Wake Up

[Kira Talith]

[member="Soliael Devin Talith"]

"There is something rather pretty about it." Kira agreed, only to narrow her eyes. Her step slowed and she came to a halt in front of a massive obelisk. It had large runes of some sort. Not the kind she was familiar with.

"Familiar to you?" she inquired at her husband, that wide brim hat swinging over to face him. There was something off about all this. Even amongst the beauty. Through all her training and her time as Master of Shadows, she at least could pick up on that.

"There doesn't seem to be any sign of a battle... or anything that would imply a reason for the Jedi to leave." It was rather meticulous really. Just the jungle taking back the space that had once been cleared for the temple itself.

 

[Soliath Devin Talith]

[member="Kira Talith"]

He rolled his shoulders in a shrug. "No..."

The answer came quietly.

"I mean...not anymore than it was before anyway." Everything was pointing directly to the Jedi, everything. The way that the statues were carved, the odd scripture like intones, the smooth columns that decorated the outside of the temple entrance. The archway that stood within the center of the temple entrance was also incredibly familiar, reminiscent of the Jedi Temple on Coruscant before it had been destroyed by the One Sith. Soliael's lips thinned and slowly he took a few steps forward. "I don't know, Honey."

Soliael said quietly. "We'll need to go deeper inside and check to see if we find anything."

Maybe there was a betrayal.

It wasn't something he had considered before, but the idea popped into his mind all of a sudden. It would make sense anyway, an attack from within.

 

[Kira Talith]

[member="Soliael Devin Talith"]

"Alright. Keep an eye out." she began, only to add wryly. "Last thing I need is your butt scratched up by another large cat anxious to get her claws in you." While she certainly was joking, their most recent encounter with the local wildlife was evidence that they couldn't simply take things for granted. They had to keep an eye out for any more creatures.

"Here," the Jedi Master began, bringing up the datatablet that had the path scouted by the probe earlier. "This way seems clear. The probe didn't pick up anything unusual." One of the more interesting features of the probe was that it had smaller spherical probes that could be used to map the area and ping back the information to the main egg shaped version.

"There seems to be more underground than expected," she explained, the inflection of her tone perking up in avid curiosity. "Several chambers and rooms to be exact."

 

[Soliath Devin Talith]

[member="Kira Talith"]

“I expect it reaches back into the mountains quite a bit.” Soliael said quietly as he tried to think of the layout of some of the temples that he’d visited in the past. Most of them were arrayed quite ordinarily, with residential areas set apart from training areas and studying areas set apart from everything else. Not too uncommon really.

He looked around for a moment.


“Let’s make a camp.” Soliael said eventually. There was quite a bit to explore, yes, but he would be more sure of himself if they had a safe place to fall back to once they were done with everything else. “I’d rather set up while we still have daylight.”

It was easier that way. “Let’s find a place.”

He pointed towards one of the ruins that were still half standing. They were a few outcropped buildings, not much more, but they would make alright spots to drop a tent into. That was really his biggest concern, shelter. They had no idea what the weather was going to be like here at night. For all they knew it dropped into the negatives.

 

[Kira Talith]

[member="Soliael Devin Talith"]

"Looks promising," Kira agreed. Getting to a safe camp and making sure that they wouldn't be too surprised by whatever could be out there was important. That didn't even include just what could potentially come out at night. Whatever nocturnal animals took flight or were on the prowl once the sun went down was a danger they had to keep in mind.

Moving up ahead, Kira took point. He was right, this was a good spot. There were a few buildings, one, in particular, was a bit smaller, but seemed to have strong walls. Vines were climbing all along the sides, but there was an entrance.

Taking a small flashlight, the Jedi Master flicked it on. The beam of light went sweeping across the floor and upon the entry.

"Hmm..." stepping inside, the soles of her boots gave a light crunching sound at the debris. There was a thin layer of sand, likely from the many years that this had been left undisturbed.

"Well... no tracks or sign of any critters," she told her husband, looking at the undisturbed layer of grit that lay on the ground.

