Originally called Notron

[Lilla Syrin]

Lilla understood the hesitancy. Not that she thought any less of Abigail – her response was entirely normal, even for a Jedi. Why put yourself in harm’s way if it wasn’t necessary. The answer was straightforward when it was explained to you.

Some traps should be avoided – naturally. But one like this was different. They would most likely be one in a line of potential targets. If they simply avoided the snare, someone else would fall into it. Someone less capable of dealing with it. Plus, they needed to find the quickest way to get to the root of the problem, and what could be faster than to walk straight in to a meeting with them?

But now was not the time to explain – now was the time to act.

Lilla stood beside Abigail as she opened the door. On first viewing, nothing appeared out of the ordinary. And a more thorough search yielded nothing more dangerous than somewhat astringent shampoo.

Which was when Abigail noted the fact that the door could not lock. “Sooner or later, we sleep. And then they’ll come for us. That’s why they wanted us in one room. We could take it in turns of course, with one keeping guard, but who is to say what their intentions are? And staying awake indefinitely isn’t a real option.”

“I suspect we’re being scrutinised somehow. If not a camera, something that will read bio-signs and show when we’re asleep. I therefore propose we do what they want. Or at least go part of the way. I can meditate indefinitely. Well, until I need to eat or drink that is. But I’m not asleep. Although, to any normal sensor, or observer, I shall appear so. So, what do you say? Shall we see what happens once we decide to close our eyes?”

[member="Abigail Meredydd"]

 

[Abigail Meredydd]

Abigail nervously rocked back and forth on her feet as she listened to Lilla. She had a point, a very good point, but that didn't mean Abigail felt comfortable with it. The thought that they were watched right now already made a shiver run down her spine.

"I...I guess so", Abigail nervously mumbled as she fiddled with her hair. "I...I have to say I'm not entirely comfortable with it, but I trust you. I can't really do meditation that well, so I'll probably have to fall asleep for real, especially if there are biosensors here."

Abigail glanced around the room one last time, as if she would suddenly see something they missed.

Then she returned her gaze towards Lilla. "Alright then. I trust you to watch over us. You and him", she said as she nodded somewhere to her right towards something Lilla couldn't see. "He, or it, doesn't sleep either, so. I can actually do this..."

Her voice trailed off as she walked into the bathroom, only to return a few seconds later with a small cup filled with water, which she then proceeded to place on a small nightstand besides the bed.

"So that if it sees something you don't, or if you feel asleep, it can wake me up", Abigail said, explaining her actions.

She then took a deep breath before she took off her jacket which she had been carrying. She had no need for that in bed, besides, if they were beeing watched through a camera instead of a sensor, going to bed wearing her jacket was bound to raise suspicion with whatever creep was out there watching.

"I suppose, we should go sleep now then? Or do you want to wait a bit?", she asked with a soft voice, hoping Lilla wouldn't ask her what she would think to be the best.

[member="Lilla Syrin"]

 

[Lilla Syrin]

Lilla smiled. “Falling asleep is OK. I can wake you when the time comes. If your…helper doesn’t beat me to it of course.”

Lilla watched Abigail fetch the water and explain its purpose was to help her to be woken. Just how it would be used, she didn’t share and Lilla felt odd in asking, so let it be. Her mind was full of possibilities – all of them involved the Padawan getting wet.

“There is no time like the present,” Lilla said, smiling – and removing her cloak and boots. “I’ll take the couch," she said and grabbed a pillow from the bed – before lying down. “Good night,” she added and closed her eyes. Within moments her breath was shallow and to all intents and purposes, she appeared asleep. In many ways, she was as good as – the act was as restful as slumber, but she was instead deeply connected to the Force. At one with it. If anything happened, the Force would know – and therefore so would Lilla.

[member="Abigail Meredydd"]

 

[Abigail Meredydd]

"O-Oh", Abigail stuttered as Lilla went over to the couch. She hadn't thought this far ahead yet, and scolded herself for not offering Lilla the bed earlier.

"I could also take the-"
She tried to offer it nonetheless, but she stopped halfway as she noticed Lilla had already.... fallen asleep? Gone into mediation?

She was in some kind of slumber, at least Abigail knew that for sure.

"Guess not then..", she mumbled as she wandered over to the bed. After undoing a few more unnecessary and annoying pieces of her outfit, she laid herself down on the bed. A bit nervous, she found it quite difficult to fall asleep, so she remained awake for a while. Somewhere in the time where she was lying awake, she mumbled to the Force to keep an eye on their surroundings.

