The Fury of Darth Maul Page 3

  around his lean neck.

  "Why did you break into our fortress?" the Bartokk asked.

  Darth Maul did not answer. The Bartokk's mandibles clicked together.

  "Our sensors picked up a scan from Esseles. We believe you are the one

  who scanned our freighter. Insteaa of fighting in space, we decided to lure

  you here. You will tell us your name and affiliation."

  Darth Maul remained silent.

  The Bartokk held up Darth Maul's lightsaber.

  "This is the weapon of the Jedi. You are a Jedi Knight?"

  The Sith Lord stared directly ahead and said nothing.

  The Bartokk ignored Maul's lack of response and said,

  "Despite your ship's invisibility field, we tracked your landing. We know

  the vessel is at the base of the canyon, and sent a team to get it."

  Maul's face did not betray any emotion, but he seethed at the Bartokk's

  words. The Infiltrator's cloaking device was engineered to evade any standard

  tracking sensor, but the Bartokks were fortunate to have sensors that were

  better than standard. The Bartokk then craned his head back to look up at the

  night sky. Maul followed his gaze to see a small repulsorlift skiff soar over

  the fortress's west wall, then descend into the courtyard. At the helm of the

  skiff stood two Bartokks. Behind them, C-3PX was chained to the rear deck

  railing. Maul knew the droid could easily break free of the Bartokks' chains,

  and realized the droid had followed his own plan by allowing himself to be

  taken prisoner.

  The skiff landed near Darth Maul and the vocabulator-equipped Bartokk.

  Like Maul, C-3PX's wrists were also secured behind his back by durasteel

  binders. The droid began speaking in a worried tone as two Bartokks hoisted

  him off the skiff and onto the ground.

  "These creatures arrived immediately after you.left, sir," C-3PX said,

  his voice filled with worry end dread. "I managed to secure your ship and

  prevented them from boarding, but I'm afraid I couldn't do anything to prevent

  my capture."

  "Quiet, droid," Maul muttered. In truth, Maul was pleased by C-3PX's

  acting ability. If Maul had not been responsible for programming the droid, he

  would have been convinced C-3PX was nothing more than nervous.

  "A team will be sent to strip your ship for any vital information," the

  vocabulator-equipped Bartokk said as he slapped a restraining bolt on C-3PX's

  metal chest. "You will be taken to separate cells and interrogated."

  Darth Maul and C-3PX were each escorted by a pair of Bartokks and led out

  of the courtyard. Maul had so far sighted fourteen Bartokks, but there were

  fifteen to a hive. Since droid starfighters were operated by remote control,

  Maul suspected the fifteenth Bartokk had stayed within the freighter to direct

  the starfighters. The Sith Lord, the droid, and their four Bartokk escorts

  descended a flight of stone steps and walked to a filthy dungeon, where ten

  cell doors lined a dim corridor. The corridor's floor was a series of metal

  grates, and C-3PX's feet clanked loudly with each step. Without breaking his

  pace, Maul glanced down through the open slits between the grates. He tried to

  determine what was below the corridor floor, but he saw only darkness. The

  Bartokks opened two cell doors and gestured for Maul and the droid to step

  into separate cells. Remaining in the corridor, the four Bartokks slammed the

  doors shut. Darth Maul's cell was illuminated by a single glow rod embedded

  over the door. A rusted metal bedframe was braced to a corner, and there was a

  puddle of greasy slime on the floor. The small chamber reeked of rot. Now that

  he was tucked away in a cell, Maul believed the Bartokks would let down their

  guard. He decided it was time to begin his attack on the insectoid assassins.

  He was contemplating the best way to break out of the cell when he heard a

  whirring sound above his head. Maul instinctively took a step backward. A

  black barrel-shaped interrogation droid hovered down from the ceiling. It came

  to a stop and hung in the air in front of Maul's face. Five retractable arms

  extended from the droid, and each servo-grip clasped a laser scalpel. The

  droid sputtered a burst of threatening static then droned,

  "Before I terminate you, do you wish to make a statement?"

