Diplomat to the Damned

[Darth HuCa]

Standing a distance away to look upon the monstrous visage of the shrine, and to be unable to be seen by mortal eyes from within its tall spires. The Cloaked figure stood and watched. Smoothly rolling his sabre hilt within a furry paw.

Not five meters away from him hovered his Swoop, still running with a near silent humm. Though the dreams had caused him to marvel as its horrid beauty, he found himself dazzled when seeing it in the flesh...

The watcher excahnged his hold of his sabre for the edge of his cloak, within three strides he was throwing it across the speeder as he mounted it. He twisted the accelerator and shot off toward the Shrine with a large plume of dust and leaves scatering the clearning.

[Pandora Damaris]

The black vestiges of the woman blended harmoniously with the inky recess's of the arch way she now stood in. The Ancient Vampyre dark emerald eye's narrowed as a lone dust trail from afar quickly neared the hallowed ground's of the Shrine...Image's of the enormous Lupine creature flashed in Pandora's mind as it approached. Foreseeing tendril's of the Force told the black armored clad woman that this was a diplomatic mission of sort's. However, her thought's and intention's were on protecting the interest's of the coven family...the Queen Mother at all cost!

With blinding speed the woman's form disappeared from the place she once stood, leaving the spot vacant in a simple blink of an eye...Pandora would be the one to meet this consort first hand...

As Darth HuCa's swoop neared the mammoth stone keep that seemed to jet out from the earth it's self, he noticed a black robed form standing at the entrance gate's. It appeared to be a woman, one who was also brandishing a lethal looking sword. The serrated ebony bastard sword rested on her right shoulder as the outlander came to a stop some fifteen feet away from her. Pandora's fierce green eye's once again narrowed as a moment of silence stood between the two being's...

"Why have you come here...Lupine!" Pandora's word's were firm, tipped with a poisonous tone as see eye'd the intruder.

[Darth HuCa]

Huca unveiled his wolfen muzzle, and his ears popped up as he pulled back the hooded shroud that had concieled his identity. So it was true then, they had retreated here... Then there could be hope? The thought of such a meaningless word tasted sour on Huca's thoughts, but still if they were all here...

"I bring news of knidred and lupines entangled in a mortals snare. Ancient One." His voice was as commanding as a general, and he too had great knowledge through the dark side.

[Pandora Damaris]

Pandora slightly cocked her head to one side as the Lupine stepped off his swoop. She was amazed at his sheer size, measuring at least seven feet or more in height. His heavily muscled body rippled under the silver and black coat as he stood upright...Pandora could also sense that this creature was highly intelligent, carrying an assortment of weapon's and other trinket's that suggested he was proficient in the arcane art's of Sith Magic...

"You know as was as I do nomad that our two race's have been at odds for eon's. What do you really hope to accomplish here?...Or perhaps the true question to ask is...Will we help aid you?" Pandora's word's were on the verge of mockery as she continued to eye the outlander.

Pandora found it quite brazen of the nomad to come to the Shrine in this fashion, however she would hear him out for the time being...After all, what could it hurt? Even though the two faction's had been at bitter odds from time's past, Pandora knew a peace settlement would be in their favor especially knowing that the "Reemergence" drew nigh...Nevertheless, a war with the Lupine would complicate matter's indeed and this was something that the Damned could not afford in their darkest hour...

"But do tell...You have my fullest attention Lupine." A wicked yet seductive smile etched it's way across Pandora's marble like face as she sheathed her ebony sword in it's scabbard. The Ancient now had a plan of her own...

[Darth HuCa]

She could have been considered attractive in the conventional way, but Huca had long forgotten the temptations of flesh. Besides, he had more pressing matters to attend to.

From his waist he puled a holocron from a pocket, shaped like a pyramid, Pandora's eyes squinted at the object suddenly caught up in it mystery.

"Within this, I have proof of mortals plans and continuing tests on my kind and yours. They are close to finding a weapon to rid the galaxy of both are races Ancient. And I am not strong enough to face them alone."

[Pandora Damaris]

Pandora studied the ebony object in the Lupine's paw for a brief moment. Her dark eye's then slowly trailed back to HuCu's own.

"I see...Perhaps we can better discuss the matter over a bottle of wine in my chamber's outlander." Pandora paused as she sheathed her ebony sword in it's jeweled scabbard.

