Nightsister Village, Dathomir; 20 BBY
The Eta-class shuttle exited hyperspace in a flicker, barely pausing before continuing on to the planet below. Non-descript in its monotone grey, no one would have guessed that one of the most recognizable faces in the galaxy resided within, much less to think that he could even pilot such a craft. The face may have been public knowledge, but the mind inside was far from. Seething in frustration, Darth Sidious had an error to correct. He had let her live before, on a whim that she may be useful during the war, but no amount of prospective worth could counter the chaos she has introduced. In this war, there was no room for sovereign hands, only one omnipotent master. Thus, she had to die. Dooku, Grievous, and their incompetent droids had done little more than prune the Nightsister tree. To end the threat, the root must expire, too. That was why he was here, completing the task his aging apprentice was incapable of doing: housekeeping.
Landing on the outskirts of the former Nightsister village, Sidious descended the ramp into a battlefield. The corpses of the recently slaughtered and ancient mummies scattered around the ship, some crushed underneath it. The Sith ignored it all. She had taken up the reigns after Zalem was murdered, something few non-Dathomiri were privy to, but Sidious made it his business to know everything that was worth knowing. When Dooku came into his service, he relegated these menial tasks, simple and straightforward enough, to him. Simple and straightforward, but apparently completely beyond his capabilities. The witch had played his apprentice like a Dejarik master, stringing him along and interjecting unwanted variables into his masterpiece. He knew where she would be. These witches were little better than animals, wounded animals, never straying from their dens for fear of predators. And what do you do with a wounded animal? You put it down.
Red-orange spheres lit the room sparingly, but Sidious had no trouble seeing the Nightsister seated at the head of the carved table gazing into her crystal ball, how cliché. Still, there was no need this couldn't be pleasurable, in addition to practical. Continuing to hide his presence, Sidious gently place his bony hands on her shoulders and hissed into her ear, "It has been a long time, Sister."
Mother Talzin could feel the wane of her time coming to pass, she could feel it in her bones. Legends had said the Nightsisters of old, those strongest in the magical arts would be able to foresee the moment of their death. It was an ability that had fascinated the former-Shaman, but one she had ironically never imagined herself having. Talzin couldn't imagine anyone coming after he at this point, she had no allies, no friends, she was alone, her coven was gone, and her only remaining connections to the galaxy at large were two Nightbrothers and the final inductee into the Nightsister clan, Ventress. But as she felt the weight on her shoulders, something that she should have sensed long before now, she felt her stomach hollow, as if her body was drawing in on itself.
The voice was familiar, but not to the extent where she would remember a name, males did not merit the effort of her memory. Not turning to face the speaker, she simply said, "You've come a long way to see me, stranger."
The pressure vanished, like a mist being cut through with sunlight, and he stepped from behind her and took a seat at the opposite end of the table. His cloak was slick, a slippery blue-grey that shimmered in the soft lighting. A velvet-like caplet, a pure obsidian with no lint to mar the expanse, an amazing feat in the marsh, graced his shoulders. Aurulent eyes swirled in the face, which seemed more a mask of flesh and bone rather than the being's true visage, hidden from the world behind a facade of normalcy. None of that was why Talzin suddenly knew who her visitor was, it was what she could now feel. The warmth of the marsh air was replaced with a chill, the arctic embrace of empty space permeated the room. It was a feeling she had only felt once before in her life. It had been at the Orsis Academy when she had attempted to reclaim an errant Nightbrother.
"You have been quite busy in the time since our last meeting," said the Sith, the corners of his mouth twitched into an empty smile as he glanced around the ruins of her coven.
"I knew you would come," Talzin sighed, "but what had been done cannot be undone."
"In your opinion," he sneered, the hood shifting to cast the face in shadow, only the gleaming golden eyes shone in the blackness, like beads of precious metal in a sea of oil, "but that will no longer be any concern of yours, Sister. The eclipse of the Nightsisters has come, and I am here to extinguish the last flame."
