Chapter Text
Royal Prison, Sundari, Mandalore
Ahsoka, accompanied by Bo-Katan and Rex, marched across a catwalk outside a second-story cell block deep within the Sundari Royal Prison. While Denal and Kano led the search for Jesse, she had decided it would be best to ask some important questions of their very valuable prisoner.
A Nite Owl guard stepped aside, allowing the transparasteel cell door to slide open before them. Together, the three leaders walked into the room where the former Prime Minister Almec was being kept. Instead of the traditional Mandalorian armor he’d been wearing when Bo-Katan had defeated and captured him yesterday, he now wore a smart, elegant gray tunic and pants, embroidered with gold. Rather fine clothes for a traitor, but Ahsoka decided they had bigger fish to fry. No point in stripping and humiliating him, especially since they wanted his cooperation.
Almec looked up at them without surprise. He’d expected this meeting.
“I’m flatter that you could find the time to see me,” Almec said, his hands on his knees, smirking.
“What’s Maul’s plan?” Bo-Katan demanded, cutting to the chase. She had her helmet under her arm, just as Rex did, and took a step forward so that she was almost standing right over him. “How is he going to escape?”
That, surprisingly, prompted Almec to laugh outright. He stood up from his cot, still smiling, but seemed perfectly fine with cooperating. “Maul is not trying to escape,” he said, “because he sees no point in doing so.” He began to pace in the limited bit of space left in the cell.
“So, he believes he can defeat us?” Bo-Katan asked, a bit confused.
Ahsoka folded her arms. She had to agree. From what she’d seen so far, there was a slim chance of that. With her and Bo-Katan’s combined forces, they outnumbered Maul ten-to-one. And while Maul’s Mandalorians were fierce fighters with knowledge of the city, so were the Nite Owls. And that was to say nothing of the clones, who were some of the best fighting forces the galaxy had ever seen. It was only a matter of time before Sundari fell to Republic forces. All Maul could really do was hope to drag out this conflict until the public really became fed up with an occupation. Outright defeat was unlikely.
“No,” Almec shook his head, “that’s not it. For weeks now, he’s been consumed by a strange sense of dread.
“Has he mentioned Sidious?” Ahsoka asked.
“Not that I can recall,” Almec said, shrugging.
“You said he wanted Kenobi here,” Bo-Katan said. “Why?”
Almec frowned. “Wasn’t just Kenobi he wanted, no,” he said. “Uh, there was someone else he was interested in.”
“Who?” Ahsoka prompted.
“If only I could remember the name . . .”
Ahsoka narrowed her eyes. Now he was playing a political game. Almec wanted something. A lighter sentence? Special treatment? Amnesty? Something along those lines, surely. But she wasn’t interested in that kind of diplomacy. She didn’t have the time or the patience for that right now.
“Bo, help him remember,” Ahsoka said.
Without hesitation, Bo-Katan stepped forward, curling her hand into a fist.
Almec, perhaps sensing that the woman would love nothing more than to beat a few memories back into him, instantly relented. He held his hands up in surrender. “No, wait! It was –”
And then two blaster bolts shot through the transparasteel cell wall, striking him in the left and right side of his chest. Gasping, eyes wide, Almec fell back against the wall before sliding to the floor, barely moving. Outside the cell, more blaster fire rang out as the two Nite Owl guards engaged the assassin, who was perched on the upper catwalk. Bo-Katan immediately turned to the door, grabbing one of her blaster pistols and jamming her helmet onto her head.
“Saxon,” she said, then disappeared to give chase.
Ahsoka fell to her knees beside Almec, who slumped into her. She tried to support him. “Rex, get a medic!” she ordered over the sound of the man’s raspy, guttural breathing.
The Commander, who’d also put his helmet on the moment the shots had been fired, tapped his wristcomm. “This is Commander Rex,” he said. “We have a man down in –”
Almec began to speak. Ahsoka tuned Rex out, trying to listen to what he had to say. With two blaster bolts to the chest, unarmored, she had little hope of him being able to survive long enough for a medic to get down there and attempt to save him. He was going to die, surely.
“Maul had a vision,” Almec said weakly, sucking for air that refused to stay in his lungs. Ahsoka leaned closer. “A dream. The name came to him.”
“What name?” Ahsoka demanded.
“Sky . . . walker . . .”
And then, he slumped forward. Like a puppet whose strings had been cut. Dead.
Ahsoka sat there, shocked. Skywalker. Anakin. Maul wanted Obi-Wan and Anakin. Why? What was he after? More than just revenge, surely. He was only after Obi-Wan for that. What was his dream about? What did he know – or think he knew – that Ahsoka didn’t? So many questions. And no one to get the answers from.
From his position in the wings of the loading dock at the Republic shipyard, it looked to Anakin that Obi-Wan was taking almost the entire 7th Sky Corps with him to Utapau. AT-TEs, LAAT/is, BARC speeders, and rank upon rank of clone troopers were being loaded onto the Vigilance. That was absurd, though. They didn’t have the numbers to mount an assault like that on such short notice, even if it was to capture or kill Grievous. They could have, if they’d told Anakin to go along and take Commander Appo and his contingent of the 501st with him, but no. Anakin had to stay here and continue his assignment to spy on the Supreme Chancellor of the Republic.
He still couldn’t believe it.
Beside him was Obi-Wan, watching his men martial themselves and their gear onto the warship and making ready to board himself. Soon he would be gone, off to chase after Grievous while Anakin was forced to stay and deal with all this political maneuvering and divided loyalties. Not to mention the imminent threat to Padmé.
