Maul's chambers, much like the rest of the Palace, were dark and abandoned. There was no furniture but a small chair and a small desk and all of the windows had bars on them. The guards, after shoving Barriss and Ahsoka inside, had searched them, took their lightsabers and the Holocron, and snapped Force-binders around their wrists before locking them inside.
"What are we supposed to do now?" Barriss asked.
"Now we wait," said Ahsoka.
"Wait for what?" asked Barriss.
"One of two things," said Ahsoka. "We either wait for Maul to run out of patience and come interrogate us, or we wait for Lux to break out of prison and help us."
"They sent Lux to the Royal Prison," said Barriss. "That's the most secure prison in this part of the galaxy! How exactly is he supposed to help us from in there?"
"I just have a feeling."
Hours flew by and Barriss's mood got worse. After they'd waited for what felt like ages (at least to Barriss), they could hear footsteps approaching the chambers.
The door flew open and two Deathwatch soldiers entered, hauling Ahsoka roughly to her feet.
"Lord Maul wants to see you," one of them said. Barriss opened her mouth to object but Ahsoka shot her a look and she closed her mouth. The Deathwatch soldiers marched her out of the room, locking the door behind them.
The Palace was silent except for the sounds of the footsteps of the Deathwatch soldiers as the took her to the Throne Room and stood her in front of Maul. She could see her and Barriss's lightsabers as well as the Holocron on the armrest of the throne.
"Leave us," Maul snarled. The soldiers took off her Force-binders and left the Throne Room.
Without the Force-binders, Ahsoka got an overwhelming sense of Maul's raw, unchecked emotions. She could sense his bitterness towards Obi-Wan, his pure rage towards the Jedi, his despair over the death of his brother, and his hatred towards his old master.
"I had been hoping that Kenobi would return," said Maul. "Instead I'm stuck with you. Why are you here, Jedi? Does it perhaps have something to do with this very interesting Holocron?" He used the Force to pick up the Holocron and put it in his open hand.
"Don't touch that," said Ahsoka.
"My, my," said Maul. "Touchy subject? You seem quite concerned about this Holocron. But what is it? Not Sith or Jedi. Why does this interest you, child?"
"I may fight for the Light Side," said Ahsoka. "But I am not a Jedi."
Maul smirked. "So fierce, so full of determination. I can feel your anger, child. You would do well to join the Dark Side."
Ahsoka shook her head. "No. Not now, not ever."
"Perhaps you think that now, child," said Maul, "I know, however, that you could become greater than you could ever imagine if you give in to the Dark Side."
"I could never be as vile as you," Ahsoka shot back at him.
"Then you will die just like the others that I fought before you."
"Not without a fight," said Ahsoka. She used the Force to bring the lightsaber and Holocron towards her. She tucked the Holocron into her pocket and clipped Barriss's lightsaber to her belt before igniting her white blades.
Maul stood from his throne, stretching his robotic legs. "I'm going to enjoy this," he said, igniting both his red blade and the Darksaber.
Maul charged towards Ahsoka, spinning both blades like a maniac. Ahsoka caught his blades with her own.
Maul was the most skilled lightsaber duelist she'd ever faced before other than Grievous. His use of blunt force made it difficult for Ahsoka to block his attacks, so she relied on her agility and use of the Force to evade his blades.
Ahsoka Force pushed Maul across the room before sprinting down the hallway in the direction of Maul's chambers. She needed Barriss's help if she was going to defeat Maul.
Meanwhile, back in the chambers, Barriss was attempting to find a way to break out of her Force-binders. She'd already practically destroyed the chair in an attempt to figure out a way to destroy her Force-binders. She moved on to the desk. She rifled through the drawers, finding nothing but a drawer full of mechanical parts, which Barriss assumed were spares for in case parts of Maul's mechanical legs needed to be replaced.
She was about to close the drawer when she found a particularly sharp piece of metal. She took it out and sawed through the part that connected her hands together, successfully deactivating her handcuffs.
With the ability to use the Force regained, she used it to remove the now deactivated handcuffs from around her wrists and opened the door.
She was just turning around the corner to go look for Ahsoka when someone knocked into her, sending them both toppling. Barriss looked up and saw the very person she had just been looking for.
"Barriss!" Ahsoka grasped Barriss's hands and placed her lightsaber in them. "Come on, we've got to go!" She grabbed Barriss's arm and pulled her down an adjacent hallway and out into an open room. The walls were made of glass and it overlooked the city.
"Ahsoka, stop!" said Barriss. "What's going on? Where's Maul?"
"I distracted him and got away," said Ahsoka. "But he's following so we need to get away!"
"Too late." Maul emerged from the hall, his red and black blades both ignited. Ahsoka looked around for an exit, but Maul was blocking the only one.
Barriss and Ahsoka ignited their lightsabers as Maul jumped at them. They were prepared to block him but they never got the chance because the wall exploded, knocking them both off of their feet.
Ahsoka looked up to see dozens of Deathwatch soldier descending on the room. Ahsoka lit up her lightsabers, preparing to have to deflect shots, but the soldier instead started firing at Maul. Maul attempted to block the shots but was hit by several. One hit his hand, causing him to drop the red lightsaber and one hit his shoulder. Maul snarled at the Deathwatch and began to retreat.
