As soon as he was alone, he wondered whether his Master was actually furious and was now only delaying punishment. Is he aware of my battle with the pirates? Of my foolish decision to follow the bantha tracks? Did he sense my leg wound? Maul would not be surprised if his Master was just waiting to punish him like never before. He felt ashamed.
But then he thought of his Master’s teachings. Think of the now. Think of the future. Do not meditate on the past.
Maul knew what he must do. He would use his shame, turn it inward to feed the darkness and hatred that flowed through his veins. He would direct his fury at his enemy, the Jedi named Qui-Gon Jinn.
In the past, Maul had never cared about the names of the people he’d killed. To him, enemies were nothing more than targets. But now he said Qui-Gon Jinn’s name aloud. He clenched his teeth and repeated the name, then began chanting it like a curse.
I will destroy you, Qui-Gon Jinn. I will see the shock in your eyes when I run you through, Qui-Gon Jinn. I will stand over your dead body in triumph, Qui-Gon Jinn.
Because of you, I have failed my Master.
You will pay.
Hours passed. Maul’s comlink chirped. His Master was summoning him to the strategy room. Maul went. He found his Master shrugging out of the robe he wore in his guise as Palpatine, and realized his Master had returned from the Senate building.
“Queen Amidala will attempt to bring the Senate to her cause,” Sidious said with pleasure. “She will ask them to outlaw the Trade Federation blockade of Naboo.” He chortled happily.
Maul had never seen his Master in such a jovial mood. He thought, My mistakes don’t matter. Unless he is distracted by current events and will turn on me later…
“I anticipate the Queen will return to Naboo,” Sidious continued. “No doubt the Jedi will accompany her. Foolish girl.” He smiled at Maul. “Come. Let us contact the Neimoidians and share the good news.”
Sidious pulled on his dark robe, lifted its hood up over his head, stood before the communications console, and activated the holocomm. Maul stayed out of sight in the alcove behind Sidious’s seat and watched as holograms of Nute Gunray and Rune Haako materialized in the air. Many light-years away, in Theed Royal Palace on the planet Naboo, Nute looked anxious as he said, “Yes, Lord Sidious?”
“The Queen will soon be on her way to you. I regret she is of no further use to us. Destroy her when she arrives.”
Nute nodded. “Yes, my lord.”
“Is the planet secure?”
“We have taken over the last pockets of primitive life-forms. We are in complete control of the planet now.”
“Good,” Sidious said. “I will see to it that in the Senate, things stay as they are. I am sending my apprentice, Darth Maul, to join you.”
“Yes, my lord.”
Sidious broke the connection and the holograms disappeared. Still facing the comm console, he laughed. “Soon the Neimoidians will no longer be useful to us. What a fine day that will be.” He turned to face Maul. “Make sure the Neimoidians take care of Queen Amidala. You yourself must destroy the Jedi. Do not fail me again.”
Maul bowed to his Master, then left quickly for the Sith Infiltrator.
When the Scimitar exited hyperspace in the Naboo system, Maul saw a single Droid Control Ship, the only remnant of the Trade Federation’s blockade, in Naboo’s orbit. Although the Neimoidians were expecting his arrival, Maul had activated the Scimitar’s cloaking technology to guarantee they would not be aware of his ship approaching the planet. He thought it would be best if he presented himself to Nute Gunray unannounced.
Naboo was a small world, covered by grassy plains, verdant mountains, and clear, unpolluted seas and lakes. As Maul descended through the atmosphere, he saw a flock of large, graceful birds soaring away from a waterfall that plunged over the edge of a steep cliff. Maul imagined what Naboo would be like if it were reduced to a lifeless, smoldering rock. He grinned at the thought.
He guided the Scimitar to the capital city of Theed. The city’s architecture consisted primarily of elegantly designed domed structures, most of which appeared quite old but also well maintained. The largest structure was Theed Royal Palace, an interconnected cluster of domed spires that rose from a high cliff. As Maul landed his ship, he thought of Queen Amidala growing up in such rich, comfortable surroundings, with her handmaidens and assorted servants seeing to her every need.
Pampered weaklings.
From Maul’s perspective, death could not come soon enough for the people of Naboo.
