TGOD - Ra Goes On A Killing Spree

[Kreshna Aryaguna Nurzaman]

"There was nothing you could do," Galadriel said sadly. "It was not your fault, or anyone's. We... underestimated the risk."

Meanwhile, as nobody noticed, the Planet Earth was shrouded in a gigantic, bird-shaped aura which as fading away as well.

Darth Kreshna and the Phoenix was a single being.

And now, it had gone.


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As they still pondered over the remains of Darth Kreshna -or the lack thereof, as nothing actually remained- a beaufitul, dark-skinned woman entered the room escorted with two men in dark suits. Despite their civilian suits, Ra and Galadriel quickly recognized that the two men were actually Stormtroopers.

The woman spoke, "what are you doing here, guys? Kreshna just telepathically contacted me this morning; he said I should get here as soon as possible. What was he doing in this place? Where is he now?"

Everyone now displayed pained look in their face. Irene was the last person they expected to be here, just right after the tragedy. Galadriel was not sure where to start......



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Meanwhile, somewhere above and beyond....

Darth Kreshna was the embodiment that represented the total psionic energy of all life from the past, present and future in the universe. His existence served a purpose, for he was a balance between Eternity and Death, between Infinity and Oblivion. He was both procreative and destructive; when the Phoenix used its powers, it killed off potential life in the future. It was also this energy that it used to recreate life, an aspect of which had the Phoenix Force sometimes referred to as the Resurrection Force.

And now, the Phoenix was gone.

The Cosmic Balance had been ruined.

"We should have interfered. The Living Tribunal made a mistake with his latest degree," Hawk-God of Arcturus spoke.

"You are wrong in your judgement, Hawk-God. The fulfillment of the Nightsister Millenium Prophecy was necessary for the survival of the multiverses. Palpatine was evil, but his tampering with the Phoenix Force was a necessity to stop Those Whose Name Should Not Be Spoken. It was the heroes who made the mistake, not the villains. And now the mistake shall cost the entire multiverses," Kubik responded.

"And still, nothing we did to stop the heroes," Galactus intervened.

The Living Tribunal finally spoke. All those in attendance immediately grew silent. "I HAVE HEARD OPPOSING ARGUMENTS AND HAVE REACHED CONSENSUS."

The Living Tribunal paused for a moment while the Cosmic Deities waited for his decree to be announced.

[Ra]

Telepathically, Galadriel reached out to Estrith.

"This... was the enemy's plan all along, I fear," she stated. "And like a fool, I didn't see it!"

"None of us could have," Esrith returned. "You are the oldest and wisest among us here, even older than my father. Few, save the council members and other high nobles, are of your age. The lover of this entity will be truly heartbroken when she is told of what happened."

"But it must be told," Galadriel confessed. "Theirs is a tragic story, the Phoenix-incarnate accidentally slew her, and for almost a year, she lie unconscious under my care. Through my toil, and help of my friends, she was restored."

"Then there has to be a way to bring him back to her," Ellen urged. "We can't just... give up on him."

"Indeed, young Ellen, we mustn't," Estrith agreed.

"We're all three mages, let's team up and find an answer," Ellen said.

"But remember, we must also find an answer to the threat that now lingers over us all," Galadriel advised. "The enemy wanted one of our most powerful allies destroyed, and exposed him to the terrors we all saw but a glimpse of."

"Then how long before he starts targeting the other powerful members of our little resistance front? Meaning: us three?"

"That, I cannot say as of yet," Galadriel lamented. "But I do forsee it happening. His eyes are set upon us already, even as we speak. We must be weary."

The entire telepathic exchange had happened in a matter of seconds, thoughts merging in a way that vocalized speach could never dream of keeping up with. Galadriel turned to Irene, finding even herself unable to say anything.

"Something's wrong, isn't it?" the Stormtrooper inquired, a worried look on her features.

"I fear that it is," Galadriel sighed.

"My child..." Estrith almost whispered, "Something terrible has happened."

"The Being of Fire was exposed to a madness no mortal mind can contain," Galadriel said sadly.