 

[Soliath Devin Talith]

[member="Kira Talith"]

"Good. Last thing we want is to fall asleep in somethings nest." That was an episode he'd rather not repeat. Their little escapade within the ice caves had taught enough of a lesson for him to realize that one had to be careful where they stepped, not to mention where they slept. He shifted slightly and headed for the small building that Kira had selected. His bag of course contained the tent, though each of them carried their own sleeping bag.

"We'll set up." He said as he tossed the bag down. "Start a fire, get comfy, and then tomorrow we explore the ruins."

Soliael didn't want to take any chances.

There was no need to rush things, especially since they quite literally had all the time in the galaxy to do whatever they pleased. If they really wanted to they could spend entire weeks on just this one planet. They had decades to do as they pleased, exploring the Rishi Maze was a dedication to themselves, no one else. He smiled slightly as he began to unzip the bag, pulling out the canvas tent and throwing it into the middle of the small alcove. "I'll set us up, you get the firewood."

 

[Kira Talith]

[member="Soliael Devin Talith"]

Her amused snort would echo as the Lorrdian Jedi Master said, "What? You didn't enjoy our last adventure together?" she managed to tease him, although to be honest, Kira did not want to repeat the same experience as well. At least, the part of the enormous red crab like creature that had nearly made Soliael bleed to death.

"At least this time around we won't have to use dried poop for the fire..." another memory, that one a bit more amusing. Kira shot her husband an impish grin.

"But you can still cuddle with me to keep warm." she set her backpack along the wall. Since she would be the one collecting firewood, she didn't need to be encumbered by the pack. Instead, she would take the basics along with a comm and her lightsaber.

"Okay, I'll be back in a few minutes." a pause and then a waggle of her brows. "If I'm not back in fifteen minutes... come get me." she stuck her tongue out at him then, pulling off her hat to set it along her pack.

 

[Soliath Devin Talith]

[member="Kira Talith"]

He watched his wife go for a moment, enjoying the view until he finally turned around and looked at the shambles of a tent on the ground.

The tent they had brought with them wasn’t brand new, but rather an old tent that they’d had ever since Aela had first wanted to go camping. It was small, light, and could pretty much brave anything beyond a hurricane. He didn’t expect there to be all that much bad weather here, so it would do just fine.

Tried and tested was always better than new.

Of course, that also meant that the tent could be...tricky.

Some of its pieces were missing and others had never been there in the first place. Either way though Soliael set himself to work, quickly building up the old stack of cloth and canvas until after a few minutes he had something resembling a tent. The former false god stood in front of it for half a moment, then gently nudged the construct with the force. It shifted slightly, and then suddenly ‘popped’ into place.

Soliael looked at the tent, pleased with himself.

 

[Kira Talith]

[member="Soliael Devin Talith"]

Kira knew that she should not wander off too far. With the previous brush with the two large felines, odds were that there likely were other creatures that could very well want to take a bite or two out of the Jedi Master.

At her age and after a bout of rigorous indoor and outdoor exercises, her legs were protesting wandering too much. A touch of the Force gave her a little bit more endurance, allowing her to exit the temple atrium and search nearby for any fallen loose pieces of wood they could use.

It was relatively quiet as the Jedi Master fell into the rhythm of bending down and picking up dry sticks and fallen branches. There was something strange about it. It dawned on her a few minutes later that the reason it felt so out of place was that she could not hear any birds.

They had passed a flock of them back near their shuttle, but the closer they drew to the temple, the less Kira saw any of them.

Was there a cause for it? Hmm.

 

[Soliath Devin Talith]

[member="Kira Talith"]

As soon as the tent was set up Soliael went about digging a small pit in front of it. He took a small collapsible shovel from his pack and began to dig a small hole, rimming it with rocks so that they would have a place for the fire without having to worry about it spreading anywhere.

The measure was simple, and familiar.

When they had gone camping on the island Soliael had always made sure that his kids left no trace of themselves within the wilds. Part of that had been an education on fire and how to properly keep it. The island they lived on back home was covered in thick rainforest like jungles, fire's were difficult, but not impossible. He had always been weary of them spreading out too far on the island, mostly because he wanted to keep the ecosystem intact, a fire would have...well they didn't exactly have the means to fight a forest fire back home.

Here it would be a disaster.

Soliael yawned as he placed the final stone, sitting himself down in front of the tent and throwing the shovel to the side.

