Bounty II

- 26 BBY - 

- Lotho Minor -

Jedi Master Inspra swings his lightsaber through the air and blocks the deep orange blade from the Zabrak. The Jedi have been trapped on Lotho Minor for almost a full year and have been subjected to torture for nearly the entire time. However, despite what it may look like to the Jedi, Maul was not torturing them for the sake of pleasure or because he enjoys seeing them in that state. Maul simply used them for his training. 

Maul uses the Force to pull Inspra towards him and slashes his lightsaber horizontally. The Jedi Master was at his limit and lost his balance. But he still manages to block the attack. Maul isn't trying to kill Inspra and is only training his fast switch from one lightsaber form to another. Currently, he is using Niman, which, despite its name, can be extremely deadly in the hands of skilled practitioners, such as Exar Kun's. Maul follows Exar Kun's example, using Niman to utilise his aggression and transform into a vicious fighter, lashing out against the Jedi Master. But he is in the process of combining it with Form IV Ataru to get an aggressive combination. But also Form VII Juyo and Vaapad, to channel his inner darkness that is still very much present and the darkness of an enemy.

Maul uses Force Combustion on Inspra's hand, using what he saw Master Poof do and having mastered it himself. The Jedi's hand explodes through sheer telekinetic use of the Force and causes the man to scream in pain. 

"AAAAHHHH!!"

He falls to the ground, holding his bleeding arm, tears running down his face. Maul approaches him and uses Alter Mind on the man, taking control over his mind and planting something else inside it. He forces himself into the Jedi's mind and turns him fiercely loyal towards him. 

Master Inspra stops crying and falls to the ground. He breathes heavily and looks around, searching for something. A second later, his eyes focus, and he kneels in front of Maul, looking at the ground. 

"How can I be of service, my Lord?" Inspra asks. 

"Kill yourself," Maul orders. 

"..."

Inspra aims his lightsaber at his neck and moves closer. There is resistance to be seen, telling Maul that his control over the Force ability is not perfect and still needs a lot of work. But a minute later, Inspra kills himself using his own lightsaber. 

Maul looks at the dead Jedi Master in thought. His experience and observations constantly create and remove theories in his mind, and he is now certain that he has found the way to move forward, concerning Mind Arts through the Force. But that's not all; Maul has created a device, which he dubbed the 'Mind Reader', that picks up brainwaves and translates them into code. To translate that, Maul created a special program. The 'Mind Reader' only picks up the thoughts actively going through someone's mind and not memories. So it's not perfected yet. However, it allowed Maul to understand the mind better and devise a way to utilise Alter Mind, Mind Trick, and Telepathy more effectively. Now, all he needs is practice. 

*beep beep beep*

Maul looks at the screen, which shows the image from his dozens of surveillance cameras. The junk surrounding his Bulk Freighter shields him from most eyes, but every once in a while, some Junkers would arrive and be interested in what he has created. He has created secret entrances, but sometimes they still find him. Now, however, the image shows something else, which interests Maul greatly. 

Six figures, humans appearing to be roughly 13 years old, armed with blasters and other weapons, move around the mountains of wreckage and observe the area. Maul knows the look they have. They are dressed like Mandalorians are, and since there are six of them, the answer is rather obvious. His exorbitant bounty, which he placed on himself, has attracted the attention of the Null clones. 

"What fun!"

Maul smiles, seeing this, and makes his way out of the training hall, leaving the dead Jedi on the ground for later. He walks to the laboratory, where the bodies of several bounty hunters and two Jedi are stored. He uses them for experimentation on both scientific and Force research. Like Darth Plagueis before him, he is also interested in midi-chlorians and, most importantly, how to regenerate his lower body. But that's not urgent right now. 

He opens up the compartment of several bounty hunters and then takes control of them by starting their programming. He sits down in a meditative position and then focuses on the three bounty hunters. Using his connection to them, he controls them like puppets and has them leave the Bulk Freighter, going outside and preparing for the confrontation with the young Null clones. 

.

The toxic air and the heat of Lotho Minor push down on the young Null clones. They move through the junk, vigilant and ready for anything, at least that's what they believe. The three bounty hunters move in surprising synchronisation. Their eyes are empty, their wills bound tightly by Maul's control over their mind and bodies. His gaze moves over the screens, showing him the live feed of his drones and the cameras attached to he bounty hunters' equipment. He positions the bounty hunters in three different places, all of which are awaiting the arrival of the young men. 

The Null advanced recon clones crouch behind cover, checking the area and looking for any traps. Their sleek Mandalorian armour looks a bit too big for their size. They communicate in sharp whispers, each reading the others' moves as if sharing a single consciousness. They have been training since they were created in the laboratory on Kamino, so they are familiar with each other's thoughts. 

Maul's mental command reaches the minds of the bounty hunters, ordering them to attack and punish the young clones for their moment of inattention. 

The first bounty hunter appears from behind a broken wing of a shuttle, pulling out his dual blasters, firing precise shots at the six boys. His accuracy is thanks to Maul, as all the skills the bounty hunter once possessed died together with his consciousness. The Nulls scatter, barely avoiding the deadly shots, impacting the metal behind them. Mereel rolls behind a half-collapsed wall, raising his weapon of choice, the Z-6 rotary blaster cannon, and firing uncontrolled shots in the direction the blaster fire comes from. Maul makes the bounty hunter to take cover.

