Step of Control

[Taeli Raaf]

[member="Melori Raaf"]

Well that escalated quickly, Taeli thought, as her sister spoke and drew even more on her deep seated feelings of anger, jealousy, and all manner of powerful emotions. The ball was now wiggling fiercely where it sat, her sister's power coming to the forefront, and while Taeli was exerting any more pressure on the ball, she could tell her sister was going to be a Sith to be reckoned with, if not a touch arrogant.

And then . . . the ball soared off the resting spot as her sister's emotions and power surged even more.

"Good," she muttered to herself as she watched the ball soar through the air to her sister's outstretched hand. The Jedi might not have realized how to bring her maximum potential out, but Taeli did it seem.

 

[Darth Timoris]

Melori was pleased with herself. She didn't doubt that her Master was more powerful or could have held on to the ball if she'd wanted to. She was arrogant, not stupid.

But Melori sensed she'd surprised her Master - and that was something she was proud of. She'd gone from being written off to muttered praise in a few short minutes. But Melori wasn't going to reflect on that for more than a few seconds. So she took the ball back it its starting position and held out her hand again, eyes fixed on the orb, waiting for her sister to either provide resistance or tell her the lesson was over.

[member="Darth Arcanix"]

 

[Taeli Raaf]

[member="Melori Raaf"]

"Once more then," Taeli said, gripping the ball even tighter in the Force. "I must say, you are definitely stronger than even I thought beforehand. My apologies for the false belittlement, but I wanted to see if that would cause you to delve deeper and it seems to have worked. Once you reach that level, it becomes easier to reach it, those depths of power that lie within your fingertips."

"So, one more time, then I'll demonstrate some techniques that you will learn in the future," Taeli said, gesturing for her sister and apprentice to begin again.

 

[Darth Timoris]

It was a little like muscle memory - once she'd learned how to tap into that store of emotions, she knew where to go next time. And this time it was a quicker process.

She nodded to her Master at the compliment and already had one eye on the next step - but accepted she had to complete the current test first. "I do not blame you for underestimating me - the Jedi spent years doing that. And I expect to be pushed - to be forced to work as hard as possible. No not spare me and I will not disappoint you."

This time she was able to tap into the deep well of emotions in a fraction of a second. She could feel the power immediately rise within her, the deep and powerful emotions fuelling her control of the Force. She was ready and started at a much higher level than last time - but kept something in reserve to add in once she could tell how much power her sister was using.

"I do not expect it will be easy to become a Sith Lord. The value of anything is measured by effort. I will prove to you that I am the best apprentice in the history of the Sith. I shall not only survive, I shall conquer."

[member="Darth Arcanix"]

 

[Taeli Raaf]

[member="Melori Raaf"]

"We shall see, my apprentice, we shall see," Taeli rpelied, smiling even as she gripped the ball with more of her power. This time, it would not be as easy to defeat the grip she was exerting on the ball. It wouldn't be a final test for the lesson if it was easy, but Melori already understood effort was more important in such things.

"Oh, for this last test. . ." Taeli said, trailing off at the end as multiple objects suddenly rose up around the room and started flying towards her sister. "Let's see how well you do while having to split your focus, as you will not have the luxury during a fight or mission to refocus everytime."

It was a tough love sort of thing, but it was necessary.

 

[Darth Timoris]

Melori had no additional abilities to deflect the incoming balls, so she had a choice - to try to manipulate as many objects as possible using Telekinesis - which was not something she'd ever been able to do before, or to keep her focus on the one object and endure the pain.

Her Master had made an assumption, that she would split her attention and her grip on the ball would suffer. But to Melori, turning assumptions on their head was what made the difference. So she endured the buffeting and the pain from the objects bouncing off her. She accepted the bruises and even the cut to her head that partially sighted her as blood seeped from her eyebrow and into her eye, forcing her to blink rapidly. No, while her Master split her attention, Melori chose not to and put all of her effort into drawing the ball to her.

[member="Darth Arcanix"]

 

[Taeli Raaf]

[member="Melori Raaf"]

"Stubborn I see," Taeli replied, watching her sister grimace at each hit from the objects being hurled at her, but she was still focusing on the ball. "An admirable trait for a Sith, or a Force user in general. That tenacity will help you in the long run."

She could see the ball wiggling, and Taeli couldn't stop the proud smile forming on her face. She might have her attention diverted to making sure the objects continued to fly, even as she watched brusies and cuts form on her sister, but she still ahd a firm hold on the ball. Not nearly as strong as she could, but still . . . Melori showed great promise. Maybe Taeli would have a special gift for her.

 

[Darth Timoris]

It was a fine line between confident and arrogant. Or stubborn and determined. And Melori was walking both tightropes. At the moment it was paying off - but then the stakes her low and it was her sister rather than another Sith Lord that was testing her.

