Ask Wild Night

[Leon Baudelaire]

Baudelair was so tired when they’d gotten on the ship that he’d completely forgotten that Kali didn’t have any clothes. Now as ground his coffee he blinked a couple of times processing what he was seeing as she asked for some clothes.

Leon’s face went crimson. His eyes bounced of the ceiling then the floor and in every direction except for Kail, “Oh shit, I’m so sorry, I swear I’m just dumb I wasn’t trying to be creepy!”

At that same moment his water kettle let out a high pitched whistle and spun around pulling it off the burner. “One sec!”

He hurried off to his room and grabbed a pair of black long sleeve coveralls and made his way back, he handed her the change of clothes, “Feel free to pop into any of the bunks just around the corner,” he said before committing to his pour over and facing away from her.

Leon tossed her a water and then considered her question. He was tired, he was beat up, and he needed something a lot stronger than coffee to drink, but honestly, he was unbothered by the darkness. “I’m tired for sure, but otherwise I’m pretty good. I’ve become accustomed to it, I guess,” he said with a shrug.

“What about you? Your ribs have to be killing you right now— Hey Peetwo!”

The surly little BD unit popped it’s head around a corner and Leon said, “Toss me a stim.”

The little droid fired a green med stim across the room and Baudelaire caught it, then tossed it to Kali.
“Not gonna do much more than numb the pain, but hey sometimes that’s all we can ask for right?” he said with a smirk.

“How was fighting alongside a Lightsider? I didn’t hold you back too much did I?”

@LadyRen

 

[Kalique Baize]

Kalique was exhausted, in pain and even if the shower had helped a little, she still wasn't fully relaxed after everything that had happened. What definitely added to ease herself though was Leon's completely flustered reaction that immediately drew a pained chuckled from her.

"Heeey no worries...did you ever have a lady on board before? There's no need to freak out, I've got a towel" she couldn't help but to reply, slightly teasing the Baby Knight for his incredible nervousity and throwing him a big smirk. It was adorable to see him just like that after he had slain a horrible cultist without flinching.

"Thank you...that's appreciated. I'll quickly hop in" she replied, still grinning as she reached for the clothes and vanished around the corner soon after. She reappeared just a few moments later and added, "There. Now you can look into my direction again" as she slowly let herself down on the couch.

"Accustomed to it?" she repeated, finding this view rather interesting. She quickly thanked him for the drink and took a sip, before she asked for him to elaborate. "Isn't it...hard to constantly be confronted with something that has such a huge pull?" she curiously asked him, meeting his gaze.

"Oh...thanks" again, she was very grateful about his help didn't say no to a stim. "Nope...it's...bearable, at least. But I'm also quite used to pain" she admitted as this was also not her first time with a few broken rips, unfortunately. She still happily rammed the stim into her side and was relieved about the sudden pain relief.

"Oh absolutely not...I found it interesting. I haven't had that pleasure yet, but even if your presence is slightly irritating, it was also helping me to stay focused..." she explained, before her lips curled into a smirk. "You're very capable for a Baby Knight" she teasingly added, before another question piqued her curiosity. "This lighting of yours...how exactly do you conjure it?".

@Zay

 

[Leon Baudelaire]

Leon considered her question. He frowned when he realized he didn't really have a good answer. “I’ve never really considered it. If it’s my duty then The Force will provide the way, I just have to listen.” He thought about it a little more then added, “It helps I’ve been on the wrong end of the dark side alot,” he admitted with a shrug, “I’ve seen what giving into it can do. The Hindsnake Cult is bad, but at least they’re not cannibals? Well, so far…” he said with a deflective laugh.

He winced empathetically as she injected herself with the stim. No way that felt good, but kudos to her for being a trooper.

Leon listened intently, when in the hell was he going to get another chance to do this kind of research on a Dark side user? “Irritating? That’s interesting,” he said absently, while considering how he’d felt alongside her. Honestly, the dark side was so oppressive in the sewer, that her signature just felt normal. Maybe he just wasn’t that strong in the force?

He laughed at her little baby knight dig. He was never going to live that down.

