Welcome to Gaia! ::

**Ah. Now things make so much more sense... I really do feel bad about going off the handle. I could make excuses until I ran out of breath, but the fact remains that I did it, so there is nothing I can do except hope you can excuse my hostility.

Here, how about this. We'll start from the first offending post, which would be mine where I took over HK, and we'll continue anew. Sound good?**

Kiana was almost out of the cantina when her head began to spin. She stumbled slightly, but managed to regain her balance with only a few stares.

What...? Need to get back to... back to where? Why? she thought to herself. She pressed a hand to her head, willing the confusion to pass. More than likely, it was heat exhaustion--even though she'd finished off her canteen just before entering the cantina, and had refilled it and drank another one while she conversed with the bartender--but there was a slight chance it was... something else.

But what? Kiana wracked her mind for the answer as she wandered through the town. Mos Eisley was rather small, by her standards, but she got lost three times in the next fifteen minutes. Mostly because she'd convinced herself that her destination lay in the opposite direction, and had turned around and headed back the way she came. When she passed the door of the cantina the third time, she sat down in the shade of a nearby building. She closed her eyes, blocking out the noises of the street. What was she trying to remember? Why had it been so important to leave the cantina?

She wanted to go back in, but some unnamed instinct within her shrieked that it would be a bad idea. But... why?

Kiana's brow furrowed as she began to retrace her steps. She had landed in the cave... come to town... entered the cantina... talked with the barkeeper... then... the bartender... said something. Something dangerous. Not to her, but... a warning? Yes, a warning. She remembered the feeling of tension. Then... Light, it was on the tip of her thoughts! She took a deep breath, focusing all her being on remembering. She had found something important, and she was not going to let it slip by her on pure forgetfulness!

Each memory came grudgingly, as if they were credits pulled forcefully from a miser. She was... looking. At something. A bright, shiny thing of metal. It was attached to the bar. She hadn't wanted to look behind her... why? Danger. It had been dangerous to turn her head. Someone behind her... the metal thing, it reflected images... She'd seen... a group. Humanoids... or the vague approximation. It had been fine, and then... Black.

Not just the blankness of memory, the black image in her mind meant something. Especially to her. It had been black..... the clothing had been colored black. What kind of fool would wear black clothing in the desert? They would keel over in a minute... unless... unless something kept it cool. The Force. The blackness was a man dressed in black, and a Force user. Many men used the Force. The feeling of dread she distinctly remembered warned her that the Force-using man was not her ally. Whatever her mind had forgotten, her instincts would not be so easily fooled. They knew danger, and that man was dangerous.

Her ship! She would contact Coruscant from her ship, and they would be able to council her. Kiana heaved herself to her feet, clinging to the image of blackness, and the feelings attached to it as she began walking towards the cave.

The trek back was the longest Kiana had ever known. Every step was a battle to retain her memory, and quite frequently she forgot where she was, and where she was going. It was easy enough to get lost in the desert if you didn't know where you were going. Fortunately, Kiana's sense of vertigo only lasted a few moments, and she would begin towards the cave again. With every mile, however, the black shape became more indistinct; less important. Kiana was nothing if not stubborn, however, and kept herself moving and thinking. Her thoughts focused solely on the blackness, letting her feet guide her towards her ship.

When she spotted the dark hole in the distance, her heart leapt with joy. Despite her exhaustion--she'd been ignoring her canteen in order to keep ahold of her memories--she picked up her pace to a jog, then, as she got closer, to a run. She nearly threw herself into the shadow of the cave, stumbling heavily before she hit a wall, using it for support. "Dr... droid!" she said hoarsely, her throat parched. "Contact the Council! Or anyone--" she swallowed, her fingers plucking at her canteen, "--anyone who could relay a message to the Council!"

The droid whooped and beeped in response, and Kiana gratefully slaked a bit of her thirst, careful to only take small sips to restore the moisture in her mouth.

A bleeping noise alerted her to the droid's success. There was a brief internal struggle--she only barely remembered something black, but the word "man" became attached to the image, as well as vaguely remembered importance--but she made it up to her cockpit with her message. "Listen to me!" she snapped, not waiting for the greeting from the other end, "Contact Coruscant, specifically, the Jedi Council. Tell them Jedi Knight Kiana Rothan--remember that name! Kiana Rothan!--has located a..." Blankness.

"Come again, Mistress Kiana. What have you located?"

