Begeren. Once a prosperous Sith world, it has been the site of numerous battles throughout the millennia. Grand halls and monuments were torn down and re-purposed by looting Republic forces thousands of years ago, before they were driven from the planet. Isolated settlements still dot the planet's surface, but the inhospitable, craggy, and desert-like terrain, along with the beasts common to many desert and Sith worlds, have kept most humanoids from colonizing. Occasional skirmishes have left debris scattered throughout the desert, and battles were fought here as recently as the Galactic Civil War. The planet is now under the control of the One Sith and is rumored to be full of all manner of priceless, ancient Sith artifacts.

Begeren’s plunder has been rich, and the Clans and Houses have been bolstered, both by the favor they are currying with the Grand Master, and with their own triumphs against rivals. More fighting seems to have occurred between the Clans and Houses than against the One Sith, and the stream of priceless artifacts has slowed to a trickle as of late. The invasion of Begeren has now entered a wholly different phase, and though the end goal of capturing the world’s precious secrets remains the same, the methods of achieving it have changed. At least for now. The Dark Council has identified several settlements and key military objectives to seize, both for use as staging grounds, and to quell any revolts against Brotherhood authority before they begin. It has fallen to the Clans and Houses to seize these objectives, with large accolades and bounties to those willing to undertake dangerous missions, alone, into hostile territory. Despite the recent inter-clan aggressions, the Dark Council has made it clear that the bounties for taking objectives cannot be shared between units.

One such objective, a V-150 Planet Defender ion cannon, lies nestled in one of Begeren’s northern mountain ranges. The inhospitable and semi-arid region is known for its relatively cooler temperatures compared to the rest of the planet, and is home to one of the only active spaceports on Begeren. Though most of the region is patrolled by local militias, a sizable One Sith presence is thought to be in the area. An enormous feminine stone face, carved into the side of a towering cliff side, overlooks both the ion cannon and the neighboring spaceport, paying homage to a long-dead female Sith Lord.

You stand in a massive scree field beneath the adorned cliff side. The dark side is almost palpable here beneath the monument, but your true goal is the installation and the massive ion cannon immediately to your west. The installation is lightly guarded, and can be accessed by a natural, mountainous tunnel entrance. The entrance is well-lit and quite large for a tunnel access shaft, big enough for the heavy machinery needed to construct and maintain the massive ion cannon. The tunnel itself splits a few hundred yards in, leading to two separate objectives.

There are two main objectives: the fire control and targeting room, and the main power generators. Intelligence reports indicate that the fire control and targeting room is manned by two gunners and two-to-three militiamen from the local settlement. Intelligence also reports a light contingent of three guards and a slew of power droids around the power generators. Which objective you choose depends, in part, on whether you wish to take or destroy the ion cannon. A barracks is not far from the ion cannon, and it’s possible that the One Sith could be lurking closeby should you arouse suspicion.

The sound of shifting rocks and falling boulders alerts you to the presence of another not far from the tunnel entrance, as well. You head quickly into the tunnel, knowing your opponent may be upon you at any time.

Revak Kur makes it down the slope and stops at the mouth of the tunnel. The early morning sun cast long fingers of light across the barren fields of rock that help to illuminate the first few meters the tunnel. As the tunnel awakens from its slumber, it inhales a gust of wind that howls as it travels towards the belly of the beast. Before venturing into the tunnel; Revak scans the terrain behind him. Confident he isn’t being followed at the moment, he begins his decent into the mountain.

The orders were clear. Gather what intelligence he could on the One Sith’s activity in the area, then destroy the ion cannon. It was suggested at the briefing that the cannon be captured but it was quickly dismissed due to the Jedi’s small military not being able to hold a position so remote. Revak preferred these small covert missions over large, drawn out engagements being that they are really of no cost to the Jedi. One Jedi dead was better than hundreds.

