Chapter 48
The dark man walked within 10 yards of Leia, and she could feel through the Force that there would be no talking her way out of the coming fight, but he also appeared confused. "So," he said hesitantly, "I have scoured the galaxy, following the name Kenobi across the stars, and it leads me to a little girl cosplaying as a Jedi." Leia rolled her eyes. "Great, you're someone else that just doesn't like the name Kenobi," Leia said sarcastically. "If you're looking for Obi-Wan Kenobi, trust me, you're lucky you found me instead." The tattooed man scowled, but tilted his head as though trying to ignite her and hear something else from far away. "He… is not here, but he is close, isn't he? I can smell his familiar stench from here. Move aside, girl, I only need to take one more life before my days come to an end." Leia's eyes widened as she realized that the Inquisitor was talking about killing Obi-Wan. Then, she also realized that he seemed familiar with Obi-Wan, and she recalled what Obi-Wan had told her years ago about an old enemy of his, a Zabrak Sith Lord. "You're not an Inquisitor, are you?" Leia asked, already able to sense the answer. The man growled. "No, I am not some lowly Imperial assassin, some Dark Side wannabe. I am Darth Maul, the only true Lord of the Sith following my former Master's death." Leia readied herself in Soresu stance and taunted, "I thought Vader was the new Lord of the Sith."
Obi-Wan had taught Leia well. He had explained that Sith were generally trained to give in to their impulsive emotions and instincts, and so it usually paid off to get under their skin. Sith were prideful beings by nature, and so taunting became an important part of engaging them in a fight. In this case, it certainly worked. At the mention of Vader and a clear refusal for Leia to move out of his way, Maul growled like a savage beast and leapt at Leia. Unfortunately for her, she quickly discovered that fighting Maul was not the same as fighting Scion. Whereas Scion's attacks had mostly focused on brutality and strength, Maul's movements were faster and more fluid. It was all Leia could do to place her blade in front of Maul's for his first strike, but his attacks just kept coming. He was a far more difficult opponent to keep up with than Scion, and Leia could already tell that she wouldn't be winning this fight as Maul continued to push her back, keeping her on the defensive. She remembered that she had once asked Obi-Wan to stop placing so much emphasis on defensive training, but she thought to herself now that she would already be dead if Obi-Wan had not insisted on those extra defense lessons.
Within only two minutes of fighting, if you could call it that, Maul was ready to end it. He surprised Leia when he suddenly batted her blade away while simultaneously activating a second blade from the other end of his lightsaber. Leia just had time to wonder to herself Why doesn't mine have two blades? before Maul swung his lightsaber around, the second blade aimed for her neck. His strike would've taken off Leia's head, but suddenly another figure jumped down from the catwalk above and ignited a blue lightsaber. Obi-Wan landed right between the two and drove the end of Maul's lightsaber into the ground before it could hit Leia, which he quickly followed with a high kick that hit Maul right on the jaw, knocking him back onto the ground a few feet away, unconscious.
Obi-Wan kept his blade held up between himself and where Maul lay, until it became apparent that he was staying down. Then, he turned his head towards Leia and said, "You see, Leia, this is why you are supposed to come when I summon you." Leia looked back at him angrily. "I was trying to! Sorry, I guess I was just distracted, what with getting attacked by TIE Fighters and the ten-thousandth person that attacked me just because they don't like you!" Obi-Wan chuckled at her protests, but then they were both distracted at the sound of more TIEs approaching, and they looked towards the hangar entrance to see over a dozen more Imperials approaching. The front two TIEs were unfamiliar designs, and Obi-Wan had a chilling feeling about who was probably flying them. Turning around, Obi-Wan ran to the elevator while telling Leia, "Apprentice, I think it's time for us to take our leave. I believe we'll have to tell the Rebel Alliance to look for weapons elsewhere." Leia followed him, and when they arrived at the recently destroyed elevator, they started to simply jump back and forth up the empty shaft towards the top. Meanwhile, on the ground, Maul's eyes suddenly snapped open, burning yellow with hate and rage. Kenobi.
A/N: I know, I know. I broke my pattern of doing a Jedi chapter followed by a Sith chapter, but I have good reason. In case you can't tell, yes, both Vader and Luke just arrived, and the two sides are finally meeting for the first time in years.