Kiana cursed inwardly, her thoughts eluding her. "Tell them... my mission! I have found something... important to the mission! Blackness.... something.... something black... a.... a man! A man in black robes! Tell them I have found a man in black robes on Tatooine! Tell them it's... it's important! Get this message to them as fast as possible, do you understand me?! Jedi Council, Jedi Knight Kiana Rothan has located a man in black who is important to my mission!" she shouted.

There was a frightening pause, pregnant with static. "Jedi Council, Jedi Knight Kiana Rothan has located a man in black, important to her mission. Copy that, Mistress Kiana. We will deliver the message with due haste," the man assured her. Kiana gave her thanks, signing off before slumping back into her seats. She finally gave up her memories, letting out a sigh of relief.

She sat there a while, resting. The mental battle had taken more out of her than she had cared to admit. The droid chirped curiously at her, but she ignored it. She lifted her canteen to her mouth, taking a satisfying gulp.

There is always something wrong in silence.

Her father had told her that. The astromech droid, which had been beeping and whirring incessantly, had finally shut up. Now, was it recharging or something, or had it just beeped itself broken?

Kiana cursed, capping her canteen and replacing it on her belt. She stood to check on the droid, when something small, round, and metallic clattered into the cockpit.

Green fumes spewed into the air. Kiana caught a breath of them before she forced herself to hold her breath. The cavern swam in front of her as she toppled over the side of the cockpit, trying to get away from the poison. She landed on her shoulder with a jarring thud, which drove the breath out of her. The poisonous cloud had yet to fall this low, so she risked taking a breath. Even so, she tasted the venomous pheromones on her tongue. The poison she had already inhaled was starting to take effect; at once, she felt as if she were on fire and swimming in a glacier pool. Shivering and breaking into a sweat, she rolled herself onto her stomach and began to crawl towards the front of the cave, coughing painfully.

Kiana groaned, a strange noise dragging her to consciousness. She tried to grumble a curse, but her mouth was as dry as dirt. Her voice sounded muffled, but that might just be the sleep. The noise--now that she was a little closer to being awake, she recognized it as that infernal droid's beeping--did not stop.

"Droid, if you don't keep quiet--" Kiana started, but stopped when she recalled her last memory. She had been in the cockpit, then the droid was quiet, then the gas bomb--!

Kiana bolted upright, her eyes flying open. She lay where she had fallen, and nothing seemed to have changed about her situation--except that there was a crumpled droid next to her, and she had an oxygen mask over her face. The Jedi tried to swallow, but without any moisture in her mouth, the deed was impossible. Her head pounded from the aftereffects of the poison, but at least she was alive.... for now. She clenched her eyes shut, concentrating, then gave a sigh of relief as her Healing skills took effect. The toxins were cleansed from her bloodstream, but that did not mean she was out of danger yet.

She pushed herself unsteadily to her feet, wavering only a moment before regaining composure. Kiana glanced at the fallen droid, considering. It had probably been the one to save her life... but, if so, what happened to the person trying to kill her? If the droid had fought him off, there would be some signs of struggle, but aside from some violently disturbed sand, nothing showed itself. No dropped weapons, no blood, and aside from some vicious dents on the droid, it appeared to be unharmed. Could the droid have tried to kill her?

Kiana shook her head. Why try to kill her, then save her? Unless it wasn't the droid that had saved her. Frowning, Kiana regarded the droid, then grunted, heading for her starfighter. Until she knew for certain either way, she wasn't going to harm or help the droid. Besides, there wasn't any room to take him with her, and now that her starfighter's position had been compromised, she needed to escape.

She awkwardly clambered into the cockpit, and as if the first chirp of the droid were a signal, her grumbling began. She took the used toxin bomb and chucked it out onto the cave floor, then sat regarding the seat. The poisons were undoubtedly still lingering, so she dare not take off her oxygen mask, even once the cockpit canopy had closed. Not until she could at least air it out.

Kiana glanced at the droid. "Can't you do anything?" she asked. The droid made a whirring sound, but with her limited knowledge of droid-speak, Kiana could not decide if it meant, "Sure, I'll get right on it!" or "Go get boned, Jedi." She decided to play it safe and keep the mask on. "Alright, then. A quick jump to someplace safe to get this thing checked out, then..... I don't know. I'll think of something," she said, but she wasn't sure if she was telling the droid or herself. She made a quick check to make sure her equipment was still in place, and assuming the contented noises the droid was making, her ship hadn't been sabotaged. "Alright, then. Let's get this over with," she sighed, buckling herself into the seat as the canopy hissed closed over her.

