damned_institute | Nightshift 26

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Nightshift 26 - M41-M50 Hall

Qui-Gon was in a mixed mood. On one hand, the maps from young Artemis Fowl would be incredibly helpful, and he had made sure to make extra copies for himself, Obi-Wan and anyone else he might pass it onto in the future. On the other, the intercom announcement was more than a little worrying. He had heard mention of other patients being taken for experimentation, only to released on their friends; it looked like that was true, if Martin Landel was to be believed.

The Jedi Master sighed, collecting the flashlight and the small collection of metal utensils that he'd collected with Obi-Wan last night. His meditation into the Force had been only slightly more fruitful than before, but he was nowhere near strong enough to help as much as he would like. There was no doubt in his mind that he wouldn't be able to use the Force to persuade the experimented patients that no, they didn't really want to hunt down their fellows, and they should listen to him just because he said so.

He wasn't too sure about the other areas mentioned, but he did know enough to avoid the Sun Room for now. Stepping outside, Qui-Gon prepared himself. Tonight his grasp on the Force wasn't as strong as it had been when Obi-Wan was knighted. But even now he could feel the swirl of anger, fear, and hate around him, dotted with the moving "holes" that were the Earthian creatures and the staff. The fear and anger, he was unfortunately familiar with. The galaxy, despite the efforts of good people, was a regrettably nest of such emotions. But the holes in the Force, the sense of void, would never be familiar.

And he would have to watch for both, it seemed. The dangers tonight wouldn't just be the creatures, or the staff. Qui-Gon turned and headed down the hall, extending his senses as far as he was able.

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[from here (http://community.livejournal.com/damned/187539.html?thread=13013139#t13013139)]

It was hopeless.

Claire had no idea what room her friends were in. She was without a weapon, a flashlight, and her hair. Most people would be exploring during the night anyway, as they usually did, and she wasn't sure she wanted anyone looking at her the way she was now. She was a mess.

Slumping down against a door, Claire hugged her knees. She hadn't felt this helpless since...

Since Brody.

It wasn't wise to sit outside like this, where anyone could attack her, but Claire wasn't sure what to do anymore. Why was she even here? Why couldn't she just be back in school, worried about normal teenage girl things?

Resting her chin on her knees, Claire desperately fought the urge to cry.

Whateve Qui-Gon had been expecting tonight, it wasn't finding a young lady curled up against one of the doors, positively a ball of anguish and despair.

There was no question as to what he would do. He did what he would have done anywhere else. Qui-Gon stopped what he was doing, and went to see what was the matter, and if there was anything he could do. Walking over slowly, careful not to sneak up on the girl, the Jedi Master knelt in front of her. "What's wrong?" he asked kindly.

Lifting her head, Claire was surprised to see Qui-Gon kneeling in front of her - she hadn't really seen him since the first night she'd arrived. Although a few tears were running down her face, she had to resist the urge to laugh at the absurdity. It seemed impossible to gain any ground on normality here - a Jedi was comforting her. But she appreciated his kindness, so she attempted to speak past the lump in her throat.

Sniffing, she replied, "It's everything. It's this place. It's...my hair." She tugged on a jagged strand, thinking it seemed like a silly thing to cry over when she put it like that, but she couldn't seem to stop.

Qui-Gon took it in silently for a moment. He thought she looked familiar, and he was fairly certain that she'd had much longer hair than she had right now, which at the moment was cropped unevenly in an almost boyish style. It reminded Qui-Gon a bit of what happened recently with Obi-Wan and his own rank braid, and how distraught the young man seemed over his own loss. Despite that, it had turned out for the best. Perhaps this would be similiar.

He would do what he could. Theoretically he could try to use what limited command of the Force he had to give her some confidence, but he decided against that.

"I'm guessing it wasn't voluntary," Qui-Gon said. Who had done it? A nurse? He decided to try to take her mind off it for a moment. "I believe we haven't formerly met, young lady. He offered a comforting smile. "I'm Qui-Gon Jinn."

Claire shook her head. Definitely wasn't voluntary. His smile was comforting, though, and she gave a small one back. "I...I'm Claire."

She fiddled with her fingers for a second, deciding to put off the fact that she knew exactly who he was for as long as she could. Obi-Wan had probably told him everything she'd accidentally spilled, and whatever else he'd learned over the bulletin board about Star Wars anyway. No need to bring it up now. Trying to regain focus on why she'd ended up here in the first place, she wiped her tears and composed herself.

"Uh, did you know a boy named RC? He has brown hair and brown eyes...I was looking for him all day, but no one's seen him."

RC? That seemed an odd name to have. It also sounded like something he might've heard. Now that he thought about it, he did recall Obi-Wan mentioning someone from their galaxy with a name that did have those letters; he'd reported that the man insisted he was a clone, and furthermore, he was a clone in a Grand Army of the Republic, spear-headed by Jedi no less. So it seemed that this clone soldier had been companions with Claire...

