(I do not own anything from Star Wars.)
Chapter 11: Even Deeper
"HK-48, we're leaving for Alderaan tomorrow," Maul informed his assassin droid. "Go find the coordinates of the system and input them into the navigator."
"Yes, Lord Maul," HK-48 obliged, following the ramp up into the infiltrator.
With his stance shoulder-length apart, Maul steadily walked back to the inside of the building. His hood still cast a shadow over his tattooed face which hid the excitement that he had for this new mission; not because the mission excited him, but because he now had a reason to leave.
"I see that you are finally finished with your business."
The sound of Volutta's sultry voice hit Maul's ears like a stick.
He shut his eyes and cocked a brow. She was the only one in the hanger with him.
"I'm going back to my room," Maul answered calmly.
"Why leave so soon?" Volutta asked, almost pleadingly.
"That is not your concern."
"So mean," Volutta boldly commented. "I guess that I have no choice but to let you go."
"Let me go?" Maul asked stonily. "How humorous…"
"Such a hot temper," Volutta said, letting the word "hot" slip off of her tongue like silk.
"You should stop," Maul threatened. "I am not Azazul-"
"No, you aren't," Volutta interrupted. "I find you to be more intriguing."
The woman started moving closer, parading down the steps with her hair hanging to one side. She glanced back over to him flirtatiously. Her deep-green eyes dug into Maul.
"I always find you Sith to be fairly interesting characters."
"I am the first Sith that you've met," Maul said exactly.
"Whatever they are, they sure are talented in-"
She walked even closer nibbling down on her bottom lip.
"-many ways."
"So you have been with Azazul, Rokujou, and Tanran?" Maul asked, making sure that she would take notice of what he was implying.
"I have my loyalties to Azazul. The other two are mere tools for his use. I'm more interested in men with authority and power."
She stepped over to him with the want to be closer.
Maul let her come as close as she wanted. He had been used to certain women trying to intimidate him in ways such as seduction, and they either failed or were killed before they had the chance. He even let one touch his lightsaber before he decapitated her.
"I wonder, Lord Maul… do these-?"
Volutta reached out and stroked a tattoo that started out as a tear and then angled back to his nose.
"-cover your entire body?"
He looked at her plainly with his infamous emotionless gaze. She continued tracing over where red met with black, but her touch meant nothing and didn't do anything for Maul.
"It must have hurt."
Volutta continued down to his upper lip, sliding her fingers over his skin. She then let her emerald eyes travel over his chest and even further.
"It must have really hurt if they cover your entire body."
Maul had a memory that came to mind of a twi'lek that was a bodyguard for Vigo Darnada, one of the many syndicates of Black Sun. She had said similar things to him, but she wasn't after his attention. She only wanted to make him uncomfortable to test his resolve. It was an unsuccessful attempt on her part.
"When the last woman who commented on such things touched me-"
Maul brushed her fingers away from his face, letting the hatred that filled his own eyes dominate over her glare.
"-I cut off her head."
Volutta cocked an emerald eyebrow and smirked at the fact that he was trying to scare her off.
"Oh but Maul, you wouldn't want to waste my head. You see-"
She drew even closer and pushed her weight onto him as she let her lips graze his right ear.
"-my head can do things for you that not even the whore in your room can fulfill."
"There are many things that I am sure you are very "talented" in, but she can do more for me than you," Maul answered flatly.
"I find that hard to believe," Volutta retorted while slightly pulling away, trying not to sound insulted.
"How so?" he asked, wanting to hear her answer.
Volutta rushed back over to him with her lips pursed and her chest pushed out, to press into him once again, and even went as far as to place one of her fuchsia fingers under his hood, on the tip of the horn directly above his left ear. She then allowed it to slide down to the skin around the base of the prick and encircled it delicately.
She had leaned over to where her blue-stained lips nearly touched his right ear and answered, "I am more experienced, my body is much more enticing, and it can withstand whatever pain, whatever position, whatever length, and whatever amount of force that you want to pound into it."
She finished with her reasoning by letting her stray finger travel down to his ear, to play with the silver stud that was pierced into the upper curvature.
"Experience, as is shown through you, is not always appealing," Maul finally responded, while using the Force to shove her away from him.
She almost fell down from how hard he pushed and she stared at him, flabbergasted by his reaction, or lack of, to all that she had done and said.
"Now I'm going to have some more fun with my young and succulent companion."
He brushed past Volutta, leaving her with the thought of him taking the other woman in a way that she wished he would take her. He could feel the jealousy coursing through her nerves, her veins, and especially her mind. He enjoyed it.
"How are you holding up, Uriael?" Imara questioned the Jedi, while massaging her shoulders.
Uriael couldn't believe all of this attention. At first, she was skeptical about having someone touch her while she was in the nude. After she came to from her dazed waking, though, she accepted the offer that Imara had given.
Uriael covered her chest by pressing it against the end opposite of where the faucet still poured with water. Her hair was pulled over her right shoulder, so Imara could see where she massaged.
Imara had gotten the knots out of several places down the lining of her spine and all the way back up to her aching shoulders.
The bath was also quite lovely. It smelled wonderful, was filled with soft bubbles and the water was smoldering warm, which was perfect for all of her pains.
"I feel great," she replied softly, feeling a bit spoiled with all of the treatment given.
"She gives good massages," Safi commented, trotting into the bathroom with a container full of light-blue bath crystals that made the room smell so sweet.
She opened it up so she could smell the blooming aroma. Her two lekku shook from the scent that tickled her senses.
"Would you like more crystals?" Imara offered as she continued to give Uriael her full attention.
