Disclaimer: Midori=mine, everything else=not mine
a/n: Sorry it took me so long to update. It was more because of laziness than business... ; But more chapters may come out slower now because of school. Not because I'm just lazy... yeah.
Chapter 4
The communications were still dead. They were damaged from the fight and the awkward landing. Maul couldn't contact his master yet. But he would fix that. He would take a few more things from Zell's ship to fix his own. After repairing the hull in two places, he would be ready to leave. Leave this pitiful excuse for a moon, leave the annoying, tasteless creatures, and leave that clingy Twi'lek.
He had sensed how terrified she was last night. Good. That's how she should've been from the start. He was a Sith after all. He deserved respect. He deserved fear.
Remembering Midori, he realized he hadn't heard a squeak from her all morning. He had expected she'd hunt him down to complain about the miserable time she'd had camping out that night and to whine about breakfast and other things that came to her mind. Perhaps she was still cowering somewhere, afraid to talk to him anymore.
Yeah, right.
Reluctantly Maul returned to the clearing. The fire ring was barely smoldering and Midori's clothes were tossed about. The Twi'lek was no where to be seen. The Sith groaned and slid a gloved hand down his face. Now where had she wandered off to?
He inspected the small campsite and concluded that she had not run off. For one, she wouldn't have left her clothes scattered about on the muddy ground. Also there were strange prints leading from Midori's place to the forest. The Twi'lek had been captured. Maul groaned again. All this trouble to start a rumor. He had half the mind to let her remain captured. But the rumor was far too important. He'd have to rescue that idiot Twi'lek... again. The tracks were easy enough for him to follow and he passed more silently through the woods than even the native creatures.
Midori had cried herself into a deep sleep and when she woke up she was startled to find herself hanging from a wooden pole, her wrists and ankles tied to it. Small, fuzzy creatures were carrying her through the forest. She had tried in vain to break the bonds several times. Soon the Twi'lek just gave up and hung limply as the small group entered a village. Other creatures resembling her captors came from the houses to get a better look at Midori. A little furry child waddled up and began poking her with a stick.
"Get away from me! All of you!" she shrieked at last. "You're ugly and you smell funny." The little creature jumped back at her outburst, then gave her a quick, hard poke and ran off. The Twi'lek remembered something her master had said about the inhabitants of Endor once. She hadn't been paying much attention because at the time her nails were more fascinating. But she heard of a creature called an Ewok. Now she wished she had paid more attention.
As she was carried through their village, Midori decided that her captors didn't look too harmful. In fact, they looked a little cute.
That opinion drastically changed when they finally set her down. The ends of the pole she was tied to were propped up by other sticks and she was hanging above a pile of wood. A crowd of Ewoks gathered and watched as one of their group brought a burning torch. Drums sounded from somewhere near. Dinner music, Midori figured.
The girl's throat tightened. It felt as if an invisible force had clutched her lungs, not allowing her to breathe. She wrapped her lekku securely around herself. She didn't want to die. The green-skinned girl especially didn't want to be eaten by squat, bad smelling creatures. Even though the night before she wished she'd never see that Sith again, she desperately hoped he'd suddenly appear to save her.
Midori looked at the surrounding Ewoks.
"Really, I don't taste that good! I may look beautiful, but some people have said I'm spoiled! I didn't believe it then, but I do now! You don't want to eat me, do you?" she whined. The young Ewok returned and poked her with the stick again, squeaking and growling occasionally. It obviously did not like her. The Ewok with the torch finally arrived next to her. It lifted the flame higher for all the others to see, then lowered it toward the pile of wood. With a flick of a lek, Midori knocked the torch from it's hand. The fire landed on the damp ground and slowly dimmed. The Ewok vented a gruff bark as it looked from the extinguished torch tot he Twi'lek. Midori's lek returned to around her body, meekly eyeing the creatures around her. That was the bravest thing she had ever done in her pampered, surreal life.
Two Ewoks ran up with chord to tie her lekku to the pole. Her captors had never seen a Twi'lek before, and they didn't realize she could control her head-tails. They wouldn't be caught off-guard like that again. Midori held them off for a few seconds by slapping at them, but the two overpowered her and tied her lekku securely to the branch.
Another torch was brought and stabbed into the pile of wood. The fire spread slowly, but she immediately felt the heat.
"No!" Midori cried, "My designer clothes will be ruined!" The Twi'lek tried to pull closer to the pole, but, not being very strong, soon slumped back toward the flames. Her back felt like it was burning, although the fire was nowhere near it yet.
