The late evening is calm and a sense of quiet peace hangs in the room when I enter and sit down next to Maul on the couch. Kh'rin has already been nursed and sleeps safely in her cot. My husband has been with us for two months without having to go on one of his secret missions. The only time he leaves us, is when he exercises, long hours of running with his long, Force-aided strides, or the strenuous training, when he stretches every muscle in his body, or does his agile dance of death, whirling his lightsaber around him, blocking attacks from his training-droids, leaving them in a smoking heap on the immaculately polished floor of his training room. So many times it has been a joy for me to see him exercise, his beautiful body the ultimate image of strength and power. Soon he will be off once again on his quest to establish the Sith Order, but right now he is a husband and father, and Master to a select group of Darksiders.

 

I feel Maul's arm go around my shoulder and with a sigh I nestle close to him, listening to the gentle beating of his heart. His lips kiss my hair and I shift my head to nuzzle the curve of his neck. He kisses my forehead and I hear him whisper soft words in Zabrak. I slip my hand into his black tunics to touch his hot skin and give a satisfied murmur. His chest feels so good, so warm and so strong. I undo a few more buttons to have better access and I hear him chuckle. My beloved senses how I want him, how I long for his touch and I know he desires mine. More buttons are opened, more black and red skin exposed as I caress his chest, pushing the fabric aside to kiss his warm skin. He is so beautiful, my beloved. How could I ever even consider taking a normal, human male after knowing him? No one is worthy to stand in his place; no one could touch me and make me feel like my love does. I would kill another male rather than submit to his pathetic lovemaking!

 

Instead I stroke my beloved's muscled chest, feeling his skin twitch as I run my nails over his sides. I giggle and kiss his hard nipple, tasting his skin. When my husband is aroused, his scent is intoxicating. It is like sandalwood and musk and I so love it. I reach up and find his mouth for a long, deep kiss, letting my tongue run over his lips before it slips into his mouth to circle his. Maul's golden eyes burn with a fiery passion as he looks at me and as I break our kiss he whispers against my lips.

 

"Beloved, I want you, now."

 

"Then you shall have me, my love," I answer him and kiss the tip of his nose. "I think a bath would be so very nice at this time, what say you?" I ask him, smiling mischievously.

 

"That will be a pleasure," my beloved replies, jumping to his feet with one of those panther-like moves, pulling me up with him.

 

I step into his embrace and feel his mouth on mine again, passionate and warm and I feel how he leads me to the bathroom, kissing me as we move along. I open the taps and let the large bathtub fill with warm water, scenting it with a few drops of aromatic oil. As I stand before my beloved, he pushes one strap off my shoulder and kisses my burning skin. I feel him lick from my shoulder to my neck, holding his tongue to the racing pulse there. Maul knows where I desire to be touched, nipping my earlobes and licking the shell of my ear. His mouth covers mine again, taking the moans from my mouth as I cling to him, pushing his black tunics off his shoulders.

 

"Ahh... so impatient, my beloved," Maul teases as he shrugs out of his clothes.

 

I giggle again, my fingers reaching up to his proud horns, letting my fingers circle them and press down on the base. He groans softly and licks my wrist as I caress the small horn on his temple, the one that arouses him most when I touch it. He is removing the strap from my other shoulder as well, giving a soft bite at my shoulder, before pushing my dress slowly down over my breasts

 

"Your breasts are so beautiful, beloved, heavy and full," my beloved says, as he looks at my breasts, still heavy with milk.

 

"They are yours, my love, I am yours," I whisper hoarsely.

 

Maul pushes my dress further down, until I make an impatient move and it falls to my ankles. I step out of it and kick it out of the way, putting my arms around my love once more. He holds me close to him, his hands caressing my back, from my neck to my behind. I let my hands glide over his hard chest, following the swirling red tattoos to his nipples, down to his side, putting my fingers inside the waist of his pants. He grins as he stands back a little to let me unfasten his pants and push them down over his hips, freeing his erection. His boots follow my dress into a corner of the bathroom and he steps out of his pants, lifting me in his arms and stepping into the warm water. He lowers himself and sits holding me on his lap, facing him.

 

The water is pleasantly warm against my body and I move against him, letting my womanhood rub his thigh. I feel his hardness in the water and brush my fingers over it for a moment.