“You’re gonna need me on this one, Master,” Anakin said, moving with Obi-Wan as his Master made his way toward the boarding ramp.
“Oh, I agree,” Obi-Wan said, sounding completely unbothered. “However, it may turn out to be a wild bantha chase. Your job here is much more important, Anakin.” He stopped on the lip of the ramp, stepping out of the shadow of the loading bay and into the bright sunlight of the open cruiser landing zone, looking back at his old apprentice.
“I know,” Anakin said, though he hated it. “The Sith. I just – I don’t like you going off without me like this.”
“Anakin,” Obi-Wan smiled. “Don’t worry. I have enough clones to take three systems the size of Utapau’s. I believe I should be able to handle the situation, even without your help.”
Anakin couldn’t help but smile back, despite his dour mood. “Well, there’s always a first time.”
“We’re not really splitting up, Anakin,” Obi-Wan assured him. “We’ve worked on our own many times – like when you took Padmé to Naboo while I went to Kamino and Geonosis.”
“And look how that turned out.” Anakin gestured to the cruiser full of clones behind Obi-Wan.
“Alright, bad example,” Obi-Wan admitted, stroking his beard. “Yet years later, here we all are: still alive, still friends. My point, Anakin, is that even when we work separately, we work together. We have the same goals: end the war, and save the Republic from the Sith. As long as we’re on the same side, everything will come out in the end. I’m sure of it.”
“Well . . .” Anakin said. “I suppose you could be right. You are, once in a while. Occasionally.”
Obi-Wan patted his shoulder. “Farewell, old friend.”
“Master.” Anakin didn’t want him to go. Reassurances or not. “I know I . . . I’ve disappointed you these past few days. I, uh, I haven’t been very appreciative of your training. I’ve been arrogant. My frustration with the Council . . . I know that none of it is your fault, and I apologize. For all of it. Your friendship means everything to me.”
Obi-Wan seemed a bit taken aback by his apology. He raised his eyebrows, blinked, then came back to himself. Smiling, he grasped Anakin’s metallic hand in his own, placing his other hand on his arm, right where the metal met flesh.
“You are wise and strong, Anakin,” he said. “You are a credit to the Jedi Order, and you have far surpassed my humble efforts at instruction.”
“Just the other day, you were saying that my power is no credit to me.”
“I’m not speaking of your power, Anakin,” Obi-Wan said, “but of your heart. The greatness in you is a greatness of spirit. Courage and generosity, compassion and commitment. These are your virtues. You have done great things, and I am very proud of you. I have trained you since you were a small boy. I have taught you everything I know. And you have become a far greater Jedi than I could ever hope to be. But be patient, Anakin. It will not be long before the Council makes you a Jedi Master.”
Anakin gave him a small smile. He appreciated Obi-Wan’s words of encouragement, but he wasn’t sure if he was right. He loved and respected his former Master, but his loyalty and commitment to the Jedi Council often blinded him to their faults. Obi-Wan seemed to think that they were just waiting for the right time to give him the rank of Master, but all Anakin could recall were all the times that the Council had lied, made poor decisions, and gotten in his way; even in just the last few years alone. Lying about Obi-Wan’s death, expelling Ahsoka from the Order before she was even proven guilty, sending Quinlain Vos and Ventress to assassinate Dooku, and now forcing Anakin to spy on the Chancellor. Not a very good track record. Why would this be any different?
Obi-Wan gave him one last smile and nod, then turned to walk onto the boarding ramp that would take him onto the cruiser.
“Obi-Wan,” Anakin said. His old Master stopped and looked back at him expectantly. Anakin hesitated for a moment. He wanted desperately to go with him. Escape Coruscant and all his problems for a few days to fight Grievous and save the galaxy again. But he couldn’t. He had to do the Council’s bidding and find a way to save Padmé. If only he could confide in Obi-Wan about that. But . . . he couldn’t. So, all he said was, “May the Force be with you.”
“Goodbye, old friend,” Obi-Wan said. “May the Force be with you.”
And with that, he walked down the ramp toward the ship’s boarding area, leaving Anakin behind on Coruscant while he went off to Utapau.
As the Vigilance rose high into the sky, passing through Coruscant’s upper atmosphere, Obi-Wan strolled through its main hangar bay alongside Commander Cody, heading towards a gaggle of 212th troopers clustered around his newly issued Eta-2 Actis-class light interceptor. After his old one had been damaged and destroyed in the battle over Coruscant, he’d been issued a new one. This ship was painted deep blue instead of red, and in the socket where astromechs were inserted sat his new droid, R4-G9, who had been loaned to him by Aayla Secura. However, he was expected to return her once the mission was over.
“What do you think, Cody?” Obi-Wan said, his hands clasped behind his back, his robe trailing the ground behind him. “Will this be another wild Bantha chase? Or do we have something actionable this time?”
Cody shrugged, holding his helmet under one arm. “Couldn’t say, sir,” he said. “Captain Ordo briefed me personally. He seemed pretty damn sure of this tip. But . . . I got the sense that this wasn’t urgent news to him.”
Obi-Wan glanced over at his Commander. “What do you mean?”
“I dunno,” Cody said, shaking his head. “It almost seemed like . . . old news to him.”
“It can’t be old news,” Obi-Wan maintained. “Anakin said that Clone Intelligence had only just intercepted a message revealing Grievous’ location. Even the Special Operations Brigade wouldn’t sit on important information like that.”
“Wouldn’t they?” Cody raised an eyebrow.
“Mm,” Obi-Wan stroked his beard. “Fair point. Well, I suppose we can only hope they didn’t sit on the information for too long.”
