Jasra was feeling better. Well, at least more balanced anyway. She rose to her feet, still a bit unsteady, and still keeping one eye closed so she could see just one of everything.

She looked at Crystal, then shook her head.

Walking over to where Crystal was, she bent down closer to her. "We'll leave you alone if...." She paused, then smiled. "If you go to the big ship bed. It's not significant, but its warm. And you're tired."

"Tired," Crystal repeated. Her eyes opened and she looked accusingly at Disciple. Then, she stood slowly and headed off to find a bed.

"To make Jazzy happy, she finds a big ship bed," she said quietly, laying down on it and taking a deep breath. As her eyes closed again, she murmured, "She hates unhappiness."

And she fell asleep, finally submitting to the sedative Disciple had forced on her.

*Oh dear...* said the Doctor. *It seems as if her exposure to the Shard has caused her condition to worsen. It must be a....* he massaged his temple again. *A, uhm... progressive effect.*

"I've decided," Disciple said, watching Crystal amble off to find a bunk on the Hawk, "That I despise that Shard."

~*~*~

Atton, seeing that the Hawk was on auto-pilot while in the Hyperspace stream, left the cockpit, deciding to see if he could find any java. Or perhaps something harder than Juma.
As he entered the main area, he saw Kira rush through on her way to the dormitories. He could see simply by the way she walked that she was upset, so he decided to give her some time and get himself a drink.
After a while, he followed Kira into the east dormitory, where he saw her meditating on the floor. While she looked alright, he noticed that her shoulders shook every once in a while.
"Kira?" he asked quietly.
"Go away." the Exile whispered in return.

*Yes,* said the Doctor, still massaging his temple. *Yes, I quite agree.* He opened his eyes, again back to normal. *Perhaps you should... perhaps you should check on Kira. She...* he tried to find the best words to use in front of Jasra. *She will most definitely want to speak with you about... recent events.*

"Perhaps...I would be best off leaving her alone. At least for a time." Disciple said, coming up with an excuse. He didn't really want to talk to Kira...at least not yet.

Jasra frowned at the Doctor, but said nothing. Instead, she followed Crystal to the dormitory.

She sat down on the edge of the bed. While Crystal slept, Jasra removed one of her gauntlets and gently stroked Crystal's blonde hair. She couldn't help feeling that this was all her fault. Had she not strayed from the Jedi path... had she not accepted the job from Togo ... had she not found the Exile... had she stayed with Kira and Crystal instead of speaking to Brax... Things might be rather different now.

"I'm sorry, Crystal," she said softly, even though Crystal couldn't hear her. "So very sorry."

She laid her hand on Crystal's forehead, then closed her eyes, trying to detect the damage the shard had done to her.

In her mind's eye, she saw a swirl of colours--red, violet, indigo, green--threads of Crystal's thoughts. They were all matted together, knotted it seemed by a single golden strand. Ever so gently, Jasra began to try and detangle it from the rest.

A comforting yellow thought lanced out toward Jasra and she heard the words, Batty, isn't it? The next thought was slightly more gold. She... I'll be... okie-dokie... I'll be fine... ish.

Though she appeared to be sleeping, Crystal was still semi-conscious and in this state, she began to talk to Jasra.

"She calls her Jazzy," she murmured. "Doesn't know why. Slip, slop, out comes the words... the flood of nonsensical words. She's sorry Jazz... Jasra feels blameable... is that a word?"

She sounded as if she could be laughing softly. "She wants to thank Jazz... Jasra for being comfy-closey... and brainy-picky..."

As Jasra continued to attempt unwinding and untying the gold strand, a tiny image of Crystal... the old Crystal with dark hair and grayish eyes appeared. "If you go too far, the golden thoughts will bind you," she warned. "Let me help. Leave us slightly tangled so as to restore much sanity without endangering yourself."

Eyes still closed, Jasra grinned. "Brainy-picky," she repeated with a soft snorting laugh. But Crystal was right. She could feel the golden strands beginning to wrap around her own thoughts, like a growing vine that needed constant trimming to keep it in check.

"Just a little more...." she whispered. More of the golden strand became solitary, but it seemingly had no end and no beginning. If she could just find one end....

"It wraps you up," Crystal murmured aloud. "Twisty-turnies twisting and turning you until you don't know direction... stupdidity... stupidoddity... the brain won't know logic... can't comprehend it."

