Only Shadows in Coruscant

[Dark Link]

"My, my....you really are out of it, aren't you?" the Colonel said as he noticed that the girl was nodding off, her red ponytail hanging on the side of her lowered head. Though it had been Herman's rambling that had caused her to lose focus in the first place, she was still aware enough that his last comment made her jolt her head upwards and awake from her stupor. In her mind, Sarah cursed herself for the moment of weakness, but the damage was done. Unlike what one would expect from the man, however, Brandt did not look amused by this. While not angry, his lips were tightly sealed as he looked at the teenager with a disapproving look. He did not appreciate someone not listening to what he was saying. At the same time, however, the fact that she reminded him of his daughter made him somewhat more lenient than normal...even though he quite clearly recognised her eyes to be those of a cold-hearted killer.

A few awkward moments passed between them before the Colonel decided not to chew the teenager out for her improper behaviour. Sighing, he turned off the virtual image and finally broke the silence: "I suppose the paperwork will have to wait. Go and get some rest. However, I expect you here in my office first thing in the morning. Are we absolutely clear?" The Ghost nodded, though it was difficult to tell if she truly did understand him or if she was just blindly agreeing to anything he said just so she could get some sleep. Herman took another sip of his cognac to wash away the bitter taste in his mouth. "Since I don't currently have the time to arrange separate accommodations, your..." he added, pausing for a moment to glance at the boy standing next to her, "...dark friend will have to sleep over for the night." While her companion remained as confused as always, Sarah nodded again, albeit more firmly this time.

Opening one of his desk drawers, the senior officer retrieved from it a transparent keycard. Swiveling in his chair, he turned to Simmons and extended it to him. With a smile on his face, Brandt stated: "Captain, why don't you escort our guests here to their quarters? Given their current condition, I don't think it would be appropriate to leave them wandering around on their own."

Simmons slightly grimaced, unhappy with the idea of serving as someone's room clerk....especially when that someone had threatened to kill him not long ago. The subordinate responded: "But, sir, I need to have our blasters retrieved from the Nexus. We can't-"

The Colonel interrupted him, making a dismissive gesture with his free hand: "Don't worry about that, Simmons; I will make all the necessary arrangements. You just make sure that our guests arrive at their quarters safely. Oh, and of course...once you have done that, you are free for tonight. I'm sure you need some rest yourself after such a long and awkward day." Herman continued grin widely, but the Captain's stern look was unwavering. Gazing at his superior, he was quite tempted to punch the man in his smug face. However, he kept his composure; he obediently took the card and saluted.

"Good," Brandt said, looking pleased as he leaned back in his chair and scanned all three of them with his eyes, "I will see you in the morning. You are now dismissed. Good night." Saluting once more, Simmons gestured to the other two to follow him. Glad that this was finally over, Sarah followed the Captain out the door. The warrior in black didn't immediately realise what was going on, but ran to catch up when he did.

**********

After a short trip, the group once again found itself outside the military complex. Barring the occasional individual and droid, the hallways were even more empty than before. The majority of personnel had either gone home or were busy with their night shift duties. Even outside the fortress, there weren't as many people as before. But in a city that never slept, the various pathways and plazas were almost never entirely empty and the ant lines of hovering vehicles above were seemingly endless at all times.

With Simmons taking point, the trio made its way back to the main avenue. This time, they followed the wide pathway all the way to the end, where the enormous elevator they saw earlier awaited them. As it turned out, that wasn't the only one; a whole series of them were lined up along the walls of a colossal square pillar, enabling dozens, if not hundreds, to travel between the top two tiers at any given time. But at that late hour, they were not being utilised anywhere near their full capacity; many remained still as their doors were either open as they awaited new passengers or closed as they were located at the bottom at that time. However, one of them was being boarded by a small group of people; some were guests in fancy evening garments who were retiring for the night while others were either office workers or military officers who had been working late. It was this group that the Captain and the two Primes joined as they boarded the elevator.