"I'm interested in your proposal as well as the little trinket you've brought along." The Ancient turned abruptly from the Lupine, a seductive stride in her walk as she neared the immense vine covered gates. With a subtle wave of her hand the double iron gate's groaned on their axes, opening inward as she turned once again to face the large creature.

"Are you coming,...Messenger?" The woman in black arched an eyebrow as a questioning look crossed her porcelain like face.

[Darth HuCa]

The monstrous bulk of Huca followed the minuture like frame his hostess. Though the shrine was undoubtfully a most beautiful creation, Huca's curse only saw the decay of what it would become. Its decadent statues and lustfull spires ruins in eons. He was unable to see the beauty of life and death. Instead he saw only hate, and destruction. This was the seperating feature that had split the two cultures from as long as they could remember. Perhaps they could learn much from each other, perhaps in this a dark and intimidating hour they could actually become allies.

Huca nearly grinned and bore his canines, but the centuries of hatread and brutality between their kind only reassured the thought the Vampyre would try to gain the upper hand in this matter, for they were without honour...

"Are there many of you left?" He inquired more out of civil nature than out of curiosity, or parhaps the thought of entering the heart of the Vampyre worried him a little...

[Pandora Damaris]

Within the Keep were some of the most lavish wonder's that any eye could ever behold. To the mortal eye this was so, however as HuCu seen it for what it's truer nature initialed, Pandora as well shared the same curse...The Damned where the object's within that surpassed any hand crafted or man made possession's. Living statues of magnificent beauty, wicked and awesome power's they wielded at their bidding. Not many lived to tell the tale when encountering one for the first time...

As the two form's moved down the smooth obsidian hall towards Pandora's chamber, the outlander inquired of the numbered kin that still remained within the temple of the Damned. A slight chuckle escaped Pandora's lip's at HuCa's question as they continued forward down the "Grand Hall."

"I see you are one who subscribes to the notion that there is strength in number's." Pandora replied as her emerald eye's remained straight on the path they were taking.

"Is there a reason for your bold question outlander...Or is it your way of sizing up your advisories?" Pandora's word's were to the point and tipped with a note of sarcasm as she finished.

[Darth HuCa]

"As you know, the Vorkonis are pack hunters ancient one, I was just inquiring as to your nature. Has it changed since the tales of your kind stopped being told to the young cubs in hope to scare them off to sleep." His explanation was true enough, even if it avoided the answer, but he was not going to enter into a game with the ancient one, too much hung on the knife edge to cause an imbalance. "Your kind has not been spoken of for generations, It was by chance alone that I found the location of the last battle...."

He of course reffered to the last battle between the two races, where many of each had died. Though the Lupines could quite easily tear through ten or twelve of the kindred at a time it was quite clear that at the time the Kindred were a lot smarter than their advesaries. Each race had fortold its young of a battle fought with no victor, only death on both sides. The last bastion that wolves had finally failed at was the Shrine of the damned.

They both found reflection in a moments thought , Huca remembering the old legends, and Pandora re-living them in memory. "We are a proud people Ancient One, I would dishonour you if I told you that I wished to be here. In honesty this is the last place I would have come searching for help, but the clan leaders have decided, and here I am."

[Pandora Damaris]

Only the foot step's of the two figures could be heard as they resonated through out the Grand Hall. Statue's seemed to incline a listening ear, eye's that followed their every movement, witnesses to a time long since past...Even in the time of civil unrest between the two clan's...Pandora's mind was hurled back to that time when she too battled and fought for what she thought to be for the sake of conviction and that of self preservation. How time can change one's thinking...Millennia that had come and gone, bitter image's that only seemed like yesterday had never quite loosened it's hold upon her Vampyre mind...This distant past now lay with the bone's of her kind as well as the Lupine's on the plain's where they had fought and died.

"I was there you know..." Her word's were somewhat in a sneer as she continued...Whisper's falling on the tail of her every word as they continued onward...

"Pride!...Don't speak to me of pride Lupine..." Pandora stopped in her stride and abruptly turned to face the messenger. Hate and resentment burned in her green eye's as they bore through HuCa.

"How dare you utter such thing's to me...Pride was exactly what was both of our undoing my friend...I would have thought by now your kind would have learned that lesson long ago!" Pandora snapped as her ivory teeth protruded slightly.