 

The sweet-scented steam curls up and brushes my nose as I begin washing my most beloved, wetting my hands with the oily water and rubbing it over his head, circling each of his horns in turn, his beautiful face, kissing his mouth eagerly before I continue. His shoulders and chest are washed and caressed next and he groans with pleasure. I run my hands over his hard back, pressing down on the heavy muscles there.

 

"Now I think you should stand for a moment, my love," I say mischievously and watch with desire as he stands up, water dripping from his perfect body.

 

I wet my hands again, washing his sides and his hips, his stomach and his long, powerful legs. My face is only inches away from his erect manhood and I cannot resist putting a butterfly kiss on the head. He is so aroused, my beloved, I can see tiny droplets appear on his manhood and I lick them eagerly, tasting him on my tongue. So beautiful he is! I close my mouth over his manhood, pushing the soft folds up and down with my hand as I lick him inside my mouth. My tongue circles the ridge behind the head, feeling the veins throb against me. As I press my tongue against the tiny hole at his head I taste him again, more this time. My beloved groans, urging me on and as I look up at his face, he is all arousal and passion, his lips parted, the lines beside his mouth deeper, his eyes half closed. And his eyes... they are fire... hotter than a stream of lava as it comes from the volcano. I cup his sac in my hand, feeling the taut skin against my fingers. I know where he likes to be touched, that sweet spot between his sac and his opening and I press down on it, rubbing him. Maul groans deeper...he does not want to hold back his release much longer. I quicken the moves of my hand and hold him firmly inside my mouth. My beloved's hips twitch and he moves into me, releasing his essence into my mouth where I taste him, warm and so good. By now I too am more than a little aroused and my consort can sense it.

 

He sits down in the bath, cupping his hands to pour water over me and he massages my shoulders and my neck. As I moan softly, my beloved lowers his head to trace the water drops over my chest to my breasts. His eager mouth kisses my breasts, licking the contours and the aureoles before he comes to my nipple. He looks into my eyes and smiles before he takes my hard nipple into his mouth and suckles, drinking my milk. I see his lips working to drink from me, my milk white on his mouth as he suckles. I put my hand behind his head, holding him to me as I enjoy the feel of his suckling.

 

"Your milk is so sweet and so warm from your breast, I desire to drink from you," Maul says against my nipple, kissing the hard nub.

 

He moves to my left breast to suckle again, feeling my heart racing against his tongue. Nothing is sweeter to me than having my beloved drink the milk from my breasts and I moan his name. He lets go of my nipple with a soft, wet sound to kiss my mouth again, and as his tongue touches mine, I taste my own milk on it. Meanwhile his hands are washing my body, touching it with the scented water as he caresses every part of me. His strong hands are cupping my behind now, parting the cheeks and just for a teasing second, his finger goes inside my opening there. I gasp but he is gone already, kneading my behind again. He pushes me back in the bath; my body covered in the water and he spreads my legs. I feel my beloved's hand caressing my womanhood, spreading the swollen lips and going into my opening.

 

"You are so slick," Maul says as his fingers probe inside me.

 

He has found my most sensitive and presses down hard on it, stimulating me. I lift my knees a little as passion overcomes me. He removes his fingers from my opening to spread my lips and I feel how his expert fingers roll my nub between them. I give a loud cry and arch my back. I make a violent move and the water splashes onto the floor.

 

"Oh my love, please, take me now!" I can only moan, each breath ending in a strained cry.

 

Maul shifts his body to lie between my legs and in the warm water I feel him press his manhood between my swollen lips and rub me. My body shudders under him as he pushes his sex against my opening and teasingly, slowly enters me. It is so good! My love is so passionate and his manhood fills me so completely. He thrusts long and deep, rubbing me inside with his hardness. I cry out again, my fingers digging into his shoulders. He thrusts faster, the water swishing around us. I can feel my orgasm coming, overtaking me with complete abandonment. Maul moves his hips in circles as well as in and out of me and, with my body shuddering wildly, I let my release go as his mouth covers mine to take my scream from it. I lie back, panting as my beloved makes a few more languid pushes before he takes his manhood from my body and rests beside me in the water, letting himself sink in to his neck, his arm holding me to him, his eyes closed in perfect satiated rest.

