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.

"I invoke the code to right a wrong done to me and my kin. I seek justice through single combat and will see this score settled."

The challenge had been accepted. A deal had been struck between Clan Taldryan and the Okami Mandalorians of Odan Urr. This would be a strict one-on-one confrontation where what happened on Nancora, stayed on Nancora. Be it death, or serious injury, both Appius Wight and Creon de Neverse would fight with their honour on the line until one surrendered, or one was killed in combat.

The way the Taldryanite saw it, he had two choices he could have made. The first was to refuse the challenge and stay in the Caelus System, leading Clan Taldryan like he should have been doing at this moment in time. Yet, that would leave him dishonoured amongst his Mandalorian brethren, and being dishonoured amongst Mandalorians was a huge deal. The second was to accept the challenge and go one-on-one in a potential fight to the death in a specified location.

Naturally, Appius chose the latter. Honour was as important to a Mandalorian as their armor, and there was no way Aay'han, Tracinya, or even Zxyl would let him live it down if he declined. Plus, there were the potential implications of what could happen if he refused the challenge. This challenger could decide to go after the ones he cared about the most, those being Ankira, Rasau, and Shi'Kar. There was no way in hell Appius was going to let that happen.

Then there was the matter of the one who challenged him in the first place.

Creon de Neverse.

The split second the Taldryan Consul read that name, he knew immediately what this was about, and a part of him cursed that he didn't just complete the contract to capture Elyon and deliver her as promised. He could have taken the credits, called it a job well done, and no-one would have been any the wiser. On the other hand, Appius couldn't really blame the guy. If anyone from Clan Odan Urr had tried to capture Ankira because of a bounty on her head, he would have had the Taldryan Navy sent to Kiast ready to finish the job Grand Master Muz Ashen started all those years ago.

The Mandalorian Consul supposed it was better this way. There was less collateral damage involved that wouldn't escalate into a full-blown war. Clan Taldryan already had their hands full in the Caelus System, the last thing they needed was for the enemy to gain potential allies.

A slight wind kicked up some of the dust around the aptly named Nancora Badlands, and Appius silently wondered if one of the planet's many dust storms was on its way. The sunlight beamed onto the Taldryan Consul's crimson armor. It was hot, and the area smelt like death had paid a visit recently. Everything was so horribly beige, and if it wasn't for the piles of scrap metal and debris that littered the landscape, then it would have looked a lot like Mandalore. Perhaps that was another reason this location was chosen? It seemed fitting for a battle between two Mandalorians.

The proclaimed Mandaboo kept his senses aware of where his opponent was. Every living being had a signature in the Force, some of which were stronger due to their Force sensitivity. Trudging the Badlands was seen by many as akin to a death sentence, so Appius didn't have to look very hard to find his would-be opponent. The Arcanist could feel the presence of the light side of the Force nearby, but it was tainted by anger, and a lust for vengeance. Yet, when the Taldryanite turned his head in the direction he could sense it, he saw nothing.

"My… husband… is Mandalorian… a Force User… like… you."

Elyon's words flickered in his mind. Creon was likely cloaking himself in the Force. A fact that was confirmed when he suddenly appeared a few feet from Appius. The colours of the Okami Mandalorians glimmered in the Nancoran sunlight, the white and orange contrasting the red and gold of the Taldryanite's own armor.

"Hello there!" Appius greeted in fluent Mando'a. Perhaps there was a way to settle their dispute without resorting to bloodshed? Mandalorian numbers were few and far between. Mandalorian Force Users such as themselves were even rarer.

The Consul received his answer when Creon raised one arm towards him and bent his knees. The Force rang out in Appius' mind to warn him of immediate and impending danger.

"FRAKK!" the Consul exclaimed and held out both hands in front of him. A jet of flame erupted out of one of the vambraces attached to Creon's arm, though instead of sizzling its target as intended, it instead crashed into the invisible wall created by Appius to protect himself. The flames splintered to the left and the right, leaving the Taldryanite untouched, though his arms were sparingly hot.

