“Leave us,” the Man snapped at the droid.
The droid tottered away from Maul, moving toward a wide doorway on the other side of the room. Maul wanted to leave with the droid, but instead he looked at the floating orb and remained where he stood.
“You may face me,” the Man said soothingly.
More than ever, Maul wished he were the free-floating boy who appeared to exist beyond the window in his own room. He tried very hard not to tremble as he slowly turned and looked up to face the Man.
As usual, the Man was wearing his dark robe with the deep hood, but he had pushed the hood back so it was draped behind his head. Maul was surprised to see his exposed face. The Man had blue eyes, fair skin of a singular color, and a head of wavy hair. Maul was also taken aback by how different the Man’s head was from his own. The Man didn't even have horns.
The Man lifted his eyebrows as he looked at Maul skeptically. “You can talk, can’t you?”
Maul nodded.
“Yes?”
“Yes,” Maul replied.
“You will address me as Master Sidious.”
“Yes, Master Sidious.”
Sidious smiled. “Excellent.” He stepped past the boy and stopped beside the floating orb. Maul noticed that all the aquatic creatures within the orb swam to the far side, putting distance between themselves and Sidious. Sidious glanced at the creatures as if he found them only mildly interesting. “Maul, I have something important to tell you. I want you to listen carefully.”
Maul listened.
Speaking slowly, Sidious said, “You... are... remarkable.” Looking away from the watery orb, he faced Maul and added. “Very remarkable.”
Maul did not know why he might be considered remarkable, or how Sidious expected him to respond. He decided to remain silent.
“Our galaxy is home to trillions of life-forms. Some are large, others small. But as diverse as they are, the truth is that most lifeforms are just like these fish.” Sidious gestured at the fish with a dismissive wave, and the fish appeared to shiver within the orb. “They seldom stray far from where they were born. They spend their time worrying about their next meal, about how they might avoid pain, and how long they might live. They live in fear of one another. And then, they die. It does not matter if they are an insect, a fish, a man, or... a snake.”
Once again, Maul thought of the snake he had been forced to kill.
“You have already traveled great distances,” Sidious continued. “You may have been born on the planet Iridonia, but you came to my attention on another world, Dathomir. There, the females rule and enslave the males. You were just an infant, and yet the most powerful beings on Dathomir were afraid of you. They wanted you dead because you were different.” Sidious smiled. “Do you know what makes you so remarkable, Maul? So different from ordinary lifeforms?”
Maul shook his head and answered meekly, “No.”
Sidious raised his eyebrows slightly and pursed his lips Shaking his head, he said, “That is not the correct response. The correct response is ‘No, Master Sidious.’ ”
Maul swallowed hard, then said, “No, Master Sidious.”
Sidious smiled again. “You are different because you are stronger. You have powers. You know things in advance. You look at the closed door to your room, and you know it is about to open. You have fast reflexes. Others only dream of anticipating moments as you do, or being able to move so fast. In this way, you and I are alike, Maul, except that my powers are much greater. My powers are greater because I know many things that you have yet to learn, such as how to make your powers work for you. Do you understand?”
“Yes, Master Sidious.”
“Good. Good.” Sidious walked around the watery orb until it was positioned between him and Maul. From Maul’s point of view, the orb distorted Sidious’s head and upper body. Sidious said, “I know you imagine a different life for yourself, Maul. An easier life than you have now.”
Maul remained silent.
“I know you’re upset about the snake that bit you,” Sidious said, continuing around the watery orb until he had a clear view of Maul. “I know everything about you, Maul. Everything.” Sidious edged around the orb until he was facing Maul again. “While you might think that your life is harsh and unpleasant, and that I am sometimes cruel, there is a reason for you to endure such pain. The reason is that you must become strong in every way. You must learn to overcome pain. Someday, you might become stronger than I. You’d like that, wouldn’t you? To be stronger than I?”
“Yes, Master Sidious”
Sidious beamed at the boy. “Good.” He glanced at the watery orb. “Ah! Look there, at those two fish.”
Maul followed Sidious’s gaze and saw a small fish with red and black stripes hovering beside a larger dark gray fish that had moved away from the other creatures to the bottom of the orb. Maul replied, “Yes, Master Sidious.” He noticed that the smaller fish had yellow eyes, the same color as his own. The small fish stared back at Maul.
“How amusing,” Sidious said. “If I didn't know better, I’d say those two were pretending to be us. If they were, I wonder where that would leave the rest.”
Maul looked at the fish in the orb’s upper area and saw them begin to jerk and spasm. Several fish puffed up twice their original size, shuddered violently, and suddenly deflated. Others rolled erratically through the water, their eyes bulging as their gills pumped furiously. But after a few seconds, all the fish except for the two at the bottom stopped swimming entirely and began drifting off in different directions. Some floated toward the top of the orb, but most sank down beside the two surviving fish, who continued to hover next to each other. As the fish sank, Sidious recited a strange verse.
“Far above, far above.
We don’t know where we’ll fall.
Far above, far above.
What once was great is rendered small.”
