Duel in the Senate In the year 3996 BBY during the Great Sith War , a duel took place in the Senate Hall of the Galactic Republic , between the Krevaaki Jedi Master Vodo - Siosk Baas and his former apprentice Exar Kun , now Dark Lord of the Sith . It commenced on Coruscant , in the Hall ' s Grand Convocation Chamber , during the trial of Kun ' s apprentice and fellow Sith Lord , Ulic Qel - Droma . Accompanied by Mandalore the Indomitable , Exar Kun arrived on Coruscant and stormed the Senate Hall , where he found Ulic Qel - Droma on trial for crimes against the Republic . Using Sith magic , the Dark Lord mentally froze the Galactic Senate assembly , leaving only the present Jedi and the Supreme Chancellor uninhibited . After freeing Qel - Droma , he then accosted and killed the Chancellor and prepared to exit ; however , the Sith were halted by the arrival of Kun ' s former teacher — Jedi Master Vodo - Siosk Baas . Kun and Master Baas engaged in a heated verbal exchange , with neither willing to accept the other ' s terms . Kun then ignited his lightsaber while issuing his challenge , and his blade met Baas ' Force - imbued staff in battle . When it was realized that the opponents were evenly matched in combat , Kun sought to tip the balance in his favor by revealing his latest creation , a weapon of ancient Sith design : the double - bladed lightsaber . Baas ' own mettle now faltering under the strength of Kun ' s blows , the Master sensed his impending demise as he prophesied a future meeting between the two of them , where Baas vowed to defeat Kun forever . He then became one with the Force under the power of Kun ' s killing stroke , being mocked by his former apprentice even unto death . His part in the bloody Jedi pogrom complete , the Dark Lord of the Sith departed the Convocation Chamber with Ulic Qel - Droma and Mandalore the Indomitable , resuming their quest for dominion over the galaxy . Prelude . The pogrom begins . The galaxy - wide Great Sith War was a tumultuous ordeal for both the members of the Jedi Order and the Galactic Republic . In the span of just a year and several months , the Brotherhood of the Sith , led by Dark Lord Exar Kun , had steadily confounded both the Jedi and the Republic with defeats in battle . Kun next sought to eliminate the Jedi leadership , and charged his newly - initiated Sith converts with the task of murdering their Masters , a plot that was intended to culminate with the death of Kun ' s own Master , Vodo - Siosk Baas . The new Sith then departed Kun ' s stronghold on the jungle - moon of Yavin IV , just as the starship of Mandalore the Indomitable touched down , with the Mandalore rushing out to speak with the Dark Lord . He explained that the premature attack on the galactic capital of Coruscant by Kun ' s fellow Sith Lord and Krath leader Ulic Qel - Droma , had gone awry . During the battle , Qel - Droma had been imprisoned in a wall of light - side energy by the Jedi , and taken into custody by the Supreme Chancellor of the Galactic Republic . Determined to have the fallen Jedi tried for his war crimes against the galaxy , the only punishment proper in the Chancellor ' s mind for Qel - Droma was execution . Mandalore was determined to rescue the Krath warlord , and he sought Exar Kun ' s assistance to do it . However , the Dark Lord had previously warned Qel - Droma against a preemptive strike upon the galactic capital , and getting himself apprehended only validated Kun ' s prior notion . Nonetheless , he agreed to assist Mandalore , as Qel - Droma was still a vital factor in their cause . They boarded Kun ' s vessel , " Starstorm One " , and set out to rescue their beleaguered comrade from the clutches of the Galactic Republic . The trial of Qel - Droma . A cadre of Sith Massassi warriors accompanied Exar Kun and Mandalore the Indomitable as they burst through the doors of the Galactic Senate Hall . In the center of the Convocation Chamber was Ulic Qel - Droma , shackled and being judged by the entire Senate assembly , including the Supreme Chancellor of the Republic . Also present were Ulic ' s former allies : Jedi Knights Nomi Sunrider , Sylvar , and his brother , Cay Qel - Droma . In the presence of the appalled Senate , the Dark Lord freed Qel - Droma of his shackles through the Force , and in another gesture , used his Sith powers to mentally render the entire audience paralyzed , save the present Jedi and the Chancellor . Exar Kun then ascended the podium in the center of the Chamber , but was attacked by the bewildered Chancellor , whose futile attempt to defend himself caused Kun to bore his fingers into the Chancellor ' s cranium and hold him aloft , while mentally forcing him to repeat Kun ' s words as though he were a puppet . The