event: prison disturbance

[apoptotic]

CHARACTERS: Open to all!
DATE: June 29th
WARNINGS: Possible Probable mentions of violence
SUMMARY: Weeks of Kafkian nightmare only makes prisoners angrier.

PRISON DISTURBANCE SIGNAL It's an otherwise normal day aboard the Asterion Prison — insofar as anything about this is normal. The prison runs like clockwork: cells open; guards stand watch as the inmates file out; different species wait in line with varying degrees of patience for their first meal; roll call ends, as it has every day, with the full count of bodies present. For those who can sense it, though, there is an undeniable feeling of waiting in the air. Something’s different about today. Something’s happening. It’s a question of what: there doesn’t seem to be anything new or out of place. Until a message flashes across the screens of every member of Audentes: Light it up. And someone — or someones — do. FREE-FOR-ALL The prison devolves into chaos. The concentration seems to be in the recreational area and the chow hall, but confusion and panic in general are the orders of the day, fanned by certain dedicated members of ALASTAIR. Some know exactly what’s happening. Others have no idea, but are more than happy to have an excuse to throw a punch or a tentacle. Still others would like to be excluded from this narrative, one that they never asked to be part of. One alien huddles under a table. Next to him, a humanoid, heedless of the disorder, calmly slurps her meal. More guards are called in to contain the turmoil, but the extent is such that it takes a long time for the prison to return to its prior state. In the meantime, taking full advantage of the chaos, one of their number managed to slip away. The next roll call reveals what Audentes has already found out from their own: there has been an escape. Things are about to get a lot more interesting.

Comments

[littlestguano]

[Damian follows, aware that Skywalker has sensed something that means it's safe to move forward. The full scope of his powers is beyond Damian's grasp, but he trusts that the man knows what he's doing and takes his cues accordingly. It's a while before it's safe to speak again and they weave in and out of hallways at Skywalker's direction, hiding when he motions them to stop and moving forward when his senses—the Force—tells him that the way is clear.

They can no longer hear the distant clang of their allies, but Damian knows they haven't been quieted yet.]

[apoptotic]

[ they're close. success is so close anakin can almost taste it. space is terrifying and merciless; to anakin, it means freedom. the stars promised him his, a lifetime ago, on a dusty, hot planet marked by twin suns.

there is only one more blast door standing between them. that door is closing. whether because their movement was noticed or as a precaution makes no difference. without his lightsaber — with the control panel on the other side —

anakin is not going to get there in time.

every conclusion is made in a split second. in that same second, he enacts the solution.

anakin seizes damian in the force and throws him down the hall and through the narrowing opening. ]

Use the panel—!

[ the shutting doors seal away what else he said. ]

[littlestguano]

[Every instinct tells him to fight the sudden force that grabs him and lifts him off of his feet but even if he hadn't realized a split second later what it was, fighting it wouldn't have been any use. Instead Damian is quick to make his body as aerodynamic as possible. He gains the speed and the form he needs to roll to a graceful stop, coming up on one knee and diving for cover. The dive turns out unnecessary as there's no one in the room and he's springing to his feet a moment later and dashing to the panel.

It takes longer than it should for him to key in the correct commands that open the sealed doors and he breathes out a sigh of relief when they finally open with a soft whir.]

An effective tactic, Skywalker. Fast thinking. [After he'd gotten over the initial shock of the throw, it might even have been a little fun. He tamps down on the mischievous grin beginning to peek past hi slips.]

Where to next?

[apoptotic]

Took you long enough. [ your new friend is kind of an ass, damian. the more you know. but the corner of his mouth tracks up. ]

One floor down. Let's go.

[ one floor down, anakin leaping over the safety railing to land softly below. for this door, all he needs is to wave his hand before it, two fingers raised. the door slides open to reveal a narrower hallway, more spartan in appearance than the rest of the ship already stripped down to its essentials. emergency lights posted near the ceiling and the floor illuminate enough to navigate freely, though not enough to render it anything but dark.

the pods ring the left side, quiet and closed. enough in number, by anakin's estimates, to carry the sentient staff. anakin picks one at random. crouching by the control panel, he lifts the cover and digs his fingers among the wires. ]

I'm going to disable the sensors, [ he explains, eyes on his work. ] Make it look like it short-circuited and ejected on its own.

[littlestguano]

[Now that they're here Damian's nerves are finally beginning to kick in. Until now he's been focused on getting past the guards and making it to this point, so much so that he hadn't allowed himself to stop and think too much about what would happen when they got here.

Now that they're here, a decision sits in the pit of his stomach like a rock. He knows what he's going to do. If he examines himself closely he might realize it was always going to be the outcome of this mission. Damian watches Skywalker work without really seeing what the man is doing, his voice coming out strained and tense.]

Skywalker. [The words he has to say are heavy on his tongue but he forces them out anyway.]

I can't go.

[apoptotic]

[ anakin's hands still. glancing over, he frowns. ]

It's okay. [ reassuring; an assumption. ] There's enough oxygen to last the two of us. These things aren't exactly known for their steering, but I can fly it, no problem.

[ even experienced pilots are overwhelmed sometimes by the absolute nothing of space. ]

We'll only be inside for a short while.

[littlestguano]

[The weight grows heavier and he shakes his head.

Quietly] I can't leave my Father. I...I'm sorry, I can't.