"You really shouldn't do all of this for me," Uriael complained for their benefit.
"Here, have some more!" Safi replied and poured the whole container into the tub.
The crystals quickly disintegrated with the contact of the hot water, turning into suds that once again filled the room with their scent.
Safi glanced down at Uriael and gave her a bright smile, which concealed her utmost interest in the woman.
Uriael looked at Safi, who she figured was probably nine or ten years old. She had a light tan head band that covered all of her scalp, only having the two holes for her lekku. She had beautiful blue eyes and was a pretty girl. She acted spunky, but Uriael felt as if there was more to her than appearance showed.
The young twi'lek rolled the sleeves on her tan robe up to her elbows, as if irritated by how long they were.
"Should I get some more?" she asked with wide opened eyes.
"I don't think there's any more left, Safi," Imara thought out loud.
"That's ok- I'll just take some of Volutta's."
She ran out of the bathroom once again with a large smile.
"That's Lady Volutta to you!" Imara yelled out, warning the youngling about showing such lack of respect to those that were higher above her.
She looked back down to Uriael's fair back.
"Please excuse the youngling. She is quite the pain."
"That's alright," Uriael explained, while still eyeing the area that the girl had exited from. "How old is she?"
"8-years-old."
Uriael turned and watched from the corner of her right eye as Imara intently made circular motions with her fingers down her back.
Imara was strikingly beautiful and her green eyes were calmer and more defined from maturity. She also had a head cap, except hers was a dark shade of jade.
"So, it is strange that Lord Maul is interested in your welfare, isn't it?"
This question caught Uriael a bit off guard, but she knew that something like this would come up.
"I mean he is a Sith, and I've heard that he has killed hundreds of people. Doesn't that bother you?"
"I try not to think about things like that. Right now, I'm only keeping my mind on this massage," Uriael softly mentioned, with a hint of a smile, albeit a fake one.
As long as Azazul is gone, I couldn't care less about the future for the time being.
"Has he…"
Imara paused for a second, not knowing how to ask what she wanted to, as if she was afraid to cross a line.
"Has he used you?"
Uriael moved her silver and yellow eyes back to the empty space in front of her and shifted her chin farther into her arms. She thought about whether she should say yes or no. In the end, she didn't feel like lying.
"Not really…"
"Not really?"
"Well… he began to," Uriael paused, thinking back on the fact that he had not finished what he started, "but he stopped."
Imara lifted her eyes off of Uriael's back and her massaging went from concise to a bit random.
"Really?" she asked, perplexed.
The woman nodded her head to answer the question and was still surprised by the answer she was able to give, considering Maul did know that she was a Jedi.
"Wow," Imara said with a baffled voice. "Well, you can't expect all men to be into that sort of thing."
"Could you do me the favor of not mentioning that to anyone else?"
"Of course," Imara promised.
She understood why the Jedi wouldn't want anyone else in that building to know of that, for they might try to sneak her out to make up for Maul's lack of brutality.
Uriael turned her body, covering everything below her shoulder line beneath the suds. Imara was a bit startled by this action.
"How old are you, Lady Imara?"
"Please don't call me Lady. I am a slave, just like you."
"Ok- Imara. How old are you?"
"I'm 28. And yourself?"
"20."
"You're 20?" Imara asked loudly. "You look much older…"
"Well, I was taught that Human females stop maturing at 21," Uriael reassured. "I turn 21 at the end of the year."
"You're only 20..."
To Imara, it made Uriael's situation all the more depressing. She, herself, may have been a slave, but to a point. She wasn't locked up and thrown into random individual's rooms like Uriael had been. If that had happened to her, she would have ended her own life.
The fact that Uriael had lost a pregnancy hardly even a day ago made Imara feel for her.
Her eyes began drifting down to her scars. How sad to have a sign of whom she was enslaved to and to show that she was someone else's property.
"By the way, Uriael- you might bleed some more."
"More?" Uriael asked innocently, hiding the fact that she had already known this.
"It might take a few days for your body to detoxify. Don't worry. You will feel better soon," Imara whispered reassuringly.
"Weren't those your clothes?" Uriael started. "I'm so sorry for-"
"I gave those clothes to Farkas because I didn't need them. They are much too big for the little one, so he got them off my hands," Imara stopped Uriael from apologizing.
"It's ok. It isn't your fault, really. I already set out some new clothes for you up on the counter- and I think they'll match more properly than when Farkas chose them last."
Uriael was glad to have met this twi'lek woman.
"Do you want something to wrap around your wrist?"
Uriael lifted her right hand from the water and eyed the raw area of flesh on her wrist, just beneath her thumb. It was having a difficult time with healing, thanks to her most present captor.
"I was going to ask J-23 for some gauze, so don't worry about it."
"Imara-"
Farkas knocked on the door as to not intrude in anything.
"I think that it is best if we go now."
"You're probably right. Let's see if we can stop Safi on her way back."
"Thank you for everything," Uriael sighed.
"Don't mention it. I hope that Lord Maul will request me to come by here more often."
Imara left out of the bathroom with a respectful smile.
Uriael sank back in the tub and allowed the hair below her shoulders to immerse into the sudsy water.
The smell of the water was so familiar. It had a floral and sweet scent that was able to calm and relax her.
A memory came to mind, from when she was a young child. A similar scent came from a purple flower that grew in the meadows on her home planet.
…
She remembered picking the flowers for her mother, who loved them. She especially loved giving them as a gift to her for her birthday.
Her mother told her that the flower's name was…
Lavender…
She remembered seeing the moon that night. It had gotten dark and she was already late getting home.
