#ucilla zykoff

[cxmetery-gates]

VALOR - DARTH MAUL

CHAPTER ONE: THE HUNTRESS AND THE HUNTER

SUMMARY: After attempting to kill a Sith lord unbeknownst to her, Ucilla Zykoff realizes she has made a grave mistake. WORD COUNT: 3.4K NOTES: Chapter one here we goooo! Love a couple who want to murder each other on sight. Sorry it took so long. I had so many ideas ready to go, then life got in the way. Anyway! I have a discord that my readers can use to discuss the story! It also let me share my silly memes and get to know y’all. Thank you for reading! WARNINGS: general sci-fi violence

VALOR MASTERLIST

AS THE SUN BENDS BEHIND the horizon, the cover of night encapsulates the city. With the rising of the moon, the mission is awoken.

Dusk phasing into night elapses with a stillness, but as a gust of sudden wind shakes the shutters as it passes, a chill runs up her spine. Startled by the sounds for a fleeting moment, a sigh passes through her lips before turning into a bemused hum. Cool air drifts over her skin, soothing yet awakening. With the seasons beginning to change towards a wet, flourish spring, the air is crisp and dry from a winter willing itself to create one last frost before retreating once more. She would be offworld long before the petals started to bloom.

Once the last of the day's shadows unite into one blanket of darkness, Ucilla Zykoff stands from the measly excuse of a bed to glance out the window through the slits of the shutters. Her icy blonde hair is pulled back with a tie resting against the nape of her neck, a few hairs escaping to try to obscure her sight. Her golden eyes watch figures tuck into their homes, counting down the seconds until their lights are shut until the next morning. It will not be long before the impenetrable sound of the night life masks her task from wandering eyes and ears. Tucking strands of hair behind her ear, the young woman leans back on the wall of her room. Cobwebs cling to the fabric of her clothes as she does so.

The establishment is nothing to rave about, though the dusty room and a firm cot above a noisy cantina is a luxury in comparison to other make-shift lodgings. The bounty hunter has grown used to rocks boring into her spine, cramped spaces, and days without sleep— typical for someone in this line of work.

Across from her, a sniper rifle stands against the opposite wall. The durasteel has seen better days, but so has she. Ucilla pushes herself off from where she leans, making her way towards her weapon. It is surprisingly light due to Ucilla's modifications. Positioning her sniper rifle in her hands, Ucilla now waits patiently for movement off in the distance. The barrel of the gun sits between the slightly ajar shutters, invisible to any bystander. Waiting was part of the job, and she has become very good at it.

Ucilla scans the rooftops of the city buildings using the scope attached to her weapon. The infrared colors become all too boring as the sight hardly changes over a period of minutes. The job is similar to any of the other hundreds she is taken: hunt, locate, go for the kill. All her missions become an identical cluster after a while.

The night carries on and Ucilla's eyes are beginning to sore from being trained on movement. All she wants is to get the job over with and allow herself to indulge in the reward. Bounty hunting is not a line of work that she believed would ever suit her, but with the hefty rewards for high targets, the comfort of credits is enough to keep her coming back. Even though Ucilla could buy a small house or decent apartment for what she currently has in Republic credits, settling down never seemed to work out well for the Scaki. She had not even returned to her home world, despite having every reason to do so.

Where once soft mummers acted as a hush over the city, now the lights and the noise of cantinas flood the dark alleys and streets. The city is preoccupied by dreams or by those wishing to live in dream, opting for late nights in hopes to escape from the trivial lives they find themselves in. As such, Ucilla would remain unbothered.

As the sound of drunken men and flirtatious women reverberate as echoes under her feet, Ucilla uses the increasing noise from the cantinas around the area to mask the sound of her ignited weapon. No one would hear a whirling buzz or the unexpected cry when a tankard had drowned out all their senses.

Ucilla is good at her practice. She must. There are many hunters who would not bat an eye in killing her if she stood in the way of an expensive bounty. Trial and error led her to where she is, and it did not take long before her use of stealth, accuracy, and efficiency turned her into a highly sought out freelance bounty hunter.

