Compassion - Part 2. By BeElleGee

Rating: PG-13 A little violence, some grown up situations. (Not too grown up.).
Summary: Pre-TPM. Darth Maul is around seventeen in this story and is given charge of one of Darth Sidious' prisoners who is a Jedi, but also a girl his age. At first, he just finds her intriguing but after a brutal encounter with his master one morning, the Jedi shows him compassion--something he has never experienced from anyone before, let alone an enemy. It suddenly changes the way he regards her and Jedi in general until Sidious reveals a scheme that immediately puts a stop to it.
Disclaimer: All things Star Wars belongs to GL and Lucasfilm Ltd. This is just a twisted hobby of mine. No money will exchange hands from it, I guarantee it.
Initial posting: DMEB2.
Archive: Yes, but ask first.
Feedback: Yes please, to BeElleGee@hotmail.

"I must thank you then," she finally exhaled all at once. "I didn't realize. What I did for you I would have done for anyone. You were so ill and in so much pain. It made me want to help you. Nothing else mattered. You are a living, thinking, feeling person to me, Maul. Not just a Sith."

The sound of metallic feet tramping on stone echoed faintly through the halls and Maul turned his head in the direction it was coming from. Droids. And worse yet, the cold, sinister sensation of the presence of his master. Darth Sidious was with them.

Maul faced Joss and took her hand in his. "Come with me," he urged and was actually surprised when the girl readily complied this time. Perhaps she sensed his unease.

They moved quickly and silently through the dark corridors, easily evading the detection of the searching droids. The Dark Lord was a different story. Maul was certain his master had sensed them. Now he would have to go to him and explain what had happened and try to assure him everything was back under control before he decided to do anything rash.

Maul hurried Joss into his room and over to the bed, gesturing at the restraints on the floor by the wall where the former protocol droid had dropped them. The devices flew towards him and he adeptly picked them out of the air.

"I must go, but I'll return within the hour," Maul told the Jedi as he secured her once more to the bedframe. "I'll have some food sent up...in the meantime, you'll be safe here." He noticed the Jedi cocked an arched eyebrow questioningly at him and the young Sith paused and lowered his eyes. "Don't look so surprised, Joss. I may not be very adept at it, but I want to show you consideration and I admit, I am somewhat concerned for you. It's just that, the way I perceive you now...sometimes, between us, I think I sense...." Maul let his voice trail off, deciding he wasn't ready to continue that train of thought just yet. "Perhaps we're not the enemies we once were," he concluded in an attempt to sum up what he had stammered through previously.

Without waiting for a reply, Maul turned from her and took a deep, steadying breath, purposefully cleansing his mind of the bizarre tangle of thoughts and emotions presently plaguing him. He knew his master's keen sensitivity would readily detect anything amiss and he wasn't prepared to try to explain away feelings he himself did not yet understand.

Darth Sidious was seated, his hands folded calmly in his lap, his head raised expectantly. He fixed his eyes on his apprentice as the young Sith approached and offered Maul a feeble smile.

"Why, Maul. How good of you to finally report to me. I've been expecting you ever since the droids informed me of your prisoner's escape. When you didn't come to me, I searched for you, but it seemed you only evaded me, then once again, you mysteriously failed to appear before me until now. Would you care to explain any of this?"

The young Sith narrowed his eyes. "Forgive me, Master. I was occupied with the task at hand. I had every intention of reporting the situation to you as my presence here now undeniably shows."

Maul swallowed slowly. "She is back in my custody and securely restrained. I've ordered a sentry posted at my door as well. She will not escape again."

The Dark Lord rose to his feet and slowly stepped over to where his pupil stood. "I suppose as securely restrained as before? When she escaped?"

The Sith Apprentice faced his master with a stern expression, determined not to allow him to intimidate him. "It was your droid, Master, who freed her."

At that, Sidious backed down. "So it was." He turned from Maul and stalked about the room petulantly. "Foolish machine. I can assume you dealt with the droid accordingly?"

The older Sith took a deep breath. "I'm pleased to hear you have everything back under control, but what about the padawan? She's your responsibility, Maul. You need to see she is effectively deterred from ever wanting to escape again. I want you to see she is suitably punished."

Maul's heart sank. He opened his mouth to speak, but Sidious anticipated his words and dismissed them with a wave of his hand.

Maul told himself to breathe. "What about your agreement with the Jedi Knight? If I harm his padawan, he will surely sense it."

Sidious shrugged slightly. "At this point, I don't care what the Jedi senses. I mean business, Maul and it is time they realize this. Let the Jedi fret a bit. If I choose to alter our deal he still must comply. He has little choice in the matter, either way." The Dark Lord stopped pacing and faced the young Sith. "I'm sure whatever you decide to do to his precious padawan will only give him more motive to fight you. He'll want to avenge her you see." The Sith Lord paused and raised his brow, a wicked smile distorting his features. "You have my permission. Now go, Boy. It's getting late."

Feeling his face flush with heat, Maul bowed and reluctantly turned to leave. He would not, could not, do such a thing to her now. He'd have to think of an alternative and fast.

Joss started as Maul entered the room. She sat up and turned her head in his direction and seemed to breathe a sigh of relief when she sensed who it was.

"What kept you away so long?" she said in a low voice, then frowned when the Sith did not answer. She took a deep breath and bowed her head. "I've been thinking about what you said and strangely enough, I do sense I am safe with you. Even with that irascible temper of yours. I no longer sense the malice you first harbored towards me. You've come to know me as a person and not just an enemy. It has changed you, hasn't it?" Joss looked up and offered Maul a weak smile, then narrowed her eyes in confusion, sensing the young Sith's apprehension. "What's wrong? You seem upset?"

For a long time, the only sound in the room was the Sith's agitated breathing and an odd mechanical humming. Then he sat carefully on the bed and unfastened Joss' chains.

The Jedi Padawan peered at him with a confused expression. "What are you doing?" she asked as she felt him pull her to her feet and place something in her hands which crackled with energy.

Joss frowned. "What is it?" Her hands began skimming the surface metal of the U-shaped device, but the Sith quickly covered her hand with his to stop her.

The Jedi tried to hand the device back to him. "I don't want this! Why are you giving it to me?"

Backing away from her, Maul lowered his head and took a deep breath. "I've been commanded to punish you."

Joss' lower lip trembled slightly and her hands tightened on the instrument of torture she held. "...You're going to use this on me to hurt me?"

Sighing heavily, the young Sith straightened and removed his cloak. "No. You are going to use it on me."

"I WILL NOT!" the Jedi strongly objected, throwing the device aside and fleeing to the far side of the room. "It is against everything I subscribe to as a healer and a Jedi."

Maul continued undressing. "Listen to me, Joss. It won't matter who's pain it is. My master need only feel it. If he doesn't, he'll know I've...disobeyed him." He paused and tossed his tunic on the bed, then called the device to his hand. "I chose this particular piece because it does not cause permanent injury. Only pain."

Joss shook her head furiously, refusing to be placated by the Sith's blasé tone of voice. "I can't...and I won't. Use it on me if it's so harmless."

Studying the device in his hand, Maul stepped towards the agitated girl. "You would not be able to tolerate this level of pain, but I can. It may stop your heart," the Sith explained.