It was then that it happened. The sounds of screaming filled her ears, almost making her stumble to the grass covered ground. She didn't pay it any mind though, for she had always had issues with hearing such things.
…
Uriael came back to the sight of the sudsy water and its warmth. Thinking about such things changed her from being relaxed to feeling dismayed. She sighed and slid down the porcelain, allowing her head to immerse under.
Maul waited as the turbo-lift made its way to the floor where his room was located, once again. It halted and the doors opened.
Not to his surprise, Farkas stood in the way of Maul's exit. He bowed to the Sith. Maul sighed quietly and tilted his head underneath his hood.
"Commander Farkas- I have a request."
"Yes, Sir?" Farkas questioned.
"I would like to bring two men with me on a mission that I have been handed."
He stopped and glanced up at the bothan.
"You will be one of them."
Farkas blinked in confusion.
"Sir, what of Lord Rokujou and Lord Tanran? Surely they would be-"
"Do you question me, Commander?" Maul asked with a hint of annoyance in his voice.
"No, Lord Maul. I just thought that they would be of more use to you than I. I do not have ties with the Force as they do."
"I believe that my connection with the Force is substantial enough."
Farkas nodded in a forced agreement.
"I do wish to know who you think would be suitable to be my second man."
"I have a suggestion of sorts, my Lord," Farkas answered immediately. "His name is Brann. He is-"
"I know of him. He is commander Lande's son."
Farkas was a bit surprised that Maul had come to know the Noghri.
"Yes, Sir. He is very well disciplined and a very useful fighter."
"Good," Maul said quietly. "Be ready for tomorrow."
"Yes, Lord Maul."
Farkas walked past Maul and went into the elevator, being sure to not raise his curiosity enough for Maul to notice.
Maul knew that the noghri could be of great use. He was well aware of their great senses and that they were able to smell out blood lines. They were also great fighters, with great speed and agility.
Maul walked back to his room, thinking about what he had said to Volutta.
If only it were the truth.
He did not cease in walking and opened the door with the Force.
He noticed how silent the room was as he entered. The living room was bright and warm, due to the afternoon sun, and the tension of everything that had happened a few hours ago seemed to have lifted.
He sensed that she was in the bathroom. Warmth broke through his hard, cold shell, and it sure was not welcomed. Her essence felt as if she was being soothed by something warm.
What a nuisance.
He grabbed the hood of his robe and pulled the whole of it off in one tug.
While guiding it into his room, he began walking towards the bathroom to take a shower before he went off to Alderaan. He needed it not only for cleansing purposes, but also to wash his frustration from his failed attempt at meditation.
He walked up the steps through the large kitchen that led to the bathroom door. Slowly, he beckoned the door to open. It made its way into the ceiling to allow him entry.
As soon as he walked in, a sweet scent made its way into his reach of smell and caused him to scowl.
He looked over at the large tub and saw nothing but water with a thick layer of bubbles covering the surface. He couldn't see the Jedi, but he knew where she was.
Silently, he made his way over to the tub and stood waiting patiently for her to emerge from underneath her bath. He crossed his arms while cocking a brow down into the pool of bubbling water. He could probably dock his speeder in there without scratching either the speeder or the tub.
He knew that she was well aware of his presence. She stayed under anyway.
What a pain in the ass.
"You would say that."
As soon as he heard her soft and refined voice, her head diligently rose from under the bubbles.
She moved the suds out of her way through the water and her arms went to grab hold of the edge. She pulled herself close to the porcelain, to make sure that her chest was covered.
Her eyes were shut and her head faced down. She lifted her left arm so she could slick back the now dark purple hair away from her face.
"Do you enjoy being a nuisance, Jedi?" Maul questioned, staring intently down at the woman.
"I don't choose to stay here, Lord Maul," Uriael replied. "I rarely get to make any decision for myself nowadays."
"Don't complain to me," Maul mentioned, inwardly smirking.
"It can barely be complaining when it is the absolute truth."
Maul noticed how forward she was now and how her persona was indifferent. It probably hadn't changed though. It was just her attitude towards him, the Sith that had her locked up in his room and who had witnessed a huge moment of weakness.
"I believe the truth is that you seek pity," he jabbed.
"And I'm not surprised," Uriael remarked.
He began tracing the scars on her face and his restless stare wandered down from the orbital of her left eye to the lining of her jaw. He saw it in the shape of a "7". The right side of her face held the reflection of the scar on the left side.
Maul wondered what race she was. She had to have been a mixed breed, or a subspecies.
"Tell me what you are, Jedi," Maul ordered while he grabbed the fingers of his gloves and pulled them away.
He used the Force to place them on the sink counter.
She glanced at him with an unsure look. Uriael was still not comfortable with him and his ordering her around all of the time.
"What do you mean?"
"Your race- tell me your race," Maul repeated, ill-tempered by her lack of understanding.
"I am human."
"Don't test me, Jedi. You are not just human," he said rather smoothly.
Uriael didn't want to divulge any further. She didn't want him knowing what she was. In fact, she didn't want him knowing any more about her than what he already found out or witnessed.
If you won't tell me, I'll find out myself.
He began searching through her mind and after a while, he had found nothing. He still persisted, trying to find even a hint of what she would not tell him.
Maul had become agitated from not being able to find what he was looking for. Why couldn't he find it? She was barely a knight and didn't have nearly as much control let alone experience with the Force as he. So how is it that her mind was so strong against his intrusion?
That's when it hit him. She wasn't using the Force against him. There was something more that she was able to do.
The eyes...
He snatched her up fiercely by the chin, lifting her out of the water enough to where her chest was exposed. He looked into her eyes with his ever so merciless glare. Her animal like eyes reflected his face within them.
