To walk upon the surface of Nancora is to take a path akin to a death sentence. That is how it earned its moniker: the Badlands. The Nancora system's star scorched the earth long ago, leaving a barren, sun-bleached surface behind. The soil remains as nothing but dust and left to the winds mercy. But there is none, as dust storms can form without warning and charge across the wastelands as roaring behemoths. The only shelter to be found lies scattered in the form of ruins of a time long past.

Spires and wreckage claw up through the cracked surface, giving the appearance of a planet-spanning junkyard. It is there that the Technocratic Guild gathers much of their resources, repurposing what once was into materials for new fabrications. At the same time, the most dangerous of these ruinous death-traps show the signs of the Technocratic elite's rigorous training. With a central spire rising from beneath a mound of wreckage, fresh scorch marks pocket the landscape of rising dunes in a circular clearing alongside the sand scraped remains of those who failed. A labyrinthian ring of partially unearthed structures closes in this area, providing some semblance of cover from the passing storms but nearly as dangerous themselves due to their weakened state. One wrong step can lead to collapse.

Very few come to the Badlands of Nancora. Fewer still make it out again.

’Unfortunate.'

That was Kano's first thought as he stood upon one of the many rocky spires that dotted the Nancora landscape. The scorching heat and blazing sun pierced onto the surface of the dust bowl of a planet as the temperature and humidity made the dried up rock feel like an oven on his feet. The fierce winds often created deadly sandstorms from the dust that could only be avoided amidst the many old ruins and wreckage scattered among the surface. There was a reason this place was known as 'The Badlands.' Those who walked on the earth of this planet rarely ever left as they inevitably become bone and ash to be claimed by this harsh wasteland. Though, at least for the moment, the air remained still and calm giving Kano perfect visibility of his intended target.

The man he was here to take down was Appius Wight. A fellow Vizsla Clansmen and Sorcerer whom he had worked closely with in the recent Great Jedi War within the Lyra 3K-A System. Appius was a user of the Force and had gained a fairly sizeable bounty after killing Sencara A'theri, a female sniper and Collective agent during the war. Her family had put a very large price on his head and was willing to pay Kano very handsomely to bring him in dead or alive.

Appius was on Nancora as part of a mission to locate Collective strongholds throughout the area, most notably the Technocrat Guild. An organisation of cybernetically enhanced mercenaries that had set up operations not too far from their current location. Kano had taken the initiative and followed him all the way here.

To the Weapons Specialist, he and Appius may have been allies and teammates once before but credits were still credits and he could do a lot with the money he would get for cashing in on Appius' bounty. Besides, it wasn't like they were ever friends in the first place.

He watched closely through his T-shaped Mandalorian visor as Appius slogged his way through the harsh environment, alone and isolated in his black Inquisitorius Armor.

'Perfect.’ Kano thought. The conditions couldn't be any better. He would be swift, he could at least do that for his former comrade.

Being the type to head in all guns blazing, that's exactly what Kano decided to do. His Mitrinomon Z-6 Jetpack flared to life as fire erupted out of its engine and aided in his descent down to ground level right next to Appius.

Fortunately, the Force user was so preoccupied with dealing with the intense heat of the planet and traversing the wreckage around him that he had completely failed to sense Kano's presence until he heard the Mandalorian bounty hunter land behind him.

Appius turned to see a man that he recognised clear as day from their time back on Lyra Colony. Kano's Matte Black Elite Mandalorian Armor, choice of weapons and six foot frame gave the Sorcerer all the information he needed to identify him as a fellow Clan Vizsla member.

"Kano?" He asked, stunned and surprised to see the man all the way out here in the middle of nowhere.

He received no response.

Instead, he was answered by the Force warning him immediately of the imminent danger he was in, it flared through his senses as Kano wasted no time and drew his WESTAR-35 Blaster Pistol into his right hand and firmly pressed his finger down on the trigger.

Despite firing a surprise cheap shot from the hip, his accuracy couldn't have been any better, the deadly bolt left the barrel of the blaster and headed straight towards Appius' heart.

Thankfully for the Sorcerer, the Force had given him just enough warning to sidestep out of the way of the life ending laser blast and grabbed Redeemer, his lightsaber attached to his left hip, and activated the infamous weapon of most Force users across the galaxy. A green blade shot out of the hilt and good thing he did too, for Kano was far from done unleashing his deadly barrage of blaster fire upon him.

