Clone Private Peel was supposed to be performing a simple perimeter sweep of the outlying Umbaran Badlands with his squad. Just to make sure there were no more Umbaran traps before Lieutenant Waxer could give the all-clear to advance Ghost Company further into Umbaran territory. However, this simple precautionary order went awry very quickly after his Sergeant was killed by an unseen sniper. Peel's squad attempted to make a tactical retreat to evade the sniper's crosshairs, but even on speeder bikes, each member of the squad was shot down trying to escape through the thick fog covering the Badlands. Whatever was attacking them, it had a droid's precision, but Private Peel had not known a Separatist Battle Droid to remain so undetected, even with the advantage of being shielded by the darkness of Umbara. Now, all that remained of Peel's squad was himself and his squadmate Longshot, both of whom were pushing their speeder bikes to the limit trying to evade their attacker.
"Peel! Where're we goin?" asked Longshot as he piloted his BARC speeder bike adjacent to Peel's own vehicle "the rangefinder on my helmet isn't picking up anything in this abyss, what's the plan here?"
"The plan is to lure away that damned clanker away from the platoon's position!" responded Peel, trying his best to navigate through the Umbara's dark fog, but it was nigh impossible to breach the shroud being created by the planet's eternal mist and she knew that this assassin droid would use that for its own benefit. "Longshot! Fallback, I'll keep the droid tailed on me!" ordered the clone trooper private.
Before Longshot could speak in protest, a blazing laser bolt whisps through the clouds and rips into the power couplings of his speeder bike. The vehicle goes haywire and collides with Peel's own bike, crashing together in an inferno and projecting the two pilots into the sheets of luminescent fungi and moist soil. Fortunately, Peel's battle armour blunted the immediate impact and he found himself largely intact as he laid on the murky surface. Breaking through a state of windedness, Peel crawled over towards where Longshot landed and latched on to his compatriot's body.
He was dead.
"Your associate has been terminated, as will you be momentarily" echoed the coarse robotic vocal processer of Industrial Automaton assassin droid known as 1-JAC. Peel closed the eyelids of her dearly departed friend and stood up with his DC-15 rifle clenched in his hands, looking down the iron sights for the faintest glimpse of the droid attacker.
"Show yourself, you soulless tin-meshed protocol droid!" demanded the clone private with trembling rage in the base of his voice.
There was no reply, and then he heard it.
Clank.
Clank.
Clank.
Clank.
Clank.
The unmistakable sound of a droid marching, but Peel could not deduce from where the sound was coming from, for the shroud of Umbara's fog was too thick to see and the wind carried the sound into an echo so as to encompass all directions.
As 1-JAC stalked his prey, he took note of how the clone trooper attempted to see through the thick cloud, it was an admirable -if not amusing- display for 1-JAC. Certainly, the eyes of a trained human can be quality vessels for perception, but they were still not the eyes of a droid, and whereas this clone trooper was blinded 1-JAC could witness her every move, waiting from behind the curtains of ash-like mist that obscures the droid from its quarry.
Clank.
Clank.
Clank.
Two more sniper blasts rippled through the fog, Peel dropped to the ground and used his crashed BARC speeder for cover. Loosely surmising where the sniper shots came from, Peel fired several stray laser bolts from his DC-15 rifle. Peel wouldn't know it, but he was actually very close to hitting 1-JAC. If he was programmed to feel such things, 1-JAC guessed that he may have respected the clone trooper's aim while under immense stress. But of course, 1-JAC felt no such thing as he fired his sniper again, forcing Peel to cradle his head in the dirt.
Clank
Clank
Clank
Clank
Peel could hear the droid moving again. He looked up out of the dirt and began surveying the landscape for any sight of the droid's silhouette. The clone trooper couldn't see anything resembling the droid, and soon he realised why. Still kneeling on the ground, Peel could feel a momentary shift in the soil by his shin, and he knew that 1-JAC was right behind him. Private Peel spun his blaster rifle around to face the assassin droid. With lightning reflexes, 1-JAC grabbed Peel's arm to stop him from getting his kill shot, but Peel was able to angle a shot scrapping the droid's shoulder. The droid was impressed at the human clone's dexterity, but still, 1-JAC locked Peel's arm with his hydraulic grip and violently kicked Peel into the BARC speeder wreckage, in the process relieving the soldier from his DC-15.
