Ask Another Busy (K)Night

[Kalique Baize]

The way Leon replied, drew an amused scoff from her. Even if he tried, he simply didn't sound very optimistic either. Sue mouth a silent 'hopefully', however the grip around her lightsaber's hilt tightened. "Hm..." she did ponder on what he said about how Joiners were created then, before the scurrying in the distance caught her attention.

Maybe he was right and this here was a chance as well, but for now she was definitely concerned and on full alert due to the shadowy movements in the mist. There was no real chance to reply, but as her muscles tensed up she did also stop in her tracks. The movement. The fog. The buzzing that slowly set in and more and more figures appearing.

"We might have found them" she whispered quietly, slowly unclipping the lightsaber from her belt. She quinted, trying to make out details of the shapes, however it was nearly impossible to do so. And then the shadowy mass suddenly stopped where it was before the silhouette grew.

"Fuck", Kalique repositioned herself, slightly but swiftly moving to the side only to prevent her boots form getting stuck in the mud before she drew the Force into herself. She gathered the energy surrounding them and compressed it within a split second before she conjured a massive ball of fire.

The shadow, meanwhile, had shifted into several individual pieces, at least a dozen different spots before for first chitin covered arms and buzzing wings were actually visible. Without wanting to give them the chance to actually reach them, she hurled the fire at them, wanting to scorch as many flying bugs as possible before they'd cover the rest of the distance between their swarm and the two force users.

Just like that, the eerie silence of the mysterious swamp was broken by the fire whooshing through the air and the aggressive mandibles clicking together in disharmony with the crescendo of the humming wings. They had apperently found their Killik, but whether there were more Joined remained to be seen.

@Zay

 

[Leon Baudelaire]

The shadows coalesced through the fog, materializing into a group of Killik scouts. The beat of insectoid wings buffeting the air blared over the serenity of the swamp. Blaster fire proceeded their charge, Baudelaire pulled his Shoto, Moonlight, and his heavy blaster. He returned a few bolts with his saber while sending a few of his own in their direction.

Footing in the marsh wasn’t a thing. The Killik had a clear advantage in mobility and numbers. He felt a pang of fear start to creep in, then he felt the call of the force. His fear evaporated like a puddle in the desert. His facial expression shifted to his usual mischievous sneer as he began to pool the power of the light into his palm. It was clear Kali had the same idea as she unleashed a searing fireball at the incoming enemies.

Leon stayed on the defensive. He moved minimally. Just enough to slip death, but all the while his expression remained the same. The power of the force began to coalesce. He holstered his blaster, and switched his shoto to his main hand in a reverse grip. His free hand crackled with electricity. The water around them was suddenly the great leveler. Their disadvantage could be a boon, he just needed to tell Kali.

A splash behind him spun him around, Moonlight bit into the shoulder of a Killik. The pale silver blade severed the insect's arm at the shoulder. Baudelaire immediately drove a front kick into the bastard’s thorax. The insect chittered backward revealing Kali. He spun back around as three more killiks closed in. They were surrounded.

Perfect.

Leon called out, “Kali, JUMP!”

Baudelaire sank into The Force. He bent down, electricity rippling across his body, and then leapt straight up. His free hand was engulfed in crackling electricity. He aimed at the biggest group of Killik and fired at the water in front of them.

The lightning bolt slammed into the water electrifying the group instantly.

Smoking carapace toppled back into the water. They weren’t all taken out, but their numbers had been thinned.

@LadyRen

 

[Kalique Baize]

The fireball hit, but not all bugs were actually set ablaze. It were the delicate wings that weren't particularly fond of the fire, but the chitin shells prevented some Killik scouts that were only partly engulfed from the full extent of damage. What did happen though was that many dropped to the ground and this meant they were at least slowed.

What worried her a lot though was how more and more bugs suddenly seemed to materialize out of no where so that all of a sudden the two allies found themselves surrounded. The Force flowed right through Kalique who coiled it back around her again after the ball of fire had hit, but the enemies closed in so quickly that before she had her next attack ready, they were already forced to act.

Leon instructed her to jump and without hesitation, she did. The skin had tingled even under her armor as her hairs reacted to the sudden tension in the air as Leon summoned the Force and conducted it into pure energy. By quickly directing the Force into her legs, she basically fueled her leap with the Force, so that when the lightning was fired into the wet ground, she was in safety.

Despite of their shells, it became fairly obvious that the bugs were no friends to electricity either and so another bunch went down, either dead or incapacitated. When Kalique landed again, the mud splashed around and she sank in deeper this time, but she paid it no attention as there were still a few around.

The blood strongly pumped through her veins while she could hear her adrenaline boosted heartbeat, but she used the moment of surprise to launch her next attack before the bugs could regain their composure. There was quite some chaos around and it was hard to tell which of the remaining Killik were still operational, but that was why she let her lightsaber snap back into action and hurled the weapon at the remaining figures while guiding it with the Force.

