XII

A full day had passed and Maul still waited next to the statue, having only moved to relocate himself as the shadow moved with the rising and setting sun. He willed himself to stay patient, using the dark side to relax him and keep his mind on things other than the growing anxiety that tempted to take over.

Then, finally, after waiting for what seemed like an eternity, the one he sought came out of the front of the temple and walked down the front stairs. Maul straightened up, his arms coming down from their crossed position over his chest, his right hand reaching for his lightsaber. However, his hand paused before unhooking the weapon. He snarled to himself as he saw not one or two, but nearly a dozen more following him out.

Anger flowed through Maul's muscles like a roaring river; most of those around his prey were older, which meant they weren't mere Padawan learners. If they had been Maul would've jumped in and slaughtered them all, but that many knights against just one of him wasn't smart.

Maul noticed a young boy next to the one he hunted. Even from the distance Maul stood, he could tell that the Force was strong with him. He couldn't tell what skills the boy had, but with such a powerful feeling emitting from him, Maul knew that he didn't have a chance, even with his perfected powers. Not to mention there were too many bystanders, and as good of a hunter as he was, he wouldn't be able to go after all of them and make sure they told no one of what they saw.

It was more than frustrating to watch the Jedi move forward down the steps of the temple. Maul observed from his shadowed hiding place as the youngest stayed close to the one he wanted revenge on. From the looks of things, the boy was his enemy's Padawan; perhaps the one he fought had moved up the ranks now. It was possible that in the few weeks Maul had been out of commission that this new Jedi Knight had become more powerful.

Maul still felt, however, that the new master was no match for someone of his own skills. He would follow them and see where they went; he would not lose track of him again. The right opportunity to strike would come and Maul would be there to grasp it.

He moved from shadow to shadow, keeping the Jedi in his constant sights as they moved along, having no clue that they were being watched by a Sith Lord. Whether they were certain the Sith did still exist, he didn't care; all he cared about was destruction of their order.

There was a skycar waiting on a raised landing platform—apparently the Jedi were leaving. Maul raised his wrist to summon the Infiltratorwhen he felt something disturbing come to his attention. He pretended he didn't sense it and punched in the code on the wrist controller to get the ship started when he felt it again. Something deep inside him told him that he should go back to Corellia.

Ignore it, he told himself, but it kept pestering him in the back of his mind. Only three of the Jedi had entered the skycar—including the one he wanted—the rest stepping back for the vehicle to take off. The controller strapped to his wrist gave a small beep, signifying that the autopilot had kicked in and the ship would be over him in less than thirty seconds.

The skycar lifted off the ground and turned about to head in the other direction. Maul looked up as if to see where his ship was, but the Jedi's shuttle was already in transit as his space ship arrived. Maul lowered the ramp using the controller and jumped up, the Force giving him the extra boost he needed to reach the ship's entrance.

Hurrying to the pilot's chair, he sat down and took the ship off autopilot, turning it to the right so he could follow the Jedi's skycar. He could make it out in the bustling traffic of Coruscant, but the nagging feeling in the back of his mind was at the point of driving him mad. It kept telling him he should go back to Corellia, but for what reasons? There was nothing there for him—the human, yes, but she meant nothing to him.

Or did she?

Maul pretended he didn't ask that question. She was nothing but a night's amusement. But then again…if that was the case why was he contemplating whether to go check things out? He didn't want to—the Jedi he wanted to kill was right in front of him! Revenge was at his fingertips!

Fool! He yelled at himself as he turned the ship around and headed up into the sky, avoiding the many rows of traffic that intersected almost every direction. He put the engines on to full power and used the navigation system to plot a direct course to Corellia.

Maul couldn't remember the last time he was so angry with himself. His lack of self-discipline sickened him to the point he thought he deserved whatever came to him. His master would be most displeased to find out that he couldn't control the thought that something could be wrong with a women he had no connections to, nor had a right to even think about. He was a Sith Lord, not some weak individual who shared the same daily rituals as everyone else.

The ship was signaled to jump into hyperspace—it would get him to Corellia much quicker. Hopefully he'd be able to get there and off quickly and return to Coruscant without much delay. The more he thought about it, the more Maul was convinced the Jedi were going to another part of the planet, not leaving for some mission. If they were, they could've gone to the station near the temple; the skycar had been heading in the opposite direction.

