The ambassadorial ship, carried forward by its own inertia, slipped smoothly into the open containment hatch of the Anomaly and crashed into the back of the bay, flinging machinery, ambassadors, and Jedi everywhere. Then, before anyone could think to respond, a bolt of power from somewhere outside the ship hit the hull and coursed through all its systems, rendering the ship, its com units, and even its droids completely useless. Life support and lighting systems immediately died. Black silence punctuated only by the occasional sound of some object breaking loose and clattering to the floor engulfed the ship. Mace Windu's voice: "Is everybody allright?" And then everybody started talking at once.

"Where are we?"

"What happened?"

"Chancellor, are you allright?"

"Can somebody get the power back on?"

"Somebody help me, I think I'm pinned under the cabinet!"

"Anakin, talk to me. Where are you?"

"What happened to Morru? Why can't I feel her? Why can't I feel anybody?" Anakin's voice, even more panicked than whomever was stuck under the cabinet, caught everybody's attention. And so it was that Yoda's quiet statement was heard by all.

Yoda, very quietly, spoke six words: "Cut off from the Force, we are."

And then there was complete silence. Each of the Jedi (and the incognito Sith) opened his or her senses and found this to be the case.

"Ummmm..... what now?" asked Anakin.

They all froze as some strange noise, a scratching, searching sound, made its way across and down the outside of the hull. Seven lightsabers drew in unison, their glow barely penetrating the absolute blackness of the ship.

Suddenly and without obvious cause, the lights came back on.

Morru was lying on the ground, the side of her head bleeding from where she had connected with a table corner. Above her, saber drawn, stood Darth Maul.

He surveyed the surprised Jedi, ignoring the look of reproof from the Chancellor, and waited for anyone's next move. Facing six accomplished Jedi, two of them Masters, were perhaps greater odds than even he was used to handling, but no worry; he knew that they were just as helpless as he without the Force.

When the ship had crashed, his first thought had been for the safety of his master (old habits do die hard). Then he had worried for Morru. If she had been killed, or worse, somehow made unable to bear children...

He had rushed up from the cargo hold, and in the few moments before the power was restored from that mysterious outside source, found Morru by touch alone. She was breathing, anyway, but without the Force he knew little more.

And then the damned lights came back on, and his presence was revealed. Maul wondered briefly if the fact that his raw training was better than that of the Jedi facing him would make a difference; really, as he looked them over, Mace Windu was the only one to worry about. That man was almost as accomplished a warrior as he, better even than Qui-Gon had been.

And the sight of Yoda with a lightsaber was just too amusing to even consider.

Fortunately for all, they never found out who was the master at swordsmanship; for at that moment, Morru woke up.

She stirred gently, put a hand to her still bleeding head and moaned. Maul, never taking his eyes off the Jedi, knelt down beside her, ready to assist should she desire to sit up.

She opened her eyes and registered who was kneeling above her. Then with a cry that was half-angry shout and half-fearful scream, she shoved at him with all her might and tried to sit up and run.

She managed to squirm about two feet before the pain in her head stopped her. Still slightly incoherent but quiet sure of her own feelings, she leveled one finger at Maul and accused, "Why.... are you always.... where I am!!!!!"

Maul blinked; he was spared from answering, however, when an unfamiliar voice came in over the ship's loudspeakers. Apparently whomever it was who had tapped into the ship's power system from the outside had also sliced into the comm system.

"Greetings, Jedi and Chancellor, Sith and Slave!" the voice said, his words slightly distorted through the semi-fried com systems.

"You probably wonder what you're all doing here. Well, so do I. Ha! Actually, I'm sorry to say, your captivity and eventual defeat have come about because of your choice of association. Now don't be shy; I'm going to turn off your ship again in a moment, so unless you want all your charges to die a death of stale air and starvation, you'll be good little Jedi and herd everyone to the main hatch, off your ship, and onto my own: ladies and gentlemen, meet Anomaly. Hey Anomaly, say hello."