And then eventually, she drifted away, overcome by her own tiredness, even though she secretly didn't want to. Sure, she had the Force to wake her, and sure, Lilla was near her, but she still hadn't been able to shake the feeling that she was lying there vulnerable and alone when she was still awake.
Now all she could do was trust on Lilla and the Force guarding over her.

 

[Lilla Syrin]

A couch was distinctly more comfortable than a floor, or a prison cell – and Lilla had meditated on and in both. Her connection to the Force was instant – she could not afford to actually fall asleep before she began to meditate.

In this state, Lilla was at one with the Force. She was, in fact, something of an expert on meditation, having studied every known form she could research in the library – including practices of non-Jedi. Right now, she was performing the technique known as Heji tal. Made popular by Grand Master Luke Skywalker in his establishment of the New Jedi Order, she could find inner peace, be granted knowledge, and become serene. It involved using the skills of control, sense, and alter, in different combinations, to achieve a state of restful clarity.

How long Lilla remained in this condition was conjecture from the Jedi’s perspective. It could have been minutes, or days. Logic said somewhere between the two.

Her mind was released from the meditative state by the Force. She was still connected, but no longer in a trance. Having her wits about her, her eyes remained closed as her ears heard the sound of the door being tested – and then opened.

Gently, she sensed her surroundings. The restful emotion of deep sleep was prevalent and Lilla followed these sensations to their source like swimming up a river – except the Force was the water and the activity ethereal. Connecting gently with Abigail’s mind, she simply planted the thought – ‘Wake up. Wake up now.’

[member="Abigail Meredydd"]

 

[Abigail Meredydd]

There was something there.
It wasn't an intruder or anything, more someone or something offering guidance. It told her to wake up. Almost even helped her doing so.

A few seconds later, Abigail found herself lying in the bed again. As she opened her eyes, she quickly held her hand in front of the glas, while hoping she'd stay quiet enough. Luckily for her, It noticed just in time that Abigail was in fact awake already and didn't have to be woken via the glass. Or perhaps it had already planned on leaving her alone as it had heard the message as well. Who knew.

Fact was that Abigail silently pushed the sheets off of her to give her more room to act if necessary. Quietly scolding herself for having taken off most of her outfit, she tried to use the Force to view who was near her, her first thoughts going towards the door. She heard noises coming from there, but she failed to see anything through the Force, but why that was exactly she wasn't sure, although she expected it to be because she was still a bit sleepy.

Not sure whether to go on the offensive or not, she kept lying in the bed, trying to look at Lilla to see what she would do. Abigail's panicked heart told her to lean against the wall and hit the first person to enter the room, but her mind told her that violence was never the first option..

 

[Lilla Syrin]

Lilla remained still. Her vital signs would register as awake, if anyone was checking but for whoever or whatever was intruding right now, she surmised they’d reached a point where would not, or even could not, turn back. They were committed.

She sensed Abigail’s return to consciousness and immediately put up her mental barrier again, severing any connection between the two of them. And so Lilla’s attention turned to the door, and using Force Sight, she looked to see how many adversaries were entering the room. A quick scan revealed nobody, which made little to no sense – she knew what the Force had warned her of, and her ears confirmed the intrusion.

So, she refocused and noted movement. Tiny movement – and plenty of it. Small spider sized robots were now crawling over the carpet and up the walls. Maybe twenty or so, and roughly split between heading towards her and Abigail. She hoped the Padawan would be aware of them in time, but Lilla did not want to shout out. Ideally, they could capture at least one and find out who had sent them.

Why they were here was up for debate. To kill? To sedate? To implant something? It could be any of the above, or something entirely different. Lilla had no intention of finding out the hard way, and waited, her hand on her saber hilt.

Once one of them was directly above her and began to drop, her saber activated with a snap—hiss. The violet hue bathed the room and she could now see them as she flashed her blade and the first one was destroyed in a shower of sparks.

[member="Abigail Meredydd"]

 

[Abigail Meredydd]

It took Abigail all of her strength to stop herself from moving away from the creatures, as she wanted to do what Lilla did, and Lilla had apparently decided to lure them into a false sense of security.

Small... robot crabs? No, they looked like spiders actually. Small robot spiders. Who would have expected that? Abigail sure hadn't, so she immediately tried to think of some creative way to get rid of these mechanical monstrosities invading their room.

Unfortunately before she could think of something a few of the creatures had already made their way onto the bed, so they were already much too close for comfort.

