First, We Dream (Tal)

[Vex]

Vex had fallen into a true dreamscape, something rarely achieved by him. For a single, glorious moment he'd fallen into sleep, fully succumbed into its deep, heavy embrace. He wasn't clinging there, just beyond the edge of consciousness as was his usual preference, capable of waking at the slightest stimuli. No. This night he'd sunk down deep into the ether...into the abyss of his own subconscious. It was, perhaps, the one mind that he did not like delving into.

His own.

The dreams came to him. Dreams that he had avoided would no longer be denied. The darkness coalesced around him, forming shapes, shadow figures and umbral places. Life only slowly bled into the world around him.

"...What do you mean?" His breathing rasped through the mask while he felt the words passing through his lips. The damnable REA was there on video comms. He could feel the blood in his veins slivering into shards of ice. "Explain yourself, droid."

Eressea was visibly shaken and distraught. "I...they came. They found us. I did everything that I could, but... she is gone."

The droid should have been very happy that they were not in the same sector of the galaxy. If they had, he would have destroyed the little automaton. As it was, lightning crackled through his fingertips and palm like a living creature...a serpent that wanted nothing more than to strike. "Who sent them?"

"The Colonel...Vinay..."


"If I see you again, droid, you will not survive the encounter."

"What are you going to do?"

"I have people to kill."

The dream faded out, back into indistinguishable shapes as though it was flowing through time and space before slowing down and forming up once more. Before it did, he struggled, attempting to to rise up from these unwanted dreams and premonitions. He was drug back under the weight of his own subconscious once more. Only the discord and anger, pain and sorrow from that last dream flowed out from him, through the Force and into the waking world from his distress.

He walked down a hall, reaching out through the Force, feeling the ebbs and flows of the life around him, working to anticipate those that would seek to intercept him while on the way to his destination. Two such beacons in the Force came out from down a side hall, blasters raised up.

His breathing felt abnormal...he didn't have his mask. Indeed, his whole system felt off. A glance down to his midsection showed him why....his sytem was dead. Sparkes were coming out from the casing...from a clear, lightsaber inflicted bit of damage. Still, he pressed on. As the men rounded the corner, he moved into action. The sabers hummed to life. Their weight and style was off....the blades silver. Though he was confused, he couldn't let it stop him.

He was here on a mission. Silver blades came down, slicing between the upper and lower receivers before he kicked the other guard away, slamming him onto the ground. He wasn't going to be getting up again. Once both were out of commission, he stopped near the front of that door. Slamming a saber through the lock, he overloaded the electronics, causing the doors to cycle open.

Two blaster bolts lanced out towards him as the Colonel took rapid shots in an attempt to catch him off-guard. Snarling, Vex lashed those blades up, snapping the bolts away. One went wide, scorching into the ceiling. The other returned along its original path, striking the blaster in the man's hand and mangling it. The Colonel cried out in shock and pain. "Stay away!"

"Sound advice, Colonel. You should have listened to it yourself. We are far beyond that now." With another snarl, he leapt forward, sabers leading the way as he came forward like an angel of death. All too soon it swept forward and he found himself confronted as Jedi stormed into the room...surrounding him.


Once again, the world of that dream faded out into the umbral shades of gray. Rage rippled from him, hot and slickly wicked as it slithered through the Force. He barely moved, but his body tensed and relaxed intermittently. He screamed...wanting to release himself from this prison...this torment. That scream was silent, resonating without sound from him as he felt himself drawn down, dragged back into the depths.

He was walking down halls far too familiar to him. Force cuffs were tight around his wrists and his elbows, keeping his arms tight in front of him. Insulated coverings were over his hands. His feet were cuffed as well, forcing him to shuffle and connected to the restraints upon his arms. Jedi flanked him. Through the Force, he could sense more behind him...and ahead. Turning the hall, he knew exacftly where they had come to.

The Jedi didn't kill their prisoners, after all.

They found a door, the system cycling it open. He was pushed within, head bowed, and he immediately felt the change. His connection to the Force was dampened and distant...weak and tenuous. He heard the door cycle close once more behind him, the sound of it settling closed far too loud and echoing in the oppressive cell.

