Star Wars: Starkiller

Darth Maul... alive.

It couldn't be true. I had heard stories about him, fragmented accounts of a Sith assassin with a double-bladed saber who had wreaked havoc during the Republic era. He was supposed to have died on Naboo, and then on the siege of Mandalore, but each time he seems to prevail regardless. And now, here he was, standing in front of me, with those burning eyes that seemed to pierce me.

How was it possible...how had it survived so much? More importantly... why was he still here, exiled on this forgotten planet instead of serving the Empire or seeking revenge?

I took a breath and forced my mind to regain its composure. Now was not the time to let myself be taken aback.

"So Darth Maul lives, eh?" I finally said, once my stupor dissipated.

The zabrak watched me with an inscrutable expression before replying in a gruff voice.

"I was Darth once. Now I am only Maul."

His answer carried weight, as if the mere act of uttering it carried with it years of loss and pent-up fury.

"Yes, I get it." My voice sounded firmer than I actually felt. I watched his every gesture, every slight twitch in his scarred face from the past. "I thought you were dead. At least, that's what the Empire's official records said."

A crooked smile tugged at the zabrak's lips, one that conveyed not mirth, but mockery, as if he were amused by my ignorance.

"The Empire says many things," he said in a tone laden with bitterness. "Tell me, do I look dead to you?"

I looked him up and down, the figure gaunt but still filled with a menacing presence. His eyes, intense and burning, glowed in the gloom of the place. Every muscle in his body still seemed sharp as a blade, as if he were ready for battle at any instant.

"Well, no." I admitted. But then something caught my eye.

He wasn't wearing a spacesuit.

For an instant, I overlooked the surprise of seeing him alive and focused on a more immediate issue: this planet was toxic, its atmosphere laden with carbon dioxide and radiation. I needed a protective suit to survive... but Maul did not.

I frowned. "Hey, how are you doing that?"

Maul tilted his head, his expression showing mild confusion. "Doing what?"

"Breathing without a suit. How do you manage that? The air on this planet should be lethal to most living things."

The zabrak let out a short, dry laugh. "It's quite simple, really. The Force protects me."

His words left me more puzzled than before.

The Force was protecting him... but how?

I focused my vision on him, channeling the Force into my eyes to perceive what I couldn't see with the naked eye. And there it was.

Surrounding his body was an invisible barrier, a kind of ethereal armor. It wasn't combat armor, it wasn't designed to block blows or gunfire. No. This barrier was different. It flowed with the same energy that enveloped all living things, but it was concentrated around him in a precise way, like a shield that filtered the air, preventing harmful gases or radiation from affecting him.

A subtle trick, but incredibly useful.

"Hmph..." I thought as I continued to watch the barrier closely. I have to figure out how to do that.

"So, tell me..." I crossed my arms, keeping a relaxed posture but not letting my guard down. "What brought a zabrak like you to this desolate wasteland, if I may ask?"

Maul tilted his head slightly and, for an instant, seemed to crack a smile-or at least the shadow of one.

"Well," he began, in a tone that suggested he relished the opportunity to tell his story. "If you're really interested to know... years ago, when I was Chief of the Shadow Collective and was looking for ways to make the Empire pay for what they had done to me, I came across a curious clue. A clue about an artifact that could not only destroy the Empire... but the galaxy as we know it."

His voice took on a somber tinge, and though I watched him intently, I couldn't help but shiver at the seriousness with which he spoke.

"From what I discovered, this artifact, thought to be destroyed, was not actually destroyed," he continued. "One of my associates recovered a holo-book from a rival organization. They claimed it had been stolen from the Jedi Temple itself on Coruscant, long ago. In that holo-book I found a mention of this weapon... and one crucial detail: it was not destroyed. It was just lost."

I remained silent, taking in his words. The way he spoke denoted more than simple interest. There was obsession in his voice.

"That revelation unnerved me, but at the same time it awakened my hunger for revenge," he admitted, with an intense gleam in his eye. "So I gave up my life of crime and began to travel from world to world, following every lead I could find. The last one led me here. Everything indicated that the artifact was dormant, hidden somewhere on this desolate planet."

Maul let out a brief sigh, as if the memory irritated him. "However, before I arrived... my ship suffered a malfunction en route and I ended up crashing here. I had no choice but to explore this planet in search of answers. That's how I found that holocron you now carry with you."

Instinctively, I brought a hand to the pocket where I had kept it. Maul noticed instantly and his gaze sharpened.

"After piecing all the clues together, I understood the truth." His words were more leisurely now, colder. "That holocron is the ultimate key to finding the artifact. No... the weapon I've been looking for for so long."

At that moment, something changed in his expression. His eyes reflected a different intensity, a spark of madness that did not go unnoticed. There was something deeper in his desire to find that artifact, something beyond revenge.