The second bounty hunter lunges from behind his hiding spot, wielding a vibroblade. He charges towards the surprised group, slicing through the air, missing Jaing by a hair's breadth. Ordo and Prudii flank him simultaneously. Prudii firing two DC-17 hand blasters, while Oro delivered a single shot from his rather unwieldy Verpine sniper rifle. The blaster fire and massive kinetic charge pierce the bounty hunter's body. Several small holes and one very big one, which took the man's right eye, are seen, and usually, he would be dead at this point. But Maul's grip kept him moving.

[Picture]

Maul tightens his hold on the body, controlling not only his mind now, but also his body, to keep him from falling to the ground. Maul controls he third bounty hunter as a momentary distraction, using the terrain, and tries to circle behind the clones. But the Nulls' training was already impeccable. They spot the movement and instantly react to it. A'den shouts a warning, and the group adapts on the fly, forming a defensive perimeter, with Kom'rk starting to fire right away. 

A fierce exchange erupts. Blaster fire lights the air with streaks of blue, and Ordo aims his Verpine sniper rifle at the bounty hunter, who should clearly be dead. Prudii ducks just as a vibro blade slices through the air, countering with a precise set of shots that send the hunter crashing into rubble. He doesn't stop, though, having seen that the previous man continued to walk and quadruple-taps the bounty hunter. 

Maul's puppets follow his will and fight with his deadly precision, but the Nulls' teamwork shines through the toxic mist of Lotho Minor as they take out the bounty hunters and stop them from moving. The enormous damage to their bodies forces Maul to now also control what is left of their figures, making it even harder for him. 

Finally, the last bounty hunter's body is riddled with holes and sent to tomorrow with an extra grenade that explodes large chunks off. Mereel, ever the renegade, launches another grenade for good measure, followed by a barrage of blaster fire from his Z-6 rotary blaster cannon. 

Maul finally lets go of his control and connection and smiles. He stands up and makes his way out of the freighter, moving through the junk and arriving on top of the mountain, looking down at the clones. The Nulls have regrouped, breathing heavily, holding on to their weapons and looking for another attack. They aren't aware that there are no more bounty hunters who will attack them, but something far worse is on the way. 

"What was that?" Mereel asks. "Those fuckers managed to continue moving looking like sieves."

"Yeah, some of that magic nonesense is going on here," Jaing agrees. 

"A Jedi? Or a freelancer of some kind?"

"Seems hard if we don't even know what the target looks like. Maybe we should call Kal? What do you guys think?" A'den asks. 

"Affirmative. A'den, contact Kal and tell him what happened. We are here on the planet and took the job though, we will see it through," Ordo says. 

The others nod their heads in agreement. 

"We also need to find out where we are."

"I know where you are... you're with me. Hahaha," a new voice says. 

The Nulls turn around and aim their weapons up the hill. They don't wait and simply shoot, feeling the threat that Maul poses. Maul feels the danger and swipes his hand to the left, moving the blasts away from him. He reaches forward, holding out his hand and blocking the powerful kinetic shot coming from Ordo's Verpine sniper rifle with the Force. He jumps into the fray and appears before the first Null, Jaing. 

He uses the Force and pulls him closer, using his body as a shield against the attacks coming from behind. He deflects more blasts and pulls the blasters into his hand, throwing them away. A'den attacks Maul with a vibroknife, but he is more than ready for this. He catches the young man's hand, twists it around and punches him in the face. 

*bam*

"A'den!" Ordo shouts. 

The de facto leader among his brothers tries to keep a clear head in the face of the monster they are facing. They haven't faced someone of his calibre yet. Kal Skirata doesn't even come close to this. Jaing fires his weapons, and Mereel goes absolutely nuts, shooting his rotary cannon full throttle. They have positioned themselves to Maul's side, so that Jaing isn't hit. 

"Haha, good," Maul praises the boys, swiping his hand through the air and pulling their feet away, causing them to fall to the ground. 

Feeling the next attack incoming, Maul holds out his hand and freezes the energy in the air, placing it in stasis. He looks at the young men and throws Jaing towards them, motioning them to attack again. The young Nulls look at Maul in anger and then at each other. Without speaking, they communicate. Prudii throws a grenade forward, and Mereel fires his Z-6 rotary cannon forward. Jaing attacks as well, while Ordo charges forward, trying to tackle Maul. Maul smiles, seeing them not give up, but go beyond their limit and ignore their fear, giving their all. 

Maul uses the Force and chokes all six of them, lifting them into the air. He raises them and then smashes them on the ground again. He lifts them again and hurls them into the junk to the side. 

"That was an impressive performance from you six," Maul says and looks at them. 

The Nulls try to get back up again, despite their injuries. Maul truly likes what he sees and feels as if the plan of placing a bounty on his head has borne more fruit than he expected. All of the young Null clones look at Maul in pain and defiance. 

"Hmm, your wills haven't been broken. Let me change that."

*ZZZZZZZZZZZ*

"AAAAARRGHHH!!" "AAAAARRGHHH!!" "AAAAARRGHHH!!" "AAAAARRGHHH!!" "AAAAARRGHHH!!" "AAAAARRGHHH!!" 

All of them scream in pain as they are hit with Force Lightning. Their bodies convulse and spasm as they experience more pain than they have ever had. After a moment, Maul stops, not wanting to hurt them too much. 

"You have been trained well... But I will finish your teaching."

___________________________

I am trying to form Maul's character here slowly. I'm not sure if it came across as intended. I'll get into it more in later chapters.