Talzin reacted before the Sith moved, her fingers splayed, currents of emerald electricity shot from her withered hands. As the arrowed tips were about to skew her executioner, his own clawed hand curled into a loose fist, the green lightning grounded itself there. Rising to full height, the Sith's second hand made a similar gesture and Talzin could feel her throat clamp shut. Her own attack abandoned, she focused all her effort to freeing herself. The empty smile on the Sith's face remained as he watched her struggle.
Sidious was disgusted, this is what has been the cause of all my problems, this impotent mage? He watched Talzin thrash about in his Force grip, vainly trying to breathe the delicious oxygen that her own constricted windpipe prevented from reaching her. He wondered if she appreciated the irony, somehow he doubted it. Releasing her throat, Sidious lifted her bodily and drew her in. Hanging like an ornament, the Nightsister drew ragged breaths.
"Now that we have established the consequences of displeasing me, I have some questions," he said, "how did you bring back Maul?"
Talzin, having recovered enough from her depravation, shrouded herself in a bubble of translucent chartreuse energy. An acidic haze descended on the room, dissolving the furniture, peeling back the rock-covered walls. Sidious snarled at the defiance and raised his own crackling shield, electric arcs dissipating the corrosive vapor. Once the smog had been ionized away, he channeled the energy into an acute blast, a single violet bolt of lightning that shattered Talzin's globe.
The Nightsister Mother decided to flee. Her body glowed a faint green as she started to fade into the side of the cavern. Reaching out, Sidious forcibly slammed her to the ground, her bodying resuming its tangible form. Wrenching her up from the chest, he purposely cracked two ribs with the iron-clad grasp.
"There is no escape, woman, you will answer my questions or suffer increasingly painful repercussions," Sidious hissed, "now, how did you bring back Maul?"
After half a dozen more attempts to free herself and escape, all met with excruciating failure, she did. She poured out her story, how she had obtained Maul's blood at Orsis, Maul's barbaric brother, the retrieval of Maul's wrecked body from Lotho Minor, the resurrection, everything. Talzin ceased to comprehend anything but the pain, all-consuming, but never enough to take her into the sweet escape of unconsciousness. Sidious would never go beyond her physical tolerances, stopping just short and letting her come down from the edge. After several hours, he had his answers and there was one final task on this pathetic excuse for a planet.
"And now, my lady, I'm afraid our time together, however engaging, has come to an end," Sidious switched to Palpatine's genial voice. He stooped to examine his handiwork. Her clothing was shredded, smoking in several places, and discolored from the electricity. Her arm bent unnaturally from her shattered radius and ulna and all but four fingers were twisted back past the breaking point. Her eyes were bloodshot, the face paint, so lovingly applied that morning, was smeared and striated with syrupy blood. Those were all visible injuries, however, Sidious hadn't neglected the inside. Major muscle groups had been ripped apart internally leaving her limbs useless. Her gastrointestinal system had been punctured by telekinetic needles and leaked acidic bile on to other vital organs. Even if her fate hadn't already been decided, she would be relegated to a life of agony, each day of living a torment. All in all, Sidious was pleased.
Rising up, and lifting the ruined Nightsister with him, Sidious noticed her useless legs twitch as the nerves tried to move them. It faintly reminded him of a marionette, how fitting. "Any last words, my dear?" Sidious asked, voice still amiable despite what he had just done. Talzin made a repulsive gurgling sound, but couldn't gather enough strength to curse the Sith Lord. "In that case, listen," Sidious resumed his original snide tone, "You overstepped your bounds, witch, when you interfered with my affairs. I spared your wretched life once, but there is no room in this galaxy for those who do not serve me. Night has fallen on Dathomir and there is no longer any place for you in it."
Sidious brought the limp witch closer, and leaned in to the same ear he had spoken to before. "I am the future," he whispered, the pause punctuated by the wet snap of her neck, "and you are nothing at all."
As if the strings holding it up had been cut, the Nightsister corpse dropped in an awkward heap at Sidious' feet. Disgusting and wasteful creature, making him take valuable time out of his schedule to correct her mess. Telekinetically dragging the ignited sconces behind him, Sidious strode out of the remains of the village, setting it aflame as he went. Once he reached his shuttle, he tossed the balls of fire into the surrounding forest and left it to blaze. In a few hours' time, this entire location would be charred ash and ivory skeletons, with only a handful of beings left to know the full story of the massacre that occurred here. Glancing out the cockpit viewport, Sidious smiled at the inferno, everything burns.
