Lilla knew little of...

[Lilla Syrin]

Lilla nodded, they were in agreement.

And then they were off, looking to follow the route of the fewest of the symbiotic controlled hosts.

And as she progressed on foot, she saw the Jedi Master take first to the walls and then the ceiling. The greenish-blue hue was a giveaway as to the technique being used. The witches of Dathomir used many aspects of the Force that were not open to traditional Jedi teachings. Not dark-side at all – just different. And this one looked highly practical.

So, Lilla kept up and had one eye on the Jedi Master and the other on the way ahead – for sooner or later, they’d meet up with resistance.

[member="Matsu Ike"]

 

[Matsu Ike]

[member="Lilla Syrin"]

Matsu kept moving and clung there as she was going coming into the larger vault and while the one abve was oddities, people in stasis to see. There was always going to be the boons, the rewards that had been around. It was something few others couldsee and glittering all around them were treasures form across the galaxy that had been brought to seek a single prize. The jedi master lept from the ceiling as she twisted in the air and the first signs of the infected came out. With the queen in the distance moving through the treasures as they took up weapons more antique then practical compared to it. They had swords and spears but it looked decorative or less effective compared to their armor. Old blasters that seemed dusty and like they would be lucky to have a charge.

 

[Lilla Syrin]

Lilla realised they were in the vaults now. Some time ago – in truth not so long previously in real time, but an eternity in terms of what had transpired – she’d hoped to find some crystals. This is the likely place to find them, and she sensed something in her peripheral Force senses, but that was the last thing on her mind right now. Survival was uppermost in her thoughts.

The Jedi Master dropped from the ceiling as the infected horde began to materialise. Lilla would have liked to have reasoned with them to stand down – or subdue them – but she knew that neither option was truly viable. They would be fighting for their lives and as such, it would likely take lethal force to subdue their foes.

Lilla’s saber hilt was already in her hands and with a snap-hiss, she activated it. The time for avoiding the symbiotes was now past – right now, they had to stand and fight.

[member="Matsu Ike"]

 

[Matsu Ike]

[member="Lilla Syrin"]

Matsu moved quickly as she was looking over at it and letting the force come out of her hands. WIth her saber as it activated with a snap hiss and white blades. The colors shifted to silver until she was spinning around and in a falling leaf lowered the power of the blade to be like a training lightsaber. It would let her knock them around but she would not kill them. Matsu came down on ones shoulder and sent them into a small flip while the jedi master was prepared to really work on it.. she moved with the force in her small body sending out a neural shock into one as she was wading into them and making a gap for the two fo them to proceed forward and go after the queen who was trying to get towards the back to have everything between her. The treasures here were on display and some cases cracked under the bodies being moved into them with some force.

 

[Lilla Syrin]

Lilla understood that to kill the hosts meant the symbiote would simply seek a new host, so the death of the people they faced was entirely counter-productive, as well as immoral. So she focused on disarming and causing as little damage as possible. Fortunately her martial arts training afforded her knowledge and skills in identifying and targeting nerve clusters that would render a person unconscious – which is all that they needed to do.

And the saber ensured the attackers kept a distance, allowing her to deal with them ideally one at a time, or at least in small groups.

Lilla sensed that the Jedi Master was heading directly for the queen, and so she committed to supporting her, by clearing the way and distracting as many as she could, to allow Matsu to progress as unhindered as possible.

The young Knight judged her saber strikes to within centimetres, singing cloth as opposed to skin – but it was more than enough to attract the attention of as many as possible, and she backed away slowly, enticing them forward – and allowing the Jedi Master a lane to operate in, to close in on the queen.

[member="Matsu Ike"]

 

[Matsu Ike]

[member="Lilla Syrin"]

That was it, they were making progress and moving forward now. Without killing them was the trick but it was also something easier to do once you were committed to it. She wouldn't have faulted her fellow jedi if she struck down a parasite that looked dangerous.. this wasn't ideal but her control and her focus showed wisdom beyond her years... much like their conversations had shown it. So the jedi master as she approached the queen and the woman stood there speaking with a snarl to her voice. "You would dare, to me. I have been around for thousands of years... we have been around for millions. destroying civilizations you could only dream of." Matsu was looking at her and stood there with her saber on one hand and she wiggled her fingers as the energy crackled. She ws using neural shock and sending the energy but it played for good effect if they could se it to know you were serious. Visual aids always went further then guess what I am doing in my hand tactices as she moved to the side to distract her and let Lilla slip around to the other.

