DARTH MAUL

Maul was angry.

It wasn't anything new, as wrath was a constant companion through his entire life. He was always sure that he only needed anger as with enough rage he would be able to achieve whatever he wanted. That he would be strong enough to crush any enemy before him. That was his ideology.

He recently learned how foolish he was.

His strength, the one he treasured so deeply, was broken by a lucky strike from that damnable Kenobi, who, despite being a weakening resorting to sneak attacks, was able to take Maul's legs and mind, leaving him a broken mess in the process.

When he awakened on Dathomir, he was about to be consumed by rage. He didn't even see anything wrong with that. He would use it as a fuel, which would let him achieve new highs, allowing him to have revenge on Kenobi. Only, when he was on the brink of doing that, he was beaten to a pulp by Darth Imperius. Even empowered by the all-consuming rage, Maul wasn't able to stop the assault. Such was the power of the sith lord.

And if it wasn't enough, Imperius decided to take him as his apprentice! He didn't even ask him, instead getting permission from Mother Talzin! Such an insult! He said that he wouldn't allow such a humiliation, that he would kill Imperius!

That cost him getting slapped several more times.

He gave up after that. He knew he wasn't strong enough to defeat Imperius, so he decided to listen to him for now. When the time was right, he would strike against his new master, as was the sith tradition, and take all this power for himself. That was why he started to observe Kallig, to see why he was so strong.

He was Imperius' apprentice for two weeks and he was finally starting to understand, though not by observing Kallig.

He spent most of his time on the ship with a mandalorian called Satine Kryze. It was not by his choice, as he didn't want to socialize with any other person there. She would however constantly come to him, despite his protests, trying to find out why he hated that worm Kenobi and to stop him from taking his just revenge.

He would gladly kill her for her words, especially as she seemed close to Kenobi, but unfortunately he couldn't do that, as that would mean a severe punishment from his master. Unable to use physical force, he decided to attack her verbally, trying to break her spirit.

He learned many things from their numerous arguments. Firstly, she was a pathetic, spineless weakling, who believed in a fairy tale of a peaceful future. Listening to her was honestly disgusting, with the waste she was spewing with her every word. But it wasn't as important as the second thing he learned, which was how she joined Kallig.

Apparently his master recruited her by violently overthrowing her, brutally massacrying his allies' leader to ensure their cooperation and taking her as a hostage, so that her sister, who became a new leader, wouldn't betray him. It was similar to how others on the ship were was the same with the mutant, as Imperius murdered anyone who disagreed with took control over their clan. He also kept that cyborg he defeated as a trophy, taking pleasure from hearing his screams. The only one who was recruited peacefully was a twi'lek, but she was obviously brainwashed.

All these actions, in addition to his own treatment, suggested one thing.

Darth Imperius used extreme sadism to fuel his power. He was taking such a great pleasure from inflicting pain that it gave him almost limitless power. To think that such hatred was hidden behind these cheerful eyes. Thanks to that Maul understood he still had a lot to learn about real hate. He would meditate on that. His hate for Kenobi was still burning him from the inside, but he would train himself until it would become a cold, calculated hatred. Then he would have his revenge.

They were waiting before the temple. His master wanted to do something completely insane there, so he ordered them to stay outside, while he did his mad ritual. Maul didn't like this whole situation. Tearing the force? Whatever Darth Imperius planned, it wouldn't end well. Maul could just feel it.

While he was watching plains surrounding the temple, he spotted movement in the distance. He used his binoculars to see what it was. When he did it, he growled, bringing everyone's attention to him.

"These damned cultists are back!" he said tersely, before reaching for his lightsaber. He saw numerous vehicles driven by cultists coming in their direction. They would have to deal with that on their own, as he was sure his new master would punish them for interrupting him.

The spineless twi'lek squicked, before jumping for cover. She was the weakest link in this group, so he hoped she wouldn't be a hindrance. He didn't understand why Imperius took her with him. Spineless mandalorian didn't react much better, but at least she stood her ground, despite her obvious fear. Only the mutant didn't disappoint, as it instantly reached for its sword, ready for battle.

