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jgvfhl · 2 years ago

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TECHNIQUE 47 MY DEAREST BELOVED!!!!! TIQ CALLING PALPATINE EVERY NAME UNDER THE SUN!!! HE PROBABLY DOES USE TEETH!!!!

It Happened Quiet Pt 28

Of Decisions and Bitches

The Jedi take an accusation seriously.

Things are said.

Plo had a lot he was grateful for and a lot he was proud of.

Plo had seen Maul grow in unbelievable leaps and bounds while in their care, soaking up what they could teach him like a sponge, drawn to their warmth as much as he was not sure what to do with it. He was always delighted in their philosophy discussions, listening to Maul unravel his perspective. There had been, however, a few unwritten rules, even in those classes.

One of these rules involved the fact that specific conversations around the Sith and the Jedi were rarely ever done. Maul was still hesitant to talk about some of the secrets that belonged to the Sith and this was something that Plo would always respect. Maul was the last of their Order, the one that held their secrets twined around his hearts and Plo could understand that if Maul decided that he wished for the secrets to die with him or wished to teach them, then this was his right and his decision and Plo had never pushed.

Though this had also come with the fact that Maul was hesitant to discuss what he thought about the Jedi, what he believed that it was to be Jedi. When Plo had understood that Maul was planning to do his own reading, to look into it on Maul’s own for understanding, it had delighted him. This was a sign of growth, of steadily building maturity, of allowing himself to say he did not know everything, but he wanted to know.

Plo still would not have pushed for secrets of the Sith, would have shared whatever Maul wished, but he understood that Maul still in all things sometimes found it difficult to ask.

Plo rather thought it was because Maul was afraid that Plo would say no. That Plo would take Maul’s interest and use it against him. Plo had breathed that particular pain out, knowing where it was coming from and having expected it. Trust was such a hard-won thing, particularly when that trust, small as it was, had been crushed again and again and again.

Maul’s trust had been in a Master that had broken him again and again and again.

Plo could only remain steady, prove to be worth what trust that Maul had extended and hope he would offer more…

Which was why Plo was currently cursing himself for having hesitated.

Initially it had been due to the fact that Maul seemed to have been handling himself, and it was good to show that Maul was not a danger. He was smart-mouthed and supremely quick-witted, but he was not a threat. He stood up for himself in a way that was appropriate and ultimately worked well at showing that Maul was perfectly capable of controlling himself around others.

But then…Plo had not expected the venom that had dripped from Krell.

Plo had expected better.

And as Krell’s venom had risen Maul had allowed himself to match it, to work to surpass it, because Maul had been taught again and again and again that to not do so was death. And even as Plo had started approaching they had hissed words back and forth, and then Maul had spoken about kidnapping.

Plo had frozen mid-step.

The accusations that he knew what the Acquisition Department was for, that…

Their moral platitudes outweighing legal authority…

The rambling thoughts through his head, the idea that Maul had thought they had kidnapped Ahsoka and simply gone along with it because they were a better Master than his own? Did he think that about Anakin? All of their children?

Was he right?

The children that Plo had taken had been ones that had been given and given warmly, ones that the parents thought would be better served by being Jedi, taken from lives of slavery or poverty or other terrors. But Maul was correct in that they did have legal authority to take their children regardless of permission.

Was that a threat that would hang over their heads? Was that something that they would believe was truly what the Jedi would do? Perhaps not in the Core, not even in the Mid Rim where the Jedi were more well known, but out of it… Mandalorian Space or the Outer Rim for example…

Jetii is equal to the Republic…

Plo had never even considered it beyond the initial spark of horror at the realization that the law existed and the swearing that it would be something he never resorted to…

…

But the rest of the Galaxy…

They did not breathe out.

And suddenly Plo was confronted with a realization that punched the air out of his lungs – in this at least, providing Maul was not allowing for his words to scrabble for any notch in the armor Krell was wearing, whatever weak spot he could stab, Maul had never thought that the Jedi were better than his Master.

Maul had seen them as just another kidnapper.

Plo did think that they had proven that they were willing to allow for outside beliefs, for his own beliefs… There were Jedi that practiced their religions that they had brought with them, spoke the languages of their people, their faces and bodies marked in ink that belonged to their people, their coming-of-age rituals practiced and perfected… But would the rest of the Galaxy see that if they were not allowed within the Temple?

And then Maul had reared back as though struck and spat two words that Plo had never expected to hear from him, and he knew for a fact that this was about to go to a point that it could not come back from and so Plo had called to “Wait!”

Plo had not expected for the utter fear to suddenly begin pouring off Maul, for the way that the form stiffened, golden eyes turning towards him and his other approaching Council Members with nothing but dread glimmering within them for just a moment…and then that dread shut down. Maul’s face and body stilled, and Plo realized he was readying himself for a punishment that…

Absolutely not.

Plo turned his attention to Krell, looking up at him fully and he could see the moment when Krell’s expression flickered.

“Master Krell,” Plo said, his tone as even and direct as he could manage it, “I am deeply disappointed in you.”

The confusion and shock that tolled through Maul was as clear as a bell and a small part of Plo railed against it. Maul should not have so much shock, should not have so much disbelief at the idea that they were not upset with him. Why should they be? All that Maul had done was spoken the truth as he had seen it. That it was a truth that hurt only proved more reason to listen to it.

Krell jerked his chin up, staring at him coldly and Plo turned himself to evenly meet that stare fully, his gaze and signature both even and still. He was aware of his fellow Masters coming up to stand there as well, feeling the way all of them focused on Krell with a combined weight, and firmly turned his attention towards Krell, standing between the Jedi and the young Sith behind him, his back firmly to Maul.