Maul shrugged, unphased. "Then I'll have to rely on you to start it again." He paused but could tell she remained unswayed by his poor attempt at levity. The Sith massaged his eyes with impatience. "I've fully recovered from my fever and am quite capable of withstanding this sort of punishment."

Joss raised her chin defiantly. "And I am a Jedi, Maul, and not nearly as feeble as you like to think. So go on. Do as you were told."

Maul suddenly reached out and snatched the Jedi's hand from her side and firmly placed the device into it. She shook her head again and started trembling, but the young Sith lowered his voice soothingly. "Just press the ends into my skin. Here and here. Go slowly, left to right. It will be quick, and clean, and the injections themselves will be relatively painless." He lifted her free hand and traced it across his chest, demonstrating the way to use the device. "Keep it moving. Like this."

Joss immediately calmed and fixed her sightless eyes searchingly on the Sith's face. "You don't have to do this for me, Maul," she whispered. She closed her eyes and shifted her weight towards him, leaning her body against his. Her small hand slowly skimmed the surface of his skin and up the hard, corded muscles of his neck. Tentatively laying her head on his chest, Joss dragged her fingertips over the side of his face and stroked down his jawline pacifyingly. "Thank you," she murmured, her warm lips brushing against his skin as she spoke. She sighed raggedly, as if breathing suddenly became difficult for her and a wisp of her heated breath caressed the Sith's senses, lacing the air around him with a noticeable innuendo.

Could it be possible? Maul felt as though he were suddenly melting from the intimacy of her touch; his body and mind dissolving and pooling together in a puddle on the floor at her feet. All cognizant thought left him and there was only the sensation of her soft, cool hand upon his face. Despite his determination to maintain his discipline where she was concerned, the urge to touch her became overwhelming. Cautiously he placed one hand on the small of her back and pressed her tighter to him as his other hand cradled the back of her head. All the air left his lungs in a long, languid sigh.

"It'll be all right," he whispered encouragingly in her ear. He thought he felt her head nod beneath his hand and heard her take a deep breath.

Then the Sith heard the familiar loud snapping sound like the successive cracking of several leather whips--and braced himself in anticipation of the pain to come. But it was the Jedi's pain he felt, not his own. Too late he realized what she had done.

Her scream tore through the euphoric atmosphere she had created around him. Maul felt her petite form slump against him suddenly and tightened his arms around her to keep her from falling. The torture device clanged to the floor as she dropped it and several telltale circles of blood appeared on the right side of her tunic.

The Sith hissed a stream of profanity and swept her up in his arms. He carried her over to the bed and placed her on the rumpled blankets.

"Joss? You wretched, deceitful girl. You distracted me into near delirium so I wouldn't realize what you were planning to do, didn't you? And like a fool, I succumbed to it. Joss! Wake up!"

"Joss?" Maul repeated a little more tenderly this time. Leaning over her, he touched her brow and pushed the hair from her dampening forehead. She suddenly screamed again and fainted again causing the Sith's anger to turn into alarm. He placed his hand on her neck to feel her pulse and was reassured by the strong steady throbbing he felt in her veins.

Then her eyes fluttered and she blinked several times before moaning miserably. Maul sat back relieved, exhaling the breath he was holding through his teeth.

"Oh," the Jedi squeaked. Sweat began running down her face. "I feel...like my internal...organs are...on fire."

The Sith used his discarded tunic to mop the perspiration from her brow. "They've been injected with a chemical which simulates the sensation of being stung," he explained. "Your heart is pumping the venom throughout your system now. Gradually the pain will subside. Try not to move around. You'll only circulate it." He reached down and took her hand in his. "Use the Force to control the pain. Center your mind on the source and summon the power of the Force there."

Maul could feel the power of the Light Side of the Force moving around him, intensifying the Jedi's strength as she called it to her. The unfamiliar sensation of the Light Side's characteristic virtues felt strangely inimical to the Sith and made him recoil from it. Joss embraced it as it embraced her and soon her expression softened as the pain diminished. She squeezed the Sith's hand and slowly opened her eyes.

"It is getting better," she informed him quietly and tried to sit up. Remnants of the pain rocketed through her and she gasped and promptly collapsed back on the bed. She placed her hand on her forehead and massaged her brow. "I can't believe you offered to subject yourself to this...for me. You are either the noblest person I have ever met or the most masochistic."

Maul glanced down at his tattooed torso and smiled slightly. "Neither. I've been disciplined to endure extreme levels of pain before becoming debilitated. If you could see me, you would understand."

Joss frowned and shook her head. "Why do it for me, though? Think about it. You were being noble."

The Sith sighed and gazed at his hand and the intimate way his fingers were laced through hers. He pulled free from her grasp and leaned away from her. "Two days ago, I would not have hesitated to inflict pain on you, yet it holds no appeal to me now. I can't begin to explain it. Then as you said, the animosity between us has passed."

The Jedi Padawan struggled to sit up once more. She reached forward and brushed her fingertips over Maul's lips. "That is profound, but I still wonder why. What happened to change it all? I believe there's something more to it than just that." Her fair brow furrowed before realization dawned in her eyes as she noted the way the Sith reacted to her touch. "Affected you profoundly...." She lowered her hand to his shoulder and brushed her palm lightly over his skin. His muscles quivered beneath her hand. "It's this, isn't it? No one has ever touched you tenderly like this before, have they?" She trailed the back of her hand down his chest and over his abdomen. "No one has ever shown you kindness before. Apathy and brutality is all you've ever known. All your life. Until me."

Chagrinned, Maul abruptly slipped away from her and stood up. He watched Joss' open hand search the sudden emptiness in front of her for him. Her awed expression softened in sympathy. It radiated from her in a cloud of goodness and mercy, pelting the Sith with its purity and light. He withdrew from her further, repelled by the feelings he felt directed towards him which reminded him she was indeed a Jedi first and foremost with a Jedi's unconditional compassion. But he didn't want her sympathy. He wanted her devotion.

A simmering anger seeped into his senses. "I don't need your pity, Jedi," he growled and stalked irritably about the room, welcoming the familiar feeling of the Dark Side of the Force to push away the suffocating Light. He breathed it in allowing it to fill him.

Joss stared back at him confused. "Why are getting so defensive? I was only offering you the compassion you so obviously crave."

"Don't lie to me! I sensed it! You find me pathetic. I will not tolerate that from you or anyone!"

The Jedi looked away. "Don't lie to yourself, Maul. I've figured you out and that doesn't sit well with you. I know now you are frightened. Offering and receiving compassion gives you a sense of humanity you can scarcely afford." She paused and licked her lips apprehensively. "You must understand. Touch is everything to me. I use it to heal, to connect with my surroundings, and obviously, to see. Of course I feel sorry for you. I cannot bring myself to imagine what it is like for you to have been so mistreated."

Maul stopped pacing and turned to face Joss. "Mistreatment has made me strong," he stated, his voice cold and breathy. "Unlike you pampered Jedi Padawans, I loathe the coddling you thrive on."

Joss nodded decisively. "Very well. I won't touch you again." With that, she shifted her weight on the bed and angled herself away from the irate Sith.

Her declaration caught Maul off guard. He growled in frustration and strode over to her.

