epidemiology | ( closed. )

[ his lightsaber was confiscated. anakin can feel it on the ship the only way to disarm a force user, however, is to kill him…and anakin is very much alive. he stands in the middle of his cell, eyes darkened in a furious face. someone tripped the alarm. of course, someone tripped the alarm. this was never a mission for all of them. three max would have achieved mission objectives. one such as him could have done it alone. every extra body was an extra chance of failure. here they are.

the short-sleeved jumpsuit plainly reveals the false arm replacing the lost right. the gold-tipped black fingers curl slowly inward. focus on the present. the shouts and jeers of inmates. the clipped tones of officers. the heavy footfalls of the guard droids.

two such steps come down the hall. anakin waits to see who they’re dragging, where they take him or her.

to his surprise, his door opens.

everyone he has seen has got a little shove to “help” if they don’t step inside quickly enough. everyone he has seen has been a grown adult. the kid — damian, he recalls — is so small the force almost knocks him down. anakin catches him. the door clangs shut with a finality that should sound intimidating. in truth, it only pisses him off further. ]

You okay?

[ even as he asks, anakin’s glare is fixed on the retreating guards. ]

[ on his feet, left wrist clasped by artificial fingers behind his back, anakin faces a wall with closed eyes. his back is turned to the diverse collection of species and specimens amassed in the recreational area. he cuts a disparate figure: quiet, alone, and marked as “not to be messed with” since the brutish alien that tried harass him stabbed himself through the hand with a fork hard enough for the tines to dig into the table.

the guards did not see it happen, nor could the alien explain what happened. no one else at the table spoke up. one thing that he can count on a criminal for is to refuse cooperation with law enforcement whenever possible. ]

Not the place for you, [ he jokes with what is not s joke, eyes still closed, before she has a chance. not a place for a queen, though he quiets his usual address for her. being uninteresting is safety; dany, as she is, draws attention. best not let anyone overhear she’s a queen. ]

[Damian rights himself immediately, whipping around and nearly charging at the doors for all the good it would have done even if he had managed to catch the guards before they'd closed it. He's already realized it didn't appear they could be hurt but that sure as hell wasn't going to stop him from trying over and over again.

Only when the guards are out of sight does he step back and glance at Anakin, his fists clenched at his sides and his eyes bright with anger.]

They took my weapons. All of my weapons.

[ Once she had taken her measure of their prison, Dany had decided immediately that here her weapon must be mystery. No one aboard the ship shares her silver hair, her queerly aristocratic features, her strange violet eyes. She is a delicate woman with a murder count upon her forehead that surpasses that of most incarcerated aboard the ship, and that shall be enough to buy her wary gazes and wide berths.

For now. ]

You will protect me, [ comes the overly sweet answer. There are none to overhear. ] You, and my friend who boasts of obliterating an entire army. [ Across the way stands a lone alien, hulking where he stands against the wall, his five eyes glowing gold. ] Or must I choose another?

[ Her timing here is no accident. The recreation room presently hosts three other dangerous members of their team, though she has chosen the one she favors most. Before she was a queen, Dany was a beggar with no permanent home and no guard. She moves about this prison with a canniness Anakin might find surprising. ]

They took mine too. [ the lightsaber. the electrostaff. but he knows where they both are. anakin glances over damian's head. the look in his eyes is far away as if focusing on a point only he can see. ]

They're on the ship. I can feel them.

[ the black fingers open and close for want of a solid hilt to grip. ]

Edited 2017-06-20 02:58 (UTC)

[He turns around fully, brow creased in question. Right now though, the 'how' is not important.]

Skywalker. [Said in belated greeting. Damian feels around his wrists and ankles and sighs.]

They took my lock picks too. Can you tell how far away the weapons are being stored?

Yes. [ blue eyes refocus on damian. ] I can also tell how many people, droids and doors are between us and them.

[ waltzing out won't be an option. they don't know what they're facing. anakin can keep back many with the force alone, but not forever.

he pivots on his heel away from the door and away from damian. his fist smashes into the wall. dimly, surprise registers at how little effect the action had on the wall. for his part, he feels no pain. he refused to install pain sensors in that arm.

anakin drops to a seat, hands clasped before him. jedi calm eludes him as does almost any semblance of reason. the only thing keeping him sane is what had so destabilized him only hours ago.

at least padmé isn't here. at least she was spared this. ]

[Having not expected it, the noise startles Damian and his full focus shifts to the room's other occupant. He won't condemn the futile action seeing as it's something he felt like doing himself. Instead, Damian moves to the wall adjacent to Anakin, allowing himself to slowly slide down the wall until he is sitting. For several minutes Damian is silent, allowing Skywalker the space he believes they both need.

Normally content to maintain the silence, Damian finds himself driven by a need to speak to drown out the doubts he can hear growing in his own head.

He's not afraid for his well being, but he's frustrated beyond belief at the events of the last couple of days. (And he's afraid for Father and angry that they had been ripped apart once again. It isn't fair and fuck if he knows it's a childish feeling, he still can't seem to make it go away.)]

We'll find a way to escape. [It's not a question. Not really. He isn't a child in need of reassurance.]

Edited 2017-06-20 04:30 (UTC)

Of course, we will. [ anakin's head comes up, eyes blazing. ] I'm not staying here any longer than I have to, and neither are you. We're getting out.

[ he returns his glare to the door where he feels before he hears the coming of the guards. they drag an alien with them this time, with smooth, damp looking skin and bulging bulbous eyes that flick nervously everywhere. anakin waits until they're past before speaking again. he has seemingly regained a measure of calm, but it's a deliberate calm, more facade than genuine expression. ]

We just have to be patient.