His eyes began to wander around the small ruin that they had situated their camp in. They drifted from place to place, mostly observing the markings that had been carved into stone. He searched for marks that would resemble lightsaber slashes, blades, blaster bolts, anything that would indicate war or battle. His lips only thinned as he found nothing of the sort, only vines and odd markings that resembled and ancient script of aurabesh.

 

[Kira Talith]

[member="Soliael Devin Talith"]


"You seem to be deep in thought." Kira's voice would be Soliael's forewarning of his wife's return, her jovial blue eyes sparkling over the armful of branches and wood she carried with her.

"Care to share?' she'd ask, her expression turning into one of appreciation at the set up of their camp. Soliael had always led their little camping excursions, teaching the kids how to properly set up their campfire and tent, and making sure that the local environment wasn't disturbed too much. Those had been some fun times, the greater part of their children's life spent traveling and exploring the galaxy. It made Kira miss their kids more, and she wondered how they were doing right now. What they would be up to.

Crouching down next to the firepit that Soliael had set up, Kira dropped her pile of wood and began to arrange it within the circle of stones.

"Did pretty nice out here with the set up," a waggle of her brows followed with the impish grin. "Remind me to thank you properly later."

 

[Soliath Devin Talith]

[member="Kira Talith"]

It’s just odd.” He explained simply. There was something off-putting about this place. It wasn’t enough to scare him, or to drive him off, but it was an odd feeling in the pit of the stomach. It wasn’t the force, the force told him nothing about this place, but it was an odd feeling in the center of his gut.

“No signs of battle anywhere.” He pointed to the walls, and then to some of the boulders that lay scattered around. “I guess we won’t find out until we actually get into the deeper ruins, but this is all so odd.”

Why abandon a perfectly good Temple?

Aside from numbers Soliael didn’t know, but even then why hide records of this Temple? Why not write down its location and throw it into the Archives? It wasn’t like it wouldve been a detriment, just the opposite, it could have served as a hiding place to those that needed it. He frowned slightly and shrugged. Then smiled. “I’m sure I will.”

 

[Kira Talith]

[member="Soliael Devin Talith"]

"Well, the only thing that I could think of is that perhaps it might have been a disease." however, their earlier datafeed from the probe scanner suggested that was a low possibility. Or maybe some sort of epidemic had spread eons ago, leaving this temple a skeletal structure of the dead.

"Mass graves or something similar in such a short time could give evidence of that." it would also be super creepy. That was not the sort of discovery Kira wanted to make here. She'd much rather find out that the former residents had to depart due to a relocation or something less bloody or deadly.

"A rather morbid thought but," she continued, grabbing a small box that held a small fire ignitor from her pack. "That could very well be a reason." A few small clicks and then Kira had a small flame. Very carefully she would lean forward. Setting the flame beside the small batch of kindling, she gently coaxed a fire to bloom.

 

[Soliath Devin Talith]

[member="Kira Talith"]

As Kira leaned forward, Soliael leaned back, eyes slowly floating to her derriere as he spoke. ”That would make sense.”

A lot of it actually.

It wasn’t something that he actually considered before, mostly because disease...well it didn’t oftne come to his mind. Soliael himself was rarely sick, and his children had really only faced one or two illnesses when they were young. Colds were rare in the Talith house-hold, if only because they lived in the tropics and kept a rather clean kitchen. He frowned for a moment, scratching his beard as he watched her wiggle.

”A plague. Even Jedi got sick sometimes, and out here in the Rishi Maze there were bound to be new diseases that no one had ever encountered before, diseases with no cures or very little research. ”I always knew you were the smart one.”

Soliael said with a smile.

A plague made sense, a lot of sense.

 

[Kira Talith]

[member="Soliael Devin Talith"]

A snort came, followed by the blonde starting over her shoulder at her husband.

"You're just saying that to get on my good side," she pipped back out to him, blue eyes dancing with mirth. However, there was a seriousness in her gaze that would then cloud her expression. If had been a plague, then what sort had it been? That the Jedi Temple was empty as if the entire populace had simply left meant that it had to be a contagion of the likes that turned pandemic.