My instinct screamed at me that I had to get out of there.

"Sure... well, it was nice meeting you," I said with a forced smile as I turned away, feigning indifference. "But I have things to do."

I didn't even manage to take a step when his voice stopped me.

"Not so fast."

I froze.

"If you managed to open that holocron, it means you now possess the key to finding the legendary weapon," he continued with absolute certainty. "Which is why I can't let you leave."

His tone wasn't a direct threat... but it wasn't a simple warning either.

I frowned. "What legendary weapon are you talking about?"

Maul let out a snort, almost as if the question amused him.

"Really?" His eyes bore into mine, as if he expected me to already know the answer. "You took the holocron. You managed to open it. You talked to the voice inside it... and you don't even know about the Mass Shadow Generator?"

A shiver ran down my spine.

'Mass Shadow Generator? No... that's not...'

I felt my jaw tighten as I understood the weight of his words.

"What are you talking about, Maul?" I asked, trying to remain calm. "The Mass Shadow Generator was destroyed a long time ago, why would it still exist?"

Maul's smile widened, but it was no ordinary smile. It was the expression of a predator who had just found prey he didn't know was already trapped.

"Oh, you actually don't know," he whispered with a grimace that almost looked like amusement. "The Mass Shadow Generator was never destroyed. It was just hidden... forgotten... never mentioned again."

A heavy silence settled between the two.

"But the device exists," he continued, with chilling conviction. "And it's still there, somewhere. That holocron is the only remaining clue to its whereabouts." His gaze darkened and his voice dropped to a lower, more icy tone. "So I ask you... no, I demand that you hand it over to me."

The threat in his tone was unmistakable.

In response, I simply sighed.

"You know I'm not going to hand it over to you even if you ask for it, right?"

"Yes, I guessed as much, that's why I have this." He said as he grabbed his staff and seemed to take it apart, to reveal a double lightsaber which it quickly ignited, revealing its crimson double blade.

"Now..." His voice descended to a deeper, almost guttural tone. "Hand over the holocron to me... or suffer the consequences."

I held his gaze with an unchanging expression, not giving him the satisfaction of a reaction. My apparent indifference seemed to infuriate him even more.

With a roar of frustration, Maul propelled himself forward, spinning through the air with a precise somersault, his lightsaber spinning in a lethal arc aimed directly at my head.

But it never reached its destination.

Just before the blade reached me, I raised a hand and concentrated the Force.

Immediately, his body stopped dead in its tracks, immobilized just inches from me. His saber energy crackled a breath away from my helmet visor, but I could go no further.

"What... what is this?" He growled, struggling to move. His muscles tensed, his teeth clenched in an effort to break free... but he didn't make a millimeter of progress.

I watched him calmly, assessing his condition.

"While you were talking about that 'legendary weapon', I took the liberty of analyzing how strong your Force shield is." I kept my gaze fixed on him, with no apparent effort, as with a slight flick of my wrist I deactivated his lightsaber and drew it into my hand.

"Apparently, you're not as strong as I thought."

Maul gasped, his face contorted in rage and disbelief.

"In fact..." I continued, eyeing the hilt of his weapon with a slight gesture of curiosity before stowing it in my belt. "You seem quite weakened."

The zabrak growled angrily.

"I've studied up on you in the past, you know?" I tilted my head slightly, assessing him with a critical eye. "I even incorporated some elements of your fighting style into my own. But now that I have you in front of me..." I paused, letting my words sink in. "You are not that impressive."

That set him off.

"NOT THAT IMPRESSIVE!!!? NOT THAT IMPRESSIVE!!! I WILL KILL YOU!"

He tried to move with all his might, but to no avail. The pressure he was exerting on her body was absolute.

"Don't even bother." My tone remained neutral, almost bored. "I managed to penetrate your shield with ease. Even if you try to resort to your anger, it won't help you in this case."

And he was right.

Yet Maul resisted with inhuman effort. I saw how the veins in his arms stood out, how his muscles tensed to the limit, how his jaw twitched with palpable hatred. But he failed to move an inch.

The silence lengthened as she watched him struggle, until finally his breathing became erratic, his body began to give way and the reality became apparent even to him.

"Now that you're no longer resisting..." I moved a little closer, making sure he felt the weight of my words. "Tell me everything you know about the Mass Shadow Generator."

I let the moment linger for a few seconds, before adding with emphasis:

"And I mean every. Detail."

Maul gritted his teeth, his look was pure hatred... but he also understood that he had no choice.

As I waited for his response, my mind was already working at full speed.

'If that weapon still exists, I can't let anyone retrieve it.'

Not for the 'good of the galaxy' or 'balance in the force'.

But because if the Empire... or someone as insane as Maul ever got his hands on it, the consequences would be unimaginable for both me and those I cared about.

For the first time in a long time, it was I who felt a chill.

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