The two drew even with Obi-Wan’s interceptor. The men standing around it – Boil, Trapper, Valor, Fyn, Chopper, and Sketch – all saluted and R4 let out a high-pitched welcoming whistle.
“At ease,” Obi-Wan said, nodding respectfully as he and Cody joined their group.
“Good to see you, sir,” Lieutenant Valor said. “Ready to get back out there?”
“I’m ready to catch General Grievous,” Obi-Wan corrected gently. It wasn’t for a Jedi to crave adventure and excitement. Certainly not warfare. “Which we’ll hopefully be able to do by this time tomorrow, provided our information is accurate.”
“Guess we’ll have to find out,” said Sergeant Fyn. “What’s our plan?”
“Arfour,” Obi-Wan prompted. On his command, the astromech droid’s holoprojector flicked on. The blue, translucent image of the planet of Utapau appeared before them. “Thank you.” He gestured to the hologram. “We’ll be going to Utapau, as I’m sure you’re all aware. Officially, it’s a neutral planet, but it seems General Grievous has taken up residence there. I will be flying ahead on my own to speak with the new Prime Minister, Tion Medon, to determine where their loyalties lie and see what sort of fortifications – if any – the Separatists have in place. If Grievous is there, he certainly won’t be alone.”
“Alone, sir?” Trapper asked. “Are you sure that’s wise?”
Obi-Wan favored him with a wry smile. “Perhaps not,” he said. “But if we are to capture or kill Grievous, we may need to take a page out of General Skywalker’s handbook.”
“That’s what I like to hear,” Chopper approved, folding his arms and nodding.
“If I go alone, Grievous won’t know we’re coming for him in force,” Obi-Wan explained. “Once I’ve taken stock of the enemy’s forces, I’ll contact the fleet and tell them to start moving in. We’ll hit them with everything we’ve got and I’ll do my best to get my hands on the good General. Any questions?”
“No, sir,” came a chorus of voices.
“Good,” Obi-Wan said.
Cody pointed to a specific region on the planetary map. “Fortunately, most of the cities are concentrated on this small continent here,” he said. “On the far side.”
Obi-Wan nodded. “I’ll keep them distracted until you get there.” He gave Cody a fake stern look as R4 shut down her holoprojector. “Just don’t take too long.”
“Come on,” Cody said, grinning. “When have I ever let you down?”
“Very well,” Obi-Wan chuckled, walking up the length of his interceptor toward the co*ckpit. He stepped up onto the portside wing as the transparasteel canopy opened to allow him to step inside. “The burden is on me not to destroy all the battle droids until you arrive.”
“Good luck, sir,” said Boil, giving him a casual, two-finger salute.
“There’s no such thing as luck, my friend,” Obi-Wan said, settling himself into the interceptor’s co*ckpit and strapping himself in. “But I appreciate the gesture. Take care of yourselves, gentlemen. I expect to see you all when this is over. May the Force be with you.”
He pressed the button for the canopy to slide shut and began to power up the Actis. After running a quick systems check, he was directed to take off. Cody and his men cleared the way, and one of the clone technicians, Switch, gave him the all-clear. The Jedi Master eased forward on the controls, causing the ship to hover off the ground before flying out of the protective shield that separated the hangar from the vacuum of space. He shot up and out of the hangar bay, heading through the fleet patrolling the space around Coruscant and toward the numerous hyperspace transport rings stationed on the edge of Republic territory marked specifically for Jedi use. He carefully connected his interceptor to the ring and began making the preparations to jump to Utapau.
Anakin sat on the comfortable couch in the living room of Padmé’s apartment. He tried to focus on the datapad in his hands, which contained an update on Ahsoka and Rex’s progress on Mandalore. They were faring well, but the siege was dragging on longer than they’d hoped. Maul was confirmed to be in Sundari, but he was currently evading capture. They were stepping up efforts to locate him, but a key source of information, Prime Minister Almec, had been assassinated in the middle of questioning by one of Maul’s cronies. They were currently reassessing their position.
Still, it was hard to focus. He’d had another dream last night. Another vision of Padmé’s death. He saw her lying on her back, covered in sweat with her breaths coming in short, weak pants. Obi-Wan, of all people, was there with her, leaning over her and looking ragged.
“Save your energy,” he urged.
Padmé shook her head, gasping. “I-I can’t.”
“Don’t give up, Padmé.”
Anakin tried to look at their surroundings; find out where they were and what was going on. But everything aside from his Master and his wife was fuzzy – blurred out and unrecognizable. He couldn’t even tell if her child had been delivered or not.
Sighing, Anakin tossed the datapad onto the couch. It was no use. If he couldn’t prevent Padmé from being in a situation where she’d die, he’d just have to be prepared to save her from the brink of death. As if prompted to appear by his thoughts of her, Padmé entered through the main door. She dressed in a long, comfortable navy gown made of wool, folding a black shawl in her hands. He could see the curve of her pregnant stomach as she walked toward him, her hair a stylish cascade of brown curls around her pale face. She was so beautiful, so precious. He couldn’t lose her. He wouldn’t.
“Obi-Wan’s been here, hasn’t he?” Anakin said.
He could feel an echo of his presence in the Force. Not in the apartment itself, but he could tell his former Master had visited quite recently – he’d felt a shadow of his being as he’d entered through the veranda.
“He came by this morning,” Padmé said, briefly placing her hand on his back as she passed behind him, heading off toward the bedroom.