She had no idea what he was doing. His hands were cold and remorseless and didn't care about anyone or anything. His touch along with the sensation of cold air making contact with her bare chest made her even more uneasy.
He had an encounter with a man that had eyes like that. The same man also had the strange ability of telepathy that was natural for his species, as he so boasted about it.
This time it wasn't the Force, but his own damned memory that would be of use to his success.
She was using her own telepathic power to make sure that he wouldn't see anything that she wanted to keep secret. Her being a Jedi, who trained in controlling thoughts and emotions, constantly meditating to seek the inner peace for their mental mind, didn't make Maul's self-imposed task any easier.
"You are half iktotchi."
That would explain the purplish-brown colored hair; the horns of some Iktotchi were similar in color. And then there were her eyes, which were nearly the same as the man that he had a past encounter with.
Uriael's eyes emptied of frustration and filled with disappointment. She thought that he found out by beating the block that she had made in her mind, and it wasn't like she could have realized that it was his sheer luck from having an awesome memory.
"I am right," Maul said, quite pleased. "I wonder how that happened- a human and an Iktotchi… I wonder how that is even possible…"
He waited for her to comment on his muses, but she stayed quiet and continued to look off to the right.
Uriael was quite saddened in herself.
Maul released her from his frigid hold, allowing her to nuzzle her chin down into her crossed arms, which were now pinned down to the edge of the tub by the tight grip that her hands made on her upper arms.
He started to loosen the wrap on his tunic, when he said, "You should have trained your mind more strictly."
He turned back around. She still looked off at nothing in the hopes of ignoring him.
Maul laughed quietly to himself. He loosened the wrap and placed it down on the sink next to his gloves. He easily got his tunic off with hardly a tug on the sleeve of an arm.
"You appear better than you did this morning."
Her ears perked up from this statement.
"Azazul must have some weak rudiment. Or maybe it's just that you aren't able to carry it."
He moved his head so he could watch her eyes wander away from him even more.
"There must not be any Jedi training to deal with such events."
Her head popped up and her slanted eyes had anger and disgust exuding from them. Her eyes were the only part of her that showed any sign of being effected by his words.
"Are you serious?" she asked in a calm, soft voice.
He moved to face her while cocking his brow. The Sith was actually interested in what she had to say.
"You are trying to make me feel worse than I already do, and I am sorry to say that you are far too late. He made me into this disgusting, lame thing long since before you were even stationed here."
Maul leaned back onto the sink counter, his ears quite alert to her words.
"I am… his slave. He can do with me as he wants whenever he wants. He can even send me to other men's rooms."
She stopped and thought about what she had just said. How she said it with such finality. This wasn't a good sign, but she couldn't help it. Her body wouldn't let her be used to such torment and torture, but her mind could.
Maul could feel this emotion of acceptance within her. She must have gotten with terms, not long ago, as to how she would most likely live the rest of her life, if she were to live for that long. She was accepting the fact that she belonged to Azazul as his victim and the hopeful womb for the offspring that he wanted.
Uriael looked down with emptiness in her eyes while cradling her head onto her folded arms.
"There isn't anything that can protect me from it. I can't even think of attempting to escape anymore. I've tried. Between Azazul, his henchmen, the guards, and the troopers stationed here… It wasn't hard to be caught. And then, after I was found…"
She couldn't go over the details of the aftermath of her attempts without feeling nauseated. Uriael looked back up at Maul briefly.
"I don't want pity. People who show pity are those who are too weak to give into acts of compassion."
She nuzzled her head back into the pillow that were her folded arms.
Maul listened on while unbuckling his boots, allowing his red and black feet to step out of them.
He did well in not thinking of his own past before she came into the picture. The girl's predicament wasn't helping with his trying to forget. She had awoken the memories which once lay dormant in him and he was certain that it was her fault that they were coming to light.
"So- is it pity or no care for what I am forced to endure?"
As she said that, Maul looked over at her with a ruthless gaze.
"I don't know how to show pity."
He walked back over, quite intimidating with his tattooed body, and stared down at her coldly.
"That leaves me not caring."
"Of course," Uriael accepted.
Her stare wasn't meant to be demeaning but she definitely felt a frustration that she had never felt before, even if the fire in his eyes would not let down. She wasn't as used to feeling anger as he was feeding off of it.
Maul could see her disgust towards him.
"I'm not the one who did those things to you. I didn't capture you, I didn't rape you, I didn't impregnate you, and-"
Maul lifted his hand and caressed the black bottom of his index finger to the purple scar placed under her left eye. She stayed still, awaiting the continuance in what he hadn't finished saying.
"-I didn't mark you as a slave."
Maul outlined the whole scar, as if he were trying to fully elaborate it for her to understand.
He watched on as her eyes tensed close. She would have pulled away, but she was also concealing her nudity.
"Don't hate me for things that I am not responsible for. While it is good to hate- and for me to feel your animosity and your anguish is fantastic-" he explained with a sadistic grin at the last word, "-I am in no way as weak as the man who did these things to you."
"Sith do not perform such trivial acts of violence. We do whatever is necessary for regulation of the galaxy. That is why we have an empire now. Sith don't torture for pleasure like Azazul apprehends from you."
He lifted his hand away from her.
"We kill and torture when it is necessary. We bring about wars because it is for the prosperity for all in the universe. Your kind was killed off because they had brought the Sith to extinction, and rest-assured, it was made impossible for it to ever happen again. And-"
Maul leaned forward and placed both of his large, painted hands on the edge of the porcelain tub, right in front of where the Jedi had pressed her body against the inside, and then glared at her with eyes that seeped with evil and desecration.
