Originally called Notron

[Lilla Syrin]

Lilla smiled. “You did well. The best outcome for a fight is not to have one in the first place. You’ve kept our presence secret and avoided a confrontation. You should be comended.”

“And don’t be too harsh on yourself for not thinking of a plan quicker.”

“One thing I learned before I was a Jedi, and it has helped me since I have become one — and that’s that there is no such thing as a perfect plan. Don’t agonise to seek an absolutely sure-fire outcome at the expense of action. I regularly improvise if I have to.”

“That is not to say I do not plan for success and also failure. But, by the same token, I do not expect time will make itself available on every occasion for such thorough strategising. Going with a simple idea is often all we have time for. Trust your head and your heart and you’ll rarely go wrong.”

“So, our first obstacle is overcome. What’s next?”

[member="Abigail Meredydd"]

 

[Abigail Meredydd]

Abigail's smile slightly grew as she listened to Lilla. Her words gave Abigail both rest and confirmation that what she did was an acceptable act. She was also slightly surprised that the woman hadn't asked how she did it, but she didn't really bother. She probably wouldn't have wanted to explain it anyway.

"Next would be... to continue I guess? I mean we were already on our way, this was just a slight inconvenience. Soooo... we should continue? Right?", she asked as she looked Lilla in the eyes. She slightly turned on her heels a bit, slightly uncomfortable with her next question.

"Perhaps we could like, chat a bit as well. Just a bit, to relieve some tension?", she asked as she nervously rocked back and forth on her heels. "Just a bit, so we don't lose sight of our surroundings."

 

[Lilla Syrin]

Lilla smiled and nodded. “A good idea, let’s press on. And you’re right, what better time to become acquainted.”

“I’ll go first. I come from Tatooine – and was initially a slave before hiding out, twice and finally I managed to stay out of harm’s way for long enough for the Jedi to find me.”

Aware that what she shared was factually correct but was extremely brief for a life-story, Lilla elaborated. “I have no idea where I was born, or even if I have a family. I was found by Jawas and they sold me to a moisture farmer, hence the whole slavery bit. When I ran away, I ran into a woman that runs a school for assassins and spies. She offered me training and all the luxuries in life I didn’t have – like a bed and food – but it turned out to be slavery too. Once trained, we were sold to the highest bidder. So, I high-tailed it into the wastes and stayed there for a year or so before I ran into a Jedi. Or did he run into me? Either way, I found out I was Force-sensitive, and here I am.”

“What’s your story?”

[member="Abigail Meredydd"]

 

[Abigail Meredydd]

Abigail listened to Lilla talk- and as she did, she discovered that they both had more in common than she originally thought.

"That must've been a horrible youth, I'm sorry for that- even though I had nothing to do with it."

"It's almost funny, we almost share the same past, at least when we were very young. I too do not remember where I was born, nor the woman who gave birth to me. I do believe I have lived with them for a few years, but... I cannot recall any memories from that time. Most of my younger years were spent in an orphanage, until the age of 6, then I was 'recruited' by the.. well, I cannot really tell you. I was recruited by an agency, lets call it that. There they gave me standard military training with others at first. We were meant to be soldiers for the Alliance, but I was pulled of from the program to be put on another, more specialised one. Fast forward a bunch of years, I graduate from the facility and now here I am. Alive"

She then briefly looked down with a slightly saddened expression, which she tried to hide.

"Although I fear my friends and squad mates from the standard program might not be alive anymore. After, you know....", she became silent.

"Anyway", she then continued with a slightly livelier expression," even though I don't know this place, I have the feeling we are nearing our destination"
As she spoke her eyes flickered between the increasing amount of trash everywhere. She also started to hear the sound of people in the distance.

 

[Lilla Syrin]

Lilla smiled warmly. “No need to apologise. It made me who I am today – so I mustn’t grumble. I’m not saying I’d wish the same upbringing on someone else, but I do believe in counting your blessings. Much of my philosophy of life, and quite a few essential skills are owed to my formative years.”

“Do you miss those years you cannot recall? Have you ever been inclined to seek out your past? I ask, as this has been a train of thought I’ve had since I can remember. And I never resolve a definitive answer. Sometimes I want to find out, other times not. Right now, I am pragmatic. I’ll not avoid the answer, but I’ll not lose sleep seeking it out either.”

As she finished, she paid more attention to their surroundings. They had to be close to their destination now – and needed to remain alert. If this was a trap – and she was sure it was – it could be sprung before they even reached the address they’d been given.

