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The first two fingers of Arai's right hand traced Dom's tattoo as he told her where they were headed and who they were looking for. She was still staring at it when he asked her to "help" his friend tell them what he wanted to know. "You help me, I help you," she said, smiling faintly. "It works. I get my ostanovium, you get what you want to know, and your friend keeps his head." Her smile broadened as she looked into his eyes. "Sounds like about the perfect deal to me, hey Tink?"

"Dead to the world," Arai murmured. She nodded. "Yeah, that sounds about right." She noted his unwillingness to ask if she was alright and smiling faintly, she understood why. She had been far from herself last time he'd seen her conscious. It was only logical that he'd be wary of her after that. No telling whether she'd flip out at the drop of a decicred or not. "I'm myself again," she answered softly, looking over at him. "Dom, I'm going to need your help until we can get me some ostanovium, in whichever form it isn't toxic. Being able to see shatterpoints in people leaves a lot of room to walk the paths of the Dark Side. At the cantina, we saw that your intervention was enough to stop me." She put a hand on his wrist. "I need you, Dom. Will you be my conscience for the time being?"

Rani watched the idiots go and grinned at Irene's observations as to what made someone an idiot or not. She nodded in agreement. "Idiots of the highest caliber," she said. And that's when Krishna came upon them, gave them a brief talking-to about lateness, and started trying to stare Rani down. It didn't take long; look up "imposing" in the dictionary, you'd find a picture of that man! Rani looked away quickly, hurrying after Aruko and the others, pulling on Akeirra's hand as well to get the alien woman to follow. The little gang reached the exam room in a little more than five minutes and Rani found herself hoping they wouldn't be seated alphabetically, though she rather suspected they would. She hoped Akeirra would do well; the woman's English speech wasn't terribly good and her comprehension seemed a bit off, but she had claimed at breakfast to be ready for this. Rani hoped she was. It was too early to break up their little group.

Arai ignored the Selkath entirely, fearing that if she did not, she would lose it again. The fishman soon departed and Dom led her into his ship. He left her in a small bedroom, almost as if he understood she needed a space to herself for the moment. She sank to her knees and closed her eyes there in the center of the room. Vaguely, she felt the ship lift off the surface of Manaan, but then she was lost in her own meditation. These days, meditation was not a peaceful prospect. Because of her tangles with the Dark Side, meditation had become a battle for control, with the two opposing sides of her personality taking on distinct voices and sparring within her mind. The battle was brutal, with each side taking serious injuries throughout. Then, it took an interesting turn. "Dom was right about the Jedi," her dark side said. "They failed when we needed them most." "Can't hold that against them," her light side replied, blocking a saber blow from her dark side. "Check their archives. They have no experience with members who've fallen away that didn't want to. They've been trained to think there's no hope for those of us who go dark." "And after all, why not?" her dark side asked. "Look at what's happening to us. I'm getting stronger; you're getting weaker. It's only a matter of time before you are destroyed and I am all that's left." Her light side smiled faintly. "I won't give up easily. I can't, especially not now. Dom is investing so much in me." She glared at her dark side. "You nearly killed him." "I wouldn't have done it," her dark side answered defensively. "But you would, though," her light side shot back. "And I stopped you." Her dark side remained silent, drawing her lightsaber once more. "That's the ultimate test, isn't it?" her light side murmured. "Show restraint." She switched off her lightsaber and watched with a mixture of uncertainty and eagerness as her dark side drew near and heaved back for a strike. "You can't kill me," she said confidently. "I am the master here." Scowling, her dark side growled, "Master this," and her lightsaber came down. A blinding white light drowned them both out... ... and slowly, wearily, Arai opened her eyes. She hadn't moved in... a while. Her stiff joints told her that. And now, she needed sleep. She dropped into the bed in the little room and drifted off quickly. -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- She wasn't sure how long she'd been asleep when she came back, but she could feel that the ship was still in flight. Taking a deep breath, she left the room in search of Dom. She found him in the cockpit and sat down next to him. "How long have I been locked away?" she asked him, staring out at the flickering tunnel of hyperspace.

Gently, she reached over and squeezed his arm. "It's why I want to come," she said, wiping the tears from her eyes. "Every time I go dark like that, it takes a significant effort, a lot of energy to come back. I'm killing myself and I know it, becoming someone I don't want to be. It scares me to think..." Again she choked up, exhausted and emotionally drained. Leaning on Dom and letting him lead her wherever he would, she whispered through her tears, "You're an incredible friend, Dom. I'm so glad I have you."

