Session 26- The Entity

Archer, Jorik, King, Thrillkiss, Vigik

(Cameo: Syla, Prello, HK-48, HK-52, Master Lytin, Master Salgon, Master Olsin, Krisa, Klara, Zim, Captain Vorn)

Jedi Enclave (Third Floor: Council Chambers)

The heroes assemble at the Jedi Enclave, where Archer requests a meeting with the Enclave Council.

"I ask for permission, given your acknowledgement of my skill as a Master, to create my own Enclave separate from the Green Jedi, dedicated toward healing through the Force."

Shocked, the Council asks for a short recess to deliberate on the matter, and instead pose a possible solution to their problem once Archer is no longer present. They ask Jorik to represent the Enclave in a test of combat between him and Archer in an attempt to deny his request while seemingly remaining impartial.

"We do not feel, given his recent actions, that he is ready to shoulder such a responsibility." Master Salgon steps forward. "Given your growing skill in combat, you are now among the best of us present here, and we would like for you to be aware that we are considering a bright future for you as the replacement administrator for this Enclave. We would be honored if you would aid us in this."

Jorik humbly agrees to represent the Enclave. "The honor would be mine. I accept."

The Council then calls Archer back in and explains their counter proposal. "If you can prove that you are ready by besting Jorik in a test of lightsaber combat, without either of you using the Force, then we will consider his proposal."

Archer accepts their terms.

Jedi Enclave (Sub Floor: Sparring Arena)

Archer and Jorik rest in the center of the ring, Archer gripping two training lightsabers, one in each hand. Jorik twists a double bladed training lightsaber about, and the exhibition begins, strike after strike dodged or parried away as the two dance about the arena. It goes on for over a minute, with neither able to make a decisive strike.

In one of the observation platforms above the ring, Thrillkiss looks to Krisa, who eagerly watches from between he and King. "Think your boyfriend will win?" He mocks.

She scoffs as she rolls her eyes before going back to watching the fight.

King flips a credit in his hand, letting luck decide on who he would bet on. "Looks like I'm for Jorik. I'll bet you a thousand credits Archer won't win," he adds.

"I'll take that bet," Thrillkiss replies.

Below them Jorik scores the first critically decisive blow, a slash from the training blade finding it's way through Archer's dual defenses to strike him, his senses leaving him temporarily in a daze. Though he manages to recover, he is still clearly weakened from the attack. But then he goes on the offensive, the dance of light repeating for another minute, his natural agility allowing him to dodge the remainder of attacks. He sweeps in with both blades, this time catching Jorik as he leaves himself open for attack, a slice across his abdomen forcing him to stumble back. Though it is a training saber, he is still clearly hurt.

King sneaks over to the Council, observing from an opposite platform, and peaks around the corner to listen in. Though Master Olsin is about to speak, he manages to spot King, who casually plays it off by rounding the corner and disappearing. As the battle rages on, he gives it another minute before trying to listen again. This time, he goes unnoticed.

"What if he wins?" Master Olsin inquires.

"Let us hope that he doesn't," Master Salgon replies.

On a third platform, beside the platform, Jedi Knight's Trina, Klara, and Zim Pavel stand watch as well.

"I hope Master Jorik wins," comments Zim.

"They are evenly matched," Klara adds. "Archer is faster, I've never seen anyone with speed and agility such as his, but Master Jorik has precision on his side."

"He may be able to dodge," replies Zim, "but Archer is struggling with his accuracy. Surely that will cost him in the end."

"So little faith," Trina interrupts. "The question will be who accompanies him once he leaves."

As the duel goes on for several minutes more, Archer finally spins about, hit by another quick strike from Jorik. He fights through the dazing effect of the shock, the growing exhaustion, the intense pain, one blade batting away the Zabrak's weapon and leaving him open. He seizes that initiative as his lightsaber cuts across the chest, a powerful blow connecting with the enemy. The pain overwhelms the Jedi's senses, and Jorik collapses to the floor, the blade shocking him into unconsciousness.

Exhausted, and on the border of being nearly beaten himself, Archer reaches to the Zabrak and sends the Force through his opponent's body, healing him. Jorik regains consciousness, and both slowly rise to their feet.

"You did well, my friend." Jorik offers his hand. "I congratulate you."

"Thank you," Archer replies as he takes his former opponent's hand and shakes it. "So did you."

Master Salgon paces into the dueling arena. "Very well. You have bested our most promising Master. We will consider granting your proposal."

Archer nods, and politely bows to Master Salgon.

"Where's my money?" Thrillkiss asks King from above.

"It's right over..." He makes haste toward the lift, deliberately fleeing before he can pay.

Thrillkiss shakes his head before activating the comlink on his helmet. A message displays that informs him that Syla is going into labor. The group leaves the Enclave immediately after.

Zeltros (Syla's Estate)

Syla has the baby, and the following day Thrillkiss arrives. HK-48 escorts the group into the estate, finding Katya waiting for them. She is very happy to see King, who decides to leave the Wookiee that owes him a life debt, Jicuk, with Katya. Though she feels somewhat uneasy about the decision, given that she does not know him well, she still agrees. Meanwhile, Thrillkiss visits a recovering Syla, and the two decide on naming their son Karl.

Shortly after, Prello arrives at the estate to congratulate the couple. "I wanted to arrive in person for this joyous occasion, and I wish you all well. It has been some time since you have visited the palace, but don't worry, Archer, Lina is good at keeping things smooth." Prello then confesses the other reason for her visit. "The Chancellor wished for me to inform you that he has information regarding the research outpost you discovered, though he does not trust it over an open channel. He requests that you return soon, if possible."

Given that he is now a family man, Thrillkiss asks for Prello's help in investing over 50,000 credits he has saved toward heightened security for the estate. She agrees to help him at a discount, and arranges for turrets and sensors to be installed soon. Thrillkiss then locks himself away for the next day, dedicating the many hours to constructing a second HK guard droid from the scrap parts he has collected from many of the HK-50 droids along the way. He decides to call it HK-52, and leaves it to guard Syla and his son.

Coruscant (Senate Headquarters: Chancellor's Office)

When the heroes arrive, Chancellor Grant wastes no time in informing them of the situation.

"I will be blunt," he says, "we have lost contact with the Terminus. We sent them on a mission to investigate the coordinates you discovered aboard Darth Drahk's cruiser. They reported discovering an orbital station, and were going to try to move in to board it when we lost contact. I need you to head out and investigate."

"Can we expect support?" Vigik inquires.