The orange bladed lightsaber spun and whirled through the rows of shadows, but it turned out that some were merely reflections or accumulations of stirred up and coalesced fog. In the end, it did bisect another one right as on closed in on Leon, aiming to tackle the Knight while another one was a bit further behind, letting out a creepy, aggressive hissing noise.

@Zay

 

[Leon Baudelaire]

Leon’s attack out the Killik on high alert. They were used to zealots and civilians not elemental wielding force users. The hesitance in their attack left and opening. As Leon landed back in the marsh he reached out with the force and pulled the nearest bug toward him.

Moonlight pierced the shrieking mandibles silencing the screaming bug forever. The battles exploded into a second round of chaos as blast fire and melee units pressed in on them.

The chaos of battle hit the two force users like a tidal wave. Leon moved on instinct empowered by the guidance of the force. His blades danced cutting, deflecting, stabbing. His face was a mask of impassivity as he clashed, kicked, and cut.

The scream of a Killik behind him spun Leon around. An orange beam passed through it. A spray of viscera misted Leon’s face, but he didn’t have time to be disgusted. The screech of another bug caught his attention. He reached out with the force, running forward as he pulled the bug toward him. The heavy splash of his footfalls didn’t quite mask the roar emanating from his throat as Daybreak slammed into the upper thorax of the Killik.

The insect slid backward off his blade, fragile wings were crushed under its collapsing body with a final splash.

The remaining Killik ranks were broken and the few remaining were making a run for it. The sucking swish of his lightsaber’s dissipating broke the monotony of his heavy breathing. He stood stretching his consciousness around them feeling for anything out of the ordinary within the force.

Suddenly, Peetwo twilled something, poking it’s head out of Leon’s bag.

“ You’re picking up a signal?” asked Baudelaire. “ Which way?”

The little droid hopped up on to his shoulder and hit a pose like a hunting dog. Leon frowned. There was no telling how many Killik were here. They could be running directly into a hive. If that was the case, the sheer number of bugs would overwhelm them. They were strong, they weren’t invincible.

“ What do you think, push on or head back?”

@LadyRen

 

[Kalique Baize]

justify] While her lightsaber didn't hit as many as she had hoped for, it kept the rest at bay while Leon skillfully slaughtered two more. The rest suddenly scattered and soon vanished just as she called her spinning lightsaber back. The adrenaline was still pumping through her veins as she spun, attentively scanning their surroundings but realizing there was no bug around anymore.

"The hive mind...they must have realized they didn't have a chance" she quietly said to Leon as she deactivated her lightsaber. She then let out a sigh, brushing the hair that had fallen into her face back behind her ears before Peetwo chirped into action.

"Are you alright?" she asked Leon, throwing him a slightly concerned look before her gaze followed the little droid upwards. "If we're so close we need to exterminate them. If the hive was close and strong, they would have sent reinforcement" Kalique argued, however phrasing it carefully and with a frown written in her features.

"The people need our help...and we need to figure out whether the cult is really involved in this" it wasn't Kalique's regular stubbornness speaking, but the Knight-Captain was truly convinced they were on to something here and that they could still retreat later on. "If you have a bad feeling about this you can be honest though". She'd leave that call to him still. It was foolish to go alone and the stomach feeling mattered, too.

While she waited for his answer, she did expand her senses once again, reaching deeper into the misty swamp and scanning for any activity and there was indeed something that made her raise a brow. "Someone is inside there..." she shared her insights with him, however uncertain about whether that was a good sign or not.

@Zay

 

[Leon Baudelaire]

The sucking dispersal of his lightsabers preceded his chuckle at Kali’s words. “We can only hope,” he retorted.

“I’m fine, thanks,” he said, crossing his arms over his chest as he weighed their odds. Kali made it clear she wanted to go after the horde, “I like your enthusiasm, the issue is their numbers are only going to increase if they’ve got a whole colony here,” he shrugged, “If that’s the case we’d be walking into our own graves. I’m talking thousands of bugs.”

Killik’s had the ability to lay up to thirty thousands eggs in a month. If that was the case they’d be so outnumbered that all the fire and lightning they could muster wouldn’t do jack shit.

“Fine, we’ll press on to determine if there’s any actually affiliation with the Cult, but based on the information we’ve already seen, I think the Killiks inadvertently disrupted whatever the Hindsnake cult was planning.” he turned to her, “In the grand scheme of things, the Killik are way more dangerous than the cult.”

Leon didn’t doubt her ability or question her bravery, but blindly chasing down a routed enemy that was connected directly to the main host by telepathy wasn’t something he was interested in.

Kali’s words stole his attention, his eyes flicked in the direction she was looking and he focused his consciousness in that direction. She was right, Peetwo twittered nudging Leon forward. Reluctantly, Leon stepped toward the signature hidden by the swamps miasmic veil.

