Move quickly, and perhaps you will get a great enough lead on my monstrosities to discover her before they catch you. If you manage to find her, I will let you all three go free."

Armaiil sets his watch timer and grins.

"Go! You only have ten minutes!"

[James Prent]

James looked quickly around the hallway, at the huge creatures arrayed in front of them, and then to the freaky man against the wall. "Ten minutes?"

She ignited her lightsaber, and moved towards the Doctor. "I think you only have three seconds."

[Armaiil Kryatir]

The doctor shrugs.

"It will take far more than the two of you to dispose of me. Don't dawdle; get to work!"

At this the beasts stampede toward their creator, who leaps and lands on the back of one. He makes his escape into the compound, leaving the room eerily silent.

"Nine minutes..." echoes throughout the room.

[Dasquian Belargic]

The herd of creatures thundered past the two Jedi, who stepped aside quickly as they carried their maker off into the dark depths of the compound. Their heavy footfalls could be heard for some time, moving off into the distance – though Dasquian and James’ joined them quickly.

Moving off at a sprint straight into the darkness, their lightsaber blades served as their only means of illumination. At first it seemed the hallway was the single passage, however it became apparent after a minute or so that it was growing wider and sloping downwards. A junction presented itself eventually, though one exit was blocked off and another had a pitfall right at its entrance.

Pacing to the route that had a hole in the floor, Dasquian looked downwards into the darkness. Nothing could be seen, though when the Jedi passed his saber over the opening it was revealed that it was a rough 4 or 5 feet wide. Looking around on the floor, he found a small pebble and picked it up, before tossing it down the hole …

… a few seconds passed …

tink

Kneeling down he found that, on closer inspection, there were traces of hair around the more jagged edges of the opening. Still crouching, he looked back at James expectantly.

“… I don’t suppose the Force is giving you any clairvoyance on which of these paths we should be taking?”

[James Prent]

James peered down the gaping hole, and swallowed hard. Now that they were alone in the passageway, her adrenaline was dissapating. She wiped her hand across her sweaty forehead, and stepped back from the hole, her head pounding with a dull ache.

"I...I don't know...I can't concentrate." Her hands were shaking and pain from her skin abrasions was starting to tingle all over her body.

[Dasquian Belargic]

“I don’t think we have the power to knock that blocked exit out, so I think it’s going to have to be this,” the Knight replied as he looked back down into the darkness below.

Somewhere down in the depths of the hole, he was sure he could hear movement. Foot steps, approaching or tearing off into the distance, and a muffled voice. Definitely, he rationalized, this was the way to do.

“Are you going to be comfortable jumping down or do you want a lift?” Dasquian said with a small smile, trying to lighten the situation.

[James Prent]

"I'll be fine." She rolled her head to the side, cracking her neck, and straightened. James walked up to the edge again and tried to remember what she'd been taught about jumping long distances.

Or falling, as the case may be.

"Visualize yourself falling, but falling slowly...gently like a feather. It's the same as telekinesis, but you're lifting yourself up. Don't try too hard, James..." Easy for her to say. James' lips set in a grim line as she remembered the words of her master, the woman they were infiltrating this compound to save.

She looked sideways at Dasquian, and tried not to look terrified. "Well, here goes."

He put out his hand and she paused. "Remember, James, fear is of the Dark side. Don't give into fear. The bottom isn't hundreds of feet down, but it is farther than most people can comfortably jump." He smiled reassuringly, but there was an edge of urgency behind his eyes. "You'll do fine."

James nodded, and took a deep breath, cleansing her mind of distractions. One more breath...and she jumped into the inky darkness below.

Air whistled around her, and she felt a little bit like Alice...when she fell down the Rabbit hole. Although that was just a children's book, and this was decidedly more serious. The floor was coming up fast. James' eyes were closed, and she saw herself falling in her mind's eye. She reached out and touched the Force, cushioning her landing a few moments later.

Okay, I'm down. The words came unbidden to Dasquian's mind, even though she had intended to speak them aloud. James walked away from the hole, so the Jedi Knight wouldn't fall on top of her. There was the sound of a scuffle down an adjacent passageway, and a dim light filtered up from the end of it.

[Dasquian Belargic]

A quick glance up and down the hall he was in, and Dasquian pushed himself down the drop. There was a whipping as his robes were caught by drag force and momentarily slowed him down, before he landed fairly comfortably – crouching by James. The Knight stood up, and was about to speak, when the expression on James’ face told him not to. She nodded off down the hall, to where there appeared to be a lamp of some sort hanging from the ceiling. The shade was swinging back and forth. Now, this could have been attributed to any number of this, such as wind, but Dasquian imagined it was something far less pleasant that had set the light off balance.

