#neonara

Title: No Honor, Amongst Thieves

Nightfall was upon the neon, crime infested, and industrial city planet of Neonara. A fierce rainstorm was descending upon the city, forcing those driving their speeders to move faster in the sky lanes to the nearest shelter or back to their domiciles, lest they get drenched.

The smog, thanks to industrial factories producing ships, droids, speeders, and all other kinds of machinery of value, hung thick in the sky, almost giving the planet a second layer of clouds. At the heart of downtown Neonara, there stood a pyramid-like structure belonging to the city's top crime lord—Carcharias, a Karkarodon whose influence ran through the criminal elements of the city, like blood in the veins.

Clad in ebony robes and a hood draped over his head, former Sith Lord, Maul, stood beneath the dripping awning of the pyramid's entrance, his yellow eyes glowing ominously in the darkness. By his side was his fierce Mandalorian commander, as well as his lover, Rook Kast. Adjusting her helmet visor to activate her infrared vision to clock the number of potential hostilities they would be dealing with.

"Commander," he purred ssothingly. "You need not worry. If Carcharias is smart, he will join the Collective and aid us in our fight against Sidious and his accursed Empire."

Turning to Nightbrother, Rook tilted her head inquisitively, though Maul could sense her skepticism. "You really think we can sway him to our side, my lord?" Her helmet's voice modular had been set for intimidation.

"Carcharias is ambitious," Maul replied, his voice low and menacing. "And ambition can be properly guided. This syndicate of his has grown fat off of arms dealing and manufacturing. And as you know, the army we have amassed from the neutral systems that were once led by the late Duchess Satine, are in need of weapons and arms. We will need the factories Carcharias has to produce these resources and arm our forces for the coming war."

"And if he refuses to side with us?"

Smirking, Maul replied darkly. "I'm sure one of his men would love the promotion," he then added. "The survivors will be motivated to fall in line, and if they don't, they will answer for their shortsightedness with their lives."

The doors to Carcharias' home opened, revealing two Karkarodon enforcers and the expensive hall of the living room of the crime lord's home, which pulsed with bioluminescent lights akin to deep-sea creatures. The air was thick with humidity, mingling with the rich scent of ocean water and hint of blood and gore. At the far end, upon a throne fashioned from driftwood and coral, sat Carcharias.

"He will see you, now."

One of the Karkarodon enforcers growled at Maul and Rook. As the two entered the domicile, the ex-Sith Lord eyed the crime lord feasting on what appeared to be the arm of a human. The Karkarodon was a magnificent but terrifying sight, his shark-like visage framed by sharp teeth and vibrant tattoos that depicted battles long since won. He exuded authority, flanked by a cadre of his enforcers—other Karkarodons clad in battle armor alongside a variety of species, each with tattoos marking their allegiance to the syndicate, known as the Maw.

"Visitors in my lair," Carcharias grinned, his razor-sharp teeth matted with blood and flesh as his eyes narrowed at Maul and Rook. "A Mandalorian female and… a Nightbrother from Dathomir." His deep voice echoing against the stone walls. "Tell me," he tossed his half-eaten food at their feet, causing a sickening splat to fill the air. "What brings you here this night?"

Maul stepped forward, projecting confidence. "Carcharias," he acknowledged with a bow of his head, "we come to you not as enemies but as potential allies. The Shadow Collective, as I am aware you have heard, had reemerged. And now, I seek to expand its influence, and you, with your syndicate, are in a prime position to lead a new wave of control and prosperity over this planet. Join us, and together we can carve out a territory where your power is unrivaled."

Carcharias leaned forward, measuring the weight of Maul's words, revealing teeth glistening in the ambient light. "And why would I, a ruler of my own realm, need the Shadow Collective? A gathering of the galaxy's most influential crime syndicates, truly," he acknowledged before scoffing. "But it seems your sights are set on personal vendettas and fighting hopelessly wars against stronger galactic powers." He, of course, was referring to the Shadow Collective's war with Darth Sidious, Count Dooku, and General Grievous towards the end of the Clone Wars, resulting in the Collective to disband. "My current operations are thriving; credits fill my coffers, I have alliances with this planet's crime bosses, and there are many I control, here and off world. Why would I jeopardize all that I have and gained siding with the likes of you?"

"Your syndicate may be thriving, perhaps," Maul retorted, "but it, as well as you, are short-sighted. The galactic tide is shifting. With the looming threat of the Empire growing interference in criminal matters, now is the time for alliances, not isolation. Especially when they would see the likes of "aliens" like us enslaved like animals." He spat with disgust.

Rook remained silent, observing. She was well aware that Maul was very persuasive, however, Carcharias was cunning—threatened by few, feared by many, and valued loyalty above all. The enforcers under the Karkarodon crime boss's employment had their weapons ready, causing Rook's hand to instinctively hover near her blaster pistols, ready for any sign of treachery.