The hum of the generators and the clinking of droid parts grew louder the deeper he went. The rays of light had been broken off and the area was now illuminated completely by the small lights anchored into the rock walls. The winding tunnel now opened to a large room. Droids scurried across the floor maintaining the various cables and electronic components that gave life to the cannon. Revak knelt and watched the activity. To the right, across from the generators, three guards sat at a makeshift table. Two had their backs to Revak and seemed like they would be too into their game of Pazaak to even notice a Rancor crashing through the room. Still though, the third not fully focused on the game, would be the one he had to be careful with. As he mapped the room in his head, he felt a presence behind him. Slowly placing his hand on the DD6 strapped to his thigh, he waiting for the presence to come closer. Revak spun around, draw his blaster and aimed it at the person walking up behind him.

“Whoa Revak, it’s me bud” the figure shouted as he threw up his hands. The voice came from a human male, who slowly brought his hands to his hood and uncovered his face. His albino face reflected the dim yellow light of the cave causing him to look almost “normal.” The figure was Sight Nortorshin, a Jedi who Revak served with on Strike-Team Ooroo. He was a very skilled warrior and one of the finest Jedi in House Odan-Urr.

Revak lowered his blaster with a smirk and placed it back in its holster.

“Almost had you.”

Sight laughed. “Please, I knew you weren’t going to fire” Sight knelt next to Revak. “Enjoying Begeren so far? I was on Eldar when I got the call you were here. Liam wanted me to make sure you didn’t screw anything up.”

“Don’t worry about me. Just worry about those guards in the corner.”

The two Jedi crept along the outer wall of the room, periodically stopping to draw less attention form the guards, still too preoccupied by their game to notice. Now within a few meters of the guards, they stopped behind a boulder.

“Ok, so I think if we…”

Before he was able to finish, Sight leapt out from behind their cover and landed on the guard’s table. Pazaak cards went flying as all three guards stood up and went for their weapons. Sight drilled his boot into the throat of one of the guards, snapping the cartilage and causing him to hit the ground gasping for air. Sight then spun around and in one fluid motion, ignited his lightsaber and cut down the two remaining guards. As the first guard gasped for his last few breaths of air, Sight extinguished his lightsaber and looked at Revak with a huge grin. Revak stood up and just shook his head.

Revak walked over to the generator and examined it. He had more than enough explosives to not only destroy the generator but to bring the entire tunnel crashing down. He removed one of the charges from his satchel and placed it on the main power conduit of the machine. He went for the second but then stopped. Behind him, he heard a lightsaber ignite. He turned to see Sight walking towards him.

“I can’t let you do that, Jedi.”

A chill ran down Revak’s spine as Sight’s words sunk in. The Hapan watched with a sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach whilst the Human’s easygoing smile twisted into a smirk.

“Sight?” Revak’s voice conveyed the question as a fledgling sense of betrayal found root in the Jedi’s heart.

“We need this installation to remain intact,” the albino’s tone took a darker hue as he spoke, which caused Revak to swallow on a suddenly dry throat.

“You weren’t sent by Liam, were you?” the Sentinel asked as he ignited his own saber.

“I’m afraid not, old friend. It’s a real shame though; you’ve done such a great job with my old team,” the Krath said as the fingers of his empty hand twitched. The explosive charge quickly floated away from the generator, the triggering device sliding out of the main charge. Both parts found a separate but gentle resting place in the tunnel.

“Yes, it is a real shame. You were once a great Jedi,” Revak replied, the feeling of betrayal solidifying into cold resolve within his heart. Sight moved slowly to the left as Revak re-entered the tunnel. The whir of the power droids servo motors and the hum of the generator they single-mindedly maintained permeated the silence between the two.

The Krath and the Sentinel stared at each other, tension built as they circled one another. Each waiting for the other to make a slight misstep. Both Force users controlled their breathing while sweat began to form on their foreheads. The albino blinked and wiped away some sweat that had fallen in his eye. With saber held high, Revak made the first move, his feet carrying him quickly towards his old ally. Sight’s smirk grew as he brought his left hand up and forcefully extended his arm towards the Hapan.

Revak’s eyes widened as the air appeared to distort around Sight’s left arm, then shot toward him. The Hapan’s legs tightened as he leapt to avoid the blast of Force energy. Pain flooded over the Sentinel as the telekinetic blast clipped his right shoulder with a sickening crunch. Revak spun twice in the air before his back impacted with the ground.

