Leaving Zannah behind on Ruusan to complete her initiation trial, Darth Bane navigated
the Valcyn to Dxun, the jungle moon of Onderon while haunted by images of a vengeful Lord
Qordis, eventually causing him to lash out in anger, damaging the ship which crash landing.
Slaying the dangerous wildlife in his way, Bane saw the image of Lord Kaan, who actually
helped him find the Holocron of Sith Lord Freedon Nadd, discovering the location of
his tomb in the writings of Qordis.
While taking the Holocron from an inner chamber, a swarm of dangerous black orbalisk beetles
dropped from the ceiling, with 2 attaching themselves to Bane before he could escape
the room.
Suffering terrible pain on his chest and back, Bane studied the Holocron which explained
the Orbalisks were special dark side creatures that attached themselves to a host and fed
off their force energy, growing and multiplying over time to eventually cover the entire body.
If ever removed they released a lethal poison capable of killing the host.
Yet Bane viewed them as both gift and curse, as the beetles had nearly impenetrable shells,
creating body armor capable of withstanding lightsaber attacks, while also increasing
his healing ability and raw energy output, allowing him to fight in an enhanced battle
rage.
Deciding he would willingly suffer the pain and embrace the Orbalisks, he learned to craft
special gloves and a mask to protect his hands and face from the ever growing armor.
Ready to depart, Bane tamed a Flying Drexyl Beast and flew it high into the sky while
Dxun orbitted near Onderon, placing a force bubble over them as they left the moon’s
atmosphere, moving through space to enter the nearby planet, descending onto its surface.
Meanwhile, Darth Zannah, the 10 year old apprentice of Darth Bane was left to find her way to
Onderon within the next 2 weeks.
Embracing her role as a Sith, the young but exceptionally talented, intelligent and courageous
girl allowed herself to be taken in by Republic aid workers, who fed her and took her off
planet in a small ship with only a 4 passengers.
Repaying their kindness with betrayal, Zannah killed everyone on board, ensuring the pilot
set the auto navigation controls to Onderon before ending her life.
Landing in the jungle, Zannah was attacked by Beast Riders, but did not fear harm, as
she sensed her master fast approaching.
Descending upon them from the sky, Darth Bane massacred the entire group of beast riders,
and in doing so suffered terrible wounds which quickly healed because of the Orbalisks.
Amazed by his prowess and ecstatic to see him, Zannah sought embrace her master when
she saw the Orbalisk growing on his chest, touching it to realize they were alive.
Speaking to her like a proud father, Bane explained about the Orbalisks, and listened
to story about escaping Ruusan, expressing pride over her accomplishments.
Zannah and Bane then acquired a ship and travelled to Ambria, where they built a makeshift camp
to serve as their headquarters for the next 10 years.
Over this decade, Bane trained Zannah, encouraging her specialization in Sith Sorcery, and built
upon the already substantial wealth they stole from Lord Qordis, using those funds to secretly
assembled a vast intelligence network granting them influence across the galaxy.
Unable to be seen in public because of his Orbalisk armor, Bane sent Zannah to stir up
conflict and chaos throughout the Republic by supporting lost cause rebellions and revolutions,
thereby keeping the Jedi and central government weak, divided and distracted.
In addition to her great powers, Zannah grew into a beautiful young woman, using her looks
to gain advantages wherever possible.
In 990 BBY, she underwent a mission to Serenno, where she seduced the aristocratic Twi’lik
warrior Kelad’den of the Anti Republic Liberation Front, led by the mysterious wealthy nobleman
Hetton.
Convincing Kel to implament a doomed plan to kidnap the former Chancellor Tarsus Valorum,
Zannah felt a slight bit of regret sending her lover on a suicide mission, as she started
to develop feelings for him, but Zannah was committed to the Sith way, and quickly moved
on with her life.
Remaining on the planet awhile longer, she soon met the nobleman Hetton, and was shocked
to learn he was a Sith acolyte with eight Umbaran Shadow Assassins at his command.
