V.3-C.19│Change I│

"How do you feel?" Eve asked.

"Alright. In a few months now, I might feel even better than I do now." Aayla replied as she rubbed her belly. "Being pregnant, stuck pregnant within Mortis wasn't exactly my plan, or anyone's plan really."

"I bet." Ahsoka interjected.

The girls didn't spend all of their time with Anakin, and would sometimes be around each other. They had to get used to this if they wanted to be with Anakin, be with Anakin as not only he wanted it but because of the Dyad.

The multiple dyads he has connected with all of them.

"You bet?" Aayla asked Ahsoka, whom seemed to be a bit snippy today. "What is wrong with you?"

"What is wrong with me? What is wrong with me!?" Ahsoka seemed about ready to explode. "Sky-guy rejected me once again. And here I had thought he would indulge me." Ahsoka pouted here.

"Too bad for you." Barriss had a mock mocking expression on her face as she made herself known.

"Hey! You guys are the lucky ones. I only wish I was born earlier..." Ahsoka replied.

"Why do you want to get together with him so soon? You cannot a few weeks? You can't change Ani's mind as well, since he had already decided he didn't want to do so." Padme was also within the room, with all of the others.

What room specifically? It would be one of the private rooms within the Sky Palace, whereupon many rooms had been made and sometimes even expanded upon.

Things didn't stay the same and change is inevitable. So, with change within the Empyrean, its technology, construction techniques, energy methods and all kinds of other things, so too did the Palace have to evolve as well.

The room the girls were in specifically doubled as both a living room where they could come and go, but also a place that they could eat. A dining room, where they could gather as a family of sorts and bond.

It was lavish looking, because of course it is due to the Palace being an important place. A place of worship, civil discourse between the Empyrean's various vassals, officials and representatives. A place where the Empyrean family lives within, the Emperor, his mother, and his wives and most hopefully his children as well.

"Well... I asked Ani if I could start early, but he seems set in the idea that he needs to wait for some reason..." Ahsoka explained. "I even tried to trick him earlier as well."

"Which was not a success I am assuming?" Barriss had this cheeky smile on her face as she said this.

"Yes." Ahsoka replied with gritted teeth, seeing Barriss' annoying smirk.

"I think that is enough teasing her, Barriss." Padme, being ever the negotiator tried to dispel the tension within the room.

"Would you guys quiet down already! I am watching the news! It is so much fun watching all of the struggling." This time it was Zannah whom made herself known as she was the one watching the news.

"I dont think it is very nice liking the misfortune of others." Padme said as she looked at her fellow human compatriot whom is also a dark side user as well, just as Padme had discovered she is more in line with.

In fact, despite Zannah and Padme being different from each other, they could also appreciate each others perspectives. Padme may be an optimists, but she is also someone willing to get revenge, usually not for herself but for others. On the other hand there is Zannah whom is not an optimist an all and may very well be a pessimist, not willing to get revenge for others but entirely for herself.

These two were not the opposites of each other, however they did share a similarity in that they both focused in on the dark side of the Force. Some would say it is also the more passionate side of the Force and this could be viewed through what Padme is willing to do for Anakin.

"Misfortune? I guess it is, however without these people struggling they would not be able to advance themselves. They would be unable to see that they need to do something and without that conflict they may forever stay as they are and wither away." Zannah replied, explaining her thoughts.

"And where did you learn that?" Aayla asked as she came upto Zannah, sitting beside her, also tuning into the news.

"Here and there. Some from my... previous life, and some from Anakin." Zannah replied before continuing. "Conflict is the key to change, for without some form of conflict there is no reason to become better than what you are now."

"That may be true, however that doesn't mean with conflict can one achieve peace..." Aayla responded.

"That may also be true. However, everyone here and everyone out there are living beings, where we need resources to live. I think Anakin said something about microscopic beings living everywhere that have conflicts of their own without us knowing." Zannah replied.

"It is the same for the Force." Eve finally spoke up after a while.

Everyone went silent at that as they started and continued watching the news broadcast, with the all so familiar Sky Industries marketing's and labels. Of course this company, the news station was in fact just one of the many subsidiaries of Sky Industries, but that didn't matter much.

Most people may worry when someone high up in a governmental body is able to control and manipulate the news that there is some form of corruption. However, it has been made very clear alot of things.

Some things are classified information still, but the public is able to view alot of things. Anakin didn't even hide the Yuuzhan Vong from them, so of course they are also aware of these beings coming as well.

"Well, this is interesting..." Shaak, being the most silent out of everyone had just walked into the room everyone else was within, excluding herself as she was tired. She slept in for a bit, and now that she is here, she sees that everyone was focused on the news. "What is everyone..." Shaak trailed off however as she was also starting to be taken by the news.

"Now that the Republic has turned into an Empire, under the rule of Emperor Sheev Palpatine, former Supreme Chancellor of the Republic, things have gotten out of control. There has been multiple reports and sightings of the Galactic Empire trying to reassert its dominance and control over the known galaxy."

