Obi-Wan had briefly surveyed the area, both on foot and by Force, looking for anything which he thought might be harmful to him or his two charges. It felt very strange, this, to be the one in charge, making the decisions, responsible for anything that went wrong. Certainly Qui-Gon had put him in this position in previous missions as part of his training, but he had always known that Qui-Gon was there, ready to catch him if he fell. Now there was no one. Obi-Wan looked over the balcony wall one more time at the sleeping city and made his way to his bedroom. As far he could see, nothing was wrong.

***

In the shadows, strange eyes watched the Jedi go back into his room and to bed, blithefully unaware of the blaster sights trained on his head. So it was true then; the Jedi were not omniscient. Funny that such a simple thing as cloning would be their downfall.

***

Scientist Ungrid Maldad of the planet Malastere watched the unnamed Jedi on the screen in front of him, glad for the secrecy granted by the clone's hidden camera. If he, Maldad, had been hiding there in the bushes, watching with malevolent intention, the Jedi would have sensed it, would have known. But this.... this was wonderful.

When clones were created, they emerged physically mature, perfect, sentient, and in every way the same as their original - same fingerprints, same DNA, the same amount of midichlorians, even the same abilities to use the force. The problem was, they all went mad. Upon consciousness, they promptly killed themselves and sometimes their makers, without exception. Because they were not created in the ordinary way, the Force would not accept their presence; It actually caused them to self-destruct.

It had been Ungrid Maldad's idea to include ysalamiri in the creation of clones.

Ysalamiri lived on the planet of Myrkr, a place ususally avoided because of its many unusual properties. For those dependant on technology, the planet held mystery and fear - its massive trees had a high metallic content, making any scanning of the surface impossible. Jedi feared it as well; the creatures native to Myrkr had developed the ability to use the Force. The Vornskr, for example, a violent, long-legged, long tailed, sharp toothed creature, used the Force on a regular basis to hunt and attack its prey; they were known to attack Jedi or anyone strong with the Force with a ferocity that bordered on sentient hatred. This, of necessity, had made the beasts likely to be its prey rather unique.

The ysalamiri were strange creatures, resembling furry, legged snakes, with one very unusual ability: they encapsulated themselves inside large meter bubbles, which completely repelled the Force. How they did this, no one knew, but within those ten-meter bubbles, the Force literally did not exist.

Maldad had theorized that the clones, rather than going mad after they became conscious, were in fact affected mentally by the Force during the creation stages. He stated that if clones could be created in a Force-free environment, and allowed to reach consciousness before being placed in contact with the Force, they would - at least temporarily - be all right.

His contemporaries had laughed at him; ridiculous. Why, everyone knew clones went mad upon conscious contact with the Force - even the Jedi taught that! Maldad was not convinced. Unfortunately, he had no way to test his theory; how did one do anything, much less create clones, outside of influence from the Force? Maldad had been initially encouraged in his research upon his discovery of the ysalamiri, but that enthusiasm had soon waned. Any attempt to remove the ysalamari from their chosen branches had so far been unsuccessful. Pathetic creatures - they drew all their nutrients through their legs from the host tree and died soon after being taken from them.

And then had come Thrawn. Presently for hire with the Trade Federation, Thrawn was known to be one of the youngest and greatest military geniuses the Republic had ever seen. Unfortunately, his young age and less-than-savory methods had kept him from any kind of real advancement in the structure of the Republic. Hence, why he was for hire now. Thrawn had read Maldad's research. Instead of simply dismissing his theories, Thrawn had called on the impressive bank of scientists available in the Federation resources, and come up with a way to translplant the ysalamri. Pathetically simple, really: he had just created an alternate, transportable nutrient source and re-attached the creatures to it before they got a chance to die. Bingo - transportable Force-less bubbles, and the true age of cloning was born. Of course, the clones eventually went mad and died anyway, but that was not Maldad's problem.

That had all been years ago. Royalty had been the only group to really take advantage of the technology so far; they were often used as doubles, body-guards, whatever. Clones were too expensive for use as anything else. However, since the Federation's inglorious defeat due to the dependency of their mindless battle droids on a single control ship, the Neimodian leadership had been looking for an alternative military source. They believed that they had found that source in clones. And when Thrawn had some up with the idea of attaching the ysalamiri to backpacks, encasing the wearer in a ten-meter bubble Force-free zone.... well, the possibilities were endless.