"What are you saying?" Irene blurted, her eyes showing increasing pain. "Just... spit it out."

"The Phoenix was overcome by his madness, and was disembodied," Galadriel said, resigning to getting to the point. "He vanished before our very eyes."

"When he faded away, I could not... feel anything. I cannot feel his essence, I feel nothing," Estrith said painfully. "I fear he is truly... dead..."

"That's not possible!" Irene shouted. "He can't die!"

"He may not actually be dead," Galadriel sighed, "But I cannot feel any trace of him."

Irene Patterson, despite being the hardened soldier, couldn't believe what she was hearing. Heartache and bitter sorrow flooded over her like a wave, and the stormtrooper fell to her knees, tears falling from her cheeks.

"He's not dead," she whispered to herself, managing the words between tears. "This isn't possible..."

Ellen rushed over to comfort her, and Irene then completely broke down, weeping bitterly on the half-elf's shoulder.

[Narsil]

"And so the phoenix force was disembodied..." Narsil said as he appeared behind Irene, "it practically destroyed itself."

With an understanding sigh, he turned to Irene, "I know all too well what it's like to lose a loved one, however, there might be a way to reverse this, and we'll need to defeat this threatening entity before we can do any of that." He grimaced, "And it would be much better for us if it hadn't just completely and utterly annihilated the British Imperium."

[Kreshna Aryaguna Nurzaman]

Moments later, Irene managed to regain control of herself. "...I am... alright.. thank you.... I have... to inform... Coruscant... about this..." she spoke softly while wiping her tears, but her voice was nothing but a grieving whisper.

"My dear," Ellen kept holding her, helping her to stand steady, "you are still in shock. You are not in the condition to...."

Suddenly, a gigantic figure appeared before the bereaving party; he was so tall that his head touched the palace's ceiling. The very same figure also simultaneously appeared in Lord Adam's palace on A'millan Prime, as well as Lord Detritus VIP quarters aboard the Death Star. The figure radiated an intense aura of omnipresence that even the still-grieving Irene could not help but acknowledge.



The figure, who simultaneously appeared in many places, spoke with a booming voice.

"NOBLE MORTALS, MY NAME IS ETERNITY."

Everyone was still caught in awe as the figure continued, "I AM THE EMBODIMENT OF LIFE. MY COUNTERPART IS MISTRESS DEATH. MY SISTER, INFINITY, IS THE PERSONIFICATION OF EXISTENCE, WHILE HER COUNTERPART IS OBLIVION. TOGETHER, WE KEEP THE BALANCE AND HARMONY OF THE MEGAVERSE. WE ARE FAR MORE THAN THE OMNIPOTENTS, BUT YET WE ARE FAR LESS, FOR WE ARE OMNIPRESENT AND INDESTRUCTIBLE, FOR WE ARE THE PERSONIFICATION OF WHAT YOU PERCEIVE AS THE ABSTRACT CONCEPTS OF YOUR EXISTENCE."

"THE PHOENIX TOO, WHICH HAD MERGED WITH A HUMAN NAME 'DARTH KRESHNA', IS NOTHING BUT THE PERSONIFICATION OF ALL THAT WERE, IS, AND WILL BE. WITH OTHER ENTITIES LIKE GALACTUS, HAWK-GOD OF ARCTURUS, THE BEYONDER, AND THE OTHERS, THE PHOENIX IS A NECESSITY TO KEEP THE BALANCE OF THE UNIVERSE."

"HEED THIS, MORTALS, FOR YOU HAVE MADE A MISTAKE DURING THE END OF WHAT YOU CALL 'THE GUARDIAN WAR'. THE HUMAN PALPATINE IS VILE, BUT HIS END HAD BEEN DEEMED NECESSITY BY THE LIVING TRIBUNAL; A NEW COSMIC DEITY THAT SHALL RISE FROM THE ASHES OF THE MULTIVERSE. KNOW THIS, MORTALS, THAT WHILE YOUR CAUSE WAS NOBLE, YOUR NARROW PERCEPTION HAD COSTED THE MEGAVERSE DEARLY."