And then a different voice, similar to the first but somehow... remote, and much too young to be the same person, spoke up. "Hello. I am pleased to meet you. I am Anomaly. I hope you enjoy your....."

"All right, that's enough. Close communications. Anyway, I'd love to continue this pleasant one-sided conversation, but keeping both your ship and my ship running is going to drain my power crystals. You might want to do it soon, as I have some ground rules to lay out."

The hum of power began to drop sharply in pitch once more, and again they were all enveloped in darkness, leaving only their lightsabers as visual points. The air already seemed to be going stale.

Unplaceable in the dark floated Morru's shocking summation:

"Oh, shit."

***

Minutes later, Windu and Mundi managed to slice through the thick bulkhead door and provide a crawlspace large enough for everyone to exit. Which was a good thing; the fumes generated by the melting door were beginning to choke the ship's occupants.

One by one, they all misplaced their dignity and crawled, gagging, through the new door-way's noxious smells and into the Anomaly's containment bay. Windu stood to one side of the "door" and waited with his saber drawn for Maul to come through. Of course, Force or no Force, Maul had guessed as much; he shot through the little hatchway like a greased Hutt and beyond the reach of the Jedi. Smoothly, he rolled to his feet, saber already blazing.

"Trust a Jedi to try to strike a man who is unprepared to defend himself," the younger Sith growled accusingly. Windu raised an eyebrow.

"No, Sith. I would not kill you unarmed. I will, however, guarantee that you are kept weaponless and in a harmless condition until you can be properly processed in a court of law for your crimes. The deaths of Qui-Gon and senators Kirshel and Briggan will not go without justice.

Maul sneered, his own lightsaber held in front of him in ready position.

"And how exactly do you plan to do that, Jedi? You have no power here. No more than I. And I am more skilled, more trained in the art of swordsmanship than you," he said, brandishing his single blade as proof of his confidence.

"Allright, that's enough, children," the annoyingly strange voice piped in again, this time over the Anomaly's speakers.

"I told you that I have some ground rules to lay down. And here they are: they're really very simple.

"Don't kill each other.

"In fact, you can't even fight, not really. If you do, then I'll do this." And suddenly bolts of electricity raced down from hidden conduits in the ceilings and knocked everyone, without exception, off their feet.

"Sorry about that, Chancellor; shame a man your age should have to go through this. Anyway, if somebody dies, I will kill you all.

"I'm sure more rules need to be said, but I can't think of anything else right now. Have a nice day." And the communication cut off.

Everyone lay where they were, looking around as if expecting their unknown captor to jump out of the tiles.

Morru stood, shakily. "Well, we really ought to..."

"You have no right to be here, Sith," challenged Jedi Mendel Punt. "What do you want?"

Maul tilted his head to one side, right eyebrow raised as if in amusement.

"Why, I want her, of course," he said, gesturing toward Morru with his saber.

"Why, you...." Obi-Wan, filled with images of Qui-Gon's death, could stand no more. Ignoring Anakin's brief warning tug on his sleeve, rushed toward the all-too-ready Maul. Maul leapt forward, eager for the contact...

And Morru jumped in between them. Hands raised, back straight, and no fear at all in her eyes, she faced the two rapidly closing saber-bearing warriors and shouted with authority.

"STOP!"

They stopped.

She looked at them both as though they had gone mad.

"Have you both gone mad?" she asked, confirming her expression. "You may not know Maldad, but I do. He meant what he said. You do this, and no matter what, we all die. All of us."

She turned and cut off Mace Windu's objection. "And I know what you're going to say, Windu, but forget it. It's not worth it. You said yourself that Sith always come in two's. Well, this is only one of them. You're willing to lose three Council Members, two Jedi Knights, a Padawan, and the Chancellor of the ENTIRE Republic for one Sith? If you are, then I highly suggest you take a good, long look at your priorities."

