Though he would never label the emotion that coursing through him this moment as happy, the Emperor of the Galactic Empire nevertheless derived a great deal of enjoyment and satisfaction at the sight that greeted him.
Despite the fact that his former apprentice's every instinct must have been telling him to flee, not that it would have done him any good considering his connection to the Dark Side was far weaker than his former master's, Sidious watched on with amusement as Maul stepped out of the shadows.
"I must say that I am most surprised with you my former apprentice. Despite the loss of your witch of a mother, not to mention you're so called allies, you still possess enough ambition to seek that which would destroy me. A pity that your efforts to accomplish such a task, much like your abilities, are pitifully feeble compared to what they used to before your defeat at the hands of Kenobi".
Smirking as he watched the effect his words had on the tattooed Zabarak, Sidious fought the very real urge to scoff as Maul preceded to do what all Sith apprentices tended to do when their plans for glory where foiled.
Blaming others.
"The only reason why I am forced into this state is because of you old man. A true Sith would choose to abandon their silent vigil from the shadows and usurp power like the glorious empires of old. But you, you cannot even claim to be a Sith anymore. Despite my...decreased abilities, I can still sense the way the Force flows through the Galaxy. And yet I detect that your subjects are still unaware of what monster lies beneath your honeyed words. Although I suppose its only a matter of time before GRKKKK".
His eye's shining with disgust, but also with disappointment as he used the Force to block Maul's ability to draw breath, the Emperor slightly loosened his hold so his former apprentice would not slip into unconsciousness while he gloated.
"Once again you have proven to be nothing more than a simple brute my former apprentice. The end goal of the Sith has always been about obtaining absolute power over the Galaxy. The methods used to achieve this goal do not matter, something which makes me far superior to the ancient Sith of old. For I have used both the tools of war, as well as the promise of peace to not only ensure that my rule will be accepted by the insignificant masses, but also to ensure that whatever opposition remains will be weak and insignificant".
Releasing his invisible grip on the now gasping cyborg, Sidious took a moment to examine his surroundings before cackling in amusement.
"Though I cannot fault you for your choice in instruments Maul, for indeed the temple carries a great many tools that could be used to achieve your ends, I'm afraid that they would have been forever denied to you. Or has the years as a rabid animal made you forget the most important realities of the Sith"?
Hauling himself back to his feet, and tightening his grip on his staff, Maul glared at his former master before reluctantly repeating the philosophy that had always been a corner stone of Sith teachings.
"There can only be two. No more, no less".
Adopting a mocking expression of pride, the Emperor's tone dripped with contempt as he addressed his former apprentice.
"That is correct. Which means that the secrets of the temple would be forever lost to you".
Gritting his teeth in frustration, for he had been made well aware of that fact after he learned he had no ways of escaping this tomb world, Maul's expression suddenly displayed a great amount of guarded confusion at Sidious's latest scheme.
"Fortunately for you my former apprentice, the events of the past few months have placed me in a rather generous mood. So before I decide upon how I should reward you for your numerous attempts of destabilizing my plans for the galaxy, let us both see what secrets my predecessors had stashed away".
Deriving great amusement from the fallen Zabarak's understandable confusion at his temporarily postponed fate, Sidious marched towards the imposing temple with all the confidence of a triumphant predator.
For although it was well within his power to circumvent the mechanisms that had denied Maul access into the chambers of the pyramid, the Emperor suspected that a sacrifice was required in order to gain access to the secrets of the ancient Sith.
And wagering that Maul knew this as well, he was unsurprised to see his former apprentice, with his hands tightly grasped on the staff that obviously contained his lightsaber, following at a respectful distance.
The only thing was, while Maul's defeat at the hand of Kenobi might have been less horrific than what Vader had experienced, the red skinned Zabarak was far weaker than his current apprentice.
And since he was confident enough in his abilities should Vader choose to challenge him without the aid of his children, dealing with the Maul would be child's play once his usefulness had worn out.
A shame that he wouldn't have the chance to once again witness his current apprentice battle his predecessor, but even the Emperor of the galaxy couldn't have everything at once.
At least there was the future confrontation between Vader and one of his children too look forward to. Cause nothing was more entertaining than watching a parent and child battle to the death.
….
Despite knowing that he would never be able to inspire the same sort of terror in his crew as a certain cybernetic Sith Lord, the boy nevertheless found himself enjoying the sensation of being the commanding officer of an Imperial Fleet.
Yes his command ship, the sole Imperial Class Star Destroyer assigned to his control, was too small to cast the rest of his fleet in its shadow like a currently building Super Star Destroyer.