Ahsoka helped Barriss to her feet as a Deathwatch soldier landed just in front of them and removed his helmet.
"Lux!" Ahsoka exclaimed, enveloping him in a hug. "How are you here?"
"It's a long story," said Lux. A female Deathwatch soldier landed next to Lux. "Ahsoka, Barriss, this is Bo-Katan. She's here to help."
Bo-Katan spoke up next to Lux. "Remember your task!" she said. "You know where the Prime Minister is?"
Lux nodded and turned to follow the soldiers. "Come on!" he said to Barriss and Ahsoka. Ahsoka scooped up Maul's abandoned lightsaber and clipped it to her belt before following the soldiers.
"What's going on, Lux?" Ahsoka asked.
"The Deathwatch are taking the Palace," he said. "Our job is to assassinate the Prime Minister?"
"How did you somehow manage to get yourself involved in a civil war?" Ahsoka asked.
"It was the only way to get in here to save you," he said. "Now, come on, the sooner we get this done, the sooner we can get off this planet!"
The Prime Minister's office was just a few halls away from the entrance. Ahsoka could hear battle sounds going on at the front of the Palace.
"What's going on out there?" asked Barriss.
"A distraction," said Lux. "Positions, everyone." The Deathwatch took up positions outside the office. "If anything goes wrong, you know the signal." He turned to Barriss and Ahsoka. "You guys are coming in with me. The Prime Minister probably won't try to fight against Jedi."
Lux charged into the room, closely followed by Ahsoka and Barriss. Lux pointed his blaster directly at Prime Minister Almec's head.
"What is the meaning of this?" asked Almec.
"Your rule of cruelty and corruption is at it's end, Prime Minister," said Lux.
"This is treachery! This is treason! You have no right to barge into here and threaten me! You have no right!" Almec push Lux aside and ran out of his office. He was met by the Deathwatch soldiers, who raised their blasters menacingly.
"Wait! This is illegal!" shouted Almec. "I am the Prime Minister of Mandalore! You must obey me!"
Whatever else he was going to say was cut off as the Deathwatch soldiers fired their weapons simultaneously.
Almec's body fell to the ground with a thud. With that done, the soldiers marched out towards the front of the Palace to join in the fight.
When Ahsoka got to the site of the battle, the enemy Deathwatch were losing. They were being attacked from above, in front and behind. It wasn't long before they retreated to the depths of the city.
Bo-Katan and her Deathwatch troops approached those remaining from the battle.
"Is Maul dead?" Lux asked when Bo-Katan landed.
"No," she said. "He managed to get to a landing pad with a ship and escape. He's pretty badly wounded, though. Hopefully he'll die of his injuries."
"At least he's gone," said Lux. "Maybe now Mandalore will finally be able to settle down and find peace?"
"And what about you guys?" Bo-Katan asked, gesturing towards Lux, Ahsoka, and Barriss. "What will you do?"
"Well," said Ahsoka, "I was hoping we might be able to stay here for a little while before we go off again."
"I'm sure that can be arranged," said Bo-Katan.
Suddenly, a rumbling sound was heard, and the entire city shook.
"What's going on?" asked Barriss.
"I have no idea," said Bo-Katan.
A massive hole was blown in the city's dome and Ahsoka could see three Republic Venator Star Destroyers in the sky, releasing Republic gunships and starfighters on the city.
"The Republic must know something's going on," said Ahsoka. She turned to Bo-Katan. "You need to take your Deathwatch and hide. The Republic still sees you as terrorists; they'll kill all of you."
Bo-Katan nodded once. "Good luck, Jedi," she said before turning and signaling to her soldiers to run.
The city shook again. "We need to go," said Ahsoka. The Republic ships were nearing the city.
The city was in panic all around them. Ahsoka, Barriss, and Lux ran through the streets, which were filled with screaming, terrified citizens.
Ahsoka had always thought the Republic was the hero. But what kind of a hero would tear apart a city full of innocent people? And most of all, Ahsoka wondered how she could have been so wrong about them? The Jedi must have blinded her more than she had thought.
The Republic ships were at the city now. Gunships deployed clones everywhere and Republic fighters fired at retreating Deathwatch ships.
Ahsoka, Barriss, and Lux arrived at the landing pad without running into any clones or Republic forces. They climbed aboard the Nebula and prepared it for takeoff.
"What's going to happen to Mandalore and it's people now?" asked Barriss.
"They're probably going to be under Republic control," said Ahsoka. "All they wanted was to remain neutral and the Republic wouldn't even let them do that."
"The Deathwatch will reclaim the planet," said Lux. "If I know anything about Bo-Katan, it's that she'll never let Mandalore be under any rule other than that of the Deathwatch."
"I hope you're right," said Ahsoka. "It shouldn't be up to the Republic to decide which systems get to be neutral and which ones don't."
The Nebula took off, hidden from the view of the Republic Star Destroyers by the many retreating Deathwatch ships.
Ahsoka guided the Nebula away from the Deathwatch ships.
"Where to next?" asked Ahsoka.
"I'm getting a strong Force presence on Dathomir," said Barriss. "I think there's something there that'll help us on our journey."
Ahsoka took Maul's saber off of her belt and placed it next to the Holocron. "Two crystals down, one to go."
The Nebula made the jump to hyperspace and left Mandalore.