She turned back to Obi-Wan and waggled a finger in his direction. "And you," she said, her tone brooking no interruption or disagreement. "Kenobi, from that Sith I would have expected such behavior, but you! You know better. Now turn that off and sit down." When Obi-Wan hesitated, Morru walked over to him. Several inches shorter notwithstanding, she stared him down.

"Sit."

He sat.

She creased her brow for a moment, the nodded, apparently having resolved some inner debate. She turned the other Jedi.

"Can I count on you all to hold your tempers? I don't care what you do that Sith or anybody else once we're out of here, but until then can you behave yourselves?" Nobody responded. Morru sighed. "Expected as much," she said. Picking up the small sack she had brought with her from the ship, she then turned and walked boldly over to Maul. She held out her hand. "Would you please give me your lightsaber?" she asked. Maul blinked, but did not move.

"Please," she said, the use of which word he knew hurt her more than the wound on her head. He looked over her shoulder at the Jedi behind her.

"You know they won't attack you if you're unarmed. I can't guarantee that to them from you. If you want them to give up their sabers too, then you will give me yours," she said in a gentler tone of voice. He said nothing. She leaned in closer.

"If you meant a single word of what you said to me on Irdonia, then you will give me your lightsaber now," she hissed. Maul smiled. And silently, he handed the saber to her.

His fingers brushed hers ever so lightly as she took the saber.

To her credit, her only visible reaction was a slight widening of her eyes. Placing Maul's saber in the small sack, she turned to the others.

"Please give me your sabers," she said, holding out her sack. Nobody moved.

"Oh, for the love of the Force," she said in exasperation. "Just give me your sabers. You'll get them back. I don't care how trustworthy you are, or how little you trust the Sith. If you want to survive this, you will cooperate with me. Period. Now give me your sabers. Now."

Yoda hobbled up to her and dropped his saber in the bag. "Wise woman, you are," he said, and hobbled away.

Windu sighed, but followed Yoda's example. And one by one, they all did as she had asked.

All save Sidious, of course. But no one except Maul even knew he was there, let alone carried his own lightsaber. He, of course, did not volunteer.

Once all the sabers were in the bag, Morru's tight shoulders seemed to relax a little. "Thank you," she said genuinely, and walking over to what appeared to be a blank wall, spoke.

"Hey Anomaly," she said in a much lighter tone than she must have felt. To the surprise of all, the ship answered.

"Hello, Morru," it/he said in it's stiff but friendly voice.

"How are you, Anomaly? It's been a while," Morru conversed, doing a most admirable job of sounding at ease.

"I am fine, Morru. It has been a long time. Are you well?"

Morru shifted to her other foot and spoke. "I am very well, thank you. Are my codes still intact?"

"Yes."

Morru cursed. "He never changed them?"

"No," responded the wall.

"May I ask you to do a favor for me, Anomaly?" she asked.

"Of course, Morru. Anything for my friends."

Morru smiled wanly and continued. Her lower lip was trembling.

"Could you keep this bag with these lightsabers in it for me? I need it to be kept safe, and I need to make sure nobody can get it but me,"

"Of course, Morru. Drop it in." And before anyone could protest, a hole opened in the seemingly seamless wall and she tossed the bag in.

"Thank you, Anomaly," she said.

"You're very welcome, Morru. I shall enjoy our talkings together."

"Yes, Anomaly. I shall also enjoy them. Close communication."

Somehow seeming very tired and very old, Morru turned back to face the room full of hostages.

"I supposed you have some questions," she said.

"That goes without saying, young lady," said Mundi.

"Well... let's go into the lounge. It's much more comfortable there, and you can get drinks or whatever you like. But if you don't mind," she gingerly touched the wound on her forehead. "I need to go to the medbay first. Does anybody else need to go?" Palpatine raised his hand. "Of course, Chancellor. Anyone else? Allright. Follow me everybody."

