Disclaimer: Now seriously, if I really owned Maul or anything else of Star Wars, why would I waste my time writing fanfics? But I do own Midori. So hands off. =p
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Chapter 2
Midori gave a miserable groan as she came to. Her whole back was sore and it painfully reminded her of this fact as she slowly staggered to her feet. It killed her back to stand up straight, but her stomach felt worse after one look around the clearing. The attacker was nowhere to be found.
Good, she thought, he's left me alone. Suddenly a wave of concern crossed her face. He's left me alone. Midori felt sickeningly insecure as she eyed the edge of the shadowed forest. Strange sounds came from somewhere beyond the clearing- sounds she never heard on Coruscant. The Twi'lek screamed when a tiny animal jumped out from the forest, scampered across the clearing and disappeared into the underbrush on the opposite side. There certainly wasn't anything like that on Coruscant.
Midori was suddenly aware of noises coming from inside the Orin 1. Her master, the pilot and all the guards lay dead on the now-stained ground. So who-or what- was rummaging around inside the ship? She felt like running away into the forest when an idea came to mind: All her favorite clothes were on the ship. She had to keep them out of the hands of any thief.
Midori silently made her way over to the boarding ramp, carefully avoiding the bodies. The green skinned Twi'lek grew increasingly aware of the horrible stench emanating from the humans. They didn't smell too good when they were alive, but this was just plain ridiculous. She covered her nose with a lek as she reached the Orin 1, cautiously looking all around for the enemy. Midori stole into the ship, following the banging noises. Just as she was about to peer into one room halfway down the corridor, something came out. The humanoid carried a large mechanical device that blocked his upper body from view. Midori was too startled to run away, and she couldn't have run anyway once she got a look at his face.
He had stopped once he exited the room to look at her; he had already sensed her presence. His face was frightening enough, but his glare-set eyes were completely terrifying. Suddenly she realized this was the attacker. He was bent backwards as he carried the considerable object, although otherwise he didn't give the impression that it was heavy. After a few moments, Midori finally found her voice.
"Who... who are you?" The Sith passed her, replying,
"That is none of your concern." She turned and followed him, thinking she wasn't in too much danger of him with his arms occupied. Besides, if he wanted to kill her he could've already done so when she was unconscious. Being with an assassin was better than being alone- especially on this strange planet.
"You murdered my master. That makes it my concern!" Midori stated.
Murdered him quickly and efficiently, he reflected with half a smile. The Twi'lek didn't fancy being ignored, so she repeated the question with extra emphasis.
"Who are you?" An exasperated sigh escaped his lips before muttering,
"Darth Maul."
"I'm Midori. Why did you kill my master?
"Why didn't anyone else?" he returned quickly, stepping over a guard. Even though he could barely see in front of him, Maul evaded the scattered bodies with ease.
"Because he was nice and kind and rich and...." her voice trailed off when she realized the Sith was ignoring her again. Midori had to speed up almost to a jog to keep up with his quickened pace.
"Why keep me alive, then?"
"You would rather die?"
"No, no!" the Twi'lek exclaimed immediately. "I'm just curious."
"Far too much for you own good," he mumbled.
"You're not going to be my new master, are you?
"No."
"Then why did you spare me?"
"If you're going to be this annoying, I may just kill you when I get back to my ship," growled Maul, sidestepping a tree at the last second. The green skinned girl hadn't even noticed they had entered the woods. Looking back, she could barely make out the clearing, although she could faintly detect the smell. If it had already carried this far or it just clung to her clothes, she couldn't tell- nor did she want to know.
"Why are you stealing parts from my ship?" Midori suddenly spoke up. Maul groaned. He had hoped those few moments of silence were going to last longer. The Sith had only known her for a few minutes and already she had talked more than he was used to hearing in a week.
"Your ship? It doesn't look like your ship will be using it," he replied. The Twi'lek was aware of lighter ground up ahead. She soon found it to be another clearing where Maul's ship had landed.
"What are you going to do about the bodies?" asked Midori. Even though she wasn't well acquainted with the pilot or the guards, it would be respectful to give them some kind of ceremony.
"Nothing," he said flatly. "They'll be gone by tomorrow." Maul turned his head a little to stare back at the Twi'lek from the corners of his eyes. "Stay away from there if you don't want to be taken by some beast."
The Sith set the engine on the ground near the boarding ramp.
"How much stuff have you taken from my ship anyway?" Midori asked.
