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.

Antar walked along the the mouth of the quarry, trying to sense the echo of the amulet he had been sent for. It was an honor for one so new to the Brotherhood to be sent for such a prize. A warm, dry breeze blew past the Anzat causing dust to dance through the scrub bushes and across the vast desert. Suddenly a tremor went through him. Out of his peripheral vision he saw a form walking along the opposite edge of the hollow. It couldn’t be a coincidence that he was there as well. The mysterious figure hadn’t noticed Locke, but it was only a matter of time. He was closer to the entrance of the ramp than the Protector was.

With only a moments thought, Antar bolted for the ramp leading to the water below. The mysterious figure turned his head, taking note of the sprinting Arconan and growling.The Exarch began to move faster towards the slope, but Locke was closing the gap fast. Antar glanced over the edge to see the distance between him and the ground. As he leapt from the side of the sheer face of the cliff, the Forced flowed through his body to absorb the blow and cushion his landing. A small cloud of dust and small rocks erupted from beneath his feet.

“Hold it, whelp,” the mysterious figure snarled. “I am Silent of Clan Plagueis and you will treat me with the respect I deserve.”

Silent extended his arm, a bolt of electricity shooting from his fingertips. Antar dropped to his knees, feeling like he was being burned from within. His entire body convulsed with pain. One of the Exarch’s lightsaber ignited as he ran towards his downed foe. Locke rolled to the left against the wall as Silent’s lightsaber cut into the ramp. Silent raced past Antar, who grabbed the ankle of the Sith Pureblood, causing him to trip and roll a few meters down the incline. The Sith stumbled to his feet, still feeling the after effects of his opponent’s attack.

“Not so fast, big boy! I thought all of your kind were dead,” Antar sneered.

“That is none of your concern,” Silent retorted.

The Exarch then pushed his arm out, driving the light from around the two fighters. Antar clung to the wall trying to feel his way down.

The Force, even as an ally, could still be your greatest foe. Silent worked quickly calling on The Force to flow through his body, pushing the image of multiple jagged rocks in the way of the Sith. Even old in his age, Antar was still young in The Force. Using it as a guide through the blackness, he sensed the rocks in his way – moving out of its way, he tripped over the real rocks and fell face first as he exited out of the Black Abyss caused by the Obelisk.

“There are very few things in this galaxy I care for young Sith. Today I was willing to allow you to live, maybe be someone worth fighting against, but you made the mistake of not giving The Great Clan Plagueis the respect it deserves.”

The Force screamed at the Sith as the Claw gauntlet on his right hand bent inward crushing and merging metal with bone. Blood seeped from Antar’s hand as tears of agony filled his eyes and all at once he synced his screams of pain and horror with The Force. Not a smile nor smirk, not a ripple upon the universal ocean of The Force, laid on Silent’s face or body as he ignited his saber and dashed toward the weeping Sith.

The Pureblood dashed forward and angled to his right running along the cliff facing, allowing the glacier colored beam of his saber to cut through it in certain spots. As Silent reached the end of his run, he jumped off the wall and landed back onto his feet looking back over the Sith now with a blaster in his left hand taking aim. Reaching out with his left hand, the Obelisk did not send forth a foray of electricity nor try to knock the blaster out of the Anzat’s hand but instead blasted the cliff side with The Force. The cliff shifted almost instantly as the shock on Antar’s face grew into fear.The cliff side began to break apart and land on top of the Sith.

“That should hold you until I get back, young blood.”

Silent was quickly making his way back up to the abandoned quarry, something within The Force was drawing him back there as if he was metal to a magnet. As he reached the top he heard a roar that could have been mistaken as a local beast, but the Exarch knew it was Antar finally reaching his boiling point. The Anzat pulled out his saber and ignited it as he started his pursuit up the cliff, he was beyond pissed and was ready to take it out on the Shi’ido, and finally the Exarch let a smidge of a smile escape.

“Now it’s interesting young blood.” Silent spoke softly awaiting and recovering for the next attack.

The Arconans rage built with every footfall towards the Pureblood, clouds of dust and gravel spit from beneath his boots. The Anzat’s cuts and bruises caused by the manufactured avalanche closed as he sprinted up the ramp. His bloody right hand dangled by his side throbbing with agony, his left clenching his saber tightly. The Exarch turned to meet his foe, his lightsaber loosely held to his side.

Silent sidestepped Antar’s slash with ease. The Protector’s backswing was swatted away effortlessly. Sparks of plasma erupted from blades as they smashed together. The Plagueian and Arconan’s faces were illuminated by the glow of the locked blades. Locke’s lips flared into a snarl as he pushed the Exarch back, knocking him off balance. Antar took a step towards his opponent. Suddenly a crunch of the gemstones behind him caused the Anzat to turn to face what he was sure was another attacker, only to find no one behind him. He spun around in time to see the Pureblood regain his footing.

“You are nothing, young blood. Only a fool would fall for such an obvious illusion,” Silent said with a smirk. “Your style is sloppy. It is an insult that they would even send you against me.”

The Arconans eyes burned with hatred, “I will ensure that you live to see me drain every last drop of your ‘soup’ as youl beg for death.”