Soon the enemy group arrived. He could count almost fifty cultists coming out of their vehicles. Most of them were weak, even if stronger than the previous group, as he could feel almost no power from them. Their leader was different though. He was strong in the force and was visibly experienced, looking at his stance. Former jedi? Maul was able to tell that the fight would be hard.

"How dare you attack my servants, you pathetic heathens?" Said the leader, voice full of contempt "you obviously don't understand how grave of a crime you commited. You slaughtered my faithful! You desecrated this holy place! No more! I am Kadann, the prophet of the dark side. I was chosen by the force itself too..." He was interrupted by Maul suddenly striking at him with his lightsaber, hoping to get rid of him before the fight even started.

Kadann was ready for this though, as he turned on his own lightsaber, protecting himself from Maul's attack.

He would have to fight him then. Maul knew that this "Kadann" was the only threat, so he would deal with him first. The rest of the cultists weren't too dangerous, so the others would be able to deal with them.

His duel with Kadann started. To Maul's annoyance, his opponent was good, blocking his every strike and always responding with his own, making it an even battle. He tried to use his pent-up anger to gain advantage, showering Kadann with a flurry of brutal blows. His opponent was however able to hold his own, enduring the assault with grace and almost cutting Maul's head off with a counter attack.

"You think you can harm me?! I can see the future! Nothing can hide before me!" Shouted Kadann, looking confident in his victory. Maul doubted he used real foresight in this battle, as it took extreme focus and enormous talent to see the actual future even when meditating, but he didn't doubt that this man was doing something to be able to read Maul's moves so well.

It appeared that his violent rage wouldn't be enough. It wouldn't be useful against a precognitor, who would just use it against him, countering him to devastating effect. He needed to control his anger. To gather all this hatred and rage he was feeling at the moment and use it to systematically dismember and destroy this worm before him. To cause him so much suffering that he would beg for death.

The battle was going on, as Maul was focusing on his wrath, using it with clinical precision. At first it was hard, as he wasn't used to this level of control, but soon he was starting to see effects, as Kadann was slowly pushed into the defensive. Maul grinned sadistically. It appeared that his master had the right idea.

Around him people were dying. The mutant was ripping cultists apart and was using their torn bodies as projectiles, striking their allies down. The twi'lek was shooting cultists from the cover before hiding in alarm, when they returned fire.

Mandalorian was flying above Battlefield, shooting with her blasters and sending explosives across the entire area. At first she was acting pathetically squeamish, just like twi'lek, but with every minute of the battle she was becoming more confident, fighting with ruthless precision. She even killed some cultists who tried to sneak up on Maul, who was too focused on fighting Kadann to stop them.

He gave her a nod of gratitude. She was still a weak-spined coward, but he could see she was quite useful on the battlefield.

He was winning. He could see the desperation in Kadann's eyes, the sadistic glee he felt at the sight empowering him further. Seeing a small mistake in one of his attacks, Maul kicked Kadann in the chest with his cybernetic leg. Kadann was thrown back, hitting the ground violently. He was still alive, thanks to using force to empower himself, but Maul knew that the battle was over. His opponent was no longer a threat.

"Y-you dare?!" Screamed Kadann, his face contorted. He was barely standing, holding his chest in pain and coughing blood. "I am a prophet! A chosen one! I will not be defeated by some..."

His speech came to stop as someone appeared behind Kadann. Maul wasn't even able to sense the arrival. as a newcomer suddenly materialized on the battlefield. The man standing behind Kadann was wearing some sort of ancient battle armor and...Darth Imperius' mask?

Mysterious Man, ignoring everyone's shock at his unexpected appearance, put his hands on both sides of Kadann's head. Before anyone could do anything, the newcomer sent electricity between his hands, making it go through Kadann in the process. Unfortunate man started screaming in agony as lightning fried his brain and boiled his blood. After a few seconds of unimaginable agony Kadann fell dead, his body smoking.

