The Fury of Darth Maul Page 4

  easily dodged it. Before the spear clattered against the wall, the Bartokk

  extended ali his claws and lunged. Maul brought his lightsaber up fast and

  gave it a neat spin, slicing the Bartokk's claws off with the first turn, and

  then topping off his head with the sec - ond. Even though the Bartokk's sku(t

  was protected by his exoskeleton armor, his head hit the floor with an ugly

  noise. The two Bartokks' dismembered limbs all scrambled and clawed for Darth

  Maul. To avoid the crawling carnage, he leaped up into the air and executed a

  backward somersault, then landed hard. Maul swung his lightsaber and kicked at

  the body parts, sending them into the toxic pool. During Maul's battle with

  the two Bartokks, the vocabulator-equipped Bartokk remained off to the side of

  the chamber, monitoring Maul's every move. Seeing his two comrades perish, the

  surviving Bartokk snatched a fallen spear from the floor. Maul wanted to get

  information out of the Bartokk. He was determined to take him alive.

  Out of the corner of one eye, Maul noticed the metal hook swinging back

  and forth at the end of the chain that dangled from the ceiling. Below the

  hook, the toxic pool continued to bubble and steam. As the Bartokk sprang,

  Darth Maul used the Force to propel the metal hook through the air. The hook

  snagged the Bartokk, catching him before the chain snagged at the pulley. The

  Bartokk swung out in a broad arc, struggling to free himself from the sharp

  hook as he dangled over the toxic pool. Maul removed the restraining bolt

  activator from the Bartokk's belt, then stated,

  "You're going to answer some questions."

  "You won't get a word out of me," the Bartokk replied in a gravelly

  voice. Maul produced the container he had removed from the interrogation

  droid. It held a full dose of Bavo Six, a powerful truth serum. Without

  further hesitation, Maul jumped up on top of the winch, reached out, and

  introduced the serum into the Bartokk's system.

  "I want to know the name of your client and why you stole the Trade

  Federation droid starfighters," Maul demanded as he deactivated his

  lightsaber. Panic was visible in the Bartokk's bulbous eyes as the truth serum

  worked its way through his nervous system. Reluctantly, he answered,

  "We were hired by Groodo the Hutt. He owns a factory on Esseles that

  specializes in the manufacture of customized hyperdrive engines. Our job was

  to destroy Corulag Academy, but to make it look like the Trade Federation was

  responsible."

  Darth Maul considered the Bartokk's response, and realized he now had

  more questions.

  "Why did Groodo want to blame the Trade Federation, and how did he know

  the droid starfighters were on Esseles?"

  "The Trade Federation had secretly commissioned Groodo to construct a

  prototype hyperdrive engine, but they refused to pay him," the Bartokk

  replied. "Groodo placed a sensor tag on the prototype. He tracked the sensor

  tag to Trinkatta Starships, where he discovered Trinkatta was constructing

  fifty droid starfighters. The Hutt hired us to steal the prototype engine as

  well as the star fighters."

  "I saw only twenty-five droid starfighters in the landing bay," Maul

  commented. "Where are the other twenty-five droid starfighters and the

  prototype hyperdrive engine now?"

  "They were in another freighter," the Bartokk answered. "It was overtaken

  by the Jedi."

  The Jedi. Darth Maul was not surprised they were involved. Now he could

  think of only two more questions.

  "Why does Groodo want to destroy Corulag Academy, and where is he now?"

  The Bartokk tried to fight the truth serum, but answered,

  "Groodo was angered that his son was denied admission to the Academy.

  Both Groodo and his son are now on their private cruiser, in orbit around

  Corulag. Groodo wants to watch the destruction of the Academy."

  Darth Maul had to admit that Groodo's plan was cunning. By using the

  droid starfighters to blame the Trade Federation for an attack on Corulag

  Academy, the Hutt would have his revenge on both the unscrupulous Trade

  Federation and the discriminating Academy. Without warning, one of the

  Bartokk's legs kicked at Darth Maul, knocking the Sith from the winch to the

  edge of the pool. Then, the Bartokk reached for a concealed weapon. It was a

  razor - edged boomerang. The Bartokk drew his arm back and threw the boomerang

  at Maul. The Sith Lord activated his lightsaber and swung at the oncoming

  boomerang. The lightsaber's blade barely glanced Bartokk's weapon, but the

  contact was enough to launch the boomerang straight for the metal chain that

  hung above the pool.

  The boomerang cut clean through the chain, and the Bartokk plunged down

  into the toxic pool with a great splash. Maul watched as the Bartokk's body

  rapidly melted. Maul deactivated his lightsaber and proceeded to the far end

  of the chamber. There he found a narrow doorway that led to a circular

  staircase. Cautiously, he moved up the stairs, which wrapped around a central

  stone column, until he reached a large room on the first-floor level of the

  fortress. The room was piled high with explosives and assorted munitions. A

  plastic box filled with thermal detonators caught Darth Maul's attention. The

  detonators were shaped like small metal balls and resembled standard grenades,

  but they contained a powerful synthetic explosive called baradium. Maul

  immediately contemplated setting the timer on a single detonator and leaving

  it in the volatile munitions room. The destruction of so many baradium-filled

  weapons would cause an explosion that might bring down the entire fortress.

