Anais and Darth Maul

by kriskris8069

The young slave Anais survives a massacre and becomes the personal slave of the Sith Darth Maul: he will take care of her, but she will have to respect some rules if she does not want to be punished. However Anais is not only a slave, but she hides something mysterious inside her, which dates back to when she was very small.

21. General Seth's plan - part 5

Darth Maul searched through the computer of the Scimitar for any information that could be somehow related to the New Horizon that Shahan Alama spoken of, but found absolutely nothing.

He began to get nervous.

He admit that General Seth had a fair amount of courage to put a plan like that into action. Darth Maul Always doubts about the man, especially since he discovered that a Jedi master, taught him the sword use. As a result, Seth certainly had connections among the Jedi and somehow, he placed himself alongside the Separatists, showing loyalty to the leader, but behaving like a traitor. Darth Maul was overcome by a shiver of hatred and contempt: Jedi and traitor ... two truly terrible things, which made him feel the desire to fight and kill him. Returning to Anais, he still wondered why he kidnapped her… that he was interested in his slave was quite evident, because he always tried to talk to her every time he went to Dariba. But what he said to her during these brief exchanges of conversation ... that remained a mystery! That Anais agreed with him was out of the question ... she was too afraid to accept any kind of plan that could or could not make her escape ... "And then ..." he thought, clenching his right hand ... "And then after all that ... after all I begun to share with her ... "Darth Maul thought of trust ... but above all, that part of his feelings that he would never, ever be able to show someone else ... no Anais could not have betrayed him like this, he did not consider her a person capable of doing so.

General Seth would pay for this affront with his life: how he allowed himself to take his little slave away from him?

Now he was really beginning to feel the need to see her again, to be with her ... a day passed since she was kidnapped, he hadn't eaten or rested a bit, but he didn't have time to do it.

He tried to imagine how afraid she must felt ... sometimes a glance was enough to terrify her! He wished that no one hurt her, that no one dared to take advantage of her physically ... this last thought made him terribly angry ... Anais was his, she belonged to him and no one could or should hurt her, no one make her suffer !

But very soon … he would see her eyes again, her smile, he could smell her scent again and hold her little body in his arms because once she got back to Coruscant, he would finally kiss her ... yes! This time he would!

But now there was still this cursed spaceship to be found!

Darth Maul couldn't find any information about it ... he thought of who might know something ... of all the people he knew ... at last he thought of Razoo Qin-Fee of the Kanjiklub gang: between himself and his boss, Tasu Leech, perhaps he could find out more.

He took your transceiver and called him.

Tasu Leech appeared and greeted him:

-Hello Lord Maul ... do we have any mission to accomplish? -

Darth Maul quickly studied the figure in front of him: a bad-tempered thug who grew up on Nar Kanji held on his position as leader of the Kanjiklub gang without ever showing signs of weakness:

-New Horizon -Darth Maul said strictly without mincing words.

Tasu Leech was used to reasoning with him, always in a few words ... almost monosyllabic ... he was never able to formulate a complete question, but he always left it up to people to guess what he needed or what he wanted to talk about -Are you wondering if I know a spaceship called New Horizon?-Darth Maul nodded.

Tasu Leech laughed:

-I see you've set your eyes on something very special! -

Darth Maul was beginning to get tired: he didn't like turns of phrase, he was used to going straight to the point and the look he gave to Tasu, in a moment, not only annoyed his laugh, but forced him to ask the question that he wanted hear:

-What do you want to know?-

"Now it's better!" he thought satisfied.

-Where is it? - he asked.

-Well ... I don't know! - Tasu smiled in amazement: - And how could I know ... it could be anywhere! It hides ... from the outside it looks like a trivial cargo spaceship ... I have to do some research to be able to give you a precise answer, I have to ... -

-Then do it! - Darth Maul growled showing him his teeth: - And do it quickly! -

Tasu felt himself go out of air for a few seconds, although Lord Maul's image was just a holographic image ... the look and facial expression, as well as the tone of his voice ... made him tremble and for a moment he thought about what it meant to have him as an enemy rather than an ally.

-Okay ... as soon as I know something more precise, I'll let you know-

That said, Tasu disappeared and Darth Maul went back to do his research, although he knew that without Tasu Leech's help he could discover very little.