The trust was obvious, as was the way he returned the favor of so long ago, when Maul had chosen him to sit before while Maul was sick and feverish, but utterly triumphant with the burn of the Dark.

“You are not acting in a way befitting of your station and your title,” Plo said, his voice clear and calm. Krell’s chin tilted up.

“My apologies, Masters,” he stated, though there was no apology in his voice. “But I do not understand why we continue to host this…” he gestured towards Maul. “When he has proven to be nothing but a blight. The only thing that he has proven by his presence is how much the Galaxy suffered due to the Sith. Do your rooms even now seem to have a cold void within the spot that should belong to an Apprentice?” he asked, looking to Eeth. “Have the animals returned to the spot where his ceremony took place, has that room gained its heat? From what I have heard he has even caused a chill to grow in your training rooms. How can you stand there and protect him when he is obviously creating imbalance? This should be a place of bastion of learning and safety and yet you keep him here where he can continue to spread these lies. Are you going to listen to this drivel about stealing children?”

Plo went to open his mouth, his chin tilting up, but it seemed that Maul had quite enough and was not done, for just as he was about to speak, Maul’s voice crackled out.

“And am I truly a pollutant when even the Galaxy itself longs for my Heat?” Maul asked, and his voice was a low rumble, angry and heavy and full of a bitter and biting fury. “You speak of this cold and this void but what are these but the absence of something? You may have filled it up and smoothed it over with your own presence, but the Galaxy itself knows that I belong within it and aches for what it has lost. The fact that you have not been able to cover it up with your own presence simply means that it is something that cannot be filled with you.”

And Plo…was utterly floored.

Shocked enough to turn, to look at Maul who had a look on his face like he could not believe what he had just said. But that…

“He is right,” Plo said finally, turning to look at Krell. “It is the absence of his presence, not a rejection of it. He has a right to exist, Master Krell, and a right to safety and life. And you should do well to remember this.”

Master Krell’s wattle flared slightly, his eyes slanting, and then he finally bowed. “Of course, Master Koon. You are correct. I will…meditate on this.”

“Please do,” Plo said, “may the Force be with you.”

And then he turned back to Maul fully in a complete dismissal. Maul’s gaze flickered from Plo to Krell and then back to Plo, something unreadable in those eyes. Krell walked away.

Maul stood there for a moment in silence, looking like he was not sure what he should say, if anything, but Plo…had a lot of other things on his mind. He looked to his fellow Council Members, who met his gaze, their expressions grave in a way he had not seen in a while.

“I think…that we ought to discuss this,” Mace said finally, his voice quiet, and Plo found himself agreeing. Maul’s gaze flickered to Mace and there was something so…

“Pick some datapads, Lord Maul,” Mace said, “we will not leave until you have what you want.”

Maul hesitated for a moment, staring at them still and then looked back towards the shelf, and back before he took a slow step towards the shelves and resumed searching, though he felt… Plo could not read him precisely, his emotions jumbled together and his presence a flickering candle that guttered… Plo hoped that in being able to pick out the datapads and being brought back to a place that was familiar, if not precisely his, Maul would be able to settle. They had much to discuss.

Maul grabbed a few datapads, his motions not quite as direct as usual, almost…hesitant. When he had finally finished pulling out the datapads he wanted he took a few steps back, but did not turn, his focus still firmly on the shelf and… Oh, yes. He was looking towards the top shelves, but…somehow his awareness was on them. Maul felt a bit like he wanted to run, to flee. Plo walked up to him, Maul’s gaze immediately landing on him. “Do you have one you want?” he asked.

Maul hesitated, and there was…

“Maul, is something wrong?” he asked gently. Maul stared at him for a moment, before finally shaking his head.

“Do you want to go back?” Mace asked.

Maul hesitated, holding the datapads he had collected close to his chest, and finally nodded.

For a moment Plo worried. Maul had been so immediately vocal just a short beat ago, though…perhaps that was the problem. Maul had opened his mouth and said more than he had in the longest time, and it was…perhaps a lot more inflammatory than he would ever allow himself regularly. Plo would not press. He did not want to cause greater strain, and so he inclined his head, looking to Tiq to see if he was making the right decision. Tiq merely inclined his own head, turning towards the exit.

They surrounded Maul again and walked him out of the Archives, the Jedi that they passed a great deal quieter than before, all of them doing their best to make it seem that they weren’t looking.

Maul seemed to sink lower and lower, and Eeth came forward, giving a gesture and Maul ducked his head, allowing Eeth to put his hood up.

Plo didn’t want him to hide, Maul had no reason to hide. Nothing he had said was wrong…but he understood… They brought Maul back to his cell and Tiq took a moment to look at them, before back to Maul, the motion clear – Tiq was staying. They inclined their heads towards Maul. Tiq gave them a bow and they left.

Maul watched the entire time.

Tiq took off his collar.

They had work to do.

Eeth could not believe it.

This was the fastest that he believed the Council had ever called a meeting, all of them coming to sit in their respective chairs, and much as they had told Maul before… Almost everyone was aware of what had happened, what had been discussed.

And there was never a time that Eeth could think of that the Chamber was this tense, all of them silent for a moment, an almost open invitation for someone to speak first.

“A mistake we have made,” Yoda said finally, his voice quiet. It was perhaps the nicest way any of them could put it.

“How do we fix it?” Plo asked.

“Depends on which mistake you mean,” Mace said. “If you mean the potential that we have been truly seen as kidnappers by even Maul…”

“Why would he not have saidsomething?” Ki-Adi asked.

