Into the Hand of Darkness [JEDI]

[Miranda]

Spoiler: Writers

Vanity, Denzein, Samara, Pyronide, Xenomorph, Andreus Makaryk, Arm514ve, Trellheim, Miranda.

Light is the left hand of Darkness,
and Darkness the right hand of Light.
Two are one, life and death, lying
together like lovers in wake,
like hands joined together,
like the end and the way...​

In Shadows...

There was an ultimate and grievous trench of darkness that could be unearthed only in the abyssal recesses of night. And during the nights on Sharlissia, beyond the high-walls of the city, beyond the glowing and vibrant sovereign capital, the darkness of the wilderness was absolute. It was an eery and anomalous sight to see any sign of life beyond the polis after duskfall. Yet through the wraith-like looming of canopy and thicket the conflagrant light of bonfire made its way through the thick coniferous forest at the edges of the kingdom.
Some force even more forbidding and malevolent than the stygian forest itself crept over the wilderness. A nightmarish and horrific scene was unfolding in the backwoods beyond the light, and stirring from the distance there came the haunt-sound of chanting. Gods themselves would have quaked in fear at entering such unholy and demonic ground from where the chilling dirge originated. A frigid clearing seemed to violently erupt from the depths of the wilds.

A cloud of dark cultists gathered at the core, collected in a perfect circle. A sea of torches illuminated their macabre undertakings in a ghostly light that splayed and bled over their crude and vulgar robes. Hooded figures committed to some depraved and ghastly rituals, their chanting droned like a heavy sepulchral thunder, and from its mass came forth a single vacant-eyed lazarus who was being led before the thrumming affray. The vagrant seemed to be entranced by some unorthodox delirium, numb and oblivious and intoxicated by the ritual threnody. The man fell to his knees in the centre of the ominous gathering.

The elegiac chant ceased as their leader, face concealed by a gruesome and hellish mask, emerged and began to recite a grim and poisonous rite in some unnatural, demonic tongue. A huge and heavily muscled figure stepped up to the dais, muted by a sinister leather-mask, stitched at the mouth and slit thin where eyes should be. The colossal man stood over the victim like a menacing beast and grabbed a long metallic spike from the altar. In his other hand emerged a monstrous obsidian hammer which he grasped with dark rage. There was utter silence. And with one rapid stroke the giant lifted the hammer into the night sky and surged the great hateful nail into the mendicant's chest with a bloodthirsty potency. The barb ripped through skin, tore flesh and rended bone as it exploded with gushing blood through chest cavity and muscle and sinew.
The victim remained absolutely silent throughout the procession. The chanting returned and countless dark hooded figures moved to the altar in succession, clutching great hammers and spikes in their hands they repeated the ritual, driving massive nail after massive nail into the victim. Thick, hot sanguinous liquid splashed across robes and faces as the slaughter stained the forbidding ground in a deep crimson flood.
And, through the deepest, most consuming pitch of night, a single horrific blood-curdling scream cleaved through the chill air.
Then silence.

Elsewhere...

The grand vista of Nova Esperium, capital city of Sharlissia, rambled out to the edges of some invisible periphery where a great iron-coloured wall harnessed civilization in a protective shell. It was a sprawling metropolis, with glimmering towers that jutted up into the stratosphere like great blackened fingers, skyrails shooting off from one citadel to the next, and ships as enormous as fortresses coming in to land on the surface. The city was made up of some cross-bred architecture of outlandish nature, a syncresis of industrialism and gaudy domestic ostentation where the wealthy denizens dwelled at lofty heights, and below in the peeling duracrete levels shantytowns emerged and clambered over markets and plazas and bustling docklands. The different forms segued into each other seemingly at random, hundreds of towers rising from a flat zone, an urban scrubland where wild flowers and thick-stemmed plants pushed through plains of permacrete and tar. For thousands of years the city had been governed by a monarch and their parliament who kept a vigil watch and ruled over a vast economy of workers and artists, spies and soldiers, politicians, lawmakers and merchants.