Appius was forced onto the defensive. He gritted his teeth as he stepped back whilst deflecting the blaster fire away from him. Some of the shots impacted into the ground, forming a cloud of dense soil to form around him.

He'd hoped that the dust cloud would conceal him, thus making Kano's shots less accurate. However, Kano's helmet was modified with a thermal spectrum and he could see Appius' body heat on the thermal camera, even through the thick cloud of dust that had formed between them.

Seeing his target move backwards, Kano only amplified the pressure. He withdrew his WESTAR-34 Blaster Pistol into his left hand and, now wielding both his blasters, he began to rain destruction upon the Force user. There was barely a pause for reloading, as Kano was so familiar with his instruments of death he was able to reload without losing any momentum in his shots.

Quickly finding himself overwhelmed and realising if he stayed where he was he would die a very quick and painful death, Appius moved behind the closest bit of cover he could find. A section of a rusty Starhopper that was embedded into the soil. But before he was completely clear one of the blaster bolts finally cut through his defence and clipped him in his left shoulder. The Force user gasped in pain as he hid himself behind the rusty wreckage.

Kano was like a rabid beast smelling blood in the air. He ascended to the sky twenty feet into the air to land on the other side of the wreckage that Appius was hiding behind. He turned around, intending to deliver the finishing blow but to his surprise and horror, he was greeted by a fierce bolt of white lightning that had struck him in the middle of his chest and surged throughout his body.

It came from Appius' right hand. He may have an injured left arm, but his right was still fully functioning and the will to survive was more than enough to fuel his attack.

The electricity surged and streaked for several moments through Kano's body. At first, it was excruciating, but as seconds passed it became more and more tolerable as the power of it lessened. Eventually, it was enough that he was able to once again activate his Jetpack and leap backwards out of the attack.

Kano’s boots slid across the sand as he came to a stop about 15 feet from where he took the pain from Appius’s lightning attack. Anger grew in the Mandalorian as he was reminded of nearly dying several years ago by a lightning attack. This time he had the strength to punish the source of that pain.

The Force Disciple stood ready gripping his lightsaber hilt, blade glowing bright even in contrast to the burning sun overhead.

“You don’t have to do this Kano.” called out Appius. “We’re clan mates. We’ve battled side by side. Look into your heart and you will see that there are other options.”

Kano stood perfectly still as the sand whipped in the wind around the two of them making faint clinking sounds as the particles bounced off the black Mandalorian armor. He thought over the words coming from the Knight. As he looked on through his T shaped visor he could tell that his opponent was nervous.

“Fine,” said Kano as he slowly lowered his blaster pistols. He calmly placed the Westars into their holsters and gently released the grips.

A look of hesitant relief became to cross Appius’s face. That slight moment came to an abrupt end as Kano gripped a throwing dagger in each hand and in an instant sent them at the Knight.Before they had made it halfway to their target Kano drew two more and sent them as well.

Appius flicked his saber blade through the air slicing the first two in half in a downward motion causing them to spread just wide enough to clear his body. His arms then shifted upwards to strike the second set of daggers. Kano’s feet were already moving to clear the distance between the two.

10 feet

The wound on the Knight’s left shoulder slowed his movements but not by much however that was all the distraction the Raider needed. His target had yet to see him moving as his blade connected with the second set of daggers again splitting them and sending them just past his body.

5 feet

The Knight still had his blade moving in an upward motion as Kano’s jetpack fired to life once again closing the remaining distance in an instant and crashing the Raider shoulder first into Appius. The force of the hit knocked the wind out of Appius and broke his grip on the hilt, sending it rolling across the ground.

The Knight stumbled backwards several steps before catching his balance. Kano glanced to the lightsaber hilt on the ground by his feet and dug the toe of his boot into the sand under it. He then kicked the hilt as far away as he could.

Kano looked his target in the eyes once again. “How about I give you a fighting chance?”

Kano didn’t wait for a response before running at the Knight. Appius quickly shifted his stance, sliding his right leg back to prepare for the incoming attack. He tucked his elbows close anticipated Kano’s first strike.