Though she would never admit to it openly, Ucilla has a slight advantage on her associates. One being evident by the cylindrical weapon always hidden at the bottom of her satchel that has not been ignited in years.

Ucilla learned long ago that studying a target is far more beneficial than making things quick and messy. After all, depending on the target, the price typically rises each week. For instance, in the scope of her rifle, Ucilla now spots the man who disclosed a long list of individuals working for one of the galaxy's biggest crime syndicates: his bounty doubled just two days ago.

Over the week and a half, she spent watching Jaro Linst, Ucilla had memorized the snitch's schedule. In the morning, he wakes early to have a large breakfast. He stays indoors during the days, but he typically makes a run to a shop or the market before noon. He seldom has guests, but when he does, their either men being paid to protect him from the Hutts or Twi'leks being led by chains. When night envelops the area, he is bold enough to bring his guests to the rooftop of his hideout. Linst's eyes are always shut as he takes the first breath of the nighttime air, absorbed in the taste of prolonged freedom.

Just as she suspected, Linst reaches the top of the building with a drink in his hand and his broad, tall body open to whatever blaster fire she could afford to waste.

However, unlike most nights, his face is turned downwards, and he is not entirely alone.

Trailing behind the man, a figure in all black has their face hidden by a heavy cloak with a hood. This offered no indication as to who this mysterious person may be. Not that it mattered. Her bounty was clear: kill Jaro Linst and get the reward, no matter what happens.

Her sniper-rifle is angled towards her bounty but, given the fact that Linst may have more hunters on his trail, Ucilla decides on removing the additional threat first. In the scope, the hood still conceals the face of the new target.

No matter.

She pulls back on the trigger.

The shot rings out near silently and in perfect alignment.

But it never reaches the head of her target. Instead, it ricochets off a familiar weapon and embarks on a mission straight towards her forehead.

Ucilla dodges the attack, rolling her back against the wall of her hotel room just in time as the red blaster fire digs straight through the opposite wall. Imagining if she had frozen for half a second more, Ucilla offers her blessing to the makers for her reflexes.

Clutching the gun to her chest, Ucilla finds herself now semi-frozen in fear. An icy feeling coursing through her veins offers no help in alleviating the shock. Instead, she releases the breath she was holding from stupor, blinking away the cloudy vision.

The brightly colored weapon that shot her fire back was one she had used long ago. This time, the blade was not lilac in color. Even the most uneducated creature could sense the danger that flows through the shaft, the deep dreadful color that exuberates caution.

A bleeding kyber crystal resides in that blade, crimson in color.

"Kriff."

Wasting no time, Ucilla lowers herself to the ground, carefully making sure the lightsaber wielder could not see her through the shutters. Cursing in every language she knows, Ucilla crawls on her belly until she finds the brown satchel at the foot of the cot. In haste, the blonde slips the strap over her head, hugging across her chest tightly, but there was no time to adjust. She flings the rifle over her shoulder before hurriedly skidding out the door.

On her way out, Ucilla pushes through drunken patrons to reach the bar to slam down a handful of credits on the counter in front of the inn keeper, continuing to walk towards the exit as she does so. The inn keeper raises his voice, calling out that she owes him more, but his voice is drowned out among the crowd and she is already gone.

Lifting her wrist closer to her face, the Scaki swipes through her holocom until Jaro Linst's bounty appears. Despite the large sum, Ucilla presses down on the option to forfeit. There was no chance she would go near a mission that was compromised by a Dark sided individual.

A Sith.

Ucilla could not calm her heart, the organ forcing blood to pump fast through her body. The reverberation echoes in her ears. But the headache is nothing in comparison to what the Sith could do to her.

She was almost to the heart of the city when an impeccable drought in the energy stifled her movements. The atmosphere is heavy, darkness tingling at her senses. Ucilla's hair stands on end at the sensation. Against her better judgment, she freezes.

Moments later, Ucilla's thrown off her feet, landing hard against a wall before crumpling down.

The blow had torn the breath right out of her. Gasping, Ucilla reaches for her chest, gripping the long, worn leather vest tight in her palms. From the inside pocket above her heart, she pulls out a circular object, yanking the pin out of place before dropping it to the ground.

