The Demon Moon Revisited

[Lilaena De'Ville]

De'Ville made her way through the spaceport to their private shuttle bay, her apprentice at her heels. Silus had agreed to meet her, whether he would bring his apprentice or not was up to him.

She and Xilarian had both already been to the moon, after the victory over Amanoa, High King Giran's sister. But there was something up there she thought she could use, and so she was heading to the Demon Moon once again.

Naj Arilov was looking nervous, but then he always looked slightly nervous. It was possibly because his face was so thin and pinched in the first place. She didn't bothger looking back at the Chiss, but instead punched in her security clearance code to the shuttle bay and waited for the doors to slide open.

[Ishan Shade]

He had been following the pair since they first stepped foot into the spaceport. The gleaming rows of ships and transports dotted most of the area, but Ishan had not let his former associate go unnoticed. The woman he did not recognize, but in seeing her it sparked a dribble of a flame. He had not had a good woman in quite sometime, none that could measure up to his standards anyway. Falleen had certain needs, and Iziz had deprived him of quite a few for several weeks.

The spaceport had been one of Ishan’s refuges since his last encounter with Naj and Silus. The Falleen were not ones to rush into things, but Ishan was starting to lose patience with Iziz. He had been here nearly two weeks, and scrutiny of Iziz had brought up nothing more than the usual hectic city populace.

He took up behind their pace after loitering with some casual Bothans, most of which were standing in line for the next transport. He stayed a mere thirty meters behind, matching their step.

I wonder what Naj is up to now.

[Silus Xilarian]

Silus was running a bit late to meet up with Lilaena and Naj, mainly due to a few things he had to take care of that day. Daria had been summoned and told to meet him at the main spaceport, but the details he'd been given were sketchy, being as how he was on the move.

As Lilaena punched in the last of the security code, Silus stepped up behind them, making no sound and acting as if he'd been there the whole time.

[Daria Nytherciria]

You aren’t fooling anyone, Daria thought as she arrived, barely moments after Silus. Adjusting the clasp on the collar of her cloak, she fell in step with her Master as the party waited for the door to rise. The purpose of their journey had not been explained to her, and thus she had come prepared for anything, stilettos sheathed in her boots and a number of her favorite poisonous substances in a pouch on her waste. Looking up to Xilarian, she said in a quiet voice: “I’m looking forward to this.”

[Lilaena De'Ville]

Lilaena turned to look at the new arrivals, and caught sight of the Falleen lurking a few metres away. She let her eyes fix on Silus, and she gave him a playful open-handed slap to the stomach. "Where did you come from?" Her tone was light, but her eyes strayed back to where the Falleen had been.

"I think we have a visitor," she said, nodding in Ishan's direction. She'd never met the man, but had heard about him from Naj and Silus on different occasions. Lilaena looked at Naj, and not meaning anything by it added, "Why don't you invite your friend to join us, Arilov. It would do him some good to see why we're really here."

[Naj Arilov]

Naj nodded his head slowly and made his way over to where Ishan was standing.

"We're about to venture to Dxun, if you would like to join us."

Naj said, almost hinting for Ishan to come with them.

[Ishan Shade]

"Dxun?" Ishan echoed Naj.

He looked up ahead at the others waiting by the bay doors. He recongized Silus, but the others were unfamiliar.

"Lead the way..."

[Silus Xilarian]

"Just remember to stay close to me. Dxun makes the wilds look like a playground."

As Naj returned with Ishan, Silus stepped past the rest of the group and into the shuttle. Instead of going back to the passenger area, he made his way to the cockpit, where the pilot waited patiently.

"How long is the flight to the Moon?" Silus asked.

"About thirty minutes Sir." The pilot replied.

"Think you can make it about an hour, I'd like a little bit of time to prepare before we get there."

"Certainly Sir." the pilot replied.

With that little matter out of the way, Silus made his way back to the passenger area, as the others were just then entering. Silus made his way to the back and slid down in a seat, making himself comfortable.

[Lilaena De'Ville]

Lilaena let Naj sit wherever he wanted, and made herself comfortable while Silus walked out of the cockpit. She winked at him as he passed, and buckled herself in for take-off.

[Daria Nytherciria]

Daria was putting on her best game face, despite her innate dislike for space travel. She fastened herself in, as tightly as she could manage and continued to shift about in her seat for some time, just to make sure that the belt would do its job of holding her in place. Silently assuring herself that she would be off the flying deathtrap soon, she closed her eyes and tried to think calming thoughts.

[Lilaena De'Ville]

Once the shuttle landed, De'Ville unbuckled, and frowned at Silus. It had taken far too long for them to reach the moon, and she knew he was responsible. Too late for yelling at him, however, once they had touched the surface of Dxun their clock began ticking.

She turned to the pilot. "Stay with the ship, and if anything approaches that isn't us, shoot it. We don't want any hull damage that will make leaving the atmo more difficult." The man nodded, a faint sheen of sweat on his brow the only indication of his nervousness.

