Welcome to Gaia! ::

((Actually, force choke is not the real skill. The actual skill is Force Grip, but due to the numbers of aliens which resemble human anatomy, and the sith's constant practice, its basically a choke. Though it can be used to constrain any part of the body, however, the neck is often the easiest to target, not to mention, the easiest to focus on. Though things such as the heart and other vital organs actually border on other skills, of which, will not be used.))

Neb managed to disarm the trap.... At least he thought so. Instead, he managed to get to phase two.

"Hrrmm.." He moaned, and continued working.

~~~~

Despite the time it took, Neb finally reached the last barrier of the trap. Six hours of laborious work allowed him to not only pass a logic test, but a purity and an intelligence test. Luckily, there was not a patience test, mostly because by this time, Neb would have been most irritated.

"At last, through all that hard work, I can recieve my just punishment," He noted, reaching for the shard. As he touched the jewel, a small hologram popped up in front of his hand, one in the shape of Qui-gon.

"Be forewarned, this shard is just one piece of many of an elusive artifact, of which, is very dangerous. If you believe that this is a reward for your work, do not be foolish. It is a cursed punishment, one which only a few should bear."

With that, the hologram flickered out. Neb shrugged, as he fit the piece into the nearly completed sphere.

"Qui-gon, I already know its a foolish punishment. I'm trying to destroy it, not use it."

With that, Neb headed back out into the darkening night, and out of the cavern.

We could simply end here, but that would leave you in a state of mind that would think that Neb was fully safe. This is not the case, however, as he bumped into a group of droids numbering around 175 strong, or so.

"Aww man," Neb sighed, as he began to slink away. Much to his utter bad luck, a twig snapped, alerting the entire batallion.

~~~~~

Nearly fifteen minutes later, Neb stood victorious, though he knew that this many droids out here meant only one thing: Imperius. Even with the darkness to defend against the droids, such an advantage would not be able to hide him against the Federation leader.

The shuttle landed near the praxeum, as Mordranna, Tionne and Jax accompained Rin and the medicla crew to a room put aside for their use.
"Thank you once again," Tionne said to Mordranna in her usual mild musical tone. "I don't think I could have done it without you,"
"I was glad to help out," Mordranna stated. "Plus, that confrontation with the ancient droid in the ruins taught me something, as well," she added with a cheery smile.
"Very well, then," Tionne said. "I shall submit a report to Master Skywalker, if nothing else is needed. In the meantime, you're free to stay among us and do what suits your fancy."
"Thank you," Mordranna said. With that, she went to a room not in use, and contacted the Hope Eagle to submit her own report to Kantz.

(( Side quest ended - back to regularly scheduled meditating and other business! whee ))

"Send an ArchAngel to find out. Continue your search," Imperius said as he closed the comline.

He then switched over to an officer onboard the Red Tempest.

"Send me a dropship," he ordered.

"Negative," came the reply. "The Tempest has lost all power...we suspect creepers," the officer added.

Imperius shuddered. Creepers were deadly little creatures, who ate through electrical wires. Within a day, two creepers could have the main power reserves offline in a Star Destroyer.

Imperius commed another ship, boarded a transport and made his way to the Tempest.

"Not really much else to say here, boss," Kantz said. "Any standing orders?"
"None I can think of, save for keeping up the drills and such," Mordranna told him.
"Very well then. How's the kid?" Kantz inquired.
"It seems her condition is stable. More shaken up than anything. I'll keep you posted. That being said, I'd like to keep the med techs here for the night,"
"You got it, general."
"Thank you," Mordranna replied. "And, of course, comm me if anything comes up,"

With her business with Kantz concluded, Mordranna drew out her lightsaber and activated it. She then started up a pair of remotes.

"There's a bounty hunter outside. Specifically one that I met at Nal Hutta. I don't think he saw us, but to play it safe, Rak, you and Blue go to that credit office and get our money. then take it to the guy who'll fix the Phoenix and have him get his a** to work. Im going to see what that Hunter is up to."

Angel lead her small army forward, still no luck with finding anyhting remotely unsual since the cave before. < Statement: I seem to have a malfunction-fuction-tion-tion-tion. > a droid went, shortly before sparks flew from its torso and it collapsed. " What happened? " Angel asked. " It appears we overlooked that droid's damage. It must've taken a few shots to its systems that took a while to effect it.. " an Arch Angel said. After a brief break to repair the droid, and look over all the others to make sure no more would have a sudden malfunction, an Arch Angel spotted something in the distance. " Lady Valycia, I see something. It looks like... someone being held up by 2 others. I can't tell from here, but it looks like they're our boys. " " Hmm... Let's go see then. " Angel said, though she could feel through the Force it was Neb. " Dammit Neb, why did I have to find you? I just hope I can avoid fighting you without making these guys question my authority... " she thought, as they approached.

" Enough! " Angel barked at the Arch Angel. " You left Mon Calamari with only a severed hand, he could've easily taken your life. Besides, the Dark Lord wants him for himself, so nobody else is to lay a hand on him, not while he isn't an immediate threat. " " Surely you're not saying to show mercy to this worhtle- " " Are you telling me you wish to deny the Dark Lord an appropiate challenge to his own skills by bringing him a worthy opponent in less than perfect condition? He'd kill you on the spot. Is that what you want? " " No ma'am. Forgive me. " " Good. Now then, escort him to the Dark Lord. I'm sure he's eager to finish their business with each other. And hold onto this. Give it back to him ONLY when he and the Dark Lord are to be left alone to finish what they started, then go about your duties as normal. The rest of us, we continue our search. " Angel said, giving the saber to one of the Arch Angels. She then looked at Neb. " Don't try anything funny either, or you will be killed on the spot. " She was emitting a slight light side aura, so Neb would sense through the Force that she was only acting stern to fool her troops, because she had no ill will towards Neb. In an attempt to communicate to him alone, she tried to enter his mind, just enough that she hoped he could hear her voice. " Sorry about this Neb, but I have no choice. "

(( That does bring up the question: Can those strong in the Force do that as a sort of telepathy? ))