Footsteps draw near. Instead of wasting her time, Ucilla prances from her crouch and bolts up the side of the wall, using rails and the closeness of the buildings as her foot and handholds. She forces her body to move swift and precise, just as she was taught years ago. By the time she reached the roof, the smoke bomb had gone off. All Ucilla can do is hope that the distraction is enough.

Ucilla is left without much of another option. The shingled roofs were difficult to adjust to at first, some coming lose from her added weight, but eventually her footing held on and she was off like a speeder. Running along the tops of the buildings, jumping to the next one with grace and stead, Ucilla knew when to dodge attacks and when to advert her direction. It was not the first time she was running away from a foe, and she had a feeling it would not be the last.

Daring to look back, Ucilla feels her heart drop. The man following her copies each step, leap, and now, he is close enough to claim her dead, for real this time.

With no other option, Ucilla calculates her jump. Instead of throwing herself far enough to reach the next building, she leaps down several stories. Thankfully, they had come across the hub of the city and a canopy breaks her fall, bouncing from the cloth and onto the ground once more. The moment her tall boots hit the earth, she is off running again. With so many people wandering the streets, Ucilla hopes she can blend in, even though she is seemingly the only one in worn clothes and dashing through the streets.

The city is vast and incredibly narrow— easy to get lost in⁠— but Ucilla had been here for quite some time, learning every back alley and corner shop during her weeks on the planet. With this knowledge in mind, surely, she has some advantage over her opponent. How likely is it that they, too, has memorized back alleys that leads to the shipyard?

Ucilla felt as though she could feel their breath on her neck, their fingertips just centimeters from gripping her hair. As if possible, her legs pushed harder than ever before.

Ducking into a back alley, Ucilla used her petite figure to maneuver through the garbage, boxes, and drunks that scattered the path. To her surprise, the person following was not prepared for the turn nor the obstacles in their path. They had fallen behind. She takes this moment to press her back against a wall between two strangers, pulling her hood further to hide her face.

It was not long after when Ucilla feels the dark ease away. She needs to know if he still lingers. Before she can make it safely to her ship, she will have to know how far behind the hunter is and if he can easily make it onto her ship or destroy it in some way.

Any normal foe would have mistakenly moved on from the area, never to find her again. Though she has never faced off against a Sith before, nor does she know anyone who has, what Ucilla does know is that there is no telling what a creature fueled by uncontrollable emotions with an unpredictable nature will do.

Before the drunken men could ask once more if she would like a drink, Ucilla pushes herself from the stone wall, cautiously making her way through street after street, back alley after alley. Her heart hammers in her chest no matter how she tried to stop it. Without knowing what kind of species the dark side wielder is, she has no conclusive answer if he can hear her labored breathing. As she sticks to the shadows of the city, Ucilla sends silent prayers to the makers to spare her this time.

With each step nearing the shipyard, the amount of people out and about grow less and less. By the time she was within blocks of her ship, only a few stragglers walked the streets. She felt lucky, allowing herself to walk faster even if the passersby gave suspicious looks.

Ucilla is no more than a block from the garage where her ship was located when she tumbled to the ground, a powerful blow toppling her, a wrestling match ensuing to determine life or death.

Kicking the figure off her, she throws a punch blindly. The huntress's punch misses the figure's jaw by a second, but that does not stop her from swinging again.

To her surprise, the saber is not ignited, nor does he go to reach for the weapon. The Force wielder instead copying her hand-to-hand combat. Maybe they thought she deserved a fair chance, or maybe they were simply trying to torture her into submission.

The hunter was the first to strike a powerful blow.

Ucilla's nose begins to bleed upon the impact of a fist, knocking her dazed for a moment. In the haste of her backing up and the figure coming forward, Ucilla did what any bounty hunter would have done.

Perhaps the cloaked Sith was not expecting the blaster to be drawn and the trigger to be pulled so fast, because the hunter is thrown off balance by a bolt embedding itself into their shoulder. A sound akin to a growl shakes Ucilla to the core.

When his head turns back, the hood from his cloak falls, just enough to give Ucilla a picture for her nightmares.