And turning to another blank wall, she raised her hand, and with a slooping sound, a round doorway morphed out of nothing. It reminded Obi-Wan of the way a membrane would open to admit air or liquid.

"But it is not safe for the two of you to go alone," said Mundi gently.

"Oh, yes it is," said Morru, turning and opening more holes in walls - holes which closed behind them the moment all had passed through. "He won't try anything for a while yet. Here we are," she said, and opened the wall.

Before them was a large, luxuriously furnished room, complete with food cabinets and small holo game units.

"He never uses it," she said wryly, and then raised one hand to cut off whatever Windu was going to say. "Questions later," she said, and opened another wall on the other side of the room.

"But Morru," Anakin asked as she and the Chancellor stepped through the membrane. "Who is he?"

Morru turned just before the doorway shut behind her. "My old master. Ungrid Maldad," she said, and the wall slurped shut.

***

Windu tried to follow her, but the walls would not open for him. Willing to admit defeat, at least for the moment, he fell to pacing back and forth and keeping an eye on the Sith at the other end of the room.

It seemed there was nothing to do but wait.

Anakin, meanwhile, had found quite a lot to keep him entertained. He had discovered, for one thing, that not all parts of the ship were cut off from the Force. He discovered that by moving around the room, his level of awareness grew and dimmed. In some places he felt almost normal.

He glanced quickly at the Sith; said striped warrior looked in his direction and smiled horribly. Anakin quickly turned away. Even the name "Sith" was enough to make him shudder.

At least there was plenty to do. While the elder Jedi sat and pondered, muttering quietly to one another and searching for a solution, Anakin wandered about the lounge, exploring. He grew bored with the holo games quickly enough, but did not want to move any close to the Sith. So, he kept to the walls. It was in this process that he had discovered the "pockets" of Force. Touching the walls was like touching a living thing. An immature, somewhat mentally stilted thing, to be sure, but a living thing nonetheless.

It was in one of these pockets that he had an idea. Looking around to make sure he was not watched, and keeping his voice very low, he put his hand on the wall in front of him and spoke.

"Hey, Anomaly," he said.

"Yes?" the Ship answered.

Everybody jumped and looked around. The query was not repeated, however, and soon they all went back to their business. Anakin was thrilled; he had discovered the secret of opening communications with the ship. Unfortunately, now that he had this power, he had no idea what to do with it. Anomaly did not know him.

But it knew Morru.

As Anakin continued to pace, it occurred to him that Morru and Anomaly seemed to be quite friendly indeed.

***

Morru and Palpatine walked in silence for a while.

"So how far is this med lab, Mz. S'mec?" asked Palpatine in polite, cold tones.

Morru sighed again. She had done that a lot in the last few minutes. "Just up ahead. I hope Anomaly was right about the codes not being changed; if they weren't, then I should be able to access the med bots and get us both fixed up." She looked at him. "Where are you injured?"

Palpatine smiled his most charming smile, an expression which still was effective in spite of the lack of Force behind it. "Oh, mostly sprained pride, my dear. I'm afraid that I lost my balance and bruised myself on the same table which wounded you." He reached up ever so gently and touched her tender scalp. "I do hope that isn't too serious."

Morru smiled but pulled away. "I'm sure it'll be fine. I'm actually more worried about cleanup. Have you ever tried to get dried blood out of long, matted hair? It's impossible. In fact, I may have to cut this part off. In fact," she said, holding her hair up in front of her and looking at it suspiciously, "I think I'll shave my head."

This was not something Palpatine had expected her to say. He turned to her. "What possible reason could you have to do that?"

Morru opened one more wall, revealing a small but efficient medical facility. "Because Maldad likes it," she said. She turned to face the room at large.

"Hey, Anomaly," she said.

"Yes, Morru? What can I do for you?"

"I seem to have hurt myself, just a little bit. Would you be good enough to activate the medbots for me?"