Inside her mind, the dark-haired Crystal was murmuring the same things, but she quickly shook her head. It has no end, Jasra. It'll wrap us both up if you don't stop now. But once we wake up, we'll be somewhat more sane... all thanks to you.

Jasra suddenly understood what the shard had done to Crystal. She knew,but she couldn't put it into words. Heading Crystal's advice, she drew herself back, and opened her eyes.

She rubbed her hand soothingly over Crystal's forehead.

"Thank you," she whispered. She sat quietly, trying to realign her own thoughts while she waited for Crystal to awaken.

"You've also done a little to negate the effects of Disciple's sedative," Crystal said. Her eyes opened. "Still tired, we are, but overall, better."

Jasra grinned. "Tired, we are?" she repeated. "You sound like...Master Vandar." She remembered Master Vandar giving a lecture to her clan when she was a youngling at the Temple. "I liked him."

"So many voices," Crystal murmured. "Vandar, Jasra, Kira, Disciple, Doctor, Nyssa, Tegan, Vrook..." The list continued on and on. Occasionally, there was a name Jasra recognized, but most of them came toward the beginning of the list. The later ones were unknown to Jasra. The list ended and Crystal sat up. "All of them. Echoes in my mind. To be there forever. The gold mocks them, distorts their voices, their messages."

"Why don't you try to just concentrate on one voice," Jasra suggested. "Just one colour."

She put her hand over Crystal's. "I know what its doing to you. I can't put it into words, but I know." She paused. "And I know that Kira and I will need your help at the end." She gave Crystal a weak smile. "I'm tired. Let's both get some rest."

She rose, then noticed her gauntlet lying on the floor beside her feet. She picked it up, and put it on, then turned to look at Crystal. She was sheilding it, like Brax had taught her, but she knew Crystal could still see it somehow. "It's not what you think," she said to her, then went to lie down in the bed next to Crystal's.

"Yes it is," Crystal answered immediately. Her eyes closed and again, she looked asleep. But as she really and truly drifted off to sleep, she again murmured, "Yes, it is."

"Kira--" Atton began, reaching for her shoulder, but she shrugged him away.
"Please Atton...I've felt the next Shard. I know where it is."
So soon? the Scoundrel thought, It took her forever to realize this one was on Manaan...
"Just...go set a course for Dagobah." the Exile finished.
"Are you su--"
"Just go. Please."

The Doctor stood. *Very well,* he said to Disciple. *I must return to the TARDIS and, uhm...* he closed his eyes again. *I must, uhm... ake sure Nyssa and Tegan are alright.*
He left the room, walking down the long hallway back to the TARDIS. As he passed the cargo hold and entered the garage bay, he saw Atton walking towards the main room.
*Atton,* he said. *Uhm... there was something, ah yes, that's it! May I ask what our next destination is?*

"Dagobah." the Scoundrel replied, his voice flat and emmotionless. He continued on past the Doctor, hardly casting a glance at the man.

The Doctor stared after Atton curiously for a moment, tempted to folow him and find out what was wrong. He though better of it, and entered the TARDIS. He accessed the TARDIS databanks on the planet 'Degobah', and began reading.
((This is where I consult Wikipedia about Degobah, to fit the later plans.
EDIT: First thing I learned: It's spelt Dagobah, not Degobah.))

As she slept, Jasra dreamed.

Of humid swamps and gnarled trees. Strange creatures. And a depressing darkness that hovered over an ancient vine covered ruin.

She tossed restlessly. She could feel the frustration as she tried to use her gauntlets to cut a path through the thick and tangled vegetation. Trying to get to...

Kira. She was in a temple. Ancient writing on the walls. An altar in the middle of a great room. A stone sarcophagus.

And the call of the shard.

She awoke with a jolt. She looked over at Crystal, who appeared to still be sleeping, then threw off her blanket and headed for the cockpit.

As she'd been sleeping, she hadn't felt the ship come out of hyperspace. Through the cockpit window, she could see a moss green planet. "What is this place?" she asked Atton. "Where are we?"

"A swampy wasteland called Dagobah." Atton said, steering the Hawk carefully over the trees, "It's almost like Kashyyyk, a planet full of nothing but trees, however it's uninhabited by any known intelligent beings. Frankly, I figure why bother. The place isn't really good for anything..."