 

[Lilla Syrin]

Lilla made slow progress initially – primarily because there were so many to face at once. But she was confident in her tactics and did not give up – or change her mind. And once she got into a rhythm, it became easier – plus the reducing number of the opposition made it simpler too.

Her technique was to get behind the host, either by spinning them with a kick – or by jumping over them. Her saber regularly touched clothing but rarely hit flesh. She was able to control it well enough to hold her swings – and threaten as oppose to damage her foes.

It helped that the smell and sound of burning made the hosts a little more cautious. Once one was singed, they all understood the power of the saber and used their numbers to fight her, as opposed to simply rushing her. This, however, played into her hands – as their more cautious approach allowed her to pick them off one at a time, the nerve clusters in their necks punched or hit with the butt of her saber hilt – rendering them unconscious.

And as the numbers dwindled, she made faster progress. There was only one casualty – one host lost a couple of fingers reaching for her saber. It was an accident – albeit one she regretted – but she knew there was more at stake than this one injury.

And her fighting also allowed her to flank the queen – and given Master Ike was keeping her focused, she was able to get closer and closer to their target without drawing too much of the queen’s attention.

[member="Matsu Ike"]

 

[Matsu Ike]

[member="Lilla Syrin"]

Matsu stayed there and as Lilla was moving around she was moving to keep the attention on herself. Listenign tot he woman but the queen's spech was something that the jedi master wasn't certain of when she saw a vibroblade and it was being slashed at her face. The jedi master moved dancing back almost as she kicked off a wall and lept up flipping on the force. Her blade slashed into the vibroblade. Matsu blocked it and held it there until she was looking back at her eyes. "You are not wrong, the governments did this to you, they made it possible for this to happen... but that doesn't mean you need to give in. You gave up and let the symbiotes take over and now you are nothing more then echoes pretending to be human." Where she was looking and distracting her she moved to expose the queens neck

 

[Lilla Syrin]

It would have been easy to have been distracted by all of the countless treasures on display. Any one show case contained items of sufficient value to buy a star ship, and some could have funded an entire fleet.

And the fact that the items were being routinely damaged as they fought might have been a source of anxiety for many – but fortunately for Lilla, she was old-school Jedi, and had no interest in material wealth.

Instead her eyes were focused on one spot – and one spot alone…the queen’s neck. Or more accurately the nerve bundle contained therein.

So, as Master Ike managed to distract and manoeuvre the queen, Lilla edged closer until she could pounce. Her hand snaked out improbably quickly – the Force fuelling her speed – and she applied the correct amount of pressure, but for longer than usual, not wishing to waste the one opportunity to negate the queen’s control of the hive mind. It would do no lasting harm, but would no doubt make the queen wake up with a significant headache.

As the queen crumpled to the floor, Lilla’s hands went under her arms, supporting her weight and lowering her gently to the ground.

“What next?” she asked the Jedi Master – the current state of play well beyond Lilla’s realm of expertise.

[member="Matsu Ike"]

 

[Matsu Ike]

[member="Lilla Syrin"]

Matsu moved quickly once she felt the force and saw Lilla strike. They didn't need or want to kill but as the woman fell forward it seemed like she had lost all well life for a moment.... the queen in her head and body seemingly shocked and unconscious for a moment until they were both moving forward and supporting the woman. She didn't know how it was going to be afterwards but there were screams and bodies convulsing on the floor when she felt it. She was focusing the force to do two things, a hibernation trance on the queen to keep her alive and semi conscious to not be replaced if possible and healing to try and awaken the woman if they could do it.

 

[Lilla Syrin]

Lilla looked up at Master Ike as they lay the queen carefully on the ground. “For a normal subject, the process is straightforward – unconsciousness followed by consciousness. No lasting effects, more like a deep sleep.”

