- 30 BBY -
- Lotho Minor -
Maul opens his eyes for the first time in two years. Two years have passed since the Battle of Naboo. Two years since he killed Jedi Master Qui-Gon Jinn and was, in turn, bisected by his apprentice, Obi-Wan Kenobi. Maul fell down the reactor shaft and into a trash container. A combination of his Nightsisters' magicks, Dathomirian physiology and Sith tenacity served to keep him tethered to life even as his sanity began to leave him. Maul's half-body was eventually dumped on the junkyard world of Lotho Minor.
Maul looks around. He is lying in a pool of toxic sludge on the hot, caustic, disgusting planet. Everything hurts, everything. He uses his arms and slowly pushes himself up a bit to look around.
"Urgh shit."
Maul is no longer the same as he was before. He is no longer the Sith Lord, apprentice to Darth Sidious and son of Dathomir. Memories of his past life have returned, and with them, a special cheat: The Essence of the Spark. Darth Maul was truly dead. He died as soon as his memories returned, or he was transformed, might be the better word. Because Maul is not just a reincarnator, he is truly Maul. He wasn't transported to Maul's body, but he lived as Maul. All his experiences, his life, his harsh upbringing and the hate were his as well. But with his old memories, that anger diminished greatly. What he experienced was still present, and he was still a user of the Dark Side, but there was now something he knew from his past life that told him he didn't need to stay a Sith or a purely Dark Side practitioner. Why anyone would ever restrict themselves was confusing to him.
Maul closes his eyes and thinks about the special gift he finally unlocked: The Essence of the Spark.
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Essence of the Spark
- Perfect memory with infinite storage
- Beyond genius-level intellect
- Infinite potential to learn, discover and invent new things
- An innate understanding of the laws of nature and physics and how to best subjugate them to your whim
- An innate grasp of energetic, mechanical, chemical, mathematical, biological and sociological mechanisms and how to twist them to suit your desires
- The intuitive ability to break down and understand complicated subjects, principles and objects through observation
- A preternatural ability to improve and refine past, present and future technologies once the principles they operate on are understood.
- The ability to enter a highly emotional fugue-like state that enhances all other abilities tenfold at the cost of temporarily lowered moral integrity, self-control and sanity.
- Supernatural charisma that draws people to you and makes those without powerful wills highly suggestible to your influence, to the point that they will sometimes find themselves doing things to further your ends that they usually would not, even if they want nothing more than to be far, far away from your special brand of madness. Those exposed to your charisma for sufficient lengths of time may find themselves becoming your loyal, devoted minions without even realising it.
- Increased lung capacity and a menacing/inspiring/imposing/mad laugh that can trigger localised thunderclaps and short-lived, harmless lightning storms for dramatic effect even on a perfectly clear, sunny day at your discretion.
- The potential to ascend to a higher level of conscious awareness that will allow you to apply the principles you've learned by applying your will to the nature of reality to make your will so. It's not magic, just sufficiently advanced science to seem as such. Comes complete with ageless immortality.
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Marvellous. Truly marvellous. And more importantly, it was already showing. But there is something important to note. He now possesses a perfect memory with infinite storage, combined with a beyond-genius-level intellect, but he still doesn't remember everything about his past life. Some pieces are missing, since everything he knew when he died and could remember then are now present, but those he didn't remember when he died are lost forever. Nevertheless, it wasn't a significant problem.
Every moment Maul focuses, he finds out new things. His intuitive ability to break down and understand complicated subjects, principles and objects through observation is helping him right now. He is on Lotho Minor, which he knows from the 'meta-knowledge', and while the atmosphere is terrible for most, he managed to survive, and with a bit of effort, he may even be able to thrive here. Maul reviews what he knows about Lotho Minor.
Lotho Minor is a storm-ravaged, desolate terrestrial planet orbiting the star Lotho. The planet is located in the Lotho Minor system, beyond the Western Reaches in the northern Outer Rim Territories' Wazta sector. It lies near the Koda Spur hyperspace route, which connects it to the planet Thune and the nearby Koda Station.