"ALSO KNOW THIS, MORTALS, THAT AN OMNIPOTENT NAMED 'Q' HAD FALLEN INTO INSANITY, AND THE PHOENIX HAD PERISHED. THE EARTH IS NOT THE SAME EARTH YOU KNEW ANYMORE, AND THE IMBALANCE SHALL CONTINUE TO DESTROY THE VERY FABRIC OF THE MEGAVERSE."

"THUS, MORTALS, THE LIVING TRIBUNAL HAS DECLARED, THAT NO MAGICAL BEINGS, NO COSMIC ENTITIES, NO OMNIPOTENTS, SHALL EXPOSE THEMSELVES TO THOSE WHOSE NAME SHOULD NOT BE SPOKEN, FOR THE MEGAVERSE HAS WITNESSED WHAT HAPPENED TO THE Q AND TO THE PHOENIX FORCE."

"THOSE WHO SEEK TO SAVE THE MEGAVERSE SHALL UTILIZE NOTHING BUT THEIR OWN RESOURCEFULLNESS AND WISDOM. AND THUS, MORTAL, I HAVE SPOKE THE WORDS OF THE LIVING TRIBUNAL. AND MY JOB HERE IS FINISHED."

As Eternity slowly disappeared, Irene suddenly leaped, "wait! You said you are the embodiment of life! Can you bring back the Phoenix? Bring him back! Bring him back!"

But the Cosmic Entity merely disappeard as Irene fell down to her knees and whispered bitterly, "...bring him back...."

[Narsil]

Narsil grimaced at this, "Well, my power is far too great for me to be able to interfere in this crisis, I cannot disobey the tribunal."

He sighed, "Good luck, my comrades, you'll need it."

With a shimmer and spark of energy, Narsil vanished from the room, and disappeared without a trace. He returned to the worlds above these; Alastrann MacLaughlin was not to interfere with the world, he was to stand back and let the mortals decide their own fate. The time of the reckoning was at hand, the prophecy was about to be fulfilled. But with a brief flash of power, Narsil sent someone who could possibly help, people without his level of power;

With another flash of light, two elves and a tiefling appeared around the area where Alastrann had stood. It was time for Alastrann to step back, and for Taurandir, Morfindel and Demika to take his place.

[Ra]

The crimson-haired tiefling regarded Ellen for a moment, and smacked her lips provocatively, saying, "Hmm, you look delicious."

"DEMIKA!" Morfindel shouted.

Ellen broke out laughing, looking ever so slightly embarassed.

She then circled around the elf teasingly, and said, "Now dear, I wouldn't dream of doing anything like that, would I?"

Morfindel didn't answer.

"Who the hell are these two?" Ra muttered.

"Well there's a strange fellow if I ever set eyes on one," Demika remarked.

Estrith glared, and said, "Welcome... to Gardsten... Would you be so kind as to introduce yourselves?"

"Oh, of course, m'lady," Demika smiled. "I'm Demika Zyn'tarath. I... travel places a lot. Sigil, Toril, Halne, wherever life takes me."

"You're a Planewalker," Ellen remarked, her eyes showing intrigue.

"Indeed I am," Demika smirked. "And this is Morfindel."

The ranger nodded slightly, looking like he'd rather be anywhere else.

"Nice crossbow," Ra stated, trying not to laugh. "But look at the bright side, we don't have that Rhona around to bug us."

"Thank Freyr," Ellen muttered.

[Narsil]

Narsil watched distantly and grinned, "I knew that there was something I was forgetting here..."

With a flash of light, Rhona appeared directly next to Ellen and grinned, "What were you saying?"

Taurandir just stood against the wall watching distantly, "Remind me to kill Narsil next time we see him."

[Destructionator XV]

As the strange entity vanishes, the Lady simply turns to Adam, raises an eyebrow and says "fascinating." Adam just responds "indeed" before they go back to what they were doing.