Mist clung to his hair and skin as his waterlogged boots sloshed through the mire. The vapor in the air unfurled revealing a light freighter half sunk in the middle of a body of water. The ship was close enough to force jump too, so, that’s exactly what Leon did.

A moment later the Jedi landed gracefully atop the ship. Peetwo hopped off his shoulder and immediately started scanning the area, looking for an entrance. Leon spotted a hatch near the back of the ship, “Here we go,” he called over to Peetwo and Kali.

Leon opened the hatch, pulled his shoto saber and shrugged before dropping into the darkened ship.

@LadyRen

 

[Kalique Baize]

Leon remained really pessimistic and shared his concerns. Kalique glanced up to him, weighting his words for a moment. He was the one who was more experienced in fighting Killiks and who possessed more background knowledge, but regardless of his concerns, he started moving, so she did follow.

Her hand remained at her first lightsaber's hilt, her emerald gaze narrowed and carefully scanning the misty environments. Her presence within the Force was expanded, all senses heightened and her muscles tensed with Leon's words echoing through her mind.

"We can't let them surround us again. If we notice numbers, regardless of where we are, we run" she said to him, meeting his gaze for a second. It would be enough for them to get away. It had to. She was slowly recharging, wanting to be prepared as much as they needed to be.

"That would be an interesting twist...I mean you're right. They're much more dangerous, but if they helped us exterminating what remained of the snakes, we have one enemy to focus on for now", she mused, keeping her voice low in order to avoid raising any unwanted attention in the admittedly creepy surroundings.

Not much longer, and the pair sudden stumbled upon a half sunken ship that made Kalique raise a brow. The presence was dwelling inside, unmistakably stemming from something that was alive. Now that they were closer, she could tell it was somewhat fuzzy, but as it suddenly sensed them, too, Kalique sensed a shift.

It was suddenly trying to dampen its presence, which indicated a certain amount of sentience, intellect and conscious control about its force sensitivity, which in this case, didn't speak for another Killik for her. Leon would feel it as well, but he obviously wasn't deterred and so she followed.

"Right behind you" she whispered, her lightsaber already hissing into life before Leon was swallowed by the darkness from below. Kalique, after having checked their surroundings one final time, dropped down as well, the orange glow of her lightsaber being the only source of light in the ship.

In pin drop silence the two of them would stand for a few seconds with the presence fully veiled, until suddenly, they'd notice a familiar hiss of another lightsaber getting activated while a split second later, they'd notice a spinning red blade coming their way.

Without thinking twice, Kalique reached out with the Force, attempting to deflect the deadly weapon before it would get any close, but given the short reaction time of the surprise attack, her full focus was on the move, so that as the trajectory changed, the assailant was already closing in on Leon, a second red lightsaber swung at the Knight, only giving him a abort glimpse of time to react.

@Zay

 

[Leon Baudelaire]

As Baudelaire dropped into the darkness he sank into the force. His feet hit the ground with barely a whisper. He was cast in the dim light of the hatch opening, but all around him was darkness. He’d seen this type of ship before, off the top of his head he couldn't remember his designation, that was more Ezra’s thing, but he knew it was a hauler.

Leon stepped to the side, closing his eyes while opening his other senses. The creak and groan of the hauler were the only noises to be heard. Kali landed beside him. They were both on high alert, they’d been in this situation before.

Moonlight’s silver blade conflagrated into existence as it settled into a defensive position. Peetwo landed on his shoulder then slipped down to the floor. As soon as Peetwo’s little feet hit the floor a crimson saber came to life. Baudelaire’s free hand plunged into the force. The spinning hum of the incoming saber illuminated the corridor in undulating swaths of crimson light.

Kali was already on the move, Leon could feel her reach for the force and saw the flying weapon fall into her control. The quarters were tight. There was no way they could fight at the same time, and it was clear their attacker had chosen to come for The Adumarian first.

Moonlight caught the slashing blade in a defensive embrace, using the momentum of the incoming attack to direct the blade to the side and into the wall. The durasteel hissed and sparked as it was met by the superheated weapon. From their point blank position, Leon unleashed a force push into the attacker’s back.

The attacker’s body was slammed into the wall by the force, but rather than a wail of rage he… he whimpered?Leon’s brow furrowed, he kept the pressure on the being, not giving them a chance to retaliate.

“J-Just fucking do it!” screamed their attacker.
“What?” asked Leon.
“Kill me, just do it!”

Leon looked over to Kali, confusion apparent on his face.

“Uh, I mean, I’d rather not if I don’t have to,” replied Baudelaire.
“Wha-” started the attacker as Leon released his hold on the shadowy figure, they whipped around eyes wide with a mixture of fear and confusion, “You’re not one of them?”

The attacker relaxed, “I was sure you guys were a couple of bugsluts coming to finish the job.”
Baudelaire blinked with a little shake of his head, “Excuse me?”

The guy stood up a little straighter, suddenly a little embarrassed, “--Er, I didn’t come up with the term, it’s-it’s just what some people call joiners…”

Leon laughed, deactivating Moonlight.