The planet's surface is a grim expanse of rust-coloured terrain buried under mountains of junk, the result of countless generations of waste. Fires smoulder eternally among the debris, and the sheer volume of trash even surpasses that of Raxus Prime. With no established approach vectors for atmospheric entry, Lotho Minor is virtually unwelcoming from space. Its eerie landscape is marked by the decaying hulks of ancient starships jutting from newer piles of garbage, giving it the haunting appearance of an industrial graveyard. Thick, putrid fog cloaks the land, limiting visibility. Toxic sludge pools, like the one he is currently in, dot the surface, while unpredictable acid rain and aggressive weather patterns, including rust storms, solid metal downpours, and hurricane-force winds, constantly reshape the landscape.
Though the planet has a Type I atmosphere, breathable to some species, the harsh, hot, and corrosive environment makes survival extremely difficult. Subterranean explosions and sudden ground shifts regularly trigger avalanches of debris or chemical flash floods, as deteriorated barriers give way. Overall, Lotho Minor is one of the most hazardous and inhospitable worlds in the galaxy.
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Maul moves forward, semi-swimming through the acidic puddle he is in right now. He can feel the damage it is doing to his skin, but doesn't stop. He has to get out of here and start his journey. As it is said, a journey starts with one step. But to take a single step, Maul first needs legs, which he doesn't have. Life has given Maul lemons - toxic, rust-coloured, acidic, decaying lemons, but lemons nonetheless. So it is his job to make pristine mechanical appendages out of it. Lotho Minor may be one of the worst places to be, as it is equivalent to being in a dumpster, but for someone like Maul, someone with the Essence of the Spark, there may not be many better places to start.
Maul sees this as his new start. He is no longer the person he used to be. He is now simply Maul, the former Darth. He feels that the unlocking of his memories has caused him to 'mellow out' and significantly reduce his rage. In turn, he has grown weaker in the Dark Side of the Force. And, of course, he has lost half of his body. He will need to train to regain his power and even surpass it. Thankfully, he still remembers all of his training and can get there easily. The question is, does he want to get back where he was? Why not take a different approach? But for now, he will not think about the Force apart from using it to create what he needs.
Finally, Maul makes it out of the sludge and comes to rest on the dry, rust-filled, and acidic ground beneath him. It's not perfect, but nothing ever is. His senses have dulled somewhat, but he is by no means weak or defenceless. He looks around the enormous mountain of trash and tries to find something that might work for him in some way. The original canon Maul created a set of spider-like mechanical legs. That's not a bad idea, since it would allow good mobility on the trash mountains. He may consider that as well, but for now, simple legs would suffice. He can continually improve them as he goes along and add details.
He rests his body on his left arm and uses his right to employ the Force, utilising telekinesis to lift several pieces of metal and other kinds of debris. It's hard for him and feels strange, but he gets the hang of it very quickly and moves the pieces to the side. He will have to find something akin to a droid, at least, and as it would happen, luck favours him. Underneath a larger chunk of metal, he sees the leg of an EV-series droid stick out. He uses all of his concentration and lifts the large piece of debris, pushing it to the side and freeing the way to the droid. He grabs it and draws it closer to him, examining the state of the droid.
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There are a few areas that need to be repaired, and he will also require additional material to thicken the legs, as they are relatively thin. Other than that, it should work. Maul is thinking about additional uses for the EV-droid and already plans to turn it into an EV-series medical droid, which he will use to perform surgery on himself and attach the mechanical legs he will create. That way, he will be similar to General Grievous.
Maul harvests the leg actuator pistons, the stabiliser servos and the tibial rotation joints and carries them using the Force to a somewhat flat area, where he will work for now. These parts will help support weight and balance.
