Darkness.

No sound - but there was sensation. Deep, far feeling vibrations that seemed to thrum all around her, inside her…

Floating… disconnected…

*

Maul stood and fiddled with the controls, not appearing nearly as anxious as he actually was. The repercussions of his actions the last day were only beginning to hit him fully now, and the shame of it was that solutions were lost to him. Turning, he faced the medical room and sighed. He could not return to Coruscant - what would be the point? Sidious guard's would have been doubled now, and while that in itself may not cause a problem, there was still Sidious himself to be contended with. Taking physical considerations aside, the old man could - and would - defend himself very effectively to the death with nary a qualm. Maul still did not have sufficient strength in the Force to deal with him, and that meant that his replacement as reigning Sith lord over the known galaxy had to be placed indefinitely on hold.

But all this would be dealt with in time. Now, other things demanded attention. Maul turned back to the control panel and checked the readouts. Yes - she was almost ready to wake up.

*

Morru's first conscious thought following her ordeal of the last day was that there was a really unpleasant flavor in her mouth. It was a full minute before she recognized the taste as bacta fluid.

She gagged.

Well, Morru commented to herself as she struggled to open her eyelids - which seemed to have been mysteriously glued shut - at least I know I'm not dead. She brought her eyes into focus - as much as was possible - and found herself looking at a blurred vision in black, moving smoothly beyond the glass. For a panicked moment she looked down at herself - patients were usually placed in bacta tanks naked. It seemed, however, that he had just hoisted her up, fitted the air tube on her face, and tossed her in the tank. She was fully dressed, fully recovered, and wanted very badly to take a bath.

Before she had time to process this, however, her savior - dubious term, at that - came over and peered in the glass at her. He nodded once, satisfied at whatever he saw, and returned to the control console and started pressing buttons. The fluid began to drain as the tank was repressurized with air, and within moments Morru was on her own two feet again. Impatiently she pulled the air tube from her face and promptly discovered that she was perhaps not as fully recovered as she had thought. Dizziness rocked her momentarily, he knees wobbled, and she nearly fell against the side of the slimy tank.

Maul came and stood in front of her, on the other side of the glass, crossed his arms, and smiled.

"Would you like to come out?" he said, his voice muffled.

He actually looked amused.

Morru didn't know how to answer him. Blushing, she tried to pull her sticky clothing away from her body; the bacta fluid had hopelessly pasted it and her hair to her skin in what felt like considerably less than modest form. She sighed. "Please," she said.

Still smiling, Maul reached out and pulled the latch, and with a hiss of air the front portion of the tube fell open. Morru nearly fell with it.

Maul stood where he was, not trying to catch her.

"Don't touch me," she said testily.

"I won't," said the Sith, bastion of patience.

Morru stood and shivered, grimacing with the flavor of bacta, and waited for her … captor? to make a move.

He didn't. Just stood there, arms crossed, smiling with quiet amusement. But his eyes were a bit more… triumphant than was to Morru's liking. Well, if he wasn't going to say anything….

"I would like a bath and a change of clothing. Is that a problem for you?"

Maul snorted. "You are not my prisoner. You can do whatever you like. I only wished to see if you had recovered from Maldad's punishments." Morru shuddered at his terminology and looked down. He continued. "It appears that you have - in spirit, surely, and I believe in body as well. Go to your quarters, bathe, change, and I will bring you something to eat."

"You.... will?" Morru asked.

Maul's look changed - it grew dark, warning, and the amused smile faded away as though eclipsed. "I have said I would. Do not doubt my word."

Morru swallowed, scared. Sort of.

"Damn, you're confusing," she said, and, slimed feet slipping on the smooth medical room floor, she wobbled past him and began unsteadily making her way toward the hallway. She made it as far as the door before the dizziness caught up with her. She fell very heavily against the door frame, bruising her arm slightly, but, to her credit, not crying out.

Maul watched calmly from behind.

"Would you like a little help, Morru?" he asked.

