Entry Two
My relationship with my Master is unlike the Jedi-Padawan relationship. My Master rules me completely. We are both Sith Lords, but that is merely a title given to us by the natives of Korriban. My Master orders and directs my actions, holding the power of life or death over me. Yet, though I am his apprentice, I also share some of his power. As I have grown, so has his confidence in me.
I am content with my place in his shadow. Every moment I'm with my Master I learn something new. He is able to see weakness and exploit it, not only in battle but in politics and basic communication. He can sense anger and inflame it, confusing a being not attuned to the more powerful emotions. My Master's vision takes in the galaxy with its multitude of planets and governments. But the complexity of the Republic's politics does not intimidate him. He can hold it in his mind and know that someday he will control it all.
When I returned to my training room I activated a panel to look out over Coruscant. The city is multi-dimension, spreading out, above, below, and all around. It encompasses the whole of the planet, overpowering mountains, oceans, streams, and forests. Only one hill is visible in the entire landscape, and even that hill is taken up by Coruscant's wealthier inhabitants.
The sun has set below the metallic horizon but the many lights of the city and skyhooks above make up for the lack of natural light. Billions of beings live on Coruscant in billions of dwellings. Yet here is a place with more privacy than the far off planet of Tatooine or the water world of Kamino. Here there are so many places to hide, countless ways to move in secret. Here my Master has created our own world, all but invisible in the teeming masses of Coruscant's inhabitants.
Out among the many lights of the city is the Jedi Temple. There the Jedi live out their short lives in meditation while we act. They know nothing of the chaos they are about to face. My Master's plan will not fail. His plan will breed chaos.
I have difficulty calming my eagerness to face the Jedi. Despite my Master's calm assurance that fools can get lucky I know the Neimoidians will fail to kill the Jedi. Then my Master will call me into service and I will prove to him that I am worthy to be his apprentice. I am walking a thin line between eagerness and disloyalty. Wishing for Gunray to fail contradicts obedience to my Master's will.
I turned my thoughts again to the Jedi Temple, imagining it in a smoking ruin. I could almost see the bodies of the Jedi littering the ground. I could smell the ozone from locked lightsabres. I could taste the blood in my mouth. I imagined looking my Master in the eye and showing him the destruction.
Here is what I have done for you, Master.
Well done, Lord Maul.
But enough with the fantasies. I activated the panel and it slid closed, shutting out the blinking lights of the city. I focused my mind, preparing myself for my battle with the Jedi that I know will come.
During fatigue and hunger is when I push myself the hardest. Battles rarely happen when you are well rested and fed. My Master has taught me to be prepared at any moment and so I train to be prepared even when I lack sleep and nourishment.
I activated the dueling droids. These droids were programmed with the skill of many martial artists and were set to moved just a hair faster than any humanoid can. When I originally bought them the droids were programmed with a restraint that prevented them from dealing the killing blow once the opponent was disarmed, but that was the first thing I deactivated. Their accuracy was perfect and their weapons were lethal. A miscalculation on my part would have been a fatal mistake. I do not make mistakes.
I named each one of the droids according to the weapons they possessed; vibro-axe, blaster, and lightsabre. I saved lightsabre for last.
Vibro-axe was the first to attack me after I activated one blade of my lightsabre, aiming for my legs. To prolong the challenge I flipped backward and landed behind the droid. I used the end of my hilt to knock it forward, at the same time deflecting a bolt from Blaster with the live end of my weapon. Spinning, I took the head off Vibro-axe and knocked Blaster down with a kick to its chest plate. At this time I was forced to parry a thrust from Lightsabre before knocking it down with a Force-powered blast from my hand.
I could feel the Force rushing through me, fueled by my aggression. Its power filled my veins and strengthened my muscles giving me an unnatural edge against my mechanical opponents. Through the Force I could feel the bolt from Blaster headed toward me. Without looking I dodged it and deflected the next bolt back into the droid's face plate. By that time Lightsabre had risen and stood a little over a meter from me, looking for an opening in my defenses. I gave it the opening it wanted and the droid charged, swiping its weapon at my neck. Dropping to the ground I rolled under the droid before it realized I had moved. My leg caught and tripped the droid and I leapt to my feet holding my lightsabre sideways in front of me.
Without warning, my lightsabre leapt from my hands and landed in the grasp of my Master. I had not felt him enter.
My attention turned quickly from him to the remaining droid who had risen and started a new attack. Weaponless against the weapon of a Jedi, I am not defenseless. My master has trained me to use my body as a weapon. It is the only weapon I can rely on fully because it is the only weapon I control completely.
I knew my Master was testing me, and I also knew I could deactivate the droid with a single blow. As the droid charged me I leapt over its head, spinning in the air to face the droid. Before I landed I grabbed hold of its metallic head and twisted, pulling it off as my feet touched the ground. My heart rate and breathing had barely increased during the fight.
I watched my Master as he examined my now deactivated weapon. I knew a reproach was coming, as it always does when I do not notice his coming. At last he threw the weapon into the air and I called it to my hand through the Force.
'Do not let me see you relax your guard again,' he said to me. He had his hood pushed back and I could see his eyes. In them I could read disapproval. 'You are valuable, Lord Maul, but you are not indispensable.'
Just as silently as he came he left. I knew he was right. Had I been in a battle against Jedi I would have been dead. In a way the Jedi are weak, but they too have the power to disguise their presence in the Force. I had been careless.
In the coming battle against the Jedi I will not be so careless. My hatred toward them burns hotter every day. My weapon is the Force, powered by my aggression and hate, a blade pointed at the Jedi. They are my enemy, but I will triumph over them. I will triumph because I have weapons to use that they must fight against. I have my anger, and I have no mercy.
My Master once warned me not to underestimate the Jedi. That though they have a fatal flaw they are still formidable. I asked him to name their flaw. In one word my Master named the downfall of the Jedi.
Compassion.
