Path to Patience

[Taeli Raaf]

Taeli smiled as she sat down in her ship, everything ready for the next lesson she had planned for her sister and apprentice, [member="Melori Raaf"]. The trip to Ambria, something she had been planning for awhile just because of the history of the place, could now serve a new purpose in teaching her sister some patience to temper that arrogance, hatred, and need to prove herself.

Taking a page from Darth Bane's lesson plan, she fully intended to be on the world for awhile because of the form the lesson would take. Sending a message to her sister to meet her at the hanger bay, she sat back and kept reading her way through the small book she had recovered from Kashyyyk a bit ago with Maja. The decrpytion program was almost done with the data packets and she knew her next trip offworld would be to retrieve it hopefully.

 

[Darth Timoris]

Melori arrived at the appointed time. Her eagerness to learn was only amplified by the promise of that ship when they completed this lesson. And the decision to travel had intrigued her. What could possibly require going off-world. Perhaps it was an exotic creature or a puzzle that could only be solved in situ.

Her mind raced but she was merely eager to prove she was the best Acolyte her sister ever trained and then she could show the One Sith she was a force to be reckoned with before destroying the Jedi and finally decapitate her ultimate prize. For she'd already decided that her sister's head would look good encased in crystal and hanging from the roof of her cockpit.

So she smiled at her Master as she met her, "Care to give any clues to our destination?"

[member="Darth Arcanix"]

 

[Taeli Raaf]

[member="Melori Raaf"]

"What do you know about the worlds of the Airon Sector?" Taeli asked, a small smile on her lips. Leaving it that, she began final checks for launch, and began moving the ship up into orbit. She wondered how much her sister had been studying different worlds and histories of the Sith, it would be interesting if she knew that Ambria rested in that sector of space.

Keeping the screen dark, she typed in the coordinates of Ambria in the nav computer and set the ship for a jump to hyperspace.

"I promise you're in for an interesting lesson during this trip," Taeli said, winking at her sister. "Might just learn a thing or two, including about yourself."

 

[Darth Timoris]

Melori shrugged. She’d never heard of the Airon Sector, let alone have any knowledge of the planets there. “I hated Astrophysics at the Academy. I used to skip lessons,” she offered as an excuse.

Her learning had been long and detailed – but very specific. She knew of Tyranus and Maul and a little about the Sith Lords buried on Korriban due to their recent trip but not much else. She’d dabbled in knowledge of Bane and Zannah due to her sister’s interests but only where it impacted what she already knew – like the Valley of the Dark Lords.

And there was something unsettling about the way her Master was both relishing the trip and also her desire to be cryptic rather than open about their intentions. If she didn’t know better, she’d think her sister was up to something.

“What are the best crystals to use for a saber?” She threw the subject out there, to stop her dwelling on the journey to Ambria – which, if she was honest, sounded too familiar to be a coincidence.

[member="Darth Arcanix"]

 

[Taeli Raaf]

[member="Melori Raaf"]

"Depends on what you're aiming for in a lightsaber," Taeli replied, watching the stars elongate for their trip. It wouldn't take too long to reach Ambria, and in the meantime, she could answer her sister's questions or do a little training. "Typically, our red crystal that produce our lightsabers a re slightly stronger than a Jedi's natural green or blue crystal, but the effect is minimal. A Lignan crystal, which also produces a red beam, can burn things faster as the blade is at a slightly higher temperature. Various crystals have differing effects on a lightsaber, the trick is finding them."

Taeli tapped her chin for a moment before adding, "I should also say a synthetic crystal can become whatever color you desire, manly because you're forging the crystal yourself, hence why you sometimes see rather uniquely colored blades. Imperial Knights in the Remnant for example create synthetic crystals that make their blades silver. It's all about what you want your saber to be."

 

[Darth Timoris]

Melori was slightly stumped by the question that she’d been instrumental in provoking. “I don’t know really. I know the synthetic ones, and I’d heard of others but I suspect that how you use the saber is more important than the crystal you use. I have this vision of a double-bladed saber that you can take apart and use as two individual ones. But with curved hilts. I’m going to have to do some research.”

