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Darth Maul Versus Obi-Wan Kenobi
Right after the Siege of Mandalore.
He's been to Tatooine twice before. Once alone to capture Queen Amidala of Naboo and the second time with Death Watch to recruit the Hutts to his Shadow Collective. The former mission was a failure, whereas the latter was a success. This time, his third time, Darth Maul is on Tatooine, so that he can ditch the pesky Jedi ship that he used to escape the clutches of Ashoka Tano, the idiot who refused to join him and paid the price for it. Although, he senses that she is still alive, along with Captain Rex.
Maul figures it is wise to abandon the Jedi ship here in this remote desert wasteland because it will attract too much attention elsewhere. His former master, Chancellor, now Emperor Palpatine, will be hunting him down and he needs to stay discreet.
After pawning off the Jedi ship to some random lowlife, Maul surveys the area to find a new ship to fly on. A small starfighter flies in and Maul prepares to jump in it once the owner gets out. But then he sees the pilot.
It's him.
His second worst nemesis, the Jedi Master Obi-Wan Kenobi. And Kenobi is not alone. He's carrying something with him, a baby, newborn boy by the looks of it.
Maul blinks his eyes and pinches himself to make sure that he isn't dreaming. What a coincidence. Running into Obi-Wan Kenobi here.
Maul watches Kenobi sell the starfighter and rent out an eopie and hop on it, still carrying the baby in his arms. Maul narrows his yellow eyes and wonders what the significance of the baby is. Who is he?
Maul follows Kenobi, whose senses are dampened, thanks to his current misery.
Obi-Wan Kenobi wipes his eyes but there are no tears because they dried up. He is so heartbroken over the extermination of the Jedi, the loss of his brother, Anakin, that he cannot even bring himself to cry. The Jedi Master chooses to focus on the future, if it exists, but it has to, for the sake of the child, whom he needs to protect at all costs.
Before Kenobi passes the Sarlaac pit, Maul decides to make his presence known.
"Hello there." The former Sith Lord greets his old nemesis.
Kenobi falls off of the eopie in shock.
"Master Kenobi." Maul continues the greeting. "You survived."
"Yes I did." Kenobi whips out his own lightsaber but not Anakin's because he cannot bear to look at that thing.
"No need for hostilities." Maul snarls but then realizes that Kenobi is hiding a second lightsaber (Skywalker's).
"What do you want?" Kenobi demands, as he struggles to stay alert in the heat.
"I was just curious as to why you are here of all places. I mean I get that you are hiding from the Sith, my old master Emperor Palpatine Sidious and your old apprentice, Darth Vader, formerly Anakin Skywalker." Maul says.
"Anakin is dead." Kenobi replies in tears.
"No. I sense that you left him for dead as you did me. Albeit, he is in worse condition but I doubt he is dead. Sidious will have repaired him by now. The Dark Side is strong with Lord Vader." Maul shudders. "More machine now than man but still a Sith Lord."
Kenobi's heart lurches as he realizes that Maul's speculation is accurate.
"Now, why do you have a baby?" Maul's eyes narrow. "A Force sensitive you seek to train? Or something else..."
Kenobi slaps the eopie and it runs away, with Luke Skywalker still on it.
"I see." Maul deduces. "Young Skywalker's son. The Chosen One's flesh and blood. The new Chosen One, who will destroy the Sith."
Kenobi points his lightsaber at Maul's face.
"Come now. We may have bad blood but look at us now. Both of us have nothing left (actually, I have Crimson Dawn), and we are being hunted by the Sith. We could work together to survive. If we combined our strength, worked together, trained that boy together, we could destroy Sidious and Vader." Maul considers the endless possibilities.
Kenobi shakes his head. "Even if we succeeded, you would simply be the new Sidious, the next tyrant who would oppress the galaxy."
"You sound like Ashoka Tano. She refused to join me and paid the price." Maul bemuses.
Kenobi gasps. "Ashoka? She is alive?"
"Yes. Ashoka is alive, unlike your bitchy little duchess (Satine)." Maul snickers. "I can still taste her blood and your pathetic tears."
Kenobi holds back his fury and stops himself from chopping Maul to pieces.
Maul holds out his hand. "Join me. Obi-Wan, I promise, we will destroy the Sith and make things right."
Kenobi contemplates ignoring Maul and walking away, but then Maul would just attack him anyway, or worse, Maul could kidnap Luke. Maul cannot be allowed to walk away, alive.
Maul waves his right index and middle fingers.
Kenobi raises his eyebrows in confusion at Maul's motion but then immediately realizes what he is doing.
Too late.
The Jedi Master's eyes light up in shock and pain as the lightsaber inside his robes ignites into his waist.
Anakin Skywalker's lightsaber flies to its new master, Lord Maul, as the two pieces of Obi-Wan Kenobi tumble onto the sand. It is Snokelike.
"You are now half the man you used to be." Maul cackles in glee at the severed Kenobi, who is struggling to crawl without his lower half.
"Ppp...p...please. Maul!" Kenobi pleads pathetically. "Let Luke go. Do whatever you want but do not touch the boy."
"Do not worry." Maul assures. "I will take good care of the boy and raise him well. It is yourself you should be worried about."
