Nightshift 19 - Hallway between Sun Room/Entry Room

[soul_defender]

((Coming from here.))

Just a little further...I know I saw a different way to go last night.Ichigo's movements were quick, but his trade-off for speed was stealth, each footstep he took pounding firmly against the tiled floors as he made his way along the expansive hallway. If there was anything lurking around these corners, anything sinister

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[fallen_kaleesh]

This planet was home to a facility that was meant to be off limits. Supposedly following some ancient laws, prisoners of war in this sector were kept on a neutral planet. Namely, this one. The Republic couldn't set foot here - not without some serious political and economical backlash from this planet. Neither could the Seperatists. Count Dooku had outright said that they would respect these laws. It was a sign of goodwill. Something Dooku was good at making a show of.

What that really meant was to keep the assassinations quiet. Count Dooku and Lord Sideous themselves had approved of the operation.

It wasn't particularly hard for his intelligence to find some anti-Republic, CIS-sympathizers in the facility. The General planned it as a lone operation; it was partially to avoid immediate detection.... and partially to prove to himself that he could do this, without the aid of the droid armies at his command that he so very much despised.

Windu had wounded him, not defeated him. He would not be defeated by the Republic, much less a

[soul_defender]

To his knowledge, there was no need to hurry. After running so hard, taking the quickest path straight from his room to his current position stretched out on the cold, hard floor, Ichigo decided to take a moment and gather his thoughts, hoping to pool his staggered wits and devise some sort of plan. No, it would hardly be very involved; that simply wasn't his gift. Being spontaneous was practically all he knew. While he stared with an empty, tired gaze straight up to the ceiling, taking in the less-than-interesting shape and texture of the tiles, Ichigo reached his hands up and began to tussle his fingers about through his vivid orange hair, as if he were trying to massage his brain out of its lethargic state and back into action

[fallen_kaleesh]

Friendly? Friendly?! Before the explosion, that might have brought a sarcastic smile (although it was hard for a non-Kaleesh to tell when a Kaleesh was smiling in the first place. At best, it still looked menacing).

....But now, it only succeeded in suddenly filling the Seperatist General with cold rage.

His people had been ready to consider negotiations about joining the Republic when they'd made the first of many appeals for help. They'd been willing to lay a little of their pride down and to let their world - it had always been theirs, never sullied by alliances with others - become a part of the vast Republic. It meant accepting all the taxes, the laws that weren't their own, admitting that just maybe they weren't strong enough

[soul_defender]

Ichigo, watching the sinister figure continue to approach with the same clanking, thundering foosteps, felt his face and features become brightly illuminated by the foreign object clutched in those burnished hands. As the narrow pillar of light rose from the curious hilt, Ichigo raised an eyebrow at the same pace, looking perfectly bewildered by the weapon. He'd never seen a blade like it, not even with all his vaunted experience among sword-wielding souls. The very air around it seemed to be flushed with a strange sense of heat, as if it were being burned away

[gotahunch]

Cliff balanced his makeshift weapon against his shoulder as he walked, senses straining against the darkness and the quiet. Moving quickly wasn't an option if he wanted to make sure he was kept going in the right direction. Normally, it wasn't so hard at all, and even in light this bad he should have been able to see more clearly, hear more easily... His hand tightened around the near-useless weapon. He hadn't let this place get to him since he got here, but more than the creeping sensation of being watched, what bothered him was his decline in strength. He was still strong, but not a great deal more so than the average human his size

[gotahunch]

[Going in here]

[clone_boy]

Darman followed Azel down the corridors, keep silent and giving the other boy his room to cool his heels, seeing as they were heading toward an objective and Darman could find no reason to complain about it. He disliked inaction - sitting around - and now that they were out and following some kind of more defined goal, he was in a considerably better mood.

The clone brought up the rear of the little group, keeping an eye out for any trouble or hidden surprises waiting to ambush them. So far it was suspiciously quiet, the gloom hanging heavy on the air. He wished his night vision was better, but as it was, it was pretty poor, especially after several years of being used to being cooped up inside the cocoon of his armor's HUD.

They found themself in a hall that Darman thought he should recognize - it looked like the hall to that "Sun Room", only it was in the wrong position from the last time he remembered being here, in regards to his mental map.

[the_clown_king]

Tamaki wondered if maybe he should have taken all that advice and found himself a weapon. But he wouldn't know the first thing about using anything other than a fencing sword, and he wasn't sure if he was ready to actually pick up arms.

He wondered what Haruhi was doing, and if she was safe. Was she with those people she'd told him about? Had Elena found her? Was Elena safe? He'd told her she could come with him, but he hadn't expected this to happen. But... it was part of protecting the people he'd promised to. Sometimes, when you protected someone, they weren't even in the room. And sometimes they'd never even know.

"Do we know where we are?" he piped up, aware of the heavy sense of something hanging over them.

[brilliant_azel]

Azel glanced back at the blond, but Tamaki wasn't paying him any attention. The words from earlier still stung, still rang in his ears. Even as a mercenary, he'd always hung his confidence on the fact that he was following a good leader. But now... he felt that certainty further and further from his grasp. It made him upset -- but he would have to swallow it down until he was alone again, after all this was finished.

And Darman? He had gotten what he wanted out of Azel, and doubtless would simply leave him behind. He wasn't any more use to the clone.

No one was going to protect him now.

The swordsman felt weary, and it showed. In his face and in his voice when he eventually spoke. "I think we're close to the Sun Room."

Hope it's okay for me to jump in ^^;

[lost_metal]

[From here]

Once out of the corridor on which his own room was located, Ed traced what he hoped was the path to the Sun Room (the corridors seemed so much bigger and crueller during the night and it fed the seed of doubt in Ed's mind). He wasn't scared. But where he would normally have rushed straight ahead without caring for the consequences, the attack of the previous night had left him more wary than usual. If he was travelling alone, then familiar territory would be better. And maybe he could try the kitchens. Some things that people had said had rung true with him. There wasn't enough of anything in his room, but the kitchen... A dark smiled curled his lips. They had to have metal there. If he could just get hold of it, then he'd be much better off than being stuck with a torch and himself for weaponry.

He tensed, hearing voices up ahead, and seeing the shadowy figures of other people.

Well... they looked human. Sounded human