A Prince of Dathomir (Darth Maul x OC)

Invasion - Part 1

Zaiya couldn't believe it. It had been so long here on Kamino, days had become weeks had become months, and now just over one Galactic standard year had passed. Her mission had been kept secret... but now - now she stood in the pristine lab of Nala Se, standing before the huge tank at the back of the room. Her fists clenched at her side, her jaw set as she stared up at the tank. After over a year of waiting, patience and persistence...

It was finally here.

Maul was being lifted carefully via an automated process and he was... he was whole. His bare legs extended below the rather clean cut at his waist. They were more developed, muscle-wise from the last time she had looked at them, and as he was laid out along the table, his eyes closed almost serenely, she could examine him a little more closely.

Though being so close to his naked form made her nervous, and rather warm in the face. His legs seemed fully formed, though a little slender. Not that she got a good look before he was cut, his clothing had always been quite loose. The most striking thing of course was the lack of black tattoos over his red flesh. It was more naked than his actual lack of clothing. Zaiya had his robe nearby, laying it over him for the sake of modesty. She wasn't sure if such things bothered him, it had not really come up before.

After a short moment of calm, his eyes snapped open. Yellow and bloodshot, searching for danger. Maul only physically relaxed when his gaze landed on Zaiya herself, his shoulders slumping slightly.

"Zaiya..." he whispered.

"I am here, sire," she replied and squeezed his hand gently.

"This is not the dreamscape," he reasoned, slowly sitting up.

"No, you are awake," she said.

"Your progress has indeed been remarkable," Nala Se interrupted. Zaiya had almost forgotten the Kaminoan was even there. Maul whipped his head around to look at her. It was not often that he was awoken, usually only for a few minutes at a time and not completely out of the tank. Zaiya had witnessed the moments, grateful to be there to ease his suspicions in such a place. How he had put up with being in there for so long... he was not usually so patient. She suspected his desire to be whole again was strong enough to allow himself to let go, even if for a short time.

The moments of old memories had helped, piecing them all back together with him while he slept, sharing her own memories when the time arose. For the moment he glared hard at the Kaminoan, and Zaiya wondered if he had hoped the moment to be more... special? She had, if she were truthful with herself. But there would be time later to talk about how he felt about the situation, when Nala Se was not standing over them.

"You expected less?" Maul sneered. By the Winged Goddess it was good to hear his voice. His real voice. Her lashes fluttered slightly when he spoke again, but she forced herself to focus.

"I did not expect anything," Nala Se replied. She did not seem overly impressed though Zaiya could sense that even the Chief Scientist was pleased with the result. It was a damn miracle really. "I merely interpreted the data as it was presented, my surprise is only due to the projected outcome being surpassed." Maul stared at her for a few moments, a hard glare in his yellow eyes. Then his gaze slid to Zaiya, and softened at the edges.

"Then it is done?" he asked. To anyone else it would be impassive, but she knew him enough by now to detect the hope in his voice.

"Almost, we need to run a few tests, ensure that the growth is stable. There has been no weight on your muscles, and you will need to learn to walk again," Nala Se replied with the same flat intonation as usual. Maul's mouth formed a disapproving line. Zaiya knew she should be equally annoyed, but she found she could not be upset when he was right there. Whole. Awake.