Duel on Ambria

The Duel on Ambria was an attempt by Hetton to defeat the Dark Lord Bane and assume his place as the apprentice of Darth Zannah. Zannah, on the other hand, was testing her Master's abilities and removing the witnesses to her exposure as a Sith.

Prelude
While on Serenno, carrying out her mission to instigate rebellions against the Old Republic, Darth Zannah encountered a Sith follower known as Hetton. Over the course of thirty years, Hetton had accumilated a vast array of Sith information and artefacts, as well as drafting eight Sith Assassins into his service. He pledged all his resources to Zannah in return for his apprenticeship under her. Zannah agreed, subject to the defeat of her own Master, Darth Bane. The party then flew to Ambria aboard Hetton's ship the Loranda, Where Hetton and his assassins instigated the duel against Bane.

Enguagement
Highly trained in concealment, the Sith assassins surrounded Bane, who was completely oblivious to their presence. However, the orbalisk armour Bane posessed began to react to the Dark Side energies produced by the Assasins surrounding him. Igniting his lightsaber, his enemies were revealed to him, robbing them of surprise.

The loss of their advantage caught the assassins off-guard, but Bane did not hesitate, instantly leaping forward and committing Sai tok on his first foe, bisecting him completely. The Assassins attacked with their Force pikes, but Bane forwent blocking the attacks, being protected by the orbalisks that covered his body.

Bane's neglect to blocking and pure offensive style was an unexpected tactic for the assailants, and two more were decapitated (Sai cha) when they failed to react. The remaining Sith attacked simultaneously, electricuting Bane with several thousand volts through their pikes. Even Bane's natural armour could not protect him and he was forced to his knees. But instead of pressing the advantage, his foes stood ground, believing their quarry defeated.

With this brief respite, Bane was able to recover and saw his apprentice, Zannah, standing side by side with an old man, robed in black, wielding a green lightsaber. Simultaneously, Hetton charged from the front, while the assassins ran in from behind. The Sith Lord thrust out with the Dark Side towards the red-clad fighters, stopping two in their tracks, and a second couple were hurled backward. Bane rapidly cut down the remaining attacker.

While Bane was distracted, Hetton unleased a single bolt of Force lightning at his enemy. The Sith absorbed the bolt with his lightsaber before unleashing his own barrage of a dozen lightning bolts, that Hetton had to Force Jump to avoid.

The Assassins were upon Bane once more. But rather than repel them again with Dark Side energies, Bane embraced the Dark Side completely, becoming a whirlwind of fury that decimated his enemies, killing all the remaining warriors.

Finally, Bane turned on Hetton. With little lightsaber experience, the Sith paractitioner was no match for a fully trained Sith Master. Bane removed Hetton's weapon arm (Cho sun/Cho mai) before stabbing him throught the chesk, utilizing the move known as Shiak.

Aftermath
Outraged at the apparent betrayel of his apprentice and completely absorbed in the Dark Side, Bane attacked his apprentice with his lightsaber. It required all of Zannah's traning in Soresu to defend his onslaught, all the while pleading her innocence and the discovery of a horde of Sith information. When Znnah eventually managaed to convice Bane of her loyalty, she revealled the information Bane longed for - the location of the Fortress of Belia Darzu, wherein resided her holocron and the secrets of holocron construction.

Throughout the duel, Zannah was watching, analysing, preparing. In knowing that she would one day challange her Master for the title 'Dark Lord of the Sith', the young apprentice was learning her master's moves and style against his enemies. This gave her a useful insight, while at the same time irradicating any witnesses of the exposure of the remaining Sith.

Appearances

 * Darth Bane: Rule of Two