Back in the Game (COMPLETE)

9.10.1

Barriss knew now wasn't the time to be picky, but she wanted to know whose ship she was on before they whisked her off to who knows where. She reached out and felt for life forms on the ship but only felt one, a dark and sinister one. They were in the cockpit.

Still, she kept her guard up as she crept through the warcraft. How it managed to slip past the clones Barriss had no idea, but it certainly came well-equipped for a space battle. Then again, this ship was Mandalorian, perhaps she should have expected as much.

Opening the doors to the cockpit, she saw the person she had felt earlier. He was quite tall, a red Zabrak with dark clothing and two lightsabers at his side. The hilt of the first one was long and open at both ends. The other was flat, and unlike any other saber Barriss had seen before. 

"I hope you'll excuse my lack of manners," the Zabrak began, not turning his attention from the ship's controls. "I'm afraid I'll have to maneuver us out of Coruscant airspace before I'm ready to speak to you properly."

Indeed, the spectacle outside the windshield was a hazardous one. They were making good speed but the clones had caught on to what was happening, thanks to a warning from the Detention Center, and were trying to cut them off from escape. 

"Hang on," the man warned, and Barriss gripped the edge of the seat closest to her. Their ship spiraled out of the path of a few missiles and the man spent the next minute or so evading them.

It gave Barriss enough time to figure out who her rescuer was. There were only so many Dark Force-using red Zabraks in the galaxy, and Barriss knew of only one who had a notorious reputation for coming back to life. Unless she was quite mistaken, this was Maul. She wasn't quite sure how he had ended up with a Mandalorian warcraft in his possession, but she had also been underground for over a year.

Maul finally lost the last of the missiles, and was about to exit the atmosphere. One more lone fighter came up on their left, though, firing at their wings. One of the blasts landed a hit on their ship, and rocked the two passengers inside. Barriss threw her hand out instinctively and deflected as much of the fire as she could, destroying the fighter before it got too close to them. 

Barriss looked to Maul for his reaction, and although he didn't say anything he raised his eyemarks and nodded approvingly. She felt a flame of pride rise up in her. Finally, some recognition. 

He then turned to punch in the coordinates for Mandalore into the navicomputer and jumped to hyperspace. Only then did he turn around and face Barriss. "I get the sense that you have already figured out who I am," he began, and he motioned to the copilot's chair. "Take a seat, if you will."

Lowering herself into the chair, Barriss replied evenly, not wanting to tell him anything prematurely. "You are quite easy to place, despite the fact that you are supposed to be dead," she admitted.

"Likewise," Maul agreed, gesturing to her. "Not many people can escape execution not once, but twice. I take it the Jedi did not take to your return kindly."

"I wasn't trying to return to the Jedi," Barriss corrected darkly, looking out the windshield instead of at Maul's yellow eyes. "I was trying to speak to someone else, but they betrayed me without listening to me. I expected her to act a little more friendly but I was mistaken."

Maul nodded understandingly, raising his fingers to his lips. "The harsh reality of abandonment is that it never comes from an enemy, only from a friend," he murmured, trying to impart the wisdom he had acquired from his own experience. 

Shaking her head, Barriss spork quietly, almost to herself. "It's not her fault. She's been brainwashed like the rest of them. She'll see."

He narrowed his eyes at her, trying to place what she was saying. "Be careful with those who are ignorant," he warned. "Even if she is not to blame, it does not excuse her actions."

Barriss looked over at Maul, letting the words process. After being alone for so long, and after having her emotions ignored by her ex-master, to finally come across someone who would listen was astounding. She was so intrigued she inquired into him as well. "Why did you come for me? What do you have to gain from my safety?"

Sitting forward in his seat, Maul folded his hands and focused on her. "I plan to take what is rightfully mine," he summarized, smiling. "I assume you have heard about the death of Darth Sideous."

"I have," she nodded, and Maul continued.

"Tyrannus now sits on a throne I was groomed for. Ever since I was a young child, I looked to the my master, thinking that I would be the one to succeed him should he ever die. And yet, Tyrannus plays the part of his puppet for only a few years, and inherits the title of Lord of the Sith as if he earned it."

Barriss cocked her head, slightly confused. "You want the throne, that much I understand, but I do not see any part I can play in this."

Grinning, he asked, "Have you heard of the Sith Rule of Two?"

It clicked in her head, and recognition crossed her face as it dawned on her. "You want me as an apprentice."

"Not much news comes to me from the Separatists these days," Maul went on, "but I do believe that Tyrannus has yet to find an apprentice himself. He is too busy with his politics and his economics to focus on finding a successor. However, you and I can...interrupt that process."

It would be quite a transition for Barriss, she realized. From Jedi to criminal to Sith, all in less than two years. And yet, hadn't Dooku done the same thing a few years ago? Maybe not as quickly, but if he could rise to such power why couldn't she? Still, she had to keep in mind her own interests. "What would be the process for removing Tyrannus?" she asked.

"It would have to start with us," Maul explained. "I have not engaged in the practices of the Sith for many years, rejecting them out of spite for Sideous. I can teach you, though, and we can begin the descension into Darkness together.

"In order to dethrone Tyrannus, he will have to be challenged. However, there cannot be three Sith, so one must be taken down regardless. We would find him together, and I would challenge him. Your presence at my side will help complete my argument for my right to the throne."

"And what do I have to gain from this?" Barriss demanded, interested but not convinced. "It sounds like you are the one benefiting from me, and I don't plan on being used."

Maul sat up and faced the front of the cockpit, chuckling. "I see you know how to do business," he remarked, before answering her. "You said your friend was brainwashed, yes?"

She squinted, not knowing what Ahsoka had to do with this. "Correct."

"Am I also correct in assuming that it is the Republic, or perhaps the Jedi, who brainwashed her?"

"Yes."

"One of the advantages of defeating Tyrannus will be the inheritance of his army," Maul offered, as Barriss also faced forward. "If the Separatists will not give it to us willingly, it can be taken by force. That, combined with the strength of Mandalore, would be quite enough to begin the fall of the Republic."

"And what about the Separatists?" Barriss asked, tracing the seam of her armrest with a delicate finger. "Both sides need to fall before any of the damage can be undone."

Nodding, Maul found himself liking the woman sitting next to him. "I agree. I hadn't anticipated that you would find fault in both sides, like I do. Very well," he turned his chair one more time, and made his official offer. "Train with me in the ways of the Dark Side, and we will end the Clone War as you see fit. Will you become my apprentice, Barriss Offee?"

Now or never, she thought. Either she could become stronger in the Force and gain the might of the droid and Mandalorian armies, or she could spend the rest of her life on the run. It wasn't really a debate. With only a moment's hesitation, she made eye contact with Maul. "Yes, Master."

Pleased, Maul returned to the controls of the ship. Barriss had one more question, though. "How did you earn the allegiance of Mandalore, Master?"

"I suppose I forgot to mention that," he realized. He pulled the second, flat lightsaber from his belt, and ignited it. "I don't have their allegiance, I have their loyalty. Mandalore is ours, now."