Sight looked upon his former ally with disdain before turning away. His boots issued a muffled crunch against the stone with each step. His yellow lightsaber held low and at his side. The Krath glanced over his shoulder at the Sentinel one last time, before disappearing into the generator room.

Moments later, Revak could hear the high-pitched screeches of the power droids being cut down. Holding his right shoulder, the Jedi slowly rose to his feet. The Hapan tenderly felt his right shoulder as he focused upon the injury. Slowly the pain began to subside as he focused on the Force, healing the wound. It’s not fully healed but it will have to do for now, the Sentinel thought as his attention was drawn to the generator room.

The sounds of the droids had vanished and a brief flash of blue light emanated from the generator room. The lights flickered and failed along with the generator, causing the tunnel to turn almost pitch black.

Emergency lighting kicked on, dimly illuminating the facility as Sight stepped back into the tunnel.

“I thought you needed the facility operational?” the Hapan’s voice held a tone of intrigue as he squinted trying to see the Human clearly.

“I only said I need it intact. I can fix those generators later if need be.” the Krath spoke in a point of fact tone.

Both Force users turned as guards from the targeting and fire control room, rounded the corner. The first two guards began to convulse as Force guided electricity surged into their bodies. The other two skidded to a halt but were too late as red blaster bolts impacted their chests.

Holstering his heavy blaster pistol, Revak faced Sight once again.

“Abandon the dark and come with me, Sight. It is not too late for you, there is still light within your heart.” Revak gave no chance for Sight to respond, throwing his lightsaber at the albino. Swatting the green blade aside, the Krath jerked backwards as a blinding light flashed in front of his eyes.

Having closed the distance while his saber was still in the air, Revak began to rain punishment upon the Human’s body. The Sentinel’s left fist and feet struck blow after blow against his blinded opponent. Sight brought his forearms up to form a partially effective defensive shell. Then, grasping Revak’s left wrist, the albino pulled the man in close as his vision began to clear. The Krath grasped the Hapan’s chin, startling Revak. A short but strong wave of telekinetic energy emitted from the Hapan, while a spark of electricity arched from Sight’s fingertips into the Sentinel’s face. The Krath suddenly found himself airborne and moving backwards at an alarming pace, while Revak clutched at his face and howled pain.

The Human bounced off the tunnel wall and landed hard on the ground, his breath pushed from his lungs. Pain rippled through Sight’s body, and from the feel of it, he figured he had at least a few broken ribs. The superficial scrapes and cuts had already begun to heal themselves as he attempted to push himself off the ground with his arms. His left arm unable to support his weight, caused him to fall. The albino grasped his left forearm as it became apparent that one of the bones was broken. Righting himself to a seated position, he drew his vibrosword. Holding the blade in a defensive posture with his right hand, he scanned the immediate area but was unable to find either of the lightsabers.

His face now numb, Revak blinked repetitively as he attempted to see in the dim light. He could hear Sight grunting in pain and the scrape of rocks as the albino moved slowly in the distance.

Revak had to fight the pain that raced across his face just to be able to squint. Narrowing his eyes until they were very tiny slits allowed him to catch just enough light from the arcing wires in the generator room to see the dark outline of Sight struggling to get his feet underneath him. Revak spoke with compassion to his enemy.

“Let’s stop this. I can feel that there is good, deep inside you.”

Sight ignored Revak’s words of weakness. The fact that the Jedi was telling him to give up all his power to join the light again, infuriated him. Holding the vibroblade in his right hand, the mighty Krath thrust its tip into the stone floor. The high pitched sound of metal on stone echoed down the tunnel. Stabilizing himself with his legs, he pulled himself upright. He knew of the Hapan’s inability to see well in dim light, which made his pain fade slightly as the thought of how easily he could defeat the Jedi filled his mind. Sight once again brought the vibroblade into a defensive position and began closing the distance between himself and Revak.

Revak slowly pulled his blaster from its holster. Pain shot down his arm as the little resistance from the holster was enough to re-tear the muscles in his shoulder. Forcing the blaster out, he grabbed it with his left hand and took aim. Revak could barely see Sight, who as he drew closer became more faded into the background. This shot has to make it, the Jedi thought. Closing his right eye, he aligned the barrel of what he though was Sight’s head. He pulled the trigger sending a single red bolt towards his enemy.