Anakin rose to his feet and followed her, a cloud of confusion and suspicion drifting over his mind. “What did he want?” Why would Obi-Wan come to see Padmé? They were friends, yes, but the Jedi Master didn’t exactly make a habit of visiting Senators in his free time. Whenever the three of them were together, it was almost always for ‘work’ reasons.
Padmé looked back at him, her expression telling him that the answer was obvious. “He’s worried about you,” she said. “He says you’ve been under a lot of stress.”
Well, he doesn’t know the half of it.
But Padmé did. And, unlike Obi-Wan, he didn’t have to keep secrets from her. He sighed, allowing himself to lower the barriers around his mind and heart; barriers which seemed to have become a great deal thicker as of late. More worn. “I feel . . . lost,” he admitted, standing just behind her as she set her shawl down on the bed.
“Lost?” Padmé asked, looking up at him in confusion. “What do you mean?”
Anakin shook his head, stalking toward the windows on the left side of the room. “The Council doesn’t trust me,” he said. “Palpatine doesn’t trust the Council. They’re plotting against each other and both sides are pressuring me and –”
“Surely that’s only your imagination, Anakin,” Padmé said, closing the distance between them. She set one hand on his chest, looking up into his troubled face. “The Jedi Council is the bedrock of the Republic.”
“The bedrock of the Republic is democracy, Padmé,” Anakin countered. Wasn’t that something she’d always said? Always believed in? “Something the Council doesn’t much like when votes don’t go their way. ‘All those who gain power are afraid to lose it.”
Padmé gave him a strange look. Perhaps that didn’t sound much like how Anakin usually spoke. She had to have picked up that he’d heard that phrase from someone, but she didn’t press him about exactly where. “What is this really about?” she asked instead.
“I don’t know,” Anakin said. He leaned forward, balling his metal hand into a fist and placing it against the window. “I’m not the Jedi I should be. I want more. And I know I shouldn’t. I’m one of the most powerful Jedi alive, but it’s not enough. It’ll never be enough, not until –” He broke off, shutting his eyes tightly.
He felt Padmé’s hand on his shoulder and he turned back to her. Reluctantly, but willingly nonetheless. “Until what, my love?” she asked.
“Until I can save you.”
“Save me?”
“From my nightmares,” He placed his hands on her sides, holding her to him gently, as though she were a glass statue that might break if he grasped her too tightly.
“Is that what’s bothering her?” Padmé asked, placing her hand on his jaw.
He locked eyes with her, his every word dripping with his conviction. “I won’t lose you, Padmé,” he vowed. “There might be a way. Something that the Jedi could never teach me.”
“I’m not gonna die in childbirth, Ani,” Padmé assured him. “I promise you.”
“No, I promise you,” Anakin said.
They had spent the last several hours scouring the city only to find nothing. No sign of Maul, Jesse, Gar Saxon, Rook Kast, or any enemy forces. It was as though they had all vanished into thin air. Ahsoka didn’t like that. They were clearly preparing for something. A massive counter attack perhaps? Almec had said that Maul hadn’t planned on any kind of escape. So that had to be it, right? But there was also something else to consider. Maul wanted Anakin. Why? As far as she knew, they’d never come into contact before. Anakin had never faced off against him. Why did Maul want both Obi-Wan and Anakin to come to Mandalore?
So many questions, so few answers.
Ahsoka, Rex, and Bo-Katan stood on a balcony protruding from one side of the Royal Palace, flanked by a few clone troopers and Nite Owls as they overlooked evacuation efforts on the platforms and bridges below. Amidst the debris, blaster scorch marks, and plumes of smoke, clones of the 332nd were shepherding citizens to designated safe areas within the city, where they could be contained and monitored until the siege ended. None of them seemed happy to go, or appreciative of the clone troopers who were guiding them. Many walked with their heads down, others were supported by friends or family, having been wounded during the initial wave of fighting. Even at this distance, Ahsoka could make out their expressions thanks to her keen predator’s eyesight. They were throwing angry, distrustful looks at the clones. Often, their mouths moved, shouting things at them. What exactly they said, she wasn’t sure. But she doubted it was positive.
Bo-Katan pushed away from the railing, looking very unhappy. Ahsoka and Rex followed her.
“This occupation cannot last much longer,” Bo-Katan said as the transparasteel door before her cycled open, allowing them all to step back into the halls of the palace. “The people will not stand for it. I will not stand for it.”
“You asked for our help,” Rex said, a little indignantly. “My men don’t want to be acting as a police force.”
“The Republic forces will depart once we capture Maul,” Ahsoka assured Bo-Katan. They turned a corner and came up against the door to the throne room. “Then you will have your opportunity to lead.”
The door slid open.
The throne room was dark and empty. Light from the city outside shone in through the windows to the left and on the far side of the room, just behind the throne. Sitting upon it, lounging as though he had not a care in the world, was Maul. To his left was Jesse, stripped of his armor from the waist up and kneeling with his hands in front of him in binders.
He looked up as they stepped into the room. “I agree,” he said.
The trio froze.
Before Ahsoka or Rex could do anything, Bo-Katan rushed forward. Dropping her helmet, she pulled her pistols from her holsters and opened fire on the renegade Sith Lord. And yet as her blaster bolts soared toward him, Maul didn’t move. Didn’t draw his lightsaber. Lazily, he waved his hand this way and that, using the Force to redirect the trajectory of the bolts so that they sailed harmlessly to the left and right, never once coming within three meters of him. Then, he held out his hand, palm upward, and Bo-Katan stopped in her tracks. She was lifted bodily of the ground by her torso, her weapons falling from her hands and clattering to the floor.