"No, I... can do this myself." Morru said, and tried valiantly to regain her balance. She could not. Apparently, she was faced with the choice of crawling to her room on her hands and knees - and likely vomiting on the way - or asking the Sith for help. She could not decide which was less humiliating.

Behind her, Maul sighed, and a moment later she felt the warmth and strength of his presence at her back.

"You will not ask for help; I see that now. It was foolish of me to assume that you would do so." He reached down and smoothly, easily, swung her up in his arms. She didn't quite dare protest. "Morru, your pride in your strength will be your undoing if you are not careful."

Morru did not answer. She suddenly found herself on eye level with him, much closer than she wanted to be - well, at least technically. The feeling of the raw power in him, in his arms, in his being, was in its own way just as dizzying as the after effects of the bacta fluid - and to her mind, much more dangerous.

"I... I don't..."

"Hush," he softly commanded, and she did not dare disobey him. Truth be told, she was scared of him - she'd be a fool otherwise, right? - but she also felt something else, something that mingled with the fear and made it very powerful indeed. It took her a moment to identify it.

"Trust," she said aloud.

"What?" he asked, looking at her, but she knew from his eyes' expression that he already knew what the answer was, and so she said nothing. They were both silent until he put her gently down in a room - which, she was glad to observe, was not her own - and left to find some food.

***

Upon being left by Maul, Morru was not initially sure that she could make it to the refresher by herself, but she was not about to say so to him. After a moment of deep breathing, she dragged herself into the refresher area and into the bathtub. And there she lay for a few minutes, just trying to catch her breath. It was fair to say that she had never felt so physically drained in all her life - and now, to top everything off, she had to somehow remove her clothes.

No way in hell was she going to ask Maul to help her do it.

Gritting her teeth, she set about undressing. The process of removing her boots took a a good five minutes - each - and after they were finally gone, she had to lie back down again and just breathe for a little while. Her clothing, sodden and glutinous, took another long while to pull away from and off her skin, but she had to admit to a certain sense of accomplishment when they were finally gone.

It took her only a few moments to operate the controls to get water running. She was so tired that the fact that she had no clean clothing to change into after her bath did not even bother her.

***

Maul had had no success in arousing the sleeping ship, Anomaly, so operating the food dispensers was out of the question; even getting the bacta tank to function had taken some splicing and jury-rigging of the first degree. Remembering past foraging success, Maul made his way down to the sub-level storage rooms.

Down there he found, sadly, no more mooonglow. However, there were plenty of other things well-hidden among the various bric-a-brac on the miles of shelving in the shadows. After a good hour of searching, Maul had gathered enough, in his estimation, to last for at least three days - maybe four if he held himself back a bit. Throwing the full rucksack over his shoulder and contentedly munching some dried palli fruit, Maul made his way back to Morru. He had correctly guessed that she would not want anything to remind her of Maldad more than necessary, and so had placed her in a previously unoccupied room. Not caring if she were "decent" or not, he raised his hand, opened the wall, and went in.

Morru was asleep. Damp hair, beginning to curl as it dried, splayed over her pillow and framed her peaceful face as she slept. Maul stood and looked at her for a moment, caught in spite of himself by her innocence and beauty. She looked so very young when when she was relaxed. He caught a glimpse of a bare shoulder and realized she had lain under the covers naked. Of course - she had no clothing. Leaving some food for her, Maul went to scout out some female clothes - he had a feeling that upon awakening, she would be extremely grateful to have them.

*** And so she was. Morru's first thought upon waking was that she was very, very hungry. Her next thought was that Maul had better not have been in here staring at her naked while she slept....

And there, waiting for her, was a simple, brown dress and enough food to satiate even her hunger.

Morru stared for a long time at the provisions, her face working as though unsure what expression to wear.

It appeared that she had a most momentous decision to make.

***

Darth Maul was seated in Maldad's chair contemplating large control panel when Morru entered the room. She stood silent in the doorway, watching him work, and though he felt her presence, he chose to ignore her until she walked further into the room.