Maul wondered what the words meant. He knew Sidious had somehow selected the two fish and maneuvered them to the bottom of the orb and caused all the others to die. He didn't know how Sidious had done this, but suspected it was some kind of magic. Looking away from the dead fish, Maul faced Sidious and said hesitantly, Master Sidious... is it possible... to learn this power?”
Sidious smiled broadly, showing his teeth. “It is possible. But not immediately. You must be patient. I’ve prepared a training room. And today, you will receive personal instruction... from me.”
Maul was surprised to hear about a training room and was instantly curious to see it. He hoped it was larger than the training area outside his own small room. As he wondered how soon his Master would show him the new training room, the six-legged droid, its two damaged legs replaced by a shiny new pair, sauntered back into the chamber.
Sidious glanced at the droid, then looked back at Maul and said, “Legs are not easily replaced. You do realize you must be punished, do you not?”
“Yes, Master Sidious.”
“Always remember... a punishment is a lesson, young Maul. Learn it well. Now, come along.” As Sidious stepped away from the floating orb, he waved his fingers at a tapestry that hung against one wall. The tapestry slid silently up toward the ceiling and revealed an open doorway built into the wall. Sidious walked to the doorway, which Maul assumed was a passage that led to the new training room.
Maul tried to step away from the orb, but his legs suddenly felt like they were heavy weights, anchored to the floor. He knew he would be punished even more severely if he did not obey his Master, but it seemed his own body - independent of his mind - was refusing to move. But before Sidious noticed Maul’s hesitation, the droid reached out with a pincer and gave Maul a sharp jab in the back of his left thigh, causing him to jump forward. The droid muttered, “Don’t make things worse.”
As Maul began to follow Sidious, he glanced back at the bottom of the orb for a final look at the two surviving fish. The small yellow-eyed fish was hungrily biting into a dead fish. The large gray fish hove
red a short distance away and appeared to be watching the yellow-eyed fish with some interest before its eyes shifted to look at Maul. Maul hurried into the passage, followed by the droid.
The training room exceeded all of Maul's expectation. So did his punishment.
But he survived.
CHAPTER TWO
“Begin!” the droid said.
Maul ran fast across the training room floor, heading straight for the wall. Several months after his arrival in the training room, he was familiar with the routine. He launched off the floor with his left foot, hit the wall with his right, and ran several steps up the wall before he kicked away, flipping his body backward through the air. He landed on his feet, then sprinted back toward the wall and repealed the exercise again. And again.
The six-legged droid watched each move, making sure Maul performed the exercise exactly as Sidious had instructed. Sidious had told Maul that the exercise was designed to build strength, agility, and muscle memory. Sidious had also stressed that if Maul’s timing was off and he flipped away from the wall incorrectly, he could wind up with a broken neck.
Maul continued the exercise until the droid told him to stop. As he landed on his feel, he felt his heart hammering within his small chest. He wanted desperately to rest on the floor, but resting was not allowed until the droid said so.
“Your timing has improved,” the droid said. Rapidly extending one of its pincer arms, it swiped Maul with an electrode, giving the boy a shock.
Maul bared his teeth and snarled at the droid. Although he knew that the droid was simply carrying out Master Sidious’s orders, teaching Maul to be prepared to deal with pain at any moment, he still resented getting shocks when he had not done anything wrong. The droid stared back at Maul through emotionless photoreceptors. Maul could anticipate many things, but he never knew when droid was about to shock him. The droid was too fast.
However, Maul had learned much during his time with the droid in the training room. The room had special exercise equipment and weapons, as well as computer consoles that had been programmed to educate and challenge Maul’s mind and mechanical abilities. He could identify hundreds of star systems, assemble complicated three-dimensional puzzles, and pinpoint the vulnerabilities of nearly every native creature on Mustafar. And in addition to running up walls, he could walk on his hands, swiftly climb a rope, trot across a taunt wire, and leap headfirst through an energy ring and come up standing.
“Go to console three,” the droid commanded.
Maul went to the third computer console and seated himself before the computer’s holoprojector. As he inserted both hands into the console’s grip sockets, he wondered what the test would be about this time.
The holoprojector displayed a sequence of three different star systems and rotated each display so Maul could see the holographic stars and their respective orbiting planets from various angles. Then the computer cut off the projector, leaving Maul staring at empty air. The computer said, “Identify the second, first, and third systems, in that order.”
“Malastare, Eriadu, and Denon,” Maul answered quickly. He hoped the computer would next ask him to name the trade route that linked all three systems, because he knew the answer was the Hydian Way.
But the computer said, “The Malastare system includes three gas giants. Name the remaining planets
“Malastare and... Cogalle!” Maul said, his slight delay earning him a sharp sting in the palm of his left hand. Maul was still wincing in pain when the computer’s audio speaker erupted with a recorded beast’s roar.
“Identify the species,” the computer droned.
“Tulrus.” Maul suddenly felt searing pain in his right hand, and he corrected himself. “Northern tulrus!”
The questions continued for several minutes. Maul made only three more mistakes. When the computer was done, he removed his aching hands from the console socket and massaged his knuckles. As he rose from his seat, the sis-legged droid said, “Go to the ring.”
The droid followed Maul to the ring, a circular platform that was elevated thirty centimeters above the training room floor. Maul hopped onto the platform while the droid ambled over to a nearby rack of weapons and selected a slender staff made of wood. Gripping the staff with a single pincer, the droid climbed onto the platform and faced Maul. “I will attempt to strike you. You will attempt to dodge the strike. Each successful strike or dodge counts as one point. Knocking an opponent off the platform counts as three points. The exercise ends when one of us has scored five points. Understood?”
“Yes.” The word was barely out of Maul’s mouth when the staff connected with the side of his left leg. He grunted in pain and anger.
“You forgot to jump,” the droid said in a mocking tone. “My point.”
The droid swung again, this time angling for Maul’s right leg. Maul jumped. The droid let the staff’s tip bounce off the platform and brought it up sharply to strike the bottom of Maul’s right foot. Maul tumbled across the platform and came up standing, his eyes burning with fury at the droid.
“That must have hurt,” the droid said. “The next strike will hurt more.” The droid made a quick jab toward Maul, but the boy threw his body to the side and rolled, careful not to go over the edge of the platform.
“Your point.” the droid said as it tossed the staff into the air. Maul ignored the airborne staff and kept his eyes on the droid. The droid caught the staff with a different pincer, then leaped forward. Maul dived under the droid, and as he somersaulted across the platform, he heard the staff whoosh past his head.
“Your point again,” the droid said. “We are tied.” The droid tossed the staff back and forth between three pincers, then seized it with a single pincer and rotated its arm so the staff spun like a propeller. The droid increased the speed of the rotation, transforming the staff into a barely visible blur.
Expecting the droid to advance toward him. Maul braced himself to jump away. He was not prepared when the droid threw the spinning staff directly at him, and he felt the slap of hard wood against the side of his face. The staff fell away from Maul and landed between him and the droid.
“I hope you are learning from this,” the droid said. “The score is three to two.” The droid stepped forward and reached for the staff.
Maul felt a rush of anger. The droid’s pincer was still descending for the staff when the weapon leaped from the platform and flew toward Maul. Maul caught the staff with both hands as he glared at the droid.
The droid backed up. Maul held the staff out in from of him. He didn’t know how the staff had sailed into his grip, and he wasn’t sure what to do next The droid had not mentioned that the staff could move by itself or said whether Maul would gain points if be obtained the staff or struck back at the droid.
“You’ve never done that before,” the droid said, sounding surprised.
Maul didn’t know what the droid was talking about. “The staff jumped. I... I only caught it.”
“I must summon Master Sidious immediately.” The droid’s photoreceptors blinked and turned yellow as it transmitted a silent signal.
Maul wondered what he had done wrong. Then he wondered whether the droid might be trying to trick him by pretending to contact Sidious, and whether it might be preparing to attack again. The droid’s photoreceptors flickered back to red, but it did not budge from its position on the opposite side of the ring. Maul continued clutching the wooden staff, his eyes locked on the droid.
Sidious entered the training room. Maul held tight to the staff but turned to his Master. Facing Maul, Sidious came to a stop at the edge of the elevated platform and said, “Tell me what happened.”
“The droid and I were exercising. Master Sidious.” Maul held the staff out before him. “This landed in the middle of the ring. Then it... it jumped up and landed in my hands.”
Sidious nodded as if he understood. “Maul, what did you feel just before the staff jumped up?”
Maul glanced at the droid. ‘The score was t
hree to two, Master. The droid was winning.” He looked at Sidious. “I was thinking that the exercise isn’t fair. The droid can hit me, but I can’t hit back.”
“Few things in life are fair, young one.” Lowering his voice, Sidious continued, “But I did not ask you what you were thinking. I asked... what did you feel?”
Maul looked at the droid again. “I felt angry, Master.”
Sidious smiled brightly. “Good. Good!” Without taking his eyes off Maul, he turned his head slightly and said to the droid, “Prepare my cruiser.”
“Yes, Master Sidious,” said the droid as it stepped down from the ring.
“Come along. Maul,” Sidious said. “We’re going for a ride.”
Sidious’s cruiser was a sleek vessel with a long prow, its aft area bracketed by angular fins that folded inward during landings. It raced through hyperspace, the dimension of faster-than-light travel. Sidious was on the cruiser’s bridge and had left Maul alone, belted into the cruiser’s passenger compartment. The boy sat quietly, his feel extending only a few centimeters over the edge of his seat.
Maul peeked through a rectangular viewport to see the luminous cascade of hyperspace. He had been excited to leave Mustafar, but he was also nervous, because he didn’t know where his master was taking him or what the purpose of their journey was. Earlier, when they’d boarded the cruiser, Maul had briefly wondered if Sidious intended to take him to a faraway, extrasolar place to kill him. But after some thought, he decided it was unlikely that his Master would take him somewhere to kill him. If Sidious wanted him dead, he would not waste time traveling across hyperspace to get the job done.
Star Wars - The Wrath of Darth Maul Page 2