Maul crawls back and continues searching for something useful. Right now, droids are the most valuable pieces of technology for what he has planned. After searching for an hour, he finds an inert GNK-series power droid. Cracked open. He hovers it towards him and has a look inside. The power cell is corroded, and the rest of the unit is covered in rust. However, the power core is not yet fully discharged. Using the Force, Maul forces the housing to open and strips the small fusion coil regulator and some low-voltage power relays. These components will allow him to begin assembling a crude power loop to energise his prosthetics.
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He lifts the components to the area where he placed the leg pistons and places them down. Now, he needs some tools to weld and assemble the material and components he collected.
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Finding tools proves to be harder than Maul initially hoped it would. It's not like there aren't any lying around, but everything is broken and in need of pieces that he has none of. He will find ways around that; in fact, he has found a way around it. He has discovered a large freighter protruding from beneath the mountain of junk and is now attempting to find a way inside it. However, that proves too difficult for him at this time, as he is still crawling everywhere. So, he has chosen to go the direct way. He uses the Force again to clear a path underneath the wreckages and large metallic and electronic pieces until he reaches the hull of the large freighter. He has improved significantly in the use of Force telekinesis and will ensure that he continues to do so. Because the Force, as mystical as it may seem, at the end of the day is, as the name suggests, a force of nature - the force of nature, quite literally.
Thanks to the Essence he has been given, Maul has an innate understanding of the laws of nature and physics, as well as how to best subjugate them to his will. And yes, the Force is included there. However, it's not as simple as that. There is a very deep mystery to the Force, which would take a long time to uncover, and which Maul has no interest in now. All he can say is that he has gotten the 'hang' of Force telekinesis and knows how to best go about improving this particular ability and make it stronger.
Finally, Maul has arrived at the hull of the large freighter and reaches out with his right hand. He focuses as hard as he can and uses all of his current power to try to create a small hole inside the hull of the ship. However, that's very hard and he doesn't manage to do anything. The hull is made of durasteel, so it is strong and, by its size, it won't bend to Maul's will. Nevertheless, Maul doesn't submit. He looks at the hull closely. This is an old piece, and as such, the metal shouldn't be as durable as it was originally. And if he uses the Force in the right spot, between the different plates, he should be able to do it. He crawls to the side and finds a suitable spot.
Maul lies down with his face on the ground and reaches out his hands, calling on the Force. He clenches his jaw and pushes more and more, trying to create a small crack between the armour plating. Without realising it, he enters a highly emotional fugue-like state which enhances all his abilities tenfold at the cost of temporarily lowered moral integrity, self-control and sanity. But what does he care about that right now? Survival is all that matters, and to achieve that, he needs to break this open.
The power of his Force telekinesis increases tenfold in potency and manages to crack open the two old durasteel armour plates.
*GRROOAANNN*
Maul pushes further and bends the thick hull back, continuing to do so until he arrives at the innermost layer. Blood flows out of his nose, and just before he passes out, the final layer is breached, giving way to the interior of the freighter.
"Haaa, haaa, haaa..." Maul breathes heavily, pulling in the burning air into his lungs.
He exits that fugue-like state and returns to normal. He feels everything returns to the way it was, but it was informative nonetheless. He would have to revisit this in the future. Maul takes one breath, and then his head falls to the ground. He used a lot of energy, so this makes sense. As he is lying there, a few minutes later, a slithering sound is heard, and one of the few native species of Lotho Minor appears, slithering through the junk, an Anacondan.
"Oooooh, such a large meal... how fortunate," the Anacondan hisses and approaches Maul.
He is uncertain and makes sure that Maul is truly unconscious. He only wants a bite for now, and as the alien bleeds to death, he will return for the leftovers.
"How delic- kack...kaakkk..."
Maul's hand shoots out and grabs the creature's neck, squeezing hard and stopping it from fleeing or biting him.
"Did my appearance deceive you? There is but one predator on this planet."
