Chapter Text
Maul could feel as much as hear Stass Allie walking down the corridor of the prison complex towards his cell. The Spire, as it was known, had been reclaimed from the Separatists early on in the Clone Wars, and it was here within its impenetrable walls that Maul had resided for many years. The Republic disliked taking prisoners, but in war they had little choice. Maul was but one of many war criminals too powerful to be kept on the normal prison worlds. Jedi Master Stass Allie had been appointed as the Warden of The Spire, a constant Jedi presence to maintain order in the prison and discourage any ideas of escape.
Master Allie had taken a special interest in Maul, he was one of the few Force users incarcerated and of those few the only true Sith the Republic had in captivity. Maul had endured her weekly visits for years now. It hadn't taken long for Master Allie to realize that Maul would never divulge any useful information about the Sith. Instead, they spent her weekly visits discussing the war or the weather or the finer points of holochess. On rare occasions their discussions even delved into the nature of the Force. And while Maul had no fondness for the Warden, their conversations were a welcome distraction.
Maul paced his cell, impatient for Allie to arrive. When she finally appeared beyond the ray shielded doorway, Maul couldn't help but snap, “Don't you feel it?”. To his growing fury, Allie ignored him. She calmly knelt down outside the cell, painstakingly arranging her flimsiplast notes around her. Only when she was completely settled did she look up and address Maul.
“Good evening, Maul. I trust you are still well.”
Maul practically spat. “Yes, Master Warden, quite well.” Frustrated, he gestured with his hands around him, “How do you not feel it?!”
Calm as ever, Allie said, “Feel what, Maul?”
“The Force!” Maul nearly shouted, “A build up of energy like I have never felt before, I can-” he gasped and clawed his fingers across his own chest in a desperate motion. “I can hardly breathe, it feels like I am being crushed and torn apart at the same time!” He started to cough and sank onto the floor, clearly exhausted.
Allie, however, was always wary of a trap. If this was a ruse or trick to escape, it was not going to be this easy. But to appease him, Allie did reach out into the Force.
“Nothing,” she said, “just the normal ebb and flow of the Force...”
Maul laughed humorlessly, “Are the Jedi really this blind?” But his laughed was cut short in a cough as his body began to spasm again. When he regained composure he continued, “Something is about to happen... something so huge I can feel it reverberating through the Force. Such massive reverberations that they will be felt for generations.”
Allie narrowed her eyes at Maul, she had never heard such desperate honesty in his voice. “Can you see what's about to happen?”
Maul glanced up to meet her gaze, his smile characteristically crooked.
“Yes...” He said slowly, “I think I can.”
And in that moment a blaster bolt seared it's way through Master Allie’s head, coming out the other side and ricocheting off the ray shield.
Standing above her corpse, a clone commander stood, warm blaster still in his hand. Into his communicator he said, “The Spire has been secured, the Jedi scum is dead.”
Maul watched curiously, not sure if he was next. While he was no Jedi, he had to wonder if this Clone would be so discriminating. The clone, however, paid Maul no heed, holstering his blaster and holding up his wrist. A small blue hologram appeared.
At the sight of the hologram, Maul retreated further into his cell, feeling the corner meet his shoulder blades as he pressed his body in tight. There was no way the small projection could see him, but that knowledge did little to ease Maul’s fear.
“Good work, Commander.” The robed hologram said, “I'm transferring you a list of prisoners to execute. Most of them are useless to me, but a few I need left alive. I have special business with them.”
“Yes, My Lord.”
The hologram blinked out and the clone commander trotted off.