Weakened by resisting the Dark Side, Arai was grateful for Dom's solid support. She let him lead her away without a fuss, barely even realizing that people were staying well clear of her after her unexpected outburst. She didn't even care where he took her, just so long as she had a place to meditate, to rest and restore herself. As they walked, Arai still leaning on Dom, she realized that she'd been silently crying since just after they'd left the cantina. Half-heartedly brushing at her cheeks, she tried to remove her arm from Dom's shoulders, but found he wouldn't let go and gave up. "The Council was right to exile me," she said, her voice wavering. "Look what I'm becoming. Imagine what that would have done to the Order." She paused, considering. Then, through her tears, she looked up at Dom and asked softly, "How long have you been with the Found?"

NAME: Lady Elissa Dankarra AGE: 29 RACE: Human RANK: Apparently exiled. Secretly on the "Dream Team". APPEARANCE: Image: Lady Elissa Dankarra And just 'cuz I think it'll be helpful for me, I've also prepared this additional information. Tysy, this could also help interaction between Elissa and Traum, so take a peek. If you see anything you're not sure you like, let me know. I'm willing to change some things Biography: Born to the honorable Lord Laaden Dankarra of Alderaan and his wife Dania, Elissa’s early years were spent in immense luxury. But at the age of five, that all changed. She was spotted by a passing Jedi who noted how she seemed to sense what was wanted of her, even so young. He tested the girl and found that his suspicion was confirmed; she was very strong in the Force. Though initially hesitant at the thought of giving their only daughter up, the Lord and Lady ultimately agreed that it was in the child’s best interest to develop her full potential. But considering their busy schedules, it took them two years to come to that conclusion. At seven years of age, Elissa was studied intensely by a small group of Jedi and though most of them were reluctant to take her, one man, Tatrik Vale announced that he would train her. Vale saw in Elissa the makings of a very promising Jedi Shadow. She had a pure heart and an intense desire to help people, but there was also that thread of darkness a Shadow sometimes needed in order to make difficult decisions. With Elissa’s training, Vale included something that most Jedi were not comfortable with; he took her on regular trips to see her family. He reasoned that if she knew she had something to lose, she would be that much more devoted to her cause. And he was right. When she turned twenty, she was Knighted. Two years earlier, Vale began addressing her as “Lady Elissa”, reminding her of her heritage and at twenty, she embraced it, introducing herself as “Lady Elissa Dankarra, Jedi Knight,” since no one understood what she meant when she said, “Jedi Shadow.” As the official story goes, by the time she turned twenty-five, the Jedi High Council decided they’d had enough of the “Lady Knight.” Citing conduct unbecoming a Jedi Knight, they exiled her, ordering her to surrender her lightsaber. Upset, she hurled it at their feet and stalked out. Further upsetting her, they also exiled her former master. The issue that ultimately tipped the scale was his death, which occurred simply because he did not have his lightsaber any longer. Utterly broken, Elissa went home and didn’t leave the house for a year and a half. The reality was far different. Neither Elissa nor her master were exiled and her master was not killed. They spent that year together in her family's home in intense meditation and training. Almost a year in,, Elissa was introduced to the Dream Team, at which time she was made their point-man and forger. Constructing for herself a new lightsaber of a unique design, she slipped out of her family’s home unnoticed and vanished. She bleached her brownish-blond hair almost white and started calling herself Elissa Dade, making use of some of the skills she’d learned in the Jedi Order to pass as a pilot and taking short-term jobs to go from place to place. She even dresses the part: baggy brown slacks, heavy black boots, plain gray t-shirt, black knee-length Krayt leather jacket. She keeps her lightsaber well hidden, but within easy reach should she need it. During the last six months, Elissa has more or less settled with Darth Traum, after managing to convince him that the "official story" circulated by the Jedi Order concerning her is true. While initially suspicious of her story, he now fully believes that she's extremely bitter against the Jedi and is using that bitterness to turn her to the Dark Side. In reality, she is in constant contact with the Dream Team and is able to conceal this from Traum in part because he trusts her and in part because she learned a trick in Force communication from her master, which allows her essentially to "broadcast on a narrow band", focusing her communication on a single point instead of broadcasting it for all to hear, and also making it easier to mask. Though Traum is now aware of her real name and identity as Elissa Dankarra, they both still refer to her as Elissa Dade and few of the other Sith know her as anything else. The lightsaber: Though more or less cylindrical, as are all sabers, Elissa’s lightsaber flattens noticeably on either end. Two thick strips of metal are folded against the sides, and there’s an extra button just above the blade activation. When this button is pressed, the two strips of metal spring outward with a faint clang, forming a crossguard. A blade telescopes out from the hilt, essentially turning the lightsaber into a broadsword. Completing the effect, an emerald green lightsaber blade surrounds the metal blade. The end result is that Elissa has a broadsword with all its weight and intimidation factor that can cut through anything. The broadsword mode can be switched on and off. When off, it’s just like any other lightsaber, the blade is shorter, and burnt orange.