There was a slight pause. "Are you injured because of something I did?" asked the ship.

Palpatine was now thoroughly confused.

"No, no no!" Morru reassured the vessel. "I fell, that's all. Oh, by the way, this is my new friend, Palpatine. Palpatine, say hello to Anomaly."

The Chancellor gave her an odd look, but did as she requested. "Hello, Anomaly. I am Palpatine; it is wonderful to make your acquaintance."

"Hello, Palpatine," responded Anomaly. "I am pleased to meet you as well. A friend of Morru's is a friend of mine." There was another pause, then: "Are you injured as well, Palpatine? Is that why you have come with Morru to the Medical bay?"

Palpatine blinked; this ship could think. The vessel actually had cognitive abilities!

My my, what he could do with a ship like this...

"Yes, Anomaly," he said. "I hope that is all right with you?"

"Of course," said Anomaly, and all the droids in the room began functioning at once.

"Thank you so much, Anomaly," said Morru. "I owe you. Communication end." She sat down and waited for one of the droids to tend to her.

"The ship is alive," Palpatine said.

"Yes," replied Morru. "But he's more than alive. He thinks. He feels. He has creativity and problem solving ability. And he's self-aware."

Morru winced as an overly-enthusiastic droid applied a bacta patch to her head. "Anomaly is about on the level of a seven year old child emotionally," she said. "Of course, his actual cognitive abilities are much, much higher, which can make him very confused. He had a maturity chip, originally, to make him 'grow' as he got older, but Maldad removed it."

Palpatine shook his head. Then remembering on what premise he was here, removed his luxuriant outer robe and began to unbutton his inner garment. The thin white under robe he was wearing showed a slightly better physique than Morru had expected. Some warning ticked in the back of her mind about this... but it wouldn't come clear. Mentally shrugging, she stored the information away for later use.

In a moment, Palpatine had freed his left arm and side from his clothing and sat down. There was a nasty, discolored bruise on his left side, just below his ribs. Morru turned her face away; somehow, it did not seem quite proper to look at the Chancellor of the Republic half-clothed.

Palpatine noticed. And smiled. And then he winced, too, as the med bot began to painfully massage his sore spot.

They were tended in silence, but Morru stored one more bit of information away for later. Why this should seem important, she did not know, but the Chancellor's body - what she could see of it - was actually heavily scarred. Not in a disfigured way, of course, but the numerous small marks one receives in battle. In many battles.

Briefly, Morru wondered just what the Chancellor in his youth had been up to.

***

The door to the lounge opened, and a much refreshed-looking Morru and Palpatine stepped through.

"Well, I suppose...." but whatever Morru supposed was never revealed, for at that moment, Maldad decided to speak to his guests once more.

"Hello, Ladies and Gentlemen! I just wanted to let you all know that I'm going to sleep now (it is close to midnight pmg Coruscant Standard), and that you should probably do the same. I wouldn't want you to get off-schedule just because of me! Ha ha ha! Anyway, I'm sure that by now you all have all sorts of questions to ask Morru. And Morru, dear, in case you were wondering, no I haven't changed any of your command codes. In fact, were you to experiment, I think you'd find I even gave you a couple new ones. Not that it makes a whole lot of difference. Just be sure our guests are properly seen to, all right? Okay, that's it - I can't think of anything else to say." And that was that.

Obi-Wan turned to Morru to begin the barrage of questions, but the look of absolute disgust on her face stopped him.

"Our guests?" she hissed quietly. "OUR guests?" she repeated with rising pitch and volume. "Who the HELL does he think..."

Then she seemed to remember whose company she was in, and with a mighty surge of will power, calmed herself down.

"Forgive me," she said. I just... didn't need to hear that. Right now. I..." she sighed and sat on one of the comfortable, curved sofas scattered throughout the room. "I suppose it's story time," she said.

The others all moved closer, taking seats in the circle created by the cushioned sedans. Maul moved a few seats closer as well, although he was wise enough to keep his distance.

