The Ghost and the Fountain

[Dark Link]

What should have been a fairly standard procedure had suddenly turned into a full-blown incident. Though one could hardly tell through the large helmets they were wearing, the soldiers were all dumbstruck when, seemingly by its own power, the sword came out of its holster and pointed itself at Simmons' chest. While the commander was taken aback by this, his underlings all raised their blaster rifles. Not knowing who was responsible for the levitating weapon, some pointed their guns at its owner while others set their sights on the girl in silver. But it quickly became apparent that it was the Ghost operative that was controlling the blade, her radiant green eyes fixed upon it as she issued her demand.

For his part, the boy was just as clueless as he was before, continuing to stare at everyone and everything around him with mild bewilderment. He had sensed his sword being taken out of its sheath, but did not understand the implications of the action and thus wasn't alarmed by it. In fact, his mind was still preoccupied with what happened just a moment ago. While he had no idea how she did it, the girl was able to both read his thoughts and articulate herself in a manner that made him hear her inside his own head rather than in the outside world. More importantly, however, she was the first person since Omni that tried to help him understand things about the world around him. Even though this new knowledge resulted in even more questions, the brief moment of epiphany still made the boy feel pleased and he was grateful to her for it.

But the young woman had ceased to communicate with him and focused her attention on the weapon she was aiming at the platoon commander, leaving the warrior to once again observe what was going on around him and try to learn things on his own. Though he didn't know what the item that was taken from him was, the fact that the person that it was aimed at seemed distressed implied that it was something harmful. The girl that pointed the sword at the officer didn't look much better, however; sweat trickled down her face as she strained to maintain control over the floating object. Naturally, the boy didn't know how she was able to do that, but even he could tell that it was quite taxing.

As it turned out, it was perhaps a bit too taxing in the state that the Ghost operative was in. Having to dedicate her focus to maintaining her powers while still trying to pay attention to the thirty troopers surrounding her was, in her weakened condition, demanding even for the highly-trained assassin....which caused her to make a mistake as she didn't notice one of the guards slowly approaching her from the back. The grunt was taking slow and careful steps in order to not draw attention to himself. Once he had closed enough distance and was still sure she didn't notice his proximity, he launched into a sprint, ready to knock her down with his rifle's stock.

The black-clad teenager witnessed this; bewilderingly, he looked at the intended target. As he observed her for a few more moments, a vision appeared in his mind...a vision similar to the ones he experienced within the dark void. It was another girl, albeit older than the one he saw before. She too had blonde hair and wore a blue dress, but her hair was free flowing and her garments were longer and plainer. She also wore jewellery; large, triangularly-shaped earrings adorned her pointy ears while a red gemstone was attached to the dress just below her neck. The most noticeable thing about her was the expression on her face; she looked sad and frightened. As she opened her lips, the words that followed rang inside the boy's head:

"Help me........Please, help me....."

Once more, the swordsman did not know who that person was or what she was trying to tell him. Yet, he felt compelled to spring into action....to offer aid to someone in distress. To help the girl that helped him only moments ago. As the soldier was ready to strike, the boy reacted. Grabbing the shield on his back with his right hand, he quickly gripped the handle and swung the piece of armour with all his might. This time, it was the trooper that made a mistake, not noticing this sudden move until the steel hit him straight in the helmet. The force of the impact was strong enough that it sent the attacker a few steps back before he finally collapsed on his back.

The woman in silver was surprised by the event that suddenly occurred behind her, almost making her lose her concentration. The other guards didn't expect that either, haphazardly turning their firearms towards the other Prime. Yet the shield bearer remained unfazed; positioning himself right behind the Ghost operative, he firmly held the steel object in front of him. The mild confusion that was on his visage before gave way to focus and slight determination. He had absolutely no clue why he knew what to do....he just did. It felt natural, as if he had done this before and was going by muscle memory.

Not that a piece of metal was going to significantly change the situation as there were still thirty enemies surrounding the two. But Simmons was swearing under his breath, condemning the stunt that his man was trying to pull. While he naturally feared for his life, he was also aware that HQ would not react kindly to a potential asset getting hurt. The situation was progressively getting worse by the minute....and it was his ass that was on the line. Eyeing the blade poised at him nervously, he finally spoke out: "L...listen, there's no need for this. We're not going to harm you, I swear! We're just here to lead you to Coruscant, nothing else. So please just....just move that thing away!"

When Kerrigan didn't react to this in any meaningful way, the officer decided that conceding to her demands was the most optimal solution to the problem: "Alright, alright...I'll prove to you that we bear no ill will....I'll do as you say. Men, lower your blasters." At first, the platoon hesitated to do so. It wasn't until Simmons punctuated it with a "NOW!" did the weapons slowly go down. The pair that was standing back-to-back didn't relax yet, however. The girl still maintained the sword in its place while the boy remained ready to intercept any projectiles.