Home on the Range

[Tmoxin Temi]

In the Drev'starn foothills on Bothawui, Tmoxin had settled into her new home. The Seven Moons Ranch was the retreat she had been longing for since she was stationed on Anaxes and had learned how to ride the native Keffi there. She was grateful to finally leave her apartment on Kamino. She wouldn't miss the desert heat and sulfur smell of Lok either - Bothawui had extremely pleasant weather and an abundance of beautiful views, especially here in the foothills.

She was going to have a visitor to finally put her back on a training course to enhance her use of the Force. The Hapan was far behind other Masters her age. She had only begun using the Force later in life and hadn't kept up with her practice. But despite the clear advantages it held on the battlefield, she mostly wanted to learn so she could live up to her full potential. Tmoxin was in peak physical and mental condition. Shouldn't this include her use of the Force?

Draco would make his way to the Seven Moons Ranch and see the Hapan executive waiting for him at the bottom of the structure. They would take a lift up to a room on the second floor that she had created just for training. It would be difficult to imagine the use of the Darkside of the Force in this picturesque setting, but Tmoxin was no puritanical Jedi. She was military-minded, pragmatic and felt that the more powerful use of the Force was to immerse yourself in the darkside. If it corrupted her a little, that was something she could easily rationalize. It wasn't as if she were winning any contests for most altruistic galaxy inhabitant - quite the opposite in fact.

[member="Draco Vereen"]

 

[Laira Darkhold]

The Force was a weapon, nothing more. Anyone who thought differently was fooling themselves thinking it guided them on their journey. The fact that the Sith held Coruscant for this many years proved that the Jedi were wrong in their beliefs. There is no light or dark, only the Force, and it favors only the Strong. However people could be dark, light, grey, good, evil, neutral, lawful, chaotic. There were a thousand shades of people, and there always would be. As hard as Sith fought to conquer everything, they would never completely succeed. As hard as the Jedi sought to stave of the Dark Side, they would never succeed. From the ashes another would always rise. The only undeniable truths in the universe was there would always be a war to fight, there would always be suffering and death, and there would always be someone claiming to be the next big thing.

Bothawui was nice. My own penthouse and Headquarters were located on the planet, and it seemed Tmoxin had finally wizened up and claimed her own little slice of the world. It also seemed she had finally wizened up and decided to learn something useful from someone with real power. Her ranch on the world was exquisite. Filled with bright colors and built onto a fairly large cliff. The lush greens of the grasslands below filled the viewport of the little air speeder I sat in. The droid piloting the thing spoke up, "We have arrived."

"Land as directed." I responded solemnly. Despite being surrounded by the beauty of these mountains and rolling grassy hills, my mood was dour. That seemed to be the constant for me. When I was not fighting, I was morose and without purpose. Perhaps assisting someone I cared about, someone I would take a bullet for would provide some level of direction, some form of purpose.

The airspeeder landed and I strode from the vehicle and approached her wearing a smile on my face as I did so. I wore simple training gear, nothing to gawk at, but something comfortable enough to train in for as long as it took.

"Always a pleasure to see you Tmoxin."

[member="Tmoxin Temi"]

 

[Tmoxin Temi]

While Tmoxin didn't know Draco's views on the Force, she likely shared these same beliefs. She would want to pick his brain later for other observations which could enhance her own understanding of it. But right now, it was time for action and not too much conversation. Although she always enjoyed Draco's company.

"And you as well. I really should have called upon you sooner since we are neighbors," she said. And with gracious Hapan hospitality she said, "I truly thank you for helping me advance my skills. I have to say I've been very neglectful of this gift that I have. It's probably because for years I was afraid of it, having been part of the Ni'Korish cult on Hapes as a youth. It's an extremely anti-Jedi cult."

As she talked, they took the lift up to the second floor. There were guest rooms, a kitchen, refreshers, meeting space and then the training room. The room had large windows which overlooked the majestic red Keffi which grazed in the fields below.

"So where should we start?" she asked.

Tmoxin was also dressed in a black training outfit engineered for light protection and movement:

Spoiler

[member="Draco Vereen"]

 

[Laira Darkhold]

"Its no problem. Assuming you can be patient with me, everything should be fine." I had never taught anything to anyone before. At least not successfully. I had broken Anija Betna's mind and left her in the hospital once though. She looked good, as always. "Well, there is nothing to be afraid of now." A lie. There was always something to fear, it was just easy to overlook right now. White lies didn't hurt anyone when they were getting started learning about the Force. It could do amazing things if they had the patience and determination to learn its many, many facets.

