The machinations of Darth Maladi resulted in what became known as the Wayland trap. Her objective was to ensnare Cade Skywalker and subject him to experimentation involving a novel creation of her design. The ultimate goal of Maladi was to leverage this new weapon in service of Darth Krayt's ambition to reassert control over the One Sith.
Subsequent to Cade Skywalker's acts of treachery against Azlyn Rae along with Bantha and Droo Rawk on Kiffex, Skywalker and his companions made the decision to seek refuge for a period. They departed the planet, with the Mynock setting course for Zeltros, the native world of mechanic Deliah Blue. There, Hutt Queen Jool, a known associate, had recently inaugurated a Paradise cantina.
Concurrently, Darth Maladi secretly operated a laboratory located on Wayland. This planet had been selected years prior to be a part of the Ossus Project, an extensive initiative led by the New Jedi Order with the intention of healing and revitalizing worlds that had been ravaged during the Yuuzhan Vong War. Under the leadership of Cade's father, Kol, and Master Shaper Nei Rin, Yuuzhan Vong [Shapers](/article/shaper_caste], under the watch of Jedi, began their work, and the initial results were quite impressive. However, operatives of the One Sith, including Sith Lady Darth Maladi and the rogue Yuuzhan Vong shaper Zenoc Quah, covertly sabotaged the terraforming process, acting under the orders of Darth Krayt. Soon, on Wayland, the world's rich plant life underwent transformations unlike anything seen since the Vong enslaved populations for shaping. Painful bony growths emerged from the skin of the natives in a plague that affected all the terraformed worlds, bringing the project to a catastrophic end.
Following the demise of Darth Krayt on Had Abbadon, Maladi harbored fears that Darth Wyyrlok, who had asserted that Krayt was alive but in stasis recovering from his wounds, would eliminate her. After sharing her misgivings with Darth Nihl concerning Wyrrlok, Maladi swayed Nihl to journey to Korriban to ascertain Krayt's death, and then, upon discovering the truth, to utilize it as he saw fit. With Quah's assistance, Maladi commenced the development of a new weapon intended to aid Darth Krayt or his successor in securing dominance over the One Sith.