04-05-2016, 06:03 AM
Link took a deep breath, holding it in as he peered around the corner that lie before him and the exit. The pale white hall before him was empty, to the hero’s delight. Not a person in sight. The halls echoed eerily, a breeze carried through the ducts that ran the length of them. Distant footfalls reverberated through the building, shadows of the source danced through doorways, the boy’s heart skipping a beat at each individual silhouette that crossed his path.
The teen froze in place, back planted against the white wall of the holding area. Another footfall, closer this time. Another. And then another. Yet another until they ceased, mere inches away from the Hero of Time, who’d mustered nigh on all of his strength into flattening his body against the ivory wall. The trooper’s shadow lingered for what seemed like an eternity before finally, thankfully, it turned, receding back into the hallway from whence it came.
Both Link and Navi breathed a sigh of relief. The boy peeled himself away from the wall and peered around the corner once again, watching the trooper turn a corner at the very end of the corridor. The exit was tantalizingly close, although the hallway between loomed, appearing to stretch out for far longer than logically possible.
A tentative step saw the hero out into the corridor, followed by another, faster step. In little more than a heartbeat, Link found himself bolting through the hallway, closing the distance between himself and the door. Another heartbeat guided the teen through the door and into the crisp, fresh air of the upper tier of Coruscant.
Darkness lay thick across the city, a distant rumbling reverberated through the air, carried up from the lower, more congested tiers. A dull roar emanated from the hover cars that flew nearby, not quite loud enough to drown out the even closer steps of the Stormtroopers patrolling the courtyard Link had entered. The grounds were littered with various shrubs and bushes, each dense bed of plants appeared to have its own personal guard, patrolling the paths that lie around them.
The troopers trudged along their designated paths, quiet chatter hummed through their comms, occasionally eliciting a response from one or more of the guards. Link observed for a while, watching the troopers make their rounds from a distance, and noticed a pattern. Every time the closest trooper rounded his area, there was a brief gap in their line of sight. The second closest trooper wouldn’t turn the corner to find Link for a moment, giving him time to dash across to the next spot. The third and fourth troopers alternated. When one was on the side facing Link, the other was behind and vice versa.
There it was. His chance. Link bolted, feet digging into the nigh ivory cobbles. He dove across the first plant bed, narrowly avoiding being spotted by first trooper. Landing shakily at the very edge, the Hero found his balance and threw himself into a neat roll, grinding to a halt halfway along the second bed. The third guard rounded the corner, just as Link managed to duck behind cover. The second guard’s comm whirred into life, a short jingling, his attention drawn to the device, causing him to cease his patrol, giving Link just enough breathing room to set about shadowing the third guard. With the fourth making his way around the backside of the last brush, Link darted forwards, escaping the labyrinth.
The boy’s heart beat in his throat, adrenaline forced him to continue on, darting between every piece of cover he could find. Patrols passed far too close for comfort, so close in fact, Link was able to pull a few choice words from the conversation echoing out from the trooper’s comms. “Escaped-.. Holding area-..” The Hero’s heart skipped a beat. He’d been noticed so soon. There was little choice left. Link flung himself towards the next building that obscured his escape route. Little more than a checkpoint, by the looks of things. As he moved, an arrow materialised in his hand, the tip of which glowed a pale yellow. What could he do now, but run? He reached the checkpoint, the guard on duty bringing his head up to meet the boy’s eyes. A glint of determination sparkled within as he threw the arrow towards the trooper. The arrow’s tip embedded itself into the trooper’s desk, shortly before erupting into a blinding white orb of incandescence. The trooper yelped, moving to shield his eyes as best possible, but the damage was done. Link vaulted the gate that separated the holding area and the rest of the top tier.
As far away from the checkpoint as his was, he could hear the chatter on the Imperial’s comms going wild. His escape was now known to most, if not all of the troopers in the area. He ran. Potentially faster than he’d ever run before.