A male Zabrak. How interesting. Ucilla's eyes run over the intricate black tattoos on his face, trailing from where they start down to where they disappear beyond his dark robes. The red and black contrast is frightening to some degree, but Ucilla has faced worse. His appearance matches the fiery energy he exudes. Horns adorn his skull, several points wrapping around to remind Ucilla of a crown. Glowing, boiling amber of his altered eyes catch her attention.

So full of hate and anger; a storm that brings no calm in the wake of its destruction. There is a moment where Ucilla wonders what happened to this Sith, the journey that led him here to strike her down.

A Sith deals with the lust for absolute power, the destruction of the universe to make their strength known. To conquer is all they know, no matter who stands in their way.

He bares his teeth, and Ucilla can feel the rage coming from him. Rather than sticking around to anticipate his next move, Ucilla shoots several more times in the Zabrak's direction then begins to run to where her ship waits.

She can feel his decision, the way his anger directs his actions, how his natural rage bubbles over, destruction always existing, white-hot. There was no other warning before the Zabrak throws the dual blade at her. Instincts kick in. Ucilla turns on her heel to hold out her hand, something she has not done in years.

In midair, the blade is still. One entity aims to kill, the other refuses to let death take her.

The blade then falls, dust splashing along the steel. Both watch the unignited weapon on the ground. Simultaneously, both look up, their eyes meeting with new sentiment.

The tension is heavy in that street. Neither can predict what the other is thinking nor what moves they plan on making. However, there is something that Ucilla can read off the Zabrak. The squint to his eyes combined with wrinkles forming on his forehead tells her that his mind races with questions. After all, he most likely was not expecting the night to end with a woman one-upping him in the Force. Like a switch, Ucilla suddenly feels the anger exploding from the Zabrak; he is not going to let her get away.

But Ucilla is faster. Her secret is already out, and she has no time to waste. Reaching up, she uses the Force to bring down the archway, the stones and rubble falling on top of the tattooed Zabrak. She hears him cry out in anguish, but she does not stay long to hear anything else.

Ucilla is quick to slip into the cockpit of her ship. Her voice has once again resorted to curses in a number of languages as she flips various switches. A loud sigh of relief exits her when the sound of the engine roaring to life reaches her ears. As she activates all the right gears to get her off the dry planet, she takes one last look down to the earth: her blood runs ice cold.

There, close enough to stop her if he wanted with a single slash of his crimson ignited saber, is the Sith. His hood has now returned atop his crowned head, though it does little to obscure his glowing amber eyes.

His actions, or lack thereof, surprise Ucilla, the woman he had been hunting for a good mile through a city. And now, he stands there, seemingly unfazed, without care as she makes a successful escape. Escaping was certainly part of the plan, but the fact that the Zabrak has forfeited in spite of being so close to winning is annoying to some extent.

Before Ucilla has another moment to dwell on the Sith nor giving him another moment to reconsider, the YT-1210 lifts off from the ground. The Scaki's focus is drawn away from her foe despite knowing that turning her back on an enemy is a recipe for disaster. To her fortune, the Revenant makes it into the atmosphere and into hyperspace with ease.

The coordinates are placed. A safehold on Duro. Ucilla had not been there in quite some time and if she were lucky, an enemy-to-partner would be there, too. At least she would have someone to listen to her story.

The ship is set to autopilot, allowing for Ucilla to lean back in the pilot's chair, her leg bent to hold her knee against her chest. Though she is safe at the moment, Ucilla can not be sure for how long. What would she do if the Sith tracks her to Duro? Would he make her wait in anticipation as he had done in the shipyard?

For the first time in millennia, a Sith had revealed himself. At least to her knowledge: dead men tell no tales. Perhaps telling Bane about her encounter is for the best. If she becomes a successful mission for the Sith, at least someone would know what happened to her.

If anything, Ucilla knows of one plan that has not failed her yet. Just as she had done long ago, running has always been part of a good plan.