Peel was now nursing a heavily cracked ribcage and could not get himself back up. 1-JAC pulled out an A-180 blaster pistol and walked over to Peel to finish the job. The A-180 blaster was meant to be a reconfigurable weapon, able to go from pistol to rifle, Peel guessed the droid was using the A-180's sniper arrangement to assassinate his brothers from afar. Out from his peripheral vision, Peel noticed the grip of a DC-17 pistol holstered in the crashed speeder bike he was now leaning against. In one final act of defiance, he grabbed the pistol from the speeder's holster compartment and attempted to fire at 1-JAC. But it was ultimately a moot gesture, as the droid shot Private Peel through the chest; killing the clone before he could open fire.
Traditionally, 1-JAC would have aimed for his quarry's head, but not this time. The reason the droid had attacked the squad of clone troopers was to acquire one of their helmets intact. Recent transmissions and rendezvous locations were stored within the head-up display of clone trooper helmets, and for 1-JAC, that was highly valuable information. Tearing the orange-striped helmet from the deceased clone, the Industrial Automaton droid ported an interfacing wire from the wrist of his hand into the clone trooper helmet. The assassin's bug-like optical sensors flashed from blue; to red; to finally green once a link had been successfully established between 1-JAC's mainframe and the clone trooper helmet's databanks. The encoded information of where Private Peel was supposed to rendezvous with the Republic clone company was downloaded from the helmet in a matter of seconds. Once the knowledge was acquired, 1-JAC tossed the helmet away and activated the holocommunicator built into his optics. The droid's eyes emitted an electric blue glow as the holographic image of the tactical droid Blue-Four appeared.
"Report, Bounty Hunter" commanded Zeta Magnus' aid.
"Location of the target has been ascertained" reported 1-JAC "preparing to pursuit, will inform client of successful assassination."
"What is the ETA for the target's elimination?" asked Blue-Four.
"Hypothesised time before target's death will be thirteen hours" replied 1-JAC.
"Acknowledged" said Blue-Four "my master eagerly awaits your report, until then, maintain communication silence."
With that final order, Blue-Four ended the holo-message and the droid's holographic form disappeared. 1-JAC left the scene of the speeder bike collision and returned to where he had parked his 64-Y Swift Repulsorlift Speeder Sled and drove off into the maw of Umbara's shadowy Badlands. Already, 1-JAC began calculating all the recorded Bounty Hunter Guild assassination strategies that will be best suited to help him terminate Jedi General Obi-Wan Kenobi.
A massive firefight was drawing to an end in Tipoca City as a squad of 302nd Battalion troopers closed ranks around a group of young Cadets they were attempting to escort to safety. However, they were set upon by aqua droids and B1 battle droids emerging from all sides. There were only a handful of clone troopers left, their numbers witling down by the second.
"This is Captain Raptor! Were pinned down at Junction 87-D!" yelled the 302nd Captain over his wrist-mounted communicator "only a few of us left, we need help getting to RV- GAAAH!" Raptor yelped as a laser bolt ripped through his gut, followed by a second shot through his head. The yellow-striped Captain fell dead.
The Cadets looked horrified as their last vestige of their clone trooper protectors died before their shared young brown eyes. The battle droids took aim at the group of cadets, but before they could commence executing the children, a red blaster bolt tore through one of the droid's optics. Both the cadets and the droids looked up at the high-rise ceiling to see a man in matte-black Mandalorian armour grapple down from an overhead catwalk, aiming a DC-15x sniper rifle at the droid platoon. The cadets recognised this man as Walon Vau, the infamous Cuy'val Dar training instructor. Abseiling with Walon Vau were two fellow members of the Cuy'val Dar; the Siniteen Bounty Hunter Bric, and the Thyrsian mercenary Sarsius Torne; the two armed with a Z-6 rotary cannon and a cortosis-laced Force Pike respectively.
