Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters mentioned here (except for Draxos). The entire Star Wars universe belongs to George Lucas.
AN: Historic moment! My first Fan Fiction! Hope it gets at least one review!
Chapter 1 - Felucia
High above the forest floor with its covering of blue mosses and pink fungi, Maris crouched amongst the upper limbs of one of the jungle's mightiest trees and reached out to pluck one of its soft-skinned round fruits from a nearby branch. She twisted it to break it free and then sank her teeth into its moist scarlet flesh. She chewed slowly, savouring its delicate flavour as she looked out over the forest canopy. The sun was setting over the vast jungle of Felucia and its dying light poured across the endless sea of plants and trees. Pink juices dripped from Maris' lips and fingers as she admired the kaleidoscopic range of colours that danced across the canopy. For someone who had never seen it before, it would have been a truly breathtaking sight.
This wasn't Maris' first experience of a Felucian sunset. During her time on this world she had seen hundreds, perhaps thousands. She had spent much of her young life on Felucia. She and her master, Shaak Ti, had fled to this distant world after "Order 66": the Emperor's act of merciless genocide that all but destroyed the Jedi order. In many ways it was the perfect refuge for the two fugitive Jedi as it was almost totally covered in dense jungle in which they could hide themselves from Imperial troops, and apart from the primitive native tribes and a scattered handful of badly manned Imperial outposts it was totally uninhabited. Maris had been just six years old at the time, a youngling whose Jedi training had only just begun. But as the years had passed, her master taught her the ways of the Force and she had grown into a powerful young Jedi. As Maris grew older, her thoughts had turned to retribution and she became determined to seek vengeance for her fallen brothers and sisters by spilling as much blood as possible. Eventually though, the isolation of Felucia had led her to believe that the Empire would never discover them. That was until a year ago, when a lone Sith assassin, some pawn of Vader's had come to Felucia and killed Shaak Ti. Alone and afraid, the allure of the Dark Side had proved too great a temptation for Maris and she had turned away from the light. But after the same assassin returned to Felucia and nearly killed Maris herself, she had abandoned the Dark Side. Since then, the lines between light and dark had seemed less clear cut. Maris had drawn on the Force to keep herself alive, whether it was good or evil was unimportant.
The last year had been a continuous fight for survival in an ever more dangerous environment. Maris had been forced to hunt and forage for food, fashion new clothes for herself when necessary, and fend off a plethora of dangerous wildlife, all without any assistance or companionship. The native Felucians, with whom she and her master had previously lived in peace, had become progressively more hostile and it was only after Maris had killed a sufficient number of them that they had learned to give her a wide berth. Every aspect of her ability to survive had been tested to its limit, but Maris had proved strong and had lived through a whole year of solitude on Felucia.
She lay back against the gnarled trunk of the ancient tree and closed her eyes, letting the orange warmth of the sunset wash pleasantly over her. Maris was young. She wasn't sure of her precise age, but her reflection told her that she was still very much a young woman. Her reflection also told her that she was beautiful. Her skin was milky white and her face was soft and innocent with golden-yellow eyes and full lips which she painstakingly painted black every morning. She had black hair, tied back in an intricate pattern of plaits and braids which partially concealed a crown of small red horns which protruded from her head. She wore very few clothes, just a makeshift bra which barely contained the generous curve of her breasts, and a skimpy loincloth that only just concealed her loins and left a significant portion of her shapely buttocks uncovered. Much of her curvaceous figure was left seductively exposed.
All around her was silence as she lay with her eyes closed, the soft breeze caressing her naked skin. There was no sound at all except for the gentle rustling of leaves and the far-off screech of some animal. Then suddenly, she heard a noise in the distance. It began as a quiet, far off rumbling that only someone with her heightened senses would have heard, but as it drew closer it grew steadily louder and louder, rising to a deafening crescendo. Maris recognised it as the sound of starship engines and she was proved correct as a black ship roared overhead. Its design was sleek and bladelike, with sharply edged wings that curved smoothly back from its dark hull. She watched as it flew on, carving through the air until it slowed and came to land in a nearby clearing. The ship was totally unlike anything she had seen before and she wondered what it could be, it certainly wasn't an Imperial ship. Whatever it was, Maris knew that she had to investigate. Whether its intentions were malicious or benign, that ship could be her only way of getting off Felucia. If it came to a fight then she was more than prepared to kill, a ship that size couldn't have a large crew and it would be a small price to pay if it meant getting away from this godforsaken planet.