"Well, the most important thing of any fight is making it to the finishing bell. Endurance is key. Force Body is fairly basic. It keeps the body moving long after it should have stopped, but even it has limits, and its something just about every Apprentice knows. How about something a bit more dangerous. Force Drain." Force Drain, or the ability to drain the Force from someone or some physical manifestation of the Force was important to out lasting your opposition. Knowing how to do it and how to defend against it were things that could save her life if she found herself in combat.

"The power manifests itself in the form of Red Lightning. While it is possible to share your power with another willingly, Force Drain simply takes what you need." I turned and stood across from her. "Unfortunately, I need to show you. I'm sorry but this is going to hurt."

I raised my hand to her and the red lightning burst from my hand towards her arcing through the air, crackling with energy and pain. It wasn't by any means as strong as I could make it, nor did I intend to maintain it for long. Just enough so that she knew how it felt to have part of her energy, her essence ripped from her. It was a pain she could learn from and adapt to.

[member="Tmoxin Temi"]

 

[Tmoxin Temi]

"Well, there is nothing to be afraid of now."

Tmoxin immediately put herself on guard at that statement. What did Draco mean by that? Usually when people said that, there was something to be afraid of. These thoughts ran through her mind as she listened patiently to him. Until the officer said he was going to give her a demonstration using her as the test subject. Tmoxin raised her hand and started to say, "Now Draco, is there any reason you need to use me for this-"

But the words were ripped from her mouth, along with her energy and essence. The Hapan executive collapsed to the ground, the red lightning coiling around her arms and legs like an electric snake. And when the attack stopped as suddenly as it began, she sucked air violently into her lungs. "Mother of Kwath, that was painful!" Luckily as the owner of Morpho Pharmaceuticals she had access to good painkillers. She would be in agony later, not just from the residue of the Force Drain, but due to her muscles tensing painfully during the attack. She rose slowly back to her feet.

"Promise me that I get to try this on you next," she said, with a slightly indignant tone.

[member="Draco Vereen"]

 

[Laira Darkhold]

As soon as the lightning had struck her, I moved to her side to check on her. "I'm sorry. Are you hurt badly?" I asked with a great deal of concern in my voice, placing a hand on her back and channeling the Force through it into her body. Healing wasn't my strongest suit but it was something I could do adequately. She wasn't terribly injured, just shocked and achy from what I could sense. Still, she seemed a little upset that I had hurt her. Not unexpected, but it still hurt. She was one of my few true friends and injuring her wasn't something I looked forward to. The only logical reason I could think of was better it be me in a controlled environment that someone else fighting her.

"Its alright, I've got you." I said reassuringly, trying to soothe what pain she had and bolster her back up. It was going to be a long day, and we were just getting started. "But did you feel it, could you sense the changes in the Force?" Now was the time to judge what she had learned already, and I hoped she did so quickly otherwise this would not be the last time I had to do this. "Could you feel what happened to you through the Force as it happened?" Probably the best means of teaching would be to show her on other people, but that didn't really teach her how to counter such an ability.

What should be next? A run to tire her out? Practicing on me? Practicing on an animal?

[member="Tmoxin Temi"]

 

[Tmoxin Temi]

Aside from her initial shock and irritation, Tmoxin was in awe of how powerful this attack could be. Draco's attempt to heal her was met with gratitude. "It's okay," the Hapan said in a softer tone. "I just wasn't expecting it." She shook off the achy, tingly feeling and straightened up ready for the next practice round. "What did I feel?" The redhaired Dark Jedi thought for a moment. "It felt as though taunt wires were being pulled out of me, and as they left my body, I felt weary and drained. But it was all very sudden and extremely painful obviously. As water drains from a tub, circling until it's gone, this was different. It was an abrupt sensation."

She gazed out the window and spied some of her Bothan animal handlers. "I don't want to inflict that red lightning on you, Draco and I doubt you'd let me," she said. "I suspect that group of farm hands have been stealing from me. Should we practice on them?"

[member="Draco Vereen"]

 

[Laira Darkhold]

"No... not yet" I said after a pause. Take it slow. This was an ability I only used on rare occasion in combat. That was probably the first time I had done so out of combat when I absolutely needed to. "Draining someone of their essence can be addicting. If you indulge too much or too often it will haunt you, and you will crave it." She knew how it felt, which was one of the most important things. Know what you are doing to other beings before you actually do it to them. The next was just working on basics I guess.