“My lady,” Maul said, leaning forward and raising one eyebrow, “is that any way to treat your rightful ruler?”
He released her, and Bo-Katan fell to the ground in a heap about halfway between the entry door and the throne. Ahsoka and Rex ran forward, Rex taking the time to grab up her discarded helmet and bringing it with him, his own clipped to his belt. Ahsoka knelt beside Bo-Katan and grasped her upper arm, helping the woman to her feet.
“And now,” Maul said, raising one of his legs and placing it on the seat, “as a show of good faith, I return your comrade in arms to you.” He gestured to Jesse. With a wave of his hand, the binders around the ARC Trooper’s wrists deactivated and fell away. He straightened, looking back at the Zabrak in wary surprise. “Run along. There you go. Back to your brothers.”
Jesse shuffled forward, limping, his weight unevenly distributed. He was clearly wounded in some way, but Ahsoka sensed that physical injuries weren’t what was really troubling him. Maul had done something to his mind. She could sense it in the disquiet that surrounded him like a thick cloak.
“Are you alright, Jesse?” Rex demanded, reaching out to grab his brother’s shoulder as he met them.
“I’m sorry, Commander,” Jesse said, looking miserable. “I couldn’t help it. I told him everything.”
“It’s okay,” Ahsoka told him, placing a comforting hand on his arm. “Rex, get him out of here.”
Rex nodded, and, throwing his arm around Jesse’s shoulders, began to lead him out of the throne room. Ahsoka watched them go. Just then, the floor shook gently, and there was the sound of distant rumbling. The window one the left of the room flared brightly for a moment with yellow light. An explosion. Ahsoka turned her head toward it, but she could see little of what was happening through the semi-opaque glass. Still, she saw more flashes; the sounds of weapons fire and more blasts going off.
Maul looked pointedly at Ahsoka and Bo-Katan. “Uh, one of you might want to deal with that,” he suggested.
They glanced at each other.
“You should go,” Ahsoka said. “Your people need you.”
Maul stood up from the throne. “Don’t stay on my account,” he said. “We’ll be fine.” He walked over toward the floor-to-ceiling windows, giving himself a better view of the chaos that was clearly unfolding in the rest of the city.
Bo-Katan hesitated for a moment, glancing between Maul, Ahsoka, and the battle outside. Ahsoka knew she desperately wanted to take Maul down, but she also knew that it was her duty to lead her people in battle. After a moment, duty won out. Bo-Katan placed her helmet on her head and bolted out the door, off to mount a counterattack. That left only Ahsoka and Maul standing in the throne room.
He stood facing the window, hands clasped behind his back looking out at the battle already raging below. “Look at them,” he said with a sigh. “So blissfully ignorant.”
“Care to tell me what this is all about?” Ahsoka asked. She was getting really tired of his whole mysterious manipulator act. If he could just come right out and say what he wanted, that would be nice. She was almost starting to miss her fights with Ventress. At least those were straightforward. Ah, the good old days. “Or would you rather save it for the Council?”
Maul turned to face her, chuckling. “Oh, no, no,” he shook his head. “You are the one that I wish to speak with.” He walked back to stand in front of the throne, keeping a fair bit of distance between himself and Ahsoka. “Were you not cast out of your Order?”
“I left voluntarily,” Ahsoka countered. It was true that she had been expelled, but she’d been given the chance to come back and denied it. She’d consider that voluntary resignation. Besides, she didn’t want to give him the satisfaction of having accurate information. Especially if he’d hurt Jesse to get it.
“Yes,” Maul said, “but you were motivated to leave by the hypocrisy of the Jedi Council.” Ahsoka kept her mouth shut. There was nothing she could say about that; he was right. “We were both tools for greater powers.”
Ahsoka shook her head, striding forward a few paces. She would not fall prey to his manipulations. “I am here to bring you to justice,” she said, clenching her fists.
“Justice is merely the construct of the current power base,” Maul dismissed as the window flashed with light briefly once again. “A base which, according to my calculations, is about to change.”
“And Darth Sidious is behind it?” Ahsoka asked.
“He is behind everything,” Maul said, and she thought she might’ve detected a hint of fear in his words. “In the shadows, always. But soon, very soon . . . he will reveal himself.”
“With your help, the Jedi can stop Sidious before it’s too late,” Ahsoka said. It was clear Maul had little stake in the Clone Wars – his main goal seemed to be to avoid being crushed underfoot by whatever machinations this Darth Sidious had in motion. If he could be convinced to give insider information on him and his plans to the Jedi, they had a real chance of putting a stop to this mysterious disaster Maul was predicting. He might be a murdering psychopath, but from what Obi-Wan had told her, Sidious seemed to be the bigger fish. He needed to be stopped at any cost.
“Too late for what?” Maul exploded. “The Republic to fall? It already has, and you just can’t see it! There is no law, no order, except for the one that will replace it! The time of the Jedi has passed. They cannot defeat Sidious.” He inhaled deeply, calming himself. His eyes fell back on her. “But together, you and I can.”
What?
Okay, now you really have my attention.
Maul continued. “Every choice you have made . . . has led you to this moment.” And he held out his hand to her, willing her to take it and join him.
Ahsoka weighed her options. Say no, duel him, and abandon any possibility of discovering how he planned to stop Darth Sidious from destroying the Republic. Or . . . join him. Work with her enemy and attempt to stop a greater threat. Any other Jedi might’ve said no. But Ahsoka was no Jedi.