Hey Tysy, I was thinking. In order to cut down on the required number of players (since we seem to be about as many as are going to sign up) we could sort of "merge" a couple of the roles. These are Jedi, after all. I think they could handle more than one thing In light of that and pending your approval, can we merge the forger with the point-man? Strikes me that the one who could do the best job of mimicking people Traum knows would be the one who researched him (or perhaps has even gone undercover to get to know him more personally?). That'll take care of the "dream team" if you decide you like the idea. Then we could each take one of Traum's Sith projections as a second, more minor character, and we'd be good to go. Let me know what you think and I'll put up a char sheet once I hear from you

I has no money, but I can pull off a shapeshifter really well anyway Though I DO promise I'll see the movie as soon as I am able

She spun willingly with him, her rage suddenly finding a new target. But as she glared daggers into him, her hand ready to spray lightning into his gut, the fire in her eyes swiftly choked up and died. Gasping for breath, she closed her eyes and fell to her knees, tears beginning to fall. "Do you get it now?" she asked, her voice wavering, heavy with the emotions of anxiety and fear. "Dom, this ostanovium stuff, it's not just a passing interest. If it's legit, I karking need it if I want to stay sane."

ZZZZ! The "Forger" sounds quite interesting. I SO want to see that movie, by the by.

But the drunk wouldn't take the hint. He pushed awkwardly at Dominic's shoulder and slurred, "I ain't talkin' to you." Then he turned back to Arai and with a plastered-on grin, he said, "I's got a niiiice place sssshweetie. I take you there." And with that, everything became painfully simple. Arai wasn't sure if it was because she'd stared at him too long or if she'd just lost what little patience she had left. Either way, the answer to this pesky drunk was nothing more strenuous than a nightmare. Her stare turned into a full-on glare and she embraced the Dark Side. The drunk stared back, suddenly quiet, eyes wide in growing terror. Then, Arai spoke softly. "This is the path you entrust yourself to. Endless drunken nights, all strung together, nowhere to go but the dumpster behind a house that is no longer yours. Your friends will leave you, you will have no hope for redemption. In time, even your next drink will fail to come, and then what will you be?" He took a step back and Arai rose, almost snarling as she clamped a hand on his shirt collar and threw him to the ground. "Less than the scum you are now. Is that the life you want? Or should I end your misery here and now?" As she finished, tiny arcs of lightning played across the fingertips of her right hand...

She had to wonder what the hell had happened to him since he left the Jedi Order. Once upon a time, he would have told her anything that was going on in his life. Now, she couldn't even get him to admit that he was one of the Found. She was sure of his involvement in the group now, and the mention of someone he knew solidified her certainty. She broke into a wide grin. "Oh, Dom," she said. "That would be beyond fantastic." Then without warning, a hairy, grungy, drunk man bumped into their table. Distracted, Arai looked up and immediately wrinkled up her nose. "Oh, look," she murmured to Dom. "The talent's here." "Heeeeyyy," he slurred, dropping a heavy hand on Arai's shoulder. "You'sssoooo pritty, yeah." She waved a hand in his face. "No, not so pretty after all." He squinted at her. "Nooooo. I ain't that durnked, misssssieeeee. You's a sight for... my eeeeeyyyyyeeesssssss! Yessssss!" With a glare, she tried again and laughing, he mimicked her gesture. Frowning, Arai glanced at Dom and murmured, "This is new. So drunk as to be impossible to manipulate?" Turning back to the Drunk, she said, "Go away." He crossed his arms over his chest and grinned in that stupid way only someone who's had almost more alcohol than is healthy for them can. "Nope." She stared at him intently for a moment and then cringed. "Force, Dom," she whispered, "he's so drunk he doesn't have shatterpoints. It's just this sort of... mess of..." She shuddered. "I can hardly think, looking into him like this..."