They positioned themselves near the front of the wide platform as the doors closed and the transportation device powered up, beginning its decent with a speed that belied its size. As they began their journey to the lower tier, the trio noticed that the other passengers were staring at them...or, rather, they were staring at the swordsman, who stood out like a sore thumb among the inhabitants of the technologically advanced metropolis. Since the boy was practically doing nothing but taking in the various sights and sounds around him, even he wasn't oblivious to this and his curious eyes often met the nervous or equally curious gazes of the people around them. Neither Simmons nor the Ghost payed much heed to this occurrence. The girl did manage to catch some of the random thoughts of the nearby passengers, including one who was wondering if the upcoming show "Law & Orker" was going to result in more people from Camelot coming there. But even if she had cared to learn what they were thinking, her mind was too unfocused for most of it to sound like anything more than gibberish; with her head throbbing and her nerves strained, it was taking every ounce of her strength just to remain attentive enough to follow the Captain.

Once the lift had passed through the enormous metallic layer that propped up the entire top section of the city, they finally got to see Tier Two through the elevator's transparent walls. Though not quite as luxurious as the first tier and having a synthetic sky in place of a real one, the sight of it was no less breathtaking. In spite of being located within an artificially enclosed space, the sheer dimensions of said space were so tremendous that it was able to replicate the tall skyscrapers and seemingly endless aerial traffic of the upper tier. In fact, the second tier was even more bustling with activity than the first, especially at that time of day. It seemed that for all the glamour and prestige of the topmost tier, the true heart of the city lied beneath its surface.

As it approached the end of its descent, the transportation device decelerated just as quickly as it accelerated. In spite of this, the elevator came to a smooth stop, without so much as a thud, and the doors slid open. The passengers exited and went their separate ways, though some were headed in the same direction. This included a few uniformed individuals, which Simmons followed to wherever they were going. The two Primes followed closely behind him and observed their surroundings. Like before, the boy in black was mesmerised by all the people and objects surrounding them. Meanwhile, though she was exhausted, the sheer noise that pervaded the streets kept the Ghost focused enough to notice that security wasn't quite as strict there as it was in Tier One. But though the smaller number of guards patrolling the area gave the appearance of a less stifling environment, looks were deceiving. A trained eye was able to notice numerous hidden cameras, monitoring the citizens of Coruscant constantly.

Fortunately for the group, their trip turned out to be brief. Located a relatively short walk away from the elevators was a whole series of identical apartment blocks. Though quite plain and unimpressive compared to some of buildings surrounding them, they were at least well maintained. "The apartments here are owned by the military. They're often assigned to junior officers so that they can respond quickly in case of an emergency," Simmons explained as he searched for the right building. But neither of his companions were really paying attention; the swordsman was still curiously looking around while the girl did not care and was simply glad she would finally be able to get some rest.

After a short search and a completely uneventful elevator trip, the trio found itself in another hallway. The Captain took a few more steps before finally coming to a halt in front of one of the doors. On the wall next to it was a sign that said "237" and right below it was a keypad with a keycard slot. Turning to the other two, Simmons addressed them once more: "Here we are, Apartment 237." Stretching out his arm, he held out the transparent keycard he received earlier from Herman to the girl: "Take this. Since the door uses several security mechanisms besides the keycard and numeric code, it's important that the intended owner inserts it and types in the code. Speaking of which, it's 1408." Sarah took the keycard and acknowledged the man's words with a tired nod.

The brown-haired commander was about to turn to leave when he remembered something else: "Oh, one more thing. Like I said before, the brass will probably overlook what you did at the fountain. However, I would suggest you avoid pulling any more stunts like that in the future. Thanks to a recent incident, the higher ups have become...a bit nervous when it comes to Prime recruits and are keeping a close eye on them. If you do something like that again, they might decide that you're more trouble than you're worth and arrest you. I don't know what they do to rogue Primes....but often, we don't end up hearing from them again. Keep that in mind, alright?" The Ghost nodded once more in response. Oliver sighed; he didn't know if his words really sunk in...but nor did he really care. He did what he was ordered to do and whatever happened after that wasn't his problem....he had enough "babysitting" for one day. "Good night," he bid them before finally walking off, his mind set on relieving some stress at the cantina.

As the two Primes were left alone in the hallway, the red-haired girl didn't waste any time inserting the card into the appropriate slot and inputting the four-digit code. After a few moments, a beep was heard as the keycard popped back out of the slot and the doors slid open. Retrieving the card, Sarah stepped into her new place of residence, the swordsman closely behind her. Though the room they entered was dark, it was immediately illuminated by an automatic light as soon as they walked in and the entrance closed behind them. They appeared inside a small rectangular entrance hall, doors on almost each of its walls. Aside from a simple shoe rack and a small landscape picture on the wall, it was completely bare. On the left was an open door frame, which lead into a room that seemed to serve the dual purpose of being both the kitchen and the living room. After inspecting the rooms behind the two closed doors opposite and right of the entrance, the girl discovered that they were the bathroom and bedroom, respectively.