"Why don't you focus on taking from a willing recipient first. Just focus on me and take a measure of my power." I opened myself to her. Hopefully she wasn't too interested in my thoughts and was more interested in just learning about Force Drain. Trust was important for something like this. If she went a head for the lightning she could seriously injure me, if she pried into my mind I couldn't stop her from seeing some stuff she might not want to see. What was the old saying? There is nothing to fear, but fear itself. Well, turned out that wasn't all true, there was fear of failure right now. I really wanted to do well at training, as I had never done it before. "Then you can do as you please with the farm hands." I responded with a half smile at the end.

Just run her through the basics of the abilities she wants to learn, then dump her in combat with me there to help if she stumbles. Its what I did, it would work for her. As much as I wanted to treat her like a princess that wouldn't help her in the end. She needed to be strong enough to stand on her own two feet.

[member="Tmoxin Temi"]

 

[Tmoxin Temi]

The problem with the warning that Draco gave about Force Drain - of it becoming addictive if used too often - was that it only made Tmoxin more intrigued. And while she was prudent and pragmatic in nature, she craved power above all else. Her vice may have been wine, but she had always wondered if her downfall in the end would be her ambition.

"I appreciate the warning. I will not use this ability lightly," she said, already unsure if that was a promise she could keep.

The fact that Draco offered himself up for her to practice upon did surprise her, but she was grateful for the chance to try it on him rather than the farmhands. While she did want to punish the traitorous Bothan theives, she couldn't afford a scandal if one of them escaped and tattled to the authorities that there was a psychopathic Dark Jedi living in the foothills of Drev'starn. Tmoxin was a new resident to Bothawui. She needed to keep her hands clean, and the skeletons packed firmly in the closet.

The Hapan concentrated on what she had seen Draco do to her and attempted it now herself. First, she felt a crackling energy running through her fingertips, but it was a pleasant sensation and didn't cause pain. Harnassing this power, her eyes rolled back into her head, her head titled up, and she raised her palm slowly. Fingers curling, she sent a tentacle of red lightning towards Draco. She wasn't sure how strong her experiemental attack would be. Tmoxin hadn't ever been the strongest Force user, but she harnessed a lot of anger and envy quite naturally. She would soon find out what type of damage she'd done to her friend Draco when she opened her eyes again.

[member="Draco Vereen"]

 

[Laira Darkhold]

Pain. Agony. With no defenses and having just a moment ago lent her a deal of my power to heal her from my own demonstration the lightning caused me to writhe in pain. It took me to one knee before it was over and left me panting and out of breath. "Damn woman..." I said between deep breaths, drawing in air and reforming what defenses I could from the ordeal. It was easier to take from a willing victim than an unwilling one, and I believed, and hoped that it would keep the addictive tendencies from forming to rapidly in her, especially since it would take some time to teach her the ability to expertise or competence.

"I thought.... you were gonna take it easy?" Rising from my crouch, I hunkered over for a moment before standing straight and stretching. Having your vitality, your essence taken was a painful experience, not something that anyone found pleasant. "Gimme a second."

After a moment, I had regained my bearings and was upright again. "Alright... so you know, maintaining it for a long time is... well it can kill obviously, but more than that, it can destroy connections through the Force. Which is a fancy way of saying that they don't become a ghost, they do not pass go, they do not collect two hundred credits. Now, I'm not that good with it. I use it in emergencies, when I am tapped out or trying to do something I shouldn't be doing." Like, I don't know, containing a massive explosion in a little bubble.

[member="Tmoxin Temi"]

 

[Tmoxin Temi]

When harnessed, the power she felt while she Force Drained was quite incredible. Draco was right - the rush of endorphins, Tmoxin received after the last of the electricity sparked out from her fingers was similar to the one or two times she'd tried a death stick. Would she be able to resist the lingering temptation? Only time would tell, but she was already looking forward to using it again on the Bothans in her fields.

Tmoxin smiled sheepishly at Draco and came over to help him up. Don't sound too eager now, she told herself. Tmoxin tried her best to hide her enthusiasm for using Force Drain again. "Shall we try it on the Bothan theives?"

The Hapan Dark Jedi moved towards the door so they could take the lift back down to the stables and Keffi fields.

"While we travel there, can you elaborate on how Force Drain severs a Force connection? I'm a little confused," she admitted.

[member="Draco Vereen"]

 

[Laira Darkhold]

I coughed a bit and looked at her, "Are you sure you want to keep going? Its not something that should be taken lightly." I said, in reference to her eagerness to practice the ability on the Bothans. She was eager and zealous, that wasn't a bad thing, it just lacked the caution I had encouraged. I suppose to each their own, but I worried sometimes, especially for those I cared about. Nonetheless I followed her as she went for the fields. I figured I could stop her if I had to and someone had to erase the memories of the survivors.