((Only a day has passed. Or two. All you need to do is do whatever you were doing, except a day or two later. There.))

Darth Drago felt the Jedi resume consious movement as he picked up the pace a bit. He was still one mile a way, so this didn't help much. He reckoned she had eleven minutes. Drago looked back at T3, who was treading with trouble through the sand. Then he turned to Visas, who gaited without trouble. Everyone else struggled to move through the sand, especially with the sun beating down on them.

((That's fine.))

Darth Drago sighed as the sun went down. If this Jedi is strong enough to stand up against my assassin droid, she must be strong enough to leave. He thought grimly. Drago looked to his left at his ship. The ship port is right there... if she wants to leave, we will be there. Lord Drago thought again. He turned to Atton, who was still talking to himself. "Atton, go to the ship and start it up. I have a feeling she may be trying to leave, or move at least." Drago said. "Oh man! I was just starting to have fun walking through the sand." Atton said sarcastically. He jogged away, overjoyed that he wouldn't have to trudge in the sand anymore. Drago turned back to the task at hand; finding the Jedi and her ship.

Back on Korriban, Tal Norech sat in his new robes awaiting his next instruction. He had forgotten his entire former life completely, with no chance of reform. His mouth felt like several cottonballs had been shoved inside, or a moisture evaporator from Tatooine malfunctioned nearby. He sighed as the instructor told him to run the course again. "Insolence will not be tolerated. Nor will disrespect." His instructor told him as he was shocked. "Now run!" The man yelled angrily. Tal sprinted quickly away; he had learned his lesson by now, and disrespect led to slacking. Fun was not for the Sith students, only the warriors. But he took mind that once his training was complete, he would have all of the fun he wanted. 'Until then...' he thought strongly. 'It's hell and back.'


Hanharr was the first to peer over the sand dune and spy a cave around five-hundred yards away. Brenna was the second who relayed it to Drago that there was something suspicious over there. Before they could decide what was to happen, though, a horn sounded.

A whole three squads of Republic Commandos were marching towards them, along with several angry Jawas. Darth Drago was taken aback, before Mandalore began to walk over to them. The Commandos, not knowing what to think, lowered their weapons. "I am Mandalore. These are my companions. Turn back to the city." He said toughly. The first Commando looked at him curiously, almost alien-like behind the visor, before telling them to holster their blasters. "The Mandalore died over two-thousand years ago." The Commando said, a little frusterated that this stranger was saying that he was the deceased Mandalore. "No, he didn't die. I was serving under the man you see behind me in the robes. He brought me back to life after all of these years of dormant rest. Now, I order you to turn back, now! Or you shall be killed for challenging me. I am Canderous Ordo, the current Mandalore." Mandalore said with a fierce look behind his mask. At first they did not want to believe him, but then they saw Jango Fett standing amongst the group. The other Commandos, seeing this as well, all took a step back. "If you go back now I will not kill you." Jango said softly. The lead Commando nodded before they all turned around to leave. But a storm had moved in behind the party; Drago and his companions no longer saw the cave. Now, they had to wait. Now... the Jedi had a slim chance of escaping...

Darth Drago looked back at the ship as he got up from his evasion. He smiled and turned away to the cave. An hour later, HK-47 was back up and operating. "Angry exclamation; master, you are not only a fool for sending me against a Rancor but you are a terrible technician." HK grumbled as he picked up his blaster and examined his chassis. Drago had already made quick work of the Rancor, its dead body lying on the floor of the cave. He looked out into the storm as it quelled. He smiled before levitating the group in the air. "We will get to Mos Eisley... and kill this Jedi." Darth Drago muttered smugly as they flew quickly over the desert quietly and safely. In no time at all, the group was already to the ship where Atton waited patiently. A few spice runners and bounty hunters sat at the main table of the Ebon Hawk, playing Pazaak. A large pile of credits lay in front of Atton. The only thing evident nearby the others was red faces and empty holsters. Atton laughed happily when they stepped aboard the ship. "Hey dark and gloomy, look at all of these credits!" He said with a goofy smile. Drago gave a slight smile as one of the bounty hunters smacked his hands on the table and walked out of the ship with his head in his hands. Visas looked at Atton plainly, not caring about the credits. Jango sat in the empty chair and took the misplaced cards. He turned to another bounty hunter and began playing him. It was kind of a tournament in a way, two on two, and winner takes winner. Atton had won every time, and soon it was down to him and Jango. Atton won, of course, but it wasn't for money so they gave up. Soon the strangers were gone and they all replaced the vacancies, discussing the plan of action.