While the grey-haired warrior stared in amazement at the light that turned on by itself, Sarah sighed in relief as she entered the room she was looking for. Unlike the hallway she came from, the bedroom had a large window with a nice view of the city. It was also well-furnished, containing a large closet, a dresser and two night stands. Most importantly, it had a double-sized bed, which was already prepared in advance for its new inhabitants; for the drained young woman, it was a sight for sore eyes. Approaching the bed, she raised one of her arms and removed the hair tie that kept her ponytail together, letting her long hair loose. As she dropped the tie on the night stand and heard the boy's footsteps coming closer, the small part of her mind that was still attempting to function normally worried about where would he sleep and whether he was going to run off somewhere while she was resting. But Sarah had reached her limits. Her body exhausted and her head throbbing, she was unable to go on for even a moment longer. The girl unceremoniously collapsed onto the mattress, her red locks covering the pillow. In the brief moments that she tried to think of what to say to the boy who entered the room just then, she rapidly fell into a deep slumber.

Meanwhile, sticking close to his female companion as he was told to, the young man positioned himself next to the bed. As the door closed and the bedroom was covered in darkness, the only source of illumination being the distant city lights visible through the window, he stood there and observed the room as well as the sleeping Ghost. There, he waited......and waited.......and waited. It was difficult to tell how much time had passed as he continued to wait while the girl slept peacefully, her breathing the only thing that was disturbing the silence in the room. The boy was curious and pondered whether to explore the previous rooms he saw...but then remembered how the being they called Simmons responded when he walked away to examine something the last time. Though the man in white was not there, the girl herself told him to stick close to her. For that reason, he kept himself content with examining the objects in the room they were in, never distancing himself much from his previous spot.

Eventually, when he had sated his curiosity and stood by the bed again, he started to feel an odd sensation. His legs were becoming weak, his eyelids heavy and his mind numb. Though he was initially confused by this, it was in fact something he had already experienced...he was getting tired. It had been a long time since he had awoken in the void, after all. Unable to stand any longer, the teen unknowingly seated himself on the floor. He continued to patiently wait...but over time, he did not feel like he could sit either. He ended up supporting himself with one of his elbows and then lied fully on the ground when even that turned out to be too tiresome. Since he could not lie on his back due to his sword and shield, he was turned on the side instead. His red eyes continued to observe his companion, but the warrior increasingly struggled to focus as his eyelids remained closed for longer....and longer.....until he too fell into a deep sleep.

At one point in his slumber, the young male once again saw a vision in his mind. Yet, unlike the ones he had before, this one was different. It was dark, it was surreal....and, most importantly, it wasn't his own.

**********

Dark Link and Sarah are now asleep. Sarah is dreaming and Dark Link is experiencing the same dream.

**********

BAM! The swordsman jolted as a result of the vision's abrupt end. But because he was sleeping on the floor, the back of his head collided with the dresser next to him. Reacting to the immense pain he felt as a result, the teen instinctively reached for the spot under his cap and began to rub it. But as he did so, his mind started to focus less on the unpleasant sensation and more on the dream he had, which was unlike anything he had ever experienced. It was then that he realised that the room that the dream took place in....was the same room in which they were.

His red eyes opening wide, the boy jumped to his feet with incredible speed. Reacting to the danger, he unsheathed his sword and retrieved his shield from his back, ready to face......nothing. There were no red and yellow eyes in the windows, no holes in the walls, nothing running on the floor.....aside from the daylight that was pouring into the room from the outside, the living space was exactly as it was supposed to be. The girl had awoken as well, sitting on the bed in a distressed state. Her face was pale, her breathing was heavy and there were heavy drops of sweat on her brow. Meanwhile, fully alert, the boy kept turning around, his sword ready to strike at any foe that might be surrounding them. He had visions before...but none like this. None that felt so dangerous, so....real. Carefully looking around, he pondered...who were they? What were they? And, most importantly, where were they?