Suddenly there was a cry from the edge of the surrounding forest and an Ewok flew into the small group of creatures. Horns sounded from somewhere else and cries of panic arose from the inhabitants. Some dashed for hiding while others picked up small weapons. Shrieks were heard from behind the trees. Suddenly a tall figure burst through the forest line, waving a double edged lightsaber. Midori would've breathed a sigh of relief, but she didn't feel any safer while still over the fire.
"Maul! Get me off of here! My clothes are almost ruined!" she shrieked, wriggling fiercely. The Sith ignored her, attacking all the Ewoks that ran over to him, weapons raised. Just when she thought he'd never rescue her, the pole she was hanging from began to float, higher and higher. He didn't seem to be paying her any attention, yet he kept her perfectly suspended in the air.
"Get me down! Get me down!" cried the Twi'lek, staring wide-eyed at the ground that now seemed far away. Suddenly the ties that bound her to the pole unraveled and she fell to the damp ground. The Ewoks didn't seem to care their hostage was loose, for they were more concerned with either fighting this fierce new enemy or fleeing from him. Suddenly a light shower began falling. Midori scuttled under a tree, as if afraid the rain would hurt her. Just as she ran under the protective branches, it began pouring. The Twi'lek watched Maul continue fighting the Ewoks, either unaware or uncaring of the rain crashing all around him. He seemed to be unhindered by the heavy drops and the excess weight his wet clothes added.
In another minute the area was clear of any creature. The rain was coming down harder than ever. The drops cracked and fizzled on the Sith's lightsaber blade. It retracted with a hum. He stared at the shaking figure under the tree. She was such a pitiful excuse for an alien. But that pitiful alien would spread the rumor perfectly. Maul vented a low growl. If only she wasn't so annoying. "Come on," he ordered. Remember how he had snapped last night, Midori was quick to obey, even if she did have to run out in the rain. She almost had to run to keep up with his brisk pace.
"Th-thank you for saving m-me," stuttered the Twi'lek, unsure herself if it was out of coldness or fear.
"Don't get captured again." Midori slowed a little, taken aback at his statement.
"Well, it wasn't my fault! I didn't know I was going to be kidnapped! And if I had known I would've... I would've... well, I would've done something," she said with a determined nod. The Sith didn't reply. He just kept walking at his fast pace, ducking under one branch, stepping over another root. He seemed to know exactly where he was going, even though every direction looked exactly the same. The Ewok village was now lost beyond the trees. Midori felt a little better, even though she figured she was probably in more danger in the presence of the Sith.
"Do you know where you're going?" asked Midori after awhile of following the man.
"Yes."
"Do you really?"
"I said yes," Maul replied sharply. It took all the will power he had to refrain from just reaching back and decking the bubble-headed girl. A few more minutes passed before they finally reached the clearing with the fire ring and the ship. The Twi'lek's clothes were still tossed about the area. Midori stopped when she saw the ship. She tilted her head to try to see it straight.
"It looks... tipped," the girl said.
"It's sinking into the swampy ground," replied Maul who kept walking toward the Sith Infiltrator. From behind he heard her shriek and he knew she had noticed her muddied clothes. She gave cries of distress as she gingerly picked up each article of clothing.
Suddenly Maul stopped and turned back to the Twi'lek, who was still mourning over her wardrobe.
"Quiet!" he shouted. The girl obeyed. The tone of his voice had made her stop crying rather than the order. To her he sounded more desperate than angry. The two heard distant, deep humming sounds.
"A ship! A ship's somewhere around here!" the green skinned girl exclaimed, jumping up and running over to the Sith. "A ship's come to save me! Finally!" She started bouncing around Maul, clapping and giggling. His hand shot out, grabbed her lekku and pulled her back.
"Quiet," he ordered again, harsher this time. After a quick look around, he dragged her into the shadow of his ship.
"I didn't expect them to be here this soon. If they scan for your master's ship, they'll detect mine as well. I still need to make repairs. I won't get out in time. The cloaking generator was damaged in the landing," hissed Maul, mostly to himself. The Twi'lek watched his angry expression and winced when he tugged on her lekku as he emphasized some words.
"Does this mean you'll kill that whole crew?" Midori asked as they continued to listen to the far-off noises. The Sith glanced toward her, a sheepish look plastered on her face. She may be air-headed at times, but she was beginning to catch on.
a/n: Sorry it took me so long to update. It was more because of laziness than business... ; But more chapters may come out slower now because of school. Not because I'm just lazy... yeah.
