Dawn of The Sith

The Ranchor's Feast

A gust of warm air made the apprentice turn. Five Jedi Knights accompanied by a Master were being led by a Protocol Droid to the middle of the room. The Droid then went up to Jabba and whispered something to him.

"Ho Ho," said Jabba. "Jedi scum."

"We are here to bargain for my young Padawan's life," spoke the Jedi Master in a calm voice. Jabba whispered to the Protocol Droid who then turned to face the Master.

"Jabba says that the Padawan in question killed five smugglers on Mygeeto. He shall therefore be sentenced to death," said the Protocol Droid.

"The smugglers were using the native Lurmen as slaves," another Jedi exclaimed as she stepped forwards. She was a Quarren with distinctive features. Maul sat in the shadows, watching with mild interest. He couldn't care less if Jabba decided to kill the Jedi Padawan. It would mean less work for him. Jabba called over the Protocol Droid and whispered something to him. All of a sudden, Jabba laughed and flicked a switch. The whole room of people stared as two Jedi fell down into a pit. One of them was the Master and the other was the Quarren. The four Jedi Knights who remained took out their lightsabers.

"That was a bad mistake," said a Gungan. The four Jedi raised their lightsabers in unison but Maul was ready for them. He blocked two of the Jedi while force pushing the Gungan into the pit. The three Jedi who were left decided to dive for cover as several Bounty Hunters fired their weapons. One of the Jedi slashed the Zabrak ,who Maul had met earlier, across the chest. He gasped and then lay unconscious. Maul dueled two of the Jedi until one of them got shot by a Wookie. Maul then stabbed the other Jedi in the heart, leaving only one Jedi remaining. The Jedi ran towards him, deflecting bullets from nearby Bounty Hunters and slashing anyone who got in his way. Maul force choked the Jedi then let him go.

"So the Sith have returned," said the Jedi as he collapsed into the pit. Maul looked down to see three Jedi, the Master, the Quarren and the Gungan, fighting a gigantic Ranchor as it ate the Jedi who had just been force choked. The Quarren slashed the Ranchor's leg with all of her strength. Maul watched as she got crushed under the Ranchor's huge foot. The Gungan ran forwards and stabbed the vile beast in the heart. For a minute the Ranchor looked defeated, but then it roared and grabbed the Gungan with its giant-sized claw. Both Maul and the Jedi Master looked away in horror as the Gungan's head was ripped off. The Master turned and ran towards the barred exit. He slashed the bars and killed the guards as he made his way to the prison area. Maul jumped down into the pit and raced after him. By the time Maul had reached the prison, the Master was already freeing his Padawan.

"Qui-Gon? What are you doing here?" asked the Padawan.

"Now is not the time, Obi-Wan. We must hurry!" Qui-Gon replied with haste. The two Jedi ran through the corridors, closely followed by Maul. They reached a large space-ship with a two Jedi Masters awaiting them. Maul hung back. There was likely more Jedi onboard the ship and Maul couldn't risk giving away the existence of the Sith.

"Were you followed? What happened?" asked a Jedi who Maul knew by the name as Mace Windu.

"I don't think we were followed, but Jabba and his Bounty Hunters ambushed us and killed the five Jedi Knights," replied Qui-Gon.

"Then we must hurry to Coruscant and inform the council immediately," said Master Windu. Maul watched as the ship took off. Suddenly, his master, Darth Sidious appeared as a Hologram.

"You have failed me my young apprentice. One of the Jedi who you believe to be dad still lives," he said. With those words, he disappeared. Maul turned to see the Jedi who got shot by the Wookie standing before him. The Jedi ran towards a small spaceship and quickly fired up the engine. Maul swore. If the Jedi reached Coruscant, the secrecy of the Sith would be revealed too soon. Out of nowhere, the young teenager, Jango, appeared.

"What do you want kid?" asked Maul with anger in his tone.

"You helped me win my armour and so now I can help you," he said.

"How?" Maul asked.

"The ship that the Jedi took will take about an hour to reach Coruscant. We will be able to ambush him easily with this ship," Jango said, pointing towards a ship bearing the name "Slave 1" in capital letters.

"Is that your ship?" Maul asked.

"It is now," Jango replied as he entered the cockpit. Maul followed him inside and took hold of the guns. Jango carefully piloted the ship upwards until they had left the atmosphere. After a couple of minutes of flying, Jango pointed towards a small ship which was about to enter light speed. Maul fired twice with precision and hit the target with ease.

"Is he dead?" Jango asked.

"No," said Maul as the ship spun out of control. The Jedi sent homing missiles towards Slave 1 which were immediately dodged by Jango. Maul knew that the Jedi had no hope of survival as he aimed his guns towards the small ship. No remorse or mercy would limit Maul. This would be the day that he became the fearsome Darth Maul. He smiled to himself, and then fired.