Summary: We continue with what happened to Sabe in the last chapter.

Author's Notes: I can't believe I actually wrote my apparent one-shot more than seven years ago! Please note that some scenes may not be suitable for some people.


Pain.

Searing, unending pain.

The echoes of nerve-wracking screams reverberated through the compartments of the ship. Sometimes they would stop abruptly, sometimes ceaselessly continuing for long stretches on end. One of the occupants of the ship idly wondered who could produce such shrieks. What must that poor wretch be going through to be pushed so far as to yell like some poor animal?

Sabé then realized, quite blithely in fact…that she was the source of the screams.

Just as quickly as it came, the pain flared once, and then receded. Weak and exhausted, the woman hung limply by the manacles that kept her hands above her head, her body pressed to a bulkhead.

Painfully, her head rose so that her blood-shot eyes met the tattooed face of her torturer.

Darth Maul, Dark Lord of the Sith and apprentice to Lord Sidious, slowly pulled his hand away where it had hovered mere inches from the woman's face.

"Your will is strong, I will grant you that," the black-clad warrior remarked in almost grudging admiration.

Sabé could say nothing, merely glaring her defiance at her tormentor. Hours of torture had made her throat so dry and coarse that she couldn't even spit at the man anymore. Even so, the fact she had not cracked under the agony spoke volumes as to her resolve. Cracked, bleeding lips quivered into something that might once have been a contemptuous smile.

Maul's eyes narrowed to slits at the display, his red and orange pupils looking almost reptilian. Although keeping a defiant exterior, Sabé couldn't quite stop a slight quiver of dread at the display. Shreds of clothing hung loosely on her body. Sabé had experienced more than enough of this person's ministrations to know what he was capable of.

The Sith Lord fingered the activation stud on his double-sided lightsaber. He'd used it previously on its lowest setting – what remained of shredded clothing couldn't quite hide the vicious burn marks crisscrossing the woman's upper torso. Now, however, he was seriously considering ending this imposter's life, not only for not revealing any information of interest, but also for making him lose face in front of his master.

Before he could do anything, an insistent beeping emanated from his glove. Without another word, he turned and with a whip of his black robes, left the woman hanging.

Sabé waited several long moments. When no one showed, she slowly sagged on the restraints, a ragged sigh whispering away through tattered lips. How much longer could she possibly last? The outcome didn't matter since she'd played her part so beautifully. She had done exactly as she had been trained: saving her queen's life.

And yet, saving the Queen's life seemed to pale in comparison to the knowledge she'd stumbled upon: Senator Palpatine was master over the fierce warrior as well as possibly being in league with the Trade Federation. It made no sense whatsoever. Shaking her head, Sabé was aware of this information almost certainly needed to get to Queen Amidala.

What was even more disturbing was the fact that this Maul had used a lightsaber. A Jedi would never have used it for the purposes demonstrated on her, as evidenced by the burn marks on her skin. Was Palpatine somehow a Force user? There were just too many questions and not enough answers.

Sabé impotently pulled on her chains. Although short, they, along with the manacles on her wrists, held her fast to the bulkhead, her bare a half meter off the ground. Trying not to admit defeat, she looked for someway out of her predicament. Sabé didn't give much thought to her chances given how far she'd resisted torture. Once they'd reach her homeworld, Maul would seek out the real Queen, making Sabé dispensable.

She tensed suddenly as the lights around her dimmed and the ship gave a whine and a shudder. The ship had just exited out of hyperspace.

They'd just arrived at Naboo.

oOoOo

Forward and above from the deck where Sabé hung, Darth Maul sat in the cockpit of the Sith Infiltrator. After checking several readouts, he leaned forward and pulled on a lever, the characteristic streaking of the stars snapping back to indicate the jumping back to realspace. Almost immediately, he initiated a deep space scan of the surrounding area – one could never be certain of who or what might be waiting for him on the other side. The scan showed nothing but that Naboo was right where it was supposed to be. A single, solitary Trade Federation battleship sat in geosynchronous orbit above the capital of Theed.

Maul shook his head, his lip curling in derision. The Neimoidians had made the idiotic assumption that the war was over. In their overconfidence, they'd sent all but one ship in their blockade fleet back home. Didn't they realize that the Queen, along with her Jedi lapdogs, was on her way from Coruscant? The war was not over until the Queen signed the treaty his Master wanted.

