Respect And Hatred

Dageer, Cell, and Metal staggered backwards and eventually fell, when Darth Maul used the Force to push them. Rolling, the clones were immediately back on their feet, and just in time to dodge a swing from the Sith's lightsaber.

Darth Maul, however, frowned when he saw they survived. He wasn't willing to abandon his prey, and slashed at Dageer. In response, the clone let go of his DC-15A, and pulled out his DC-17, firing it point-blank.

Surprised by how Dageer didn't even try to defend or dodge, but instead chose to trade wounds, Darth Maul arched his back, turned off his lightsaber, and retreated. He couldn't give himself the luxury of a wound, especially a grave one. With a Jedi and dozens of clones after him, it would be the same as signing his death sentence.

While all those thoughts ran through his mind, Ragout was already on him again. Unleashing a green tempest, the Togruta forced Darth Maul to fall back step by step.

Never had the Zabrak thought that he would face such a tough adversary during a simple robbery. If he had known, he would rather have stayed at his base, and let his subordinates fail and die by themselves. Now his life was truly in danger.

Dageer watched as the two Force users clashed, once again unable to assist Ragout for fear of missing the target.

Suddenly, Darth Maul used the Force to pull down a bunch of containers, blocking the view of everyone apart front Dageer, Three-four, Brain, and two other troopers. Then, he kicked Ragout's hand, sending his lightsaber flying, while his wrist bent in a direction it wasn't supposed to.

It was too fast for any of the clones to react, even if they were fully focused on the battle. Darth Maul tried to stab Ragout, but the Jedi managed to jump back and dodge. He was sweating profusely, and his face had a deep frown as he held his broken wrist. He wouldn't be able to escape the next attack.

Even as the five clones held down their triggers, sending everything they had towards Darth Maul, the Zabrak just deflected the lasers nonchalantly. Seeing that, Dageer made a split-second decision. He threw his vibroblade at the Sith.

It was so unexpected that even Darth Maul was surprised. As weak as a vibroblade was before a lightsaber, he couldn't deflect it like he did to the lasers. He was forced to cut it in half with his weapon. It didn't even take him a second to do so, but it was enough for Dageer to reach out and pick something from the ground.

When Darth Maul turned to face Dageer, a murderous glint in his eyes, he saw a green flash aiming for him. His instincts made him tilt his body, and dodge by a narrow margin. What followed was a blaster a few centimeters away from his head, forcing him to step back again, and this time even his powerful legs couldn't hold him up.

Dageer didn't give the Sith a second to recover. No sooner than the Zabrak fell to the floor, he already had spun Ragout's lightsaber like he saw the Jedi do many times before, and stabbed down, trying to impale Darth Maul.

Dageer was very familiar with the use of blades, thanks to his training with a vibroblade. He had long learned that a blaster was next to useless in some situations, such as battling commando droids. For that reason, he had to master cold weapons, and a lightsaber wasn't that much different from a vibroblade. What surprised Dageer was how light it was.

He was able to spin it without much trouble. Of course he never would be able to do it as fast as the Jedis, but still, it was quite impressive. Except for Darth Maul. When the Siths saw that the one wielding the lightsaber was a clone, he was shocked. The clone must have picked it up at the same time as he threw his puny vibroblade. To think a normal person would be bold enough to use a Jedi's weapon... Even he had to admit the clone was a worthy opponent. His desire to kill him only grew stronger.

Rolling to the side, he blocked the green lightsaber with his own. Having been slightly pushed to the side, the weapon pierced the ground without a hitch.

Dageer pulled it back just in time to block a blow by Darth Maul. Still, the strength behind the attack sent him flying three meters back. Obviously, he couldn't compete with a Force user.

"Dageer!"

Hearing Ragout yell his name, Dageer got up in time to see the Jedi running towards him. Understanding what he wanted, the commander threw the lightsaber back to it's owner, who caught it with his left hand.

At the same time, there was a loud noise as the containers that Darth Maul had pulled were pushed aside, revealing the other members of Hell Squad, and the clones that had been separated from Dageer and the others.

Seeing the dozens of blasters aiming at him, and the Togruta that, albeit hurt, didn't show any sign of weakness or of backing down, Darth Maul hesitated. If he wanted, he believed he could kill all of them. However, it would have a price, and one he wasn't sure he could pay.

Slowly, the Sith calmed down, and regulated his breath. With a low sound, he turned off his lightsaber.

"You are far stronger than I anticipated, Jedi. And far more annoying."

"I will take that as a compliment, Maul. So, have you decided to surrender?"

"Grr... Never. But I propose a truce. I will leave the vehicles I stole behind, and you won't go after me."

He growled in rage as he said that, knowing that he was putting himself in a lower position than the Jedi. However, that was the best solution to his current predicament. He knew the Republic would never let him leave with the stolen good, even if it meant fighting to the death.

"You think you can just come and go as you please?! Sith scu..."

"Cell, quiet. Brain, Tech, start unloading our vehicles. After that, Maul, you will leave immediately."

"General?"

"Do as I said. Now."

All the clones looked at Ragout. They knew exactly why Ragout chose to let the Sith go, and they didn't like it. Still, they couldn't go against a direct order.

Seconds and minutes passed slowly as Darth Maul and the Republic group stared at each other, waiting. Neither dared to make any brash move, for fear of breaking their small moment of peace.

Eventually, all the vehicles that the Shadow Collective had stollen were brought back to the cruiser, and Ragout waved for Darth Maul to go.

"One day, Jedi, I will find and kill you."

"You will have to wait on the line, Maul. If I were you, however, I would worry more about building that small criminal empire of yours. To think a Force user would swoop to such low levels..."

"Grr..."

It looked like the Zabrak wanted to say something, but he held it back. As soon as he got on his ship, it disappeared from the Venator-class Star Destroyer's sensors. Clearly, he didn't want to risk the Republic blowing him up.

"Uff... He was strong..."

Ragout crumbled to the floor, clearly exhausted. Dageer sat next to him, letting Brain deal with the post-battle arrangements.