Just then, and explosion rocked the throne room. Bright light flashed once again, and this time the blast was so powerful it shattered the wall of glass that looked out over the city. Tiny shards rained down upon the floor, accompanied by a rush of smoke and ash that seeped in from the din of fighting outside, much louder now that the barrier between them and it had been broken.
Ahsoka looked at Maul. “I will help you,” she said. “But you must answer one question.”
Maul looked momentarily surprised, as though he didn’t actually expect her to accept his offer, then pleased. “You have but to ask,” he said.
“What do you want with Anakin Skywalker?”
“He is the key to everything,” Maul told her.
“To bring balance to the Force?” Ahsoka asked, thinking immediately of the prophecy of the Chosen One. She couldn’t help but think of the perilous trip that she, Anakin, Obi-Wan, and Rex had taken to Mortis, where Anakin had more than proved that he was powerful and worthy enough to fulfill that prophecy. Was that what Maul was sensing?
“To destroy,” Maul corrected, looking slightly taken aback, as though he couldn’t imagine such a response. “He has long been groomed for his role as my Master’s new apprentice.”
Disbelief – immediate and overwhelming – swept through Ahsoka. Anakin Skywalker? Destroy the Republic and the Jedi. Either Maul was more insane than she thought or he was lying. “You lie,” Ahsoka said, deciding that was it.
Maul chuckled, knitting his brows together in apparent confusion. “I’m afraid not,” he said. “In fact, I was so certain of his fate that I orchestrated this war to lure him here with Kenobi to kill him.” He gestured to the battle outside. “Thus, depriving Sidious of his prized pupil.”
Ahsoka watched him for a moment. He didn’t seem to believe himself to be lying. Which meant he was just crazy. “I know Anakin,” Ahsoka said. She reached for her lightsabers, drawing them from her belt and igniting them. She dropped into an attack stance, her legs spread wide, ‘sabers crossed before her. “Your vision is flawed.”
Maul growled, his teeth clenched together. “I see the Padawan needs one last lesson,” he said. Reaching down to his belt, he withdrew his long, double-bladed lightsaber hilt. Holding it horizontally before him, he flicked on both of its emitters, causing a bright, crimson blade to emerge from each end.
With a deep growl, he lunged forward, twirling his weapon and slashing at Ahsoka with a direct attack pattern. She immediately backed away, blocking Maul’s powerful blows with a flurry of defensive moves, moving back toward the middle of the throne room. She continued parrying, bending backward to duck a swipe that would’ve decapitated her before mounting an attack of her own. Using her two ‘sabers, she stabbed and slashed at the Zabrak warrior, catching his blade and striding forward again, gaining a bit of ground on him.
Ahsoka had fought several people with a lightsaber – both in training sessions and in real combat, and the only two opponents who came close to matching Maul’s skill, fury, and power were Anakin and Grievous. But Maul was not her Master, and unlike Grievous, he had the ability to use the Force. If she wanted to beat him, let alone survive this fight, she’d have to be smart about it. Gritting her teeth, Ahsoka deflected one of Maul’s blows with her shoto and slashed at him with her main ‘saber, spinning in place to meet his blade in an overhead strike. As she stopped him, Maul managed to get one of his arms past her defense and drove his elbow into her face.
Stunned, momentarily blinded by pain, Ahsoka stumbled backward. Her grip on her lightsabers loosened, and Maul used that opportunity to knock her main weapon from her hand using his lightsaber hilt. The blade shut off with a hiss, the hilt flying into the air before clattering to the metal floor several meters away. Blinking to clear her vision, Ahsoka quickly backed away from Maul, who was advancing on her, twirling his double-bladed ‘saber in a figure-eight, trying to slice her in two. She deflected his strikes as best she could using only her shoto, dodging those she couldn’t. Maul pressed her hard, knowing that her position was weak. The speed of their combat reached a frenetic, desperate level, their brightly colored blades and even their bodies turning to blurs that most normal people wouldn’t be able to keep track of.
As Maul swiped at her legs, Ahsoka leapt over the red lightsaber at the level of her knees and twirled in the air, delivering a swift kick to his face. The Zabrak let out a grunt of pain and backed up a few steps, their duel drawing to a temporary halt. Using the brief moment of respite, Ahsoka’s eyes alighted on her discarded lightsaber, lying inert on the ground behind Maul. She reached out her empty hand, calling on the power of the Force and drawing her weapon toward her. It shook, then sailed off the ground, igniting in mid air as it shot towards Maul’s back. He realized what she was doing in leapt aside, dodging just before the tip of the lightsaber pierced him. Though she hadn’t managed to scewer her opponent, Ahsoka still safely caught the lightsaber hilt, facing Maul with both her weapons once more.
“You’re lucky Anakin didn’t show up,” she remarked, holding a wide stance and locking eyes with him, projecting an air of confidence she didn’t totally feel. “The way you’re fighting, you wouldn’t have lasted long.”
Both of them began to pace, circling each other; eyes locked and narrowed, fingers tightly gripping their lightsabers.
“Oh, you have Kenobi’s arrogance,” Maul snarled. He grabbed his weapon with both hands, making ready to strike again.
Ahsoka bent her knees, crouching as she made ready to resume combat. “You’ll find I have many qualities for you to dislike,” she said.
Before he could strike, she swung at him, taking the initiative in their fight and pressing the attack with renewed vigor. The floor shook slightly from the explosions outside as Ahsoka pushed forward, swinging her weapons at Maul and driving him back toward the steps in front of the throne. He attempted to switch their roles – go on the attack – but Ahsoka blocked him each time, keeping herself on offense and him on defense.