"Well... first off, I think introductions need to be made. The Chancellor has already become acquainted with my... friend... but the rest of you need to be as well. Once you are all "friends," then you should be able to come and go at will to the parts of the ship you need - sleeping quarters, kitchen, refreshers, etc. The more important areas will still be restricted, of course, but I can get you into most of them. Now listen: Anomaly is like a child. You need to be friendly. And whatever you do, during the conversation do not say anything derogatory or contradict me in any way. In ANY way. He's a child with a lot of power, and he likes me. All right? Are we all clear? Okay, then... Hey, Anomaly," she said, and the vessel answered.

"Yes, Morru?" it/he said cheerfully.

"I would like you to meet some new friends of mine," she said, sounding rather overly cheerful herself. "Anomaly, Meet Mace Windu." She then gestured wildly to Windu, who picked up her cue and responded.

"Hello... Anomaly," he said.

"Mace Windu, you are friends with Morru?"

"Um... yes..."

"Then you are friends with me. It is very nice to meet you. Morru, you have many new nice friends. Will they be friends with me?"

"I'm sure they all like you very much, Anomaly," said Morru. "Now, meet Yoda."

"Pleasure, it is," said he, and Anomaly metaphorically jumped for joy.

"A Me'ta Laijan Large-eared Mott!" Anomaly exclaimed, and Yoda, for the first time anyone could remember, looked shocked.

"One, I am," he said.

"Thought to be extinct," Anomaly continued, but now in a scholarly, calm tone of voice. "And yet two still remain living, both ironically on the Jedi Council, Yoda and Yaddle. Oh, Morru," Anomaly now returned to his former enthusiasm, "You did not tell me they were Jedi!"

Morru smiled. "Well, I knew I did not need to, Anomaly. You'd figure it out for yourself - you're so smart."

Lack of flesh or not, the "guests" all got the distinct impression Anomaly was smiling.

"Are they all Jedi, Morru?"

"No, Anomaly. Two are not. Palpatine is..."

"Senator Palpatine, representative of thirteen systems and recently of Naboo, elected to the Senate 5.22 this year," Anomaly said in encyclopedic tones once more. "Oh Morru, you have important people as your friends! I hope they will like me," he said, apparently unaware or uncaring that said "friends" could hear him.

"Oh, of course they will," Morru soothed. "This is Men'del Punt, also Jedi."

"Hello," said Men'del quietly, not at all sure how comfortable he was talking to a space ship.

"Hello, Men'del Punt, Jedi," said Anomaly, sounding absolutely thrilled.

Apparently, he had not had such a good day in years. "And this is Shuri ka Lin."

"Hello, Anomaly. How are tonight?" ka Lin, perhaps because of her gender, had picked up on the "friend" aspect more quickly than her cohorts.

"I am fine, Shuri ka Lin. Will you be my friend, too?"

"Of course, Anomaly," she said. "It would be my pleasure."

"Let's see..." said Morru, looking around the room. "This is Ki-Adi-Mundi, a good friend."

"Hello, Ki-Adi-Mundi."

"Hello, Anomaly. I am very pleased to meet you."

"I am pleased to meet you too, Ki-Adi..." there was a slight hesitation. "Morru," chided Anomaly. "Are any more of your new friends members of the Jedi Council?" Mundi and Windu looked at one another.

"No, Anomaly. Just Yoda, Windu, and Mundi. And of course, as Chancellor, Palpatine is loosely connected as well. But the others - save one - are all Jedi."

"Of course, Morru." Anomaly sounded satisfied, at least for the moment.

Morru nodded, very pleased with how things were going. "Anomaly, this is Anakin Skywalker."

"Hello, Anomaly."

"Oh, yes, Anakin. We have already met. Anakin is already my friend."

All heads swiveled in the boy's direction, but Morru continued, somehow conveying with her hand motions that such things would be discussed later.