  Since the detonator's timer offered a maximum countdown of ten minutes, Maul

  knew he would have to leave the fortress fast. There was only one setback. For

  all Maul knew, it was possible that C-3PX was still trapped within the

  fortress' dungeon. If the droid had not already escaped, there would be little

  chance for his survival. Maul set the timer on a thermal detonator for a ten-

  minute countdown. As he placed the detonator back in the plastic box, he

  removed a second detonator and clipped it to his belt. Maul liked to be

  prepared. He left the munitions room and quickly found his way through the

  fortress until he reached the courtyard. There, under the light of Ralltiir's

  moons, the spike-covered Bartokk freighter remained on the landing pad. To

  Maul's surprise, the freighter's main cargo door was still wide open. Just

  beyond the freighter, he saw two Bartokks standing beside their repulsorlift

  skiff. They had retrieved his speeder, and were unloading it from the skiff.

  The Sith Lord considered making a break for the speeder, but he needed to find

  out what had happened to the twenty-five droid starfighters. He walked around

  the freighter and found that the droid starfighters were gone, along with the

  six-winged Bartokk starfighter that had been docked to the freighter. Since

  the Trade Federa - tion droid starfighters were controlled by a central droid

  computer, it seemed likely that the Bartokk starfighter was carrying the

  control computer and guiding the fighters to Corulag. The six-winged

  starfighter would ha
ve needed a crew of three Bartokks, which left at least

  five Bartokks on Ralltiir.

  Unlike the Bartokk freighter, the departed starfighters had been

  engineered for hyperspeed. To pursue the droid starfighters to Corulag, Darth

  Maul knew he would have to return to the Sith Infiltrator. But first he wanted

  to board the freighter and take the Bartokks' tracking sensor technology. Maul

  hoped the secured technology would enable him to prevent the Bartokks from

  tracking the Sith Infiltrator in cloak mode. Maul consulted his chronometer.

  He had less than six minutes before the thermal detonator was timed to explode

  in the fortress. He had already decided that obtaining the Bartokks' tracking

  sensor data was worth the risk. Over by the skiff, the two Bartokks were

  examining Maul's speeder. While they were preoccupied, Maul slipped up the

  freighter's landing ramp and entered the main cargo hold. He ran through a

  murky corridor until he located the freighter's bridge. Like everything else

  on the freighter, the main computer console was de - signed to be operated by

  Bartokk claws. However, Maul was skilled at retrieving information from alien

  technology. He inspected the scanners and his fingers darted over the

  controls. Seconds later, Maul found the sensor data. The Bartokks had used a

  highly sensitive sensor called a crystal gravitational trap to detect

  gravitational fluctuations generated by his cloaked ship. With this sensor,

  his cloaked ship could not hide from the Bartokks. Maul punched up a data card

  and downloaded the information. Maul believed the Sith Infiltrator's computers

  could examine the data and find a way for his cloaking device to elude the

  Bartokks' scans. Maul turned away from the computer console and found himself

  facing another Bartokk. In each of his four claws, the Bartokk gripped a

  vibro-ax. The Sith Lord was amazed the assassin had been able to sneak up

  behind him, but his amazement immediately turned into defensive action. The

  Bartokk whipped two of the vibro-axes at Maul. The Sith Lord darted to the

  side as he acti - vated his lightsaber. The thrown vibro-axes sailed past him

  and slammed into the freighter's nav computer console, causing a small

  explosion. The Bartokk charged, and Maul's lightsaber was a blur of bright

  crimson as he went for the as - sassin's wrists. In a single sweep of the

  light-saber's blade, the Bartokk had lost all four of his claws. Two of the

  claws, still gripping vibro-axes, thrashed across the floor of the bridge. The

  Bartokk leaped at Maul. Maul brought his foot up fast and caught the Bartokk

  hard. The Bartokk fell backward and landed on top of the vibroaxes clasped in

  his own claws. Seconds later, the Bartokk's severed parts were motionless.

  Maul deactivated his lightsaber and returned it to his belt. Running down the

  murky corridor to the freighter's main cargo hold, he checked his chronometer.

  He had less than a minute to escape the fortress compound before the thermal

  detonator exploded. He raced down the freighter's landing ramp and headed

  straight for his speeder bike. The two Bartokks were still so busy examining

  Maul's vehicle that they didn't see him running toward them. They stumbled

  back in surprise as he leaped onto his speeder.

  Before the Bartokks could recover, Maul gunned the repulsorlift engine

  and shot out of the fortress's landing bay. As Maul zoomed away from the

  fortress, he checked his chronometer again. In his head, he counted off the

  final seconds.

  Five... four... three... two...

