Retrained and Reforged (Tempest)

[Siobhan Kerrigan]

[member="Tempest"]


Siobhan shook her head. "Dear, first time I did this it was fire and live rounds. Your armour is very blaster-resistant, so using it would defeat the point unless I hammered you with a repeater. But since I'm nice we'll start with training remotes. Then fully live rounds and lightning. Now, brace yourself and focus. You're not trying to keep a shot from hitting you, you're trying to absorb the energy. You need to take control over all energy that flows inside you and impacts you. When the blaster bolts come, absorb that energy into your being. It's easiest to catch and absorb shots with your hand. Use the Force and focus upon creating a web inside it."


Tutaminis was bloody awkward to explain, but hopefully this helped a bit because in a moment or two a couple training remotes would begin unloading blaster bolts on the Dahomian. They wouldn't fry her hand, but the light powered bolts would definitely sting a lot!

 

[Tempest]

[member="Siobhan Kerrigan"]

“The first time I used the Force I used it to crush my Master’s throat as he tried to impose himself on me – that doesn’t mean that we should teach people that way,” Tempest retorted, eyes narrowed. “But I’m going to go with you here on the understanding that I’m probably worth more to you alive than with a blaster hole in me.”

And so…training montage! That refugee for powers and scenes entirely too complicated or boring to write out.

Needless to say, like the previous scene, Tempest didn’t start out perfect. Indeed, standing still with hand out whilst one tried to shoot you was pretty much on her list of things to avoid. Still, after getting stung multiple times she managed to absorb rather than deflect a shot. It was therefore time to move on to real blasters, but she was at least a little more confident about the outcome now.

 

[Siobhan Kerrigan]

[member="Tempest"]


Training montage!


And so many sessions later, Tempest had made progress after being stung an awful lot. Now it was time to move on to real blasters. Siobhan had quite deliberately selected one of the less mean ones in the arsenal. Admittedly, it would still tremendously suck if Tempest ended up with a blaster-sized hole in her body.


After all, Siobhan really didn't want the Dahomian to wind up in hospital or dead! She picked up the blaster, having adjusted the power setting. "Are you ready?" she asked, waiting for Tempest to respond before squeezing the trigger.

 

[Tempest]

[member="Siobhan Kerrigan"]
It took all of Tempest’s will not to take some sort of other countermeasure against the blaster.
Crush the barrel! Dive to the side! Use your lightsabre!
That at least was the somewhat vocalised thoughts going through her head.

“I’m ready,” she said aloud, banishing her fears, or trying at least. Closing her eyes she could feel Siobhan taking aim, feel the plasma bolt beginning its journey towards her.

Holding out her hand, she focused everything she had to learn the new technique, and as the blaster bolt came closer it impacted just millimetres from her skin. The air around her flared with light as the energy was absorbed and reflected as a bright flash.

Opening her eyes, slowly unclenching her other hand, she swallowed. “It…worked!” she said in amazement.

 

[Siobhan Kerrigan]

[member="Tempest"]


Siobhan smiled thinly. "You see, darling, just as I told you. Believe in yourself. Now...maintain focus," having said these words she once again levelled the blaster at Tempest and squeezed the trigger, unloading a couple shots at her.


Tempest should be able to absorb them - hopefully at least! However, assimilating energy would become taxing over time. Especially since the human body had a limit to what it could absorb. Sooner or later it would have to be released. That was also the point.

 

[Tempest]

[member="Siobhan Kerrigan"]
Tempest was ready, and having done it once, she knew how to do it again. It wasn’t complacency, but she felt more relaxed, more happy.
Again time seemed to slow as she extended her hands, palm out, so the bolts impacted. Two was much harder than one, it was true. The excess power from the plasma bursts made her stagger backwards. A discharge of energy earthed itself through her feet, sparking and singing her clothes.

She opened her eyes, then hopped awkwardly to put out the small fire. “Now I just got to learn how to redirect it,” she commented, giving a broad grin.

 

[Siobhan Kerrigan]

[member="Tempest"]


"You look very hot right now!" Siobhan quipped cornily. She loved corny puns and probably believed she was being terribly witty.