She’d brought her ballet slippers with her and a variety of clothes. As a Jedi she was forced to wear green robes, and in her early days on Coruscant had worn a variety of garb - mostly very casual but now seemed to be oscillating between robes similar to Darth Maul's and a lightly-armoured body-suit. Both black and both worn in conjunction with a black hooded robe.

“Is there time for any training, or are you saving that for when we get there, Master?” The use of the term was a clear indication of what she was hoping for.

[member="Darth Arcanix"]

 

[Taeli Raaf]

[member="Melori Raaf"]

Taeli smiled to herself as her sister asked if they could do some training during the trip, and who was she to say no to that. If there was one thing that truly endeared her sister to Taeli, it was her drive to learn as much as she could, as quickly as she could. She understood that need all too well, growing up on Lorrd.

"Very well, my apprentice, what would you like to study while we wait to arrive at our destination?" she asked, getting up and moving into the large open area that led off to the living quarters on her own Sicarius-class Infiltrator. "We have time for a lesson, I do believe, so you may decide what we cover. Any subject or technique you want."

 

[Darth Timoris]

Melori's mind raced - there were so many possibilities. Force Rage appealed but this did not feel like an appropriate time to take the Ability, nor Force Fear. Sith alchemy was a strong contender in the long term but the one that immediately came to the fore was, "Force Wound Master. I understand there is a series of Abilities including Force Kill and Force Choke and I believe this comes first, but I may be mistaken?"

She clearly had her mind set - but in truth her thirst for applicable knowledge was such that she would have accepted anything her Master had suggested.

[member="Darth Arcanix"]

 

[Taeli Raaf]

[member="Melori Raaf"]

"Hmm, difficult to teach here unless you feel like practicing crushing each other's organs and bones," Taeli said, tapping her chin. "Force Wound, as you correctly figured out, is part of the Choke family of telekinesis. It mainly revolves around applying pressure to an enemy's internal organs, their bodies, or their bones to cause pain. If someone doesn't resist the technique, it has the potential to permanently damage those organs, or even kill if you crush the heart or lungs."

Thinking of a way she could show her sister the technique, which was just a glorified Force Grip that would be applied to certain areas, she knew only one way it could be done without permanent injury or crippling. This was going to hurt a bit.

"As we have no willing volunteers or prisoners slated for execution with us, I'll be your practice dummy," she said with finality. "Just focus on my left hand if you would, I prefer to have access to my right hand unimpeded. So, reach out with the Force and begin applying direct pressure on the hand or the bones. Visual as though it were your hand doing the squeezing, helps with the concentration."

 

[Darth Timoris]

Of course Melori hadn't factored in who she was going to practice on and the thought made her suddenly feel rather foolish.

"Yes Master, best to focus on something less vital." She was familiar with Telekinesis and so used this as the basis of her approach. She could visualise lifting her sister's hand and moving it around, all she had to do was work out how to apply pressure from the technique.

But being methodical, she started with what she knew and worked from there. Drawing a small amount of the Force, she lifted her left hand and stretched it out towards her Master's own left hand. Using what she could already do, she imagined moving the hand, turning it over. She was pleased to see it react appropriately. Then with it laying palm side up, she imagined squeezing it with her own hand. She was aware that she was actually performing the act with her own hand in conjunction with the use of the Force. There was no feedback to let her know how successful she was being, so she relied on how much pressure she felt she was applying with her actual hand.

She then looked to her Master to see if she felt any effect.

[member="Darth Arcanix"]

 

[Taeli Raaf]

[member="Melori Raaf"]

As her sister and apprentice flipped her hand over, palm up, she knew this was probably going to hurt. At first, nothing happened to her, but she could feel her sister reaching with the Force and gripping her hand. That was when the pressure began, and at first it just felt like a minor writer's cramp as if she had been writing for too long, until the pain started to grow even deeper into her muscles in her hand. She would give no sign of pain though, she had suffered worse before, but she would begin to counter her sister's attack.

"Good so far," she said aloud, still not letting the pain show on her face. "I'm feeling some pain, but not that much yet. Feels more like a cramp than anything else."

