Faction Catch Me If You Can (I Squeak) - [Jedi] - Tython

[Braze]

TAGS: OPEN

What began as a seemingly simple conservation initiative to breed and reintroduce stable colonies of the endangered Velvet-Tuft Nectarbat, native to the misted jungles of Anaros has taken an unexpected turn.

The bats, delicate creatures prized for their role in pollinating Anarosian moonbloom orchids, were being temporarily housed in a series of climate-controlled enclosures within the Tython Jedi Temple. The final stage of the project was to transport them to a protected release site on their homeworld.

However, during what can only be described as a "conscious accident", in an event suspiciously timed with the involvement of one particular padawan...the containment protocols were... compromised. All 4,939 bats were prematurely released into the temple's main halls.

Now, the Temple on Tython was no longer the picture of a tranquil bastion of Jedi serenity. Instead it was a flurry of tiny wings, soft chittering, and mild panic as bats dart through meditation chambers, roost in chandeliers, and startle even the most composed Masters mid-lecture.


A general call has gone out to Padawans, Knights, and curious Initiates:

Retrieve the bats.

 

[Xuko Pagoi]

Xuko had been practicing Form V cadences in a corner of the interior training grounds when the sound of many flapping wings interrupted his session. The Zabrak took off his blindfold, staring at the entrance to the room where hundreds of bats were swarming in.

Xuko had never seen anything like it before, and he sincerely hoped that he would never see it again.

As he was comprehending this sudden turn of events, his datapad beeped a notification. It was a temple-wide message in three simple words: "Retrieve the bats", along with a counter that apparently updated in real-time, reading 4,937. Xuko glanced up towards the rafters of the training grounds where many of the bats had taken roost. Already lined with ropes, beams, and other obstacles, it was now home to several score nervous, chittering Velvet-tuft Nectarbats.

Xuko shook his head slowly, mildly vexed, as the enormity of the task washed over him. "You have got to be kidding me..."

Braze

 

[Braze]

TAGS: Xuko Pagoi

The bats were all super tiny, resembling white fluffy cotton balls with wings from a distance.

Braze padded into the training room and came to a slow stop, eyeing the massive swarm that had decided to make themselves at home. They clung to the ceiling beams and fluttered in soft, erratic loops, like living snowflakes trapped in midair.

"…Unless we wanna be scrubbing guano off the mats all week, we should probably catch them. Quickly," he announced dryly, his gaze flicking to the others.

He reached into the folds of his tunic and pulled out a small mesh bag, holding it out toward Zuko.
"They're tiny and delicate, so don't hurt them," he added more gently this time, his tone softening with a flicker of concern as he eyed the fluff-bats.

​

 

[Xuko Pagoi]

Xuko stared at the proffered mesh bag for just a second longer than what was probably polite before accepting a bag- and with it, a role in fixing this snafu. The Zabrak studied the bag, wondering if this was part of a larger prank being played; such a tool would be useful for capturing individual bats, but nearly five thousand remained at large; chasing them down one by one was a waste of time. As if to confirm his thinking, an excited youngling chased a further six nectarbats into the training room; whooping excitedly but nowhere near able to reach the flying creatures.

Xuko sighed internally. Such a chaotic event called for a coordinated response, and arming Jedi with bags while hoping for the best would only lead to more chaos. He tilted his head slightly as he questioned the half-Echani Knight. "You seem to know about these creatures. Can we simulate their feeding conditions here? It would make it easier to catch them if they came to us, and perhaps we can get the others to funnel them into this room." Xuko had no idea what kind of bats these were; hopefully, not the kind that drank blood.

Braze

 

[Braze]

TAGS: Xuko Pagoi

"They eat nectar from rare Anarosian moonbloom orchids that only bloom at night, under very specific humidity and lunar light conditions," Braze explained, casually pointing at a bat trying to roost upside down on a datapanel. "We've got a few cultivated specimens prepped in the containment greenhouse, but outside of that? Good luck. Their diet's more high-maintenance than a Coreworld senator on detox."