[member="Abigail Meredydd"]

 

[Abigail Meredydd]

Abigail walked alongside Lilla as she listened to the woman. She had a good point. Had she ever been inclined to seek out her past? It was a question she didn't really have an answer to either.

"I.. I don't know, to be honest. I guess I've just accepted it as something that is just a certain way. If I could easily find any answers, I would probably want to know then, but there's many more important things to do. I'm fine not knowing about my first years. Besides, the Galaxy is in too much turmoil for me to go on some personal quest which is bound to fail-", she replied with a calm tone. She spoke the last words in a way that indicated she wasn't done talking yet, but she was cut off by images flashing in front of her eyes. Or were they inside her brain? Didn't really matter anyway.

After two long seconds she spoke again.
"The two alleys up ahead are clear", she nodded towards two small alley in between the dark buildings.

"Our troubles will probably begin when we enter the inn. Still, I don't like these streets one bit. So dark and quiet.."

Without paying it much attention, Abigail could still feel it floating from alley to alley, undoubtedly checking them for any dangers. They had almost reached the inn when Abigail suddenly took a hold of Lilla's arm, pulling her to a stop.

"Shh, you feel that?", she asked. Not a second later multiple images flashed before her eyes. Her expression dropped.

"Male. Hooded. Blaster", she whispered as she pointed towards a small space in between neighbouring buildings.
"That alley, there. I-I think. What do we do? Maybe there's more, but I can't see them. Maybe it's just a normal... citizen? I-I don't know", she muttered as she suddenly grabbed her own head with a soft groan.

"Stop...not that far. Come back", she muttered as a small line of blood came out of her nose.

 

[Lilla Syrin]

Lilla listened and allowed her companion to speak without being interrupted. Once the time was right, she replied.

“Never forget that, when will and imagination are in conflict, imagination invariably wins. If you believe you will fail, then you will fail — regardless of how much you might want to do something. It’s a small pearl of wisdom, but a pearl none the less.”

“But back to the matter in hand. Your vision is clear — and you are able to sense well ahead, that is a good—“

Whatever it was that was good, it would have to wait — as Abigail took hold of Lilla’s arm. Lilla had also sensed it but the Force had yet to tell her she needed to act. With Lilla, the Force seemed content to warn her at the last possible moment. Abigail seemed to benefit from an earlier warning system it seemed!

And Lilla sensed danger and even using Force sight, she could not detect the danger in there way her companion did. It seemed as though it might be some form of Farseeing — and Lilla resolved to find out later, when the time was right.

Which was when Lilla sensed all was not right with Abigail. “What is it,” she asked, under her breath. “What’s wrong?”

[member="Abigail Meredydd"]

 

[Abigail Meredydd]

"N-no", she muttered as she fell to her knees. "You can't.. you can't go that far. It's too... too far away"

She pressed her teeth together to keep herself from screaming as the headache worsened-together with the nosebleed.
"Wha-what? I... don't... I can't... can't see-"

But then Abigail's muttering was interrupted as her eyes suddenly flew open again as it revealed the reason it pained them both. A single image flickered before her eyes, distorted, dark and unclear, but still useful to a certain extent. Once it had shown her, the image faded as she felt it hurry back to her. The Force around the woman calmed as she slowly let her hands drop to the ground, pushing herself up again.

She stood up and wiped the blood from her lip with her left hand. She pointed towards the roofs on the left, a movement which would have made her fall again, if she hadn't grabbed Lilla shoulder as support.
"Up there... a few houses further...a small group. People...sn-snipers", she managed to blurt out as she tried her best to regain her strength. She knew it usually took quite some time for her to recover, but time was not something they had right now.

"I'll be fine", she then said as she let go of Lilla's shoulder, almost tripping in the process.

 

[Lilla Syrin]

Lilla was concerned. Regardless of the innate ability that Abigail possessed, its side-effects were extreme and not at all palatable. Lilla herself had a natural ability to empathise. To such a degree that she had to build a mental wall to keep extraneous thoughts and emotions out. Otherwise it was like a thousand voices screaming in your ears all at the same time.

And, although Lilla’s first and primary thoughts right now were to protect the young woman, whilst at the same time heed her warning, she wondered if the young apprentice could benefit from some training in learning to at least filter whatever was feeding her information — or maybe reduce the flow…like turning a tap from full-on to a trickle.

But the here and now was pressing.

“I’m less sure how ‘fine’ you’ll be, but you know your body and mind best. So, right now, lets focus on what lays ahead. Snipers? OK.”

Lilla paused for a moment, biting her bottom lip, clearly deep in thought.