He still felt the heaviness of the air around him as the image faded away, leaving him in the bleak, dismal black of that dreamscape again. The despair was thick and cloying in his throat and mouth, threatening to drown him while he struggled to find relief.

He was fighting now...more accurately, he was running, or attempting to. A glance behind him found that blue skinned devil there, on his heels. His blades burned as they flashed by, barely dodged by the dark Jedi. It was a chess game, each move carefully played, but he found himself at a disadvantage. He had no weapons of his own and every move only led to this, the white knight, putting him in check over and over. Try as he might, he knew that he was only delaying the inevitable...the end game.

Finally, the hallway ran out. Twisting on a heel, he flipped and spun, going horizontal and barely managing to escape the two blades. The Jedi came on without pause, however, and he had only just caught his footing when another blade came by. Arching his back and throwing his head back, he felt the heat of a small sun whispering so whisper close to his throat. He smelled the acrid scent of burned metal and plastic as the saber sliced through the hosing of his mask.

Two more steps and he felt the finality in the Force. This was the end game. He saw the strike coming, but like on Nar Shaddaa...he could not move fast enough. It simply wasn't possible...he felt the saber slam into the metal of his cybernetics.

That finally image jarred him so hard that he found grip, dragging himself up from that dream, clawing and scraping to full consciousness as he struggled to get up. The weight was still there on his chest, however...trying to keep him down. His hands struggled with it, finally pushing it off and freeing himself as he scrambled out of the twist of sheets and crouched there, black eyes wide with an unexpected emotion on those predatory features....

Uncomprehending fear.

[Talau the Ever-Lurking]

(omglongpostislong)

Corellia…she would recognize the cityscape of Coronet anywhere. ‘So close, I'm so close…’ She was already moving through the city and away from the Consul; foggy, yet burning, thoughts of getting to a specific meeting place swirling in the back of her consciousness. Moving with a purpose, she noticed that there was…something wrong. Something, someone, was missing…there was an ache and an anger that just didn’t quite make sense to her but despite it she continued.

…Alone…

That was what felt wrong, felt off. Vex, Eressea, where were they in all of this? ”I hope she made it without any trouble.”

”There is a ship in the docks that matches the description she gave us. I haven’t seen anyone that matches her file from Familiar yet, but I'm sure she’ll be here…just please, be careful.” Eressea, it was good to know that she was out there…watching. Aunna could only assume that the ‘she’ being referred to was Samantha. It was only logical…wasn’t it? Had everything finally fallen into place? She certainly hoped so, but still…”I am.”

No one so much as gave the woman a second glance as she slipped through the crowds of the bustling city toward her destination, but there was a lingering feeling of danger in the force. All at once it grew stronger, like a wall before her, and she turned down another pathway in an attempt to avoid the danger. Swiftly she melted into the crowd and attempted to find just what it was that had put out such a large ‘warning’ to her, but there were just too many people and she simply wasn’t that good yet. Pressing past a man, she slipped into the taxi he’d been about to get into with a hurried ‘I’m sorry’ before shutting the door and giving the driver directions.

Without warning there was someone else with her in the…this wasn’t the taxi. Sam was beside her, and in front was a sea colored Nautolan, driving what was likely a rented speeder. It was odd to see the Samantha looking so tired and distressed, but then again, she couldn’t really blame her. It was also odd that she was suddenly there, but she didn’t have time to ponder any of this before the younger woman was speaking. ”I have a bad feeling about it all…I have a lot that could help, but if they catch on…you know the Colonel.”

”Yes, I know. I just hope we get there before anyone else does. If we don’t…”

Sam nodded slightly. ”Orders should the worst happen, Ma’am?” That made Aunna blink, stunned, and for a moment she couldn’t find the words to answer. ”I'm not your CO any more, Sam…”

”Honestly, you never stopped being my CO except on paper, and those papers may as well have been forgeries for all they’re about to be worth…besides, with all due respect Ma’am, this is your hair-brained idea, not mine. That means you’re calling the shots, not me.” There was that classic Samantha grin. Even Aunna knew it always meant mischief, at the very least, but it was nice knowing the former Seven was on her side. No…not former, she’s still a Seven at heart it seems. Nodding, Aunna managed a small smile and a nod before laying out the rest of the plan…

For a moment everything was fuzzy, faded and blurred. Hints of imagined color would reveal themselves to her mind’s eye as the dream slowed to an almost comprehensible speed around her before blurring into a flurry of nonsensical activity once more. When she was at last slammed back into herself it was in the midst of something almost as nonsensical.

