The Fire Hawk sat proudly at the heart of a formidable formation of fighters and frigates, stations manned and systems operational as it sailed through the nebulous ocean of hyperspace. It had been several weeks since Ahsoka and Maul had done what should have been impossible- slewing the Chosen One and casting him into fire. And in a surprising turn of events, everything since then had, more or less, gone exactly according to plan.
The pair had made their escape from Mustafar well before Imperial forces locked down the system, before Maul rallied the considerable might of the Black Sun behind him and him alone. Even weeks later, the former Sith couldn't help but admire the brilliance of the scheme, designed to take advantage of the mighty foe they'd encountered on the volcanic world. Though he had at first had dismissed Ahsoka's warnings as mere paranoia, in truth, Maul too started to sense the threat of Vader shortly after first touching down on Mustafar. It was a sensation Maul had never once experienced- the feeling of being hunted. And it was this feeling which inspired Maul's scheme to turn the Black Sun from disloyal traitors to powerful allies.
It was clear to Maul from the beginning that the Black Sun was attempting to distance itself from the former Sith's leadership. Such suspicions were confirmed when he learned about the secret talks between Ziton Moj, the Black Sun's figurehead leader, and officials in the Galactic Empire. Having some foresight of the approaching threat, Maul had intentionally opted to bide his time, waiting patiently within the heart of the Black Sun's fortress. In doing so, whoever was hunting Maul would have no choice but to strike against a Black Sun facility to get him- thereby allowing the former Sith to rally the crime syndicate against the attacker and those who would support them, consolidating his loosening grip over the organisation. Though he had not accounted for the sheer strength of Vader, it had worked in his favour. The devastation of the Black Sun fortress had claimed the life of Ziton Moj, and with no one left to turn to, the Black Sun's surviving leadership bowed to Maul's authority. After broadcasting news of the attack to other Black Sun bases on the planet, it didn't take long for the gang's considerable resources to be evacuated from the system.
Having stolen Vader's shuttle to escape the ruined base, another opportunity presented itself, as his subordinates were successfully able to slice the fighter's central computer and gain access to top secret Imperial records and communications channels. Though much of it was encoded beyond their ability to crack, there was certainly enough evidence to link Vader- the man who had single-handedly devastated the Black Sun's fortress- to the Empire. The dissemination of this information among the Shadow Collective's members quickly turned potential collaborators of the new regime into ferocious opponents of it instead. Fearing they would suffer the same fate as Ziton Moj, the leaders of the Hutt Clan and Pyke Syndicate quickly sought Maul's protection- and thus, a loose coalition of criminals and mercenaries became a cohesive and united front. These were gangsters first and foremost- and it was clear that Maul would need to appease not just their desire for revenge and safety but also their greed- but for now, the former Sith's machinations had earned him command of a small armada of frigates, and a crew sufficient to man and operate the Fire Hawk , inexperienced though they might be.
"The Emperor thinks you weak and foolish," Maul had proclaimed in a galaxy-wide transmission on all Shadow Collective frequencies, "Promising you power and fortune all the while sending their agents to destroy your bases and assassinate your leaders. But he shall soon learn that transgressions against our allies do not go unanswered, and will not go unpunished! He thinks that sieging your fortresses, killing your comrades, and occupying your worlds is enough to stop you… but the darkness of this night shall soon be burned away by my hand- and by the blinding light of the Crimson Dawn!"
What Maul could not have imagined when he conceived this plan was the sheer significance of Vader's elimination. In the weeks following Ahsoka and Maul's victory, intercepted Imperial transmissions revealed that what had become of the 501st- the former Republic's most fearsome clone battalion- had fallen into disarray following the death of their leader. But perhaps more importantly, Vader's death had disrupted the progress of the mysterious Project Black Saber- an initiative that, according to the decrypted files stored on Vader's fighter, sought to train a new generation of Force-wielding Jedi hunters. Between the remaining Separatist holdouts, an increasingly antagonistic criminal underworld, and the ever-present threat of surviving Jedi, the Empire's resources grew ever more strained.
Even within their own ranks, the seemingly invincible Empire had begun to fracture. In an effort to cut costs, the production of new clone troopers ceased in favour of conscripted soldiers. But as these soldiers entered the Imperial military, tensions flared between the naturally born, conscripted soldiers, and the clone troopers who had once enforced the Republic's will almost exclusively. In the newly formed Imperial Senate, a group of senators known as the Delegation of 2,000 were growing increasingly influential, their opposition to the Empire's autocratic structure and heavy-handed approach to diplomacy becoming increasingly resonant amongst the populace. What appeared on the surface as a monolithic entity splintered violently as time went on, with matters worsening when an Imperial Ambassador was assassinated on the ocean world of Mon Cala.