 

[Kalique Baize]

Within a split second, the whole atmosphere had shifted. Tension was climaxing and right after the red lightsaber was forced down on the ground, the blade deactivated itself. Kalique immediately let go of it and spun, just to see Leon quickly handling himself rather well.

Leon skillfully evaded the initial attack before he pinned the attacker against the wall. Kalique instantly shifted the Force over to the assailant, catching him in a sudden, strong stasis while she waited for Leon to carry out the final strike...before he suddenly stopped. Whimpering filled the room and huge question mark was written in the Captain's features.

A short exchange of words. Kalique didn't even flinch. While Leon let go of the attacker with the red bladed lightsaber, Kalique coiled the Force around his neck - subtle pressure, but nothing harmful was applied. One wrong move and she'd end him. She didn't buy it. At least not right away. Here, Leon was apperently the optimistic one while Kalique remained tense, her orange lightsaber ready and the fiery glow illuminating her temporarily serious features.

The exchange continued and Kalique let her force grip go. The lightsaber remained activated, and the Force coiled around her other hand, but even if his admittedly humorous term came unexpected, Kalique suppressed any reactions. "You could be lying. You could just be another Joiner" she pointed out, her voice icy and her gaze critically studying him.

Joiner or not, the crimson blades were a literal red flag. "Even if you're not with them, where do the bled crystals come from?" she added, her face everything but amused. She offered a chance for an explanation, but unlike Leon, wasn't conviced of all this at all.

@Zay

 

[Leon Baudelaire]

Leon had a feeling his partner’s professional paranoia would take over, he’d planned on it. Kali was way more impending looking than he was, it set them up for the perfect good cop bad cop. So when her blades ignited a mischievous little curl twisted his lip as the Cultist’s eyes widened in fear.

“She’s got a point, ya know?” mused Leon, crossing his arms over his chest and cupping his chin as if deep in thought.

The man whimpered as he blades drew near illuminating the sheen of sweat coating his pallor skin. His breath hitched with fear as if trying to restrain a sob.

“Wait–Please! FUUCK!” he screamed pressing against the wall trying to get away from her humming blades. “I-i-i’m not a fucking Joiner!” he begged. Tears welling in his eyes as his voice broke with emotion, “They give them to us,” he sobbed, “When you join, before you earn your coil!” he opened his robe exposing the freshly mottled skin of a healing tattoo.

“T-they give us the kyber and we’re told to bleed it. O-once you do that you c-can be tested, we-we were sent here to kill, to baptize ourselves and our weapons in the blood of the cursed,” his eyes were full of shame, of disappointment, of regret. “I-I couldn’t do it. I swear… I swear, I couldn't even get off the ship!” his expression melted into a thousand yard stare, “Not that it mattered… as soon as we landed the bugs hit.”

Resignation returned a shred of pride to the Cultist. His chin raised defiantly, “Do, it. I’d rather die than go back to the cult or become a joiner.”

FInally, Leon decided to interject, “What if there was a third option?”

The Jedi stepped forward holding up a hand to Kali, then turning to her and asking, “Mind lowering those for a second?”

Back to the Cultist he said, “Take a breath, my name’s Leon, if you’ll help us, maybe we can come to an agreement that secures your way off this planet? What’s your name?”

Hope dared to flicker in the guy’s eyes, “Mateo… How could I possibly help you?”

Leon smiled, “You tell us where your main base is.”

Defiance blossomed and wilted as Mateo's eyes flicked from Leon to Kalique. He swallowed then said, “The coordinates are on the ship’s nav computer. W-we were never told the exact location.”

Without Leon asking, Peetwo hopped out of his bag and ran off toward the ship's nav computer.

Leon looked back to Kali, “Good call,” he said, nodding to her.

Had she not been so willing to press on he would have kriffed right off and totally missed this. This single instance probably just saved him months of mind-numbing effort.

Or at least he hoped…

@LadyRen

 

[Kalique Baize]

When Kalique first uttered her suspicions, she wasn't even planning for a mind-game yet. It were genuine concerns she voiced and she did toy with the idea of just ending him, but keeping such prospects alive was often an important key factor for actual process as intel was always valuable, so as soon as his fear kept spiking, different thoughts crossed her mind while the suspicions abated.

She kept quiet, knowing Leon was a skilled negotiater. She meanwhile sticked to the role she had slipped into, so while the cultist whimpered, she slowly stepped closer, her grip around her lightsaber tightening. The genuine display of emotions was actually a deciding factor for her as she was pretty sure it couldn't be achieved so convincingly through the bugs' mind control, so this part she did believe.

She said nothing though, not at all taking joy in having such an effect on the frightened man, but knowing she had to maintain her facade a little longer. The cultist kept on explaining and despite her expertise she couldn't tell he was lying. Maybe he was even stating the truth, but even if he wasn't a Joiner, Kalique still didn't like any part of it.

