“It looks good, Dirae. It’s good that you have your own transport; my Speeder only carries one passenger,” Maul told her, a hint of humor in his voice. Dirae blushed despite herself and hid a smile behind her hand. She didn’t think Sith Lords could jest about anything. Apparently, she had been wrong.
“Are we going to remain in the ship the whole time we’re here or will we be making shelter out there?” Maul asked, gesturing to the closed bay doors with one hand. Dirae shrugged.
“It’s probably best if we stay out there. We don’t want to waste the ship’s power. I have the necessary supplies for creating a decent shelter; we can always improve upon it later,” she replied. Maul nodded once.
“Good. You have the droids to do it for us, correct?”
“Yes. I’ll send a troop of them right away,” Dirae assured him and left the docking bay. Maul turned his eyes back to his Speeder. He recalled the short duel he fought with Qui-Gon Jinn on Tatooine and smirked. That fool could’ve lasted a little bit longer, he thought as his hands gripped the hull of the Speeder. Shame he couldn’t have killed him then and there.
With a grunt, Maul turned and followed where Dirae had gone.
* * * *
“Iridonia, Chancellor? What’s there?” one of Palpatine’s represenitives asked him after he’d announced he was leaving Coruscant for awhile. Palpatine looked at the timid man.
“It’s personal business, Glasias. I’ll only be gone for a standard week or so,” Palpatine replied. Glasias bowed formally.
“I’ll see to it that your shuttle is prepared. Will you be taking anyone with you?”
“Just give me the protocol droid I ordered and have it boarded on the ship before I arrive. I’d prefer it if you merely said I was on a small vacation and not tell them where,” Palpatine said, his last sentence more of an order than a request. Glasias nodded quickly, eager to please his superior. Palpatine couldn’t help but recall another who had been eager to please him. He shut Maul from his mind and stood from his seat on the lush sofa in his chambers. Glasias straightened to attention.
“Have it ready in an hour. I have some things to pack before I leave,” Palpatine said, exiting the room before his flunky could answer.
* * * *
“The Senator is leaving?” Obi-Wan asked in surprise. Beside him, Anakin nodded. The boy was still quite young, barely thirteen, but fairly skilled in the usage of a lightsaber.
“That’s what I heard from everyone else around here,” he replied. “I wanted to contact Padme` and ask her if she knows anything about it.”
“I don’t see why she would, Anakin.”
“Palpatine is her representive, remember? I’m sure she gets word of his buisness somehow,” Anakin pointed out. Obi-Wan nodded, realizing the boy was right. But contacting the Queen of Naboo seemed a little out of the way. The Jedi rarely had anything to do with the Senate’s business so why should they even care what they did? However, Obi-Wan sensed Anakin’s second intention about calling the Queen: he simply wanted to speak to her again. He had to smile at that. Truly, the two did get along well despite the four year age gap.
“Very well, Anakin. We’ll see about setting up a holo message to her. But first, we must train further. You’re doing very well in your studies as a Padawan; we wouldn’t want to delay your learning,” he told the boy, who beamed.
“Yes, Master,” he replied, still smiling. Obi-Wan returned it and playfully ruffled his short hair. Anakin made a face then resumed smiling. At least one of them was happy.
* * * *
“This looks..decent,” Maul remarked dryly after the droids had finished constructing their shelter. He stood there with his arms crossed over his chest and smirk on his painted features. Dirae plucked a prickly plant from her cloak then looked up at the shelter.
“They’re only second-class droids, Maul. Come on, I’m sure it’s better inside,” she said and gestured for him to follow her. He sighed, rolling his eyes, then stalked after her. He had to admit it did look better inside than outside. Small furnishings lay scattered on the floor; chairs, tables, and a single long couch-like thing made up a large number of the space available. A side doorway led to a bedroom with two beds, cots really. But, yes, what else could one expect from second-class droids? Certainly not an expensive Coruscant suite in the sky.
“It’ll do. For now. I don’t expect to remain in hiding forever, Dirae,” Maul reminded her pointedly. Dirae nodded.
“Of course, my lord. You still need to gather your strength and hone your Force abilities more before we seek out Sidious,” she replied. Maul sighed again. He hated waiting.
“Fine. I suppose I’ll go do some of that now. I’ll be out in the forest for awhile. Come if you like or stay here,” he said, turning towards the doorway.
“Maul,” Dirae began, causing him to turn to look at her. “The incident on the ship..?”
“Don’t worry, Dirae. There’ll be a time we I can fully claim you once more,” he assured her. Dirae hid her blush by looking away. Maul frowned thoughtfully then reached out to turn her face towards him.
“Those aren’t real are they?” he asked in reference to the paint on her face. She shook her head.
“I didn’t have the time to have them put there permanently, my lord,” she confessed. “I was too eager to find and resurrect you.”
“Do you want to have markings on your face as well?” he asked next. She nodded.
“I feel closer to you in doing so,” she said honestly. “Although, I don’t think the red and black patterns suit me well, my lord.”
“No..they don’t. We’ll think of something. I like this however.” Maul traced a finger down the scar he’d given her during their first intimate encounter. Dirae had marked the scar with a streak of red the color of blood. “Keep it. We’ll work around the rest. Now, I’ll return later.” He left the shelter, leaving Dirae touching her scar tentively with two fingers. His affection was slow in coming at best, but it was better than nothing.