The Neimoidians had seized Theed Royal Palace as their own headquarters, and had settled into its lavish rooms as if they had owned it for years. Maul found Nute Gunray in Queen Amidala’s private bedroom. He was lying sound asleep on a plush couch, a coverlet of soft shimmersilk draped over his body. Maul yanked away the coverlet and delivered a swift, hard kick to Nute’s side.
Waking in a panic, Nute exclaimed, “Are they invading?!” And then he saw Darth Maul looming over him.
Maul glared with open disgust at the Neimoidian leader. “Get out. These are now my quarters.”
Nute scrambled to his feet. He was taller than Maul, but Maul looked at him as if he were an insignificant bug. Nute tried to take the shimmersilk coverlet with him, but Maul snatched it and tore it in half. Maul said, “Send someone to remove the traces of your presence here.”
Eager to distance himself from Maul, Nute shuffled quickly out of the bedroom. Maul looked around at the Queen’s furnishings and laughed. He had no desire to sleep in such an extravagant room, but he had enjoyed terrifying Nute.
Leaving the bedroom, Maul thoroughly inspected the palace. Everywhere he looked, from the floor-to-ceiling windows to the grand hallways and staircases, he saw evidence of fine craftsmanship. He reconsidered the bedroom. Although he had been raised to associate luxury with weakness, he found satisfaction in the idea that there was nothing to stop him from claiming the palace as his own. There were no rules for how and where the Sith Lords should live after they achieved their goals, and Maul doubted that his Master expected him to rule from a small room with bare walls. He wondered if he had been too quick to envision laying waste to the entire planet. He could imagine worse fates than ruling from the opulent palace. And the Naboo plains and forests were rich with wild beasts ready for slaughter.
He made his way to the throne room. There he found Nute, seated on the throne, talking with Rune Haako. The Neimoidians looked up with alarm as Maul approached. Maul took pleasure in watching Nute cling desperately to the throne’s broad arms, as if Maul might yank it out from underneath him. Maul said, “Status report.”
Unable to meet Maul’s gaze, Nute blinked his large eyes and said, “Things are…er, going well.”
“Most of the Naboo people have been captured,” Rune chimed in. “We have them in camps. A few have eluded us, but we shall crush them soon. As for Queen Amidala, every Trade Federation troop in the area is on alert, watching for her ship. We expect her to land in the city’s central plaza, and that she will attempt to negotiate with us while using the Jedi as her shields. She will not slip through any of our safeguards.”
Maul scowled. “Unless she is already here.”
The Neimoidians glanced at each other and cried out at the same time, “Impossible!”
“I suggest we inspect the security around the plaza.”
Nute and Rune babbled their approval. They shuffled after Maul as he led them outside to the wide plaza. Maul imagined that the plaza was usually crowded with citizens, musicians, and merchants and the air was filled with conversation and singing birds. But now the only sound was the distant, clanking footfalls of droid troops. Maul enjoyed the desolation. However, he was not deceived by the overall quiet. Looking up at the cloudless sky, he thought, A storm is coming. A death storm.
Jedi will die.
Rune pointed to a detachment of Federation battle droids that was marching across the opposite end of the plaza. He said, “They are timed to co
ver the plaza every fifteen minutes.”
“Make it every five,” Maul said as he scanned the surrounding buildings.
“But Lord Maul,” Rune said uneasily, “what of the few citizens who have so far resisted us? Shouldn’t we keep the troops spread out?”
Maul fixed his yellow eyes on Rune. “Do you think,” Maul said, “the Queen will dawdle when she arrives, and simply wait for you to pick her up? Think, cretin. Where do you think she’ll be heading?”
“Five-minute patrols!” Nute barked into his comlink. “Cover the plaza every five minutes!”
Maul gestured to the balconies that overlooked the plaza. “There should be surveillance at all times. Infrared sensors to alert the patrols.”
“It shall be done,” Rune said.
Nute’s comlink signaled. He glanced at it anxiously.
“I suggest you answer that,” Maul said, “or I’ll throw you over a waterfall.”
Nute pressed a button on his comlink and said, “Report.”
The voice of a battle droid command officer responded flatly, “The Queen’s starship has been found in the Naboo swamps, Viceroy.”
Nute looked stunned. “Have you captured her?”
“The ship is empty, Viceroy,” the officer replied. “There is no sign of the Queen’s party. They have disappeared.”