As Lilla ignited her saber, the robots reacted and so did Abigail. It was obvious the robots were surprised, well, if they could be surprised. At least they hadn't seen it coming, that was for sure. What the small spiders also hadn't seen coming as they tried to hastily jump on Abigail was that she had a little glass of water next to her, which she quickly and eagerly emptied on top of the robots. They stopped dead in their tracks, twitching, but Abigail wasn't sure if they were taken care of for good.

As more creatures showed up, Abigail took the pillow she had been sleeping on, smashing the little spiders back off the bed and against the walls. The few that Abigail couldn't take care of were luckily blasted against the wall by the Force, leaving nothing but loose components. While this was going fairly okay, she was far too weak in the Force to quickly smash all of them at once, and the ones Abigail hit against the wall herself didn't break down, they just got up and came at her again.

Abigail was too busy swatting spiders to take a look at Lilla, but hopefully the Knight was doing a little bit better.

 

[Lilla Syrin]

Lilla was impressed with Abigail’s resolve. It did not matter if she simply copied the elder Jedi – or was naturally this calm, but serenity was key to a Jedi’s connection to the Force. As the Code’s tenets dictated, rushing was something to be avoided. Measured responses were always better and the Padawan was exercising excellent control of her emotions, which would naturally be instigating action.

But Lilla was a Jedi of some experience. And training said to deal with your own foes before jumping in to help others. So, she systematically took the spider-bots down with her saber. They were quick, but they were – given their rudimentary programming – predictable. They were designed to attack, not evade – and so their patterns of assault were easily identified, and once their predictability identified, she was able to deal with them easily.

All bar the final one. Reaching towards it with her left hand, she closed her eyes momentarily and allowed the Force to flow through her, and into her arm, and then into her hand, and finally into her fingers. A purple haze formed around her outstretched hand and then arced towards the final bot. Ionize, also known as mechu macture, was a useful Force power. What she had to get right was the level of power. Too weak and she would only stun the droid and it would be back and operational in no more than six seconds. Nor did she want to destroy it. She needed to disable it – so they could examine it and hopefully work out who sent it.

[member="Abigail Meredydd"]

 

[Abigail Meredydd]

As Abigail couldn't find any more active spiders near her, she looked towards Lilla, who still had one robot near her it seemed. While she quickly checked behind her just to be sure she wasn't going to be attacked in the back, she felt and saw something strange. As she looked in front of her again she managed to catch a glimpse of some purple light.

The robot acted weird, stuttering before it eventually tumbled over.

"Uh, that...that was you, right?", she asked as she carefully observed the little robot, half expecting it come back online at any moment.

But it didn't. So after intensely staring at the robot for a good amount of seconds she dared to look at Lilla again.

"Thanks", she mumbled as she was well aware that she hadn't done as much as Lilla had. "Why... What are these things?", She then asked. She was rather confused, and that was putting it mildly. She could've understood it if some goons came in trying to kidnap or rob them, but this? Little robot spiders?
She had absolutely no clue what was going on right now. All she knew is that this was quite strange.

"So, what.. what do we do know? Do we look at them or, do we just go?"

 

[Lilla Syrin]

Lilla smiled and nodded. “Yes, that was me. And not Force Lightning, in case you’re worried, but a technique that only works on non-organics. Useful for neutralising droids, or electronic locks or security cameras. And if you get the power right, you can either stun for a few seconds, or destroy. Sometimes you don’t want to leave a trail of destruction when you’re infiltrating a secret base.”

As Abigail continued to speak, Lilla picked up the spider and turned it over, opening up a panel and connecting it to a datapad she fished from her cloak pocket. As she did, she pointed at a small protrusion from the bottom of the device. “A needle. Poison perhaps, or more likely a sedative. Someone probably wanted to capture us. Sith pay handsomely for Jedi prisoners. So it could be as simple a scam as that. Anyhow, I’m uploading the data, to see what we can find out about its programming – who sent it, their location, anything like that.”

She handed the datapad to Abigail to study whilst Lilla kept her eye on the spider, ready to neutralise it, should it show any signs of coming back on-line.

[member="Abigail Meredydd"]

 

[Abigail Meredydd]

"Alright," Abigail replied as she took a hold of the datapad," I'll see what I can dig up."

While staring at the datapad, Abigail slowly let herself sink down to the ground. The datapad seemed to have a bit of trouble connecting at first, but after a few seconds it pushed through and established a proper connection.

"It... It's a bit strange, but, there is something here about... sedatives, yes. So, that theory of yours is probably right", she said as she momentarily looked up at Lilla.