Kenobi gulps in terror. He will most likely die of dehydration, or be savaged by Tusken Raiders, or be consumed by the sand, or be burned by the two suns. That is, if, Maul even lets him go.
Maul grabs Kenobi by the neck and tiptoes to the Sarlaac pit.
"I hear being eaten by the Sarlaac is unbeliveably painful. He takes a long time to digest, so you will be conscious for a while." Maul tosses Kenobi's top half into the Sarlaac pit, which devours the tasty snack.
Maul chuckles with glee as Kenobi's girlish screams are muffled by the beast.
The Boy, the Bib, the Bane
Maul finds Luke Skywalker very quickly.
"There there." Maul feeds Luke the blue milk that is saddled in the eopie's pouch.
As Maul carries the baby and rides the eopie back to Mos Eisley, am innovative thought comes to mind. The Empire, the Sith, would never come. They would never find him in the middle of the desert. That is why Kenobi came to this wasteland. To hide himself and the boy.
Tatooine would be the perfect location to train the Chosen One and run his criminal operations. This desert could be the undetected base of Crimson Dawn. The only problem is Jabba the Hutt.
Maul rides over to Jabba's palace and rings the bell.
When Bib Fortuna opens the door, Maul pulls him out.
Bib begs for mercy but Maul laughs.
"I am promoting you." Maul announces."Go. Poison Jabba and his son Rotta. Use this recipe and slip it this way." Maul gives the instructions.
Hours later, Jabba expires, alongside Rotta.
"You will lead the operations here now." Maul instructs his puppet, Bib Fortuna.
Afterwards, Maul contacts the bounty hunter.
"What do ya want?" Cad Bane demands.
"The Hutt Council, go to today's meeting and wipe them out, all of them." Maul requests.
"That is too deadly, even for me." Cad Bane complains. Is this client insane? He has worked with him before but this is over the top.
"I will cover for you and make sure that you are not implicated, Also, I will pay four times your usual rate." Maul gestures to Jabba's riches.
After the eradication of the Hutt Council, Maul takes control of all Hutt possessions and Crimson Dawn becomes the most powerful criminal empire in the galaxy.
Obi-Wan Kenobi Series
The Inquisitors, Grand and Reva and Fifth, pull their stunts on Tatooine but Maul simply ignores them and waits for them to leave. Of course, they never expect Maul to be on Tatooine. The Empire is hunting Maul but has no idea where he is.
Bail Organa goes to find Obi-Wan Kenobi but obviously, he is nowhere to be found, so Bail assumes that he is hiding.
After pulling some strings, Bail manages to privately move the Imperial Senate to put pressure on the Inquisitorius. Reva is forced to return Leia to Bail.
Solo
"Nice work." Maul nods in approval as he watches Luke Skywalker slay the Krayt Dragon using nothing but his bare hands and the Force.
"You have taught me well." Luke presents the pearl.
Maul takes the pearl and hands back Luke's double bladed lightsaber to him.
"This will fetch a pretty penny that will be a tremednous asset to Crimson Dawn." Maul giggles. "Deliver this pearl to Dryden Vos."
Luke leaves Tatooine and on his way to Dryden's lair, Luke runs into Tobias Beckett and Chewbacca, whom he kills, along with the Rebels he also encounters. When he enters the lair, Luke fatally stabs Qi'Ra and Han Solo.
Kicking aside the corpses, Luke hands the pearl to Dryden.
"I will sell this well." Dryden replies.
Malachor
"Shouldn't we have used the temple?" Luke wonders.
"No. We did the right thing by destroying the holocron. The power of that temple is too volatile to control. It was also too dangerous to leave at the mercy of our enemies." Maul assures his apprentice.
"If we had waited longer, we could have killed the scum. Those failed Jedi, Ashoka Tano, Kanan Jarrus, that wannabe Jedi, Ezra Bridger, those Inquisitors, and that sleezmo Sith Lord Darth Vader, my father." Luke snarls.
"Patience." Maul lays a hand on Luke's broad shoulders.
"I want him dead. I HATE him!" Luke's fury shakes the entire ship.
"We will kill Vader and Sidious, soon enough." Maul promises.
Ashoka Tano, Kanan Jarrus, Ezra Bridger arrive, on Malachor, only to be met with Inquisitors.
With great painstaking effort, they manage to dispatch the Eigth, Fifth Brothters and Seventh Sister.
Then, Darth Vader's TIE fighter arrives.
"Ezra, Kanan." Ashoka pleads. "Run."
"You sound like Master Billaba." Kanan cries. "Please, no."
"Ashoka!" Ezra.
"Go!" Ashoka yells.
The Ghost swivels back and behind the TIE.
No way Kanan and Ezra are leaving Ashoka.
But Vader is too quick and he shoots the Ghost, blowing it up, Kanan and Ezra inside,
"NO!" Ashoka screams.
"It was foretold you would be here. Our long awaited meeting has come at last." Vader greets his former apprentice.
"I thought Anakin was still there, underneath that mask, but now I can see that I was wrong. My master could never be as vile as you." Ashoka ignites her lighstabers.