He came at her, swinging his double-bladed weapon in front of him, angled downward to cut at her legs. Ahsoka shot backward, performing a series of backward cartwheels. Landing on her feet, she raised her two lightsabers and caught Maul’s last strike on both her blades, holding him in place for a moment before breaking the clash, ducking underneath his swing and darting behind him, hoping to get in a cheap strike while he was recovering. But it turned out he was quicker than even she thought. Maul twisted around and delivered a powerful overhead blow, putting all his strength into it.
The three blades hissed and sputtered as they were pressed against one another, Maul bearing down on Ahsoka, his face screwed up in concentration and rage. Ahsoka felt him winning, felt him pressing her back.
Subverting Maul’s expectation, she allowed her legs to go limp, falling back onto the ground and taking the Zabrak with her. Bringing her feet up, she placed them against Maul’s torso and, with a gigantic, Force-assisted push, tossed him up over her in the direction of the throne. There was a huge crash as he sailed over the top of the throne and through the stained-glass window behind it, disappearing from view.
Breathing heavily, Ahsoka pushed herself onto her hands and knees, looking at the hole. This was the toughest, most frenetic fight she’d had in a long time. And it wasn’t over yet. She still had to catch him. Rallying, she rose to her feet and leapt over the throne, jumping through the hole to chase after Maul.
She found herself sliding down the slanted roof of the Royal Palace and drove her lightsaber into the metal, slowing her descent until she reached a flat area that she was able to stand on. Looking out, she saw that the surrounding city blocks were consumed in utter chaos. Debris and bodies lay everywhere, there were smoking, blacked craters in buildings and streets, and clone troopers and Mandalorians did close-quarters battle everywhere she looked, both sides leveraging jet packs to try and gain the upper hand. Overhead, Bo-Katan’s Nite Owls swooped in with the support of several squadrons of LAAT/is, arriving to reinforce their allies.
Yet, through everything, she did not spot Maul amidst the battle below. Turning her gaze upward, Ahsoka saw him. He was climbing onto the roof of a building to the right, his lightsaber deactivated. He was not descending to participate in the battle and turn the tide, he was using it as cover to escape. Maybe now that he saw Ahsoka wasn’t going to help him in his crazy, misguided plan, he had decided to cut his losses and slip away.
Well, she was not about to let that happen.
She made after him, using the Force to leap onto the building he’d climbed to. Up and up they went. He seemed to be making a break for the system of support beams and walkways near the top of the dome that separated Sundari from the hostile environment outside. There must be a ship coming to retrieve him.
Very slippery. He’s willing to sacrifice all his allies just so he can get away.
Ahsoka had obviously made the right choice in not siding with him. If he’d cut the Mandalorians off when the going got tough, what would have stopped him from doing the same to her?
She reached the latticework of metal beams just a few meters behind Maul, would was striding forward toward the apex of the dome, balancing on a walkway only a few inches wide. As she approached from behind, his wristcomm began to beep. Maul pressed the receiver, holding the device close to his mouth, yet the volume was loud enough for Ahsoka to overhear.
“Lord Maul!” came a distressed male voice surrounded by a cacophony of yells and blaster fire. “I need backup. Our forces are falling. We need your support.”
“No, I think not,” Maul replied calmly, still striding forward. “Any moment my ship will be arriving. Die well, Mandalorian.”
“No! Wait –”
But Maul cut the link.
Ahsoka chose that moment to ignite her ‘sabers once more, announcing her presence. Maul stiffened, turning back around to glare at her, looking more annoyed than anything else.
“Obi-Wan was right,” Ahsoka said, scowling. “You are difficult to kill.”
And she ran at him. Maul held his ground, flicking his own weapon to life and waiting for her to meet him in combat again. Her feet nimbly carrying her over the metallic beam, Ahsoka closed the several-meter gap between them in just a few moments before launching herself into the air, bringing both her lightsabers down toward Maul’s head.
He met her ‘saber with his own, bringing it up to block her attack. Their weapons clashed with a flash of bright light. Maul broke the clash almost immediately, twirling his lightsaber before swinging at Ahsoka, driving her back onto an adjoining beam, pushing forward until he stood upon a circular spoke joining eight beams and Ahsoka stood only on one of the metal poles.
He had the advantage.
Now, Ahsoka couldn’t have that. She stepped back toward him, quickly exchanging another flurry of strikes and parries, pirouetting to face him while balancing on the edge of the spoke. As he turned back around to face her, Maul spun his lightsaber, slashing at the edge of the beams at their feet. Like an animal backed into a corner, his strikes were more dangerous now; faster, with more power behind them. As he rushed her, Ahsoka leapt over his head, landing back on top of the spoke but momentarily stumbling, losing her footing. It was only for the briefest of moments, but the sensation of falling backward sent her stomach lurching into her throat.
Still, she managed to regain her balance just in time to meet Maul’s blade again. She held her ground, maintaining her position on the spoke and keeping Maul balancing on the beams that stretched out from it.
“We could have destroyed Sidious!” Maul bellowed at her.
“Only for you to take his place!” Ahsoka shot back.
She stepped forward but Maul met her halfway, twisting his weapon violently and catching her offhand blade. She backed up a few steps, deflecting and ducking his follow-up swipe and leveraging both her lightsabers to block the next several strikes he threw at her. As he was winding up to strike again, Ahsoka smacked him in the mouth with the hilt of her shoto, then delivered a swift kick to his chest.