Bric began raining down a massive barrage of laser bolts from his weapon as Walon Vau continued blowing the heads of the battle droids. Once they were lowered down enough, Sarsius Torne cut his descension cable and dropped onto one of the aqua droids, skewering its head with his Force Pike. In quick succession, the Thyrsian began hacking at the slow-moving droids; his Echani training allowing him to manoeuvre around the droids like a trained ballerina with all the lethality of an Oskan Blood Eater.
Within a matter of seconds, the training instructors mowed down the aqua droid platoon with ease. Bric spotted one last aqua droid with a damaged leg attempting to crawl away. He walked up to it and crushed its head under his durasteel-tipped boots.
"This is our turf, tinnie!" said the Siniteen with a smile on his face.
This smile soon faded when Bric noticed that amongst the clone trooper corpses, was the body of one green-skinned Arconan Bounty Hunter. Bric knew the Bounty Hunter as his old partner El-Les, evidently, the kind-hearted Cuy'val Dar trainer joined the 302nd troopers in defending the children.
"Damn you, El-Les, you soft-hearted bastard" whispered Bric as he knelt down beside his fallen comrade's body and closed his friend's still open eyelids, covering the lifeless marble eyes that once irritated Bric with the incessant compassion he showed the clone trooper trainees. Now, the Siniteen almost wished he could hear El-Les' nauseating speeches about showing empathy to his own Cadet students. Bric stood back up just as Walon Vau and Sarsius Torne were discussing the droid attacks.
"I believe the Prime Clone DNA may be compromised, I should go and ensure it hasn't fallen into enemy hands" stated Torne.
"Go" ordered Walon; Sarsius Torne immediately running in the direction of the Kaminoan DNA Vault once Walon gave his approval. The Mandalorian then turned his attention to the children, who were still shaking in fear. "All of you, grab a blaster."
"W-what?" muttered one of the Cadets.
"You're all being unofficially conscripted into the war effort, squirt" said Bric.
"B-but, we're just kids, we can't fight" protested another Cadet.
"No" said Walon "you're soldiers, you've been training for this day your entire lives, and if you can't stand up and fight, then you're of no use to the Republic, and I'll be leaving you here to find your own way to the safety bunker."
Walon picked up one of the E-5 blaster rifles from the scattered droid remains on the ground and handed it to the nearest clone. "So fight" he ordered.
"Y-yes, sir" said the Cadet being offered the blaster and he took the weapon from the Mandalorian warrior. The other Cadets slowly began collecting weapons from the destroyed droids. Fortunately, they all knew how the fire and reload blaster rifles, the techniques were learned very early on during Kaminoan flash training. Once all the Cadets were armed, Walon Vau began marching down the hallway, gesturing with his hand for them to follow him.
"Saddle up, kids" said Bric "you're all part of the GAR now."
Walon and Bric marched through the corridors with their press-ganged troop of armed Cadets. There was about a legions-worth of battle droids dividing them from their destination; Walon hypothesised that a quarter of the Cadets would likely be killed. But they were soldiers of the Republic, children or not, they would not go quietly into the night. They were all ready to mow down any and all battle droids standing between them and the safety bunker.
Maul was quick to set his plans into motion. Dispatching the Sun Guards to dozens of planets with a Black Sun presence, the assassin cult began living up to their reputation as one of the greatest warrior races in the Galaxy. By the end of a standard galactic week, the human Underlord of the Black Sun known Dal Perhi began receiving reports that his racketeering operations within the Abregado System were being sabotaged. A massive shipment of AP-2 Attack Droids that Dal Perhi had attempted to smuggle through the Core Worlds ended up detonating in a spectacular explosion once his buyer had collected the shipment. Furthermore, Dal Perhi had begun to notice that his lieutenants were going missing, no doubt this was the work of selective assassinations, but the Underlord could not fathom who would dare make such a bold move against the Black Sun. Underlord Perhi commissioned his close subordinate Kaird to investigate into the disappearances, only for Perhi to be delivered Kaird's feathered head by the week's end.