"Anakin is dead. I killed him. Unless you wish to join him, I suggest you surrender. Lord Sidious may show you mercy if you reveal where the remaining Jedi can be found. I will show you mercy if you tell me where Kenobi can be found." Vader offers.
"I see through the lies of the Sith." Ashoka charges at Vader.
The duel is brief but Soka puts up a good fight.
Darth Vader coldly kicks aside Ashoka Tano's severed head, which rolls further away from the headless body.
Mandalore
With Ezra and Kanan Jarrus gone, Sabine Wren never finds the Darksaber and never reunites with her family. Gar Saxon, Tiber and the Superweapon wipe out Bo Katan, Clan Kryze and anyone who gets in their way.
Thrawn
With Ezra Bridger out of the picture, Grand Admiral Thrawn stays around, but he is soon has a disagreement with Sidious, Tarkin, Vader and Thrawn is purged.
Droids
"You have been well trained, my apprentice." Maul compliments Luke.
"When will we have our revenge?" Luke is growing restless.
"Soon." Maul gestures into the sandy dunes. "Two droids are wandering this desert right now. They are property of the Rebel Alliance and they are carrying information capable of destroying the Empire's new superweapon, the planet killer, the Death Star."
"I will find the droids and bring them in." Luke declares.
After a few hours, Luke returns, carrying a battered astronomech (R2-D2) in his hands.
"Run into any stormtroopers?" Maul asks.
"A few, but I got a few Tusken Raiders to ambush them." Luke brags.
Maul nods, impressed by his apprentice's smart moves. If Luke had used direct Force on the stormtroopers, they could have tipped off Darth Vader and ruined the element of surprise.
After seeing the message from Leia, Maul giggles.
"We must go to the Alderaan system, which will no longer exist by the time we get there because Grand Moff Tarkin will have blown them up." Maul chuckles.
The Ship
"A Mandalorian ship?" Grand Moff Tarkin raises an eyebrow. "A rarity indeed."
"Most of them were destroyed by our forces when we wiped out Mandalore." Wulff Yularen strokes his beard.
"There are no Mandalorians aboard." Darth Vader's breathing gets heavier.
"Someone you know? Lord Vader?" Tarkin knows Vader enough to read his mood just by his breathing sounds.
Vader doesn't answer. The presence. Who is it? He can sense that they have never met before but whoever is on board the ship is familiar to him. Close to him.
"We will use the tractor beam to draw the ship in." Tarkin orders.
"Don't bother." Vader booms. "I sense they are coming our way. They intend to board the ship."
"Then we need to destroy the ship." Tarkin states.
"No. Do not strike the ship." Vader raises his fist. "I want them alive. NO disintegrations!"
"Very well." Tarkin chooses to trust Lord Vader's judgement.
Patience
"Patience, my apprentice." Maul squeezes Luke's broad shoulders.
"I will kill him and make him suffer!' Luke can barely contain his rage.
"You must maintain your focus and let go of your pride." Maul lectures in an un-Sithly way. "I was too overconfident with Obi-Wan Kenobi and that led to me being cut in half on Naboo. I shouldn't have gotten so excited over Qui-Gon Jinn's death. Though, if I had never been cut in half by Obi-Wan, I would still be a slave to Sidious."
Luke clenches his double bladed lightsaber with his right hand, while making a fist with his left hand. He is so close to killing the man whom he hates.
"We must first retrieve Princess Leia. She is the daughter of Bail Organa, who was just killed in the Alderaan explosion. Her leadership is key to the Rebellion and if we can gain her trust, we will be able to control the Rebels and after destroying Sidious with this super weapon, taking over the entire galaxy will be a cakewalk." Maul has a plan to save Princess Leia, kill Vader, Tarkin, everyone on board, take over the Death Star and use it to blow up Coruscant. With Leia under his thumb, Maul will have no trouble toppling Mon Mothma, who will undoubtedly want to reestablish the Galactic Republic. After Maul takes over the galaxy, he will dispose of Leia too.
Maul closes his eyes to think over his plan details and by the time he opens his eyes, he sees himself surrounded by two Stormtroopers, Luke Skywalker nowhere in sight.
"Don't move." A trooper shoots his stun blast at Maul, who uses the other trooper as a shield.
Maul chokes the first trooper to death. Afterwards, he steals one trooper's armor, putting it on, the helmet barely fitting because of his horns. Maul uses the Force to animate the other trooper and make him move.
"No one on board." Maul tries his best Stormtrooper impression voice.
The other troopers nod and walk away and Maul hurriedly makes his way into the corridor.
That damn Luke, he has no patience. He has already run off to confront his father. They were supposed to go together!
Maul shakes his head and sticks to his plan of getting Leia first. Hopefully, Luke can keep Vader occupied until Maul joins the fight.
Father Sister Son Nightbrother
"Who are you?" Darth Vader demands at the hooded figure, who answers by igniting his double bladed red lightsaber. Vader barely counters Luke's deadly strike and a vicious duel breaks out.
On his way to Leia's cell, Maul deactivates the tractor beam, just as a precaution.
"You are a little tall for a Stormtrooper." Leia chuckles softly as she thinks that this is the last joke she will make. Surely, this tall Stormtrooper is here to execute her.