Uriael wanted to back away from him, but she felt like if she had moved even slightly, that he would wring her out. Both his position and the amount that he had to say stunned her.
"-the Jedi needed to die, because all of you- every single one- were and are nothing but weak creatures resigned to an unjustified sentiment of peace, which was holding civilization back from becoming something that could not only prosper, but become even more powerful than what any of you fools could have imagined."
He shoved himself off of the tub, and said, "I would have killed you before this."
His arms had fully released from her general direction and continued in crossing tightly against his chest.
"Azazul is nothing but a dark acolyte, with no means of true purpose. He doesn't care about there being an empire or the fact that he could be something more. He thinks that he is the primal being on his own and with that arrogance, he wants to pass down his legacy."
Maul said all this with no hand from emotion. He said it as if he were giving information or an order to Farkas or anyone that was of formal acquaintance.
"He thinks that if he mates with someone who also has a connection with the Force, that he will have a child that is just as strong as he is or even stronger. And you are perfect for the job- because you saying "no" won't matter and because you can, for whatever reason, carry the offspring of another species…"
Uriael could have broken down and cried from all that was said, but she truly didn't have it in her to do so. She was to be the one who would bless Azazul with a legacy that she didn't want. It was a horrible feeling; as if she was a bitch in a puppy farm, locked up in a cage, with no choice in the matter when a male was introduced.
He was a dark acolyte, trained by the fallen Jedi, Count Dooku. She was just one Jedi who's Force-connection he could tame easily with inhibitors and man-power.
Maul left her there as he began to loosen his pants from his waist.
"Turn around, Jedi," Maul warned.
Uriael failed to notice that he had been unclothing himself through the span of their "conversation".
"What?" she asked, innocently.
"Nothing," he answered sarcastically, and began to tug his pants downward.
Being as modest as she was, she quickly turned around after Maul had exposed himself to her, and even lowered herself under the water. She was completely embarrassed.
Maul dropped his pants to the floor with a grin and a shake of the head, and headed towards the shower after using the Force to turn the temperature control on the water to as high as it would go.
After he was done with allowing his thirsty skin to soak up the smoldering water that had poured down onto him, he stepped out.
Uriael had almost fallen asleep from the warmth of her own bath and the silence that Maul had allowed.
She heard the droid offer him a towel. He took it and didn't offer the droid thanks like Uriael had done many times before. The droid then came over to her.
"Here is your towel, Ma'am," the droid informed her.
"Thank you, J-23," she answered with a smile.
She then used the towel to dry off her hair.
Maul hated how genuinely pleasant she made herself out to be and was also getting tired of her being in the same place that she had been ten minutes ago.
"You're in my bath."
"I've noticed."
"Get out," Maul hissed.
"Yes, my Lord," Uriael sighed.
She slowly lifted herself from the tub, shielding her body with the towel. After she had stuffed the upper loose corner into the rest of the towel she had wrapped around her torso, she turned and watched as Maul gathered his used clothes into a pile.
She walked past him and grabbed a white t-shirt off of the pile of clothes that Imara had left her. Before she could even think about waiting for Maul to give her privacy, he had already left to his room.
After he was done changing into another one of his black, tunic outfits, he walked back out to find Uriael meditating, cross-legged on the floor.
She had a new robe and a new white t-shirt and pair of training shorts that Imara had given to her.
He saw that in that time she had also braided her hair back into a tress.
"I have a question for you, Darth Maul," Uriael said. "If you would care to enlighten a lowly Jedi…"
"Hnn," Maul answered, very much humored, but not impressed by what she had said.
"Why did you wish to know my name?"
"I don't need a reason for gaining information," he answered plainly.
"Well, I told you my name and you still refer to me as 'Jedi'. I thought that it was… interesting," Uriael explained.
"That is what you are."
"That is plausible enough."
She pressed on with her meditating and hoped that he would be gone for a while.
"Lord Maul, you want to go down there and talk to them?" Farkas asked while they were both in the turbo-lift, which was currently going down to the soldier's food quarters.
"They need to know that there are rules while I'm here," Maul answered the bothan guard who was still dressed in his uniform.
"Yes, Sir," Farkas agreed.
He wondered what Maul was up to as well as his sudden interest in what anyone there did.
The elevator door opened up to a large cafeteria, in which the clonetroopers were sitting at long tables, eating whatever was given to them.
At the other side of the room, Maul could see Rokujou, Yu'shaa, and Tanran with a few guards and a few women who looked like theelins; they were flirting with all of the men at that table.
He made his presence known as his cloaked figure walked through the two lines of men eating their dinner meals. Farkas followed right behind him.
They all looked over at him, curiously, without the knowledge of who he was.
"Stand up men," Farkas beckoned to the troopers.
All of them, with tan faces and features that originated from the bounty hunter, Jango Fett, sent glares towards Farkas for interrupting their meals.
"I said, stand up! You all know that we are keeping Lord Maul as our advisor so show him respect and get off of your asses and onto your feet!" Farkas barked out to the troopers.
At the sound of "Lord Maul", all of the troopers' eyes widened and they quickly shot up from their seats.
Maul mentally shook his head while listening to the bothan's demanding voice. He continued forward and stopped in front of the table that seated Azazul's henchmen.
Volutta was busy sitting on a man's lap, tickling his baldness, with the same outfit as she had on before.
Tanran was sitting and drinking some kind of fruit beverage; probably wine from Naboo. Behind him was the same twi'lek with a green dress that had slits on both sides. It was a halter dress that she appeared rather uncomfortable wearing.