***
Ducking past the Imperial’s patrols and cameras, even at night, was proving a difficult task. They were on his tail and his only shelter was the odd indent in the opalescent walls of the building he’d taken refuge nearby. The shadows cast by passing Troopers and citizens alike made the boy’s heart race. He wasn’t safe in this place. Then it hit him, an epiphany of sorts. Travelling by foot would be a short lived escape. He had to make it into the air, into the bustling causeway of hover cars and speeders. At least then he’d have a fighting chance of outrunning them. He had no idea where the gate for the Nexus was situated, nor if there was any kind of safe house or proper shelter he could use for the time being. All he needed now was a hover car.
Link skulked into a narrow alleyway, passing between a bustling restaurant and a looming hotel, it’s roof extending hundreds of meters upwards into the inky black night sky. He brought his hands above his head, willing a pair of clawshots into existence. Sure enough, the devices materialised and in the instant they did so, the boy pulled the triggers on both devices. The claws flew into the air, colliding with an extended corner of each building, each claw closing around the ivory stone. Another squeeze of the triggers saw Link vaulted threw the air, the claws of the pair of devices retracting with just enough time for the boy to fire the claws into the air once more, each latching on to the extended stones of the ornate building. The next time, however, he fired one at a time, allowing the claws to take the brunt of his weight and drag him through the air. The Hero of Time repeated the process time and time again until he reached the pinnacle of the hotel. With great effort, he pulled himself over the edge and onto the roof of the skyscraper-esque hotel. Relief came over the Hylian in a wave. Not only had he made it to the roof, he’d made it to where the patrons of the hotel had left their hover cars.
“Nearly there, Link. Keep going.” Navi encouraged the boy from within his tunic, it was the safest place for her, afterall.
The Hylian nodded as he approached one of the speeders, a crimson vehicle with white racing stripes along the side and devoid of a roof, save for the miniscule windscreen at the front. He had no idea how to pilot one of these things, but there was little choice. He’d made it this far on sheer luck alone. The blond hopped into the vehicle and studied the controls for a few moments. It took a little while, but sure enough the Hylian deciphered the intricate controls and the engine whirred to life, thrusting the vehicle into the air, hovering a little over half a meter from the ground. The boy tugged backwards on the controls, launching the vehicle upwards and towards the invisible highway of Coruscant.
“Dispatch, we’re getting reports of a stolen Speeder.”
“Repeat, LM-1696.”
“Reports of a stolen Speeder, Dispatch. Description of the suspect matches the escapee from the holding area. Red T-44 Speeder, headed for traffic, sir.”
“Confirmed. Speeders en route. Remain grounded, LM-1696.”
“Yes, sir.”
***
High above the streets below, the Hylian sped through the traffic of Coruscant, narrowly avoiding collisions with passersby. The heavily congested airspace proved to be a decent hiding spot, but at the same time, a deadly one. A sloppy barrel roll sent the boy and his vehicle careening over the roof of another speeder.
“Link! They’re gaining on us, quick!” Navi yelped from her perch on Link’s shoulder.
Another barrel roll sent the vehicle outside of the traffic and into the open. The Hero slammed the vehicle’s controls forwards, dipping it into a near enough vertical dive, the pursuing Imperials continued the chase, mimicking the Hylian’s erratic movements. With the ground quickly approaching and the Imperials closing the gap behind, the boy took to the buildings, weaving the speeder in between narrow alleyways and gaps between buildings. The Imperials followed, relentlessly. The further within the tier Link delved, the narrower the gaps. Yet another choice made for him. With the Imperial’s still catching up and out of sight, behind a building gave Link a small opportunity. He stuffed Navi back into her hiding place, within his tunic and yanked a piece of cloth from a pouch on his belt. Clutching on to the fabric tightly with both hands, the boy held it into the wind. Finally, the sailcloth caught the wind and opened up wide, yanking the Hylian from the vehicle and leaving it to careen off into the ground, the entirety of it erupting into flame.
“Dispatch, the stolen Speeder is down, looks like the Prime went with it.”
“Copy, DG-7416, set down and inspect.”
“Copy, Dispatch, over.”
The Imperial speeder slowed, carefully hovering a few meters above the ground before finally setting down. A pair of Stormtroopers exited the vehicle, blasters in hand. The pair moved to inspect the crash site, peering into the cockpit of the destroyed Speeder as best they could, past the flames.
“Dispatch-”
“Go ahead, DG-7416.”
