The Young Republic | A Star Wars Story

Chapter 15

The Mand'alor

"It is the quest for honor that makes one honorable. "

Maul was drifting. Drifting and drifting in space. The damned Jedi and pirates had destroyed their ship, leaving him and his brother stranded in space.

Realizing that lousy pirates would not suffice in an army strong enough to get rid of Kenobi, Maul had to think of another plan. The crime world was rich with opportunity. There were many gangs and crime syndicates that were just itching to get a taste for blood. All they needed was a leader. A leader Maul was much too willing to be, his blood boiling in spite. Yes, he would be a leader of a great crime syndicate. The true Sith Lord. That would prove his previous master wrong. The man that had abandoned him.

But as they drifted and drifted, Maul started to believe he would enter the afterlife without ever satisfying his need for Kenobi's pain. For never proving his master wrong. To prove to Sidious that Maul was a worthy enough apprentice and that it was wrong of the Sith to throw him away, injured and on death's door on Naboo.

Maul was almost tempted to squash his dream if it meant his soul could already escape his wretched body. He believed death would be better than floating all eternity in a cold, empty ship.

His belief was misplaced, for fate seemed to smile upon the Sith brothers.

A lone witch, sent by The Mother, rescued them from the floating ship. To take them home. To take them to Dathomir. Where rest and recovery were promised. His mechanical legs, which were destroyed by the damned Padawan of Kenobi, were replaced. The witches had done good work to heal both Maul and Savage.

And when he was healed, Maul went to speak to The Mother. If there was one being in the galaxy that posed a threat to both the Sith and the Jedi, it was the master of witchcraft. The Mother and all her evil manipulations of the Force. It was not natural; no, she was not born with the gift of wielding the Force. But that was what made her so terrifying.

"Welcome back, son."

Maul entered the room, heat engulfing him as he did so. The Mother was seated, weaving and weaving a spell together, fire burning hot beneath her as red as her cloak.

"I take it you have not rid the galaxy of Kenobi's presence?" The Mother asked, striking a nerve. "That is your goal, is it not?"

"I almost had him!" Maul snapped, the Force rippling from his anger. The Mother did not even flinch, which angered him even more. Why was it only him that seemed to value the death of Kenobi so much? Could others not see the disturbance? The complete and utter disgrace the man was? Kenobi was a pathetic, weak, wretched being that needed to be squashed and stomped on.

"If it had not been-" Maul stopped. The thought of the girl enraged him even more. The time-walker. Her presence had confused him. He had no idea why she would hunt him down. Why she wanted him dead. It caused an uncomfortable feeling to loom over his head. Like the blade of a guillotine was just about to drop on his neck, the girl laughing above his corpse as she cuts the rope. Maul did not like it. Not one bit.

He had planned to feel indifferent to the girl when The Mother informed him of her existence. A warning he did not take seriously. It was not Maul's concern for why she traveled to the past. She was just another waste of space in the way of him killing Kenobi.