Duel on Ambria A duel occurred in the year 990 BBY , between the Sith - aspirant Hetton , his eight servants , and Darth Bane , Dark Lord of the Sith . Instigated by Bane ' s own apprentice Darth Zannah , the duel ensued after Hetton , who had been tricked by Zannah into giving her information regarding the creation of Holocrons , arrived at Bane ' s camp on the planet Ambria — having been led there by Zannah . While meditating at his camp , Bane was surprised by the sudden appearance of Hetton ' s eight Umbaran - trained Shadow Assassins , each armed with their customary Force pikes . Though outnumbered , Bane immediately readied for battle as all eight assassins attacked , attempting to overwhelm him with the strength of their numbers . After cutting down three of them , Bane was interrupted by Hetton , who had Darth Zannah at his side . Hetton then charged Bane , with his five remaining assassins doing the same . However , all were subsequently killed by the superior might and skill of Darth Bane . Hetton was last to meet his demise , and upon ending his life , Bane attacked Zannah . Before the Dark Lord could kill her for her seeming betrayal , Zannah revealed the truth ; she had been using Hetton all along , and from him she had discovered information on creating Holocrons , a secret which had eluded Bane until that moment . History . Prelude . While on the planet Serenno carrying out her mission to instigate rebellions against the Galactic Republic , Darth Zannah , the first apprentice of the fledgling Sith Order formed in the wake of the New Sith Wars , encountered a Sith aspirant known as Hetton , a Serenno nobleman . Over the course of thirty years , the Serenno aristocrat had accumulated a vast collection of Sith artifacts , and had also become well versed in Sith lore . He even employed eight Umbaran Shadow Assassins from the Sith academy on that world , each equipped with the signature Force pikes of their order . Upon their first meeting , Hetton recognized Zannah as a Sith , and appealed to her ; he would pledge all of his resources to her if she in turn accepted him as her apprentice . Zannah agreed , knowing that in truth she would only use Hetton for his knowledge , which potentially included finding information on the creation of Holocrons . Her only obstacle was her own Master , Darth Bane , whom she knew would never allow such a diversion from his explicitly defined Rule of Two , which stated that there could be no more than two Sith at a time — a Master and an apprentice . Hetton , however , was convinced that Bane could be defeated . She thus agreed to Hetton ' s terms while keeping her predetermined betrayal of him secret , and the pair , along with the eight assassins , departed for Ambria on board Hetton ' s ship , the " Loranda " , intent on relieving the Dark Lord of his mantle . The duel . The Shadow Assassins . Meanwhile , Darth Bane sat pondering his own recent failure at constructing a Holocron at his camp on Ambria , when the parasitic orbalisk armor he was covered in reacted to an unknown and unseen dark side presence in the immediate vicinity . Bane realized that his senses were all muted — he could neither see nor hear anything around him , or sense anything through the Force . Leaping to his feet , Bane activated his curved hilt lightsaber , the ambiance of which revealed eight individuals , previously concealed from his sight , that Bane immediately recognized as Umbaran Shadow Assassins . The loss of stealth slightly disoriented the assassins , causing them to hesitate , while Bane did not . He leapt forward and bisected the first of the assailants , causing the rest of them to swarm him with their Force pikes . Foregoing any sort of defense , Bane ' s predominantly offensive fighting style was an unexpected tactic for the assassins , and two more were swiftly eviscerated by his lightsaber . The remaining Umbarans fell upon him with reckless abandon , simultaneously electrocuting Bane with several thousand volts through their pikes . Bane ' s orbalisks could not withstand such an assault , and he was thus forced to his knees in agony . Instead of pressing the advantage , his stunned foes stood in disbelief that their quarry was neither dead nor defeated , having survived the full brunt of their attack . This brief respite was ample recovery time for Bane , whose anger began to rise as he noticed Zannah standing nearby , flanked by a black - robed old man , who was wielding a green - bladed lightsaber . Hetton ' s demise . Issuing his challenge , Hetton charged the Dark Lord head - on , while the assassins attacked from behind . Bane met their advance by thrusting out with the dark side towards the Umbarans with such force , it halted two of them in their tracks as though they had suddenly hit a wall , and hurled another two backwards . The fifth and final assassin fell to Bane ' s lightsaber . While he was distracted , Hetton conjured a single bolt of Force lightning at Bane , which was absorbed by the Dark Lord ' s blade . In turn , Bane unleashed his own barrage of lightning , the wrath of which Hetton barely managed to elude . The remaining four assassins then returned to the fray and assailed Bane once more . In response , he completely embraced the dark side and decimated his enemies , killing all the assassins in a final attack . Bane next faced Hetton , and removed his weapon arm before running his own blade through the old man ' s chest . Aftermath . Outraged at the apparent betrayal of his apprentice , Bane attacked Zannah with a ferocity that she had never before seen in him . She attempted to defend herself from his onslaught , all the while pleading her innocence and the discovery of a hoard of Sith information . The Dark Lord sought penance from her , and had beaten her to nigh - oblivion when Zannah finally revealed that she had used Hetton , and acquired from him information on creating Holocrons . Bane ceased his assault upon hearing this , as Zannah presented him with the datacard Hetton gave her as evidence . Finally reassured of Zannah ' s loyalty , Bane regarded his apprentice ' s cunning as he considered the implications of the data she presented . When asked what she would have thought had Hetton and his ilk been successful in defeating him , Zannah replied that he would have rightfully earned his death , being unworthy to bear the mantle of Dark Lord of the Sith . Bane nodded in approval , content that through Zannah ' s action , his Sith Order had remained completely anonymous , and he would be one step closer in creating his own Holocron . Behind the scenes . The duel on Ambria was written and conceived by author Drew Karpyshyn for the 2007 novel " " . Karpyshyn uses this event to eliminate the character Hetton , thus ensuring the anonymity of the Sith .