”Stun out!”

The object that had appeared in Sam’s hand was tossed out into the darkness of the trees near the road, the area lighting up briefly as the grenade hit and that wave of concussive force blasted into everything (and everyone) within four meters of it. Both women had ducked back behind the disabled speeder, the nautolan diving down beside them as well and looking worse for wear at the moment…these men, the ones after them, were not playing nice. It took a minute but the lines of blaster fire slowly built up once more as their assailants picked themselves up from behind trees they’d used for cover and got some of their senses back.

”Aunna, I'm running low on ammunition, you need to move now, or I can’t cover you.”

”Da droid’s right…I can provide ya wit some covar, but you two best go now b’fore dey regroup.”

For a moment blue eyes flickered over to Sam, who was deadly silent, her hand running over her belt. It only took her half a heartbeat to nod slightly and drop a hand onto her companion’s shoulder. ”Keep ‘em off us, Athar. I’ll be back soon as I'm able.”

”Ya know I will, gerl… beside, still got my big stick an’ there’s a couple men ovar dere that need ta be taught a lesson ‘bout messin’ wit you.” He’d pat the rifle he held lightly, earning a shake of her head and a grim ‘right, put it to good use then’ before she ducked into the trees near by, Aunna hot on her heels. They didn’t make it far. Before they even reached the orchard near of the Borgonia estate Aunna could tell they were trapped. Despite the fact that she must have known as well, Eressea sped passed her in a whirl of silver and repulsor backwash without losing a beat. Unfortunately, the feeling of déjà vu had her doubting they were going to make it out of this. The sensation of time weighed down on her as her vision clouded for just a moment before hell erupted around them again.

Past the sapphire glow of her pike, Aunna was just barely able to catch glimpses of her companions, neither of whom were having an easy time. Eressea sparked every now and again from where her wings typically shown, as well as one of her back legs, Sam…honestly the woman was like a ghost. Glimpses of her could be caught from around trees as tree limbs were shot down onto unsuspecting assailants, or a flicker of golden bloodstripe might be seen as she vanished back around another tree before a strangled cry might be heard through the darkness. In fact, Aunna had just caught sight of her for half a moment before the blue of her pike slipped up in a wave of light, slicing through the barrel of a heavy blaster as she forced the man she was facing to back away under risk of getting speared.

Two new lights burned to life, however…followed by a wave of true fear.

There was no way they were getting out of this now.

The world had blurred around her as the dream dragged her along with it to silent protests. Somewhere in her mind she knew this was all very very wrong, that she wasn’t where she was supposed to be, that there were people missing who should have been there and people there who shouldn’t have been, but that didn’t ease the fear that coursed through her. Jedi…there was no way she could ever face down a jedi and not be caught. Corellia, why had she been stupid enough to go back to Corellia?

Again, for likely the millionth time, she wondered ‘why?’ She was frustrated to the point of anger, she was injured, and there was a deep rift in her heart that practically bled pain and sorrow as she attempted to decide if pacing the small holding cell would make her feel better or not. She decided not, opting to continue sitting with her face buried in her hands. ”Hey, come on Aunna…I'm sure Havanli has already informed the boss, and he’s got someone on the way to get Eres. We’re deep in the doghouse, sure, but if anyone can get anything done it’s them…” Sam…the woman was in the holding cell across from her, gazing back at her from behind the forcefields closing both of them in on this dratted ship.

”I shouldn’t have gotten you involved in this, Sam…you or your friend. I'm sorry.”

There was a derisive snort somewhere in the direction of the younger woman that could only make Aunna huff a half hearted chuckle. ”Ihn Corellisi nyeve min bhiq suman ehin nyiad, right?” She should have been expecting that answer from the beginning…of course Samantha would say something like that. Before either of them could say another word, the sound of the door at the top of the corridor had them both looking to see who the newcomer was. Sam actually bothered to get up and move to the forcefield and look, but Aunna had no desire. It wasn’t until the younger woman actually started cursing (something Aunna had never known her to do) that the former major even bothered to move enough to get an actual look.