He crouched down to gently scoop another fluff-ball off a meditation cushion, frowning slightly. "They're not exactly smart, either. Like… cute, but dumb. Their instinct when scared is to scatter, then forget what they were doing and cling to the nearest warm surface. That's probably why they were nearly wiped out in the wild, everything eats them. Birds. Reptiles... giant spiders..."

He held up the mesh bag again, sighing. "And their wings are paper-thin. So we can't just aggressively net them, or like... agressively Force-push them, can't trap them with loud noises cause their internals are so delicate. Can't move too fast either. The more we chase, the more they panic."

Braze glanced toward the vaulted ceiling where a sizable group had gathered in the upper latticework, huddling near the light fixtures. "They also imprint on temperature and scent. So once they think the chandelier's 'home'? Good luck moving them."

He rose again, dusting off his knees after gently gathering one from a cushion. "Temple security's freaking out because their body heat's already started triggering proximity sensors. And don't even ask what happened in the Archives. I heard one of the archivists is threatening to defect to the Sith over this."

Braze paused lowering his voice slightly as another few bats swooped past his head and vanished into the ventilation duct. "There's also… a bigger reason the Council approved the conservation project in the first place. Beyond them being adorable pollen puffballs."

He turned toward Xuko, serious tone now bubbling up from beneath the sarcasm. "Velvet-Tuft Nectarbats aren't just rare... they're considered Force-touched. Like teeny tiny force sensitives. They navigate using harmonics and subtle energy signatures. Apparently some say they can 'sing' with the ambient Force during bloom cycles."

Braze shifted his weight, glancing toward the rafters. "When they pollinate the moonbloom orchids, the flowers themselves have a unique kind of response that's rather visible through Force sight. There's speculation that the bats are a kind of living conduit in the Anarosian ecosystem, regulating the ebb and flow of natural energy like bees do with crops, only on a more... metaphysical level."

He gave a slight, humorless laugh. "And now they're tangled in the meditation chamber light fixtures."

He gestured loosely around them. "If they stay out of sync for too long...or worse, if they imprint on artificial stimuli like fluorescent lights or recycled air....they could destabilize their own internal rhythms. That's... not just bad for them. It messes with the orchids they pollinate too, and by extension, the forest's whole energy field. Think like a drought, but with in the flow of the Force on an ecosystem that's carefully in tune with it. Other plants and animals are linked in the food chain to how they function."

Braze's tone flattened. "So yeah. We need to catch them. Gently. And preferably before one of them tries to 'sing' through the power junction and takes out the temple grid."

 

[Xuko Pagoi]

Xuko frowned as he digested the lecture he'd received- the "adorable pollen puffballs" sounded weak, dumb, and altogether ill-suited to survival, which meant that they were exactly the type of project that the Jedi Order would see itself as tasked with nurturing. It's a miracle they aren't extinct already the Zabrak thought to himself. The bats had no natural defenses, delicate internal rhythms, and wings that apparently crumbled if you raised your voice around them; to which evolution's response was to simply make as many as possible in hopes that some might survive long enough to sustain an equally-fragile ecosystem.

Still, he couldn't shake the thought that there could be a safer way to hunt - sorry, collect- all 4,,864 remaining free bats.

"You say they navigate using the Force to the flowers they eat?" That wasn't exactly what Blaze had said, but it sounded close enough. "Is there a way for a Jedi to meditate with the flower and magnify its signature through the Force?" Xuko was still early in his journey about learning how the Force worked, but something in the boring lectures about its properties and applications and studies thereof he had remembered hearing that it flowed through all things. "Turn down the lights to make it more like night..." he mused. Magnifying the flower's signature wouldn't risk destabilizing the bats' internal rhythms. Probably.

If this idea wasn't doable, Xuko had resigned himself to scaling the ladder that led up to the rafters, but Braze did seem to know enough about the nectarbats to guess if it would work.