“There is no body, Dispatch, I repeat, no body within the cockpit.”
“Copy. Return to your patrol, troopers on the ground will continue the search.”
The young Hero heard the conversation from his hiding place, little more than a few feet from the crash site. The pair of Stormtroopers took to their positions around the crash site, waiting on the next patrol to arrive. Sheer luck continued to shine on the Hylian as he bolted through the narrow alleyways. In the distance, a bustling crowd marched slowly towards what appeared to be an elevator. An escape route for the blond, if anything. Behind him, the patrol arrived. He had to move, and quickly. He waited a brief moment while a pair of Humans passed by the alleyway before dashing out of cover and into the open street. As quickly as he had exposed himself, he disappeared once more, into the bustling crowd before the elevator. Link tugged his hat off, stuffing it into his tunic as he began shoving his way to the front of the crowd and queue. His movements, however, were not taken kindly. A few of the people within the queue yelled out at the boy, scolding him for cutting. Others attempted to drag him back behind them. Nevertheless, the Hylian persevered, finally reaching the elevators and sidling his way through the closing doors of the descending mechanism.
The elevator was crowded. Tourists and residents alike taking the journey to the lower levels. Minutes passed agonizingly slowly, for the Hylian at least. The elevator music did little to settle the boy’s nerves. He shifted uncomfortably from one foot to the other. Finally, the elevator ground to a halt and a computerised voice rang through the PA system.
“Tier Two.”
The Hylian decided to remain aboard the Elevator, upon noticing a pair of Stormtroopers manning a station a short distance from the lift. Link suffered through many more agonizingly slow minutes within the sweltering machine, surrounded by complete strangers. At long last, the computerized voice rang through once again;
“Tier Three. Finally stop.”
The people within the lift filed out slowly. Link followed suit, ensuring the keep to the middle of the group, his head hung low just in case. But, to his delight, Link found there to be little Imperial presence. The boy breathed a sigh of relief and set off, away from the rest of the group. A sign post directed him towards a stairwell, marked ‘Tier Four’.
Tentatively, Link set off into the descending stairwell. His, and the other traveller’s, footsteps echoed over the dull roar of their chatter. The noise carried for what appeared to be miles. Lights flickered and rubble dust fell lightly from the ceiling as trains and other vehicles passed overhead.
The teen froze in place, back planted against the white wall of the holding area. Another footfall, closer this time. Another. And then another. Yet another until they ceased, mere inches away from the Hero of Time, who’d mustered nigh on all of his strength into flattening his body against the ivory wall. The trooper’s shadow lingered for what seemed like an eternity before finally, thankfully, it turned, receding back into the hallway from whence it came.
Both Link and Navi breathed a sigh of relief. The boy peeled himself away from the wall and peered around the corner once again, watching the trooper turn a corner at the very end of the corridor. The exit was tantalizingly close, although the hallway between loomed, appearing to stretch out for far longer than logically possible.
A tentative step saw the hero out into the corridor, followed by another, faster step. In little more than a heartbeat, Link found himself bolting through the hallway, closing the distance between himself and the door. Another heartbeat guided the teen through the door and into the crisp, fresh air of the upper tier of Coruscant.
Darkness lay thick across the city, a distant rumbling reverberated through the air, carried up from the lower, more congested tiers. A dull roar emanated from the hover cars that flew nearby, not quite loud enough to drown out the even closer steps of the Stormtroopers patrolling the courtyard Link had entered. The grounds were littered with various shrubs and bushes, each dense bed of plants appeared to have its own personal guard, patrolling the paths that lie around them.
The troopers trudged along their designated paths, quiet chatter hummed through their comms, occasionally eliciting a response from one or more of the guards. Link observed for a while, watching the troopers make their rounds from a distance, and noticed a pattern. Every time the closest trooper rounded his area, there was a brief gap in their line of sight. The second closest trooper wouldn’t turn the corner to find Link for a moment, giving him time to dash across to the next spot. The third and fourth troopers alternated. When one was on the side facing Link, the other was behind and vice versa.