"There has even been reports of the Emperor, Sheev Palpatine trying to get in touch with whatever rebel factions from with Hutt space to try and rally them against the Empyrean. Unfortunately for the Galactic Empire, they would not be getting any allies from within Hutt space as the Empyrean is currently under lock and key."

"Our God-Emperor has decided that we would support other factions outside of the Empyrean, but focus on defense for now due to the changes in the political situation. The Empyrean economy is really good, especially with being the only true safe place from outsider conflicts. Immigration has been increasing, but the Empyrean is able to house them all because of the acquisition of new planets."

"The last thing to report on is the coming species and faction known as the Yuuzhan Vong." The screen switched to another view, a view of the Yuuzhan Vong terrorizing some local planets.

Kidnapping people but also taking over and controlling these planets for their own benefit.

"They have started to make their move now, and it is only some time off now until things start to really heat up. This is Cameron Parker, with Sky News." The reporter finished.

[]

Strapped up, hooked and even kept in place by some devices to restrict his movement, Maul wasn't exactly having the best time.

He struggled, and struggled and struggled.

Even with the Force he was unable to break through and he could only watch in horror as people, humans that were extremely huge compared to himself or most other species that looked humanoid started to go to work.

He was awake for the entirety of the operation, and there was a reason for this but Maul didn't know why and started to gain more and more hate for what was happening to him. He started to hate the person whom had brought him here, Dooku, started to hate the person who had knocked him out, Anakin and started to hate everyone that within transforming him.

He was getting an operation to transform his body into something proper, but something that wouldn't cause pain. No amount of painkillers could be used however to stop the pain from the operation involved, and would go go to affect the surgery success.

In fact, it was even fleshy people doing the operation, for the success heavily relied on using the Force as well. This large people were able to easily do things, and use the Force at the same time to deal with all of the requirements.

Maul tried to engrave the faces of everyone he saw, however he was unable to do so because of the toll his body and mind had gone through on that junkyard planet.

'Hate, hate, hate.'

'Revenge, revenge, revenge.'

It would seem that not only the Jedi had to look out, not only Obi-Wan but also Anakin and Dooku as well. Maul seemed to have developed some strange and complex emotion regarding Anakin, Dooku, the Jedi and Obi-Wan Kenobi.

Maul's mind had been twisted and the first thing the doctors focused on was his body, for without healing the vessel first, what was inside of said vessel would be open to leaving said vessel or prone to infection.

"Good. All done." A doctor said, and passed off something to someone else as Maul is in a delirious state. "Take him to ICU. Inform the higher ups so that they can inform our God-Emperor that he is ready for the next step."

"Yes Doctor." The other person nodded and walked outside of the room.

After a long while, Maul stayed in bed, restrained because he could do alot of damage, did alot of time pass. Or at least for Maul alot of time had passed since his operation, as it felt both like a long time whilst at the same time passing in the blink of an eye.

A very bleary and blurred eye, but nonetheless it still passed and it was then that someone came into the room as his mind was starting to clear up from its haze.

"Hello there." A voice spoke, which instantly alerted Maul to the intruder within his room that had none ever since the surgery.

Trying to look over, Maul saw someone's face that he had started to hate. "You! I'll kill you! I will have my revenge for keeping me here and experimenting on me! I know that is what you wanted to do to me!"

"Can you feel the pain?" It was Anakin, his purple eyes seemingly glowing with power as he looked into the depths of Maul's soul.

"Pain!?" Maul laughed, laughed out loud and seemed to be just on the verge of another psychotic break. "You have caused me more pain than I have experienced in the time I have spent, isolated on that junkyard heap of a planet!" Maul exclaimed and then started to cough.

"It would seem that I have done that. Yes." Anakin didn't deny as he looked Maul over, specifically where his waist is. "I would think that you haven't experienced any pain so far because you shouldn't be."

"You shouldn't be feeling any pain because your body is healed, so the only thing left is the suffering of the mind." Anakin looked back into Maul's eyes, whose eyes were red, yellow-gold and glowing with hate.

"Healed!? Who do you think you are!?" Maul was about to start using the Force again, and this time he would be successful. The restraints broke lose, leaving Maul to jump up and create some distance between himself and Anakin.

"What are you going to do? Try and harm the person who has helped you?" Anakin knew that Maul was not within an all right state of mind, so he needed to do something.

"Helped!? I doubt it, but now that I am free, I can kill you!" Maul jumped at Anakin, who seemed defenseless because he had nothing on him, which is untrue.

Anakin stopped Maul, now making physical contact and looked into his eyes once more. "You shall be healed." Anakin dived deep into the tortured and broken mind of Maul, pushing, probing and drawing out the chaos within, restricting and recreating order within.

Maul may still be someone that could be considered evil even after this, but Anakin would give him a chance. A chance to return to his family, and maybe even a chance to resolve his conflict with the Jedi in some shape or form.

"Sleep now."