"That wasn't what I meant and you know it," he grumbled and tried to piece together the right words to make himself better understood. "The...intimacies we have participated in have allowed us rare insight of each other as individuals. There's merit in that even I can see." He waited but when she did not respond, he leaned over her and softened his tone. "Your touch...pleases me."

Maul snarled. "It's not the same thing!" To add to his vexation, the girl smiled slyly.

"Oh, but you can't have one without the other," she stated and turned her face farther away from him. "Compassion is what motivated me to touch you the first time."

The Sith's heart skipped a beat. "What about the other times? You touched me because you wanted to, because it pleased you, didn't it?" Maul questioned, holding his breath in anticipation of her response. But she said nothing and stubbornly refused to face him. He cursed at her and sat heavily on the opposite side of the bed to sulk.

His temper soon waned in the ensuing silence and a prevailing calm settled over him. He leaned down and picked up the restraints from the floor and turned them over in his hands several times before finally tossing them aside. He felt defeated. He could not even bring himself to chain her up anymore.

Joss must have heard the restraints fall and peered over her shoulder at the Sith curiously. "You're not going to restrain me?" she asked hopefully.

"No," Maul told her wearily. "Not with these. I know they hurt you. Your wrists are bruised and chafed. I'll think of another, more agreeable way to make you stay here. Besides, you will not run away again because you know you are safe here."

The young Jedi swallowed uneasily. "So compassion isn't as foreign to you as I first thought," she noted quietly. She sighed heavily and eased herself down on her left side, her right side obviously still smarting from the injections. With her back to the Sith, she curled herself up, crossing her ankles and arms as if symbolically closing herself up. Maul sensed her emotional shields were back up as well.

The Sith studied her stressed and defensive posture with a trace of longing sparking in his mind. His skin still tingled warmly where she had touched him and recalling the way he had held her to him before she fainted made his gut twist. He truly hoped he hadn't hardened her heart against him with his indignation. He wanted to let her know it was all right for her to feel something beyond compassion for him. That he felt something too and wouldn't shun her. But he also wanted her to know he wasn't afraid of compassion. He could offer it as well as receive it. Then an idea occurred to him.

Swallowing down the lump forming in his throat, Maul carefully lay back on the bed and rolled over on his side to face the Jedi. He slowly shifted close to her, spooning his body around hers, and tentatively encircled her tiny waist with his arm. She tensed expectedly and her breathing momentarily stopped, but the Sith did not move again until she began to relax. Then he pulled her against him, holding her securely, and layed his cheek on her shoulder.

"This is how you intend to restrain me?" she asked softly. The Sith nuzzled the back of her neck. "Is this not more agreeable than chains?"

The young Sith felt the Jedi lean against him. He closed his eyes in quiet contentment, surrendering himself to his dreams. *****

Aware Joss was no longer with him, Maul drowsily passed his hand over the still warm and wrinkled blankets where she had slept. He slowly opened his eyes and looked around.

The Jedi was seated across the room on the floor, her legs crossed and her arms draped loosely at her sides. Her eyes were open but she appeared to be in a deep meditative trance. Her expression waivered back and forth from a mask-like vacancy to knotted anxiety.

The Sith rolled out of bed and stalked over to her, kneeling before her quietly. She immediately sensed him and lifted her hand to touch his face.

Joss swallowed hard and pressed her palm against the young Sith's cheek. "It's Verteigo," she said sadly. "He's distraught. Beside himself over something that has happened...but I can't tell what."

Maul was already on his feet and pulling on his tunic. If the Jedi Knight was agitated it involved Joss and most likely Sidious had something to do with it.

"I'll go to him," he informed the padawan as she unfolded her legs and shakily climbed to her feet.

The Sith automatically shook his head and moved to open the door with a wave of his hand. "No," he replied sharply. "I can deal with this quicker and easier without you along." He didn't want to alarm her further by sharing his suspicions.

Maul struggled to say something to help ease her concern. "I'll return as soon as I'm able," he finally told her, giving up, and turned to leave. He waited until the door closed before addressing the sentry droid posted there. "Stay here and do not open that door for anyone until I get back, do you understand?"

Stopping only long enough to pick up his lightsaber from the training room, Maul then sprinted across the castle's interior to the crumbling stone stairway which led to the cell block where the Jedi Knight was currently housed.

It was then, the young Sith sensed the approach of Darth Sidious. Escorted by three battle droids and looking more than a little vexed, the Dark Lord was making his way up from the cell block just as Maul was making his way down. Sidious hailed Maul and met him at the bottom of the stairs.

"I'm please you're here," he began, sounding anything but pleased to his apprentice's ears. "I wanted to speak with you anyway."

Maul bowed respectfully before his master. "What is it you wish, My Lord?" He tried unsuccessfully to peer around the older Sith down the hall. "I sense there's trouble with the Jedi."

"Your insight serves you well," Sidious grumbled, following the direction of his apprentice's wayward gaze. "The Jedi summoned me here earlier this morning. He wanted to inform me he no longer agrees to cooperate with us. He claims we departed from our original agreement by harming his padawan last night." The Sith Lord sniffed indignantly and folded his arms across his chest, slipping his hands into the voluminous sleeves of his cloak. "You were right, Maul," he continued. "Instead of making him vindictive, we've only made him force our hand."

"I told him he had an hour to change his mind or we would bring the child Jedi before him to watch her suffer and die."

The young Sith was careful not to show any outward signs of dismay at Sidious' words. Instead, he squared his shoulders and cleared his throat.

"Master, if I may," he began, sounding more confident than he felt. "Allow me a moment to speak with the Jedi Knight."

Sidious frowned. "Why? What good would that do? If this doesn't convince him nothing will."

Maul inhaled slowly. "If we execute the girl, the Jedi Knight will lose all incentive to comply with us. We might as well just execute him too and that would be a terrible waste of valuable resources. I believe, with your permission, I can incite his imagination to motivate him in new ways without sacrifice."

The Sith Lord stood regarding his apprentice warily before nodding his consent. "Very well. But do not promise him anything else. I grow tired of trying to appease the monster and would just rather be finished with them both than be inconvenienced further." He glanced back in the direction of the Jedi's cell then turned and brushed past Maul to continue up the stairs, the three droids clanging behind him.

Maul approached Verteigo's cell door and motioned the droid guarding it to release the lock.

"Deactivate the restraints holding the Jedi, then bring his personal lightsaber to me here. Go quickly," the Sith ordered the droid in a low voice.

The droid nodded and hurried off as Maul sauntered through the open door of the Jedi's cell. He crossed his arms over his chest, then leaned serenely against the stone entryway.

The Jedi Knight looked up at the young Sith and snarled at him ferociously, but remained seated where he was in the far corner of the cell, shrouded in shadows. The dim light from the hall reflected his feline eyes eerily like a predator's in the night.

"Your pious indignation has condemned your padawan to a slow, miserable death," Maul stated bluntly.

"Fool," the Sith sneered contemptuously. "How utterly hypocritical you Jedi are. Martyring yourself, and her, in retaliation for something so minor. If you would put away your pompous righteousness for the moment, you would sense the girl is fairing quite well this morning...for another hour at least."

Gracefully rising to his feet, Verteigo growled menacingly and started walking towards the Sith. "You promised me you would protect her. You lied. But then, you are a Sith, aren't you? Get out of my sight before I rend you limb from limb."