*CRACK*
Maul breaks the animal's neck and throws it to the side. That's food; he better not waste it. There's enough fire to go around everywhere, but food is scarce, and if Maul uses the Force to rejuvenate himself somewhat, he could have given himself enough time to create the mechanical limbs and then search for food on his own after that. Force Revitalise would need the Light Side of the Force, though, unless he combines it with Force Drain, that would also work. However, he doesn't know Force Drain, which makes this a bit more challenging for him.
Maul starts to crawl further and enters the large freighter. This ship will have parts he can use, and it may also be helpful as a base of operations if it's suitable and not too damaged already. Maul makes his way through the large starship until he finds the cockpit. And thankfully, he finds something that he was looking for, an R1-series astromech droid.
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The cumbersome size of 2,2 meters made the R1-series astromech droids commonly stationed aboard capital ships and large freighters. So this is a good find. Maul crawls his way to victory and opens the droid's hull, looking inside and finding what he was looking for. He sees the maintenance arms, which will be helpful and more importantly, a plasma cutter. Together with a spot-welder clamp and adjustable heat settings, he is now set to start creating his prosthetic legs.
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As it turned out, Maul had found a rare treasure trove in the large freighter. It carried a few rusted early prototypes of B1 battle droids. So, Maul has an excellent base to go off on, considering his circumstances. He takes balance chips and spine servos as well as the feet, which, after some modification, will be very good for him to use.
Maul crawled his way out of the large freighter, levitated everything he had gathered so far back into the ship, and arranged them in one of the forward cargo holds. He has cleaned up everything inside and used the Force to level out the floor, creating a stand where he will work. He still has to use a platform to reach the workbench, but he knows that will be over soon.
So he gets to work. Maul's infinite potential to learn, discover and invent new things comes in handy right now as he starts to use the tools he has gathered and the broken pieces of the durasteel hull of the large freighter to cut the correct pieces. Durasteel is Strong and versatile. Ideal for armour plating on, in Maul's case, prosthetic limbs.
He binds the Rotary servos and Gyroscopic stabilisers to the leg frame using the pulse welder and plasma cutter. He routes through salvaged conduits from the different parts of the droids. He only has two hands to use tools with, so he focuses the Force to align fine servo components, holding delicate wires steady in place midair. At the same time, he fuses connection points, compensating for the lack of precision instruments and allows the Force to 'guide' his hand. This is his first time after all, but he knows what he's doing, despite that. But it never hurts to have help. And it works flawlessly. He learns more about the Force and gets to do good work on his prosthetics.
Everything has to be wired correctly and set up for the moment; he will attach it to himself. Still, quite a bit of work is needed there. He wires the leg system and uses the small fusion coil regulator and low-voltage power relays, which he took from the GNK droid, adding them to the mix. He doesn't realise how much time passes as he is immersed in his work, and for the first time as the amalgamated new Maul, he is enjoying himself.
The wider galaxy disappears into the background, and he lives in this very moment, building, inventing, creating something new. It is an incredible and foreign feeling, but one he is unwilling to ever let go of again. He is truly no longer a Sith. As a Sith, he would never allow such a pleasure to exist, as it may be considered a weakness. But it may also be seen as a strength. But Maul doesn't bother with the finer details and continues working until he does the final touches.
Maul constructs a girdle framework of durasteel and fibre-mesh from a seatbelt harness he found in the cockpit of the large freighter. The last small adjustments are about to be done, and he inserts the spinal rods, which will allow him to operate the legs as if they were his biological ones.
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Time passes, and finally, he is finished. The set of prosthetic legs and the girdle framework are ready to be attached to him. All he needs now is to have someone or something attach it to him. That's where the two droids he found among all that junk come into play.
The EV-series droid and a 2-1B surgical droid. Neither of them is working and is missing several pieces, but Maul has the necessary power cells and energy from other sources to make it work. All he needs now is to make sure they are operational and will follow his command, and then he can finally attach his legs.
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Most of the technical things are either made up or just me mumbling about things I found on the wiki. I am not claiming all of this is true; I am just putting together facts and then adding BS to make it stick together.