Headscratchers / Darth Bane

• Okay, so Githany, an ex-Jedi, comes to the Academy on Korriban and immediately identifies the top student, Sirak, as a potential threat. To remove him as a threat, she forms an alliance with the shunned Bane, and after many obstacles, she finally succeeds in getting him to kill Sirak. The only problem is after Sirak is gone, Githany shows no sign of wanting to eliminate other rivals within the Brotherhood by using Sith against other Sith, and she seems as genuinely loyal to Kaan as any of the other Sith except when it becomes clear he is going to endanger her life. Why did Githany work so hard to remove Sirak? The lengths she goes to simply to eliminate one powerful Sith Lord among many when Bane proves himself to be much stronger makes no sense. Considering the rest of her character arc, it feels rather inconsistent, and in the context of the story, it's even worse. If she was going to remove a threat to her that way, why didn't she do so with other Sith Lords? If she was going to stay loyal to Kaan, why reduce his numbers, and if she was going to betray him in true Sith fashion, why did it only end at Sirak? Furthermore, if she had planned to assassinate Sirak instead of challenging him in the dueling ring, why did she even need Bane? She could have just stabbed him in his sleep!
  • It's important to remember that Githany was ultimately doing things only for herself, ever. She wasn't actually loyal to Kaan - it's strongly implied at several moments throughout the first book that Kaan's leadership was based mostly on his Charm Person abilities and/or some minor form of brainwashing. Githany got caught by it just like everyone else except for Bane. At the academy, she didn't kill Bane because she believed (like all the rest of the Sith apprentices and masters) that he eliminated himself when he left to pursue legends of the old Sith Lords. As for the rest, after Sirak was killed and Bane had left, Githany was at the top of the food chain (also, removing Sirak was why she needed Bane in the first place - not because he was better, but because she needed a fall guy). It made no sense to kill apprentices who were beneath her because a) it would severely undermine her authority and b) it would deplete the Sith Army.
• During their final battle, why didn't Bane attempt to sever Zannah's dual bladed lightsaber, forcing her to discard one of them and engage him with just one as Obi-Wan did against Darth Maul? This may have tilted the odds in his favour, as it's never really said that Zannah is as adept in single blade combat as she is with the saberstaff.
  • Bane taught her to fight defensively and would've naturally instructed her on not only how to guard against such an obvious weakness and vulnerability, but counter and take advantage of any attempts to sunder her weapon. As shown earlier in that novel Bane knows he's at a severe disadvantage against Zannah's sorcery. Goading her into attacking him with her saber instead of frying him with lightning when they fought earlier, something Zannah realized after he escaped. He probably avoided removing her lightsaber on purpose since it would've forced her into an all out Death or Glory Attack which he wouldn't have been able to counter.