"Given that they are deep in enemy territory, we cannot risk sending another frigate should they have been ambushed by the Imperial navy." The Chancellor straightens his posture. "However, there is one alternative. Given that it is Darth Drahk's facility, I would recommend questioning him on its defenses. When questioned on the nature of the facility, he surprisingly expressed an interest in joining the mission. Naturally we refused, but given that we have now lost contact with Terminus, I am beginning to reconsider his offer..."

"We will talk to him." Thrillkiss thinks it over for a moment. "It might merit something."

Coruscant (Republic Intelligence: Holding Cells)

Heroes question the Sith Lord, he explains that he can disable the security if they take him with them. Thrillkiss agrees only if the Sith Lord agrees to be implanted with an explosive device, which he does.

Corellian Tear (Cargo Bay)

Vigik stands watch of a heavily bound Darth Drahk as the Corellian Tear journeys through hyperspace toward the coordinates of the research facility.

"Not so tough now," Vigik comments with detonator in hand. He speaks in the Sith tongue. "I used to be a Sith trooper, but one day my commander ordered me killed and left for dead. But I survived."

"I'll have words with your former commander, then." Drahk gazes at the bindercuffs around his wrists and ankles. "We can't have them failing so blatantly when dealing with the weak."

"Laugh all you want." Vigik edges closer. "Your Empire lost a valuable soldier that day. Since becoming one of the Chancellor's personal operatives, I've killed many of your soldiers. We've turned the tides of war countless times, and we will inevitably defeat you."

"Is that so?" Darth Drahk quirks a brow. "Please, do tell me more about yourself."

Sith Space (Secret Research Outpost Coordinates)

Fortuity and Corellian Tear drop out of hyperspace on the edge of the system, choosing a more cautious approach toward the listed coordinates of the facility.

Alma glances over the cockpit terminal. "Picking up something on the scanners."

Archer looks over the console. "It's the Terminus. Look like she's taken quite a beating. Life signs minimal, but present. She's adrift, possibly running on emergency power."

"I'm reading traces of atmosphere still present." Alma looks to Archer inquisitively, waiting for his next move.

He flips another switch on the console. "Terminus, this is Fortuity, please respond." There is no answer. After some deliberation, Archer signals the Corellian Tear. "Jorik, I'm heading for the port airlock, you take the starboard. We need to find out what happened here, one way or the other."

Terminus (Deck One: Cargo Bay)

The heroes board the Terminus, making their way through the corridors toward the bridge. As Thrillkiss and HK-48 search the adjacent crew quarters for survivors, he finds only the corpses of a dozen Republic officers littered throughout the rooms.

Terminus (Deck One: Bridge)

Archer and King find Captain Vorn in the bridge with a half dozen Republic officers trying to repair damaged consoles that immediately draw their pistols but then hold their fire when they see who it is.

When asked, she explains what happened. "I'm glad it's you, Archer, I'm not sure we could have held off another attack. We suffered heavy damage when we tried to disable some of the outposts defenses in an attempt to form an opening to dock with, and barely managed to repel a Sith boarding party by purging most of Deck One into space. The remaining Sith that survived broke off and returned to the facility in their shuttle. We got a few hits in, probably why they haven't attempted a second boarding action."

Archer nods. "We'll see what we can do, let's worry about getting the ship operational again first."

Meanwhile, Vigik manages to gain access to the emergency maintenance crawlways further down the corridor and makes his way up to Deck Three to investigate.

Terminus (Deck Three: Engineering)

Vigik leads Jorik and Thrillkiss through the crawlways to Deck Three. He first investigates the medical bay, finding two officers floating in kolto tanks. He moves back into the corridor, heading for the sealed door leading to Engineering. After a few minutes, the trio manage to force the door open, discovering another half dozen dead crewmen killed by a possible radiation leak that had since been vented. Together they manage to repair the generators and restore power to the ship.

Terminus (Brig)

Vigik and Thrillkiss begin to question Darth Drahk, Archer and Jorik observing just in case.

"Give us the codes to the facility," says Thrillkiss, "and don't make me ask twice."

"The security grid is automated during a lockdown," the Sith replies, "but if you can get me inside, I will gladly direct you to the main security terminal to deactivate the lockdown. In exchange for my life, of course."

"I don't trust him," Jorik adds. "How are we supposed to get past the defenses anyway?"

"You know," Archer replies with a smirk, "I think I might have an idea..."

Sith Space

Fortuity and Corellian Tear undock from the Terminus, racing toward the facility in an attempt to reach a hangar deck. They manage to find one, Archer using his exceptional piloting skill to draw and then dodge the fire of the automated point defense turrets.

"This is your idea?" Jorik echoes over the comm as the Corellian Tear races past on landing approach.

"It's working, isn't it?" Archer shouts into the comm terminal as he veers Fortuity to the left, drawing more fire that pelts away at the shields. Once Jorik has landed successfully, he adjusts his course. With minimal damage suffered, Fortuity sets down in the hangar beside the other vessel shortly afterward.

Sith Research Outpost (First Floor)

The heroes step through the hangar doors, heading deeper into the facility. The floor appears to be deserted, and Darth Drahk directs them to a nearby turbolift that leads to the second floor. "If we take this turbolift up to the next floor, there is a security station that should lift any lockdown in place." The heroes reluctantly agree to follow.

Sith Research Outpost (Second Floor)

The heroes are led by Darth Drahk to the main security station, and he informs them of the following. "If you deactivate the lockdown, I can get you to my private terminals in hi private chamber above us on the third floor."

Thrillkiss disables the lockdown and begins to cycle through the cameras of the facility, spotting three Sith Troopers in the nearby flight control station, and a fourth floating helplessly in a kotlo tank in the nearby medical bay. "I have three hostiles standing in the hangar control station, and looks like a fourth being held in stasis in the medical bay. Rest of the corridors look clear."

Though King and Thrillkiss decide to stay on the second floor, the rest of the party head for the lift that leads to the third.

Sith Research Outpost (Third Floor)

Archer, Jorik, HK-48, and Trina escort Darth Drahk into another lift that takes them to the third floor, where the Sith Lord directs them down a corridor to his private chamber. The Sith settles into his throne chair in the center of the room as he is surrounded by the group, and inputs a sequence into a console on the arm rest that opens an adjacent room filled with several computer terminals. "Have at it," the Sith says.

Sith Research Outpost (Second Floor)

Thrillkiss and King investigate the medical bay with the Sith floating in the kolto tank, but find that the medical logs have been deleted. King reaches out through the Force, sensing some sort of sickness within the man. He decides to ignore him, for now.

