The Scimitar, alternatively known as the Sith Infiltrator, represented a significantly altered Star Courier and served as the dedicated starship for Darth Maul. Following his setback during the Battle of Naboo, this experimental starfighter was taken over by Maul's mentor, Darth Sidious.
The Infiltrator of the Sith showcased wings that could be folded around its rounded cockpit, and was covertly derived from a Star Courier produced by Republic Sienar Systems. Speculation suggested that the design of the Scimitar came from the Sith Lord Darth Tenebrous. The vessel boasted six laser cannons, a proton torpedo launcher, and a minelayer. Complementing its formidable weaponry, the Scimitar incorporated a cloaking device, fueled by uncommon stygium crystals originating from the planet Aeten II, enabling it to vanish from sight and elude the sensors of pursuing vessels. Due to the craft's innovative ion engines, radiator fins on the ship's wings needed to be deployed during flight to dissipate surplus heat.
The vessel transported three DRK-1 Dark Eye probe droids along with the Bloodfin, a Sith speeder employed by Darth Maul during his mission on Tatooine. The Scimitar possessed the rare ability to track a ship's unique signature through hyperspace, a feat generally deemed unachievable by other vessels.
During the time of the Invasion on Naboo, the Scimitar functioned as the dedicated starship of Darth Maul, who utilized it in an endeavor to locate Queen Padmé Amidala on Tatooine. Following his defeat, the ship came under the control of Maul's master, Darth Sidious, while it was en route to being analyzed at Kuat Drive Yards.
Throughout the Clone Wars, the Scimitar facilitated the transport of Sidious and General Grievous to the surface of Dathomir, where the Sith Master engaged in a duel with his resurrected former apprentice and the Nightsister Mother Talzin.
Many years afterward, the Scimitar remained in Sidious's possession, who by then governed the First Galactic Empire in his role as Emperor Palpatine. It was secured within Imperial Facility 729-D, situated somewhere in the Inner Rim, and overseen by the droid O-66. Sometime before the Battle of Hoth, the bounty hunter Chanath Cha received the modified Star Courier with the task of reclaiming the stolen Imperialis, Palpatine's opulent pleasure craft.
Chanath and O-66 utilized the Scimitar's sophisticated tracking systems to pinpoint the Imperialis's location. While O-66 remained on the Scimitar, Chanath boarded the Imperialis. O-66 additionally transmitted the Imperial yacht's operational codes. After Chanath armed the ship's self-destruction sequence, she instructed O-66 to dock the Scimitar to facilitate the escape of herself, Lando Calrissian, and Lobot from the doomed Imperialis. However, O-66 disobeyed her directives as his primary mission was to safeguard and preserve the Scimitar. Ignoring Chanath's threats, O-66 revealed that he had disarmed her pulse bomb and piloted the Scimitar away.
The Scimitar made its debut in the 1999 movie Star Wars: Episode I The Phantom Menace.
De Agostini's Star Wars: Build the Millennium Falcon 44 magazine asserts that the Scimitar is outfitted with a Class 3.0 SSDS 11-A hyperdrive, which aligned with its original depiction in the Star Wars Legends continuity. However, this was later revised to a Class 1.5 hyperdrive in The Dark Side Sourcebook for the Star Wars Roleplaying Game. This information contrasts with the Star Wars Encyclopedia of Starfighters and Other Vehicles, which specifies that the ship has a Class 2 hyperdrive. This article adopts the Star Wars Encyclopedia of Starfighters and Other Vehicles as the more current reference.