Maul wasted no time drawing his lightsaber. He angled the glowing hissing point just below the advancing Jedi's blue slanted eyes, turning them an unnatural purplish hue.

"If it is revenge you seek, I'm here to offer it," Maul told him calmly. "I sent a droid to fetch your lightsaber. Take it up and challenge me. Right here, just the two of us. No armed droids, no restrictions, nothing to hold us back. A perfect opportunity for you to strike me down." He paused but the Jedi did not respond. "You obviously don't understand. You have to continue to fight with me if you want to save the girl."

As if on cue, the droid returned and presented Maul with the Jedi's lightsaber. The Sith shooed the droid away, then tossed the short, thick hilt at the Jedi's feet.

Verteigo only snarled again and raised his taloned hand as if to slash at the Sith, then much to Maul's dismay, composed himself and suddenly backed down.

"To what point?" he whispered in his deep, breathy voice. He inhaled slowly, looking suddenly pained, and shook his head so forcefully, his long golden mane swished around his shoulders. "Joss and I are already dead. Nothing I agree to will save our lives in the end."

Frustrated, Maul narrowed his eyes at the Jedi Knight and deactivated his lightsaber, returning it to his belt. He was running out of time and Verteigo's stubborness was wearing his patience thin. He would obviously need to do something a little more provocative if he was to see any results.

Taking a cautious step forward, Maul opened the neckline of his tunic exposing his throat and raised his chin tauntingly. "I've always heard Jedi frequently rely on the charitable acts of others. Therefore, as a Jedi, you should welcome the charity I'm offering you now. A clean, first strike at my unprotected neck."

The Jedi turned his face away. "As much as the idea of cleaving you in two appeals to me, I will not take up my weapon against you."

Maul had to smile. "Do you doubt your abilities that much? I am unarmed, kneeling like a slave on the floor before you, and you still think if you attack me you won't be able to kill me? Master Nassy, I'm quite flattered."

Verteigo shook his head and walked away from the Sith in disgust. "I am a Jedi. I will not succumb to your daemonic temptations."

Maul climbed to his feet, his mind scrambling for a new strategy. Then the light of realization dawned in his bloodshot eyes and gave the Sith a spark of hope. He cleared his throat and as a precaution took a small step back.

"After what I did to your Jedi padawan last night, do you think she would have refused such an offer?" the young Sith taunted, then shook his head. "I've come to know the girl quite well and I can assure you she would not have."

Verteigo turned suddenly, curling his upper lip and exposing his long white fangs. "You do deserve to die after the heinous crime you subjected her to, but it is not my place to avenge her humiliation and pain." He took a step forward. "I do not kill for killing's sake. You, on the other hand, are an evil, conscienceless entity who preys on the essence of goodness and beauty to destroy and devour its virtue."

Maul's brow furrowed in confusion. He had obviously struck a nerve with the Jedi, but he didn't understand what he was ranting about. Surely if this was just about Joss' brief pain last night after she injected herself with the torture device, it wouldn't move the Jedi Knight to speak of heinous crimes and humiliation.

"Come now," the young Sith argued. "The girl didn't enjoy it, but she endured it rather well."

The Jedi inhaled sharply and fixed his glassy, tear-filled eyes on Maul, folding his hands over his chest.

"My heart breaks for her," he whispered. "For what she...endured last night." He lowered his head briefly to collect himself before continuing. "You can dismiss it from your mind, but that cruel carnal act will haunt her always. It plagued her dreams. That's how I know what you did to her. The images of you, as she perceives you.....with her, were so strong, flashes of them invaded my meditations."

Maul suddenly realized he was staring at the Jedi dumbly with his mouth open and promptly shut it. He had to resist the urge to correct Verteigo's assumptions and explain that whatever Joss had dreamed of last night was just that--a dream. Nothing had happened between them beyond a restful night's sleep in the security of each other's arms.

Then it occurred to the young Sith that maybe Joss was attracted to him after all--especially if she was dreaming of the two of them having sexual relations. The idea made Maul's pulse race with renewed desires. Desires he promised he would no longer act on, but consequently could no longer deny. He needed to tell her how he felt. Perhaps it would encourage her to do the same.

However, considering how upset the Jedi Knight was regarding the flashes of images he had received, Maul had to wonder if Joss' dreams were violent in nature, stemming from the first time he had attacked her. The Sith licked his lips and took a deep breath.

The Jedi placed his hands on his hips and looked at Maul as if he were a piece of rotten meat. The Force was stirring, prickling the young Sith's awareness with glints of foreboding. The Jedi's resolve was crumbling and despite his outer passivity, Maul sensed Verteigo was nearly bursting with animosity towards him. If he handled this correctly, he could incite the Jedi to finally attack.

The Sith inhaled deeply and began stalking about the cell, knowing he could react faster if he was already moving. Slowly, imperceptibly, he moved his hand to his lightsaber's hilt.

"It wasn't as bad as all that, Master Jedi," Maul began in a silky voice. "Once I had overpowered her, I found her very agreeable and to my liking. She put up just enough of a fight to keep things interesting without detracting too much from my pleasure." He noted the Jedi eyeing his neglected lightsaber now. Carefully, the Sith continued. "Her skin was heated through and slick with sweat that tasted delectable and smelled exquisitely musky and womanly. Not at all like the child you believe her to be."

It was difficult for him to fabricate such a lie, but Maul knew the Jedi was just about to break when Verteigo growled so low and long the Sith could feel it in his gut. A few more choice words should provoke him.

"If you still refuse to vindicate her then I believe I will just go. My recollections have whet my appetite and since your padawan has less than an hour to live, I think I shall hurry to partake of her one last time. 'Devour' her before I 'destroy' her." Maul waited momentarily, then turned slightly as if to leave.

The Jedi's lightsaber was in his hand and slashing through the air with such power it whistled in the young Sith's ears.

Maul's lightsaber was activated a split second later and crashed against Verteigo's with little effect. The strength behind the Jedi's strike forced the Sith to lean perilously to his left, exposing his right side to a swiftly calculated counterstrike. As Verteigo arced his saber over his head and down, the Sith quickly activated the second blade at the bottom of his lightsaber hilt and was able to catch the Jedi's saber just in time before it sliced right through him.

The sight of the double-bladed lightsaber startled the Jedi and made him hesitate to carry out his next planned strike. Maul moved immediately forward, cutting upwards with the second blade and countering with a downward stroke of the first.

Verteigo dodged backwards and parried the second strike high above his head but was unable to put any power behind it this time. Maul advanced again, rotating the hilt in his hands, the two blades allowing him ample room to maneuver away from the Jedi without having to fully retreat.

Battling the Sith's unconventional weapon was forcing the Jedi to work twice as hard and twice as fast. His exasperated expression told the young Sith he had no offensive strategy as of yet against him and was doing all he could just to defend himself.

What the Jedi didn't know was that Maul wasn't completely confident yet in his ability to utilize the two blades at once. Up until now, the Sith had only sparingly used them against remotes to try to get a feeling for their weight and design. He had never dueled with them and he was struggling with them now. He had three times the reach he normally would with just a single blade, but he had to be extremely aware of where each blade was at any given time. Parrying a strike might also sever off a leg if he wasn't careful. Maul closed his eyes and concentrated. He needed to call upon the Force and surrender himself to it to help him execute the proper maneuvers effectively.

