4-08 Review part I

For this month’s review we are going in order. Darth Bane: The Rule of Two continues the story of Bane and his new apprentice Zannah.

After the events on Ruusan Darovit, Zannah’s guardian is searching the battlefield for her body. The children were under his care, until General Hoth came. He needed troops for his Army of Light. Zannah then called Rain, and her brother Bug was taken to serve the Jedi. Their ships never made the atmosphere of Ruusan. He encounters a man collecting the dead, and he says ‘ They are all gone. All the Sith. All the Jedi. Gone.’ Darovit finds the cave where the thought bomb exploded. He can feel a cool wind, and evil. The orb that was used to make the bomb is hovering in the center of the room, emitting a pale radiance. He reaches out to touch the orb and hears the screaming of all the souls trapped from the thought bomb. He only touches it for a few seconds, but the effect is life changing.
Bane is seeking a test for his new apprentice. The two Jedi she killed in the battle had their heads twisted around backward. Bane can feel her power. He begins to walk faster, in hopes to stir her anger. He questions her about how she killed the Jedi, ‘It just… happened.’ She said. ‘Nothing just happens!’ is his reply.
“You feel sorry for those Jedi now,” Bane said, his voice casual. “You feel regret. Remorse. Maybe even pity.’ The easy tone fell away quickly as his voice began to rise in both volume and intensity. “But these are worthless emotions. They mean nothing. What you need to feel is anger!”
They begin to walk, and she attacks him from behind. Bane redirects the force, and Zannah is flattened.
“A Sith knows when to unleash the fury of the dark side,” he informed her, “and when to hold back. Patience can be a weapon if you know how to use it, and your anger can fuel the dark side if you learn how to control it.”
“Where are we going?” she asked
“The Sith camp,” he answered. “We need supplies for the journey.”
“Are the other Sith there?” she wondered. “The ones the Jedi were fighting?”
Bane realized he hadn’t yet told her what had happened to Kaan and the Brotherhood.
“There are no other Sith. There never will be, except for us. One Master and one apprentice; one to embody the power, the other to crave it.”
“What happened to the others?” she wanted to know.
“I killed them,” he replied
Zannah seemed to think about this for moment before shrugging indifferently. “Then they were weak,” she said with simple conviction. “And they deserved to die.”
Bane realized he had chosen his apprentice well.
Above the planet, on Vallenthyne Farfalla’s ship, Johun waits for Farfalla. The ship is packed shoulder to shoulder with Jedi and padawan. Johun wishes to return to the planet and search for his master, General Hoth. Farfalla says the effects of the thought bomb could kill him, but he Force persuades a pilot to take him back to the planet.
Bane and Zannah continue on. They encounter mercenaries raiding the Sith camp, and they are cut down by his power. While searching they find an ancient manuscript, it belongs to the legendary Sith Freedon Nadd. In the margins the Sith Master Qordis left a final message: Go to the temple on Dxun. While reading the manuscript, Bane sees the ghostly form of Kaan.
Meanwhile, Darovit has awoken on the stone floor of the cave. He wanders around lost in the caves til he hears two voices: Bane and Zannah’s. They have returned to the cave seeking more clues about Freedon Nadd. While exploring they come across Darovit, who happens to be looking for his sister Rain. Now known as Zannah. He confronts the pair, and tries to attack Bane. Before he can Zannah uses the Force to disintegrate his hand, from the wrist down. The pair leave Darovit to his own fate.
Johun has reached the planet’s surface. He instructs the pilot to land around a small contingent of refugees.
“Even if you are a Jedi, you can’t save us, “ a woman muttered with a slow shake of her head. “You can’t protect us from him.”
“Who?” Johun wanted to know. “Who are you talking about?”
“A Dark Lord of the Sith.” The woman replied
Johun calls down a shuttle to pick up the group, and intends to let Farfalla know of his discovery. A Sith still lives.
Bane and Zannah return to his ship the Valcyn. It is time for another test for his apprentice. He informs her that she has to find her own transport off planet. If she can’t get off this planet, then she doesn’t deserve to be Sith. He tells her to meet him at Onderon in ten days.
Johun, back in space orbiting Ruusan, tries to make Farfalla believe that the people actually did see a Sith Lord, but to no avail. Since the war is over, Farfalla takes Johun as his new apprentice. In honor of General Hoth.
Zannah has found transport into space, the same vessel that Johun used to return to the planet. The two pilots and their son are escaping the war, and hoping for a new start. Zannah kills them all with a blaster, “I am not a kid. I’m a Sith.”
Bane pushes the limits of the Valcyon on his trip to Dxun. He has acquired a new crew. The ghostly forms of Qordis and Kaan. They mock him for a good part of the journey. He loses his temper and uses a wave of force energy to drive them off. In doing so he ruins the control panel, and is in a free fall for the planet’s surface. Bane has no knowledge of the healing arts of the Jedi, and he is in no shape to travel. He uses a few stim packs and follows the ghostly form of Kaan to the tomb of Freedon Nadd.
When he enters the tomb, he sees that someone has already been there. But in a small alcove he can feel the energy radiating from behind a large black stone. He removes the stone with the Force, and uncovers a small circular room. On a pedestal inside is a Sith holocron. When he enters the room he hears loud clicking noises, and notices creatures on the ceiling. One attempts to attack him, but he swipes it away with his lightsaber, the blade has no effect on the creature. He realizes he has made a mistake. When he lunges for the holocron the creatures fall enmasse. He deflects several, but two attatch to him. As he falls to the ground he can hear Kaan and Qordis laughing.
On Coruscant, Johun and Farfalla are called in to meet with chancellor Tarsus Valorum. They are to discuss the disbanding of the Army of Light. Johun sees this as a horrible slight to his former master and is infuriated. Farfalla however sees the reasoning behind this. “The Jedi are sworn servants of the Republic. He continued. “We will fight to defend it in times of war, but when war is over we must be willing to set aside our weapons and become ambassadors of peace.”
The creatures will not release their hold on Bane. He has learned from the holocron they are called orbalisks. They do have an effect he was not suspecting. His skin is becoming as hard as their shells, and he can draw deeper on the Force. After days studying the holocron, he leaves the tomb. He doesn’t have a way to leave the planet, he looks to the sky and his problem is answered. A drexl is circling over head. These are the creatures that migrated over from the nearby planet of Onderon. With the use of the orbalisks he bends the creatures mind to his will. He drives ever upward, and eventually breaks through to the vacuum of space.
Meanwhile, Zannah has entered to orbit of Onderon. She has set the ship on auto pilot, and is making her way down to the planet. When she lands she is confronted by several of the famed ‘Beast riders of Onderon.’ They threaten Zannah, and tell her they are going to steal her ship. When she tries to escape she is tackled and held to the ground. They antagonize her, and intend to kill her when she retaliates against them. As the leader makes his threat a large shadow covers the ground. He is jerked up by huge talons, and sitting on the beast is Darth Bane. He circles the area, inviting the others to join him in the sky. His beast is under his full control, and three times larger than the others. He makes quick work of the riders.
The young girl felt a surge of pride well up inside her. “What happens now master?”
“Now your real training will begin.”

stay tuned for the next section!