Braze

 

[Braze]

TAGS: Xuko Pagoi

Braze quirked a brow curiously at this. "Are all the new Padawans this avoidant of ACTUAL work?" he asked, voice light but edged with amusement. "Too much of a 'Force-user intellectual,' not enough 'glorified pest wrangler'?"

His smirk widened as he stepped closer to the cluster of bats. "Turning off the lights is a good idea, I'll give you that," he admitted, tone conceding just enough to keep it playful. "Mimics nighttime, keeps the bats calm. Smart."

He lifted a gloved hand and flicked his fingers smoothly toward the overhead fixtures. The lights dimmed with a soft click-hum, slipping the room into a dusky twilight.

"But," he added, glancing sidelong at Xuko, "kinda makes it harder to see when you're trying to catch the little flutters. Not all of us can grab 'em mid-air with fine and delicate telekinesis and call it a day."

​

 

[Xuko Pagoi]

Xuko vowed to himself that if he ever made the rank of Knight that he would listen to other Jedi, rather than dismiss their ideas as being rooted in laziness. Unless they were stupid ideas, in which case he would say so.

And Xuko very much wished that he could tell Braze that their idea was a stupid one.

The Zabrak bristled at Braze's words- implying that he was afraid to get his hands dirty! Xuko tried hard not to let his emotions show, bowing stiffly in the direction of Braze. "Very well. We shall collect the remaining-" he checked his datapad "-four thousand, eight hundred and fifty five bats one at a time" he said, his tone even but his eyes betraying his opinion of their course of action. A few choice words bubbled to the top of his consciousness, of which inefficient was perhaps the nicest. Wisely, Xuko decided not to speak them.

Now firmly convinced that this was a massive prank being played on him and everyone else, Xuko began climbing the ladder on the side of the training room that led up into the rafters where many of the bats clustered amongst the now-dimmed lights. He reached the top about a minute later and began easing his way across one of the rafters towards the nearest light fixture. He could already tell that even if he could capture all the bats nesting amongst the rafters that it would take dozens of trips up and down the ladder to empty his bag.

Zuko sighed, prompting a fluttering of nervous nectarbats in his vicinity; which did little to lighten his mood.

This is an exercise in futility.

Braze

 

[Braze]

TAGS: Xuko Pagoi

Braze watched Xuko stiffly climb the ladder like someone marching to their own execution.

"Ah," he drawled, "the rare and noble species: Reluctantus padawanus, known for its impressive sighing and highly-developed sense of injustice." As Xuko vanished into the rafters, Braze called up with mock 'encouragement'.

"Also: don't fall. I'm only authorized for mild Force healing." A moment or two passed, and he added louder, "You know," he said lightly, "for someone with so many thoughts, you're being awfully quiet." He let that sink in before adding, voice a little gentler,

"Biting your tongue can be wise. Or it can be a sign of fear. Either way, it keeps you from learning."

Braze stepped closer, looking up toward the rafters as he settled the little bats he'd gathered in to a mesh bag. "I often find we don't always speak our minds because we think we'll sound foolish.... Or disrespectful....Or wrong. But silence can build walls between people just as fast as harsh words do."

Then, more to himself, he chuckled, "Kids these days. They want a lightsaber, a destiny, and a latte... but ask them to wrangle a few puffballs and suddenly it's the end of the galaxy." He reached for his datapad to log progress, still grinning. "At least the math's good for building character."

​

 

[Xuko Pagoi]

"I had not planned on it" Xuko muttered in an undertone to himself as Braze helpfully reminded him not to fall. He'd always had a decent head for heights, but focusing too much on the Jedi Knight below him had a way of reminding him just how far up in the air he was. Even so, Xuko could feel his mood further souring under the verbal sallies from Braze. He wanted very much to build a wall between him and the half-Echani so that he could focus on the task at hand, but finally Xuko's patience wore thin. The Zabrak recognized that he was being goaded into speaking but decided to reply anyways.