[Ra]

"I was saying... thank Freyr that we have some new allies... heh," Ellen answered.

"Oh sure," Rhona glared. She then stared Ra down, saying, "And I'll deal with you soon enough, Snakehead."

"Deal with me?" Ra laughed. "Howso? Would you turn me? Fool! Do you think I would turn down an opportunity to expand my own power, and gain true immortality?"

Rhona then grabbed Ra by the throat, throttling him off the ground. She sneered, "I won't give you the pleasure."

"Enough of this!" Estrith boomed. "You're acting like children."

"Quite the motley crew," Morfindel remarked in his oddly optimistic tone. "They look rightly staged to tear each other apart."

"Hon, that's what makes it challenging," Demika chimed, clinging to his arm.

"Eilistraee protect us," Morfindel simmered.

"I wouldn't write off the planet yet, dear," Demika smirked.

Galadriel only stared.

"So..." Demika said, suddenly channeling magical power. She then got an insight, and said, "Galadriel. You lead this effort?"

"No, I do!" Ra responded in his Goa'uldish voice. "Remember that, mortal."

"Ignore that fool," said Galadriel. "Yes, I seem to be the one that commands our effort, what effort that it is."

Galadriel then explained the situation, with occasional additions from Ellen, Ra, and Princess Estrith. Again, the Noldor queen chose to leave out the parts about going to A'millian Prime.

"How interesting, m'lady," Demika answered. "I'm sure we can help out."

"We need answers," Ellen sighed. "We still don't know what the entity is doing around the world, or who's loyal to him. Supposedly the Atlanteans are cooperating, but we can't tell if that's actually true. The only Atlantean to dare attack this continent was Amyris... who was killed not far from here."

"I'm sure we can find out," Demika nodded. "But there's more than enough people around now to oppose him. Including four witches; myself, you, Galadriel, and... Estrith here. Together, we could most assuredly come up with a plan."

"So be it," said Galadriel. "We shall form a council, and look for answers. Each of us shall lead a group, while Lady Estrith remains here. Come, we should waste no more time."

[Narsil]

Taurandir spoke up, "I don't know whether you lot are too idiotic or ignorant to notice or not, but a strange blue box just appeared in the room, and loudly, I'm surprised you all missed it."

True enough, the TARDIS was to the side of the room, and the Doctor was poking his head out with a cheesy grin on his face, "Sorry if we're disturbing your little argument."

[Ra]

Estrith rolled her eyes, and speaking words of power, caused the TARDIS to levitate, moving out through the opening front doors of the palace.

"Next time, park that eyesore outside," she muttered.

"Eyesore?!" the Doctor asked in astonishment.

"Elves have quite a... shall we say... distinct sense of style," Demika answered. "Though, this city looks nothing like Suldanessellar."

Morfindel only brooded.

"Now, if we may continue, I believe there is something here that may help us," Estrith continued. "Follow me."

Estrith led the group into her large study, at the center of which was a large divining pool, the edges of its bowl engraved with magical runes and symbols. Galadriel glanced at Estrith, as she had one of her own, so long ago.

"Normally, the range of the Pool is limited," Estrith said. "However, with all of our power combined, we could see events occuring anywhere in the world."

"You know how to use one of these things?" Demika asked Ellen.

"Estrith taught me herself," Ellen said.

"Before you go spying on the planet," Morfindel said, "I have to know something."

"And what is that, friend?" asked Galadriel.

"I just want to know what we are supposed to do," he continued, gesturing to himself and Demika. "It is obvious that we seem a bit... out of place."

Ellen glanced over their ancient-looking clothing, and nodded, saying, "Yeah, a little bit. You'll need new clothes, for one thing, and learn how people talk nowadays. Not to sound harsh, but you guys look like you came out of some movie about ancient Europe or something."

"And there is something else about him," Estrith pointed out. "Morfindel, of what race are you?"

He paused a moment, and then said, "I was born an elf."

"He has no elven spirit," Estrith whispered. "He is little more than a more developed human."