"Well, the limited knowledge of the history that I have is that the most well known practitioner became so absorbed by the ability that he became a wound in the Force, whose presence drew life Force from those near him. But basically, if you are trying to kill someone with the ability, it is theoretically possible to destroy the connections within the Force and your victim. They would need to be very resilient though." Well, supposedly at least. There wasn't a massive amount of data about it that I had access to, but there was some out there to be found.

Of Force abilities I felt comfortable with her running around using in everyday life however, this was not one of them. Perhaps this would be the last 'practice' before we went and found some kind of combat for her to fight in. I had a few friends that might enjoy a sparring session with a Dark Jedi.

[member="Tmoxin Temi"]

 

[Tmoxin Temi]

"You are the expert in it," said Tmoxin. "What do you think? Is it really that dangerous?" Suddenly she got a mental picture of those awful, withered old Sith Lords with jaundiced eyes, wrinkly and veiny skin and frail bodies, the darkside literally robbing them of vitality and strength. The rest of the explanation of Force Drain went a little bit over the Hapan's head, but she got the general idea.

"Believe me, creating a wound in the Force is not on my agenda, but the power will come in handy. I assure you I will find use for it... sparingly, of course," she said, with a nod of her head.

As they made their way down to the fields where the Bothan and Keffis were, Tmoxin thought about who her enemies really were lately. The Techno Union was aligned with the One Sith, and the Sith had accepted her back into the fold. She wasnt a fan of the Jedi Order, but Tmoxin had no real burning desire to hunt and kill Jedis. After the Christophsis debacle, she and Draco were probably the Hutt's Most Wanted. And of course anyone who wanted to sabotage Morpho, her business interests, friends and colleagues.

"Have you ever ridden a keffi, Draco?"

[member="Draco Vereen"]

 

[Laira Darkhold]

I followed her out towards the fields, "You will have to forgive me for being a bit protective." She was my friend and student, and to be fair I had harbored a crush on her in the early days of me joining the Techno Union. And I was always protective of people I cared about. It would be foolish of me to teach her an ability that had such drastic side effects without making her aware of them. It would also be foolish not to teach her the basics of resisting the ability should she have it turned on her in the future, but first I felt a valuable lesson about consequences was in order.

I approached one of them that stood in the field, a foal, still young while remaining near her and the beast's mother. "I have not, I have ridden Bes'uliik war droids before. But never a living creature." I stroked the little creature's mane for a moment, studying it, and letting it grow accustom to my touch. I reached into its life force and tapped into the little creature's essence. No, I wasn't draining the creature, I was doing something else. "You are armed, correct?" I asked her, not bothering to look over my shoulder at her. Even as I spoke the shimmering Force aura around the foal built up, and a darker, more sinister form materialized beside it. To the creatures, it was nothing more than a shimmering light. To Tmoxin and I, it was a raging beast, not unlike a rakghoul, fangs dripping with saliva and claws oozing infectious slime.

"Well, I hope so. Defend yourself." The materialized monster was simplistic. And the lesson behind it more so. The lesson was that there was no victory without sacrifice, and if it helped me practice a little something as well, then it was worth it.

[member="Tmoxin Temi"]

 

[Tmoxin Temi]

"There is a giant stallion somewhere around here. You should try riding sometime. And why yes, I have my lightsaber on me," Tmoxin answered. She didn't assume Draco was an animal lover, but he stroked the Keffi foal quite gently for a moment until she realized he wasn't petting it - the Dark Jedi Master was transforming it somehow.

"Ohhhh not Gypsy!" cried the Hapan apprentice. She really didn't want to see anything happen to the innocent Keffi youngling. Not to mention how priceless and rare these animals were on Bothawui. In fact, Tmoxin would bet she was the only Keffi owner in the Southern Systems.

But it appeared that Draco had conjured some type of dark doppelganger out of the diminutive beast. "Well, that's terrifying," she said, with a little more trepidation in her voice. Tmoxin had once slain a nest of Subteroths on Makeb but this big guy looked pretty tough. As she ignited her scarlet lightsaber, she turned to Draco and said with worried eyes, "If I kill this monster, does Gypsy die too?"

The Hapan executive had much less sympathy for those crooked Bothans than she had for poor Gypsy. Would he be the sacrificial lamb for the dark slaughter?

[member="Draco Vereen"]

 

[Laira Darkhold]

I looked back at her, controlling the disgusting phantom of energy and emotions. "I'm afraid so. Little Gypsy here is going to be the subject of an important lesson. Every victory requires sacrifice. What are you willing to sacrifice to win?" I asked, looked her over. She needn't know what I was up to. She need only consider the question posed to her and react appropriately. I don't think there was a wrong answer for now. This was just practice, for her and for me. Training and testing her resolve.