They then head for the flight control station where the other three Sith troopers had been revealed by the cameras. Much to his shock, when he opens the doors, the three troopers collapse, seemingly dead. King tries to inquire further, witnessing a black ooze pouring from the eyes of the officer inside the armor. Thrillkiss let's curiosity get the better of him and removes the helmet of one of the troopers. A black boil begins to grow on the flesh, until it bursts and spews a black ooze in his direction. Much to his relief, Thrillkiss hurriedly dodges and follows King, who is already moving back toward the door, sealing the room behind them after they both pass through.

"I think we're dealing with some kind of plague," Thrillkiss says into his comlink. "It seems to be some kind of black ooze. Be careful."

Sith Research Outpost (Third Floor)

Jorik heads inside the adjacent room filled with research terminals and begins sifting through the data. He finds everything they hoped to find, from personal clearance codes used to Darth Drahk to details on the black ooze. He speaks into his comlink to relay the information. "Looks like it's a virus that seemingly consumes its host from the inside."

Relaxing in his chair, Darth Drahk closes his eyes for a moment before sticking his hand to his chest and concentrating. He drains the very power source of the bomb, deactivating it. "I think that's enough of that," he says to Archer, who realizes exactly what he has done.

Jorik speaks into his comlink. "He's deactivated the bomb."

Darth Drahk grins, keeping his hand pressed to his chest as his fingers begin to sink into his flesh, his mind concentrating as the small device begins to pierce through his chest until it has finally reached his hand. After moments the wound is mended, and he tosses the device to Archer. "I won't be needing that."

Jorik closes in, concentrating on the Force as he blasts the Sith with Force energy, stunning and weakening him, severing the man's connection to the Force. Archer tosses away the explosive device in frustration before moving to the research terminals and slicing into them, attaching a datapad with an integrated comlink and initiating a download to Fortuity's main computer.

Sith Research Outpost (Second Floor)

As Thrillkiss heads to the hangar deck, he finds another Sith trooper corpse resting at the base of a shuttle. He moves inside, finding another corpse and a giant hull breach in the side of the vessel, but little else. King heads back to the medical and frees the Sith trooper from the kolto tank. After a few minutes the Sith trooper begins to spasm, and a black ooze pours from inside the armor onto the ground before King, who opens fire on the creature. Thrillkiss races to aid him, and destroys the creature using his wrist mounted flamethrower. They leave the corpse of the SIth trooper beyond the puddle in flames.

Sith Research Outpost (Third Floor)

"There is one thing you should know." Darth Drahk grins. "That virus? It's sentient, and it knows you're here."

Ooze pours out from a nearby turbolift, racing toward Archer as it coats him completely. It tries to force something into his throat, but the ooze then hisses in frustration as it races away from him, a small black seed automatically expelled from his body as he begins to vomit.

"Interesting," Darth Drahk comments, enjoying the ensuing chaos from his throne, "you're immune as well. But what about your friends?"

Trina uses the Force to slam into the black ooze creatures that flap their wings and race toward them, HK-48 finishing the pair off with it's built-in flamethrower. The remaining puddle of ooze shifts targets and races across the floor toward Jorik, blanketing his armor. It begins to twist and loosen the helmet, pouring inside as it implants a seed down his throat before pouring out of his armor and forming a puddle before him. Darth Drahk laughs as he extends his hand in an attempt to electrocute the puddle, but his laughter quickly turns to frustration when he is reminded of his temporarily severed connection to the Force.

With their combined effort, the heroes manage to damage the remaining entity until it is destroyed. Archer moves to Jorik, placing his hand on his abdomen and concentrating, using the Force to heal the body while simultaneously purging it from the Zabrak. Jorik keels over as he begins to vomit, and Darth Drahk seizes the initiative while still on his throne to try and kick him in the face. Jorik shifts, and the attack misses.

Sith Research Outpost (Second Floor)

King hurls a thermal detonator at the zombies as the three Sith corpses unnaturally race from the previously sealed room where they were last seen, the blast tearing a hole in the viewport of the flight control station.

Thrillkiss races toward the flight control station through the hangar, eagerly hitting the controls once he is inside. The magnetic barrier in the hangar drops, exposing the entire deck to the empty void of space as the five undead sith troopers are vented into the expanse. Unprepared, King uncontrollably races across the deck toward the black emptiness, but he is able to activate his jetpack just in time as he grabs the boarding ramp of the shuttle and begins to crawl into the vessel.

Though the flight control station seals once Thrillkiss activates the purge, in his haste he forgot that the thermal detonator destroyed a section of the viewport overlooking the hangar, and he is forcibly sucked into the chamber. Using his own jetpack, he barely has enough time to angle himself toward the emergency controls beside the now deactivated magnetic barrier that once kept the atmosphere inside. He hangs on with all his might, firmly grabbing hold as he pulls the emergency switch and an immense metal door slides into view, sealing the room once more.

King hurriedly races toward the turbolift that leads back to the first floor, leaving Thrillkiss behind. In his haste the corpse that was pulled from the medical bay goes unnoticed, until Thrillkiss moves into the corridor. More ooze begins to seap from the corpse, shooting across the room as it latches onto the armor of a surprised Thrillkiss. It pulls and shifts around the seals before it is inside the suit, a seed forced down Thrillkiss' throat.

Sith Research Outpost (Third Floor)

Jorik repeatedly stuns Darth Drahk through the power of the Force, but he is distracted by the garbled choking that he hears coming over his comlink from Thrillkiss' channel.

The near exhausted Sith Lord still manages a grin. "We should be leaving now. If you know what's good for you..."

Unwilling to risk the Sith Lord harming them further, but realizing that the enemy has also possibly triggered some kind of silent destruct sequence, Jorik tries to strike him down, but the defenseless opponent turns out to not be as helpless as thought, a skilled martial prowess allowing him to spring from the chair and dodge as he attempts to kick Jorik again, but fails. They are interrupted only by the arrival of an emergency turbolift that pours out two more of the ooze creatures that are flying, and a second pair that ambush them from the hallway leading back to the original lift.

"We need to fall back!" Jorik rushes for the corridor with the Sith Lord in tow, Archer following suit as HK-48 and Trina hold off the pursuing creatures. "Mark One," he yells into his comlink, "prep the ship. We'll be there shortly."

"Affirmative," one of his security droids acknowledges through the comlink.

Though the built-in flamethrower of HK-48's proves effective, they only manage to stop one of the creatures before the other latches onto Trina's face and infects her as well. It is the momentary distraction that Darth Drahk was waiting for and, though quite exhausted, he races down the corridor with what little energy he has left and back into his private chamber. Though there are two creatures still inside, they hiss at the Sith Lord, seemingly aware that they cannot infect him.

