CHAPTER 3: ATTACK IN THE DARK
Night fell on the palace. Darth Inferno's ship returned.
"You've avoided the question one time too many," said Count Dooku, sitting behind Darth Inferno, "How did we get here?"
"If you must know, you aren't the real Count Dooku," sighed Darth Inferno, "The real Count died, as did the real Darth Maul. You are both clones, with all the memories that were stored on their mind maps loaded into your brain."
There was an uncomfortable silence as the Sith lords let this disturbing fact sink in. Darth Maul eventually broke the silence.
"Who's your master?" he asked.
"Excuse me?" asked Darth Inferno.
"It's a perfectly reasonable question," replied Count Dooku, "Who are you an apprentice to?"
Darth Inferno shifted anxiously in his seat before explaining.
"I have none. I am not officially a Sith. They said I was too petty to learn to live the life of a true Sith. It doesn't matter though. I have used state-of-the-art training simulations to improve my skill, and I am developing the ultimate lightsaber."
"Have you ever been in a battle?" asked a cynical Darth Maul.
"That's not the point," mumbled Darth Inferno, "Anyway, it's time for you and Darth Maul to go."
Darth Maul was about to say something, but Count Dooku urged him out of the ship.
"We ought to kill him," snarled Darth Maul to Count Dooku, "He's of no use to us."
"Not yet," answered Count Dooku, "He has quite a good plan. He may be of some use to us yet."
Leia lay asleep in her bed. She was having a pleasant dream. Suddenly, something pulled her out of her dream state. Her eyes wearily opened. Had she heard something? Leia sat up in bed and rubbed her eyes. The room was too dark for her to see much. Then a gloved hand grabbed her mouth.
"If you try to get away, I'll kill you," whispered Darth Maul, "If you try to call for help, I'll kill you. Understand?"
Chewbacca was relaxing in the courtyard. He often awoke in the middle of the night and came down here. He heard a noise. He walked round to the front of the palace and found the door guards dead. He then noticed Leia being dragged off by a tall, horned man with a face that was tattooed red and black. An older man followed him. Both were dressed in black. Chewbacca lunged forward and knocked the older man to the ground.
Han Solo and Luke Skywalker had also run to the front of the palace by this point. They had heard a few thuds in the palace and had come out to investigate. They watched as Chewbacca approached the old man.
Count Dooku was only feigning injury, waiting for the right time to strike. He sensed the lumbering beast above him. Smiling thinly to himself, he spun round, grabbing his lightsaber. He sliced Chewbacca's head clean off.
"Chewie!" screamed Han Solo, who then charged at Count Dooku in anger.
Count Dooku calmly fired a bolt of lightning at Han Solo, blasting him off his feet.
Count Dooku and Darth Maul started to run across the bridge overlooking the moat surrounding the palace. At the other side, the waiting ship's door opened.
"Stop!" cried Luke.
"Take the girl," said Darth Maul, handing Leia over to Count Dooku, "I want to have some fun."
Count Dooku took Leia into the spaceship. Darth Maul armed his double- edged lightsaber, a red beam coming out each side. Luke pulled out his lightsaber, with a blue beam coming out of the end.
The battle on the bridge commenced. Luke struggled to keep up with the pace of Darth Maul. After a quick series of strokes with his lightsaber, Darth Maul flipped over Luke's head. Luke was ready for him, however, hitting a solid downward strike with the lightsaber as Darth Maul landed. Darth Maul's weapon fell out of his hands. Darth Maul smiled coldly. Luke thrust forward with his lightsaber, but Maul swerved to the side and hit Luke with an elbow to the jaw. A sharp kick from Darth Maul then caused Luke to drop his lightsaber behind him. Laughing, Darth Maul flipped over Luke again and grabbed Luke's lightsaber. However, by the time he had turned round, Luke had gotten hold of Darth Maul's double-edged lightsaber. Luke sliced it into Darth Maul with an upward spinning swipe.
Darth Maul sputtered and dropped Luke's lightsaber. A trickle of blood ran down from Darth Maul's forehead. Soon, blood was running in a vertical line down Darth Maul's body. A half of Darth Maul's body fell off each side of the bridge, clearing the way between Luke and the ship. Han Solo staggered up to him. They caught a glimpse of the man they had known as Jillon Nartano driving the ship.
"Leia will die in 12 hours," announced Count Dooku, just as the ship's doors closed. The spaceship was out of site before Luke and Han Solo could even call out Leia's name in despair.
"What are we going to do?" asked Luke.
"Simple," replied Han Solo, "We're going to get Leia back."