"I noticed that myself when I got here," Demika nodded. "You're not like the people we in the Realms call elves. Perhaps you're an older race from which Morfindel's people descended, I simply don't know."

"Possible, but there's no time to speculate," Estrith agreed.

"How long do you live?" Morfindel asked. "My kind typically live to be 800 years old."

Ellen looked surprised. She said, "I'm a half-elf, and we usually live a thousand years. Fullblooded elves... are immortal."

Morfindel nodded, slightly taken aback by the revelation.

[Narsil]

Taurandir sighed, "I care little about immortality," he smiled, "it would be boring if you don't have to cherish every moment as though it might be your last."

The Doctor piped up, "Well if you'll bring the TARDIS back in, I've got an extensive wardrobe in there," he grinnned, "from all time-periods."

[Ra]

"I actually wanted to go to Arnor and Fredi, downtown," Ellen laughed. "Demika, you've not experienced what it is being a woman until you're gone shopping."

"Shopping..." Demika nodded. "Sounds... interesting."

"I got credit cards... cash... oh, we're gonna have fun finding you something!" Ellen said gleefully.

"Good night," Ra said, putting his face in his palm.

"You care little for immortality, Taur?" Morfindel smirked.

"As I said," the monk nodded.

"Like I once said, life is made for living, and for lively people," Ellen chimed. "Immortality makes it that much better."

"Ever the optimist," Morfindel said, raising an eyebrow. After being rejected by a self-serving elven noblewoman, trudging through the Underdark, hunting Banites, stalking vampires, and being himself stalked through Sigil by Demika's old 'friend', he simply couldn't be that optimistic anymore. In a way, he even regretted it.

[Destructionator XV]

Over the A'millian castle, a shuttle is seen launch. Inside it, the Lord and Lady set a course to follow the spaceline's shuttle's flightpath.

"Well, not rea- wait, a tachyon spike on the lateral sensors."

"I see it...."

"Tachyon levels increasing... now 1200% above normal levels."

"Steady as she goes..."

"1500%.... 1600%.... 1400%... 800%, dropping rapi-"

"Whoa," Adam interjects, "I just felt a great disturbance in the Force,"

"As in a great entity cried out with all its might then suddenly vanished," she finished.

"Kreshna!" Adam put it together.

"Bring us about, let's take a second scan," the Lady suggests.

"Setting course..."

"Tachyon levels rising again.... 1600% above normal... dropping rapidly..."

"There, you feel that?"

"The Force. Something is here, crying out."

"Let's go back and get a starship. Things are getting interesting."

[Ra]

OOC: I'm moving on. I half forgot what we needed to do, so I'm just punting the group in NYC, in order to investigate some wierd cultist activity.
.........................

New York City

After a long plane flight from Galsten, Ra (who had taken on the name of Jousef Al-Hassan), Galadriel (who had taken on the name of Herdis Siegrith), Morfindel (going by the name of Valentin Kalenda), Demika (going by Amelia Kalenda), and Ellen finally stepped into the terminal at JFK International.

Morfindel's eyes were wide, the Ranger seeming to be in a state of shock.

"I take it you've never flown before, dear?" Demika asked, her tiefling features now obscured by an illusionary spell.

"I prefer to keep my feet on the ground, D- er, Amelia," Morfindel muttered.

"Then I suppose I'll remember how to torment you when you act up, dear," the tiefling smirked. "Flying spells are so fun."

"Unless you have to fight an archmage at 20,000 feet, then things get a little hectic," Ellen laughed.

All were now dressed in business suits, with the three magic-adepts of the group wearing suits that carried specific magical enchantments. Demika found the idea nothing new, considering how long she'd been wearing enchanted robes in Faerun.

Morfindel, however, couldn't stand the clothing of the planet. He found his suit very restrictive, and the fact that the "airline" forbid carrying of weapons made his day even more bitter. His beloved daggers had to be shipped seperate, by something called "Confed Delivery", sent to Ellen's apartment.

"How can one fight in a suit such as this?" he muttered.

"You usually don't, unless you're a wizard, or work for the Confederation government," Ellen noted.