Rokujou had two Theelin girls around him, who looked like twins; they had the same orange-tinted skin, short purple hair, and red eyes.
Yu'shaa, on the other hand, sat farther away from them down the table, not drinking or eating anything. He had no women by his side, which was not surprising seeing how terrifying his appearance was and he himself didn't seem interested.
Imara saw that Maul was standing there while everyone else at that table was babbling drunken-nonsense.
He noticed that she saw him and looked past all of them which set his very nerves directly at her. Maul could sense many things from her. She was nervous, but it was mostly for Tanran. Maul could only guess what she had to deal with.
Imara saw him stare at her with his beastly yellow eyes and flinched. She shot her sights away from him as fast as she could.
Tanran looked up in a buzz just having noticed the man in the black hood.
"Why, hello Lord Maul!" Tanran said with an uncontrolled loudness. "What brings you here this evening?"
Volutta turned away from the bald man who was similarly dressed like Farkas, and brought her attention to the man that would not give into her. She noticed the scowl that plagued the features on his face.
"He's not much of a talker, is he?" Tanran slurred to one of the other guards, who snickered from their own drunkeness. All of the guards, except a few, began laughing as well.
Yu'shaa's face did not change, and stayed just as emotionless as Maul had seen it earlier. His companion, Rokujou, was more interested in the two Theelin women that had surrounded them with their attention.
"How incredible," Maul commented with venom coursing through his voice.
Farkas made it back to his Lord, noticing all of the drunken men with their whores. He also saw Imara standing in the background and the two of them both traded looks of discomfort. Neither one of them wanted to know what Maul would do with all of this.
"Ladies and gentlemen-" Farkas spat. "You all should contain yourselves!"
"Enough, Commander," Maul interrupted. "I do not need your assistance in this matter."
Farkas stepped back, as commanded, as Maul stepped backward a bit.
"There is a lack of discipline of the people who are in charge here. I have to go somewhere and will be taking Commander Farkas and Corporal Brann with me, so that will not do."
"While I am gone, Commander Lande and Rokujou shall remain in charge," Maul stated clearly.
"Excuse me, Lord Maul-" Rokujou interrupted, ignoring the woman who was trying to suckle on his neck. "You want me to watch this place alongside a noghri?"
"I suggest that you do not undermine my wishes, Rokujou," Maul stated flatly, whilst letting his eyes dart towards the dark Jedi.
All of the troopers stood and tried to keep composure as Maul's dark voice echoed through the hall.
"Lord Maul-" Rokujou defiantly continued.
It was one thing to have a Jedi showing disregard to the authority that was his, but another for someone that was a Sith-wannabe to do the same. With that, Maul pulled the Force around him quickly and darkened it with the fury within his own heart, as a warning to Rokujou.
The brown fur on the back of Farkas' neck stood up erratically and his spine shivered. He didn't know why. He looked and saw that the troopers were all standing but seemed to be anxiously awaiting something. They were all nervous; he had never seen a trooper become nervous.
Rokujou silenced himself at that moment. He was strong with the Force, but not like a man who was trained as a Sith Lord.
"You will all follow their orders, which will be influenced by these set of rules. First off-"
Maul manipulated the bottle of wine that was currently being emptied by Tanran, into his grasp. It speedily flew from Tanran's drunken hold into Maul's gloved one. He then turned the bottle upside down and poured the rest of the red wine onto the floor.
"There will be no consumption of alcohol on the premises or usage of any form of drug. It slows down your ability to think past the intelligence of a womp rat and makes you look and sound like idiots. If you feel the need, then do yourself a favor and find somewhere else to partake in it and to sleep it off."
Maul then manipulated all of the bottles of assorted alcoholic beverages into the air and heaved them past the ducked heads of the guards, which forced them to crash and break against a wall.
Volutta, Imara, and the other girls stared on in shock. The guards were all drunk and tried to focus on Maul.
He threw the emptied bottle over his left shoulder, back into the unsure hands of Tanran, who looked on in disbelief.
"Secondly-"
Maul once again peered past Tanran and focused on the handmaiden.
"What in the Hell?!" Volutta exclaimed as Imara's body shot in Maul's direction.
She screamed as her body was forcibly thrown across the hall without her feet touching the ground.
Her left shoulder met with Maul's right hand, and she immediately stopped and made contact with the floor, while her eyes continued to leak tears from her fear.
Tanran stood up in protest against this sudden action on his slave and Farkas flinched a bit, keeping himself from spouting out what was on his mind.
What in the blazes is he doing?!
Maul continued, with Imara's upper arm in his grasp "-there will be no more sleeping with the handmaidens. Handmaidens are meant to serve women, not the whims of men."
Farkas and Imara both popped with looks of bewilderment on their faces.
Maul looked around towards the guards, which included the now infuriately drunk Tanran.
"Starting now."
He dared Volutta and the theelin women to stay with the men, and he shot them a glare that served as their warning.
They immediately ran to the other side of the room, with looks of horror and pouts on their faces. The guards, especially Rokujou, pouted as well.
Maul shoved Imara over to Farkas. The twi'lek stayed close to the bothan. She was filled with confusion from the Sith and fright from Tanran. She could practically feel her master's fury as he stared her down.
"Lastly- the punishment will be severe to those who break any of the rules."
Maul lowered his face to allow shadow to, once again, engulf his strikingly villainous features. The clones were utterly intimidated by this man who was smaller than they were, but still obtained more power than they could imagine.
Farkas and Imara both backed away slightly after Maul turned towards them; they saw what pure hate looked like as it was concentrated within his eyes.