“But the hive mind is an unknown quantity to me – both for the queen and the symbiotes. How they’ll react in the short and medium term, I am unsure. Or rather, I have no idea.”

She glanced around. “Clearly, they are reacting to the lack of a connection, but what form their withdrawal might take, I am similarly unsure. Do you have any ideas?”

[member="Matsu Ike"]

 

[Matsu Ike]

[member="Lilla Syrin"]

"When killiks were removed from the hive mind or the joiners they seemed almost lethargic and barely moved wanting to rejoin the hive. It was not exactly an easy thing to do and there would be risks to it either way. That these are not something with brain chemistry like killik pheromones altering the brain to connect and instead is a creature that has drilled itno their head... it could be even more dangerous with them convulsing." SHe didn't like this but she also had no real idea.. it was all in theory compared to many other things. The jedi, the old repulic even the empire had little information aside from danger kill on sight. Matsu was working to monitor and scan the life signs of the queen's host with the force while she focused and waited to look for droids or other jedi moving in.

 

[Lilla Syrin]

Lilla listened to what Mastr Ike had to say. It was clear her knowledge far outstripped the young Knight’s – but that was quite acceptable to Lilla. The Jedi Master was on the same path – but at a different point in her journey. Lilla never worried about anyone with more or less knowledge than her – it was a transient philosophy when considered against the time there had been Jedi. One day, she would be in Master Ike’s shoes and another would be taking in her accumulated wisdom. It was always that way, it is that way now, and it will be that way in the future.

“OK,” she replied, having considered the facts. “My suggestion is that we keep the queen subdued, as safely as possible, until the medical team get here. Maybe they can put her in a state of stasis? My only concern is that we’re up against nature. And that has a habit of overcoming such things – like the creation of a new queen if the current one ceases to be functional. I’m guessing time is about to be of the essence.”

[member="Matsu Ike"]

 

[Matsu Ike]

[member="Lilla Syrin"]

She gav e a grim nod. "Yes it will be though there are things we can do to help get more time. One of which is make sure something like this doesn't get out of hand. These are prisoners, they have suffered but they committed crimes. We can't judge the degree of yet, some might be shoplifting and some might be murder so taking them all and saying this was wrong might be a problem. Unless the ones who sent them here had prior knowledge that the creatures would be here and this would happen." She was going in circles... but she couldn't blame a justice system for shipping its prisoners off... it all came down to why they did it and if they knew there was a possible danger. The jedi barely had knowledge of this world and they had more records then many others so she wasn't going to condemn someone who didn't know... just admonish them for not investigating and checking.

 

[Lilla Syrin]

Lilla nodded. “It is easy to consider these people victims – and in one sense they are. But they are not, as you so rightly say, blameless. Convicted criminals every one. Does this punishment fit their crime? No court on any planet would say it does – so we are spared any requirement to judge. But freed of the symbiotes, we still have to return them for incarceration. If their sentences are spent, they can be dealt with by their justice system in due course.”

“Which is no more than phase one of course. We also need to flag a need to review the government that allowed its prisoners to be shipped here. Again, not for us to judge, but entirely right we raise the question.”

“And we have hardly scratched the surface of our investigations here. Records of these people? Records of off-world corruption? Records of a sphere of influence outside of this system? And relics held here of course. Who know what might be of value to the galaxy at large – but remains hidden here.”

[member="Matsu Ike"]

 

[Matsu Ike]

[member="Lilla Syrin"]

Matsu was looking at her and everything she said was... well correct. It wasn't for them to judge nor forget it was in the end for them to investigate and bring the finding to the people who needed the information. If the government was sending them here knowing the risk and ignoring them... it was one thing if it was a harmless oversight that became this... that would also be important to note. Afterall she knew how small oversights could not be seen as a danger until the risk was there and the symbiotes weren't exactly known for instantly attacking. They grew their numbers as she had seen and had been spending years preparing and working things out over just trying to overtake one area and then the next.

