Chapter Seven
Maul was careful to avoid contact with the people of Mandalore since they had seen his brother and would suspect him of having ties to Savage. It would not go well to have Vizsla round up and arrest a whole bunch of criminals only for the leader of those criminals to be seeing communing with him. The combined strength of the people mobbing would easily overwhelm us in such circumstances he added to himself. When he arrived at the Sundari Palace, he was immediately greeted by Bo-Katan and a couple of her Night Owls who took him into meet with Vizsla.
"He's been expecting you, welcome to Vizsla's new home," she said. Hmmm, he usually does not take delight in my company nor does he usually expect my arrivals. Something is wrong with this picture and I don't like it he thought but didn't say. Nonetheless, he thanked her and she guided him to where Vizsla was making himself at home in the Sundari throne room.
"The transition of power will be seamless, we now have the support of the people and Satine will bait Kenobi. With his demise, our deal will be complete," Vizsla said. Maul heard him mention nothing about the underworld he intended to form and knew Vizsla had forgotten again. "Your oversight requires courage and we now have a base, an army, and the means to expand to other neutral systems," Maul stated immediately.
"It wasn't an oversight, it was intentional. I have no interest in those other systems, your vision no longer matters," Vizsla replied. Then he turned his back on Maul which signaled the Night Owls to point their blasters at his head. Since there was nothing he could do, he allowed one to put cuffs on him while Bo took his lightsaber.
"Oh don't fret, I'll still honor our deal. Kenobi will be dealt with but now you'll do as I say," Vizsla said with a smile. He did this as he sat on his new throne and for a brief time, he even laughed at how easily he had trapped Maul. "Should we kill him boss?" Bo asked. "No, I have a better idea: bring him to the podium as I speak to my people," Pre answered.
Maul knew where this was going and tried to struggle out of it before a member of the Night Owls hit him in the back with the butt of her blaster. It was enough to get him moving but Vizsla and Bo went in advance to make sure the people had their attention still. "Our search is over: the last of the parasites that has infected Mandalore has been caught. The Duchess has abandoned her duty to protect Mandalore, her political intrigue only encourages aggression against our planet!
"We have learned from this beast who counterpoints the pacifist principles. It's now time to restore the traditions of Mandalore, no one will ever threaten us again!" Vizsla said, speaking passionately to the people. Enjoy your reign as their ruler while you can but I'll be back with a vengeance. I promise you that much, criminal scum Maul vowed silently as he was dragged away.
Like the Duchess before him, it wasn't long before Maul arrived at the Sundari prison and fortunately, he was parked in the same cell as his brother. But Maul didn't let Vizsla's betrayal cloud his thinking and instead, let it encourage the creation of his next plan of action. As Savage stood and waited for his brother to come up with something, Maul paced from side to side and stroked his chin in ponderance. "Vizsla has captured the support of his people just as we planned however, he is not their anointed leader yet.
"There is still time for us to put in place a leader under our control," Maul said immediately. "Then let us escape and we shall find one!" Savage demanded. "Patience, we must move cautiously. By placing us in prison, Vizsla has unwittingly put us in reach of several candidates for his successor," Maul replied as he sat down to keep thinking.
"Who do you mean brother?" Savage asked. "Vizsla has imprisoned the Duchess here, other political advisors of hers will be within these walls who will suit our purposes well," Maul answered. A Death Watch guard heard the talking and demanded that they be quiet, hitting the glass with his blaster to prove it. Maul was not fazed and told Savage that he wished a tour of the Sundari prison so as to find the candidate.
Savage knew exactly what he meant and bent down to accumulate energy for a Force repulse which destroyed the glass and sent the guard flying to his death. As they walked away from their cell and towards where they believed the Duchess to be, another guard tried to stop them. But Savage grabbed him with the Force as well and threw him into another cell, igniting his jetpack and obliterating him. After that, they remained unopposed and soon, they even found the Duchess and Maul made sure to be ready to speak to her.
"You are the now former Duchess Satine, are you not?" he asked immediately. "What do you want, you monster?" she replied just as quickly. "Hm, nothing yet but I will have a use for you in time. Where are the other leaders of your people?" Maul inquired, remembering Kenobi in his reply to her.