Night fell on the palace. Darth Inferno's ship returned.
"You've avoided the question one time too many," said Count Dooku, sitting behind Darth Inferno, "How did we get here?"
"If you must know, you aren't the real Count Dooku," sighed Darth Inferno, "The real Count died, as did the real Darth Maul. You are both clones, with all the memories that were stored on their mind maps loaded into your brain."
There was an uncomfortable silence as the Sith lords let this disturbing fact sink in. Darth Maul eventually broke the silence.
"Who's your master?" he asked.
"Excuse me?" asked Darth Inferno.
"It's a perfectly reasonable question," replied Count Dooku, "Who are you an apprentice to?"
Darth Inferno shifted anxiously in his seat before explaining.
"I have none. I am not officially a Sith. They said I was too petty to learn to live the life of a true Sith. It doesn't matter though. I have used state-of-the-art training simulations to improve my skill, and I am developing the ultimate lightsaber."
"Have you ever been in a battle?" asked a cynical Darth Maul.
"That's not the point," mumbled Darth Inferno, "Anyway, it's time for you and Darth Maul to go."
Darth Maul was about to say something, but Count Dooku urged him out of the ship.
"We ought to kill him," snarled Darth Maul to Count Dooku, "He's of no use to us."
"Not yet," answered Count Dooku, "He has quite a good plan. He may be of some use to us yet."
Leia lay asleep in her bed. She was having a pleasant dream. Suddenly, something pulled her out of her dream state. Her eyes wearily opened. Had she heard something? Leia sat up in bed and rubbed her eyes. The room was too dark for her to see much. Then a gloved hand grabbed her mouth.
"If you try to get away, I'll kill you," whispered Darth Maul, "If you try to call for help, I'll kill you. Understand?"
Chewbacca was relaxing in the courtyard. He often awoke in the middle of the night and came down here. He heard a noise. He walked round to the front of the palace and found the door guards dead. He then noticed Leia being dragged off by a tall, horned man with a face that was tattooed red and black. An older man followed him. Both were dressed in black. Chewbacca lunged forward and knocked the older man to the ground.
Han Solo and Luke Skywalker had also run to the front of the palace by this point. They had heard a few thuds in the palace and had come out to investigate. They watched as Chewbacca approached the old man.
Count Dooku was only feigning injury, waiting for the right time to strike. He sensed the lumbering beast above him. Smiling thinly to himself, he spun round, grabbing his lightsaber. He sliced Chewbacca's head clean off.
"Chewie!" screamed Han Solo, who then charged at Count Dooku in anger.
Count Dooku calmly fired a bolt of lightning at Han Solo, blasting him off his feet.
Count Dooku and Darth Maul started to run across the bridge overlooking the moat surrounding the palace. At the other side, the waiting ship's door opened.
"Stop!" cried Luke.
"Take the girl," said Darth Maul, handing Leia over to Count Dooku, "I want to have some fun."
Count Dooku took Leia into the spaceship. Darth Maul armed his double- edged lightsaber, a red beam coming out each side. Luke pulled out his lightsaber, with a blue beam coming out of the end.
The battle on the bridge commenced. Luke struggled to keep up with the pace of Darth Maul. After a quick series of strokes with his lightsaber, Darth Maul flipped over Luke's head. Luke was ready for him, however, hitting a solid downward strike with the lightsaber as Darth Maul landed. Darth Maul's weapon fell out of his hands. Darth Maul smiled coldly. Luke thrust forward with his lightsaber, but Maul swerved to the side and hit Luke with an elbow to the jaw. A sharp kick from Darth Maul then caused Luke to drop his lightsaber behind him. Laughing, Darth Maul flipped over Luke again and grabbed Luke's lightsaber. However, by the time he had turned round, Luke had gotten hold of Darth Maul's double-edged lightsaber. Luke sliced it into Darth Maul with an upward spinning swipe.
Darth Maul sputtered and dropped Luke's lightsaber. A trickle of blood ran down from Darth Maul's forehead. Soon, blood was running in a vertical line down Darth Maul's body. A half of Darth Maul's body fell off each side of the bridge, clearing the way between Luke and the ship. Han Solo staggered up to him. They caught a glimpse of the man they had known as Jillon Nartano driving the ship.
"Leia will die in 12 hours," announced Count Dooku, just as the ship's doors closed. The spaceship was out of site before Luke and Han Solo could even call out Leia's name in despair.
"What are we going to do?" asked Luke.
"Simple," replied Han Solo, "We're going to get Leia back."