Maul sensed Verteigo was using the Force as well, striking faster and harder than he had before. It seemed the longer he fought the Sith, the more relaxed and stronger he became. He had discovered there were only certain ways in which Maul could wield the long lightsaber and began to predict two out of three strikes the Sith used against him.

For Maul, this was a no-win situation. With dauntless persistence, the Jedi drove the Sith back, out of the confines of the tiny cell and out into the open hall. Maul tried to block the Jedi, but Verteigo kicked him aside with enough force to send him crashing into the opposite wall, then immediately headed for the stairs at the end of the hall.

Hoping to at least keep the Jedi in the perimeter of the cell block, Maul closely pursued him, whipping at Verteigo's heels with the tip of his blade.

When the Jedi reached the stairs, he turned sharply and grimaced at the tenacious Sith, then leapt to the fourth step and front flipped to avoid an overextended stab from Maul's blade, landing back on the floor behind the young Sith.

Turning and simultaneously rotating the lightsaber around in his hands, Maul was already bringing the first blade in from the left followed tightly by the second blade as soon as the Jedi's feet hit the floor. Verteigo countered with a backhand swing and bent forward trying to put his weight behind it. Using the tangled blades as leverage, the Sith torqued a half turn and somersaulted over the crouched Jedi.

Verteigo ducked down further to avoid Maul's aerial assault and lashed out simultaneously with his blade in a right to left vertical strike as the Sith descended. The point of the Jedi's lightsaber grazed across Maul's upper thighs, causing him to stagger in pain as he landed. Hissing profanity, he retreated, momentarily succumbing to the fire which shot through his entire body.

The Jedi swiftly advanced on the young Sith from above this time, having risen to his feet and his full two-meter height. Maul was pushed onto his back and rolled sideways to escape the Jedi's killing blow.

Angered and frustrated with himself, the Sith hopped to his feet again, knowing he needed a new form of attack and adjusted his grip on his lightsaber, leveling it horizontally. By spinning his body, the lightsaber blades acted like a rotary propeller, forcing the Jedi to back away now. Maul realized the way in which the blades were positioned gave Verteigo little opportunity to hit them with much power. Anytime he did, Maul angled his counterstrike, making the Jedi have to twist awkwardly to deflect the Sith's blade away from him. With the Jedi steadily retreating, Maul found he had more room and freedom to fully extend the reach of the two blades. He raised the saber above his head and twirled it several times to maintain flexibility in his aching hands and keep his grip from locking up. His confidence bolstered, Maul soon found an efficient, fluid rhythm of slashing and parrying that using a single blade did not allow.

This duel alone had given him a wealth of experience, Maul thought to himself, far beyond anything droids or remotes could. His master had shown great wisdom in bringing the Jedi here for him and Verteigo had been a great asset to his training. It was then Maul realized with a hint of regret that this was without doubt, a duel to the death. One of them would die today and Maul wholly believed it would be the Jedi Knight.

But Verteigo had proven himself a worthy adversary. He deserved to die in the heat of battle, defending his principles and deep-rooted beliefs, with honor and dignity, not in some torture chamber or gunned down by unthinking droids. Maul wanted to grant him this. If all Jedi fought as well as Verteigo, the young Sith decided from now on he would go out of his way to engage them.

Fatigue was setting in, slowing the pace of the battle. Their sabers locked momentarily and the young Sith gazed respectfully at the Jedi through the glare of the crossed blades, perspiration stinging his eyes and hazing his vision. Verteigo stared back with a quiet, serene expression, laced with strain. There seemed to be little animosity left between them at this point and the Jedi took the rare opportunity to speak, his rich voice echoing off the damp stone walls.

"You have demonstrated to me that my fellow Jedi have much to be concerned about. Despite your youth, you are indeed formidable."

Maul inclined his head graciously then stepped to the left and brought the lower half of the lightsaber up in a full rotation. Verteigo blocked both strikes, then retreated to the Sith's right.

"Formidable, yes, but not invincible," Verteigo continued. "I will kill you, Young Sith. I must kill you. It is my duty." With newfound resolve, the Jedi advanced with an onslaught of powerful strokes, pushing Maul back and swiftly into a corner, catching the Sith completely by surprise.

Maul had let himself become distracted by his thoughts and hadn't realized he was so close to the walls. Darth Sidious' warning about distraction in the presence of an adversary rang in his ears and Maul knew he was in trouble. He had ignored a primary rule of fencing: feel, do not think. Act upon instinct only. Now cornered, Maul's maneuverability was severely inhibited. The Jedi smiled at the panicked look in the young Sith's eyes.

"My only regret," Verteigo continued, drawing back his lightsaber for what he was certain was the final blow, "Is that the Jedi Knights did not find you as an infant before the Sith did." He brought the blade down directly over Maul's head. There was no way for him to block it from that angle without snagging his lightsaber's blades in the stone surrounding him.

Maul realized he could not even dodge this blow. The Jedi had him perfectly trapped and he knew it. Furious at himself, the Sith called upon the Force, tapping into his seething anger and concentrated. If he could not move, then the Jedi would have to. With a snarl, the Sith swung the hilt of his lightsaber like a club and aimed it at the Jedi's head. It impacted with enough force to split open his temple and sway him, throwing off the trajectory of his descending blade.

As Verteigo folded to one side, Maul seized the opportunity given him and slipped around the Jedi, free of his confinement. He whipped his lightsaber completely around his body and sliced the top blade through the Jedi's torso just under his arms.

With a garbled gasp of surprise, Verteigo's body collapsed on itself, the upper part landing heavily on the lower, splattering the Sith with blood. The hot, pelting sensation abruptly announced the end of the duel and transfixed Maul where he stood.

He had fought a Jedi Knight and won. Barely, but he had won. The thrill he had always anticipated was surprisingly hollow. Instead of exhilaration, he felt a cool sense of accomplishment, as if he had merely done what was expected of him, nothing more.

After what seemed like a long while, the young Sith deactivated his lightsaber and turned away from the Jedi's divided corpse. It was then he noticed Darth Sidious emerging from the shadows concealing him.

Maul genuflected quickly and uncomfortably swallowed down the bile suddenly rising in his throat. He had not sensed his master's presence at all and now a cloud of dread threatened to suffocate him.

"My Lord, I beg your forgiveness," he hurriedly apologized, squeezing his eyes tightly shut.

Sidious shook his head slowly. "There's nothing to forgive. The Jedi's death was inevitable."

Maul took several deep breaths and dared to look up. "Then you are not angry with me for having to kill him?" He dragged his wrist across his burning eyes to wipe the sweat and blood away.

The Dark Lord placed a cold hand on his apprentice's shoulder and bid him rise. "I sense you learned a great deal. That is what matters. And even more importantly, another Jedi has fallen at the hands of a Sith." He turned Maul towards the stairs. "I want you to meditate now and reflect upon the significance of this occasion. Not just for you, Young One, but for the whole Sith Legacy."

Maul nodded. "Yes, I shall, Master." He started slowly up the stairs, but the older Sith called out to him to stop. Maul turned around expectantly to face his master.

"Here, Maul, take this," Sidious whispered reverently. He stalked over to the dead Jedi and pried the lightsaber hilt from his hands. Then the Dark Lord walked back over to his stunned apprentice and handed it to him. "It is a relic. Keep it. You earned it."