"You should know already, they've either sided with Vizsla or have been killed. There's no one left now but Almec and I but he's as corrupt and vile as you," Satine replied, remembering what happened to Neptune on the way here as she spoke. "Really? Hmph, thank you for being so cooperative," Maul retorted, liking the sound of this.
The brothers moved to the cell next to Satine and asked the man in there if he was Almec. He confirmed his identity and Maul decided it wouldn't harm to make him his offer. "I can deliver you from this prison, what was your position in this government?" Maul asked. "I'm the former Prime Minister, Satine imprisoned me on charges of corruption and conspiracy for using the black market," Almec answered as Maul entered his cell.
Maul thought about this briefly and had to admit that while the man's record was admirable, his mind was weak thus making him a worthy pawn. "He's a murderer, he caused the death of children!" Satine interjected. "Quiet," Savage ordered just before another Death Watch soldier shot at him. Savage replied by taking him into a Force Choke and pulling him up for Almec to see a display of their power.
"What do you want from me?" Almec asked. "Mandalore is need of a Prime Minister," Maul answered. "I thought you were in league with Vizsla," Almec observed. Savage finished off the Death Watch trooper and Maul stated that they were but not anymore.
"You are powerful but how can two of you overthrow Vizsla and his supporters?" Almec inquired. "Vizsla is a soldier and like every soldier he is bound by honor: I will challenge him to single combat in front of his men. He will not deny me," Maul replied. Thinking about that, Almec observed that according to Mandalorian traditions, the soldiers were honor-bound to follow Maul if he won.
"Precisely," Maul stated with a smile. "Then what are we waiting for? Let's make like hell and leave this prison before more guards stop us," Almec said. The brothers could not have agreed more as they ravaged the prison, killing Death Watch soldiers left and right until they escaped.
Almec knew there was nothing to do on his part and so he simply let the brothers do the dirty work. But before leaving his cell, he went back to the Duchess and gave her a look of pity that she took somewhat offensive. "Perhaps someday, I can see to your release so that you may live the rest of your days as a retiree of politics. Would be more honorable than letting those monsters execute you like any other might have," he said before turning his back on her once more.
Taking the transport back to Sundari Palace, Almec braced himself for one wild ride up to the throne and to Vizsla's death. Though he had been betrayed by the Duchess, he never wanted to ally himself with Death Watch openly if he could avoid it. However, as he and the brothers got closer and closer to their target, it suddenly hit him that he might not have much of a choice. If Maul won the duel, then Death Watch would bow to him and thus to Almec if the Zabrak ordered them to do so.
They arrived at the door to the throne room where a lone guard tried to communicate to Vizsla inside as he fended them off. However, Savage grasped him in a Force Choke before much got out and Maul opened the door. It was funny to see the hologram of the soldier being choked for a brief time but the brothers made nothing of it as Savage killed the man and tossed him to the stairs of the throne room. Bo and the other warriors had their blasters ready but Maul was much quick with speaking the words he needed to say to provoke Vizsla.
"I challenge you, one warrior to another, and only the strongest shall rule Mandalore!" Maul shouted as he pointed at Vizsla. This halted all of Death Watch from firing and they turned to Vizsla to see how he would answer this challenge. But Vizsla answered as expected and even ordered Bo to give Maul his saber back, which she reluctantly did. Igniting the red saber exhilirated Maul to the point of a slight growl being uttered from his throat as Vizsla ignited his darksaber and shouted, "For Mandalore!"
For several minutes, the two of them hacked, slashed, and twirled their blades as they jumped and backflipped through the air when necessary to do so. Then Maul temporarily gained an advantage when he spun around and kicked Vizsla in the face, sending him rolling towards a window. But the soldier was quick to use his jetpack to escape Maul's hack at his waist and deactivate his darksaber. However, he exchanged the blade for a pair of blaster pistols, their yellow shots distracting Maul long enough for Vizsla to clear some space and land on the ground safely.