"There's a limit to how much energy your body can absorb. At some point you must expel it. One blaster bolt isn't a problem, several of them or a Force attack are. Channel the energy you've pulled into yourself, and release it through the Force."


This was totally not an invitation to knock her boss on her magnificient arse. That would also not backfire at all.

 

[Tempest]

[member="Siobhan Kerrigan"]
That treacherous and oh so delicious thought had occurred to Tempest, but by now the energy had gone from her. She paused, smiled.
“Shall we try one more time? I’ll try and release the energy as you say. Be ready…I’m not sure where it will go.”
Fair warning, right?

She was so going to get punished for this. Was it wrong that she couldn’t wait?

 

[Siobhan Kerrigan]

[member="Tempest"]


Of course, it would be naive to assume that Siobhan didn't notice Tempest's intent. Her apprentice being naughty would give the Force Mistress an excuse to show off and punish the girl. This obviously only served the purpose of teaching her something rather than showing her who was boss.


Verily. "I think you know exactly where it will go, darling, " Siobhan raised the blaster and levelled it at Tempest, then squeezed the trigger. Red-hot kill bolts shot through the air towards the Dahomian amazon. When you thought about it, all this talk about absorbing phallic-shaped bolts was kind of dirty.

 

[Tempest]

[member="Siobhan Kerrigan"]
“Wait a minute-,” Tempest began.

Too late, murder bolts were already flying at her, so she quickly summoned her powers and formed a shield about herself. The bolts impacted her barrier, and for a moment the air around her turned red as she fought to contain the power.

Then, letting the energy out in a burst of energy she fired it back wide of Siobhan. She wasn’t aiming for her…at the moment she really couldn’t aim properly, but it’d likely come close!

 

[Siobhan Kerrigan]

[member="Tempest"]


Tempest lit up like a Life Day tree and burnt white hot. Then the energy absorbed into her amazonian form was released in a brilliant burst of power. That was good because she was learning. It was also bad because the blast was shooting towards Siobhan's general direction.


To shield herself Siobhan summoned her power and called upon the Force, wrapping it around her. There was an epic crash when the beam connected with her translucent shield. For a moment or two, the room was engulfed by a bright light and Siobhan stumbled to the ground, falling. Ouch.


Admittedly what had suffered was mostly her ego, but still! There was dust on her leather skirt. This annoyed her a bit. "Not bad," she commented, then smirked. This was not good at all. The Force swelled up inside her, then suddenly orange-yellowish tendrils of consuming energy spat from her hands and leapt through the air, closing in on Tempest. The Force Drain onslaught was not meant to enable Siobhan to gourge herself on Tempest, but to siphon enough of her power to make her tire and weaken her, sucking it out of her.

 

[Tempest]

[member="Siobhan Kerrigan"]
Tempest had been anticipating some form of counter, even if she hadn’t aimed directly at Siobhan.
Thus, she was ready with a shield when Siobhan countered. However, it was surprising to her the form it took. She had not encountered this draining power before, but her shield was capable of stopping it…in theory.

Of course, maintaining the concentration when she’d already been doing and learning new tasks was difficult indeed. After a few seconds her shield started to waver. Even without the drain life power she was quickly becoming exhausted!

 

[Siobhan Kerrigan]

[member="Tempest"]


In theory and in practice, Force Drain could be blocked by a conventional barrier. The only problem was that this was tiring. One needed to expend energy to maintain the shield, after all. The best way was to go on the offence and break the concentration of the attacker before they could suck you dry.


After all, Force Drain could easily backfire. The tendrils sought to grip Tempest, exploiting her tiredness. Force Drain specialists could turn someone into a complete husk. Siobhan could not do so, at least not someone who was on Tempest's level and she didn't want to anyway.


Seeing that the shield was weakening she broke off the onslaught. Before the urge to gourge herself upon Tempest's beautiful darkside power became too strong and she risked sapping the girl's life force. Ripples could be felt in the Force as Siobhan withdrew, dissipating her own attack. The room trembled and the weapons racks shook as the swirling Force energies found an outlet.