"I am Maul." He removes his helmet. "I am here to rescue you."
"How did you get in here? Are you with General Kenobi? The Alliance? Do you know who I am?" Leia has so many questions to ask this horned headed stranger.
"I flew here and my ship was dragged in. Kenobi...he and I knew each other. I am here to rescue you and I seek to join the alliance. I know that you are Alderaanian Princess Leia..." Maul trails off because suddenly, he sees something in Leia. She isn't just some princess with good leadership skills. No. She is something deeper, a powerful presence, a presence as formidable as Sidious, Vader, Luke.
Leia isn't sure what to think of this Maul but she figures that it would be better to leave with him than be killed by the Empire.
Vader and Luke are even matched, matching blow for blow, strike for strike. A troubled Tarkin watches from the security camera, unsure of what to do. For once, the Grand Moff is hesitant because he knows that Lord Vader would not want any interference. However, it does seem like Vader is losing.
This girl is not even related to Bail Organa. Where exactly did he find her? Maul wonders.
"There is no bridge!" Leia points.
A platoon of Stormtroopers fire at them but Maul uses the Force to throw them into the hole.
"You are also a Jedi?" Leia questions.
"No." Maul answers. "Leia, try jumping to the other side on your own." Maul is almost certain but he needs proof but if he is wrong, then she will fall to her death and he will have to revise his plans.
Leia gives Maul a quizzical look but ultimately obeys. Maul watches as the princess jumps across the chasm and lands on the other side, unharmed.
A smile curls to his lips. She is Force sensitive.
Maul jumps and lands beside her.
"I...I do not know how I did that." Leia is not surprised by her stunt, just intrigued.
"You have...special powers." Maul answers briefly. "Come on. My friend needs my help."
Vader screams in pain as Luke jams his lightsaber through Vader's right leg. Another slash to the left leg and both arms. The Sith Lord lies legless and armless, fully defenseless.
Maul and Leia rush towards the ship area, the former very impressed with Luke's skill, but Maul's look of pride quickly evolves to horror when he sees Tarkin and a squadron of Stormtroopers emerging.
Luke does not see them and he raises his fingers at Vader, sending a torrent of brutal lightning into the cyborg's severed body.
Vader cries in agony as the electricity fries his circuits and what is left of his flesh. The pain amplifies and Vader prepares to become one with the Force, when suddenly, it stops, the lightning and the pain.
Luke looks down at his chest, only to see a burning hole oozing with hot plasma. The youngster falls on his knees, as if in prayer.
Maul screams in misery as Leia tries to console him.
Tarkin lowers his blaster as Luke totally collapses onto the ground, lifeless.
"Lord Vader." Tarkin looks down. "Are you alright? I will have you transported to Mustafar immediately."
Vader wheezes, unable to speak, due to Luke mutilating his vocal circuits.
"We will have you all fixed up. I will handle the Rebel base." Tarkin assures. "I will break the princess."
Leia thinks fast and instinctively. The princess rips a cable off of a Stormtrooper corpse and swings it forward, latching it onto Luke's corpse, which she drags forward, sending it flying into Maul's arms.
The ex Sith Lord and princess hop on board the former's Mando ship and fly off.
"I will track them momentarily. The beacon should be working." Tarkin smirks.
Mourning
"I am so sorry about your friend." Leia touches Maul's hand gingerly.
"Thank you." Maul closes Luke's eyes.
"You were close?" Leia asks.
"I raised him from when he was a newborn. 19 years." Maul fights back tears.
"I am so sorry." Leia repeats.
"You lost your entire people to the Empire. Your parents, relatives. I am sorry for you. During the Clone Wars, the Emperor also killed my people too. My brother, mother, sisters." Maul grabs a tissue.
"Is that why you are in this fight?" Leia squeezes Maul's hand in a gesture of empathy, their faces getting ever so closer.
"Yes. And we will win." Maul promises. "I will explain so much to you and train you to hone your powers."
Leia, for some reason, does not question what exactly Maul means.
Gaining Trust
"Glad to see you safe. I...sorry about your people." Jan Dodonna hugs Leia.
"Thank you. We must honor them. I have the Death Star plans." Leia presents them.
"And I hear you are to thank for the delivery of these plans and the rescue of Princess Organa?" Dodonna reaches out to shake Maul's hand.
"Yes." Maul nods. "I am...an old enemy of the Emperor and I would like to help the Alliance in any way I can. Starting by blowing up the Death Star."
"That is ambitious." Dodonna is impressed. "You already have a plan?"
"Tarkin put a tractor beam on my ship and it is only a matter of time before the Death Star arrives." Maul points to the sky of Yavin 4. "We must destroy it and cripple the Empire's morale. Show the galaxy how pathetic Sidiou- Palpatine is."
"I will ready the squadron." Leia calls in the pilots.
Maul pilots an X-Wing fighter.
Without Darth Vader around, the fight is brief and Maul easily blows up the Death Star.
The Rebels celebrate and Maul is awarded a medal by a beaming Leia.
"We are most indebted to your service, General Maul." Dodonna chirps.