"Why do you care?
"Because when we get back to Coruscant, I want you to pay back everything you have stolen!"
"'We'? There is no 'we'. Once I fix my ship, I am leaving. You will stay here," corrected Maul, picking up the device again.
"Then how will I get home?" Midori whined as she watched him ascend the ramp.
"Orin was important. People will be looking for him and sooner or later they'll find your ship," he said, his voice echoing out from inside the ship. The Twi'lek followed but stopped halfway up the ramp, afraid to enter.
"But what if they don't find me?" she called. Midori waited a few moments, then heard a distant, "Not my problem."
The Twi'lek waited outside for what seemed like countless hours. She was definitely not trekking back through the forest to return to the Orin 1, and she wasn't entering Maul's ship, either. The green skinned girl was slowly growing paranoid. What if something smelled Zell's blood on her and came after her? What if the Sith fixed the ship before a search ship found her? Would he leave her to defend herself from a whole planet of Twi'lek-eating creatures? And most importantly- where would she get new clothes?
Her thoughts came crashing back to reality when she heard strange noises coming from the edge of the clearing. It sounded like deep, heavy breaths from some kind of large, horrible creature. Midori slowly edged her way up the boarding ramp.
"M... M... Maul..." she squeaked, eyeing the forest uneasily. The Twi'lek feared that the creature's attention would be direct toward her-if it wasn't already- if she called any louder. When she reached the top of the ramp, she cried his name again, her lekku twitching nervously. Midori tried to calm her nerves, thinking the animal was probably just passing by. She was all the way across the clearing- it wouldn't notice her... would it?
However the scent of human blood clinging to her was stronger than she thought. It was like a delicious invitation to whatever could get to her first.
Suddenly a large beast shot out into the clearing, fangs bared, heading for the Twi'lek. Midori screamed and ran further into the ship. The creature was remarkably fast and followed her onto the Sith Infiltrator. Just as the green skinned girl looked back, she tripped and fell to the floor, skidding a few feet across the cold surface. She rolled onto her back to see the large beast practically on top of her, snarling hungrily. It leaped for her when it was suddenly struck by a red blade. Midori wasn't sure of what happened until the halves of the creature fell on either side of her. The Twi'lek looked back to see Maul standing behind her, retracting the lightsaber blade.
"You saved me," she breathed, barely believing herself. The Sith cast her a demeaning glare, hanging the weapon hilt on his belt.
"I got dinner," he corrected tonelessly, then turned and headed back further into the ship. Midori cringed as she noticed the blood splattered on her. The creature had been cut in half right over her. Luckily blood was the only thing that fell on her. With a whine she quickly scraped the red liquid off her skin, shuddering at the disgustingness of it all. The green skinned Twi'lek jumped to her feet and ran after Maul, leaving a trail of blood drops behind her.
By the time she found him, the blood was almost dry against her and the path she left was barely noticeable. The Sith was installing the device he stole into the rest of the machinery.
"So what is that thing?" Midori asked softly.
"Why does it matter?" he retorted, standing back and wiping a sleeve across his face.
"I want to know," said the Twi'lek. Her master, or anyone else for that matter, never told her about the technological workings of their vehicles. They all thought she wouldn't get it. That was probably true, but she wanted to know anyway.
"What would you do with the information?" Maul squatted next to the machinery, checking wires and poking buttons. He seemed satisfied with the job he had done.
"Why must you be so difficult?" growled the green skinned girl, stomping a foot and splattering a few drops of blood. The Sith uttered something close to a chuckle.
"It's a sublight ion drive. Mine was damaged and instead of fixing it, I found your master had one and switched it." He paused to look at her bloodstained figure. "You reek." Midori self-consciously fingered a lek hanging over a shoulder.
"Could I use something in your ship to clean up?"
"No."
"But I can't go back to my ship!"
"Why not?"
"There are trees in the way and horrible things hiding between them. They would attack me and drag me off somewhere and eat me!" squealed the Twi'lek. Maul almost smiled at the thought. A long silence followed as he rechecked the installation and Midori watched him. He didn't mind for he had already forgotten she was there. Finally she sighed and brushed the lek behind her shoulder.
"Are you going back to my ship to take something else?"
"Yes."
"When?"
"Later."
"I'll go back to my ship then with you," stated the Twi'lek in a determined tone. When he didn't reply, Midori left the room to find something to amuse herself with until the Sith would be ready to leave.
