IX
The Sith Lord had no idea how much time had gone by since he started his work on his ship, but he knew it had been a while. The first task that was easy enough to complete was pull it away from the sand bank it had crashed into, using the Force to aid him. Then, after removing the clothing that covered the upper portion his tattooed body, Maul set to work on what needed to be replaced.
He spent several minutes studying and memorizing what wires hooked to where, how everything was placed, and reading the labels on the new equipment before he blew himself up. The hyper drive extension was probably the easiest thing to connect; the ion port gave him some trouble and aggravated him to the point he was ready to toss it into the calm sea behind him.
Maul had just finished the final hook up to the ion port, ready to move to installing the new thrusters when he noticed someone walking towards him. He inclined his head to his right only slightly to get a better look at who it was. He exhaled with some frustration, turning his attention back to the underside of the ship he worked under.
Naturri stopped several feet from him and waited silently for him to acknowledge her. He purposely made her wait, walking around to the side of the ship where the new thrusters sat next to her speeder. "What do you want?" He asked, putting as much annoyance into his tone as he could.
Naturri frowned. "Be grateful I took the time to walk all the way out here, since you took my landspeeder," she said. "I brought you something to drink. I figured you'd be hot and thirsty by now."
Maul's upper lip twitched slightly in the corner; he was a little thirsty, but it wasn't something he was letting his thoughts dwell on. Quenching thirst was nothing more than an act for the weak, for those that didn't have the discipline to allow their minds to overrule their body's wants until such an act was absolutely necessary to live. He had gone through a period of time—a few days—without food, water or sleep.
Yet watching her kneel down to pull out a canteen from the pack she carried on her shoulder made him want to accept the offer. He turned away, picking up the engine part that was nearly half the size of him, using the Force only slightly to assist him so he wouldn't break his back. He could feel his muscles expand almost to their limit as he walked over to the exposed engine he had opened up earlier.
Naturri had followed him under the ship, but Maul paid her no attention as he put the piece down so he could remove the old one. "You're barely sweating," Naturri pointed out in surprise. "You've been out here all day doing this work."
"Physical work doesn't affect me; I've trained myself to avoid such things," he commented as he unhooked the thruster. He pulled it out and tossed it to the side opposite where she stood.
"At least drink," she said.
Maul lifted the new piece up and held it with one hand as the other connected it to stay in place. He could feel her eyes on him, the weight of her gaze bearing down him to the point it drove him mad. He finished his work and snatched the canteen from her hands, drinking from it quickly. He tossed it back, a bit of the water inside spilling out, and continued to work.
Looking over the wires, Maul figured out quickly which ones needed to go where, what still needed to be plugged into give the new thrusters power, and so forth. It was more tedious than difficult. When he was pretty sure it was finished, he backed away to inspect his work; the ship had a special mechanism that dislodged the engine from the shell of the body, lowering it to ground level so people could work on it easier. The design of the ship was tricky, but once figured out everything was potentially straightforward.
Maul went inside the ship and engaged the switch that would allow the ship to put it back together, the engine raising up with mechanical arms and hiding itself away in the bulbous back end. He walked back down the ramp and started to pick up his deserted clothing, putting it back on and finishing it off with the utility belt. His lightsaber still lay on the sand, but merely holding out his hand and barely using the Force brought it up into his clutches; he hooked it to his belt before picking up his cloak.
"I'm assuming you're finished," Naturri said.
"So smart," Maul replied sarcastically, but giving her no eye contact as he strapped a small wrist controller onto his left arm. He tapped in a few codes and the engines of his space ship boomed, the instant exhaust from the rested machine puffing out to push away the top layer of sand on the ground behind it. Maul looked up in satisfaction—it sounded as if he did the job right.
"Sounds good to me," she said from behind him, but he didn't answer.
Darth Maul nodded, mostly to himself, and checked the ground to make sure he didn't leave anything behind. When he was sure there was nothing, he started to walk up the ramp.
"Wait!" Naturri yelled out, hurrying to the edge of the ramp.
"Its time for my departure," Maul said over his shoulder. "I suggest you get off."
Naturri took a step forward instead of back. "You're just going to take off? Just like that?"
Maul snickered and turned to her. "There's nothing for me here," he told her quickly. "I have business to attend to. You're work is done and mine here is as well. Now get off or I'll throw you off."
Naturri looked distressed, but defiantly remained still. "At least let me give you food—dinner or something? I mean, you haven't eaten since this morning."
Maul kept his back at her for a moment while he contemplated her words. It was true; he hadn't eaten anything since those few pieces of fruit she had left him that morning. It had been nearly an entire day, and if he knew how things would go, he wouldn't be eating again for some time; not decent food, that is. It also reminded him that he foolishly didn't think of restocking any supplies. Maul was in such a hurry to remove him from her and the planet that he hadn't been thinking logically.
