Ask Resonance of the Matukai

[Leon Baudelaire]

The mottled blue hues of rippling miasma enveloped The Freebird as it hurtled toward Jedah. It felt strange to be hurtling toward the spiritual homeworld of the order. Not only that, but Leon and Koemi were going to try and do something The Order wasn’t particularly good at. They were going to try and get along with the Matukai. Baudelaire’s curiosity was on overdrive. He couldn’t wait to compare his Elloran Martial arts to theirs. He glanced down at his datapad; it was still open to the article he was reading on Matukai Force Strikes.

Not only was this an opportunity to let Koemi learn some cool shit, Jedah was known for being rich in Kyber. If they were lucky she just might find her crystal on this mission.

Baudelaire stretched, groaning as his arms reached for the ceiling. He rose from his workbench and pulled on his tunic before stepping into the lounge. Things had been different since he’d taken Koemi as his apprentice. They got along great and she was a scary fast learner, but he’d become accustomed to having his own space for a while and was still adjusting to a roommate. He weighed out some coffee and ground it up, while heating some water.

Leon frowned. It was quiet… too quiet. He looked around, no sign of Komie.

“Did I forget her on Starlight?” he asked the empty room. It was only then he realized Peetwo wasn’t around either. Had he forgotten both of them? No, that’s crazy he wasn’t that stretched thin was he?

Leon finished his pour over and decided to figure out where everyone was.

@Tulos

Resonance of the Matukai

 

[Koemi]

Oh, she was there.

After being assigned to Leon as his Padawan, Koemi had decided that perhaps it was time to take her education more seriously than she had had in the past. No more shirking training. No more dipping out when no one was looking to tend to her own interests. She was to become a Jedi and she had every intention of making Leon proud.

Besides, if she was going to surpass him in everything he did, she needed to focus and buckle down.

There she lay in her bunk, head hung over the edge towards the floor whilst her legs were crossed against the wall as she allowed the Force to move through her. The small puzzle cube Leon had given her on Brighthome levitated ahead of her, slowly twisting by her influence. The slow and intrigued trill of PeeTwo resting at her side on the bunk went unnoticed.

Her left hand slowly rose as she continued to manipulate the cube but it soon began to catch, refusing to budge an inch. She could see it clearly in her mind, but try as she might, she still lacked the finesse. Her eyes opened as her nose scrunched up in displeasure, the cube clattering to the floor.

”This is harder than it should be,” she grumbled, softly banging the back of her head on the frame of the bunk as PeeTwo stood and hopped to the floor before tilting it’s head questioningly to the side in her view. She couldn’t help but smile at the little BD Unit. ”Should we try again, then?”

Before she could begin, Koemi sensed Leon’s presence as he began to approach the door to her dorm. Staying as she was, her hand rose once again as she pressed the door switch with an invisible touch, allowing it to slide open to show the Knight in preparation to knock, his cup of caf in the other hand. ”You look befuddled, Baudelaire,” she teased, still upside down on her bed, smirking at her Master whilst PeeTwo turned with a happy beep.

@Zay

 

[Leon Baudelaire]

Deciding he should try her room first, Beaudelaire rounded the corner and lifted his hand to knock when the door swished open, catching him mid yell, “KOE—mi…”

“Sorry for respecting your privacy,” he retorted. “Anyway, you ready to start the briefing?”

His eyes flicked to the force puzzle, and he chuckled, she was getting better. Leon had watched Koemi devote herself to her training in a way he never had. Luckily he was a red blooded Adumarian who took unspoken challenges like this personally, so he’d re-doubled his own training. After they wrapped this diplomatic mission up, he and Koemi would start going after The Cult of the Hindsnake. That scared the shit out of him, but he knew this was the will of the force.

Leon stepped over to the holoprojector and hooked up his Datapad to it. The whir of the holo warming up preceded a flickering light that finally snapped into form. It was the mission briefing and letter from Jedi Perun.

Leon added to the information saying, “The Jedi have failed to unite with the Matukai on numerous occasions.” The difference in his usual self and his mission self was staggering. Aside from a rare quip about something he was very no nonsense, “We should expect them to be skeptical, but The Order has to change if we expect to make a real difference in this galaxy.” Is what he said, but what he thought was… The Order has to change if we expect to stand a chance against Raze…

The fact of the matter was plain. Raze would do it again and again and again until someone stopped him. Daybreak’s burden suddenly felt so heavy. But he didn’t have the time to doubt himself now.

“So, we’re gonna kill them with kindness. Honestly, I think you and I are probably the best suited for this mission because of our ability to meet people where they are. That’s what we're going to do here.”