Autumn had arrived on the planet, and with it the purple-striped and white-dotted lilies of the Queen's crest. Sorran Ven-Olar carried a bouquet of them, arranged into a semi-circular wreath, and placed them on the table as he arrived back to his guest quarters within the palace.
The Queen Thecla Abaia III had given them to him as a courteous and time-honoured custom of her people. The Jedi Knight had just returned from his conference with her to discuss the state of her sovereign world and its place within the Galactic Federation of Free Alliances. A small envoy of Jedi had been sent to Sharlissia to pledge the Order's mandate to uphold peace and justice throughout the galaxy and open up negotiations for a possible Jedi presence within Nova Esperium.
The proceedings had gone rather well but the Queen had requested some time to deliberate the matter and take counsel from her parliament.
And so, Sorran found himself spending the idle hours back at the apartment that had been reserved for the Jedi visitors, and looked out across the cityscape that spread before his eyes like a great behemoth. He wondered how many thousands of years it had taken for the polis to reach such amassed and sprawling form. Certainly, even Coruscant had once had origins such as this.
In a moment of introspection he wondered where the others had wandered off to after the meeting, they would be returning soon, surely. There was much to discuss in any case and he required his own counsel on the matters at hand.
While he waited he simply watched as the low and levant sun sauntered into late afternoon across the sky, completely unaware that this world had many hidden dangers and poisonous undercurrents, emanating beyond the great wall. It would only be a matter of time before the crouching serpent raised its threatening head and struck...

 

[Arm514ve]

Kelly Stepped out of a small shop over looking the city scape marveling in the beauty of the city, it truly was a marvelous feat of engineering. A cool breeze past through and Kelly shifted her coat some as she made her way back to the apartment the Jedi were given for there stay. She was a little honored to be chosen to accompany the entourage while her master was away at a summit about force powers at the temple. When she arrived at the apartments she knocked on the door before entering. “I’m back Knight Ven-Olar.” She said closing the door behind her.”

 

[Andreus Makaryk]

Politics.

Andreus loathed the word. For all of his life, he had ignored the vagaries of politicians, more than content to live his own life free of their interference. His opinion of the Alliance had been shaped by numerous corruption scandals over the last decade; his opinion of the Empire shaped by some vague historical knowledge that it stuck its nose into everything, thus affording its subjects absolutely no expectation of privacy, and his opinion of the Sith shaped by the fact--one that he had experienced firsthand--that they just mindlessly killed for mindlessly merry mayhem.

So of course, it followed that Sorran Ven-Olar, instructor of Andreus' bladework class, had insisted that Andreus pilot him, as well as some delegation or another, out here to Nova Esperium. Vehemently. The most cynical of Jedi Padawans had absolutely no idea what dispute he had been dragged out here to resolve, but he was about to be forced to care. Otherwise, he knew he could look forward to another "dueling session" with, or rather against, Sorran, much like the one Sorran had dragged him out of the flight deck for when the ship was in hyperspace and neither had much better to do. Only next time, Sorran wouldn't be as forgiving. Especially if Andreus managed to somehow kriff up the mission.

He figured it was best to lie low and observe. He might learn something. He figured he was here to fly the delegation in and out, for that was pretty much the only use he could think of for one so inexperienced at both diplomacy and combat, but he just knew that Sorran had other ideas.

However, Sorran was not the only one who had other ideas...

 

[Brand]

"THE DRAGON GOD IS APPEASED," screamed Urvon, his hands lifted skywards as flecks of blood spattered onto his steel helmet. His heavy, deep black cloak flowed eerily behind him as the wind picked up, a frozen gust raining over the assembled crowd.

The gathered men and women began to disperse, turning away to leave. The massive man who stood in the center, the recent killer of the civilian, drew away his large hammer, wiping away the blood on the grass. Lord Urvon, Head Disciple of the Dragon God Angarak, motioned for the giant to follow him.

"That was splendid, Toth," he murmured. Toth nodded, falling into step beside the masked fanatic.

"It was my pleasure," intoned Toth. His deep voice was powerful and rumbled with supremacy. His prowess in combat was unmatched in the Hidden Hand, a formidable force on his own, and it was not lightly that the rank of Executor had been bestowed upon him.

"How goes the planning?"

