Savage-Time Chapter 15 (Patreon)

[Wasskah, Island Four]

Darth Maul

Maul could admit that he was jealous of his brother or if he was being honest with himself, the luck he seemed to have, he was born second and because of that Sidious wasn’t there to take him, he was chosen as the new apprentice of Dooku, and the old man was far too trusting with his new apprentice allowing Savage to learn many things that were kept hidden from Maul.

The galaxy had never been a fair place, as a Sith Maul understood that and as the new Warmaster of the Brotherhood of Darkness he would have to make sure to never be at a disadvantage again, Savage had been open with him and had even offered him the choice of which position to take.

Maul had always been a warrior even as he trained assassination techniques and strategy for large scale conflicts, let Savage play in the shadows and learn useless techniques, Maul would represent the new Sith as their champion.

Maul could admit however that the information provided by his brother’s spies was useful and now he had two new recruits for his army and one Jedi padawan which he could barter away…if he was still alive.

“Bring the youngling to me. If he is alive don’t kill him, if he is dead bring him too. We will be leaving this sorry excuse for a hunting ground soon” Maul took out one of the vials he acquired from the droids in the temple of Dxun and drank it.

It was a great find, those pools of pure Dark Side energy could even be used to raise the dead, maybe not perfectly but enough to give life to a fading spirit. Savage lacked vision as his experiments with the animals showed him the terrible fate that one could have if the energy was too much for the body.

Maul saw it differently, it was an opportunity, legends spoke of the old masters accomplishing feats of alchemy and flesh crafting that created monsters so powerful and so connected to the darkness that even in this age remained alive in those forgotten and ancient worlds.

Perhaps it wasn’t the wisest of choices to drink it directly but Maul lacked time he had been out of commission for nearly ten years perhaps more, the power he was so proud of was diminished and the skills he took pride in were rusty, Maul needed the strength the vials offered and because of it he gambled his life on the only thing that hadn’t failed him, his determination to survive.

Maul could still remember with perfect clarity the agonizing moments after he first drank some of it, the burning muscles, the bones in his body feeling like they would break and feeling of poison in his blood, Maul felt hope too when for single second it looked like he would sprout legs anew bit it was false hope that led him further into darkness and onto a higher realm of power, the only downside was that he started having withdrawal when he didn’t consume enough of it, his body almost cannibalized itself as it tried to maintain the amount of power provided by the pool of darkness.

He theorized that with enough time Maul could produce the power on his own but it would take time and thankfully right now he had nothing but time, neither Savage or Maul wanted to force an all out battle just yet, Savage for more tactical reasons and Maul because he had decided that before he finally took center stage on the galaxy he would be as powerful as he was before if not more.

“Master” two distinct voices called for him simultaneously, the former younglings kneeling before him with looks of awe on their faces as they threw their old comrade at Maul’s feet “he is still alive but barely, he needs medical attention”

The feeling of curiosity almost poured out of the girl and Maul wanted to know why “Speak girl, I can feel that you have many questions”

“Master are you really Darth Maul,” she spoke cautiously trying not to offend him “the same that killed Master Qui-Gon?”

“I am”

“But- but how? It is common knowledge that Obi-Wan kil-“ the sentence coming out of her mouth stopped along with her breath as Maul held her throat in his telekinetic grip, the girl’s hands moved towards her throat in a vain attempt at relieving the pressure.

“I was defeated, I can admit that, but I have never died” the shadows casted by the moonlight danced as the Dark Side rose with Maul’s anger “You will learn that to kill a Sith is almost impossible if the will to live that they possess isn’t broken”

Maul released the girl and was pleased to see that even if she was scared and angry at his attack, respect and awe grew at his feat of survival, the boy looked at him in disbelief at what he had apparently learned.

“Lord Maul, can one be free of death too?” The not so innocent question of the Twi’lek boy was marred by a hunger that fed on his emotions and Maul felt it, that glorious moment when any chance of the boy coming back into the light was lost as the last shreds of it were corrupted by greed.

“Many Sith have cheated death, some multiple times, one Sith in particular only died his final death when he decided to stop reviving himself.” Maul’s hand moved to his now metallic legs “I was bisected in half and refused to die; one can never be completely free of death, but you can stop it from claiming you at least until you want to die”

“I believe your name is Jinx, I heard the lady here calling you that before”

“Yes Master, my name is Jinx and she is Kalifa” the boy for all of his desire for freedom sure knew how to serve, perhaps Jinx will grow more independent as time passes.

