Chapter Three
"There many things the Hutts influence and possess that would be useful to us," Maul stated to the Hutt Council. "And what of your current ability to pay us if we say yes to joining you?" Jabba the Hutt asked Lord Maul. At this point, in the discussions, Maul had told them of how Lom Pyke's will had dispersed his wealth mostly across the Shadow Collective though a meager portion went to the Hutts. Another small portion went to all other criminal syndicates not associated with the Collective from the best smuggling companies to the greatest rivals of Black Sun.
"We have no credits," Maul admitted. For while Pyke had indeed funded the Shadow Collective with most of his credits posthumously, it was toward the growth of the Kuat droids mostly. "But what would we have to devote to you regardless of credits?" Oruba the Hutt asked. "Your lives in exchange for Hutt space and everything in its borders," Maul answered rather calmly. Simultaneously, the entirety of the Council burst into laughter and Jabba even ordered bounty hunters up.
"They want our lives so that they can take what we have. Kill them so we can show them why we are the most powerful family in the galaxy!" Jabba ordered. But not before the bounty hunters known as Sugi, Latts, Embo (accompanied by his pet anooba), and Dengar arose from behind the tables near which the Hutts present in the room sat. After the orders were given, the one called Sugi immediately threw a knife to Maul's head only for Savage to intercept it with the Force.
Maul took the knife from there and threw it right into the head of Embo's anooba, killing it almost on the spot. The guards serving the Hutts immediately replied by opening fire alongside the bounty hunters. Savage destroyed the blaster off one of these troopers before throwing him right into Dengar who would be knocked cold for the rest of the fight. Sugi observed this and quickly returned to fire though it wouldn't be long before Maul Force-Choked another trooper and threw him into Latts.
Meanwhile, Pre Vizsla quickly dispatched the troops attacking him with his wrist blasters and with impatience in his mind, he used his flamethrower to burn the table. This move threw the bounty hunters completely off guard as Maul and Savage finished the last of the troops and begin retreating. The Mandalorian soon followed, using his jetpack to propel himself out of the Hutt chambers and through the door with the Sith brothers. Though they would learn it soon enough, Jabba ordered the bounty hunters to finish off Death Watch and their Sith allies, immediately warranting pursuit.
The leaders of the Shadow Collective made it to a platform where the Night Owls of Bo-Katan would rendezvous with them though Savage had to cut down two more troops. Soon, the three of them were surrounded by the guards of Nal Hutta and the bounty hunters that led them. But sure enough, Bo came to their aid despite mocking the success of the negotiations immediately after making her entrance. "Secure this platform!" Vizsla ordered which was obeyed when Bo and two other troops launched rockets from their jetpacks and vaporized the troops, dispersing the bounty hunters in turn.
As one of the Owls made a run with his flamethrower, Bo observed Latts making use of the bladed ropes around her neck, killing him with it. She charged with jetpack ignited at the bounty hunter only to see the same chain coming at her and forcing her to back up. However, Bo-Katan was agile enough to manage this and wrapped the chain around her arm, incapacitating it. Only when she shot the bounty hunter with a pistol right between the eyes did she feel comfortable with letting the chain go.
Especially when the other three bounty hunters were retreating back into the chambers they had just defended mere moments ago. The Night Owls went ahead, destroying most of the troops that would have kept the brothers and Vizsla at bay as they marched back into the Council chambers. But the remaining bounty hunters had one last surprise for the allies of the Collective. The Zabrak named Sugi leapt from the ceiling and attacked Maul, knocking him down before kicking Vizsla into the air.
Savage moved into kill her but he was thwarted when Embo also ambushed him by throwing his metal hat at his face. As the Kryuzo moved to attack Savage, Maul growled under his breath as he swept Sugi off her feet and began hacking at her with his lightsaber. Again and again she dodged before she decided to successfully kick him in the chin, allowing her time to get back up. Simultaneously, Embo continued his attack on Savage who initially could barely defend himself but came back with a vengeance by punching at Embo's shielded face with his left arm.