"I have met with Nahaz, my lord. The target will be dispensed of immediately."

Urvon nodded, taking the news in stride. The assassinations conducted by the Hand were highly precise and calculated, and as their de facto leader Urvon would not tolerate any mistakes from his followers. The cruel, twisted blade that dangled at his belt was not for show, after all, and he had made it his policy to deal with mistakes swiftly and personally.

The two ducked into a deep forest, picking their way through the thick undergrowth. Urvon's light metal armor clinked as he walked, his cape flourishing out behind him. The two pushed on through the trees, finally coming upon a massive hollowed out stump. Both entered one at a time, descending down the dirt path that was cleared away beneath the ground.

Underneath was housed the main hierarchy of the Hidden Hand, the priests of Angarak and the Disciples of Torak, those most loyal to Urvon's cause.

But most importantly housed in the depths was the end of Sharlissia, coupled with the will to fight and the power to cripple democracy.

 

[Denzein]

Not for Lecchamemnon the simpering charms of royalty. Since before he was even a Jedi at all he had regarded those who held office because of bloodline alone as unworthy leaders at best. It was a barbaric, feudal concept: The "nobles" leading the "commoners" despite the fact that the greatest of leaders are often spawned from the pits of poverty and oppression. It galled him that the system was so popular amongst the many governments of the galaxy, although he of course understood the appeal. A slum dog would never understand royalty, he supposed...

And yet he had taken on Matthias as his padawan. A spoilt Aridian princeling turned Jedi by the necessity of strife, Lecchamemnon privately wondered even now at his own decision to train the boy. Had it been out of cold hearted curiosity? Had he simply wanted to discover how the other half became Jedi also or was it something else, something less cruel? Had he taken Matthias out of pity? There were obvious parallels between their two stories, even if the backgrounds were opposite poles. Perhaps he simply hadn't wanted to watch what could have happened to himself happen to another?

Meditation would yield the answer. It always did.

He and Matthias had been the last Jedi to arrive on planet, not arriving with the delegation thanks to the Lore Master's pressing other duties. They had come via Sable, his own personal ship. They had been directed by an official (oblivious to Lecchamemnon's rank as so often was the way) to the apartment that was catering for the other Jedi, and had arrived shortly after Knight Ven-Olar had left to do the Oder's work with the sovereignty. In the time between the Knight's return and their arrival the Lore-Master had been ensuring that his padawan had learned to control his natural empathy for others. It was a curious family trait, but it drew upon the force like anything else. They had worked together to bend it to Matthias' will, he would have it completely mastered before long.

It was not the politics that had brought Lecchamemnon and his student here, but the issue of the Jedi Mandate. They were here primarily to ensure Sharlissia was free from dangerous anti-governmental presence, free of dark side taint and free of the predations of the Empire. They had waited for Ven-Olar to return to discuss matters with him before beginning their investigation, so as to not step on any diplomatic toes. So far they had continued their waiting until the entire delegation was gathered, Lecchamemnon quietly teaching his student some of the subtleties of meditation. Matthias seemed an ideal candidate for some of the more esoteric force techniques that focussed around telepathy and empathy, farsight among them. Meditation was an essential technique to have mastered in order to fully unlock the power of the mind, and so Lecchamemnon had made a point of teaching it early.

He waited now on Ven-Olar, either to give a report of the meeting or to begin outlining any sensitive topics that had become apparent during his short stay on Sharlissia. Until he spoke, Lecchamemnon was content to remain at one with the force.

 

[Jake]

Yo, I'll tell you what I want, what I really really want,
So tell me what you want, what you really really want,
I'll tell you what I want, what I really really want,
So tell me what you want, what you really really want,
I wanna, I wanna, I wanna, I wanna, I wanna really
really really wanna zigazig ha.

If you want my future forget my past,
If you wanna get with me better make it fast,
Now don't go wasting my precious time,
Get your act together we could be just fine

I'll tell you what I want, what I really really want,
So tell me what you want, what you really really want,
I wanna, I wanna, I wanna, I wanna, I wanna really
really really wanna zigazig ha.