She still let Leon lead this talk and so when he asked her to fully disengage, she did. Her eyes were slightly narrowed and still attentively studying the cultist prospect, analyzing his body language and waiting for him to do any wrong movements, but his desperation truly seemed to control him, even to an extent that he was willing to relay important information he had.

"Why did you want to join them, Mateo?". It wasn't hard to tell that he hadn't really opened himself to the dark side yet, but somehow he had been willing to go down this path willingly, at least until now. He surely wasn't a lost cause, but Kalique was wary of most dark siders.

"Where does your loyalty lie?", she bluntly asked, her tone making it obvious that she demanding an honest answer, even if she wasn't sure whether he was willing to offer one. "and how long have you been on this ship then?". As Leon's little helper had run off to gather the data, it seemed like they had a little time to chat.

While her gaze still lingered on him, she did move over to collect his lightsabers though, wanting to keep them under control in case he changed his mind, even if he probably knew he was no match for the two of them. Her voice wasn't as frosty as before, but it had shifted a little while she forced some tension out of her muscles.

@Zay

 

[Leon Baudelaire]

”I’m gonna secure the coordinates, you good?” asked Baudelaire as he started to follow the little BD unit into the depths of the light freighter. He had all the confidence in the galaxy that Kali would be fine with Mateo, however, he wasn’t so sure about that line of thought in reverse. The Imperial Knights didn't restrain their aggression the same way Jedi did and if the cultist got froggy, well, Baudealire knew she’d fry him up faster than a Raxus porg vendor.

Mateo’s eyes widened in fear as Leon started to move away. He swallowed hard doing his best to look as non threatening as possible. The guy seemed nice enough, but this lady had a look in her eye that seemed to dare him to step out of line. So, he did his best to not breathe. Of course, this feat was impossible especially when she kept asking him questions.

“Because choice is a luxury in this galaxy,” he said with a tad more cynicism than he’d meant to, his tone softened and he clarified, “I was forced into joining.”

Surely someone like her would understand force servitude. Or maybe she couldn’t and he was fucking dead— his stomach roared with hunger. Mateo cleared his voice with a flash of obvious embarrassment and promptly answered her next questions, “It doesn’t lie anywhere… I just want to go home and forget everything I’ve seen in the past year.”

She seemed to be warming to him, which, if he was being totally honest, scared him more than when he knew she just wanted to kill him. He watched her pick up the sabers he’d held. He could still feel their screams pressing into his mind. They demanded blood. They demanded vengeance. He just wanted them to go away forever.

“I’m not really sure. It’s been hard to keep track of time since the bugs found us,” his face screwed up as he tried to remember, “Maybe twelve days?” he said finally with a shrug. “I mean give or take, ya know…”

Leon made it to the cockpit just behind Peetwo and yet the little droid was already in the process of pulling up the information they were looking for. A plethora of coordinates rained across the black and green consol screen, but only one continued to show up repeatedly. Baudelaire’s mischievous smile spread across his lips.

They finally had a real lead.

A few minutes later…

Leon stepped back into what he realized was the lunge area of the ship.

“So, are you guys best friends yet?” he said with a chuckle, “Kali we’ve got something. He wasn’t lying.”

@LadyRen

 

[Kalique Baize]

As Leon decided to go check on what Peetwo was doing, Kalique's emerald gaze kept lingering on the alleged cultist as she gave Leon an approving nod. She was carefully watching his replies, hoping he would be smart enough to know she'd see through any deceptions if he intended to use them, but as fear still ran strong in him, she assumed he was aware of how she wasn't down for any games.

'Forced into joining'. Oh she had heard many of those stories, and even if he sounded genuine enough, she wasn't very pleased with the answer. Her face didn't give her internal displeasure away, but after she had secured his lightsabers, she did her best to give him a chance to explain for now.

"And where is home?" she wanted to know and thus asked the follow-up question, her tone not as icy as before. He was obviously worn down and while it still seemed like he told the truth, it was still a fact that he wielded bled sabers and that he had become somewhat of an initiate of those cultists.

The kyber crystals of the newly acquired lightsabers at her hips let out terrible, longing screams of agony the dead souls were tormented with, but Kalique tried her best to block them out. They were irritating to her too, and she hated how they felt, especially because they made the dark side seem much more oppressive like this.

"It seems like you're starving" she pointed out, her tone so neutral that it would be impossible for him to decipher what she was implying. Kalique had been taught not to show any glimpses of sympathy with cultists and from a logical perspective, there was no reason to do so, but she was a human after all and while she could be absolutely ruthless, she could hold back, too. He had yielded, he had complied so far and he had offered intel they needed. Also, he was no actual danger, but Kalique still remained vigilant.

Leon came back just a few moments later, revealing that he had told them the truth. "Good" her gaze flicked from Mateo to Leon and back to the former. "Empty your pockets, please. Do you have any other comms on you?" she phrased it rather lightly, but her gaze told him she wasn't just politely asking.