Archer is torn between phasing through the corridor wall to pursue the Sith, and remaining behind to purge his friends of the creature. In the end, he chooses his friends, the rest of them falling back toward the corridor and to the lift as HK-48's flamethrower manages to force the two batlike creatures pursuing to retreat.

Darth Drahk charges past the other creatures hovering before him and into the private turbolift that they arrived in, making his escape.

Sith Research Outpost (Second Floor)

Thrillkiss retreats toward the elevator, leading to the first floor, King already inside and riding it down. Though he is infected, he uses his wrist mounted flamethrower to destroy the creature that attacked him before making his escape.

Sith Research Outpost (First Floor)

King is the first to arrive, and rushes into the Corellian Tear still in the lower hangar. He is greeted by Jorik's security droids, Mark One and Mark Two, who recognize him as friendly.

"Take off immediately," he tells them. "Head back to the Terminus."

Given his status as friendly, the droids acknowledge the request.

Space (Corellian Tear: Bridge)

After the Corellian Tear launches, King receives a signal from Jorik. "Did you just steal my ship?" the Jedi angrily inquires.

"Couldn't risk it," King replies, "the virus might have gotten onboard if we waited for you. See you at Terminus!" He then shuts the signal off before the Jedi can argue further.

Sith Research Outpost (First Floor)

Jorik sighs in frustration as he races up the boarding ramp of Fortuity with the rest of the heroes, the ship taking off immediately after. As they reach the empty expanse, they witness an Imperial shuttle launching from the outpost.

"Shuttle off the port side," Thrillkiss yells into the intercomm from the turret.

"That must be Darth Drahk trying to escape," adds Jorik.

"Setting intercept cour-" Archer doesn't get the chance to complete his thought.

The outpost behind them goes critical, a shockwave heading directly toward them. He barely has enough time to correct his trajectory and stay ahead of the concussive blast by setting the engines to full speed. The last thing he sees from the corner of his eye is the shuttle jumping into hyperspace and vanishing.

Terminus (Deck Three: Medical Bay)

Archer successfuly removes the seeds from Trina and Thrillkiss, much to their relief. They then dispose of them with extreme predjudice.

Terminus (Deck One: Bridge)

Archer takes the turbolift down to Deck One before heading to the bridge to give Captain Vorn his final report.

"Archer," she says, "thank goodness you all made it back. Repairs are nearly done."

"That's good to-" Archer senses something from one of the officers nearby, something familiar.

The officer, in return, seemingly senses his intuition as well before ordering the bridge clear. "Men, see if you can help up in Engineering."

The four men beside him nod and leave the bridge, only Archer and Captain Vorn remaining.

The man moves closer, but Archer sees past the facade, the man no longer present. His flesh serves only as a husk, a shell to conceal the ooze that has completely consumed the inside. No life remains, but the entity concealed.

"I applaud your efforts," the creature speaks coldly through the corpse. "I had hoped for a few more hours before I was noticed. You proved particiularly skilled in the outpost. Few species every attain the level of innate Force ability to be naturally immune."

"But how do you..." Archer realizes that this particular creature wasn't present on the outpost with them.

"What are you?" Captain Vorn further inquires.

"There is no we, only I, a singular consciousness both here and everywhere else I am present. I am Mnggal-Mnggal." The corpse stays present, voice emanating from its lips without the mouth or throat moving beyond a simple gape. "I wish to negotiate."

Archer moves closer to the creature, stopping toward the front of the bridge where the viewport is present. He looks to Angela. "Leave us. Quickly."

Captain Vorn doesn't ask questions, simply exiting the room and into the port side corridor. She fumbles for her comlink, immediately sending out a signal. "Everyone to the bridge, one of the creatures is still alive!"

Jorik races down the starboard corridor toward the bridge, the doors sliding open as the conversation continues.

"I can promise you all untold wonders, ancient secrets, vaults hiddein with teasures you wouldn't imagine. The Rakatan, the Celestials, all that technology; is that not worth letting me go?"

Archer signals Jorik to seal the door, and the Jedi does. He eagerly waits in the corridor as Archer continues to converse with the entity, before hearing Archer's voice telepathically. Be ready to pull me in...

Jorik is somewhat confused, but closes his eyes, using the Force to see past the sealed door as the two continue.

"I could tell you of a planet where you could be immortal, live as a god does...You would never know hunger or thirst again; do these secrets not interest you?"

"They do," Archer replies, "but there's just one thing. I don't particularly like you." He slips both lightsabers into his hands and cuts away at the viewport, the expanse of space exposed as they are both sucked through the hole. The vacuum survival pouch fastened to his utility belt erupts and forms a protective bubble. As he spins out of control he feels his balance restored once more, the bubble slowing to a crawl as Jorik and Thrillkiss head onto the bridge in their sealed armor suits, pulling the Corellian closer to the ship through the Force.

"It worked," says Archer, still encased in the floating bubble.

"Did you doubt it would?" Jorik's hand still reaches outward, maintaining his concentration.

"Never doubted it for a minute," Archer replies.

Terminus (Deck Three: Medical Bay)

With the ensuing chaos over, a grateful Angela Vorn meets Archer in the medical bay to express her thanks. She finds Thrillkiss looking over his vitals.

"No sign of any harm from your little trip into space," Thrillkiss comments. "Still, I'd stick with a ship next time."

"We don't all have suits of modified armor," Archer jests.

"I wanted to thank you," Captain Vorn interrupts. "You prevented the creature from spreading further into the ship."

"I did what I had to," Archer replies, "nothing more."

"It's odd," she says. "Just the other day we were racing to repair the bridge, struggling to survive against the boarding party. Hell, we were sharing rations, hoping the next hull breach didn't kill us all."

"Wait," Thrillkiss interrupts, "it had access to your food?"

"Shortly after we repelled the Sith boarding party we lost alot of our supplies and they had to be rationed." She looks to them. "Does that-" A pain suddenly begins to churn at her abdominal area before she keels over, fully aware of the conversation they are having.

"Hold her down!" shouts Thrillkiss as they drag her onto one of the medical beds. He injects a sedative into her bloodstream, and she is knocked unconscious. Between the two of them, they are barely able to remove the creature as Archer uses the Force to purge the entity from her system, saving her life.Session 26- The Entity

Archer, Jorik, King, Thrillkiss, Vigik

(Cameo: Syla, Prello, HK-48, HK-52, Master Lytin, Master Salgon, Master Olsin, Krisa, Klara, Zim, Captain Vorn)

Jedi Enclave (Third Floor: Council Chambers)

The heroes assemble at the Jedi Enclave, where Archer requests a meeting with the Enclave Council.