Then he reactivated his darksaber just in time to exchange a crossing of blades with Maul that was cut short when Vizsla elbowed Maul in the eye. Maul returned the blow by headbutting him but Vizsla was quick to recover and he slashed vertically only for Maul to jump and somersault away from him. Vizsla saw another opportunity to use his pistol and did just that for a few seconds before transferring to the use of his flamethrower though Maul simply ducked right beneath the flames. Dodging the fires left Maul with no choice but to allow Vizsla to use his jetpack again and when he hovered over his chair, he threw several grenades at Maul who was forced to roll out of the way of each one.
Vizsla observed Maul becoming aggravated by this and swooped into drop one last grenade which threw Maul across the room and onto his back. As Maul recovered, Vizsla landed back on his feet, reignited his darksaber and charged at him again to also exchange more blows with their blades. Then both ran at each other and kicked one another in the gut from up on the air, Maul recovering quickly from it but Vizsla catching his breath from all this fighting. But before the Zabrak could do anything, Vizsla fired two razor-discs at him and though they didn't kill him, they did scratch his cheek just below his eye.
Vizsla chuckled, unable to help but notice the scars he had left on Maul who then gave into his rage all the more deeply. Once again, they exchanged several blades blows but this time, Maul saw to the neutralization of his jetpack advantage when Vizsla used it and Maul kicked him in the gut once more. Of course, this happened after they crossed and held blades twice and Vizsla tried to elbow Maul again though the Sith caught his elbow with a hand several times. Rolling backwards onto his feet, the Sith Lord waited to see what Vizsla would do next now that he had no jetpack to use against him.
To his delight, Vizsla dropped the useless device but surprised Maul when he used his blade to send shards of marble to his face and bind his legs with a portable cable. Maul cut this off with ease but Vizsla then used his pistol a final time to shoot Maul's lightsaber out of his hand and out of his reach. The Mandalorian charged at Maul once last time but Maul caught his blade arm and held him in a wrestling-style grip. Vizsla tried his best to get out as he landed three punches to Maul's two punches to Maul's face though Maul retaliated with one punch to the chin.
Fazed, Vizsla was helpless as Maul twisted his blade arm, put it over his shoulder and then pulled down to bend it until bones cracked. The darksaber fell from Vizsla's hand and Maul threw him over his back hard enough to send him rolling a few centimeters away. Vizsla tried to crawl away to get some support and his men looked on as they saw weakness in their leader that they had never seen before. Maul, consumed by his anger, kicked Vizsla in the gut and his back landed on the stairs leading to the seat of Mandalore.
When Vizsla finally got up to his feet, Maul continued with his punishing barrage by kicking Vizsla square in the eye. Finally, he elbowed him in the back of the head which saw Vizsla kneel down only to attempt to rise again as Maul kneed him in the chin and pushed his face with his foot. At this point, there was nothing Vizsla could do to keep fighting and sat on all fours as Maul recovered his darksaber, igniting its black blade once again. "Like you said, only the strongest shall rule," Vizsla said as Maul took the blade and raised it above Vizsla's neck.
Bo watched, unbelieving of what she was seeing before her very eyes. Not too long ago, she had been making love to Vizsla and had even told him of the child she bore in her womb now. This isn't happening, my baby is going to be fatherless! she screamed internally. Then her fears were confirmed as Maul decapitated the father of her unborn child with his own darksaber.
Vizsla's body rolled until it came to a chair on the left of the stairs and his head rolled until it was out of sight. Bo watched with horror as Maul claimed the sword and his place as leader of Death Watch. At that moment, she beheld with horror as the Death Watch soldiers bowed before Maul as they had once done with Vizsla. Savage was pleased with the success of his brother as was Almec, their future puppet for rule of Mandalore.
However, whether it was because of the child she bore in her womb or because of her love for Vizsla, she could not obey Maul. "Never! No outsider shall ever rule Mandalore!" she screamed, determined to avenge her child's bastardization at the hands of Maul. Maul noticed this and he also observed as Bo and her soldiers immediately began backing away so that they could escape with ease.
"Hmm, if you will not join me, you will all die," Maul warned. "You're all traitors!" she shouted back at the Death Watch soldiers. "Unfortunately for you, history will not see it that way. Execute them!" Maul ordered.
