A Draining Experience

[Taeli Raaf]

Taeli sighed as she led her apprentice to a more private space for her next lesson for the day. Veles had been . . . rather boring in his lesson, and Taeli had been bristling at some of the things he had said. The Mon Cal had pushed certain buttons, for both siblings, and they needed some time apart.

"My apologies for that . . . experience," Taeli said to her sister as she opened the door to the training room. "I didn't realize he was going to be that dry or . . . well whatever, I have something you asked to learn today and we shall focus on that now yes?"

Moving to the middle of the room, she used the Force to flick the lights on and turned to face her sister.

"You remember what I said about Force Drain a bit ago yes?"

[member="Melori Raaf"]

 

[Darth Timoris]

Melori smiled. "I learned and that was the point of the lesson, yes?" It was posed rhetorically. She didn't need to share her view of her time spent, it started very slowly, but she had learned and with practice could develop. "Of course I shall need a saber hilt suitable for the second Form at some point, but longer term, I have a design in mind for my two sabers. Very...traditional, but with a twist." The smile on her lips suggested it was a secret she wouldn't share until the time was right.

Melori nodded. She was now in lesson mode. "Yes Master, Force Drain and then Force Lightning. And you warned me to be ready to endure pain. It is not something easily forgotten. But I am ready."

Until now, everything Melori had practised could as easily be performed by a Jedi. Today was the day she learned to use the Dark-side properly. Today she stopped paddling and plunged into the deep end. The sink or swim analogy seemed particularly poignant.

[member="Darth Arcanix"]

 

[Taeli Raaf]

[member="Melori Raaf"]

"It is not just pain you'll be enduring today," Taeli said, pacing a little. "Force Drain, as I said before, creates an emptiness within you, one that instills a hunger into your very being to try and replace the energy you lost. It's never enough though, and it takes great strength of will to control that hunger or you'll eventually end up like Darth Nihilous from ancient times."

Stopping to face her sister, she continued saying, "I have to perform the technique on you, and as much as this pains me, these two powers require it to learn them best. You'll be practicing on some inmates from the nearby detention facility, murderers and serial killers that killed innocents for no reason, only because they could. I hope you're ready."

Leveling her hand at her sister, the red pseudo-lightning of Force Drain began to appear around her hand and started to arc out towards the only other living being here. This was going to be incredibly painful for Melori, Taeli knew that, but she wondered if she might be able to drain away some of that excess hatred and anger. Would remain to be seen as the red lightning made contact with her sister.

 

[Darth Timoris]

Melori would be a liar if she didn’t admit to being apprehensive, even scared. Part of her wondered if it would be better or worse because it was her sister. But the bottom line as she saw it was that she had to endure.

So she nodded again, worried her voice might betray her feelings and influence her sister. Her Master needed to be strong to do this properly.

She stood there, initially trying to relax as she was aware of her sister’s hand rising. Fighting the urge to close her eyes, she saw the red pseudo-lightning begin to appear around her Master’s hand and started to arc out towards her.

She felt pain initially, indescribable agony and then some else. Something worse. She felt her very vitality being drained and her link to the Force fading. Her eyes flashed yellow as she instinctively tried to hold on to the connection but they quickly returned to their baby blue hue. Her body felt progressively weaker and her mind too. It was as if there was no fight to save herself, her mind had simply given up the will.

[member="Darth Arcanix"]

 

[Taeli Raaf]

[member="Melori Raaf"]

She could feel her sister fading fast, being drained away a bit faster than Taeli had expected. She immediately cut off the draining technique, concern flooding her for her sister.

"Melori! Are you okay?" she asked, rushing over to check her sister. Her dark side aura was definitely lessened, and it would take some time to recover that, but she was more concerned by the pained expression on her sister's face and how pale she had gotten. Taeli didn't know if she was about to faint or not, but she felt horrible even doing this technique on her.