“Obvious is it not?” Yaddle asked softly, “afraid he was, or…mmm…word I cannot think of, worried perhaps, he was not for the younglings. Kind we have been to him, warm we have been. Kidnapped Maul was…”

“You mean he might simply see it as normal?” Saesee asked. “Like so long as we have been a kind kidnapper, a gentle noose, what is the problem?”

“Likely I find this,” Yaddle nodded. “Or, perhaps, old bias it was, no longer believed but slipped out it did when exposed to high stress he was.”

“That it exists at all is…not something I find gratifying…” Mace said softly.

“No,” Yoda agreed. “Horrible it is, wrongit is…”

“But…” Plo said, “he is also right.”

And they fell into silence again.

“How do we fix it?” Eeth asked. “Assuming that we can. The children we have…”

“Records we have of their origins,” Yaddle said, “all freely given they were. Taken from slavers or poverty or hurt they have been,” she trailed off, “those in the past…”

“So, we have to focus on the future…”

“Rescind it,” Plo said. “Ask for the Senate to remove our ability to take their children without permission. Place us under the same kidnapping laws that the rest are under. We cannot apologize in a way that would seem meaningful, seem real if we do not remove this.”

“Too long this ability we have had…make it right we must,” Yoda agreed.

Eeth nodded his own head, silent for a moment. “I had not thought…” Eeth said finally, drawing their attention, “that the reason that room was cold was because it was missing the feeling of the Dark.”

“Is he right in this?” Adi asked, and her voice was soft. “In destroying as much of them as we have…have wecreated the imbalance?”

“Unchecked a terrible destruction they would have wrought,” Yaddle noted softly.

“It was not like they gave us much of a choice,” Even noted.

“But if…” Depa trailed off for a moment. “We have visible proof that even the Sith themselves do no have to be evil living directly in our cells. Some of us have even heard the words of someone else who was the same. Darth Vectivus cannot be overlooked, I do not think, in how instrumental his teaching was for allowing Lord Maul to see a different angle. We know, too, that Darth Vectivus took on an Apprentice that apparently loved him enough to not kill him, and this is…” she shook her head. “Regardless, we have given Lord Maul every opportunity to foreswear the Sith and to become something different, and he still remains as Sith as he first was. His rituals, his habits, his practices…they are still very Sith.”

“The only thing that has changed is that he is perhaps more…whole as a person, but the fact that he was not is due to the fact that his Master trained him in a way that…” Plo hesitated. “I believe that his Master trained him in a way exclusively Sith, though perhaps not as Sith as we have first believed. Lord Maul came to us aware of pain and anger and fear and not much else.”

“Nothing else,” Eeth said.

Plo inclined his head towards him, “It created someone who knew only pain and anger and fear and how to inspire it in others, but as soon as we began introducing other things, other…” Plo spread his hands. “Lord Maul has learned how to hold a child, to touch without hurting, to apologize, to mourn, to grieve, to grow…he is learning how to be happy, that he likes reading and poetry and plays, all the while being very attached to the Dark. He is still very Sith in his approach to the Force, he is still very Sith in the way that he does things.”

“We helped him be more attached to the Dark than he was before,” Yarael added. “He performed a Sith ritual within our halls that cemented his connection to the Dark in a way that he was unable to before. Surely…surely if the Dark was always corruptive, if being a Sith was always corruptive…”

“Surely none of this would have been possible,” Mace finished softly. “Surely Darth Vectivus could not exist.”

There was a lingering silence.

“What are we suggesting?” Adi asked, “where is this line of questioning leading us? Is it a place we are prepared to go?”

“I…” Eeth said softly, “do not believe it is a place we can go yet.”

“Maul is still…” Plo hesitated, “growing.”

“He is,” Eeth agreed, “to come to him about this yet, to expect him to teach from his own experience when he is still learning how his own experiences were…”

“Depraved,” Yaddle said quietly, “forced upon him his experiences were, wrong it was. Cruel for the sake of cruel.” She shook her head, “Sith teach in pain…” her head tilted. “But other things he is learning to use.”

“Let’s abandon this for now,” Mace said. “There is…something there. But until it is fair for him to carry it I do not believe it is right to make him try.”

“Agreed,” Yoda said, his voice heavy. “Much to contemplate we have, but more importantly, an announcement we must make. An appeal to the Senate we will give. That they should disagree unlikely this is. Stand upon that platform I will…”

“All of us should,” Adi said, and her voice was firm. “All of us have allowed this to continue, all of us have been complicit. No more.”

“No more.”

And Eeth…who had been keeping gentle track of Maul’s mental state as soon as the collar had come off, had kept up a continued gentle reassurance, gave one last gentle pulse of affection and warmth, and then slowly released the bond.

It would not strike him until later that Maul had not flickered once.

Maul tilted his chin back as soon as Tiq reached towards him, allowing Tiq to unlock his collar. Tiq put it down as quickly as possible, not wanting to touch it longer than he had to. And then finally softly, “Well,” he said. “That didn’t exactly go as planned.”

Maul made a sound, sharp and sudden, and Tiq grinned at him, Maul ducking his head slightly, looking away, before Tiq felt that slight bit of spark, Maul finally looking up again, and as Maul’s Dark unfurled, as that oil spill finally ignited his expression was grim.

“Why don’t you psychoanalyze him,” Maul snapped, “see what his problem is.”

Tiq laughed aloud, startled, and delighted. “Oh, you are not wrong, I think I would like to, frankly,” he smiled, “there was a lot of fear I believe, which we definitely attempt to avoid, but…I can’t actually talk to him.”