Further in the Outer Rim, other Black Sun Underlords were reporting similar disruptions. The Falleen leader of the Mustafar Chapter of the Black Sun, Xomit Grunseit found three of his cousins decapitated within their shared bastion on Jestefad; a planet that shared the same solar system as Xomit's fiefdom on Mustafar. The immense security risk caused by such a close attack caused the Falleen Underlord to summon Dal Perhi and many other Black Sun Underlords to his fortress home on Mustafar so that they may pool their resources into protecting one another. Together they loaned the services of a pair of Bounty Hunter bodyguards, as well as a massive security force led by the Black Sun Captain of the Guard, another Falleen known as Ziton Moj.
After two weeks held up within Xomit Grunseit's fortress news of more attacks were relayed to the Underlords, without their direct supervision the Black Sun racketeering operations were plummeting. However, the fear of assassination deterred the Underlords from leaving Mustafar. Until a surprise transmission came from the infamous genetics terrorist Zeta Magnus. He sought a meeting with the Black Sun leaders with the claim that he had the resources to end the attacks for the right incentive. While Dal Parhi was hesitant about Zeta Magnus, Xomit Grunseit was convinced that the cloner could do little to harm the Black Sun Underlords with their bounty hunter entourage present and Ziton Moj's militia guarding the fortress. Thus, Magnus' Skyriver Invader shuttle was allowed entry into Mustafar, docking in the loading port of Xomit's fortress, dangling off the side of a pitch-black mountain; suspended over a hauntingly majestic river of glowing lava.
Zeta Magnus stepped out of his shuttle with an Onderon Naddist Magi ceremonial staff in hand instead of his usual vibro-axes so as to present himself as unhostile as possible. There he greeted the vanguard of Black Sun soldiers standing before him, accompanied by the Falleen Captain Ziton Moj's.
"Salutations, friend" Zeta Magnus said as he waved his staff as a form of greeting "you must be Captain Moj, correct? I have come to parley with your masters."
"It'll be your funeral" laughed Ziton before gesturing forward for Zeta Magnus to follow.
The Black Sun soldiers accompanied Zeta, standing side-by-side in two rows of about ten men each. If this was just the greeting party, Zeta Magnus could only speculate and the potential battalions-worth of troops the Underlords have access to; they would be a worthy army for Darth Maul. As Zeta Magnus was escorted into the fortress, the Skyriver Invader was left unwatched, allowing Maul and a squad of eight Sun Guard Centurions to sneak into the loading port unencumbered.
"Move to the fortress' rafters and infiltrate Black Sun war room; wait for my signal; kill the guards; and subdue their masters" commanded Maul.
"Yes, my lord" complied a Sun Guard by the name of Kenix Jir, who was acting as the leader of this detachment of Centurions.
Kenix and his squad quickly disappeared amongst the supply crates and doonium support beams that surrounded the loading dock. Maul began following Zeta Magnus and Ziton Moj's men through the Black Sun complex. The Zabrak went unnoticed by any of the guards, the force obscured Maul from being spotted. It was not complete invisibility, rather a perceptual ignorance that Maul was anything of interest; about as important as the stray flakes of ash floating through the air.
Zeta Magnus was soon presented before the motley council of Black Sun Underlords seated at a long vertical table gilded with electrum and local obsidian; each Underlord was adorned with robes that made them appear like Coruscanti plasma barons, and some of them probably were.
"My friends, great leaders of the Black Sun Syndicate, it is an honour to bask in your presence" proclaimed the geneticist, making an obvious show in his declarations.