He needed to hand over whatever he was still in possession of, so that they could ensure there was no way for him to backstab them by contacting anyone else, but once he had dutifully done so, she stretched out an empty hand and gestured lightly. What she did was using his current mental distraction while he was reaching into a back pocket on last time and dulled his senses with full focus.

He was out within a split second and she closed the distance between them just as quickly to prevent him from falling down roughly. She slowly put him down on the ground before she rose and faced Leon, an almost apologetic smile on her lips. "He was...speaking the truth but I like to be extra careful" no harm had come to him, but he wouldn't hinder them any further.

"What do we do with him though? He isn't truly corrupted. Simply seems a little lost...we can drop him off somewhere, but it seems like we have many other problems to deal with right now. Have you figured out the concrete location of their base or is Peetwo still deciphering?". So they had the Killik and the Cult...a weird, very dangerous combination of both, too, and the planet's security was still at stake.

@Zay

 

[Leon Baudelaire]

Matao eyed the crimson clad knight wearily as she interrogated him. He trusted her a little as she trusted him. Then she asked where he was from.

“Bakura.” he said flatly. He wasn’t buying her sudden softening in the slightest. Superheated plasma swords had a way of doing that. He was also aware of his hypocrisy.

The Imperial spoke, but her voice was in competition by the screaming kyber, luckily she just stated the obvious.

“I am, how could you tell?” he said with dripping sarcasm.

Matao spotted Leon before he spoke. The cultist couldn’t quite put his finger on it, but there was something different about the guy. Of course, what he thought was inconsequential because he was a prisoner.

“What?” he asked with a frown. His clothes were ragged, basically threadbare. His dark robe hung open exposing the mottled flesh of the hindsnake tattoo on his chest. His trousers, if one could ever refer to them as that, were drawstring and tattered above the knee. Further inspection of the cultist would reveal his boots were falling apart.

“I-I don’t have any pockets,” he admitted, with more shame than he understood. His eyes crossed as she lifted an empty hand to his face and suddenly… everything… went…

Leon’s arms were crossed over his chest as he watched the Imperial work. Kali asked what they should do, and Baudelaire closed his eyes, running over the possibilities in his head, “I’ll take him into custody. Once he’s recovered, I’ll take him back to Bakura.”

There was an opportunity here. Leon believed in his heart that the force didn’t put people in his way without a purpose. Mateo could be saved, he could be redeemed.

“We have the coordinates, but not the location. I need to get to my ship to run the numbers—” his comm suddenly went off.

Baudelaire pulled out the device and he opened it, verdant eyes scanning the text on the iridescent screen.

“Weird… I’m being assigned to Kashyyyk?”

That was weird. Why in the hell was he being sent to the Wookie planet?

“The base isn’t here,” he clarified, coming back to the present while his mind still tried to work out his mystery assignment. “It looks like I’m about out of time. For now, I’ll get the coordinates figured out then hit you up,” his eyes slipped to the new blades on her hips, “You keep those, I got the last two,” he chuckled.

@LadyRen

 

[Kalique Baize]

"I'm just good at reading people" she sarcastically replied, trying to lighten the mood a little. Kalique still had to force the tension out of her muscles, but she tried her best to appear as calm as possible while simultaneously staying vigilant.

She took a mental note concerning his home world, but wondered whether it even mattered. Leon would probably take him on as he was the one actually trusting the stranger so far. What mattered for her was that he was being secured in his unconscious state just a bit later after Leon had returned, sp that he wouldn't cause any issues here anymore, regardless of he had actual honest intentions.

"Are you...sure about this?" the Knight-Captain couldn't help but to ask bluntly. She had noticed Leon's unbound sympathy and optimism, but she was still rather sceptical. It was on him though. Mateo didn't have any information on them and he was no danger, also, Kalique was confident Leon would be able to real with him if he acted up again.

Leon's comms suddenly cut him off mid-sentence and Kalique tilted her head in question, a raised brow indicating her confusion. It was good that they had gathered information, but what had happened? The Jedi revealed what it was just a bit later and Kalique was just as surprised as he was.

"Kashyyyk?". A lot had happened on Kashyyyk in the past and it had been contested territory again and again, but after the dissolution, was it in danger again? "Okay...sounds good. Let's grab him and head back to the ships then" she hoped there were no more Killik around, hindering them from getting back to their vehicles, but as she reached out with the Force, everything seemed perfectly quiet.

"Oh those?". Actively blocking the screams out was draining, but she was used to it. Now that he'd gaze was wandering back down, she did hear their tormented, agonized cries again. "I...don't need them" she admitted, not even wanting to stay close to them for so long.

This was no official mission, Kalique had used a day off to investigate what Leon and her had been working on for quite a bit though and they had managed to make some real progress in tracking this threat. She could deliver them to the ISB, encountering cultists wasn't even a rare occasion, but they'd only lock them up and she suddenly remembered something else.

