Alderaan - Love and Intrigue

Baesal wondered what else she could do right now...she could go into the ruins but she wondered if there weren't any more immediate matters.

But even if there was, could she do anything?

At any rate she was certain scavengers would come out of the woodwork to feast on the corpses...corpses. She knelt before one and observed the chitin.

Last evening had *not* gone well, had it? To be honest, Layne hadn't been sure what to think about the whole thing. On the one hand, the Killiks were a clear threat, and the things they'd done to those 'joiners' was just beyond disturbing. On the other hand, the whole exercise had gone very differently than imagined, and though it was likely to be deemed a 'success' by some people, it'd be for the wrong reasons. And despite all of it, they hadn't even been able to help any of the people who had been taken.

Of course, it wasn't her problem. Was it? She had *other* things to worry about right now. And at the very least, she'd helped out a friend by tagging along; who knew how important that friend's work was going to be down the line?

Still, something drew her back here. The Sunset Dawn landed not far off, and Layne came out to survey the damage.

Another ship? Baesal looked up to see the familiar spacecraft land

She took a long breath and stood up. She wondered why...why would Layne participate in this? She probably did not know. Heck those intent on murder did'nt

This will be interesting

She noticed Baesal of course... not right away perhaps, but certainly as she happened to be walking in that direction. At first it was just a figure, then the familiar togruta.

Oh shit... I'm gonna get scolded for sure.

Closing the distance, she gave her a half-assed wave.

"...Yo, so uh... didn't expect to see you here."

She cleared her throat somewhat awkwardly.

Baesal's face was stone cold, staring at Layne...in a long silence

''What happened here, Knight Hoshin?''

"Come on Baesal, don't be like that, I have a first name."

She sighed. You didn't need the Force to know the other Jedi was *pissed*.

"It wasn't supposed to be like this. A friend brought me in. She had a mission to run that would help her get close to people who might, you know, be *bad* and stuff. And the Killiks were a threat that needed to be addressed anyhow. The way they brainwash people? Turn them into deranged slaves? Don't tell me that's okay. So, we came to install a device. That's it. In and out, we weren't going in there to kill any of them. I was told it's supposed to generate certain sonic frequencies that was meant to disperse them. Keep them away from certain areas and just generally make them back off. Only. Maybe we put it in the wrong place, or maybe the frequencies were wrong. I don't know. They just went... crazy. Starting killing each other."

It took a moment but Baesal closed her eyes and her demeanor relaxed.

''You are right, I am sorry. You did not know better...'' she paused for a second ''...but I would have expected...I don't know''

Baesal looked away

''You might have had good intentions but I am not sure that's enough. The perspective is warped.'' The words were hard to come by ''I talked to them, touched the hive mind. They are neither slaves nor deranged.''

She frowned. "You can *not* be serious. You're talking about normal people Baesal, regular sentients like farmers and what not. Just because they *think* they're there of their own free will doesn't mean they *are*. Nobody just walks out of their life one day to spend the rest of their days peddling killik shit around in a tunnel. They've been *brainwashed*. I saw the way they acted, that's the purest definition of slavery I've ever seen. At least on Kessel my mind was free. These people don't even have *that*."

''See...you do not understand'' she looked at the corpses ''Imagine...imagine being so close to someone that words were useless, no matter the distance.''

She mulled things over

''Imagine being so close to someone that the moment you felt something, they would feel it too. The moment they understood something, you would understand it as well. Imagine being so intricately intimate with someone that neither of you would know where one ends and the other begins''

She frowned.

"Yeah, I don't understand... because I haven't had my individuality taken from me and overwritten by some genetic imperative to protect some queen or hive that doesn't give two shits about her disposable drones. I haven't gotten black-out messed up on spice either, but I'm pretty sure I don't *have to* in order to understand it's not a good idea."

She was a little exasperated by the direction of this conversation.

"If the Killiks just kept their hivemind to themselves and didn't attack people, then nobody would have any problems with them Baesal. I certainly wouldn't. But this 'joining' business? It's pure slavery, and frankly I'm struggling to understand why you're defending it. I realize you want a peaceful solution here, which is great and I support... but the way you're romanticizing them is honestly disturbing enough to have me wonder if maybe they've started to affect you."