An older man, Hetton was never properly trained in the force, or dark side, but through his
wealth and connections was able to collect a vast store of Sith artifacts, learning as
much as possible from these sources of ancient knowledge.
Realizing that Zannah was a true Sith Lord, on an entirely different level of power, Hetton
knelt before her, offering himself as apprentice.
Formulating a plan, she brought Hetton and his Umbarans to Ambria, under the pretext
of assassinating her master to take over the Order.
When Bane realized what was happening, he raged at the apparent betrayal, destroying
all 8 assassins and Hetton with ease, before turning his wrath on Zannah.
Nearly killing her, the apprentice barely managed to explain that she extracted useful
information from Hetton and brought him to Ambria because only Bane was powerful enough
to kill him and his assassins.
When he angrily suggested he might have been killed, Zannah simply replied that would mean
he was unworthy of being her master.
An answer he happily accepted, sparing her life, and continuing her training.
Revealing the location of the Dark Lord Belia Darzu’s fortress, Zannah told Bane this
was where he might find instructions for crafting a holocron, a project he was eager to complete
as leaving a record of his knowledge was essential to properly train future generations of Sith.
Locating Darzu’s fortress on Tython in the deep core, Bane battled his way through an
army of technobeasts to find and claim her holocron.
Zannah meanwhile was sent on a separate mission to Coruscant, posing as the Jedi Padawan Nalia
Adollu, to infiltrate the Temple Archives, searching for information on Orbalisk removal,
as Bane was starting to feel they might be hindering his longterm growth as a force user.
This idea, though not without validity, was also secretly implanted in his mind by Zannah
over the years, as she was eager for him to remove the armor, which made eventually defeating
him in combat, a near impossibility.
Yet to her surprise, while searching though the archives, she ran into her cousin Darovit
who as fate would have it, was there to testify before the Council that the Sith Order was
endured.
Taking her cousin, she immediately left the planet only for her departure to be noticed,
with Jedi sent in pursuit.
Arriving on Tython, Zannah informed Bane about Darovit and their Jedi pursuers, leaving them
to drop all other considerations for the moment and prepare for battle.
Facing off against five Jedi, the 2 Sith Sith proved superior combatants, with Zannah killing
Raskta Lsu and Sarro Xaj, while Bane killed Valenthyne Farfalla and gravely injured Worror
Dowmat.
Yet as Bane prepared Force lightening to eliminate their final opponent Johun Othone, former
apprentice of General Hoth, Master Dowmat, who was still alive wrapped Bane in a force
shield, trapping and reflecting his lightening back upon himself before collapsing nearly
dead.
If this were not bad enough, the lightening also killed many of the Orbalisks causing
them to release their poison into his system.
Killing the remaining Jedi, Zannah brought Bane to find the old healer Caleb on Ambria,
who once saved his life years earlier.
But when they arrived he refused to help, having sent his daughter away so no one could
ever blackmail him again.
Unsure what to do next, Zannah feigned defeat, offering to hand herself and Bane over to
the Jedi, in exchange for healing her master and removing the Orbalisks.
Agreeing to her conditions, Bane awoke sometime later and was horrified to learn Zannah contacted
the Jedi.
Believing she betrayed the Sith, Bane’s disappointment turned to pride upon learning
his apprentice had a plan to ensure their escape.
When the Jedi arrived, they found the Healer Caleb brutally murdered, cut into a number
of small pieces before they were attacked by Darovit wielding a lightsaber, as he was
driven mad by the Sith Sorcery of his cousin.
The Jedi, believing Darovit was the Sith Master they were sent to locate, cut the man down,
confident they at last defeated the Sith Order.
Yet Zannah and her recovering Master, were hiding under the healer’s home, and when
the Jedi left Ambria, Bane expressed his admiration, declaring Zannah a worthy apprentice and
heir to his legacy.