The young Sith could barely breathe as he accepted the token from his master with a bow of his head.

Maul paced outside the door to his room. Occasionally, he glanced up at it longingly, knowing he could not delay this confrontation much longer. It was not as though he had to actually break the news to Joss of her master's death. She surely would have felt the very moment he died. And it wasn't as if Verteigo's death should have surprised her. Deep down inside, she must have known that was to eventually be his fate. The young Sith had also given her the majority of the day alone to come to terms with everything that had happened. Despite all these reassurances, there was still the fact that he was the one who had actually killed her master.

Finally, the Sith stopped pacing and stepped up to the door and opened it. He gnawed his lower lip savagely as he scanned the darkened room for her. He spied her facing the wall, standing beneath the room's only window, a ventilation opening actually, cut into the wall just below the ceiling. Her head was tilted back as if gazing up at it, but her eyes were closed. Sensing him in the room, she turned around slowly and took a long shaky breath.

"Is it my turn now?" she whispered thickly. "I sense the games you've played with us are at an end."

Maul licked his dry lips. "How could you think such a thing? I have not come to kill you."

Joss grimaced. "But your objective is clear. Kill or be killed, isn't that how you justify it?" She lowered her head and rubbed her swollen, red-rimmed eyes. She looked weary and her expression was drawn and dark. A general aura of hopelessness surrounded her now and her grief poured from every fiber of her being. "Have you no regard for the sanctity of life? Its value, its uniqueness...and the sentiment a particular life holds in the heart of another?"

Knowing her questions were rhetorical, the Sith did not reply. Instead he pulled off his cloak and draped it over the bed.

The Jedi Padawan stepped towards him, her face contorting with emotion. "Surely you must see there is no victory in a game such as yours. Death is not a victory. Death is destruction."

"My victory is my survival, Joss, not the death of your master," Maul told her solemnly. He longed to touch her, to take her in his arms and offer her a sense of his regret, but steadfastly resisted the urge, knowing she would only reject him. Instead he cleared his throat. "I had no intentions of killing Verteigo today. My real intention was to save you and I did manage that...."

The young Jedi looked astonished. She backed as far away from him as she could before colliding with the wall.

"Save me? Don't you mean prolong my death?" she seethed. "You do me no favors by keeping me captive in this damnation, Sith!" She bowed her head as tears spilled from her eyes. "What can you possibly hope to accomplish by saving my life? Next time, just let me die. Let me die."

Maul turned away from her and massaged his eyes. He noticed his hand was shaking and quickly dropped it to his side and took a deep steadying breath.

"I know...what I hoped to accomplish. What I hoped to gain," he stammered in reply. "I care for you more than anyone I have ever known before." He dared to turn around to see her reaction. Her head was still lowered and her expression unreadable. Maul sighed and walked over to her, then raised her chin with his hand. "Don't hide from me. I know that you feel the same--"

Joss' head jerked free of his grasp and she pointed her finger at the Sith accusingly. "You are deluded with self-serving fantasies!" she snapped, cutting him off. "And woefully pathetic if you ever believed I could feel anything for you beyond the ingrained sense of compassion we Jedi feel for all living things. Even the lowest, most depraved, disgusting living things!"

"Stop it!" Maul commanded, slamming his fist against the stone wall with such force a piece of it broke loose and fell to the floor. The Jedi immediately froze at the intensity of his outburst, then began to tremble. Seeing this, the young Sith closed his eyes and struggled to get his emotions back under control. He leaned forward and whispered in her ear. "You lie. I always believed I felt more in your touch than just compassion, but I could not bring myself to actually acknowledge it until now. I know what I felt was your desire for me." He paused and traced the line of her jaw with his finger. "All this time, you've been warring with yourself over the same feelings that I have been--shamed by them and refusing to acknowledge them because the possibility of their existence was utterly unthinkable."

Shaking her head in vehement denial, Joss pulled away from him and suddenly dissolved in tears.

Tentatively, the Sith approached her and placed his hands on her shoulders, unsure what to do next or how to comfort her. Then unexpectedly Joss threw her arms around Maul's neck and buried her face against his chest.

Startled and bewildered, the young Sith took a deep breath and placated himself with the knowledge that she had not totally rejected him. He stroked the girl's back soothingly, letting her cry herself out.

When Joss finally grew still, Maul pried her from him and tilted her head back to look at her face. He wiped the streaks of drying tears from her cheeks with his thumb.

"I know I have caused you great pain today," the young Sith breathed. "Tell me what I can do to appease it. I'll do anything. Anything you ask."

The Jedi leaned away from him but placed her hand on Maul's face and traced his furrowed brow with her fingertips. "Let me go," she answered, her voice barely audible. "If you truly care for me, then set me free. It is the only sure way to save me."

Struck by her request, the Sith spun away from her. "I cannot release you!" he snarled. "It is the one thing I cannot do for you and you know that!" He began pacing the room, clenching his fists in frustration at his sides.

Joss narrowed her eyes. "You said 'anything'." When Maul failed to reply, she bowed her head. "Then I want you to kill me. I can't live like this."

The Sith stopped pacing, fixing his eyes on the floor to organize his rampant thoughts into decipherable words, then shook his head. "What if...I promise to protect you always? You'll be mine and I'll keep you with me wherever I go. I will promise to always treat you with respect and dignity and offer you what kindnesses I can. I will pledge my body to you alone and promise to fulfill your every desire unceasingly. I will never leave you. I will always want you." He paused and licked his lips apprehensively. "I will do all this for you if you would only allow me to."

The Jedi sadly turned her face away and wrapped her arms around herself. "That's just it. I can't allow you to do such things for me. Listen to me, Maul," she began quietly. "I believe you're sincere, but you must realize those vows, however passionate, are not what I want, but what you want. I am not a possession. I am a person. I am a Jedi."

Time seemed to ripple just then and Maul suddenly felt like he was in the center of a waking dream. Reality faded away with his surroundings and nothing truly existed beyond himself and the beautiful, but broken young woman he had just unavailingly consecrated his life to.

"I understand, Joss," the Sith announced softly. "I had only hoped...." Maul sighed, letting these thoughts go unvoiced. His mind made up, he walked over to where the Jedi stood and took her hand. "Come. We must act quickly." ********

Maul felt Joss absently rub her thumb over his wrist as she waited with him in a shadow-shrouded hallway just outside the hangar bay. She took several long deep breaths and pressed herself closer to the Sith's body in apprehension.

Everything had gone smoothly up to this point and the means to the Jedi's release stood just a few meters away. An increasingly disturbing sense of misgiving made the Sith pause, but he couldn't find anything amiss or out of the ordinary and saw no reason for the alarm he was feeling.

Joss squeezed his hand encouragingly. Deciding to finally proceed, Maul squeezed it back and started forward, pulling her out of the hall where they had been hiding and into the hangar and headed straight for one of the smaller, computer-controlled crafts. The young Sith didn't bother with stealth here. He was certain the few droids mulling about would pay him no mind. They were used to his presence on the dock.

To his surprise, not only did the droids note his approach, they drew their weapons on him, and encircled the small ship as if given a silent command. The Sith stopped abruptly, causing Joss to inadvertantly run into him.

