Combat Master’s Note: Because you are matches against a member of your Clan, this battle takes on a unique format. You will be encountering Igraxcis with an ally. Treat Igraxcis as you would any other ACC opponent. In addition, note that this Sith apparition can hurt you, and when materialized, causes damage as any physical being would, but also responds to damage the same way. You WILL be judged using the ACC rubric, so the person posting the best story will move on to subsequent rounds. If you wish to fight your Clanmate as well, you may, but this is not in any way a requirement.

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 One Sith’s hold on Begeren is all but broken, though a few small pockets of resistance remain. The Clans and Houses of the Brotherhood now swarm the planet to defeat them, but attention has returned to plunder. Roaming bands of Jedi, adherents to light and dark alike, claim—or destroy—priceless artifacts at every turn. One of the few remaining untouched areas on the entire planet is the Valley of Monuments, so named for its glorious architecture. The valley is a patchwork collection of sand dunes and massive canyons, inhospitable even in the best of times. Despite this, the One Sith maintain control over the area. Exactly how—or why—this place has not yet been claimed by the Brotherhood, you do not know, and nor do your superiors, but you know it is ripe for the picking. Perhaps one reason is that access is limited—the One Sith maintain control over the valley’s entrances, save for a small handful of paths that tread directly through canyons used long ago as ancient burial grounds. Intelligence suggests these entrances are virtually undefended. Your plan, along with your compatriot, is to find your way into the Valley of Monuments through one such canyon, and it is there you now find yourselves.

Somehow, despite the windswept sand dunes mere meters away, the canyon before you remains virtually free of sand. Macabre hills fill this canyon, thousands of exposed skeletons laying atop one another, the sand dunes of most of the planet replaced by dunes of stark white bones. The dark side hangs thick in the air over this massive valley, flanked by four incredibly large crystals placed at each cardinal direction. This is one of a handful of ancient mass graves, the final resting place of literally thousands of slaves forced to give their lives millennia ago to create the massive monuments of Begeren. Far in the distance, a massive Sith monument rises before an impressive ancient palace, but your attention remains here, now, where the bones shift beneath your every step, crunching noisily. Ancient clubs, whips, and other weapons occasionally break through the bony landscape, testament to the vicious past of this place. To those that can even sense the most rudimentary of emotions through the Force, an even more sinister feeling permeates the air here: not only death, but suffering, anger, and hate.

The sun slowly creeps towards the mountains far beyond this impressive valley, casting long rays of light that reflect off many of the white bones littering the valley. The heat here is oppressive, but the sun will depart soon, leaving both of you in darkness. You notice that the large crystal to the north, situated in the shadow of a large canyon wall, begins to shimmer a faint blue, causing the bones beneath it to take on a ghostly glow. Your step hastens as you move quickly through the canyon, hoping to escape this place before sunset takes it, and reach areas with more valuable items to claim or destroy. But before you can make much progress, you begin to hear the telltale signs of another being—the sound of footsteps crunching bones—and they are coming from atop one of the hills of bones within the canyon. As you gaze up, you and your ally notice a ghostly figure glaring down at you from atop a hill, a massive Sith sword swung over his back.

"We really must hurry to be clear of this place before the star sets much further. The dark side whispers strongly of danger." spoke the bug. Tra'an nodded but said nothing, aware that hand signals were going to be useless soon due to the lack of light making it impossible to communicate except verbally. The only problem being the nature of the canyons functioning to echo and extend the range of their voices.

"We really must work to stay as quiet as possible. Too much noise will bring the entire One Sith force down upon us, and even we're not that good." hissed Tra'an quietly, aware that something was wrong with the area they'd chosen to travel into it. The hair on the back of his neck seemed to rise the further they progressed, a clearing opened before them, filled with white sand-like powder and opening onto multiple canyons in many directions like the spokes of a wheel.

"So," hissed Kz'set, "which way do we go now?" As Tra'an reached for the datapad containing the map, a towering ghost-like figure shimmered into view in front of them on the other side of the open space, standing in front of a particular canyon, sword placed point down in the sand.

