Chapter 89

After the capital was taken, the battle was mostly over. With the capitol back in their hands, there were only 3 objectives that needed to be achieved for true victory: capturing the Viceroy, killing the Sith Apprentice, and destroying the droid base on planet.

King had managed to kill 3 of the Camazotzs thanks to Doug and Na Kika providing assistance while the last one was still struggling. Even after seeing 3 of its allies killed and none of the enemy Titans seriously injured, the last Camazotz still resisted.

While King was battling overhead, Doug and the soldiers were defending the capital along with the city guards. They were doing their best to prevent the massive droid army from entering but it wad a challenge. There were millions of droids and barely 10,000 soldiers while the Necrons were stuck in space with the remaining ships in the blockade holding strong.

So the best way to end the droids assault was to capture the Viceroy that was holing himself up in the castle.

Nott, Jacen, Sice, and 4 Astartes led the way into the castle with Padme and her royal guard right behind them.

Two of the Astartes were in the front and firing on every droid that they came across with deadly accuracy and speed. The Nabooians were shocked by the women in power armor.

"Is there any chance they can train my handmaidens?" Padme couldn't help but ask while admiring the women.

Sice and Jacen laughed while Nott just shook her heads. She heard this question everytime she brought her Astartes out on 'diplomatic' missions.

"We can train them but we can't give them the growth hormones these women have been subjected to," Nott informed her patiently.

Gene Seed Implants were limited, even amongst the Yautja.

Jial had read about the Horus Heresy so he was careful with having too many of these super soldiers. Although he trusted the leaders of each division, he did not have absolute trust in their soldiers.

Padme nodded and thanked them for the training. She was planning on sneaking in ad one of her handmaids and getting the training herself.

When they finally made it to the throne room, Viceroy Nute Gunray was sitting on the throne with a figured wearing a black cloak standing next to him.

"Surrender, Viceroy! This battle is over," Padme aimed his pistol at the Viceroy, ready to fire if he made any sudden moves

"I don't think so, Queen Amidala! My droids and Titans will soon overwhelm your soldiers. And once they do, I will be sure to force you to sign over Naboo!"

Gunray was usually a coward but with his Titans and army of droids approaching, he knew that they could over the few members that the Yautja had brought.

As for capturing him there, he was confident in the apprentice of Sidious.

The man next to Gunray took off his cloak and stepped forward, revealing a male Dathmirian with red and black skin as well as some horns atop his head. But it were his eyes that showed his true nature.

They were yellow. Signs he had been lost to the Dark Side.

"A Sith!" Jacen yelled in excitement while drawing his blade. Sice also drew her blade, ready to have a duel.

The Astartes walk around the room and secured the perimeter, not bothering about the Sith or Yautja about to fight. They knew how those with lightsabers loved a good duel.

Nott observed the opponent and his weapon. She was impressed as she could feel that the Dark Side was strong in him but his talent had yet to be fully tapped into. The man had only reached about 1/3rd of the full strength he should have been capable of using.

"Sith. What is your name?" she asked

"I am called Darth Maul, apprentice of Darth Sidious. And you must be Nott Hash, one of the daughters of Jial."

"Correct. I would like to make you an offer, Maul," Nott spoke patiently to him, not affected by the battle outside. "I can see you have potential. Would you be interested in joining the Yautja and acknowledging me as your master?"

The room suddenly went silent, causing all of the noise outside the castle to seen even louder. No one had expected her to make such an offer.

"Why would I betray my master to join you?" Maul asked while igniting his double-bladed lightsaber

"Because you will not be regarded as a tool like your master does.

You will be able to gain actual ranks and status worthy of your strength.

You will not be an assassin that runs around in the shadows but a warrior.

And most importantly, I shall impart on you knowledge that Sidious would have never given you. Such as..." and Nott passed on a message to Maul telepathically. It was a secret that few were aware of, even amongst the Yautja.

'Your master is still nothing more than an apprentice himself, hoping to take the title of Master from his own.'

Maul was stunned the more that Nott spoke. Each sentence rang like a bell in his heart. And the last message she passed onto him was like the lost piece of a puzzle he could never complete.

'That explains so much,' Maul thought to himself. He was prideful and filled with rage but he was no fool. He could tell that Nott had not spoken a single lie to him.

"Fine. You three can come at me all at once. If you manage to beat me, I shall call you my master," Maul agreed, thinking that he would spare them and serve the Yautja with the goal of taking over the organization as his end goal.

Jacen seemed very weak and while Sice was skilled, he knew he was stronger than her. The only mystery was Nott. He could not detect her strength at all.

"We accept," Nott smiled when she heard his proposal. 'Maul is too arrogant. Guess I'll have to rough him up a bit later.'

"Careful, Jacen. We must take him together. You go in slowly on the le-"

"I'm taking him now!" Jacen yelled before rushing forward with his lightsaber drawn. Maul unleashed a blast of Force Lightning that sent the boy flying and into a column in the room.

"That was more than 5 meters by the way," Nott told the barely conscious boy. "Aria, put him in cuffs. Throw him in the cells when we get back."

One of the Astartes left her position and put handcuffs on Jacen before throwing his body next to Nott. She then returned to her position to take out any droids that approached.

Everyone looked on, stunned. No one would have thought that Nott would arrest her own brother in the middle of a mission.

"Sice. Back away," Not stepped forward and ignited her lightsaber. The Inquisitor nodded and stepped back, staying close to Jacen in case he woke up.

Nott and Maul stood across from each other their eyes focused on their opponent. It was like there was no one else in the room that could bother them.

Maul made the first move and rushed in to engage with Nott but she easily deflected his blows. Their exchange was like a lightshow with how fast their blades moved.

At first, Maul was moving all around to try and find a weakness but he soon found himself trapped in one location. Nott's blade work had created a net that would slice him apart if he moved recklessly.

As much as he did not want to admit it, Maul knew he had met his superior. The Sith deactivated his lightsaber in the middle of the battle, allowing Nott to point it at his throat.

Maul looked at her without fear in his eyes but the fierceness was gone.

When she deactivated her blade, the man knelt before her on one knee.

"Maul shall accept any orders you have, Master."