Campaign against the Shadow Collective

The title of this article is conjectural. Although this article is based oncanonical information, the actual name of this subject is pure conjecture.

Campaign against the Shadow Collective
Plot to destroy Darth Sidious

During theClone Wars, theConfederacy of Independent Systems andSith launched acampaign against the renegadeSith LordMaul'sShadow Collective. The purpose of the campaign was to draw out thewitchMotherTalzin anddestroy her, a long time enemy ofDark Lord of the SithSidious. Maul's intentions laid in aplot to destroy Darth Sidious, his former master. After learning of Maul's escape from Sidious' capture and potential alliance with Dooku, theJedi Order andGalactic Republic beganpursuit of the two Sith.

TheSeparatist Droid Army andConfederacy navy fought against the Collective, which included thePyke Syndicate,Black Sun, Maul'sMandalorian super commandos, as well as a comradeship with theNightbrothers ofDathomir. The Separatists suffered a loss in theBattle of Ord Mantell, as the Separatist leaders of the campaign,CountDooku andGeneralGrievous, were captured, but Dooku eventually freed Grievous, andhe and Maul escaped from the Galactic Republic when they engaged the Shadow Collective during theAssault on Vizsla Keep 09. This alliance between the two was a ploy on both sides, and Maul planned to use it to bring back Talzin using Dooku's body, but wereinterrupted by Grievous and Darth Sidious himself. In the end, Sidious and the Confederacy defeated the Shadow Collective, as well as achievingDarth Sidious' goal of killing Talzin.

Prelude[]

In54 BBY,^[8] on theplanetDathomir, theDathomirianZabrakNightbrotherMaul wasborn toMotherTalzin of theNightsisters.^[1] When Maul was achild,Dark Lord of the SithSidious became an ally to Mother Talzin, visiting Dathomir and trading secrets of thedark side of the force withher.^[9] Sidious promised to make Talzin hisapprentice, however he took and trained her son Maul instead. Talzin swore to get her revenge someday.^[1]

Over theyears, Sidious trained Maul to become a weapon of theSith, relentless against his enemies.^[10] During Maul's training, Sidious brought him to the Sith world ofMalachor to breath in the ashes of his fallen Sith brethren,killed by theJedi long before. This gave Maul a want for revenge against theJedi Order.^[11] Eventually, in32 BBY,^[12] the Sith enacted their plan for revenge. In theInvasion of Naboo, Maul engaged into alightsaber duel withJedi MasterQui-Gon Jinn andJedi KnightObi-Wan Kenobi. Maul successfullykilled Jinn, but Kenobi sliced Maul's lower torso off, with Maul falling to his supposed death.^[13] Although having lost his apprentice Maul, Sidious continued his plans, gaining a reputation as a goodsenator for the people of theGalactic Republic.^[14] However, Sidious was lacking an apprentice, and thus theFallen JediCountDooku was made Palpatine's apprentice.^[15] Dooku was the leader of an anti-Republic group known as theConfederacy of Independent Systems. He publicly rejected any opportunity to talk with Palpatine, unbeknownst to the public that Dooku was Sidious' apprentice.^[16]

In22 BBY,^[17] Dooku and hisdroid army fought the Galactic Republic'sarmy ofclones on the planetGeonosis in abattle that would mark the start of theClone Wars.^[18] Two years into the Clone Wars, in20 BBY,^[19] Dooku was ordered by Sidious to assassinate his personalsith assassin,Asajj Ventress. Although reluctant at first, Dooku followed through his master's orders. However, Ventress survived the attempt on her life, and returned to herhomeworld of Dathomir. Ventress was once a Nightsister, but as a child the clan was forced to give her up to theSiniteenpirateHal'Sted to protect the clan.^[20] Looking for revenge on Dooku, Ventress travelled to theNightbrother village in order to find an assassin through theSelection. In an assassin, she foundSavage Opress,^[21] the brother of Darth Maul.^[22] Opress was to become the "apprentice" of Dooku as offered by the Nightsisters.^[21] However, Opress betrayed both Ventress and Dooku, returning to Dathomir and learning that his long lost brother Maul, lived.^[23] Maul lived, stranded on the junk planet ofLotho Minor.^[22] Through his hate and will to survive after being nearly killed by Kenobi back on Naboo, he usedthe Force to hang on to an airvent. He eventually made his was to a trash compactor, bringing him to Lotho Minor.^[24]

