"I mean I can't be the lady of Crimson Dawn without the guise of First Light."
Maul looked at her inquisitively. "My planet used to be home to a cult of exclusively women called the nightsisters who kept the weak men in check. They're all gone now, but I'm sure they would have welcomed your company."
Qi'ra laughed coldly. "The nightsisters? I'm not a big fan of magic or the force."
Maul shrugged off her comment as he opened the door to his room and hauled a pack onto his back. Then he started showing her the way they would take to make it to the base. Qi'ra could see the area was mostly covered and was over rough terrain.
"We could steal some pack animals from the locals and go quicker."
Maul shook his head. "We don't have much they would want with us to trade."
"Where are their villages located?"
"They aren't civilized enough really for villages. They're mostly highly intelligent animals. Theoretically we could ride them, but then we would risk detection."
Qi'ra sighed as she pulled up her hood against the barrage of ice and wind that was whipping up. Maul's breath appeared like a cloud in front of his face. He put on a mask that just covered his mouth as well as a billowing black cloak with a hood before motioning for Qi'ra to follow behind him. They hiked for a couple hours. Qi'ra made a couple attempts at finding out more about him, but Maul for the most part either ignored her question or gave monosyllable answers. He seemed to be particularly cold about anything relating to the Empire or his past.
The more she looked at his legs, she realized that he was amputated from the waist down. His legs would creak slightly everytime they had a steep embarkment to climb or if they needed somewhere to jump through he would sling her over his shoulder and continue. When they would in midjump she would hear the gears in his legs adjust.
The terrain was variable, in some areas there were more rocks than snow and in others the gradient was so variable that Maul would vault over the embarkments. Qi'ra wondered if his extraordinary physicality was a result of his force sensitivity. Maybe it was just his spexies-he wasn't exactly human.
They ran into some wolf like spectres that danced around Qi'ra before growling at Maul. They scattered when Maul lit up his lightsaber to defend himself. He sheathed it before cursing under his breath and continuing on their trek.
They reached a small outcropping where the could see the base. Maul grabbed the scuff of Qi'ra's coat and flattened her against the ground. She was about to protest when he gestured for her to look up.
Stormtroopers. They were patrolling the area around the base. The troopers were riding on motor bikes. Maul had been correct about the idea to not use the native species as transportation. If the had, they would have been spotted easily. Although he was dangerous to deal with, he did know what he was doing.