"Thank you. I know that this is a day of celebration but could we honor my friend, who died for our cause." Maul requests.
"Of course!" Dodonna and Leia arrange a funeral and memorial.
Boss Visits Employee's Home
Even in his insulated bacta tank, he can feel the presence of his master and it terrorizes him. Without his legs and arms, he cannot entertain the possibility of running.
Without a word, Darth Sidious folds his fingers and a submerged Darth Vader begins choking on his respirator mask.
"While you were here on Mustafar, resting, my prized superweapon was destroyed by the Rebels. Now, trillions across the galaxy are rising up against my rule and I have the inconvenience of putting out every little fire." Lord Sidious snarls. "Tell me, Lord Vader, why were you here on Mustafar, while Tarkin and the rest of them were fighting the Rebels. Not that Tarkin is without fault. That fool is lucky he was blown up because he would have been punished severely."
Between his choking, Vader realizes that Sidious was not informed of the Mandalorian ship, or the Force user, because Tarkin never had the chance to report.
"No matter. I will administer your punishment soon." Sidious slams the door on his way out.
Emperor Palpatine contemplates going back and killing Vader but decides against it. Yes, Vader is a fauiure and a pathetic cyborg but he is still convenient to have around. With a "shortage" of Force sensitives, a good replacement apprentice is impossible to come by.
Speaking of apprentices, Maul must be dead by now? If he weren't dead, and if he and Sidious were on good terms, Sidious could really use his help.
Vader breathes heavily, trying to get the congestion out of his lungs. If Lord Sidious knew about the Force sensitive and what happened, he would be furious and Vader cannot bear the anger now. And there was something about that Force sensitive that Vader cannot put his finger on, but he knows that has to get to the bottom of it before Sidious does. It is a piece of knowledge that Sidious cannot know.
Who Am I? Who Are You?
"Explain what happened on the Death Star. How were we able to jump and move like that? What do you know?" Leia asks Maul.
Maul narrows his eyes. "May I take a blood sample?"
Leia obliges and Maul's eyes explodes when he sees her Midichlorian count. which is higher than that of Lord Sidious.
"What is it?" Leia is anxious to know.
"The Force is strong with you." Maul gazes at her in wonder.
"The Force? That thing that the Jedi had?" Leia is not actually surprised because she always suspected something about herself.
"Yes. The Jedi had it and so do the Sith." Maul explains. "Who...who were your biological parents?"
"I do not know." Leia lowers her sad in sadness. "Bail and Breha, they adopted me. That much I know. I remember my mother a little bit. She was beautiful kind and sad. She died when I was young. She..."
Maul lays a hand on Leia's shoulder and squeezes it.
"Focus, Leia. Calm yourself. Search your feelings and tell me what you see." Maul steadies her.
Leia shuts her eyes and does as she is told. "I see...images. A woman on the delivery table, sad and defeated...my mother. She is talking to some bearded man in white, burned robes. There are delivery droids and weird species...Polis Massans? There is a tiny green midget goblin thingy in the corner, standing next to Bail?"
Maul wonders who the tiny green midget goblin thingy standing next to Bail Organa is.
"My mother...her name is...Pa...Padme!" Leia's tears stream down her face.
Padme Amidala, former Queen and Senator of the Naboo! The woman that Maul was sent to capture! Who was Leia's father then?
"Padme...Mom says that there is still good in someone...a him..." Leia processes. "But before that she named me Leia and before that...I had a brother...Twins we were."
Maul is in disbelief. Another boy out there, who may be as powerful as Leia?
"My brother, my mother named him Luke." Leia recalls.
Maul's jaw falls off of his face! And that is also when Leia collapses in shock.
"It is okay." Maul grabs Leia and hugs her tight, comforting her.
"I thought my mother...I thought she was with me for a while when I was young but I was wrong. She died right after I was born." Leia sobs. "And my brother, my lost brother, was named Luke just like your friend."
Maul helps Leia get up.
"Maul, what does all of this mean?" Leia squeezes his hand.
"Leia, I need to run another test to be sure." Maul runs a swab through her cheek and extracts a piece of Luke's hair from his tomb.
After the DNA test, Maul shows the result, to which Leia collapses in surprise.
"I had no idea of any of this either. I had no idea who you were until your vision." Maul sits her down.
"Luke...your friend who died was my brother..." Leia begins balling but the crying turns to screaming. "And that Darth Vader killed him! I will kill him and destroy him!"
"We will kill Vader, and the Emperor too. I promise but we must gain all the power we can before we move." Maul waves his hands. "I need to explain to you your origins. Who you are, who I am and what exactly we are fighting against."
Leia perks up, eager to know the truth.
"Long ago, the Jedi and Sith were mortal enemies but the Sith were nearly wiped out, almost extinct by their own stupidity and infighting. Over a millennia ago, Darth Bane, the last Sith of his time, reorganized the Sith into the Rule of Two, only two Sith Lords at a time, a master and an apprentice, no more, no less."
"And Vader is the apprentice." Leia immediately understands. "And the Emperor is the master."
"Yes. Emperor Palpatine is Darth Sidious, the Dark Lord of the Sith." Maul explains. "Palpatine was apprenticed to the Sith Lord Darth Plagieus the Wise."
