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.

The Dark Council has pushed forth to Begeren and the Grand Master, on his quest for ever more powerful items, has decreed the Clans and Houses seize anything of value. The unity shown by the Brotherhood during the beginning of this Crusade is fracturing, with the Clans and Houses growing tired and frustrated with the seemingly endless succession of battles. Tempers are flaring between former allies, with outright aggression no longer uncommon. Despite this, you have responded to the Grand Master's call—though whether it's to actually seize the items for the Brotherhood, destroy them, or use them for your own purposes, only you know. One such item, a Sith talisman, said to be inlaid with a dark side-infused gemstone, was lost in the quarries of Begeren during the liberation of the planet from Old Republic looters thousands of years ago.

The Force has drawn you here, to an abandoned quarry, in a mountainous region west of an expansive desert. Any mining equipment once used here is long gone, but the landscape itself remains surprisingly preserved from the days of the Old Republic's strip mining. Scrub brush, the only foliage present on this part of the planet, has taken root all along the sides of the quarry. The ledge overlooks a one-hundred meter drop into a crystal-clear basin of water; opposite the ledge is a more gradual, step-wise decline. The basin itself is peculiar, as no plants are growing in or around it, despite being one of the few bodies of liquid you have seen in the nearby area. A long, snaking ramp meanders down through the steps of the quarry towards the water below, beginning at the northward edge of the cliff you now find yourself on. You notice shards of gemstones crunch underfoot as you move, a hint as to the use of this quarry in ages past.

The dead of night on Begeren was illuminated by the millions of stars overhead along with the planets moon, shining brightly over the rocky and open quarry. The blue and violet gemstones littered the edges of the paths leading to the small pool at the center to the quarry, while boulders and broken rocks stood like silent guardians, protecting the quarry from intruder. Marduss had little time to lose, he knew just how important to achieve his goal at the quarry was. Armed with his armory saber, a durasteel breastplate, and a sword, Marduss was ready to battle any enemy. Unfortunately, a particularly powerful enemy, Kell Palpatine Dante, was also in pursuit of the same thing as Marduss. As Marduss knew, the object of his and his opponent’s desire was a violet gemstone in the shape of a Christian cut which amplified the user’s power tenfold. However, if also harmed users who were not properly trained in the dark side or had the knowledge of how to us it properly, and looking at the pool of water with no life of any form detectable, it was down there. A high ranking and powerful Obelisk, Dante was also an incredibly devout member of the Brotherhood, and would surely bring the talisman back to his commanders. A situation that would lead to an open battle between the two would not work in Marduss’s favor, but from looking at the quarry, he could use the environment to his advantage. Dante had some ability to manipulate the force in order to sense his opponent, but with the amount of force disruption coming from the talisman, this could be nullified and allow Marduss to stay hidden. Marduss would then be able to ambush Dante by reaching out with the force to launch some of the boulders around him at his opponent, hopefully stunning him and allowing Marduss enough time to escape. Just as Marduss found his hiding spot, a large 5x5 stone standing vertically about 1.5 meter from the edge of the rim of the pool, did Dante enter the quarry, decked out in his nightstalker armor, and armed with his lightsaber and his blaster. He saw some recognition in Dante’s face, and watched him make a cautious approach to the small pool. One hand on his saber, Dante called upon the force to augment him in finding the talisman, and within seconds, pulled the talisman from the pool of water with telekinesis. With the talisman out of the water, Marduss acted as fast as he could by sending two large boulders flying towards Dante, who was caught off guard due to his focus on the talisman. Recovering quickly, Dante stopped both the boulders from colliding with him, but let his grip on the talisman go just enough for Marduss to grasp it and run for the entrance to the quarry. He barely made five meters before a falling rock blocked his path, courtesy of Dante, who had ignited his saber and was ever so clearly angered.

“That-” Dante announced, “-was a bad move. You should know not to attack a target that can easily overwhelm you, and you should never get in my way of completing my objective”. Marduss, offering only a sinister smile, grasped and ignited his saber, and took his stance.

“I didn’t want to attack a target that could overwhelm me, but I wanted to avoid a pointless obstacle.” With this, the two simultaneously charged each other with sabers above their heads, intent on taking the talisman, Marduss for himself, Dante for his masters. 

As the pair of opponents raced at one another, Kell suddenly changed tactics and went airborne towards the younger man. The experienced Obelisk wanted to end this quickly and move on to the next mission on this seemingly eternal Crusade. His purple blade flashed quickly in a wide, striking motion as he vaulted up and over the charging form of Marduss.