If you wanna be my lover, you gotta get with my friends,
Make it last forever friendship never ends,
If you wanna be my lover, you have got to give,
Taking is too easy, but that's the way it is.

What do you think about that now you know how I feel,
Say you can handle my love are you for real,
I won't be hasty, I'll give you a try
If you really bug me then I'll say goodbye.

Yo I'll tell you what I want, what I really really want,
So tell me what you want, what you really really want,
I wanna, I wanna, I wanna, I wanna, I wanna really
really really wanna zigazig ha.

If you wanna be my lover, you gotta get with my friends,
Make it last forever friendship never ends,
If you wanna be my lover, you have got to give,
Taking is too easy, but that's the way it is.

So here's a story from A to Z, you wanna get with me
you gotta listen carefully,
We got Em in the place who likes it in your face,
we got G like MC who likes it on an
Easy V doesn't come for free, she's a real lady,
and as for me..ah you'll see,
Slam your body down and wind it all around
Slam your body down and wind it all around.

If you wanna be my lover, you gotta get with my friends,
Make it last forever friendship never ends,
If you wanna be my lover, you have got to give,
Taking is too easy, but that's the way it is.

If you wanna be my lover, you gotta, you gotta, you
gotta,
you gotta, you gotta, slam, slam, slam, slam
Slam your body down and wind it all around.
Slam your body down and wind it all around.
Slam your body down and wind it all around.
Slam your body down zigazig ah
If you wanna be my lover.

 

[Demiurge]

Faceless. Ambient. Colossal, yet at the same time, incorporeal. In the vast emptiness of space, seven figures stood up seven stars, and each of the colossi held out one of their hands. And in each of their extended hands, there were each seven suns, and worlds surrounding each of the seven suns.

"Seven stars of seven worlds, a world for a sun, a world for a star."

At that, the colossi figures began curling their hands into a gripping form, as if crushing the worlds within.

"One world, one sun. One star for destruction, and seven worlds of one star."

At that moment, the figures looked upward, as if something greater were watching over them, and their hands stopped. And the stars beneath their feet, the ones they appeared to be standing upon, began glowing brilliantly, and vibrant, shaking, like a turbulence was disturbing them.

"Seven worlds of one star, a sun for destruction, a world for death, and death for a world."

Aeslan's eyes burst open in a start, and the young man inhaled sharply, but quietly, as if he'd been holding his breath. The visions were always troubling or even apocalyptic, always more like nightmares than the clairvoyant dreams he and others would always hear the Jedi Seers speak of. At first, they scared him, he hated them, but it was something he'd come to learn to live with. The visions were always cryptic, so it wasn't as if he'd ever understood their meaning anyway.

The shuttle transport had began halting to a stop, as Aeslan felt the magnetic and repulsor inertia dampening fields slowly lose their effect. It was like feeling a hand on your chest, pushing against you, suddenly out of nowhere. It was either a premature operation of the system, a sign of weathered or faulty machinery, or the pilot had jumped the blaster and activated the fields too soon, before landing.

Sharlissia, a world with little recognition, even within the Outer Rim. Suffice to say, Aeslan knew next to nothing about it. It was a spiraling metropolis, as far as the eye could see, and as deep as well. The city was built upon the back of its historical cities, like buildings layered upon their ancestors. It also showed how aged the city really was. This city, Nova Esperium.

Aeslan had accompanied the Jedi Knight Sorran Ven-Olar, but took a separate shuttle. The more senior Jedi had to leave ahead to meet with the monarch of Sharlissia, a Queen, and frankly, Aeslan was fine with that, if not used to it. Having the Prime Envoy of the Jedi Council as a master does that. It wasn't as if Aeslan world have been that productive if he'd had tagged along in the beginning. If anything, he'd just be in the way.

The young Padawan kept walking to the arranged meeting place until he saw several other Jedi on the premisses. "Guess I'm in the right place, then," he said, smiling discretely.

 

[Miranda]

Sorran Ven-Olar was in an extremely deep introspection as the collective of Jedi for the envoy had assembled at the apartment. The vista of the cityscape in afterglow had awakened memories for the Jedi Knight, had captured in a swift glance of the architecture a reminiscence that he had once thought put to eternal rest. But it was always with him. Inescapable.
The death of his old mentor, Jedi Master Guram Kuu.