Darth Maul waited few hours before the man called him back. He spent his time thinking about many things, but above all about Anais, about what characterized their slave / master relationship that over time transformed, taking the form of something more than a simple obligation. He thought for a long time about what he feeling inside himself since he met her: initially, it was to be just a sexual outlet, a servant, dedicated to services in his mansion on Coruscant, personification of his power, of his greatness because he decided that she had to live, but had to remain expendable, he would to feel no compassion or pain in case it was necessary to kill her. But something inside him changed ... now he would never be able to kill her or harm her ... Anais was the only creature who had been able to accept him for who he was, able to smile at him even though he was a killer, even ready to kill her. Now Darth Maul wanted her, wanted her body ... soon he would join her if, of course, she wanted him, otherwise ... otherwise he might taken her body by force, he had the power to do it ... he was his master ... but it wouldn't have been the same ... it is true that he would vented his instincts, but there would not be the same emotional involvement that he wanted to feel, that he needed now ... There never been caresses for him, only violence, only malice, only hatred, only much pain ... that time who rested his head on Anais's breast, had felt a warmth and a physical and mental pleasure that he never experienced before ... feel the small body of his slave, her delicate warmth, her perfume, feel her arms that held him, feel his small and thin fingers on his head, touch his horns ... all this had been a unique emotion that he wanted to try again, to repeat.

Darth Maul looked at the console of his spaceship, observed the little red lights that went on and off, but there was no signal from his transceiver among them.

That was still off.

He thought irritably how long it would take Tasu Leech to find that information. That man frequented the worst scum in the galaxy, pirates, smugglers of spices, weapons, slaves ... he was always on the move so through his knowledge, he could easily trace the position of the New Horizon. And if he didn't find anything useful, how would he move ... how could he find his Anais? He could have transmigrated from planet to planet, but this thing would taken him time and he had no time ... he did not know General Seth's intentions ... as far as he knew, at this moment, it could also harm his little slave and this thought, made him terribly angry forcing him to get up from his command chair. Then he tried to recover his calm.

He went back to the thoughts he was having before.

But it wasn't just Anais's body he wanted ... he wanted her mind to be his too ... he wanted that when he joined her, Anais's thoughts and emotions could also become one with his ... a fusion that with her would never been possible because he could not read her mind ... he became irritated thinking about this limit. Then suddenly, he remembered that there was a Zabrak ritual that his mother told him about and which allowed the body and mind to be merged into one. It was the most powerful Zabrak mating ritual, the final act, the final one, when a male and a female wished to be united forever ... only by killing one of them, the other could consider himself free again, otherwise, this type of union would be eternal.

Darth Maul smiled.

It was too much even for Anais ... after all, she was just his slave. And besides, she was human, his mother would never allowed such a union. And he, like Sith, didn't absolutely need it ... but like Zabrak?

He closed his eyes, trying to ward off these thoughts, trying to keep himself focused ... he watched that red light go on and off ... the red light on his transceiver had finally lit up! Tasu Leech was calling him !

Darth Maul vaporized his thoughts in an instant, freeing his mind, to let his emotions of revenge, of hatred, of anger quickly take their place.

He hit that little red button and Tasu Leech's hologram appeared in front of him:

-Speak! - he said growling, holding his teeth clenched.

Tasu Leech knew that the Sith would never take too many turns, so he immediately got to the point:

-The spaceship you are looking for is close to Corellia ... - it was all he needed.

There was a few seconds of silence.

-May I ask you why are you looking for the New Horizon? - Tasu Leech asked him curiously, also taking advantage of that confidence that over the years, he had managed to have with him, although his terrible character: - The New Horizon is a powerful warship ... I was able to find out where it is only because outwardly it looks like a cargo ship, and it has not escaped the eyes of some pirates ... but not many had the pleasure of seeing it ... and at the same time surviving, to be able to tell about it ... inside there are droves of droids ... -Tasu chuckled. Darth Maul looked at the small holographic figure.

-It's a personal matter ... -he replied annoyed.

-If you want we can join you to recover what you need ... what is it? A prisoner of war? Of a politician? Or just data ..? Was your master who asked you? -

Darth Maul growled: the thought of his master made him annoyed. If he known that he would soon destroy the New Horizon forever and kill the spy he spoke of ... he would been proud of him, but of the fact that he would also brought his slave home ... no, it was a detail that shouldn't interested him.

Tasu Leech's proposal did not anger him, on the contrary he felt satisfaction in thinking that his men were willing to work with him, but that was really a private matter:

-No! - he said harshly: -I'll take care of it personally! -

- Okay then! But let me tell you to be careful: it will not be easy to board that spaceship ... My lord, if you need us, you know where to find us! -And Tasu Leech greeted him bringing the fist of his right arm up to the left shoulder with a decisive gesture.

Said that, his image disappeared.

Darth Maul quickly set the coordinates for the Corellia system and the Scimitar entered hyperspace.

"General Seth…. Your minutes are numbered!" He thought to himself without hiding a malicious smile. He couldn't wait to meet him, to fight him, to vent all his anger and to see him die passing him from side to side with his lightsaber, but above all ... he couldn't wait to meet his little slave, his Anais whom he would soon bring back to Coruscant.