"Is there anything else that I should say, Commander?" Maul asked Farkas, who was thrown off.
"No, Sir. If you have said it, then there is no more to say," Farkas replied, still astonished.
He hadn't been used to there being rules before, especially when it regarded the safety of the females that found their stay there. Not that Maul cared, but his rules would be much better for them.
Maul looked back up, setting his sights on Imara.
"Step forward," Maul ordered.
Imara stepped out from behind Farkas in a quick pace to obey the Sith Lord. She bowed her head to him and stayed in that position.
He saw how she was made to wear similar clothing to that of what Volutta would have in her closet. Maul didn't like it.
"You know of the woman that is in my room," Maul stated more than asked, quietly.
"Yes, my Lord," Imara quickly replied in a whisper.
"You will tend to her while I am gone under the supervision of Corporal Himmel," he ordered.
Farkas' jaw almost dropped to the floor.
"Yes, Lord Maul," Imara answered.
"No, no, NO!"
The whole hall, with the exception of Maul, turned and watched as Tanran stumbled in the direction of where the Sith was with his slave.
"She is my woman. So I get to keep her!" Tanran demanded.
His already red eyes were clouded by his alcohol.
"She is not yours while I am here," Maul objected with disdain towards the white twi'lek.
"She belongs to me! Come now, Imara," he beckoned for her to listen to him.
Imara was not sure what to do. She knew that if she stayed away from her master, that he would find some way to harm her. But in the end, she kept still; he had already done enough damage to her and constantly used her like a toilet.
Tanran became upset with his slave for not abiding by his wishes. He extended his right hand out and began to will her over to him.
"You are a fool."
The Twi'lek's eyes grew wide as his hand was stopped from reaching out to her any farther.
Farkas found Imara backed into him once again, and she stood firm and watched as her master's hand begin to twitch.
He looked over at Maul who was facing the opposite direction of Tanran. All he did was tense his own fingers into a claw-like grip, which initiated the twi'lek's bones into breaking.
The sound of bones popping out of place and snapping into pieces deflected off of the walls of the hall, causing most to wince from hearing what Maul had done to his hand.
Each sudden movement of Maul's right hand would lead to more screaming and the nauseating sounds of more fingers and carpals being snapped in two. No one dared to look at the pain that reverberated off of Tanran's face. Rokujou and Volutta both turned away, trying not to listen to their acquaintance cry out in horrendous torture.
Yu'shaa was the only one in the room who hadn't shown any sign of care as Tanran's fingers were pulled back until they were flat against the top of his hand. As a matter of fact, he continued to watch.
After Maul was finished with proving his point, he released the tension from his hand and sharply tossed it behind him. This led to Tanran's wailing body to be thrown back onto the table from which he came.
"Let us be ready to leave by the morning, Farkas," Maul said nonchalantly, as if what he had done had no impact against his conscious.
"Yes, Lord Maul," Farkas acknowledged, as he guided Imara along the path.
Imara could feel Tanran's eyes burning into her back, as she tried to steady her breath.
"I will get you, schutta!" Tanran yelled out hysterically as he was being tended to by the handmaidens. "I'll get you or the little girl! Either way, it's all the same to me!"
Imara's face fell to the floor, and she wanted to hide the sorrow that had filled her heart.
Farkas kept himself from letting loose a growl, but gave him a threatening stare instead.
What he didn't realize was that Maul had stopped walking. Farkas walked right by him, which was probably cast by Luck's hand.
"Here is another example of the punishment that I deliver," Maul said, letting his voice carry through the air.
He turned around briskly and pressed his boots into the floor. He then extended his whole left arm, using his hand to aim for Tanran.
The power of his released, crimson Force-lightning shot out at the speed of a laser and cracked through the stone floor.
The clones either jumped onto the long tables or jumped under it. They wanted to get away from the ash and the debris from this attack of ridiculous proportions. Some even grabbed their food out of fear that the dust would ruin their meal.
Imara jumped onto Farkas as they both watched the crack speedily travel towards Tanran, who was now left alone by the other men at the table.
Tanran sat helplessly as he spread his legs open to not let them touch the fault that came from the attack. It stopped suddenly, as Maul switched his arm back down to his side.
The clones, guards, and handmaidens all looked at the destruction caused. The floor looked more like a trench that had just been dug up. The fault was a good size, covering the length of the hall.
Everyone stared at Maul with looks of complete and utter amazement, as well as fear.
"If you disobey me-" Maul continued, "you'll find one of those ripping into your hold."
Maul walked past Farkas, who stared on in awe of the once Sith Lord.
The bothan carried the now terrified Imara in one arm and followed Maul back to the elevator. He now understood the power that this man held within him.
Uriael had been meditating peacefully for thirty minutes before the room shook. She opened her eyes, after having felt a rush of dark energy explode beneath her.
The shaking subsided after a couple of seconds, but its effect on Uriael lasted a little while longer.
She had a vision of a man being sent down into darkness. A man that she felt that she knew. His face was blurred, but she recognized his presence.
Who is it? Uriael pleaded with her mind to make it clear as she resumed her meditation.
He was a dark man in skin color and was about ready to kill an unarmed man. They were both near an open area high above Coruscant, which used to be a window.
The unarmed man… He looks a bit older… Wait- the Chancellor… Palpatine!
The dark man was indeed Mace Windu, threatening to kill the Chancellor.
*The oppression of the Sith will never return! You, my Lord, have lost!*Mace Windu yelled.
*No, no, no! You will DIE!* the Chancellor bellowed.
She watched Windu deflect what seemed to be dark Force lightning back to the Chancellor.
