Star Wars: Darth Maul: Saboteur
On the distant planet Dorvalla, precious ore is mined by two competing companies: Intergalactic Ore and Lommite Limited. Neither rival suspects that they are central to a sinister plot masterminded by Darth Sidious, Lord of the Sith, himself.
Dispatched by Sidious on his very first solo mission, Darth Maul infiltrates Lommite Limited. There, his unique gifts of deception and subterfuge will set off an explosive chain of events that could destroy both companies, leaving them ripe for takeover by the Trade Federation. But a vengeful Lommite Limited Manager with his own thirst for retaliation against Intergalactic Ore could blow Maul’s cover–and all of Sidious’s fiendishly laid plans. . . .
Author: James Luceno
Publisher: Del Rey Books
Pages: 55
Release Date: February 1, 2001
Price: $1.99 (eBook Edition)
“Where his Master represented all that was concealed and mysterious in the Sith, Maul was the personification of all that was feared.”
James Luceno’s brief but entertaining short story centers around Darth Sidious’ exploitation of a mining dispute between rival companies, casting another thread in his grand web of deception. At the center of the conspiracy is the precious ore, lommite which is vital to the production of transparisteel which in turn is an important component in manufacturing the canopies and viewports for starships. An abundance of the ore is located on Drovalla, a planet that is in environmental ruin due to the ore extraction operations. Lommite Limited is a privately-owned mining corporation that has been suffering from sabotage, they suspect their competitor Intergalactic Ore under the influence of the Trade Federation is behind it all.
Following a particularly damaging incident, Lommite Limited feels they have no choice but to strike back at their rivals just as hard and proceed to orchestrate their revenge. With diabolical foresight, Darth Sidious seizes the opportunity to manipulate the crisis into the hands of his Neimoidian puppets and dispatches his apprentice to clandestinely motivate the circumstances. In the end, the story exemplifies the Sith mastery of the Dark Side by taking advantage of rage, vengeance, and deceit to turn the unsuspecting miners right into the hands of Darth Sidious. Additionally, Darth Maul’s methodical engineering of the outcome displays his ruthless nature and eagerness to carry out his Master’s wishes and leave no witnesses.
This pre-The Phantom Menace story is categorized in the Legends (Expanded Universe) realm but it does not contradict any of the important elements of the current canon. Instead, the story adds detail to Palpatine’s grand design for his Revenge of the Sith. Like the Jedi, the mining companies are blind to their demise, yet everything is right before their eyes to prevent it.
The story was originally released in the eBook format, but it also included as a bonus story in Michael Reaves’ book Darth Maul: Shadow Hunter.
- Amazon Kindle Edition
- Luceno, James (Author)
- English (Publication Language)
- 87 Pages - 02/15/2001 (Publication Date) - Random House Worlds (Publisher)