The Doctor entered the cockpit.
*Oh, in a few millenia, Dagobah will play an important role in your history, I assure you,* he said, smiling. *Two of the greatese Jedi Masters will live here. But I can't talk about that.*

"I'm sure you can't." Atton said, spotting a small clearing to fit the Hawk in.

"So, why are we....?" asked Jasra. "Oh, please don't tell me that the next shard is here. I hate jungles and swamps."

"Not so bad," Crystal said, coming in behind Jasra. "Weeds and tangles, there may be, but always a path... and if no path, make one."

She shook her head. "We are near the second shard. I feel it..." She looked slightly dazed and stared out at the trees. "What am I saying? I never know! Nevermore!" With an impatient sigh, she turned and left the cockpit.

Jasra looked with concern at Crystal as she left. "Right. So, if we go exploring for this shard, I think Crystal will go with me so I can keep an eye on her. She's just... not... quite... right. Yet." She turned to Atton. "And you can keep an eye on Kira."

The ship waited, out there in space, watching the Hawk land. He considered absently, he knew what was going on ont he ship, in part ... Jasra had made sure of that, not that she knew she had. Should he just wait here? they were collecting these shard things that Togo wanted, getting them all into one place. He considered, as he wrote up a quick report, detailing the situation, that he was still observing. He'd land once they had disembarked, and catch up to them.

The Doctor sighed heavily, and massaged his temple again, his eyes open this time.
*Well,* he said. *Perhaps we should begin our search. Though I believe we should stick together this time,* he continued. *We must keep an eye on Kira.*

"I don't need a bunch of babysitters." Kira said irritably, appearing behind the Doctor's shoulder, "I can take care of myself, thanks."
Atton cringed as he looked her in the eye. Her gaze was sharp and ice cold, and the gold tinge was visably brighter.

*Kira, I'm sorry,* said the Doctor apologetically. *But I'm worried about you. Besides, Dagobah is dangerous. Nobody should be allowed to wander off on their own.*

"I've survived Malachore twice by myself. I think I'm fine." Kira said, throwing the Doctor's appology to the side.

*Alright, then if not for your protection, then for ours,* countered the Doctor. *The rest of us, particularly Nyssa and Tegan, are not as experienced with danger as yourself.*

"Um..." Karda interrupted. "Maybe not intelligent life - but it's dangerous out there, I can feel the creatures. This place is alive with darkness." He looked at Kira's goldish eyes. "Doc's right, we need to stick together. There is no knowing what is out there."

Just as he spoke, he felt something. Like - like a... tug on him, from somewhere. The Shard he thought. But it wasn't calling to him as strongly. He could feel the power, the darkness, unlike the other shard - he could only normally sense the one on Manaan - but it wasn't as strong as it was to Kira.

Maybe Jasra was right, maybe the different shards pulled on different types of people. He just hoped that he wasn't the right type for any of the shards.

The Doctor's breath shortened, and he sighed again, a small grimaec of pain playing across hi sface. *Alright,* he said. *Then that's settled. Nobody wanders off on their own.*

"Fine." Kira said quickly, "Let's go, then. The faster we get out there, the faster we find it."
She had felt it. The Shard was calling to her.

Stepping outside, Jasra wrinkled her nose. "Ugh! What's that awful smell? Methane?" She shivered as though something was making her skin crawl. "Let's just find this shard and get out of here."

Suddenly, something large and buzzing swooped out of the sky, directly at her. With reflexes that surprised even her, she whipped out her lightsaber and cut down in mid air. The split carcass of the large insect twitched before her feet before oozing strange coloured and even stranger smelling excretions from what could only be described as a mouth. "Eew..." she grimaced. Frowing worriedly, she looked at Karda and the Doctor. "What kind of life forms did you two say were on this planet?"

"A little jumpy today, eh Jasra?" Atton joked as the woman seemed to practically have a heart-attack.
"Put it this way," Kira said, going passed her and careful to walk on areas that wouldn't give way beneath her, "There's something waiting to eat you at every turn, especially in the water. Keep your eyes peeled."

"Yeah, well, I'm not planning to be anything's lunch," said Jasra, following behind Atton while she looked warily in the air for any more giant insects on the warpath. "And I'm definitely not planning on going swimming."

She gave a quick look at Crystal behind her. "You still know how to use that thing," she asked, looking at the lightsabre hanging from Crystal's belt. "Right?"

Crystal glanced down at her saber. Then, she took it in her right hand and held it up in front of her face.

