Path to Patience

[Darth Timoris]

The latest question was clearly an extension of the training. Whereas Melori was able to come back each night with – if not the best answer – a good one, this time a straightforward answer eluded her. Of course, this was not a simple question, it was one that had evaded the minds of greater people than she but she was dogged and refused to change question. Not that her sister would have let her she suspected. No, this was simply another test of her patience.

So a few weeks later, she felt sure she had the answer that suited her best – and she had company.

That first morning following the Beast Control training, she was pleased to see the neeks were beginning to show themselves. Cautious at first, they would dart out into view and scamper past her, well beyond her reach. By the middle of the second week they had grown used to her presence, and would sit and stare at her, only a few metres away. Occasionally one would bark out a squeaking yip in her direction, or emit a low, tremulous chirping from the back of its throat. By the third week one particularly curious youngling, not even as tall as her knee, came close enough to her that she was able to reach out and touch it.

The same bold little neek would now approach her each day with trepidation each time, balancing its fear against the alluring scent of the nuts or berries wafting up from the young woman's hand. She would coo to it softly, and eventually it would gather its courage enough to rush in and snatch the morsel away before scurrying off to the safety of its cave, peeping with excitement.

Melori started to position herself farther from the neek’s cave for her meditations. Each day the neek would come looking for her, ranging beyond the familiar borders of its territory in its quest to find her. Bit by bit she drew it closer and closer to the camp until one day, when she got up to leave, the neek began to follow her.

She made a point of taking soft, slow steps so as not to startle it. Moving with small strides so she wouldn't lose her balance, she gingerly shifted her weight from one foot to the other as she led the tiny creature all the way back to her sister.

It was near nightfall when she arrived, her pace turning the relatively short distance from the lake back to the camp into a four-hour journey. Smiling broadly, Melori put her finger to her lips to indicate to her sister to be quiet and as she moved to one side, the following neek would be clearly visible.

[member="Taeli Rae"]

 

[Taeli Raaf]

[member="Melori Raaf"]

'I see congratulations are in order,' Taeli thought to her sister. The past few weeks had seen a growth in her sister's skills from the nightly training sessions that had gone through. Taeli would almost say her sister had simply grown as a person too, especially since she was able to successfully get a neek to follow her back to camp. Now, tradition would dictate that Taeli kill the neek as that was what Bane did to remind his apprentice that others were simply tools and one only could owe their loyalty to their master.

Taeli didn't believe in such a cruel lesson, something she had been wondering about the entire time they had been on this barren world. Something was changing for her, but she still had yet to pinpoint it. Reaching out with the Force to the small neek, she gently guided it over to lay down next to her and fall asleep. One thing she had never mentioned to her sister was that using the straight dark side on a neek was dang near impossible because they had grown immune to its influence from Lake Naath.

"So I've given you several days to think on the last question I gave you," she said aloud, stroking the sleeping neek's head gently. "Do you have an answer for me now that your lesson in patience is complete?"

 

[Darth Timoris]

Melori was pleased with the reception she received. She had achieved something without using the Force and had learned patience alongside it.

The answer to the question was not as straightforward. She’d delivered the neek. That was a black and white result. But her opinion on the conundrum?

“I wonder if the question has an answer – at least a satisfactory one. And I say this because if a solution were available, there would be only Sith. Or only Jedi. But this is not my complete answer, in case you were worried I was avoiding your riddle.”

She sat beside her sister and drank some water. “I suspect the Force itself provides the answer. There will always be Force Sensitives born. And there will always be…good and evil for want of a better word. Those that believe power is there for the strong to take and those that would deny us. So even if every Jedi died tonight – give it 20 years and we’d have a Force war again. It is…inevitable.”

“Now I’m not saying this is a perfect answer but it is my answer. And it has lead me to believe my focus needs to be on becoming stronger, gaining power and freeing myself from my chains – and not concern myself what the Jedi are up to. Like cockroaches, they will survive a nuclear war.”

She took another swig from her bottle. “What do you think?”

[member="Taeli Rae"]

 

[Taeli Raaf]

[member="Melori Raaf"]

"You're correct," Taeli laughed. "There is no easy answer to the question I gave you, even Masters of both Orders have a problem with wrangling this particular conundrum. In history, we have examples of when both Orders came ever so close to completely wiping out their counterparts, Palpatine and Order 66 with the Sith wiping out the Jedi, and the Battles of Ruusan with the Jedi wiping out the Sith, with some help from Darth Bane of course. You hit upon the problem that the Force likes its balance."