Maul's eyes swept around the hangar bay and settled on a dark figure emerging from behind a tank of fuel. The young Sith swallowed uncomfortably.

"I don't either, but he's walking this way." Maul repositioned himself between the approaching Dark Lord and the Jedi. "No one can sense him if he doesn't want them to."

Darth Sidious drew closer until he was standing directly in front of his apprentice. He took a deep breath and folded his arms across his chest.

"I've been waiting for you, My Young Friend," he began with mock congeniality. "You don't need to look so surprised. I have foreseen this very moment time and time again." His gaze drifted around Maul to the Jedi Padawan he shielded. "But I wouldn't have believed this if I hadn't seen it for myself." He paused and fixed his eyes directly on the young Sith's and all humor vanished. "Hand over the girl, and all will be forgotten."

Maul raised his chin defiantly. "Is her life worth such clemency from you, My Master?"

Sidious shook his head. "A Jedi's life means nothing to me. But this one's life apparently means a great deal to you, and that is where my challenge lies. Your decision will determine everything."

The younger Sith struggled to breathe slowly and deeply, ignoring the pulse pounding in his ears. He gathered the Force to him and fed off its empowering presence for the courage to overtly defy his lord and master for the first time in his life. He reached behind him and sought Joss' hand, enclosing it in his reassuringly.

Maul wasn't in the habit of asking his master for favors, but considering his normally unflagging service and obedience to him, Sidious may see fit to grant him this one request. He licked his lips and cleared his throat. "I wish to grant this Jedi mercy, My Lord."

"Did I hear you correctly? Mercy?" Darth Sidious' expression hardened momentarily. "I don't ever want to hear that word pass your lips again, Maul." Then the Dark Lord shook his head. "There will be no mercy granted. Especially for a Jedi from a Sith."

The Sith Apprentice glanced over his shoulder at the small figure huddled behind him. "This Jedi is different, Master. She showed unconditional mercy to me." Maul braced himself for his master's derision, but much to the young Sith's surprise, Darth Sidious' expression only softened and he frowned at his apprentice sadly.

"Maul, she's still a Jedi and no different from all the rest," the Sith Lord murmured. "Trust me, if she showed you any mercy, it was only to bring her to this very point in time. Aided in escaping, with an omnipotent bodyguard at her side."

"Compassion is something a Jedi dispenses as vacuously as a politician dispenses promises. And the motive is exactly the same." The Dark Lord straightened slightly and took a deep breath. "Jedi are Jedi. Trust me, if given the chance to dispatch you, she would. With little scruples and less remorse." He shook his head again and clucked his tongue sympathetically. "It is her sworn duty to do so."

Verteigo's last words suddenly rang in the young Sith's ears. He had told Maul it was his duty to kill him.

Somewhat dazed, Maul shook his head. "Even if given the chance, she would not kill me, Master. She cares for me. Something I don't expect you to understand."

The older Sith narrowed his eyes. "Are you so certain about her?" He studied his apprentice then sighed. "I sense you are not."

"I know what you are trying to do and it won't work," she spat. "Goading him into surrendering me is useless. He has promised to protect me from the likes of you."

Sidious raised an eyebrow in inquiry. "Oh? And what did you promise him in return? More of your special compassion?"

The Dark Lord's eyes shifted from the Jedi to his apprentice, then back again. "Yes, I do sense he harbors feelings for you which I cannot begin to explain. Feelings that compel him to honor his promise. Yet you say you feel nothing in return." He looked up at the younger Sith. "Do you hear that, Maul? She says it herself. She feels nothing for you."

Taking several deep breaths, the Sith Apprentice closed his eyes briefly. What his master was saying couldn't be true. He was sure he had sensed something. It couldn't have just been his imagination. When he opened his eyes, he faced his master with newfound calm. "I don't believe you, My Master. Because I don't trust you."

The Dark Lord's face flashed momentarily with anger, then smoothed to an emotionless mask of passivity. "I'm the only one you can trust, My Apprentice. Never forget that." He gestured dismissively at the Jedi Padawan. "I can see how thoroughly she has corrupted you. Then, I knew she would cause you to doubt me. It was all part of my plan, you see, and she's played her part in it as expected." He paused and studied Maul's perplexed expression. "Why do you think I insisted you keep her with you instead of locking her in the prison with her master? I actually wanted her to get under your skin and she quite obviously has."

Maul felt as if he were suddenly spinning out of control. He glared at the older Sith and gritted his teeth with rising irritation. "You planned this? This is one of your infernal ploys?"

Sidious nodded unabashedly. "Not so much a ploy as a lesson and a test, Young One. Now you will discover for yourself what I have been telling you all along." He unfolded his arms and stepped forward. "I brought these Jedi here to teach you, and now, teach you she shall." He reached over and stroked Joss' cheek with his knuckle which made her jerk her face away.

The Sith Lord chuckled humorlessly. "Haughty little piece, aren't you?" Sidious sneered and turned his attention back to his apprentice. "The Jedi Knight taught you stealth, maneuvers, and strategy. But this little one will teach you the true nature of the Jedi."

Maul suddenly moved to stand between Darth Sidious and Joss. "Master, I do not understand the reason behind this scheme of yours."

Sidious raised his hand to stave off any further protests. "Not my scheme, but hers," he explained in a low voice. "In this lesson, you will learn that Jedi will manipulate lives as guiltlessly as they manipulate defenseless minds. She has done this very thing to you, Boy, placating you all this time with small tokens of her so-called compassion." He paused and made a general sound of distaste in his throat. "Her beauty has rendered you as blind as she is."

The Jedi suddenly pushed Maul aside to get to Darth Sidious. "I've done no such thing!" she argued hotly. "These embellished fabrications liken me to your kind! I gave him my compassion freely. I expected nothing in return." She turned around to face Maul. "He's twisting my words to change their meaning. Don't believe him. You sensed how I feel. You forced me to acknowledge it. You were right. I wanted to deny my feelings for you, but I can't. I can't."

The young Sith's heart twisted inside him. He desperately wanted to believed her but couldn't ignore the possibility of this declaration of devotion being another attempt to manipulate him. The seeds of doubt had been planted and were beginning to take root. Maul narrowed his eyes and peered suspiciously down at the panicking Jedi.

"You are acting like a cornered animal," he told her quietly. "I have to wonder why you have chosen now to finally admit your feelings for me. It makes your sincerity seem like desperation."

Joss appeared to wither before him. She blinked up at him in disbelief. "Maul," she breathed. "Don't do this. Stay with me. I need you."

Shoving the Jedi out of his way, the Dark Lord suddenly gestured and snatched the shorter lightsaber from Maul's belt. With Force-enhanced reflexes, Maul instinctively drew his own weapon, had it activated and leveled between the older Sith's eyes in the span of a single breath.

"Trust me, My Apprentice," Sidious began calmly, backing away from the younger Sith's blade. "She doesn't care one whit about you. Take a look at yourself. At who and what you are. She can't love you. You're a monster. A ruthless, conscience-free killing machine. A Sith and her hated enemy. She is a Jedi, first and foremost." He turned and roughly placed Verteigo's lightsaber in Joss' hands. "I'll show you," he declared, then leaned over to whisper in her ear. "Kill him and I give you my solemn word I shall set you free to return to the Jedi Temple. It's your only chance now."