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End of chapter 2. Don't worry, it'll get better
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Chapter 2
Midori gave a miserable groan as she came to. Her whole back was sore and it painfully reminded her of this fact as she slowly staggered to her feet. It killed her back to stand up straight, but her stomach felt worse after one look around the clearing. The attacker was nowhere to be found.
Good, she thought, he's left me alone. Suddenly a wave of concern crossed her face. He's left me alone. Midori felt sickeningly insecure as she eyed the edge of the shadowed forest. Strange sounds came from somewhere beyond the clearing- sounds she never heard on Coruscant. The Twi'lek screamed when a tiny animal jumped out from the forest, scampered across the clearing and disappeared into the underbrush on the opposite side. There certainly wasn't anything like that on Coruscant.
Midori was suddenly aware of noises coming from inside the Orin 1. Her master, the pilot and all the guards lay dead on the now-stained ground. So who-or what- was rummaging around inside the ship? She felt like running away into the forest when an idea came to mind: All her favorite clothes were on the ship. She had to keep them out of the hands of any thief.
Midori silently made her way over to the boarding ramp, carefully avoiding the bodies. The green skinned Twi'lek grew increasingly aware of the horrible stench emanating from the humans. They didn't smell too good when they were alive, but this was just plain ridiculous. She covered her nose with a lek as she reached the Orin 1, cautiously looking all around for the enemy. Midori stole into the ship, following the banging noises. Just as she was about to peer into one room halfway down the corridor, something came out. The humanoid carried a large mechanical device that blocked his upper body from view. Midori was too startled to run away, and she couldn't have run anyway once she got a look at his face.
He had stopped once he exited the room to look at her; he had already sensed her presence. His face was frightening enough, but his glare-set eyes were completely terrifying. Suddenly she realized this was the attacker. He was bent backwards as he carried the considerable object, although otherwise he didn't give the impression that it was heavy. After a few moments, Midori finally found her voice.
"Who... who are you?" The Sith passed her, replying,
"That is none of your concern." She turned and followed him, thinking she wasn't in too much danger of him with his arms occupied. Besides, if he wanted to kill her he could've already done so when she was unconscious. Being with an assassin was better than being alone- especially on this strange planet.
"You murdered my master. That makes it my concern!" Midori stated.
Murdered him quickly and efficiently, he reflected with half a smile. The Twi'lek didn't fancy being ignored, so she repeated the question with extra emphasis.
"Who are you?" An exasperated sigh escaped his lips before muttering,
"Darth Maul."
"I'm Midori. Why did you kill my master?
"Why didn't anyone else?" he returned quickly, stepping over a guard. Even though he could barely see in front of him, Maul evaded the scattered bodies with ease.
"Because he was nice and kind and rich and...." her voice trailed off when she realized the Sith was ignoring her again. Midori had to speed up almost to a jog to keep up with his quickened pace.
"Why keep me alive, then?"
"You would rather die?"
"No, no!" the Twi'lek exclaimed immediately. "I'm just curious."
"Far too much for you own good," he mumbled.
"You're not going to be my new master, are you?
"No."
"Then why did you spare me?"
"If you're going to be this annoying, I may just kill you when I get back to my ship," growled Maul, sidestepping a tree at the last second. The green skinned girl hadn't even noticed they had entered the woods. Looking back, she could barely make out the clearing, although she could faintly detect the smell. If it had already carried this far or it just clung to her clothes, she couldn't tell- nor did she want to know.
"Why are you stealing parts from my ship?" Midori suddenly spoke up. Maul groaned. He had hoped those few moments of silence were going to last longer. The Sith had only known her for a few minutes and already she had talked more than he was used to hearing in a week.
"Your ship? It doesn't look like your ship will be using it," he replied. The Twi'lek was aware of lighter ground up ahead. She soon found it to be another clearing where Maul's ship had landed.
"What are you going to do about the bodies?" asked Midori. Even though she wasn't well acquainted with the pilot or the guards, it would be respectful to give them some kind of ceremony.
"Nothing," he said flatly. "They'll be gone by tomorrow." Maul turned his head a little to stare back at the Twi'lek from the corners of his eyes. "Stay away from there if you don't want to be taken by some beast."
The Sith set the engine on the ground near the boarding ramp.
"How much stuff have you taken from my ship anyway?" Midori asked.
"Why do you care?