After a few hours, the Scimitar came out of hyperspace and Darth Maul found himself facing Corellian System, of which Corellia, was the capital planet.

The planets that were part of Corellian System were five in all, all almost totally inhabited. Since piracy and smuggling were one of the favorite professions of the Corellians, this explains how Tasu Leech was able, through his friendships among the pirates, to trace the position of the New Horizon.

The New Horizon could be anywhere in Corellian system: the main source of the system's economy was the construction of spaceships, so General Seth's spaceship could be hidden within the shipyards present on each of the five planets.

Darth Maul growled, clenching his fists, avoiding another blow to the console.

That damned General Seth studied his plan really well!

Darth Maul had to be able to find the ship's position as quickly as possible, before the New Horizon left Corellian System, otherwise he would no longer have a great chance of tracking Anais, it would taken days, months ... maybe even years before to find out where the spaceship was again!

The only way to find it quickly remained to transmigrate and bring the mind into Corellian System. Moving with the Scimitar, although hidden, would not been easy and in any case, it would not been able to approach the construction sites to verify the presence of the spaceship inside them. In addition, General Seth's ship did not have the name "New Horizon" written outside, so it would not been easy to identify it, compared to all the other cargo ships present practically everywhere ... transmigrating with the mind, however, could perceived more, even coming to hear Anais's voice, if she been aboard the spaceship. Obviously he would need a lot of concentration to do that, but that wasn't a problem, Darth Maul smiled, confident in his power. Evidently, General Seth must been part of CorSec, the Corellian Security Force, which ensured public peace, which was very organized: he must been sent, undercover, to guard the leader of the Separatists. "Good!" Darth Maul thought as he took off his black cloak and sat down in the center of the cockpit. He crossed his legs and slowly placed his hands on his knees "It will be a real pleasure to eliminate General Seth, traitor to the Separatists and ally of the Republic!"

This was his last thought, before completely emptying his mind of his reasoning, his anxieties and above all his emotions of revenge, hatred and anger that simmered like burning lava in his veins. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath.

When all the air escaped from his lungs, Darth Maul turned his mind away from his body, saw himself sitting in the center of the cockpit, focused, rigidly composed. Without wasting any more time, he jumped out of his spaceship and flew away from it, moving into deep space. He soared to all five planets: the first was Selonia, the industrial world, with its many small islands surrounded by one great ocean. To solve this obstacle, the Selonians dug a network of tunnels under the surface of the planet, thus facilitating contact between their peoples. Darth Maul flew over the planet with its oceans rumored to be inhabited by sea monsters, saw its amazing volcanic mountain range called Cloudland Peaks, then his attention was drawn to the orbital shipyards operating above: he searched carefully, moving between one and the other, he read the name of each ship that was inside and outside the shipyards.

But no trace of the New Horizon.

Lord Maul's mind shifted again, this time to Talus and Tralus.

Talus was very similar to Corellia. It had forests, grassy plains, and mud flats.

It was about the same size as its sister planet, Tralus. Both orbited around a common center of gravity and together were known as the double worlds. But even in this case, the New Horizon wasn't there!

Now it was Corellia's turn, but Darth Maul concentrate even more because the planet, in orbit, was far from where the Scimitar was. Slowly his body rose from the cockpit floor, the concentration he was achieving was immeasurable, his forehead was covered with small droplets of sweat, the Dark Side of the force emanating from his body like a black smoke enveloped him and stroked him allowing his mind to drift away again and again, until he finally saw Corellia with its grassy plains, forests and seas. He passed by the Corellian Engineering Corporation's Mothership, located in the orbit of the planet itself. Darth Maul observed everything very carefully, his concentration was attracted to some cargo ships, but when he approached these, he did not perceive anything, his slave was not aboard any of these.

He passed through the massive shipyards, where some of the most powerful vessels in space were built. He was beginning to be worried: perhaps not even in this way it was possible to find the New Horizon, perhaps General Seth really succeeded in his intent by taking his Anais away from him forever or worse... she could have died, killed by the hand of the same man he was hunting!

