Khameir woke with a start as shouts and screams were heard throughout the village. They were under attack. He was about three years old.
He called for his mother, who had been asleep in a hammock nearby. He was too small to climb down without help, but as he looked around he could not see her.
"Mayar!" He screamed for his mother, as the noise of huge machines crashed through trees, shaking the wooden hut violently. He hid under his blanket screaming as the noise grew louder and louder. Then it suddenly stopped. The voices of the villagers were still screaming, and faintly in the distance he could hear a familiar voice.
"Khameir!" She screamed his name, "Khameir Sarin!" she screamed even louder. Searching the crowd for her child.
He came out from under the blanket, and looked down from his hammock. It wasn't that far down, he could be brave. He leant over the side, grabbing a firm hold and tried to climb down. His hands were too small and he lost his grip. He fell awkwardly, banging his head. He cried in pain, but climbed to his feet and toddled out of the hut.
What greeted him was chaos. People were running away from huge transport machines, which were tall and menacing. The machines had left a path of destruction through the village. Huts and people were crushed, men and women and children. The machines started to open, and Khameir could see what looked like metal skeletons silhouetted inside. They were battle droids. He had heard his mother and father talking about the 'bad' tribes, their enemies, and how they had joined forces with people from another planet, people who had weapons and cannons and droids.
One by one the droids took aim, and walked out of the machines belly, shooting everyone. "Mayar" he screamed to his mother, who turned and saw him. She ran toward him, she was still running when a blast of red light hit her in the chest and her body went limp, falling and skidding to a halt at his feet.
He bent over and patted her face. Trying to wake her up. She didn't move, she wouldn't hold him or sing to him. She just lay there sleeping. A droid appeared in front of him. It was looking at him, pistol aimed but it didn't fire. He seemed to be waiting for something. A crackled and broken voice on the droids radio started to speak, and the blue ghost of a face hovered above a pad it was holding.
"What is it Captain?" the low guttural voice crackled. Khameir was amazed. He had never seen anything like that before, he bravely reached for it, the droid lifting it higher so it was out of reach.
"Sir, what shall we do with those who surrender or are too young to fight?" The droid asked.
Khameir got angry. He wanted the pad in the droids hand. He reached for it again.
The droids arm began to shake. The ghostly face turned toward him, looking at him in mild admiration. The pad was somehow invisibly snatched from the droids arm, and hovered into Khameir's hands.
"Most impressive." The ghost stared. "Captain?"
"Yes sir" the droid bleeped, snatching the pad back from the infant.
"Bring this one to me." He ordered.
"Affirmative, what about those who surrender?" The droid asked again.
The ghost paused. "Kill them." Then it flickered away.
Maul woke in a cold sweat. His hands clutching the sides of the seat. His fingers had pierced the fabric from him squeezing so hard. It was early morning…he could sense it, but it was still dark outside. He expected that light didn't penetrate the mist much. He climbed to his feet and strolled toward the only small window in the flat. Looking out, he could see some more buildings, and alleyways, and then the foundations of the vast skyscrapers that stretched thousands of feet above. The place was a Labyrinth. He heard voices in the corridor. Jacks drunken slurring was instantly recognisable.
"I'm telling you he's huge!" Jack was trying to impress someone, Maul's instincts said it was a woman. "…and he's my bodyguard, just wait till you see." Jack drawled.
Maul felt a little annoyed. He wasn't going to be anyone's bargaining chip. If he wanted to impress, or scare this woman to death, Jack would have to do it himself.
He sidled to the bedroom area and closed the door. Locking it.
Jack stumbled into the room. "Hey Dread I'm h…hey where'd he go."
Maul stifled a laugh. He could sense everything in that room, see Jack's face switch from all smiles and charm to utter confusion and humiliation.
"I don't mean to burst your bubble Jack, but if he's your bodyguard shouldn't he have been out there, with you, instead of being cooped up in here?" She asked. Her voice was soft but strong. This girl was independent.
"He's not exactly my bodyguard…just a protective, intimidating, evil-looking companion!" he swayed.
"Hey Dread!" he shouted toward the bedroom. "You in there? You were sleeping like a baby when I left!"