"Which way do you go now?" his voice rumbled. "Why, to death of course. No matter your travels, they end here. Even should you flee, death will chase you and consume you before you make it back to the wastes." The arrogance and power seemed to roll off of him in waves, like the blue aura surrounding him.

As the di Plagia and the bug glanced at each other, the amusement on the face of the Sith began to morph into anger as he realized that they were not impressed. The aura began to change from gently pulsing waves to a bubbling stream, rising from the ground and rushing past him in a torrent as the large, angry Adept stepped across the veil from incorporeal to tangible, his feet crunching in the powder of bones that made up the fine, white sand.

"I am Ignaxcis!" he roared, his anger a palpable feeling in the air."I lived and died before you were motes in the eye of the Force! You will die for invading this place!" His eyes blazed and the Plagueians took a step backwards, feeling intimidated. Kz'set broke first, his pistol quickly raised and fired with not even a whine. The angry Sith gestured with his left arm and the metallic pellet was easily deflected, slamming into one of the canyon walls to carve out a Raken-sized hole in the stone.

"That didn't work so well," mumbled the Verpine as both Plagueian's lightsabers made an appearance, like molten copper being poured forth into a shining bars of burnished, living metal. The Verpine's pistol found it's holster as they stepped apart, moving in opposite directions around the imposing Sith.

The failure of the shatter pistol played out on Tra'an's mind as he assessed the power of the creature that stalked before them, the Sith sword reminding him of the one he'd faced so long ago on Antei during Disorder.

Ignaxcis came to a stop between them, a grin cracking across his face as a well of power came from within him. His left hand began to glow in violet and indigo before sending tendrils of power into the Sith Sword in his other hand, charging it to glow as it held the power within it.

"So you think to challenge me, then? Death is what you shall find." he roared. The Sith jumped to his right, engaging Tra'an with his violently crackling weapon. The Force whispered in the Obelisk's ear, causing him to throw up a protective shield of energy as he leapt backwards. At the height of his leap, the Sith Sword slammed into his barrier, and the Force Lightning discharged upon impact, shredding the barrier as the torrent of raw power leapt forth and slammed into the stone some distance behind where he would have been.

Ignaxcis' movement didn't end there, his muscles bunching as the massive weapon swung around like a delicate foil, its precision surprising given its mass. The weapon crashed aside Kz'set's lightsaber from where it had nearly severed his spine, even as the all too real ghost summoned the Force from within him. A wave of power lifted up the bug and sent it flying backwards across the circular clearing, its chitin making a screeching sound as it ground upon the powdered bone and remnants.

As Kz'set stood, its chitin was covered in a fine grayish layer, with streaks of white where sliding upon impact had crushed the powdered bone into it. As the Verpine shook its head, it dodged the flick of a whip with instincts born of the Force. A loud CRACK could be heard echoing throughout the canyons as the weapon narrowly missed one of the sensitive antenna that adorned its head. With narrowed eyes, the dueling bug raised its lightsaber once more, ready for the whip to strike again.

Tra'an launched himself at the taller, heavier foe, lightsaber thrust to pierce the Sith's back only to have it glide through a hazy outline as the Adept slipped back into his non-corporeal form. Moving away from them, the ghostly form moved back to the entryway it had guarded earlier before reverting back to a body that shined in the setting sun.

"You'll have to do better than that," Ignaxis challenged them, "as your time is running out."

Kz'set painfully stretched his shoulders in an attempt to relieve the growing soreness that was a result of the earlier impact. The Force aided in deadening the pain somewhat, but he was wincing slightly as he turned to face the being. The insectoid started evaluating his options, not wanting to repeat the rash actions that had led to at least one painful mistake. As he mentally eliminated one option after another, the being spoke.

"You reek of fear, how pitiful," the ancient Sith spirit snarled. "Do you really fear death? You should accept it, embrace it, because it is your fate."

Kz'set glanced over to Tra'an with a slight nod before locking his jet black eyes with Igraxcis'. In an eerie droning tone that would send a chill up the spine of Wookie, Kz'set replied.