 

[Darth Timoris]

In Melori's mind she could only admire what had happened. Even as it was draining her life, all she could see was the beauty of it. And she understood instantly why you had to experience its effects first hand. A bit like swimming really. That thought humoured her more than it probably should and she giggled.

She was still feeling groggy and weak - much as she had done when she came out of the coma - but this was worse. Much, much worse. She was quite literally exhausted and drained but there was still a spark left that wanted to hang on, that didn't want to die. She closed her eyes now and remembered the feeling and did her best to imagine what the opposite would feel like, for that is what she needed to achieve.

Then she opened her eyes and forced a smile. "I did OK, yes?"

[member="Darth Arcanix"]

 

[Taeli Raaf]

[member="Melori Raaf"]

"Well, you're still standing, so that's something," Taeli replied, a weak smile on her face as she couldn't help but admire her sister's refusal to show how it had affected her. Tapping a button on her datapad, four guards led in three prisoners and set them upon the floor in a kneeling position and then quickly departed.

"Now that you've felt it, I want you to channel that emptiness through your hand, much like a Force Push or Pull, towards one of these prisoners to restore some of your lost vitality," Taeli instructed. "The energy stream can take on a few different forms, depending on the user. I've got the red lightning effect, but other appearances can be like just a stream of reddish-orange energy. Show me if you understand, and take this murderer's life."

 

[Darth Timoris]

Melori still felt shaky but clung to the feeling. She knew that somehow she needed to make the Ability instinctive and that would be the way she’d progress.

But then three men were brought in. She’d killed before – but in self-defence. Now she would have to kill just to learn something. She was not naturally cruel and so no benefit in killing for killing’s sake, but she was firmly of the belief that the weak deserved to die – but only if it served a purpose.

Those in front of her were weak. Not for killing but for their inability to remain at large. They were brought in like cattle to be slaughtered, which fitted the description perfectly for her. Which led to the purpose. Firstly it would bring her back to feeling like a human-being. And secondly it would allow her to grow as a Sith – and that was as fitting a purpose as she could think of.

And this was not her justifying her actions, but rather she was clarifying her mindset – as there could be no doubt. She looked down at the men kneeling in front of her and started the the one on the left, for no other reason than she was left-handed. She lifted her left hand and pulled on the small energy store she had and imagined the lightning arcing from her hand to the prisoner. When nothing happened for a few seconds, she became frustrated and lowered her hand. She heard the man snigger as she went to turn her back on him and the simple but stupid act tipped her over the edge.

Her hand flashed out and she reflected on the feeling she’d endured, rather than the manifestation of the lightning. A few sparks became a pale red connection and she felt herself literally feeding on the man. She felt her life and Force energy regenerating, and the more it did, the greater the lightning became until it was a solid red arcing from her fingertips. And just as her eyes flashed yellow and she was feeling sated, the man dropped to the floor, clearly dead.

She glanced to her Master, a smile across her lips.

[member="Darth Arcanix"]

 

[Taeli Raaf]

[member="Melori Raaf"]

"A bit addicting isn't it?" Taeli asked, smiling a bit back at her apprentice. She took notice that the other prisoners were feeling rather . . . distressed, but they knew that murdering people had a price. Their life energies would fuel her sister, but she also had to make sure to temper that addiction to Force Drain that could develop.

"As good as it feels, you can't let that feeling consume you," she said. "Your strength of will and control of your power will keep that hunger in check, but for now, do it again on our second prisoner here. This one here is especially deplorable to me for his actions. Serial killer that preyed upon children, and not just killing them if you get my drift. I personally led the squad of guards that arrested him, and I want you to . . . drain him faster and on a cellular level. Can you do that Melori?"

Taeli had no patience or mercy for people that violated and murdered, her own back story made her particularly touchy about this sort of being.