It wasn't the response she was expecting and subconsciously, she adopted his diversion technique, glancing over his shoulder as she shrugged and shook her head. "I'm beginning to wonder if even the Found know what they are," she said softly. Then she looked straight at him. "I've managed to arrange a meeting with one of them," she said bluntly, "and that is why I've come to Manaan." She paused to gauge his reaction, then continued with caution. "I'm sorry, Dom. I-I thought it was you. Seemed to fit, what with how we keep bumping into each other. But by your questions, I see I've been mistaken." She smiled faintly. "Wouldn't be the first time."

GUYO'S CANTINA, MANAAN Arai almost hated how often she was hesitating during this conversation. But with her old friend somewhat harder to find in the Force, there was a slight delay in pinpointing exactly what he hoped would come of this discussion, of his questions. There! In a subtle way, he had given her a lead-in. "Mostly rumors," she said. A short pause. "But many of them center around a group known as the Found." Boom! she thought. Yeah, I went there. And she waited to see how Dom would try to maneuver himself around that.

Arai smiled faintly. "Very little," she said, "apart from how to say it. Ostanovium. Beyond that, it seems almost no one knows anything about it. All rumors regarding it suggest that..." She hesitated. Dare she tell him all that she knew? She was telling the truth that she knew only a little. Her voice trembling, she went on, "that it's a Force inhibitor of a sort. That it can strip a Force-sensitive being of their sensitivity." Arai couldn't help how she felt about that possibility. She knew fully that her ventures into the Dark Side were taking their toll on her. The thought of what she could become terrified her more than she could even say. If ostanovium was her best bet at crushing those darker tendencies, then she wanted to give it a fair shot... "But it's hard to get it right," she went on. "Take it in the wrong dose or form and it's either instantly lethal or it kills you slowly." She leaned back in her chair, trying to calm her mixed emotions. She didn't know if Dom could sense anything out of the "fog" he'd put himself in, but if he could, she wanted him to sense mild curiosity instead of the turmoil she felt.

Arai pressed her lips together. Why did he have to be so damned curious? On second thought, why did they have to be tiptoeing so carefully around one another? They were best friends for Force sake! But as soon as the thought came to her, she dismissed it. They weren't best friends anymore... not for a long while. And there was that 'fuzzy' quality to his presence in the Force. She had a suspicion she knew why. "I'm not getting paid for this," she answered slowly. "Call it a... personal curiosity."

She saw him stiffen and wondered what it meant. Cautiously, she called on the Force to see if her shatterpoint ability could explain to her why her former friend was so dodgy. His verbal answer did not satisfy, but she had no time to press him further; he turned the question back on her. With him being so evasive, she was put even more on her guard at the returning question. Did she dare tell him why she was there? Yes, she told herself. But she didn't have to be entirely truthful as to her motives. "Research," she answered. "There's this stuff called ostanovium. Some sort of metal and I'm interested, but few people in the galaxy seem to have heard of it, let alone know much of anything about it."

"Especially when the Republic depends so heavily on the Order," Arai agreed. "Not that they'll admit to any such thing, but you know they do." When he asked about the drink, Arai stood beside him at the bar and mirrored his pose. "Juma's good, yeah." Once the drink orders were placed, she said, "So what brings you to Manaan?" With a teasing grin, she added, "Well, apart from following me that is."

Dominic wasn't the only one lost in a world that had long since faded into the past. "Business as usual," Arai answered with a shrug. "Exiled Jedi-turned-mercenary turns a slave trafficking ring upon itself, frees nearly fifty captives in the process." A beat. "Well, alright so I did have help on that one..." She grinned faintly. "Mind you, Republic Intel was a little wary of working with me. Have been ever since the Jedi threw me out, you know..." And just as suddenly as she slipped into the role of his best bud "Raia", she came back to her senses, back to the present, albeit reluctantly. She brought her right hand up and ran it through her hair, a puzzled expression on her face. She didn't want to give up that closeness and she wanted him to know it. "Force, Dom," she said softly, "I don't know if I realized 'till just now how much I missed having you around..."