“…Why?” Maul asked.

“Unfortunately, unless a Jedi decides that they wish to talk to me, I do not see them,” Tiq answered with a slight shrug, going to sit on the edge of the bed in the way that had grown so normal. Maul hesitated, before going to sit next to him, removing his boots and crossing his socked feet underneath him.

“Why?” Maul asked again.

“You see…Mind Healing is actually a relatively new field,” Tiq explained. “While there are plenty of us that have worked as Empaths, have worked to talk to civilians… We have only recently begun seeing to Jedi. In fact, until recently they were thinking about phasing it out entirely. I believe that your presence here has actually caused them to reconsider.”

Maul stared at him. “Why?” he asked and then seemed to realize he had asked the same question thrice, shaking his head, “I do not understand…”

“It’s alright,” Tiq smiled, “I have been a bit vague about it.”

“Does it hurt?”

Tiq thought for a moment, lacing his fingers together. “You know, I believe in the moments I allow myself to think about it, it does.” Tiq frowned, “I have long known my use and long known that I was a help and a boon to the people that needed my services – and while they attempt to deny it, I have helped several. I recognize that we are meant to give our feelings to the Force, and I do recognize that several have and that for a great majority these lessons work. But there are some things that are so big they are unable to be given to the Force in anything but pieces, and those pieces get lodged. Trauma is like that, it sticks to things, and by the time you finally pull it out…sometimes you find that it changes what it stuck to.”

Maul was quiet for a long moment, taking this in. “It changed me.”

“It did,” Tiq answered, “and when I was young it changed me. It changed young Skywalker… To pretend that this trauma does not exist and that you can simply give everything up to the Force, as though that is enough…” Tiq huffed. “It does hurt, though frankly I believe I find it infuriating.”

“Would you like me to hate it?”

Tiq smiled at him, “Thank you for the offer. Though I…can’t hate it or let you.” Tiq sighed, leaning back against the wall, and after a moment Maul shifted to copy his pose.

“Why can’t I?”

“Because I know how it got to this point, I recognize the culture that I am surrounded by, and I know that from their perspective it makes sense.” Tiq shrugged slightly. “There’s a lot of pressure to be able to let it go to the Force,” Tiq sighed. “And as I saida lot of Jedi can do it. We are surrounded by people that are all following the same tenants. We are Jedi and there is a lot of history, culture, and…people like to try and uphold that,” Tiq shrugged. “We learn from a very young age how to do it. I had been mainly for the big things, the massivedisasters. We are sent into so much, Maul, not everything we do goes well, though we always try.”

Maul inclined his head slowly.

“You, however, have needed a much more intensive care than I have ever given,” Tiq said softly.

Maul hesitated, “is that…”

“There is nothing bad, unpleasant or awful about it,” Tiq said, and he offered a hand, Maul taking it. “I am pleasedto be here with you and to be able to help you and to provide aid to Skywalker as well when he needs it. If they had cut us as they had planned to…goodness we wouldn’t have been able to do our jobs.”

“Would you have done it anyway?” Maul asked.

Tiq grimaced. “I do not know that I would have been allowed to.”

“Why would they have stopped you?”

“Because a Master and Padawan relationship is one of the most sacred that we have,” Tiq answered, “and if another steps between that there can be…” Tiq curled his mouth, shaking his head. “Well, first you would have to convince the Master to see to the Padawan and then the treatment or sessions would have to be approved by the Master and then there’s the question of how fit the Master is to keep the Padawan safe, and if the Padawan is not kept safe then is it best to strip the Padawan from the Master… Because, of course, Padawans are the future, and we wish to do our best by them.”

Maul stared at him for a long moment. “Jedi are strange.”

Tiq laughed aloud, “In some ways you are not wrong.” He nudged Maul with his elbow, “but so too are the Sith. Sentientsare strange, Maul. We all carry our burdens and our lives and our hurts with us. But we also carry all of the good things, too.”

Maul huffed, letting go of Tiq’s hand and placing his hands in his lap. “But…if they needed help, then wouldn’t it be best to get them that help?”

“Why would they need help unless they were overwhelmed?” Tiq returned.

Maul fell silent.

“I think you’re right,” Tiq said softly. “It’s a false logic, because in the end, what are you doing but helping the child that has been entrusted to you? Is that not what is needed?”

“Sounds like attachment to me. Only helping the one Apprentice?” Maul said with a wrinkled nose and Tiq laughed aloud.

“Perhaps,” he said, “but we train so hard to let those Apprentices go.”

Maul was quiet for a moment taking everything in. “Am I seen as less because I speak to you?”

Tiq was quiet for a moment, letting himself take in the question, to give it an actual answer. “I do not think they hold the same biases towards you. You are a Sith, they understand that keeping hold of emotions is a backbone of your Order. If you were a Jedi there might be a certain stigma, and they would eventually expect you to stop talking to me, but frankly I believe they find the idea that a Sith would need to talk to someone to help balance the emotions inside of them perfectly logical.”

Maul huffed quietly. “I don’t need your help for that.”

“No,” Tiq smiled at him, “I know. Not that precisely.”

“Precisely,” Maul said and ducked his head. “Tiq…with…”

And then Tiq’s comm went off. Maul straightened slightly, surprised at the sound and Tiq himself jolted, flipping it out of his robe and activating it. “Tiq, we need you,” Soon’s voice came, her gaze wide and wild, even as her voice was firm and calm. “Level Ten, flashbacks, Halls of Healing.”