Sighing, feeling like he was allowing himself to give into her plead, he shut off the engines and jumped off the side of the ramp, heading towards the speeder. Naturri followed quickly, getting into the passenger side without a word and allowed him to drive back to her home.
Once back, Naturri got out and quickly got to work on preparing food. Maul waited outside, unhooking his lightsaber from his belt and looking it over in his gloved hands. Soon it would be activated to penetrate the flesh of that Jedi Padawan; he would not allow himself to fail again. The brat would never see it coming—he had plans on stalking his prey until the right moment, and then he'd strike. There would be no chance of escape. He'd allow the Padawan to perhaps have a slight thought of hope for survival, and when that moment was sensed, he'd kill. It would be bliss. Soon, that moment would come.
The sun was setting once again, Maul's eyes casting up and looking at the stars starting to peak through the darkening sky. Like the day ended, so would the Jedi's life. It gave him a feeling of excitement, of anticipation. But his thoughts dissolved quickly when Naturri started coming up behind him. He turned before she had a chance to rest her hand on his arm like she intended to do in order to get his attention. He went inside and sat down at the table, wondering what sort of concoction she had prepared this time.
Maul ate in silence; Naturri doing the same, her creature's grunting sounds the only thing that could be heard above their own chewing. Maul wanted to dwell on the thought of killing the Jedi, but with the human in front of him that was easier said than done. Every time he turned his mind to think of which approach he should take his eyes caught sight of her and he pictured her back at that club in Tyrena.
Naturri said nothing as she cleared the table when they were both done. At first Maul kept his gaze on the table, but when she turned away to go into the kitchenette, he found his eyes searching for her, stopping on her form, grazing over her body from head to toe. He cursed himself for his lack of discipline he had easily kept his whole life…until now. Perhaps it was the thought of being away from his master, not being on a specific mission that kept him from serving himself…
Fool! His mind shouted in silence. You are a Sith! You do not need such pathetic pleasures; you're desires are destroying the Jedi! Take yourself away from her!
The only way out, as Maul saw it, was to not linger any longer. He stood up, brushing his hand over his lightsaber to remind himself that it was all he needed. He would leave her; she didn't need the satisfaction of knowing of his departure.
But she was watching him and stopped him before he could take more than half a dozen steps. Maul wanted to lash out, to tell her to leave him alone, tell her that she meant nothing to him! Yet he waited, back turned towards her as she approached him almost cautiously, his heart starting to race for reasons he honestly couldn't bring himself to understand.
Her hand on his arm sent a shiver down his spine in a way he was not accustomed to feeling. He turned to look at her, his cowl already having been down and letting nothing block his sight from resting on her delicate face. All around Maul could hear the dark side calling him, telling him to be rid of her now so there were no more setbacks…but he couldn't. Even with all the years—his whole life's worth of training to bring him to what he was wasn't enough to pull him away from a secret yearning that was starting to form in the depths of his body.
Naturri walked in front of him, her eyes locked on his, her hands resting on his arms. Maul knew what she was going for, and to his unwilling surprise…what he wanted. There was no denying it now, this he knew. Before words could be spoken, the two leaned forward, their mouths locking with pure lust. Maul knew he was quickly losing control of his senses, but for now it didn't matter. All he wanted was her. He figured he never should have gone into that club and watched her dance—perhaps if he hadn't this would've been avoidable.
Yet he let the thoughts go as they started backing down the hall, their hands exploring the other's body without hesitation. The closest room would've been the one Maul had been given, but Naturri led him straight ahead to her own quarters and quickly they were a tangled mess on top of her bed.
The Sith Lord had given in to his desires of lust for his human woman; his discipline failed, the dark side put aside for the time being. The only thing that mattered now was his love making to this woman. Her smooth skin against his own, tattooed body sent a ripple of energy through him. His mouth kissed her wherever it could, his teeth biting down gently every time she raked her nails down his back.
He was lost, but it didn't matter—for now he didn't want to go back. He wanted this to continue. The feeling of her with him was intoxicating and he wanted more of it. The sound of his name rolling off her tongue drove him to the point where he'd thought he'd lose his mind. Suddenly a phantom of passion washed over him, his body almost shaking, her arms and legs holding onto him for dear life. Her hands held the sides of his head as he kissed her, his tongue invading her mouth while her fingers traced each horn on his head.
And then everything halted for a second—his body started to calm down, and his unusually quick breathing started to smooth out to his normal pace once again. Her luscious brown eyes stared at him, making him want to go back to the moment that just passed. Naturri ran her hand down his chest as he propped his upper body up on his elbows situated on either side of her. Her hand went further down and he could feel his body reacting. He decided to forget everything about his life for one night and let this take him over until he could stand it no more.