“Your training will start once we are inside the ship, I want to see how resourceful you can be when attacked by an army and while the droids won’t kill you the pain they inflict upon you will make you wish for death, of course that is only if you let them catch you”

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[Coruscant, Jedi Temple]

Mace Windu

“I don’t feel entirely comfortable with this secret meeting” Ki-Adi-Mundi expressed his displeasure at the current state of affairs.

“This is hardly a secret meeting” Oppo Rancisis expressed his displeasure at the comment “we are simply councilmembers unsatisfied with the state of the Republic and talking about it”

“I agree with Master Rancisis, you make it sound like this is a conspiracy” the holographic image of Shaak Ti stared at them from the center of the room

“Perhaps, but Master Mundi isn’t completely wrong either as we didn’t invite those closest to Master Yoda to forestall any kind of reprimand concerning our opinions” Saesee Tinn spoke casually as he looked over at Windu who was looking out from one of the windows.

“Master Yoda’s insights and help have always been correct, until now” the words hung in the air as the Masters in the room slowly accented at the judgment “We have lost control of the army and navy, worst of all the Senate is starting to recognize the Separatists as a true governing body”

“We can’t allow that” Windu’s declaration held the weight of a thousand years of guardianship

“To let a government controlled by the Sith have free reign over the Outer Rim is to invite devastation” Windu looked each of them in the eyes and found the same determination that he looked at when he faced the mirror “A new Sith Empire is forming right at our doorstep, we must act regardless of the legality of those actions”

“For the Republic” the cry of loyalty was emulated by the other Masters.

“What do you suggest we do Master Windu?” Master Mundi asked

“There are many groups that wrongly worship us as ‘divine’ beings across the galaxy” Windu answered with some distaste “We will use them”

“Use them, how?” Master Ti always worried about those who were weak, and her concerns did her credit but right now they needed all the help they could get.

“We will give them missions, missions that will be approved by everyone here or they won’t be performed. I know that this kind of decision is hard, but I fear only we can take it, the rest of the high council won’t accept our new strategy”

“This could lead us towards a dark path” Saesee looked worried “We are not assassins”

“We’re not saboteurs either or spies, this is why we need to do it even if we don’t like it, we need help, the Sith have demonstrated a remarkable ability for combat and subterfuge” Windu spoke with determination and fearlessness “Yoda’s adherence to the non-interference policy of the Ruusan Reformation has left us without a voice in politics and, worst of all, unable to act on the corruption that now festers in the Senate. The corruption that allows the Sith to remain ahead of us”

“I see” Master Rancisis stroked his beard “You want to destroy the enemies within, it could work but if they discover what we did then the trust of the people living in the Republic will be lost to us”

“We are already distrusted, perhaps Master Windu is right” Master Mundi looked weary “If we can help, even if that help is not wanted, we should do it”

“I agree” Saesee and Master Ti chorused their opinion

Windu looked upon Oppo and waited for him to make his decision, the oldest among them finally nodded in acceptance “What the republic wants may not be what it needs and what it needs may not be what it wants, actions are always better than words and I’m tired of talking”

“Who should be our first objective?” asked Saesee

“I believe that the representative of Kamino is the best choice, the Kaminoans have inflated the price for the clones leading to a recession that is negatively affecting peaceful planets across the galaxy” Master Ti answered him and it didn’t take long for all of them to agree, what she said was the truth and it wouldn’t be hard to pass this off as simply an attack motivated by the reason given before.

“I will make contact with some of our most dedicated workers in the temple and follow that path to the larger groups that will help us here on Coruscant, it will be Master Tinn who gives them the mission and Master Ti the one to plan the next meeting” Master Rancisis waited for any objections before continuing “I hope we are doing the right thing for all of our sakes”

“Remember that no matter what happens to us we must make sure that the Republic survives” with that grand declaration Windu left the room.

It pained him to do this behind his master’s back, but Yoda couldn’t lead them anymore or perhaps it would be better to say that he shouldn’t, the fall of Count Dooku and the council ignoring the warnings spoken by Sifo-Dyas were all because of him.

At the time after the invasion of Naboo, Mace wanted to do whatever was necessary to root out the Sith, but Master Yoda decided to wait for them to act first and in doing so indirectly made everything worse for the Republic and for the Jedi, maybe it was harsh, maybe it was unfair to Yoda, but the facts revealed that his decisions were mistakes.

And now Mace was on his way to speak to him about the discontent of the council and of the Order in general, it was hypocritical of him to go and be supportive when he met his Master but if he wanted to do what was best for the Republic then it would be for the best to continue to be the dutiful and supportive student of Yoda.