  "Yes" Darth Maul hissed through clenched teeth. "This entire fortress is

  going to burn."

  Within the confines of the wretched cell, the interrogator droid hovered

  a few centimeters away from Darth Maul, then trained its socketed

  photoreceptor on his face. The droid stared into Maul's yellow eyes, then

  snickered,

  "Think you're tough, huh? When I'm done with you, you won't be."

  Behind his back, Maul flexed his wrists. The durasteel binders dug into

  his flesh, but the Sith Lord felt no pain. With a jerk, Maul pulled his arms

  apart. The binders shattered, scattering bits of durasteel all over the cell's

  filthy floor. The interrogator droid made an excited whirring sound. It had

  never seen a prisoner break free from a set of binders with such ease. The

  droid activated its laser scalpels and hurtled through the air toward Maul.

  Maul delivered a sharp kick to the droid's spherical underside. The droid

  soared toward the ceiling but regained control before impact and flew back

  toward the Sith. Maul leaped aside, moving faster than the droid's

  photoreceptor could follow. The droid raced past him and smashed hard against

  the cell wall. Although Maul's fight with the droid had caused plenty of

  noise, Bartokk guards did not burst into the cell. Maul assumed the cell walls

  were sound-proofed or the Bartokks were confident he had just lost. Smoke rose

  from the deactivated interrogator droid. Maul stepped over its smoldering

  parts and examined the cell door. Locked from the outside, the door was

  heavily reinforced. But Maul was not concerned. He was about to break out when

  he noticed the remains of the interrogation droid on the floor. Its

  interrogation serum was intact. Maul suspected the interrogation serum would

  be useful against a Bartokk. He unclamped the container from the droid's body

  and pocketed the device. He returned his gaze to the cell door. Using the

  Force, he concentrated on the door's locking mechanism. He heard a clank as a

  heavy bolt slid back into the wall. Darth Maui stepped out of the cell and

  onto the corridor's grated floor. Although four Bartokks had brought Maul and

  C-3PX into the dungeon, only two Bartokk escorts were posted outside the

  cells. The other cell doors remained sealed. The two Bartokks whirled to

  confront the escaped pris - oner. Maul leaped and landed beside the nearest

  Bartokk. Before the insectoid assassin could reach for a weapon, Maul snatched

  two poison-tipped arrows from the Bartokk's quiver. With one hand, Maul drove

  the arrow through the nearest Bar - tokk's armor-plated torso. With his other

  hand he flung an arrow at the second creature, catching it between its bulbous

  eyes. Both Bartokks fall to the grated floor.

  Since the other cell doors remained sealed, it appeared C-3PX was still

  trapped. Darth Maul was about to free the droid when the other two Bartokk

  escorts appeared at the end of the corridor. Seeing Maul
standing over their

  fallen comrades, one of the Bartokks struck a wall panel that con - trolled a

  series of trapdoors within the dungeon. Suddenly, the grated floor dropped

  away beneath Maul's feet. A second later, he plunged down through the trapdoor

  and into a dark cavern. Maul landed on top of a sandpile and rolled to the

  subterranean floor. Lifting himself up, he looked at the cavern ceiling. The

  trapdoor had sealed, but Maul could see the Bartokks through the grated floor.

  The Bartokks scurried across the corridor and jammed twin-bolt crossbows down

  through the floor's open slots. They aimed their weapons at Maul and fired.