Alone in a war-tent on Riileb, feverish, drawn in upon himself, and with a heaviness like waking sleep upon him, he had heard a shout go up from the assembled dissidents: his Master's name - "Guram!" - then its echo from the allied lines, a hollow murmur like a rising wind.
Feeling hollow himself, as if his packed chest and limbs were without substance, he had got to his feet, and reeling a little, stepped outside to observe for himself what was under way.
Out there on the glittering plain, a figure dressed like him - in Jedi robes, and moving as he did but with more finesse, resplendent in his swiftness and holding aloft a studded lightsaber, was standing alone between the lines. When the Riileb antagonists, whom had fuelled the planet's civil war, a war that the Jedi had sought to assuage, when they had for a second time shouted his name, the figure turned in acknowledgement. His right arm jerked and hoisted aloft the flashing blade.
There was a rush, a great noise of raucous breath and clashing metal. Swords, blasters, heads, shoulders everywhere. "Master!" the young Sorran had shouted, but silently, his cry snuffed out in the far-off spaces of his skull by the clangorous ringing of battle. And at a sudden swing as from nowhere was struck from his head, and Master Guram Kuu open-mouthed with astonishment, stepped back a pace, then staggered and went crashing into the dust.

Sorran was seized quickly from his lamentable reverie as the other Jedi of the envoy had entered the broad apartment and the door had been closed in turn behind them. His awareness was brought back into the here and now, and he turned to face his colleagues, many of them Padawans. This diplomatic mission was to be a learning exercise in peacekeeping and politics, for which the Jedi need always be prepared.

"Ah...thank you all for coming. I'm afraid that I could not have handled this situation without all of you at my side. I have been in conference with the Queen and something most unsettling has been revealed."

The Jedi Knight moved to a table and poured himself some water, there seemed to be much on his mind.

"Initially, I was assigned to inspect Sharlissia and negotiate terms on which our sacred Order could establish a permanent presence here in Nova Esperium, as well as convey our protection of its citizens under Alliance law."

Sorran paused for a moment and cleared his throat.

"Unfortunately...something very dark has been seething under the radar of this world for quite some time. People have been reported missing every day for the last month, and the abductions have been increasing in number by the day. Some attempts have been made on government officials as well. The Queen feels that the local military is doing all it can to uncover the source of these crimes and put a stop to them, but it has grown exceedingly out-of-hand. She is concerned, to say the least. And so, she requests of us to investigate and pull out the roots of this tainted tree as best we can."

Sorran turned again and looked out of the window to the city. It would be difficult to find the nest of such concealed predators in such a hectic and scrambling place.

"Any questions? Thoughts? Now would be the time, we must commence this delicate assignment with utmost haste, and we need to take counsel from each other, we must be prepared."

 

[Symbiot Spider]

"Any questions? Thoughts? Now would be the time, we must commence this delicate assignment with utmost haste, and we need to take counsel from each other, we must be prepared."

Up until now Dartel Vega had been quite. He was always shy around new people. He was left in the apartment while his master, Sorran, went to council with the queen. The part that set Dartel off was when he returned he seemed to be in such deep thought he went straight into meditation without offering any words to him.

“Where was the last attack, maybe we should start there? Or any other sites that we know of… Somebody should know something about the attacks, right?”

He knew somebody would say something about the obvious answer, but Dartel felt that it was needed to get the conversation moving. He looked around the room and only recognized the Lore-Master, Lecchamemnon, who he had spoken to once before in the archives.

“I think that we should investigate the sites of attack one by one and see if anything comes up and move from there. What are your thoughts, Master?”

 

[Andreus Makaryk]

"Ah...thank you all for coming. I'm afraid that I could not have handled this situation without all of you at my side. I have been in conference with the Queen and something most unsettling has been revealed."

Andreus couldn't quite be sure what Sorran was talking about. About the only contribution he had made to the situation had been flying Sorran here in the first place--something that pretty much made him interchangeable with about a few billion sentients in the galaxy. The Jedi Knight was probably simply being polite...yeah, that was it. The padawan felt his presence was here only to observe; he could have easily been that glass of water that Sorran drank from, for all that mattered.