“Right, keep that hand on my shoulder and we’ll advance. I’ll take care of any sniper fire.”

And, as she spoke, a transparent barrier surrounded the pair, visible barely to the young women, but it would not be seen by anyone more than a few metres away. “I suspect they’re about to show their hand.”

[member="Abigail Meredydd"]

 

[Abigail Meredydd]

Even though Abigail was slightly reluctant to lean on Lilla, she was under no illusion that she could walk properly on her own, so she did as the woman asked and laid her hand on Lilla's shoulder.

"Okay. Let's move", Abigail whispered, both to keep her voice down and hide its shakiness. "I...I won't be of much help, but it should come back to me sooner than you'd think."

Abigail's eyes quick flickered between the way they were going and the rooftops. She noticed a slight shimmer in front of them, always there, but never coming any closer.
That must be a shield of some kind. That was how Lilla would take care of the sniper fire.

Clever.

"If they start shooting, we should move towards the buildings", she whispered as her eyes kept scanning the environment. "If we hug the wall when they do start firing, they can't see or shoot us unless they lean over the edge. And if they do that, a little use of the Force could be enough to push them off of the rooftops, and onto the ground."

It was only after Abigail had spoken that she realised she was almost instructing Lilla what to do. After all, Abigail was too weak to execute that plan, so who else could do it but Lilla?

Ashamed that she had once again talked that way to the woman, she added something in defense.

"But, we should do what you think is best, as I won't be of much help. Just say what you want to do and I'll follow"

 

[Lilla Syrin]

Sabine shouldered Abigail’s weight. The Jedi Knight was tempted to use Force Heal on the young Jedi, but given she was holding up a shield that might be hit at any moment, she did not risk splitting her attention right now.

Plus, she was relying on her companion to know her own body and mind best – and if she needed help, she expected she’d be asked for it.

They therefore made slow but steady forward progress, and Lilla could not help but smile as she listened to Abigail.

“I asked you to take the lead and so there is no harm or shame in doing so. Your plan is sound and, as a result, I shall follow it to the letter. Timing will be–“

Lilla stopped mid-sentence as a shot pinged off the bubble she’d generated. It would take a split second for the sniper to realise their shot hadn’t made contact, although they would not necessarily understand why.

“Critical,” Lilla finished, and, as Abigail suggested, hugged the wall of the building. As the young Jedi suggested, the sniper leaned over the edge of the roof to get a shot away. Lilla instantly dropped the bubble, created a smaller shield that stood between them and him – and then, using her free hand, Force pulled on the shooter to bring him tumbling into the alleyway ahead.

She then put the wider bubble of protection back in place. “One down. Did you get an idea of how many in total?”

[member="Abigail Meredydd"]

 

[Abigail Meredydd]

Abigail's eyes followed the man from the rooftops and over the edge. That fall must've hurt. Like a lot.

"How many, how many...", she mumbled as she ran her free hand through her hair as she slightly bit her lower lip, trying to remember what she saw.

"Two I think- no three. I believe. Three, probably. Could be two", she mumbled. "I think just about three guys, give or take one. Might've been one or more I didn't see"

Abigail quickly checked above to see whether or not another sniper had leaned down over them, and once she saw nothing, she whispered to Lilla.

"What are we going to do? Take care of these guys? Or should we still go into the Inn?", she asked.

After having doubted for a few seconds, she added something to address her suspicions.
"I don't think this was the trap that alien sent us to. Unless they just wanted to rob our bodies, but these guys might just be robbers? Although, probably not. Too well organized... I honestly don't know"

Then a soft yet annoying pain shot through Abigail's head. She softly moaned in pain, and at the same time a man's scream could be heard. Luckily for her, the pain was gone as quick as it had arrived, and the scream was silenced as well.

"A-another one down", she mumbled with a dizzy expression on her face. "That affected me more than I expected, I'll admit that"

 

[Lilla Syrin]

Lilla nodded. “Don’t worry unduly. If we expect three and only find two, that’s a bonus. If nothing else, it will keep us on our toes. But, to answer your question, we should progress to our original destination and deal with whatever life has in store for us as we go. But your gift has given us the advantage of being forewarned.”

The news that someone else was taking out their would-be adversaries was confusing but useful news. “Be aware that the enemy of our enemy is not necessarily our friend,” she added, as she walked towards the inn.

“Now tell me about this ability, Is it something you’ve always had, or has it blossomed since you’ve received Jedi training?”