"I ask for permission, given your acknowledgement of my skill as a Master, to create my own Enclave separate from the Green Jedi, dedicated toward healing through the Force."

Shocked, the Council asks for a short recess to deliberate on the matter, and instead pose a possible solution to their problem once Archer is no longer present. They ask Jorik to represent the Enclave in a test of combat between him and Archer in an attempt to deny his request while seemingly remaining impartial.

"We do not feel, given his recent actions, that he is ready to shoulder such a responsibility." Master Salgon steps forward. "Given your growing skill in combat, you are now among the best of us present here, and we would like for you to be aware that we are considering a bright future for you as the replacement administrator for this Enclave. We would be honored if you would aid us in this."

Jorik humbly agrees to represent the Enclave. "The honor would be mine. I accept."

The Council then calls Archer back in and explains their counter proposal. "If you can prove that you are ready by besting Jorik in a test of lightsaber combat, without either of you using the Force, then we will consider his proposal."

Archer accepts their terms.

Jedi Enclave (Sub Floor: Sparring Arena)

Archer and Jorik rest in the center of the ring, Archer gripping two training lightsabers, one in each hand. Jorik twists a double bladed training lightsaber about, and the exhibition begins, strike after strike dodged or parried away as the two dance about the arena. It goes on for over a minute, with neither able to make a decisive strike.

In one of the observation platforms above the ring, Thrillkiss looks to Krisa, who eagerly watches from between he and King. "Think your boyfriend will win?" He mocks.

She scoffs as she rolls her eyes before going back to watching the fight.

King flips a credit in his hand, letting luck decide on who he would bet on. "Looks like I'm for Jorik. I'll bet you a thousand credits Archer won't win," he adds.

"I'll take that bet," Thrillkiss replies.

Below them Jorik scores the first critically decisive blow, a slash from the training blade finding it's way through Archer's dual defenses to strike him, his senses leaving him temporarily in a daze. Though he manages to recover, he is still clearly weakened from the attack. But then he goes on the offensive, the dance of light repeating for another minute, his natural agility allowing him to dodge the remainder of attacks. He sweeps in with both blades, this time catching Jorik as he leaves himself open for attack, a slice across his abdomen forcing him to stumble back. Though it is a training saber, he is still clearly hurt.

King sneaks over to the Council, observing from an opposite platform, and peaks around the corner to listen in. Though Master Olsin is about to speak, he manages to spot King, who casually plays it off by rounding the corner and disappearing. As the battle rages on, he gives it another minute before trying to listen again. This time, he goes unnoticed.

"What if he wins?" Master Olsin inquires.

"Let us hope that he doesn't," Master Salgon replies.

On a third platform, beside the platform, Jedi Knight's Trina, Klara, and Zim Pavel stand watch as well.

"I hope Master Jorik wins," comments Zim.

"They are evenly matched," Klara adds. "Archer is faster, I've never seen anyone with speed and agility such as his, but Master Jorik has precision on his side."

"He may be able to dodge," replies Zim, "but Archer is struggling with his accuracy. Surely that will cost him in the end."

"So little faith," Trina interrupts. "The question will be who accompanies him once he leaves."

As the duel goes on for several minutes more, Archer finally spins about, hit by another quick strike from Jorik. He fights through the dazing effect of the shock, the growing exhaustion, the intense pain, one blade batting away the Zabrak's weapon and leaving him open. He seizes that initiative as his lightsaber cuts across the chest, a powerful blow connecting with the enemy. The pain overwhelms the Jedi's senses, and Jorik collapses to the floor, the blade shocking him into unconsciousness.

Exhausted, and on the border of being nearly beaten himself, Archer reaches to the Zabrak and sends the Force through his opponent's body, healing him. Jorik regains consciousness, and both slowly rise to their feet.

"You did well, my friend." Jorik offers his hand. "I congratulate you."

"Thank you," Archer replies as he takes his former opponent's hand and shakes it. "So did you."

Master Salgon paces into the dueling arena. "Very well. You have bested our most promising Master. We will consider granting your proposal."

Archer nods, and politely bows to Master Salgon.

"Where's my money?" Thrillkiss asks King from above.

"It's right over..." He makes haste toward the lift, deliberately fleeing before he can pay.

Thrillkiss shakes his head before activating the comlink on his helmet. A message displays that informs him that Syla is going into labor. The group leaves the Enclave immediately after.

Zeltros (Syla's Estate)

Syla has the baby, and the following day Thrillkiss arrives. HK-48 escorts the group into the estate, finding Katya waiting for them. She is very happy to see King, who decides to leave the Wookiee that owes him a life debt, Jicuk, with her for protection. Though she feels somewhat uneasy about the decision, given that she does not know him well, she still agrees. Meanwhile, Thrillkiss visits a recovering Syla, and the two decide on naming their son Karl.

Shortly after, Prello arrives at the estate to congratulate the couple. "I wanted to arrive in person for this joyous occasion, and I wish you all well. It has been some time since you have visited the palace, but don't worry, Archer, Lina is good at keeping things smooth." Prello then confesses the other reason for her visit. "The Chancellor wished for me to inform you that he has information regarding the research outpost you discovered, though he does not trust it over an open channel. He requests that you return soon, if possible."

Given that he is now a family man, Thrillkiss asks for Prello's help in investing over 50,000 credits he has saved toward heightened security for the estate. She agrees to help him at a discount, and arranges for turrets and sensors to be installed soon. Thrillkiss then locks himself away for the next day, dedicating the many hours to constructing a second HK guard droid from the scrap parts he has collected from many of the HK-50 droids along the way. He decides to call it HK-52, and leaves it to guard Syla and his son.

Coruscant (Senate Headquarters: Chancellor's Office)

When the heroes arrive, Chancellor Grant wastes no time in informing them of the situation.

"I will be blunt," he says, "we have lost contact with the Terminus. We sent them on a mission to investigate the coordinates you discovered aboard Darth Drahk's cruiser. They reported discovering an orbital station, and were going to try to move in to board it when we lost contact. I need you to head out and investigate."

"Can we expect support?" Vigik inquires.

