Wars Amongst the Stars: Rebellion: Vol. 2

Chapter Fifty

"So," Seventh Sister remarks, spinning her lightsaber rapidly. "The rumours are true, Darth Maul lives."

"Formally Darth, now just Maul."

Keen spins on her heel, pushing Leia behind her and stepping closer to the former Sith Lord, one of her blades extended toward his neck, the other still held out to the Inquisitor's. "You stay away from them!" the Jedi Master snarls.

"Now, now, Lady Quinara, you must watch your temper. We wouldn't want you to fall to the Dark Side, now would we?"

"Keen," Ezra grumbles, tugging on the arm holding the blade to the Danthomirian's neck. "I swear he's on our side!"

She pulls her arm out of the Padawan's grasp, but keeps the blade toward her side. "Sithspit, Ezzie! You don't even know him," turning to glance at the ex-Sith, she snarls, "Or what they're capable of."

"Are you really still caught up on the topic of myself killing Qui-Gon Jinn?"

The Inquisitor's blades begin to spin, and Kanan shouts back at the Jedi Master, "Can we discuss this later?"

Maul smirks, dropping the bottom part of his cane, revealing his lightsaber. "Perhaps my actions will speak louder than words." He ignites his dual-bladed lightsaber, quickly attacking all three Inquisitors at once.

"What are we waiting for?" Ezra questions, launching himself into the fight.

Kanan shrugs, jumping at their enemies himself, Ahsoka following him into the battle. Ari'abel looks over at Leia, "Be mindful, Princess. Don't trust him."

"Okay."

The Jedi Master nods at her Padawan, launching herself directly at Fifth Brother.

There isn't much of a fight, Maul doing most of the work, the Jedi, and Ahsoka, standing back to watch the fight. The Inquisitor's flee, leaving only one dual-bladed red lightsaber still glowing in the cavern. Maul turns quickly to face the rebels.

"Maul, what game are you playing?" Ahsoka demands, stepping toward him.

"The end game, Lady Tano." He turns back to watch the fleeing Imperials. "The end game. I am the enemy of your enemy now, and I have my own reasons for wanting the Empire to fall." He pauses, probably for dramatic effect, taking a deep breath. "But we have little time. The one they call Vader will be here soon."

"How do you know this?" Kanan questions.

Spinning around, Maul disignites his blade, replying, "His dogs will tell him where we are. Four Jedi and a 'part-timer'. Oh, he will come. He will not be able to resist us."

"Okay, now just wait! There isn't an 'us' Maul. Handling the Inquisitors is a whole different ballpark to dealing with a fully trained Sith Lord. And there isn't any way in h*ll I'm working with you."

"Keen, we should trust him," Ezra implores. Reaching into his pocket, he pulls out a pyramid shaped object that glows a faint red. "Uh, look! He and I took this from Temple together! This is why we came here, right? To find out about the Sith. To find a way to beat them."

"Ez, you don't know Maul like Ahsoka and I do. You don't know what all he's done. He was wanted by the Republic, and now he's wanted by the Empire. If they both can agree that he needs to be arrested, that in and of itself should tell you something."

The Padawan cacks his head, looking at Maul questioningly. "What is she talking about."

"Just a small matter of me killing her Padawan once upon a time."

Leia looks nervously between her Master and the Danthomirian. "Uh, that doesn't sound like a 'small matter' to me."

Maul waves off the Princess's concerns. "Oh, it's not as if I have a grudge against Lady Quinara. It wasn't personal."

"Honestly, Maul, I've gotten over you killing Qui-Gon. You know me, I don't hold grudges easily. It's the fact that you continued to hurt, and harm, Obi-Wan, and the Jedi. That's where I draw the line. Maybe I'd give you a second chance, but you burned that bridge long ago, mate."

Maul scoffs. Ezra spins, turning to face the Togruta, "Ahsoka, you said we came here for knowledge."

"Ezra, there is no way a Jedi can unlock that holocron."

"But you may unlock the Temple itself," the Danthmirian responds, addressing Ezra.

"How? Tell me how."

Ari'abel crosses her arms, glaring at the ex-Sith. "At the top of the Temple is a chamber. Connect the holocron to the obelisk within and you can unlock the ancient knowledge of the Sith."

"Why are you working so hard to keep us here?"

Shrugging, Maul turns his back to the group, taking a few steps toward the Sith Temple. "I can not defeat Vader alone."

"I say we stay with him."

Keen scoffs, while Kanan says, "Yeah? Well I say we go, so that settles it."

Maul scoffs, crossing his arms over his chest. "Are you such cowards that you would run from this chance to defeat your enemies?"

"I wouldn't say that staying alive, and keeping others safe is cowardice. I see it as brave, having to run from a fight. Sometimes running is the only good choice, and I'd like to stay alive," Leia responds.

The Danthomirian glares at the Princess, "Your Master has certainly taught you well in the ways of the Jedi."

"Thank you!"

"That wasn't a compliment."

"Kanan? Can't we stay?"

The Knight sighs, looking over at Keen. The two have a silent argument with their eyes, Kanan evidently winning, as he sighs, pulling his comm from his belt. "Chopper, we're staying for a while." Chopper grumbles at Kanan, "Yeah, I know it's a bad idea. Just scan for incoming ships, and keep the Phantom out of sight." The astromech grumbles in response.

"Oh, how exciting," Maul says. "We're all on the same side."

"Yeah, we're about as far from being on the same side as someone can be, y'know, without being mortal enemies. Just take us to the top, and hurry."

"This way."