[Short Stories] - [Gamer](6)

He stepped into the jungle clearing, away from the shadow of the ancient crypt. Bane thought of all he had learned and recalled the epic defeat of the Sith Lords at the Battle of Ruusan. No one had listened to him. The other Sith Brothers had fought among themselves rather than planning a strategic victory over their true foes. Bane realized the fundamental flaw in the old Brotherhood of Darkness. Now that he alone remained, now that he was the seed that would cause the new tree of evil to flourish, he decided that no longer would the Sith be composed of great armies attempting to overwhelm civilization through brute force. He had had enough of Lord Qordis’s chest-pounding bravado or Lord Kaan’s “rule by the strong.” Such overt militarism against the Jedi Knights had failed miserably at Ruusan.

From now on, the Sith would depend on secrecy, working behind the scenes to eat away at the foundation of the Republic’s government. With the Sith nearly extinct, weakened to the point of ineffectuality, Bane decided that the study of dark lore must go underground. He would hide and work in the shadows of society, using all he had learned from the holocron.

For now, he would also establish an unbreakable new rule to prevent the internecine feuds and civil wars that had stolen victory from the Sith grasp. There must be only two Sith at any one time: a master and apprentice. The two of them would learn the dark side intimately, and they would become brilliant puppeteers to manipulate the fools in the Republic.

But he was stranded here on Dxun. The giant planet Onderon rode high in the sky across the gulf of space, close yet impossibly far. The avatar of Lord Qordis had destroyed his ship, and now Bane was all alone, probably the only living human on the beast moon.

Standing in the clearing, collecting his thoughts, Bane heard a shriek in the sky. A gigantic winged form swooped down from the smear of dark clouds, spotting him with the razor eye of a raptor sighting in on fresh prey.

Bane instinctively grabbed his lightsaber, snugged the hooked handle against his wrist, and powered on the blade. The pterodactyl-like creature dove, its thin olive skin stretched taut along a bony framework, making its wings like jagged kites. The beast had a smashed-in face and a mouth full of protruding fangs. The black eyes were tiny and close-set, and the maw opened wide as its long, triangular wings flapped and maneuvered.

Bane slashed with his lightsaber, but the flying creature raked sideways with its dangling talons, huge arced scythes at the ends of its feet. The claws scored across Darth Bane’s chest, a move that would have torn any other victim to shreds. Though Bane was sent sprawling to the ground, the clustered orbalisks gave him enough strength and armor so that the flying monster caused him no harm.

Feeling invincible, Bane stood, brushing the shreds of his uniform away, feeling the hard plate of the orbalisks. He squared his shoulders and held his lightsaber as the beast circled in for the kill. At first, Bane considered slaying the monster, smashing it to a pulp with his newfound Sith powers - - but instead, he summoned his skills and stopped the beast in the air, driving it to the ground.

It flapped its wings, extending hooked claws, grasping and thrashing with its taloned feet. But Bane dominated the monster, forcing it to the still-damp ground. He continued to exert dark side pressure, and finally, with a grunt and an explosion of foul-smelling breath, the flying beast submitted. It bent its knobby knees and bowed its long neck down in front of Freedon Nadd’s tomb.

Bane studied the creature for a moment. Then, like the fabled ancient beast-riders of Onderon, he climbed onto the flying monster’s back, ready to ride off. This was a good omen, a sign for his future, and Darth Bane smiled.

He yanked at the flying beast’s neck, and it flapped its leathery wings, raising him into the heavy air. It spat and thrashed, but finally relented to the presence of the Sith Lord on its back. Bane rode his new mount.

Now that he understood the depths of Sith powers, he thought he might even have control over worlds and moons, able to play with orbits and gravity like a child might play with colored balls.

Long ago, Dxun had grazed the planet Onderon, close enough that it was possible for creatures to pass across the conjoined atmosphere. Perhaps Bane could nudge the beast moon close enough so that he could travel to the nearby planet that filled the sky. In bloodshed and chaos, Darth Bane would go to Onderon… and there he would find his apprentice.