  Behind him, the entire fortress was wracked by a massive, thunderous

  explosion. Maul looked over his shoulder to see the fortress lit up like day -

  light by the incredible blast. Raging fires swept up the three silo-like

  towers, then one of the towers buckled and fell, smashing down on the Bartokk

  freighter. Although Maul was a bit worried about the fate of C-3PX, he found

  the sound of the freighter's rupturing hull to be most satisfying. Suddenly, a

  blaster bolt struck the side of Maul's speeder. Maul turned his head to cast a

  glance over his other shoulder and saw he was be - ing pursued across the sky

  by the two Bartokks on their repulsorlift skiff. As impossible as it was to

  conceive, they had escaped the explosion. Flying the skiff across the night

  sky behind Darth Maul, both Bartokks gripped a set of navigationa(controls

  with their lower arms while their upper arms carried bowcasters. The blaster

  bolt that had struck Mavl's speeder had been fired by one of the assassins.

  The two Bartokks were preparing to fire another volley at the swift speeder

  when Maul steered through a tight spin and angled back on a coflision course

  for the skiff. The Bartokks veered away from the oncoming speeder, and looped

  the skiff throvgh the air in pursuit of Maul. The Sith's speeder plunged over

  the upper rim of the eanyon and raced down to the canyon ftoor. Blaster bolts

  whizzed past his head from behind as the Bartokks tried to get a bead on him.

  Maul calculated his vefocity and the distance between his speeder ancf the Be

  tckks' skiff. He accelerated and steered his vehicfe closer to the canyon

  watl. Then he reached for the thermal det - onator on his beft, thumbed the

  detonator's activator switch, end refeased the metal ball into the

  The detonator met the front end of the Bartokks' skiff. There was a loud

  expfosion, and Maul felt a wave of intense heat at his back. He pulled up on

  his speeder's controls and blasted away from the canyon wafl before any

  burning debris could touch him. The detonator had not only destroyed the

  Bartokks and their skiff, but had punched a deep impression into the canyon

  wall, forming a small crater. Maul flew his speeder down to the canyon floor.

  The Sith Infiltrator was parked exactly where he had left it. As he angled his

  speeder toward the Infiltrator, he sighted a lone Bartokk guard standing on

  the ground near the stern of the starship. From the guard's relaxed stance,

  Maul determined he hadn't seen the approaching speeder. While Maul's left hand

  gripped the speeder con - trols, his right hand reached for his lightsaber and

  activated its blade. As Maul neared the Infiltrator, the guard caught sight of

  him. Maul leaned hard to the side so that his speeder was practically side -

  ways, then swung his crimson lightsaber. With dazzling speed, the Bartokk

  dodged the deadly blade and snagged the back of the speeder with his claws.

  Clinging to the powerful speeder, the Bartokk was yanked from the ground. The

  Bartokk's weight brought the speeder's tail down, and the vehicle was thrown

  off balance by the unwelcome passenger. The Bartokk was about to attack with

  his claws when Maul gunned the engine and launched into a steep vertical

  climb. Maul didn't want to risk damaging his own speeder with his lightsaber,

  so he quickly deactivated the weapon and returned it to his belt. With his

  free hand, he reached back over his head and grabbed one of the Bartokk's

  wrists.

  Maul braked and swung his arm with all his might. The Bartokk was flung

  from the speeder and into the air. Maul's free hand returned to the speeder's

  controls and he blasted away from the free-falling Bartokk. No
w that the

  Bartokk was out of the picture, Darth Maul landed his speeder next to the

  Infiltra - tor. At first, it seemed the Bartokk guard had left the ship

  untouched. But after Maul returned his speeder to its storage compartment in

  the Infiltra - tor's underside cargo hatch, he noticed deep scratches on the

  aft hatchway. Still, the hatch was sealed, so he assumed the Bartokks had not

  been able to breach his ship's security system. He opened the aft hatch,

  entered the Infiltrator, and headed to the bridge. Maul knew if the Bartokk

  starfighter and twenty-five droid starfighters were traveling through

  hyperspace by way of the Perlemian Trade Route, they were probably already

  halfway to Corulag. The Infiltrator was equipped with a Sienar SSDS 11-A

  hyperdrive, which was more powerful than any of the Bartokk or Trade

  Federation droid starfighters. Even though the Bartokks had a head start, Maul

  believed he might actually beat them to the Corulag system. After Maul

  initiated the launching sequence, the Infiltrator lifted off from the canyon

  floor and blasted into the sky. Barely a minute later, the Infiltrator left

  Ralltiir's stratosphere and entered space. Maul plotted a course for Corulag

  and was preparing to make the jump to hyperspace when a warning light flashed.

  The Infiltrator's computer had detected a malfunction with the hyperdrive

  motivator. Maul wondered if the Bartokks had tampered with his ship after all,

  so he ran a com - plete diagnostic. Fortunately, the Infiltrator's automated

  repair system was quickly able to repair the malfunction. Maul entered the

  coordinates for Corulag into the nav computer and activated the hyperdrive.

  Outside the Infiltrator, the stars appeared to elon - gate away from the

  central point of his destina - tion. In the next instant, the distorted

  starfield was filled with an intense light, and the Infiltrator raced into

  hyperspace. Maul consulted a computer monitor to confirm the hyperdrive

  motivator was fully operational. But on the surface of the monitor's screen,

  Maul saw something he had not anticipated a reflection of something moving

  behind him. It was a Bartokk. Maul spun in his seat to face the Bartokk. The