The journeyman barely had time to throw his blade up to block the death from above attack that almost cut his head off and prematurely end his life. Marduss felt the sizzle of the striking saber as the strength of the blow from the much larger man almost forced his own saber into his body, and it was enough to cause him to stumble and fall to his feet.

Recovering from narrowly missing with his death blow, the soldier landed on his feet and turned ready to continue pressing the attack on the fallen Sith. Reaching out with the Fore, the trooper let loose a blast of telekinetic energy that sent the Plagueian flying into the metal bars of the walkway of the quarry.

Falling to his knees, Marduss was unable to catch his breath as the throbbing pain from a number of cracked ribs began to filter through the shock that his body had just experienced. Trying to call on the Force to heal him, all that he could do was to manage the pain by dulling it somewhat.

Drawing strength from the darkness around him, the older man wasn’t about to let the young man hang around in a fight. Moving in with amplified speed, Kell followed his vicious attack with a kick to the bent over Sith’s face that almost sent him over the walkway's edge and into the chasm below.

Blood gushed from the broken nose that Marduss had just received, but he continued to try and quash the flowing sea of red that was dripping onto the stone floor. The Plagueian was still in the fight, but his opportunity for completing this mission was dropping as fast as his chances for survival.

The world was a blur. Time moved slowly and images were fading in and out of the young Sith’s vision. He saw his master standing above him, his adopted father encouraging him from the sidelines, the family he never knew watching silently, he saw the children who wanted him dead, taunting him. They would have killed him many years ago on Mandalore, they wanted to kill him now, and they taunted him for his pain and injury at the hands of Dante. The feeling of this terror only became fuel for Marduss’ rage, and it burned brighter than the quasar at the center of the galaxy. He was furious, shaking with rage; he had not let these children kill him on Mandalore and would not lose to Dante now. Just like that, Marduss’s trance was broken, and he was filled with a new sense of passion.

Despite his second wind, Marduss was in no condition to battle with Dante. He was fluidly augmented by the force as it soothed his pain and amplified his abilities, but he could not win this if it continued as melee combat.

With all his rage, Marduss announced,

“You will not deny me what is mine Kell!”, but was unaware if he spoke of the talisman, or Dante’s death.

Dante’s expression was unchanging from his serious demeanor, and he only replied,

“Then it’s a good thing the talisman isn’t yours”, and charged Marduss again with blinding speed.

Marduss did not reciprocate. Instead, he ran towards the cliffs around him, hoping he may use the stones for yet another advantage over Dante. As he jumped to the top of the nearest rock, Dante was halfway to him with full intent to end this battle. Marduss stood, several feet above Dante’s head, and channeled the force into many fingers of arcing electricity which he sent hurtling towards Dante. Skilled in deflecting projectiles, Dante was unfazed by the incoming force, but stopped and used his saber to deflect it until Marduss was unable to continue.

Now Dante leapt towards and struck at Marduss, who then jumped to the next rock, making Dante’s slash at nothing but the top of a boulder. Again, Dante leapt towards the next rock Marduss stood upon, only to dodge a telekinetic blast from the younger warrior and leap to the next rock. A fierce game of cat and mouse was being played, and the roles were constantly being switched between the two willing participants.

Then Dante regained his advantage, he and Marduss were now standing only a meter apart, close enough to re-enter melee. Amplifying his speed, Dante brought a vicious slash towards Marduss’ right, which Marduss just barely blocked. Dante then brought his saber around in a full 360 degree spin in an attempt to take out Marduss’s legs, which missed by centimeters. Marduss, amplifying his own speed, made a stab at the Obelisk’s mid-section, only to be parried and forced to block a slash that would bisect him in two. In a last ditch effort, Marduss leapt over Dante towards a large rock at the Obelisk’s blindside and, using it to propel himself, tried to impale him from behind.

In a moment of strategic clarity, Dante leapt into the air and said to himself,

“Defeat the arena…”, and calling on the Force with all his might, sent a kinetic blast towards the large boulders Marduss was using to keep distance between the two. The shockwave destroyed every rock in a 10 meter radius around the young warrior, and forced Marduss to the ground several feet below, sending up a dense cloud of dust and debrief. Landing just outside the cloud, Dante finished his words,

”…and you defeat your opponent.”

Or so Dante would like to think, because even though he could sense the talisman in the cloud of broken rocks and dust, he could also sense the still living presence of Marduss. He felt his pain, anguish and patience growing, waiting for a chance to strike at the Obelisk as he approached the dust cloud.