He didn't expect the manifestation of poly-ticks to suddenly grow vastly more serious. But it did. Sorran spent a moment describing the situation before soliciting ideas on how to handle it.

"What, I have to make myself useful now?"

The remark wasn't entirely snarky. Oh, sure, Andreus had phrased it as such. However, his mind began churning with serious consideration of the question asked, and the padawan didn't limit such consideration to the obvious 'I'll pilot the getaway ship.' Instead, Andreus gave some serious thought to how his training had gone so far. He had to consider his strengths and weaknesses.

He'd put a lot of effort into developing his senses. It was an area of study that most Jedi, even Knights and Masters, took for granted...the "core" competence of the Force studied early in training, and then left to mindlessly utilize and abuse repeatedly while actual study moved on to bigger things. But Andreus was different. He hadn't been content to learn of this in the standard feel-the-frogs-hop-around-the-lilypads format. Instead, he had learned how to sense the atmosphere around him by literally using the Force as an accelerometer, calculating changes in position, and using the Force-indicated data to replace the function of his instruments while piloting. That required a lot of precision. Andreus' idea of "meditation" literally consisted of flying up into atmosphere, shutting off his instruments, and navigating by a skill he had learned only a couple weeks ago. His "meditation" centered upon reducing the error inherent in such an approach, and it had refined and sharpened his senses greatly.

On the other hand...his combat skills remained absolutely abysmal. He was in Sorran's lightsaber combat class, so he was working on it. But one of the downsides of having a Jedi Councilor for a Master was that Councilors tended to be...busy. So his combat training so far had consisted mostly of whatever he could learn from Sorran's class, and because it had just started and Andreus had begun it knowing nothing, Sorran simply hadn't had the opportunity to teach much about combat yet. It looked like this mission might present opportunities for that, though Andreus knew he would have to stick close with someone who could help him defend himself at least.

"Hmm..." the tall padawan stroked his chin in thought.

"Extremely overdeveloped senses and extremely underdeveloped combat skills. What can we do with that? If I scout, I splatter because I cannot really defend myself yet...and granted, I would have to orient my senses to something other than inertial navigation anyway. But that kind of reorientation, at least, I believe I can do."

He thought some more. "I believe the Loremaster might be able to help with that, if he is willing." Andreus had also signed up for Lecchamemnon's class about the Sith, and certainly the Loremaster could help him with what to look for when attempting to ferret out the darkness, but none of that meant Andreus was yet comfortable attempting to pronounce the Loremaster's name.

At last, his thoughts arrived at Dartel's suggestion, and Andreus added a small bit to it. He found the other padawan's suggestion...a bit incomplete. No matter, though, it was a simple matter to expound upon it without stepping on any toes.

"Investigate, yes. But not in isolation. We should see if there are any patterns in the attacks that might allow us to predict where the next may be. Doing so might help narrow our search--the narrower the search, the more focused our senses can be."

 

[Arm514ve]

Kelly listened to the issue and it angered her a bit innocent people being abducted off the streets. "Master Ven-Olar I suggest if possible use me as bait to either lure out the attackers, or let me be captured and follow my presence back to where they may be holding all the captives its the fastest way to catch the culprits and save anyone who may still be alive. Besides I'm probably the only one here that has civilian cloths so my Jedi robes wont make me stick out, in a crowed while investigating, as well." she looked around the room before continuing.

"It also be easier to make me a target if it was evident if it seemed I was some honorable citizen looking into the matter some nosy off-world-er. It might make me a better target to make me disappear if there trying to stay in the shadows." she said confident.

 

[Denzein]

The Lore-Master had hesitated for just a moment before answering Vega, and in that space padawan Makaryk had his say. Lecchamemon valued the padawan's insight, he seemed to have an intelligent head on his shoulders. His ideas were sound, and although his personality left much to be desired the Lore-Master looked forward to the day that he saw Galak's apprentice take up the mantle of Jedi Knight. His kind were needed.

