Chapter Thirty: I Will Be Your Guide

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Maul spent the next several hours decorating the Scimitar with a permanent marker. The true owner had already written on it with the words "If you're going through hell//Keep on going//Don't slow down//Does the Devil even know you're there?". Those words were fitting and Maul was adding more in his loopy, scrawled hand writing. Dooku had never gotten onto him about his handwriting and Maul really didn't care. His words were "Stand up and break my bones//Everybody wants what they just can't hold//There's nobody praying for me//Ain't nobody giving up".

"You done yet?" Strider asked. Maul had locked himself in his quarters. Doubtlessly, she still remembered the malcadh incident.

"No," Maul growled. "Go the kriff away."

Something in Maul had changed since the fight with Ariaak. Maybe it had been a form of closure, killing one of his tortures. Maybe it was that name--Maddox. For some reason, that name felt right to Maul, like it was his. But that couldn't be right. Maul only had one name. If he was being honest, he'd say it was the starlight. The starlight that chased the darkness away. It was hard to mask the starlight with night. Maul didn't know how long he could do it.

"It doesn't matter when you die. What matters is the cause you die for."

Maul froze. He knew that voice. "Ariaak?"

"Yes." The old man seemed to be...smug. "I wouldn't be insulted if you turned around to speak with me."

Maul did. He saw the old man. He was standing there, like nothing was wrong. Maul froze, his hand dropping to his side. He almost grabbed his lightsaber--until he remembered Ariaak was dead. "I killed you," he evenly said. "Any reason why you're in my quarters?"

Ariaak ignored him. He simply read Maul's words, nodding with appreciation. "Very astute."

He had the feeling he'd just been complimented, but Maul wasn't that sure. The red Zabrak was getting the feeling Ariaak had an agenda. "Any reason why?"

"You have a lot to do," Ariaak shrugged. "Don't tear yourself apart, Maul. Everything happens for a purpose. Be open for other sources. Just because you are wild does not mean that the light doesn't have a place in you. Perhaps that is why we are losing this war. We have become too tame."

Maul nodded. "Thank you, I guess."

"Touch down's in five," came Strider's voice.

"Nothing is as it seems, Maddox. Sometimes, an elaborate shell looks like the real thing." Ariaak bowed his head in respect. "If you will let me, I will guide you. You are capable of great things, Maul. Far greater than Sidious even imagines. Being the embodiment of Dark tends to limit your perception quite a bit." Ariaak chose that moment to fade away.

Maul cursed the man for reminding him of Solace. That part of him was destroyed...

Or was it?

He wasn't feeling ice in his veins. Maul felt better than he had in awhile. He felt none of the raw, mind-numbing sorrow that had came after Savage's death. For some reason, he even felt a strange sort of longing. As if he wanted to go to Mustafar. As if something was waiting for him.

Which wasn't possible, because he had killed her.

I forgive you, Solace. You would have never willingly betrayed me.

Maul paced his quarters as he waiting for touchdown. His mind buzzed with the possibilities. A part of him was convinced Solace wasn't dead. The other, more cynical side of him, wondered if he was going mad. Maul pulled something out of his pocket. It was just a simple piece of linder, carved into a hawk. Solace had bought it for him on Ashkelon. Like a lot of pirates, Toora's pirates had been out of Ashkelon. For some reason, Maul liked that place. He had the feeling it would be a stronghold of some sort.

A place that would resist everything Sidious threw at it.

A vision flared in front of Maul's eyes. A vision, not a PTSD induced flashback.

A little girl screams. She is, at most, three or four. She carries no blade. But she holds off her assailants with only the Force. A blue lightsaber flashes down. A red Zabrak lunges forward, blocking the blue with a red, double edged blade. The double edged blade breaks into two. The red Zabrak locks blades with the blonde man.

Behind them, men in strange white armor start to shot.

The red Zabrak tosses the blonde man aside. He kneels beside the little girl. She looks at him in terror. The red knows she's afraid of his blade, despite the fact he just saved her life. He douses his blade and she runs into his arms. He holds her, speaking into her hair.

"It's okay, little one."

The blaster bolts start to rain down. The little girl screams in terror. One of the men in white starts. The red Zabrak seems to know he's a friend. He fights the others to a draw, making sure the little girl and the man in white armor are united.

"You're looking for a Crescent called the War Bird!" the red yells. "Go!"

The man in white scoops the little girl up. He starts to run, shielding the little on with his body. The red Zabrak snarls and turns back to the battle.

Starlight burns through the air. The red Zabrak won't give up--and he's not alone.

Maul took a shuddering breath. He had no clue what that was about. It had been Coruscant--and the Jedi Temple, at that. But parts of it were bared to the sky. Rubble and blood had been everywhere. And the little girl--the Force was strong with her. The Separatists would have taken her and trained her. The Jedi didn't kill kids. Ever.

Besides, who killed kids?

"Docked." Strider's voice was crisp and professional. Maul walked by her on his way to the gangplank. He knew not to tell Dooku about Ariaak--or his vision.

Because Maul had been the red Zabrak with the starlight.

The second he stepped out of the ship, a particular sensation smacked him full in the gut. Maul knew that sensation--it was what he got every time he saw Solace. But that made no sense. She was dead--Maul had seen the body.

Unless...

An elaborate shell that looks like the real thing...

Maul had no clue what was going on, but he knew that, somehow, Solace was at the end. There was nothing he wouldn't do for her. Then her spirit touched his and Maul had his answer. Solace was still alive--and she was in danger.

TO BE CONTINUED...


Hey, guys!!! Okay, I will be gone from Friday til next Tuesday. This means no more updates for a awhile. Not a problem with a finished book, but I was hoping to AT LEAST get the start of book two up by the week end... Yeah, that won't happen. Where will our hero go next? Questions? Comments? Concerns? Ask and I shalt answer.

As always, may the Wolf guide your soul and may the Force be with ya.


~~~Storm

PS-- that song is this book's theme song. It's called Nobody's Praying For Me and it's by Seether. Listen to it while you're reading and it'll make sense. I promise!


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