He changed the screen to a video feed of a group of Force sensitives defending a supply speeder from attackers. The warriors brandished long pole-arm looking weapons and fought with a level of mastery that would be staggering to watch for the first time.

“There’ve been alot of these attacks over the last couple months. We're gonna offer to lend a hand.” he looked to her, “What do you know of the Matukai?” he’d send her what The Order knew if she hadn’t already done the research. “Any questions?”

@Tulos

 

[Koemi]

As she lay there, head hung over the bed with strands of white hair falling to the floor, Koemi and PeeTwo stared smugly back at him. ”Business, business, business,” she replied mockingly, not budging at first before unfolding her legs and pushing herself back from the wall. Gracefully, guided by the invisible hand of the Force, she flipped from the bed and touched softly down to the floor before springing back to her feet and turning to face her Master. ”Well, what’re we waiting for?” she replied as she hurried past him. It was odd to her how desperately she wanted to impress him, evident in her eagerness.

Once Leon began his spiel, Koemi was slightly taken aback. Gone was the mischievous, fun loving guy she’d known for all this time. Instead what she saw before her was more reminiscent of the stodgy Masters who had begun her initial training. Her face scrunched with a smirk when he wasn’t looking. It was far from off-putting seeing him like this, taking charge and being… well, a leader.

She would let Leon get through the details, taking the hint that this was important to him. Yet as he spoke, she could feel the uneasiness he sheltered. Judging by what she had been told the Jedi had been through, it wasn’t hard to figure out why.

”Force adepts who focus on channeling their power towards physical abilities… I think?” she replied to his first question, desperately trying to remember what she had heard from her lessons on Brighthome. ”They barely survived the Great Purge and slowly rebuilt during the years of the New Republic,” History was one thing she absolutely hated learning, even during her time at the orphanage on Raxus, but within the Jedi it was critical. ”So what's the end game? Play nice with our neighbors and invite them over for dinner?”

@Zay

 

[Leon Baudelaire]

Baudelaire was hit with emotional whiplash as Koemi flipped over and rused past him. He glowered at Peetwo, “You did this.” He muttered, taking a sip of his iced caf before following after the monster he was creating.

He nodded as he listened to Koemi relay what she knew of the Matukai, “Good, you’re basically up to speed.” he said with a little smirk, “Are you actually studying?” he teased.

“The branch we’re meeting with is currently the figurehead of the order. They’re lead by a woman named Camila Vealmond, she’s known for two things, being the strongest Matukai user in a thousand years, and hating outsiders.”

He laughed at her succinct understanding of his plan. “Yeah, exactly.”

“We’ll find the bandits, take them out, use that as a peace offering, and see if we can establish communication. If we get lucky we’ll be fed. If not, well, we’ll probably have more fighting to do he chuckled.

He snapped remembering, “Oh, Jedah is also home to a ton of Kyber. So keep your mind open. I’ve seen crystals choose their partner’s before.” he said with a grin.

He unplugged his datapad, satisfied with Koemi’s understanding of their plan, “How you feeling? Pre-mission jitters set in yet?” he asked.

@Tulos

 

[Koemi]

Was she actually studying? She could hardly believe it either and was only able to offer a smug grin in response. If someone would have told her six months ago that she’d constantly have her nose buried in text books and holo-records, she’d have laughed in their face. Looks like the joke was on her now after all.

Then the topic shifted to the one thing she honestly was not looking forward to. She’d been in her fair share of scraps growing up, fighting over what few luxuries her and the other orphans of Raxus were accommodated or the homeless of various worlds trying to take what little she had earned on her own. None of that even compared to what was going to be expected of her going forward.

Since learning how to open herself to the Force, she’d proven to be something of a ‘natural’, as Leon described it, with wielding a lightsaber but the entire idea of actually using one against someone who meant to do her harm, real harm, was a frightening one indeed. As Leon asked if the pre-mission jitters had kicked in yet, she stared ahead with tunnel vision as she mulled on the concept before taking a deep breath and trying to center herself. ”What gave it away?” she joked, doing whatever she could to maintain her usual confident demeanor but the words came out with a sheepish tone.

Soon after, the soft beeping of the hyperdrive alert system echoed from the cockpit, indicating they would soon be arriving at Jedah. Another deep breath. It didn’t matter about the mission, the kyber crystals located on the world, Leon’s opinion of her as both a person and a Padawan. So long as she survived this, she was going to consider it a win.

@Zay

 

[Leon Baudelaire]

He watched the change in her as she considered his question. Koemi from a few weeks ago would’ve called him a ‘dweeb’ then punched him in the arm for suggesting she had the jitters. Now, she worked on accepting it, and that made him more proud than he could have possibly imagined. Of course, he kept the pride he felt from his face. He didn’t wanna cheapen this for her.