Tiq straightened, looking to Maul, “Do you need anything else, are you alright?”

“I…will be fine…” Maul said, his chin tilting up and Tiq stood, reaching out and squeezing Maul’s hands in his once.

“We’ll talk more later, I haven’t forgotten some things,” he assured, and then bolted out the door, the ray shield dropping as soon as he left.

Maul sat in silence for a long moment, thinking over everything that had happened, everything he had said, and slowly picking over the conversation he had just had with Tiq.

Anything to avoid thinking of the encroaching punishment that Maul knew had to be coming.

Maul had called them kidnappers, suggested that they were monsters, made comparisons that… Maul had done his best to keep all of that inside of him, to not speak out of turn, to not… And now he had opened his mouth and vomited it all up as though he was some youngling, some child that had never known controversy or an argument.

It did not matter that Maul had been treated so… Just because Maul had grown used to a little bit of…

Maul had grown weak.

Maul had grown used to being coddled and the moment when he had allowed himself to grow complacent with it, his mouth had gotten the better of him. Maul had allowed his anger to rule him instead of ruling it. Perhaps he truly did need to talk to someone about minding his own emotions if he could not keep from spouting off.

Maul would not let himself do it again. He could not. Maul would await whatever punishment came his way and he would take whatever it was, and he would not open his mouth in that manner again. Tiq had been kind to wait with him before it happened, but Maul did not need him. Maul would be able to take whatever happened.

So resolved, Maul decided to open one of the datapads he had gained. What was the point of it all if he did not read them?

But Maul found that he could not sit still, the thought of whatever punishment awaited him slowly filling him with unease. Maul knew…he knew that they had said he would not be punished, but Maul knew better, he knew that he had…that he was…

Maul had gone too far. Maul knew that they had to have a limit, and to…to think otherwise was just another failure, just another sign of weakness. His Master had…

But…

But Maul’s Master…

Maul could not think of it anymore, and so put the datapad away and switched to exercise.

Maul did not know how long he had been working through his drills, only that he had peeled the tunic off his torso at some point, and was currently dripping sweat into an ever-increasing puddle, his muscles trembling. Maul could get more out of it. He could do it. He could…

“Goodness!” Tiq’s voice called, and Maul looked up.

He had been…

“You came back?” he asked, the words slipping out, his mind swirling, his efforts of forcing himself to think of everything else allowing them to fall from his mouth… Maul hated it.

“Of course, I did,” Tiq answered, “I told you I would.” He paused. “Maul…” the ray shield opened, and he gestured towards the Guards, who left with a bow, leaving them alone. “What is it? You are not… You are distressed. I had assumed you would be reading the datapads…”

And even as he said this Tiq walked forward, and Maul realized he was holding another datapad, one with a connection the holonet. Maul looked at it for a moment, a flickering urge to really see what was happening outside of this Temple building, but just as quickly squashed.

Maul hesitated, wanting to answer properly and slowly allowed himself to move from his plank position, resting on his knees, looking up at Tiq who stared at him…

“I do not…” he swallowed, “I have grown…unaccustomed to waiting for punishment.”

Tiq blinked.

“Punishment…?”

“You keep saying that it is not…that you do not, but I have not only let my mouth run away from me…I failed at keeping a check on my rage, I bared my teeth, I accused you of terrible things, and I have…” Maul shook his head, “I was weak and I should not have allowed my anger to get the best of me, and…”

Tiq held up a hand.

Maul fell silent at once.

“Maul,” he said, “I am going to introduce you to technique forty-seven.” Tiq said. “Hate is the last one, as you recall, yes? You have been hating your Master, for me, have you not?”

“I…have been,” Maul agreed softly with a nod.

“Thank you,” Tiq smiled, “this one is one I can actively participate in as well, you see, it allows me to release my emotions into the Force as well, but it’s a bit of a…different method.”

Maul tilted his head.

“Are you ready?” Tiq asked.

Maul was quiet for a moment, not entirely certain and then slowly, hesitantly gave a sharp nod.

Tiq cleared his throat, laced his fingers together, and Maul felt with something bordering surprise as that still pool that was Tiq’s Force presence seemed to ripple, before Tiq took a deep breath, and…

“Maul’s old Master – you are a cock-sucking conniving bastard, and you don’t know SHIT!”

Maul froze.

“It’s not even that there’s something inherently wrong with sucking dick, but you seem like the type that’d use teeth!”

Maul’s eyes widened, his nostrils flaring, for a moment completely still…

“You have to be the most inconsiderate unappealing jackass in the entire Galaxy! You’re a fucking trash heap of a being, a waste of space and a fucking high-minded bitch-ass.”

Maul’s head tilted slowly as his brain struggled to comprehend what he was hearing, staring at Tiq who had started to pace, not even paying attention to Maul, who had fisted his hands into his pants, his muscles still trembling.

“You probably thought you were some slick-ass motherfucker…only I’m not so sure if I could use that because you probably fucked your mother…you seem nasty enough to do that.”

There was something rising up in Maul’s chest that he couldn’t contain, something…

“So instead, for the sake of my sanity I’m going to refer to you as a…oh… Bitch. Because why waste the creativity on someone who probably wouldn’t be able to appreciate it properly anyway~”

Maul’s hands had pressed to his mouth somehow and Maul had no idea how they had gotten there.

“Anyway Bitch…”

That thing that had been rising in his chest slowly escaped in the form of a high-pitched sound that Maul could not bite down, and somehow didn’t want to.