Anger and hatred burned inside him risking, for a moment, to make him lose his concentration, but then finally ... finally in orbit around Corellia, hidden among the various shipyards ... here is a cargo ship from which Darth Maul was finally able to feel something ... yes! ... It was a faint feeling of fear ... a feeling of fear that was very familiar and that suddenly reminded him of Anais ... when he approached that cargo ship, particularly large to be such, this emotion of fear became more and more defined, more and more distinct. Finally he saw her: Anais lay on the bed in a small room with a faint light illuminating her. She was asleep, but her cheeks were red with tears and she was still sobbing. Darth Maul's hearts quickened their beating: at this point he seen enough, with his mind he could very well go back, he could interrupt the process of transmigration, but instead no ... instead he decided to go even further, so he entered that small room to be able to look at Anais more closely, because he wanted so much to be able to see her again! Anais had her hair tousled, partly covering her body, partly her blond curls, were scattered on the white sheet on which she was lying. Darth Maul's attention was drawn to a small sob: Anais must have cried a lot, must have suffered, what had they done to her? If he found out that they had hurt her, her anger would been terrifying, but his revenge would been enough because no one from that damned spaceship would get out alive ... no one! He approached her face, looked at her small pink mouth, wet with tears, slightly parted…. he wanted to kiss her ... how much he wanted to do it ! He approached again and touched her cheek with a small delicate kiss then, closer to her ear whispered: "Anais ... soon you will be mine again!" He thought about it deeply, almost as if he wanted to convey his thoughts in the mind of his little slave even though, he knew he would never succeed.

After that, it rose above her and just as he appeared, he disappeared.

Anais suddenly opened her eyes and lifted her head slightly from the bed. Something touched her or at least approached her, something intangible, but very familiar, the exact same feeling she had when she first left her master's apartment to go and buy spices from Berak for the droids to cook. Anais thought of Zelda and Charlie ... she wondered how far she was from her master's apartment and she felt ... alone, lost in the Universe ... She ran a hand over her eyes: they were still sore from crying, but she was sure there been something ... when she began to become aware again, to remember what happened to her and where she was, she immediately thought of her master, Lord Maul and it was then that she heard some words in her mind ... she concentrated trying to focus on this thought ... "you'll be mine again!" This she was sure ... to remember ... yes! She had really felt it! Then she looked ahead ... realizing the most terrible thought she could do ... Lord Maul ... he found her! He managed to find her!

Although she was aboard a hidden warship, with the appearance of a cargo ship, who knows how far from Coruscant ... he succeeded! How he done it, she dared not even imagine it, but he was a Sith ... and he could all, thanks to his power, his strength!

She slowly rested her head on the bed, it hurt, she didn't have much strength to think, but of one thing she was sure. Now it was a matter of hours and her master would come back for her, kill poor General Seth and then, once she was brought back to Coruscant ... would he punish her? Anais closed her eyes and more hot tears rolled down her cheeks. Why should he punish her ... she hadn't really done anything, she had been kidnapped, she hadn't asked General Seth to be in that situation, on the contrary ... she was beginning to feel good in her master's house, she begun to become familiar with him, to know him better, to gain his confidence day after day ... she thought of the most peaceful moments spent with him, when he taught her to read the writing Ur-Kittât, when together fixed the droids in his large laboratory...she thought with nostalgia of the glances they often exchanged, of the attentions that he, especially in recent times, given her.

No ... he couldn't punish her, it wouldn't be fair!

Then she thought of General Seth ... with a bit of sadness ... she wondered if it would not be right to warn that her master would arrive soon ... after all, that man, risked everything to save her, to take her away from her life as a slave with a Sith, with a violent, cruel creature, with a murderer. With General Seth her life would certainly been better, free from the bonds of slavery, free from all fears, next to a human man, let's say "normal", who would had a thousand attentions towards her, that he would never miss anything.

But Anais couldn't get the image of her master out of her mind ... she knew it was wrong, that the right way to go would be the one next to General Seth, but inside her ... there was Lord Maul .. . Anais did not know if it was fear that spoke for her, that made her remain tied to her master for "fear" that he might harm her, for fear that he might kill her ... but this was what she felt: she wanted to feel the heat again and the scent of his body, she felt need for that sense of protection that only he could give her ... she felt need to be close to him, as if there was an invisible fluid binding her to him ... she wanted to meet that gaze again terrible and at the same time so seductive, to touch his body, caress his red muscles drawn by those black tattoos that made his face so scary, but so fascinating.

This was what she wanted.

Anais opened her eyes looking into the emptiness of her small room:

"My lord ...please come back to me!", Then closed them almost ashamed of having thought such a thing and tried to go back to sleep.

The Scimitar reached the New Horizon: Darth Maul's plan was very simple. He would enter the ship concealed, compromise the spaceship's evacuation system, so no one could escape ... the New Horizon would be the perfect grave for all the people on board, including the droids. No one could escaped ... the spaceship would exploded in the skies of Corellia due to damage to the reactors ... as well as the shuttle on which his little slave traveled, exploded in the skies of Demo Neimoidia due to a trivial technical failure.

As the Scimitar approached the New Horizon, Darth Maul thought of Anais: he finally seen her, she was alive, although she had certainly suffered, although she was very scared. Anais would hold out a little longer, then return to Coruscant with him.