[They have every reason to believe they will be reunited shortly and he knows what Father would want for him. Even so, there is the chance that something will go wrong. Or perhaps that everything will go right but that they will take too long. He can't leave his father to an unknown fate. What if something happened while he was gone? What if there was another riot and some deadbeat got in a lucky shot? What if the guards discovered their escape and Damian's connection to Bruce, and punished him in his stead?]

It was not my intention to deceive you. [He simply hadn't been honest with himself.]

[apoptotic]

You haven't.

[ deceit is one thing. damian is a kid only now realizing he'll be separated from his parent. temporarily, of course. but a separation is a separation and damian is just a kid.

turning his back on the panel, anakin faces damian. he takes a knee so they are near eye-level. there is no hint of censure to be found in anakin's eyes. if anything, his features have softened in understanding. he still makes his case, however. damian is a kid, yes. and he'll be better off the farther from this prison as possible. ]

But Damian, think. It's a risk for you to go back. There are guards everywhere between here and the cell block. If you run into trouble, I'm not going to be able to help. And you know your dad would want you to go. [ his hand finds damian's shoulder. the durasteel fingers squeeze gently. ] You'll see him again.

[littlestguano]

[He has risked far more for far less, and he knows his mind is already made up.]

I will be fine. It's not the first time I've had to make my way through a heavily guarded prison undetected on my own. Such is the life I have chosen. [He is Robin. He can not leave Batman without someone to watch his back. If Drake ever got anything right in his entire life, it was that Batman needed a Robin, always.]

You are correct that he would want me to go, but that is because he will be thinking of what he believes is best for me, and not what is best for him. He would not leave me and I will not leave him. Families shouldn't be separated, Skywalker.

[apoptotic]

[ no. families should not be separated. but where damian would try to remind anakin of the wife who was taken, anakin's mind is split: part remaining in the present; the other further in the past. anakin is nine-years-old again, telling his mother he cannot leave her. he can feel the heat of her palm against his cheek. see her tired, beautiful face when he tells her he will see her again. hear her quiet urging: be brave. don't look back. don't look back.

he didn't, then. he knew if he did he would never leave. so he did as she said. he did as she said because anakin didn't like to misbehave. not to his mother. and he promised her he would come back for her.

he should have turned. he should have gone back sooner. he should never have left.

the distant look in his eyes hollows. anakin's features draw close, and fragile, a glass through which one can see but darkly. he breathes in — a delicate sound — and his features smooth. it is his human hand, which he lifts to damian's face, brushes away the dark hair. ]

You're a brave kid. Braver than I was at your age. [ a strange smile transforms his face. it cannot be called happy; it cannot be called sad. ] If you want to stay, stay. I won't force you.

Aboard the ship is my lightsaber. It's a silver hilt with black ridges. If you can find a way to where the weapons are kept before I get back, find it. Use it. It'll protect you, and it'll protect your dad. That's why I made it: to protect what matters.

[ he should rise. he should get back to work. he should be climbing into the escape pod and firing away from the ship. but a sense of finality keeps him rooted. not a warning; not a whisper of danger. rather, as if this is not simply an until later, but a goodbye.

anakin's hand comes to a rest over damian's heart. ]

You have a good heart. Better, actually, than you think. Trust in it, and trust in yourself. [ anakin rises smoothly to his feet. he smiles. ] The Force will be with you.

[littlestguano]

[There is something about Anakin Skywalker that Damian can not identify or describe, something that draws him to Anakin like no one else has ever drawn him. It is different from the need for his father or the pull that Dick Grayson has, different from anyone he's ever met. He isn't blind to how quickly his attachment to the man had grown and only some of it can be explained by the extreme circumstances under which they'd met.

It will be a long time before he can recognize the draw for what it is, years before he will understand the feeling of looking into a fractured mirror and seeing pieces of himself reflected back at him.

But while he may not understand the allowances he has made for this man or the bizarre connection he feels with him, he can still count its worth. And he can understand a goodbye when he hears one even if that's not what this should be. (He denies it even as he hears it, brushes it off as a groundless fear.) The separation is temporary, things will go according to plan.

Damian's heart aches at the words and the emotions they drag out him nonetheless. They shouldn't mean as much as they do, but he finds his eyes feel hot without reason and he forces a painful swallow over a lump in his throat.]

This is going to seem very melodramatic when I see you in a short while. [His voice is light and teasing but his eyes betray how much Anakin's words mean to him. Damian takes a step back after Anakin has risen and then stops suddenly, the finality that surrounds them holding him back.]

You are a good friend, Skywalker and that is not a word I dole out often or lightly. I am grateful to have been imprisoned with you. [With one last half smile he moves back.]

I'll see you soon.

[apoptotic]

[ there is nothing else to be said. anakin lowers his chin in an answering nod. his hands drop.

on his feet once more, he finishes his work. the pod's door slides open. the space inside is small, enough only for the bodies to occupy it and no more. much of the installation is given over to life support rather than flight control. the force blooms open in his mind as if coordinates were printed in the air. anakin takes control of the limited navigation to input them, overriding the controls. he gives himself further to the force, settling into a space of the next ten seconds, which guides his fingers in their tasks. he does not look behind him again.

the door closes. the airlock seals.

and anakin skywalker's pod ejects alone into the vast emptiness of space. ]