The Unchronicled Adventures of Ahsoka Tano, Book Eight

Chapter Seventeen: By The Designs Of Darth Maul

DARTH MAUL

As the Unseen Enemy landed on the surface of the planet Moraband, Darth Maul threw the back-as-night hood of his cloak over his head and stepped onto the sandy red ground. It was time to fulfill his ultimate goal: to destroy the Sith and rebuild them under his rule, and exterminating the remaining Jedi in the galaxy.

He would see the leering face of his Master in his dreams sometimes. But, unlike most species, Dathomirians could control their dreams to a degree. With this natural talent accentuated by the Dark Side, he would Force-choke the Emperor and kill him with his bare hands. Then would come Vader.

His cloak and loose fitting Sith robes flowing around him, he strode towards the sacred Tomb of the Sith'ari. This time, he didn't hesitate. He walked directly up onto the elevated courtyard of black stone, passing through a small doorway that opened up in the ground below him.

Darth Bane was expecting him.

He made it down the winding staircase into the rock with good speed, considering that he had to weave his way around the occasional stalactite or stalagmite growing out of the ceiling or floor. He descended the last steps into the colossal underground chamber where the ritual was to take place, discarding the cloak. Invisible hands ferreted it away, but he paid them no mind.

It was time. There stood Bane, who was, as always, floating a foot off the ground, further enhancing his height. Kneel, he commanded in Maul's mind. Kneel before the Altar Of the Darkness.

He did as the Sith'ari bade him, closing his eyes. The beautifully tainted energy of this place made his burning desire to destroy stronger, fed his anger towards his Master, the New Jedi, towards the weakling Vader that had taken his glory and power away...

It is time, Maul.

As the ancient Sith Lord raised his hands, in a gesture of worship, Maul copied him, his eyes still unopened. The Dark Side flowed through his veins like the little trickles of lava in the courtyard, telling him what to do.

Along with Darth Bane, the Dathomirian Sith Lord recited the words of a chant, one so dark and filled with hatred and evil that it couldn't be repeated but under the most dire of circumstances. The power and the curse of Bogan, the Dark Moon of Tython, was too great.

As the chant, which had by then grown with strange, high- and low-pitched voices that could only belong to the dead, came to an end, Maul opened his eyes, their red pupils scanning the wide expanse of cave in front of him. There stood thousands, if not a million, soldiers of the Dark Side, waiting silently.

They had a strange, ghostly pallor to them, except that it was faintly red, instead of white or blue. And they looked dead. They were mere skeletons with the remains of eyes, faces, skin and muscle. And they all wore lightsabers of varying Sith designs on their belts, or had them in their hands.

WHAT IS YOUR BIDDING, LORD MAUL? They asked as one.

"To do what we, my friends, have hungered to do for so long. To purge this galaxy of the Jedi, and to destroy the Sith and rebuild them," he called.

There was a hiss of approval that sounded like wind blowing over papers. THAT IS THE ANCIENT MISSION. WE SHALL OBEY HE WHO HAS BROUGHT US BACK FROM ETERNAL SUFFERING IN HIS SACRED QUEST. WE SHALL OBEY THE NEW SITH'ARI. WE ARE READY.

"The time will come, my friends. Within a few months, the last of the Jedi will have fallen. Prepare yourselves. We will succeed, as we always have!" There was a clamor of approval, and he continued in a yell, raising his hand into the air. "We will succeed, for WE ARE SITH!!"

More yells. Whether by the sheer force of his power or by their on volition, he had won the roaring crowd of a million over. They would do whatever he asked them. He was ready to do what his Master could not.

"And now," he said to Bane, out of earshot of the spirits, "the next phase in our plan will begin. It's time to take a little trip to Onderon."

*Darth Maul has awakened an incredibly powerful army from its slumber deep within the Force. But what could he be planning to do with his legions of Darkness? What consequences will this new threat have on our heroes? And what has become of Ahsoka and her friends on their journey to Onderon? You'll find out in the next thrilling chapter of The Unchronicled Adventures Of Ahsoka Tano!

Okay, guys. Remember that new schedule thing I told you about in a note-thingy on my profile? No? I guess not everyone saw it.

For those of you who didn't, it said that there are going to be updates for the series every Saturday-Sunday and every Thursday-Friday. If something goes wrong and I post later or sooner, I'll have a good excuse.

Now, I have many more chapters to post, so I'll go put them online now... Bye

Realize that your arch-nemesis, whose legs you cut off, is still alive and may the Force be with you,

Sharron