"I'm not afraid of no ghost."

Snapping his saber around to its traditional low guard starting position, Kz'set gave another nod to Tra'an who did the same with his saber. Both Plagueians then charged the spirit, the much faster Tra'an closing the distance first. With an unconcerned sigh, Igraxcis snapped his whip at the legs of the Shi'ido in an attempt to trip him up. Forewarning from the Force, Tra'an's innate agility, and a clumsy swing from the ghost all combined to allow the Shi'ido to deftly step around the lash. Dropping the whip in disgust, the spirit took a large slash with his sword. The wild slash swung over the arriving Tra'an's head, but the spirit's immense strength allowed him to snap it back around just in time to block the Obelisk's lightsaber.

A split second later, Kz'set stepped into melee range and slashed up across the apparition's torso towards the right shoulder, almost perfectly following the gash in its armor. The creature promptly deflected the shaft of orange plasma. With the two Plagueians now striking with some semblance of coordination, Igraxcis was promptly put on the defensive. Copper sparks rained down over the desiccated bones below. Both Tra'an and Kz'set were skilled with Makashi, but the spirit was a master with his blade and was able to keep up with the pair. The ghost whirled his massive blade with ease, parrying a number strikes from the two Plagueians and even making some offensive slashes of his own. Both remained determined and continued to press the attack. It was all a matter of who made the first mistake. Unfortunately for Kz'set, it would be him.

As the Verpine focused on landing a blow on the spirit, he neglected to account for the uneven ground and the osseous carpet atop it. All it took was one wrong step to cause him to stumble forward. The misstep was slight, but it was enough for the spirit to take advantage of. Bringing his blade up in the direction of Kz'set's head, it was only thanks to the Force that the sword didn't split the insectoid's head open like a honey melon. The slash did, however, inflict a wound Kz'set had narrowly avoided in his first attack. He half yelped and half buzzed in pain as the blade cleanly severed his left antenna just above the base. Wasting no time, the apparition thrust his hand at the disoriented Verpine and sent him flying into a nearby rock wall.

Now alone, Tra'an promptly started to backpedal as the creature took to the offensive. Both were beginning to tire, but the Shi'ido was straining slightly more. Sensing this, Igraxcis started swinging harder, his slashes becoming bigger, making an effort to overpower the Shi'ido's tight defenses with sheer power. It had almost worked on a couple occasions, but Tra'an managed to stave off each blow. With some aid from the Force, the Obelisk was able to catch the ancient Sith in an over swing and promptly took advantage by snapping his saber up and across the chest of the spirit. It promptly discorporated, allowing it to escape more serious harm, but the ultimate result was another gash in its armor, virtually perpendicular to the existing one. It was almost if he'd made the same mistake before and opponent had similarly taken advantage of it.

As he could not immediately locate his opponent, Tra'an rushed over to Kz'set who was still lying against the wall of the canyon, barely conscious. Though the answer was apparent, Tra'an could only ask the obvious question.

"You OK?"

Kz'set could barely collect enough breath and focus to speak. He'd heard stories of what happened when one of his kind lost an antenna. No story could prepare someone for the intense pain and disorientation he was feeling now. Losing an arm or an eye was one thing, but this was different and perhaps worse.

"Where," Kz'set eventually managed to spit out. "Where is it?"

"Right here, feeble insect." Igraxcis roared with rage as he stomped down the hillside, shimmering in the fading light. When he saw the state Kz'set was in, he couldn't help but chuckle. "Such agony, good. Good. You'll face far more before you die." Snapping his head a bit to glare at Tra'an. "As for you, you may be as skilled a swordsman as my apprentice was, you may have even duplicated a feat only she has accomplished before. However your death will be just as painful and meaningless. Perhaps more so."

Tra'an seemed unimpressed by the ghost's boasting. "That may be, but one thing is quite clear. You're dead, which means you've been defeated once. I mean to do that again."

Not wanting to be outdone, Kz'set fought against the pain throbbing through his entire body and managed to get to his feet. Stumbling over to his saber, he picked it up and reactivated it.