“I’m going to run through some things that I really find appalling about you yourself personally, because frankly I have a long list of things and I’ve been doing myself and your once-Apprentice a disservice in not saying them, so…” Tiq cleared his throat, “You! Are a galaxy-classed asshole. You apparently have the self-esteem of a narcissistic snotbag because you can’t stand the idea that you could be criticized? You teach someone that to question is to be punished?” Tiq asked, bowing forward, his hands still pressed together, and that sound in Maul’s throat had risen, “what kind of teacher are you? Aside from apparently fucking terrible! Frankly! I've known narcissists better than you, so I don't know what the fuck your problem is - but I diagnose you with BITCH.”

Maul’s hands had pressed further on his mouth, pressing his lips against his teeth.

“So, I know you hate to be criticized because you have the constitution of a moldy pair of shorts…because frankly I’ve been given the impression that your sense of hygiene is abysmal.”

That high pitched sound had turned choppy, shifting into something like hiccups almost, sharp and sudden…

“But I have a few things to say, and they need to be said, lest you forget that you are a Bitch and that you can get away with your utter revolting bullshit,” Tiq held up a finger, “number one! Your ability to teach aside the way you handle children in your care is heinous. You have done such a great number of terrible things to a being that relied on you for so much, and I find it repulsive. I find that the things that you have done to be on a level of such pure disgusting and utterly loathsome bullshit that it seems like you didn’t even have a plan? What the fuck were you trying to accomplish? How to be the biggest asshole? How to make yourself look like an idiot? You aren’t even acting as a true Sith! What precisely about your Order were you following? You can’t even properly Sith right and that’s just…what an insultto your Order you are! It’s important to note that the one that you took? The one you hurt? Beautiful being, wonderful person even if they don’t truly know it yet, he’s learning, and he’s going to outstrip you in so many ways!”

And even past the sounds that Maul thought might have been laughter, he felt something in his chest shift, something…something almost warm.

“Number two!! Your own personal ability to train them front and center – lest you forget you’re a Bitch - your taste in Apprentices is admittedly very good. You gained someone you absolutely neverdeserved and guess what! Guess what!” Tiq clapped his hands after every call of ‘guess what,’ his grin the kind of placid and underdeveloped thing that you gave to a particularly dimwitted individual that you hated, “He’s going to continue to outstrip you withoutyour input! With a bunch of fucking Jedi! You’re such a fucking awful Sith that your literal fucking OPPOSITES are doing a better job of training a Sith than YOU WERE!”

And the sound that was coming from Maul’s chest was absolutely laughter then, something helpless and unchecked, the realization that it was true burning somewhere deep in his brain. It was true. The Jedi had helped him find his Wodza, they had helped him learn how to harness it, they were the ones that were helping him check the Hate that had been instilled in him, the kind he couldn’t do anything with. They…they really had been doing a better job.

They really had been allowing him to make choices. They were even…they were even helping him learn, giving him knowledge… The giggles were still sharp, still heavy, his hands still over his face. But Maul was…Maul did not care…

“You’re a Bitch and the kind of unsatisfying piece of shit that you really wish you hadn’t bothered with…”

And Maul shrieked, tears of laughter and possibly even something else sliding down his face as his sides shook with it, wrapped into a ball on the ground, absolutely howling with a laughter he couldn’t contain anymore.

It was through this laughter that he came to realize that Tiq had stopped pacing, instead watching him with something warm and something soft on his face, and when Maul finally managed to get control of himself, finally had managed to wipe his face, he found Tiq squatting down before him, his expression so gentle.

Maul sniffed, wiping his eyes one last time, and finally looked up at him, a helpless sort of grin spreading across his mouth. “My Master was a Bitch?”

“The biggest Bitch, yes,” Tiq said with a grand nod, “and he taught you some really stupid things – the idea that you were going to be punished? The idea that you cannot offer criticism and that you’re meant to keep all of that deep inside you without a single hope of letting it out? That you can’t even defend your own existence to someone telling you that you shouldn’t exist?” Tiq shook his head. “Absolutely a bitch-ass move, one that doesn’t deserve the time of day outside of making sure that you know that it’s wrong. Particularly with this, now scoot, scoot!” he called out, and Maul allowed himself to be shifted. “Ugh, you need a shower,” Tiq said, pulling his hands away after touching Maul’s sweat-soaked skin. “Serves me right I suppose, I shouldn’t have pushed without asking.” Tiq smiled at him, “thank you for being patient with me. But do take a shower.”

“No…no moldy shorts?” Maul managed and Tiq made a terrible sound that was a bit like something being sucked into space out an airlock.

“No,” Tiq agreed, laughing, “no moldy shorts for you, you have better hygiene…when you’re not trying to force your body into exhaustion… Force help me, Maul, I’m so sorry I didn’t catch onto the fact that you were so distressed…”

“It is…it is okay, you had someone else to take care of,” Maul said with a slow nod and a sigh, “you…you are here now, and that…” he smiled. “Thank you…for allowing yourself to do that. Are you allowed?”

Tiq smiled back, “of course,” he said. “I did technically just…give it to the Force, only in a much more vocal way than normal. What do I feel like?”

Maul reached out carefully, brushing against the still pool, realizing… “Like you always do.”

“Precisely,” Tiq smiled.

And for the first time, Maul thought that this might…it might actually be comforting. A part of him had always found the way it never shifted, the placid manner of it almost…frightening. He didn’t know what it held, and it never seemed to shift, so what precisely they were thinking was often a mystery but… But apparently a lot of what Tiq had been thinking were increasingly more creative insults towards his Master and… Maul huffed quietly, ducking his head at the thought of it.

