From a corner in the dark a Zabrak male emerged, dropping his cape to the ground in a theatrical fashion. He had finally returned from his mission after months of searching every inch of the galaxy in vain for the boy his Master had commanded him to seek. Why couldn't I have found the brat sooner? he thought as he stretched his sore limbs, his cracking joints breaking the uncomfortable silence impregnating the room.

He had not failed him this time, having brought the boy with him on the Star Destroyer. He'd never been so far into the Outer Rim territories before and vowed to never set foot on the boy's planet again, having had his fair share of sand for the rest of his life. He was older than he wanted to admit and the twin suns of Tatooine could be hard on any outsider, especially one who'd been raised on Dathomir and who had never been exposed to such arid conditions before.

He was exhausted, but there was still one thing he needed to accomplish before he could rest. Now that he had found and delivered the boy, he must get rid of his father, for such was the agreement. A small price to pay considering the circumstances, Maul observed.

His gaze shifted to a tall caped figure that was standing before the starship's viewport, seemingly lost in contemplation of the stars. For as long as the man kept that position, Maul kept his eyes fixed upon him, waiting for his prey to take the bait. After an hour - or so he calculated -, Maul began to lose his patience and took out his lightsaber. Unsurprisingly, the caped man only turned around when the Zabrak ignited his weapon, greeting him with a mock-bow. If it were possible, Maul was certain that the man would be snickering just then, delighted by the unexpected turn of events.

''Long time no see,'' the Zabrak intoned. ''You've grown much taller since the last time I saw you, Lord Vader.''

''I do not recall meeting you before,'' Vader responded with a hint of disgust in his voice.

''You were someone else then,'' he said. ''A slave, I was told.''

There was a long pause before Vader finally answered, raising his blade before him in an offensive manner. No doubt the word had brought back some awful memories, Maul supposed.

''That boy is long gone. As you soon will be,'' he all but whispered.

Maul had to read the last words on his lips. ''We'll see about that,'' Maul replied with a toothy smile.

Vader didn't waste his time; as soon as Maul was finished speaking, he threw his saber across the room towards Maul in a sudden burst of rage. The Zabrak barely managed to dodge the weapon the first time around and then, on its way back to its owner, it seared his left arm and made him drop his weapon. Not bad, he commented internally. I like his style. Luckily, the Zabrak was ambidextrous and he was able to pick up his lightsaber in time for parrying Vader's next attack. Seconds later, Maul dived in and struck Vader's shoulder, taking off a piece of his cape. It seemed to make him angry, judging by the grunt he made, and Maul congratulated himself at finally eliciting some kind of response from him. We're getting there, he told himself. Vader took him by surprise when he whirled around, ducked Maul's attack and lunged forward at him, releasing his weapon from his grip for the second time. A moment later and his lightsaber was an inch from the Zabrak's face, standing in mid-air as if held by an invisible hand. Maul couldn't help himself: he let out a deep, hollow laugh as he took the saber - Vader's saber - between his calloused hands. Vader, as expected, levitated Maul's own lightsaber with the Force, but before he could grab hold of it, Maul cut his arms with the blade. The prosthetic limbs dropped unceremoniously to the floor, emitting a dull sound as they hit the ground, which was closely followed by Vader's strident cry of agony. The Sith dropped to his knees, defeated.

''If you want to live, '' Maul said, ''you'll have to get out of here quick.'' He helped the man up and pointed towards the exit. ''And don't bother coming back.''

Once Vader was out of his sight, Maul went back to the brat's room and knocked on the door twice. When he was greeted with no response, he forced the door open and entered. The boy was fast asleep in his cot, snoring slightly. His blonde hair was disheveled and he sported a sunburn on his brow, a reminder of his upbringing. He clutched the blankets very tightly around himself, shivering as the door slid shut, a stream of air rushing into the room and between his cushions. He looked so peaceful in his sleep that Maul almost hesitated to wake him up, but his Master had been clear: once Vader had been dealt with, the boy was to be brought to him right away. He shook him gently and waited for him to open his eyes. Within seconds, the boy was yawning and sitting up straight, hitting his head on the bed frame as he was stretching out.

''Ouch,'' he quipped. ''Where... where am I?'' he asked as he looked around the room confusedly, his gaze lingering on the Zabrak.

''You're on board the Devastator,'' Maul responded, purposely withholding the details of its affiliations. The last thing he needed was for the boy to panic. Just as he was about to ask another question, Maul cut him.

''Listen carefully, boy. If you want to live, you're going to have to do everything I say, even when what I tell you to do is contrary to your beliefs. Understood?''

''Y-Yes, sir,'' he said.

''There's no need to call me sir,'' he replied with a wink. ''The name's Maul. Follow me,'' he said as gestured towards the door.

The near-human turned towards his Master and cleared his throat, awkwardly gesturing at the boy who stood - or rather, cowered - behind him, blue eyes fixed on the ground. The hooded man nodded and urged them to come forward. ''Luke...Skywalker,'' he said, and Luke knew that his pause was deliberate. Calculated. Like everything else.

''How delighted I am that you joined us today.'' You don't seem delighted at all, Luke wanted to respond, but he bit his tongue. He knew this man wouldn't tolerate insubordination, or anything that would compromise his absolute reign of power for that matter, so he barely managed to crack a smile to alleviate the tension building up between the three of them. The Zabrak seemed as uncomfortable as he was but unlike him he didn't make the effort to hide it, hopping from one foot to another in anticipation. What is he anticipating exactly?, Luke wondered.

''Do you know why you have been brought here, my boy?'' the man said, failing to contain his grunt of contentment as he stood up before Luke, extending his hands as if he wanted to embrace him. Luke instinctively took a step backwards. The hooded man didn't give him the time to ponder the question and immediately answered: ''You will become my new heir.''