“How could you tell?”

“Because I have them, too,” he smiled, giving her shoulder, hopefully, a comforting squeeze. The soft beeping of the hyperdrive stole his attention for a moment and he said, “Alright, gear up and head to the cockpit, you’re taking us in.”

Baudelaire’s time as a Padawan was rife with rude awakenings. The Order’s inability to stabilize was crippling them. With Starlight finally up and running, he hoped that they had time to get their shit together. In the meantime he’d teach her the lesson behind each of his scars so she had the chance to avoid earning her own.

Leon took his own orders and suited up for the mission. He wore Lionheart, his 375 Python, and Daybreak. His lightsaber was clipped to the inside of his jacket hidden from sight, while his blastsword and heavy blaster hung from his hips. He slipped into his sling bag and felt the sudden familiar weight of Peetwo as the little droid landed on it’s usual perch.

“Welcome back, ya little traitor.”
The little droid coo’d. Leon paused, then smiled.
“Yeah, she’s gonna do great.”

The little droid nuzzled his neck and he laughed, brushing the little explorer droid away. He spotted his old K-16. He stepped over and picked it up. It was the weapon he’d been taught to shoot with. His brow furrowed and he looked in toward Koemi’s signature. A small smile tugged at his lip as he put the weapon down.

Leon stepped into the cockpit and slid into the co-pilot’s chair. They’d been over the procedure plenty of times. As long as they didn’t drop out of Hyperspace into an active combat zone they’d be fine. Once Koemi was in the captain’s chair next to him he’d say, “Alright, dropping from hyperspace in three… two… one.”

@Tulos

 

[Koemi]

”You’re joking, right?” Koemi called out to Leon as he spun off and began towards his cabin. She stood there in stunned silence for a moment, trying to wrap her head around what he had just said. She’d never even so much as been near the dashboard of a starship, let alone in control of one. Her heart beat pounded in her ears, her palms became cold and clammy and she felt the strength drain from her legs. It was cool having someone have faith in her, but this? ”This is fucking insane…”

Unlike Leon, Koemi had sparse belongings. She could count on one hand the amount of outfits she owned, and on one finger the amount of weapons. Hell, she was still sour about losing her favorite hat back on Tirsa. Her mind kept wandering as she changed into the HD-wallpaper-spotless-mind-just-milly-alcock-as-rhaenyra-targaryen-houseofthedragon-twitter.jpg (800×590) (peakpx.com)]outfit[/url] she had chosen and hung the training saber she had inherited from Leon on her belt. Staring at the mirror in her dorm, all she saw was a nervous young girl staring back at her. Clenching her eyes shut, she shook her head and beat the bottom of a closed fist softly against the wall three times as she attempted to psyche herself up for this.

In time, she would join Leon and PeeTwo in the cockpit, taking a deep breath as she slid into the pilot’s seat. Her eyes scanned the controls carefully, the flashing lights and levers overwhelming. Her heart began to race again as she looked up through the visor and into the blue tunnel of hyperspace before she realized that she hadn’t continued to breathe since she inhaled. Leon had explained the procedure to her numerous times in the past few days but her studies had exhausted her ability to take in new information. Or at least that's what she told herself. Come to think of it, pretty much every time he was going over it, she was fiddling around with that damn BD unit… Why was it so fucking cute??

”Leon, I don’t know if I c-”

“In three… two… one!”

Fuck it.

Koemi groaned, gritted her teeth and reached for the nearest lever. The one she’d seen him use before. That had to be it, right? She pushed it ahead, surprised at how little resistance it offered, and watched as the tunnel quickly streaked back into stars. Waves of relief washed over her as she saw the world of Jedah spinning slowly ahead, a massive scar visible on its surface. She wanted to elate about her success in pushing a simple lever and not killing them both but as she continued to observe the planet, a cold chill shivered down her spine. She couldn’t explain it, but something terrible had once happened here. A large part of her debated grabbing the yoke, turning the ship around and heading right back to Starlight but she gulped down her anxieties and trembling hands wrapped around the controls, leaning into them and pushing the Freebird forward. ”This isn’t so hard,” she bragged, stuffing down every ounce of apprehension she harbored.

@Zay

 

[Leon Baudelaire]

Leon did his best to hide a smile. Never in a million years would he let someone with no experience fly his ship. Which was exactly why he was sitting in the co-pilot chair and Peetwo was plugged into an astromech jack. If anything went haywire, Peetwo would transfer control to Baudelaire. Koemi did just fine.

They dropped out of hyperspace and she visibly relaxed. It was like she’d been holding her breath the entire time. She started to warm to the controls, and that little spark of pride started to rear it’s head.