Chapter 4
The communications were still dead. They were damaged from the fight and the awkward landing. Maul couldn't contact his master yet. But he would fix that. He would take a few more things from Zell's ship to fix his own. After repairing the hull in two places, he would be ready to leave. Leave this pitiful excuse for a moon, leave the annoying, tasteless creatures, and leave that clingy Twi'lek.
He had sensed how terrified she was last night. Good. That's how she should've been from the start. He was a Sith after all. He deserved respect. He deserved fear.
Remembering Midori, he realized he hadn't heard a squeak from her all morning. He had expected she'd hunt him down to complain about the miserable time she'd had camping out that night and to whine about breakfast and other things that came to her mind. Perhaps she was still cowering somewhere, afraid to talk to him anymore.
Yeah, right.
Reluctantly Maul returned to the clearing. The fire ring was barely smoldering and Midori's clothes were tossed about. The Twi'lek was no where to be seen. The Sith groaned and slid a gloved hand down his face. Now where had she wandered off to?
He inspected the small campsite and concluded that she had not run off. For one, she wouldn't have left her clothes scattered about on the muddy ground. Also there were strange prints leading from Midori's place to the forest. The Twi'lek had been captured. Maul groaned again. All this trouble to start a rumor. He had half the mind to let her remain captured. But the rumor was far too important. He'd have to rescue that idiot Twi'lek... again. The tracks were easy enough for him to follow and he passed more silently through the woods than even the native creatures.
Midori had cried herself into a deep sleep and when she woke up she was startled to find herself hanging from a wooden pole, her wrists and ankles tied to it. Small, fuzzy creatures were carrying her through the forest. She had tried in vain to break the bonds several times. Soon the Twi'lek just gave up and hung limply as the small group entered a village. Other creatures resembling her captors came from the houses to get a better look at Midori. A little furry child waddled up and began poking her with a stick.
"Get away from me! All of you!" she shrieked at last. "You're ugly and you smell funny." The little creature jumped back at her outburst, then gave her a quick, hard poke and ran off. The Twi'lek remembered something her master had said about the inhabitants of Endor once. She hadn't been paying much attention because at the time her nails were more fascinating. But she heard of a creature called an Ewok. Now she wished she had paid more attention.
As she was carried through their village, Midori decided that her captors didn't look too harmful. In fact, they looked a little cute.
That opinion drastically changed when they finally set her down. The ends of the pole she was tied to were propped up by other sticks and she was hanging above a pile of wood. A crowd of Ewoks gathered and watched as one of their group brought a burning torch. Drums sounded from somewhere near. Dinner music, Midori figured.
The girl's throat tightened. It felt as if an invisible force had clutched her lungs, not allowing her to breathe. She wrapped her lekku securely around herself. She didn't want to die. The green-skinned girl especially didn't want to be eaten by squat, bad smelling creatures. Even though the night before she wished she'd never see that Sith again, she desperately hoped he'd suddenly appear to save her.
Midori looked at the surrounding Ewoks.
"Really, I don't taste that good! I may look beautiful, but some people have said I'm spoiled! I didn't believe it then, but I do now! You don't want to eat me, do you?" she whined. The young Ewok returned and poked her with the stick again, squeaking and growling occasionally. It obviously did not like her. The Ewok with the torch finally arrived next to her. It lifted the flame higher for all the others to see, then lowered it toward the pile of wood. With a flick of a lek, Midori knocked the torch from it's hand. The fire landed on the damp ground and slowly dimmed. The Ewok vented a gruff bark as it looked from the extinguished torch tot he Twi'lek. Midori's lek returned to around her body, meekly eyeing the creatures around her. That was the bravest thing she had ever done in her pampered, surreal life.
Two Ewoks ran up with chord to tie her lekku to the pole. Her captors had never seen a Twi'lek before, and they didn't realize she could control her head-tails. They wouldn't be caught off-guard like that again. Midori held them off for a few seconds by slapping at them, but the two overpowered her and tied her lekku securely to the branch.
Another torch was brought and stabbed into the pile of wood. The fire spread slowly, but she immediately felt the heat.
"No!" Midori cried, "My designer clothes will be ruined!" The Twi'lek tried to pull closer to the pole, but, not being very strong, soon slumped back toward the flames. Her back felt like it was burning, although the fire was nowhere near it yet.