The Sith Lord considered for a moment. Perhaps the Trade Federation needed a rude awakening as to the meaning of true power? The Sith Infiltrator was a fitting name for his ship. Along with a very powerful cloaking device (which currently kept it invisible from the larger ship's screens), it carried sophisticated computers that allowed him to slice into almost any system. His master was gracious enough to provide him with the command codes necessary to disrupt almost any function onboard that ship. He called up a subroutine on a console which brought up a rotating hologram of the battleship. Sections of the ship were highlighted. With but a press of a button, the Neimoidians could find their shields suddenly switched off. Or perhaps all the links between them and all their droid armies on the surface could suddenly be disrupted.

The notion did seem fitting. But, as the ship grew larger on the screen, Maul reconsidered. The war wasn't over yet, and the last thing his master would want was for the Neimoidians to be falling over themselves in panic just at the cusp of victory. Fear and terror were excellent motivators, you just had to know when and where to apply it. Besides, if there was an issue with the tactics of the Trade Federation, why not take them up with Viceroy Nute Gunray, himself?

Maul face slowly twisted into a predatory smile.

oOoOo

Sabé's head raised a little, her eyes narrowing slightly. Even suspended off the ground, she could feel the vibrations from the hull coming down her chains. The ship was coming down for a landing. Urgently, she looked here and there for some way to release the manacles, but could find nothing. With a slight thump, the ship landed. The handmaiden found it highly ironic that she was to come full circle in this whole sordid incident.

The rear hatch opened and air from her homeworld flooded in. For a moment, Sabé closed her eyes and breathed in the lush breeze. How she so wanted to feel the lush grass below her feet. She briefly imagined herself walking on one of the many beaches with that young Jedi whom she'd talked with briefly before she'd been kidnapped.

Her eyes snapped open at the sound of someone walking down metal stairs. She tensed for the inevitable but still held her chin high. If she were to die now, it would be in knowing that she had done her duty and that the Queen, for now, was safe.

Maul, putting on some gloves and throwing his hood over his head walked right past the hanging woman, making his way towards the ramp. Just at the exit, however, he paused. His head tilted, looking as if something minor had been forgotten. Slowly, he swung his gaze to look back at Sabé, her broken and battered body still hanging where it was. His orange-red eyes looked her up and down once. With a snort of contempt, he left the craft, closing the hatch after him.

Sabé could only stare at the spot the man had stood only moments earlier. Her mouth opened slightly in bemusement and then she slowly gritted her teeth. He no longer considers me a threat, she thought. He probably thinks I'll stay right where I am and then he can deal with me when he pleases. Her face hardened. We'll see about that.

oOoOo

Wide-eyed Neimoidians scurried away in fear from the dark figure striding through their midst. None even dared to question as to the person's presence in the palace. Darth Maul paid no mind to the fools parting before him. He had only one to deal with. As he entered the central rotunda, he could see Nute Gunray – already having made himself ruler of this planet by occupying the throne – talking heatedly with one of his advisors. When the head of the Trade Federation caught sight of the Sith, his eyes grew wide.

"L – Lord Maul! We weren't expecting you so soon. If we'd known…"

"You were not supposed to," Maul cut in. As he continued walking towards the throne, Gunray shrank a little under the other's cold gaze. The Neimoidian's hands started to tremble as they gripped the sides of the throne. Even when Maul stood right over him and stared at him unblinkingly, Gunray only sank further in the throne, as if trying to hide within its stone and cushion construction. Gunray opened and closed his mouth several times, wondering why the other was just staring at him. He quickly glanced at his coterie of advisors, but some, if not all, were looking at anything else but the tableau before them.

Finally, with beads of sweat appearing on his brow, Gunray slid off the throne and stood to one side. Maul nodded once and, instead of sitting in the now-unoccupied throne, stood on its left, as if indicating that only one had the right to sit there.

"Where," Maul started, his eyes flashing, "is Queen Amidala?"

Gunray swallowed and answered, "She's already on her way here, my lord. Once she's landed, it should be no problem to find and detain her so that she can sign the treaty that Lord Sidious desires." He was about to continue when a battle droid entered the throne room and spoke to one of the nearest advisors. The advisor's eyes widened and strode over to whisper into Gunray's ear. The Viceroy's grey skin turned a shade paler as he traded hasty whispers with the advisor.

"What is it?" Maul said impatiently.