 

                                                           ************

 

I lie in the safe circle of Maul’s arms in our large bed. The smooth satin sheets caresses my legs as I move into a more comfortable position against his shoulder. So soft is his breathing, so strong his heartbeat. As always I feel myself drifting off to sleep as I listen to it. My beloved twitches slightly in his sleep, his hand tightens around my shoulder for a second. I kiss the warm skin of his neck and close my eyes, letting myself be carried off to the realm of dreams.

 

Suddenly my eyes fly open and a sense of cold terror and panic attacks me. I am no longer in bed, but standing right in the centre of a large hall. The ceiling is so high that I cannot even see it. The walls are black and at a few points on the wall, torches are burning in holders, crafted like demonic creatures. I am wearing my nightgown and my feet are bare. I feel the cold of the black floor and as I look down I see myself mirrored in it. I am shaking and pressing my hand to my thumping heart. The hall is filled with a horror I cannot see. I look around me wide-eyed and I see a huge door at one side of the hall. I walk towards it and push with all my strength against the rough cast-iron doors until they give way and open with a loud creaking sound. I pass through the doors and enter a smaller room where a fire is burning. The fire is the only light in the room. There is no window, no other entrance. In the middle of the room stands a table where a man sits. I cannot see his face, for he is wearing a black cape with the hood raised and pulled forward to hide his features.

 

"Where am I?" I ask him, trying to make my voice sound unafraid. Yet I hear the tremor in it as I approach the table.

 

"Sit down, woman," the voice is menacing, a hiss like that of a snake and I can smell the evil on his breath.

 

"You will release me at once and take me home!" I try to raise my voice in anger, but it comes out as a croaking whisper.

 

The man moves his hand and my knees give way under me and I fall into the chair opposite the dark man. As I look at his hand I see the fingers all have steel claws attached to them, a steel plate covering the back of his hand as well. I raise my head to look at him, but inside the hood I see nothing, no features, just dark shadows. Suddenly the room grows dim as if it were filled with swirling mists. The tendrils surround me and chill my bare flesh, giving me a sense of choking when they touch my throat.

 

And I see my beloved. I cannot make out where he is or what has happened, but he is chained to a table and I see he is covered with blood. I scream as I see his beautiful body ravaged and wounded. Then I know where it is. It is the chamber where Lord Sidious interrogated the occasional prisoner. It was hidden deep down in the cellars of the Sith Palace and I had only heard Maul speak of it once. Maul has his eyes closed and I can see and feel his agony clearly. It cannot be! Those are the wounds that killed the clone, those terrible deep burns that tore his body in half. But my love lives, he tries not to show his Master the searing pain that racks his body. Yet I can feel it and I clutch my stomach in agony.

 

"You have failed me, Maul! You shall not fail me again, I shall see to it." I can hear Lord Sidious´s harsh voice as I look on in horror. “I shall drain each dark emotion from your body as it is destroyed slowly, I shall feed on your agony and draw strength from it. You will be dead soon and I shall have your power.”

 

Those dreadful wounds, no one can stand this pain and live, yet my beloved cannot die, not until his Master allows it. His beautiful mouth opens and he gags, an angry red flood coming from his mouth. His Master moves it hands and I see the flesh on my love’s body tear.

 

"No!!!" I scream and reach out my hand to him.

 

"This is real, woman, this is how it happened, all you thought you experienced is a fantasy, you have no child, the Sith is not with you," the hissing voice snarls at me filled with venom. "A new Sith Order indeed! Only failure for him. Now witness his punishment."

 

Maul writhes on the table, fighting to control his pain, using all his strength and Sith powers to keep his dignity and not cry out in agony before his Master.

 

"Beloved, no!" I scream.

 

I can feel insanity creeping up on me, I know if I have to watch my beloved suffer like this, I shall lose my mind forever. I scream and cry, trying to claw a way into the image I see before me in the mists.

 

"Will you die for him?" the hiss is now roaring in my ears.

 

Before I can answer I hear my beloved cry out in pain as his wounds tear.

 

"Yes! I will die for him! Let me die for him!" I cry out.

 

The man, standing beside the table laughs, hissing and growling as he does so. He raises his head and I scream in horror, he has no face! I look at the dark shadows where his face should be and I hear my beloved's anguished cries of agony. I know now I have gone insane, I am gasping for breath, crying uncontrollably and trying to claw at the ghost before me.