 

[Darth Timoris]

Melori knew immediately what her Master meant. The best way she could describe it was like eating ice-cream. She was absolutely full, but it was so delicious, she just wanted one more spoonful, and then another and then another. She’d never tried deathsticks, but she imagined they were like that. The users knew they’d die in the end but they could not help themselves.

She hoped her focus and determination would keep her on the right side of an addiction – but only time would tell.

And her conviction that the Ability was instinctive was vindicated as she found the second time so much easier. Her energy store was almost full and so she tapped into it, her yellow eyes remaining a vivid hue, the red around the irises darkening slightly. She lifted her left hand and reflected on the feeling she’d just experience – no, enjoyed. The pale red connection quickly became red-lightning. And despite the speed of the drain, she was able to savour it. She felt every ounce of essence being drawn from then man, every cell shut down, every nerve ending blink and then die, his Force essence sucked almost greedily through the faux-lightning.

It was over in seconds and yet it felt glorious. But she remembered her sister’s words as she licked her lips and considered her next meal. She closed her eyes and calmed her emotions. When her lids opened, her eyes were blue and she gave her Master a measured look. She was still in control.

[member="Darth Arcanix"]

 

[Taeli Raaf]

[member="Melori Raaf"]

"It's rather delicious, isn't it?" Taeli said, noticing her sister licking her lips after draining the second prisoner. "Can you feel yourself getting stronger, my apprentice?"

Taeli was proud that Melori was doing well with keeping herself mainly in control of this ability, because she knew just how fast someone could fall to the hunger within them. Some no name acolyte had tried to learn the technique, but had failed horribly and consumed himself because he didn't have the will to stop, or knew how to save his consciousness from being devoured.

"You have one more man, and he is the worst of the bunch," she said, placing a hand on the cheek of the man before them. "The other two were normal criminals, but this one is . . . beyond that. He masterminded several terrorist attacks to try and disrupt Coruscant while the crisis hit. he failed and was captured, but now . . . he faces the consequences of his actions. Drain him dry."

 

[Darth Timoris]

Melori nodded, “But as strong and as full as I feel, I know that it would be too easy to go back for more.”

She looked at the third man. In a way this training was teaching her two things. The first she’d managed – to get the hang of the ability. The second was to know when to stop – and she suspected that the more often she did this, it would become harder and not easier to walk away.

She closed her lids and stretched out a hand. Yes, this could so easily become addictive. She quickly connected to the Force and her eyes snapped open, still yellow. Lifting her left hand, this time her focus was on quite literally draining the man dry – like chasing every last drop of ice-cream out of the tub, she wouldn’t stop until everything…everything was consumed.

Then she looked at the men at her feet. They were weak and they deserved to die and they had fulfilled a glorious purpose. Life was very good right now.

[member="Darth Arcanix"]

 

[Taeli Raaf]

[member="Melori Raaf"]

"So, you have an excellent grasp of the technique," Taeli said, looking over each corpse. "And I suspect you've learned the hidden lesson about this technique, to use it sparingly. Force Drain is a powerful ability indeed, and you will only get stronger with it the more you practice, but it has to be in increments."

Holding up a finger, she continued saying, "And there are other ways to utilize this ability. For instance, you can contain the energy drawing effect within your hands while fighting in hand-to-hand combat, stealing your opponent's vitality with every hit or block and adding to your own. It won't be as strong as the stream one, but something to think about eh? Also, don't think this has to be contained to just beings, as you can use this technique on any living thing that is touched by the Force and it can be useful for fueling the more advanced versions of this technique like a Death Field."

 

[Darth Timoris]

Melori listened. Part of what her sister said was filed away for later, when she was more advanced. But the remainder was food for learning when she had the chance to do some research - or had the chance to practice again. She almost couldn't wait to face her first Padawan in combat - but knew her saber skills needed to be improved if she were to remain alive.