"I'm not dead yet either."

Time paused for a moment as Kz'set and Tra'an seemed to ease into a stance that left them floating, waiting to strike. Igraxcis solidified a new, whip uncoiled and waiting.

Time resumed and everything happened all at once.

The Plagueians moved forward in a rush, feet falling in sync, strides matched to reach their foe at the same time, molten blades positioned for deadly skewering blows. Igraxcis roared in challenge before lifting his left hand up and bringing it down to snap the end of the whip, like thunder from the heavens. At the instant that the whip cracked, it became charged with electricity, bolts of power emanating from it like that of a coil charged with power.

Kz'set dove to dodge a bolt of power even as Tra'an moved within the radius of the deadly weapon, its power seeking to find whatever was closest to the tip when it cracked. He stopped, waiting for the whip to come down, face impassive as the Sith sneered before cracking the whip again, sending the wave that would lose another bolt of lightning. The Obelisk, listening to the Force, moved at the very last instant to sever the whip with a precise strike of his molten-hued lightsaber, deflecting the power of the lightning which had been hurled along its length into the sky.

Igraxcis stared in disbelief for a moment, his whip now useless without a tip, already coming unraveled as the material unwound itself.

"You underestimate us, Sith. Your time has come at last." Tra'an mocked him quietly, beckoning him to come forward with the tips of his fingers, lightsaber and feet at the ready.

Kz'set slowly pushed himself up, as once again Igraxcis roared, in anger this time.

Rage writ large across his features, tendrils twitching as he toyed with the heavy cudgel at his belt, before once again unlimbering his Sith sword and placing both hands on the hilt.

Much as Tra'an and Kz'set had charged earlier, Igraxcis returned the maneuver, charging his sword with electricity once again. As he closed the gap, Kz'set regained his feet, only to drop one more time, warned by the Force that his life was in danger. A telekinetic hammer blow swept through where he had stood only a moment prior, but even that did not save him completely. The Verpine felt himself lifted and then thrust outside the combat area, carapace once again making horribly noise as it skid along the bits and pieces of bone fragments.

Lightsaber met Sith sword in a blinding flash of light and Tra'an screamed as the powerful energies jumped from the weapon and slammed into him, setting his nerves aflame and slowing his ability to think. Even as he moved to disengage, the Force itself lashed out and lanced through his thigh, causing it to bleed and ooze.

Igraxcis pushed the advantage and the Shi'ido was slammed into the ground by a hammer blow that broke his left shoulder, sending his lightsaber flying, even as Igraxcis lifted him with the Force and slammed him into the ground once more.

The electrified sith sword plunged to the ground and through his chest, discharging entirely into his body, ending his life. Igraxcis grinned before screaming in agonizing pain, as if his back had been crushed, and then no longer able to scream because his head had been blown into pieces.

Kz'set stood, looking as if he'd come out of a charnel house, coated in bone powder. His shatter pistol still aimed at the corpse slowly falling to join its most recent victim.

"Too much focus on one thing leaves anyone blind. At least I'm only half deaf you bantha poodoo." Its arm seemed to fall to the side before holstering the pistol. It walked over to where the electrified corpse of its clanmate lay dead and retrieved the lightsaber, knowing that it still had a mission to complete, and that an extra weapon was always a good thing.

Moving slowly as it walked towards the fortress ahead, it shuddered. Death had come too close today, and had cost it an antenna. The permanent reminder would always be with him.

As the bug passed into the canyons, away from the charnel house it had been covered in, it did not notice that the glowing crystals had cracked and died, glowing no more. Sand long kept out by powers unknown finally began to blow into the canyon as the desert began to claim yet more of its territory. Soon enough, it would bury the place, and nothing would remain, just another part of the past lost and forgotten to the universe.