The flames stopped abruptly, and the Okami Mandalorian closed the distance between the two with a right boot to the chest. On instinct, Appius stepped back to avoid the power behind the attack, but still took the brunt of the kick as it staggered him backwards. Creon stepped closer to Appius with determination, looking to capitalise by throwing a feint punch towards Appius' head again before switching towards the Consul's throat. The Taldryanite was lucky, or perhaps skilled enough, to hard block the strike before it hit his airways.

Mandalorian Core was as brutal as it was effective. In one way, it was incredibly minimalist in how little it needed to take down an opponent. It could take advantage of an opponent's soft zones and make them beg for mercy. The groin, throat, solar plexus, and all manner of fighting dirty was fair game. It was the reason many Mandalorians used it. Who cared what happened to the folly they were hunting so long as it got the job done?

However, one of the many unspoken rules of hand to hand combat, was that nine times out of ten, speed trumped raw power. It didn't matter how much strength one had if they couldn't hit their opponent, a fact Creon suddenly learned the hard way. For whilst he might have had the slight physical edge in terms of raw strength, Appius was significantly faster.

The victim became the attacker as the Taldryan Consul exploded at the Oddanite with a series of ferocious attacks that would have made a Juyo practitioner proud. Appius' heart beat furiously in his chest, his blood pumped through his body as he became fired up from sheer adrenaline, and the desire to put the hurt on the one trying to injure him. A vicious right hook collided with Creon's beskar helmet and snapped his head to the side. Then, sensing his opportunity, Appius grabbed hold of the beskar helmet atop the Okami Mandalorian's head and readied for a knee strike, though Creon was able to snap out of it before the Taldryanite could follow through. The Consul attempted a swift kick to the groin, but the Oddanite must have realised the disadvantage he was at and activated his jetpack, pulling him away from Appius just in time. A mound of sand and dust kicked up as Creon landed a few feet away.

"COME ON, YOU COWARD!" Appius roared in Mando'a. "I'm just getting warmed up!"

Creon responded to the taunt with silence. Elyon's husband retrieved his blaster rifle from the backplate of his armor, hoisting it over himself as he pointed it towards the other Mandalorian and pulled the trigger.

Creon had judged the distance proper in line with the effective range of his side barrel. He was more accurate from the kneeling position and timed the trigger squeeze smoothly in tandem with the breath. A specialized ion pulse plasma bolt produced a muzzle flash that expanded into a high voltage electrical current surrounding a core of plasma fire. Appius initially knew not from where the attack would come from, but upon the pull of the Force in his instincts, he reactively produced another barrier. He misjudged the needed thickness of his wall and paid the price when the round tore through the shield and brought the Mandaboo from standing on his feet to lying on his back. The wattage from the ionic shock was ever so familiar to Appius as it surged through his veins.

Mandaboo… The very name was an insult to the culture. It had been etched into the frag grenades that followed Creon’s next assault. The first had made its mark as Appius had not the time to recover from his muscles being locked having been temporarily tased. Shrapnel pinged against his armor with a few that pierced into his thighs. With the subsequent second and third rounds he was able to divert their trajectory to his left and right with telekinesis. Their explosions caused a cloud of dust that obscured Appius’ surroundings, forcing Creon to revert to the prone and be patient. He watched for any sudden movements with the J19 Electroscope magnified to 2x in a direct feed to the visor’s HUD display. On a smaller side window at the corner of his view was the camera of his ID10 recording from afar at a higher angle. When Appius crunched upward Creon shot a silent love tap that bounced off his helmet and put him back down.

“Oh, frack this guy!” Appius shouted and rolled to his stomach. He brought himself up to his hands and knees before activating the jetpack that sent him upward. Creon tried to shoot the jetpack when it was exposed but missed. Appius twirled and ignited Ashla and Bogan whose brilliant glow stretched from his hands like wings. Creon watched as he rose from the prone position and put the rifle back on his backplate. He let go of the Force Cloak at the ignition of Dragonslayer, whose black pearl from the open chamber reflected the sun’s light like a shining eye.