"Whereto, then?" Galadriel asked Ellen. She was leading the group, but she was as lost as the next person.

"We'll head out and call up some taxis," Ellen said. "Then we'll all meet at my apartment, and plan our next move."

"Sounds like a plan," Morfindel muttered. "I'm assuming an 'apartment' is your home?"

"Not just my home," Ellen stated. "I have a roommate. Try finding an apartment in this city, and then try paying the rent, and you'll understand why I've got one."

"A city this big, one would think they had enough room for everyone. Even from what little I have seen, Waterdeep, Athkatla, Neverwinter, the dark elf cities... none are anywhere near this big," said Morfindel.

Ellen nodded, and said, "After we get settled, we'll go check out whatever it is the Princess saw in the divining pool. I'll also call up an old friend, and see what she knows."

"Very well then," said Galadriel. "Let's go."

[Narsil]

"You really should have taken the TARDIS," the Doctor said after the disguised time machine appeared out of nowhere in the middle of their path, "it would have been much faster."

Taurandir poked his head out, holding up a small secured box, "We also took the liberty of retrieving Morfindel's daggers from the jet, we thought you might need them."

Rose budged past them and glared at Ellen, "Next time, when your princess friend decides to move the TARDIS, make sure I'm out of it first."

============
OOC: I recommend using the TARDIS for any and all future transportation, peeps. It isn't an instant-win card, but it's a mobile laboratory, and it is in fact technically working for UNIT.

[Ra]

Soon, the group was back at Ellen's apartment, in Brooklyn.

"Sonja's at work, so we can stay here a few hours," Ellen explained. "Although, considering how many of us there are, I'd suggest we find a hotel."

"I was wondering," Morfindel commented to Demika, "Why haven't we come to this Plane before?"

"Hmm, I just hadn't gotten around to it. See, I wanted to visit Sigil first, so Earth got put off on our travels," Demika explained. "Though, this Allestran's plea for assistance gave me the perfect opportunity to go."

"How many planes have you visited?" asked Ellen.

"More than one could count," the tiefling laughed. "I've been here, Aber-Toril, my native Sigil, Middle-earth, the Plane of Air, even the Abyss a time or two, among other far-flung places."

"I've always wanted to travel," Ellen recalled. "Go to the elven cities in Asia and Persia. But you..."

"Yes, I get around," Demika smiled.

Galadriel then motioned to the group, and they gathered around.

"The cultists Lady Estrith saw are gathered in the central area of this island," the elven queen said, gesturing to a handy map.

"Manhattan," Ellen explained. "Looks like they're in the business district. Kinda unusual for a cult."

"Aye, from my experiences most cults lurk in slums and other areas frequented by foul personalities," Morfindel said.

Ellen then picked up the day's newspaper, and said, "It's on the front-page news, too. 'Group Terrorizes Subway Train'. It says that the cult 'chanted strange premonitions and statements about their cult's beliefs. Proclaiming that the world was coming to an end, they demanded blood, holding a woman hostage. Police intervened, rescuing the woman and dispersing the cult. Five were arrested.'"

"This sounds oddly familiar," Ra muttered. "Like what happened to Darth Kreshna."

"Precisely," said Galadriel. "What we must do is clear. Find this cult, and if at all possible, stop them, and find out what is affecting them, in the process."

"Then I hope you can explain to me who the hell is 'Nyarlathotep'," a woman stated. "New gods don't just appear overnight."

"Zemora," Ellen greeted. "Glad you could show up."

"That is the one threatening this planet," Galadriel said.

Zemora Jerayesh crossed her arms, and said, "The entire planet is under threat?"

"I'm afraid so," Ra stated. "And this monster's already claimed one of our allies."

"I've been on the cult for the last few weeks," Zemora said. "They've got a very powerful priest leading them, and are stationed in an old office building in Manhattan, as you just figured out. I can give you the exact location."

"Thank you," Galadriel said.

"I... can't exactly be of much use against a diety," Zemora said. "But if you're really Ellen's friends, I'll help in any way possible."