[ even as he speaks, anakin makes a face. patient is the very last thing he wants to be. ]

[That gets a sharp nod in return and Damian too grows silent at the passing guard. Without looking at Anakin, Damian's face twists in annoyance, equally dissatisfied with the concept.]

I hate being patient. [But he understands its worth, especially in a situation like this.]

Your abilities—they're fully in tact?

The only way to disarm me is to kill me.

[ he doesn't smile, but there's something of a smug smirk bracketing his mouth. ]

Plenty have tried; none have succeeded.

[Damian snorts, amused in spite of himself.]

I'll take that as a yes. Then that means they've likely left everyone's abilities alone. Either they have severely underestimated their prisoners, they have some way to neutralize various powers, or the abilities simply don't matter. I presume you've already tested yours on our cell?

[ anakin leans forward, hands clasped before him. ]

The walls don't break. [ evidently. neither did his hand, the mechanical parts continuing to work so. got that going for him, at least. ]

I could force the cell doors, but I have a feeling unauthorized openings will raise an alarm. Then there's the matter of the ship itself. I can fly it, but to get out of this universe, we need a way to contact Oska. The walls are blocking the signal.

[It's what he expected but the news still sours his thoughts. He doesn't understand Skywalker's abilities nor know the extent of them, but if his meta abilities hadn't been able to break through the wall, there is nothing that Damian can do to effect a different outcome—at least not without any materials to work with.

His mood is at least bolstered by the rest of Skywalker's words.] Then we have a way out of the cell, if not a plan that will keep us that way. [It's a start.]

Can you tell if the signal is being blocked by the building material itself or any sort of shielding system? [If the former then they were screwed, but if the latter, a system could be turned off.]

Not from here. Keep this quiet.

[ a reminder. ]

Stun cuffs would put a damper on any plans.

Of course. [Said in the tone of 'I'm not stupid. Damian falls into silence again for a while, allowing his thoughts to roam. It feels better to have something in place, however meager it may be. The beginnings of a plan are better than nothing. It meant progress and it meant that neither of them were resigned to sit back and take this.]

Feelings your weapons...do you have some sort of tactile telekinetic force field? [Because Superboy is the only one he can think of whose powers even remotely resembled what Skywalker appeared to be able to do.]

[ anakin frowns, bemused. ]

I don't know what that is. I use the Force.

The Force...[That almost sounds familiar, like he's heard someone talk about it before...

He must be thinking of the speed force.] How does it work?

[ somewhere tim drake is crying.

anakin leans back with a sigh. nearly a year and a half and he has become better at explaining that which had not needed an explanation. each time, however, he must consider again how to begin. even in his galaxy, trying to explain the force to someone who cannot feel it is akin to explaining light to someone who cannot see. ]

The Force is an energy field. It's created by living things and binds all living things. A few individuals are particularly attuned to its flow. For those who know it, it's a powerful ally.

[ the academic answer. the dogma with which every youngling's training begins. a definition that does nothing to capture the immensity of the force. its ever presence. the warmth and the cold. the whispers.

anakin opts for the practical. ]

It makes us stronger and faster. We know things before they happen. We can manipulate our environment. The Force has a strong effect too on the weak-minded. [ damian saw this one clearly: the woman who so easily repeated what he told her as if the thought originated from her. ]

It lets me sense where my lightsaber is being kept. It lets me feel every being on this ship.

[ to anyone looking in, anakin has been lost in thought. only now do his eyes focus on damian, a blue the same shade as the sky that forms part of his name. ]

I can feel you're angry. I can feel your fear. But not because of being trapped.

[ a little pause and, through the force, anakin glimpses the source. ]

You're afraid for your father.

Edited 2017-06-21 23:17 (UTC)

[ the serenity of his expression breaks with a sudden grin. anakin drops his head, hiding a laugh. forward as only daenerys can be…and true. a glint of amusement continues to shine in his eyes even as he studies her new guard. opening himself to the force is reflex; the symbol on the alien's forehead speaks plenty too. ]

I'd check the number of his "army." But he'll do here.

[ regarding dany, the corners of his mouth lift in wry challenge. ]

Unless it's me you've come to doubt.

[Enhanced strength, durability, speed, Telekinesis if he was understanding that right, telepathic suggestion (not unlike Raven's empathic abilities), plus the x-ray vision. It's quite a list and Damian is beginning to realize just how powerful his companion is when the rest of his words send a shock of anger straight through him.]

Don't read me. [He hates telepaths and empaths, hates them more than he can put into words. They had no right to intrude on his thoughts and emotions like that and they always, always did anyway. There are protections against them of course, ones that Father, Grayson, and even Drake had mastered, and ones that his training with the league taught as well, but Damian has never been any good at them. He has yet to master more than the very basics of side tracking a telepath seeking out information. He has never regretted it more.

His anger rolls off of him in waves and the knowledge that Skywalker can feel it—that he know he is getting to him—only proves to make it worse.]

[ anakin barely restrains the urge to roll his eyes. some of it remains in the glance to the side. the warning again comes before the footsteps. after they've faded, he addresses damian, wholly unaffected. ]

I won't bring it up again. But it's not something I can turn off. If you're still planning to work together, you'll have to get used to it.

[The promise not to bring it up again takes some of the steam out of his anger and he returns to his normal levels of irritation and annoyance at the situation, the spikes from before cooling off.]

Fine. I've worked with an empath before, I can do it again. [At least Skywalker isn't so self righteous about it.]

And I'm not afraid, merely concerned. [After a few seconds of silence, he speaks again, dropping his eyes to the side.] My father is...he's not himself.

( closed. )

damian →

day one.

daenerys →

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