"Muscle memory," she said quietly. Then, she laughed softly. "The brain's a muscle too." Nodding, she said, "Yes, yes."

"Good," Kira said, hacking at some brush with her saber, "You'll need it. Now c'mon, the faster we get the Shard the faster we get out of here."
And the faster it becomes mine.

"Good, good," Jasra replied to Crystal, although her expression still showed she was worried. "Tegan? Nyssa? Maybe you two and the Doctor ought to walk in-between those of us with weapons. Just to be on the safe side."

"Shard?" Crystal looked rather alarmed. "Oh..."

She activated her lightsaber and slashed through a bush, suddenly becoming very silent. Deactivating her lightsaber, she moved to follow Kira. As she followed she began muttering. Kira could hear her voice, but was not close enough to hear the words; Jasra could just barely catch a little of what was said.

"Little golden strand becomes bigger," Crystal was saying. "Binds, dominates, squashes, penetrates. We can't handle it. Can't fight, can't run. We are overwhelmed. Ultimate penetration... senselessness."

At this, she fell silent and shuddered slightly. Still, she walked, following Kira onward.

Tegan slipped on the uneven ground, and fell into a small patch of dead leaves on the ground. A few dozen small rodents scurried away, emitting high pitched squeeking noises.
The Doctor helped her up. *Careful, Tegan. Yelt rats can be viscious, if the queen is put in danger.*
He turned to Jasra. *Perhaps you are correct, Jasra. I would have brought K9 along with us, but he's not suited ot this terrain.*

----------------------------------------------

((Alright, I'm going to post as the newly created villain of the story, Darth Thanatos.

The human fell to the floor at the feet of Lord Thanatos, quivering in terror. Flanked by two Dark Jedi, he curled into a ball, trying to protect himself.
Thanatos turned and spoke, his voice barely more than a dark whisper.
"Where...is....she?"
"I... I do not... do not know, Mi'Lord. Reports say that she was seen on Mannaan... she-"
"She is not.... there."
The voice seemed to come from the cloak itself, the man's face no longer visible beneath the hood.
"I...I..."
"I tire... of your excuses.... Kaytok..." he said. "You... have failed me... for the last... time."
He slowly drew his lightsaber, the black runes inscribed on the hilt gleaming.
"Mi'Lord, I beg you! I have news! Of her companions!"
"Her companions are of no use to me."
"Mi'Lord, they are more than simple humans. One of them is another Jedi, by the name of Karda-"
"I know of her companions!" The voice didn't get any louder, but it became more viscous, more like a growl. "I have felt them through the Force! Four have joined her since she landed on nar Shaddaa. One is dead."
"Mi'Lord... there are seven."
Thanatos stood, and Kaytok only assumed that he was staring at him, though his eyes were not visible. "You dare to-"
"Mi'Lord, they are not like any other forms of life in existance! They do not seem to have any connection to the Force!"
"THAT IS IMPOSSIBLE!" he said, raising his lightsaber. "THE FORCE BINDS ALL LIFE TOGETHER! THEY COULD NOT EXIST WITHOUT THE FORCE!"
"Mi'Lord, our spies have seen them! A man and two women - Grentl, on Nar Shaddaa, saw them with her. He heard their conversation as he refuelleed their ship."
"Show me!"
Kaytok stood slowly, and moved to a terminal on the wall. He pressed a few buttons, and an image of three women and three men appeared on the screen. One of the women was the Exile, two of the men her past companions. The other three were unfamiliar.
"This man... he calls himself 'The Doctor', Mi'Lord."
A soft hiss escaped the folds of the cloak. "What do we know of him?"
Kaytok hesitated. "Nothing, your excellence. We have never heard of this 'Doctor' or his companions before."
Thanatos made to strike, but Kaytok spoke quickly. "Mi'Lord, there is more!" he yelled. "This Doctor, he... he's... changed, since this image was taken." He operated the console again, and an image of the Exile and her companions appeared on the screen, the massive sea of Manaan stretched out behind them. "This man, with the blonde hair, and the strange vegetable attached to his robes... he also calls himself 'The Doctor'."
Thanatos growled. "Bring him to me... along with Her and her Jedi companions. Destroy the others."

Their progress through the thick swampy jungle was painfully slow. Jasra continually kept looking behind her making sure that the others were behind her, while trying to keep an eye out ahead for Atton and Kira. But when she saw Tegan stumble, she decided that she needed to say something.