The Raider drew his right arm back and sent it hurling through the air towards the Knight’s face. Appuis shifted slightly, bringing his arm out and to the side. The lightning fast move deflected the punch. Kano followed up with punch after punch while Appius blocked and redirected the attempts. Kano changed up his punch pattern a little and swung wider than previously. Appius used the momentum from this wide swing to deflect and sent Kano into a partial spin. Kano used this spin and kept the momentum turning himself completely around and sending a knee into his targets groin.

Pain instantly overcame Appius as the intensity of Kano's attack caused the former Jedi's eyes to bulge out of their sockets. The feeling was so intense; the pain traversed into Appius' stomach and caused it to churn as he keeled over in horror at the fire like agony he now experienced in his loins.

The Raider instantly sensed his opportunity, gripped Appius by his damaged shoulder and flipped Force Disciple aggressively over him, slamming the slightly taller man face first into the dirt. He then dug his knee hard into the middle of the Force Disciple’s spine and pulled back on his injured arm. It was brutal, as the move was designed to not only incapacitate Appius but break his will and spirit at the same time as the injury shot through the Sorcerer's body.

"What now, Appius? Because guess what? You just made this personal." Kano taunted whilst enjoying the dominance he held over the Force user. The way he saw it, this was justice for using that damned attack against him.

Appius scoured the soil near him trying to find where Kano kicked Redeemer but was unable to find any trace of it from his current vantage point. Out of desperation, with his right arm he reached out with the Force to grip a single lone boulder that laid a short distance from them. It took him several moments to focus the energy due to the pain he was in but slowly the boulder began to lift off the ground before him by the mysterious power he was using like a crane.

Unfortunately for him, Kano had caught on to what he was doing and further applied the pressure into the Force Disciple’s spine and arm. Agony coursed through the former Jedi as the boulder unceremoniously dropped back to the ground. Appius may have been a Sorcerer, but there was only so much stress he could take before his focus on his more advanced Force powers dwindled.

Appius squirmed on the ground desperately trying to find something, anything he could do to break free from Kano's hold of him. There was only one option for him now. He knew he would be fatigued afterwards but what other choice did he have?

He called upon the power of the Force, guiding it through his body like he was a conductor for the mystical energy as he allowed it to empower him, flow through and after a few moments he felt the strength he needed to act. Slowly but surely, Kano began to realise his grip on Appius was slipping. He dug his knee into his spine in order to centre himself but it was to no avail as that momentary distraction was all Appius needed to use his left arm to throw Kano off him as the Raider rolled across the dusty ground several feet away. Even slightly damaged, the Force gave Appius' left arm the necessary power it needed to throw the slightly heavier man off him even if it did cause the wound to flare within Appius.

Wasting no time, the Sorcerer returned to his feet and searched the ground immediately for his lightsaber. A metal glint stood out to him amidst the rocks and rusted metal of Nancora's Badlands as he reached out with his right hand to recall the steel hilt back to him. He reactivated the gleaming green blade and without any further hesitation he threw the weapon as hard as he could at Kano. The Mandalorian Raider was forced to duck under the offending weapon before it had a chance to hit him, but instead of the hilt falling to the ground like the laws of physics demand it should, it instead arched around one hundred and eighty degrees like a boomerang back towards Kano.

It was only thanks to the sound of whirring approaching through the air that Kano knew of the impending danger approaching him. His reflexes were on point as he sidestepped to avoid the lethal decapitation that would have occurred if he remained still. Though as good as his reflexes were, the green blade of the lightsaber still managed to penetrate through Kano's T-shaped visor and missed his eyes by mere millimeters as the weapon returned to Appius' outstretched hand. The resulting attack had managed to damage Kano's visor and destroy it's thermal spectrum.

Upon looking at the Sorcerer, Kano could see he was tiring. His breathing was starting to get heavy and his face was covered in sweat from a combination of heat and fatigue.

"Lait uhyih gar narir ibic!?" (Why are you doing this!?)

Appius yelled in Mando'a in an attempt to try and reason with him but unfortunately his words fell on deaf ears once again.

Kano glared at Appius with the thoughts of what to do next entering his mind.

He stared at the lightsaber in Appius' hand for a moment before a thought came to him.

"Biai yirhaou Ni o' denahr." (How about I even the score.)

