Bane of the Sith



Bane of the Sith is a short story by Kevin J. Anderson originally published in Star Wars Gamer #3, and since released on Star Wars Hyperspace. It concerns the events surrounding Darth Bane's life shortly after those depicted in Jedi vs. Sith and Darth Bane: Path of Destruction.

Synopsis
Sith Lord Darth Bane travels in hyperspace in his ship, the Valcyn. Bane is the lone survivor of the Battle of Ruusan, in which Lord Kaan's thought bomb destroyed the entire Brotherhood of Darkness and all of the Jedi Knights on the planet. Bane is accompanied in his journey by the unwelcome ghostly avatar of Lord Qordis, one of the Sith that perished in the battle.

Qordis chides Bane for abandoning the Sith, while Bane is concerned about carrying on the Sith legacy. As Bane approaches Dxun, the beast moon of Onderon, the spirit of Qordis shuts down all of the Valcyn's systems. The ship crashes, but Bane is able to survive through his use of the dark side.

As Bane sets out through the Dxun jungle, the spirit of Qordis causes the remains of the Valcyn to explode. Bane continues his way through the jungle, slaying a jungle creature and then encountering the spirit of Lord Kaan. Bane follows Lord Kaan until he reaches the pyramidal tomb of Freedon Nadd. Kaan leads Bane to a room inside the tomb that contains a Sith holocron full of all the Sith knowledge Bane will need.

As Bane enters the room, barnacle-like symbiotes called orbalisks fall from the ceiling and agonizingly afix themselves to Bane's body. Bane suppresses the pain and immerses himself in the knowledge found in the Sith holocron. Much later (probably days) Bane emerges from the tomb invigorated with dark side knowledge and power. He decides to revive the Sith, but using the rule of two Sith at a time. Bane bends a flying beast to his will and mounts it, intending to travel to Onderon in search of an apprentice.

Behind the scenes
Bane of the Sith has inconsistencies with the Jedi vs. Sith comic and Darth Bane: Path of Destruction book, such as Bane telling Kaan not to use the thought bomb, the timing of Bane's search for an apprentice and the timing of when Bane adopts the rule of two.

The short story is retold as part of Darth Bane: Rule of Two.