The New Horizon was truly impressive: a very sophisticated concealment system made it similar to a cargo ship, although its dimensions were very large and therefore this could give rise to suspicions. This obviously at the eyes of an experienced person, like the pirates who frequented Tasu Leech and who therefore, were able to track it down.

Darth Maul brought the Scimitar near the huge hold of the spaceship: many were the small spacecraft that entered and exited the New Horizon for various functions, food supply, crew replacement, weapons ... and so on.

Although concealed, he carefully merged between them, trying not to bump into them. Once inside the hold, he would have very little time to act: the Scimitar would become visible, the entire alarm system would be activated, but first, he would find the time to connect with the spaceship's central computer, tamper with the evacuation system and close all exit routes, preventing the rescue shuttles from disengaging from the New Horizon.

And this first part of his plan found no obstacles: the Scimitar landed inside the hold, in a fairly secluded area. When the rear hatch opened, it became visible attracting the attention of most of the people present in the area who, suddenly, saw a spaceship appear from nowhere with an unusual shape and certainly not part of the New Horizon. While everyone was intent on figuring out what it was, why it entered the hold and above all, how it entered ... Darth Maul freed his three DRK-1 probes that shot out of the Scimitar and started shooting at everything that moved. But the three probes also had another important mission: apart from killing and destroying, they should been positioned in three precise points of the spaceship and then, they should exploded, causing a chain reaction that would caused the explosion of the entire New Horizon. Once the three probes came out, Darth Maul followed with his lightsaber in hand, already with the two red blades extended and began to mow down the bodies of the crew and those of the few soldiers who came towards him. With the use of the Dark Side of the force he made his way between living creatures and droids destroying everything. Then, dragging the already landed ships inside, it caused explosions that soon turned the hold of the New Horizon into a hell of flames. While panic was spreading, both for the presence of something that threatened people's lives, even if it was not clear what it was or who it was ... and for the smoke and fire that began to fill the hold ... Darth Maul quickly approached one of the checkpoints, easily eliminated the personnel present at the console and then entered the spaceship's central computer system. Thus, he began to close all exits, to block all accesses to the holds, the angars and the warehouses, he inhibited the missile launching and evacuation systems, the lifeboats would remain anchored and would never launch towards the exterior of the spaceship ... no one, from then on, could enter or exit the New Horizon. And then ... immediately after this ... the first explosion ... the ship shook, the alarm system went off, the lights went red, flashing, while the sirens blew a sound of fear and terror. "Everything as expected!" a smile of satisfaction formed on Darth Maul's face. The first part of his plan was done.

Now it was General Seth's turn.

Also from the central computer, he located his position: he was on the bridge, all that remained was to go there, before the explosion of his second probe.

General Seth was on the bridge talking to his men: the New Horizon would be leaving shortly for Dantooine, a verdant, forested planet located in the Outer Rim. This planet was chosen as the home of the Vodo-Siosk Baas academy, where numerous generations of Jedi were trained. On Dantooine, Anais would be safe, protected. General Seth needed to do some more important undercover missions, then he would join her on Dantooine and finally marry her. Through the bond of marriage, Anais would finally become a free woman, no longer a slave to someone. And she would be his companion ... forever.

But as General Seth thought about these things which, fortunately, made his mind more serene about important assignments and responsibilities, the bridge shook as the first Darth Maul probe exploded. General Seth's worried gaze met that of his men next to him:

-What was that? - one of them asked.

-Koren, go and check- general immediately ordered.

Immediately afterwards, the spaceship's alarm system was activated: Seth walked quickly to the console where together with Koren, he began to press some buttons and read some data:

- The hold ... - he said almost more to himself: - The hold is burning! - he could not understand what could happened, especially so quickly because until a few minutes ago, everything was working regularly. But when one of his men called him and when General Seth met his worried gaze, he began to think about the worst:

-Seth ... someone broken into the spaceship's computer system ... - the general approached the man who continued to speak: - We are stuck inside the New Horizon, no one can abandon the ship! -

-What? - he asked amazed: -Would you like to explain to me what the hell is going on? -

But his men were unable to give him a precise answer. The general thought of Anais and worried about her: the sound of the sirens and the dimmed lights, with this flashing red color must surely scared her. But he didn't have time to continue his thoughts about Anais, when a panting man appeared on the bridge: his uniform was dirty and bore several burns, even his face, sweaty and red, was stained with black soot. The exhausted man knelt down and Seth and his men ran to meet him:

-There ... there is ... -he said stammering due to the trouble of the race. General Seth figured it was coming from the hold given its condition:

-There is... what? Speak! - one of Seth's men urged him sharply.

The young man looked at the general with wide eyes:

-There is a man in the hold ... with a red lightsaber .. who is tearing everyone to pieces! - He said in one breath and then coughed and started panting again.