"Given that they are deep in enemy territory, we cannot risk sending another frigate should they have been ambushed by the Imperial navy." The Chancellor straightens his posture. "However, there is one alternative. Given that it is Darth Drahk's facility, I would recommend questioning him on its defenses. When questioned on the nature of the facility, he surprisingly expressed an interest in joining the mission. Naturally we refused, but given that we have now lost contact with Terminus, I am beginning to reconsider his offer..."

"We will talk to him." Thrillkiss thinks it over for a moment. "It might merit something."

Coruscant (Republic Intelligence: Holding Cells)

Heroes question the Sith Lord, he explains that he can disable the security if they take him with them. Thrillkiss agrees only if the Sith Lord agrees to be implanted with an explosive device, which he does.

Corellian Tear (Cargo Bay)

Vigik stands watch of a heavily bound Darth Drahk as the Corellian Tear journeys through hyperspace toward the coordinates of the research facility.

"Not so tough now," Vigik comments with detonator in hand. He speaks in the Sith tongue. "I used to be a Sith trooper, but one day my commander ordered me killed and left for dead. But I survived."

"I'll have words with your former commander, then." Drahk gazes at the bindercuffs around his wrists and ankles. "We can't have them failing so blatantly when dealing with the weak."

"Laugh all you want." Vigik edges closer. "Your Empire lost a valuable soldier that day. Since becoming one of the Chancellor's personal operatives, I've killed many of your soldiers. We've turned the tides of war countless times, and we will inevitably defeat you."

"Is that so?" Darth Drahk quirks a brow. "Please, do tell me more about yourself."

Sith Space (Secret Research Outpost Coordinates)

Fortuity and Corellian Tear drop out of hyperspace on the edge of the system, choosing a more cautious approach toward the listed coordinates of the facility.

Alma glances over the cockpit terminal. "Picking up something on the scanners."

Archer looks over the console. "It's the Terminus. Look like she's taken quite a beating. Life signs minimal, but present. She's adrift, possibly running on emergency power."

"I'm reading traces of atmosphere still present." Alma looks to Archer inquisitively, waiting for his next move.

He flips another switch on the console. "Terminus, this is Fortuity, please respond." There is no answer. After some deliberation, Archer signals the Corellian Tear. "Jorik, I'm heading for the port airlock, you take the starboard. We need to find out what happened here, one way or the other."

Terminus (Deck One: Cargo Bay)

The heroes board the Terminus, making their way through the corridors toward the bridge. As Thrillkiss and HK-48 search the adjacent crew quarters for survivors, he finds only the corpses of a dozen Republic officers littered throughout the rooms.

Terminus (Deck One: Bridge)

Archer and King find Captain Vorn in the bridge with a half dozen Republic officers trying to repair damaged consoles that immediately draw their pistols but then hold their fire when they see who it is.

When asked, she explains what happened. "I'm glad it's you, Archer, I'm not sure we could have held off another attack. We suffered heavy damage when we tried to disable some of the outposts defenses in an attempt to form an opening to dock with, and barely managed to repel a Sith boarding party by purging most of Deck One into space. The remaining Sith that survived broke off and returned to the facility in their shuttle. We got a few hits in, probably why they haven't attempted a second boarding action."

Archer nods. "We'll see what we can do, let's worry about getting the ship operational again first."

Meanwhile, Vigik manages to gain access to the emergency maintenance crawlways further down the corridor and makes his way up to Deck Three to investigate.

Terminus (Deck Three: Engineering)

Vigik leads Jorik and Thrillkiss through the crawlways to Deck Three. He first investigates the medical bay, finding two officers floating in kolto tanks. He moves back into the corridor, heading for the sealed door leading to Engineering. After a few minutes, the trio manage to force the door open, discovering another half dozen dead crewmen killed by a possible radiation leak that had since been vented. Together they manage to repair the generators and restore power to the ship.

Terminus (Brig)

Vigik and Thrillkiss begin to question Darth Drahk, Archer and Jorik observing just in case.

"Give us the codes to the facility," says Thrillkiss, "and don't make me ask twice."

"The security grid is automated during a lockdown," the Sith replies, "but if you can get me inside, I will gladly direct you to the main security terminal to deactivate the lockdown. In exchange for my life, of course."

"I don't trust him," Jorik adds. "How are we supposed to get past the defenses anyway?"

"You know," Archer replies with a smirk, "I think I might have an idea..."

Sith Space

Fortuity and Corellian Tear undock from the Terminus, racing toward the facility in an attempt to reach a hangar deck. They manage to find one, Archer using his exceptional piloting skill to draw and then dodge the fire of the automated point defense turrets.

"This is your idea?" Jorik echoes over the comm as the Corellian Tear races past on landing approach.

"It's working, isn't it?" Archer shouts into the comm terminal as he veers Fortuity to the left, drawing more fire that pelts away at the shields. Once Jorik has landed successfully, he adjusts his course. With minimal damage suffered, Fortuity sets down in the hangar beside the other vessel shortly afterward.

Sith Research Outpost (First Floor)

The heroes step through the hangar doors, heading deeper into the facility. The floor appears to be deserted, and Darth Drahk directs them to a nearby turbolift that leads to the second floor. "If we take this turbolift up to the next floor, there is a security station that should lift any lockdown in place." The heroes reluctantly agree to follow.

Sith Research Outpost (Second Floor)

The heroes are led by Darth Drahk to the main security station, and he informs them of the following. "If you deactivate the lockdown, I can get you to my private terminals in hi private chamber above us on the third floor."

Thrillkiss disables the lockdown and begins to cycle through the cameras of the facility, spotting three Sith Troopers in the nearby flight control station, and a fourth floating helplessly in a kotlo tank in the nearby medical bay. "I have three hostiles standing in the hangar control station, and looks like a fourth being held in stasis in the medical bay. Rest of the corridors look clear."

Though King and Thrillkiss decide to stay on the second floor, the rest of the party head for the lift that leads to the third.

Sith Research Outpost (Third Floor)

Archer, Jorik, HK-48, and Trina escort Darth Drahk into another lift that takes them to the third floor, where the Sith Lord directs them down a corridor to his private chamber. The Sith settles into his throne chair in the center of the room as he is surrounded by the group, and inputs a sequence into a console on the arm rest that opens an adjacent room filled with several computer terminals. "Have at it," the Sith says.

Sith Research Outpost (Second Floor)

Thrillkiss and King investigate the medical bay with the Sith floating in the kolto tank, but find that the medical logs have been deleted. King reaches out through the Force, sensing some sort of sickness within the man. He decides to ignore him, for now.