☆ ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆

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#valor #darth maul #darth maul x oc #darth maul x reader #maul #maul x oc #maul x reader #star wars #star wars prequels #ucilla zykoff #chapter 1 #The Clone Wars #Clone Wars #obi wan kenobi #Anakin Skywalker #crimson dawn

[cxmetery-gates]

VALOR - DARTH MAUL

PROLOGUE: FREEDOM

SUMMARY: Ucilla Zykoff, a troubled Padawan, and her Master are sent to protect Duchess Satine Kryze alongside Master Qui-Gon Jinn and Padawan Obi-Wan Kenobi. However, an ambush leaves Ucilla wither her first taste of freedom. WORD COUNT: 2k NOTES: I told myself not to make a Darth Maul fic. Oops. I also told myself to just make my OC human and definitely do not create a race of near-humans. Didn’t do that either. I’ll be posting a ramble about Ucilla’s species in the future! WARNINGS: sci-fi violence, kinda angsty?

VALOR MASTERLIST

THROUGH THICK CLOUDS OF DUST and an onslaught of armored fighters closing in, a racing heart hammered as erratic as the blaster fire pointed in her direction. Wrath encased the young girl, white-hot rage allowing for her power to extend to the weapons stationed in her hands. A fuchsia hue lit up her surroundings as each blade swung, a bubble appearing as if forming a shield to deflect the oncoming storm.

Ucilla Zykoff huffed at a lock of loose icy blonde hair that attempted to block her vision. Her palms were beginning to perspire as she worked beside her Master, blocking blaster fire and reflecting them back into the chest of her enemies. The rebels were no match against two well-trained Jedi, so her bewilderment as to why the Mandalorian terrorists were not aware of their eventual defeat was only natural for the hot-headed Padawan.

A beam of scarlet missed Ucilla's head by an inch. Recalling the time a blaster bolt constrained her to rely on a splint for a month, Ucilla, with her teeth bared, swung her lightsabers at great speed and agility, projecting two rounds through a pair of skulls.

The Jedi Council sending Ucilla and her Master on this mission was inevitable. Growing concerns about a civil war was on the rise caused by a heritage-based splinter group stirring up problems, leading Mandalore to grow more and more worried. To diffuse the tension between the planet and the traditionalist Mandalorians, the Council sent two of their best Jedi along with their Padawans to take care of the situation and to protect the future Duchess.

Peacefully and civilly, they were told.

One of Ucilla's lightsaber penetrated upwards through the ribs of a human who flew too close, the other blade thrown to dismember another while slicing through their jetpack.

Well, at least she tried.

Following traditional Jedi styles of dueling did not come as naturally as the offensive for Ucilla. As a Youngling, Ucilla was routinely reminded that the light side of the Force should control her movements rather than relying on defeat or death as her enemy's outcome. Ucilla guessed her aptitude for aggressive maneuvers was why Adi Gallia was assigned as her Master. Adi Gallia was one of the best of Jedi Masters: focused, determined, and, perhaps most importantly, strong with the light side. It would not have surprised Ucilla to find out the Jedi Council were hoping Master Adi would rub off on the girl.

Ucilla deflected another torrent of bolts, the swing of her two purplish-red lightsabers creating a haze around her lithe figure. Not too far away, the Padawan spotted her Master, a cobalt saber cutting through attacks as if this were nothing more than practice.

Amidst the battle, Ucilla suddenly felt vibrations beneath her feet, the tremble of echoes. Her mind was mostly focused on the assault, but her species' sensitive senses allowed for the Padawan to identify the peculiar shifts in the ground: the reverberation of what sounds like footsteps in a tunnel.

Confused, Ucilla willed herself to focus on the dirt, throwing herself behind a fallen building to lay close to the ground, pressing her ear into the rubble. As impossible as it seemed, Ucilla felt the quakes beneath the earth of Kalevala as terrorists moved in and move out, both above and beneath the surface. Suddenly, there were scattered explosions, the dirt beginning to loosen and with her sharp senses, Ucilla could sense what her Master could not.

Per his instruction, Jedi Master Qui-Gon Jinn's Padawan, Obi-Wan Kenobi, and Duchess Satine Kryze took a speeder to the rendezvous point, their hide-out on Kalevala. What was supposed to be an investigation into the seeming ghost town turned into the battle Ucilla and the two Jedi Masters face alone in the center of the city― nearing the heart of the next attack.