Antar extended his arm sending out a strike through the Force. With a twitch of the Exarch’s hand, Locke let out a gasp of pain as his attack was redirected into his own chest. The Protector grabbed his chest wincing in pain, as the oozing wound turned his shirt red. An echo in The Force called out to the two Dark Jedi. They both looked to the east, a glint in the distance caught both of their eyes.

The Protector slashed at Silent. With the Exarch’s simple dodge, an opening to dash for the glint appeared. The Sith, grasping his chest with his bloody, crushed hand, was running ahead of the Plagueian. Locke began to breathe heavy and his steps became taxed. His entire body began to ache and nausea washed over him. The Force was slowing him, making him ill. The Pureblood raced past him to their goal. As quickly as the sickness had struck, it dissipated.

Antar chased after the Exarch, determined to beat him to the amulet. He was making up ground fast. The two were neck and neck about ninety meters from the amulet. The Arconan started to pull ahead bit by bit. Once he was within a few meters he dove for the amulet. The Force snatched it from his grasp and carried it to the waiting Obelisk.

Locke dashed back towards Silent. Their sabers clashed. Strike after strike blocked and swatted away. With a powerful punch, the Exarch knocked him to his hands and knees. Antar’s lightsaber dropped and rolled to the side. An audible crack filled the air, as the Plagueian’s boot met with his ribs. The Sith coughed, a small pool of blood soaked into the sand. Silent raised his saber to finish the whelp, who dared to defy him. In one fluid motion, Antar pulled the survival knife from the hidden holster in his boot and thrust it into his opponent’s foot. The Obelisk howled like an Akk Dog. The Arconan reached out with The Force and jerked the Exarch’s second saber from his hip. Igniting it he sliced off Silent’s right arm. Another swing removed the other arm. The amulet fell to the ground. Silent dropped to his knees.

Locke bent down and picked up his prize. The Pureblood swayed from side to side on his knees.

“Today isn’t your day. And I worked up quite the appetite,” Antar smiled as his proboscises unfurled from his cheeks.

They snaked towards the Plagueian’s nostrils. The Anzat’s eyes widened to the sound of two lightsabers springing to life. In a flash of blue, his proboscises were twitching on the ground and a second was sticking through his gut and out his back. As Silent rose to his feet, arms intact, the Sith dropped.

“You have been an entertainment, young blood, but you are no match for me.”

The Shi’ido stood over him and drew his saber back. Antar’s head slid off his shoulders and rolled across the sand. The Obelisk pried the amulet from the Arconan’s hand and turned it over inspecting the artifact.

“I might just keep this one for myself,” Silent said to himself, as he limped back to his shuttle.

A crimson red aura that bleeds into the darkest black, surrounding a rancor on a rampage. This was the image Silent imagined as he watched Antar take leaps and bounds up the cliff to the quarry. The Exarch barely connected with the Force in time to dodge the oncoming flurry of strikes from Antar's saber, however Silent's boot was caught in his attempt to dodge the attack. From his jump, he quickly cartwheeled and landed back on his feet, saber ready and knees bent, ready to fight his opponent.

Antar wasted no time putting the Obelisk on the defensive, the Sith was using very basic strikes and parries however, as he was only trained in Form Zero. Despite this, he was pushing Silent to his limits, using Force-fueled rage that flowed through his body. Silent was enjoying the fight more then he should of, pushing the will of the Force into his body allowing his instincts to intertwine with it. Vaapad was a very fitting form for the Exarch as he relished in his opponents fury-filled attacks, allowing him to respond in the same manner.

Any spectator watching these two Dark Jedi fight would have seen two blinding lights converging. However in reality, it was merely the speed of each strike and acrobatics of both of the Dark Jedi that made it appear this way. Finally the frenzy came to an end as both sabers locked. Silent and Antar both called on the Force , and through the Exarch's good hand, he concentrated high volumes of Force energy pushing towards his opponent, but Antar had the same idea, and soon it became a battle of willpower. They were both pushed to their limits as sweat dripped off their foreheads, the Exarch was at his breaking point and roared with hatred at his opponent. Just as he was about to collapse due to physical fatigue, he sidestepped to the right in order to dodge Antar's Force push, but this allowed Sith’s Force blast to crash into his shoulder, causing him to flinch, but at the same time accidentally slicing through Antar's wrist, severing his hand.

Silent knew he wouldn’t stand another rage filled attack from Antar, despite his obvious advantage when it came down to lightsaber combat. Instead, Silent took a few precious seconds in order to call on the Force to help suppress the powerful rage induced frenzy that was happening before him. Antar rushed in again, now ignoring his pain and attacking with so much rage but slower strikes. The Exarch needed something in order to end this battle as he was tired, worn out, and subsequently was being pushed back towards the cliff wall. Finally, Antar started to pick up his speed again.

Silent was becoming able to read Antar, soon spotting flaws in his lightsaber sequences. Slowing down on his attacks, the Obelisk waited for an opening. As soon as the opportunity arose, he launched an assault onto Antar, but this was to no avail. Silent and Antar engaged in another sequence of lightsaber strikes, with each of them parrying their opponents offensive strikes. Finally, Antar took a wrong step, allowing Silent to trip him over and force his blade into Antar's left side. Life drained out of Antar's body as if it was inside a vacuum just as Silent pushed his body over the cliff's edge. Celebrations were not on the menu however, as the Exarch had one problem.

“Where is the damn artifact.” the Exarch muttered under his breath.