Chapter 19

They just had to escape, no matter the cost. He did already get rid of one of the Jedi, by feeding their biggest weakness, their hope. Obi-Wan would be dead when his apprentice finally arrived, and he would just realize that he abandoned his companions without a second thought. Pity that he couldn't be there to see the outcome.

He looked at his remaining opponents.

One padawan and one master. He could get the upper hand, but there was the other matter of the thirty clones. They could pose as a threat. Maybe not exactly to him, but Savage was seriously impaired.

He took a deep breath. He had to play it safe, therefore, he activated the command on his wrist-controller mentally. No suspicious movements, that was important in the tensed silence before the storm.

Neither of the opposing parties moved yet, but that would only be a short state. Fighters in an arena built of corroded ore, mustering each other before the fight. His support had to come in the next seconds or his plan would fail.

And it came. The Jedi ignited their lightsabers even before the first shot fell, but that didn't save the first dozen clones from being shot by his drones. The hovering clumps of metal were not very intelligent, but they posed as a good distraction, and in high numbers, they could even become a threat if you didn't have a lightsaber to deflect the shots with. The two Jedi knew this too and ran to help the clones. That was Maul's signal.

"Go!", he shouted to his brother, beginning his sprint to the ship. It was a long way, and the ship wasn't exactly in the middle as he had thought before. He and Savage had the longer way.

Additionally, the Jedi master had seen through their plan and left the padawan fighting with the clones while he ran to cut off their way.

Maul increased his speed. He heard his artificial legs scratch loudly against the ore on the ground, nearly blocking out Savages steps behind him. He shortly felt for him in the Force. He would persevere, but in a fight, especially against a Jedi master, he would more likely be a hindrance than help.

Maul adapted his plan within mere seconds. That was his power. Together with his talent for assessment.

Maul knew that while he would kill the weak one of his enemies first, to degrade the stronger one, the Jedi wouldn't attack the nearly defenseless Savage first, but concentrate on him. Well, he wouldn't give him any chance to attack Savage. His brother had dropped back, due to his not quite so long leg span. Maul ignited his lightsaber and instead of running towards the transporter, he ran directly towards the Jedi master.

A second later he was there, and the two lightsabers spat angrily at their first harsh collision. It was a furious fight, neither of the opponents ready to hand off the slightest bit of ground. The Jedi was unreadable, only the sweat that ran down in between rough skin and his face mask showed his strain.

He felt Savage's arrival in the Force before he heard it. His determination to attack an enemy who was in the moment a tenfold stronger than him appeared like a beacon in the Force. It had a nice touch, nevertheless would Maul rather have an apprentice who thought just a bit more. But that had to wait. He swung his saber in a big arc towards the Jedi, forcing him to block. He just had enough time to shout to his brother:

"To the ship! Give me your saber!"

At least, he didn't hesitate. He threw his saber towards Maul and turned to the left, running for the ship. Maul had a hard time catching the saber. When he extended his hand, the Jedi did not hesitate to exploit it and swung a devilish hit directly at him that he could not completely avoid.

His side burned after the hit, right at his lower ribs. It was only a shallow cut, but the heat spread through his body, pain and anger goading themselves up until he felt the sick mixture of ebriety, rapt attention and power only a fight to death could evoke.

He ignited the other saber, while simultaneously pushing the Jedi back with the Force. He remained standing, but was clearly off-balance. Maul quickly came at him, the Jedi now definitely the defensive one. His motions became less fluid, and Maul could hear the drops of sweat fall to the ground. He just needed a bit more time and the Jedi would be exhausted.

A shot flew by him within a meter. He growled. The clones had finally defeated his droids. He could have killed the Jedi easily, but now with the remaining clones, about eight of them, he couldn't pull through. It was more important to get away alive.

His sabers described precisely cut half circles that forced the Jedi to hold his saber in a distinctive place to counter both of the sabers. Maul's foot described another half circle, with the clear intent to knock his enemy off his feet. And the pathetic Jedi couldn't do anything against it, otherwise he would be cut in half by Maul's sabers. The Jedi stumbled back, and regained his stance surprisingly quick. But that was all Maul needed. He made a huge jump to the left, towards the ship and ran to the ramp. The clones shot at him, but he easily deflected the bolts with the sabers behind his back.

"Shut the ship, we're leaving!", he shouted towards Savage.

His feet hammered over the ramp when it already moved up, and he saw the exhausted form of the Jedi run to the ship just before it closed completely. The Jedi hadn't learned anything during his absence. Still entirely predictable.

He went to the cockpit and took the copilot's seat. Some clones shot effectivelessly at the ship, while four of them ran towards their own ship. But they'd be too slow. The ship did already vibrate from the energy of the jets. Still, something was wrong. The Force warned him softly, but he couldn't figure out why. He searched the ship mentally, but there was nothing unusual. They had to go now. He would find out whatever it was the hard way. And he would survive, like always.

Maul leaned back in the seat as they left the planet he'd been trained on. He would never come back. He should feel relieved, but all he was left with when the adrenaline faded was a slight feeling of sadness. This planet had been something like his home, long ago, when he had had something like a father.


Anakin ran as if for dear life. It was not really about his life, but about a big part of it, and so he ignored the painful stab in his side, the thousand spots where his skin chafed angrily and also his overstrained lungs that couldn't handle the effort.

But it was about Obi-Wan! He couldn't know what the Sith had done to him since he was away, but the fact that they were going to leave meant that he would die soon or was already dead if nobody came to his rescue.

He reached the concealed door to the bunker, and instead of occupying himself with the mechanism, he simply thrust his lightsaber through the metal. The door was not abnormally thick, but still thick enough to cost him vitally important seconds. The recrement was already solidifying on the ground when he completed his circle. Finally he could slam the neat circle in, with more than a little help from the Force.

The corridors flew by him as he ran on, and he didn't need to think about the way, he simply knew where to go. In the meantime, Anakin himself was chased by the cruel pictures in his mind, the brutal pictures – and hopefully not visions - of what he would find. It was a wild mix of every time Obi-Wan had been severely wounded, after Ventress, after Dooku and so many other times.
With unimaginable will, he shoved Obi-Wan's chopped up and dead-eyed face away. He had to concentrate on the here and now.

The next corridor was the one with the cell. He tried to feel with the Force what awaited him, but he could only feel darkness.
Finally he reached the door and slammed his hand on the controller. Just before it opened, the Force urged him to be cautious with the air. He took in a deep breath for the air was most likely contaminated, and entered. His heart raced like a bolting reek, and despite the Force's warning, he wasted precious air with a soft whimpering "no-" at the sight before him.


AN: Yes, I'm evil. That's a mean cliffhanger, I know. But the story will soon be over, and therefore I have to use every cliffy that I can get. I hope the long wait for the chapter was worth it, I really try to update faster the next time. Thanks for reading!