Joss looked towards the Sith Lord with an incredulous expression. "I cannot kill him," she proclaimed nervously. Her hands were shaking as she tightened her grip around the thick cylindrical hilt. Her breathing deepened as her fingers explored the various knobs, recognition suddenly dawning in her eyes.

Lowering his lightsaber, Maul turned his attention away from his master and onto the Jedi. Everything was wrong. Nothing felt right or familiar anymore. His head was reeling and his heart slowly sinking into a murky puddle of despair. He didn't recognize Joss as the beautiful, powerful, compassionate Jedi he knew. That Joss was no where to be seen. The girl standing before him seemed feeble and small. Easy prey, Maul thought. Sickened, the young Sith turned his face away from her. The Force began to stir around him.

"You say you cannot kill me with fear, not devotion," the Sith Apprentice pointed out.

The girl lowered her head and licked her lips. "I say it with both fear and devotion. You just won't hear it." Her hands continued to caress the lightsaber she held, her eyes growing glossy with excess moisture. "Suddenly my words and feelings are meaningless to you. An hour ago you would have pledged your life to me if I had wanted you to. All I needed to do was admit to you what I am admitting now. I have accepted it, but you are the one who still can't acknowledge the truth. You're the one who won't accept the possibility someone could feel something for you. There's nothing left for me to do. So I sense I have already lost."

Maul looked down at her, startled and thrilled by what he sensed emanating from the Jedi. But then he realized her feelings were not meant for him and his heart suddenly felt hollow. He followed the path her fingers traced over her master's lightsaber and noted the loving emotion behind each delicate touch. Sidious was right. How easy it was for a Jedi to show tenderness. For a memory attributed to a cold, metal weapon of death. The idea curdled his blood.

"Don't waste your grief on him anymore, Joss," the young Sith said under his breath. "Turn your tears inward. There's no hope for you now."

The Jedi looked up sharply and took an involuntary step backwards, colliding with Darth Sidious. She pushed herself away from him and stood staring out vacantly. Maul felt the Force moving around her, enveloping her in an aura of renewed strength. Her expression changed as her despondence soon evolved into serene assertion. She took up the lightsaber in her hands and adjusted her grip, then thumbed the activation switch. The rich green blade hissed to life.

"There is always hope," she said softly. "However miniscule, however unlikely, there is always...hope." She waved the lightsaber challengingly. "I'm sorry, Maul. You leave me no other choice."

The Jedi suddenly sprang forward and struck first using a straightforward overhand blow. Shocked that she would actually attack him, Maul snarled at her and blocked the strike with little effort. Joss ripped the blade of her lightsaber off of his and struck again with more strength and precision than the first time. Furiously, the Sith swatted it away and moved closer offensively.

"You conniving little whore," he hissed through his teeth, thoroughly saturated with anger. "Everything he said is true, isn't it?" He assaulted the Jedi with a flurry of rapid moves, but she managed to deflect them off easily enough.

To Maul, this proved everything his master had been trying to warn him about. Joss was a Jedi and his enemy, but she would have done anything to keep herself and her precious master safe. Even befriend him. She had manipulated and used him, making him weak and vulnerable. He despised weakness. He despised her.

Joss ducked away from the Sith, using her small stature to her advantage. She blocked his next strike and dodged under his blade, coming back up to swipe her lightsaber perilously close to Maul's neck. The Sith was forced to swerve back on his heels to avoid being beheaded. The Jedi seized the opportunity and somersaulted over him, and slashed at his back before he could turn to face her, ripping his robe open and grazing his skin.

Spinning around, Maul Force-pushed the girl away from him and hauled his lightsaber around his body to get it in front of him, but Joss flew back at him, keeping their proximity so close, the Sith could not put any strength behind his strikes and the lightsabers typically tangled at their bases.

The girl was proving to be more of a challenge than Maul ever thought possible, but she was not a warrior, she was a healer, and the strain of their duel quickly began to take its toll on her. Maul scored more and more hits upon her, staining her tunic with spots of blood, forcing her to retreat from him more frequently. She slipped once and tripped another, but managed to recover both times before the Sith could take any advantage.

It gave Maul the idea to back her over things--equipment and small machines scattered around the floor of the docking bay. He hoped to catch her off guard. She was extremely athletic and nimble and managed to avoid falling by using the Force, but she was tiring. One distraction was all the Sith would need and Maul knew it was only a matter of time.

Keeping up a steady barrage of strikes to keep her occupied, Maul scanned the floor for new obstacles and spied a filter hose off to his right. Using the Force, he gestured at the hose and whipped it around the Jedi's ankles. She slashed down at it with her lightsaber and freed herself, but not before tripping over the curling ends. Crashing heavily to the floor, she lost her grip on her saber trying to break her fall.

Maul wasted no time and descended on her in a heartbeat. He drove the point of his lightsaber into her chest with such force he shoved the end of the hilt down into her. She looked up at him in that moment and actually appeared to see him. Her hand slowly reached out to touch his face, then fell limply at her side. She exhaled and died.

It wasn't until Maul withdrew his weapon and saw her body slump back against the stone floor that he realized what he had just done. The lightsaber dropped from his hands and a scream of agony and outrage tore from his throat. He crashed to his knees beside the still, small figure and tightly clutched her hand in his.

"No, no, no," he murmured against her warm palm, as wave after wave of pain gripped his heart. "How dare you? After everything I did for you...felt for you. This is by far the cruelest thing anyone has ever done to me. I hate you, do you hear me? I hate you." Tears welled in his eyes and he wiped them away angrily. "I HATE YOU!"

The young Sith released the Jedi's hand and let it drop. It hurt him to think she may have been telling him the truth when she proclaimed having feelings for him. He hadn't sensed the truth, but then, he didn't know what truth was anymore. Joss was dead and compassion would no longer have a place in his life. What he had sensed stirring in her heart whenever she had touched him was only a faint memory now. A figment of his imagination, perhaps? A self-serving fantasy? Yes. It was better to play it down and just let it all go.

An unexpected hand upon his shoulder gave Maul a start. He quickly looked up to see his master standing over him, a tired and drawn expression on his face.

The young Sith rose and faced his master. Sidious' eyes were full of...compassion.

"I know," he continued gently. "It's a hard lesson to have to learn, but a valuable one."

"Yes," Sidious readily agreed. "It is right to hate her, Maul. She used and humiliated you. Hate her and the pain you're feeling will subside. It's always better to hate than to love. Remember that."

"Oh yes. She did try. She was a Jedi after all. It was her duty to kill you. Kill us both." The Dark Lord threw his arm amiably over his apprentice's shoulders. "We Sith are where the Jedi's compassion stops short. They see no room in their vision for our philosophies. We are to be exterminated like so many insects. We don't even deserve the right to exist in their minds."

Maul took a deep breath, absorbing his master's words and the balming, long-ingrained hatred coursing through his veins.

Sidious started walking with Maul across the hangar away from the carnage of the duel.

"And they will die eventually. Every last one of them, I promise you that. If not by your hand, than another's. The time is fast approaching. From the rivers of their blood, we Sith will rise victorious...and prosper forevermore."

Fighting the urge to look back over his shoulder one last time, the young Sith merely nodded and sighed as the pain in his heart did subside. Just like his master had said.