Cross' addition was also valuable. Lecchamemnon agreed that having a full strike team of Jedi investigating the disappearances had the potential to incite some serious retaliatory attacks by whoever was culpable for these crimes. On the other hand having some Jedi, say one or two, investigating would probably only have desirable effects upon the situation. The enemy would see them (provided they were as coordinated as the number of abductions suggested), and would either panic or move to remove said Jedi. If they panicked they would make a mistake that the Jedi not in broad daylight could follow back to the source, and if they attempted the killing the assassins could be captured and interrogated for information.

When he spoke his voice was quiet, as if rarely used.

"I am willing to broaden your senses, Makaryk. As to what I believe we should do, I look to padawan Cross. Her suggestion is good: We don't want the enemy to do anything rash when they discover we are investigating them. However it may not be an entirely bad thing for them to catch a whiff of a small number of Jedi, perhaps one or two. It would force their hand, and from that information we can decide upon how best to remove this problem."

 

[Jake]

Yo, I'll tell you what I want, what I really really want,
So tell me what you want, what you really really want,
I'll tell you what I want, what I really really want,
So tell me what you want, what you really really want,
I wanna, I wanna, I wanna, I wanna, I wanna really
really really wanna zigazig ha.

If you want my future forget my past,
If you wanna get with me better make it fast,
Now don't go wasting my precious time,
Get your act together we could be just fine

I'll tell you what I want, what I really really want,
So tell me what you want, what you really really want,
I wanna, I wanna, I wanna, I wanna, I wanna really
really really wanna zigazig ha.

If you wanna be my lover, you gotta get with my friends,
Make it last forever friendship never ends,
If you wanna be my lover, you have got to give,
Taking is too easy, but that's the way it is.

What do you think about that now you know how I feel,
Say you can handle my love are you for real,
I won't be hasty, I'll give you a try
If you really bug me then I'll say goodbye.

Yo I'll tell you what I want, what I really really want,
So tell me what you want, what you really really want,
I wanna, I wanna, I wanna, I wanna, I wanna really
really really wanna zigazig ha.

If you wanna be my lover, you gotta get with my friends,
Make it last forever friendship never ends,
If you wanna be my lover, you have got to give,
Taking is too easy, but that's the way it is.

So here's a story from A to Z, you wanna get with me
you gotta listen carefully,
We got Em in the place who likes it in your face,
we got G like MC who likes it on an
Easy V doesn't come for free, she's a real lady,
and as for me..ah you'll see,
Slam your body down and wind it all around
Slam your body down and wind it all around.

If you wanna be my lover, you gotta get with my friends,
Make it last forever friendship never ends,
If you wanna be my lover, you have got to give,
Taking is too easy, but that's the way it is.

If you wanna be my lover, you gotta, you gotta, you
gotta,
you gotta, you gotta, slam, slam, slam, slam
Slam your body down and wind it all around.
Slam your body down and wind it all around.
Slam your body down and wind it all around.
Slam your body down zigazig ah
If you wanna be my lover.

 

[Miranda]

((So sorry for the enormous wait, been soooo busy /cry))

From the lofty-story window of the Nova Esperium palace, the sprawling heart of the Sharlissian sovereignty, Sorran Ven-Olar watched the setting of the sun, a habit to which he had become obsessively devoted in these last few days of diplomacy. A faltering pink ray initiated the event, probing the plum-colored sky above the distant mountains; then a slice of crimson light, resembling the bloody fingernail of something attempting to climb down in a deep pit, found purchase in a rocky cleft. Finally the solar orb heaved downwards, appearing to settle between two spires, shuddering and bulging and listing like a balloon half-filled with water, its hue dimming to a wan magenta, and then it slept.
Sorran frowned for a moment, disconcerted, sensing that nightfall could only bring more crisis and peril to the millions of citizens below. He was a powerfully constructed man, his arms and chest and thighs strapped with muscle, yet he went with a light step and could move with startling agility. Though he presented a formidable image, he had a compassionate, forthright air that the less perceptive sometimes mistook for something completely displaced. But stoic as he often seemed to those who knew him, he could not remove himself from the overwhelming perturbation that this planet had unfolded before him. A fatal and menacing beast was slumbering beneath this city, people were missing, people were suffering.
He had, the entire time, been listening intently to the counsel of his Jedi brethren that had accompanied him on this envoy mission. The life of the Jedi was forever wrought with challenges where least expected, and this had turned out to be another one of those occasions.