Nute Gunray waved off the messenger and blinked several times. After clearing his throat he said, "The Queen's Royal Cruiser has been found."

"And the Queen? The Jedi with her?" Maul pointedly asked.

The Viceroy had the look of a womprat driven to a corner with nowhere to go. "Gone," he said. "Our scouts have searched the surrounding areas and have found nothing."

Maul's eyes narrowed. He was about to berate the Viceroy for being such a fool when he realized it would do no good. The Queen may have gone to ground, which meant that she was planning something. This wouldn't be possible without the support of the Jedi. Maul's teeth stretched to a hideous parody of a smile and his hand patted his lightsaber on his belt. The Neimoidians may be fools, but even fools had uses. Let them take care of the Queen when she showed up and he would take care of the Jedi.

At the thought of the Queen, Maul idly wondered what going on back on his ship – specifically with the decoy woman he left hanging. He glanced down and was about to check in with his wrist communicator, when another droid came in.

"Lord Sidious commands you to make contact with him," the droid said to Viceroy Gunray, who quailed slightly at the news. Maul forgot about the woman and his smile grew nastier at seeing the head of the Trade Federation buckle under the pressure.

"Perhaps you'd care to explain to my master what has happened since the last time he spoke to you and why the Queen isn't in custody yet?" he suggested. Maul even felt gracious enough to let the Viceroy sit back on the throne.

For appearances sake, of course.

oOoOo

Sabé gritted her teeth and twisted her upper arm just a little bit more. The shackles that held her wrists were very tightly secured, making it impossible to pull her hands through. What she needed was some way to loosen their hold on her, or somehow wet the area between the bare metal and her skin. She'd remembered a lesson Captain Panaka had drilled into her and the rest of the handmaidens: Use whatever you have available in front of you. Success or failure in a mission could very well depend on whether you've considered anything and everything as useful.

The shackles had proven too secure to pull her hands through. Whether it had been by design or not, the restraints had a keen edge to them – probably to inflict as much pain on the person during torture. That edge now proved useful as Sabé twisted one more time and grunted a little in pain. Rivulets of blood started flowing over the metal and down her arm. Gritting her teeth, she twisted her wrist to try and get the skin as slick as possible. Taking a deep breath she pulled as hard as she could. After several tries, she further lacerated the skin around her hand, but still couldn't get it out of the restraint.

A sudden rumble in the distance made Sabé look up in concern. Even through the hull, she could hear the distinct sounds of blaster fire and explosions. There was no way of knowing but she would've bet anything that the Queen had something to do with what was happening out there. Whatever the case, Maul would also be in the thick of things, which meant that her queen would need all the help she could get.

Gritting her teeth, Sabé took a deep breath and pulled even harder. Inch by inch the hand slid through until finally, with a scream of pain, Sabé ripped her arm free from its restraint. Taking a moment to catch her breath, she then brought the bleeding and ripped hand over to the other manacle. Blood, still running, dripped down and onto the other hand. When enough had come down, she started twisting once again.

oOoOo

Viceroy Gunray and his second in command, Rune Haako, ran over to the communications area, adjacent to the throne room. On the screens could be seen the firefights erupting within the palace grounds between the battle droids and what looked like guards loyal to the Queen. He frowned. The reports given to him stated that the primitives from the ocean floor were to have made their stand in the fields far beyond the capital. He'd said as much to Lord Sidious, who'd then given him permission to wipe them all out.

"I thought the battle was to take place far from here," Gunray said agitatedly. "This is too close." Out of the corner of his eye he saw Darth Maul walk over, eyes narrowing as he assessed the situation.

"This is not the work of the primitive Gungans," the Sith Lord said with a sneer. "The Jedi are involved in this, as is the Queen." Without a second look he turned and started to leave the throne room.

"Lord Maul, where are you going?" Rune Haako nervously asked.

Maul stopped suddenly in his tracks and turned to fix a cold gaze on the Niemoidians. "Have you not guessed as to my true purpose for being here? I will personally deal with the Jedi myself. You can deal with a handful of palace guards and capture the Queen, can't you, Viceroy?"

Gunray nodded quickly. "Y-Yes, my lord." But Maul had already turned and stalked out, not even bothering to stay for the answer. The Viceroy swallowed. For a moment, he almost pitied the Jedi for what they were about to encounter. Turning back to the screens, he could only watch as the battle unfolded.

-Continued-