There it was. His chance. Link bolted, feet digging into the nigh ivory cobbles. He dove across the first plant bed, narrowly avoiding being spotted by first trooper. Landing shakily at the very edge, the Hero found his balance and threw himself into a neat roll, grinding to a halt halfway along the second bed. The third guard rounded the corner, just as Link managed to duck behind cover. The second guard’s comm whirred into life, a short jingling, his attention drawn to the device, causing him to cease his patrol, giving Link just enough breathing room to set about shadowing the third guard. With the fourth making his way around the backside of the last brush, Link darted forwards, escaping the labyrinth.
The boy’s heart beat in his throat, adrenaline forced him to continue on, darting between every piece of cover he could find. Patrols passed far too close for comfort, so close in fact, Link was able to pull a few choice words from the conversation echoing out from the trooper’s comms. “Escaped-.. Holding area-..” The Hero’s heart skipped a beat. He’d been noticed so soon. There was little choice left. Link flung himself towards the next building that obscured his escape route. Little more than a checkpoint, by the looks of things. As he moved, an arrow materialised in his hand, the tip of which glowed a pale yellow. What could he do now, but run? He reached the checkpoint, the guard on duty bringing his head up to meet the boy’s eyes. A glint of determination sparkled within as he threw the arrow towards the trooper. The arrow’s tip embedded itself into the trooper’s desk, shortly before erupting into a blinding white orb of incandescence. The trooper yelped, moving to shield his eyes as best possible, but the damage was done. Link vaulted the gate that separated the holding area and the rest of the top tier.
As far away from the checkpoint as his was, he could hear the chatter on the Imperial’s comms going wild. His escape was now known to most, if not all of the troopers in the area. He ran. Potentially faster than he’d ever run before.
***
Ducking past the Imperial’s patrols and cameras, even at night, was proving a difficult task. They were on his tail and his only shelter was the odd indent in the opalescent walls of the building he’d taken refuge nearby. The shadows cast by passing Troopers and citizens alike made the boy’s heart race. He wasn’t safe in this place. Then it hit him, an epiphany of sorts. Travelling by foot would be a short lived escape. He had to make it into the air, into the bustling causeway of hover cars and speeders. At least then he’d have a fighting chance of outrunning them. He had no idea where the gate for the Nexus was situated, nor if there was any kind of safe house or proper shelter he could use for the time being. All he needed now was a hover car.
Link skulked into a narrow alleyway, passing between a bustling restaurant and a looming hotel, it’s roof extending hundreds of meters upwards into the inky black night sky. He brought his hands above his head, willing a pair of clawshots into existence. Sure enough, the devices materialised and in the instant they did so, the boy pulled the triggers on both devices. The claws flew into the air, colliding with an extended corner of each building, each claw closing around the ivory stone. Another squeeze of the triggers saw Link vaulted threw the air, the claws of the pair of devices retracting with just enough time for the boy to fire the claws into the air once more, each latching on to the extended stones of the ornate building. The next time, however, he fired one at a time, allowing the claws to take the brunt of his weight and drag him through the air. The Hero of Time repeated the process time and time again until he reached the pinnacle of the hotel. With great effort, he pulled himself over the edge and onto the roof of the skyscraper-esque hotel. Relief came over the Hylian in a wave. Not only had he made it to the roof, he’d made it to where the patrons of the hotel had left their hover cars.
“Nearly there, Link. Keep going.” Navi encouraged the boy from within his tunic, it was the safest place for her, afterall.
The Hylian nodded as he approached one of the speeders, a crimson vehicle with white racing stripes along the side and devoid of a roof, save for the miniscule windscreen at the front. He had no idea how to pilot one of these things, but there was little choice. He’d made it this far on sheer luck alone. The blond hopped into the vehicle and studied the controls for a few moments. It took a little while, but sure enough the Hylian deciphered the intricate controls and the engine whirred to life, thrusting the vehicle into the air, hovering a little over half a meter from the ground. The boy tugged backwards on the controls, launching the vehicle upwards and towards the invisible highway of Coruscant.
***
“Dispatch, we’re getting reports of a stolen Speeder.”
“Repeat, LM-1696.”
“Reports of a stolen Speeder, Dispatch. Description of the suspect matches the escapee from the holding area. Red T-44 Speeder, headed for traffic, sir.”