But you can only face what's presented to you and so she continued to pull at the ball until her sister said stop. She'd failed once before - on Corellia - and that was a bitter taste she had vowed never to have to experience again. "I simply do my best and you can be the judge if it is good enough." And still the objects flew at her, and she remained stoic.

[member="Darth Arcanix"]

 

[Taeli Raaf]

[member="Melori Raaf"]

"Well spoken, my apprentice," Taeli replied, increasing the intensity of the objects being thrown at her, all the while the ball continued to wiggle and move ever so slightly towards her sister. "That is all I can ask of you . . . to do your best, and every time you do, you shall be rewarded in some way. Only fair after all that success is met with an appropiate result."

Melori almost had it, and she was much quicker to access the abilities within her. A pity the Jedi hadn't realized just how powerful she was, but then again, her temperament wasn't suited for the Jedi. Melori was too much of a wild child to be a calm and reserved Jedi. The ball moved even more.

 

[Darth Timoris]

Melori sensed the ball was fighting to be released from whatever hold her sister had on her. But Melori believed she had nothing more to give - but wanted to take that ball so badly. She wanted to prove to Taeli that she was worthy and at that moment added the one emotion that was missing - love.

Until now all of her effort was in fuelling her use of the Force through negative emotions but her growing love for Taeli, simple and yet so powerful was the tipping point. Taeli was the big sister she'd been denied and they loved each other unconditionally. There was no purer love in the galaxy - and possibly no stronger emotion.

To Melori, it was as if she'd found an extra three gears on a speeder bike. What was full throttle was now easily surpassed by a new level of emotion. Not necessarily better - but an additional layer that for Melori at least, made the difference. She had never felt more complete and her eyes reached an even deeper shade of yellow and the red surrounding the irises turned crimson. And she poured that extra power into the orb. "I..will...have...that...ball."

[member="Darth Arcanix"]

 

[Taeli Raaf]

[member="Melori Raaf"]

Taeli sensed the shift, sensed the love be added to her sister's power, and she couldn't stop her smile growing. The ball was wiggling even more, straining against the hold Taeli had on it . . . until it flew towards her sister's hand and stopped in mid air between the two. It was a struggle to maintain it without increasing her own power on the ball.

Her sister had figured out something crucial . . . that arge and hatred were great and everythign for fueling the dark side, but they weren't the only emotions they could pull upon. Positive emotions could be just as powerful, the passion adding even more and Taeli had to fight the urge to increase her hold and pull the ball back. That would just be cruel to her sister, so . . . she stayed the same and the ball moved to her sister's hand.

"Excellent work, my apprentice," Taeli nearly crowed aloud. She was proud of her sister's efforts, especially given this was only their first lesson. "Excellent work indeed Melori!"

 

[Darth Timoris]

Melori didn't want to, but she beamed. She wanted to stay professional and aloof but the genuine praise was so rare for her that she couldn't help herself. And, of course, the memory of the feeling went straight into that reservoir. True pleasure was a rare commodity in Melori's life and so this ranked as a powerful emotion. And as she stared at the ball in her hand, her eyes returned to their natural hue.

"Thank you Master. That you Taeli." She held back from rushing over and hugging her sister - that could come later. "But I have a question. What's next?" Having learned to use the Force in this new way, she would be able to practice her existing feeble skills in a whole new way. But for now she was hungry for more.

[member="Darth Arcanix"]

 

[Taeli Raaf]

[member="Melori Raaf"]

"I think just some demonstrations are in order for right now," Taeli laughed. "You've done enough for today, but I ask you to hold onto the ball to practice your Telekinesis. The more you practice, the easier it will get."

Stepping forward into the center of the room, Taeli allowed her full strength in the dark side to be felt, letting it radiate out from her as she prepared to show her sister what powers she would eventually learn. It promised to be an interesting demonstration, she thought, as a small Sithspawn was brought into the room, caged of course, by several servants before they departed.

"Pay attention Melori," she said, winking at her sister. "You might find this all rather . . . interesting."

Leveling her hand towards the far wall, Force Lightning erupted from her fingers in a stream of violet and blue bolts, striking the wall and leaving a large singe mark across it. Next, she channeled an emptiness that was in her and a pseudo red-lightning sprung from her other hand towards the Sithspawn and upon striking it, the creature had its life force drained away until nothing was left but a corpse and a small void in the Force.

Turning that drained energy into her own reservoir of power, she focused on the air and water molecules around them and slowed their movements down until they started to freeze and form small ice shards. Sweeping her hand, they flew around the room in a graceful pattern before dissipating.