[member="Abigail Meredydd"]

 

[Abigail Meredydd]

Abigail nodded slowly. The enemy of their enemy didn't necessarily have to be an ally, no, but still, she wasn't complaining yet.

"Uh no, he- it has always been there", she mumbled in response. "Although it has definitely grown in... effectiveness during my training so far. It keeps improving in all kinds of fields- I wonder how much better it could work"

"It's also not really my ability. It's more... a sentient... ball of energy? Something shaped in the Force? I think.." She sighed. "I've had this all my life and I still don't know what it exactly is."

"I control it to a certain extent, which gives me an advantage as it can do things on its own while I can't focus", she then continued on. "At least if it doesn't decide it wants to work against me"

Realising that might sound like it could become a danger to Abigail, she quickly added one last thing to assure Lilla it would not be.
"But it would never hurt me. Annoy me perhaps, but not endanger me or anything. It's....stuck to me, it can't even go very far away from me. Otherwise... well... this happens. It's... complicated. I'll promise I'll explain another time", she said as she looked over to Lilla for a little bit. She then returned her gaze towards the Inn.
She was just about to say something else when she felt her connection strengthen again, and with it, she felt herself strengthen again. She still wasn't at her best, but she guessed she could walk without help at the very least, so she let go of Lilla.
"It's a bit better already. Thank you"

 

[Lilla Syrin]

Lilla listened to Abigail. The Force manifested itself in different ways to different people. And that didn’t even take into account things like the White Current. So, she was open to any possible interaction with an energy source that was akin to the Force – or in face the Force, but manifesting itself in a different way. This one was new to her, but that was good – it meant she was learning.

She was interested to understand why the entity was a ‘he’ given all facets of such energy forces were invariably gender-neutral, but it was hardly important right now. Maybe it wasn’t even an energy source, but a being that used the Force and shared its knowledge and powers with Abigail.

“Glad to hear you’re feeling better already,” Lilla said, sensing Abigail’s growing strength. “Now, where to now – you’re still in charge,” she added, smiling.

[member="Abigail Meredydd"]

 

[Abigail Meredydd]

"I'm still-..? Oh, okay", she mumbled in response as she looked around. There was no sight of the others snipers up top, a sight which made Abigail wonder whether they had fled or taken other positions. Whatever it was, she made sure to glance up at the rooftops every now and then. After all, you can never be sure enough with these kinds of things.

"I guess we're moving on then. Towards the inn. Hopefully finish this.. whatever it is we've got ourselves into."

As she slowly but steadily started walking towards the inn, she opened up a little more to Lilla, explaining why she wasn't keen on leading.
"I'm sure I said this before, but I was part of a military program for most of my life so far..I guess. That's.. that's the reason I'm a bit hesitant to make decisions on my own. I have always been told what to do and when to do it, so this... with you asking me what to do... It's relatively new to me, let's just say that", she whispered, giving Lilla a small smile before she redirected her gaze at the rooftops again.

 

[Lilla Syrin]

Lilla nodded as Abigail spoke. “The truth is, and this won’t come as a surprise, that I don’t approve of Sith training methods. There have been some more enlightened ones in the past – for at least some practices – but overall, their sink or swim mentality is not the Jedi way.”

“But where we can and should learn from them, is not to necessarily cosset our charges. Training when you’re tired – either physically or mentally – might seem cruel, but trust me…a Sith will never wait for you to catch your breath on a battlefield before striking. So, if I am pushing you, it is to simulate the sort of scenarios you will face every day of your life. But in a safer environment. If I weren’t here, you’d have to fulfil the same mission. Make those decisions – and have no safety net. I am here for guidance and advice if you need it. If you make a poor decision, you will learn from it. If I override every suggestion you make – or decide for you? Well, where’s the learning in that?”

“I won’t let you die, that much I can assure you. Unlike the Sith, we want you to succeed and develop and will be patient in that approach.”

“And new is good. New is a fresh pair of eyes. Use your training and remember what worked and didn’t before and adapt it to work for you.”

“For us.” Lilla smiled. “You’ll do just fine.”

[member="Abigail Meredydd"]

 

[Abigail Meredydd]

"Well," Abigail replied, still far from certain about her own skills," as long as you're with me, I guess I'm safe."

She took a few more steps before they reached the door presumably leading into the inn. Throwing one last look over her shoulder at the rooftops, she sighed. "Guess we're going in then", she said as she pushed the door open, stepped inside, and held it open for Lilla as she followed.

The place wasn't exactly big, but it wasn't small either. A nice in between, so to say. There were a few people sitting at some tables, and there seemed to be some kind of front desk to their right as well.

