Duel in the Senate

The Duel in the Senate was a contest of strength between the Krevaaki]] Jedi Master]] Vodo-Siosk Baas, and his former apprentice Exar Kun, the Dark Lord of the Sith. It took place on Coruscant, during the Trial of Ulic Qel-Droma.

Prelude
Immediately after the capture of Sith Lord and Krath leader Ulic Qel-Droma, the Supreme Chancellor of the Galactic Republic was determined to have him tried for his war crimes against the galaxy. The only punishment proper in the Chancellor's mind for the traitor Qel-Droma was execution. But Qel-Droma was completely unrepentant. So the trial proceeded as planned, with Qel-Droma steady denouncing the Republic all the way. Suddenly the trial was interrupted by the entrance of none other than Exar Kun, Dark Lord of the Sith. Kun also made a mockery of the Senate, while using his Sith magic to enthrall the entire assembly. He approached the podium and grabbed the back of the Chancellor's head, his Sith amulet resonating with the power of the dark side. After digging his fingers into the helpless Chancellor's skull and leaving him dead on the floor, Kun and a newly liberated Qel-Droma were en route for the exit. That plan was halted however when Kun was stopped and confronted by his former Master, Vodo-Siosk Baas. After a brief exchange, the student and the Master readied their weapons, and prepared for the battle of their lives.

Duel of Epic Proportions
Exar Kun first began by offering to spare to spare his former Master's life if only the Krevaaki Jedi would join the ranks of the Sith. When Master Vodo rebuked Kun, the duel was on. Exar Kun battled with his blue blade while Vodo dueled with his Force-imbued staff, all while the Senate Assembly was still enthralled by Exar Kun's spell. Master Vodo was holding his own against the Dark Lord with relative ease, dismissing his taunts each time Kun spewed one forth. The Master and former student remained evenly matched, and though Vodo-Siosk Baas could not defeat Exar Kun, neither could he convince him to renounce the dark side and end his campaign of galactic destruction. Irritated by the Jedi Master's futile begging, Exar Kun decided to make the contest more interesting. To everyone's surprise, he twisted his lightsaber hilt, and revealed from it's opposite end an identical blue blade: he now dueled with a double-bladed lightsaber. Master Vodo was unprepared for this unique weapon, and Exar Kun took full advantage and pleasure rainng down blows upon him. Vodo's defenses could no longer withstand the assault; knew the duel was already lost to him. With prophetic conviction he told Exar Kun that he would some day defeat him, maybe not now, but one day and forever. Exar Kun was not hearing it. He bade his former Master farewell in true arrogance, and crashed one final blow down on him. There on the Senate floor, the great Jedi Master Vodo-Siosk Baas became one with the Force. Only his Jedi robes remained.

Aftermath
The Dark Lord of the Sith Exar Kun and his second in command Ulic Qel-Droma, strode triumphantly from the Senate Chamber, Massassi warriors in tow. They would leave Coruscant and reunite with Aleema Keto and Mandalore the Indomitable, and continue to strangle the galaxy with the final ropes of the Great Sith War.

Behind the Scenes
Nearly three thousand years later, a similar duel of epic proportions that held the fate of the galaxy in it's outcome took place in the Senate Chamber. During the Great Jedi Purge, Grand Master Yoda dueled Dark Lord of the Sith Darth Sidious in the Grand Convocation Chamber. Unlike Exar Kun and Vodo-Siosk Baas' duel, this duel ended in a draw, with the galaxy falling under Sith dominance as a result.

Master Vodo's prophecy to Exar Kun would indeed come to pass, many thousands of years in the future. At the new Jedi Praxeum, Kun's disembodied spirit began to harass Luke Skywalker's Jedi trainees while they trained in his ancient Massassi Temples on Yavin IV. When the students banded together to confront Kun, the spirit of ancient Master Vodo-Siosk Baas appeared, and helped the trainees vaquish Kun's spirit forever.

Appearances

 * Tales of the Jedi: The Sith War 3: The Trial of Ulic Qel-Droma