Smiling at her sister, she asked, "What do you think so far? Sadly I can't show you a few techniques, such as the Sith alchemy I know, but those will be for other lessons."

 

[Darth Timoris]

Melori accepted that there would be no more lessons today. Even the idiot Jedi knew to build up their use of the Force over time. So she pocketed the ball and focused as her sister demonstrated a number of abilities, one after the other.

Firstly she felt her sister’s immense aura. It was like using Force Sense but she was aware she was tapping into her depleted reserves of emotions to make the connection – but, if nothing else, it showed her the ability was the same.

Force Lightning caught her attention. It was showy and appeared to be very effective. But the second Ability intrigued her more. The red lightning wasn’t as flashy but if she was right and her sister had drawn Force energy from the dead creature, that gave her two outcomes for the one use. The third appeared to be a parlour trick, but Melori could see the practical benefit of the ability.

“I want to learn the red lightning. To kill and drain Force energy at the same time – I want to learn that first. Then Force Lightning.” She beamed at her sister again. “Tomorrow?”

[member="Darth Arcanix"]

 

[Taeli Raaf]

"We can certainly begin that tomorrow," Taeli said, a little uncomfortable of what had to explain about the ability next. "I do have to warn you though, to best learn both Lightning and Drain, you have to be subjected to their affects so you understand, on a physical, metaphysical, and psychological scale of how they work. Drain will create an emptiness within you, one that must be controlled or it will consume you from the inside out, but it allows access to the ability to drain the energy and life from a being."

"Lightning is just painful," she added, chuckling a little from when she first learned how it felt to be subjected to it. "And the memory of that pain is the way to remember how to form the dark side energies to conjure lightning. Regardless, I'll explain more on our next lesson. For now, the rest of the day is yours to do with . . . but I do have one more thing to show you, if you want to follow me."

[member="Melori Raaf"]

 

[Darth Timoris]

Melori simply listened. This was different to what she was used to – but she was not entirely surprised. “I appreciate you telling me,” she said, “And you have my word that I will do whatever it takes to succeed. I’ve crashed a ship and been in a coma for six years. I’ve endured pain and suffering. Maybe not like tomorrow, but I’ve at least had a taste of it.”

And she was certainly intrigued about the prospect of what her sister had to show her and eagerly followed her to wherever they were going.

[member="Darth Arcanix"]

 

[Taeli Raaf]

[member="Melori Raaf"]

Making their way to a hidden hanger bay, Taeli smiled as she looked around for the light switch for a more . . . dramatic reveal. She wondered how her sister would react to what Taeli would give her in a short time.

"So, you don't get this today, but think of it as one incentive to give your best in lessons," Taeli said, finding the light switch and flicking it on. Out in the hanger, lights erupted into life and revealed a sleek gray ship (http://starwarsrp.net/topic/51056-sicarius-class-infiltrator/)

"Once you've proven yourself, that ship is yours," Taeli said, looking out into the hanger towards the Infiltrator. "Essentially it can act as a base of operations for missions, its fast enough and well armed enough to act as a starfighter, and it has a stygium cloaking device installed as well. What do you think?"

 

[Darth Timoris]

Melori was speechless and ran over to the ship, running her hands along its sleek lines. This was her ship. Technically it would be hers if and when she performed well in lessons but that was a foregone conclusion in her own mind.

She turned and ran to her sister and almost bowled her over with a hug. "It's beautiful and it's perfect in every way. The look is so familiar and that just adds to my excitement."

She turned and looked back at the ship. "Tomorrow can't come soon enough. Then the next day and then the next. I just have to think of a name for it." She toyed with Raven, out of spite, but instead decided to take her time thinking of one.

[member="Darth Arcanix"]

 

[Taeli Raaf]

[member="Melori Raaf"]

Taeli smiled as Melori hugged her, and she was glad the girl enjoyed what would be hers soon.

"Tomorrow will indeed be an interesting time for you," Taeli replied. "One of my allies wishes to meet you and perhaps give you some pointers on lightsaber combat, but after that . . . we will start the lesson on Force Drain. The rest of the day is yours to do with as I have some business to attend to, and come up with a good name for the ship. I personally designed this and its four sister ships and based them off two old ships that have ties to the Sith, the Scimitar and the Fury-class Imperial Interceptor."

Chuckling, she added, "I won't bore you with the details now, but do note, I expect you to excel and be smart, cunning, and patient to earn this reward. Understood?"

 

[Darth Timoris]

Melori nodded. She was looking forward to another practical lesson and lightsaber training fitted the bill perfectly. And then Force Drain. This was going so well and for once she fitted in. And of the three qualities required, she had two of them - patience she knew she had to work on.

"Until tomorrow then." And she gave her sister a hug before going to practice with that ball before her evening run.

[member="Darth Arcanix"]