"Half of the stuff here is just... markings and things I cannot read", she mumbled as she switched between strings of code. While most of the stuff here was either too complicated or well hidden for her to find, she eventually stumbled across some kind of tracker.

"Oh, look. Look!", she said as she showed Lilla the datapad. "It's been keeping a record of it's position and it's been broadcasting it for a while. Although I can't quite figure out to who it is broadcasting, the records show that it has been here for a few days. If I'm seeing this correctly these things have been stored here for a while."

She looked around her to the many robot bodies before she continued. "And to hide so many robots you need quite the amount of space. I don't think a customer would've been able to hide so many without anyome noticing.... It has to be the owner we say earlier today.... or was it yesterday?", she asked as she looked around her. It was dark, that much she knew for sure.

"Here," Abigail said as she held the datapad in front of Lilla, "perhaps you can find something I couldn't?"

 

[Lilla Syrin]

Lilla listened and nodded. It was what she had suspected, but facts were far more reliable than hunches. She took the datapad from Abigail and tossed her the robot spider. “Keep an eye on this,” she said and scrolled through the available data.

“You’re right, very little in the way of hard intel, but what you said holds true. This is a local job, and therefore an inside one. From his nervousness, I’d say the desk clerk isn’t behind it, but he definitely knows who is. Let’s say we pay him a little visit?”

[member="Abigail Meredydd"]

 

[Abigail Meredydd]

Abigail caught the spider Lilla had thrown at her, but did so reluctantly.

"Really? And what am I supposed to do if it, you know, comes back online?", she asked as she obviously didn't have cool Force powers that could disable the little robot.

"I'll have to learn that trick of yours someday though, sounds like it's pretty helpful", she added softly as Lilla stared at the datapad.

After having listened to what Lilla had to say, she nodded.
"Sounds good. I'm positive he knows more about this too... but," she paused a bit as she looked over to the bed," I'll have to quickly slip back into my full outfit before I go... you know... out of this room."

Having said, or mumbled, this she handed the spider back to Lilla before she wandered away to get dressed again.

Not a minute later she stood before Lilla again, dressed and well.
"I'm ready", she spoke softly.

 

[Lilla Syrin]

Lilla was focused on the data but heard Abigail’s question, “Given we have what we need, feel free to destroy it if need be. And any time you want to learn, just ask. It’s quite a versatile ability, given how much technology we come into contact with on a daily basis.”

Lilla had forgotten about Abigail’s state of undress. “Oh, yes…sure – go ahead. We’re not in that much of a rush.” Whilst she waited, she re-read the information on the datapad, just in case she’d missed anything. And once she was sure she hadn’t, she reconnected the spider-bot and quickly re-programmed its basic functionality. It whirred into life and immediately jumped from her hands and scuttled out of the room. It had a new target, and would strike if and when Lilla gave the command.

Once Abigail returned, Lilla explained her actions. “It’ll be at the lobby area by now, on the ceiling, awaiting our command – should we require any help. Now, let’s join it.”

[member="Abigail Meredydd"]

 

[Abigail Meredydd]

Stretching and smiling as she felt the comfort of her outfit again, she approached Lilla.

"Can we be certain it won't be of any danger to us anymore?", she asked as she motioned for Lilla to follow her towards the lobby. "I would rather not be surprised by a little robot we thought to be helping us, but if you're sure we can trust it, well, I trust your judgement."

As they stepped into the hallway, they found it to be deserted. It was still night, most likely. Abigail hadn't really been paying attention to that until now as she had had more pressing matters.... like tiny robotic spiders.

"You think we'll find something useful? Think we'll be able to end this soon?", Abigail whispered as they walked down a set of stairs, back towards the lobby.

She waited a few seconds, took a deep breath, and then finally pushed the last door open, and now they stood in the lobby again. She couldn't exactly spot anyone immediately, but she couldn't see the entire room from where she was standing.

If the desk clerk would still be here, he would certainly be... surprised both Lilla and her were still, awake and standing.

 

[Lilla Syrin]

“Yes,” Lilla replied, confidently. “The programming was simple – you just have to identity the target’s appearance and enter a location. Then you have the option to set it to auto, or a requirement to wait until instructed to attack.”

“And I don’t sense a long chain of command. It’s too small an operation for that. The man behind the desk will know who the boss of the operation is, and we just need to hand him or her over to the authorities.”

As they entered the lobby, Lilla heard the faintest of noises and, using the Force, used Force Sight. Hiding behind the counter, the man was cowering, clearly hoping he wouldn’t be seen.