Nute and Rune glanced at each other. Rune’s mouth was agape. Neither dared to face Maul. Still clutching the comlink, Nute said, voice trembling, “Send out patrols. Search for her.”
Maul grabbed the comlink and switched it off. Through clenched teeth, he hissed at Nute, “Everything is under control, you say? You’ll pay for this. Now we must contact Lord Sidious.”
Nute nodded obediently as his mottled face turned a more sickly shade of green.
Maul led the two Neimoidians back to the palace’s throne room. Nute seated himself quickly on the throne. Maul stood near Nute while Rune activated the holocomm, sending a transmission to Sidious. A moment later, a hologram of Maul’s hooded Master flickered to life. Sidious said, “Yes, Viceroy?”
“Lord Sidious.” Nute cleared his throat. “The Queen and the Jedi…they are on Naboo, but did not arrive where we expected.”
Sidious frowned slightly, then said, “Go on.”
“We’ve sent out patrols,” Nute continued. “We already located their starship in the swamp. It won’t be long, my lord.”
“This is an unexpected move for her,” Sidious said. “It’s too aggressive.” His hologram shifted. Even though Sidious’s eyes were lost in shadow, Maul knew that his Master’s gaze was now on him. “Lord Maul, be mindful. Let them make the first move.”
“Yes, my Master.”
While the Neimoidians scurried about the palace, Maul stood in a dark chamber near the throne room and meditated. He visualized the fight he knew would come, the inevitable duel with Qui-Gon Jinn. On Tatooine, he knew he had been wearing down the Jedi Knight. He had sensed that Qui-Gon Jinn fought without fear, but also without hate.
He will know fear. And I will make him hate me.
Maul heard someone running toward him. Annoyed by the interruption, he turned to face Nute Gunray. Nute cried out, “She is assembling an army!”
“According to our patrols,” Rune Haako said, “Queen Amidala contacted the Gungans, the primitives in the swamp.”
Maul had not anticipated that the Queen would join forces with the Gungans, Naboo’s amphibious natives. He turned to face Nute Gunray. “You said the primitives had all been rounded up.”
“They went into hiding!” Nute exclaimed. “They know the terrain better than we do.…” Seeing Maul’s angered glare, Nute went silent.
Rune said, “The Gungans are not a concern. They are no match for our forces. The Trade Federation droid army and weapons are invincible.”
Maul could only guess what Queen Amidala thought she might accomplish. All her starfighters had been confiscated. Her volunteer pilots and officers were being held in camps. Desperate for help, she had turned to her planet’s lesser life-forms, amphibious humanoids. Still, she had the Jedi on her side. Unable to determine what the Queen was planning, Maul said, “I must contact my Master.”
“We should return to the throne room,” Rune Haako said, gesturing to a four-legged Neimoidian mechno-holoprojector he had brought for Nute Gunray’s convenience.
“We’ll walk,” Maul said as he went to the holoprojector and activated it. Less than a minute later, Sidious’s hologram appeared, his gaze directed at Maul, Nute, and Rune, who followed the ambulatory device as it crawled through a palace corridor on its sharply tapered metal feet.
“The Queen has an army, my Master,” Maul said. “She has allied with Naboo’s Gungan population. They must be planning to strike against the Trade Federation’s superior forces.” Maul grimaced. “I feel there is more to this, my Master. The two Jedi may be using the Queen for their own purposes.”
“The Jedi cannot become involved,” Sidious said with authority, his hologram bobbing gently back and forth along with the movement of the walking holo-projector. “They can only protect the Queen. Even Qui-Gon Jinn will not break that covenant.”
Maul had not considered the fact that the Jedi, by tradition and the rules of their Order, did not fight in wars. His Master never overlooked any details.
“Our young Queen surprises me,” Sidious continued. “She is more foolish than I thought.”
Nute said, “We are sending all troops to meet this army assembling near the swamp. It appears to be made up of primitives.”
“This will work to our advantage,” Sidious responded. Maul noticed that his Master actually sounded pleased.
The holoprojector came to a stop in the corridor. Maul, Nute, and Rune stopped beside it, their eyes fixed on Sidious’s hologram. Rune said eagerly, “I have your approval to proceed, then, my lord?”