 

"Beloved?"

 

Maul holds me in his arms, a look of concern on his face. I am shaking and drenched in sweat, tears streaming down my cheeks.

 

"You were being tortured by Lord Sidious and there was this man and he had no face!" I cry, hiding myself in my beloved's arms. “Such pain, such agony! I was going insane!”

 

"I am here, beloved. You dreamed. But it was a test I am sure, all dreams have a hidden meaning," Maul answers.

 

His breathy voice soothes me and I tell him of the horror I felt and that I was asked if I wanted to die for him.

 

"It was so real, I felt your agony and your suffering. I was ready to die for you," I stammer.

 

Maul pulls me close to his heart and kisses my forehead. I am safe in his arms and he will never leave me.

 

"I will die for you, beloved, I swear it," I whisper in the curve of his neck.

 

"Then that was the purpose of the dream, beloved," Maul says gently, caressing my shoulder. “A commitment.”

 

**********

 

It is still very early dawn; the suns of Iridonia have hardly climbed over the horizon when Maul summons Kerri.

 

As Kerri steps into his study, with its walls covered from floor to ceiling with shelves of books, she can tell from the solemnity of his face that something serious has happened. She stands before his large desk and looks at her Master as he leans back in his black leather chair.

 

"It has come to my attention that a Sith crystal exists that has powers essential for the new Sith Order," he says without any introduction. "Lord Sidious will be after it, as will the Jedi, but I want it."

 

"My Lord, what is the nature of this crystal?" Kerri asks.

 

The lines beside Maul's mouth deepen for a moment. "It draws in the dark side of the Force if the proper vocation is used and when it does, it becomes an indestructible force to be used against the Jedi. Lord Sidious wants it for his own greater power and the Jedi want to destroy it, of course, as is their sanctimonious way."

 

"Then we must not fail in capturing it, my Lord," says Kerri, a determined look on her young face.

 

"We must leave as soon as possible, time is of the essence, since we are not the only ones who received this information," Maul says.

 

Maul dismisses Kerri and she hurries back to her quarters. It does not take her long to pack the necessary belongings for the trip and after putting the travel bag on the table, she goes to the cot where Xhander rests. She picks up the soft, warm body of her baby and kisses his dark cheek.

 

"My precious baby, I must leave you again," she says, holding him close to her.

 

The feeling of dread and foreboding that comes over her at that moment almost brings tears to her eyes. She sits down with the baby and bares her breast to let him suckle. Looking down on the tiny face, Kerri has the horrible feeling she will never see him again, never hold his body to her like this again. Xhander drinks at her breast and is not aware it is his mother's tears that moisten his face. Kerri knows that the Sith Lord is waiting for her to join him, but she finds it hard to leave her son behind. The dark side alerts her to a danger in the near future. A deep sigh escapes her lips as she watches him slowly drift off to sleep, her nipple still in his mouth. She rises to her feet and lays Xhander down in his cot, pulling a soft cover over him and after a long, last look, she picks up her travel bag and hurries to the landing bay.

 

I am nursing Kh'rin when Maul enters the bedroom and sits down beside me on the bed, watching Kh'rin as she drinks. His fingers caress her soft cheeks and he smiles when she makes a soft murmur, grabbing at his finger. My beloved kisses me in a long passionate kiss and I lean against him.

 

"You are leaving."

 

"Yes. A bounty hunter asked for an audience an hour ago. He gave me information about a crystal existing on the planet of Trian. Lord Sidious and the Jedi are after it too. It will bring me great power," Maul explains. "It will mean a mastery over the Force, that not even Lord Sidious has. The new Sith Order will benefit greatly from it and of course I can never allow the Jedi to get their hands on it."

 

"The bounty hunter will tell others and they too will chase this crystal," I point out.

 

Maul shakes his head. "The bounty hunter will never tell anyone anything again."

 

"I agree, beloved, he should not have interfered in the affairs of the Sith," I say, knowing my husband has destroyed the bounty hunter. "We cannot risk any more visits like the one we had from Lord Sidious."

 

"No, that is why I made sure he disappeared," Maul says grimly.

 

"I have decided to take Kerri, it will be a good test of her strength of character and combat skills if we should meet the Jedi," Maul continues.