"I demand that you tell me your business here Lupine...I have not the patient's nor the time to menace word's with you! If your elder's have sent you to deliver a message I suggest you deliver it here and now!" In the blindness of her sudden rage Pandora could not see the hypocrisy in her own cutting word's...But the subtle word of wisdom from the young Lupine struck her as he only stood there looking down on her smaller form...The message was one of peace...One of cooperation. Slowly, Pandora eye's simmered then cooled to a lite shade of green as the Lupine's stoic face reflected what she knew now to be true...The message had always been there...It was there in his eye's...In his simple demeanor.

The Ancient looked to the side as her eye's closed tightly...Even now she found it hard to utter the word's. But her pride would not stand in the way!

"Forgive me for my hasty word's...I too have many memories that still haunt me to this day." Slowly the woman in black looked up into HuCu's nobel face...Searching for a note of understanding that might give her comfort and lay the demon's to rest once and for all.

[Darth HuCa]

"I demand that you tell me your business here Lupine...I have not the patient's nor the time to menace word's with you! If your elder's have sent you to deliver a message I suggest you deliver it here and now!" The ancient one demanded, who was she to demand anything from on of his kind, especially Huca himself the Dark Lord of the Sith.

He reached out with lightning grace encompassing her small throat within his iron like grip lifting her from the ground. His animal attack accompanied with a fierce growl of hatred that boiled from his ver stomach....

But that would have resulted in his mission failing, and Huca was grateful that the Ancients were ever able to read the Vorkonis mind.

"Forgive me for my hasty word's...I too have many memories that still haunt me to this day."

She looked up at him, and he saw an unusual glimmer in the Ancients eyes, could it have been hope? A foolish and misleading trait uncommon among his kind, but yet his grim muzzle softened, and Huca replied,

"It will be difficult for us all to ignore our pasts. Though I believe it necessary for us to do so or both our kind will perish."

[Pandora Damaris]

Pandora studied the Lupine for what seemed long moment's, then loosened her grip on the ebony Sith dagger at her side in it's concealed scabbard, standing somewhat sideways to the behemoth creature. She could sense his anger that was held in check, the underlining resentment that was ingrained within the mind ran deep with them both...However, Pandora was now willing to negotiate with the Lupine, the messenger was obviously carrying information that was critical to both clan's and as an Ancient Guardian unto the Queen Mother, matter's were pressed that need resolution...Protection from a donating threat was something that Pandora could not over look now...She had little choice then to listen now...There was to much at stake not to.

"I see you point outlander, Indeed you speak with word's of wisdom...Come, let as discuss this over some wine my friend..." Pandora word's were low as she turned and continued down the darkened hallway towards the sitting parlor.

As the two entered the vast sitting chamber, Pandora offered the Lupine a chalice of wine as she sat directly across from him. After sipping her own wine she locked eye's with HuCa once more.

"Tell me of this looming cloud that now hang's over our two clan's Lupine...Perhaps the solution to this problem we seek is under our very nose's as we speak." A wicked smile slowly inched it's way across the Ancient's ruby lip's as she took another sip of the crimson liquid.

[Darth HuCa]

HuCa removed his cloak, revealing to the Ancient one to what she had already sumised, his balck silver fur covered his enitre body. Trinkets of forgotten languages tied amongst the furrs, and a heavy leather belt at his waist securing his light staff.

He sat with his hostess meeting her inquisitve gaze once again. "It started with the human scout ship from Sluis Van." HuCa paused, as if trying to recall as much detail as he could, "We killed the tres-passers but found something we did not expect onboard their craft."

His eyes gave away, something ominous, but not enough for the Ancient one to know what he was going to say next. "Kindred, three of them. Dead, for the second time. Their bodies plugged with wires. As if they were lab rats or something.

"Then they came back. Seven scout ships like the one we captured and killed the crew. And two capital ships. They took several of my own kin. From one of the smaller settlements on the southern hemisphere of Chandrilla.

"We have downloaded information on the experiments from the scout ship, and have put the information in this holocron. The lead scientist is named Toreel Vintin, I believe you may have heard of him?"

Huca had suddently turned the whole dilema into something more horrid that could have possibly be, with just the mention of one name...