The drooling monster stepped closer to her. Maintaining the beast required a lot of focus and energy and it took only a fraction of a second for the three way connection to be broken and for it to dissolve. In fact this was probably the easiest way to manifest the phantom, and it would still be exhausting. Gurgling, the phantom took another short step towards Tmoxin. I was wondering if she would be willing to kill this little innocent creature to win this little test.

I supposed she would, but she might not. I wasn't really aware of her moral code, but I knew mine. I killed when and if there was something to gain from it, and there was something to gain here. A little more knowledge about Tmoxin, but I didn't want to traumatize her or make her resent me. Just understand what was going on, how the galaxy actually works.

[member="Tmoxin Temi"]

 

[Tmoxin Temi]

Despite her concern for Gypsy, Tmoxin's jaw clenched, her chin determinedly set, eyes locking onto the drooling monster. As she had done to the Subteroths on Makeb, she took a formal-looking Makashi stance, honed from years of fencing with swords rather than a lightsaber, and with a few slashes, cut down the beast. Still hacking at the creature, she blew her long red hair out of her face and looked back at Draco.

"What is this thing anyway? How did you conjure it?"

Then she remembered the red lightning they had been learning. Did Draco want her to use that? When she saw the frightning monster materialize from innocent, little Gypsy, she had instinctively drawn her saber. "Do you want me to try Force Drain again?" Tmoxin asked.

That little keffi was worth 50,000 credits on the open market! Kriffin' Draco, he was going to owe her one!

[member="Draco Vereen"]

 

[Laira Darkhold]

"I just wanted to see if you would actually do it, knowing it was going to kill little Gyspy." I said calmly letting the phantom dissipate and leaving the poor animal with several slashes through it, its horrified mother, baying at the little beast. "I would have understood if you couldn't or wouldn't. Knowing that you will gives me a better sense of who, and of what you are." I was exhausted. I needed to take a seat and I wanted to sleep, nothing more. "Personally, I would have done the same if I thought my life was in danger." That worried me a little. Did she really think she was in danger, or was she just following along.

It didn't matter a lot, but if she thought I would deliberately attempt to harm her, perhaps there wasn't as much trust as there should be between us. "Well... I need a nap after that." I said, taking a deep breath and taking a seat on a stump. "Maybe tomorrow we can go out on an excursion, find some things for you to practice your abilities on, if that is okay?"

I yawned. I hope she had a guest room at this place because otherwise I was sleeping in the back of a speeder.

[member="Tmoxin Temi"]

 

[Tmoxin Temi]

Even though the Keffi foal had superficial wounds from her lightsaber, Keffis themselves had a temperamental constitution outside of Annaxes and, like orchids, needed exactly the right environment and nutrients on which to survive. The mare was also upset, which in turn, caused random Bothan animal handlers to try and calm the foal's mother.

With a grimace - and probably to the surprise of Draco - Tmoxin picked up the foal by it's tiny, fledgling horns and slit its throat with the lightsaber. The Bothans looked on horrified but did nothing stop her.

"While I could have given that Keffi to an animal rescue organization, it is not likely to survive its injuries." The Hapan was not a savage woman, but she was pragmatic to the point that it could be misconstrued as cruelty.

She wondered if she had passed Draco's inital tests today and was about to ask him, until he yawned. In a near-whisper, she leaned in and said, "We can deal with the Bothan theives tomorrow. Why don't we go back inside, have dinner and relax. The second floor has a couple of guest rooms, a bathroom with a jacuzzi... all of the amenities of a luxury hotel."

"Ready?" she asked her new Dark Master, leaving the brutal mess of Keffi carcass and the inconsolable mare for the Bothans to deal with.

[member="Draco Vereen"]

 

[Laira Darkhold]

I stood from the stump I had sat on and followed her, blinking my eyes, trying to keep them from crossing or my vision from blurring after conjuring the phantom from the little Keffi. I hadn't thought she was going to kill it, and hadn't been prepared to drop my control over the phantom to save the thing's life, but knowing she was willing too was fine. "You did good today. And I got to practice conjuring a phantom. All in all I'd say that is a pretty good day."

I stretched my arms over my head as we entered the building and began unbuckling the light training gear I was wearing. "Tomorrow we will handle your problem quietly, very quietly and secretly and then we can go and find something dangerous for you to fight, but for now, I'm going to crash in one of your guest rooms. Get a good nights sleep and rest up."

The room was luxurious. She spent a lot of money on this place. It made me wonder about if I should inquire about how much she spent on it, but I didn't stay at home enough. There were already two residences I didn't stay at enough.

[member="Tmoxin Temi"]