"Atton?" she called out ahead. "Can you get Kira to slow down a bit?"

"I can try...but if I loose an arm, I'm blaming you." Atton joked. He hurried ahead to catch up to Kira and Crystal.
"Hey, Kira..." Atton glanced around, but saw only Crystal. The Exile was gone. "Kira!" the Scoundrel frantically turned to Crystal, "Where'd she go?"

- - - -

Those idiots were only slowing me down. Kira thought as she hacked her own path through the jungle and swamp. Blood now mixed with the mud on her boots, having run across the path of an unfortunate preditor. Her eyes were now brighter amber than before, the natural blue beginning to disappear. When she sneered, the beginnings of fangs were spotted in place of her cainine teeth. I'll find the Shard before any of them, and they won't be able to take it from me. It will be just one more for my collection.

The Doctor looked around worriedly. *Oh dear. Perhaps we should split up to look for her. Groups of three?*
"Nyssa and I will go with the Doctor," said Tegan.
*No. We will need to travel with people equipped with weapons - we are the only three without.*

"Run, run, run," Crystal murmured. "She runs to escape, to escape the slow ones, to find the..."

A look of terror came to her face and she began to run... not on the path they'd found (and had been making), but straight through the tangled mess to her right. Within just a few seconds, she was lost to sight, though they could still barely hear her.

"Kira!" Jasra started after her, then paused, as Crystal took off to the right. After a moment of indecision, she said to the Doctor, "I'm going after Crystal. The rest of you find Kira. Just make sure that if you split up, there is at least someone in the group that can wield a lightsabre. One of you three can come with me." She ignited her sabre and began hacking a path in the direction Crystal had fled.

(1000th post!!! W00t!!!))

*Tegan, quickly! You said you travelled through Jungles back in Australia, now's the cahnce to use that experience,* said the Doctor. *Go with Jasra and find Crystal. The rest of us will find Kira.*
"Right, Doctor," she said, following Jasra.
*Right, we need to split up,* he continued. *Atton, I belive with Kira gone, you are as close to a leader we have here. How shall we begin our search?*

------------------------
((A little more info about Darth Thanatos. He doesn know about the Key to the Galaxy, but isn't concerned with finding it. He posses one shard (Jasra, I need to talk to you about this - it's important), and is therefore not worried about finding the others.
Sorry if these posts are boring - they're intended to show just how much Thanatos knows about the crew of the Ebon Hawk - and sorry, but he's going to be obssessed with killing the Doctor, having never heard of him before, he considers him a threat. There will be a big scene with the two of them, in which I will steal some of the dialogue from numerous episodes of Doctor WHo, as well as the 1996 Telemovie.))

"You summoned me, Mi'Lord?"
Thanatos didn't turn, but stood with his back to Kaytok. Again, his voice was a soft hiss, as if it wasn't issuing from a mortal mouth. "Have you found Her yet?"
"Yes, Mi'Lord. We have traced her ship to the Dagobah system. They have landed on Dagobah itself."
"What have you learned?"
"We have learned a great deal about one of her companions. His name is Karda Jal-Ordo. He's a Jedi Knight. A Sentinel, to be exact. He was born on Kashyyyk, his parents forced to-"
"I do not care about the trivial life of a meaningless Jedi," spat Thanatos. "I wish to know more about the ones she traveled with during the Purge. This.... 'Disciple' in particular. What do we know of him?"
"Well...." said Kaytok, checking his datapad. "His name is unkown. Our sources have been unable to learn much about his past, other than the fact that he served the Republic before joining the Exile."
"And what of this....'Atton'? "
"He is just as mysterious. He appears to have served with Revan in the Mandalorian Wars. He dissapeared along with Revan, but eventually turned up on Nar Shaddaa before taking a job at the Peragus mining facility."
Thanatos growled. "And what of this.... 'Doctor'?"
"We still know very little. We have been able to determine that he is not, as we assumed from his appearance, human. He is... mysterious. We have no idea when or how he arrived on Nar Shaddaa, or how he left. There is no record of his ship arriving on the smuggler's moon. But we have heard him speak several times of something called a 'Tardis'. It seems to hold some significance to him, but what it could be, we have no idea."
"He is a threat to us...." muttered Thanatos. "He must be... ex...termnimated."
"Yes, Mi'Lord."