The Ambassador's assassination by an unknown agent prompted violent retribution against the planet's people. In an event that became known to the galaxy as the Massacre of Mon Cala, sustained orbital bombardment from Imperial warships rendered the planet all but inhospitable following a mutually devastating clash between the Imperial Navy and the Mon Cala Mercantile Fleet. Yet despite an overwhelming Imperial victory, a small group escaped the slaughter. From key political figures including King Lee-Char to the remnants of Mon Cala's military led by admirals Ackbar and Raddus, the Massacre's survivors spread word of the Empire's atrocities across the holonet before the news could be suppressed. In the following weeks, insurrections across the galaxy were supplied with advanced Mon Calamari technology and formidable capital ships. Meanwhile, dissidence prompted by documentation of the Empire's brutality only grew stronger, in spite of official attempts to brand such information as Separatist propaganda. The number of Imperial whistleblowers and defectors skyrocketed, while public confidence in the Galactic Empire- the order that had promised peace and prosperity- took a sharp decline. It seemed that all across the galaxy, optimism for the future had turned to bitterness at the present. The Empire was fighting a thousand wars on a thousand fronts, but even as conflict and chaos engulfed the galaxy once more, the Core Worlds became fortresses. As the Outer Rim descended into anarchy and rebellion ravaged the Mid Rim, the Core Worlds remained the last truly indomitable strongholds of Imperial power.
"You're slow. Predictable. I know you can do better."
Maul offered a hand to Ahsoka, who had been toppled to the floor of the Fire Hawk 's training room by the former Sith's attack.
"That's just it," said Ahsoka, taking Maul's hand and standing with a resigned smile. "I can't. It's been more than a month since…"
Letting go of Maul's hand, she gestured towards where Vader's blade had stabbed her.
"And still no improvement?" asked Maul, a note of genuine sincerity in his voice.
"None. To be honest, I… I don't know if my connection to the Force will ever recover. The… vision… the ability to see attacks before they happen… I just don't have that anymore. Not to mention…"
Reaching out with the Force as she had so many times before, she tried to pull her lightsaber into her grasp- yet it remained unmoving atop the crate on which it sat.
Ahsoka shook her head, letting out a defeated sigh.
"Heh… guess I'm not much use to you anymore… am I?"
It was true- if Ahsoka's Force potential had been irrevocably destroyed, Maul could almost certainly find a better weapon to wield against Sidious. Someone who was more susceptible to Maul's deception- more malleable to Maul's malice. Though the former Sith would endlessly insist otherwise, it was sentiment, not pragmatism, that kept the pair's alliance intact. Of all people, Maul knew what it was like to be cast aside once no longer useful- but beyond that, he'd grown strangely fond of the snark, wit, and tactical insights Ahsoka would so often provide. Vader's assessment had been correct, in spite of Maul refusing to accept it. Ahsoka had become like a sister to him, and he couldn't help but be put at ease by her presence.
"Nonsense," began Maul in response to Ahsoka's question. "I have faced worse, overcome worse, and it has only made me stronger. Your power will return. Of that, I have no doubt."
"Maybe," said Ahsoka, "But what if-"
"Force or no, you are valuable. Your intelligence, your skills, your discipline, and your focus- even without the Force, there are few who are your equal in any of those regards. Your potential is great, and it is only this constant belittling of your own strength that serves to lessen it."
A relieved expression spread across Ahsoka's face.
"Heh… that's really nice of you to say. You getting soft on me, Maul?" she teased.
"I am simply stating the facts I have observed regarding your effectiveness as an asset. Construe what I say however you wish- it is of no concern to me."
"Sure, sure," replied a sarcastic Ahsoka with a smirk.
Though Ahsoka wore a brave face externally, internally raged a tumultuous storm. The gruesome scenes she witnessed in the mind of her master endlessly plagued her dreams, causing her a physically sickening anxiety at just the thought of going to sleep for yet another night. Meanwhile, the eerie calm that had overtaken her after she'd vanquished Vader had given way to frustration and guilt.
"I should feel something ," thought Ahsoka whenever she thought back on the fight's ending. But all she felt was the dull satisfaction of a task's completion.
"I killed my own master… and felt nothing . What kind of person does that make me?"
Yet this hollow feeling was occasionally supplanted by a violent fury at her master's actions.
"How could he do it?! How could my master betray us?"
A fury whose direction quickly turned to herself.
"Why couldn't I see it coming? Why did I let it happen? I could have stopped all of this. I should have stopped all of this!"
There was no one left. Not Rex. Not Anakin. The people she once cherished so dearly were irrevocably gone- slain by her hand. But that was just the beginning. How many billions had suffered and died since the Empire's rise? The Massacre of Mon Cala, the subjugation of countless worlds, and the extermination of the Jedi- all of it because Ahsoka had been too blind to see what had been right in front of her. With that much blood on her hands, what difference did two more victims make?
It was not long before these thoughts turned into a now-familiar hatred. The same hatred she felt when she made her secret vow to vanquish Sidious for all he'd done. The same hatred she felt when she clashed against Vader with everything she had. Maybe she couldn't consider herself a good person anymore. Maybe she couldn't consider herself a hero or a protector- she'd failed spectacularly at both. But she could ensure the monster behind the galaxy's suffering would not go unpunished- that Sidious would be cast down from his throne of corpses and face the violent end she knew he deserved. Anakin's words from what seemed like a lifetime ago echoed in Ahsoka's mind.
"Revenge is not the Jedi way."
But the Jedi way had ceased to matter a long time ago.