Upon meeting his brother, Opress brought his brother back to Dathomir, in order to have Maul's mind restored by Mother Talzin. Talzin restored Maul's mind, as well as giving him a set of metal legs made from the wreckage of thebattle droids from amassacre of the Nightsisters,^[25] enacted as revenge by Dooku.^[26] Maul and Opress went on a rampage in a quest for revenge on the Jedi.^[27] After abattle against Obi-Wan Kenobi, Jedi MasterAdi Gallia, and theOhnaka Gang of criminals, the brothers escaped inescape pods.^[28] Floating barely alive, they were saved by theMandalorian splinter group namedDeath Watch. They took them to theDeath Watch camp onZanbar, giving Opress a prosthetic arm and Maul new metal legs.Pre Vizsla of Death Watch explained to Maul the malmanagement of theNew Mandalorian government. Maul promised Death Watch the ability to retake Mandalore and kill Kenobi. Now an alliance, they travelledthe Galaxy offering various criminal syndicates a part in the new criminal alliance. With the allegiance of theHutt Clan,Pyke Syndicate, and theBlack Sun, theShadow Collective was born.^[29]

Having acquired the forces to make a sufficient army, the Shadow Collective successfully seized control of the Mandalorian city ofSundari. Eventually Death Watch betrayed the Collective, driving the criminals away and arresting Opress and Maul. They themselves claimed rule over Mandalore. Escaping fromprison, the Sith brothers sought a new ally in MandalorianPrime MinisterAlmec. Maul stormed into the Mandalorianthrone room, challenging Pre Visla to a duel. Maul defeated Visla, beheading him with theDarksaber, ablack-bladedlightsaber owned by the first Mandalorian JediTarre Vizsla. Maul's victory split Death Watch into two withhalf staying loyal to Maul, and the other half rebelling against Maul led byBo-Katan Kryze. Almec was reinstated as Prime Minister, and Maul had taken over Mandalore.^[30]

However, scared of Maul's growing power, Sidious traveled to Mandalore in order to end Maul's rule. Maul, Savage, and Sidious dueled in the depths of Sundari. Sidious killed Opress, and disarmed Maul, sparing him as he needed Maul^[31] to get rid of Talzin. Sidious kept Maul inthe Spire, a prison on the planetStygeon Prime. Maul wasbroken out of the prison by his Mandalorian super commandos led byCommanderGar Saxon. This would be mark the beginning of a war that would take place between the Confederacy of Independent Systems and the Shadow Collective.^[2]

The campaign[]

Battle of Zanbar[]

Main article:Battle of Zanbar

Following orders given by Almec, the super commandos brought Maul to the Death Watch camp on Zanbar to rendezvous with his forces. Maul ignited the Darksaber, rallying his army and promising them the war they had waited for their entire lives. A that note, aSeparatist navy fleet headed by Grievous beganattacking the Shadow Collective forces. The forces had followed Maul to themoon and began invasion.C-9979 landing crafts flew in the skies, and Maul's army began to rainturret fire on thedropships. When the ships landed, the might of the full Separatist droid army was unleashed upon the army, with various waves ofdroidekas,B1-series battle droids, andB2-series super battle droids.^[2]

As Maul sliced through the battledroids, Grievous stood on the landing bridge of hishisProvidence-class Dreadnought. Promising Maul that the end was soon to come, the General sent fourIG-100 MagnaGuards in an attempt to take the Zabrak out. As the battle roared around him, Maul made quick work of the MagnaGuards. One Mandalorian tried to take out Grievous by himself, but was quickly killed by theKaleeshwarlord. It was at this point that Maul and Grievous finally engaged in a lightsaber duel. Eventually, Grievous kicked Maul to the ground. Maul looked around as his army was massacred by the endless forces of droids. In retaliation, Maul had hisgauntlet fighters bomb the droid army. Having been picked up by CommandoRook Kast, in his personal gauntlet fighter, theNightbrother. They escaped as flames engulfed the Death Watch camp. Grievous reported to Dooku that he had made Maul and his forces flee.^[2]

