She
has a portrait of me?
Yes.
Did
she draw it herself?
Yes.
Really?
Yes.
Were
you present when she drew it?
No.
Does
she have a portrait of you?
I
don't think so.
Are
you jealous?
No
comment. Park opened the bottom
drawer and moved some of the papers out of the way, trying to see to
the bottom, where he suspected the portrait would be hidden. He
removed some of the objects, most of which were small trinkets Lou
must have collected from the planets she had visited.
One
such trinket was a red oval-shaped gem, which Park admired by holding
it up to the light.
So
that's where it went.
Mi
stole it from you?
Apparently
so.
Park
laughed out loud, causing Lindsey to look up inquisitively. "What's
so funny?"
"Um...nothing,
Sir," he tried to stifle his laughter. Park looked down, and
the red and black tatooed face caught his eye. There you
are.
I
look good.
Don't
make me laugh again.
I
don't think I like talking to you.
I
never liked talking to you to begin with.
It's
just burning you up inside that she chose me over you.
"Did
you find anything yet, Park?" Lindsey called across the room.
"Nope,"
he lied, taking the portrait out of the drawer. "I shall return
shortly."
Lindsey
did not even look up, though the thought did occur to him that after
the whole ordeal about who should enter the quarters first, it was
odd that Park was now leaving him alone in them.
I
could tell your captain about that, you know,
Maul informed Park.
But
you won't.
And
why won't I?
Because
you don't want us to get in your way, whatever your plan for Mi is.
Maul
thought about that for a minute, and conceded - to himself - that
Park had a point.
Raef
Caylon sat in the armchair on the side of the desk across from Darth
Sidious - or as he preferred to be called now, Emperor Palpatine.
"When
does she arrive?" Caylon inquired.
"Soon.
Later tonight, or early tomorrow morning," Palpatine's answer
was apathetic.
"Fantabulous,"
Caylon smiled slyly.
Palpatine
read Caylon's thoughts. "You will not get her first."
At
this, Caylon looked up inquisitively. "Why not?"
"My
former apprentice, Darth Maul, shall be the first of us that she
encounters."
"Why
the hell - "
Palpatine
cut him off with a wave of his hand. "She trusts him. She must
see him first, so that she does not become suspicious of the reasons
we are bringing her here for."
"Fine,
Pops, you're the all-powerful one. If that's what you believe is
best, I'll go along with it." Caylon got up to leave.
"I
don't believe, Raef, I know." Palpatine's thin lips curled into
a smile.
Caylon
bowed his head, then turned to the door. He stopped beside the grey
pyramid sitting atop an intricate display stand. "Jareena, we
truly shall see each other again."
Darth
Maul waited until Raef Caylon was far enough down the hall that he
would not see the Sith Lord go into his former Master's office.
Satisfied
with Caylon's distance, Maul left his shadowy corner, and strode up
to Palpatine's door. As he reached for the latch, the door swung
open.
"I
was hoping you would appear sooner. Raef was asking about you,"
Palpatine's low, gravelly voice still held the same authority over
Maul.
"I
am not his concern," Maul growled. "Just as he is not
mine."
Palpatine
arched his eyebrow at Maul, knowing full well that he was lying about
that last bit. "Have you decided how you will spend your day
with her?"
"Not
yet. I was going to let her decide so that she would feel more
comfortable with me."
"Oh,
she still feels comfortable with you, Maul. Surely you can sense
that when you are in her mind."
"She
is suspicious of me, not exactly what I would consider comfortable,
my Emperor."
Palpatine
watched Maul again in silence. After several minutes had passed, he
said, "I see. Well, you have a few hours to kill." That
was a dismissal.
Maul
bowed, then left. What is he up to?
he wondered.
"More
than you know, my young Sith Lord," Palpatine said as the door
locked behind Maul. "More than you know."
Darth
Maul entered the spacious apartment that he shared with his
apprentice. He sensed that the place was empty, much to his relief.
He did not feel like teaching this afternoon.
Maul
went into the kitchen to prepare himself a meal. He found a note on
the refridgerator from his apprentice, but did not care to read it.
He knew where the boy was; out with his friends at the club, as
usual.
He
sighed, wondering how he could cure the seventeen-year-old Twi'Lek of
his favorite pastime. The reason Maul let him get away with it was
simply to make up for the things he himself had missed because of
Sidious' incessant need to turn Maul into a heartless killer.
But
there was more to being a Sith than that.
Maul
believed that interaction with other creatures - Force-users, or
otherwise - was the best way to get to know one's enemies. Every
species had its habits, and a more simple way to discover it and
learn to use it to one's advantage had not yet been invented.
Taking
a sip from the beverage he had prepared, Maul tried to figure out
what he was going to do while he waited for Jareena's arrival.
Lance
Breckin sat staring blankly at the computer screen before him.
Raine
Taggart eyed him suspiciously, but Breckin did not notice. He
considered trying to get his attention, but was distracted as Captain
Lindsey returned to the Bridge. His manner told Taggart that he was
in a foul mood.
His
thoughts told Taggart why.
"Did
you hear about Lou?" Taggart asked Breckin.
"Hear
what about Lou?"
"That
she left."
"I
don't care," Breckin grumbled. "I hope she's happy with
him."
"With
who?"
"Park,"
Taggart
looked over his shoulder at Park apparently talking to himself. He
could sense the other's dark presence. "Park's right over
there."
"Oh,"
"So,
how's Simpson?"
Breckin
was caught off-guard by the question. "Uh...she's fine."
"You
don't sound very sure about that."
"She
is," he insisted. "I just f-saw
her this morning."
Lindsey
leaned in between the two. "Am I hosting a Talk Show, here? Do
you two have some kind of unresolved issue in your past that needs to
be worked out?" he growled at them.
Taggart
knew better than to push the Captain just now. "No, Sir."
"Then
shut your cake holes!"
Breckin
practically fell off his chair. "Y-yes, Sir."
"Breckin,
can you handle double shifts? Rustin's...finally declared himself
unfit for work."
"Doesn't
that leave me on triple shifts?"
"Rustin
isn't very important on his shift. We don't use this station after
Beta shift, anyway." Lindsey stated it like it was a well-known
fact.
"Oh."
"So
can you handle it?" he was getting impatient.
"Sure,"
Breckin shrugged. Keeps me away from Corrina's room for
awhile, prolongs my life.
"Good."
Lindsey returned to his place at the helm.
Out
of the blue, Park yelled, "I do not have chicken legs!"
The
crew turned as one to face him.
"Excuse
me?" the Captain was flabbergasted by Park's outburst.
"Uh..."
Park's eyes swept across the Bridge nervously. "Nothing."
Breckin
muttered, "What a loser."
Taggart
sat back in his chair, reaching out to the Disturbance in the Force.
What is your business here?
Who
are you? Darth Maul demanded.
Park
could hear the exchange between the two Force-users in his head.
Taggart
tried to read the other's thoughts, knowing that he would be doing
the same. You're dead.
So
are you.
The
connection was broken. Maul had other things to attend to now. He
would discover the Jedi's purpose later.
At
this moment, Jareena was requesting permission to land on one of
Coruscant's many landing pads.
Darth
Maul strode down the corridor to meet Jareena, the female he had not
seen in four years.