Bo quickly put on her helmet and shot one of the Death Watch soldiers as she and her men fled the throne room. Using their jetpacks to escape, they kept firing as Bo threw a grenade at the remaining soldiers in the throne room though she had hoped to take Maul as well. When they were on their feet, she threw another to throw Death Watch off her men as they retreated through a hallway that had been previously unnoticed. She used one more when they reached a point where they could escape from the Palace via an open balcony at which point, they ignited their jetpacks to fly away from the Palace.
One of her soldiers took the liberty of throwing the fourth grenade which dispersed their enemies long enough for her and the man to escape with ease. At that point, there was only one thing to do and that was to flee from the Palace and as far away as she possibly could from it all. Away from the sight of the man who bastardized her child, away from Almec, away from everything. When the remaining Death Watch asked if they were to give pursuit Maul ordered that the Night Owls escape.
"We will deal with them later but for now, there is a certain Prime Minister we must place before the people of Mandalore," Maul added. Almec smiled and decided it was time to go out and speak to the people that Maul and Savage would both rule through him. "People silence, please silence! Hear me now, Duchess Satine the so-called pacifist who could not protect you when your lives were at stake has murdered Pre Vizsla the true hero of Mandalore!" Almec began calmly, concocting a lie immediately.
When the people booed at her, he assured them that Satine was now under arrest which was true. "And it was Pre Vizsla's last command that I be reinstated as Prime Minister of Mandalore! I know my past is checkered but I promise you I take full responsibility for my people. My heart now grieves with your pain, however, from this point on Mandalore will be strong and we will be known as the warriors we were meant to be!" he added, concluding his speech to the people.
Their applause followed this and with much enthusiasm, Almec went back to Maul and Savage to report what the people's responses were. "You have done well, Prime Minister," Maul said before he could speak. "I shall waste no time in building my administration," Almec said with a bow. "Choose wisely, I will hold you personally responsible for their failures," Maul warned.
"Yes, Master. Uh, is there anything more you require?" Almec asked. Of course, he had taken a moment to let the weight of Maul's words sink in and this was his natural response. "Go and rule my people," Maul ordered.
Almec bowed and went to do just that as Maul decided to take the time to think for a moment. "Is there anything you require of us as well, sir?" a Mando soldier asked him. "Yes, there is one thing: I will need you all to abandon your blue stripings and paint your amor red. And since you are the first to ask, I will also reward you the honor of putting horns like mine on your helmet as well," Maul answered.
"With all due respect sir, the people will remember how you were red and black. They will be suspicious that you might have infiltrated us and taken control," the warrior said. "You are only abandoning the blue stripes, you are abandoning no other colors in your armor," Maul replied. "I see milord, well men, you heard him!" the Mandalorian said before leaving.
At this point, Maul and Savage were alone for the first time since they launched the attack on Mandalore. "Do we kill Kenobi when he arrives, brother?" Savage asked. "No, we will see what we can do about keeping him and the Duchess alive despite any attempt to escape. Then we execute the Duchess before Kenobi's eyes, he will be helpless and grief-stricken to see it happen," Maul answered.
"But wouldn't it be easier just to kill them both?" Savage insisted. It would be easier but not nearly as much fun Maul thought. "There are fates worse than death, my exile in Lotho Minor could be considered one of them. And Kenobi will consider being allowed to live after seeing the Duchess killed to be one of them as well," he said aloud.
"In the meantime, what are we to do about the rebel Mandalorians?" Savage inquired. "Let them float out and about, killing some of our soldiers here and there. They may yet prove useful despite their attempts to hinder our goals. Besides that, the Duchess will need to contact the Republic in order for luring Kenobi out to be successful," Maul explained.
"So you're saying we let her go only to bring her back in again?" Savage asked, raising an eyebrow at his brother in suspicion. "Yes and it may sound quite burdensome but it's worked before on Jedi. It'll work again with Kenobi when it happens, be certain of that," Maul answered. It would be just easier to kill Kenobi than to grant him such a horrendous fate as that Savage thought but didn't say.
And he of all people should know: when he was first transformed into his present form by Mother Talzin, he was ordered to kill his younger brother Feral by Asajj Ventress. But he didn't let the pity and remorse of it show to his face, there was no way Maul would allow for it. In the meantime, he decided to go and take in the sights of Mandalore in secret to the best of his ability. He wasn't going to be confined to just this palace without getting a good view of what he and his brother were going to be ruling together.