VII

The sun was hanging directly over the planet, its bright rays shining down and heating the ground well enough where one could see the heat shimmering over the sand. It was hot, yes, but not so hot that one would feel like passing out or dunking themselves in water for the remainder of the day.

Except one person was starting to feel the sweat beading on his forehead and trickling down the black sides of his face. Darth Maul stood outside, still dressed in the torn pants, boots, and topped with only the black, sleeveless shirt he usually wore under his tunic; in his hand he held a now activated lightsaber, its red laser-beam shining vibrantly in the afternoon. His eyes closed for a moment, his mind picturing the image of the Jedi. His hand twisted, the sword twirling about. His yellow orbs darted open and his hand sliced down at nothing in front of him. He whirled about, feet dancing in the sand, one hand secured around the base of the lightsaber, the other open and free.

The shirt fluttered after him in the breeze as he leapt into a mid-air summersault, his feet landing perfectly on the ground, although a throb took hold in his thigh. He ignored the pains, ignored the fact that his body was practically yelling at him to rest—he would not stop his training now. It hadn't been long enough.

He paused slightly, his face calm and smooth, mouth open only slightly and his eyes rested on the easy waves of the blue ocean. He sensed the presence of a speeder coming towards the area. Within a matter of minutes, he figured, the driver would be standing there watching him.

He gripped the handle of the lightsaber with both hands, his arms stretched out as he made another invisible tear in the air, his legs holding him steady as he did so. Naturri appeared behind him, but he pretended he didn't know as his body leapt up, twisted and came down roughly—rougher than he wanted.

Now it was time to end. His body needed rest and he required something to quench the dryness in his throat. Besides, he didn't like people watching him. He licked his lips as he turned around to face her, his finger pressing the button to disengage the beam of the lightsaber. She stood there, not very surprised at what she found, but yet she was astonished at how well he moved. She didn't know him very well, that was for sure.

"I guess you're feeling better," she said as he approached the terrace and picked up his tunic. He didn't answer; instead he walked passed her and went directly for the cooling compartment and pulled out the pitcher of kier libsa. "Or maybe not completely," she added when she saw this.

Maul waited before sipping the pink drink. "Where is your refresher?"

"Down the hall across on the side opposite your room," she told him. "How's the side?"

"Well enough," he said simply. He undid the undershirt and let it fall open to give his body more air. He caught her eyes darting to his now exposed skin; he gave a slightly amused grin that was practically hidden by his darkly tattooed face.

Naturri went over to him and pulled away the fabric covering his wound. "You took the bandages off," she pointed out when she saw the gash.

"It was holding me back," he said. "The bleeding has stopped, so it was no longer necessary to keep it on."

"I see," she said. But then she did something he hadn't expected and it made his body react in a way that felt very unusual. He shivered at the feeling of her fingertips grazing over the center of his chest, but he couldn't bring himself to step away from her intrusion. "I've been wanting to ask you," she said softly, her fingers now tracing one of the black lines of the tattoo that covered his entire torso, "are all of these real?"

"What do you mean, real?" he asked, trying not to let his voice get caught in his throat.

"I mean, since your body is mostly black, is that your natural skin color and the red is imprinted?"

It wasn't something he thought she'd ask. In fact, he thought she'd go further than asking something so simple, but he was thankful she hadn't…to a point. "Both are unnatural colors," he told her.

"On your whole body?" She asked a bit surprised.

"Yes," he replied, but then he glanced at her with a questioning look that silently asked, "You don't know already?"

She seemed to understand and blushed. "I didn't go on an adventure, if that's what you're thinking," she laughed lightly. "That's why the tear in your pants is bigger than it was when you were hit. I just tore it open to get to the wound."

Maul said nothing as she looked directly at the sharp markings. "Did it hurt?" She asked quietly, almost like she hadn't planned on letting those words slip from her mouth.

"Yes," he said with a nod. "But I did it with honor—the pain meant nothing."

"Why—" she started.

But he cut her off. "You ask too many questions you don't need to have answers too." He stepped away from her and began taking long sips of his drink.

"Would it be wrong to ask what species you are then?" She asked. "You're not human…that much I know."

Maul gave an inward sigh. This girl just didn't know when to quit. Perhaps, though, if he gave in for once and told her what she wanted she'd leave him be. "Zabrak," he said. "That's all I know." He didn't care, anyway; his life was nothing before joining Darth Sidious.

"I'm not familiar with them," she admitted. "Where are you from?"

"Iridonia," he told her and left it at that.

"Oh wow," she replied. "That's some distance away. You ended up all the way over here from there?"

"No," he said getting more annoyed with every word. "I haven't been there in years and I have no intentions of returning there. I had left Naboo when I ended up in this place."

"Naboo? I see…" She trailed off. "There was some sort of blockade going on over there concerning the Trade Federation, I think."

"How do you know so much?" He asked finally.

Naturri smiled. "Word gets around fast."

"You said you knew a Jedi," he started remembering an earlier conversation.

"Two, actually," she corrected.

"What did they tell you?"

"Nothing much," she said. "Just some history—they had been drinking and I had just finished a show, so they invited me over. I asked some stuff I guess; I don't remember—it was a while ago."

"I think you do," he said and gripped the dark side of the Force to get it out of her.