"You'll never get Anomaly back on-line that way," she said quietly.

"I am not trying to get him back on-line," replied Maul. "I am trying to bypass Maldad's circuitry so I can direct the ship's course myself."

"Oh," said Morru, and took another step closer. Maul glanced briefly in her direction. He was glad to see he had chosen a good dress for her. The brown shift, bunched slightly at the bosom and growing fuller as it fell to her feet, rustled gently around her as she moved, subtly accentuating her figure. It was lovely.

"Da.. M... um, Anomaly has to be awake to navigate. You can't bypass him - Maldad built him that way, specifically."

Maul leaned back in his chair and looked Morru in the eye. He smiled gently. "You may call me Maul," he said. "And I fear that unless you are mistaken, then we shall both be trapped in this vessel for a very long time. The doors cannot be forced open, and the outer walls are impervious to my saber."

Morru, growing bolder, took another step. "I may be able to.... to bypass Maldad's last command to make Anomaly sleep. But I'd have to wait until the present program is finished running to do it. Do you know where Anomaly was taking us when we left the Jedi and Maldad died?"

Maul narrowed his eyes, steepled his fingers. "I do not know for certain - but my senses tell me we are going to arrive at Iridonia."

Morru took a deep breath, holding eye contact with Darth Maul - her savior, her captor, her...?

"I have come to a decision," she announced, holding her head high, and then she stopped talking. The look of stern, weary pride did not leave her face, but she seemed unable to bring herself to speak. Maul waited. He was not going to help her get through this.

"What... is involved, again, in this... thing... that you've offered me?" she asked hesitantly.

Maul looked at her, resting his hands on the armrests of the captain's chair. "You will bear my child. He will be raised, by me, as the next in line of Sith. You will be cared for amply, given more than generous means for survival, and kept safely in comfortable surroundings."

Morru cleared her throat. "Meaning what in practical terms?"

And Maul knew what her decision was

"I will make love to you, and take direct, personal care of you for the gestation period in which you carry my child. Once the child is born, you will be relegated into the hands of trusted servants, who will place you in safety and great comfort - probably in a high tower on a cosmopolitan planet, in the midst of the city - where all your needs and desires will be met directly, to the best of my ability, for the remainder of your natural life."

Morru swallowed. She gave a faint, pale smile. "It doesn't quite sound so appetizing when you put it that way," she said.

Maul smiled back, all dark power which ate her own weak expression. "It is no different from being royalty. If you were royalty, your life would not be your own; you would belong to the people you served. You would be protected and under guard at all times, and much of your movement would be restricted. But as royalty," he said, his voice lowering, growing softer, seductive, as he stood and took a slow step nearer. "As royalty, you would also be restricted by the whims of your people, by the laws which you yourself have made. As mine, you would have no such barrier to your will. You could have... whatever you wanted. As long as you gave me what I wanted first."

Morru had taken a step back with each approaching step of his. It seemed that his eyes, his dark, fire-filled eyes, were taking up her whole vision, her whole world.

And she knew that she wanted what he asked. She wanted to be his, to do what he wanted, to simply give in and be taken care of for the rest of her life.

"But what... what if I decide I don't want it? That I don't WANT to be pampered?"

Maul shrugged; he was very close to her now indeed, but he had stopped advancing. "Then you may leave. I am not concerned with what you do after you have the child - as long as you do not decide to wander off before he is born."

Morru cocked her head to one side, looking shrewd. "And - after the baby's born - could I leave and come back? You know, wander for a while, and then come back to comfort?"

Maul shrugged once again. "I do not see why not."

Morru blinked, bit her lower lip, looked away. And then she laughed bitterly. "The Jedi offered me less than that - and without the great sex." Maul blinked; her unexpected candor took him quite by surprise.