Maul fell backward, but hopped backward, catching himself on one of the beams just past the spoke. Ahsoka saw her opening and took it, leaping forward and again driving both of her ‘sabers into Maul’s. But he was ready for her. Instead of locking place, the Zabrak pushed her back with all his might, throwing her through the air. Ahsoka hit the beam, the momentum pulling her body down over empty air. Her ‘sabers deactivated, she scrambled to wrap her arms around the metal, holding desperately to it to prevent herself from falling into the city far below. Maul made ready to deliver the killing blow, but just then, a bright spotlight shone down upon the pair of them. Looking up and squinting her eyes, Ahsoka saw the silhouette of a Gauntlet fighter hovering just past the tinted transparasteel dome, waiting.
“Lord Maul,” said a female voice over the ship’s loudspeakers, “we must depart immediately.”
Without any further prompting, Maul darted upward, scaling one of the slanted poles that attached the beams to the dome, heading for the top. Ahsoka pulled herself back onto the beam, steadying herself before running up after him. As Maul slashed his lightsaber against the roof of the dome, opening a large hole in its polarized surface, she jumped at him, kicking him in the chest after launching herself off of an adjacent pole.
Both of them fell about a meter, back onto the spiderweb of beams. Ahsoka managed to land on her feet, while Maul only just caught himself by wrapping his arms around the metal before pulling himself into upward once again. In a flash, his ‘saber was in his hand and reactivated. They came together yet again, exchanging a flurry of powerful blows as they were illuminated by the spotlight that still shone down on them from above.
Suddenly, one of Maul’s hands shot out, grasping Ahsoka’s right forearm and clenching down hard. If she wasn’t wearing a bracer, he might’ve snapped her wrist. Her hand spasmed, causing her to drop her lightsaber. It fell through the air, spinning and deactivating as it plummeted toward the city streets far below, leaving her with just her shoto.
Gritting her teeth, she wrenched herself free of Maul’s grasp and slashed at him. But he met her short blade with his much longer one. Even with both hands, she wasn’t able to match him. With a flick of his lightsaber, he caused her to lose her grip on her remaining weapon. It flew from her hand, joining the other one in plummeting toward the ground below. Maul flourished his weapon, making a clean cut in the beam between the two of them. Her half of the metal pole sagged dangerously, dropping her a few inches.
Ahsoka threw her arms out to the side, trying to maintain her balance.
Maul gathered himself and jumped into the air, flipping over Ahsoka’s head and landing on the beam a meter behind her, his weight causing it to drop another several inches. Ahsoka expected him to lunge at her one last time, but instead, he straightened. Dropping his lightsaber to his side, he extended one hand down toward her.
“I give you one last chance,” Maul said. “Join me . . . or die.”
If those were the two options, there was only one answer Ahsoka was prepared to give.
“Never.”
With a snarl, Maul lunged at her, brandishing his lightsaber. Ahsoka ducked and dodged, avoiding the arc of his blade as he swiped at her, jumping to prevent him from cutting at her legs and backing up to the very edge of the beam. As Maul came at her again, she grabbed the long hilt of his lightsaber, leveraging his momentum to yank his body toward her. With a yell, Maul lost his balance and plummeted off the beam, his lightsaber shaving off a few extra inches of metal as it spun out of his hand, deactivating as he released it.
But Ahsoka wanted him alive, just like Obi-Wan said.
Reaching out her hand, Ahsoka called upon the Force. The Zabrak’s flailing body stopped falling. He hovered out over an empty void just a few meters below her, held up by an invisible hand grasping his chest.
“Let me go!” he shouted up at her, a hint of desperation in his voice. Ahsoka’s mouth fell open, shocked at his demand. Let him go? “Let me die!”
As if on cue, a trio of gunships appeared, flying upward toward them from the city below and training their hull-mounted spotlights on the pair. As he heard their distinctive drive noises, Maul thrashed around, craning his neck to watch them, real panic contorting his features. The LAAT/is drew even with him, opening their bay doors to reveal several squads of clone troopers and Nite Owls waiting inside, including Commander Rex.
“You’re all going to burn!” Maul screamed. “We’re all going to die!” At Rex’s signal, two of the Nite Owls raised their gauntlets and fired off their wrist-mounted grappling hooks. The wires snaked around Maul, binding his arms to his torso. “You don’t know what you’re doing!”
Before he could say more, Rex raised a DC-15 carbine and fired. A ring-shaped stun round shot out of the barrel, striking Maul and sending a quick electrical pulse throughout his body. Instantly, he went quiet and limp, his head lolling as all his muscles relaxed. Ahsoka released her hold on him with the Force, letting out a breath she hadn’t been aware she’d been holding in. Maul fell a few feet downward before the grappling cables snapped taught, leaving him dangling a few meters below the hull of Rex’s gunship.
They’d caught him.
“We’ll take it from here, Commander!” Rex said, looking up at her.
Ahsoka sighed, giving him a tired but reassuring nod. The two Nite Owls, assisted by Rex, Kano, and Blink, began to reel the unconscious Maul back into the gunship’s troop bay as the transport ship made a mid-air U-turn, angling itself so that began to fly back into the main part of the city.
Ahsoka, for her part, straightened, casting her gaze upward toward the hole in Sundari’s dome. The transport ship that had been waiting for Maul had taken flight, apparently realizing that he wasn’t coming and that waiting around would be a bad idea. Now, only moonlight shone in through the gaping breach; down onto Ahsoka. What was Maul raving about? Why was he so certain that Darth Sidious was going to overthrow the Republic and control the galaxy? Why in the hell did he think Anakin Skywalker of all people was going to become his new apprentice? She had a lot of questions for him. And so would the Jedi Council.
She and Rex needed to get back to Coruscant. As soon as possible.