Arai's attention snapped back to the sea and for a moment she felt almost sick. "What the Force was that?" she murmured. But she didn't have to be told; she knew almost immediately that she had just shared a vision of the past with an old friend. And that meant he was close. The nausea was simply a side-effect of the fact that he had somehow rejected the Force. Ostanovium was her best guess. She glanced down at the data chip in her fingers. Then, with a disgusted face, she pitched it into the sea below and spun to enter the cantina behind her. So far, every path she'd followed for information on what she now referred to as the "metal of death" had been a dead end. Even the so-called "supplier" of the metal had turned out to know far less than he'd thought he did. Another waste of time. Just as she crossed the threshold into the cantina, her right shoulder brushed against someone else entering the same cantina. With that faint contact came a vivid image of a young boy with bright green eyes and messy blond hair... Arai lurched a bit ungracefully to her left and stared at him, more than a little shocked. "Dom," she breathed. Then, she grinned from ear to ear. They'd shared a vision of the past; she knew from that connection that he was here. So why was running into him here such a surprise? And this time, they were both standing, making it just that much easier to slip back into their younger roles as Arai instinctively embraced her old friend. "Two chance run-ins in as many days, Tinker?" she said, poking his side playfully. "A third time and I'll really start to wonder if you're following me."

((I know it's long. I'm really not sorry )) Arai Elan was losing control. She could feel it slipping away, and only a fraction of her begged her to get a grip and be sensible about this. Do the right thing, it urged, while the dark strand within her challenged, You see that minor shatterpoint, the one that will shift him to fear you more than his employer. Strike it! There are shatterpoints in him that do not require his fear. Find one of them. That will take too long! You have the quickest, easiest method. Use it! "No," Arai murmured softly. "I will not." It was becoming a greater struggle to walk the fine line between understanding the limits of her ability to restrain her darker tendencies and being consumed by them. If at all possible, she had to avoid feeding them. She took three deep, calming breaths and closed her eyes. There! It was faint, but if prodded just right, it would lead in the right direction. She put her right hand to her right ear, then drew it away, leaving a slender-but-visible earpiece in. "Lasstra Dade," she said, feigning a com call. A beat, a cringe, and an overexaggerated smile. "Oh, Mr. Warr. How can I help you on my day off, sir?" The man seated next to her spared her the briefest of glances, in which she pantomimed blowing her brains out and collapsing in the plate of food on the bar before her. It earned the faintest of smirks before he turned back to his drink. Arai followed that gesture with a spark of anger. "No, no," she said sharply. "I di-" She stopped abruptly, deciding this was when Mr. Warr cut her off. A moment later, she cut him off, speaking deliberately so he could hear her over his own words. "I. Did. That. Three weeks ago..." She made a face. "What do you mean, again?" Another pause and she could tell in the Force that the man beside her was gaining interest in her little one-sided chat with the nonexistent Mr. Warr. "Ye-es," she said slowly. "But not more than bi-monthly. Honestly, M-" The arrogant prick of a co-worker who fancied himself her boss cut her off again. Just then, the man beside her shot another glance her way and she put on the most ferocious scowl she could muster. "Now look here, Garron Warr," she snapped. "Just because you were named lead partner on the BayRun project does not give you the right to speak to me like that..." He went on at length after that, and Arai thought he was probably arrogantly suggesting that she check her attitude and provide him with some results. To which she answered, "I've given you nothing but results. It's when you expect me to work around the clock that we have issues..." She made another face. "No, this does not mean I'm quitting. I'll be back in the office tomorrow, but for now..." She plucked the earpiece out of her ear and tapped her neighbor on the shoulder. "Beg pardon," she said, "but I think my pompous "project lead" needs some alcohol. May I serve him some of yours?" He chuckled and slid the glass over, watching as Arai dropped the earpiece into the glass. "I wasn't using it much anyway," he said. "Can't really afford to get properly drunk tonight..." "No, nor me," Arai said. "Warr's gonna be on my case bright and early tomorrow morning about this..." Then, as if just realizing how loud she'd been, she blushed. "I suppose you heard my name, then." "Lasstra," he said, nodding. "Lasstra Dade." Her blush deepened. "Sorry, I guess I effectively ruined your "me time", didn't I?" "It's no trouble," he said good-naturedly. "You've actually brightened my night considerably. Wish I had the guts to stand up to my... co-workers