The so-called doctor had mentioned other creations that roamed the compound; one’s different to the beasts they had fought earlier. Dasquian could only pray that they were not quite so vicious or eager to engage in combat, but knowing luck as he did they would end up being twice as large and twice as blood thirsty.

Carefully, stepping one foot over the other, he began to walk along the corridor. There was movement up ahead, it seemed, but no voices could be heard. Frequently he would glance back at James to assure himself that she was still there – and had now began to check the ceiling at regular intervals too, for any signs of movement behind the tiles (he didn’t intend on allowing anyone to jump them from above, as they had done the beasts).

Why do I get the feeling we’re not alone…

[imported_Altered Beast]

A grate further ahead creaks open, and five little creatures spill out. They look around with large, pale eyes, fumbling blindly for one another. Each is only a foot tall, with eyes the size of baseballs and tiny little noses and mouths. They sniffle about, clinging to each other and huddling against the chill air blowing from the air shaft.

[James Prent]

James pointed up the passage at the creatures as they appeared, her lips tightening into a thin white line. The light was still swinging, but it was slowly settling down as gravity took a hold of it.

The two Jedi had to go right by the air shaft and the five creatures. And they still didn't know what had set the lamp swinging.

I have a bad feeling about this... James put her hand on Salemn's lightsaber hilt as they continued to creep forward.

[Dasquian Belargic]

Quite frankly what had just appeared didn’t look vicious or threatening at all, but Dasquian had learnt long ago never to judge a book by its cover. Especially when the book was quite possibly hungry and in possession of large pointy teeth. Still, the two crept forward, as the little mites trembled while clinging to one another for warmth. As they grew closer Dasquian realized they were barely taller than the height of his boots. Something in his mind was telling him that they weren’t going to do any harm.

Sliding along the gap between the group and the wall, towards the door where something still was rattling about, the Knight glanced back at James who seemed to be a deal more wary of the tiny creatures than he was.

They look harmless.

[imported_Altered Beast]

The scuffling of boots and clothes is soft, barely audible to anyone. The tiny creatures turn to face the sound, staring blindly at the space in front of them, sniffling quietly...until they opened their mouths. An earsplitting, reverberating shriek echoes through the hallway, repeating from the little beasts as they slowly back up and tilt their heads to look the Jedi in the eyes. These little beasts are blind, failed experiments of sight alterations. However, these have a compensation; they can echolocate. The sound fades as the tiny beings realize what they're facing and lunge, clinging with tiny claws to the legs of the Jedi. In the direction behind the pair, a low shuffle is heard, and lamp sways harder.

[James Prent]

James bit back a shriek as the little things dug their claws into her legs, and stumbled. She managed not to fall down, but was having a hard time keeping her balance. Dasquian was wearing boots, and she heard him ignite his saber, destroying the two that were futilely attacking him.

She refused to ignite Salemn's saber, afraid that she'd bumble and cut her own legs off, but then the third creature pushed her knees out from behind, and she fell down.

[Dasquian Belargic]

A number of the creatures that were attacking James were torn away as Dasquian gestured as though he was snatching at something in the air. One or two were met by a downward swing of his saber, and squealing painfully as the burning blade touched them. One more was dealt a killing blow as the Knight cleaved it right off of James’ leg – missing her leg by a calculated margin. Whatever was left of the creatures seemed to be massing off into the shadows to scurry away.

It was becoming increasingly hard not to simply cry out in frustration. After all, this chase and search had been going on so long and they were still really no closer to Salemn.

“… Damn it.”

Dasquian’s breath was getting sharper now. He stared at the ground, saber still ignited in one hand, and watched as his shadow rocked back and forth … His brow furrowed. Why, exactly, was his shadow moving? Slowly tilting his head upwards, he watched as the lamp flailed about on the ceiling. His eyes traced the roof backwards, to the way they had come, as small tremors rumbled through the floor.

“What the…”

[imported_Altered Beast]

Armaiil's greatest failure rounds the corner at the far end of the hallway. It snuffles, blind and incapable of echolocation, seeking with its nose the meal it smells. It looks like a serpent with a Krayt dragon's head; it's limbs are shriveled and stunted, hardly able to move. It slithers instead, letting it's limbs wave lifelessly with its movement. It opens it's mouth to attempt a roar, but it's voice is so badly damaged it can't manage even that. The Jedi get a good look; it's mouth is ringed with sharp teeth, pointed inward. Once this one has you, there's no escaping it. The serpent slithers forward, still sniffling, faintly catching their scent.

[James Prent]

James took one look at the gaping mouth of the monster as it came into the light, and turned and ran up the passageway. Hoarse mewls come from its throat as it attempts to vocalize, but the young Padawan was already out of reach. It has no legs - well she had two and was making good use of them.

