A Jedi Padawan has been captured by sinister forces…and Darth Maul is determined to find her?! This early tale of the galaxy's deadliest Zabrak continues!
Darth Maul enters a cantina on Nar Shaddaa to find information on the auction of the padawan. He draws stares from the cantina patrons and is greeted by the bartender who states that he can already tell what Maul wants. Maul mentions the name Xev Xrexus but the barman claims ignorance, noting that Maul is a fellow Zabrak and a Nightbrother at that. Maul states that the bartender knows nothing about him, to which the bartender suggests Maul should stop asking questions and leave quietly. Calgriz, a Quarren patron, tells Maul he's asking for trouble by making enquiries and that he is acting like a Jedi 'lackey'. Maul responds by kicking Calgriz across the room and this action starts a brawl. Maul fights several patrons at once until Calgriz spits ink in his face, briefly blinding him and allowing the others to knock him to the ground. Calgriz draws a blaster but is killed when Maul uses the Force to throw a dagger at him. The other patrons also draw on Maul but are immediately gunned down from behind by Cad Bane, Aurra Sing, and Vorhdeilo - bounty hunters who Maul has hired to help him get to the auction.
As Vorhdeilo drinks the blood of the dead patrons, Maul complains that the bounty hunters could have arrived sooner, but Bane gives him the news that they've managed to find a way to the auction. The group departs the cantina when Sing picks up comm chatter telling her Jedi are nearby in Hutta Town. They move to a docking bay where Maul's probe droids had found a cruiser owned by the Haddrex Gang, a group who had received an invite to the auction. Maul finds that the bounty hunters have killed all the gang members apart from the protocol droid FE-B3, who is being interrogated for the location of the auction by Troo-tril-tek. Maul removes FE-B3's remaining eye and threatens worse until the droid agrees to guide them to the auction.
The group are guided to the Drazkel system and the codes given to them by FE-B3 allow them access to the auction. As they approach Xev's hideout, Sing and Bane discuss why Maul has hired them. Sing is uneasy, but Bane reminds her that, while her suspicions are healthy, they have a great opportunity to make money due to the auction's rich clientele. Maul meditates alone and remembers a time when he and his master visited Malachor and its ancient Sith temple. While there, Maul had a vision of the Great Scourge of Malachor, and in the present he uses this memory to fuel his desire for revenge against the Jedi.
The group enters the auction hall, crowded with numerous underworld figures including Grakkus the Hutt, Hondo Ohnaka, and Lom Pyke. Bane suggests that they should take advantage and collect on a few bounties, but Maul tells him he is not interested in money. Xev Xrexus then arrives and introduces the auction, holding up a hologram of the padawan Eldra Kaitis, the only survivor of a shuttle crash. Xev bids the attendees enjoy themselves before the auction starts, but Maul has already slipped away, guided by his probe droids to Kaitis' cell. Anticipating how close he is to exacting revenge, he comes face to face with the padawan. Bemused, Kaitis asks him who he is.
The print edition of Darth Maul, Part II mistakenly credits the cover art to Rod Reis, rather than Rafael Pinto Albuquerque.
- UPC 759606083725; March 22, 2017; Marvel Comics