Star Wars: Infinities – The Apprentice

Chapter 17

By: Christopher W. Blaine (darth_yoshi@yahoo.com)

DISCLAIMER: The characters and situations contained in this story are used without permission for non-profit entertainment purposes only and are ©2002 by George Lucas. This story (pertaining to this chapter and all subsequent chapters) is ©2002 by Christopher W. Blaine and may not be reproduced in any form, except hard printouts for personal enjoyment, without the express permission of the author.

Ki's violet blade came down hard, cutting through the hilt of Maul's double-bladed weapon, but all it did was give the Sith Lord two weapons as opposed to one. Maul began a dance of crimson fury as one blade would cut high at Ki and another would swing low at Frie, who was already hurt from a quick stab to the shoulder.

Maul spun and brought both blades around in a double strike. Frie fell back in shock and involuntarily pushed out with the Force. The blast wave caught both Maul and Ki, sending them rolling across the barren avenue of statues. One of Maul's weapons tumbled away, deactivated.

The Dark Lord was the first on his feet and he threw his hand out. The Force reached out caught Frie in the chest, wrapping around his heart. Maul squeezed with his mind, halting the pumping of blood. "No!" Ki cried out, getting up and using the Force to propel him through the air. A high kick to side of the head sent reeling and he released his grip on Frie.

Frie looked on to Maul and Ki and tried to speak, but the cold pain that was racing up his left arm told him the ending of his tale. He tried to will the Force to his aid, but the voice of an unseen Dark Lord whispered that the damage was too great to repair.

Maul stumbled back and blocked a punch to his face. He saw the other Jedi fall, clutching his chest. "You are all alone, Jedi," he whispered between deep breaths.

Ki backed up and took a breather as well. "I don't see it that way; the Force is my ally."

Maul shook his head. "Not here, not in this place. Here it works against you." Maul took another step backward and rested on his left foot.

Ki regarded the position. "Nebula Claw style, very old…easily countered by the Nova Fist." Ki brought one fist down and the other high. "I have studied the Sith martial arts."

"Studying and using are two different things, old man," Maul barked as he widened his stance and put his palms up. "Dark Viper."

Ki slowly brought his left leg up and slowly rotated on his foot until he was facing more away from Maul then to him. His hands went together and he brought them up to mid-chest level. "Savage Dragon."

Maul roared and jumped, bringing his palms back. As he neared Ki, he pushed them out, striking him in the shoulder. Ki countered with a double-fisted blow to the midsection. The strike emptied Maul's lungs and he recognized from the pain that Ki was indeed a master of the Sith fighting style.

Maul couldn't breathe, but that wasn't much of a problem as he had trained for such an eventuality. The Force would refill his lungs in time and he decided it was time to show the old man who was boss. Maul kicked Ki in the groin.

Ki's eyes went open to their limits. In all of his times dealing with the martial arts and fighting masters of different forms, none had ever just simply done that. The pain was incredible, both the physical and the realization he had left himself open for the most basic of attacks. The Force heeded his call, pushing the pain deep inside, and Ki backhanded the Sith Lord.

Bloodied knuckles were his reward as he rudely discovered that Maul's head spikes were more than decoration. Maul stepped back and smiled, ruined teeth making him look like a predatory beast. "You are dying already and don't even know it."

Ki reached out and pulled his lightsaber to him from across the road. It ignited in midair and when it reached his hand, he suddenly felt both calm and a sinking feeling. Maul made no motion to block the coming strike. The truth came to him in the form of a quickly shooting pain going up his arm. "You poisoned your horns?" Ki asked, not quite believing the levels that Maul was willing to go to win. "The Sith have no honor," she said as he slumped, unable to finish the killing blow.

"What good is honor if you aren't alive to enjoy it?" Maul asked as he pulled Ki's lightsaber from his hand with a thought. He then walked up and kicked the Jedi in the chin, sending him to oblivion.

Darth Vader watched the exchange between Maul and the Jedi with interest and even a little admiration. Darth Maul was a great Sith Lord and Vader had respected him. It was only now, after accumulating as much evidence as he could, that he realized that the reason Darth Maul was where he was at was because he cared about nobody but himself. "The Force is with you, Darth Maul, but it will not be enough to save you," Vader called out.

Maul turned slowly, still holding the purple blade of the Jedi. "I see that the student hopes to surpass the master, but you are still the learner."

Vader started walking slowly towards his master. "I have left you behind, Lord Maul, you are what was and I am what will be. The future of the Sith is with me, not you."

"You have allowed your emotions to cloud your judgment, Anakin Skywalker," Maul joked.

Vader ignored the jest. "You have allowed your jealousy to cloud yours."

Maul stopped. "How can there be jealousy? I am going to kill you and then I will take your apprentice. If she fails to satisfy me, then I'll have to kill her as well."

Vader stopped and pulled his lightsaber from his belt, igniting it as he spoke. "Then kill me if you can and we shall see who is truly the master."

Maul and Vader both started running towards each other, lightsabers held high over their heads, each screaming in pure rage. The met in a lightning storm of emotions and dancing energy blades. When they met, thunder rolled from the clouds above as the spirits of long dead Sith Lords cheered their champions.