Leon took a sip of his iced caf, then said, “Oh, uh I’d assume it’s similar to your fire.” He held out his hand, allowing sparks of electricity to shimmer across his palm, “Right now the power is being derived from my body. Back in the sewer, I was able to supplement with the ambient energy within the city.”

“It’s tough though, because this power walks a razor’s edge. If my intent falters for a single moment that’s it, I’m channeling the dark side.” he laughed, “Its a real thrill.”

“So, what’s life like for an Imperial knight, now that the Sith have gotten the boot?” He knew the sith’s hold on the empire was ruthless. History rarely strayed once it was repeated, and the constant revolving door of Sith occupation spoke volumes. While Leon could see a difference between the Knights and the Sith, he couldn’t help but wonder what the people of the empire thought.

@LadyRen

 

[Kalique Baize]

Kalique was very aware of how she was posing a rather difficult, possibly uncomfortable question, but so far, the two of them had been able to a fully open dialog. He, too, had raised questions that derived from a genuine interest in the other's philosophy and so she was indeed curious for the answer, too, if he was willing to outline it.

It was surely difficult to find the right words, but it was easy to follow him and she kept listening intently. "Yes...like not gravely, but it was still an uncommon signature within the Force that I'm simply not that used to", she admitted with a little smirk.

The water helped a lot as after the shower, rehydration was also needed. As he continued explaining his lightning, she asked, "So even through the light side you can create this kind of electric tension...that's interesting". A dark sided Force lightning was a pure outlet of anger and hate, so she had never attempted to cast it as she didn't open herself up to the dark side like this, but it was interesting that for him it generally had a totally different source.

He mentioned the thin he walked and she believed him when he said how tough it was. "Thrilling, okay sure...but it sounds like you really have to take care". Staying on the path of the Jedi required immense discipline, which he definitely seemed to have, yet she knew how these constant battles felt like.

He continued by asking about her life after the split and so she set down her water and straightened her back. "Well...complex, I'd say. Imperial Knights are mostly Ex-Sith, so we're in the process of this reformation. I never considered myself a Sith...I was trained by Sith and yes, I use the dark side for the Empire, yet as I've formerly pursued a military career, my path was a bit different than most", she explained.

"I see huge differences...many do, but some don't just yet. Sith serve the dark side and thus only themselves. We Knights serve the Empire. My life has always been dedicated to the Empire and for me the schism was a long overdue step, but there's still a lot we all need to do...", she then continued.

"What does the Jedi Order think of us Knights so far? I'm pretty sure you aren't really appreciating that we are still following the dark side, but do you see the difference?". There were plenty shades of darkness, but she was convinced that also for a lightsider, these nuances weren't as visible. Still, he hadn't confronted her with any prejudices and she was rather glad about how they've successfully dealt with common enemy.

@Zay

 

[Leon Baudelaire]

To The Knight’s surprise, they were sharing a pretty open dialogue, at least as far as he could tell. He wondered what the odds of coming across another Dark Sider like her would be. Was there a chance for some sort of treaty between The order and the Empire?

Easy, pal. He thought as she started to explain what life in the Empire was like. Baudelaire took everything she said with a grain of salt. From what he could gather things were in just as much flux within the Empire as there was in the rest of the galaxy. The current political state of the galaxy was a powdered keg. Too many Gungan’s not enough big bosses. The tentative peace they enjoyed was fleeting. He was sure of it.

Then she turned the question back to him. His brow furrowed as he considered how best to answer.

“Right now The Order is thinking inwardly.” The warning Grandmaster Voran had put out a week ago was suddenly prominent in his mind, “But, they’re watching you with the caution one should expect from the Jedi.” he said with a chuckle.

“Most people don’t have the experience I do. They’ve never been able to fight alongside someone like you,” or Zeffy, he thought. He sighed, finding himself frustrated. Raze was a threat to everyone. Not just The Jedi. The Jedi didn’t have the power to take him on alone that was made abundantly clear on Ithor.

Leon had been at war with The Hindsnake Cult for so long, he’d developed a bad habit of getting lost in his own thoughts. The clink of ice in his glass brought him back to the present. “Sorry, lot on my mind,” he said apologetically.

“So, what are we gonna do?” he said, a smile spreading, “We might be the first in history to sit down and just talk without it becoming a fight.”