And yes his current companion was doing his best to express his annoyance at being assigned to his command.
But he didn't care.
He was living his dream directing Imperial vessels, along with thousands of storm troopers and hundreds of TIE fighters into battle, and nothing was going to ruin this moment.
Though that didn't stop a certain force user from trying.
"Though I understand your eagerness to begin the operation our master has assigned to us, perhaps we should spend these last moments going over the details of our mission, rather than spending them gazing at that useless chunk of dirt".
Frowning at the mocking tone of his yellow eyed guardian, who at least had the decency to keep his voice down so that the rest of the crew could not here their conversation, the boy nevertheless nodded his head.
"I suppose your right. One can only stare at a planet for so long without getting bored. So tell me, how goes the planning for your…less public mission"?
Earning a scowl from the red tattooed Pau'an, but knowing that his status with the Emperor ensured that he wouldn't have to worry about the former Jedi from emulating a certain cybernetic sith lord, the boy remained silent as he listened to the report.
"Everything is ready for deployment. While your forces lay waste to the criminal elements of this planet, I will take 3 squads of Death Troopers, and 4 of your specially trained storm troopers to the locations our spies have provided us. Though I must say, I find myself a bit annoyed for the lack of information regarding who our targets our".
Shooting the Grand Inquistor a look of annoyance, for it was clear to the boy that the ex Jedi was doing his best to make him feel insignificant, the youthful advisor to the Emperor nevertheless provided him with an answer.
"The Emperor wished me to keep this knowledge a secret until there was little chance of it getting linked to our enemies. But since were currently above our target, I am authorized to tell you the particulars of your mission".
Fighting the urge to grin at the former Jedi's expression as he was reminded that the Emperor chose to trust a force blind boy, augmented though he may be, rather than the man who chose to abandon his teachings to pursue a higher calling, the boy proceeded to go over the specifics of upcoming mission.
"The identity of the primary target is of no concern of yours Inquisitor, though I assure you that the Emperor has a great interest in his successful capture. However the threat imposed by the secondary target cannot be ignored, and that is where you come in. I trust that your….training under Lord Vader has increased your abilities to deal with your former comrades"?
Earning a glare from the Pau'an, though he was uncertain if it was caused by being reminded of his past connection with the Jedi Order, or the casual mention of his hellish experience with the sithlord, the boy remained silent as he was provided with an answer.
"I assure you that I am more than capable of dealing with any Jedi that managed to survive Order 66. And I hardly need all these soldiers to help me with my assigned role of killing yet another Jedi".
Giving a non committal hum at the last part of that statement, for he had witnessed the Inquisitor's continued failure against a pair of poorly trained force wielders, the boy adopted a smirk across his face as he proceeded to correct the Jedi hunter.
"I never said that your task would be to kill this Jedi Inquisitor. For while he may be pretty high up on the Empire's most wanted listed, I suspect that Lord Vader would be quite displeased at being denied the chance to kill this Jedi himself".
Though his expression was skill skeptical, the Grand Inquisitor nevertheless toned down his hostility upon hearing that his target had earned the personal attention of the hulking Sith Lord. For while his master mostly cared little for the lives of those who had earned death for their defiance of the Empire's will, occasionally there was an individual whose crimes warranted a personal execution at the hands of Darth Vader.
And he had learned painfully that it was never wise to question the Sith's reason for his desire for a more personal touch.
Still, even if he was prevented from doing more than capturing this fugitive Jedi so that Lord Vader could personally over see his death, the tattooed Pau'an nevertheless was curious about the identity of the doomed individual.
Something which the boy was quite willing to share.
"Obi-wan Kenobi my dear Inquistor. Your target is Obi-wan Kenobi".
…
Though life was hardly easy in the sun baked wastes of Tatooine, it was a life that she had come to accept without complaint, for she knew that there were worst fates to befall someone like her.
Instead of being the wife of a caring, if slightly surly vapor farmer, she could have been one of the countless unfortunates whose lives were dictated by those who cared more for profit and perverse amusement rather than treating their fellow beings with respect.
Her mother in law had spent much of her life in such conditions until that fateful day when Owen's father walked into a junk shop looking for speeder parts, and though her experience had been better than many slaves, Shmi's fate that she was grateful to have avoided.
Of course that wasn't to say that the older woman's past continued to effect the Lar's household in noticeable ways.
The squirming pile of blankets in her arms being a key example of this.
But that still didn't affect her feelings, and those of her husbands, towards their little nephew. Even if it did bring further complications.