Sight watched as all this happened. He watched the pain in the Jedi’s face as he unholstered his weapon. He smirked as he watched Revak squint to try and find him in his sights. He found enjoyment in his enemy’s weakness. It all fueled his power.

As the bolt shot from the muzzle of the blaster, Sight raised the vibroblade in its path. The bolt met the blade, causing the bolt to fly off to the left and hit one of the power droids. The droid let out an almost painful whistle before stopping and falling over with a metallic thud.

Quickly Revak fired off another shot, but completely missed the Krath. Sight twisted his torso and swung the vibroblade, from left to right. The blade struck the blaster with enough force that it was ripped out of its owner’s hand and sent skidding across the floor. In one fluid motion, he used the momentum from his last swing to power this next one. Sight brought the blade up above his left shoulder and brought it down towards the right. Reacting quickly, Revak jumped towards his attacker and caught Sight’s right wrist with his left hand. The two wrestled around, both trying to gain control of the vibroblade. Feeling his grip begin to loosen, Sight lifted his left knee and drove it into Revak’s abdomen. The Hapan let out a grunt but continued fighting for the blade. Revak began to breathe through his teeth as he clenched his right fist. Darkness began to cloud his mind as he used the pain in his shoulder to fuel the Force. Every vein in his arm nearly doubled in size as he drove his fist into the Human’s ribs. Sight’s already broken ribs gave little resistance as the Hapan drove them further into his body. Sight dropped the blade to clench his side in agony. He fell to the ground as he took shallow gasps of air. With each cough, larger drops of foamy blood ran from his mouth.

Revak clenched his fist once more, powering up for another attack. He cast his hand out toward the Human, sending a powerful wave of Force energy at his helpless foe. Sight flew across the room striking the stone wall and crumpling into a ball onto the ground. Revak slowly walked over. The Sentinel raised both hands as Force electricity arced between his fingertips. Revak looked down at the once great Jedi. Even with his rage, he couldn’t help but feel pity as he though back to the years they served together.

I would have died by your side, but look how far you have fallen.

Sight began fading in and out of consciousness. Pain ran through his entire body. He propped himself up against the rock wall so he could at least die with honor. He lifted his head to see the Jedi walking towards him. Sight knew that the electricity would be enough to overwhelm his already fragile body. He closed his eyes and waited.

Out of the darkness, Sight felt something strange coming from nearby. He reached out with the Force and a feeling ran through him, one that he hadn’t felt since he was a Jedi. As he focused more intensely on it, the features became clear. Digging deep within himself, he mustered enough power to draw the object towards him. Like durasteel to a magnet, the object flew across the room and directly into his hand. In the blink of an eye, Sight pushed the activator switch and swung at Revak. The green blade ignited just in time to burn a large gash through the Hapan’s chest. Revak fell to his knees as his robes caught the blood gushing from his chest. The Krath took one last swing to sever the Jedi’s head. His body fell to the floor. His head rolled off to the corner.

Sight admired Revak’s lightsaber before spitting out a mouthful of coagulated blood and unclipping a com from his belt.

“Nortorshin to Base. The Ion Cannon is ours. All resistance is…” He paused to catch his breath. “All resistance is neutralized.”

Leaning against the wall of the tunnel, Sight slowly rose to his feet. The Krath’s crimson orbs scanned the tunnel floor as he frantically searched for the two lightsabers. The albino steadied his breathing as his thoughts were redirected towards his damaged body. I need to do something about this while the Jedi is stumbling around blind. Closing his eyes, the Krath focused on directing the Force to wrap around the broken bone in his left arm. Slowly the bone began to knit back together, issuing sharp pops and cracks as it was forced to set itself. It wasn’t long before the pain diminished to a dull throb in Sight’s arm. Stealing a glance at Revak, who was feeling his way slowly towards the Krath, Sight focused on his ribs, allowing the Force to knit them together partially as he had done with his arm. Sheathing his vibrosword and taking the commlink in hand, Sight moved slowly deeper into the tunnel and away from the Jedi.