"No, I really don't," she said. "They had just said something about the council or whoever felt a slight disturbance in the Force…and they started conversing between themselves. One had mentioned the Sith, but the other had said they didn't exist anymore."

Maul let the Force go and nodded. He understood now. She was innocent enough not to know things; to her it was just a story. But now he had gotten far off the course of what they had started off with—her just coming back and him getting a drink. He couldn't remember the last time he had a conversation with someone; on such a level that is. He wasn't sure if he liked it. He almost felt vulnerable. Curse her for making me lose it for a moment, he thought and turned away.

"Why are you back so early?" He asked.

"What?"

"You said you'd be gone for the rest of the day. Why did you return?"

She smiled and came back up to him. "Interested?"

"Never," he semi-snapped, finished his drink and put the glass down on the counter.

Naturri sighed and turned away. "I didn't feel good."

"Someone tried to come onto you," he said looking her over.

"What makes you think that?" She asked looking over her shoulder at him.

"You're holding yourself tense. You have been since you arrived."

"You're good," she said and sat down.

Of course I am, Maul thought.

"A couple of men tried pulling me over," she started, her head bowed. "I told them no and to leave me alone, but they didn't like the answer. The only reason I got away is because my boss pulled me away to schedule a different time for my next show."

Maul listened, but made no point of showing interest or concern. She wasn't his to worry about, especially since now he had plans on leaving this planet within the next few days as soon as his ship was fixed. If she was finished with her story, he didn't know; Maul turned and headed down the hall to where she said the showers were.

The room was small and cramped, but it would do for the short time he had to spend in it. He found the controls to start the hot water and waited for the steam to fill the room. He stripped his clothes off and tossed them aside—he'd dispose of them later. The hot water felt good on his healing body. The cuts on his arm and thigh didn't bother him as the water trickled over them, but the one on his side seemed to twinge a little when it hit the still-tender center. He examined it and saw that he'd probably have a scar there for the rest of his life. It didn't matter—it was covered up most of the time anyway. He'd be the only one aware of its existence. His flesh was still burned, but it seemed to be healing; the gash actually didn't seem as big as it had originally.

Darth Maul stood under the water for several minutes just thinking. He'd have to find the right parts for the ship—he had proper model numbers and such stored in a memory chip he took before he left. Lord Sidious had made it a point to train him in mechanics to a certain point, so fixing the ship wasn't much of a concern, although he expected some difficulty acquiring the parts. After that he'd set a course back to Naboo to start the hunt for that Jedi twit. Wherever he was, Maul knew he'd find him…and he wouldn't stop until he did.

The only thing he'd have to do was concentrate on the Force to put himself in stealth mode. If Master Sidious was anywhere nearby and sensed his presence he'd probably be hunted down and destroyed. Dying from his master's will was not the problem—he knew he failed the Sith and knew he deserved whatever punishment set out for him if it was learned he did not in fact die. But he wanted his revenge first. That was the most important right now—especially since fate had spared him long enough to let him heal.

Being clean made Maul feel ten times better; especially once he put on fresh clothes. When he left the room, though, he noticed that the door at the end was slid open and he could see in. It was as he expected—Naturri's bedroom. He would've paid no further attention except he saw a figure cross the room absentmindedly, having no clue he was there and watching. She wasn't wearing her usual skirt and robe—instead it was just what he assumed she wore under those articles of clothing. She was slender, but equally proportioned as a woman should be in his mind. He couldn't get the thought that she was remarkable out of his head before it finished.

Shaking his head slightly, he proceeded down the hall and into the kitchen again to find something to eat. Training always made him hungry. Just as he was about to open a cabinet and start his search, Naturri appeared with another, dull pink robe covering the eye-widening body he had just seen.

"Here," she said and held out her hand. In it was the sliced lightsaber Maul had used on Naboo. He was actually surprised this time—he thought he had lost it during his escape. "You had it when I found you. I was actually kind of scared to give it back, but I figured you could do just as much damage without it."

That and I picked up the spare, he said to himself as he took it from her. He examined it carefully; it was chipped and dented in a few spots, but triggering the switch pushed the laser blade out. It zinged as he moved it, glad to find it was still usable. All he had to do was remove the end piece that was separated from the other half the Jedi had so nicely ruined on him, and then fasten the spare's end to this one and his dual lightsaber would be good as new. He much preferred the double-ended weapon to the single.

"I'll take you into the city first thing tomorrow," she said as she turned away. "I have a friend that owns a shop—he might have the parts you need."

"Perfect," Maul replied as he disengaged the beam of the lightsaber. He felt for her feelings to see why she was being so trusting—more so than before. At first he thought it was fear, probably after seeing him perform such simple training techniques outside. He knew she was aware, for more than one reason, that he was more than capable of taking her life in the blink of an eye. However, what he sensed wasn't fear—it was pure trust. She had a certain level of respect for him, this he was almost sure of, and that respect had turned into enough trust that she'd give him his weapon back, prepared for what could happen to her.

The Sith Lord didn't understand; why does she not fear me? Why does she present such boldness to me? He asked himself as he watched her leave the room to the outdoors. As he watched her form disappear through the door where he could no longer see her, he realized something that made his heart stop quickly in his chest for a split second. Could it be admiration? Affection, perhaps? Impossible…Even so, it doesn't matter. She might have a way to catch my eye when others never had, but I have no sentiment towards her in return. She's nothing but a mere, feeble human being…