Now, to test them.

This clone's mission was simple - find and successfully kill a Jedi. Such a place as Irdonia, which was not even part of the Republic, and only barely civilized, did not usually see Jedi. This one presented a perfect opportunity. His companions had already been analyzed; a half-trained Padawan learner and a woman who was mysterious, certainly, but not Jedi.

He was alone.

Maldad leaned forward and pressed the com button.

"Move," he said simply, and the clone began sneaking toward the living complex which housed his unwary prey.

***

Morru turned back the bedcovers in her single room, not sure if she were relieved or unhappy at the privacy granted her because of her gender. Things were all wrong, tonight; Obi-Wan was sullen, Ani was not even trying to communicate, and Morru herself felt - strange. Strange the way one might feel when all-too-rapidly approaching destiny-changing decision. Morru did not know what was coming her way, but she did know that her actions in the next few hours or days or weeks would determine the course of her life forever.

She sighed. At least her old master had not put in an appearance.

*

The clone, Red16 by name, simply walked up to the door of the complex housing the Jedi and went right in. No one would question his presence; the kindly visage of young Senator Marsel was always a welcome sight. And if it seemed odd that he should be carrying a backpack, well, what of that? People were known to do stranger things. He stopped to converse pleasantly with the door guards before entering.

He did not see the dark-cloaked figure who slipped in behind him.

*

Maul was confused. This - person - in front of him was not right, somehow, not real. No, that was not it... the Force. The Force was missing from this person entirely. In fact, as Maul neared him, he could feel that there was... something... surrounding the man, pushing him away - because it pushed the Force away.

Maul had read enough to know that he was looking at a clone; a clone with a living ysalamiri strapped to his back. Maul was not afraid; such things were beyond him. However, he did hesitate for a moment before going in after him. Morru was up there, he knew, in this building - the voices told him so. But was it worth possibly confronting this... creature, the very presence of which immobilized his contact with the Force?

The voices spoke, and Maul listened. Hesitant no longer, he followed into the building, unconsciously using the Force to momentarily blind the sleepy guards to his presence. Morru's life was in danger; that could not be permitted.

*

Morru had just sat on the edge of her bed when a soft knock came at her door. She put her hairbrush back on the night stand and crossed the predominantly beige room to see who had come to visit her.

"It's me," called Obi-Wan from the hallway. Morru held back her sigh and threw the door open.

"Hello, Obi-Wan. What can I do for you?" she asked, trying to sound politely cold rather than tired.

Obi-Wan said nothing for just a moment. He had planned this conversation out completely in his head - what he would say, what she would say; he would be in control of the communication the whole time and when he was finished, things between them would be as they had been before. But at the sight of her, standing barefoot in the doorway, the light behind her framing her long, white nightgown and dark, wavy hair - now loose bout her shoulders for the first time in his memory - he completely forgot what he was going to say. She raised one eyebrow.

"What?"

"Um..." said Obi-Wan, and then said exactly what he had planned not to say.

"I'm sorry," he said in a quiet, surprised voice.

Morru smiled, then chuckled. "I'm sorry too," she said. "If you can apologize, I certainly manage to do so. Now that we trust each other again, I suggest we both go to our respective rooms and get some sleep. Okay?" Obi-Wan smiled back, feeling not quite the manly Jedi he had hoped to feel... but somehow, this was better.

"Allright. Sleep well." and before he could make a further fool of himself, he turned and went to his room.

Morru watched him go, still smiling wryly. "Obi-Wan, Obi-Wan," she chided. "What are you getting yourself into?" And then she went back to her room, shutting her door just as a well-dressed, kind looking man with a backpack stepped in the hallway.

*

Red16 had been told that Kenobi's room was the last door on the right. Still walking quietly, he pulled out his blaster, went to the door, and knocked.

*

Obi-Wan paused in the act of taking off his under-shirt. "Ani - could you get that?" Strange - he felt no living presence at the door. Must be a droid.

Ani opened the door. "May I...." was a far as he got. Red16 swung his fist and contacted with Ani's small frame, knocking the child aside and out of the way. Then he raised the blaster.

