Black Spire Outpost is a small but thriving settlement on the Outer Rim world Batuu. Although Batuu’s remote location — it’s so far off the grid that couriers have to carry interstellar messages to a planet with a Holonet beacon — has given it a reputation as a good place to lay low and avoid attention, Black Spire has witnessed skirmishes in both the Clone Wars and the more recent war between the Resistance and First Order.

The Spire is a market town where Batuuans and the occasional outlanders come to buy and sell a surprising variety of wares. The main bazaar features handcrafted toys, clothing, pets, and the pervasive, mouthwatering scent wafting from Ronto Roaster’s grill, a converted pod racer engine. Customers interested in specialty goods tend to stick to Dok-Ondar’s Den of Antiquities or Hondo Ohnaka’s latest “highly legitimate and extremely legal import/export business venture.” The most out of place customers must be the trickle of spiritual seekers who flock to Saavi’s scrapyard to pick through rusted durasteel and droid bits in search of something special.

Although people from small Rim communities are known for a certain aloofness with outsiders, Batuuans have gleefully adapted to the increased foot traffic in the bazaar and the planet is something of a minor tourist destination for coreward travellers with a taste for the exotic. Smiles and cries of “Bright suns, traveller!” invariably lead to foreign credits lining Batuuan pockets.

Although the planet has its share of thugs, typically found in Oga’s Cantina, even a First Order garrison couldn’t shake the feeling that this is the happiest place in the galaxy.

Battlelord Vincent Brujah sat at the bar at Oga's Cantina taking measured sips from a Black Spire Brew. He was clad in his usual black and red robes and black armorweave cloak, wearing the hood down for the moment. His long black hair covered his shoulders as his head leaned backwards taking a bigger gulp of the brew. It wasn't business or pleasure that brought Brujah to the Black Spire Outpost today. The Punisher, his ship, had taken some damage in a chase in his latest search for ancient Sith artifacts. Batuu wasn't only the closest, but possibly the most relaxing of settings for repairs and refueling.

The crowd was thin today, but there were enough rough faces in the cantina to leave the random tourists outside the doors. This gave Brujah the chance to focus his thoughts on the chase that had occurred. He didn't even recognize the ship or any markings on it, but as soon as it noticed The Punisher it fired shots and pursued. The Sith was lucky to escape. But why? Could one of Brujah's past misdeeds during his absence from the Brotherhood be coming back to bite him? No... that wasn't it. His senses told him that something more sinister was at play. A bounty?

Before another thought could cross his mind or drink could cross his lips the Force screamed out at Vincent, warning him of danger. Dropping from his stool to the floor in a quick, low roll the new appointed Quaestor of House Caliburnus ducked an incoming blaster bolt. It struck the wall behind the Sith, missing any other patrons but leaving a smoking hole in the wall where the impact had occurred. Brujah reached out with his senses as the patrons scattered.

"I should have known..." he muttered to himself, before standing and brushing himself off. Looking around the room at the remaining people who had not yet fled, he spoke calmly and confidently.

"If you don't have a breath mask, I'd recommend you make yourself scarce..."

The bartenders and various thugs ran for the exit. As the last of them ran out of the door, a familiar face walked in.

"Titius... surely that wasn't you chasing me?" Brujah asked.

"If I were chasing you, you wouldn't be here right now." the mercenary responded from within his bio-armor.

Titius made his approach, Horrific Deluge held at the hip, ready to fire at a moments notice. Much had changed since the last time the two had met. They were no longer Clanmates. Titius had taken the position of Quaestor of House Tyranus. Likewise, after the attack on Ellac Conrat by the Justicar, Brujah had been named Quaestor of House Caliburnus. Brujah had expected possible attacks from Kamjin in anticipation of Brujah taking revenge for his Clanmate, but had he stooped so low as to put a bounty on Brujah's head?

"So then, who is it? What's the price? I have no qualms with you, Titius, but make no mistake... I will bury you here if you continue."

With a raise of his arms, Hellfire and Brimstone jumped to the right and left hands of Brujah respectively, their red and orange blades screaming to life.

"Brujah, you insult me."

Titius cocked his helm a few degrees to take in the tensed Sith. "You think this isn't personal? Or that I give two shakes about what happened to Ellac? I'm a Quaestor now. Anything that I wish is within reach without the need to grovel at that rancor chew toy's feet. And what I want right now is you to hurt very badly." Titius hurled a silvery sphere underhand at Brujah. The Sith brought his sabers into high defense and inhaled quickly. Instead of the expected release of gas, the sphere clattered underwhelmingly between Brujah's legs causing a perplexed expression to bloom across his face. Releasing his held breath, he looked down at the orb. The orb responded with a loud pop as both of the Sith's sabers crackled unhappily and died. Perplexed turned to surprise which cascaded to anger as the lightsabers failed to ignite again.

Seeing an opportunity, Titius surged forward. Vaulting over a table, he hurled another grenade over the distracted Sith then charged him with stave. The timing of the attack was perfect as the grenade exploded, amplified by the small space and knocking Brujah forward. Over the final trestle, Titius wound his staff around to impact Brujah across the collar. The crunch of cracked armor was almost musical, less so was the following grunt from Brujah. Blinking rapidly to clear his head, the Sith managed to grab Titius by the shoulder. Unaffected by the shock from the pike, the Sith howled as he hurled Titius over the bar. Glass fragments covered the floor as Titius rolled off the back counter unceremoniously onto the sharp, wet floor.

The blood running through Brujah's veins boiled in rage. Reaching to his side he unsheathed his Sith dagger and slowly made his way around the side of the bar through the bartenders entrance.