The enhancements Thrawn gave it made it so that Embo was helpless as Savage followed with a punch from his right fist, then the left, then the right, until another left knocked him off his feet. In the chaos of the brothers' duels with the bounty hunters, Vizsla recovered his breath and noticed troops who had survived Bo's attack coming towards them. Igniting his darksaber, he immediately began cutting them all down while the element of surprise was still on his side. Eight troops died by the time he was finished hacking them down, one or two slashes usually doing the trick, before he turned back to the Sith.
He watched as Maul's martial arts fight with Sugi continued since she had knocked his lightsaber out of his hand but he wasn't long in overwhelming her. Though he was forced to defend against several punches from her, he eventually managed to grab her arm and start twisting it hard. Bones cracked and Sugi had to employ all her willpower to keep from screaming as he knocked her off her feet yet again. Maul recovered his lightsaber as she caught her breath and too late did she see him ram it into her chest, killing her almost as easily as her knife had killed the anooba.
Savage himself was also gaining the upperhand with Embo as he punched the metal hat out of his hands, kneed him, then used his mechanical arm to snap his enemy's neck. Dengar was the only bounty hunter who had escaped the carnage and Maul let him go, stating that he had no allegiance because of his status as a bounty hunter. It was after all that violence that a member of the Night Owls reported the escape of all the Hutts except for the one called Oruba that had mocked Maul earlier. Maul noticed this and decided to make this interrogation quick and easy on both himself and his allies by being direct with the lone Hutt.
"Where are the others?" he asked. "I don't know! I don't know!" Oruba replied. Maul turned away, unamused by this and ordered Savage to kill him. His hulking brother almost complied but Oruba immediately began to beg and state he would talk when Savage ignited his blade.
"Give me a location!" Maul snarled. When Oruba stated that they could be found on Tatooine, Vizsla observed that this was the location of Jabba's Palace. "So the only thing that you can tell me is that I will find Jabba at Jabba's Palace?" he asked rhetorically. With a nod, Maul saw his brother raised his saber over his head and diagonally cut a screaming Oruba down, ending his pitiful existence instantly.
"Shall we go to Tatooine and see if what this one said is true?" Vizsla asked after witnessing that. "No, the Hutts are dishonorable in both life and death. Besides that, we have the Kuat droids to help us in any event," Maul answered, shaking his head as he did so. "With due respect, is Black Sun not the same way as far as honor is concerned?" Vizsla inquired.
"If it weren't for the fact that they were dealing with me, you would be right about that. But Xizor is no fool and knows that what happened to both of his predecessors could also be his fate," Maul replied. "Then Kenobi and Mandalore can now be our priorities?" Vizsla asked as the two of them walked off to speak privately. "They are vital," Maul vowed.
"I'm interested to hear the rest of your plan now that we'll be getting the attack underway soon," Vizsla admitted. For as long as Death Watch had been his allies, Maul had never truly laid out the details of his design before nor did he really want to. But because he was soon reaching the point where he just might not have a choice, he decided it wouldn't harm to explain. "The vision we spoke of before has expanded: you will still rule Mandalore and under your protection, I shall form a new galactic underworld," Maul answered.
Though Vizsla tried to keep his face outwardly calm, his clenched fist would have immediately told Maul of his disagreement with this course if he had noticed. "Mandalore oversees a league of two thousand systems, it gives you great opportunity for your enterprise," he said. "You have learned from your previous oversights, with their combined forces the Republic and the Separatists will be irrelevant," Maul said, surprised Vizsla had apparently complied so easily. "Then are we ready?" Vizsla insisted.
"Mobilize the army, send an advanced guard to the capital. I want a list of targets vital to Mandalore's security. Choose wisely: there will be no second chances like before," Maul replied. He may think there will be but if we launch this plan and it fails, he will be either arrested and executed depending on the extent of Duchess Satine's pacifism Maul silently noted. And as the Zabrak warrior walked off, Vizsla could barely contain his rage which Bo noticed with concern.
"Stay focused, Mandalore will soon be ours and Mauls and his brother will be dead alongside the Duchess!" he snapped before she could ask what was wrong. Something's got him wired up a little tight. Did Maul say something that frightened him to anger or hatred? she asked silently. She decided she needed to try and calm Vizsla no matter what she had to do to do so. This even went to the extent that she was willing to sleep with him again if it helped him become less stressed than he was.