She had only met the boy's father briefly, and not under the best conditions, but she could tell that Anakin Skywalker was a man who would set out to accomplish whatever he set his mind to.
But like all Jedi, this determination had resulted in the annihilation of their order, with the remaining survivors being hunted down.
When the bearded Jedi had brought them their nephew, the couple had agreed to keep his parentage a secret, since it would be unwise to tell the boy of his origins in a galaxy that would turn on him because of his lineage, especially on a planet where most people wouldn't think twice about selling information to the highest bidder.
But unlike her husband, who believed that he could discourage Luke from following the path that had led Anakin to his death, and indeed had threatened the Jedi to stay away from their family, Beru thought that the boy deserved to know who his parents were. Even if the risk was high.
Sadly however, the decision to tell Luke of his true parentage would soon be taken away from her.
For just as she finally managed to sufficiently placate her less than happy nephew, her home echoed with the unmistakable sounds of several ships forming a impenetrable perimeter around the Lars homestead.
…..
Though he would never dare to voice these thoughts in the presence of the Emperor, let alone the brutal instructor that was the aging Sith Lord's apprentice, the former Jedi couldn't help but view this current mission as a waste of his valuable time.
Hunting down his former comrades was one thing, acting as the chief security officer for this mission just on the off chance that a Jedi would show up?
That was hardly an adequate use for a man of his skill set.
But since the Emperor had made it quite clear that the boy's commands were to be followed, not matter how bizarre they might be, the Grand Inquisitor could only watch in growing boredom as this desert hovel was surrounded with enough firepower to take out an entire droid battalion.
He had to admit, though it pained him to do so, the efficiency displayed by these troopers was equal, if not superior to what he had seen during the course of the Clone Wars. Already rumors had begun to spread of the intense training regime that could turn even the most ordinary individual into a highly efficient weapon of death.
Of course Lord Vader had received the majority of these troops to aid the 501st legions efforts to pacific the key systems of Hutt Space, but there remained sufficient numbers to act as special security units for those the Emperor deemed to be highly important.
A shame that the standing order had been to set all weapons to stun, but he supposed that if this little retrieval mission required something more lethal, he was more than up to the task.
But so far it appeared that his lightsaber would go unused.
The male patriarch who had foolishly pointed his antiquated rifle at them had been instantly stunned.
And the woman, whose protectively held the screaming infant to her chest, had complied with all commands in a immediate, if highly terrified manner.
This job could have easily been done with a much lower demand of manpower, as well as his oversight.
For despite feeling the understandable wave of horrified realization that was spreading across the planet as Imperial forces targeted the major criminal centers of this pathetic dustball, he could sense no threat to the success of the boy's retrieval mission.
"Hello there".
Or so he thought.
….
ANNNNNND I think this is a good place to leave it. Apologies for the cliff hanger, but writers block, and the belief that the desert confrontation deserves an entire chapter to itself, have caused me to end it like this XD
Extremely pleased to see that this story is still attracting interest…does my heart…and ego XD…good to see that my efforts are being appreciated.
And now for a brief summarization.
The scene on Malachor with Palps and Maul….I confess that originally I was going to have the Emperor kills his former apprentice right there and then. But then I got a better idea/ remembered the Lords of the Sith Novel, and decided to to have one final adventure between the two. Maul's final death is still up in the air, but thought it would be a great to have more scenes where Palps gets to mess with his former apprentice, who knows full well that he has little chance of facing his former master as he is now.
The Temple itself could probably be accessed alone by a Sith of Palpatine's abilities, probably Vader's as well if with more difficulty, but that's not why Maul has been granted a reprive (temporary though it may possibly be). Wont go into too much detail since it would spoil what I'm imagining, but rest assured…Everything is proceeding as I have forseen XD
And yes its confirmed. Obi-wan is finally making an appearance in this story XD. Think I got enough man power/fire power to deal with 1 Jedi. And yes I'm using a character from the pathetic series that Disney came up with, but I'm making it work lol. Especially with that whole Vader will kill anyone who kills Kenobi shtick. The man wants to do it himself, and will punish anyone who robs him of that chance.
Anyways until next time. KEEP REVIEWING. And will begin work on next chapter as soon as I can.
=D
Ps….it is my highest recomondation that you DO NOT see the Solo Film. Rouge One was masterfully done, but Solo, along with Last Jedi and Rebels…have proven that Disney cannot beat the stories of the Legends Universe. Think South Park actually devoted an entire episode to this, with the ownership of Star Wars being based on who would be the best people to protect its legacy.