"Not very reassuring if we both managed to walk into a temple that was likely the site of a quarantine," she added, stoking the fire as the flames spread. The orange glow of the flames would flicker and illuminate her face in a soft glow. They highlighted the faint lines at the corners of her eyes and the smile lines at the edges of her mouth. Well in her fifties, the Jedi Master had the Lightside of the Force to thank for extending her life and youthfulness by making her appear to be in her mid-thirties.

Although her husband still won in the looks department. Well past two hundred and fifty and he had a body that would make anyone believe he was a human male in his prime.

 

[Soliath Devin Talith]

[member="Kira Talith"]

”It’s been thousands of years.” Soliael said with a shrug. There weren’t a lot of diseases that could last for thousands upon thousands of years without some sort of incubator.

This place wasn’t really the best environment for something like that.

Sure there were plenty of animals, but most diseases didn’t jump from species to species. Plagues that moved through multiple species were incredibly rare, and even then more often than not they required engineering rather than actual natural manifestation. He frowned for a moment and then looked at his wife consideringly.

”I doubt if it was a plague that it’s still around.” Not unless someone froze it anyway. ”When we go inside we’ll use the rebreathers.”

Usually meant for underwater, but they would work fine in this case.

Or should anyway.

 

[Kira Talith]

[member="Soliael Devin Talith"]

The rebreathers would be an additional level of protection. That gave Kira a measure of comfort. Although there were other means by which one could potentially catch a contagion. If it was through bodily fluids then they didn't have to worry much. Yet there were dormant viruses. The rebreathers could protect them against airborne, but what if it spread through some manner of skin contact?

A thought on the Dark Harvest thread came to mind. It brought a visible grimace. Much like the Black Hive virus combined with the voracity of a Mmugle-Mmugle.

"Or it could not be a biological virus at all." she added. When the Jedi Master turned into her concerned mama role, it had a tendency to think of the potentially worse scenarios.

"Like Dark Harvest... or a Force Virus."

 

[Soliath Devin Talith]

[member="Kira Talith"]

He shook his head.

”We would have sensed something.” A force Virus was just that, born of the force. Something that he could sense and feel, especially considering his own powers in the force. Dark Harvest was another unique thought. He frowned for a moment and considered exactly what he would have felt, but ultimately decided that his initial thoughts were correct. ”I don’t think so, Honey.”

It seemed unlikely. ”Jedi aren’t immune to disease. More resistant, yes, but definitely not immune. If it was something bad enough, then it could ravage a settlement pretty easily.”

Especially all the way out here.

No doubt that this was before Bacta, or even dozens of other modern remedies. A disease seemed like a good thought, and was gradual enough in its...effects, that it wouldn’t create some type of hole in the force like another kind of major event. A force virus however would have been more…lasting, in the way it did its work.

 

[Kira Talith]

[member="Soliael Devin Talith"]

With the fire now crackling softly, the Jedi Master rocked back to sit on her butt. Tucking in her legs, she sat crossed legged with both of her hands resting on top of her knees. The thought crossed about the probe Nohei had built them. A soft hum came from the back of her throat and she leaned forward to grab her bag. From one of the side pockets the Lorrdian pulled out the tablet that would control the probe.

"Let me see if there are any biological sensors on the probe for any live viruses." Kira offered. It could at the very least patrol around and the inside of the Jedi Temple while it created a holographic map for them to follow on the next day.

"if there was something and it is still out there, hopefully it could pick it up." better safe than sorry.

 

[Soliath Devin Talith]

[member="Kira Talith"]

He’d be surprised if she found anything, but Soliael wasn’t about to discourage his wife from doing something she wanted to do. Especially when that something could conceivably save their lives in the future. ”At the very least.”

Soliael began as he shifted and yawned.

”There’s no skeletons out here.” He pointed that out. ”So if it was a disease it wasn’t instant.

He’d seen plenty of those ailments in the outer rim.

There were pathogens in this galaxy that could spread at the drop of a hat and kill even faster. It was terrifying to witness, and he imagined even more terrifying to watch. It was easy enough to spread a plague now, and part of him wondered if the galaxy would see another one soon now that it was lulled into such a state of security.

He frowned for a moment and shook the rather dark thought.