AN: I haven't read Darth Maul: Son of Dathomir. I just read the outcome on Wookiepedia. This story is set about three years after Episode III and twelve years before the Star Wars Rebels episode"Twilight of the Apprentice". This story is mainly supposed to be the origin story of an original character I'm making for a crossover series. I draw heavily from the old EU in this story, but it's supposed to be set in the new canon timeline. Also "x" is pronounced "sh" in Faleen.
Vengeance…sweet savage liberating vengeance…
Maul couldn't let himself give in to seemingly inevitable defeat or despair, so long as the possibility of vengeance remained. After all, he'd come back from the lowest possible point before. His lower torso and mind had been lost, but he'd survived. After his mother had healed his mind, he had become a greater power in the galaxy than ever.
Then he'd fallen again. His brother, Savage Oppress, killed by his former master; his mother, stabbed by General Grievous; the Shadow Collective which he had built, obliterated by the Confederacy of Independent Systems.
It was just like when he had been defeated by Kenobi: he'd lost everything but his life. That was all he had then, it was all he had now, but it would be enough. He just had to wait for the right opportunity.
No…Maul mused.
He still had his sanity in addition to his life. He was at considerably more of an advantage this time. And he had the most necessary skill that his former master had ever taught him: patience. He was still waiting for an opportunity to overthrow Sidious, but he'd already beaten Dooku and Greivous, simply by outlasting them. They were both dead now—their own fault for trusting Sidious in the first place. Dooku was as easy to replace as Maul had been, now that Sidious had a third apprentice, Darth Vader. Now that Sidious had succeeded in establishing a Galatic Empire, Vader could flaunt the title "Darth" openly. That was the future that once belonged to Maul.
The Nightbrother kicked the trash container next to him when he thought of Vader, but then he stopped himself. He only wanted revenge on Vader in as much as he was an apprentice to the Dark Lord of the Sith. It was the Master of the Sith, the beloved Emperor Palpatine, Darth Sidious, that was the true target of his rage.
The Sith no longer needed Maul? Fine. He no longer needed the Sith! The Sith had killed his family, so he no longer identified with them. All he wanted was vengeance on them. And the chance for vengeance would come, he just needed to be able to seize it.
That brought Maul to his present situation.
He stood in a small living room with black walls, a green floor, and a gray ceiling and a single chair. Maul wore a small chronometer and a holoprojector on his wrist, eliminating the need for further furniture. There were only two rooms in the building, a kitchen and a living room. Maul periodically ventured outside but never lingered long. An out-of-the-way building on an out-of-the-way planet.
Ord Sigatt was a mining planet in the Outer Rim. He'd come to the planet in Rook Kast's Gauntlet. He knew that letting her live would be too dangerous. Better that no one knew where he was. The vessel was safely hidden in canyon about twenty kilometers to the north.
Nothing in Maul's prior history had ever linked him to this planet. It was distant enough that Imperial control—Sith control—was weaker here, though not as weak as in Hutt Space—but close enough that major news reached it rapidly. He would occasionally visit local markets or bars, to see if anyone had heard rumors from the Core Worlds. Maul also avidly watched the state-run HoloNet News, both as his main source of information about the galaxy at large and as a second source to balance the more credible rumors against.
Rumors about the Emperor's intentions and plans had been rife since the Empire was inaugurated, but when something had some kind of parallel in Sidious's own propaganda machine—either an explicit confirmation or denial, or a suspicious omission—those were the things Maul was interested at the moment.
Maul was genuinely curious at first when there were rumors that Palpatine wanted to make the Queen Mother of the Hapes Consortium his Empress. While Maul knew that Sidious's only mistress was the Dark Side of the Force, such a move could have made sense politically. Hapes was a self-governing enclave that had never been part of the Republic and whose war fleets were formidable. If Sidious had gone that route he would have instantly created allies for Maul on Hapes. But nothing Sidious did ever confirmed or denied it. So Maul did not waste time with it. It was possible, but unlikely. The only reason he'd make a move on Hapes would be to annex it. If and when that happened, Maul would be ready.
Still, this was not a traditional empire. It was a Sith empire in everything but name. Sidious's heir and successor would likely not be a relative, but his Sith Apprentice, Darth Vader.
Maul's desire for vengeance was directed at Sidious himself, but if Vader ever inherited his mantle, he would become Maul's target by definition. Actually, if Maul succeeded in killing Sidious, killing Vader was an automatic post-requisite. There could be no more Sith Lords.
Maul did not often think about Vader, but when he did the question he pondered most often was Where did this man come from? He apparently had been in some kind of accident as he need an entire suit for a life support system to help him breathe. Maul couldn't help but admire the way Vader turned a disability into an advantage. Everyone who had mentioned Vader described him as intimidating and always mentioned the dread they felt as they heard the artificial breathing, as it meant Vader approached.
Maul had been able to replace his own missing lower torso with cybernetic legs, but they did nothing to enhance his persona beyond what it had always been.