Chancellor mimicked Kun ' s speech as he laid out his plans for restoring the fabled Sith Empire , even as he denounced the Republic and professed its obsolescence in his grand design . Kun then dropped the dead Chancellor in a pool of his own blood before a captivated audience , and collected the exonerated Qel - Droma , Mandalore , and his Massassi , with intentions of leaving . It was then that the Sith were yet again waylaid by the arrival of Kun ' s former teacher , Vodo - Siosk Baas . The Cathar Jedi Sylvar sought to battle Exar Kun in his stead , but Master Baas stopped her , and regarded his former student as his personal responsibility . Baas then demanded that Exar Kun cease his dark side practices , but Kun refused , and instead tempted Master Baas with the offer of a position within the newly - formed Sith Brotherhood . However , when the Krevaaki Jedi declared that he would never submit himself to Sith teachings , Kun activated his lightsaber . With all other options exhausted , Baas readied his staff , and battle ensued . The duel . Exar Kun remembered his previous loss against Baas ' greater skill as he battled relentlessly with his blue blade ; Baas , however , dueled with his Force - imbued staff , ready to prove yet again that it was more than a match for any lightsaber . All the while , the Senate assembly remained captivated by Exar Kun ' s spell , and the Jedi were halted by Mandalore and Kun ' s Massassi warriors . Master Baas was effortlessly holding his own against the Dark Lord , dismissing all Kun ' s taunts . Kun likewise refused Baas ' pleas for surrender . Neither opponent gave any quarter under the strength of the other ' s blows , and try as he might , Vodo - Siosk Baas was unable to best Exar Kun , nor could he convince him to renounce the dark side and end his campaign of galactic destruction . Irritated by the Jedi Master ' s tireless begging , Exar Kun decided to take the contest up a notch . To Baas ' surprise , Kun twisted his lightsaber hilt and produced from its opposite end an identical blue blade : he now dueled with a double - bladed lightsaber . Master Baas was unprepared for the unique weapon , and the Sith took full advantage in raining down blows upon him . Baas ' defenses could no longer withstand the assault ; thus , he knew that the duel was already lost to him , and he humbled himself to the Force . He then told Exar Kun that he would some day defeat him , maybe not now , but " one day " and forever . Ignoring this proclamation , Exar Kun bade his former Master farewell and crashed the final blow down on him , cleaving his staff in two . There on the Senate floor , Vodo - Siosk Baas became one with the Force . Only his Jedi robes and the splintered wood of his cane remained . Aftermath . Dark Lord of the Sith Exar Kun and his apprentice Ulic Qel - Droma strode triumphantly from the Senate Chamber with Mandalore and Massassi warriors following close behind . The Sith bid the assembly farewell and made their departure for Yavin IV , leaving Nomi Sunrider , Cay Qel - Droma , and Sylvar to cradle the robes and broken staff of Vodo - Siosk Baas in grief . Across the galaxy , Exar Kun ' s Sith servants were also attacking their respective Masters , striking them down to make way for the great Sith destiny foretold by Kun . With the threat of the Jedi Masters removed , the Brotherhood of the Sith resumed their campaign against the Republic , whom they intended to crush under the power of the dark side . Legacy . Vodo Siosk - Baas ' final words to Exar Kun did come to pass many thousands of years in the future . At the new Jedi Praxeum established in the Massassi temple on Yavin IV by Jedi Master Luke Skywalker in 11 ABY , Kun ' s disembodied spirit began to harass Skywalker ' s Jedi trainees with temptations of the dark side . However , when the students banded together to confront Kun , the ghost of Master Vodo - Siosk Baas appeared , and assisted the trainees in vanquishing Kun ' s spirit forever . Behind the scenes . The duel in the Senate Hall was written and conceived by author Kevin J . Anderson for the fifth " " story arc entitled " " . First appearing in the comic issue " " of " The Sith War " arc , the duel saw the first death in Kun ' s Jedi " pogrom " scheme . Anderson thus used the duel to both kill off the character of Vodo - Siosk Baas , and also to reunite the characters of Ulic Qel - Droma and Exar Kun , a union that began in the final issue of Anderson ' s " " story arc , a joint project with fellow author Tom Veitch . " The Complete Star Wars Encyclopedia " mistakenly places Vodo - Siosk Baas ' s death at the hands of Exar Kun as during the Conclave on Deneba . There are entries that state correctly that it took place on Coruscant , however .