"You have a point," Carcharias snarled at the mention of the Empire's xenophobia and oppressiveness towards non-human species of the galaxy. "Unfortunately," he smiled menacingly, "in our line of business, there's always a deal to be made." Rising from his throne, he pulled out a trigger and activated it. From the shadows, TK troopers emerged, their blasters raised and aimed at the duo.

Rook, drawing her blaster pistols, raised her weapons and cursed under her breath. Maul, however, sneered at Carcharias. "How very predictable," he then bore his teeth. "You are a fool to trust that the Empire will honor whatever deal you made with them."

"We'll see," he then turned to the shadows in a dark corner. "I expect the emperor will want him alive?"

"On the contrary," an ebony armored warrior said as their figure was illuminated by the lightning outside said. "This is Darth Maul."

In the year following the Empire's establishment, Maul had heard of former Jedi who turned to the dark side, as well as Sith Acolytes and Warriors accompanying the red armored Sith troopers. The warrior before him was an Inquisitor, and despite what the underlings of his old master's Empire thought of them, Maul did not find them impressive.

"Formally Darth, now just Maul," he corrected the Inquisitor before finally drawing his double-bladed lightsaber, bathing the room in crimson. "The Empire has no foothold on this planet. If you are here, then you and this pathetic lot you call troopers are scouts." Narrowing his eyes, Maul bore his teeth. "And given the chance, you would report my location to Sidious. That will not be permitted." Extending his left hand, Maul used the Force to trigger the TK troopers thermal detonators, and as they frantically tried to hurl them away, they detonated permanently, engulfing the room in a massive explosion that shook the very ground.

As thick clouds of dust and smoke obscured the vision of both criminals and TK troopers alike, the sounds of Mandalorian blaster pistols firing and dying cries filled the air, coupled with the menacing hum of a lightsaber and blood-curdling screams. The Inquisitor ignited their lightsaber as they then activated the spinning feature of their weapon, turning the weapon into a whirling blur of death like an active saw blade.

"There they are! Fire—AGHHH!"

"Where is he? Wh-GAHHH!!"

"Mother of Moons! Ru-UGHHH!!!"

Before the Inquisitor could even react, a pair of electrical bolas flew out from the smoke, wrapping themselves tightly around their upper body and legs, sending fatal jolts of crimson electricity. Their screams filled the air while their vision went black, only for the last thing they would ever see would be Maul, emerging from the smoke like a specter of death and roaring as he swung his lightsaber at their head, decapitating them. As the severed head of the Inquisitor rolled and struck Carcharias' feet, he held out his hands.

"Lord, Maul," he said, his voice full of fear and despair. "Let's be reasonable—URGHHH!" The crime lord's windpipe was suddenly sealed shut as he was then lifted off of the ground and being strangled to death by way of the Force.

"That opportunity has long passed," Maul snarled as he clenched his fingers tightly, savoring the Karkarodon's suffering. "You would have been influential and richer beyond your wildest dreams, had you pledged fealty to me and my coalition." The enforcers and foot soldiers on the crime lord's payroll who had survived, were suddenly all held at gunpoint as a Mandalorian Kom'rk transport hovered overhead, deploying more of Maul's Mandalorian soldiers, led by Gar Saxon.

"Instead, you believed the Empire's lies and chose to serve me up to them on a chromium platter," Maul said as he approached Carcharias, his metal feet thudding loudly with each step. "Your men, wealth, and resources are all mine now. And with their addition to my own will help propel the Shadow Collective's operations at an expectational rate." Raising his lightsaber, Maul severed the Karkarodon's head, and fell to the floor with a sickening splat. Discarding the crime lord's headless body as though it were trash, Maul turned to his Mandalorian leaders.

"Kill anyone still loyal to that fool," gesturing to the decapitated Carcharias, Maul continued. "And seize anything of value here: wealth, weapons, drug caches, and information on the other crime syndicates established on this planet. We will need it if we wish for our operations to grow."

"Yes, Lord Maul."

Both Saxon and Kast said before taking their Mandalorians and securing the facility. Meanwhile, Maul approached the corpse of the Inquisitor he had killed and summoned their lightsaber to his outstretched hand and examined the weapon. He had an inkling that his old master would send more of these Inquisitors and more forces of the Empire to Neonara, since this scouting party had failed to report their findings.

Maul almost desired this challenge. He would strengthen his criminal empire to heights unimaginable and strike the Empire's weak links: trade routes, ship yards, academies that produced both the Empire's troopers and pilots, and the Imperial treasury. He would bleed Sidious day after day, before summoning the full wrath of his faction down upon him and his accursed Empire.