“Nighthawk, this is Chief Nortorshin,” he whispered into the device.

“Go for Nighthawk, Chief,” the reply came back momentarily.

“Inform the Captain that my mission was a success. The ion cannon is disabled, allowing for troop deployment to the area. There was a snag though: I had to short circuit the generator,” Sight paused as he watched Revak getting closer. He must be following my voice “I can fix it though if need be.” The Krath’s breath caught in his throat as he heard the Nighthawk’s reply.

“Nortorshin, this is Captain Cortel. You have a complication coming your way. A sizable One Sith force has mobilized from the barracks near your position. They are heading your way, Chief. Expect company in T-minus 10 or sooner.” The update sent a chill down Sight’s spine, and his eyes closed as a feeling of dread filled him.

“Roger that, ma’am, Nortorshin out...It’s been an honor,” his voice carried a tone of regret. Lowering his arm and switching the commlink off, the Krath looked at the Sentinel.

“We’re about to get some company, Revak,” Sight’s voice was dry, carrying a sense of weariness with it. He blinked his eyes as his vision distorted, allowing him to clearly see Revak in the dim lighting.

“Yeah, I heard. What are you thinking in that murderous head of yours?” The Hapan asked as he slowly drew his heavy blaster pistol once again.

“I’m thinking rear guard-type action, keep the facility until the Arconan forces arrive. We won’t live that long though. You got any trip wires on you by chance?” The Human replied as he raised his right hand, having seen Revak draw.

“I’m not dying today,” the Hapan spoke as he pulled the trigger, aiming were the Human’s voice was coming from. Three red blaster bolts raced toward the Krath, deflecting off his hand and into the tunnel walls. The second set of three shots hit where Sight had been moments before.

Racing forward, the albino closed the distance, right hand flicking forward, releasing his vibrodagger at the Jedi. Revak dodged the blade as if he had already known it was there, the Sentinel’s body twisting his left hand rising in an uppercut. The Hapan was too late as Sight’s right fist slammed into the Jedi’s nose, all of the Krath’s weight and speed put into the punch. The Jedi went down hard and his head bounced off the tunnel floor.

Sight held his bleeding knuckles as he watched the Sentinel slip into unconsciousness. A grin once more manifested upon the Krath’s face as he noticed a cylinder of metal nearby. Retrieving his lightsaber, he chuckled.

“And where have you been? I needed you a few moments ago,” Sight spoke to his saber as he made his way toward the entrance to the tunnel. The albino replaced the triggering device into Revak’s explosive charge. Placing it were the tunnel split Sight switched the triggering device to active, setting a two minute timer. Moving once again toward the entrance, the snap hiss of his saber igniting echoed in the quiet tunnel.

Sight could hear the tell tale clack of armor and blaster rifles as One Sith troops set up at the entrance to the tunnel. Taking a deep breath the Krath tapped into the Force once more. Several thermal detonators floated off his belt, spreading out as they headed toward the entrance of the tunnel. As they floated past the entrance they emitted a loud tone. Men screamed to get clear but their lives were cut short as the thermal detonators exploded forming a ring of fire and death at the entrance to the tunnel. Behind the albino the tunnel lost structural stability at it’s split, as Revak’s charge detonated.

The One Sith troops flooded into the tunnel, blasters already firing. Sight’s lightsaber deflected the blaster bolts that came near him in a flourish of yellow light. His legs a blur of motion as he closed distance with the troopers, the first of them met their end upon the Krath’s saber. Blaster bolts impacted Sight’s body as he cut down troopers. It wasn’t long before the overwhelming volume of foes along with his injuries overtook the Krath. As the life drained from Sight’s body the One Sith Troops surged into the facility, leaving their dead where they lay.

Revak having awakened, found himself trapped in the tunnel. He could sense the enemy on the other side of the blocked off tunnel as well as Sight’s presence in the Force vanishing. The Hapan began to focus on healing himself as he realized his fate would be determined by whatever enemy breached the collapsed part of the tunnel first, the Arconan force Sight had mentioned or the One Sith. No matter the allegiance of the troops, the Jedi was in for another fight.