"Thank you Master," she said, her eyes now baby blue in colour, "You have taught me well. If only every lesson were this efficient." She touched her left thigh involuntarily, the bacta packs having been able to do only so much in repairing the damaged flesh and nerve endings - although she was promised a full recovery - albeit the scars would endure. But vanity was never an issue for her.

[member="Darth Arcanix"]

 

[Taeli Raaf]

[member="Melori Raaf"]

"Well, we all have different teaching styles," she replied neutrally. Her eyes had narrowed ever so slightly as her sister touched the wound on her leg, and Taeli had to fight the urge to coddle. Melori wouldn't appreciate it, and in a way, it would help her. That didn't stop her from being a bit peeved at Veles for harming her sister that way.

"Was there anything else you wanted to cover or practice the technique more?" she asked, both curious and testing her sister on whether the addiction was already taking route or not. "Or perhaps just a relaxing rest of the day? The choice is yours, my apprentice."

 

[Darth Timoris]

Melori scowled. She felt more practice would be pointless but the idea of relaxing didn't appeal either. "I fear more of this now might be reckless - is there any research you'd recommend instead?"

[member="Darth Arcanix"]

 

[Taeli Raaf]

[member="Melori Raaf"]

"As a matter of fact, I do have something you could research if you so desire," Taeli said, snapping her fingers as if an idea had struck. Moving over to where her satchel lay, she pulled out a datapad and scrolled through it briefly before landing on the article she thought her sister might enjoy reading on.

"This is Darth Maul, one of the Sith from Darth Bane's Order of the Sith Lords," she explained. "He was the first apprentice to Darth Sidious, and an absolute monster when it came to fighting. His power, his fury and hatred of the Jedi, were rather legendary. Sadly, he was defeated by a Jedi Master during the Battle of Naboo in 32 BBY, but he survived to rise again. I want you to study him in detail, and perhaps one other Sith Lord, and find things you would like to either study or learn."

Pulling up a second file, she handed the datapad to her sister, and said, "The second Sith Lord is Darth Tyranus, the second apprentice of Darth Sidious and the man responsible for the Clone Wars, besides his master. He was a master duelist and expert of the Makashi form, including a notable practitioner of Force Lightning. I suspect just reading about some of their fights will help you develop your own form, and you might learn a thing or two about them."

 

[Darth Timoris]

Melori beamed. She'd already heard of Maul and had done a small amount of her own research but to be given free reign was something she was delighted in. So she took the datapad. "Thank you Master, I'll spend the rest of the day wisely. And tomorrow, Force Lightning yes?"

She knew she was pushing the schedule of training but her experience with the Mon Cal had soured her desire to work with anyone other than her sister for at least a while.

[member="Darth Arcanix"]

 

[Taeli Raaf]

[member="Melori Raaf"]

"Yes, we will cover Force Lightning tomorrow," Taeli replied, shaking her head in amusement at her sister's enthusiasm and drive to prove herself. It was rather nice to see someone so willing to learn, but she also would be taking a more pro-active approach to the lessons now after what had happened with Veles. She would oversee her sister's training and not pass her off to anyone for lessons for awhile.

"Enjoy the readings, I know I did, and if you require it, that datapad has an access code to the entire archives," Taeli continued. "Use it wisely though, I'm able to track what you're reading from them and can lock your access down if you're straying into stuff too advanced for you right now."

 

[Darth Timoris]

Melori laughed but inwardly was disappointed. Straying where she shouldn't was half the fun of researching. So she vowed to find a Sith holocron - because they were notorious for allowing access to levels of training above the access level of the view - although she had no idea where she'd find one.

So for now she said goodbye to her Master - and her sister - and took the datapad and looked to spend the rest of the day researching Tyranus (whom she'd never considered) and Maul (who she did). And it was whilst working on the latter she realised why the ship she'd seen earlier was so familiar.

And then she started researching saber hilt designs - specifically for Makashi users. One design dominated - but she knew with a little imagination she could make it look individual to her.

[member="Darth Arcanix"]