"Kriff," swore Ucilla, bouncing up to her feet. During the ambush, Ucilla and Master Adi became separated from Master Jinn. Before their separation, Master Jinn made the remark that this could have been a trap to capture the Duchess while in search of food and supplies. Ucilla, ever the pessimist, agreed with the Jedi Master's assessment, but she wasn't prepared for the explosions erupting under her feet as the Mandalorians' attempt to usurp the future ruler.

In hindsight, the action makes complete sense for their war-hungry kind. Looking at where she was, to blow up an entire city just to undermine four Jedi is in ancient Mandalorian style, after all.

Her thoughts shifted to the Padawan and Duchess. Both Jedi Masters ordered Obi-Wan and Duchess Satine to head back to their hide-out before so much as a scout found them. Now, Ucilla wondered how long they were in the enemy sights. Fearing the worst, Ucilla could only imagine the fight Obi-Wan and the Duchess found themselves in now.

"Master!" Ucilla cried out, rushing towards Adi. The two Jedi make haste to hide behind debris. With their backs against the dusty, fallen pillar, Ucilla took several deep breathes before facing her Master. "There's a tunnel system beneath us, and from what I've learned about these traditionalists, I don't think they're just for soldier transportation. I think the Mandalorians are setting off bombs to destroy the city."

Master Adi nodded. "They want to take over Kalevala the only way they know how: through destruction."

"Unfortunately," Ucilla growled, ducking her head as a shot skimmed over the pillar. "We need to get out of here. I sense something worse than blasters if we do not leave."

The Tholothian give an aspirated exhale. "Try to retreat to the alley," Master Adi responded. "From there, we will find Master Jinn."

Ucilla looked behind her where Master Adi's eyes were trained. An alley could be spotted but there was a far and wide opening between them and safety. But orders were orders, and a good Padawan listens to their Master.

The Jedi leap from their position, finding an assault of beams pointed in their direction. Ucilla could not tell for sure, but it seemed as though the number of Mandalorians multiplied by tenfold. Even with two fuchsia sabers, Ucilla thought another just might help.

And perhaps it would have: Ucilla fell to the ground with a yelp when blaster fire shot through her left shoulder. The sensation burned every charred piece of flesh that the fire dug through until it shot through the other side.

The blonde Scaki shot backwards on her back, rolling to avoid further hits. Unlike ever before, an indescribable shade of red passed over her vision, turning her agonizing pain into raw power. Had her Master had the time, Master Adi most likely would have scolded her Padawan for using the Force to propel a dozen advancing Mandalorians straight into the buildings so fast that they had no time to scream before death took them.

"Ucilla!" the Master cried, scarcely lifting her eyes from blasters. "Are you alright? Can you get to safety?"

The voice of Master Adi broke Ucilla's concentration, a good thing for everyone.

Grunting with a shake of her head, Ucilla stood, attaching one saber to her belt while the other continued to block incoming attacks. "Go," the Padawan shouted, "I'll cover you, Master."

As though the earth below let out a large exhale, the ground beneath the square quaked, a rumble coming from the underground. For a moment, Ucilla, Master Adi, and the rebels ceased all fire as their balance became lost.

No one found their ground again. With another mighty roar, the earth was close to collapse. Ucilla knew this, so did Adi.

The Force was hesitant with Ucilla's desires, as if pleading not to. Ucilla was not after a suicide mission, but the fear of her permanent death did strike a punch to her courage. As long as she planned it timely, she would survive.

And she was right.

Just moments before, Ucilla Force-pushed her Master several meters away and, no more than a few seconds later, Ucilla found herself running away from the collapsing earth, yet still caught amongst the rubble. Using all that she was trained in as well as the gifts of her species, Ucilla dug through the rubble, ensuring where she lied would not allow for rubble to completely crush her.

Ucilla's heart was loud in her eardrums. Darkness encased her no matter where she was. Her golden eyes were attuned to the dark, yet no shapes could be spotted in the enclosed space. The air was thick in dust, heavy in uneasiness. It was moments like these where Ucilla wished she had paid more attention in her training. Though mediation was an easy skill, the impending doom disrupted all her thoughts, slicing through any kind of call she attempted to push out.