The highly trained long distance runner dashed past an adjoining corridor, and then doubled back, looking down it. "Salemn?" Her voice was a whisper. James tiptoed down the murkily lit hall, until she came to a solid metal door, like a blast door. She pressed her ear to the wall next to it and heard voices.

Her master was inside. She was sure of it.

[Dasquian Belargic]

Without a second thought, Dasquian tore off after James. He didn’t look back to see if the serpent was following because, quite frankly, he didn’t want to know. It seemed as though James had found something that could finally lead them to Salemn, and hopefully they would be able to get inside before the creature could reach them. The door was solid durasteel meant to be resistant to anything – anything, that is, except a light saber. A quick glance about revealed no apparent access console and so it seemed that literally carving through the door was the only option. With a sigh, Dasquian pushed the ignited hilt of his saber against the surface of the metal and grunted as he began to drive the blade inwards.

[imported_Altered Beast]

It slithers forward sluggishly, moving with all the speed and grace of a Hutt. Its snuffling picks up a scent like burning. Curious, it slugs itself forward, picking up the smell of the dismembered beast corpses. It lunges with a short burst, taking up the dismembered parts and swallowing them with a ferocious hunger. It snuffles by the air vent, seeking more...and picks up another scent. There is blood here on the vent from the claws of the little beasts...the blood of Jedi. I moves as quickly as it can, almost desperately, to find the meal. It so rarely gets to feed...and these are the largest morsels it's found in a long time.

[James Prent]

James stood back away from the door as Dasquian slowly plunged his saber through the thick durasteel. Molten metal oozed around the lengthening cut as it glowed bright orange. The padawan turned away, looking back the way they'd come, letting her eyes readjust to the half-light of the hallway.

She cocked her head to the side and listened. There was a snuffly sound approaching. James' grip tightened on her saber hilt, and she carefully thumbed it on, sending a glow down the hall. The hideous monster was slowly rounding the corner, its elongated head whuffling back and forth as it scented them.

James tore her gaze away for a moment, and looked back at Dasquian. "I hope you're almost through." She was still afraid, but she wouldn't run this time. How could she, when they were almost to their objective? Eyes back on the creature, James set her feet and held the lightsaber pointed down in front of her, the one defensive stance Salemn had taught her so far.

[Dasquian Belargic]

There was a distinct hiss as the blade reached the other side of the door. Now it was simply a matter of heavy-handedly cleaving out a door way. James stood on guard as Dasquian arduously pulled the handle of the saber to the right, moving it downwards as he did. Eventually the blade was flush with the ground, and more the metal around the cut could solidify the Jedi Knight was pushing up against it to send it screeching through into the room next door.

Behind him the creature was virtually upon them, and the two narrowly avoided being caught by the slithering fiend as both crawled, with James first, through the tiny hole. Without even pausing to look around at the room they were in, panic caused them to struggle to block the opening with the metal block, successfully stopping the creature from following.

[Xenil Loctrie]

"Hello."

The voice that draws their attention is melodic and flowing, and it's owner leans calmly against a high table, smiling warmly at them.

"What're you doing here?"

[Dasquian Belargic]

Dasquian snapped around to see a figure, partially hidden by shadow ahead. Eyes narrowing, he immediately began trying to probe at the mans mind with the Force.

“We are here for the Jedi Knight Salemn Lysce. Hand her over to us.”

[James Prent]

James squeaked as the monster on the other side of the wall thudded against their obstruction. It held, for the moment, and the Padawan rubbed her thumb over her lightsaber hilt.

“We are here for the Jedi Knight Salemn Lysce. Hand her over to us.”

Where are you, Master? James strained to see past the man who sounded prettier than he looked.

[Xenil Loctrie]

Xenil cants his head with a confused look.

"Who? I've never heard of her."

Xenil's masks his Force signature and his intentions from Dasquian.The ysalamir he brought down to restrain Salemn has been moved, along with the Knight in question, so he lacks the advantage that Armaiil and the Beasts enjoyed. He must stall them...he cannot let his plans be impeded.

[Dasquian Belargic]

“We know you know who she is. We’ve spoken with that so-called Doctor,” Dasquian stated, almost spitting out his last words as he began to stride forward. He rose his saber into a more offensive stance.

“You are at a severe disadvantage and I suggest you comply with our requests now, before your disadvantage gets any worse.”