"Where do the Jedi fit into all of this? What of that General Kenobi who never showed up and that green midget thingy from my vision, whom I assume was a Jedi." Leia ponders.
"Despite being enemies with the Sith, the Jedi were no saints either. The Jedi Order was corrupt bureaucracy that served a broken, corrupt, dying Republic. They terrorized the galaxy, especially during the Clone Wars and led to the downfall of the Republic." Maul explains.
"Were you a Jedi?" Leia automatically realizes the truth. "You were a Sith!" But she doesn't back away from Maul.
"Yes. I was the very first apprentice to Darth Sidious. Palpatine was allies with my mother, Talzin, and he had planned to make her his apprentice, but he kidnapped me instead. I was ripped away from my home and forced into the ways of the Sith by the wretched Emperor." Maul fights back tears.
"I am so sorry." Leia squeezes Maul's hands.
"I served Darth Sidious for many years, until the Battle of Naboo. That was where Anakin Skywalker made his debut." Maul pauses.
"Skywalker, he was a very famous Jedi." Leia has heard of him.
"Yes. A Jedi.On Naboo, I killed Qui-Gon Jinn but Obi-Wan Kenobi cut me in half and reduced me to this." Maul points to his droid half.
"So General Kenobi was a monster. Bail was wrong." Leia shakes her head.
"Kenobi was a victim of the Jedi ways. I forgive him." Maul is half honest because he has gotten over Kenobi ever since he disposed of him.
"But Darth Sidious did not have Darth Vader until the rise of the Empire." Leia knows this. "So...he had another apprentice in between. Was it Count Dooku?" Although, Imperial propaganda was erased Dooku's association with Sidious, Leia always knew that something more was there to Dooku. She just knew from the historical context that there had to have been more about the Separatist movement.
"Yes. Dooku was the second apprentice, a disposable one to be sure. He was a former Jedi, who fell to the Dark Side. Under the guidance of Sidious, Dooku organized the Separatist movement. The Clone Wars broke out and the Jedi became generals, essentially butchers for the Republic." Maul takes a deep breath. "I reappeared during the Clone Wars. My brother, Savage Oppress and my mother Talzin, they saved me from insanity and I organized my criminal empire, which I still have, as well as a power base on Mandalore and the neutral systems. But Sidious retaliated, killed my brother, mother and genocided my people."
"I am so sorry." Leia throws her arms around Maul and the two sob in empathy.
"Sidious rose to power and exterminated the Jedi, with the exception of a few. Anakin Skwalker, the hero of the Jedi, aided in their destruction. Anakin Skywalker became Darth Vader." Maul explains.
Leia clenches her fist in anger.
"Now, that gets to us. I found Luke when I stopped by on Tatooine after the Jedi Purge. Kenobi was with him and I killed Kenobi and raised Luke. I was going to use him as a weapon to destroy the Sith." Maul reminisces.
"So Kenobi was the bearded man in the delivery room." Leia pieces together.
"And the green thing was Yoda, the wretched, crooked, deplorable Grand Master of the Jedi Order. He and Kenobi must have decided to separate you from Luke. Because they intended to use you two to destroy the Sith. Bail did a good job with you. He raised you as his own and he was nice to you. He gave you a good life." Maul states.
Leia nods, still thankful to Bail.
"Your father..." Maul pauses.
"Who was my father?" Leia is eager to know. "Did you find out from my vision?"
Maul nods solemnly.
"Who?" Leia's eagerness devolves into dread as she realizes the truth.
"Yes. I will train you as my new apprentice and we will destroy your father and my former master together." Maul promises.
Leia envisions herself tearing off her father, Vader's mask and watching him suffer.
Who Was It?
"My lord, I have information on the pilot who blew up the Death Star." Mas Amedda kneels before the throne.
Sly Moore raises an eyebrow.
"What is it?" Lord Sidious rises from his throne.
He and Moore watch the footage that Amedda is showing them.
"That is not the work of a normal pilot." Sly Moore observes.
"No." Emperor Palpatine widens his shriveled eyes. Could it be? A Jedi? No. It is not. But it strong with the Force.
"We were unable to identify the pilot." Mas Amedda apologizes.
"He will soon reveal himself to us, whoever he may be." Lord Sidious scowls.
Rebel Base and Training On Dathomir
"This is quite the location put a base. No one would find us here." Mon Mothma gazes around the Dathomirian landscape.
"Yes. We will convert this old Nightbrother area into the Rebel base." Maul leads the way.
After clearing out the Nightbrother Zabrak clutter, the Rebels set up the camp.
"So, tell me more about yourself. You are the hero who blew up the Death Star after all." Mon Mothma shakes Darth Maul's hand.
"This, Dathomir is my home world. My people and family were exterminated by the Emperor, who has it out for me. I have been hiding from him for a long time." Maul gives a shorthand explanation.
Mon Mothma decides not to pry further, due to his clear grief.
"Well, glad to have you on board." Mothma cheers.
"I know the Emperor well and I will help the Alliance defeat him." Maul travels to other side of the planet, the former Nightsister side.