"Sending in someone as bait must not be taken lightly. We know very little about this threat, or the extent of the danger that it may pose. It warms my heart that you have stepped forward Padawans, to take the arduous task of infiltration. I am not sure that I am willing to sacrifice anyone to this cause just yet. But as Jedi we are bound by sacrifice, time and time again."

The Jedi Knight furrowed his brow for a moment in deep thought.

"It is a plan, nevertheless. I would suggest that both Padawans Kelly and Matthias couple up, we will need to create some convincing disguises for you both. We shall summon the serpent from its hole through you two. Master Lecchamemnon should tail them close behind, keep an eye on them from a safe distance and follow, just in case the serpent decides to strike at you both. Dartel and Andreus will accompany me into the city to investigate and track any leads that might also give us insight and advantage over this hidden enemy."

Sorran paused for a moment and poured himself some refreshing water, he took a sip and it soothed his parched throat.

"My group will keep regular communications with Master Lecchamemnon and will rendezvous at his location at the time of abduction, should the bait prove successful. Then we shall move from there. Any objections or additions to this plan? I think we will have all angles covered this way, but it is not without risk."

 

[Denzein]

Lecchamemnon thought about their plan, aware of the risks Matthias and Kelly were undertaking. In actual fact the chance of them meeting the enemy in a moment that he was distracted and not monitoring them was minuscule, and yet if that did happen the risk of harm suddenly became great. He was not worried, Jedi faced much more perilous situations that having to trust in a councillor's skill.

They were ready, or at least they appeared to be so in the Lore-Master's experienced eyes. There was just one thing left to add.

"I will take Makaryk with me, he can pose as a bodyguard. If he wants his sensory horizon broadened it makes sense for him to accompany me, as to do it over any great distance would be unnecessarily taxing. As for disguises I have a number of outfits onboard my ship, as well as an armoury for those that do not have lightsabers or wish to conceal them. I will be returning there presently to change, I think padawans Cross Makaryk and Arastilian should come also unless there are weapons and clothes suitable for them here."

This was encouraging. They had not been mired in the Jedi love of debate for long, they could get to sorting out Sharlissia quickly as the situation demanded. The Lore-Master stood, a significant movement. It showed he was ready to begin, that he was satisfied enough with the preparation and wished to start the investigation. He looked about the group, giving them a chance to have their say before he departed.

 

[Andreus Makaryk]

(OOC: Sorry to take so long, all my RP energy has been consumed by another RP...)

Andreus did not mind, too much, going with either Sorran or Lecchamemnon, even if Sorran did like to beat him to paste and call it a sparring lesson from time to time. By now, he had recognized that he had to learn such things somehow. But the Loremaster didn't want to have the distraction of projecting his focus over untold kilometers, over distances he could not know beforehand. Andreus didn't blame him. So the Loremaster was right, about one thing at least.

However, the padawan, who barely knew how to hold a lightsaber, or for that matter use just about any weapon at all, found the notion of one of the most powerful Jedi currently alive referring to him as his bodyguard quite entertaining. Andreus hoped he had somehow misinterpreted the Loremaster's words, for otherwise a certain...recklessness? Contradiction? Whatever it was, whatever inconsistencies, would be revealed in his words. Nevertheless, that was quite an entertaining notion. The padawan had sufficient self-control to keep himself from bursting out in laughter, but the exact nature of just what Lecchamemnon meant by referring to someone so kriffing inexperienced at anything resembling combat needed to be clarified, and Andreus' lack of care for diplomacy (in spite of his master) meant he just didn't quite understand the various sensitivities of questioning a member of the Jedi Council. He possessed...a bit more courage than tact.

"I hope I am somehow misinterpreting what you said, Master, because I must confess I cannot help but be entertained at the notion that someone with practically no combat training or experience, such as myself, would be fit to act as a Jedi Councilor's bodyguard. It just seems so...illogical."