“I’d hope not,” he teased.

Leon had Peetwo transfer control to him and he took over flying, “Once we wrap this mission, I’ll go over entry and exit of atmospheric conditions. That’s where the real fun begins.”

Baudelaire felt the scream of injustice plow into him like a sucker punch. It didn’t help that he'd been purifying a pair of corrupt kyber crystals. His consciousness felt raw, like a frayed wire and without realizing it, his jaw had clenched and sweat beaded at his forehead. He steadied himself and furrowed his brow. He had to do this. He had to keep pushing.

Raze was coming.

The Jedi Knight put down The Freebird with practiced ease. He’d chosen to land in the shadow of a cliff face. On their way in he’d have Koemi run scans of the area. They were looking for anything that resembled weaponry. Peetwo was running his own scans now. The little dude was super helpful when he decided to participate.

“What’s the word Koemi, you find anything?”

His easy smile suddenly shifted to a grimace as he felt a flutter in The Force, “Guard up, something’s close.”

@Tulos

 

[Koemi]

As the controls were shifted away from her and back to Leon, Koemi breathed a sigh of relief. Being in control of a contraption this size was well beyond intimidating, especially when the aura of… whatever it was was tingling the nerves in her spine. That ever present smug smile returned as she watched the Freebird descend through the atmosphere of Jedha, imagining the day when she was confident enough in herself to be the one at the helm. ”One day, mark my words,” she silently mused as the ship touched down.

Her eyes flickered between monitors as she watched both the live feed as well as the life form scanners but nothing seemed to appear. Perhaps it was for the better, she thought. If they had managed to land undetected, they had the ball in their court on how they could approach the Mutakai practitioners rather than appearing as foreign invaders. ”Not a thing. This place seems… deserted,” she began, watching steadily but before long she would realize this was not the case. Of course before she could announce this discovery, Leon proved that he was already well aware.

It was strange, seeing the Adumarian like this. Serious and steadfast in the face of the unknown. Once he had made it clear that whatever it was she had witnessed on the scanners was a potential threat, the hairs on her neck were already standing on end. While the Knight was relatively calm and collected, the Padawan choked back her fear. ”Three life forms approaching our location… What should we do?” she questioned with a degree of panic to her expression but a sudden tapping at the side of the cockpit interrupted a chance for a reply.

Instinctively she moved to stand, forgetting the restraints across her lap that then caused her feet to slide back from under her, narrowly avoiding slamming her face into the ship’s controls. Grimacing, she unbuckled the fastener and leaned across the dash panel, trying to get a good look at what waited for them outside. ”I really don’t like this, if I’m being honest,” she whispered aloud though mostly for her own benefit.

@Zay

 

[Leon Baudelaire]

Baudelaire crossed his arms over his chest, and accepted what was to come. His verdant eyes scanned the outcropping on the ridge that surrounded where they landed. Koemi’s anxiety was apparent.

“We should prepare to meet our hosts,” he replied. His mischievous little smirk settling on his lips.

The Light was beginning to swell. It’s coalescence heralded the appearance of three figures atop the west ridge. Each carried a polearm, or Wen Shen, the telltale sign of the Matukai.

“Fearing the unknown welcomes nothing but ruin. Open yourself to force and tell me what you feel.” Koemi would feel the light radiating from these newcomers. She’d no doubt put together who’d arrived. Whether she was able to push past her fear would be up to her. He wouldn’t interfere with what The Force had in store. If there was anything he hoped to impart to his padawan it was his faith in The Light.

Two of the figures on the ridge began to descend. Leon stepped forward, over his shoulder he said, “C’mon Padawan, oh, and do me a favor, when you get nervous don’t throw me under the bus.” He said, flashing her a reassuring smile.

Leon would step into the center of the outcropping, arms crossed over his chest and smirk on his lips. He had no doubt they were being watched by more than those they could see. This would be their first test.

“Hey, we’re tracking a group of bandits that have been harassing the area,” he said, sticking to their original plan.

The being, a make togruta with a scar running through a milky white eye and dressed in the traditional robes of the Matukai, stopped three meters from Leon.

“I have been sent to test you.” He said in a voice so gravelly it sounded like the stone around them was talking.

“I see, this wouldn’t happen to be a written test would it?” The Togruta flourished his Wen Shen, leveling the blade at Leon.

“I’ll take that as a no,” muttered Baudelaire.

“I’m not going to fight you.” Leon said.

“Then I shall give you a quick death,” retorted the Togruta.
“You misunderstand,” said Baudelaire, his grin widening, “You’ll fight her,” he said jerking a thumb over his shoulder at Koemi.

@Tulos