Battle of Ord Mantell[]

Main article:Battle on Ord Mantell

Maul meditated while inhyperspace. Maul was met by Talzin via thespirit world, a parallel dimension in Nightsister culture which few Nightsisters could travel. Talzin instructed Maul to bring his fleet to the planetOrd Mantell to gather more strength and forces. Entering theBright Jewel system, the Shadow Collective fleet landed in theBlack Sun stronghold inOrd Mantell City. Maul discussed the war withZiton Moj of the Black Sun andFife of the Pyke Syndicate. Meanwhile, Confederate spies reported to Dooku and Grievous that Maul's fleet had landed on Ord Mantell. Dooku reminded Grievous not to attack until they had confirmation that Talzin was with them. As if on cue,ST-series military strategic analysis and tactics droidTey-Zuka informed them that reconnaissance droids near Dathomir reported a single transport shuttle leaving the planet. Thus, Dooku and Grievous prepared toattack Ord Mantell.^[6]

As the transport ship from Dathomir landed on Ord Mantell, aclan of Nightbrothers stepped out, headed by BrotherViscus. Maul met with his brethren, preparing for battle. The Separatist fleet entered out of hyperspace, firing down on the city at the command of Grievous. As Separatist forces landed, the two armies began fighting in the second battle of their war.^[6]

Dooku landed his ship at the site of the battle, sending out MagnaGuards to find Maul and Talzin. At that same time, Grievous and Tey-Zuka contemplated where Maul's Mandalorian warships were. Then, Maul sprung a trap on Grievous, attacking his dreadnought and the rest of the droid fleet. As Dooku investigated, Viscus and his Nightbrothers took out his MagnaGuards. They then fought, with Dooku standing outnumbered.^[6]

Saxon, a Pyke, and a Falleen hid behind rubble as the seemingly never ending forces of droids continued their slaughter of the Collective. However, aB2 grapple droid punched through the rubble, taking hold of the Pyke. As the space battle continued around them, Maul and Saxon landed on Grievous' dreadnought, with Maul using the Darksaber to cut a whole in the side of the ship. The two entered the bridge of the ship, andForce pushed a group of droids to the side. Maul tackled Grievous and raised the Darksaber to Grievous' throat.^[6]

Count Dooku stood his own against the Nightbrothers, sending endless volleys ofForce lightning at them. As the droids surrounded the Shadow Collective, they were forced to surrender. However, Maul's takeover of the Providence gunship caused all the droids to deactivate, giving them time to rip apart the forces of the droid army. Dooku used the Force to slam Brother Viscus into the ground. However, before he was able to kill Viscus, he was captured by the survivors of the Collective.^[6]

Assault on Visla Keep 09[]

Main article:Assault on Vizsla Keep 09

The events at Ord Mantell caught the attention of the Galactic Republic and Jedi Order. Via hologram, Jedi MasterMace Windu notifiedChancellor Palpatine of the ongoing battles. A Jedi investigation group was sent to Ord Mantell after the battle, including Jedi Masters, Mace Windu, Obi-Wan Kenobi,Tiplee, andAayla Secura. Their investigation led them to the finding aMandalorian super commando helmet, leading them to believe that the battle had taken place between Dooku and the Shadow Collective. The group then prepared to travel to a nearby Mandaloriansupply outpost known asVizsla Keep 09.^[1]

Meanwhile at Vizsla Keep 09, having captured Dooku and Grievous, Maul hologrammed Sidious showing him how he had captured the two. Speaking on account of Mother Talzin, Maul reminded Sidious of his history with the Dathomirianwitch. Sidious told Maul to kill both of them as he had no use for either of them. Turning off his holocommunications, Maul and Rook put Grievous in the ship's brig while Maul would converse with the Count.^[1]