"I was under the impression that Padawans with thoughts were merely considered 'lazy'" he called down, pausing his progress across the beam. "But since you have asked for mine you may have them. I find our current plan of catching these creatures one at a time to be a waste of time. Given how fragile the bats are it behooves us to be intentional with their recapture; not to give every Knight, Padawan, and Initiate a bag and hope for the best."

Xuko frowned- not for the first and certainly not for the last time today- and continued. "And you still have not told me if you think that my idea about amplifying the Force signature of their flower to safely draw them in could work."

Unhelpfulous Knightus... Xuko rolled his eyes as he realized Braze had him making up terms, too.

Braze

 

[Braze]

TAGS: Xuko Pagoi

"Ah… so you're making assumptions, then," Braze chirped, brow arched and arms crossed. "Classic."

He gestured broadly to the rafters above. "Look, we've got a clear, simple method that works. Not elegant, maybe, but reliable. And we've got numbers...not quite as many as the bats, true, but more than a few willing volunteers."

Braze tilted his head, tone slipping into something a bit more pointed.
"Time's not on our side, Xuko. I admire your drive to seek out the most efficient, reward-heavy path, really, I do, but banking on an untested Force-meditation plan while the bats are already growing restless? Or fussing about with their host plant that is already delicate and hard to work with? That's gambling."

He paused just long enough to let that land, then added, "They can't go too long without feeding. The longer we wait, the more we risk losing. Sometimes," he said, spreading his hands, "the best solution is just to suck it up, roll up your sleeves, and do the tedious work by hand."

Then came the knowing grin.
"Of course, it's always easy to think there was a better way... And there may be a very clear one, after the fact. Hindsight's a generous teacher, but not much help in the middle of a job."

Braze raised his brows slightly, voice softening, though not without its edge,
"Tell me young padawan~ Do you really have so little faith in your brothers and sisters of the Order? You think we can't catch a few puffballs without a catastrophe? Or is this stemming from frustration over having your after noon plans side lined, and being cheekily scolded by a knight who's probably younger than you are?"

 

[Xuko Pagoi]

So this wasn't a prank- it was a test.

A test of every last nerve Xuko possessed.

The Zabrak conceded Braze's point about trying an untested method when time was of the essence, but the way in which the rebuttal- no, lecture- was delivered, grated on him. That Xuko was the one climbing up in the rafters doing the allegedly time-sensitive work while Braze provided mildly condescending commentary only served to infuriate him further.

Jaw set and mood now decidedly stormy, Xuko reached out and carefully snagged a nectarbat before the slight challenge in Braze's tone proved to be the straw that broke the camel's back. Xuko directed an icy stare down at the Jedi Knight. "I have yet to see a 'we' in this operation. It is not your youth that frustrates me; it is that your actions do not match your words. Time is not on our side and yet you find it a better use of yours to lecture me" Xuko corralled another bat and began returning to the ladder; his bag as full as he deemed safe given the fragile state of the bats. "if there is to be a lesson, let it be one we discuss after we have saved as many of these creatures as possible." The extra stress probably wasn't necessary, but it felt good.


Braze

 

[Braze]

Xuko Pagoi


“I don’t recall asking you to climb all the way up there,” Braze mused aloud, His gaze followed Xuko’s descent, calm and unreadable...but not quite unkind. “What kind of teacher would I be if I left you to your own devices and you fell?”

He tilted his head slightly. “You seem to fixate on the parts that frustrate you, and skip over the mild praise I did offer. You had a good idea with the lights... A clever one. I even said so.”

Braze’s tone was light, almost conversational now. “Believe it or not, I’d also like to catch as many of the cute puffballs as safely and quickly as possible. And I don’t think you climbing around in the rafters is the safest route, if you care that much about what I think.”

His eyes narrowed faintly, but he didn’t offer the full plan, yet.