At that point Seth understood: he thought of Anais's words and believed. Lord Maul found it ... how he done it ... he just couldn't explain it. His plan been concocted down to the smallest detail ... there was no possibility of error!

But now was not the time to think about how he found him, now was the time to act and very quickly because Lord Maul would arrive on the bridge much sooner than he could imagine … because that was where he was headed… was coming for him ... to fight him and take back his beloved slave. General Seth was crossed by a surge of anger and disdain: "Well Sith ..." he thought: "If this is what you want, I'll satisfy you!".

-Somann - he ordered: - Deal with the evacuation of the New Horizon, try to figure out where the problem is and unlock the rescue shuttles- then he directed his gaze on another of his men.

-Paulgar, gather all the droids on the bridge and all the strongest men we have... -

-Jakev ... -the general hesitated for a moment, but was forced to say it: - Bring me here Anais ... immediately-

-General? - Paulgar asked: -Who are we fighting against? -

The general looked him in the eye:

- Against a Sith! -

His men looked at each other slightly terrified, but Seth gave them the order to proceed and they separated.

"Lord Maul" he thought as he approached the bridge console again "I'm waiting for you!".

Anais woke up with a start: the sound of the sirens and those flashing red lights terrified her immediately, even before she could realize why all this was happening ... but the girl, although still stunned by tears and by the situation, did not much to sense that her master, Lord Maul, arrived aboard that ship and that all confusion in the corridors was due to him. He was somehow taking victims everywhere in order to get to her and kill General Seth.

Anais sat on the edge of the bed and rubbed her eyes still wet and red from tears. She thought of General Seth: she had several feelings of guilt that made her sad. She felt sorry for the man, she was sorry to know that he would be killed by her master because of her. After all, he would only want her good, he would give her a better life than the one she was leading, but there was no escape from a Sith. And she told him! She begged him to take her back to Coruscant, but her prayers done nothing. Now General Seth would believe her, though it was too late and soon Lord Maul's sword would be under his throat.

Anais swallowed thinking and imagining this, but then her attention was drawn to the sound of a few steps in the corridor. Unlike the ones she heard so far, which were the rushing ones of people running from one side of the ship to the other, these footsteps now tended to get closer. Anais's heart began to beat strongly in her chest, almost to hurt: she thought of her master and when the person outside stopped just behind the door of her room, Anais got out of bed in panic. But when the two sliding doors opened, the one who entered was one of General Seth's men, whom Anais remembered having met before. The man was wearing a uniform that she never seen, on which was written: CorSec, but she did not know what meant. The man, with shaved hair and clean face, held a thin rope in his hand. Before Anais could open her mouth, he told her:

-Anais, Seth wants you on the bridge… - the girl looked at him in fear, then her gaze focused on the rope he was holding. He understood and with a little embarrassment explained:

-It's as a precaution ... I'm sorry ... -

Anais resigned, let herself be approached by the soldier who was obviously only following orders. The man asked her to turn around and taking her slender wrists very gently, he tied them together behind her back, trying not to squeeze too much for fear of hurting her. Then grabbing her by the arm, he pulled her towards him:

-We have to go!-

Anais didn't ask him anything, she didn't ask what was happening, she already knew the answer. She tried to keep up with the man: he pulled her to him hard. Then they took an elevator that took them high ... Anais did not know how high, but enough because when the elevator doors opened, the girl found herself inside an immense elongated room, with walls and the glass ceiling from which it was possible to see all the space, the planets ... here ... what at that moment was close to them was Corellia ! She knew it, she lived there for many years with her first master who been a builder of spaceships ! Wonderful! Somehow ... She felt a bit like home! While she was intent on looking at the planet orbiting next to General Seth's spaceship, Anais slowed her pace and was yanked by the man who come for her so that, when she turned around, her gaze fell on General Seth's. Seeing her arrive, he immediately left his men, with whom he was talking, to meet her.

The soldier holding her released her arm, while the general approached her and brushed her forehead with a gentle kiss. Seth was sorry ... he just didn't know how to justify himself. He put in place a complex plan, well organized and studied in detail and despite all this, Lord Maul still managed to find him! Anais's gaze seemed to want to say, "You saw! I told you," so before she could actually say anything, he tried to reassure her:

-Do not be afraid Anais, here I am and all my men. Even if he managed to find us, he won't be able to do much ... -

Anais, on the other hand, resigned, said nothing to him, she let herself approach the body of General Seth, closing her eyes. Unfortunately, a few moments later, one of his men approached and in a serious and worried tone, he said:

-Seth ... He's coming! - Anais opened her eyes and began to tremble ... now she would finally see her master again ... but this thing, instead of reassuring her, made her feel so afraid, let's say that she felt a mixture of emotions, between the excitement of finally being able to see him again and the fear that he might harm her ... or worse still, of witnessing what he would do to everyone in the room, including General Seth.

