Maul: Legacy of Shadows

Chapter 16: A New Type of Enemy

***Year 4 BBY***

The sounds of a dying storm-beast echoed for miles in all directions, alerting Maul to a subtle presence far in the distance of one strong in the Force.  Eldra gave a concerned look as she felt it as well.  The ripples in the Force told Maul it wasn't the same interloper who had escaped days earlier after the battle with the Imperial guards.  The Force was trying to explain something to her, but Eldra was focused on her love, who began to ready himself for an investigation into the origin of the presence.

"Maul wait, please, stay here.  Something about this doesn't seem right, I have a feeling I might lose you," she pleaded, but Maul had clearly made up his mind.

"Unless this threat is dealt with, they'll continue to hunt me, I know my master is not one to leave loose ends," Maul explained as he fastened his lightsaber into his cane.

A sense of calm surrounded the former Sith, and Eldra couldn't help but smile even as she worried for him.  He had proven himself worthy of redemption and was able to let go from a lifetime of darkness.  Such strength was a rare feat, and it filled Eldra's heart with pride.  If she could bring him to the light, if he could accept peace, they could be together forever as one with the Force.  Maul could sense her happiness.  Without even looking at the young Twi'lek, he smiled to himself.

Maul was ready for a true test, and Eldra rushed to him just as he was about to embark.  Grabbing him with her blue-skinned hands, she closed her eyes as she kissed him as Maul embraced her tightly.  She loved him, and he in turn loved her.  She released him from his shackles, piercing the darkness that had surrounded him his entire life.  In life she was his enemy, in death she was his salvation.  As Maul walked away, she couldn't help but cry at his departure, as he disappeared in the maze of Malachor to a destiny that he chose to face.

***Elsewhere on Malachor***

The Eighth Brother felt a small disturbance in the Force, his quarry and himself were on an inevitable collision course.  Finally, the young Inquisitor would have his chance to face a worthy opponent.  Using the Force to move silently, he hoped to catch his victim off guard, allowing for a clean and efficient strike to end his task quickly.  Pulling his lightsaber free from his belt, he tested the motors allowing it to spin in a deadly cyclone of death.  The air seemed to change as the two combatants moved ever closer to each other.

Eventually the maze opened into another clearing, not unlike the one the Eighth Brother slew the storm-beast that attacked him.  As he scanned the area, sitting on a small rock formation was a half-robed figure with a cloak hiding his face within its shadows.  His torso was covered in odd markings, and he had a wooden cane with a metallic end laying across his lap.  Using his mask to scan the unknown figure, it revealed that his opponent's legs were artificial prosthetics.

"At last," the Inquisitor whispered to himself, igniting only one end of his double-bladed lightsaber.

"I see, so you're the assassin sent to investigate the deaths of all those Imperials," Maul said, pulling the hood of his cloak back, revealing his face to his opponent.

Maul simply stood up from the rock.  The sound of his opponent's lightsaber filled the air between them.  The Eighth Brother was wary to make the first move as he approached cautiously.  His instincts told him he was facing someone of immense power and skill.  Losing his patience however, he quickly used the Force to close the distance between himself and Maul. Maul seemed unfazed by the maneuver, and chose to simply dodge to his left, as the Inquisitor's lightsaber slashed the rock he had been sitting on in half.  The Inquisitor didn't stop with just that attack however, and quickly spun counterclockwise, swinging his lightsaber to bisect the mysterious opponent.