Ali stepped down from his speeder, the bag of Krath offspring swinging lightly in his hand. As he approached Malvok's tent under the fading rays of the Korriban sunset, he noticed another smaller tent pitched nearby. Without giving it much thought, he walked past the smaller tent and announced his presence to Malvok from outside.
"Come in," Malvok's voice called sharply from within.
Pushing aside the tent flaps, Ali entered. The laboratory had grown more advanced since his last visit. Multiple adult Krath were strapped to tables, their bodies either dissected or floating in transparent tubes filled with vividly coloured liquids. The air hummed faintly with the sound of machinery, the purpose of which Ali couldn't fully discern. The equipment was far beyond anything he had ever encountered, and he could only make educated guesses about its function.
"You can release them over there," Malvok said, gesturing with a casual wave of his hand. Using his telekinesis, he moved a small cage onto an empty table at the centre of the lab. Ali walked over and opened the bag, shaking it gently until the terrified puppies tumbled out. They barked in fear, retreating to the far corner of the cage, their tiny tails quivering.
"Incredible," Malvok muttered, his tone filled with admiration. He turned his floating chair slightly, his yellow eyes fixed on the animals. "What you've brought me is extremely rare, acolyte. These offspring are notoriously difficult to track. The adults rarely stay with their offspring. They leave them alone most of the time, providing enough food for a week at a time and relying on their Force-based communication to sense any threats to the pups. Finding their lair is no small feat."
There was a pause before Malvok's voice sharpened. "Say it."
Ali raised an eyebrow, feigning ignorance. "Say what, my lord?"
"Don't waste my time," Malvok snapped. "Tell me what you want as a reward for bringing them to me."
Ali stood straight, his voice calm and deliberate. "I only want an hour of your time, my lord. I want to learn the telekinetic application of the Force."
Malvok's lip curled in annoyance. "You'll get thirty minutes." He snapped his fingers, and two small stones floated off the ground and hovered before Ali.
The stones began to move, one slowly rotating clockwise, completing a full rotation before the second stone turned slightly in response.
'A timer,' Ali thought, noting the extraordinary precision and focus required to perform such an act with the Force.
Malvok began his lesson, guiding Ali through the fundamentals of telekinetic Force manipulation. The half-hour passed quickly, each moment filled with instruction and subtle demonstrations of control. By the end of the session, Ali stepped out of the tent, bowing slightly in thanks.
The night sky was dark, and the moon hung high above, bathing the desert in pale light. Ali looked up briefly, letting the cold desert air brush against his face. He turned his gaze and noticed Malvok's acolyte approaching him.
The female Twi'lek strode toward him, her lightsaber clipped to her belt. She stopped close, her piercing red eyes locking onto his dark ones.
"Watch yourself," she warned in a low, threatening tone. "Don't overstep."
Ali said nothing, his silence making her scowl as she turned and walked back toward her own tent. As she disappeared from sight, Ali allowed himself a small smirk.
'It always amuses me how people seal their fates with their own words,' he thought, feeling the black veins beneath his clothing recede. With that, he mounted his speeder and took off into the desert.
The cold of Korriban's night enveloped him as he raced across the sands. The speeder's headlights cut through the darkness, illuminating the path ahead. The biting chill of the desert was a stark contrast to the scorching heat of the day, but Ali hardly noticed, his mind occupied with the events of the day.
When he finally reached the academy, he parked the speeder in the hangar and returned to his quarters. Drogath was already there, sprawled out on his bed and snoring loudly, his deep breaths echoing through the room.
Ali retrieved a spare uniform from the cabinet and headed to the bathroom. The shower washed away the red sand and sweat clinging to his body, leaving him feeling refreshed. Once cleaned, he handed his dirty clothes to a droid in the nearby laundry room and returned to his quarters.
Sitting on his bed, Ali closed his eyes, his thoughts returning to the moment he touched the skull in the Krath cave.
'Come on now,' he thought, steeling his mind. 'It's time to focus and make progress.'
He entered a meditative state, silencing his thoughts and channeling all his discipline into connecting with the Force.
This time, it took only twenty minutes before he felt the first faint sign of the Force in the room. Narrowing his focus, he used the sensation as a reference point, allowing him to uncover more traces of the Force around him. His progress was steady, and soon the room felt alive with the presence of the Force.
'Okay, time to test myself,' he thought, breaking the meditation and opening his eyes.
He waited for a moment, catching his breath, before closing his eyes again. This time, he tried to reconnect with the Force as quickly as possible. It took twenty seconds to rediscover the first sign, and from there, the rest of the Force revealed itself.
Ali repeated the process again and again, each time cutting down the time it took to establish the connection. By the end of two hours, he had reduced it to an astonishing three seconds.
'Now let's see if I can do it without meditating,' Ali thought, deciding to test himself further.
This proved far more difficult. Connecting with the Force while keeping his focus on the world around him required a balance he hadn't yet mastered. He struggled for nearly an hour, his concentration broken repeatedly.
Finally, he succeeded. The first sign of the Force came into focus without the need for deep meditation. From there, he began refining the process, sharpening his sensitivity until he could sense the Force at will with only a thought.
The effort came at a cost. His temples throbbed with painful migraines, and brief nosebleeds interrupted his progress. Still, he pushed forward, each success motivating him to continue.
After another two hours, he leaned back, exhausted but triumphant.
'Finally,' he thought, exhaling deeply. 'Now it's practical. I can sense the Force without disconnecting from the world around me. But it's still far too obvious. Any skilled Sith could sense me trying to use it.'
Ali contemplated the next step. 'In the future, this needs to be second nature. The Force should feel as natural as breathing—as if it's part of the world itself. The books described Force prodigies who could interact with it as children, without any training. Meanwhile, I have to fry my brain just to reach this point.'
If any other acolyte had heard these thoughts, they would have been furious. Ali's progress in a single night would take others weeks, if not months, to achieve. His level of concentration and mental discipline were exceptional, built through years of experience and self-mastery.
Ali was aware of his natural talent, though he rarely dwelled on it. From a young age on Earth, he had known he was different. His ability to manipulate his body's healing cells alone had set him apart from billions of others.
With his head resting against the wall, Ali reached a hand toward the empty air by the window, as though trying to grasp something unseen. His fingers passed through nothingness, but his mind focused on what Malvok had taught him earlier.
'He said to gather the Force in the air, make it weigh down on an object like added gravity, or surround an object and render it weightless. That was his approach to telekinesis. He told me to start there.'
Ali's brow furrowed. 'I can sense the Force now, but interacting with it? That's still far off. My control over the Force will begin to show when I unlock the Spirit attribute. It'll all come in succession.'
Letting out a quiet sigh, he lay down on the bed. He closed his eyes, willing himself to rest for the few hours left before sunrise.
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