“Wipe them out,” Sidious replied without hesitation. “All of them.” Sidious’s hologram flickered and vanished.
Maul, Nute, and Rune proceeded to the throne room. A large viewscreen was built into one wall, and displayed a view of the palace’s outdoor plaza. Looking up at the viewscreen, the Neimoidians were startled to see the Jedi Knight and his apprentice cutting down battle droids who had been guarding the palace. The Jedi were accompanied by Naboo soldiers and pilots. Some soldiers were on foot, and others arrived in armored landspeeders that carried blaster cannons.
Rune whispered, “How did they get into the city?”
“I don’t know,” Nute said, shaking his head as he watched the Naboo soldiers fire Federation tanks. “I thought the battle was going to take place far from here.” Eyes wide with fear, he added, “This is too close.”
“I told you there was more to this,” Maul said. “The Jedi are involved. They have come to Theed for a reason, Viceroy. They have a plan of their own for defeating us.”
Looking even more alarmed, Nute said, “A plan?”
“One that will fail, I assure you.” Maul glared at the images on the viewscreen. “I have waited a long time for this. I have trained for it endlessly. The Jedi will regret their decision to return here.” His hand flexed near his lightsaber. “Wait here until I return.” He walked past the Neimoidians, heading for a tall doorway.
“Where are you going?” Nute demanded frantically.
“Where do you think I’m going, Viceroy?” Maul answered without breaking his stride. “I’m going to the main hangar to rid you of the Jedi once and for all.”
The Queen’s pilots managed to liberate more than a dozen Naboo starfighters from the Theed hangar before Maul’s arrival. Maul saw the sleek, gleaming starfighters climb into the sky and suspected they were heading for the Trade Federation’s Droid Control Ship. Because the control ship carried more than one thousand droid starfighters, Maul doubted the Queen’s pilots would survive more than a few minutes. Fools.
He entered the air base and made his way to the hangar’s entrance, which was sealed by blast-proof durast
eel double doors. Lowering his gaze to the floor, he reached out with his senses. He detected movement on the other side of the doors. He knew the Jedi were approaching, walking straight toward his position.
The double doors slid open. Maul lifted his gaze. He faced Queen Amidala, who was with a group of armed Naboo guards and two handmaidens. Seeing Maul, the group had come to a dead stop. Maul spotted the two Jedi behind the guards and locked his eyes on Qui-Gon Jinn.
“We’ll handle this,” Qui-Gon Jinn said as he and Obi-Wan Kenobi moved forward, side by side, edging past the guards.
“We’ll take the long way,” Queen Amidala said as she rushed with her remaining allies toward a side passage.
Keeping his eyes on the Jedi, Maul lifted his hood back, revealing his horned head. He shrugged off his cloak and let it fall to the floor. The two Jedi did the same with their robes.
The Queen, her guards, and the handmaidens were still running for a nearby exit when three Trade Federation destroyer droids wheeled fast from around a corner and into the hangar. The droids stopped quickly, then rapidly unfurled their tripod legs and built-in blaster cannons, activated their deflector shields, and opened fire in the Queen’s direction.
While the Queen and her retinue took cover and fired their blasters at the droids, Maul drew his lightsaber and activated one red blade. Gripping the lightsaber in his left hand, he extended his arm forward and activated the second blade. The Jedi activated their lightsabers, and Maul noticed Qui-Gon Jinn’s blade flashed a fraction of a second after Obi-Wan’s.
The old Jedi’s getting slow.
Maul made a jabbing motion at Obi-Wan. Obi-Wan leaped at Maul. Their lightsabers clashed as Obi-Wan flipped over Maul’s head and landed behind him. Keeping his eyes on Qui-Gon, Maul angled his lightsaber to block Obi-Wan’s blade from behind, then ducked fast to evade Qui-Gon’s sweeping blade.
Maul advanced toward Qui-Gon and spun, deflecting blows from both Jedi as the fight shifted across the hangar deck. Rapidly spinning his lightsaber, he anticipated their moves with ease. Having expected a greater challenge from Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan, he felt even more disgusted by them. But if the Jedi held no surprises in combat, Maul knew he had his Master to thank for that. If not for his Master, he never would have been a match for two Jedi at the same time.
Lives & Adventures Page 41