“You can come out now,” Lilla said, and a second or so later, a head slowly peered out from behind the desk, followed by a neck and finally a torso.

“But you’re…”

“Clearly not,” Lilla replied. “Now, before our little friend shows any more interest in you,” she gestured upwards and the man’s eyes followed the directions she was pointing and, seeing the little bot, he gulped audibly. “Why don’t you tell us all you know.” Yes, she could perform a Mind Trick and extract the information, but that was invasive and always attracted an element of risk. Better to allow him to share what they needed to know voluntarily.

[member="Abigail Meredydd"]

 

[Abigail Meredydd]

Abigail followed Lilla and looked somewhat surprised as Lilla called the man out. The younger woman hadn't seen the man yet, and silently scolded her for not having done so.

"I do advise telling us," Abigail added," these little things aren't exactly nice. Although I'm sure I don't have to tell you that."

Honestly Abigail would have preferred to just watch Lilla take care of the rest, but she had been around Lilla long enough now to expect that wasn't going to happen and that Abigail had to show some initiative herself, or had to at least try to do so.

"Look," she said softly as she walked closer," we're not out to hurt you if you're not out to hurt us, okay? If you just cooperate and tell us what we want to know... That little thing up there will not harm anyone and we will leave you alone as well. Just be honest. Tell us who us behind all of this. That's all we ask."

The man looked at Abigail, then to Lilla, and then to robot before repeating the process a few times. Then he eventually pointed toward the board with the keys and rooms numbers. With a shaky hand he pointed at room 107.

"He's there... but I don't know anything... he just pays, a lot!", he stuttered. "I don't make much working in this neighborhood, so what can I do when someone offers me a big amount of money?", He then asked. "I don't know anything, I promise."

Whether Abigail trusted him or not, she wasn't sure. It would make sense though, to have the one wishing for Abby and Lilla to be sedated near then when it happens, so the man could very well be speaking the truth.

Just to be sure though, she directed her words to him once again.

"Perhaps you should stay here for a little while, while we go and check whether you speak the truth. Oh, and don't try to leave or run away," she said as she jerked her head up towards the spider," just in case."

She was almost certain the man spoke the truth and was of no harm, but she couldn't be too careful now and she couldn't take any chances.

 

[Lilla Syrin]

Lilla knew that Abigail had the measure of the Jedi Knight by now – and would take a lead at this stage. And, sure enough, she was pleased to see and hear the Padawan’s approach. No threats, just a sharing of the facts and the potential outcome should the man not choose to help.

As expected, he gave up his benefactor – the potential of justice at the hands of a Jedi would do that. Plus, the spider bot was a handy deterrent to him tipping off the inhabitant of room 107.

Nodding her approval, Lilla lead the way to the room and once she reached it, she closed her eyes momentarily and nodded again. “One occupant, horizontal, appears to be asleep. Or meditating of course,” she said with a cheeky smile.

Her hand went to the door handle and a short burst of ionisation made the circuits falter and Lilla simply turned the handle and opened the door. She simply walked in and waited for Abigail to catch her up.

[member="Abigail Meredydd"]

 

[Abigail Meredydd]

Abigail followed Lilla with her eyes and chuckled as the woman made her joke.
"Somehow... somehow I doubt that. I don't think most people meditate at night", she said with a smile. "Or, well, people who aren't under the thread of tiny robot spiders don't meditate at night anyway."

As Lilla walked towards the door, Abigail started formulating a plan. "Perhaps we should both take a side of the door, and scan the doorframe for traps or anything of the kind. While the man might be harmless asleep, it might be possible that he has booby-trapped the room. Or perhaps he installed an alarm, so that he cannot be surprised. I think the best op- aaaaaand you're already inside", Abigail noticed that as she had been deep in thoughts Lilla had simply opened the door and walked straight in. "Alright then", she said to herself. "After you I guess."

When she was caught up with Lilla again, she looked around her. No booby-traps, luckily, but there were quite a few suitcases, with contents that were probably quite suspicious. But, the main target here, was the guy sleeping, the one who apparently tried to do this. Although, Abby did now think about the fact it was slightly strange how the guy was sleeping... while his robots were supposed to... incapacitate Lilla and Abigail. Surely if he was behind it he would stay up to watch how things went... right?

For that reason Abigail laid her hand on Lilla shoulder, keeping her from moving further for a moment. "If he's behind this," she whispered," why would he be asleep while the robots would be doing their work on us? Wouldn't it be more logical if he was awake?"