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Everything had gone pretty well Maul thought.
His years of planning and scheming had clearly been a success. Not only had he managed to manipulate the group of traditionalists to somehow accept him, a person who had never before been to Mandalore to back a plot that installed him on the throne, but they had seen the plot through.
Mandalore seemed the perfect place to launch his eventual empire. It had such a violent and imperial history that its people had to have an innate bloodthirstiness. They were the best possible people to launch his campaign of conquest.
Of course, that was all just the fortune of circumstances. Its ideal situation was not the reason he had chosen Mandalore. He had chosen Mandalore because of him.
He’d heard the rumours during his time healing, and the investigation had proved that they had some merit. The Mandalorian Duchess had a history with Kenobi, and that was enough with Maul. Anything that had the potential to hurt Kenobi, well, that was an opportunity worth pursuing.
And worth it, it most certainly had been.
Even the things that had not gone to plan, had made his victory far sweeter.
The fact that Kenobi had rescued the Duchess, that they had almost got away made things better. Kenobi must have had hope. And then he had taken it away. Maul knew that the rumours were true when he saw the grief in his eyes as the Duchess died. He had seen Kenobi mourn.
And it had filled Maul with as deep happiness as he could ever remember feeling.
Kenobi had got away though, which was annoying. But it certainly wasn’t terminal. He knew while he sat on the throne in Sundari, while he deliberately undid all the work that Kenobi’s loved one did, he would have some of Kenobi’s attention.
Kenobi would return someday. And Maul’s revenge would be complete.
Maul had spent ten years waiting. He supposed he could wait a little longer.
He had burnt through most of his patience though. Things would have to progress soon. ‘Maybe he should set another trap’ Maul mused. If he could draw Kenobi back to Mandalore sooner he could have his final revenge. Against Kenobi in any case. He needed to get him out of the way before Sidious finally made his move.
The war had been progressing for years now. From his sources within the Senate, he could tell that the atmosphere was building. The conditions were improving for his former Master to make his move. He would have to be ready to counter that. It would be Maul who would be the Sith that ended up ruling the Galaxy, not Sidious.
That would be his final revenge. For him to ruin all the carefully laid plans of the Master who had abandoned him.
But Kenobi would have to come first, after all, that is the revenge that he anticipated the most. That he had spent all those years dreaming about. Sidious was the end goal, but Kenobi. He would be the prize.
But how to lure him in?
His former Padawan was the obvious choice. But as reckless a reputation as Skywalker had developed he was sure that he would be too difficult to attract now. If he had time to wait for the end of the war, then maybe it was possible. But without Kenobi himself, he didn’t think he had anything that would drag Skywalker’s attention to Mandalore. He did not have time for that.
But then the Jedi had handed him a gift. They had kicked Skywalker’s Padawan out of their order. The girl would be grieving, she would be susceptible to him. And when Kenobi found out that he had his grandpadawan. Then he would come. He would not be able to resist, even with his training.
And Kenobi would not escape him this time.
Maul smiled. It wouldn’t be long now. He had waited so long. He was sure his wait was about to end.
He was dragged out of his thoughts by the Dome’s proximity alarms going off.
He sighed, waving at his Beskar glad guards. They
He had grown very sick of that Katan woman's persistent raids. His refusal to accept her defeat, to accept his overlordship was growing increasingly annoying. She would have been a very effective general if she had just decided to work with him, it was such a shame. But she had burnt those bridges now. Her attacks had been enough of an inconvenience that he couldn’t forgive her.
She would be next after Kenobi he decided. Once he had his revenge, she would need to be eliminated before he made his move on the Republic. Her forces would be a good addition to his own. With the Mandalorian zeal and his own tactical brain, the Republic would not stand a chance.
There was the sound of commotion outside the hall. Maul sat forward in interest. It was very rare that any of the rebel forces breached the palace boundary at all, never mind getting through into the building itself. He reached down to grab the Darksaber.
It was such a beautiful weapon, more beautiful than even his own Lightsaber. It was dark, twisted and the crystal had such a rebellious and wild nature. He really did think it was made to fall into his hands. It was a weapon whose nature matched him perfectly.
The noises got louder.
Maul stood, turning towards the door. Whoever was leading this raid was good. Better than they normally were. He felt the thrill of engagement surge through him. It had been a while since he tested his own skills. Hopefully whoever had got through his defences was as good as they should be. He would be very disappointed if they didn’t give him a good fight.
His replacement guards would have been trained better. Or actually, just ensure they had better motivation. His wrath would have to be worse than any attacker.
Of course, it already would be, but clearly, he hadn’t made it obvious enough.
Ah, tasks for the future.
The door burst open.
Maul ignited the dark sabre.
A man stood in the doorway.
He was wearing Jedi Robes.
He was not Kenobi. He was taller. As he shrugged off his cloak Maul could see that his robes were all black.
Skywalker! Maul thought delightedly. This was perfect. Kenobi would come for his Padawan, or maybe the death of his Padawan would be the thing that finally broke Kenobi. Either way, Skywalker had handed him the perfect weapon. His lightsaber was held in an artificial arm
He dropped his own cloak.
“Knight Skywalker, come to do your Master’s work I see. It would be such a shame for him to lose someone else he cared about.”
Skywalker only growled.
He prowled forward before jumping towards him, drawing his lightsaber. Maul only just had the time to raise his own blade to stop it from cutting straight through his throat. He was forced onto the back foot, parrying Skywalkers aggressive attacks.
He may have underestimated the Jedi’s skills with the blade. He wasn’t worried though, he had defeated far more experienced Jedi Masters than the one in front of him.
He spun in a powerful swivel, connecting their blades with power and forcing Skywalker backwards.
He jabbed forward forcing the Jedi to jump back further.
He pressed forwards, their sparring becoming more like a dance. A savage dance. Press, cut, thrust, block. The boys' skills were impressive, Maul had to admit that. But he knew he was stronger. The boy already seemed at his limits.
Skywalker stumbled backwards and Maul let out a laugh. “Your Master has taught you well boy! But he was never the match for me.”
A bead of sweat ran down the Jedi’s face. “He has bested you before!”
Maul scowled. “Kenobi defeated me using tricks. I bested him in combat, he had lost. I was arrogant. I am not any more.”
Skywalkers blade swung and crashed with his high above their heads. Skywalker grunted.
“Good thing I know some tricks too.”
Maul’s throat began to constrict. He couldn’t breathe. His arms began to shake as his muscles weakened. What was happening? He looked around frantically.
Skywalkers hand, his free one, his real one was making a throttling motion.
His fingers twitched.
The pressure on his throat tightened.
“It’s not possible!” he choked out. “Only the dark-“
Skywalkers fingers tightened further. Maul's arm gave out, the Darksaber clattering to the floor. The pressure on his throat eased, and he fell backwards.
By the time he had recovered and regained his bearings Skywalker’s lightsaber was at his throat.
Staring up at Skywalker, Maul felt fear for the first time since he had fallen down that generator shaft. He’d done it again, just like with Kenobi. He’d been arrogant, he hadn’t paid his opponent enough attention. He looked into Skywalker’s eyes, Skywalker’s Gold Sith eyes.
“You-“ he stuttered, “but how?”
Skywalker smirked. “Obi-Wan doesn’t like revenge, but I do Maul. You made a vendetta against my Master. You deliberately did things to hurt him.” His expression darkened.
“That was a mistake.”
He drove the blade forwards.