Obi-Wan was very quick. The moment he had seen Anakin hit, he had leaped forward, bringing his light saber to bear, more than a little concerned at the fact that a living man stood right here in the doorway and still he could not feel him. The moment he took a step closer, however, he felt dizzy; somehow disconnected. He took another step, and his contact with the Force was cut off completely.

Red16 fired.

*

Morru heard the blast. Not thinking what she could possible do unarmed in her nightgown, she shot out the door and into the hall - and stopped. Right down the hall stood someone she was not prepared at all to see. The Sith lord - he had followed her here.

Anakin screamed. And then everything went mad.

*

Ani saw Obi-Wan fall. Saw him grasp the wound in his side, burnt cloth tearing away from burnt skin. Saw him struggling for breath, more from loss of contact with the Force than from the blast itself. And he saw the stranger walk further into the room, casually close the door behind him, and raise his blaster one more time.

Something in Anakin Skywalker's head snapped.

"NO!" he shouted, and ignoring the slightly dizzy feeling that came with proximity to the stranger, picked up a wooden chair and, with strength beyond his own, flung it at the stranger with all his might.

The chair contacted squarely with the stranger's side; he fell back against the door very hard, in the process greatly upsetting the ysalamiri in his backpack. The creature stopped producing the force field.

Angered, Red16 raised the blaster again, now intending to take out both the Jedi and his annoying Padawan

Then Anakin did something he should not have been able to do. Upset beyond reason, he raised his hands and leveled a blast of.... something... at the stranger.

It was powerful. More powerful than anything Red16 had encountered before. The clone was lifted off his feet and went flying backwards through the wooden door and into the hallway.

Ani ran to Obi-Wan and tried futilely to hold him up, crying, praying desperately that his master was not going to die. He had no idea what he had done.

*

Red16 came flying into the hallway in a burst of broken wood and landed hard on his backpack, enraging the ysalamiri within. The creature reacted to all this pain with a burst of energy, a force field twice as strong as its previous. Both Morru and Maul immediately felt dizzy, sick, detached. Morru fell back lightly to lean against the wall behind her.

Unaffected and insane with anger, Red16 rose snarling to his feet and pointed his blaster at the first thing he saw: Morru.

She had no time to react; the dizziness....

He fired.

And Maul blocked the shot.

Morru blinked - how his saber had suddenly appeared between him and her, she could not seem to remember, but there it was. He had saved her life.

*

Maul knew immediately that he was not going to be able to use the Force; the shock of disconnection from his Source was almost enough to make him pass out. Darth Maul, however, had not become Lord of the Sith for nothing; he was not to be destroyed by such a thing as this. Ignoring the new sluggishness of his movements, he lit his saber and raised it to where he guessed - he hoped - the stranger would fire. If he were wrong, Morru - or he - would be injured, killed. Fortunately for Morru, Maul had studied blasters and their trajectories enough to make an educated guess.

The blaster fire ricocheted back and knocked the gun out of the clone's hand

*

Red16 was horrified. The Padawan's unexpected power he could accept - the boy was training to be a Jedi, after all. But this - person - in front of him was reacting faster than the Jedi had, and in closer proximity. Rage overcoming reason, he roared like an animal and lunged.

*

Maul backed away, not taking the offensive, trying to keep his eyes on his attacker even as dizziness threatened to black out his mind. Even so, it was pathetically easy.

*

Morru watched, unable to move and leave the support of the wall. She saw the Sith block the stranger's attack and then smoothly eviscerate him with the light saber. Then, strangely, he whisked the end of his saber through the pack on the strangers back; there was a horrid screeching noise, and then the dizziness, the strange feeling of disconnection, vanished. Morru realized at this point that she really should have started to run away before now.

*

Maul looked up, feeling invigorated once more; Sidious would need to know of this. Armed clones? With ysalamiri on their backs? Something would have to be done. But in the meantime, other priorities called....

And the voices chorused.

*

Morru saw Maul coming toward her, and knew there was not much she could do to stop him. He moved so quickly - and he was suddenly right in front of her face. Strangely, she did not feel afraid. Something - almost like voices in the back of her mind - was soothingly telling her she did not need to be.

