Hero of Naboo Chapter 8 Preview

"GRAHHH!" Maul screamed through gritted teeth as sith-lightning wracked through his body.

"You have failed me greatly, Maul," Darth Sidious scolded with the start of a sneer on his hooded face. "Not only did you fail to even attack the Jedi and attempt a capture on the queen, you couldn't even best this pretender to the Sith legacy!"

"H-he was powerful, Master!" Maul growled out in retort, the agony still fresh in his veins as he stared up at his teacher. "Only with you have I ever felt such power, Master."

"You dare claim him my equal, to deflect your own failing?" Sidious mocked in disapproval.

"No, Master. I have no doubt you could defeat him," Maul lied as expertly as he could. "But the Dark Side clearly favors him more than myself."

"Hmmm, troubling," The Dark Lord murmured thoughtfully, his intellect taking reign now that his displeasure was shown. "This is not some young pup in the force. Most likely he is a Dark Jedi, a master that feigned death to explore the Dark Side unhindered. Perhaps even with a holocron of old," he mused in displeasure.

"Forgive me, Master, but could he truly hide himself from you all this time?" Maul asked in genuine curiosity and keeping his rage and suspicions buried for now.

Sidious was surprisingly patient with the question, nodding. "If a fallen Jedi hid himself adequately and the maker of the holocron was well versed in hiding one's self in the force? Yes, there is a chance he could hide himself from us for a time. More so if he venture to someplace strong in the Dark Side to mask his training," he admitted with venomous undertone.

What he failed to mention were the other, more disastrous possibilities. That this was another Sith Order, or another apprentice his master ha secretly trained or failed to put down.

"The greater question becomes why he so willingly travels with the Jedi. A bold deception on his part, I'm sure, if he is presenting him as an ally of all things while flaunting his true self to their senses. Yet, even more deeper than that is why involve himself at all? This Vaver is plotting something, I am sure of it. But did his plot involve Naboo and merely become entangled in our own? Or is the plot itself to become involved in the situation?" Sidious mused suspiciously.

Maul narrowed his eyes as understanding came. "You are wondering what allies and tools he has in wait," the child of Dathomir realized bitterly, now comprehending how much deeper of a problem this could be.

"And how many of them pretending to be our own. How compromised has the Order of Bane truly become under our very nose?" Sidious wondered, looking away in deep thought and frustration. "I can sense that it will not be long before this Darth Vader reaches Coruscant. To our benefit, however, is that the Jedi no doubt sense this as well. At the very minimum, they shall be monitoring his activity at all, constraining what he can do without attacking. If we are fortunate, the Jedi may perform a rash action against the Sith Lord, in their zeal to destroy the Dark Side. A victory for them that would serve us well. Sympathy for the Sith, a route rarely considered in our lineage, but a tool nonetheless," Sidious commented more rambling to himself than instructing his apprentice.

He had long since mastered the art of filtering out what details and subjects he should speculate on with any given company: Never muse on anything Plagueis related in front of Maul, never let Plagueis know his involvement in the assassination attempt, never converse about the force infront of a Jedi he wasn't sure he could turn. If he were honest, he'd admit the skill came more from years in politics than from learning in the Dark Side. Mundane skills had their use, no force-wielder would deny.

As for Maul, he knew his master well. Well enough to know that the man's musing words were not a sign of worry or fear, but of annoyance and instinctual scheming. He didn't fear they were ruined, only that they might be too greatly delayed with executing the Grand Plan. Still, he knew his master VERY well. He could see the displeasure that went beyond mere, minor setback. No, beneath the Dark Lord's plotting exterior, the Dathomirian knew the black hole of his existence was churning in hate and perhaps even outrage. He had not foreseen this, at all. But that didn't mean he didn't know this entity existed, just that he lived. Too many questions.

Time for answers, or at least, a clue.

"There is...something else, Master. He knew of you. He knew your true name as a Sith," Maul informed hesitatingly.

Sidious narrowed his eyes, keeping a tight lid on the emotions and paranoia bubbling in the grip of his power. It was possible that this supposed Sith had learned of his name through associates the Dark Lord had made secret dealings over the decades under the guise of his Sith persona. He knew this, Maul knew this. So Maul wouldn't be acting like this if that was all that was said. "What does this Darth Vader claim to know of me, my apprentice?" Sidious demanded in a deceptively calm and soothing voice.

Maul kept his mind from wandering back. Back to the words that planted doubt in him, claiming that Plagueis was never slain, that Sidious had no intention of making him a true apprentice. Instead, he focused all his attention on his master as he prepared to give Vader's message. But Maul could never have imagined the fury his Master would unleash in that moment. 

All because of two simple words:

"Hannah Cosinga."