“But,” he added, stepping aside as Xuko reached the floor, “if we work together, I’d wager we can do this a lot faster.”

A pause briefly...

“Sometimes,” Braze said, tone drifting into something proverbial, “being a good Jedi means knowing how to work with difficult people you don’t always agree with.”

Then, with a sly smile, “Which makes you excellent practice.”

 

[Xuko Pagoi]

Xuko didn't look at Braze as he returned the half-dozen bats he'd recaptured to a larger holding container and updated the count. 4,797 to go. By now, the Zabrak was growing more and more convinced that he was on unequal footing with the half-Echani Jedi in more ways than just rank. Braze wielded his words like weapons; feinting, testing, and pouncing whenever a weakness was found. Xuko knew he was entirely on the defensive in such exchanges, but saw no way to turn the tables on Braze.

The Zabrak felt his inner walls start rising up again as the sallies kept coming. He could see far enough ahead to guess at the tactic that was being employed; a subtle power play on behalf of the younger Knight wherein Xuko would be forced to admit that of course he was just a dumb Padawan and of course the Jedi Knight was right all along. It ended with him kotowing to Braze, and Xuko didn't like it.

And so he steeled himself, withdrawing even further into the inner reaches of his mental defenses. He had allowed himself to be drawn out by Braze earlier and it had backfired spectacularly The mild praise Braze had given him held no standing in light of the wisecracks.

All Braze would get was a simple. "When you are ready to share your idea, then I will listen."

Braze was right about one thing; sometimes, being a good Jedi meant knowing how to work with difficult people you didn't always agree with.

Xuko didn't have to like it, though.

Braze

 

[Braze]

TAGS: Xuko Pagoi

​

Braze gently padded over to him and offered him the little mesh bag he had with a few little puff balls he had collected. " There's a good few closer to the ground still. Perhaps you can help me and collect them?" Braze quested gently.

 

[Xuko Pagoi]

He's really going to make me beg to hear whatever plan he has in mind. Xuko could feel the muscles in his jaw clench as Braze deflected again, this time with a simple ask. Xuko wanted to argue, wanted to question why the focus was going to the ones near the floor level rather than the ones in the most danger of imprinting on the dimmed lights several dozen feet above them, wanted to grab Braze by his knightly shoulders and make him share whatever plan he apparently had... but deep down he knew this wouldn't make the time go by any faster. And the sooner the bats were recaptured, the sooner he could be rid of Braze.

So, out of spite and a healthy desire to finish the unpleasant experience of working with Braze as quickly as possible, Xuko began collecting the nectarbats that he could reach near the ground.

Four thousand, seven hundred and forty eight.

Braze

 

[Braze]

TAGS: Xuko Pagoi

"Hmnn... I'll take that as a yes. " Braze did as well move to collect little tiny puff balls off cushions chairs benches and so on gently herding them in to little mesh bags and setting them down once he had about ten per bag.

Once it seemed they had gathered all the ones closer to ground level Braze padded over to Xuko setting the little bats down on a cushion.

"Have you any affinity for telekinesis or... " Braze gently raised a hand and allowed a soft gust of wind to brush over Xuko blowing back his hair. "Wind by chance?"

 

[Xuko Pagoi]

Xuko worked in silence; capture nectarbat, bag, repeat. Braze was correct in that the bats were dumb; their numbers and the fact that they probably held little to no nutritional value for a predator were their only evolutionary defenses. And although they squeaked and protested when he drew near- perhaps picking up on his mood- the Zabrak found them easy to catch. Three thousand, eight hundred and seventy one. Xuko knew he was going to be seeing the puffballs when he closed his eyes that night.

When the two of them had collected as many bats as they could reach, Braze approached with a suggestion. Wind. It made sense, Xuko thought to himself; Braze had clearly mastered the art of being a blowhard, and had managed to turn that into a Force power somehow. Still, perhaps the Jedi Knight would finally start proving helpful to the nectarbat rescue on a large scale; a force multiplier to the recapturing efforts rather than a force multiplier to Xuko's stress level.