“Now,” Tiq said, and opened up the datapad, “let’s see…I think…oh yes, there it is…”

Maul watched as Tiq opened a…

Senate…broadcast? And then Maul realized who he was seeing, straightening, recognizing that that…

That was the full council, and they looked like they had been…they had been mid-speech.

“We were a bit late it looks like, but that’s okay,” Tiq said softly, and…

Maul froze.

“We have always attempted to present that we may be Jedi, but we are one of you. That we are Zabrak, Cerean, Iktotchi, Thisspiasian, Tholothian, Chalactan, Human, Lannik and even some we do not know,” and there was a smile as Depa gestured towards Yoda and Yaddle, who both beamed in that way of theirs.

“We grant worship and understanding of the Gods of our people to the ones that embrace them. We speak the languages of our birth, cover ourselves in the markings that belong to our people, follow the rituals that make us a part of you. We are with you in Spirit even as we are apart from you… And this is something that we have always preached…and yet…and yet… We have allowed great pain to come to you because we have drifted farther apart than we had ever realized,” Saesee noted.

“It is a pain that we cannot make up in the usual way. It is a mistake that we did not see until it was placed before us in a way we could not ignore…” Mace said, his fingers laced before him.

“We recognize that our moral platitudes do not outweigh our legal authority…” Eeth said, and his gaze was heavy, even as Maul realized with a jolt that that was…that was what he had said… He had…Maul had said that.

“So, stand before you today we do…” Yoda looked around at everyone, his large eyes somber.

“In order to make a request that we should have made a long time ago,” Ki-Adi said.

“We come to stand before the Senate,” Plo finished, “and ask that our ability to remove children from their parents without permission be removed. You will and should always have final say on who raises your children – regardless of Force Sensitivity.”

“To honor us with the presence of your children, your choice it should be,” Yaddle held her hands to them all, her gaze so firm.

“Not something we can takefrom you,” Yarael said.

“We recognize that our apologies are nothing in the face of the fear that we have held over you, a fear that we should have seen for what it was a long time ago,” Mace said. “In attempting to prevent the mistakes of our past…we have instead created new mistakes.”

“Made our petition has been,” Yoda looked to the Chancellor, looked to the Senators, “ask that we honor this you do. That in the future held to the same standards as the rest of the Galaxy we are. Treasures your children are, treasures that are gifted and trained, or to be kept by the parents and families that love them, those gifted returned onto you and the wider Galaxy as Jedi, as protectors, keepers of peace.”

“Your forgiveness we do not ask,” Yaddle continued softly, “not our right it is.”

“But we hope that our actions, that our steps can continue to show you that this will never be a threat… Never again,” Plo said.

“Never again.”

And the Jedi bowed, low, and with utmost respect…

And the Senate exploded. Cheers and applause and glee spilling out from every corner, and Maul watched with a kind of awe as he saw the way they were reacting, saw… The Jedi straightened, and left.

Maul said nothing.

And then Tiq turned off the datapad and pointed a finger at him. “Open your mouth,” he said, shaking that finger, “open your mouth, Lord Maul! You have so many good things to say, you depriveus of all of these thoughts when you refuse to speak. You have no reason to fear,” Tiq shook his head. “You have no reason to fear. None of this could have happened if it was not for you. The Council have gotten comments before, but goodness…moral platitudes, legal authority? Fuck’s sake, Maul.”

Maul found himself laughing again, startled, and Tiq smiled at him.

“Let yourself speak,” Tiq said. “And…” he hummed, “remember this, too: if you still find yourself struggling with it THIS IS OKAY.” Tiq threw his arms in the air. “You will have your good days and your very bad days and your amazing days and your supremely poor days. All of this is normal. All of this is a part of recovery, of growth, and you are alright if you can find yourself speaking quite well on one day and absolutely silent the other. You can sign, which is good, if you ever feel like you can’t get the words out…perhaps let your hands do the talking.” Tiq smiled. “Or maybe don’t say anything at all. Give yourself space, Lord Maul, give yourself the courtesy of knowing that you are okay. You are growing, and there’s pain involved in that…but in the end.” Tiq shrugged. “Do you have any questions, anything you want to talk about, anything you want to ask me?”

Maul was quiet for a long moment. “You…did not kidnap…Ahsoka?”

“No,” Tiq said immediately, “we rescued her from enslavement. Plo was the one who found her, that brought her here.”

“Plo found her?” Maul asked, the sudden burst of something, and Tiq shook his head.

“No! No, there are no Sith here but the one before me, not in this. You are not in a competition with anyone, least of all Ahsoka. Can you imagine her face if she thought she made you uncomfortable?”

“…Yes,” Maul finally said softly, “you…you are right, I am…I am sorry.”

“Don’t be,” Tiq smiled, “It’s alright. It’s an understandable worry given your background. But regardless, Ahsoka was given voluntarily, she was not kidnapped, and neither was Anakin, nor anyone in the crèche at this moment. I cannot speak for all of them throughout the history of the Jedi, but until very recently we had been relying on moral platitudes,” Tiq winked, “and our own moral judgement, and in my lifetime at least that has all been very good.”

“Okay,” Maul said softly, “okay, thank…thank you. I needed…I needed to hear that.”

“I’m sorry it took so long for it to be said…”

“Don’t be,” Maul said softly, “I said nothing…”

“But,” Tiq held up a singular finger, and his eyes were filled with kindness, “you said something now, and that’s just as important.” Tiq tilted his head towards him, and Maul instinctively pressed their foreheads together, closing his eyes, breathing in the stillness, the gentleness of it. “Anything else?” Tiq asked softly.