Maul looked at Kadann's killer warily. He could feel enormous energy coming from this man. Fighting against him would be extremely hard. He would still do it though.

"Ah, you don't even know how much of a bliss it is to use force lightning after millenia of forced abstinence!" Said the man, surprising everyone with his cheerful tone, completely out of place on the battlefield. He looked at Maul's group "You are little Adas' followers. Thank you for taking care of him. I am sure lad is very happy to have such great subordinates" he then paused, as if thinking of something" oh, right! I am Aloysius Kallig, but you can call me grandpa Aloysius." He finished, pointing thumb to his chest.

What?

After the battle ended and they started talking with this obviously delusional, but powerful stranger, Maul was finally able to realize the depths of his new master's power and insanity. Resurrecting ancient ancestors? Breaking into the force itself? He didn't know what to feel. Fear and admiration filled his body, as he tried to comprehend Darth Imperius' actions.

Then came the next shock, as he saw his master approaching. He was accompanied by an unknown woman, one he didn't see before. She was a human around thirty, with blonde hair and some sort of dark armor on her. She was walking confidently, at ease in the presence of his master. Who was she?

"Hey everyone, I want to introduce you to someone!" Exclaimed Darth Imperius, waving to them, indicating they should gather around. After they did so, he continued. "This is Lana Beniko, my beautiful and amazing girlfriend!" What? How? When? Maul thought his master spent the last hour in the temple, not in some bar! "She will act as my second in command, so please be nice" he didn't say anything more, as if this situation was completely normal. Seriously, who was that woman?!

"Adas" said so-called Lana with a slight reprimand in her voice. It sounded like she was used to this kind of thing, which only increased everyone's confusion. Who was she to be so familiar with Darth Imperius?"You really need to explain it better. Everyone is really confused"

"Really? Ah, right. So, the ritual I did? With tearing the force open and all that? Yeah, I wanted to bring back my girlfriend. I sort of stole her soul from the afterlife and resurrected her. She will join us now."

Maul's brain malfunctioned. He couldn't comprehend what he was hearing. How did that make any sense? All this effort, all this danger just to resurrect his girlfriend? Madness, complete and utter madness. He turned to others, but their reactions only made him more shocked.

The mutant was nodding its head, as if what the master said made complete sense. Twi'lek was holding her hands together, as if praying, her eyes were full of admiration and devotion. Mandalorian, now without a helmet, was looking quite conflicted, like she didn't know what to feel after hearing that, but she looked a little moved? That delusional old man was just giving Darth Imperius thumbs up, nodding his head in approval.

What was going on?!

"While I was there I also decided to resurrect Grandpa Aloysius, who you already met and Selleana. I already had the power to do so, so I said to myself, why not?" Continued Kallig. Lana's eyes hardened.

"You did what?" She said with the edge in her voice.

"...I resurrected Selleana?" Said his master hesitantly, as if a little afraid "I mean it's not a big deal, right? She was already there, and she was a friend. I am sure it will be alright" he finished, and Maul could just feel a hesitant grin behind his mask.

Apparently Lana didn't like the answer Kallig gave her, as she was silently looking at him with a hard gaze.

They were looking at each other for a while, before his master broke eye contact and looked down, unable to look his girlfriend in the eye.

"...I'm sorry for raising one of my most dangerous enemies" Said Darth Imperius, looking defeated and ashamed, cowed by Lana's gaze.

His master, powerful sith lord wasn't able to go against this woman?

Maul finally understood. It finally became obvious! She was the matriarch of house Kallig! That was why he resurrected her! And that was why he was intimidated by her! She was the ruler and he was just her mate, even if extremely powerful. It was just like on Dathomir!

Maul shuddered in fear, realizing the implications. If her mate was already this strong, how powerful was this woman to rule over him?

CAL KESTIS

Cal was having a good day.

Master finally agreed to teach him one of more advanced Jedi techniques, something he had been asking for months. He couldn't wait.