Meanwhile, more men were arriving on the bridge, all armed and different types of droids. The environment was filling up quickly...probably, Anais thought, General Seth was gathering all his strongest soldiers in the hall to be able to face Lord Maul, but at the end ... he would fight against his master, too...face to face.

Darth Maul just entered the long corridor at the end of which he would finally reach the bridge. His Anais was located in the forward region of the ship, her quarters was just below the bridge. He left the hold of the New Horizon in flames, he could still hear the screams of the crewmen who realized that it was impossible to get out of the ship because all escape routes, including lifeboats, were blocked. And Darth Maul also knew that sooner or later, someone would try to enter the spaceship's central computer to unlock the situation, but he thought of this too, changing all the access keys to the systems.

A faint smile of satisfaction spread across his face.

He walked at a brisk pace, but not too fast, because he wanted to savor every moment of that mission: all the soldiers and civilians he met in the corridors he hit them mercilessly with his lightsaber which he also used as protection against the blaster shots that came continuously from every direction.

So far he not encountered any major obstacles.

He surprised the New Horizon in a phase of ... let us say of rest, before it left for another system. So he caught everyone quite unprepared. Moreover, setting fire to the hold, he concentrated the forces of the spaceship around this problem, avoiding that all the energies, were directed towards him. But the alarm, as he predicted, gone off anyway and so now, General Seth was definitely making arrangements to deal with it.

Eliminated Seth, he would go to Anais's quarters to take her away as quickly as possible from the New Horizon, at this point ready to explode.

As he approached the bridge, the defense forces put in place by General Seth began to be more coordinated and the number of soldiers he encountered became ever greater and so did that of the droids. With the use of force, Darth Maul tore whole pieces of the ship which he used as shields against blaster hits and which he then threw at the droids, breaking them into several pieces.

He was spinning his lightsaber creating flashes of red light before striking to death, the adrenaline in his veins rushed, his desire for revenge, his anger and his hatred grew inside him pushing his physical performance to the maximum. He still not needed to unleash his Dark Side of the force ... he was waiting to meet General Seth to unleash his most destructive and devastating power.

Eventually, he came to the great white door that would finally lead him to the bridge.

He would finally meet with General Seth.

Darth Maul walked to the door. The two doors, sliding sideways, allowed his imposing figure to slowly take shape through the smoke that came from the corridor.

He was confronted with an army of droids and soldiers, with their loaded weapons already aimed at his body. But Darth Maul did not give any importance to all this, his gaze moved slowly on General Seth who was in the upper part of the command bridge and who was holding under his right arm, his little slave ... Anais ! General Seth done him a favor taking her to the bridge… that way, he wouldn't waste any more time looking for her. His gaze finally met Anais's, but unfortunately he couldn't think any other thoughts that a hell of blows broke out against him.

Anais saw men and droids take up positions in front of her and General Seth, who was holding her tightly under her right arm, surrounding her shoulders. Then suddenly she felt silence: in that immense room, she no longer heard a word, but everyone was motionless, with their weapons aimed at that great white door, ready to fire as soon as it opened. From behind the white door, in that unnatural silence, the last disappeared and the last cries of broken lives were heard ... Anais trembled, imagining what was happening back there ... then also from there ... silence. Finally, the two white doors opened and from the smoke that came from the corridor, the powerful figure of her master took shape, dressed in black, with those soft clothes, just resting on the rigid muscles of his body ... it was almost a pity that this light fabric hid the beauty of a body like that, sculpted from hard years of training and covered in dark black tattoos. His double lightsaber shone through the smoke, holding it upright in both hands, ready to throw it at all those soldiers. Anais met his gaze…. She couldn't hide it from herself… but she really missed him a lot! Those two golden yellow pupils that shone intensely, now even more because they were excited by the struggle he had endured so far. But his proud, stern and contemptuous gaze, though laden with hatred and anger, was directed at General Seth, beside her while, when their gazes met, Anais noticed a slight dip in those feelings of anger and hatred, as if they weren't meant for her.

But although this partly comforted her, on the one hand, Anais began to tremble with fear and anxiety of what would soon take place in that room. And in fact, she did not have time to finish her thought that immediately after the appearance of her master, everyone started shooting at him. Everyone, except General Seth still at her side. Anais feared for the life of her master ... perhaps, she shouldn't have ... but deep in her heart, she was afraid of being able to see him wounded or worse killed and again, as for General Seth...only her fault ...