like that." "Sometimes I wish I didn't," Arai murmured. "He's a scheming little di'kut, Garron Warr. To be sure, I'll have a lot of explaining to do for my boss in the morning, especially about the partial deafness Warr would have received from that drink we gave him." "Well does your boss like you?" the man asked. Arai sensed that there was a lot riding on this answer. She wrinkled her nose. "Not slightly," she answered, "and I despise him too. But he knows he needs me and I know I need the job. It's a win-lose situation on both sides of the table." "Sounds familiar," the man grunted. Arai smiled faintly. "You too, eh?" He nodded and Arai waited a beat. "And what was your name?" He hesitated for a very long time. "Best I didn't tell you," he finally said. "My boss isn't someone who takes loose tongues lightly." Arai laughed. "What's in a name?" Shaking her head, she said, "Well what do I call you, then? Hey you?" He chuckled. "Call me Talon." Her mind working overdrive, Arai asked cautiously, "That what you do?" He stared at her in astonishment. "Most people don't pick up on that quite so quick." Arai grinned and winked. "Like I said, my boss knows he needs me." "My boss would kill to have you," Talon muttered. Chuckling softly, Arai tapped her nose. "Let's not tell him then, shall we?" Briefly, Talon tensed. Arai sensed that he suspected her of spying on him for his boss and worried that she had overdone her act. Then he chuckled. "I won't if you won't," he said, and she wondered just how much alcohol he'd already had. "So you swoop in for the capture or the kill, depending on what your boss wants, yeah?" Arai asked curiously. "Gotta be a challenge more often than not." Talon grunted noncommittally. Then, he shook his head. He was a lonely man and "Lasstra Dade" seemed innocent enough, but Talon had long since learned not to trust an innocent face. He had one himself and he had been called a cold-blooded killer on several occasions. He hadn't become as good as he was at his job without being able to read people. Lasstra was asking subtle, directing questions, designed to put someone at ease. With someone untrained to watch for such subtle manipulation, the game would have worked. But Talon was unimpressed. "What do you want, Lasstra?" he asked bluntly. Internally, Arai wanted to cheer. This was exactly where she wanted him to go. She dropped the light-hearted attitude and turned fully to face the bar. "Ostanovium," she said bluntly. "Your boss is a supplier. I want to know where it comes from and its precise effects in all its forms." He shrugged. "No can do, missy." "But you can," Arai said calmly. He hesitated, wondering how she knew with such certainty that he could tell her what she wanted to know. "What's in it for me?" "I have nothing to give you," Arai answered simply. "Whatever benefit you may choose to find in telling me what you know is between you and your mind." Talon laughed out loud at that. "Alright, missy. You've impressed me. Get yourself to Manaan and I'll see to it that you get the information you want. Mind if I ask what's so important about it?" "I'm all but certain an old friend of mine has been exposed to the metal," Arai answered softly. "I want to know if there's anything I can do." Talon grimaced and shook his head. "Say goodbye to your friend," he said. "It's only a matter of time." Arai fell silent, considering this, and Talon rose and was gone. She knew she could not accept his advice, not until she'd had a decent chance to look over the data herself. Rising, she also left the restaurant and headed for her ship. But she'd scarcely gone ten paces before the Force alerted her of danger. She twisted, clamping an iron grip on the wrist of the hand that sought to shove her off the narrow walkway and down to the streets far below. "Couldn't just let me go, could you Talon?" she asked, twisting his wrist just a little more, until it snapped. He cried out in pain and jerked back against the wall of the building behind him. "Bad for business," he whimpered. Arai glared at him and finally ran out of patience. "You thought I was a fool," she growled softly, "and that makes you a fool. Perhaps Koven would make for a stronger leader of your little trading ring." Talon's mouth opened and shut rapidly in both fear and astonishment. "How did-" "And now you have a broken wrist," Arai went on coolly. "Koven will notice. He'll take you out. Best just do the job yourself." Eyes wild, Talon looked past her and she laughed harshly. "You would, wouldn't you?" she said. "But I can make this all better, Talon. Koven won't have to know. Give me every shred of information you have on ostanovium and your wrist will be as good as new." He awkwardly fished a small chip out of a pants pocket and passed it to her. Her eyes glinting faintly yellowish, she clasped his wrist, applying a healing touch with darker motives in mind. "But you know," she said as she released him. "Now Koven will wonder what you've done with the intel he got you." It was an uneven match. He drew a hold-out blaster; she drew a lightsaber. In seconds, two halves of Talon fell from the walkway and Arai headed off to find passage to Manaan.