They then head for the flight control station where the other three Sith troopers had been revealed by the cameras. Much to his shock, when he opens the doors, the three troopers collapse, seemingly dead. King tries to inquire further, witnessing a black ooze pouring from the eyes of the officer inside the armor. Thrillkiss let's curiosity get the better of him and removes the helmet of one of the troopers. A black boil begins to grow on the flesh, until it bursts and spews a black ooze in his direction. Much to his relief, Thrillkiss hurriedly dodges and follows King, who is already moving back toward the door, sealing the room behind them after they both pass through.

"I think we're dealing with some kind of plague," Thrillkiss says into his comlink. "It seems to be some kind of black ooze. Be careful."

Sith Research Outpost (Third Floor)

Jorik heads inside the adjacent room filled with research terminals and begins sifting through the data. He finds everything they hoped to find, from personal clearance codes used to Darth Drahk to details on the black ooze. He speaks into his comlink to relay the information. "Looks like it's a virus that seemingly consumes its host from the inside."

Relaxing in his chair, Darth Drahk closes his eyes for a moment before sticking his hand to his chest and concentrating. He drains the very power source of the bomb, deactivating it. "I think that's enough of that," he says to Archer, who realizes exactly what he has done.

Jorik speaks into his comlink. "He's deactivated the bomb."

Darth Drahk grins, keeping his hand pressed to his chest as his fingers begin to sink into his flesh, his mind concentrating as the small device begins to pierce through his chest until it has finally reached his hand. After moments the wound is mended, and he tosses the device to Archer. "I won't be needing that."

Jorik closes in, concentrating on the Force as he blasts the Sith with Force energy, stunning and weakening him, severing the man's connection to the Force. Archer tosses away the explosive device in frustration before moving to the research terminals and slicing into them, attaching a datapad with an integrated comlink and initiating a download to Fortuity's main computer.

Sith Research Outpost (Second Floor)

As Thrillkiss heads to the hangar deck, he finds another Sith trooper corpse resting at the base of a shuttle. He moves inside, finding another corpse and a giant hull breach in the side of the vessel, but little else. King heads back to the medical and frees the Sith trooper from the kolto tank. After a few minutes the Sith trooper begins to spasm, and a black ooze pours from inside the armor onto the ground before King, who opens fire on the creature. Thrillkiss races to aid him, and destroys the creature using his wrist mounted flamethrower. They leave the corpse of the SIth trooper beyond the puddle in flames.

Sith Research Outpost (Third Floor)

"There is one thing you should know." Darth Drahk grins. "That virus? It's sentient, and it knows you're here."

Ooze pours out from a nearby turbolift, racing toward Archer as it coats him completely. It tries to force something into his throat, but the ooze then hisses in frustration as it races away from him, a small black seed automatically expelled from his body as he begins to vomit.

"Interesting," Darth Drahk comments, enjoying the ensuing chaos from his throne, "you're immune as well. But what about your friends?"

Trina uses the Force to slam into the black ooze creatures that flap their wings and race toward them, HK-48 finishing the pair off with it's built-in flamethrower. The remaining puddle of ooze shifts targets and races across the floor toward Jorik, blanketing his armor. It begins to twist and loosen the helmet, pouring inside as it implants a seed down his throat before pouring out of his armor and forming a puddle before him. Darth Drahk laughs as he extends his hand in an attempt to electrocute the puddle, but his laughter quickly turns to frustration when he is reminded of his temporarily severed connection to the Force.

With their combined effort, the heroes manage to damage the remaining entity until it is destroyed. Archer moves to Jorik, placing his hand on his abdomen and concentrating, using the Force to heal the body while simultaneously purging it from the Zabrak. Jorik keels over as he begins to vomit, and Darth Drahk seizes the initiative while still on his throne to try and kick him in the face. Jorik shifts, and the attack misses.

Sith Research Outpost (Second Floor)

King hurls a thermal detonator at the zombies as the three Sith corpses unnaturally race from the previously sealed room where they were last seen, the blast tearing a hole in the viewport of the flight control station.

Thrillkiss races toward the flight control station through the hangar, eagerly hitting the controls once he is inside. The magnetic barrier in the hangar drops, exposing the entire deck to the empty void of space as the five undead sith troopers are vented into the expanse. Unprepared, King uncontrollably races across the deck toward the black emptiness, but he is able to activate his jetpack just in time as he grabs the boarding ramp of the shuttle and begins to crawl into the vessel.

Though the flight control station seals once Thrillkiss activates the purge, in his haste he forgot that the thermal detonator destroyed a section of the viewport overlooking the hangar, and he is forcibly sucked into the chamber. Using his own jetpack, he barely has enough time to angle himself toward the emergency controls beside the now deactivated magnetic barrier that once kept the atmosphere inside. He hangs on with all his might, firmly grabbing hold as he pulls the emergency switch and an immense metal door slides into view, sealing the room once more.

King hurriedly races toward the turbolift that leads back to the first floor, leaving Thrillkiss behind. In his haste the corpse that was pulled from the medical bay goes unnoticed, until Thrillkiss moves into the corridor. More ooze begins to seap from the corpse, shooting across the room as it latches onto the armor of a surprised Thrillkiss. It pulls and shifts around the seals before it is inside the suit, a seed forced down Thrillkiss' throat.

Sith Research Outpost (Third Floor)

Jorik repeatedly stuns Darth Drahk through the power of the Force, but he is distracted by the garbled choking that he hears coming over his comlink from Thrillkiss' channel.

The near exhausted Sith Lord still manages a grin. "We should be leaving now. If you know what's good for you..."

Unwilling to risk the Sith Lord harming them further, but realizing that the enemy has also possibly triggered some kind of silent destruct sequence, Jorik tries to strike him down, but the defenseless opponent turns out to not be as helpless as thought, a skilled martial prowess allowing him to spring from the chair and dodge as he attempts to kick Jorik again, but fails. They are interrupted only by the arrival of an emergency turbolift that pours out two more of the ooze creatures that are flying, and a second pair that ambush them from the hallway leading back to the original lift.

"We need to fall back!" Jorik rushes for the corridor with the Sith Lord in tow, Archer following suit as HK-48 and Trina hold off the pursuing creatures. "Mark One," he yells into his comlink, "prep the ship. We'll be there shortly."

"Affirmative," one of his security droids acknowledges through the comlink.

Though the built-in flamethrower of HK-48's proves effective, they only manage to stop one of the creatures before the other latches onto Trina's face and infects her as well. It is the momentary distraction that Darth Drahk was waiting for and, though quite exhausted, he races down the corridor with what little energy he has left and back into his private chamber. Though there are two creatures still inside, they hiss at the Sith Lord, seemingly aware that they cannot infect him.