De'Ville turned to her apprentice, and nodded towards the ramp that Silus and Daria were getting ready to walk down. "Come, Arilov, this will be a true test of your mettle." Master and apprentice exited the shuttle and Naj stepped on Dxun for the first time.

[Silus Xilarian]

So his plan to get Lilaena in on the mile high club had failed, and in fact, backfired. They were in front of apprentices at the moment, so she couldnt rightly yell at him, so it was all good for the most part on Silus' end.

As everyone was exiting the shuttle, Silus went to the back for a moment to get a few things. If he was gonna be stuck on this deathtrap, he at least wanted a fighting chance. On his way out, Lilaena was giving her blue apprentice a bit of a pep talk. Silus really disliked Naj. It was as if the little blue bastard was always plotting something, but Silus could never place just what.

Hopefully, they would be splitting up, and Lilaena would get Naj away from his sight. If not, maybe something would eat him.

[Naj Arilov]

"You will not be disappointed in my performance master." Naj wasn't even sure how true his statement was, but it would keep De'Ville happy for now. She seemed to think that because she had trained longer in the force, that she should be subject to more respect than anyone else. The chiss never understood how Xilarian tolerated her. Of course, Naj also didnt understand how anyone could tolerate Xilarian, an overconfident, overbearing bastard. Maybe the two were meant for each other. Maybe the both of them would get eaten together.

[Lilaena De'Ville]

Lilaena looked at Silus as he passed her. "I am taking Arilov to the tomb. Coming with, or just -" A horrendous bestial scream echoed through the small valley they'd landed in, and Lilaena looked up to the sky. She saw nothing.

All the same... "We should get moving." Without waiting to baby Naj along, De'Ville began hiking away from the shuttle.

[Silus Xilarian]

"I guess Ishan wants to wait in the shuttle?"

Lilaena was right. They did need to get moving. If there was something waiting to each them, at least it would have to sneak up on them, in the event that they were moving. Standing in one spot was inviting an ambush.

"Me and Daria are gonna explore to the South a bit. Keep your comlink on, we'll let you know if we find anything. Daria, lets go"

Without waiting, Silus began walking south.

[Naj Arilov]

Before they started moving, a scream echoed around them, sending a slight shiver up Naj's spine. It wasnt the fact that it had scared him. Only a fool would come here without at least a small bit of fear. He was more or less excited about the chance to see animals that he had barely even read about, let alone seen.

Chances were, De'Ville wasnt intent on trying to bring back any pets, though the cargo hold in the shuttle they were traveling in could hold at least one fairly sized animal, in the event they could incapacitate one of the creatures or even make it come quietly.

As De'Ville started on her way, Naj allowed himself a quick jog to catch back up to her. The scream they had just heard sounded as if it were a territorial warning as predators tend to hunt much much more quietly. That was all the more reason to catch up to De'Ville. If something didn't like them being where they were, it would be a better idea to not be there. Also, the further Naj trailed behind, the better his chances of ending up on a creatures menu, since most predators usually went for the ones trailing farthest behind.

[Lilaena De'Ville]

De'Ville and Naj were headed southeast away from the landing site, navigating a pile of sharp rocks that towered over they shuttle. She told Naj, "Keep an eye on the sky, and I will watch our path. There is not any other way through this," she gestured at the 'trail' they were taking through the rocks, "but we must be wary. There are land creatures here like you have never seen, but the flying beasts would be familiar."

The Dark Jedi picked her way through the rocks, an edge of her cloak catching on one and tearing easily, the fabric fluttering loosely as she hiked. With a frown of displeasure, De'Ville concentrated momentarily, and as she continued on her way Naj noticed that her cloak avoided all further contact with the rocks.

They were sharp enough in spots to draw blood, if one was not careful.

[Naj Arilov]

Her apprentice found it funny that, despite the dangers the Demon Moon presented, De'Ville made sure to preserve her clothing. He could almost picture a large plucking her from the trail, with her frantically trying to preserve her robes the entire time.

Naj pushed the thought to the back of his mind however. For now, he heeded her advice, and kept his attention toward the skies, which was a bit of a chore, considering he was also trying to keep from stumbling onto a sharper part of the terrain.

[Lilaena De'Ville]

She felt a little nervous, but she pushed down the feeling as she hiked up the trail. There were indeed land creatures like Arilov had never seen, and probably ones she'd never seen, either. She'd been to the moon once previously, but in the company of another Master of the Force, of possibly greater skill than her own. There had been no... mishaps then, but now...?

De'Ville pushed the uncomfortable feeling down into her heart, and squashed it with anger as an unfamiliar screech sounded up ahead. She did not pause in her trek up the hill, and actually hurried faster. Before more come.

They reached level ground, covered with a scrub brush with bright yellow flowers and wicked looking thorns. There were no beasts or creatures of any kind in sight. "Let's keep moving, Arilov. We have a ways to go yet." She began picking her way through the bushes, beelining for the tomb which was in the next valley.