So she would have to be patient and investigate this as jedi were coming to join them and Matsu restrained the more infected. "Be careful and continue to keep them in hibernation traces until we can get a full medical scan of the victims and then we will be up to join you." She got nods from them and the medical ships as well as containment ships could work. Cells meant to hold jedi and keep them from getting out or using the force could be very impressive against others as well. FOr now though Matsu was checking out the room they were in. "You are not wrong and we will have to do that.. they have a number of things here we still need to investigate and looks like they opened the doors for us."

 

[Lilla Syrin]

Lilla stood by as Jedi arrived and began to take over the restraint of the symbiotes and their hosts. She did, however, keep a close eye on the queen, until she was sure she was properly restrained and presented no immediate threat.

It took some time to clear the area and Lilla remained patient as they did, not attempting to touch or investigate anything for as long as they were surrounded by others. She did not want to prove a distraction.

But she did take mental note of their surroundings, and used the Force too, to map their options beyond this room. And she took heart in Master Ike’s words – in tackling the queen here, they did, quite literally, end up with the keys to the palace – given there was no way the site could have been locked down by anyone, once they tackled the queen.

She appraised each exit in turn, wondering where to go next. Logic said down – things were always most interesting in the deepest vaults.

[member="Matsu Ike"]

 

[Matsu Ike]

[member="Lilla Syrin"]

Matsu stood there and she spoke with her hands rubbing together while she reached out with the force to fel all over the place for anything that might be of interest. "It does wonders for the spirit sometimes.... the anticipation of... well this. THere could be any number of items here with years of history and stories about who owned it, what happened to make it important enough to bring here. We don't have to have it, these are for sending back or going to places they can be seen by everyone but that doesn't mean you can't enjoy the times you get to explore and discover." She was moving around towards one of the smaller rooms but it was glittering with tubes that had been sealed. Ancient pictures and maps, priceless murals and statues of everything from around the galaxy. Clothed, nude, couples, singular busts of people, marble, metal, crystals even something made from ice that was within a cryo tube.

 

[Lilla Syrin]

Lilla sensed Master Ike’s rising anticipation of the treasure hunt that faced them. It would not be, she suspected, a personal search – their intentions were likely to be entirely focused on helping the Jedi broadly. But, Lilla had sensed those crystals earlier, and if she came across them, and if they called to her alone, she would consider the Force’s intentions as transparent. For, in the same vein, if they did not resonate with her, she would gladly offer them up for other Jedi to consider as crystals for their sabers. If the bond wasn’t there, there was no value in using the crystal – and their monetary value was bogus to Lilla. She had no need for personal wealth.

No, for Lilla, the most exciting thing was the discovery and the learning that accompanied it. To uncover a part of history, or something referenced in old documents – that, to the young Jedi – was priceless.

And their first port of call was impressive. It was predominantly art – and Lilla had been taught all about the subject back on Tatooine – when she was a slave and destined for a life as a spy. Talking about art was necessary to pass off in high society. So, she recognised many of the styles on display.

“This collection not only spans the galaxy, it covers centuries – if not thousands of years – too. It’s arguably the greatest single private collection in the galaxy. Think how many hospitals could be built from the proceeds of the sales of these items. Schools, museums, irrigation…you name it. Their value could benefit millions of souls.”

[member="Matsu Ike"]

 

[Matsu Ike]

[member="Lilla Syrin"]

"Yes kind of." MAtsu looked at her. "The problem is they are valuable to certain people more then others. A private collector would be able to offer ten to twenty times more then a museum would. A private collection like this should be given back to their governments or families if possible. The real owners if they can be located but then the proceeds and benefit of having them and the credits earned from them would be gone and schools, hospitals, food supplies. All of that goes away." She held one of the paintings and it was beautiful. Some trees and a sun set with what looked like silver haired echani in it. "Since jedi do not seek personal wealth nor try to have accounts." THey often did because operations cost credits as much as the jedi did claim and live with poverty they had food, more then enough in some cases to eat for themselves and remain healthy, they had some fo the finest medical technololgy and resources, they had ships, they had clothing. THe jedi didn't individually have wealth they had a collective wealth that many never knew the true level of.