  Four poison-tipped, armor-piercing arrows sped toward the Sith Lord. Maul's

  hands moved like lightning as he plucked each arrow from the air and flung

  them back at the assassins. The arrows shot up through the grated floor and

  struck the two snipers. Their arms reflexively reached to remove the arrows,

  but the poison worked rapidly. Now there were four Bartokks lying on the

  corridor floor above Darth Maul. The trapdoor was sealed, and it was far too

  high for Maul to reach. He began to look for another way out of the cave. A

  loud hiss stirred the air. Maul turned and saw a shadow shift against the

  rough rock walls. A reptilian head pushed forward from the dark, and a pair of

  large green eyes stared down at Maul from behind a wide reptilian mouth. It

  was a draigon-slug. The gigantic snakelike creatures had been discovered

  living in caves on several worlds, but Maul was surprised to find one beneath

  the surface of Ralltiir. He suspected the Bartokks had imported the beast and

  kept it to discourage thieves from entering the caves. Draigon-slugs were

  fire-breathing monsters, and they had been known to devour their prey in a

  single bite.

  Maul had no desire to slay the draigon-slug. Unlike the deliberately

  murderous Bartokks, the draigon-slug was simply a predator trying to protect

  its territory. To Maul's left, a tall stalagmite rose up from the cavern

  floor. It resembled an inverted, twisted cone. Maul dove behind the statagmite

  and waited for the draigon-slug to pass. But the draigon-slug didn't pass. It

  slithered around the stalagmite, found Maul's concealed position, and opened

  its maw. Maut knew he would have to defend himself. He ran toward the

  creature, jumped over its back, and wrapped his arms around the end of its

  tail. As the draigon-slug twisted to bite his attacker, Maul dragged the

  clraigon-slug's tail toward its stomach and tricked the creature into forming

  a loop. Before the draigon-slug realized what was happening, Maul pulled the

  tail around its looped body. The creature was instantly tangled by its own

  elongated form. Maul left the writhing draigon-slug to untie itself and

  advanced through the cave. He stepped around another stalagmite and discovered

  the en - trance to a tunnel in the cavern wall. The tunnel led to an

  underground chamber with a high, vaulted ceiling. On the far end of the cham -

  ber, Maul saw what appeared to be another tunnel. As he approached, the path

  ended at a ledge that rode the edge of a broad, deep chasm. From the ledge to

  the next tunnel, the distance across the chasm was at least nine meters.

  Although Maul was confident he could jump the nine-meter span, he did not know

  whether the ground was stable on the other side. He looked for an alternative

  route. Dozens of long, securely moored stalactites dan - gled down from the

  chamber's ceiling. Darth Maul imagined he would be able to travel hand-over -

  hand from one stalactite to another until he reached the other side of the

  chasm. Maul was considering whether to jump the chasm or scale the ceiling

  when he noticed a mammoth spydr clinging to the cavern wall behind him. The

  spydr had nine long, powerful legs. It appeared to be asleep, with its thick,

  hair-covered abdomen slowly rising and falling with each breath.

  Still, Maul kept his eyes on it as he clambered up the chamber wall to

  the stalactites. Maul gripped a stalactite, then swung to grip another. The

  conical deposits were moist from drip - ping mineral water, and Maul was

  careful not to lose his grip on the slippery formations. He was halfway over

  the chasm when the giant spydr suddenly scurried up the wall and across the

  vaulted ceiling. It was not sleeping after all. The spydr was not even tired.

  The spydr's mouth opened and closed, revealing many rows of sharp teeth. Darth

  Maul had no doubt the creature wanted him for dinner. He also knew if he let

  go of the stalactites he would fall into the chasm. As the spydr crawled

  closer, Maul felt his fingers begin to lose their grip. When the spydr was

  within range, Maul swung both of his legs forward and kicked the creature in

  the head. The injured spydr screeched and sprayed a thick web at Darth Maul.

  The Sith Lord released his right hand, grabbed the sprayed strand, and gave a

  sharp pull. The spydr did not sever its connection to the web in time and

  suddenly found itself being torn from the ceiling by Maul's tug. Maul let go

  of the strand and watched the spydr plummet into the chasm.