The raider unsheathed a vibroblade and held in with a dual grip as an ominous hum could be heard echoing through The Badlands.

Upon hearing Kano's response and seeing him draw his vibroblade, the Sorcerer decided to act and once again summoned up the emotional stimuli required to fuel the jets of blue and white that lanced out of his fingers like arrows at an impressive distance towards Kano.

The distance was just enough that the Mandalorian's reflexes allowed him to sidestep out of the way of the lightning. Upon realising what Appius tried to hit him with his entire being was overcome with anger and rage.

Kano roared as his jetpack flared back to life. It kicked up dust and soil as he launched himself into the air approximately fifteen feet before descending down at his enemy.

The Force Wielder braced himself as he jumped out of the way of the powerful gravity enhanced swing Kano attempted to strike him with. The Raider skidded along the sandy terrain and spun to assault his target again. Only to be forced to dodge a large piece of scrap metal Appius used as a projectile aimed straight at his face. It landed a few feet away with a loud clunk before Kano again closed the gap between them.

Appius' injury on his left arm prevented him from doing nothing other than defend himself even though it would have been clear to any onlooker that Appius' sword fighting skills were better than Kano's. He seemed almost relaxed as he parried and blocked Kano's onslaught of attacks. They may have been simple movements, but simple was all he needed to match Kano blow for blow as each strike aimed at his vitals threatened to immediately end his life.

Eventually, Appius found his opportunity as Kano exposed himself by lifting his sword above his head. Appius spun around and clipped the Raider in the ribs with his Lightsaber and once more released a searing bolt of electrical energy towards Kano from just a couple feet away. The shock of his damaged flesh and the sudden distress dropped the bounty hunter to his knees as he let go of the deadly vibrosword in his hand. He tried to once again endure the physical torment that burned in and out of his body but there was only so much one man could take.

The lightning only streaked for a few moments, though it was clear from the smoke and smell of charred flesh emanating from Kano's body that the damage was done. Appius took a page out of Kano's book and dug his boot into the soil and kicked the weapon away from him. He held his lightsaber at Kano as the green blade remained just centimetres from his skull.

"Are we done now? I don't want to fight anymore, Kano... I don't know what I've done to warrant this attack, but is it really worth all this?" Appius said in between heavy breaths. He was exhausted and this battle had taken him to his limits. Thankfully it seemed it was at an end and he had won.

He couldn't have been more wrong.

For Kano was not one to give in so easily. He clenched his right hand into the soil and glared at Appius right in his eyes.

"Yes. It is."

The Force warned Appius of the sudden danger he was in but it was no use. His exhaustion plus all the damage he had received up to this point had dulled his reaction times. The Weapons Specialist threw the fistful of dirt straight into the eyes of the Sorcerer as he gasped in pain as the soil scratched his retinas.

The adrenal injector within Kano's elite Mandalorian armor activated and instantly the Raider felt his awareness skyrocket as the energy passing through his bloodstream reignited him. He leapt to his feet and grabbed the dazed man in front of him by his injured arm once again, he twisted it back, causing Appius instead to drop to his knees as he was then flipped onto his tailbone by the force Kano exerted. But he didn't let go. Not yet. With his spare arm he grabbed his elite shock collar and latched it on around Appius' neck.

"Let's see how you like it."

He activated the transmitter and instantly Appius shrieked in anguish as he writhed and suffered on the ground of the Nancora Badlands.

This carried on for several minutes and Kano never let up on the sadistic device until finally Appius couldn't stand the torment any longer as his eyes rolled into the back of his head. He fell unconscious as the shock collar continued to send electrical sparks throughout his body which caused it to twitch disturbingly.

Kano ended the transmission to the shock collar and approached Appius' motionless body. He knew he could kill him and indeed was very tempted to. He put up quite the fight and he'd given Kano more trouble than he was expecting. His Armor was damaged and his flesh was burnt but nevertheless, Kano wasn't cheap for a reason and there was going to be a certain satisfaction at handing over Appius alive, especially after all the lightning Appius had used against him.

He retrieved his vibrosword from a few feet away, picked Appius' body up and slung it over his shoulder as he began the trek back towards his ship.

Kano smiled subtly as the thought of what he would do with all those credits entered his mind.