She leapt from the tree, falling gracefully through the leafy canopy before landing, cat-like on the forest floor, her impact causing a small cloud of pinkish spores to rise up from the moss-covered ground. She set off running at a ground-eating pace, leaping over fallen tree trunks and dodging the low hanging tendrils of outlandish fungi as she went. As she neared the clearing she could hear the dying shriek of the ship's engines. She crashed through a silvery web that spanned the distance between two trees and found herself at the clearing's edge. She saw the mysterious black ship standing in the centre of the small patch of blue grass and it reminded her of some great predatory bird at rest. She also saw that she was not the only one who had come to investigate. A group of around ten Felucian warriors had gathered in front of the ship, all of them armed with the primitive weapons of wood and bone that were common on this world. Maris kept to the undergrowth, keen to stay hidden, and watched as the ship's engines powered down, their noise fading until the clearing was once again silent. For a few moments, nothing happened. Then with a dull mechanical whirr, the ship's embarkation ramp lowered and hit the ground with a resounding metallic clang.
Footsteps sounded from inside the ship, then a figure stepped out of its shadowy depths and walked calmly down the ramp. She could tell from his build that he was a man, but the rest of his features were hidden by a silver helmet that completely covered his head. It had a t-shaped visor and a slightly elongated front section with a metal grille over the place where his mouth would be. Segmented silver body armour protected his chest, each of the segmented plates had the same curved shape that tapered to a sharp central point and overlapped the plate below it. He also sported gauntlets and greaves of the same segmented style, and a ragged black robe that hung open at the front. Reaching out with the Force, Maris could immediately sense that he was a man of great strength. The intensity of the Force that surrounded him was astonishing. She felt the brutality of the Dark Side, but she could also feel the serenity of the Light Side, two forces that would normally repel each other, but in this individual seemed to co-exist almost harmoniously. For a brief moment the wind blew back his cloak and gave Maris a fleeting glimpse of the weapon that hung at his waist, the shining hilt of a lightsaber. That explained why the Force was so strong with him, but try as she might, Maris could not pick out whether he was Jedi or Sith? What she did know however, was that whichever path he walked, he was a force to be reckoned with.
He stopped when he reached the bottom of the ramp and looked at the surrounding Felucians, as if he were deciding how much of a threat they were. The Felucians fidgeted, the plant like fronds that sprouted from their heads and bodies trembled and they tightened their grip on their primitive weapons. Then, the largest of them chirped an order in their bizarre, ethereal language and without warning, the whole group charged, loping madly forward to kill the intruder. The stranger did not even flinch as the enraged Felucians ran towards him. He didn't so much as move until the lead warrior was just a few feet away. Then, with inhuman speed, he pulled the lightsaber from his belt and the deadly glowing blade flashed into life. His lightsaber blade was white, something Maris had never seen before, and it crackled as it cut through the neck of the lead Felucian, sending its head bouncing across the clearing. He leapt over its corpse and ran forward to plunge his lightsaber into the belly of the next Felucian, who fell screaming as he wrenched the blade free and brought it around in a backslash that carved through the chest of a third. Three of them charged him at once, one of them raised its weapon, but the stranger was too quick and with two swift strokes he sliced off his opponent's sword arm and then slashed through its belly, spilling its steaming guts out on to the ground. He stretched his empty hand out towards its two remaining comrades, who were now backing away slowly. Lightning arced from his fingertips, a web of burning, blue bolts that engulfed the two Felucians, who screamed pitifully as their bodies were wracked by violent convulsions. After a few seconds he dropped his hand to his side, the lighting disappeared and the two Felucians dropped two the ground, twitching as they died. Those few Felucians that were still alive, on seeing their best warriors butchered with such ease, turned tail and fled into the jungle. Calmly, the stranger deactivated his lightsaber and tucked it back inside his robe. Then, he turned and stared directly at the spot where Maris had concealed herself. He spoke, in a voice that was made harsh and grating by its translation through the grille of his helmet: "I know you are there so trying to hide yourself from me is useless. Show yourself.".
Maris cursed herself for being so foolish. She should have known that anyone with whom the Force was so strong would have immediately felt the presence of another Force user nearby. She knew that she had to go forward and confront him. He might try to kill her on sight and if he did he would probably succeed, but it was a risk that she would have to take if she was ever going to get away from Felucia. Her heart was pounding and her hands unconsciously moved to the twin, short bladed lightsabers that hung from a rope belt tied about her waist as she took a deep breath and stepped into the clearing.
"Are you Maris Brood," asked the stranger, "the Jedi?"
"I am." she replied, her hear thumping in her ears.
"My name is Draxos. I understand that you have been here for quite some time."
"You could say that." she replied, feeling somewhat confused. She had expected him to attack her, not to engage her in conversation.
"Well, if you want to get off this world then follow me, I have a proposition to put to you." And with that, he turned on his heel and walked back up the ramp into his ship. Maris didn't need to be told twice. This was the chance she had been waiting for, a chance to get off Felucia. Whatever his offer was, it had to be better than this place. Without a moment's hesitation, she jogged up the ramp and followed Draxos into the black ship.