He tipped back the rest of his coffee. The drink hadn’t done shit to perk him up.

“I’m just gonna say this, take it how you want, I don’t think the Empire or the Order is going to be able to stop the guy that leveled Ithor. Not alone.”

He let his words register with her before stepping into the pitch. “We can’t be the only ones willing to fight for a common goal. Where I’m from there was an old Myth about a group of people that were from all different walks of life that banded together to overthrow a tyrannical superpower that had taken over the planet.” He shrugged, “I’m looking for like minded individuals. Who understands the risk the galaxy is facing. Regardless of alignment.”

He could tell she was about to respond and he put a hand up, “Mull this over. It’s gotta be secret,” he laughed, “I can’t imagine our higher ups are going to be stoked when they find out.” He shrugged, “Hopefully that won’t happen until it’s too late and we’re on our way back victorious.”

Or, ya know, they weren’t all dead because of some dumbass idea he’d come up with…

@LadyRen

 

[Kalique Baize]

As if their whole deadly adventure hadn't been exciting enough, they were now getting engaged in a really interesting discussion. Kalique loved deep conversations, even of slightly philosophical nature, and she had never gotten such a perfect chance to exchange some thoughts with someone from the Order like this.

"There's nothing wrong with caution...I mean looking at the Empire's history, I can't blame you. We have some amongst our ranks that should have left when they had the chance..." Kalique was also approaching other Knights with caution and she was constantly assessing them.

She sensed a hint of frustration boiling up inside him and slightly raised a brow. Yes, Leon was different. Her own cousin was a Jedi, yet she was completely different. Even they couldn't have such conversations as she wasn't as open minded, frankly speaking. It was because of that that she gave Leon an encouraging smile as she warmly said, "Don't worry. It's okay". It wasn't hard to tell he had been through a lot and well, he was still so young.

He suddenly started talking about Ilthor and Kalique's eyes lit up. "That is exactly what I thought!" she chimed in, immediately knowing where this was going as she had literally pursued the same train of thoughts before. As he continued, she found herself nodding while a smirk spread on her lips.

"Yes...honestly I can't believe you're sharing those thoughts. The Sith in general can't be faced alone. I may be a dark sided Force user and most Jedi might condemn me because of it, but there might be others that think like you...or well, us" she sat up, straightening her back.

"I see the line because I've always been there. I know why I'm not a Sith and will never be one. Different motives drive me. I serve the Empire and I'll always serve and protect it, but it doesn't hinder me to fight a common enemy alongside people like you". Sybella, as an example, wasn't keen on the Empire at all, but while they wouldn't agree politically, they could still put this aside.

"I don't consider the dark side my philosophy...my dedication to the Empire is, but this is exactly why I don't have a problem with Jedi, so I get it. I'm pretty sure this powerful being will surface again...and where will it strike? If it attacks an Imperial planet we'll have the exact same issue. There'll be severe losses. This wraith is horribly powerful...the footage was shocking, but who says we can't support each other if he poses a threat to all of us?". It surely wasn't the Empire's priority to suddenly get along with the Jedi, but who said they couldn't?

How would the Grandmaster react? She had no idea. She was also wondering whether the Emperor would consider this a bluntly stupid idea, but it actually wasn't. "Was it coincidence that we both picked up the call? No, maybe we were meant to follow it to kill those fanatics and have this really thought-provoking conversation" she shrugged as she offered this thought, a smirk still planted on her lips. "This isn't supposed to sound like such an idealistic super hero alignment speech but I can't help it, sorry" she ended with a chuckle.

@Zay

 

[Leon Baudelaire]

Leon’s mouth dropped open as she agreed with him. Sure he’d set out on this crazy fucking quest because a long dead Grandmaster had told him too, but he didn’t expect to actually make progress. Was that how it worked, you just did shit until it was done? Well now that he thought it through he might have been over reacting a smidge, but who cares he didn’t say any of this out loud.

Baudelaire closed his mouth and listened to Kali explain her views and relationship with The Force. He couldn’t help but feel as through the light and the dark were aspects of a single entity. That to dissect one from the other was foolish. Balance wasn’t won by eliminating the darkness. It was achieved when the light and the dark were even.