But then, she saw Savage walking next to his brother and she decided that when she had a chance alone with him, she would ask him what his brother gameplan was. Usually, he hadn't known and she could see it in his eyes but she had a feeling Maul would reveal it to him now. The wise were the ones who never trusted all their allies with their official plans before they were ready to initiate them. Savage was apparently amongst the ones his brother had kept in the dark until now and Bo needed to find out what the two of them were up to as soon as possible.
But then, she decided to slap it out of her mind, her judgement affected by her overreacting to the shock of seeing Vizsla unnerved. Both were soldiers and the leaders of soldiers which forced them to avoid showing any sign of weakness in front of the men and women with them. These thoughts were likely inspiring signs of weakness in her just as Vizsla fuming did and she had to erase them soon. After all, if something held her back on Mandalore, she would not be given a chance to enjoy hesitation.
So instead of risking the exposure of any weakness to her soldiers, she decided to go to Vizsla and find out directly from him. After all, they were infatuated with one another and she could flirt with him until he revealed what was aggravating him. It wouldn't take all that much if she did it right but if she did it wrong, he would be aggravated beyond any hope of pleasure. So before she came up to him to begin convincing him to reveal what upset him, she prepared herself by taking calming breaths.
Depa Billaba arrived on Malastare after a couple days of travel on the Black Sun shuttle. She had to admit that uncomfortable would hardly begin to describe it. However, she left the physical description up to those who actually cared about those things such as future passengers of the ship. "Is there anything you need before I turn around, milady?" the pilot asked.
"Yes, for you to turn around right now and go home," she answered. He shrugged, not sure what to make of the comment and prepared the shuttle's engines for a return trip to Mustafar. With our luck, you may make it home on that piece of crap before it breaks down for good she thought. She had called for hotel reservations in advance and thus, she made her way to the place where she had done so.
It wasn't too great but it certainly wasn't too shabby either and she immediately found herself cozy in it. Meditation supplanting her with nurturing energy, Depa was able to foresee things that probably hadn't escaped the attention of her Mistress. One such vision was one of a man in robes that covered all but half of his face and both of his hands igniting two red lightsabers. The vision changed to show him fighting Maul and Savage in what appeared to be Mandalore's Sundari Palace.
She guessed this was Darth Sidious as Dooku made himself far more obvious in appearance and never wielded Jar'Kai as far as she knew. The vision shifted to somewhere outside the Sundari Palace and Depa watched as Sidious impaled Savage with his lightsabers. It went black after she saw Sidious cut off Maul's feet and begin to electrocute him. She had a feeling this meant the death of the brothers, especially with the clarity of the vision combined with the fact that Maul meant to launch his attack soon.
He'll be counting on the Jedi sending help to the Duchess if they succeed but will he be expecting his old Master's arrival? Maul is intelligent and can calculate many things but has he calculated this possibility or does it still elude him? she asked herself. She doubted he did for the very reasons she had already noted but she was giving him the benefit of the doubt. Perhaps he had calculated his former Master's arrival but for what intent?
To persuade Sidious to allow Maul back into his fold when the Rule of Two clearly prohibited it? Was it to gain revenge on Sidious for abandoning him after he was sliced on half on Naboo by Kenobi? The latter question seemed the more plausible one to ask but Depa was not about to allow herself to be caught off guard. While the vision would indeed prove to come true, she had to trust that Maul was doing what he did for all the best intentions as far as Sith were concerned.
The visions that the Kashi Mer Talisman had presented to Arden Lyn were initially a little confusing to her mind's eye. But she got around to realize what they meant: Maul and Savage would die on Mandalore at the hands of a darker figure than themselves. Perhaps this is the man called Darth Sidious that Maul displays so much hatred for. Is it so? she asked telepathically to the artifact.
I know all and foresee but I do not tell all. It would be wise of you to learn the difference for yourself. Besides, as it is, you have already expended much of my power without actually paying a price for it its voice replied. I will extract a lot more out of you if you continue to behave like that toward me she hissed. "Milady, we have almost arrived to the homeworld of the Sorcerers of Tund," interjected the leader of the Ember of Vahla.