He goes to Talzin's office, his private chambers and makes contact with Dryden Vos.
"Yes, Lord Maul." Dryden answers.
"Vos, the time our criminals have been waiting for is coming soon. We will launch series of strategic strikes and bother the Empire. Once it has fallen, we will rule the galaxy." Maul gives the update.
Leia walks in.
"Leia, we will begin our training soon. Here is a ligthsaber." Maul hands her the Darksaber, which she will use as practice before she moves on the a double blade.
Leia ignites the blade and starts swinging.
"You will be trained in the Jedi arts. I will train you in the ways of the Sith." Maul ignites his double blade and wildly swings at Leia, who manages to block.
The princess is a good amateur duelist.
"And you will learn the ways of the Nightsisters and Nightbrothers as well. Your father will be no match for you." Maul grins in triumph.
The Frog and the Ghost
"See a blue person I do." Yoda jokingly prods his cane at the ghost.
"Yoda, I bring grave news." Qui-Gon Jinn wrinkles his ghostly face.
"Oh. Grave. Like my gravy here." Yoda holds up his dinner for Qui-Gon to see.
"Yoda!" Qui-Gon snaps. "This is serious!"
Yoda's smile fades and he looks intently at the ghost.
"Obi-Wan, he...he died 19 years ago." Qui-Gon tells Yoda.
"Sensed it I did." Yoda nods. "Killed he was. But safe the boy, Luke, is."
"Luke is now dead too." Qui-Gon reveals.
Yoda nearly barfs. "Dead is Luke! Senses a disturbance I did but process it yet I did not."
"If you were more lucid and attentive, the Jedi would not have been exterminated." Qui-Gon mumbles.
"Heard that I did." Yoda waves his cane angrily. "What happened to Luke?"
"He was killed by Anaki-Darth Vader." Qui-Gon pauses before elaborating. "Obi-Wan was actually killed by Darth Maul 19 years ago. Maul raised Luke and trained him as his apprentice. Recently, Alderaan was destroyed, along with Bail Organa and Leia was being held prisoner on board the Death Star. Maul rescued Leia but Luke was killed by Vader. Now that Maul has blown up the Death Star and gained the trust of the Rebels, he has begun training Leia."
"Seeks to rule the galaxy Maul does." Yoda's eyes are still wide from processing this shocking news.
"Yes. I foresee that Leia will become very powerful." Qui-Gon senses. "She could theoretically turn Vader back to the light, back into Anakin, if she were not being corrupted by Maul himself."
"Stupid are you?" Yoda throws his cane at Qui-Gon in anger.
Qui-Gon scoffs.
"Once Leia starts down the Dark path, forever will it dominate her destiny. Consume her, the Dark Side will." Yoda wolfs downs the rest of his dinner and jumps up.
"Quinlan Vos and Asajj Ventress turned back. Course, Asajj died shortly afterwards but Quinlan held back from killing Dooku." Qui-Gon's thoughts dwell briefly on his former master, Dooku.
"Stayed dark forever, Dooku did." Yoda shakes his head. "My biggest failure, that fucker was."
"It was my failure too. I should have done my due diligence as his Padawan." Qui-Gon apologizes.
Yoda channels his energy and digs up the 19 year old escape pod that he came in.
"What are you doing?" Qui-Gon demands.
"To rescue Leia before it is too late." Yoda answers as he hops up the ramp.
"Yoda, there is nothing you can do. If you go now, you will be killed and you may not become a Force ghost at all." Qui-Gon warns.
"Fearmonger do not." Yoda snaps. "Save her I can. Save her I must."
"If you chose to face Maul, you will do it alone. I cannot interfere." Qui-Gon yells out.
"Need your help, I will not." Yoda scoffs arrogantly.
"This is the same hubris that destroyed the Jedi and now it is about to destroy their only hope." Qui-Gon faceplants.
Picking Up
Cad Bane ponders simply blasting the escape pod in his way to smithereens but something he decides to intercept it instead. Perhaps it will be profitable, whatever is inside.
"Thank you." Yoda gives his gratitude.
"Yoda?" Cad Bane recognizes the old Jedi.
"Cad Bane!" Yoda jumps back.
"The Emperor will pay a massive bounty for your head." Cad Bane smirks like a cowboy.
"Know that Emperor Palpatine is Darth Sidious, do you?" Yoda asks.
"Yes. I did not know during the Clone Wars, when I stole the holocron, kidnapped the children, held the Senate hostage, tried to kidnap Palpatine, I had no idea that Palpatine was actually Sidious. But after he started wearing the robe publicly, I put two and two together. I have done missions for the Empire." Cad Bane raises his blasters, ready to kill because the Empire wants Yoda DEAD or alive.
Yoda, despite his old age, is too fast and he cups his small green hand.
Cad Bane starts coughing, then choking, gasping for the air that refuses to enter his lungs. The once proud bounty hunter pathetically falls on his knees and collapses forward.
"Any last words have you?" Yoda asks sadistically.
Bane has several cuss words he would like to spit in Yoda's face but Bane cannot even speak, let alone breathe.
"Been in exile for 19 years I have. Brutal I have become." Yoda starts whacking Cad Bane with his cane.