Maul didn't answer. He didn't want to be ridiculed by Jack in front of total strangers.
"Suit yourself! Raya…this is my friend…the door…door…this is Raya Nemar…the girl I told you about? She might be able to help you 'remember'." Jack sat himself down on the sofa and started to chew on an empty death stick container.
Maul hesitantly opened the door silently, and looked out of the small gap he created. He could see Jack, still intoxicated on the sofa, and stood nearby was a girl. She looked human, she had a pretty face, with long blonde hair that curled around her neck. She was wearing a red hooded cloak over her grungy outfit. Maul watched as she unclasped the cloak, and threw it on a nearby surface. Maul then noticed that she had a row of five short spiked horns poking up through her hair, just above her hairline. They were a different shape to his, but there was no denying a similarity.
She caught sight him staring through the gap. He stepped away quickly.
"He's shy isn't he?" She smiled at Jack, sitting down next to him.
"He's just…confused right now…besides if you looked like he did you would probably wanna reconsider your career choice!" He shouted as he received a playful slap from Raya.
"Don't be rude!" she snapped at him. "It can't be that bad, My father was pure Zabrak, he had the tattoo of our family markings all over his forehead…he looked like a circuit board." She told Jack, hoping that 'Dread' as Jack called him, would decide to emerge.
"My tattoo's are a little more extensive." Maul opened the door casually. She caught sight of him and screamed in alarm.
Maul wasn't surprised at this reaction. He had almost done the same thing when he saw his own reflection in the operating theatre.
Her hands flew to her mouth, and she stood up. "Oh I'm sorry I did that!" she looked incredibly guilty.
He wasn't angry, he liked the fact that his looks could scare people out of their wits. He seemed to find it quite enjoyable. He just didn't like being humiliated. He gave her a nod and accepted her apology.
"It's just your markings…I have never seen anything like it! They are not like Zabrak tattoos at all." She appeared to be muttering to herself, and she moved over to where he was standing. She reached for his face and he quickly snapped his hand over her wrist, wrenching it away.
She gave a yelp and tried to prise her hand away. Maul immediately released her. Why do I keep doing that?
"He doesn't like to be touched…he has a problem with boundaries." Jack laughed and reassured her.
"I'm sorry" she said to Maul, "I just wanted to look. I couldn't help myself. I haven't seen another of our kind on Curascant. We are quite rare finds." She smiled. "May I?" she motioned toward his horns, and he obliged, lowering his head, so she could see them all. She appeared to be counting them.
"…ten…Eleven?" she looked at him in awe. "That would make you an Iridonian Zabrak…it doesn't make sense." She was utterly dumbfounded.
"Why not?" Maul asked
"Well…the Zabrak species made many settlements on other planets, and through the generations of mixed breeding and all that, we have lost certain characteristics. The horns for example. Most Zabrak horns range from two to five or at the most…er...seven? You have eleven, like our ancestors, which tells us you were from our home planet…but…" She obviously knew a lot about their culture's history, no doubt from her father.
"But what?" He asked. Sensing that she was concerned.
"well…the planet was destroyed…about twenty years ago." She responded uneasily. "How old are you?"
"I don't remember." Maul admitted, looking away.
Jack gave a cough to get her attention, and pretended to smack himself on the head.
"I didn't hit my head Jack!" Maul hissed, and Jack shifted uncomfortably as both Zabrak threw a fierce glare in his direction.
"Whatever you say Dread…I'm just hoping you two can wrap this up so we can get going." He smiled.
"Go where?" Maul asked.
"We'll seeing as your planet is just another asteroid field, it looks as if you are gonna be spending some time here, so you may as well learn the family business." Jack grinned, flashing his gold teeth.
"I'm not selling Death Sticks on the streets." Maul snapped. He may not remember his past life, but he knew from his manner of speaking that he was not one from a poor, deprived background. He sounded…rich.
"Oh I'm sure we can find something for you to do…I need at least 2000 credits within the next couple of days, or Pike will gut me, with or without your help." He made to leave, and Maul reluctantly followed, zipping up the black coat on his way out.
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