"Because when we get back to Coruscant, I want you to pay back everything you have stolen!"
"'We'? There is no 'we'. Once I fix my ship, I am leaving. You will stay here," corrected Maul, picking up the device again.
"Then how will I get home?" Midori whined as she watched him ascend the ramp.
"Orin was important. People will be looking for him and sooner or later they'll find your ship," he said, his voice echoing out from inside the ship. The Twi'lek followed but stopped halfway up the ramp, afraid to enter.
"But what if they don't find me?" she called. Midori waited a few moments, then heard a distant, "Not my problem."
The Twi'lek waited outside for what seemed like countless hours. She was definitely not trekking back through the forest to return to the Orin 1, and she wasn't entering Maul's ship, either. The green skinned girl was slowly growing paranoid. What if something smelled Zell's blood on her and came after her? What if the Sith fixed the ship before a search ship found her? Would he leave her to defend herself from a whole planet of Twi'lek-eating creatures? And most importantly- where would she get new clothes?
Her thoughts came crashing back to reality when she heard strange noises coming from the edge of the clearing. It sounded like deep, heavy breaths from some kind of large, horrible creature. Midori slowly edged her way up the boarding ramp.
"M... M... Maul..." she squeaked, eyeing the forest uneasily. The Twi'lek feared that the creature's attention would be direct toward her-if it wasn't already- if she called any louder. When she reached the top of the ramp, she cried his name again, her lekku twitching nervously. Midori tried to calm her nerves, thinking the animal was probably just passing by. She was all the way across the clearing- it wouldn't notice her... would it?
However the scent of human blood clinging to her was stronger than she thought. It was like a delicious invitation to whatever could get to her first.
Suddenly a large beast shot out into the clearing, fangs bared, heading for the Twi'lek. Midori screamed and ran further into the ship. The creature was remarkably fast and followed her onto the Sith Infiltrator. Just as the green skinned girl looked back, she tripped and fell to the floor, skidding a few feet across the cold surface. She rolled onto her back to see the large beast practically on top of her, snarling hungrily. It leaped for her when it was suddenly struck by a red blade. Midori wasn't sure of what happened until the halves of the creature fell on either side of her. The Twi'lek looked back to see Maul standing behind her, retracting the lightsaber blade.
"You saved me," she breathed, barely believing herself. The Sith cast her a demeaning glare, hanging the weapon hilt on his belt.
"I got dinner," he corrected tonelessly, then turned and headed back further into the ship. Midori cringed as she noticed the blood splattered on her. The creature had been cut in half right over her. Luckily blood was the only thing that fell on her. With a whine she quickly scraped the red liquid off her skin, shuddering at the disgustingness of it all. The green skinned Twi'lek jumped to her feet and ran after Maul, leaving a trail of blood drops behind her.
By the time she found him, the blood was almost dry against her and the path she left was barely noticeable. The Sith was installing the device he stole into the rest of the machinery.
"So what is that thing?" Midori asked softly.
"Why does it matter?" he retorted, standing back and wiping a sleeve across his face.
"I want to know," said the Twi'lek. Her master, or anyone else for that matter, never told her about the technological workings of their vehicles. They all thought she wouldn't get it. That was probably true, but she wanted to know anyway.
"What would you do with the information?" Maul squatted next to the machinery, checking wires and poking buttons. He seemed satisfied with the job he had done.
"Why must you be so difficult?" growled the green skinned girl, stomping a foot and splattering a few drops of blood. The Sith uttered something close to a chuckle.
"It's a sublight ion drive. Mine was damaged and instead of fixing it, I found your master had one and switched it." He paused to look at her bloodstained figure. "You reek." Midori self-consciously fingered a lek hanging over a shoulder.
"Could I use something in your ship to clean up?"
"No."
"But I can't go back to my ship!"
"Why not?"
"There are trees in the way and horrible things hiding between them. They would attack me and drag me off somewhere and eat me!" squealed the Twi'lek. Maul almost smiled at the thought. A long silence followed as he rechecked the installation and Midori watched him. He didn't mind for he had already forgotten she was there. Finally she sighed and brushed the lek behind her shoulder.
"Are you going back to my ship to take something else?"
"Yes."
"When?"
"Later."
"I'll go back to my ship then with you," stated the Twi'lek in a determined tone. When he didn't reply, Midori left the room to find something to amuse herself with until the Sith would be ready to leave.
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End of chapter 2. Don't worry, it'll get better