Taking another bottle of water and sipping from it, she continued saying, "There is no answer to the problem, as you said, because the Light and Darkness are constantly locked in an endless struggle of balance, even while they both try to dominate the other. Gaining power is useful, yes, it certainly helps one stay alive and try and focus conflicts. I prefer knowledge. Knowledge gives you power, but also wisdom. It lets you understand things more, how the galaxy works, how the Force itself affects us all. That is one reason why I've been planning that trip to study from other Force sects. It is all about gaining knowledge to understand the universe."

Laughing a little, she shrugged and looked at her sister.

"I know, it sounds preachy, but that's how I view it," she said, her purple eyes twinkling a little. "It always circles back to both sides not being able to live with the other, generally the Sith starting the conflict because they want to impose their own order and power over others. The Jedi aren't blameless in this though, far from it. Both sides just can't live with the other's philosophies, even though they are only separated by one thing. Sith use passions to access the Force, the Jedi let the Force flow through them and will pull on lighter emotions in a pinch."

 

[Darth Timoris]

Melori listened and learned in a way she would not have done when they arrived on the planet. With patience she had also learned to listen to information that wasn't directly relevant to her immediate goal.

And her outlook had definitely moved. Yes she still hated the Jedi but they were no longer her entire focus. In a way she'd become more conceited but in a channelled way. Her intention was to develop and is within the Sith ranks - as opposed to simply kill random Jedi. But if Jedi got in the way, they would pay the price - although so would any Sith for that matter.

"So, what's next? Do you think you'll be taking that tour around the galaxy soon? And...if I need to find you, do I have a ship to do it in?" She smiled at her sister and gave her a hug. "You know me, I have a long memory."

[member="Taeli Rae"]

 

[Taeli Raaf]

[member="Melori Raaf"]

"Oh, I won't be leaving on that journey for a little while longer yet, but I'm well aware what I promised you'd get after this lesson," Taeli laughed as she returned the hug. "Did you notice anything unusual about this ship? Say it didn't have nearly the right amount of books to be my vessel or the furniture was a bit basic when I certainly would have upgraded to more comfortable stuff? We flew your ship here Melori, not mine."

She would let that sink in for a bit, a huge smile on her face. Taeli had left her ship back on Coruscant because she wanted this right here, the little surprise factor even though she had claimed it was her ship. Only one book shelf? Not really her at all.

"I'm very proud of you Melori, and I love you," she said, hugging her sister tighter to her. "No matter where I end up on the quest I'll be embarking on, know that I will always love you."

 

[Darth Timoris]

If Taeli expected the news to permeate slowly she was right. Recognition slowly dawned on her face – the lack of personal effects and books in particular.

A smile slowly spread across her face and she beamed when her sister hugged her. But she couldn’t help a friendly jibe too. “What do you mean mine’s basic and yours is more comfortable?”

“Oh, I love you too sis. And I mean heaps. Not because of this,” by now she’d stood and was lovingly caressing the hull, “But because you’re you. Although this is certainly worth loving someone for. It reminds me so much of Maul’s ship that I was tempted to call it Scimitar or even just Maul but I have decided on a name. It came from my dreams, from his memories. I shall call it Krakko after the Mandalorian Death Watch member who honed Maul’s combat skills. Of course he died at Maul’s hands years later but I like the name.”

“Here, let me cook you something…” And she set about cooking a meal for her sister (which was possibly the most dangerous thing the Sith Lady had been faced with during the entire time there).

[member="Taeli Rae"]

 

[Taeli Raaf]

[member="Melori Raaf"]

"I've had more time to gather personal stuff and I have plenty of credits," she said, countering the jibe with a smile still on her face. "A good name for a ship though, and you deserve to be rewarded for all the hard work you've done so far. I'm proud of you, Mel, I really am."

Although she kept smiling and loved that her sister was gushing and happy, she wasn't sure her cooking was the best idea. Melori had never mentioned if she had learned how to cook or if she had any culinary skills. Something told her, whether it be the Force or her own natural instincts, this was going to be incredibly dangerous.

 

[Darth Timoris]

Melori scoured the various containers for food. Not that she had any idea what she was looking for. Realisation dawned on her that she'd never, ever cooked for herself before. But how difficult could it be?

So she rummaged and found a selection of vegetables and what must have been some sort of protein substitute and threw them in a pan with some water. "Stew," she declared triumphantly, stirring away. Aware the concoction looked exactly like it was - vegetables floating in water - she searched again and added some stock cubes and a variety of spices (her decision based upon their colour as opposed to how they might work together). The result? It certainly had an aroma and the water now resembled something approximating a soup.