Maul was tired and he knew that Vader had to be taken down quickly. Maul decided to forego style for effect. He pressed his attack, trying to put Vader on the defensive but it was not going as smoothly as he hoped.

Vader managed to force Maul's weapon down and he head-butted his master. Maul stumbled back, seeing stars and just missed an upward sweep meant to lop off his head. "You're weakening Lord Maul; surrender and end this…is that not what you used to say?"

"Only to your mother, boy," Maul retorted, flipping up and over Vader. Vader roared and Maul felt the ground begin to shake.

"Your death will be sweet for me, master," Vader said as he rushed blindly towards Maul. His swings were fueled by rage and not skill. Maul saw an opening and took it. Throwing himself forward in a cartwheel, Maul went past Vader, missing two strikes and gaining the superior position by ending up at Vader's back.

Vader understood even before the lightsaber plunged into his back and through his lung that he had made a mistake. There was no pain, just a burning and then nothingness as he seemed to forget how to breathe. His vision went blurry and he fell to his knees.

His ears picked up a scream and his unbeating heart felt like a lead weight in his chest.

Maul turned, not believing what he was seeing. "Run away girl, this is not a place for you."

Padme looked at the fallen Vader and then to Maul. "You are chaos given flesh, soulless monster that cannot even begin to fathom what it means to love someone."

"Love is for fools," Maul answered, swinging the lightsaber in several arcs. "You are my apprentice now and you will attend me."

Padme crossed her arms over her chest. "I'll die first."

"So be it," Maul said, calling on the Force. A statue that had stood against the tests of time suddenly rocked and fell. The stone face fell squarely on Padme. "So it ends," Maul said with a smile.

"Yes it does," Vader's voice called from behind him. His breathing was ragged, a sucking sound coming from the hole in his chest, but that was not what Maul saw. As he faced his former apprentice, he saw that Vader was bathed in the light of the Force.

It wasn't just the dark side or the light side, but the Force in all of it's raw fury. Vader glowed like a beacon and there was a peace about him that made Maul feel something for the first time in his entire life.

Fear.

"Now you will know just how powerful you never were," Vader commanded and Darth Maul, Dark Lord of the Sith, burst into flames. He screamed, howled like a banshee, but could not move as he was held in the unforgiving grip of pure rage. The flames turned from orange to red to yellow and finally white as they increased in temperature and intensity. Within seconds, all that was left of Darth Maul was his absence.

The stone on top of Padme floated into the air and flew into the sky, never to return as it broke orbit. Vader's physical body was beginning to give out and the truths of the universe were being revealed to him in flashes of light. He saw centuries in seconds and came to know what his place was in the Force.

Old friends and enemies were gathered, all part of the Force now, those who willingly joined with it. Qui-Gon Jinn held out a hand. "Anakin, it is time to go."

"I can't leave her; I must bring balance to the Force."

Qui-Gon's hand remained extended. "Balance will be achieved."

"I can't go with you," he started to say as he realized how wrong he had been in his chosen path. His folly was revealed. Instead of taking Padme's love and using it as an anchor to find himself, he had allowed his pain to mix with hers. He had poisoned the one he loved. "I must warn her."

"Your time is done, Anakin," Qui-Gon said.

"She'll be alone!"

Then the future was revealed to him and he saw what was to come, both pain and pleasure and Anakin Skywalker surrendered, willingly, to the Force. Not to become a vengeful spirit of Korriban; no, he let his anger free and remembered the love he had always wanted and felt from his mother and friends. Tears formed on his burning eyes as a first kiss and a first night together became his last thoughts on the mortal plane.

Bail Organna stood outside the operating room, watching as his own team of surgeons, headed by a doctor whose name remained secret but who was owed a great debt by Bail. They had been working for several hours on trying to save the life of Padme, whose broken body had been found on the planet surface.

Bail tensed as he saw one of the other doctors left the table and passed through the sterilizing field before coming out into the lobby. He came up to Bail, saw Thrawn standing in the corner and then whispered something into Bail's ear. Bail's eyes grew wide and he asked the doctor if he was sure.

Bail straightened up and spoke in a very clear and loud voice. "Take the boy; place him in an artificial womb."

The doctor nodded and went back in. Thrawn stepped up to Bail, his cool blue skin giving him the appearance of total calm. "The child can be saved?"

"I've ordered the boy to be removed from her. It will aid in both of their recoveries. Her injuries are quite extensive."

Thrawn nodded. "You are in love with her, yes? It is obvious in the way you act."

"A long time ago, maybe, but I have my own family now."

Thrawn cocked his head to the side, searching his memory. "You aren't married, General."

"I had a child through a mistress," Bail said silently. "I would appreciate some discretion. When she is of the proper age, I will reveal her to the Alderaanian court."

"A son?"

"No, a daughter named Mara," he said as he watched the operation. "You need to report to the Emperor about the deaths of Lord Maul and Lord Vader."

"He will not be pleased; if you save the girl's life, then maybe he won't kill you," Thrawn said with a bit of irony.

"I'll be so happy if he doesn't," Bail replied.