*

Ignoring the sounds of Kenobi's padawan sobbing in the room behind him, Maul placed both his hands on the wall on either side of Morru and leaned, inches away, at eye level. He knew that touching her in anyway would be detrimental to his purpose at the moment, so he relied on eye contact. He spoke.

"I am Darth Maul." he said. Morru blinked; she should be afraid. Why wasn't she afraid? Why wasn't she at least concerned about what's his name - that boy - crying across the hall....

The Dark Side of the Force swirled, grew, coalesced. Powerful, seductive. Subtle.

And nothing existed in this dirty, brown hallway but Morru and Maul.

"I am Maul," he said again, more quietly. "And I have chosen you. When the time is right, you shall come in to me and bear me a son."

Morru had no response to this; she felt she was supposed to say something, but his voice... it echoed through her mind, leaving no room for other thought.

"I am Maul," he said a third time. "And when I am finished with you, I will see that you are cared for; you, as the mother of Sith, will be amply provided for the rest of your natural life. Are you agreeable?"

Morru found her voice.

"Do I have a choice?" she asked calmly.

"Yes." said he. "I will not take you until you give me permission."

"Oh." She blinked, slowly but surely regaining her mind, becoming aware of the yellowish lighting in the hallway, of Ani's sobs. "In that case... no." And she waited to see his reaction.

He did not react at all.

"I said no," she said again, more loudly, sounding no less sure and not at all afraid. If nothing else, Morru was a good liar.

The voices chorused.

Morru once again felt dizzy.

Maul spoke for the last time.

"You will come to me. You will give me permission when it is time." And with that, her Sithly Suitor turned and marched back down the hallway, robes flowing behind him, until he was out of sight. Morru came back to herself.

She stumbled across the hallway to Obi-Wan's room, cursing her lingering dizziness.

"Obi-Wan!" She helped him to sit up and lean against her. "Ani. Anakin! Look at me, Ani. That's a good boy. I need you to go to the com link and call the front guards - tell them Kenobi's been shot."

Obi-Wan opened eyes in his too-pale face and said raggedly, "What happened out there?"

Morru shook her head. She didn't know how to answer him.

***

Maldad was infuriated. There was no reason on earth why Red16 should have failed - and been destroyed, no less. He quickly entered the short code sequence which caused a default in the clone's body. A chemical breakdown began, ensuring that Red16 would be unrecognizable by the time any examiners got to him. No links could be left.

Fuming, Maldad prepared to fly his large ship back to the representatives of the Trade Federation located around Ord Mandell and give them more than a piece of his mind. Top-of-the-line equipment and resources indeed! He stopped suddenly, and retracing his steps to the computer console, began to replay the images caught on Red16's holocam before his destruction.

Was that... no! Could it be? After all these years?

Maldad smiled with joyful sadism. He decided to postpone his trip back to Ord Mandell for the time being; more... pleasurable pursuits beckoned his interests now.

***

Maul sat in a small pub, the lingering dizziness he still felt dissuading him from attempting to pilot his cloaked ship through the moderate shipping traffic and into space. He was disturbed by the evening's events. The encounter with Morru had been most satisfactory, but other than that...

He had felt the power Anakin Skywalker had used on the clone. More power than he had. More power even than Sidious had. More power than anything he had ever felt in his life. And the boy did not even know what he had done.

Sidious did not want the child for carnal reasons as he had hinted. The child would have to be killed. But that was for later.

Maul sighed, ignoring the hinted attentions of a willing prostitute nearby, and instead concentrated all his thoughts on Morru. She would come to him of her own free will, he knew. It was just a matter of time.

And the voices chorused

***

Morru did not get to sleep that night for a very long time. When, after all the fuss and paper work, some kindly doctor had finally insisted she go to bed, she had been sure when turning off her light that sleep would never come.

She was out before her head hit the pillow.

Her dreams were filled with him. With Maul. With Sith.

His voice... it haunted her, memory of its vibrations alone enough to almost give her shudders of pure pleasure in her sleep. The intensity in his eyes... the shape of his lips... his strength, power, speed, and cruelty...

Power... such power.... how could she even hope to resist such a thing?

In her sleep and unremembered when waking, Morru wept.

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