"It was a fast and clean death I had planned for you, Titius..."

As the Sith turned the corner, the Privateer was ready. With an ear piercing shriek another bolt flew in the direction of the Sith. Raising his free left hand Brujah stopped the bolt midair, millimeters from his face. Brujah scowled as he looked down at his fellow Quaestor.

"I can see that I've been too gracious." the Sith spat.

Sidestepping, Brujah released his hold on the bolt. It smashed into the wall behind him, smashing into a console and sending a shower of sparks into the air behind the approaching Sith. Titius scuffled backwards on the broken glass and various liquors on the floor, forcing himself to his feet with the help of the stock of his rifle. In a second Brujah was within stabbing range. Unfazed, Titius swung the butt of his rifle upwards catching Brujah under the chin.

Vincent stumbled backward from the shot. Blood began to drip down the beard of the Sith from a cut opened by the rifle. Titius used the moment to reach to his side grabbing his Dioxis grenade. As the mercenary activated the grenade, Brujah shook off the waves of pain radiating from his jaw. The Sith prepared another approach, but then quickly noticed the grenade whirring in the hand of Titius. Brujah's eyes widened as another quick underhanded toss sent the grenade flying towards him.

In an instant, the Sith reached out with the Force, grabbing the grenade and flinging it out of the open door that Titius entered from. A distant "poof" was heard and then screams and gags from the people in the streets outside of the cantina. Flinging the rifle back over his shoulder, Titius returned to his pike. The vibro blade buzzed to life as Brujah turned back to face Titius. Sensing the danger, Brujah lunged toward Titius, dagger pulled back to stab, but before he could make contact the staff came crashing into the right side of his face.

Brujah stumbled backwards from the hit and Titius pressed on the attack smashing the tip of the pike into the Sith's abdomen. Bolts of electricity coiled around the Quaestor of House Caliburnus as he screamed out in agony and fell to his knees. The Sith dagger dropped to the floor. Titius pulled back the pike and with a click the buzzing intensified. Brujah looked up and shouted.

"JAZ! NOW!"

Titius turned to see Brujah's only real friend, the Mandalorian Jaz Holden standing behind him, WESTAR-35's drawn and ready. Before he could even question how the Mandalorian had managed to get the drop on him, Jaz vanished into thin air. Realizing the trick, Titius quickly turned to reengage Brujah, but he found himself staring down a RSKF-44. Without hesitation Brujah squeezed the trigger. With a loud screech a bolt fired out making direct contact with the mercenary's bio-armor under the left shoulder. Pieces of the armor cracked and fell away from the suit, leaving a small opening.

The dagger shook on the floor before levitating upwards and then flying into the hole in the armor, piercing through the shoulder of Titius. Osseus let out a loud growl as the pain of the stab and the burn of the hallucinogen began coursing through his body.

The room swam in a whirl of discoloration before Titius' eyes. Scrabbling behind an overturned table, the mercenary ripped an antidote pack from the small of his back and spilt the contents across the floor. Frantically searching through labels only served to spread the assembly further apart as nausea began to set in. "Spike, help." wheezed the mercenary as he released the clamps on his companion, an ID9 Seeker. "Hallucinogenic antidote three, and quickly!" The seeker went to work finding the appropriate vial without question.

The table began to move sideways. "You move clans and become a one trick coward. Honestly, maybe you should have stayed; learned some humility under my thumb." The table thumped against another, dropping Titius on his back. Brujah stood over his fallen opponent with his pistol firmly in his face.

"It doesn't feel so great when you're the poisoned one, does it?" Leaning in closer, Brujah mused. "I still feel thirsty all the kriffing time from what your Dioxis did to my throat."

Titius gurgled in response. "What did you say?" Brujah moved even closer to try to catch the message. A click-hiss drew the Sith's attention ahead to see the seeker droid holding an injector to Titius' thigh.

"Oh, stop that." A wave of his rough hands sent the droid wailing into the wall. "Now, you were saying?"

"I feel so much better now that youre here..." Brujah realized that his prey seemed to be more vibrant in mere moments. Then he felt a pressure on the nape of his neck. Trying to yank himself back met intense resistance and sharp pain as Titius grabbed hold of a nerve bundle. A twist drove Brujah to the floor as Titius mounted the Sith in a leg hold. Blood sprayed as Tituis ripped the dagger free of his shoulder through gritted teeth. As the dagger turned, arms entangled, fighting for control of the weapon. The Sith calling for power from the Force and the enraged Mercenary using mechanical advantage caused a roiling stalemate of grunting and hissing breaths.

Titius reversed his effort on the dagger, stumbling Brujah from the sudden relief. Twisting hard, jagged shoulder plate hammered into the open gap. The crunchy snap elicited a jagged howl from Brujah, vision suddenly red and blurry. Staving off the pain, he responded by heaving over to slam his attached opponent to the floor. His free hand came to his face, wiping frantically at the deluge of blood. Still attached and back to the floor, Titius made a wild swing at the blinded Sith. Even through the pain and blood, Brujah still managed to stop his blade from landing. The battle was at impasse.

"This isn't going to stop is it?" grunted Titius.

"Only one of us is walking out." spat Brujah, red rivulets splattering Titius in his helmet.

"Fine. You were a good opponent." Titius freed himself in a deft movement, hissing as his back flamed over. Kicking a vial to Brujah's broken form, he drew out a cracked sphere and ignited it manually. Slowly covered in smoke, he limped for the exit.

"Till we meet again, Quaestor."