Well if it wasn’t Vinay himself…

”….of a dog! Bring your ‘pretty’ green face in here and show me what a man you are, you frelling coward! I bet you’re not even intelligent enough to know which end of a blaster is the business end! You’d have to be some kind of fool to pull what you did! You really think you can get away with rigging a…”

”Shut up, Zaftig…you’ll be lucky to get life in prison after this.” Needless to say Sam didn’t quiet down, but without a way to get at the man and vent her frustrations out on him physically Aunna couldn’t exactly blame her for ranting. He stopped outside of her cell, however, glaring in at the true object of his hate, and Aunna glared right back at him. ”You make me sick, do you know that Borgonia?”

”I have some idea, Vinay, yes…and believe me, the feeling is mutual.”

”No one is coming for you this time…no dark jedi to come and save you in the nick of time, no mysterious sniper to aid you, no droid to help you escape, not even a stupidly loyal former…atmospheric…fighter pilot and secretary.[/color] That shut Sam up, though Aunna could feel the woman bristle more than ever in with pain fueled rage. Now [/i]that (all of it) had Aunna furious.

”You mind yourself, Vinay, you’ll get yours in the end because you have no clue who or what you’re up against.”[/color][/i]

The anger had built to a point that she could still feel it heating her blood like fire even as she felt herself moving, and being moved. Some part of her honestly hoped that whatever she saw next would be the comeuppance Vinay deserved; she wasn’t so lucky.

The sterile walls were foreboding and smelled like chemicals. She didn’t know this place but it immediately plunged her into a deep fear that had that previous heated anger drowned in what felt like ice water. Her fingers were cold, and felt nearly numb, as she was hurried along the corridor in that familiar prison jumpsuit. There were no jedi, just guards…a tight circle of heavily armed guards…forcing her to shuffle along the hall as fast as she was able.

For a moment she wondered what the rush was, if they were taking her to a cell there shouldn’t have been a rush but…it certainly didn’t appear like they were taking her to a cell. This wasn’t a courthouse, it wasn’t a medical facility, it was the prison but not a part of it she’d ever seen. Passing a single window in the hall Aunna felt that cold fear freeze her blood entirely as her mind struggled to deny the situation, or take control of it.

It all made sense now…the way they were rushing her, the area of the prison she’d not seen before, the fear she’s felt without knowing why…they weren’t taking chances this time. Immediately she attempted to come up with a plan. Unfortunately, the only plan she could formulate involved her waiting longer than she wished to. It was, however, the most likely to work…if it didn’t…well, try and fail or not try at all, either way the end would be the same. Attempting to focus her thoughts, she found her mind narrowing down to one person. Vex.

As she allowed them to move her into the room and over to the table, Aunna attempted not to let her mind stray, or her eyes wander. This was going to be difficult enough without focusing on what the room (and the items in it) was meant for. The majority of the guards stayed outside, but two (along with the doctor) entered with her. They had no choice but to unbind her legs to get her up and onto the table…as one strapped her legs down, the doctor started preparing the IV lines, and the second guard unbound her hands. That was when she moved, slamming the head of the guard closest to her grip into the side of the gurney with lightning speed before working to undo the strap holding her knees down.

Somewhere she thought she could feel him…Vex, and Vinay, but she wasn’t going to count on it… the guards from before were already starting to enter, the one who’d been working on her legs tightly synching down the strap on her ankles even as she freed her knees up and tried to get at him.

Despite it being an exercise in futility, Aunna continued to struggle until they finally wrestled her into the rest of the straps…that was when Vinay appeared behind the window. Again she struggled against the bindings around her…but this time she broke free.

In an instant her eyes flew open, panting out her fear as she realized…the only bindings around her, truly holding her down, was one of Vex’s arms and part of one of his legs. She shuddered briefly as that arm around her tensed and pinned her to his side tightly for just a moment…but something seemed off. He wasn’t awake, not even half awake, and she could feel a whirlwind of painful emotions from him that had built him up into some sort of rage in his dre—THAT WAS IT! He was dreaming! It hit her like a ton of bricks and finally she realized what was ‘off’…he’d warned her before that his dreams were rarely (if ever) good ones, and that final plea for help from him (intentional or not) had her sitting up and gripping one of his shoulders. ”Vex…Vex, wake up larel!”

