In 20 BBY, the underworld conglomerate known as the Shadow Collective, under the command of the disgraced Sith Lord, Darth Maul, attacked Jabba's Palace on Tatooine in order to force Jabba the Hutt, a prominent member of the Hutt Grand Council, into cooperation with the Shadow Collective.

A junction between the criminal organizations of Black Sun, Death Watch, and the spice mining Pykes, the bulk of the attack was conducted by Mandalorian super commandos of the Death Watch, who attacked the perimeter of the Palace, paving the path for Darth Maul, Savage Opress, and Death Watch leader Pre Vizsla into Jabba's inner sanctum. After a very brief and violent struggle proving the Shadow Collective to be the more formidable, Jabba agreed to surrender his criminal empire, channeling his resources to the organization's cause for an imminent takeover of the Mandalorian capital city, Sundari.

Prelude[]

Following a major defeat on the planet Florrum at the hands of the Jedi Obi-Wan Kenobi and a ragtag band of pirates under the command of Hondo Ohnaka, the Nightbrothers Darth Maul and Savage Opress were left for dead, only to be discovered in a wayward escape pod by Pre Vizsla and his band of Mandalorian warriors known as the Death Watch. Maul promised Vizsla a conquest over the planet Mandalore, home of the New Mandalorian^[5] government of pacifists which the Death Watch refused to recognize.^[6] In an effort to gain resources for his growing "Shadow Collective," Maul led a takeover of the Black Sun criminal syndicate, ordering the execution of its top members and bringing the remainders under his own influence. Soon gaining the support of the Pykes, known for their spice mining, Maul decided to lead an attack on the planet Nal Hutta to bring the Hutt Grand Council, the governing body of the Hutt species and their criminal activities, under his control. Maul's appeal to Jabba the Hutt, who was present via hologram, ended in failure, and the Hutt council retreated as a group of bounty hunters that included Sugi, Embo, and Dengar, along with many Nikto guards, kept Maul, Opress, and the Mandalorian warriors at bay. In the aftermath of the skirmish, only Oruba the Hutt remained on site, the bounty hunters had escaped, and all the Nikto guards were killed. Oruba promptly revealed the location of Jabba's Palace on the remote world Tatooine. Oruba was then executed by Opress.^[1]

The mission[]

Maul had Vizsla mobilize his soldiers and traveled to Jabba's fortress on Tatooine with his brother in tow. The small attack force was comprised of three Kom'rk-class starfighters loaded with squads of Death Watch foot soldiers, a lone Gozanti Cruiser, and two Sarisa-class gunships. Completely taking Jabba and his men off guard, the Kom'rk starfighters laid suppressing fire on the palace, killing many outside, including two Gamorrean guards engaged in a leisurely game of arm wrestling. Death Watch foot soldiers were dispensed from the starfighters' underbellies, using their jetpacks to fly to the palace and engage the inhabitants in close quartered combat; flamethrowers and wrist-mounted blasters found heavy use in the skirmish with members of various species, including Gotal, Nikto, and Quarren thugs. Maul, Opress and Vizsla cut through the entry and made their way into Jabba's main audience chamber, with Bo-Katan and a few others close behind. When they met with the crime lord, Vizsla and Maul gave the Hutt one last chance to ally with them. Jabba merely laughed and spoke Huttese, and his translator droid stated that Jabba and the Hutt families would join them.^[1]

Aftermath[]

The Death Watch assisted with the cleanup of the palace, helping up Jabba's men, or at least, the ones who survived the skrimish. Maul and Vizsla finalized their plans for the conquest the New Mandalorian capital city on Mandalore, Sundari. Maul stated that their army was complete and that they had enough resources, and he requested that Vizsla send a guard to Mandalore to find the places with the most security in Sundari. Vizsla then left Maul, and spoke with his lieutenant, Bo-Katan Kryze. He stated that once Mandalore was in their grasp, the two brothers would lie dead with the Duchess of Mandalore, Satine Kryze,^[1] Bo-Katan's sister.^[7] The Hutt families then gave them some of Hutt enforcers made of red-skinned Niktos which would later prove useful in the takeover of Mandalore and subsequent battle of Sundari.^[8]

Behind the scenes[]

The attack on Jabba's Palace first appeared in the young reader novel The Clone Wars: Darth Maul: Shadow Conspiracy, which adapted the episode "Eminence" of The Clone Wars TV series. The idea for the attack originally came from franchise creator George Lucas himself.^[9]

Appearances[]

• The Clone Wars: Darth Maul: Shadow Conspiracy (First appearance)
• Star Wars: The Clone Wars — "Eminence"

Notes and references[]