“No,” Maul said softly, “that’s it.”

“Good,” Tiq smiled and pulled back, “now take a shower, even your horns are sticky, ugh!”

Maul wheezed, reaching up to touch the horns in question even as Tiq rubbed at his forehead, Maul finally stumbling to his feet on shaky legs that had been kept stiff for too long. Tiq called out as he nearly fell and reached out a hand that Maul took, Tiq helping him to stand upright, laughing quietly.

“I have to check on my other patient, Maul,” Tiq said softly, “are you alright if I leave you? Do you feel alright?”

Maul hesitated for a moment, thinking, before he grinned and gave a nod. “Yes,” he said, “yes I…I am. Thank you.”

“Of course,” Tiq said, “thank you.” Tiq paused for a moment, “Oh and Maul,” he said.

“Yes?”

“Remember your Master was a Bitch.”

Maul fell into those awful wheezing laughs again, covering his face with his hands, recognizing that Tiq hadn’t moved, watching him with that warmth that Maul thought Tiq had called ‘affection,’ and then finally he managed to stop, wiping his face.

“Maul, wait,” Tiq said, “I realized I had one question for you.”

“Yes?” Maul asked.

“Did…” Tiq cleared his throat, his mouth slowly twisting at the corners, his eyes absolutely beaming, “did you really tell Krell to, ‘Blow me’?”

If Maul could blush he would be even more scarlet than he was, his gaze shifting to the side. Tiq made another sound like a broken airlock, bending forward onto his knees as he cackled. “He made me angry,” Maul finally managed, tilting his chin up, which sent Tiq into further cackles. “Though perhaps I should have used something else. He probably uses teeth.”

Tiq shrieked, hands over his face and crying with it, even as he finally waved a hand in something that might have been open agreement before gasping. “Oh, Force help me,” he managed, “I have to…I have to meditate on this. I am off balance.” He wiped his eyes, and then seemed to think, before his expression shifted. “I have never regretted saying something more until this moment.”

Maul blinked, for a moment not following, and then the full context of everything that they had been saying, on what precisely Maul had stated before Tiq had said he would meditate hit him, and he was on the ground. Maul was on the ground, laughing so hard he couldn’t breathe, Tiq joining him in it, the laughter warm and joint and brighter than Maul had ever felt… And finally, Tiq waved, “Goodbye, Maul,” he said, “get clean!” and Maul finally forced himself to his feet, stumbling towards where his clothes were kept even as Tiq finally managed to walk away, the both of them falling into sporadic giggles that Maul could hear echoing down the hall until finally, it all settled in his chest in a warm and soft bundle.

Maybe…maybe today had not been so bad after all.

Maybe…

Maybe Maul could trust them…

Just…just a little…

Maul would try.

Jocasta hummed quietly, running through the list of requests and grant appeals that she had on her desk, idly wondering how in the Force they got so many and whether or not they truly could breed in the manner she sometimes thought they could. It had been a week since the Council had made the appeal and the number of requests to utilize their library, the number of people that had sent in notes to just request things had seemingly tripled. It was good, though it made her once again long for good help, help that could translate meaning into these papers better than her own could.

And then…she saw the paper left where she had never looked for it – in her in box, flimsi, with some very angular and spiked handwriting.

Jocasta gave a soft hum, picking it up and realizing it was an application, remembering how Plo had gotten one from her the other day and then with a brief burst of delight she realized it was from Maul.

He really had filled it out…

And then what she was reading caught up with her brain and she covered her mouth.

Name had been filled out plainly enough with Maul, the blanks that allowed for middle and last names kept deliberately empty, but when asked ‘are you eighteen or over’ he had checked yes with a small (as far as anyone knows) written beside it. And it devolved from there.

Education listed an unknown school – whose listing was ‘unknown’, with the specification that the classes involved had been about murder, arson, and jaywalking. Previous employment listed ‘assassin, saboteur, bounty hunter.’ Though his references were all very neat – the entire Council had all done the honors, though Tiq was listed as his emergency contact with the specification that if he was needed he’d come running. The dates listed that he could work were ‘as long as I’m stuck here,’ address listed as ‘some cell in the Jedi Temple…the Guards say it’s cell B 2223.’ Jocasta, however, did recognize Tiq’s handwriting specifying he needed to work part-time, and to start him off slow in order to let him get used to everything, which Jocasta agreed with wholeheartedly.

Jocasta read all of this and laughed, flipping to the back where the special skills were listed, finding Maul’s list of written and spoken languages with a burning amusement in her chest, all in that extremely angular and precise handwriting that looked so oddly sharp compared to the other Council members and their signatures. Though…

Jocasta frowned slightly, taking Maul’s application, and walking into the hidden rooms, the ones where they kept their items of the Sith, carefully taking down one of the tomes that was of a more mellow nature. Flipping it open Jocasta held the paper up next to the glyphs in the book and after a moment she smiled. It seemed…that Maul’s first written language at the least, had actually been Sith. She replaced the book and returned to the desk where Jocasta wrote down the list of languages Maul knew, and after a moment burned the application to ashes that she cooled with the Force before throwing away.

Jocasta opened up a datapad, flipping through to her administrative duties, and opening a tab.

Jocasta had a schedule to make.

#simply delightful #twin sons #star wars fanfic #darth maul #mace windu #plo koon #eeth koth #jedi council #healer tiq #I DO IMAGINE PALPATINE WAS VIBE-CHECKED SO HARD WHILE TIQ WAS VENTING #HE WAS CLOCKED SO HARD

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