He was walking through their cruiser with spring in his step, happy that he would finally learn something interesting. Master Tapal would probably say that being a Jedi wasn't about flashy techniques and lightsaber fights, but becoming one with the force, but there was nothing wrong with being able to do something wizard, right?

He turned around a corner, going in the direction of the training area, only to abruptly stop, seeing that someone was blocking his way. He slowly raised his head, as the man before him was very tall. He consisted mostly of muscles as his armor looked like it was about to break from the muscle mass hidden under it. Cal then saw this man's face. He was a non-human, though he didn't know what race. Man's face was red and covered in some sort of tentacles, with short black hair. He was silently watching Cal with extreme intensity, making him quite worried.

Who was he and what was he doing on this ship?

"Mmm, excuse me" Said Cal, gathering his courage. He was a jedi after all, he wasn't supposed to be afraid. "Who are you?"

Weird alien guy opened his mouth.

"You don't even know how much I want to rip out your heart right now" started the Man, surprising Cal, who didn't expect such a statement as a start of the conversation. His tone was completely neutral, even though he just expressed his desire to kill him, which honestly creeped Cal out. He could see a deep anger and hostility in his eyes, but other than that, his expression was utterly casual. It was quite scary to be honest.

Cal was about to respond, though he wasn't exactly sure what to say to something like that, but the Man continued speaking.

"It was supposed to be easy. When that madman opened the way for me, I said to myself: I will just find someone to possess and bring myself to life, how hard would that be?" Cal wasn't sure what this man was talking about, but it sounded dangerous. He looked at clones around him. Why did no one else react to this obviously psychotic Intruder?

The Man was glaring at Cal, as if trying to burn him with his eyes.

"So I latched to the first force signature I could find, making you a medium. You would think it would be easy from there, right?" Did he want Cal to answer? He didn't even know what was going on! "But apparently not. Because it turns out I don't know how to possess people. I always thought that it was better to train your muscles instead of learning all that esoteric knowledge. And turns out, it was a mistake. Because right now I am looking at you and I really want to squeeze life out of you, slowly and painfully. To see the light leaving your eyes. And I can't do that. Do you understand how horrible it is?" He said with a sad smile, completely at odds with his words.

Cal started to back off. He really didn't like this situation at all. Who was that person and why was he talking about killing him with a straight face?! It was terrifying!

"You know what I am talking about, right? The exquisite feeling of bathing in your enemies blood? Of watching them slowly die before your eyes? To see them realize the hopelessness of their situation and die in despair?"

"Sir, please calm down" said Cal, now completely terrified and shaking, not knowing how to deal with this situation at all. He tried to be diplomatic, hoping it would calm this madman down "You are obviously in some sort of trouble. I can get you some help. If you just wait here a moment I will bring someone to you, so you can explain your situation to them" Or he will run away, informing his master about an invisible, psychotic intruder. He really wasn't the right person to deal with this.

"You don't understand," said Man sadly, "you know, I was a wrath of the empire. To end like that makes me a little...angry" despite his words, the madman's face didn't change at all, still neutral. His eyes though, were like a wortex of pure, undiluted wrath, promising to turn everything around him into ash. What was wrong with this man?! "I have a new plan. You will help me get a new body. A strong one, capable of ripping someone's spine with bare hands. Because if you won't, I will gouge your eyes"

"W-what?" Said horrified Cal.

"I will gouge your eyes" repeated the man calmly, as if he was talking about weather "then I will watch you crawl, blinded and bleeding before ripping off your head and putting it on a pike" he then gave him a small smile.

Cal had enough. This day was supposed to be great! He was supposed to learn new techniques from his master! Now some random madman was bullying him for no reason! And this man was so, so scary! Constantly talking about killing him and taking his eyes! He was just a padawan, how was he supposed to respond to something like that?!

Tears started to appear in his eyes, despite his attempt at stopping them. He turned around and started to run, desperately hoping to find his master.

"Master Tapal, help me! Some crazy, red guy is talking about taking my eyes!" He screamed as he was running through his ship. Soldiers were looking at him in concern, but he didn't care.

This was supposed to be a great day! How did it end up like this?!