Regretably, he hadn't seen RC before, and so he had to shake his head.

"I'm sorry," Qui-Gon said quietly, "I was told by a friend of mine about someone called RC, but that was some time ago."

There could be any number of explanations for why a patient would go missing, none of them particularly positive. It seemed to be almost common for patients to be injured, missing or worse, but that was not what Claire needed to hear. Loss was something that all beings had to face, but how they managed it was different for each individual. But maybe there was a chance that RC would turn up later.

He offered the young lady a hand to help her to her feet. "Unfortunately, it's still quite dangerous out here. Perhaps we should go inside."

A friend? Did he mean Obi-Wan?

Saving her question for later, Claire nodded, realizing he was right. She was actually surprised (but thankful) nothing had come at them already. Taking Qui-Gon's hand she rose to her feet, waiting for him to lead the way to an empty room.

Qui-Gon led her back the way he came. He hadn't seen much of his energetic, curious roommate for a while now, but he supposed that the room should be free. And even if it wasn't, it was better there than out here, where Claire could fall prey to the strange Earthian creatures roaming the halls. Pushing open the door to M41, Qui-Gon offered Claire a seat on one of the beds, and went about turning on the lamps after shutting the door securely behind them. The dinner trays were still cooling.

Once he was satisfied that things were as comfortable as they were going to get, Qui-Gon turned and took a seat at one of the desk's chairs. It might be best if he found out just why Claire had been near tears out in the hall like that.

"May I ask why exactly you were out there?" Qui-Gon asked. It was a bit abrupt, but he meant it not unkindly, but to get to the bottom of the problem.

Claire sat, hands folded in her lap as Qui-Gon turned on the lights. Scratching at her fingers a bit, she answered the question.

"I was asleep and, my roommate, she..." Claire gulped. "She was just cutting off my hair, while I was sleeping! When I asked her what she was doing, she just acted like it was some kind of game. She isn't normal!"

And then, just like the flood gates had been opened, Claire decided to let it all out there.

"Heck, I'm not normal! Nothing here is! I just wanted to finish high school but instead I'm my own freakshow! Back home, I couldn't even save my friend from being killed, I ended up just running away, and I had to be rescued." More tears were coming, but they were more from frustration. "And I think something terrible has happened to RC, and I wasn't even there to help him! I just wish I could go back before any of this happened. I didn't ask for any of this!"

She was trembling slightly after her outburst, but she couldn't hold it in any longer. She wasn't any kind of hero, but if she was going to get a crazy power, she could at least try to use it to help others. Instead, it only caused trouble. What good was any of it?

It sounded like the hair cutting incident was the last straw, for everything else all came spilling out at once in a torrent. Qui-Gon wasn't sure what she meant by "not normal", but it sounded to him that she had been through quite a lot even before being abducted and imprisoned in Landels. Her turmoil was quite strong in the Force, throbbing from her very being, and Qui-Gon knew he would do what he could to help her through it.

He knew from experience that dwelling on what one should have done wouldn't help. What they could do now, in the present, in the moment, was what did.

"I'm sorry to hear about all of that," Qui-Gon said, and meant it. He offered an encouraging smile. "Unfortunately, I can't control time, but I can help you look for your friend, if you would like."

Claire pushed away her remaining tears, feeling better now that she'd gotten so much off her chest.

"Thanks," she said, giving a small smile. "Sorry for exploding like that." She considered his offer to help her look. A big part of her didn't want to believe RC had really gone...but there was someone else who might have known.

Wesker and RC hadn't exactly been friends by any means, but Claire wasn't sure how many others RC had befriended. Better to start with someone she knew well.

"If you can walk me back around the female blocks, someone will probably be waiting for me there. He's family...I thought his cell was around here too, but I guess he left already." Claire sure hoped he was still on the first floor, and hadn't gone off exploring already. "He knew RC too. Maybe he knows if RC's still...if he's still here."

Qui-Gon didn't think there was anything to apologize for, but it was much better to see her want to be active and not...well, sit in the hall like earlier in an act that was so dangerous that she was lucky that Qui-Gon had found her.

"I can certainly walk with you," Qui-Gon said, getting to his feet. His joints tonight weren't slightly sore, which was a relief, and he was feeling much better now that he'd more time to heal from the lightsaber injury. He wasn't sure as to whether this RC boy was still alive - did he even have a name? - but they had to look and be certain before they gave him up for lost. "I can't say I've been near the female blocks though, but I can escort you if you lead the way."

Claire nodded, her smile blooming a bit more. She realized that the chances of finding RC were slim no matter what, but having support made the situation seem less hopeless. Feeling stronger and more in control, she led the back back down the hall to her cell block.

[heading to here (http://community.livejournal.com/damned/183909.html?thread=12832869#t12832869)]

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Nightshift 26 - M41-M50 Hall

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Heading into M41

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