Using Maul as a vessel, Talzin appeared to Dooku through the spirit world. The witch explained her history with Sidious and how he took herson Maul. Talzin asked Dooku to join her and Maul, explaining how Sidious would eventually betray him. While conversing, Commander Saxon notified Maul of incoming Republic ships, with Maul commanding him to block their transmissions. However in the commotion, Dooku used the Force to press a button releasing Grievous from his cell.^[1]

TheGalactic Republic Navy fleet slowly approached the space station. As the troops prepared for aninvasion, the Shadow Collective launched gauntlet fighters. As the rest of the ships engaged in combat, anLow Altitude Assault Transport/infantry ship carrying Kenobi, Tiplee, and the212th Attack Battalion landed in^[1] the rings ofPhelbos.^[32] During the commotion, Grievous slipped out of Visla Keep 09 through an escape pod.^[1]

Maul handed back Dookuhis lightsaber, teaming up with him in order to escape alive. The Jedi and Sith engaged in a standoff in which Dooku killed Master Tiplee. Rook Kast used themissile on herZ-6 jetpack, rendering Secura and Windu unconscious. Maul, Dooku, Kast, and Saxon escaped in theNightbrother, living to fight another day.^[1] Theclone troopers arrested the Mandalorians left at the station and Supreme Chancellor Palpatine demanded to speak with the now conscious Windu. Windu believed that Dooku had been the master of Maul and that the Battle of Ord Mantell had been just a deception. However, Palpatine believed that the battle could spell disaster for the Republic.^[1]

End of the campaign[]

Main articles:Second Battle of Dathomir,Attack on the Pyke Syndicate andAttack on the Black Sun

En route to Dathomir, Maul was hologrammed by Moj and Fife. They believed that Maul's Collective was becoming his own crusade and named the casualties in which it had cost them. Maul reassured them that the galaxy would soon be theirs for the taking. Landing in the cliffsideNightbrother village, Maul presented Brother Viscus with Count Dooku. Preparing for Mother Talzin's return, Maul escorted Dooku into a large building and placed his hand on a large stone panel where he began to recite a prayer to his mother. Talzin's reflection appeared in the stone and soon her spirit began to emanate from it,possessing the Count. Meanwhile, Sidious and Grievous stayed in orbit above the planet in theScimitar, a heavily modifiedStar Courier which Maul had piloted during his apprenticeship to Sidious. Having tracked Count Dooku's signal, Sidious ordered Grievous to jam their communications and bring the ship into cloaking mode. Viscus and the Nightbrothers left to prepare Talzin's chambers while Maul watched as the Count became possessed. Maul explained the process Dooku's body was going through. However, Grievous exploded his way through one of the walls of building, with Sidious in tow.^[5]

During the events on Dathomir, Separatist armadas laid siege to Black Sun and Pyke Syndicate forces. Fife and Ziton Moj hologrammed Maul again, but were instead met by Rook Kast. The crime lords demanded to speak with Maul, but Kast instead instructed them to follow their orders. The Black Sun and the Pyke Syndicate both pulled out of the Shadow Collective, leaving Maul and the Death Watch by themselves.^[5]

As Maul drew the Darksaber, Dooku's body had become fully possessed by Talzin. The two sidesengaged in lightsaber combat, with Maul fighting Grievous and Talzin fighting Sidious. Sidious disarmed Talzin and used Force lightning to electrocute Dooku's body. Having finally gained the necessary energies, Talzin's spirit exited Dooku and she materialized. Meanwhile, a Separatist invasion force appeared in theDathomir system. Maul force pushed Grievous out the whole in the building's wall. Talzin and Sidious each sent force lightning at each other, the two forces dispersing. Waking up, Dooku added a stream of lightning to help Sidious oppose Talzin. Maul put his hand on his mother's shoulder, offering her his strength. However, the Sith's strength overpowered that of the Dathomirians. Additionally, Grievous had crawled back into the building through the window. In theNightbrother, Kast and Saxon urged Maul to retreat. Talzin told Maul to leave, however Maul believed that they could both escape. Talzin force pushed Maul away, into his ship in a last stand to protect her son. The two Mandalorians held back Maul as he watched Grievous stab his mother in the heart. As the three escaped in the gauntlet fighter, the invasion fleet landed on Dathomir and destroyed the Nightbrother's village.^[5]