Creon jumped and was accelerated by the boost of his jetpack. Appius saw Creon’s prepared cross-slash and prepared a counterattack. With the higher initiative, the Taldryan slashed first but was stopped by Creon’s energy shield generator. He was still able to block with his off-handed blade, but Creon’s two-handed impact was mightier than anticipated. Appius lost control of Bogan but reached out to the Force to pull it back. Before it was in his grasp, however, his body was yanked by the neck at the end of Creon’s grappling line as he shouted, “Get over here!”

Appius twisted his torso, cut the line with Ashla in both hands, and accelerated towards the Okami. He looked back to reach for Bogan again, but the Force pulled Appius’ attention to the blaster fire coming from Creon’s vambraces towards his jetpack. “Fine, we’ll do it your way,” he hissed and flew up at the Odanite with Ashla alone. With his free hand, Appius sent shockwaves up towards Creon which overloaded both his jetpack and lightsaber and shut them down. He fell slowly by the safety activation of his belt and was still in control of his body from the resistance in his armor. As they were about to collide, Creon was able to time a repulsor blast from his vambraces just as his enemy came in reach. This caused Appius to flip downward towards the ground and Creon doubled his descent with a hard push of the Force.

Just before hitting the ground, Appius was able to curl his body back upward, only to see a shower of whispering birds propelling towards him. He brought up his arms and summoned a barrier but the rockets tore through and finally put him back on the ground.

When Creon’s boots were planted firmly back on the ground, he raised his left arm and aimed his vambrace to where Appius had landed.

“Command Prompt, Open Sensor Sweep Software, Scan Search: Lightsaber, Special Command: Highlight Lightsabers on HUD, and Close Program.”

//Administrator Message = Received//ID10 = Initiating Command//

A simple and soft red glow from miniaturized hologram lights grew from the right edge of Creon’s visor. He turned his head to the right and saw a red glowing opaque circle with the relevant size to indicate its distance from himself. Creon reached out with his right hand and used the Force to pull the Lightsaber to him just before the highlight program was terminated. He turned his head back towards Appius to see if he had stirred. The whispering birds had created yet another obscure cloud of dust and sand surrounding his prey. Creon was beginning to hate sand for this very reason.

Hate

Creon hated Appius. He hated money. The Dark Side birthed an aura of flame in his heart. The flame grew hotter once Bogan was in his hands. His heart rate increased and his brain released its cortisol and adrenaline supply. Kah Manet was to retire as Quastor of the Guardian Corps. Its Aedile Gui Sol had seen what had been done to Elyon and sought an alliance with the Okami. Her tattered Phoenix Helmet would be sent to Luna, for Elyon was Okami through the sanctity of their marriage. A house and his clan would be all Creon would need to bathe Taldryia in the inferno of war. For none had given their Consul wise council over the consequences of his actions.

“I am not done with you!” Creon shouted through his helmet and fired a blaster bolt from his vambrace. From the back of his belt just under the jetpack was a pouch that contained his thermal imploder. Creon grabbed it with his free hand and primed it.

Suffering

“You will suffer me!”

This was not going as Appius had intended, especially when the Force rang true in his mind and warned him of the danger he was in. The Consul quickly rose to his feet, his chest still aching from the ion shocks, and he felt a twinge of pain in his legs when he put his weight down on them. Which was likely to be from the shrapnel he took earlier in the fight. He hadn't acknowledged it at first since the adrenaline had coursed through his body and numbed the pain, but now his injuries were starting to catch up with him. Yet, he couldn't die here, he vehemently refused to! Appius finally had his life back together and he was not about to let it end at the hands of some wannabe Jedi Okami with anger issues!

Creon tossed the powerful explosive at Appius, and the Taldryanite did one of the only things he could do to avoid certain death. He reached out with the Force to grab a small chunk of durasteel debris that he spotted only a few feet away from him. It was light, probably from some old landspeeder that had long since been forgotten, but it was perfect for the Arcanist to launch it into the path of the explosive. It collided with the imploder and interrupted it off its original trajectory. The cylindrical device was approximately halfway between Creon and Appius when it exploded with a thunderous boom that shook the ground. Dust and debris kicked up in its wake, clouding both men's view from one another.