The chronometer on Maul's wrist chimed. It would soon be time for HNN's broadcast. Usually Maul heard nothing useful, but still that was his main source on Sidious's specific moves at the moment. For the general, he always meditated deeply in the Dark Side. Nothing major had stirred in Maul's awareness as of late, so it was a major shock when the image of the Human newscater said, "Has Darth Vader overreached himself? The Lord of the Sith is facing the full wrath of the Falleen people and the Emperor is not bailing him out."
Maul took a step backward and sat in his chair.
"Darth Vader had a personal bioweapons research facility on Falleen, located in the Principality of Ix. The facility was made entirely without the Emperor's authorization. Due to the lack of proper imperial oversight, one of the pathogens escaped. To prevent a planet wide outbreak of flesh eating bacteria, Vader ordered the local Imperial Navy ships to set fire to the affected area. The infection was contained, but there was massive loss of life including the prince and most of the royal house of Sizhran. The prince's son, Grand Duke Xizor, better known as the head of Xizor Transport Systems is still here on Coruscant, word about the tragedy reaching him only hours ago."
Xizor…That name Maul knew. He was one of Black Sun's nine vigos under Ziton Moj's leadership. Maul knew that Black Sun's power had been crippled at the second battle of Dathomir, and Ziton Moj died in mysterious circumstances not too long after that.
The Hologram widened to include Xizor as well as the human.
Maul studied Xizor. While he wore the traditional topknot ponytail, unlike most male Faleen, the new prince had no facial hair around his mouth, though he did have a lock on one of his cheeks. He wore thinner robes than Ziton Moj, and thus seemed less bulky. Still Maul knew from his time with Black Sun that the prince was a master of Teräs Käsi master arts.
Maul payed very close attention to what Xizor said.
"Thank you, Wilhuf. I'm still coming to grips with the tragedy myself. I still can't believe that has really happened," Xizor closed his eyes but did not alter his tone.
He knows how to avoid being read.
"I just finished speaking to Savan, my niece and closest surviving relative. The streets of my capital are in flames and hundres of thousands are dead. I understand that what the Imperial navy did was necessary to prevent further loss of life."
Xizor let genuine sadness appear on his green scaled face.
There must be a reason he's showing this.
So enough Xizor's quiet sadness gave way to venomus anger.
"What I don't understand is how Darth Vader had the lab on my homeworld without the Emperor's knowledge." His mood shifted again.
"When I was building my company on Coruscant, Chancellor Palpatine was one of my closest friends and mentors. As Emperor he has no subject more loyal than Sizhran Xizor, but Vader is a loose cannon!" Back to anger. "He has to be held to account for this travesty he has brought to my people!"
The anchor man thanked the prince for his time. Maul waited for news of Sidious's reaction and none came. He turned off the holoprojector and put his gloved hand to his jaw and thought.
Xizor had hid his feelings well, but Maul could gather this much: Xizor hated Vader as much as Maul hated Sidious. Maul could not tell if Xizor was truly as loyal to Sidious as he would have had the public believe—after all, everyone had to love the Emperor, especially if they were going to attack his second-in-command, but, Maul warned himself, Xizor's loyalty to Sidious might be genuine.
Maul could not count on Xizor as an ally in his long term goal to destroy the Sith—not yet at least—but his very apparent desire for revenge against Vader could be manipulated. Without Vader, Sidious would have to search for a fourth apprentice. During that time he would be off balance. Maul might not be a match for his former master with the force, but if the public perceived the emperor as a blundering old fool who could not control his own minions…this also revealed something else, Vader and Sidious either mistrusted each other or this was the same tactic Sidious had used when Dooku "defected" to Maul. If that were the case Xizor would be an enemy to both Sith Lords for their wanton destruction of his home. The safest scenario would be to play Xizor against Vader while undermining his trust in Sidious.
Then a memory came to Maul from one of his conversations with Ziton Moj. Xizor Transport Systems was a front for Black Sun. The Ziton Moj had described Xizor as someone who was very ambitious and determined to lead Black Sun should the opportunity arise.
Suddenly, Ziton Moj's death seemed less mysterious.
Maul cleared his mind of all other thoughts, focusing on Xizor. What the former Sith Lord felt could best be described as sensing the long tentacle of a many-armed giant dianoga stir the water of a narrow stream feeding a large lake where the beast lay hidden. This was the best analogy because Maul could sense an immense hunger for more power.
Hmm, Maul thought upon returning to normal awareness, he does control Black Sun after all.
Xizor's "loyalty" to Sidious was based out of self-interest. If he thought he had a realistic chance of taking power from the old man without destroying himself in the process, he'd definitely take it.
Since Xizor was already at odds with Vader the necessary groundwork to turn him against Sidious was there as well. Since Xizor had had Palpatine as a benefactor for so long, and had experienced Black Sun's defeat at the hands of the Sith, he probably already knew of Sidious's double identity. This would make him suspicious of Maul's motives, but neither of them needed a friend. They both needed someone with a mutual obstacle.