"Actually..." she began, wondering whether asking such a thing was even something she could do as it was a really big favor and he had already done a lot to help her. She summoned the Force before she moved to pick up the motionless Mateo, using the Force to shoulder him properly before nodding back to the ladder that would lead them out.

"This might be an interesting request, but I wondered about something a while back...Could you purify the crystals for me? I...can't. I wish I could, but it's nothing I'm capable of. I could assist you, if that's possible, but I'd need a Jedi to do it...and you'd definitely gain a huuuge favor in return". She threw him an almost pleasing grin, just waiting for his brows to quirk.

The idea was wild, but back on Ord Biniir she had realized that it was about time she acquired a third lightsaber and she definitely needed a special one. Also, as Kalique had always been rather fond of studying, she had read a lot about the purifications of crystals and had never laid hands on a purified lightsaber yet - not that it would obey here like her own, but it was almost a miracle of the Force to negate the terrible atrocities a Sith had created in the process of bleeding.

@Zay

 

[Leon Baudelaire]

”Yeah, positive,” replied Leon. He’d fought this Cult long enough to know Matao wasn’t filled with zealous fervor for the undying Hindsnake. He’d just been an outsider looking for a place to belong.

“Yeah…” he said absently in response to Kali as his eyes skimmed the information coming in. “Huh, it’s serious.” he sighed, of course it was.

“I can’t say more about it, but it seems my free time is up,” he said ruefully.

There was a hesitance coming from Kali he’d not experienced before and he held both hands up waving the things away, “I’m good. Sell’em or something.”

An idea seemed to present itself to the Imperial Knight and Leon got a sinking feeling. His expression was the antithesis of her’s. “Just how big of a favor are we talking?” he asked, little smirk tugging at his lips.

Ultimately, he’d be happy to help her out. He wasn’t really sure why a dark side user would want some purified kyber crystals, but it was something he could help. After all, the newest saber on his belt was born from the crystals they’d taken from the cult the last time they’d worked together.

“Meh, what the hell, I’ll help you out.”

Later…

Leon, Peetwo, Kali, and Matao entered The Freebird. Peetwo scuttled off to start decrypting the coordinates they’d retrieved from the swap ship. Matao was still out cold. If Leon had to guess, the guy probably hadn’t slept in days. He made a mental note to get the guy some food, but first he had to deal with the kyber.

“Alright, hand’em over. Might as well get this over with,” he held his hand out for the corrupted crystals. “Keep an eye on Matao, I’m not really sure how long this is going to take.”

@LadyRen

 

[Kalique Baize]

Kalique truly wasn't sure whether he'd agree - after all, he was a Jedi. He had always been different from the beginning, much more understanding an open-minded than most, but just like he didn't have a problem with her, she had never found any reasons to be wary of him.

They had worked together well before and this mission had brought a huge success already, so as he accepted without hesitation, a big smile crossed her lips. "Thank you Leon! That's absolutely awesome of you" she replied excitedly, however immediately and reassuringly adding, "a really big favor you can call in whenever!".

With him agreeing, Kalique shouldered the unconscious stranger and began to move him out, so that together they soon had him in Leon's ship. On their way back, it seemed like if there had been any Killik left, they would have chosen to stay hidden or maybe they had even run. Her thoughts had been spinning a little, wondering what was going on on Kashyyyk and whether there was a way she could help, but it was fairly obvious Leon couldn't share any details and she couldn't just come along.

"Oh right here, right now?" she asked, a trace of disbelief in her voice as she only knew a purification ritual wasn't that easy, but if he was feeling ready and willing to begin right away, she wasn't going to be the one holding back. She handed him one saber and began dismantling the one she had in her hands, her mind focused on not letting the tormented screams get to her in any way.

"He seems to be out for a while...but yes, I will. Is there any way I can help?" she still couldn't help but to pose the question after she had handed over the bled crystal. Her fingers slightly twitched as she grazed the kyber for the first time and the slightest frown crossed her face, but she had handled such crystals over and over, so that she had gotten oddly used to dealing with them even though it still wasn't easy to stand them if they were so close.

She was curious about what Leon would do though, as first hand experience was way more valuable then just reading about such rituals, but she also know it would cost him quite some focus and skill and time was running. Mateo was safely secured for now though, that was what mattered, but she was still torn about what awaited them at their main base.

@Zay

 

[Leon Baudelaire]

Leon could feel his ears burn with embarrassment as she thanked him, “It’s fiiiiiiine,” he said, hand still outstretched and waiting for the Kyber.

She handed them over and he answered her follow up with a sigh, “Yeah, get comfortable… this is going to take a while.”

As soon as the crystal hit his hand the screams in the force slammed into his mind. It was clear to him these had only recently been bled. They had a fresh anger about them he wasn’t looking forward to meeting. Kali promised him a big favor and he scoffed, “I’ll hold you to that.”