[Pandora Damaris]

Pandora paused at the name when HuCa mentioned it. Her lethal green eye's narrow a bit at the Lupine as she recalled what little she knew of the scientist.

" Ah yes,...Toreel Vintin. I have heard that name before. A genetic engineer I believe. But what is his roll in all of this Lupine?" Pandora cocked her head slightly to one side before taking another sip of her blood meed.

[Darth HuCa]

"He contracted you Vampyre blood several cycles ago Ancient one. I would have thought you kept closer eyes on your own kind." Huca's words were as equally sharp on either edge. "We have yet to discover the full operation that he has begun, but I can devulge that he has the location of the Shrine in his databanks." He watched the Ancient one recoild at his words, "Though I do not belive he knows what lies at the location he has."

[Pandora Damaris]

Pandora's patet form almost froze at HuCa insinuation and the revelation of the knowledge of the Shrine's whereabouts'...A simmering glow seemed to admit from behind the Ancient's eye's as she narrowed them at Lupine.

"This is preposterous! ...You expect me to believe this...this rubbish...A lone man that posses the DNA of our kind in some kind of unknown data base!" Snapped the woman in black as a low throaty growl pursued the last of her word's. Pandora sat the wine chalice down on a small side table near her chair then continued in a firm even tone.

"And furthermore outlander, this place has not seen the like's of any explorers nor any await team's since Palpatine ordered a mining colony installation on upper hemisphere years ago!" Pandora finished in a huff, her emerald eye's glittered in the light of the room as the anger in them rekindled.

[Darth HuCa]

The wolfen sat still for a moment, understanding that the Vampyre were truly ignorant, decodant, and stupborn. He blinked his yellow canine eyes clear and leant forward, resting his large furred elbows on his massive thinghs.

His instinct would have said something like, "I have travelled here to supply the information given, do with it as you wish ancient one for I care not of your kind. I only seek a way of saving my own." But the diplomat inside of HuCa restrained the urge to beltch that sentance.

Instead he met the Ancients stare, the annoyed and bewildered one, a strange combination for an all knowing entity... "As I have already stated, the location of the shrine is on the database, but the identity is still unknown, only by cross referencing our own databases was I able to find out the true identity of the data log entry."

HuCa stood upright, shadowing the Ancient one in the dim candle lit room, "The name I have supplied if of a Vampyre just like yourself, I know not his motives or his knowledge only that by visiting the sites on his database he will come here, and shortly after that to my homeworld. If you wish not to help then that is to you, you will see that I am not bluffing. And the Vorconis do not lie."

[Pandora Damaris]

Pandora retrieved her wine chalice and then stood. Walking over to a book shelf she pondered the outlanders word's. She could feel HuCa's golden eye's following her as she turned her back to him momentarily. He had no reason to lie, his risk in coming to the Shrine in the first place was noted as such.

Pandora let her mind drift to the dark-side, weaving tendril's snaked through time and space until there was a vision of a single white room. Within this sterile laboratory environment, Pandora made out a lone figure that sat before a complex computer terminal. Volume's of book's and other literary data, holo-cron's and scientific equipment made up what looked to be a research facility nonetheless.

As Pandora's mind controlled the closing distance between her "sighted vision" to were the man sat, she could see it was the man that HuCa spoke of...Toreel Vintin! A knowledge that confirmed her worst fear's about what the Lupine had mentioned earlier then became evident at that precise moment as her eternal eye's fell on a document heading to the right of Toreel Vintin.

~DNA Research and Development~ {*Confidential-Classified Material}

Subject classification: Vampiric/Lancenthropy DNA and genetic strand infusion...

Pandora's mind went blank as the image's disappeared for her mind's eye. The heading to the top secret document's told her enough. Slowly she turned to HuCa as her emerald eye's took on an unholy glow.

"No,...Vorconis do not lie!" Pandora's word's were low as she sipped her wine, tuning to face HuCa once more.

"We will aid you Lupine...Whatever it take's...I want this man dead!"

[Darth HuCa]

HuCa nodded approovement to the Ancients wisdom. "I have three ships on the broken moon of Callus. It is but two days away, I thought it wise to keep the location of the Shrine a secret until the events of our meeting unfolded." HuCa paused, seemingly choosing words from an infinate display before continuing, "We will need to act fast from here on in, or we will faulter."