"Telekinesis, somewhat" Xuko replied. "Wind... no." Although it scraped his pride to admit as much, it was better to admit to a shortcoming now rather than pretend he was capable where he wasn't. The latter would only give Braze more ammunition. Xuko was one of the newer Padawans to the Jedi Order, and he was still early in his journey of using the Force. As a result, he had begun his foray into Control and had begun exploring Sense, but Alter was still very new to him.

Braze

 

[Braze]

TAGS: Xuko Pagoi

Unfortunately for Xuko, Braze was one of those extremist perfectionists who had trained beyond obsessive levels to reach his current skill, seemingly a prodigy. He appeared to be about the same age as Xuko, though he might have looked younger due to his svelte, lithe physique and short stature, accompanied by the serene countenance gifted to him by his Echani and Atrisian heritage.

Never mind the near mastery of Dun Möch, either.

Nevertheless, he seemed willing to impart some knowledge, or even a small demonstration, of one of his signature moves.

"Thank you for volunteering," he mused aloud.

Braze produced a small vial from his coat, which appeared to contain an atomizer. Holding it up with a coy smirk, he gave no further warning before spraying Xuko a few times with what seemed like... perfume? It was exotic and sweet, but mellow, mostly inoffensive, more a subtle scent that now clung to the padawan's robes.

Braze had been studying perfumery for the last few years as part of his Jedi Shadow skill set. He had managed to attain the rank of Knight at the young age of fifteen, fulfilling both Jedi Shadow and Temple Guard duties with staunch dedication over the last three years.

He stepped back and conjured a small vortex of wind that swept around the padawan, causing Xuko's robes and hair to billow gently as the wind whipped about him. With practiced ease, he redirected the vortex into an upward breeze. Sure enough, the little bats picked up on the scent. Braze let the breeze die down and paused, listening as the chittering of the tiny creatures shifted in tone.

Slowly but surely, the little puffballs began to descend, drawn toward Xuko. A trickle at first… then more. The creatures chirped their curious songs and poured forth, fluttering and swirling as they latched onto the padawan, licking at him with gleeful excitement.

"Like it? It's my own special blend, Moon Bloom Orchid perfume," Braze said, his tone laced pride as he watched the tiny puffs gather elatedly around Xuko. He moved in to start collecting them from the overwhelmed padawan.

​

 

[Xuko Pagoi]

Xuko frowned, momentarily confused out of his frustration. "Volunteering?" he echoed, searching his memory of the conversation for anything of the sort. "I didn-- what?!?!" The Zabrak's tone betrayed his indignation as Braze promptly sprayed him with contents from a vial.

Then the wind Braze had alluded to began, whipping around Xuko as the Padawan felt his anger churning again in rhythm with the small vortex around him. Understanding clicked into place just as the first nectarbats began squeaking down from the rafters, descending en masse with healthy appetites and a target. Face burning, Xuko seethed as the nectarbats began mistaking him as a source of food; hundreds of the fluffy bats either clinging to him or trying to.

Only the threat of crushing dozens of the nectarbats if he moved prevented Xuko from attempting to strangle Braze right then and there. This whole endeavor had been nothing to the Knight but a massive joke to be played on him, and Xuko's patience finally snapped. Although his fists were clenched at his sides and he made no movements, the small vial of Moon Bloom Orchid perfume that Braze held spiderwebbed and shattered; releasing its far-more-concentrated contents in the vicinity of the Jedi Knight.

The appearance of more of their favorite perfume helped also to give Xuko some breathing room; quite literally. The Zabrak felt some of the press of tiny fluffball bodies loosen as they now swarmed around Braze's legs and feet where the rest of the perfume had been spattered.

When he did speak, Xuko's tone was icy. "You could have sprayed that anywhere else."

Braze