Baudelaire set the crystals on the floor in front of him, clasped his hands together over his folded knees and closed his eyes. “Just wish me luck,” he chuckled to Kali’s final question before reaching out to the crystals.

Hours later…

Leon’s eyes snapped open and he gasped like his head had been held underwater. He breathed hard and fast for a moment as the final pieces of darkness caught flame in his mind's eye and were snuffed out. He was soaked in sweat. His limbs quivered from the excursion, but as his eyes fell to the crystals on the floor his little smirk tugged at the corners of his mouth.

“Alright, they’re all yours.” he said as he eased himself back on his haunches. He pushed his wet hair from his face and stared up at The Freebird’s ceiling. His mind was still reeling from it’s connection to the two stones. More grotesque horrors no normal person would ever see saw fit to take up residence in his psyche.

Yay!

Leon pushed himself up, handing the crystal’s to Kalique.

“Welp, I’ve gotta haul ass if I’m gonna drop our buddy off before making for Kashyyyk. I’ll be in touch once we’ve got the coordinates.”

@LadyRen

 

[Kalique Baize]

A while? She had read it took hours, but it seemed like Mateo hadn't been someone who had fully ruined the crystals. Whether that played a roll or not, she didn't know, but a sceptical hint hid in her features as the young knight kept playing everything down every now and then. No, she knew this was neither an easy, nor a particularly nice task, but Leon still volunteered to do it anyway and she couldn't have been any more grateful.

With the guilty conscience though, she did check on the sleeping Mateo again before she took a seat across from Leon. While she couldn't really participate, it wasn't hard to sense what was going on. While it was certainly fascinating, Kalique couldn't help but feel extremely bad as Leon went through the horrors all by himself while they continously tugged at her mind, too.

From what she gathered, she, as a darksiders, really couldn't add anything useful to the purification, but she did stay close the whole time, knowing the crystals could also fight back and in case they threatened to overwhelm him, she wanted to be able to step in and stop them from taking an unforgiving toll on the Jedi.

She knew she couldn't distract him and so she did not bring him anything while he was still at it, but she refrained from roaming around. Her mind flicked over to Mateo to check every now and then, but otherwise she tried to refill her mental resources. The longer he was at it, the more she regretted the idea as she realized the full extent of what an awful task this was...

As Leon was done, Kalique had already lost track of time, but she was fairly certain it had been hours. His state had severely deteriorated and she could feel how the exhaustion went way beyond the surface. She immediately jumped back to her feet to fetch him some water to drink, but as she offered him a glass, there was concern written all across her face.

"Are you okay?! Damn no...what a stupid question" her gaze flicked to the white crystals that were fully devoid of any sinister, tormented traces now before she met his gaze again. "You need to rest...you need to process that first or else those horrific presences will linger".

Kalique was also aware of how he had to leave soon as he was needed on Kashyyyk, but for her letting him fly right away was no option. "I can deal with Mateo, but you really have to allow yourself to recover". He couldn't afford detour...she wasn't even sure whether letting him put the ship on autopilot and leaving him alone like this was a good idea.

"That was...amazing. I mean...I'm sorry, it was fascinating to witness but it wasn't hard to tell how incredibly hard this was. What can I do to help you?". She was fairly certain he skillfully tried to overplay this whole ordeal, but they both knew how dangerous this could be.

@Zay

 

[Leon Baudelaire]

Baudelaire breathed steadying himself within the force. He could feel the fatigue slowly recede, but he’d still need a decent sleep before he got to Kashyyyk. He considered Kali’s offer and then shrugged, “Alright, but be nice,” he teased.

Peetwo nuzzled his leg, Leon shifted, the little droid hopped up to it’s little perch on his shoulder. He waved off Kali’s compliments and worry, “Oh c’mon, our last adventure was way worse than this,” he laughed, “I’ll be fine. Peetwo is a decent pilot.”

The little droid bleated something crass and Leon laughed, “Okay, he’s the best pilot in this room,” conceded Leon.

“I’ll think about that favor. Maybe I’ll make you teach me how to shoot fire,” he shrugged.

Leon sighed, he wasn’t used to having someone fuss over him. “Nothing, I’m a big boy, I can take care of myself,” his chin jutted toward Mateo, “Besides you’re doing enough taking that stop off my hands.”

Baudelaire could tell she was still worried so he stepped forward putting his hand on her shoulder in an attempt to reassure her, “Kali, I’m fine. My brain feels like mush, it’s nothing a little sleep won’t fix.”

He fixed her with a smile to try and drive it home.

“Besides, I’m a Jedi!” he proclaimed putting his hands on his hips with an exaggerated level of confidence. He laughed, “Alright, get off my ship, I’ve got lives to save or food to hand out of some shit.”

Before she left Leon would say, “I’ll be in touch. Next time we meet, hopefully it’s to take down The Hindsnake cult.”

@LadyRen