“Confirmed. Speeders en route. Remain grounded, LM-1696.”
“Yes, sir.”
***
High above the streets below, the Hylian sped through the traffic of Coruscant, narrowly avoiding collisions with passersby. The heavily congested airspace proved to be a decent hiding spot, but at the same time, a deadly one. A sloppy barrel roll sent the boy and his vehicle careening over the roof of another speeder.
“Link! They’re gaining on us, quick!” Navi yelped from her perch on Link’s shoulder.
Another barrel roll sent the vehicle outside of the traffic and into the open. The Hero slammed the vehicle’s controls forwards, dipping it into a near enough vertical dive, the pursuing Imperials continued the chase, mimicking the Hylian’s erratic movements. With the ground quickly approaching and the Imperials closing the gap behind, the boy took to the buildings, weaving the speeder in between narrow alleyways and gaps between buildings. The Imperials followed, relentlessly. The further within the tier Link delved, the narrower the gaps. Yet another choice made for him. With the Imperial’s still catching up and out of sight, behind a building gave Link a small opportunity. He stuffed Navi back into her hiding place, within his tunic and yanked a piece of cloth from a pouch on his belt. Clutching on to the fabric tightly with both hands, the boy held it into the wind. Finally, the sailcloth caught the wind and opened up wide, yanking the Hylian from the vehicle and leaving it to careen off into the ground, the entirety of it erupting into flame.
“Dispatch, the stolen Speeder is down, looks like the Prime went with it.”
“Copy, DG-7416, set down and inspect.”
“Copy, Dispatch, over.”
The Imperial speeder slowed, carefully hovering a few meters above the ground before finally setting down. A pair of Stormtroopers exited the vehicle, blasters in hand. The pair moved to inspect the crash site, peering into the cockpit of the destroyed Speeder as best they could, past the flames.
“Dispatch-”
“Go ahead, DG-7416.”
“There is no body, Dispatch, I repeat, no body within the cockpit.”
“Copy. Return to your patrol, troopers on the ground will continue the search.”
The young Hero heard the conversation from his hiding place, little more than a few feet from the crash site. The pair of Stormtroopers took to their positions around the crash site, waiting on the next patrol to arrive. Sheer luck continued to shine on the Hylian as he bolted through the narrow alleyways. In the distance, a bustling crowd marched slowly towards what appeared to be an elevator. An escape route for the blond, if anything. Behind him, the patrol arrived. He had to move, and quickly. He waited a brief moment while a pair of Humans passed by the alleyway before dashing out of cover and into the open street. As quickly as he had exposed himself, he disappeared once more, into the bustling crowd before the elevator. Link tugged his hat off, stuffing it into his tunic as he began shoving his way to the front of the crowd and queue. His movements, however, were not taken kindly. A few of the people within the queue yelled out at the boy, scolding him for cutting. Others attempted to drag him back behind them. Nevertheless, the Hylian persevered, finally reaching the elevators and sidling his way through the closing doors of the descending mechanism.
The elevator was crowded. Tourists and residents alike taking the journey to the lower levels. Minutes passed agonizingly slowly, for the Hylian at least. The elevator music did little to settle the boy’s nerves. He shifted uncomfortably from one foot to the other. Finally, the elevator ground to a halt and a computerised voice rang through the PA system.
“Tier Two.”
The Hylian decided to remain aboard the Elevator, upon noticing a pair of Stormtroopers manning a station a short distance from the lift. Link suffered through many more agonizingly slow minutes within the sweltering machine, surrounded by complete strangers. At long last, the computerized voice rang through once again;
“Tier Three. Finally stop.”
The people within the lift filed out slowly. Link followed suit, ensuring the keep to the middle of the group, his head hung low just in case. But, to his delight, Link found there to be little Imperial presence. The boy breathed a sigh of relief and set off, away from the rest of the group. A sign post directed him towards a stairwell, marked ‘Tier Four’.
Tentatively, Link set off into the descending stairwell. His, and the other traveller’s, footsteps echoed over the dull roar of their chatter. The noise carried for what appeared to be miles. Lights flickered and rubble dust fell lightly from the ceiling as trains and other vehicles passed overhead.