"Have you spoken to Karan?" Ellen inquired.

"Yes. She doesn't know what to do either. She did, however, state that if their power-base is threatened enough, the Gods will intervene," Zemora said.

"That'd only happen after it's already too late," Ellen said. "The Gods almost never interfere with our lives."

"I know," Zemora nodded.

"Can you come with us?" Ellen asked.

Zemora sighed. "I know we are supposed to help each other no matter what, Ellen, but right now..."

"It's alright if you tell them," she added.

"White Spear is stretched extremely thin right now," Zemora explained. "Karan is concerned that the cult is growing too quickly. That, and the recent government raids have left us with a lot of good operatives forced into hiding. Lots of things have changed, Ellen, including my responsibilities. I'm Karan's right hand woman now."

"I understand," Ellen nodded.

"Again, I will try and help any way I can. But I have to stay where White Spear needs me," Zemora said.

"And any help will be appreciated, young Zemora," said Galadriel. "For now, we must see to this... cult, and quickly. "Ellen."

Ellen began making magical preperations, as Zemora hastily left. She prepared and created magical runes on the arms of each member of the party.

"These runes will magically protect you from gunfire," Ellen explained. "All you have to do is touch them to have the spell take affect."

"I didn't even need a stinkin' tatoo," Ra muttered. "I have a forcefield."

"The rune also protects you from enemy spells, to an extent," Ellen added.

"Well, that's useful too," Ra agreed.

And at that, the group set off.

[Ra]

Elsewhere, in Zurich

The elven woman looked on impassively as screen after screen of scientific data was displayed. She was truly beautiful, with gray eyes and curly black hair that went down to her waste.

"As you can see, Minister, the basic science is there," Kane state, leaning over his desk casually.

"The yield of your weapons would be increased a hundred fold," Baal stated.

"I am not interested in genocidal weapons, Mister Kane," the elf stated with a restrained anger.

"With all due respect, Minister, you may need them against the Atlanteans," Baal added. "Though we'll respect your wishes on the matter."

"Gray Elven power production took a serious blow after the Atlantean incursion last month, and your people haven't been able to get power back up to several areas," Kane said. "Use of this material in your nuclear facilities would greatly enhance their output."

"How do I know that this... naquada... would not be critically unstable?" she asked.

"From our research, we've found ways to make the naquada-enhanced reactors extremely stable," Kane continued. "It's no more dangerous than an ordinary nuclear plant."

"Is it true this technology can also be used for aerial applications?" she then asked.

"Yes," Kane nodded. "We could easily refit aircraft to run off of miniaturized naquada plants, as opposed to expensive jet fuel."

That seemed to pique the elf's interest moreso than the offer of new power facilities. She nodded, and said, "I will bring your offer before the Prince, then. We would like to see some demonstrations of this technology before we make any agreement, however."

"And you'll have it," Kane stated. "Thank you for your time, Minister."

She nodded, and rose from her seat. Kane then shook her hand, and said, "Glad to be doing business with you."

Baal smirked as the elf exited the room.

"That's seven customers now," the Goa'uld said. "Soon enough, we'll have quite the fortune divided between us."

"They all seem most interested in aircraft or vehicle applications, I've noticed," Kane continued. "Though the Socialists were easily sold by the offer of naquada-enhanced nukes."

"Two seconds into the meeting, and he goes, "You have a deal"," Baal laughed. "The Russians always were more open to the true meaning of diplomacy."

[Narsil]

The Doctor sat back in the TARDIS, which was 'parked' in a New York backalley. With Taurandir having left to find his friends and travel with them (OOC: I'll leave the control of Taurandir to you, Ra, 'tis much easier) and Rose changing her clothes, the Timelord was left with only the brooding black-armoured Darth Vader for company.

"The Force is strong with you, Doctor," Vader said suddenly, breaking the silence, "I feel also that you know how to use it; why don't you."

