"Don't make me regret this."

Ahsoka passed Maul his saberstaff, recovered by a Republic patrol from the streets of Mandalore. There was a slight hesitation, for though she'd bested Maul once, she wasn't certain she could do it again. But to survive the coming storm, she had to take that chance. She did not believe Maul would betray her- at least not immediately- and she had far more pressing concerns.

"Thank you, Lady Tano. Now, let us act before our enemies can coordinate a response."

"Our... enemies?"

"The clones!" scoffed Maul derisively. "They will attempt to destroy us… you have already seen as much."

"Those clones are loyal soldiers. I know them- they wouldn't betray me of their own volition."

Maul let out an exasperated sigh.

"Perhaps they were loyal to you once, but now they are little more than merciless drones with one singular purpose- to bring about our deaths! You may have reservations about fighting them, but I assure you, they do not have the same reservations about fighting you."

"That's not true. Rex, he… hesitated… he told me to 'find Fives'. There's something I'm missing- some piece I'm not seeing! I-"

Suddenly, a squad of four troopers, clad in the orange paint they'd once used to honour the former Jedi, appeared from the end of the corridor in which she and Maul stood. Ahsoka froze, unable to raise a blade against her former allies. But it was as Maul said. Without hesitation, they unleashed a volley of lethal blaster fire on her position… only for Maul to ignite his saber, shield Ahsoka from the attack, and throw his double-bladed weapon in their direction. Before she realised what was happening, the four assailants had been beheaded and Maul's saber had returned to his hand, deactivated.

"They know we're here," Maul said breathlessly. "We must move quickly."

But Ahsoka didn't follow Maul as he began in the direction of the hyperdrive. Her eyes remained fixed on the decapitated head of one of the clones- complete with the helmet, painted with her own distinctive head markings. The despair she'd felt in the Mandalorian throne room returned. Countless times had Ahsoka trusted these men with her life. What had changed? These same soldiers stood by her even when she ceased to be a Jedi. They elected to paint their armour in her image and risk their lives in a battle entirely unsanctioned by the Republic. Now, they were willing to gun her down without a second thought. What had Sidious done? How had he turned such steadfast soldiers into his pawns? And if he could do that to the clones, was it really so inconceivable that he could do it to her master as well?

"Ahsok- Lady Tano, we need to go! If the clones are aware of our position, a whole legion of troopers could be on their way!"

Maul was right. The time to grieve would be later. The time to survive was now. Closing her eyes, Ahsoka took a deep breath, and her composure returned. Her eyes flicked open.

"Alright. But I don't think it's wise for us both to head to the hyperdrive."

Maul raised an eyebrow.

"There is strength in numbers."

"True, but that approach would let the clones know exactly what we're planning. They might gravity clamp or destroy the ships in the hangar, and with the Venator's hyperdrive disabled, we'd be trapped. Killing us is their mission, and they will not hesitate to maroon this ship and lay down their lives to do so."

Maul nodded in agreement.

"You are quite right. Then it would be best to split up. One of us must open the hangar doors and secure a shuttle for our escape, to prevent the clones from disabling it. The other will take the hyperdrive out of commission before rendezvousing in the hangar. If that's the plan, then… I shall head to the hangar. I trust you will know how to disable the hyperdrive?"

Ahsoka's eyes narrowed.

"What's to stop you from escaping the moment we're in real-space, leaving me here? "

"Why would I go through all this trouble to recruit your allegiance, only to leave you here to die?"

Ahsoka paused. The former Sith had a point.

"Regardless, I'd rather not take the chance. I'll secure the hangar, you deal with the hyperdrive."

"And what's to stop you from leaving me trapped here?"

"It is not the Jedi way to go back on one's word."

Maul shook his head derisively. But as much as he despised the hypocrisy of the Jedi, he sensed truthfulness in Ahsoka's words.

"…Very well then. Get the dorsal doors open and have a ship ready to go by the time I reach the hangar. And remember, you mustn't expect the clones to be merciful. They will show you no quarter… and you must respond in kind."

With that, they departed- Maul towards the hyperdrive and Ahsoka towards the main hangar.


"Fall back! Fall back!"

The Republic's Clone Troopers were said to be fearless. That was especially true of the 501st Legion, whose men made up the bulk of the 332nd Company which had now turned on its former Jedi commander. Yet even troops as elite as these were sent into a panicked frenzy at Maul's approach. Lightsaber ignited, he'd cleaved a path through countless soldiers with an almost animalistic ferocity. The clones had attempted to retreat, sealing the blast doors behind them to redirect Maul's approach- yet they'd only succeeded in prolonging the inevitable. In mere moments, Maul's saber pierced through the doors, slicing them open with a frightening effortlessness.

Resolute until the end, Maul's assailants continued to fire upon him with an unyielding barrage of blaster bolts. But the speed, power, and sheer brutality of the former Sith Lord proved too great. Maul slashed some troopers to pieces, and mercilessly impaled others. But the least fortunate were crushed to death, either by the Force or the impossible strength of the zabrak's bare hands. His advance was barely hindered, and it wasn't long before he'd reached the narrow catwalks of the hyperdrive room.

Deflecting the blaster bolts back at the clones who fired them from their elevated platforms, Maul swiftly eliminated the last remaining clones in his path. Now came the hard part. The former Sith lacked the technical expertise to disable the hyperdrive by conventional means. But that would not stop him. Maul walked to the central platform of the room and extended his hands towards the two enormous hyperdrive generators in front of him. Concentrating every bit of his fury on those two points, Maul channelled the Force in all its devastating power. This would not be as precise as a Force push or a Force choke. Maul's only intention was to destroy. In a spectacular display, he tore the generators down from their perch, tearing through a catwalk as they fell to the void below. Warning lights flashed and sirens blared as he felt the sudden jolt of emerging into real-space. He'd succeeded. Now all that remained was to make it to the hangar, and to hope Ahsoka kept her word.


The hallways of the Venator were sparsely guarded- suspiciously so- allowing Ahsoka to slip through the ship with relative ease. But it was clear from the blaring alarms that something was happening. Perhaps Maul's rampage had diverted the clones' attention? Whatever the explanation, she welcomed it. Ahsoka had resolved to do what it took to survive but remained hesitant about fighting her former comrades. Was Maul right? Were the men she knew truly gone? And if her life depended on it, was she prepared to kill them? But as she approached the entrance to the viewing area overlooking the main hangar she put such thoughts out of her mind. Willing to kill or no, she'd certainly have to fight.

Upon entering the room, she realised that the only opposition was naval personnel, quickly incapacitated by a few well-placed Force pushes. Looking down upon the main hanger through the windows of the viewing area, she saw that both the dorsal hull doors and the hangar bay doors had been sealed shut. Yet the hangar itself was desolate, with not a trooper in sight. Ahsoka approached the control panel that stood before the transparasteel windows, mind racing as she keyed a series of commands into the system.

"Enabling remote access to hangar utilities... authorisation code 8-1-0-8. Access granted... now initiating remote override of dorsal and hangar bay doors."

The dorsal hull doors slid open, making the black expanse of real-space visible from the hangar. The hangar bay doors soon followed, revealing her Nu-class attack shuttle- the same craft she'd used to bring Maul aboard the Venator- to be completely intact. She felt a momentary rush of elation- the prospect of escape was closer than ever. But her heart sank as from behind another door, two battalions of clone troopers emerged, assuming a defensive formation in the centre of the hangar.

At the formation's head was the last person Ahsoka wanted to face. It was none other than Commander Rex.