As the sun began its final descent to the horizon's edge, Kz'set and Tra'an both stared at each other, hoping the other would come up with a brilliant plan to destroy the spirit. Perhaps under normal circumstances Kz'set could have come up with a strategy. His current condition, however, prevented him from focusing. The pain was beginning to subside, albeit slightly, but he was also fighting off what could best be described as vertigo. It was a different side effect of the severed antenna, one that had only been speculated at by the galactic community at large, that dictated his next action. Studies suggested that Verpine with damaged antennae were prone to rash and sometimes illegal or dangerous action. In the case of Kz'set, that was about to be proven true.

Tra’an thought it odd the normally calculating Kz’set turned and started to walk off towards the spirit. It was at that moment he notice that the thermal detonator on his belt was missing. Realizing what Kz'set was probably about to do, Tra'an grabbed the Verpine's spindly arm, pulling him around to face the former Quaestor.

"You trying to be a hero?" Tra'an asked in a hushed tone. "Heroic sacrifice is a Jedi trait."

Kz'set shrugged. "Heard a story about some human that pulled something like this on some Silooths on, well, I don't remember the name of the planet, but I think it started with Peth. Figured it would be ironic for an insectoid to return the favor."

"Come on mortals! I might have eternity, but you don't," Igraxcis taunted as he lumbered closer to the Plagueians. "There's so much more delicious agony to extract from both of you."

Kz'set glanced at the ghost then back at Tra'an. "Keep him solid, I'll do the rest."

The Shi'ido nodded and the pair separated, both reigniting their sabers. Kz'set began to circle to his right while Tra'an walked straight at Igraxcis. The Obelisk's approach was defiant and unconcerned, his saber pointed straight at where the spirit's heart would have been.

"So you were outdone by your apprentice, defeated by a lesser being," Tra'an stated stridently. "And you really expect us to fear you?"

"You dare insult me!" Igraxcis growled, pointing his blade at Tra'an. "The whelp may have killed me, but she died in the process. Wasting her life just to prove a point."

"And what point was that?" Tra'an asked as he approached to within a few meters.

Igraxcis’ face contorted with anger as he snarled, “That she could stand up to me, just like you’re trying to prove. The pitiful whelp never realized each beating made her stronger. She dared to challenge me, but there could be only one response -- the same one you face now.”

Igraxcis' face contorted in anger as he snarled in response. "That she could stand up to me, just like you're trying to prove. Pitiful whelp couldn't take the beatings, not realizing it would only strengthen her. She dared challenge me, and that could only have one result, the same one you face."

"If you're so powerful, how did she beat you?" Tra'an asked as he made like he was about to strike.

"She cheated!" the spirit hissed as he glanced over his shoulder. "Just like you're trying to, bug!" With a quick snap of his off hand, the apparition shot out a crackling shaft of energy directly at the skulking Kz'set. The Verpine caught the blast of lightning square in the chest. Scorch marks appeared on his carapace as the energy arced through him. It was all he could do to remain upright as another blast coursed through the air into him.

"You thought you could beat me with your cleverness, hmm?" Igraxcis grinned devilishly as he took in Kz'set's agony. "Cleverness only prolongs the agony of knowing you're going to lose. You'll both suffer for this treachery!"

Looking back where he'd seen Tra'an approaching, the ghost was surprised to see that the Shi'ido was not charging in to assist Kz'set, but was instead fleeing at top speed. He hadn't figured the Obelisk for a coward. It wasn't until he turned back to Kz'set and spotted the blinking silver sphere in his hand that he realized the true nature of the trick. Kz'set was silent as the thermal detonator blinked one last time, the smirk on his face saying all that was needed.

A blinding white light filled the hillside as the detonator's particle field ripped through everything in its path. Tra'an had little difficulty escaping the blast radius and, after hearing the detonation, turned to check the effects. As expected, there was no trace of the Verpine, the detonation having disintegrated him instantly. Much to his satisfaction, all that remained of Igraxcis was a wisp of blue haze in the air which slowly dissipated. The bug had actually done it. Part of Tra'an wished it hadn't required Kz'set to give his life, but apparently history had repeated itself. Someone had to die in order to kill Igraxcis the first time; it was only fitting the same should happen again.

In his usual emotionless manner, Tra'an pulled out his commlink and spoke. "Reith to extraction team, nothing of interest here. One for pickup."