 

[Darth Timoris]

Melori was positive about the fact she was making progress but less less satisfied with the outcome so far. But if there was a plus in what had happened it was that it was likely she would simply have to increase the flow of the Force - which is precisely what she did.

Aware she still wasn't as familiar with the Ability as she needed to be, she added power slowly, not wishing to crush her Master's hand by accident. So she calibrated her current effort as the level of discomfort and simply turned up the proverbial heat.

As she drew on more of the Force, her eyes were slowly morphing yellow and she was the picture of concentration, her eyes darting between her Master's hand and her eyes to see if and when she'd applied too much Force Wound too quickly.

[member="Darth Arcanix"]

 

[Taeli Raaf]

[member="Melori Raaf"]

Taeli closed her eyes briefly, her sister's increased efforts building the pain she was feeling in her hand. Going from a minor hand cramp to what felt like a vice be pressed on it definitely hurt. Still, her apprentice needed to learn how to do this much faster than she was doing, plus she needed to learn to use less concentration to do the technique if she hoped to use it in combat.

"Getting there," Taeli said, opening her eyes again as the pressure increased further. Pain would be evident in them, but she was not one to show it in other ways . . . at least not pain like this. She had still suffered worse in her training as an acolyte and apprentice to Darth Praelior. "You have to be faster though, you're using too much of your concentration to fuel the technique. A small distraction will break whatever effect you're having and as of now, you couldn't use this in combat. Such as this."

Sighing slightly, Taeli unleashed her strength in the dark side, gripping her sister's hand with a powerful grip and began applying the Force Wound technique on it. It would be much more potent than her sister's and Taeli was barely using any concentration to keep it there, but after demonstrating, she removed the grip.

"Your power is the conduit, and if imagining it's your hand on mine applying the pressure, picture something else such as a metal press to do it faster," she said. "Your hand visualization might be more useful when we move onto Choke."

 

[Darth Timoris]

Melori felt chastised and a little unfairly but took note of the feedback regardless. Her focus had been to be effective first and efficient second - but going forward she had to ensure she considered both aspects consecutively.

She was sure she had hurt her Master in the end but was ready to admit the demonstration was both painful and swift and that was something she would have to emulate - and decided now was the ideal time to practice.

So she imagined instantly stamping on her Master’s foot and the sort of instant and severe pain it would present. Her eyes burned a deep yellow as she did and all the while she kept her Master’s gaze.

“Lesson heard and I hope both understood and acted upon,” she offered as she immediately removed the pressure on her Master’s foot, before considering her own discomfort. Her tolerance to pain was definitely increasing and she was also learning to use it to her advantage as opposed to it being a hindrance.

[member="Darth Arcanix"]

 

[Taeli Raaf]

[member="Melori Raaf"]

Taeli gasped a bit at the sudden pain to her foot, it was much more intense than the pain she had felt on her hand. Guess Melori had understood the lesson all too well then. She might have a high tolerance to pain herself, but sudden stuff still caused reactions.

"Good, very good," she said, sitting down to take her shoe off and rub her foot. "That was much better, and much more sudden, so I'd say something like that will be very helpful for you in combat situation. Also, sorry if I was a bit harsh there, but this technique can't be used slowly or it can be blocked from causing anything beyond minor discomfort. You have to do it quickly or your opponent won't be incapacitated."

Getting back to her feet, and feeling her foot was still a bit tender, she nodded at her sister.

"Shall we continue or. . ." she started to say before the console beeped and the ship dropped out of hyperspace. "Apparently we arrived a little earlier than I expected. We can continue that when we have more targets for you to practice on."

Going back to the cockpit, she took the controls and began maneuvering the ship towards a certain landmark on Ambria. She had to admit it looked nice from orbit, but she knew what the surface was like. Bleak, devastated, and dangerous . . . perfect place for a Sith to learn a few valuable lessons. Piloting the ship through the atmosphere, she angled towards where Lake Naath lay, the dark side energies locked within it calling to her slightly.

"Welcome to Ambria, Melori," she said, setting the ship down.

 

[Darth Timoris]

Melori heard the gasp and knew she’d had the desired effect – not to hurt her Master per se – but to show she could hurt her, and swiftly.

