Maul: Legacy of Shadows

Chapter 19: Failure

***Year 3,958 BBY***

Bao-Dur looked around the sand dunes covering the planet as he stepped off his shuttle.  Landing just outside the ancient Sith Academy on Korriban, the Sith home world, he could see the statues looming in the distance of ancient Sith Lords marking their tombs.  The planet had been dead since the academy fell into ruin after the Mandalorian Wars and the disappearance of Darth Revan into the Unknown Regions.  Most of the tombs had been pillaged by fortune-seekers, but that didn't matter to Bao-Dur.

The Dark Side of the Force was immense on the planet, and he could still feel secrets were buried beneath the rocks and sand that covered the world.  The Academy's power was still functioning, as it had fell into disarray not long ago.  But the planet was anything but forgiving, and it seemed as though centuries had passed.  Inside the academy, the former Jedi walked along its hallways, passing individual rooms, almost all empty and in shambles.  One room in particular caught his eye, as cages sat in a row, with torture implements scattered about on desks and tables.  In one of the cages sat a decayed body, still wearing a set of brown robes, most likely a Jedi being tortured for information during the War.  Bao-Dur had heard stories of Revan's assassins claiming rogue Jedi to turn to the Dark Side through torture.  Those fallen Jedi had been great assets in the Mandalorian War against the Neo-Crusaders and Sith, but those same fallen Jedi had become the very thing they fought against.

Laying on a table sat a larger than normal lightsaber, a light amount of dirt and sand covered parts of its metallic frame.  Bao-Dur noticed that both ends had a blade emitter, and that such weapons were rare, especially in the hands of Jedi.  Exar-Kun was rumored to have made the first double-bladed lightsaber, but that was decades before the Mandalorian Wars.  Bao-Dur picked up and shook the dirt and grime off the weapon before proceeding to activate both ends.  Two yellow blades sprang forth from the weapon.  In the center of the hilt, a crease ran around the weapon, along with a small switch that caught the Zabrak's eye.

Flicking it with his thumb, the single weapon had become two and separated at the seam.  It was a fascinating feature, allowing for a multitude of styles.  He appreciated craftsmanship and gadgets such as this, especially with his background in creating and manufacturing weapons and technology for the Republic.  After looking over both ends of the weapon, he deactivated them both and connected them once again into a single weapon.  It felt as though the Force truly did favor his new path, as his Form VI was originally designed around an ancient fighting style of Jar'Kai, which utilized two blades.  However, Bao-Dur never focused on anything more than a single blade and was taught to utilize the Force in combat as his second weapon instead.

Satisfied with his discovery, he began to scour the academy for more treasures.  His connection to the Force guided him between the corridors and rooms as his footsteps echoed along the stone hallways.  Eventually a large doorway blocked his path, and with a small bout of rage, he ripped the door from the wall and threw it to the side.  As he stepped into the large room, lights flickered on at his presence.  He was standing in a room with a large collection of orbital training droids, each no more than two feet in diameter.  A dead body lay in the corner, wearing what looked like an officer's uniform, but with a lightsaber on his hip.  Three cages were also positioned in the center of the room, with the corpses of canine-like animals, obviously starved to death from years of isolation.  Bao-Dur walked over to the shelves containing the training droids, and noticed only a few were still operational, but that should suffice.

Walking to a computer terminal, it flashed on its screen that units three, eight, and eleven were still functional, while others were listed as damaged or corrupted.  Shrugging to himself, Bao-Dur activated the three droids, which took a moment to power up and float into the center of the room.  The computer then asked to proceed with training mode, and with a simple stroke of a key, the now fallen Jedi pressed accept.  He heard the droids whistle and beep as their weapon systems came online, before he stepped into the center of the room with them.  The training arena was small, no more than twenty feet by twenty feet, and covered in a light dusting of sand.  As he stepped forward, the droids immediately set upon him, and he activated his newly discovered weapon and detached it into two.