Darth Maul bolted like a bolt to the side of the door, using his lightsaber to shield the blaster shots that rained down from all sides. His two hearts were beating rapidly, all his blood circulating quickly in his body allowing him to achieve incredible physical performance both in terms of speed and strength, precision and agility. Extremely excited, Darth Maul threw himself at the barrier of men and droids, mowing down everything in his path, slowly breaking through that tide of soldiers and machines. As soon as he saw that he was in slight trouble, he summoned the Dark Side of the force that he sent out around him violently, hurling people and droids away and thus allowing him to advance towards General Seth.

Anais looked incredulously at a Lord Maul she never seen: he wasn't the one who trained in his room in Coruscant ... no ... He was very different, the one in front of her was more comparable to a machinery, fast, precise, there wasn' t a time when his lightsaber was missing a body or a droid, men were split in half, heads cut off from bodies and so were arms and legs. The droids exploded with the use of force, and his face, however strained, showed no signs of weakness or pain.

For now her master was not injured, but Anais was afraid that he could be hit by some blows as they arrived from all sides and the girl wondered how he could defend himself in a desperate situation like that.

However, what for Anais was only a cruel and frightening spectacle, came to end. By now, there were only corpses and destroyed droids left in the room, Anais felt nauseous and her strength began to abandon her. General Seth realized that he would soon to clash with him. Darth Maul flew back his lightsaber which he just thrown at a group of five droids cutting their heads at the same time. There was a moment of silence in which the Sith turned furious at General Seth. The black fabric of his dress followed the movement of his body following the rotation he made to take up the lightsaber ... for Anais it was a wonderful scene! Despite being frightened, she managed at that moment to grasp the beauty and perfection of that creature, the result of years of hard and merciless training under the cruel control of his master. Anais was enchanted by the impeccability of his body movements, all extremely balanced and calculated even in what might seem small and insignificant ... but Lord Maul, was not only a hard trained body, he was also a concentrated mind, able to coordinate to the best of that body and to let it express all its strength. A confident mind as well as extremely powerful.

Darth Maul retrieved his sword and the instant he turned to General Seth he shouted:

- Traitor ! - his voice echoed in the large hall now full of corpses. The only people still alive were a small group of armed men close to the general, himself and his frightened little slave. Darth Maul could clearly sense Anais's faint emotions of fear, now tired and still under General Seth's arm, which made him terribly angry.

Meanwhile, a second tremendous explosion occurred that shook the bridge again, but this time even more violently than before. Darth Maul smiled, showing his teeth and on his face, he drew a really very evil expression. Taking advantage of this brief moment of pause, his master would move back and forth not far from General Seth, holding his lightsaber horizontal and in front of him, just like a ferocious animal ready, at any moment, to jump on its prey. Now, only one last probe was missing, the last explosion would destroy the entire spaceship so he had to be able to get out with Anais as soon as possible.

From the expression of the Sith, the general understood that h not only come to take back his slave, but also to eliminate a spy. So Lord Maul knew everything, he understood everything and from how he eliminated his best men and all his droids, Seth clearly sensed that the confrontation was not going to be an easy thing. Darth Maul gave him one last look with a growl, then suddenly stopped and started running in his direction. The men near Seth threw themselves at him, but Darth Maul took a moment to annihilate them. By now he was so excited by the idea of fighting General Seth that this last insignificant group of men was no obstacle for him. Seth understood that his moment come: he freed Anais from the grip of his arm by pressing her gently to the ground. Anais sat on her side, having her hands still tied behind her back, she could not maintain a sitting position. She watched at her master: he passed from one side to the other of Seth's last man, whose body slumped to the ground like an empty sack. Anais felt tears fill her eyes, not only from fear but from everything she seen so far ... she was not used to this kind of thing, she never seen anyone die or killed, she always been just one, miserable apartment slave, not a heroine, not a warrior and began to cry.

Darth Maul looked at her and sensing her desperation he was furious and turned his gaze full of contempt towards General Seth now in front of him. Instead of facing him from warrior to warrior he sent his men and all his droids at his disposal: "Coward!" he thought angrily and with more contempt than before.

General Seth said nothing to him, stepped in front of him and fired his lightsaber which lit up with a long green blade. Anais only realized in that moment that Seth could be a Jedi ... the Jedi she so much dreamed of and hoped to save her ... but she wasn't convinced that he was the one so desired. A Jedi wouldn't kidnap her to take her away and ask her to marry, it wasn't in their way to act like this ... much less, turn to a bounty hunter and blow up an entire ship killing innocent people.

Anais knew that this would be the last act, from that fight one of the two men would be victorious while the other would die. She closed her eyes for a moment, letting more hot tears roll down her cheeks.

Then she reopened them just as General Seth started running against her master with his sword pointed at him.