Suddenly there was a cry from the edge of the surrounding forest and an Ewok flew into the small group of creatures. Horns sounded from somewhere else and cries of panic arose from the inhabitants. Some dashed for hiding while others picked up small weapons. Shrieks were heard from behind the trees. Suddenly a tall figure burst through the forest line, waving a double edged lightsaber. Midori would've breathed a sigh of relief, but she didn't feel any safer while still over the fire.
"Maul! Get me off of here! My clothes are almost ruined!" she shrieked, wriggling fiercely. The Sith ignored her, attacking all the Ewoks that ran over to him, weapons raised. Just when she thought he'd never rescue her, the pole she was hanging from began to float, higher and higher. He didn't seem to be paying her any attention, yet he kept her perfectly suspended in the air.
"Get me down! Get me down!" cried the Twi'lek, staring wide-eyed at the ground that now seemed far away. Suddenly the ties that bound her to the pole unraveled and she fell to the damp ground. The Ewoks didn't seem to care their hostage was loose, for they were more concerned with either fighting this fierce new enemy or fleeing from him. Suddenly a light shower began falling. Midori scuttled under a tree, as if afraid the rain would hurt her. Just as she ran under the protective branches, it began pouring. The Twi'lek watched Maul continue fighting the Ewoks, either unaware or uncaring of the rain crashing all around him. He seemed to be unhindered by the heavy drops and the excess weight his wet clothes added.
In another minute the area was clear of any creature. The rain was coming down harder than ever. The drops cracked and fizzled on the Sith's lightsaber blade. It retracted with a hum. He stared at the shaking figure under the tree. She was such a pitiful excuse for an alien. But that pitiful alien would spread the rumor perfectly. Maul vented a low growl. If only she wasn't so annoying. "Come on," he ordered. Remember how he had snapped last night, Midori was quick to obey, even if she did have to run out in the rain. She almost had to run to keep up with his brisk pace.
"Th-thank you for saving m-me," stuttered the Twi'lek, unsure herself if it was out of coldness or fear.
"Don't get captured again." Midori slowed a little, taken aback at his statement.
"Well, it wasn't my fault! I didn't know I was going to be kidnapped! And if I had known I would've... I would've... well, I would've done something," she said with a determined nod. The Sith didn't reply. He just kept walking at his fast pace, ducking under one branch, stepping over another root. He seemed to know exactly where he was going, even though every direction looked exactly the same. The Ewok village was now lost beyond the trees. Midori felt a little better, even though she figured she was probably in more danger in the presence of the Sith.
"Do you know where you're going?" asked Midori after awhile of following the man.
"Yes."
"Do you really?"
"I said yes," Maul replied sharply. It took all the will power he had to refrain from just reaching back and decking the bubble-headed girl. A few more minutes passed before they finally reached the clearing with the fire ring and the ship. The Twi'lek's clothes were still tossed about the area. Midori stopped when she saw the ship. She tilted her head to try to see it straight.
"It looks... tipped," the girl said.
"It's sinking into the swampy ground," replied Maul who kept walking toward the Sith Infiltrator. From behind he heard her shriek and he knew she had noticed her muddied clothes. She gave cries of distress as she gingerly picked up each article of clothing.
Suddenly Maul stopped and turned back to the Twi'lek, who was still mourning over her wardrobe.
"Quiet!" he shouted. The girl obeyed. The tone of his voice had made her stop crying rather than the order. To her he sounded more desperate than angry. The two heard distant, deep humming sounds.
"A ship! A ship's somewhere around here!" the green skinned girl exclaimed, jumping up and running over to the Sith. "A ship's come to save me! Finally!" She started bouncing around Maul, clapping and giggling. His hand shot out, grabbed her lekku and pulled her back.
"Quiet," he ordered again, harsher this time. After a quick look around, he dragged her into the shadow of his ship.
"I didn't expect them to be here this soon. If they scan for your master's ship, they'll detect mine as well. I still need to make repairs. I won't get out in time. The cloaking generator was damaged in the landing," hissed Maul, mostly to himself. The Twi'lek watched his angry expression and winced when he tugged on her lekku as he emphasized some words.
"Does this mean you'll kill that whole crew?" Midori asked as they continued to listen to the far-off noises. The Sith glanced toward her, a sheepish look plastered on her face. She may be air-headed at times, but she was beginning to catch on.