Chapter Text
Wooley’s orange-painted gauntlet goes limp in Obi-Wan’s hand, and he feels the clone’s presence in the Force fade to nothing. He grips the fallen soldier’s hand, taking a precious moment to grieve as Death Watch surrounds him.
He shouldn’t have come back.
The whir of blasters readying accompany the lights sweeping over him from the Mandalorians’ helmets, occasionally catching him in the face and making his closed eyelids glow red. He gathers himself, preparing to launch into a series of lightning-fast deflections as he searches for an exit, but the whirs abruptly stop. Faintly, he hears a rhythmatic, metallic clinking, and as it grows louder, he knows exactly who it is. He surreptitiously pushes the button on his comm, sending the signal to Cody and his other men.
“Ah, Kenobi,” purrs the self-satisfied voice of Maul. “Exactly the man I was hoping for.”
– – –
Obi-Wan lets Wooley’s hand slip from his, and he stands and ignites his lightsaber in a single fluid movement. Maul seems unperturbed, stepping forward into his ring of Mandalorians and circling Obi-Wan slowly.
“It is truly astonishing what draws your attention, Kenobi,” Maul gloats. The blue light of Obi-Wan’s blade mingles strangely with the red and black of Maul’s skin and dully reflects off of the Mandalorians’ armor.
“My reasons are not my own, Maul,” says Obi-Wan. He adjusts his stance slightly, keeping his lightsaber’s tip pointed directly at the former Sith. “I’m here on behalf of the Republic and the Jedi Order.”
“And yet,” Maul muses, “Countless attempts to lure you to me have failed, but you always seem to involve yourself with Mandalore. Even with the Duchess killed, my perceived threat to the planet pulls you here.”
Obi-Wan smothers the pang of emotion Maul’s careless mention of Satine brings, releases it into the Force with a breath.
“Yes,” Maul continues, pointedly ignoring Obi-Wan’s reaction, as if to insinuate that none of Obi-Wan’s thoughts are concealed. “Involving Mandalore was certain to bring you here. However, I was expecting, perhaps, to be deemed a large enough threat that you would enlist the help of a partner. Was Skywalker not invested enough in your fate to assist you?”
Obi-Wan meets his stare coolly. “Anakin had a more important engagement.” His tone is clipped, but Maul takes no notice of the fact, instead raising his brows and widening his luminescent eyes slightly.
“Indeed?” Maul turns away from Obi-Wan. “I wonder… if the moment may be upon us.”
Obi-Wan’s eyes narrow slightly. This is… uncharacteristic behavior from the former Sith. The last times he had seen Maul, the Zabrak had been so consumed by fury and a thirst for revenge that he had nearly attacked on sight. The slow, methodical conversational confrontation he faces now is unusual, to say the least. He decides to take advantage of it. He’s not expecting much in the way of results, but if Maul is willing to talk, perhaps he’ll listen to reason. “Take this chance to surrender, Maul. This world does not need to come to any further harm.”
Maul huffs. “My surrendering would be inconsequential.” He turns back to face Obi-Wan, circling him once more. “Soon, the Jedi and the Republic will no longer be the controlling interests in the galaxy.”
“Well, you surely won’t be, either,” Obi-Wan replies. Maul’s lips twitch.
“No. The only control left will be… his.” Obi-Wan feels a tingle run down his spine. Something about this Maul, beneath all the malevolence and hatred, seems genuinely invested in this matter of control.
“Whose?” He asks, curiosity peaked. If Maul truly thinks he won’t be able to take over, Obi-Wan wants to know who he thinks will.
Maul grimaces. “Darth…” His voice hitches. “… Sidious.”
Obi-Wan’s impassive facade cracks. That name…
“Hundreds of Senators are now under the influence of a Sith Lord called Darth Sidious.”
He had been unsure as to how serious Dooku had been, had informed the Council regardless. The topic had faded into the background as war efforts took center stage, but…
“I told you everything you needed to know back on Geonosis, all those years ago!”
He’s saved from answering by the sound of running footsteps. Maul’s head snaps up, and his lightsaber ignites in a blaze of red as Obi-Wan hurtles forward. He can sense Cody and the others bursting into the enclosed space, but his attention is fully focused on Maul. The former Sith deflects his opening strike, then whirls his lightsaber around, driving Obi-Wan back for a second. The second blade takes him by surprise, but he can barely react before Maul swings at him in a fury. He blocks and counters, and Maul blurs, knocking Obi-Wan’s blade to the side and swirling his second blade up to Obi-Wan’s neck, forcing him to hurriedly step backward. His attention distracted, he can only partially block Maul’s following Force push. As he stumbles, he sees Maul and Death Watch vanish into the tunnels, chased by a barrage of blue blaster bolts.
A hand closes around his arm, steadying him. He glances up into Cody’s visor, nods his thanks, and sprints into the darkness after Maul, followed by the 212th reinforcements. Headlamps flash to life behind him, illuminating two possible directions. He hesitates for a moment before taking the path ahead of him, and he can hear half of his force running down the other tunnel. He weaves through the labyrinth, guided by instinct and the bobbing headlamps from the clones with him, searching. Maul cannot be allowed to escape.
He turns a corner, sees an indistinct form, and ignites his lightsaber only to see the armor and paint of a 212th clone. He lowers his blade as Cody and his men turn the corner behind him. “Keep sweeping the tunnels,” he orders, knowing the moment is lost.
“Sir!” Cody salutes, and Obi-Wan closes his eyes, gathering his jumbled emotions and releasing them again.
The Council needs an update. Obi-Wan, however, needs to talk to Anakin and Ahsoka.