She listened to her Master’s words. “I always appreciate your guidance and input and anything you say that can improve me will always be gratefully received. I shall continue to practice until I am even quicker and can use the Ability in a way that can’t be blocked.”

As she was preparing to continue she heard the tell-tale signs that they were approaching the planet’s surface. She was disappointed to be interrupted but on the other hand was pleased that she would have plenty of test subjects to practice on.

As the planet loomed ever closer, the landscape looked less and less attractive – but then she wasn’t here for the sight-seeing, her Master clearly had a reason for coming here of all places. And maybe she sensed the why, as there was a definite Dark-sided energy that she sensed as they landed.

“So Master,” she said, “Is now a good time to share why we’ve come here?”

[member="Darth Arcanix"]

 

[Taeli Raaf]

[member="Melori Raaf"]

"Ambria is a powerful world, steeped in the dark side," Taeli said, moving down the ramp and looking out over the poisonous waters of the lake. "An ancient Sith sorceress tried to perform a ritual on this planet, but it went horribly wrong and destroyed almost all life on the planet. The Jedi Arca Jeth tried to purify the world, but he was only successful in containing the dark energies within the lake here."

Smiling at her sister, she further said, "Darth Bane and Darth Zannah lived her for ten years as Bane thought her the ways of the Sith and several lessons she carried throughout her life,. This was even the sight where Bane was defeated by Zannah. I'm not suggesting we will be here nearly that long, but that will depend entirely on you how long we are here. We will be re-creating one of the tests that Bane put Zannah through, one that tested her patience and her ability to manipulate a being."

Summoning a small droid from the under compartments of her ship, the droid started to unload a makeshift camp for the two sisters.

"Nearby, if you can sense them, are creatures called neeks," she said, sitting down on a container the droid set down. "You're objective is going to be to convince one of them to follow you back to this camp. Voluntarily. If I sense you dominated it through the Force, I'll just send you right back to that neek nest and tell you to start over."

 

[Darth Timoris]

Melrori should have known. No wonder she recognised the name of the planet - Bane and Zannah. She just hoped they weren’t going to spend ten years here. Fortunately her Master then confirmed this fact.

And then she shared it - the reason for the visit - her patience. She’d read about Maul and how it had taken him a long time to deal with this aspect of his personality and so she shouldn’t have been so surprised. Melori was aware she was a little rash at times and keen to simply get things over with, but impatient? Well…maybe.

Neeks sounded cute and furry and altogether boring but if there was one thing Melori couldn’t resist, it was a challenge. So she sensed as far as she could and on the periphery of her still limited range were small creatures - lots of them. These, she surmised, were neeks.

“OK, neeks are my next challenge. Will there be any time for training? You know, when they’re asleep?”

[member="Darth Arcanix"]

 

[Taeli Raaf]

[member="Melori Raaf"]

"There will indeed be training while the neeks are asleep," Taeli said, nodding. "Consider this . . . an extended training vacation. The primary lesson is the neeks, everything else you learn here will be secondary to that."

She wondered how her sister would be when they finally left this planet, or just how skilled she might be. Melori would be learning a great many things, and honing her current skills beyond their current limits. Taeli fully intended this to be a very informative and instructive time for them, but also possibly a bonding experience between the sisters.

"There is one other thing," she said, tapping her finger to her chin. "I can not and will not help you with the neeks, it must be something you do by yourself."

 

[Darth Timoris]

Melori nodded as her Master spoke. And she’d wished she’d read up more about Darth Zannah and these neeks. Perhaps she could have picked up a few pointers? But then she was dealing with what, mindless creatures. Give it a few hours, what – a day tops and she’d be finished. So why her sister talked about training over an extended period of time threw her. How long was she expected to deal with these creatures?

She was about to ask how soon they’d start when she stopped herself. She was here to learn patience and knew that such a question was a bad start. “Primary lesson, neeks – understood Master. And I do it by myself.”

But the desire to ask what was next was eating away at her, so she quickly looked for another way to raise the subject.

“What is your first task for me Master?”

[member="Darth Arcanix"]