Bane silently screams as the cane smashes him and breaks his bones.
"The Grand Master I was but too docile was I. Failed the Jedi way did and responsible for it I was. More brutal must I be. Angry I am with you for what you did to the Jedi Order, for killing so many Jedi like Bolla Ropal. Suffer you must, Cad Bane." Yoda starts smashing Cad Bane's skull.
It isn't clear if Cad Bane choked to death, or if he was beaten to death but eventually, Bane croaks.
"One with the Force you are." Yoda tosses Cad Bane's corpse out into space.
Yoda takes control of the ship and sets course for Dathomir.
The Princess and the Frog
Mon Mothma takes a look around the ugly landscape of Dathomir but cracks a smile. It is so remote and unorthodox that the Empire would never care to look. That Maul guy is so helpful.
Yoda reaches the atmosphere and immediately senses the presence of Maul, Leia and the Rebel Alliance. His feelings were right. They are here.
Maul squeezes the Darksaber in his hand because he did not let Leia take it to fight the Sleeper. She has to do it with her own strength, slay the Sleeper (a Nightsister Dathomir witch ritual that Quinlan Vos also did in Dark Disciple), get closer to the Dark Side, become more powerful. Maul squeezes the Darksaber nervously, hoping that Leia can pull through but suddenly, the Darksaber flies out of Maul's hand and into...
"Yoda!" Maul snarls and ignites his double bladed lightsaber (which holds the bled crystals of Anakin and Obi-Wan's lightsabers).
"Nice to meet you it is." Yoda waves his green hand. "Heard much of you I have."
"Likewise, Grand Master Yoda." Maul nervously steps back because he knows how powerful Yoda is. Maul has fought powerful beings before, like Darth Sidious and Mace Windu (in Son of Dathomir), so he has some confidence.
"Kicked Lord Sidious's ass I did." Yoda lies to make himself look big. "Surrender now and grant you a merciful death I can."
"You Jedi know nothing of mercy." Maul scoffs.
"Restore the Jedi I will. When one with the Force you are, train Leia to destroy Vader and Sidious I will." Yoda ignites the Darksaber and gets into a deadly pose.
"You have little time left, you dotard." Maul perks up in excitement as he realizes how frail, decrepit and old Yoda is.
"Use that little time well I shall." Yoda spits into the Dathomirian dirt.
"If you want to use that time well, then why don't you join us." Maul turns off his blades and drops his weapon. "You are the Jedi Grand Master, rivaling Sidious in power. We could use your help to destroy the Sith. I could learn a lot from your training."
Yoda shakes his head vigorously. "Become the next Sidious you would, a tyrannical Sith Emperor"
"I am no Sith. I quit a long time ago." Maul reignites his saber. "When I kill you, the Jedi will be extinct."
"On dream, you idiot." Yoda screams and jumps to his attack.
If Yoda were even 19 years younger, this contest would already be over, but Yoda is declining and Maul is still "young." Nevertheless, they match each other blow by blow and Maul is exhausted, too tired to keep up. Yoda sees an opening and slashes Maul's right robotic leg, which falls off of his body.
"Your head I am cutting off next." Yoda slashes and Maul blocks the strike.
Yoda fights like hell, overexerting his ancient body to unbelievable levels, eventually disarming Maul.
"Say hello to Dooku for me." Yoda points the Darksaber at Maul's throat before lifting the saber to kill Maul.
Suddenly, it is Mace Windu Darth Sidious Anakin Skywalker all over again because Leia appears out of nowhere, ignites a lightsaber (Maul's) and slashes off Yoda's little hand.
"OWWWWW!" Yoda screams in pain and Maul smirks in glory.
"Say hello to Dooku yourself!" Maul cackles as he blasts Yoda with the strongest torrent of Sith lightning.
Yoda's screaming is muffled by the crackling and Leia can practically see his tiny skull as he is being fried.
Maul lowers his hands and Yoda collapses on the ground, his body taut, spasmed, his face contorted into a mask of absolute agony, blood trickling from his ears, eyes and nose.
Leia kicks Yoda in the face and the goblin screams in pain.
"Down the Dark path you are. Forever will it dominate your destiny. Consume you the Dark Side will." Yoda coughs up blood.
Leia cannot even understand what Yoda is saying because his breathing is too labored.
"Now." Maul hops on his one leg and slashes the Darksaber down. "You are one with the Force, Master Yoda."
Leia grabs Yoda's head and picks it up.
"You can keep it as a trophy." Maul offers.
"Or we can send it to Darth Sidious. We have to strike fear into him. Tell him that it came from the pilot who destroyed the Death Star." Leia suggests.
Maul cackles in maniacal laughter.
The Head
"What is it?" The Emperor asks as the servant hands him the box.
He opens it and his immediate reaction is to laugh/scream/gloat/panic.
Yoda's head. The disgusting Grand Master of the Jedi Order is dead, which is good, but who did this? Sidious has an epiphany. The pilot, who destroyed the Death Star is sending him a message. If he was powerful enough to kill Yoda, then he would be strong enough to face Sidious.
The Dark Lord of the Sith calmly moves Yoda's head to his trophy room.