[Salemn Lysce]

As the ysalamir went away, it felt as if a power surge jolted through her. The Force ... I-I can feel it again ! She blinked hard, as if to clear her vision, and focused on Xenil. He wasn't Dasquian ... What was she thinking ?! Immediately summoning up her newfound strength, the Sith found himself choking by an invisible grasp as she fell to the ground. The robe covered her trembling form as she reached out with a pale hand, pointing at him. The hold loosened and he flew through the air, crashing into the wall.

Struggling to stand up, she began to move sluggishly toward the exit when suddenly the ysalamir filed back in. Xenil had somehow managed to get them back in ! Salemn grabbed her head as she let out a silent scream before she felt hands on her shoulder, forcing her to turn around. The last thing she saw was a large plank before she blacked out.

[Xenil Loctrie]

Xenil curses inwardly. That godforsaken doctor! On the outside, he maintains his composure.

"Doctor? I suppose you mean Armai-kkgghkk!"

Xenil finds himself suddenly choking, collapsing to his knees. The ysalamir? Where? He reaches out with his senses to find a 10 foot tall beast shooting up the air ducts with a crushed animal in its hands. The alpha of the Swarm!

Before he can reign in his temper, Xenil finds himself next on the wall behind the two Jedi and able to breathe. He shouts a curse and shoots a telekinetic command to the miniature beasts that scrounge the lower levels: GET MORE YSALAMIR! The ebb of Force that marks Salemn's position fades as the tiny beasts comply, even clobbering the Jedi Knight with a piece of metal plank before they do. It's too late though. The two Jedi have had ample opportunity to sense Salemn, so now...it seems Xenil must fight them.

"You won't have her! I have plans for this one!"

[Dasquian Belargic]

For a moment Salemn’s force signature had been present – screaming out, welcoming back the Force into her body. Now, though, it had dimmed again. For all his patience, Dasquian was becoming frustrated beyond the point of restraint now.

“Are you so confident? I would wager that you are no match for a Jedi Master and his Jedi Knight apprentice,” Dasquian retorted, bluffing quite convincingly.

“Handing our comrade over now would no doubt give you a lenient sentence as punishment, where as combat will give no such thing. But if you are so sure, have at it.”

[James Prent]

James' eyes darted to the door in the wall on the other side of the man who was trying to stop them. She started slowly sidestepping away from Dasquian, trying to get around the man without him noticing her.

It looked an awful lot like a flanking movement, designed to trap him between them, however. Salemn's saber was still deactivated, but in her hand, as the diminutive padawan tried to look confident as Dasquian proclaimed her a Knight. Knights don't look scared.

[Xenil Loctrie]

In such a small space as this room, James' attempt to slip by cannot go unnoticed. He draws telekinesis and throws both of them into the walls.

"You won't get by me!"

[Salemn Lysce]

Still rendered unconscious, Salemn's body was at the mercy of the Altered. The creatures were uncertain about what to do with her but it was obvious that they weren't allowed to harm her. They remained steadfast, ready to attack anyone besides Xenil who came to her.

[James Prent]

James gasped for air, the toss into the wall having popped the air out of her lungs. Dasquian seemed to be a little better off, already on his feet again as the padawan slumped to the ground, mouth gaping as she struggled to fill her lungs.

As she gasped in cool air, James struggled up to her feet. The two men were facing off...and Xenil didn't appear to have a lightsaber. She clutched Salemn's in her hand and ran for the door, taking her chances and hoping that Dasquian could protect her back.

[Dasquian Belargic]

Dasquian did as James had hoped, standing directly in front of the Padawan as she made for the door. With saber in hand he moved forward, resisting another blow of telekinesis by counterbalancing it with his own strength in the Force. A wave of a hand and he drew Xenil forward, toppling the man to his knees as he watched with saber still drawn and ready.

ooc: sorrrry

[Xenil Loctrie]

The frail Xenil goes with his momentum, turning it into something of a weak, pathetic tackle. He clenches a fist, getting a look at James running to save Salemn. She stumbles; Xenil is losing focus! That should have taken her feet from under her.

[James Prent]

James smacked against the door as she stumbled, and scrabbled with her hands for the controls. A well placed smack with the palm of her hand, and the door slid open, and she squeezed through, finding herself in a darkened room full of tiny animals, and Salemn.

"Salemn! Wake up!" She shouted across the room at her master, and lit her saber as the tiny Altered took notice of her.

[imported_Altered Beast]

They shriek and warble, moving back apprehensively at first, but soon gaining confidence as they realized the magnitude of their numbers. At once they throw themselves upon James, doing their best with their feeble limbs to scratch and bite her.

[Salemn Lysce]

[OOC - Due to my sporadic posting, I would like to close this thread. Let's just say that the good guys triumph and Salemn goes home. :)]

[Lilaena De'Ville]

ooc: We've been saying that for five months now. Fine by me. /ic: