Maul slid the pod’s release mechanism as he activated its engine, keeping it set on low power. The pod drifted a short distance away from the Scimitars hull, and he maneuvered so the Scimitar concealed his position from the approaching freighter. He was not about to let anyone claim his ship. When he was certain the pirates had boarded the Scimitar, he guided the pod straight for the bulk freighter.
The freighter was an unremarkable model, essentially an enormous box with a hyperdrive. Maul saw the hull was covered with grime and space dust as well as scorched by cannon fire. The Freighter’s docking bay was open, apparently in preparation to receive the Scimitar.
Maul guided his small pod into the freighter’s docking bay, which was large enough to contain both the Scimitar and the pirate’s cruiser. Illuminated by bright lamps, the docking bay was cluttered with debris and piles of rotting food. As he looked for a clear spot to land, he spotted two pirates. They were Togorians, tall beings covered with matted fur, their powerful arms ending in incredibly sharp claws. The Togorians were using their claws to tear open large metal crates, and Maul assumed the crates had been seized from some previous victim. Togorians were notoriously greedy as well as murderous.
Both Togorians glanced at the escape pod as it landed neatly in the cluttered docking bay, then returned their attention to opening the crates. Maul knew that they assumed a fellow pirate had landed the pod.
Maul opened the pod’s hatch, leaped out, activated his lightsaber, and charged the two Togorians. One pirate unsheathed a vibroblade while the other snared a vibro-axe. Maul immediately evaluated that the one with the vibroblade favored his left side, and that the other pirate was clumsy. They meant nothing more to him than any other targets.
Maul flipped through the air and his blade swept through the right side of the first pirate. The arm holding the vibroblade fell upon the deck with a sickening thud, and then the stunned Togorian collapsed beside it. Maul drove his lightsaber through the fallen pirate’s chest but did not pause to watch the Togorian’s body jerk and die. He was already racing toward the second pirate, who was bigger than the first.
But instead of standing his ground, the Togorian bolted away from Maul and ran for a comlink station beside a nearby hatch. Not wanting the entire ship alerted to his presence. Maul summoned the power of the dark side and focused it on the pirate. The Togorian was thrown off his feet. He flew past the comlink station and smashed into the bulkhead. Maul had intended for the impact to kill the Togorian, but the pirate, still clutching his vibro-axe, staggered back from the bulkhead and roared with rage as he turned to face his attacker.
The Togorian ran tor Maul. Maul spun his lightsaber and the Togorian’s wrist separated from his arm. The Togorian saw his hand and vibro-axe fall to the deck, and he howled. Maul’s blade spun again, and connected with the Togorian’s neck. The pirate’s body collapsed.
Maul’s pulse had not increased during the fight. His breathing remained steady. Deactivating his lightsaber, he stepped through a hatch and raced down a filthy corridor, littered with discarded junk, heading for the bulk freighter’s bridge.
Unlike the docking bay, the bridge was dim, primarily illuminated by sensor scopes and datascreens. Maul blinked his eyes, letting his vision adjust to the darkness, then he slunk into the bridge without a sound. Overhead, large metal cages dangled from the ceiling. The cages were filled with the motionless forms of many creatures, their faces gaping in wide-eyed agony. Maul realized the creatures had been killed but their bodies preserved, their expressions frozen at the moment of their deaths. He was disappointed that the corpses didn’t include any Jedi.
Below the cages, four Togorians were staring at a console, watching a monitor that displayed another Togorian, who was standing within the Scimitar. The on-screen Togorian’s fur was elaborately braided and ornamented with glittering objects. Over the comlink, the pirate with the boarding party reported, “I’m telling you, there’s no one on board!”
One of the four Togorians who stood before the monitor wore a necklace made from assorted skulls. Maul guessed him to be the captain and knew he was correct by the way the Togorian barked, “You looked for hidden compartments?”
Sounding exasperated, the Togorian on the monitor replied. “Of course we searched for hidden compartments, we’re not fools! It’s an unmanned ship. The course was set for Tatooine. That’s why it didn’t answer the distress signal. Have you ever seen a ship like this? I haven’t!”
The captain appeared to be weighing his options, then growled. “All right, idiot. Bring both ships into the loading dock. The bay is still open. If you do find any passengers, kill them.”
The captain broke the connection and the monitor went dark. One of the other pirates growled, “Hela-Tan is a fool. They could be in hiding.”
“Then we'll find them.” the second pirate said.
“Or they could have escaped,” added the third.
“Shut your flapping mouth,” snorted the Togorian captain. “What’s the difference? We have the ship.” He turned away from the others.
Maul moved fast. He activated his lightsaber and cut the nearest Togorian in half. The Togorian did not cry out, but the noise of his collapsing body caused his fellow pirates to turn. The captain faced Maul, baring his tangs. Drawing two vibro-axes from his belt, the captain roared, “Prepare to die, scum!”
Maul wondered why so many opponents felt compelled to announce their intentions with threats and taunts. Deciding to save the captain for last, he flipped across the bridge, kicked the second pirate in the throat, and then drove his lightsaber through the pirate’s chest. The second pirate fell.
The third pirate whipped out a vibroblade. Maul charged him. As Maul’s lightsaber cleaved through his target, he sensed that the captain was taking an aim at his back. Leaping from the third pirate’s dead body, Maul soared backward over the captain’s head just as the captain’s vibro-axes met with a loud, energized shriek where Maul had been standing just a fraction of a second earlier. Maul grabbed hold of the bars on an overhead cage and swung himself to land behind the captain.
The clashing vibro-axes ignited, illuminating the remains of the caged wretches and casting ghastly shadows throughout the bridge. Prying his vibro-axes away from each other, the captain turned to face Maul again. Blood pounded in Maul’s ears as he spun his lightsaber, slashing the captain’s arms before delivering a killing blow.
From the comm console, a Togorian’s voice crackled, ‘“Approaching docking bay,”
Maul stepped to the console. He did not activate the visual monitor as he lowered his face over the comm and said, “Proceed to the bridge.” Then Maul turned his attention to the freighter’s computer. He knew Togorian pirates always fled the scene of a crime immediately to avoid capture. And thanks to his mechanical training with Sidious, it took only a few seconds to interface the freighter’s propulsion units with the proton torpedoes. The moment the Togorians punched the ignition for their engines, the entire ship would blow up.
Leaving the bridge, Maul ran back to the docking bay. He heard the pirates approaching and ducked into a side corridor. He watched the pirates stagger past his position, heading toward the bridge. They were already arguing about how they should divide the spoils from the strange, newly acquired starship.
After the Togorians were gone, Maul hurried across the brightly lit bay. The Scimitar rested beside the pirates’ space cruiser. He ran past the escape pod that had delivered him to the docking bay. He had already resolved that he did not have time to recover the pod.
The Scimitar's boarding ramp was down. Maul ran up the ramp and nearly collided with the Togorian whose fur was decorated with glittering objects. Up close, Maul saw dial the objects were sharp razors, and that this Togorian was bigger than the others. Much bigger
Maul surmised the pirate had remained on the ship so he could take what he wanted before the others had their chance. The pirate was holding two fistfuls of credits that Maul kept aboard for emergencies, and was about
to deposit the credits in an open satchel at his feet. Maul saw the satchel was bulging, and suspected the pirate had also found his slash of crystals, which he kept for worlds that did not accept credits.
Maul activated his lightsaber. The pirate tossed the credits aside and removed his vibro-axe from his belt. Eyes fixed on Maul, the pirate said, “There you are.” He stuck out his thick purple tongue and dragged it across his lips. ‘Think you can escape me? Think again. I’ll finish the job.”
Maul was irritated by the Togorians’ tendency to taunt before striking. He was also eager to leave the freighter, as he expected the other pirates would start the engines at any moment. He whirled in an arc and went for the hulking Togorian’s chest.
Incredibly, the pirate sidestepped the attack. His vibro-axe swept past Maul’s shoulder but smashed into the Scimitar’s auxiliary control console. Maul saw the damage was minimal, but seethed with rage. Hoping to prevent further damage to his ship, he leaped past the pirate and flipped down the Scimitar’s boarding ramp. The pirate followed.