When the pressure of her grip and the words didn’t wake him either the first or second time, she shook that shoulder lightly. --”Vex! Wake up! It’s just a dream, Love, wake up!”-- This time she settled a hand on his chest as well, pressing down lightly as she sat up further, speaking and echoing her words mentally in some hope of getting him to rouse himself. It seemed to work slightly as one hand moved, trying to push away the hand she had on his chest. Aunna was swift to oblige, but moments later the arm that had been around her slipped away and pushed her back against the wall and away from him entirely before he was up and out of the bed looking as if he was ready to attack…but more than that…he looked…terrified.

”Vex?...you were dreaming, min larel…” Her voice was soft through the darkness as she moved slowly to get up as well, cautious in how she did so. Once she was up, however, she wasted no time in approaching him, one hand reaching out to rest on his shoulder as blue eyes searched him for some sign that he saw her and not whatever had been part of his dreams. ”It’s alright, larel…there’s no need to be afraid, I'm here.” She smiled a bit at that…no doubt he’d have laughed at her for saying such a thing were the situation different. After all, who’d been protecting whom all this time? It felt right, however…she was here, and he didn’t need to be afraid right now.

[Vex]

Vex was almost feral. Those dark eyes were wide and wild as he looked around the room, taking it all in and seeing nothing at all...nothing of that room at any rate. Through the rebreather, his breathing was low, snarling like some caged animal as he crouched low on the deck, fingers curling against it like claws. Distantly he heard her words, but his ears weren't paying attention to that. It was her attempt to reach out through the Force as well that finally found the eye in the hurricane of his emotions. Blinking, he shook his head. She would be able to visibly see him relax, almost muscle by muscle as he straightened finally and rolled back his shoulders.

That umbral gaze closed and his chin lowered to his chest as he drew in a long, slow breath, letting it hiss forth from that mask while he centered himself. In the Force, his aura smoothed as jagged lances of emotions were chained and fettered, reforged and formed around him until that aura became like armor around him, impenetrable and daunting. Once those dark shadows were mastered once more, he drew it in tight around himself, compressing it in on itself until it all but disappeared. Finally, he opened those eyes once more, the black stare now as clear and lucid as she had ever seen him.

Finally registering her words to him, he couldn't help but allow his mouth to curl up a bit in a sarcastic smirk. "Aunna...when it gets to the point that you must protect me...we are certainly doomed."

Images from those dreams kept flickering through his brain. Despite his lightly caustic, playful tone and words, the mirth didn't fully meet his eyes. He was still unnerved from those dreams...from the images he saw. It seemed clear enough to him...images of the future...part of the tapestry that had yet to be unfolded before them. Clamping down his thoughts some more, he filed away the dreams for later analysis. He wouldn't let what he saw happen...not like it had on Nar Shaddaa...not to her....not again.

[Talau the Ever-Lurking]

Slowly he seemed to come back to himself, seemingly having to force himself to relax. She didn’t move an inch, part of her still tense and wound up from her own dream…and then seeing him during and after his. The discord in the force eased around him, smoothing out once more…becoming fluid, then hardening almost to a point where she had trouble making sense of his presence. Finally those eyes of his opened again, gazing at her as if nothing from before had happened. The same couldn’t be said about hers. While she was adept at pushing dreams aside, adept as keeping herself from seeing them again once she was awake if she had to, she wasn’t as able to keep herself from feeling or thinking about them. It was a process that went on without words or fully formed, conscious, thought, but it was there in her eyes as her mind chewed on the information.

“Aunna…when it gets to the point that you must protect me…we are certainly doomed.”

A soft clicking on the wall outside the door pulled her mind away from his words and toward the sound instead. ”Is everything alright in there? I’m reading elevated heart rates and atypical movement…well…atypical for you two, anyway.” That actually earned a laugh from Aunna. Eressea had learned, after the first time she’d interrupted the couple, that sometimes elevated heart rates and ‘atypical movement’ actually signified something very natural. The only things that had kept her functioning, at that point, had been the fact that she’d been clever enough to ask through the door…and that Aunna had interceded. This time was little different. Once again, the question (concerned as she was), had been posed from the other side of the wall, and she’d been certain that it wasn’t caused by…”close relations.”