Kali mentioned the coincidence of their circumstance and he shook his head, “No, I’d say there was more at work here than happenstance.”

He laughed when she apologized for sounding like a superhero movie, “Oh please, I’m just excited to meet someone like minded.” he gave her his frequency, “If I’m ever close to Imp space and hunting a cult I’ll be sure to hit you up,” he said with a smile.

He yawned, stretching for the ceiling and said, “Alright, sorry to do this, but I’m beat. We’ve got about four hours till we drop out of hyperspace, and I’ve got a lot of trauma to unpack. So, I’m gonna turn in for a bit,” then he remembered, “Oh feel free to make yourself at home, third door on the right is a room for ya.”

Baudelaire would wait to see if she needed anything else and then, that tired boy would go take a nappy nap. Like a little baby knight— Why the fuck am I like this…

@LadyRen

 

[Kalique Baize]

Kalique noticed how Leon seemed relatively surprised about her own revelation before he switched to genuine delight. It was always great to find someone like minded and perhaps in their case it was even something rarer to find, given their very different backgrounds.

"Well, so am I", she admitted with a smirk, reaching for her drink again and taking a sip. The refreshment felt great and her mouth finally wasn't dry anymore which was way more pleasant than before. "And I'll keep you updated as well...if I ever run into this cult again, I'll send the coordinates right away" she now knew their name, thanks to him, and knew how to connect the dots that connected their twisted plans, but she was totally sure that this truly hadn't been the last time crossing paths with them.

"Oh...right" thanks to their interesting conversation, she had literally forgotten that she was still in need of rest as well and so she slowly pushed herself off the sofa. "You do that...I'll do the same. Thank you for everything...guess a nap can't do harm". She absolutely agreed with him there and found is yawn infectious anyway.

"Rest well..I guess I'll meditate, too" she had a lot to process as well, but was still convinced he'd be affected more by all those traumatic events. Still she knew that if he'd run into trouble and spiral, she'd sense it, so for now she left him, hoping he'd be fine as well. She moved to the third door on the right like he had mentioned and immediately slipped under the covers. Her muscles ached from the exhaustion and her ribs stung, but apart from that, she was feeling okay.

She started by simply dozing for a whole while and used the semi-conscious state to meditate before she allowed herself to drift off entirely for a bit. This way, her mental batteries receive the recharge they needed and after waking to the alarm she had set for 3.5 hours, she was still feeling much better.

She stretched the sore muscles slowly and straightened her back, the broken ribs still aching a lot, but she was relieved about knowing she'd soon receive the medical attention she needed. After gathering her stuff, she reemerged in the common room and waited for Leon to come back out, knowing there time to part was here.

@Zay

 

[Leon Baudelaire]

Leon bid her a good nap and stepped into his room. As his door slid shut behind him Peetwo popped out of his pack and hopped down to the floor. The little exploration droid had been pulling the same hours as Leon had and it was funny to see the little guy stumble almost drunkenly to his charging station. Leon took a breath, the taint of the darkside was beginning to permeate his space and he knew before he could truly rest he’d need to purify the corrupted kyber.

Right now though he had to sleep. Leon pulled his shirt off and toppled over onto his bed practically falling asleep before hitting the pillow. His dreams were the same as always. Torn flesh. Rent limbs. Slashed throats. Miasmic aether like the fine mist of blood cast into the air before an image he couldn’t decipher. It was massive. Monolithic. Like a mountain of pain. The sounds of wailing, pleading, screaming started to fill his ears. The symphony played in a hellish minor as Leon saw himself step forward and out of focus toward the Monolith.

Leon’s verdant eyes snapped open and he sat up in bed. His chest was heaving, the press of the dark side was feeding on his unconscious fear. He moved to the floor next to his bed, legs crossed, palms resting on his knees. He breathed in. He breathed out. He felt the warmth of the light and the chill of the dark began to coalesce around him. Leon shrouded himself in the light. The chill of the dark side receded, but it’s touch left as a caress, a warning that it would return.

Cool.

Baudelaire looked at his chrono. It was one minute before his alarm was supposed to go off. He hadn’t rested at all. He hated his life. His alarm went off. Leon wanted to cry. He took a final breath in and let it out standing as he did so.