Jumping to the docking bay’s deck, the pirate shook his fur, and his glittering, decorative shards reflected the lights from the bright lamps that illuminated the docking bay. The light momentarily dazzled Maul’s vision, causing him to lose focus as the pirate swung his vibro-axe. Maul jumped away, but not before the vibro-axe’s blade caught his leg. Maul felt the blade slice into his flesh. He bared his teeth as if he were biting on the pain itself.
He glared at his opponent, then leaped and twisted in midair, spinning his lightsaber at the pirate. Maul’s blade took off the pirate’s arm before landing. The pirate collapsed, and Maul struck him again, but it was not a killing blow because he did not wish for the pirate to die immediately. He wanted the pirate to die in agony.
Ignoring his own wound, Maul deactivated his lightsaber, jumped over the pirate’s body, and raced back up the Scimitar's boarding ramp. Although he wished he were already seated behind the controls on the upper deck, he didn’t dare waste the few seconds it would take for the lift to carry him to the bridge. As the boarding ramp automatically retracted, he went straight to the auxiliary control console that the Togorian bad struck earlier. He was checking the console to make sure it was fully operational when he heard a loud hum outside his ship. He knew the noise was the freighter’s preliminary ignition warming up. He tapped at the console’s controls and powered up the Scimitar’s shields and engines.
A warning light flashed. The Scimitar’s ramp had retracted but the hatch was still open. Maul heard an inhuman roar from behind and turned to see that the hulking pirate - minus one arm and with his face covered in blood - had wedged himself into the boarding hatch, his body pinned between the hatch’s doors. Clutching to the inner hatch with his remaining hand’s bloodied claws, the Togorian wasn’t about to let go on his own.
The pirate’s legs were still dangling out of the hatch as Maul pushed the Scimitar’s engines to full power and blasted out of the freighter’s docking bay. Alarms wailed as the air rushed out of the open hatch. As the Scimitar soared into space, Maul was yanked off his feet and hurled toward the pirate in the hatch.
Maul’s wounded leg slammed against the bulkhead inside the hatch. Air was torn from his lungs as his fingers seized a metal rung. His face was mere centimeters from the Togorian’s, and he could see from the pirate’s frenzied expression that he had every intention of making sure Maul died with him.
Maul rammed his horned head into the pirate’s skull. The pirate’s one-handed grip loosened. Maul twisted his body and kicked the pirate’s midsection. The pirate roared and sank his claws into the inside of the hatch’s frame. The dark side surged through Maul, and he kicked the pirate in the face.
Behind the Scimitar, the hulk freighter exploded, spraying burning fuel and shredded metal in all directions. The resulting shock wave rocked the Scimitar and the Togorian was blown away from the hatch. Maul hit the hatch’s emergency button and it sealed instantly, sending him rolling back into the Scimitar.
Emergency air flooded into the tower deck. Maul gasped as he scrambled onto the lift. Arriving on the upper deck, he did not limp as he went to his seat and sealed behind the controls. He took a deep breath. He felt good to be alive after his enemies were dead.
Angling away from the wreckage of the pirate ships, he guided the Scimitar toward Tatooine. He knew he should treat his wound soon but decided to wait until after he’d landed. Meanwhile, his pain gave him something to focus on.
He was looking forward to finding more enemies.
From space, Tatooine looked like a scorched sphere with just a few small, scattered clouds. The Scimitar's sensors directed Maul to the planet’s larger spaceports and settlements, and he was pleased to see that night had fallen over those areas. From experience, he had come to prefer night landings, because most so-called civilized beings liked to have their lights on at night. They revealed themselves. Even Sand People and Jawas were known to huddle around open fires after the twin suns set.
As the Scimitar descended to the sand planet’s dark hemisphere, Maul began to see the lights of the more populated areas as well as solitary moisture farms. Queen Amidala’s ship could be anywhere on Tatooine, but he was confident he would find it.
He landed his ship on a mesa. He did not leave the Scimitar until he was certain that no detectors were aimed in his direction and that he had arrived unnoticed. Carrying his electrobinoculars, and wearing a programmable wrist link above his left hand, he stepped down the boarding ramp and onto the hard-packed sand. The air was cool and incredibly dry, and a few stars were already visible in the evening sky.