  Undaunted, Darth Maul reached up, grabbed another stalactite, and resumed

  his crossing of the vaulted ceiling. Nine grips later, he completed the short

  journey and dropped down onto the ledge outside the next cave. The cave led

  directly to a flight of smooth stone steps. They were coated with a thin layer

  of moist slime, the result of condensation from the cavern. As Maul carefully

  climbed the slick stones, he saw an open doorway at the top of the flight. A

  burned-out glow rod extended from an iron bar over the doorway. From where

  Maul stood on the stairs, it looked like the doorway led to a chamber that was

  illuminated by a red light. Maul suspected the doorway might lead back into

  the fortress. He crouched down at the top of the slime-covered steps and

  peered into the chamber. The room contained a circular pool built into the

  floor. The pool was approximately three meters in diameter, and it was filled

  with a hot, bubbling fluid. Steam rose from it and carried the scent of

  chemical waste. Next to the pool, a thick-linked chain hung from a pulley

  secured to the ceiling. At the end of the chain, a hook was secured to a set

  of metal fetters that gripped a green-skinned female alien by her ankles.

  Hanging upside down over the pool, she was tied up with rope. She had the

  reptilian skin and facial structure of a Falleen. Her head dangled a mere

  meter above the bubbling pool, and her eyes were wide with terror. Beside the

  pool, a standing Bartokk faced the helpless Falleen. Darth Maul recognized the

  Bar - tokk as the same one who had sent him and C-3PX to the dungeon. The

  Bartokk still wore the vocab - ulator around his neck, and his upper right arm

  wielded the confiscated lightsaber. The light-saber's two shimmering blades

  filled the room with the flickering luminescence, and its hum reverber - ated

  in the air. The Bartokk did not appear to be carrying any other weapons, but

  Maul noticed a restraining bolt activator secured to his belt. The Bartokk

  raised the lightsaber, bringing one of the blades dangerously close to the

  chain that kept the Falleen f
rom falling into the bubbling pool.

  "The secrets of our mission will die with you," the Bartokk threatened

  his victim.

  Darth Maul did not know how the Falleen was involved in the Bartokks'

  schemes, but if she knew any secrets, he wanted her to share them. He extended

  his right hand toward the Bartokk and concentrated on his plundered

  lightsaber. Unable to resist the power of the Force, the Bartokk's claw opened

  and released the activated lightsaber. The weapon spun through the air like a

  lethal baton until it reached Darth Maul's grasp. His right hand lashed out

  and grabbed his lightsaber by its central grip. The Bartokk turned to face

  Maul, then took a cautious step backward, closer to the bubbling pool.

  Suddenly, two more Bartokks dropped down from a hiding place above the

  doorway. They carried sharp spears. The vocabulator-equipped Bartokk

  chittered, then said,

  "You forget that we Bartokks communicate telepathically. Before your four

  escorts perished in the dungeon, one of them alerted us of your escape. We

  knew if you survived the dangers in the cavern, you would eventually enter

  here." The Bartokk extended a claw toward the Falleen, and added, "We produced

  this image to make certain we would lure you into this chamber." As the

  Bartokk gestured with his claw, the Falleen wavered, faded, then vanished into

  thin air, leaving the chain and hook dangling over the pool. The tied-up alien

  had been a holographic projection. Nothing more than a trick. Darth Maul hated

  to be tricked. The three Bartokks in the subterranean chamber had earned Darth

  Maul's wrath. He fixed the two spear-wielding Bartokks with his piercing gaze,

  then pounced. Maul's tightsaber tore through one Bartokk, severing his upper

  body at the waist and cutting his spear in half. In passing through the

  Bartokk, Maul's blade instantly cauterized the assassin's wounds, and only a

  drop of the Bartokk's black blood hit the fioor. The Bartokk's upper body

  landed on its lower arms while the upper arms ciung to the broken spear. The

  second spear-wielding Bartokk hurled his weapon at Maul, but the Sith Lord