Corellia came up fast and Maul took she ship out of hyperspace, but kept the engines onto full power until he entered the planet's atmosphere. He traveled across the ocean, high in the clouds, only to find that his destination was suffering from a heavy rain shower.

The dwelling he had stayed in for the past few weeks was as he left it, looking as if everything was normal. Lights were on inside, and everything seemed quiet from where he sat in the pilot's seat in the ship. Landing several meters away, Maul shut the engines off and lowered the ramp. If the girl was inside going about her business, he'd leave without making an appearance. He didn't want questions from her on his sudden departure two days before.

Maul's cloak soaked up the rain quickly, his clothes quickly becoming drenched. He quickly made his way to one of the windows of the home and peered inside from an angle. The room was empty and as he searched her out with the Force, the other rooms seemed vacant as well.

The Sith took it upon himself to go in and look for her, wondering why lights were on when she wasn't home. What he saw once he was inside, however, told him that something indeed had happened to her. The kitchenette was trashed, along with the small sitting area. Vases lay shattered, along with cooking utensils, dishes, and other things lying all over the floor. He didn't like the looks of things—it indicated a struggle.

Moving down the hall, he found that her room was clean, but also empty of its owner. Maul went back out onto the terrace and looked around. Even with the darkness and rain he could see that there were several pairs of footprints in the sand. He hurried down in a fast walk, his hand gripping the lightsaber on his belt and pulling it away from where it rested. Ahead he could see three figures—whatever had happened had done so in the past few minutes. The Force had warned him of an ill-moment before it happened; long before it happened.

What he saw made him furious; his teeth clenched together and his eyes narrowed. Three men—two of them being the ones they ran into in Tyrena, one he didn't recognize—were beating Naturri to the point she was laying helplessly on the ground. Maul dived in using the Force to quicken his pace to the point the average eye wouldn't have spotted him.

The men laughed, yelled, whistled, but they hadn't the slightest clue what was about to happen. A bright beam of light—red light—drove straight down, slicing the neck of the man that stood furthest from the suffering woman. The other men stopped and watched his head roll down the sand, the body falling to a heap in front of them. They twisted around, holding the blasters they were using to beat down on the girl.

Maul watched them, his blood boiling, the dark side holding onto him so tightly he felt he'd burst with rage. He had already turned off his lightsaber, waiting for the men to stop their actions to look for the intruder.

"Whose there?" The grungiest yelled out, his eyes wide and the fear washing over him like icy cold water.

"That's it," the other said, "I'm done here—she's not worth it!"

Maul stepped forward, his body nothing but a black figure in the rain to them, but he saw them as clear as day. "Its time to die," he said smoothly. He raised his arm, his thumb pressing the switch that engaged the lightsaber, its single energy beam shooting out to illuminate only the bottom portion of his hooded head.

"What in the name of—" the dirty one said as he backed away. "Look, you can have her! She's nothing to us now!"

Maul raised the weapon, his teeth clenched and bared. With one simple swipe the blade sliced through the man's shoulder, making a diagonal cut down and through his opposite side's hip. He fell in a shambles, creating a gasp from Naturri who forced herself to sit up to watch.

The third man was already running, stumbling in his own footsteps in the sand, blaster laying on the sand and long forgotten as its master attempted escape. Maul's left arm came up, his hand stretched out to its limit, the Force dragging the man backwards toward the hunter. His cries of terror were heard over the downpour of raindrops, his arms flailing about as Maul brought him closer. Without a second though, he whipped his arm up, the Force throwing the man into mid-air and releasing him. Maul's feet sprung him up, leaping into the air to meet the man in the falling, lightsaber swinging and severing the human's upper body from its lower portion.

The parts landed in the wet sand, Maul coming down not far from them. He looked around at his work and snarled softly at the mess he made. Switching off the lightsaber and hooking it back to its place at his side, he moved to the frightened and wounded girl he saved from certain death. She was barely conscious when he knelt down and picked her up, but still she put her arms around his neck and buried her face in his chest as he carried her back towards her home.