Maul came to a stop. From where he stood, he could see the distant lights of three settlements. His electrobinoculars were equipped with radiation sensors for night vision and powerful light-gathering components for long-distance scanning. He raised the electrobinoculars to his eyes and scanned the terrain to his left. According to the data display on his electrobinoculars viewscreen, he was looking at Mos Espa, one of Tatooine’s largest spaceports.
Turning almost completely around, Maul viewed the city of Mos Taike, which was located between the Northern Dune Sea and another broad area of barren desert, the Xelric Draw. Shifting to his left, he viewed another spaceport, Mos Entha.
Maul lowered the electrobinoculars, tapped a command into his wrist link to summon his probe droids, and turned to face the Scimitar. He watched three bulbous, black Dark Eye probe droids hover out of the aft hatch. Each sensor-laden probe droid had been programmed to seek out Queen Amidala, her ship, and the two Jedi who had escaped with her from Naboo.
The three probe droids glided past Maul before they separated, each veering off toward one of the three populated areas. After they were gone, Maul trudged back to the Scimitar so he could monitor the droids’ progress. The sand sucked at his boots, making every step an effort.
Sweat beaded on his tattooed forehead. His wounded leg was practically screaming for treatment. But even after he was back inside the Scimitar, he delayed reaching for a medpac. He worked with the pain, manipulating it, shaping it into desire. He craved revenge against the Jedi. They were the reason he had traveled to Tatooine. If not for their existence, his encounter with the Togorian pirates never would have happened. His desire for vengeance grew like a blanket of darkness around him. Only after he fell consumed by anger did he dress his wound.
Maul grinned. The pain was nothing compared to what he would do to the Jedi.
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
Maul unloaded his speeder bike from the Scimitar’s underside cargo hatch. It was the day after his arrival on Tatooine, and the twin suns were blazing in the sky. He had already received significant transmissions from his three probe droids.
The first probe droid had sighted a tall, bearded man carrying a lightsaber at Mos Espa Grand Arena after a Podracing competition. The second probe droid had been destroyed - possibly by a lightsaber - before it transmitted an image of a run-down light freighter named
the Dusty Duck, which had simply been in the wrong place at the wrong lime. Fortunately, the third probe droid had discovered the location of Queen Amidala’s starship in the Xelric Draw. Now Maul was waiting for the first probe droid to return with a full report from Mos Espa. And he wanted his bike ready if he needed it.
The bike was a custom Razalon FC-20 repulsorlift speeder, equipped with a quiet but powerful rear thrust engine, ideal for coven missions and sneak attacks. The bike had no built-in weapons, sensors, or shields, as Maul believed his own skills and lightsaber were sufficient to overcome any enemy.
Thanks to the combination of his discipline and remarkable powers of recuperation, Maul did not limp as he walked, using one hand to nudge his bike through the arid air, away from his ship. He had treated his leg with bacta and wrapped it in bandages. When he was fully healed, not even a scar would exist as evidence of his fight with the Togorian.
But his leg still ached. Earlier, after discovering bantha tracks near the Scimitar, he had had a brief encounter with Sand People. He suspected they had intended to lure him away from his ship and kill him. He had refrained from slaughtering them because a pile of dead Sand People might have drawn unnecessary attention. Still, running back to the Scimitar had not been good for his leg.
I’ll rest after she Jedi are dead.
Maul left his bike hovering in the air behind him and came to a stop at the edge of the mesa. He gazed toward Mos Espa. And then he saw the probe droid zipping over the sand, approaching his position. The probe droid came to a stop less than a meter away from Maul’s face. The droid uttered a few words in its own language, but Maul understood.
A Jedi had left Mos Espa and was returning to the Queen’s ship.
Maul walked back to his bike, climbed onto its saddle, and launched off the mesa, leaving the watchful probe droid with the Scimitar. Maul’s black cloak whipped at his back as he raced over the desert floor and into the Xelric Draw.
Star Wars - The Wrath of Darth Maul Page 12