”Yes, Eressea, we’re fine.”

”If you’re certain, than I’ll go back to my watch…”

”Very certain, yes.”

With a muffled ‘alright’, the clicking of those claws would withdraw along the length of the wall, leaving Aunna sighing a bit and sitting back, patting the bed beside her as she looked to Vex. ”That must have been some dream for you to wake up like that. You had me concerned for a few moments.”

[Vex]

At the sound of the little droid calling out to them from the other side of the bulkhead, his face twisted into a silent snarl and he glowered at approximate point on the wall where the droid likely would be. Fortunately, Aunna went and interceded on their behalf and got the little automaton to go back on her way. His features smoothed once more as he turned back to face the woman again, relaxing once more in order to move away and go to sit on the desk and face her, crossing his arms over his chest above that mechanical apparatus around his mid-section.

Given the gravity of his dreams...to be honest with himself, visions... he felt the need for some space between them. There would be dire things in their future...that he knew now. He saw enough to know that, like before, he was helpless. There wasn't enough context for him to understand what might completely lead up to these events, though their procession seemed clear enough.

At her words, he chuckled darkly and shook his head. "As I told you before, Aunna Borgonia, I am not one to dream often. When I do, they are never gentle or kind. They are also never random or meaningless. When I fall under to the point that I dream, I fall into the eddies of the Force. My...proclivities... and talents in the Force mean that I tend to fall easier into visions, especially when I fall asleep and no longer maintain mental control."

Shaking his head, he looked away at the blank wall. "It is one of the many reasons I prefer meditation over sleep."

[Talau the Ever-Lurking]

lyrics.wikia.com/The_Seatbelts:Pearls --song

---

The woman didn’t need the force to tell her that he was distancing himself from her for a reason. Hells, if she’d been him and had her dream…vision…whatever that was, she likely would have also. She wasn’t him, however, and so she had a different set of needs. His distance and posture only brought a sigh. So much for any comfort. I should go and give him his space, I suppose. Even as he spoke she stood and grabbed her shirt, pulling it on so she was fully clothed (more or less) once again.

”I remember what you said, Vex…I just refuse to believe that every dream you have is that way. It’s a moot point, though,” she stated as she stretched a bit and padded over to the door, unlocking it and standing beside it as she looked over at him. ”You may just not remember the others. As for your visions…” Aunna couldn’t help but shake her head a bit, ”the possibility of having or not having them isn’t going keep me from sleeping.”

I need some time to think. For a moment a muscle at the corner of her jaw tightened before she smiled, just slightly, at him. ”I’ll give you some space.” Her mind was on other things, anyway…and not just her own dream-vision, though it was certainly brought on by it. Turning, she’d head through the door and out into the hall, back into the small cargo bay. She was awake now, unfortunately, and the song rang easily through her mind as if it were on repeat. She’d heard it…somewhere…before, and why it would come up now she hadn’t a clue considering what the lyrics actually meant, but she wasn’t going to fight it.

Stepping into the open area of the floor, Aunna allowed herself to open up as much as she dared with Vex around. Part of her knew this wasn’t a good idea if she didn’t want him to know what she’d seen herself, but…well, this was what would help her, and if that meant Vex would understand…see…more, then it was a risk she’d take. Her movements were gentle and fluid, like the music and lyrics that resounded in her mind. There was nothing exotic or spectacular…simple, elegant, graceful…thoughtful were her movements, most easily described as a simplified version of ballet. With her eyes kept closed it would have had to be so she didn’t go running into something…not that she had that fear anyway. Things were surprisingly clear to her as she flowed through the dance to music only a very few might be able to hear.

Behind those closed eyes that vision replayed itself in flickering segments, like old holofilms. They were crisp enough for her…to her…considering she had seen the full, original, ‘screening’ of them. She didn’t need to see more than snippets here and there. Still, the whole thing lay itself out for her again (in disjointed bits and pieces) as her mind processed and reprocessed it. There was a factor she was missing…several factors…she didn’t have the full picture, and again the noticeable absence of Vex bothered her. Without ceremony or needing a feeling of completion for this dance of hers, she stopped and sighed heavily with a lowered head, closing herself off again.