Archer is torn between phasing through the corridor wall to pursue the Sith, and remaining behind to purge his friends of the creature. In the end, he chooses his friends, the rest of them falling back toward the corridor and to the lift as HK-48's flamethrower manages to force the two batlike creatures pursuing to retreat.

Darth Drahk charges past the other creatures hovering before him and into the private turbolift that they arrived in, making his escape.

Sith Research Outpost (Second Floor)

Thrillkiss retreats toward the elevator, leading to the first floor, King already inside and riding it down. Though he is infected, he uses his wrist mounted flamethrower to destroy the creature that attacked him before making his escape.

Sith Research Outpost (First Floor)

King is the first to arrive, and rushes into the Corellian Tear still in the lower hangar. He is greeted by Jorik's security droids, Mark One and Mark Two, who recognize him as friendly.

"Take off immediately," he tells them. "Head back to the Terminus."

Given his status as friendly, the droids acknowledge the request.

Space (Corellian Tear: Bridge)

After the Corellian Tear launches, King receives a signal from Jorik. "Did you just steal my ship?" the Jedi angrily inquires.

"Couldn't risk it," King replies, "the virus might have gotten onboard if we waited for you. See you at Terminus!" He then shuts the signal off before the Jedi can argue further.

Sith Research Outpost (First Floor)

Jorik sighs in frustration as he races up the boarding ramp of Fortuity with the rest of the heroes, the ship taking off immediately after. As they reach the empty expanse, they witness an Imperial shuttle launching from the outpost.

"Shuttle off the port side," Thrillkiss yells into the intercomm from the turret.

"That must be Darth Drahk trying to escape," adds Jorik.

"Setting intercept cour-" Archer doesn't get the chance to complete his thought.

The outpost behind them goes critical, a shockwave heading directly toward them. He barely has enough time to correct his trajectory and stay ahead of the concussive blast by setting the engines to full speed. The last thing he sees from the corner of his eye is the shuttle jumping into hyperspace and vanishing.

Terminus (Deck Three: Medical Bay)

Archer successfuly removes the seeds from Trina and Thrillkiss, much to their relief. They then dispose of them with extreme predjudice.

Terminus (Deck One: Bridge)

Archer takes the turbolift down to Deck One before heading to the bridge to give Captain Vorn his final report.

"Archer," she says, "thank goodness you all made it back. Repairs are nearly done."

"That's good to-" Archer senses something from one of the officers nearby, something familiar.

The officer, in return, seemingly senses his intuition as well before ordering the bridge clear. "Men, see if you can help up in Engineering."

The four men beside him nod and leave the bridge, only Archer and Captain Vorn remaining.

The man moves closer, but Archer sees past the facade, the man no longer present. His flesh serves only as a husk, a shell to conceal the ooze that has completely consumed the inside. No life remains, but the entity concealed.

"I applaud your efforts," the creature speaks coldly through the corpse. "I had hoped for a few more hours before I was noticed. You proved particiularly skilled in the outpost. Few species every attain the level of innate Force ability to be naturally immune."

"But how do you..." Archer realizes that this particular creature wasn't present on the outpost with them.

"What are you?" Captain Vorn further inquires.

"There is no we, only I, a singular consciousness both here and everywhere else I am present. I am Mnggal-Mnggal." The corpse stays present, voice emanating from its lips without the mouth or throat moving beyond a simple gape. "I wish to negotiate."

Archer moves closer to the creature, stopping toward the front of the bridge where the viewport is present. He looks to Angela. "Leave us. Quickly."

Captain Vorn doesn't ask questions, simply exiting the room and into the port side corridor. She fumbles for her comlink, immediately sending out a signal. "Everyone to the bridge, one of the creatures is still alive!"

Jorik races down the starboard corridor toward the bridge, the doors sliding open as the conversation continues.

"I can promise you all untold wonders, ancient secrets, vaults hiddein with teasures you wouldn't imagine. The Rakatan, the Celestials, all that technology; is that not worth letting me go?"

Archer signals Jorik to seal the door, and the Jedi does. He eagerly waits in the corridor as Archer continues to converse with the entity, before hearing Archer's voice telepathically. Be ready to pull me in...

Jorik is somewhat confused, but closes his eyes, using the Force to see past the sealed door as the two continue.

"I could tell you of a planet where you could be immortal, live a god does...You would never know hunger or thirst again, do these secrets not interest you?"

"They do," Archer replies, "but there's just one thing. I don't particularly like you." He slips both lightsabers into his hands and cuts away at the viewport, the expanse of space exposed as they are both sucked through the hole. The vacuum survival pouch fastened to his utility belt erupts and forms a protective bubble. As he spins out of control he feels his balance restored once more, the bubble slowing to a crawl as Jorik and Thrillkiss head onto the bridge in their sealed armor suits, pulling the Corellian closer to the ship through the Force.

"It worked," says Archer, still encased in the floating bubble.

"Did you doubt it would?" Jorik's hand still reaches outward, maintaining his concentration.

"Never doubted it for a minute," Archer replies.

Terminus (Deck Three: Medical Bay)

With the ensuing chaos over, a grateful Angela Vorn meets Archer in the medical bay to express her thanks. She finds Thrillkiss looking over his vitals.

"No sign of any harm from your little trip into space," Thrillkiss comments. "Still, I'd stick with a ship next time."

"We don't all have suits of modified armor," Archer jests.

"I wanted to thank you," Captain Vorn interrupts. "You prevented the creature from spreading further into the ship."

"I did what I had to," Archer replies, "nothing more."

"It's odd," she says. "Just the other day we were racing to repair the bridge, struggling to survive against the boarding party. Hell, we were sharing rations, hoping the next hull breach didn't kill us all."

"Wait," Thrillkiss interrupts, "it had access to your food?"

"Shortly after we repelled the Sith boarding party, we lost alot of our supplies and they had to be rationed." She looks to them. "Does that-" A pain suddenly begins to churn at her abdominal area before she keels over, fully aware of the conversation they are having.

"Hold her down!" shouts Thrillkiss as they drag her onto one of the medical beds. He injects a sedative into her bloodstream, and she is knocked unconscious. Between the two of them, they are barely able to remove the creature as Archer uses the Force to purge the entity from her system and save her life.

Epilogue: King (Month One)

Zeltros (Syla's Estate)

King arrives on Zeltros to visit Katya in anticipation of her due date. Though there are some minor complcations in the delivery, all turns out well and the two welcome their fraternal twins into the world: twins Dusk and Dawn.