 

"But be careful, beloved, I sense a disturbance in the Force, this mission is dangerous," I say in a low voice.

 

"A mission without danger is unworthy to a Sith," Maul answers, kisses Kh'rin and me before he jumps off the bed, ready to leave.

 

"Wait, I will walk with you to the hangar," I say quickly.

 

Maul nods and I take Kh'rin from my breast, evoking a small sound of protest and I follow Maul down to the hangar. My consort is in a hurry; I can sense the urgency in his stride and in the way he squares his shoulders. The Infiltrator sits in the middle of the hangar bay, almost looking impatient to fly off again. I stand close to Maul and lean my head on his shoulder. He takes my hand and kisses it, then takes Kh'rin from my arms to hold her against him. She smiles at her father happily, unaware of the danger in which he will immerse himself. Her tiny hand grabs at his face and he kisses her fingers. As he bows his head, Kh'rin reaches up and with a delighted cry grabs his frontal horn with her small fingers. Maul grins and takes her hand in his.

 

"You shall have horns of your own soon, my daughter," he says. He kisses the tip of her nose and hands her back to me.

 

The sound of quick footsteps comes behind us and Kerri walks towards us, ready to leave.

 

"I am ready, my Lord," Kerri says, standing before him.

 

Maul inclines his head and without looking back at our daughter and I, he walks up the ramp of Scimitar, followed by Kerri. The hatch closes and the thrumming of the engines fill the hangar. I hold Kh'rin close to my heart as the sleek spacecraft hovers and takes off. As her father leaves, Kh'rin begins a loud wail, as if she senses the tension of the moment.

 

"Hush, my precious baby, your father will be back," I whisper and with weary steps I go back to our apartments.

 

Maul sits tense and alert in his pilot's seat as he flies the ship out into space. He punches in the coordinates for Trian and puts the ship on autopilot. Kerri sits beside him and now she looks at him questioningly.

 

"My Lord, will the Jedi have the same information we do?"

 

"Yes. And Lord Sidious as well. But I intend to capture this crystal," Maul says in his breathy voice.

 

"What does it do?" Kerri asks.

 

"It can summon the dark side, and transform it. With the proper Sith vocation, this crystal wields powers beyond imagination. It will aid me in destroying the Jedi and their sanctimonious Order in one blow. Therefore it shall be mine," Maul growls.

 

Kerri gives a dark smile. "We shall see them destroyed, my Lord,"

 

As soon as the Infiltrator is in hyperspace, Maul retreats to meditate and prepare himself for the upcoming battle he knows will follow. Kerri pulls her legs under her on her narrow bunk and reads her datapad with information about the Trianii. As she reads along, Kerri learns that Trianii females are the dominant sex on Trian. She sees a picture of a female of the species. A slim long body with long sharp, retractable claws. The female has slanting eyes with green pupils, surrounded by black rings. Their ears are long and pointed, their bodies covered with a silky fur, coming in various colors. The most prominent feature is a long, prehensile tail, that is used for the hunt and for the mating ritual.

 

Kerri smiles. "True warriors, females are usually the stronger of the species." She finishes her reading and leans back against the durasteel wall of the Infiltrator. It will not be long before they arrive and she wonders if they will meet any Jedi. Lord Maul said they would be there, but would HE be with them, she wonders.

 

A sound from the main computer alerts Lord Maul from his meditations. They are on final approach to Trian. With a smooth move he rises to his feet and tugs his tunics down. Quickly he goes back to the cockpit and takes his place at the controls. A minute later Kerri joins him, sitting in the chair slightly behind him.

 

"My Lord, do we know where the crystal is hidden?" Kerri asks.

 

"There is a temple hidden deep in the woods. Most have forgotten its existence. A holy woman of the Trianii hid the crystal there after she found it," Maul explains.

 

"Did she know the value?"

 

"No. The Trianii are deeply religious. This woman found a precious stone and thought the Gods had delivered it to her. She wanted it for herself and hid it within the temple. By accident, as she was praying one day, a bounty hunter came upon the temple, looking for hidden treasure. The man would have stolen the crystal had it not been for the ferocity of the Trianii woman, who wounded him badly."

 

Maul grimaces with contempt. "The woman chased him from the temple and her growling alerted the others of her tribe. The bounty hunter left with his laser-gun and his pride broken."