*I am going to put an end to this once and for all!* Mace Windu threatened.
Uriael stared at Palpatine's skin as it began to age and wrinkle rapidly from the exposure of the dark side.
Then, an unclaimed voice entered into the vision.
*You can't. He must stand trial!*
Uriael concentrated hard on the all too familiar voice.
*He has control of the senate and the courts. He is too dangerous to be left alive,* Master Windu hissed.
*But I'm too weak… don't kill me,* Sidious begged in a weak, mumbled voice.
*That's not the Jedi way. He must live!* the voice pushed on. After that his voice filled with pleading selfishness. *I NEED HIM!*
*NO!*
Uriael watched as Windu was close to killing Sidious, dark lord of the Sith, only to have his right hand cut off by a blue lightsaber; Anakin Skywalker's lightsaber, to be exact.
The scream of his pain sickened her and put her body into a panic. He began to crumble towards the floor, but not before Sidious attacked him with another bolt of Force lightning.
*Power…. Unlimited POWER!* the Chancellor finished.
She saw Master Windu's trashed and battered body thrust out of the room and fall down into the pits of Coruscant, as it flickered from the remnants of the Chancellor's, or Sidious's, attack.
...
Her eyes stung with tears that she didn't realize had become existent. Her breathing was bothered and her heart raced from all of what she had seen.
She then looked over to the glass door, which lead to the balcony.
The Jedi picked herself up and wrapped her robe around her seemingly cold, but only stressed body.
She knew that it was stupid. She knew that what she felt like she needed to do was her being reckless and not logical.
I have to find him…
Uriael wiped off the stray tears with the sleeve of her robe and she force-grabbed the boots that were sitting on the floor next to the right side of the couch. After she shoved her feet into the black, flat-soled galoshes, she ran back over to the glass door.
There was a security screen there, so she couldn't open it by laying her hand down on it; her escape would be foiled immediately. This time, she would have to work it open.
It wasn't too hard, being capable with the Force. It opened upward and the cool air from the sun's departure from the sky brushed against her. She then sensed where two cameras were on the balcony and force-crushed them.
Uriael ran out onto the balcony and gained the will to risk this much. Maybe it was the fact that after months, this was the first time she had felt fresh air; the first time she had stepped outside.
Or maybe it was because she could not stand the fact that the fate of Mace Windu, one of the greatest Jedi of her time and one who had shown respect and compassion, having been one of the members of the council who consented to her joining the academy, was to be left to rot down in the pits of the place that had betrayed him as well as the rest of the Jedi.
After having placed both hands down on the marble ledge, she attempted to try and steady her breathing. For a moment, she couldn't do it.
Uriael knew that she would probably be killed by Maul if she went off to try and find one of the people that meant so much to her.
I have to do this. I need to do this.
"I have to," she finally said aloud, and she pushed down with her hands, which allowed her body to make it over the balcony smoothly.
She landed quietly down on the floor, with the coverage of many columns that supported the building's structure. The sun was falling and soon it would be night. There were a few clone-troopers walking around on patrol, but she could easily pass them. There also weren't any cameras that would be able to catch her from her location.
Uriael concentrated a meager amount of the Force into speeding her pace which allowed her to bolt away from the senatorial house and off of the edge of its foundation.
Her body began to fall through the busy traffic of the once republic. She was sure to dodge a number of the many speeders that flew by, but she caught the one that would lead her in the direction of Master Windu's resting place.
A teen, who was trying to control the speeder after something large had landed on it, looked up and saw Uriael as she made her way into the passenger seat. Before he could say a word of surprise or protest, she persuaded him.
"You will take me to Coco Town," she soothed into his ear, manipulating his mind. She didn't like doing this, but it was the safest way for the both of them.
"Yes, right away," the blonde-headed boy answered, focusing his green eyes to go north of where they were.
Come and get me, Maul. Let's see a Sith Lord do his best at finding his prey.
Maul stopped suddenly before the elevator as Farkas boarded it with Imara. Farkas looked at him, wondering what he was doing.
"Take the woman to her quarters. Don't go near my room," Maul ordered, as he forced the door closed.
"Lord Maul-" Farkas was cut off by the shutting doors, and quickly pressed the floor number in which Imara's room was located.
"That was a franging nightmare," Imara commented blankly, still holding on tight to the Bothan.
Farkas barely heard what she had said, for he was more concerned as to know why Maul was in a sudden rush.
…
Maul didn't even wait for the elevator to come back down to that floor. He took the stairs instead, which led to the hanger. As fast as he was going, his boots made no sound hitting the floor.
So now she decides to escape- perfect.
He finally made it to the basement level. He ran through the dimly lit hall and then angled into the dark corridor. Out of habit he keyed in the code on his wrist link for Bloodfin. The sound of Scimitar's ramp could be heard before he impatiently heaved himself over all of the steps.
As he hit the ground, his speeder had already released itself from a hidden compartment, and HK-48 was actually running down the ramp of his infiltrator.
"What is it, my Lord?" The droid asked in a cold voice.
"Watch the ship- don't let anyone come near it. Anyone!" Maul announced as he jumped on to his speeder, stealthily moving his robe for his comfort.
"Yes, Sir," the droid acknowledged, and he cocked the rifle that always seemed to be in his hold.
Maul was in such a hurry that he left the droid with his orders and not a response. The speeder raced through traffic in the direction that he could sense was her destination.
You thought that you would let me leave after enjoying a good hunting call, ey? I'll find you, Jedi.
Just to let you all know, I put the little asterisks before certain quotes because I didn't write those specific lines myself.
~MN