"Cease your prattling, you transgenic abomination" demanded Xomit Grunseit; who sat at the head of the massive table "you came to us claiming you were capable of ridding us of whatever blight has been sabotaging our businesses, we do not have time for pretty words and flattery. Now tell us how you can be of assistance, or we'll feed you to the Lava Fleas."
"Your lordship does not mince words it seems" commented Magnus "very well, from what I've witnessed, the Black Sun has grown too weak thanks to the Republic no longer breathing down its neck, these attacks came too easily."
Underlord Dal Perhi slammed a blaster pistol onto the table "choose your next words carefully before I riddle that fancy armour full of holes."
Zeta Magnus merely side-eyed Perhi before continuing "for it to survive, it requires the proper alliances. If you want the attacks to stop, you must swear loyalty to this man."
On cue, Darth Maul entered the room with his hands behind his back. The mechanical legs of his echoing with each step, creating an ominous ambience filled with rising tension.
"I seek your army, in exchange, I will have you all profit," said Maul.
"We are not some band of mercenaries for you to hire. We are the Black Sun!" claimed Xomit "Captain, dispose of them both, keep their ship and their weapons."
Captain Moj and a Black Sun soldier next to him aimed their dual-barrel blaster at Zeta Magnus' head while four other guards did the same for Maul. But neither of them felt threatened at all, if anything, they were mildly amused by the threatening gestures.
"You will not find them so easily forfeited," said Maul.
Darth Maul raised his hand with his index finger and thumb pointing to the ground. He quickly flicked his wrist and suddenly the four Black Sun soldiers aiming their weapons at him had their heads violently turned one-eighty degrees, their necks snapping like dried pasta as their lifeless bodies dropped to the ground. This brutal display caused all the Black Sun Underlords to stand up in shock. Even Captain Moj was coerced into ignoring Zeta Magnus and attempting to turn his blaster to face Maul instead of the armoured cloner. The instant Moj's attention was drawn away from him, Zeta grabbed the Falleen with his tree-trunk arms and slammed him into the wall, subduing him. The final Black Sun soldier who had their weapon aimed as Zeta Magnus prepared to shoot before a yellowed armoured warrior jumped down from the ceiling and pricked the syndicate soldier's neck with a vibroblade. Thus, causing the Black Sun soldier to stand down as the rest of the Sun Guard Centurions descended from above.
Dal Perhi grabbed his pistol and aimed it at Zeta Magnus. One of the Sun Guards landed on the table right in front of the human Underlord; before he could react, the Sun Guard swung his force pike down onto Perhi's skull, nailing his head onto the gilded table. But the Sun Guard was immediately taken by surprise by a one-eyed Gungan bounty hunter who was hiding under the table. The Bounty Hunter looped around the lip of the table with a ceremonial Gungan sword and guttered the Sun Guard as he flipped over onto the table. Two other Sun Guards who had dropped down onto the table turned to face the Gungan, however, a second bounty hunter emerged from behind Underlord Xomit Grunseit's chair. It was a Mandalorian male wearing red-and-black beskar armour holding a pair of DE-10 blaster pistols. The Mandalorian gunned down every Sun Guard that took an interest in fighting the Gungan, hitting each of them in the exposed parts of their yellow armour. These two were the famed Bounty Hunting duo: Chop'aa Notimo and Kleef of Otolla.
"Time for you lot to run for it" yelled Chop'aa to the Black Sun Underlords, all of whom immediately complied and ran through a back door to the war room.
The Gungan Kleef turned his attention towards Maul "yousa force-sensitives think sa bad juju" he said before sprinting for Maul "meesa duty to show yousa are big wrongo!"