This disturbed her from her meditation with some irritation but she had been expecting this more than she hadn't. "Very good, have a shuttle ready and be sure to come with me and twelve other Vahla warriors you will personally handpick. These Sorcerers of Tund will be far too powerful for me to destroy alone if they recognize my aura, that much is for sure," she said. The vision of the Sith brothers' demises still disturbed her but not so much that she couldn't remain focused on the mission at hand.
Besides, I have no love for those Sith monsters. Why should I care about what happens to them or not so long as it doesn't affect my long-term plans? And why did I just say that when it is clearly what they would say about me and I am supposed to be better than that? she asked herself. She still wondered if she was any better than the Sith and thought of this often whenever she could.
The Jedi of her day betrayed her and her husband out of fear for what they presented before their very eyes. But it was people like Maul and Savage who reaped the benefits of her sacrifice and the death of her husband. Was she responsible for the existence of their evil now thanks to her actions all those millenniums ago? Clenching her first, she was careful not to do it hard enough to drive her nails into her palms and draw blood.
Nonetheless, her hatred and contempt for the Jedi grew to a boiling point whenever she began blaming herself for what happened to Xendor. You will be avenged when I return from my dealings with the Yuuzhan Vong. I promise you that, my dearest husband and only true love she vowed silently. And along that tread of thought, she added that perhaps she would seek out the black robed man of her visions and challenge him to a duel if he was powerful enough to defeat Maul and Savage even when they would fight together against him.
"Is everything in order and ready for our departure?" she asked when she reached the shuttle. "Yes Madam, the Southerner and his warriors await you inside the shuttle. The pilot himself awaits the takeoff command," an officer answered. Good, everything is proceeding as I have desired it, so far she observed silently.
"I am sensing massive disturbances in the Force. It isn't anything coming from Dooku or even the mysterious Darth Sidious for that matter. Rather, it feels like Maul and Savage are returning at last," Obi-Wan stated. The Council had called a meeting to discuss recent tremors that accelerated the growth of the Dark Side's hold over the galaxy too rapidly to be unnoticed.
"I sensed a tremor at the tomb of Ahsoka Tano shortly after her funeral, myself," Plo Koon agreed. "What could this all mean? Could the brothers be returning with an ally, the likes of which neither we nor Sidious have ever seen before?" Anakin asked. "Sure of anything, I am not but fearful of what it might be, I am not," Yoda answered.
"With all due respect Master Yoda, sometimes it's wise to fear what the future may uphold for us all. Do you not fear the future of the Order if Maul and Savage were back with a powerful ally that even Sidious couldn't create or destroy?" Obi-Wan asked. "But that still wouldn't explain the presence I sensed at Little Soka's tomb after I went there to say goodbye alone," Plo Koon interjected. "Perhaps the source of the presence somehow sensed Ahsoka's death and took pity that it happened," Obi-Wan suggested.
"Why would it take pity if killing Jedi was a known stake of the riot operations?" Koon inquired. "I don't know, I don't know. But perhaps it's because this one has a less stone-cold heart than Maul and Savage would," Kenobi replied. Yoda nodded in agreement, aware of the fact that there were those who used the Dark Side that were not without remorse or pity.
"Correct you might be Master Kenobi but for now, a warning and a sign of dark times to come we must see this as," he admitted. "These are indeed dark times for the Republic and I fear it will only be worse before it will be better. The future of the Jedi Order is at stake: do we forsake our most honorable traditions for survival or do we cling to them only to see our downfall?" Ki-Adi Mundi asked. "Only time and the will of the Force shall reveal to us what we must do, that's for sure," Master Windu said.
The Council was adjourned after that on the premise of coming back to the matter once it all was over. They even put a sanction on any members of the Jedi Order going out on missions without the explicit authority of the Council. In Obi-Wan's case, this meant going to track down Lord Maul if he had indeed survived unless they thought it wise to do so. Luckily for Kenobi, he knew he could count on Anakin's desire for occasional disobedience to be in handy if his personal vendetta against Maul required quicker attention than the Council could approve of giving him. Perhaps it's one of the best things I've taught him: being a maverick in philosophy just like Qui-Gon was before Maul struck him down all those years ago Obi-Wan thought with a half-smile as he walked off to his quarters.