She looked up at him. "All right," she said. "I'll do it. I think I'll hate myself in the long run, but..." and here she looked down again and shook her head. "I don't really see what choice I've got. I'd be an idiot not to take you up on this offer. But, I just want to know one thing." She crossed her arms and looked at him, all business. "What, exactly, do Sith stand for? I was given the impression that you uphold chaos, evil, pain, etc. etc. etc. Well? Is it really that simple? That cut and dried?"

Maul was still smiling. "Ah, Morru," he said. "You are trembling."

Morru raised an eyebrow and held her head higher. "So what if I am? You haven't answered my question."

Maul laughed softly. It was a deep, breathy sound that made Morru's mouth momentarily fall open. And then he leaned down, so close that Morru swore she felt his nose brush hers, and said, "Do not think for a moment that I do not know what you are doing. This palaver will not make you feel any less nervous, or make you think for even a moment that what you are doing is the only option open to you. It is not." He straightened and walked to the wall, the same view-screen wall in which Maladad had shown Morru the space battle earlier. "But, if it is your wish at this time, I will play along. Morru, come here."

When she hesitated, he turned toward her again, his black profile made even blacker by the starry sky behind him; his red tatoos shone like wounds. "Morru, you will have to learn that when I command, you obey." Smile. "Perhaps you do not have quite as much freedom as royalty."

Morru walked up to him slowly, looking at him now without quite so much defensiveness. "That's not so easy for me to do," she said quietly. "To me, the word `obedience' means Maldad. I... will need to work on that."

Maul sighed - she was asking him to "understand" her - and while that was not difficult, he did not really care to make the effort. But if it would make the transition easier for her...

"You don't need to try to understand me," she said, correctly - and surprisingly - interpreting his thoughts. "I just... don't mind me. I'm babbling. Yes, all right, I'm here. What do you want me to look at?" And she forced herself to smile.

Maul looked at her, his eyebrows knit in thought. Every time he started to underestimate Morru, to put her in the same place as all other females he had known, she did or said something that took her cleanly out of that category and into a league all by herself. "You... are a remarkable woman, Morru," he said, and then turned toward the stars displayed, away from her blush. "Out there - what do you see?"

Morru looked, for the second time that day, unsure of what to observe. "I don't know what you want me to look for," she said quietly. He stepped closer, behind her, so that his body was only just not touching hers, and spoke - resonating - into her ear.

"Taking what you know of me, of my habits, of myself, what do you think I want you to see?"

Morru thought very hard, which was not easy with his warmth at her back. She had to fight the sudden and illogical urge to lean back into him. "I see... stars. Emptiness." She stretched her thoughts, saw more that she could see with her eyes. "Suns, planets - life, and death - supernovas - " his hands rested on her arms, causing her to jump slightly. And suddenly, she smiled nervously. "I know; I know what you want me to see. Order within chaos. Controlled maelstrom. That's what you are - it's what you stand for." Responding to the slight pressure on her arms, she turned to face him, looking up into his eyes. His breath tickled her face. "The Jedi have you all wrong," she said.

"Yes," he said quietly, his hands still on her arms. He realized, to his definite dismay, that it was possible for him - for Darth Maul, Lord of the Sith - to get lost in Morru S'mec's eyes. Clear violet with flecks of gray, held in by a black rim, they were beautiful and very, very deep.

He decided he wanted her very badly.

"And that's why they'll never defeat you - because they don't understand what you're about," she said dreamily, herself taken in by Maul's own gaze.

"Yes," he said again.

Morru swallowed hard again and opened her mouth, as if to say something.

"Shh," said Maul, and moved one hand from her arm to place his fingers gently against her lips.

She closed her eyes for a moment, as if struggling deeply with something, and then - the something won. Eyes still closed, she slowly reached up to his hand, his warm, strong hand, and kissed the fingers pressed to her lips.

Maul gasped as sensation tingled through his hand and into his body. Her lips, soft and sensitive and cool on his skin, pressed against the inside of his hand so delicately, so finely... He reached that same hand around and cupped her head; at the same time, his right hand slid down her arm and around her waist. He pulled her closer to him, up against his body.