"Frakk me, that was close…" Appius mumbled to himself as he witnessed the destruction the thermal imploder had done. If he had been caught in that blast, beskar or not, there wouldn't have been much of him left.

The Force sounded in his mind again when soaring through the dust clouds emerged Creon, brandishing Bogan, Appius' second lightsaber, ignited in his hands. The Jedi Mandalorian roared like a greater krayt dragon as he slammed headfirst into Appius' beskar helmet. The momentum of the attack snapped the Taldryan Consul's head back into solid ground as he once again fell to the dirt.

"Ow…" Appius groaned.

Creon skidded to a stop moments later and rounded on Appius, fully intending to use the Tadryanite's weapon against him in an act of karmic justice. Creon raised the emerald blade weapon above his head and brought it down in an aggressive and powerful swing.

Thankfully, Appius had enough awareness to roll out of the way of the attack before it could cleave his head from his shoulders. The Oddanite gave chase, swinging the lightsaber like a man possessed by a Sith spirit, and Appius had to keep rolling in the dirt away from Creon to avoid getting hit.

It was evident to Appius that the Okami Mandalorian was single-minded in his desire to murder him. Unfortunately for the Taldryan Consul, his luck ran out when his back collided with a large, jagged stone which prevented him from going any further.

"NOW DIE!" Creon cried out as he readied to bring the saber down on Appius and achieve his vengeance.

Panicked, and with seemingly no other option, the Taldryanite did the one thing he could do and grabbed a fistful of dirt before he threw it directly into Creon's face.

Granted, the latter was protected by his visor, but the sudden unexpected action caught the Okami by surprise as it startled him for a split second. It gave Appius all the time he needed to pour the Force into his body, pry himself up onto his knees and strike Creon in the groin with his arm, getting as much power behind the surprise strike as he could.

"Don't you dare count me out, you son of a bitch!" Appius seethed through gritted teeth.

The white and orange armoured Mandalorian let out an involuntary squeal at the sudden pain that spread through his loins and up through his gut, making him nauseous. The crimson-armoured Taldryanite followed up by summoning the Force into the palm of his hand and slamming it into Creon's sternum. The Okami Mandalorian was sent careening uncontrollably through the air, only stopping when he rolled into a pile of scrap metal several feet away. Creon's jetpack took the brunt of the damage, and the Oddanite scrambled to toss it away before it exploded on his back.

Whilst Creon dealt with his sudden bout of severe equipment failure, Appius took the opportunity to rise back to his feet. The twinge in his thighs was getting worse the longer this battle dragged on, and when the Consul glanced down, there was indeed dried blood and dust upon the wound. It probably looked worse than it did, at least that's what Appius told himself as he forced himself to ignore the stabbing sensation in his legs.

"I'm gonna need a few days in a bacta tank after all this…" the Force Disciple muttered to himself. Although, Creon wasn't doing too well either. Yes, he hadn't sustained the damage that Appius had, but the war between the two men was starting to take its toll on him too, which was evident by his heavy breathing as he rose back to his feet.

"So this is how it's going to be, is it Creon!?" Appius called out. "Are we just going to keep fighting until one of us is dead?

"Until you are dead," Creon corrected. "For what you did to Elyon, I will not stop until I bathe these Badlands in your blood!"

"Elyon is FINE!" Appius retorted. "Yes! We fought, and I fully intended to capture her. She was a wanted fugitive from the Clone Wars and had a nice, pretty sum on her head, but I changed my mind about the whole thing once I found out she was married to a Mandalorian! Don't you see? There's no reason for us to keep fighting like this."

"Shut up!" the Okami screamed back. "I will not listen to your lies any further! Prepare to die, dar'manda!"

That last word was considered one of the gravest insults one Mandalorian could give to another. It discredited one as a Mandalorian, stripping them of their honour and calling them scum.

Needless to say, Appius wasn't in the mood for negotiating after that gibe.

"Fine. Have it your way, Creon," Appius held onto his one remaining saber, reigniting the emerald blade in a show of power. "But don't say I didn't warn you."