Aftermath[]

Returning to Mandalore, Maul regrouped his Shadow Collective,^[33] with the addition of theCrimson Dawn led byDryden Vos.^[34] Maul and forcesfought against the invasion force of the Bo-Katan'sNite Owls and the Galactic Republic's332nd Division, led byAhsoka Tano, the formerPadawan ofJedi KnightAnakin Skywalker.^[33] Maul was captured by Tano and imprisoned on theVenator-class Star DestroyerTribunal. While imprisoned on the ship, Darth Sidious ordered the activation ofOrder 66,^[35] a directive order in thebehavioral modification biochip of clone troopers that would cause them to attack all the Jedi.^[36] In order to ensure her escape, Tano freed Maul from his cell as twoshock troopers were about to execute him.^[35] Maul travelled to the ship'shyperdrive, which he destroyed using the Force. Exiting hyperspace, the ship was set on a crash collision into amoon. In the ship's hangar, Maul piloted aLambda-class T-4a shuttle, escaping the vessel.^[37] The activation of Order 66 marked the end of the Clone Wars and Sidiousreformation of the Republic into theGalactic Empire,^[38] an event which Maul had foreseen.^[33] During theImperial Era, Maul continued his criminal operations under his Crimson Dawn operations.^[39] While running his Crimson Dawn crime syndicate, Maul traveled to the planetDamanos to search aSith castle in search of Sith artifacts. Maul saw a vision of Grievous, who taunted him about killing his mother during the Second Battle of Dathomir.^[40]

Not long after the events of the Second Battle of Dathomir, the surviving Nightbrothers travelled to theUpper Strangled Cliffs where they built anew village within the cliffs. During the activation of Order 66, the Jedi MasterTaron Malicos crashed his ship into theSwamp of Sacrifice. Malicos was captured by the Nightbrothers, but escaped and killed Brother Viscus. Malicos usurped control of the Nightbrothers and worked in conjunction with one of the last NightsistersMerrin.^[41] In14 BBY,^[42] JediPadawanCal Kestis, who survived Order 66 as well,travelled to Dathomir with hiscrew aboard theluxury yachtStinger Mantis. With the help of Merrin, Malicos was buried alive. Merrin then joined theMantis crew, leaving the Nightbrothers without a leader.^[41]

Behind the scenes[]

The campaign against the Shadow Collective first appeared infirst issue of the four-partStar Wars: Darth Maul—Son of Dathomir series,^[2] written byJeremy Barlow, and illustrated by pencillerJuan Frigeri, inkerMauro Vargas, coloristWes Dzioba, and cover artistChris Scalf.^[44]Son of Dathomir was an adaptation of unproduced scripts fromStar Wars: The Clone Wars, which was part of the television show's sixth production season, as part ofThe Clone Wars Legacy project. However, the episodes were ultimately canceled afterDisney's acqusition ofLucasfilm^[43] TheStarWars.comDatabank entry for Count Dooku named the war as the "plot to destroy Darth Sidious."^[45]

In the original scripts for theClone Wars episodes, the war would have included agladiatorial pit battle against ashatterax monster.^[46]Daniel Wallace writer of theStar Wars Insider 149 article in which this was reported, states that this plot point was ultimately cut from the final comic run.^[47]

Appearances[]

• Darth Maul — Son of Dathomir 1(First appearance)
• Darth Maul — Son of Dathomir 2
• Darth Maul — Son of Dathomir 3
• Darth Maul — Son of Dathomir 4

Sources[]

Non-canon sources[]

• 20 Eerie Easter Eggs fromLEGO Star Wars Terrifying Tales onStarWars.com(backup link)(Indirect mention only)

Notes and references[]