"Anomaly, meet Obi-Wan Kenobi."

"Hello, Obi-Wan Kenobi," said Anomaly, sounding happier by the minute.

"Um... hi," said he.

"Anomaly, this is Maul." With her hands she shushed Windu, who was trying to object. "He is not a Jedi," Morru said, not sounding, despite her efforts, much less cheerful.

"Greetings, Anomaly," said Maul right on cue, and waited for a response.

There was none for a long moment. Then: "Morru, is he not a good friend?"

"Well...." said Morru, trying to lighten her tone. "He is an acquaintance. Not a good friend. But I... know him."

Anomaly seemed to think that over for a while. "If you do not trust him..."

"Anomaly, I.... um...."

"You do not wish him hurt?" Maul visibly stiffened - and so did Palpatine, though nobody noticed.

Morru looked like she was about to curse. "Ah, no, Anomaly, he... um..."

"I think I understand, Morru," Anomaly said in more adult tones. "You do not wish him killed, nor do you wish him incarcerated, but you do not wish him to have all the privileges your friends have."

Morru relaxed and smiled. "Yes, Anomaly, that's it exactly. Thank you - I'm very, very glad you know me as well as you do."

Anomaly gave one of his invisible smiles again. "Of course, Morru. Anything for you."

Morru leaned back in her seat. "Talk to you later, Anomaly. Communication end." She let her head fall back to the cushions and heaved a mighty sigh. "Whew!" she said. "I'm glad that's over with. Anakin," she sat up and looked at the boy with a puzzled but pleased expression. "How did you and Anomaly meet already?"

"Well, I...." Anakin looked around. It appeared that half of his little secret was his not longer. "I heard you and... that guy... say, hey An... uh, those words, before he would answer you, so I figured that's how his communications program started."

Morru smiled. "Very smart, Anakin. Take note of that, everyone: if you need to talk to Anomaly - or just want to, conversationally, and I suggest you do - begin with hey, and then his name. To finish the conversation, say communication end. But be warned: he can read voices fairly accurately. Now. Master Windu, I believe you had an objection to the way I handled this?"

"Yes, Mz. S'mec, I did. As I think all of us did. What did you think you were doing introducing that... that Sith as your friend?"

Morru looked at him as though he had gone senile. "I didn't," she said. "I thought that was quite clear. Anomaly gave him enough access so can go to the refresher by himself and get his own food. That's about it. The only thing you'd have to worry about is if he tries to sneak a knife from the kitchen, and Anomaly won't let him do that. And no, Maul has no chance of becoming Anomaly's friend now. I basically said I don't trust him; believe me, that will be enough for Anomaly. I do appreciate that you were quiet, though, during the conversation. If Anomaly had heard you contradict me, he might have decided on his own that he did NOT like you at all, and that would be a big problem. Believe me." She turned to the others.

"I can't just have Anomaly kill him, you know," she said defensively, pointing at Maul. "Maldad would kill us all if I did. Period. No matter what my reason was." She sighed again and stood. "Look," she said. "I'm going to bed. Anything you need, within reason, Anomaly can provide. I suggest you be very friendly to him, because the only real chance we have of surviving this is if Anomaly really, really likes you. Maldad is still in control, but there are always.... things... we can do. Now, I'm going to bed. To get to the sleeping quarters, go to this wall over here and touch it with your palm. Once it opens, make a left, then another left, and you'll be right there. There are separate rooms for each of you, and the beauty of it is that once you're in your room, nobody can open it from the outside; only you. However, if you escort Maul to a room and then ask Anomaly, as a friend, to keep him in there until tomorrow, he will do that for you. Because you're his friend. Now, goodnight. We'll talk more in the morning."

And she simply walked out of the room in the direction she had indicated and went to bed.

After some quiet discussion, the Jedi Council members decided to escort Maul to a room and then do the same. From all indications, Sith or no Sith, there was nothing else they could really do.

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