"Because I'm not willing to risk falling to the Dark Side," the Doctor replied, annoyed at this, "and my own Timelord abilities are more than enough to get me through..." he sighed, "and even when they're not, it's better to fail than to become a monster like you."

"You refuse power?" Vader chuckled, "And I thought you were intelligent."

"If you persist in this, Vader," the Doctor glared, "you'll be ejected from the TARDIS and dumped in a UNIT base so they can experiment on your various cybernetics, am I making myself clear?"

"Perfectly," Vader replied, not wanting to press the issue further, as he knew from his various chats with Narsil that defeating a Timelord in combat was difficult at best.

[Destructionator XV]

A pensive Lord Adam stands alone on a beach, a serene forest behing him, the light of the moon shimmering peacefully off the ocean.

"Somehow I knew I'd find you here," the voice of the Lady breaks the silence.

A smile crosses his face at the sound of her voice, and he responds "you know me all too well, old friend," still looking at the water.

"What's wrong?" she inquires while walking up next to him.

"I just couldn't sleep."

"C'mon, you know I know you better than that. Something's bothering you."

"I've been thinking about all that's been happening... these new entities, the disturbance we felt in space..... what happened to Kreshna," he turns his head to her, then looks back down at the water, "...it frightens me."

"We've been through worse," she says reassuradly.

"This is getting ridiculus though," his voice becomming irritated, "They never damn stop comming...." , then whispers, "gods, I hate this job."

"I know.... but it is what we are. Each day, we make a noble sacrifice."

"Have you ever asked yourself whether it is nobler in the mind to suffer the slings and arrows of outrageous fortune, or to take arms against a sea of troubles, and by opposing end them?"

"'tis a consummation devoutly to be wish'd," she silently responds, "but we have an empire to defend. We have to put our own desires second."

"When you signed up for the Service," Adam inquires, "did you ever expect to become supreme commander?"

"No..."

"Even when I took the promotion to Prince-Lord, I never expected to actually become king. It was not until I was standing here, in this very place, nine hundered, nintey seven years ago, that the gravity of what happened truely hit me. The ENF did far worse than kill me that day."

"Let's just get back and get some sleep," she dodges.

"Sleep, so we can work again tomorrow."

"When we take care of this, we will take a nice vacation, I promise," she happily says.

"That sounds nice," he smiles as they walk away, leaving the tranquil landscape behind them.

[Narsil]

The Doctor stared at the column of the TARDIS' control room with a bored expression on his face. This was getting too difficult to stand; sat on the sidelines doing nothing but waiting around for things to get interesting. It was unheard of that he, the Doctor, would be the one sat on the sidelines, so in a brief moment of spontanous action, the Doctor stood up and started manipulating the controls of the TARDIS' central console.

"Alright, Rose, Vader," he said, casting a momentary glance at the two, "we're no help here on Earth... but I'm sure visiting the government on A'millian Prime might help a bit."

"Finally," Rose sighed, "time to go kick some ar-"

"Language," the Doctor interjected with a wry smile as the central column of the TARDIS began to move with its signature reality-warping sound, "okay, we're off."

With a flash of light from the lantern at the top of the TARDIS, the whole box began to fade slightly. With another flash, it faded a little more, and then with a third flash, the tall blue box had vanished entirely from the New York city street and was hurtling through the Time Vortex towards A'millian Prime. After a few moments inside the TARDIS, but barely a millisecond outside of it, there was a flash of light on the beach next to Lord Adam which was just over two metres above the sand...

[Destructionator XV]

"Jesus H. Christ, what the fuck is this bullshit!?" Adam complains upon seeing the TARDIS.

"Looks like another sleepless night..." the Lady sighs.

[Narsil]

The door of the TARDIS opens with a click and a wryly grinning man with spiky brown hair pokes his head out, "Well, I don't say that about your wierd saucer-and-nacelles type ships, do I, so why say it about my TARDIS?"

[Destructionator XV]

"We also don't suddenly whisp out of thin air on your planet."

[Narsil]

"Well," the Doctor held out a hand, "I'm the Doctor, and you must be Lord Adam."