 

The lush blue and green planet looms up in the distance. The clean beauty of the large oceans and rivers she sees as Scimitar flies low over the planet, strikes Kerri, as well as the green woods and the small villages. In every village the dominant feature is a temple to one of the many Gods of Trian. Large greenstone structures in pyramid shapes with steps leading to the top.

 

Maul lands the Infiltrator in a clearing in the woods, near the location of the hidden temple and prepares to search for the crystal. As he and Kerri step outside, his hand moves to his lightsaber at his belt and he unclips it. He notices with satisfaction that Kerri too has sensed the presence of other Force sensitives and has also taken her lightsaber from her belt.

 

"Jedi," Maul says and Kerri nods in agreement.

 

"I sense them, my Lord," she answers.

 

Their black boots make no sound as they proceed towards the temple. Not a leaf is stirred as they pass and not much later they reach the temple. Maul enters the door at ground level cautiously, stepping into the semi darkness. His exceptional powers reach out into the temple, searching every crevice and nook. The dark side of the Force touches every object inside, making an image of it and sending it back to Maul's mind. All he finds are a few old chests, a dilapidated altar with a stump of candles and a few broken benches. The crystal is not here. But he can almost smell the presence of the Jedi. His alert mind detect the traces of the Light side of the Force they left behind.

 

"Yes, they were here," he growls.

 

"Have they taken the crystal, my Lord?" he hears Kerri's voice behind him.

 

"Yes, but I will get it back," Maul hisses angrily and lets the dark side guide him along a narrow forest path, leading to a small village.

 

"Search the temple over there, I shall search amongst the houses," he orders and Kerri hurries off to the temple standing in the centre of the village.

 

Lord Maul summons the Force around him, feeling the dark side cloak him with a protective veil. He passes house after house, looking through windows, into rooms, where he sees women doing chores around the house. He sees children playing with furry domestic pets and he notices it is the males that cook supper for their families. The last house he comes to has a strong feeling of darkness.

 

"The crystal," Maul growls under his breath.

 

The house is adorned with objects of brightly coloured glass; they cover the walls and the door, giving the impression that it must be the house of a priestess. Outside the house stands a bench and on it sits a female Trianii, her long, lithe frame draped over the bench in a graceful way that only felines possess. Her eyes are slits as she snoozes in the late afternoon sun that makes her soft brown and red fur shine. Her long, elegant tail lies curved around her, its tip moving up and down slowly. Maul can see her long ears move into his direction as he stands before her. She yawns and opens a pair of gleaming green and grey eyes. She smiles and licks her lips as she sees Maul standing before her. She stretches sensuously and rises from her bench, taking a few small steps forward. She is tall enough to look Maul straight in the eyes as she stands close to him.

 

"Sssssssso, what can I do for you?" she purrs.

 

"You will tell me where you hid the crystal," Maul snarls, moving his hand and using the dark side to connect with her mind.

 

"It issssssss the crysssstal you ssssssssseek," the feline says slowly.

 

As Maul searches her mind to see if she has information of interest to him, he feels her long, graceful tail curl around his leg, creeping up higher and higher under his tunics. He feels her touching his manhood, her tail stroking around it through the fabric of his pants. Maul growls angrily and makes a swift move with his leg, freeing it. As the tail of the Trianii touches the ground, Maul stamps down on it with the heel of his boot. The Trianii hissed and lets out a roar, spitting at him, her claws stretched out to rip at his skin. Maul somersaults backwards, whirls to his left and grabs the writhing feline before she can make a move.

 

"Again, where is the crystal?"

 

"SSSSSSSSSSSSSSS!" hisses the Trianii. "The crysssssstal isssssssss inssssssssside," she answers, struggling against Maul's Force grip around her neck.

 

Maul releases her and she stands before him, growling at the back of her throat, her gleaming eyes narrowed into slits and her teeth bared. His hypnotic eyes hold her and a slight move of his head forces her to walk to the door, every muscle in her lithe body moving under her skin. In the semidarkness of her room, the Trianii removes a few trinkets on a chest against the wall and produces a small, beautifully jewelled case. Both Maul’s eyes and the Trianii’s easily adjust to the dark and his alert senses know at once that the crystal is inside the case. Its power touches his mind from within its hiding place, like delicate fingers of the dark side reaching out. Maul raises his hand and the Force lifts the case from the feline's clawed one and brings it to him. Another gesture from his gloved hand into the direction of the Trianii makes her shake her head drowsily. before collapsing to the floor, deep in a Force-induced sleep. Without waiting any longer, Maul leaves the house and once outside, he reaches out with the Force to call Kerri to him. However, he does not hear her reply and a deep frown appears on his forehead.