"Are you ready, Morru? Do you...." He did not finish what he was saying. She raised her right hand, pressed her fingers against his lips, and, trembling, said, "Shh."

Maul smiled. And then he began moving away from her. In response to her questioning look, he merely took her hand and began pulling her after him. There was not even the slightest hesitation as she followed.

*

Morru awoke with the most pleasant sensation, a sort of warm wetness, accompanied by a complete relaxation of muscles that she had perhaps read about, but never experienced.

And, to her never ending surprise, Maul was there with her.

She had been sure, somewhere, in the back of her mind, that she would wake up alone, pregnant, and guilty, but here she was, back pressed to the man she had loved, his arm wrapped protectively around her waist, probably pregnant, and not guilty at all.

She giggled at the thought of it.

At the sound of her laugh, he awoke.

Slowly, breathing on her sensitive skin as he did so, he kissed the back of her neck.

"Sleep well?" he asked in his sensual voice.

Morru rolled over to face him, pressed her body against his, wrapped her arms around him, and kissed him, long and passionately, finally pulling away and looking at him with a contented cat's smile.

"What do you think?" she said, and gave him a quick peck again before rolling over on her other side once more.

He kept his arm around her, delicately running his fingers across her flat stomach. After a moment, she asked.

"Am I pregnant?"

"Yes," Maul answered shortly, and that was that. Morru did not know whether to feel happy or sad. Truth be told, she just felt weird.

"There's a whole other life in there," she said, musing down at her stomach and Maul's hand playing across it.

"Yes, there is," agreed Maul, and sighed.

When Maul had awakened, he knew three things immediately. One, was that he was holding Morru, and she was sleeping contentedly at his side. Two, was that they had definitely arrived at Iridonia. And three, was that he was in definite trouble. Palpatine was still lord of the Sith, and likely to remain so unless something bizarre happened to change it. And, to top it all off, he had had a very strange dream.

Morru yawned, stretching luxuriously; "Ugh," she said. "what a wierd dream."

"Dream?" Maul suddenly asked with certainty. She knit her brow.

"Yes. It was very weird. All about Chancellor Palpatine taking over the Republic, and Anakin growing up and becoming this.. thing... and eventually having a son and killing him. The chancellor, not the son." Maul looked at her, unmoving.

"I, too, have had this dream."

Morru turned and looked up at him, fear eclipsing her smile, and said, "Luke. The son's name is Luke."

"Yes." Maul just continued to look at her, holding her close, and not letting go. "The entire galaxy...."

"It's all going to be destroyed. At least, everything that we know," she said. Maul clenched his jaw.

When the ancient manuscripts had said that such a union would be powerful in the Force indeed, he had had no idea what they meant. He could see farther and more clearly now than he ever had - but it seemed that he shared his vision now with her.

"I do not know what to do..." he began, and Morru suddenly smiled and, all but bounced up and down for joy.

"Ooh!" she exclaimed. "I have an idea! But you won't like it," she said, reconsidering. "And it all depends on whether or not I can get Anomaly to work again." She fell silent for a moment, until Maul growled for her to speak.

"Well," she said, looking up at him slyly. "Do you...need...the chancellor for anything? Anything at all?"

Maul did not bother to wonder at how she knew that Palpatine was Sith. "No," he said. "Although I wish I had access to the many manuscripts of the Sith, I do not need them - or him - to complete my training. Why?"

Morru smiled, nearly giggled. "Do you have to be here to be Sith?"

Maul was beginning be caught up in the ridiculous spirit of this girl; for the Dark Side's sake, what was happening to him?

"No," he said, looking the question at her.

"I think I know what we can do," she said. "Do you know what Anomaly was originally designed to do?"

Maul looked at her, comprehending. He was beginning to have some ideas of his own.

"Well, now for the test," she said, and, still enrapt with Maul, looked at the ceiling. "Hey, Anomaly," she said.