Creon took that as his invitation to advance. The Jedi Mandalorian closed the distance on foot without his jetpack. Although, he closed the distance much faster than Appius expected as the Okami struck at him with greater force than Appius anticipated. Green clashed with green as the Taldryanite's two lightsabers collided with each other with a savagery that the Consul would have never expected. A wave of anger, fury, and rage washed over Appius. The source of which came from the Okami trying to cleave him in twain.

Creon didn't just have those emotions, he used them like any other weapon in his arsenal. It empowered him, making him faster and stronger, leaps above what simply augmenting one's ability with the Force could do. Appius recognised the powerful, aggressive movements of the Okami's lightsaber form as Djem So, a form that focused on powerful swings and counterattacks. However, the form had a severe mobility problem that under normal circumstances Appius would have been particularly keen to exploit. Unfortunately, the pain in his legs prevented him from doing so. The Taldryan Mandalorian was unable to move out of the way as he hard blocked an overhead swing to his head, then his ribs, and then to his injured legs. Each time he repelled the attack, the sheer force behind Creon's attacks sent a vibration through Appius' hands and arms. The Consul grit his teeth, sweat dripping down his brow as he began searching for a way out of his predicament. It didn't help that for the most part, the Oddanite was in control of his faculties.

Then, it happened, like Appius' silent prayers had been answered. Creon began to slow down as his attacks and saber movements became sloppy and predictable. Channeling one's fury and rage granted great power, but with great power, came great responsibility. It was a fact of life Creon seemed to have forgotten.

"Something wrong, Creon?" Appius jeered as his opponent panted and gasped for breath. "You seemed so determined a minute ago."

The Okami Mandalorian snarled slightly beneath his visor, but otherwise said nothing in response.

"I thought you wanted to kill me? I thought you wanted to make me pay for what happened to Elyon? Djem So relies on powerful swings and it feels like you are barely putting any effort into it!"

Appius was right. Using the Force like Creon had granted the Okami a great, enormous burst of power, but it was like an explosion; fleeting, and then gone in the moment.

"I… will… make… you… pay…" the Okami Mandalorian wheezed out the sentence.

"Really?" the crimson-armoured Mandalorian asked, sounding unconvinced. "And how do you think Elyon would respond if she saw you doing this now? Would she be proud of you? Or would she hate what you are trying to do with every fibre of her being?"

That did it. Creon had a split second moment of hesitation. Dun Möch was an effective tool for creating such moments as these, and Appius capitalised on it. He wrapped the Force around Creon and pulled the Okami towards him. Then, in one swift motion, the Taldryanite wrapped one hand around Creon's throat and used the Okami's momentum to force him to the ground.

Appius wasn't done there. Creon gasped for air as Appius relinquished his hold on the Okami's throat. The Consul stood above the Oddanite, the fingers of his left hand outstretched as he poured the dark side of the Force through them.

"Eat sithspit, di'kut!" Appius said as streams of lightning ruptured out of his fingertips and into Creon's body. Beskar was of no use here, and the Okami Mandalorian was too slow to react, and all he could do was writhe on the ground in agony for several seconds until the pain stopped. When it did, Creon was unconscious, his body twitching slightly after the convulsions.

Appius collapsed onto his hands and knees moments later. The victory was his, and Creon's fate rested in his hands. By the code, he could take his fellow Mandalorian's life if he wished. The thought was incredibly tempting as the Taldryanite rose back to his feet.

Pain seared in his chest and thighs. Not to mention the whiplash from his head snapping back earlier. Then he remembered, if someone had done the same to Ankira, he would be doing exactly what Creon was doing. All it took was a change in circumstance and the shoe would have been on the other foot.

No, they were scarce enough as is. Appius wasn't going to kill Creon, but he wasn't going to let him get away freely either.

"I win… therefore your fate is mine to decide," the Consul started. "I will let you live, but I'm not going to help you out of here. If you somehow survive the dust storms, then you can keep your honour as a Mandalorian."

Creon didn't respond, and Appius had no idea if the Okami had heard him. Not that it mattered.

"Good luck," Appius finished as he activated his jetpack. He launched himself in the air towards freedom, making sure to flip Creon the bird before he vanished from sight.