Sundari Royal Palace, Mandalore; 20 BBY
Across the Galaxy, in the palace throne room, Darth Maul doubled over in throbbing agony. He felt as if his skin had caught fire, prickling and singeing his nerves raw. His world was burning.
Savage Oppress lumbered over to his sibling, "What is wrong, brother?"
"The witch is dead," Maul wheezed.
"Ventress?" Savage asked, confused.
"No, you fool," Maul spat, "the one who brought my mind back"
Savage paled, as much as a tattooed Zabrak could, "Mother Talzin is dead?" He felt his world shrink. She was one of two people he could depend on in this galaxy, the other double over in pain before him.
"Yes," Maul said the prickling feeling lessening as he drew on the Dark Side to suppress it.
"How?"
"I don't know, but I feel something searching for us . . . "
Dathomir Orbit; 20 BBY
The Eta-class shuttle reached the upper atmosphere when the transmission came in. Sidious scowled at the identification number, how inconvenient. He accepted the call, audio only, after all it wouldn't do to be seen in a blood spattered cloak by the caller.
"Anakin! What a lovely surprise, to what do I owe the pleasure?" Palpatine asked.
"My task force happens to be close by the Dathomir system, Chancellor, and I thought we could offer you an escort to Mandalore once you finish there," Anakin said, "You know I still feel uncomfortable with you traveling alone in these troubled times. It's not safe."
"Ah, my boy, you needn't fear for me," Palpatine smiled his grandfather grin out of pure habit, "As it so happens Dathomir has elected to remain neutral, despite the Separatist attack. We're actually about to move on to Mandalore now, so continue on with your duties. After all, how can you help win the war while your protecting me?" Or interfering with my objectives, he added silently.
"As you wish, your Excellency," Anakin acceded reluctantly, "I just hope the security you brought with you will be sufficient."
"I'm sure they will," Palpatine soothed, giving a fleeting look back to the pilot and half a dozen Senate Guards he had executed before arriving to Dathomir, "I'll be safe in their hands. Now don't worry about me, I'll be back on Coruscant before you know it."
The transmission ended and Sidious felt his face droop. Palpatine was sometimes so sickeningly charming it was saccharine. He reclined in the pilot's chair, Dathomir was no longer an issue, but he had decided that once he ascended to power he would intern the planet to be safe. As fragile as the witches were, they could be superfluous cogs in his galactic machine. That would suffice, at least until he got around to sterilizing the planet for a more permanent solution. Now he was headed to Mandalore to deal with his erstwhile apprentice. A failure in every sense of the word. Defeated by a mere apprentice and now prying into Sidious' plans. Soon, however, he would cease to be an issue. Like the witch, Talzin, he would be dealt with. It was arduous, but in lieu of a worthy apprentice, he was forced to clean up this mess. Sidious sighed, housekeeping . . .
Original Author's Note: I actually got this idea after watching on the trailers for Clone Wars Season 5 and thought that it would be fitting to have Sidious actually do something in the series. I'm not actually a fan of the show, most of the episodes are boring or unimaginative, but my biggest issue is their constant canon breaks. I understand that it's difficult to write things that fit into canon, but they hardly try. The completely screwed up Ventress' backstory, just to put her on Dathomir. Brining Maul back just pissed me off, since there's no way he could have realistically survived like that. The breaking point for me was when they killed off Even Piell when he actually appears in books that take place when the empire was around. I mean, they could have just looked it up on Wookieepedia and found out not to kill him, but they were too lazy to even do that. Um, now that the rant is over, where was I? Oh yes, I just thought this would be a nice way to bridge the gap between Seasons 4 and 5 leading up to that trailer.
New Author's Note: Added a couple small details after seeing the Darth Maul-Mandalorian story arc. Surprisingly, everything fit in nicely the way I originally wrote it. I just changed where Maul and Savage were on Mandalore.