An evil crime syndicate is auctioning off a Jedi Padawan…that Darth Maul plans to take — and kill — for his own. Featuring: a band of bounty hunters including Cad Bane and Aurra Sing!
Darth Maul faces the padawan Eldra Kaitis in her prison cell. Kaitis asks who he is again and Maul responds by igniting his lightsaber and cutting at the energy shield separating them. At this point his probe droids inform him that someone is coming and he turns off the lightsaber, putting it behind his back just as Xev Xrexus approaches with her droideka bodyguards. Xev asks him what he is doing in a restricted area and Maul replies that he was eager to see the padawan. Xev tells him that this is unfair on her other clients and asks who he is, to which Maul responds by identifying himself as 'Seris Madreth', a representative of the Haddrex Consortium. Xev laughs at Maul's description of the Haddrex Gang as a 'consortium' and reprimands him again. Maul asks if they can put his transgression behind them and forget about it, to which Xev agrees on the proviso that she will vaporize him if he does it again.
Maul returns to the ship where FE-B3 tells the group that they do not have the funds to make a successful bid for Kaitis. The droid states that the Haddrex Gang was originally plotting to raid the auction and rob the other guests before Maul and his group killed them and took their ship. Cad Bane says that a raid would be too risky for Maul, noting that the Sith wants to get away clean. Maul agrees and mentions a back-up plan. Troo-tril-tek threatens FE-B3 to do more calculations and tell them which of the other guests is most likely to win.
Returning to the auction hall, Maul feels the anger and hate flowing through him. He restrains himself from the urge to slaughter everyone and muses that his master would punish him severely for his rashness in being there, yet at the same time the fact that he is biding his time makes him more like his master than he would like to believe. Xev begins the auction and bids are made by several different underworld groups. Meanwhile at a cargo bay, FE-B3 asks Troo-tril-tek why the group still needs him but is told to shut up. Bane, Aurra Sing, and Vorhdeilo make their way towards a Shekelesh-class freight gunship. As the bids reach the 2 million credit mark, the bounty hunters enter the ship and quietly kill its Moogan crew-members. Back at the auction, Maul watches as another Moogan, Jee Kra, wins ownership of Kaitis with a bid of 2.5 million. Troo-tril-tek forces FE-B3 onto the gunship and loads some boxes onboard. He is observed from the shadows by some of Xev's people, who agree to let their boss know the group has taken the bait.
Kra and his bodyguards return to their ship with Kaitis and her lightsaber. To their shock, they find Maul and his group waiting for them and Maul reprimands Kra for believing he could walk away with the padawan. As the blast doors shut behind him and his entourage, Kra begins to ask Maul who he is but at that point Maul throws his robe at him. Using the Force, Maul gets the robe to constrict around Kra's face, smothering him, while the Sith attacks his guards with punches and kicks. As Kra suffocates to death, Kaitis observes Maul in action and realises that he is Force-sensitive. Once Maul has killed the last of the Moogans, Kaitis confronts him and tells him she knows what he is. Maul claims that she doesn't and orders Bane to get the ship away from Xev's hideout as quickly as possible.
Maul takes Kaitis into a holding area where they can be alone, at which point Kaitis states that he is a Sith. Maul denies this and tells Kaitis that she fears him, to which Kaitis states that he is the fearful one as he hides in the shadows. Kaitis tells Maul that if he wants to kill her he should take off her binders and allow her to fight him with her lightsaber. When the padawan suggests they are equally matched, Maul argues that no Jedi can match his skills. He states that she will have her chance to duel him and then he will have his revenge.
Meanwhile, Bane and Sing get the ship into space. Sing asks why, since Bane had so many doubts about Maul, he is so relaxed. Bane responds that there is nothing he can do about his doubts right now, but that they should look to cut ties with Maul soon. Sing asks whether he means they'll have to kill him, to which Bane replies that there are no easy jobs. In the hold, FE-B3, Troo-tril-tek, and Vorhdeilo clear up the bodies. Maul's probe droids suddenly inform them that there is a countdown and Troo-tril-tek opens up a compartment to find a bomb has been planted on the ship. The bomb explodes and the ship plummets towards the surface of the moon of Drazkel. Xev watches all of this from an observation deck as her aide informs her that the ship was disabled as per her instructions. She tells the aide to alert the guests that the hunt is beginning soon and that they can buy-in for 350,000 credits.
- UPC 759606083725; April 26, 2017; Marvel Comics