No matter how hard she tried to call out to her Master, Ucilla came to realize no one was coming to help her. It was not long before Ucilla felt her Master slip away, no doubt joining up with Master Jinn and Obi-Wan to relocate with the Duchess.

She should have known the Jedi Master would not come to search through the rubble. There were matters far more important than a Padawan: cities to protect, battles to be fought, innocents to save. The Jedi were sent to Mandalore to protect the world and the rulers from the rebel group, and Ucilla's passing would not hinder such plans. The Scaki girl would be remembered for her bravery and self-sacrifice.

Shock eventually took over. Before long, all Ucilla could feel around her was the dirt in the callous of her fingers and weight of stone trying to collapse. As though her breathing stopped entirely, Ucilla's racing heart, thoughts, and very life also seemed to slow down. The Padawan almost felt dead as she lied in a state close to rigor.

A great feeling entered her as she found strength to move. Fearing that she would perish alone under a fallen city, anger and preservation finally unlocked her lifeless body. Her hands pressed against the stone slabs, nails dig into dirt, and shoves force the rubble around her to lift away, creating an opening for the moons and starlight to fill the void.

Ucilla was cautious as she ascended. No life could be spotted according to her senses, but she was still not completely convinced. When her hands gripped the edge of the ground from where it fell, she pushed herself over, only to end up lying face up in the dirt, her breathing hard and muscles shaking.

The stars that dotted the sky looked similar to those above Coruscant. All constellations began to look alike after seeing so many skies on so many worlds. She found no home in the night sky she watched as a Youngling, and now, as she watches the interstellar clouds on Kalevana, Ucilla realized she never had a home. All she had was a cell.

It was not long before Ucilla let out a laugh, her golden eyes watching the stars shine down on her. Her pale hands reach up to cover her mouth, a giggle escaping between her fingers. It was only then did she feel the tear-stained paths on her cheek, but by that point, it was unclear whether those broke free amidst her turmoil or as she relished in her newfound joy.

So, this is what freedom tastes like.

Ucilla found her golden eyes lost in the fields of stars and nebulas. Just as them, she had no obligations, none to abide by or listen to. She had herself and that felt like enough.

As Ucilla walked towards where she came, she stumbled across her discarded cloak. After brushing away the dust, the now-presumed-dead Padawan slipped her arms through the sleeves then pulled the hood over the top of her head. Ucilla stuffed the lightsaber attached to her belt into the inside pocket in as she leaned down to grip a discarded blaster.

Kalevana was not completely desolate. All planets have populated cities full of inhabitants who want nothing to do with wars or Jedi business. That was what she planned to find, and Ucilla was apt to have her way.

☆ ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆

TAGLIST:

@bonesaldente​

IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO BE TAGGED, LET ME KNOW!

#valor #darth maul #darth maul x reader #darth maul x oc #maul #maul x oc #maul x reader #star wars #star wars prequels #chapter 1 #ucilla zykoff #mandalorians #mandalore #the clone wars #clone wars #obi wan kenobi #anakin skywalker #crimson dawn

[cxmetery-gates]

VALOR MASTERLIST

SUMMARY: Ucilla Zykoff is dead. Well, at least presumably. The young ex-Jedi faked her death years ago and now works wherever money finds itself. Picking up a job, Ucilla doesn’t quite realize that nearly sniping a Sith Lord is the beginning to a whole lot of issues.

NOTES: Darth Maul is babey and Ucilla is sad gorl. Sorry, I don’t make the rules. Contains fluff, angst, sci-fi violence and action, and death.

CAST:

Nikki Reed as Ucilla Zykoff Ray Park as Darth Maul Sam Witwer voicing Darth Maul

SOUNDTRACK:

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TABLE OF CONTENTS:

PROLOGUE

CHAPTER ONE

RAMBLES:

#darth maul #maul #maul x reader #maul x oc #darth maul x reader #darth maul x oc #star wars #clone wars #valor #ucilla zykoff #star wars prequels #obi wan kenobi #obi wan #anakin skywalker