Siobhan took a breath and approached the Dahomian. "There, now you've had a taste of Force Drain. You're feeling exhausted, aren't you? A bit longer, and it would've started sapping your life force." Her tone was not mocking, but matter-of-fact.


"In order to use it, you must be exposed to it first. You can use it to drain someone's life energy and heal yourself. Word of warning, addiction is a real risk if you overboard. It's no replacement for proper healing, but useful in a tight spot. It can also be used defensively to drain the power from some Force attacks."

 

[Tempest]

[member="Siobhan Kerrigan"]
Though she didn’t want to show it, holding off the attack had exhausted her more than she had anticipated. Clenching her fists, she managed to remain upright and without toppling over. Still, she desperately needed some time to recharge.

“So you say it can be used in a similar way to Tutaminis…except with the Force? That is curious. I don’t think I can replicate it right now, I think I need a breather.”

She didn’t like admitting it, but she had been repeatedly smacked in the head, shot at and drained without much pause!

 

[Siobhan Kerrigan]

[member="Tempest"]


"Yes, you can, though tutaminis is more reliable. Take a breather, drink some water. Then I have a nice target for you. Our girls captured a bunch of slavers at Arkas. We're gonna execute them anyway, so one of them might as well serve as a good guinea pig and be drained," Siobhan spoke. This was totally a normal conversation.

 

[Tempest]

[member="Siobhan Kerrigan"]
Casual execution even of the most despicable prisoners was something that might give people pause. Siobhan and Tempest though did not give such a pause mostly because their target was the most despicable breed of person, especially to Tempest.

So after sipping her water and composing herself, they headed down to the prisons where a rough looking man was secured to an altar.

“Oh look, it’s queen and bitchier,” he said, earning himself no favours.

Tempest gave a look to Siobhan, subtly asking permission to proceed.

 

[Siobhan Kerrigan]

[member="Tempest"]


Presumably this sort of action would be condemned by the Camaas Convention. However, Siobhan operated on the principle that it was alright to casually execute, brainwash or enslave despicable people. At least she thought so!


"How funny. You're our queen," she said coolly. She felt nothing but contempt for the slaver. "You know, I had some fun ideas about executing you together with the scum you call your buddies. Let your victims torment you as long they want. But I just got a better idea. Don't worry. You'll be in agony throughout. Tempest, consume him."

 

[Tempest]

[member="Siobhan Kerrigan"]

“You want to consume something? I’ve got something right here for you to…” he began.

Tempest ignored him and focused her energies. Her anger and hate was strong for this worm, this miserable excuse for a person. She remembered Siobhan’s draining power, and reached out to grip his essence and tear it free.

Sickly yellow and green light emanated from her hands and pounced on the slaver. He thrashed, screaming in pain as she joyfully received his putrid lifeforce as penance for his crimes. On and on she extracted his life, finally placing a hand on his chest so she could all the easier tear his essence from him.

Driven by her anger and hatred, it did not last long, and soon the man’s screams died and he was reduced to a desiccated husk.

In the aftermath Tempest felt…good. Tainted though his energy was, she instantly felt alive again, her head was healed and her ribs less tender.

She spat on the corpse. “That was…magnificent.”

 

[Siobhan Kerrigan]

[member="Tempest"]


Siobhan watched dispassionately while Tempest gourged herself on the worm's putrid essence. He was a monster, so she felt no pity for him. At least his pathetic existence would be given an actual purpose now.


His body crumpled to the floor like a sack of potatoes. The only thing left was an empty shell, a husk. "Good work, dear," she said proudly. "It's probably the most efficient form of dark healing, but, as with everything, there's a price. Don't overuse it," she cautioned seriously.


She reached out with her hand to cup Tempest's cheek. "You've grown so much in the past few years. I'm very proud of you." Leave it to Siobhan to get mushy after a casual execution. Then she captured the Dahomian's lips in a passionate kiss. Meanwhile, a droid removed the corpse. It would be good fodder for a Yazgid.

 

[Tempest]

[member="Siobhan Kerrigan"]

Tempest returned the kiss. What wasn’t to like?!

“Thank you…I feel so much better, so much stronger than I ever have before. Now…let’s go get that armour of yours fixed up, huh?”