 

Meanwhile, Kerri is searching the main temple of the village. She has discovered a main shrine surrounded by several smaller shrines to different deities. Before all the altars she sees burning candles and little red lights above them. There are Gods of many different shapes. Some are humanoid forms with the heads of animals; others are images of trees and even one shaped like a rock. Kerri wonders at the back of her mind what kind of deity that could represent, but she remembers her reading on the Trianii, they have a deity for everything and are deeply religious, worshipping everything in nature and the heavens. She notices wall paintings, representing scenes from the lives of some of the Gods and Goddesses of the Trianii and as she walks around in the shrine, Kerri searches it with the Force, trying to find the object she is looking for. With a deep sigh she turns to leave the temple. The crystal is not here. Yet, she touches another presence, that of a Jedi...

 

HE is here!

 

Quickly Kerri walks to the exit and squints a moment as the glare of the setting sun touches her face. The dark side surges around her, its long tendrils reaching out, searching her surroundings. She sees a small house beside the temple, that she assumes belongs to the verger or the priest or whatever the Trianii have to guard their temples. Kerri knows the Jedi Knight is inside and she can feel him find her too. A grim look comes on her face as she approaches the house. Before she reaches the door and can enter, the door is opened to her and she hears Obi-Wan Kenobi's soft voice.

 

"Come in, Kerri."

 

She steps inside and sees him, standing in the middle of the small room. It is obviously that of the priest for the walls are covered with paintings of deities and there are small altars and candles in every corner. However, this does not interest her for a moment, all she sees are the blue eyes of Obi-Wan Kenobi.

 

"So, tell me, how was your meeting with the council," Kerri mocks him

 

"Kerri, I knew you would come after the crystal and that is why I asked to be on this mission too. Come with me to the Jedi Temple - we can still save you." Obi-Wan says, his hands reaching out to her.

 

"Come with you? Be saved? If you listen carefully, you can hear the Gods laughing!" Kerri replies with contempt in her voice.

 

"I do not hear them laughing!" Obi-Wan raises his voice. "You can turn back from the dark side, come with me, it was my fault that you were tempted, now I will help you return to the Light side again."

 

"I have no wish to join you ever again...Jedi!" Kerri spits at him. "I found power, I found truth, there is no Force as powerful as the dark side."

 

Obi-Wan approaches her and tries to put his hands on Kerri's shoulders, but she slaps him away.

 

"Once I loved you, Jedi, I wanted nothing more than to go with you on your missions, hoping you would love me in return. I thought you would be proud of me for what I did, but all you did was give me empty, sanctimonious words." Kerri makes an angry move with her hands. "There is no anger, there is peace. Bah! There is anger, feel it and feed on it!" she taunts Obi-Wan, bringing her face nearer to him.

 

For a long time golden eyes lock with piercing blue ones, then Kerri smiles a dangerous smile. She reaches out to Obi-Wan's mind and finds hers is as strong as his.

 

"Oh yes, my Lord Maul taught me well," she thinks.

 

Kerri feels Obi's compassion for her and her dark mind claws at him.

 

"No, Kerri, you have already touched me with the dark side, you will not corrupt me further," Kenobi says softly.

 

"Oh, I did indeed, Jedi, and I have a son to prove it. A strong, healthy son, who will one day become a fierce Sith Lord, like his Master, my Lord Maul," Kerri laughs maliciously.

 

At her harsh words, Obi-Wan cringes slightly.

 

"Yes, Jedi, your son, whom you will never see and who will rule the galaxy after the Jedi are long forgotten."

 

Suddenly she grabs Obi-Wan at the back of his neck and kisses him fiercely on his surprised mouth.

 

"I have always loved you, Obi-Wan Kenobi, even when I gave birth to your son, I thought of you," she teases.

 

Obi-Wan slips his arms round her and holds her to him. "Kerri, come with me, it is not too late. I will stay with you, I promise, I will never leave you," he whispers.