Mightily pleased with herself she ladled out two bowlfuls. It was hot and the vegetables were soft and the flavour was...well it was flavoursome. And...unique. Melori wondered which of the spices she added was chilli and made a decision to add less next time.

"What do you think?" she said, trying to fish out the vegetables and avoid the liquid which seemed to hold most of the chilli heat. Her eyes, by this point, were streaming (as was her nose, but that was - perhaps - too much information).

[member="Taeli Rae"]

 

[Taeli Raaf]

[member="Melori Raaf"]

"Certainly . . . interesting," Taeli said, taking a sip of the stew and immediately having her eyes water. She had to use the Force to stop herself from having a coughing fit, the spices all mixing together in a . . . well . . . she wasn't sure how to describe it except it was very . . . hot. She stopped herself from making a mental note to give her sister a few cookbooks . . . well maybe she would get her one or two. Just to expand her repertoire of course!

"Not a um . . . bad first attempt at cooking something," she said, avoiding the liquid and eating the vegetables. Those, while a bit soft, were much more consumable than the rest of the liquid. "I remember when I first tried to cook I burned everything, including half of the kitchen. Needless to say, my mother was not very pleased. Had me running laps around the block for hours after, with a full backpack of weights. That was a painful lesson, let me tell you."

Taking a bite of the meat substitute, she had to force it down as it contained plenty of the random spices her sister had used, almost like a coating on it. Yes, definitely getting her a cookbook . . . or a protocol droid.

 

[Darth Timoris]

Melori looked at Taeli with an incredulous stare. “It’s horrible,” she finally said, “But it’s sweet of you to say otherwise. It’s got flavour but it’s way too hot. Just eat the vegetables and avoid the liquid. That seems to work for me.”

“I guess cooking just isn’t my thing! But it’s the thought that counts, right?” She set aside her bowl and grabbed a handful of fruit and laid them out in front of them. “A much safer bet. Please, I won’t be offended.”

“Mum never got mad with me – but dad did. Mum said it was because I was too like him. Me…I’m not so sure.” And she left the sentence hanging, clearly unwilling or unable to continue the train of thought.

“So, given we’re finished – and I’m guessing we’re finished – do you need a lift anywhere. I charge very reasonable rates.” And she gave her sister another hug.

[member="Taeli Rae"]

 

[Taeli Raaf]

[member="Melori Raaf"]

"Well I wanted to be polite and it is the thought that counts," Taeli said, gratefully taking the fruit and nibbling on it. "I'll get you a protocol droid for your next birthday, so you'll never have to worry about cooking or that other pesky culinary stuff again. Maybe I'll give it an interesting personality too, just so you will have someone fun to banter with if I'm not there."

Smiling a bit, she looked at the Ambrian sky and just let the soothing sound of Lake Naath washing against the shore flow over her. She had a bit of a headache right now, but she chalked that up to having . . . a questionable sort of stew in her stomach.

"I have nowhere to go currently except back to Coruscant for now," she replied. "I suppose I'll pay you for taking me back there, and for putting up with this lesson. It was valuable though."

Fishing around in her satchel for a moment, she handed her sister a credit chit with 2000 units loaded onto it.

"I'll pay you 2,000 now plus 15 when we reach Coruscant, deal?" she asked, smiling to herself now as she hugged her sister again.

 

[Darth Timoris]

Melori looked slightly embarrassed. “I...I was only joking. I mean, I need to speak to the lawyers again about my inheritance. With what happened on Corellia, and with me being in that coma, I never got round to claiming it. They’ve written to me – and I should get back to them. They’re on one of the moons or something.”

“But…I appreciate the gift, I really do. And a droid sounds like fun. It reduces the chance of food-poisoning. And maybe I can modify it, like Maul did his?”

“So tomorrow we head back to Coruscant and I can start to make sense of these memories. I replay them in my mind and then act them out. It seems to be building muscle memory but I suspect I need a good few weeks of intense focus and no distractions to really get to understand Teräs Käsi.”

She gazed at the ship – her ship – and then returned her sister’s hug. If the rest of her life could be just like this it would be perfect. And she remembered the seer’s words from Tython. About how her sister Corvus would betray her. Well at least she’d have Taeli alongside her. She smiled, lay down in front of the fire and rested her eyes. Aware she was dozing off, she stood and helped arrange for the supplies to be reloaded onto the ship before saying good-night to her sister and heading off to bed.

[member="Taeli Rae"]