They were immediately greeted by the man behind the desk.

"Ah," he spoke," the heroes. My friend told me you would come, friends. I just spoke to her, and she wanted to thank you dearly, but she unfortunately needed to be someplace else. But, as far as your mission goes, it has already been resolved. Turned out a few of the contractors who realised the bounty made an error publicating it, and thus spreading the wrong name. Luckily though it has been resolved...", he said before laughing rather awkwardly.

The man then turned around to fetch something off the wall. A set of keys.

"Here, to thank you for your help, she offers you the best room we have. A big room with one king-sized bed and a private bathroom. Here, take the keys! It's for free. You'll," he paused for a moment as she looked at a few strange looking letters on his desk," You must- I mean- will be able to stay here at least two days."

Abigail gave the man a fake smile. "That's very kind of you", she replied. The offer truly was nice, but she couldn't help but stay wary, for she didn't trust anyone here besides Lilla. "Could I perhaps rent an extra room? I have the credits for it, so we can have private bedrooms, if you understand."

It wasn't necessarily that Abigail didn't dare to share a bed with Lilla, but it was more out of respect for the Jedi Knight that she offered her the luxurious room and offered to sleep in a different one herself.

That and Abigail wanted to test the man's reaction, for her mind was screaming at her that this was all wrong.

The man immediately retorted. "No, no no no. You can't. We're full. This is your room, now go!", he said as he turned his back to Abigail and Lilla. "The door to the stairs is over there."

Before Lilla could say anything, Abigail took a hold of her hand and dragged her all the way to the door and through it, up the stairs. At least they had some privacy here.

On the stairs, Abigail turned around to look at Lilla.

"Something's wrong about this. So very, very wrong."

 

[Lilla Syrin]

“As long as we’re together,” Lilla corrected – gently, “Then we’ll be safe.”

Finally, they reached the inn and without further external interference. Lilla dropped the Force Shield and closed her eyes momentarily, refocusing and calming herself.

And then things got weirder! The man behind the desk was clearly nervous – Lilla, as a natural empath, sensed this without lowering her guard fully. Of late, she’d learned to control the barrier she’d constructed to keep everyone else’s thought and feelings out of her head. Initially it was a binary effort – on or off. But lately she’d been working on controlling it – like a tap. Right now she allowed a trickle in – and the desk clerk was worried – very worried.

So, she allowed Abigail to drag her from the foyer without challenging her. It was clear the Padawan sensed something wrong too – and they did not want to tip off whoever was behind the elaborate hoax.

“I concur,” she said, once they were alone. “And when you sense a trap, the best thing to do is…spring it.”

[member="Abigail Meredydd"]

 

[Abigail Meredydd]

Abigail couldn't quite believe what Lilla was saying, and didn't agree at first either.

"What?", she asked, a slight hint of confusion and fear in her voice. "A-Are you sure? Shouldn't we like..not go there if we knew it to be a trap?"

Even though she had her doubts, she knew that Lilla was more skilled than her in almost every way, so she did her best to ignore her nerves and follow Lilla's advice, so they slowly wandered over to their room at the end of a hallway.

"Okay, okay", she said, her voice a bit shaky from all that had happened. "Here we go", she said as she turned the key to open the door.

She slowly opened it, taking a good look before stepping into the room. It was quite a luxurious room, and she couldn't find anything fishy...yet.

After taking a deep breath, she stepped into the room.
Nothing. Nothing happened. And after a quick yet extended search, Abigail and Lilla both came to the conclusion that the room was not compromised or hampered with in any way. The only thing that Abigail had found out by looking at the king sized bed was that she was quite tired.
The entire place they had been given consistent of a tiny entrance hall with a door leading to a bathroom and a door leading to the grand bedroom.

"It's..safe?", she said, it being more a question than a statement. "But I thought.. that doesn't make any sense.."

Something wasn't right about this, that she was sure off. But she figured she could use this room for now to talk with Lilla, discuss their next move.

But first, she went to lock the door. Privacy and all that.

After she locked the door, she tried to open the door to see whether it actually was locked or not. This was a habit of Abigail, as she always wanted to be sure that a door was locked if she wanted it to. And to her surprise...it wasn't. The door went open just as easily as it had done before Abigail 'locked' it. She tried locking it again, but had to find out that the lock was either broken, or tampered with.

She closed the door again before she walked out of the tiny hall and into the bedroom where Lilla was.
"Uhm, Lilla, the lock doesn't work", she said, confident that it wasn't just 'broken'.