Maul quickly pulled out and ignited his new lightsaber. He had not sufficiently practiced with the new weapon he commissioned from Zeta Magnus; like his old saberstaff it was a double-bladed lightsaber, however, its hilt was far more industrial and compacted. The smaller hilt could only just allow for two hands to clasp it, owning a design which was a direct motif of the Sith Lord Exar Kun's lightsaber. Something Maul had to remember was that the shorter hilt meant that efficient wielding of the blade rested on his dexterity and not his strength. Fortunately, he had honed his dexterity through years of trials and tribulations that came from his discipleship under Darth Sidious. Maul ignited only one of the two crimson lightsaber blades to meet Kleef, the two clashing blades together. To Maul's immediate surprise, as soon as his lightsaber connected with the Gungan's ornamental sword, the glowing blade completely dissipated and Kleef managed to slash the Sith's forehead.
Maul realised too late that the Bounty Hunter's sword was made of cortosis, a rare, but brittle, metal that could disrupt the electromagnetic field of a lightsaber blade. This was a novice mistake that Maul had fallen for, and now he was robbed of his weapon, just as Xomit Grunseit had demanded. Maul used his cybernetic legs to launch himself backwards just as Kleef attempted an underbelly strike. The Gungan somersaulted off the table and tried an arching strike onto Maul, who was only barely able to side-step it. Maul began backing out of the war room, with Kleef and Chop'aa in pursuit.
"It as you say, Chop'aa, all biggo in show, but poodoo in real fighting" commented Kleef as the two followed Maul into an open platform outside the fortress.
As the Bounty Hunters pursued Maul, Zeta Magnus and the remaining three Sun Guards were left to fight off a platoon's worth of Black Sun soldiers who began swarming the war room. Zeta Magnus tapped his Naddist Magi staff on the ground and suddenly a foot-long red synthetic lightsaber blade shot out of the staff's head. Zeta Magnus leapt across the room and began tearing through the Black Sun, with Kenix Jir and his Centurions close behind him.
Kleef was the faster of the two and never lost sight of Maul during the pursuit, following Maul into the centre of the platform where the Gungan performed a flurry of blows. It was during an overhead slash that Maul folded his mechanical legs to duck, and then extended one of his clawed legs over his body; over his shoulder; and used it to grab Kleef by the face. The clawed feet begin cracking Kleef's Gungan muzzle as Maul flung the one-eyed Bounty Hunter backwards with such force that the overconfident combatant was thrown off the edge of the platform. His screams echoed across the platform before succumbing to silence as Kleef splashed into the lava river below; if he was lucky, he would die instantly upon contact.
"Dank ferrik!" exclaimed Chop'aa, who had just arrived at the platform in time to see his partner thrown off the platform and into the lava.
Darth Maul turned to the Mandalorian "It is not too late for your to abandon your contract, I'm sure I could find a use for a warrior such as yourself."
"Sorry, vor, but a Mandalorian honours his contract" replied Chop'aa as he aimed his DE-10 pistols at Maul.
"I respect your loyalty, but it is severely misplaced," said Maul as he reignited his lightsaber, the effects of the cortosis having worn off.
Chop'aa immediately opened fire at Maul who began rapidly spinning his blade in order to catch each of the laser bolts before they hit him. Maul attempted to redirect the bolts back at his opponent, but Chop'aa knew how to make precise micromovements to narrowly avoid each bolt without tiring himself. Maul was closing in, using each redirection as an opportunity to but one cybernetic leg forward and advance across the platform. Once he was within lightsaber-stabbing distance, Chop'aa activated a device in his gauntlet which began firing a barrage of omnidirectional explosive darts known as 'whistling birds'. Maul had to holt his advance in order to deal with the swarm of darts coming at him from every direction. This distraction gave the Bounty Hunter the opportunity to holster his pistols and draw out a forked-electrostaff that was sheathed on his back. The two warriors clashed their blades together, a current of purple electricity emitting from Chop'aa's weapon as they connected.
The battle turned into a game of slashes and parries. Maul began adopting a Juyo offensive technique to keep his opponent off balance. However, Chop'aa was no novice to a melee duel and while he did not employ any traditional lightsaber techniques in his form, Maul noticed the expert swordsmanship forms of a Chagrian Blade Master with every parry and counter performed by Chop'aa. Maul was disappointed that such a skilled fighter refused to join his cause, but such things could not be helped when honour was involved. Maul swung his lightsaber hard into Chop'aa's electrostaff at such an angle that the weapon was thrown from the Mandalorians hand.