He pulled back on his tunic and stepped out of his room. His eyes were red and he had bags under his eyes. His hair was unkempt and he ran a hand through his tangle of curls before nodding to Kali, “I’m just gonna—” he pointed toward the cockpit and shuffled off.

He sank into his pilot’s chair and began checking his instrumentation. Everything was good. Over The Freebird’s coms he let Kali know he was dropping out of Hyperspace. It wouldn’t be long before they were landing at the spaceport on Ord Tarsi.

“You sure there’s nothing else I can do, you’re gonna be fine? I don’t like leaving before your friends show up, but well, I don’t think your friends would like running into me.” he said with a chuckle.

@LadyRen

 

[Kalique Baize]

Perhaps she had slept deeper than she had thought because she hadn't been woken up by the battle that had raged within the Jedi Knight, but now that she was awake and facing him, she could at least tell that he wasn't actually feeling so well. A frown immediately sneaked its way into her soft features as she slightly cooked the head to the side.

Her emerald gaze followed the tired and visibly haggard shell of the young Jedi Knight that had been so refreshing and energized hours before. "Are you...okay?" she asked carefully as she pushed herself back to her feet, her hands immediately clutching her agonizing ribs.

She settled into the co-pilot's chair where her gaze settled on the mesmerizing sight of stars passing by before she directed her gaze back at him. "I'm not looking for a soothing reply, but a real one. Will you be okay?" he had, after all, witnessed a lot and had plenty of terribly dark stuff to process, but she didn't just want to leave him here so unattended.

The ship was soon pulled out of hyperspace and as they were approaching Ord-Trasi rather quickly, she still knew they had to part ways soon enough. "Oh I'll be fine" she was honestly more worried about him as his inner wounds couldn't just be fixed with the proper medical treatment.

"But thank you...for everything. We made a great team in dealing with those abominations and your kind hospitality was still strongly appreciated" she gave him a warm smile, however the concerns weren't fully written out of her features just yet. She had a little time to kill at the spaceport, but her transport was on its way and she had plenty of information to deliver as this cult definitely posed a threat to much more than this planet - a fact she knew thanks to him.

@Zay

 

[Leon Baudelaire]

Leon didn’t have the emotional capacity to lie about his current emotional state so he kinda awkwardly smiled, avoided eye contact then shuffled toward the cockpit. “My soul feels like your ribs,” he managed to mutter. At least he thought he said it, at this point he really wasn’t sure what was in his head and what was coming out of his mouth.

He sighed as she doubled down on her question. “I’m exhausted. I’ve been through a lot in like,” he did some simple math, but it felt like fucking trigonomerty, “Three, no, four months.”

Leon stopped talking, then realized he hadn’t answered her question, and cleared his throat turning to face her, “I appreciate your concern, but I’ll be fine,” the shadow of his smile tugged at his lips.

There, that was reassuring, right? Fuck, he was so tired. Coherent thoughts outside of primal grunts were starting to feel out of his grasp, but he’d hang in there long enough to make sure she was taken care of.

She settled, and explained her ride was on the way while giving him more compliments, “No need for thanks, we're teammates now,” he said, finally finding a little of that fire he had a few hours ago.

“Well, I’m here for at least a few hours while I charge and refuel. You’re welcome to stay, but I will warn you, I’m only, like, half awake right now, so I’ll be terrible company. If your friends show up, just tell them not to kill me.” He chuckled.

Once they were in the spaceport, Leon would follow through on what he’d said. He was a shell of a human being. He hadn’t slept in almost forty two hours and had to jump to Serenno for some dumbass gala he was serving at. He was so close to having enough money to take Jayna out. Eye on the prize Baudelaire, he thought.

As Kali started to leave, Leon would put out a hand to shake. “This has truly been unprecedented. I look forward to working with you in the future, Kali.” he said with a tired smile. “Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have to go purify a couple of kyber crystals so I can get some sleep.”

He knew it wasn’t that easy and that there was no way in hell he was getting that done before his body finally went night night. He’d watch her go until she was out of site, then he’d turn and sidle up his boarding ramp and make directly for his bed.

This lil baby Knight was soooooooooooooo tired.

End.​

@LadyRen