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[Coruscant, Senate Building]

Padmé Amidala

Padmé was tired, she had been working overnight compiling reports and data packs that reflected just how much good peace would be for the Republic. She wanted it to last but everyday it seemed like the truce would break as more and more people became belligerent for one reason or another.

She just couldn’t understand, did they not know about all the death that was occurring out on the battlefield across hundreds of worlds, did they not have a shred of empathy for all the people that were affected by the war?

The Jedi were not helping as everyday they become more militant and with their wish to fight until the Sith are gone for good, she didn’t see that changing anytime soon, the only real help she had right now, apart from those that had always been in favor for peace, was the Chancellor who made a declaration of accepting a treaty of peace for the time being, in private he had spoken of his hope that by the time the treaty expired people wouldn’t want to fight anymore.

That gave her a new angle to try for and a wider more receptive audience as people could see it more like preparing for round two instead of the defeat that it actually was, because while many won’t admit it if things continued like they were before the Republic would have lost.

Anakin also wasn’t making her life easier but it was in a different way, with no war and no adventure he was getting increasingly bored at the temple and with so many eyes on her they could do nothing else but make love in her apartment when he could actually visit, not that she really minded as it was a great way to reduce stress, the real problem with Anakin was that he was staring to become too needy and demanding of the time she had, he also got very jealous whenever I had to accept any invitations from my male colleagues.

She wouldn’t say that she absolutely disliked that kind of behavior, in fact she really liked it, but right now she was too busy to properly enjoy it, Padmé sighed and thought about her home on Naboo.

The door to her office opened and revealed Bail, who looked very worried and that was not a good sign.

“Padmé we have a problem, a big one”

“What is it?”

“Remember when we spoke about the possibility of both sides engaging in sabotage? Well, it’s begun, there are reports from the Core Worlds saying that infiltrator droids and a new kind of indestructible unit are wreaking havoc among the powerful men of the galaxy”

“This is horrible, if the Core Worlds unite in their decision for war the whole balance of the Senate will collapse!” It couldn’t be happening, all that she had worked for was going to be washed away!

“There’s good news on that front, even if they’re not really good news, the families have started infighting and while it lasts, they won’t be using their influence for anything other that killing their own families” Bail grimaced at the end clearly feeling bad for being happy at such a terrible thing but it was a relief to Padmé that things were going like that

“Wait, you said that both sides were engaging in sabotage. What happened to the Separatists?”

“The Banking Clans have had a slew of bombings that has left the banks paralyzed, from what I heard the Neimoidians are up in arms and the Techno Union has used the event to avoid paying some debts they have, there is chaos brewing among their ranks, enough that they won’t use the opportunity to attack”

“What does it mean for us and our economy? The people of the galaxy are not prepared for a recession not with war on the horizon for many”

“I think that it won’t affect the numbers quite as you fear; there are clauses on the contracts that speak of such cases and while we won’t be dancing in credits anytime soon, the basic needs of the people will be taken care of”

That was great, everything was going fine; the Republic could weather the storm and the truce would remain as long as both sides were equally at a disadvantage.

A terrible idea came to Padmé as she thought of how crisis could unite people, the Gungans had not been happy with the Naboo for years but the threat of the Blue Shadow virus and the help of the ruling queen restored that relationship, there were still traces of the virus held on Naboo and while a vaccine had been developed there wasn’t much of it and of the root that was used to make it.

If they could create a problem big enough for the whole galaxy to unite maybe finally there would be peace…

“Padmé are you ok?”

“Oh, yes, I was merely lost in my thoughts nothing important”

In the end she couldn’t do what she thought of, it would go against every ideal she held dear and worst of all it would harm the very people she sought to protect.

She was not a monster and no matter what happened or who she had to fight, she would do it like she always did before even if she had to die for her ideals, that is what a politician was meant to do.

Another thought interrupted her previous one, Mon hadn’t been answering her comm and while before it didn’t worry her, the news that Bail brought to her gave the silence a new terrifying meaning.

“Bail, have you heard from Mon, she hasn’t answered me yet”

“I haven’t heard from her either, but I’m sure she is ok, Padmé. While vocal in her support of peace Mon is not in any position to really affect the result of any vote right now, it’s impossible for her to be anyone’s target”

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Author note: Hello do forgive any mistakes i made this time, i have good news though, if everything goes as i plan, i will be posting another chapter of this tomorrow along with the Avatar one.