Chop'aa used his jetpack to propel him backwards, creating distance between himself and the Sith. The Mandalorian begins firing a barrage of concussion missiles to keep Maul occupied in dodging explosives while Chop'aa uses his gauntlet-mounted grappling hook to grab his forked electrostaff from the ground. He touched the ground with his feet and pushed off, changing the direction of the jetpack's propulsion, sending him directly at Maul.
"Ib'tuur jatne tuur ash'ad kyr'amur!" he cried as he rocketed for Maul, the two clashing blades.
Chop'aa unleashed a flurry of blows as he forced Maul to begin walking backwards towards the edge of the platform. First Chop'aa aimed his electrostaff high. Then low. Left. Then arching under. Maul parried each strike, but the seasoned Mandalorian was beginning to tire him. Seeking to not prolong the duel any further, Maul caught Chop'aa in another blade clash, the two locking blades in an intense contest of strength, or at least that was the deception Maul was leading his opponent to believe. Immediately, Maul deactivated his blade and spun around Chop'aa, the instant release of contested force causing Chop'aa to stumble and lurch forward. This moment of unbalance gave Maul the opportunity to cleave Chop'aa's sword arm from his body, the limb flying off the platform and into molten lava. The Mandalorian was left screaming in pain as he knelt down and clenched his cauterised wound.
"Kandosii nynir, vor" muttered Chop'aa as he nursed his wound "this bout of ours would have gone differently if I'd brought my basilisk droid."
"How unfortunate for you" Maul mocked before slicing the Bounty Hunter's head off, it too plummeting into the lava below.
Kenix Jir joined Maul on the platform "my lord, we have apprehended the captain-of-the-guard, but the Underlords are preparing to escape in an AEG-77 class transport."
Maul kicked the beskar chest plate on Chop'aa's corpse "I will deal with them, in the meantime, strip this man of his armour, I may have use for it in the future."
Maul began a massive spring across the Black Sun facility, blazing through the exterior passageways until he reached an open hanger bay where, as Kenix reported, a Black Sun transport was preparing to leave. The ship began firing a laser cannon to stop Maul from approaching, it's thruster began glowing orange as it began hovering from the hanger bay. But the Black Sun Underlords would not be escaping Maul's wrath. Pulling his arm back, Maul threw his lightsaber through the air, manipulating it with the force to make it travel an impossible distance. The lightsaber cut through the right thruster of the AEG-77 transport and immediately it began rupturing. The thrusters began flickering as the ship began falling. The nose of the ship began tilting down, marking a new trajectory with the massive lava lake below. With a glorious splash, the ship sank into the lava; the Underlords were dead, and Maul smiled. Returning to the war room, Maul found Captain Ziton Moj kneeling down before Zeta Magnus with two Sun Guards pointing their force pikes against the back of his neck.
"It would seem that the decision to join us is now yours" Maul declared to the captain.
"After careful consideration… we will join you" the defeated Ziton acceded.
Thus, the resources of an entire Black Sun Chapter were now under Maul's command, with Ziton Moj declared the honorary Underlord of the operation. Maul soon saw dozens of Black Sun Gozanti Cruisers beginning to link up with Zeta Magnus' Annihilator warship, each carrying its weight in credits and supplies. Maul now had a small army and a crime syndicate's assets funding his new 'Shadow Collective', but now, they needed land. Not a simple fief on an otherwise neutral world like Mustafar, an entire planet to lay claim to. However, Maul was not foolish enough to consider attacking a sovereign nation to claim territory, that would alert both the Republic and the Separatists. He needed to find a place remote and largely uninhabited, someplace not on the Galactic Map. Fortunately, he knew of one place where he could find such a planet. Within his master's old residence in the 500 Republica luxury apartment.