Baesal frowned and shook her head

She was tired of this

''It is unlike slavery for their is no hierarchy. The hive mind is not a dominating over mind but rather probably more a gestalt of all the consciousnesses that it includes. Bodies are just that...bodies. The drones cannot think on their own but the joiners do retain some of their personnalities, I think. That is why some of them survived.''

And a sigh

''Their consciousness is different, alien, to ours. Frames of references are limited but it is certainly dissimilar to what you think it is. As for their presence here...'' she looked around ''Why are they here? Was that question asked or was it just assume they were pest and that's what pests do?''

The more she listened, the more concerned Layne was starting to get. It was one thing to want an amicable resolution to all this. To try and understand them, sure. Fine. But to just... *shrug* at the brainwashing? *Defend* it even? What the hell was going on here? Layne stepped a little closer to Baesal, as if trying to determine if this was just... the Togrutata getting obsessed with the scientific mystery of it... or something more.

"Baesal," she said with a deep wary sigh, "have you been... spending a lot of time with them, maybe?"

An eyebrow was raised

''I slept in the truck overnight...why?''

"Look," this was difficult, especially since she could just be misinterpreting things rather severely as she sometimes did.

"You have to understand that some of what you're saying doesn't sound entirely... normal. Right? There's literally nobody on this planet aside from joiners and you, who would describe the process as anything other than well... *fucked up*. Brainwashing. Slavery. I don't understand why you'd defend it. Scientific curiosity about the hive mind is, fine I guess. But this... this isn't normal Baesal. This isn't something you should be okay with. And honestly, you're making me a little concerned that you've been exposed to them a little too much. As I understand it, it can be a slow process... you might not even realize that you're being... affected."

''It's not...uhg...their sentience is different but it's valid and they certainly did not deserve to be tortured to death''

Inhale, exhale

''Imagine...hum...by the Force. The points of references are so different, even finding the closest words cannot paint the right picture. That's the core of the problem between us and them, communication is difficult.''

She thought about it some more

''Imagine a peer-to-peer network. All different unique computers working together but not one of them being the main one...once they are linked their data is part of the network and...''

Her eyes go wide

''I get it...I think I fully understand how the hive mind works.''

"I didn't say they deserved to be tortured to death," she replied, "But that doesn't change the fact this whole 'joiner' business is seriously messed up and not something that can be allowed to continue. And I mean, if they're so different that they can't even understand that, then I doubt it matters if you figure out a way to communicate with them safely because an entity that doesn't even understand that kidnapping and brainwashing are fundamentally *wrong* isn't just going to change because you explain it to them nicely. Best case scenario they just shrug at you and keep doing it anyway because it's like explaining to a kid that he shouldn't swat flies. Worst case scenario, you've compromised yourself and you'll start singing hallekillikja for the rest of your messed up life."

Whatever epiphany Baesal was having, Layne didn't seem to notice the fact and was continuing to try and get through to Baesal in her own way.

''There is no point in arguing further Layne: your frame of reference is insufficient.'' the togruta stretched her neck

''There is a lot of things to. Since you are here come with me in the hive...the killiks might have left something else.''

"Oh yeah, sure... just go with you into the hive, with all of the brainwashing pheromones that have been affecting you."

She cocked her head at the other Jedi for a bit. She *really* didn't want to knock her out and bring her back with her or anything. But maybe they could compromise.

"Fine, we can do this. *But*, I have a few conditions. One, you wear a breathmask in there. Two, you will go get a medical scan or something after, so we can make sure I'm just being paranoid."

She scratched her forehead

''If that brings you peace of mind then sure, why not....give me second''

The knight moved to the truck and got the headpiece for her concealed armor and put it on. There was an distinctive 'hisss' of a suit pressurising itself.

''Here, my suit is sealed''

"Alright," she said after a moment with a nod, "But I'm going to have to see some medical scans at some point too."

At which point she brought out her own breathmask and put it on, before then gesturing in the general direction of the ruins. "Lead the way."