"Yes, Morru?" Anomaly cheerfully answered, and Morru and Maul smiled the same smile.

***

Ki-Adi-Mundi happened to be at his desk when the call came.

"Master Mundi! Oh, how GOOD it is to see you!" Mundi's jaw dropped as he saw Morru, smiling and healthy, on the screen before him.

"Morru! What... how..."

"I found the old communication codes in your old ship left behind on Anomaly, and... never mind that. Can you get the others together? The other Jedi council members, I mean. I have something to tell you all."

Well, she certainly looked healthy enough. More relaxed, in fact, than he'd ever seen her. Certainly not the way she'd be if the Sith had gotten to her. Mundi smiled. "Of course, Morru. They are due to be in council in some seven minutes - give me a few moments to fetch them."

Within ten minutes time, the Jedi council members - and Obi-Wan, whom Mundi was kind enough to alert, were crowded around Mundi's desk communicator.

"No questions, I have no time," said Morru. "Maul is dead. Anomaly killed him - right after he - Maul, that is - killed Maldad. I'm free!" For a moment, Morru looked happy enough to dance off the screen.

"Then you can come back..." Obi-Wan began, but he knew - somehow, he already knew without knowing - that she would not be coming back. Ever.

"No," she said, and his doubt was confirmed. "I am going to take Anomaly and go where no man has gone before. Anomaly is finally going to fulfill his original purpose. We are going to go beyond the barrier."

There was silence on the other end of the commlink. "Beyond the barrier?" asked Windu. "Into another galaxy? That's impossible..."

"But we're going to do it. I'm already far enough away that I can barely make out your transmission. I...just wanted to say thank you. To all of you - for... trying. And to let you know that I'm all right. And of course, to alert any Federation people tapping into this transmission that Maldad is indeed dead, and you - the Jedi, that is - can pick up his body, along with your lightsabers, in our remaining lifepod at the following coordinates." Which she then gave. "And please," she said with the first sign of tenderness this conversation. "Say goodbye to Anakin for me - and tell him that...that I love him. Do that for me."

"We will," promised Mundi."

"Goodbye," she said, and reached to close the communication. The moment before she did so, however, she turned and, it seemed, began speaking to someone - to someone whose black... something - cloak, or some other item of clothing - momentarily brushed across the Jedi's view of the screen.

"Well..." said Mundi. "That is that." And he turned to go.

"But surely we cannot just believe her," protested Windu. "She could be lying."

"If lying was she, 'twill be of no difference," said Yoda. "Going beyond the barrier is she - and, if she go there, so does Sith. Out of our hands, situation is." And, for the Jedi Council, the matter was closed.

Although Ki Adi Mundi, until the day he died, never stopped regretting the way that he and his fellows treated a treasure like Morru once she fell into his hands, and wondering what became of her once she had left them.

Obi-Wan, for his part, stayed up late into the night, playing and replaying the recorded communication with Morru, trying without success to determine beyond doubt that it was a piece of a Sith that had fallen momentarily into the camera range. He knew, in his heart, that he had lost her - lost her to the Dark Side, but he had no way of proving it.

Kenobi changed from that day on; for a long time, he grew surly, and withdrawn. And by the time he came out of it, it was much too late - the damage with his protégé had been done beyond repair.

Anakin, after crying alone over Morru's loss a second time, was befriended doubly by Chancellor Palpatine, who showed the boy numerous and sundry (if dubious) ways of getting over pain - some of which involved causing it.

And they never heard from Morru again. Or did they?...

***

Morru and Maul left our story then, and did just what Morru had said they would - they went beyond the barrier, to another never-before-explored galaxy, to where there were no Jedi and certainly no competing Sith - and Maul could indeed reign supreme. Maul was re-introduced to Anomaly as more than just Morru's friend, but her mate, and the ship grew to love Maul because Morru did, in spite of herself.

And what happened to them then? And to their son, Qatra, who grew into manhood far from the place of his conception? Well... You may just never know.

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