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.

Begeren’s plunder has been rich, and the Clans and Houses have been bolstered, both by the favor they are currying with the Grand Master, and with their own triumphs against rivals. More fighting seems to have occurred between the Clans and Houses than against the One Sith, and the stream of priceless artifacts has slowed to a trickle as of late. The invasion of Begeren has now entered a wholly different phase, and though the end goal of capturing the world’s precious secrets remains the same, the methods of achieving it have changed. At least for now. The Dark Council has identified several settlements and key military objectives to seize, both for use as staging grounds, and to quell any revolts against Brotherhood authority before they begin. It has fallen to the Clans and Houses to seize these objectives, with large accolades and bounties to those willing to undertake dangerous missions, alone, into hostile territory. Despite the recent inter-clan aggressions, the Dark Council has made it clear that the bounties for taking objectives cannot be shared between units.

One such objective, a V-150 Planet Defender ion cannon, lies nestled in one of Begeren’s northern mountain ranges. The inhospitable and semi-arid region is known for its relatively cooler temperatures compared to the rest of the planet, and is home to one of the only active spaceports on Begeren. Though most of the region is patrolled by local militias, a sizable One Sith presence is thought to be in the area. An enormous feminine stone face, carved into the side of a towering cliff side, overlooks both the ion cannon and the neighboring spaceport, paying homage to a long-dead female Sith Lord.

You stand in a massive scree field beneath the adorned cliff side. The dark side is almost palpable here beneath the monument, but your true goal is the installation and the massive ion cannon immediately to your west. The installation is lightly guarded, and can be accessed by a natural, mountainous tunnel entrance. The entrance is well-lit and quite large for a tunnel access shaft, big enough for the heavy machinery needed to construct and maintain the massive ion cannon. The tunnel itself splits a few hundred yards in, leading to two separate objectives.

There are two main objectives: the fire control and targeting room, and the main power generators. Intelligence reports indicate that the fire control and targeting room is manned by two gunners and two-to-three militiamen from the local settlement. Intelligence also reports a light contingent of three guards and a slew of power droids around the power generators. Which objective you choose depends, in part, on whether you wish to take or destroy the ion cannon. A barracks is not far from the ion cannon, and it’s possible that the One Sith could be lurking closeby should you arouse suspicion.

The sound of shifting rocks and falling boulders alerts you to the presence of another not far from the tunnel entrance, as well. You head quickly into the tunnel, knowing your opponent may be upon you at any time.

Rathus had wandered through a majority of the underground tunnels before he finally found substantial security just before the firing control's chambers. Two militiamen, garbed in heavy plasteel armor and large blaster rifles, stood with their weapons at the ready. Behind them, a blast door stood nearly twice as tall as the men, controlled by a large computer console for entry.

He knew better than to try and pick a fight with more than one enemy at a time. Thus, with forced confidence, Rathus strode brazenly forth. The men had only just begun to raise their rifles before they blinked as if stupefied as the dark side grasped and manipulated their minds simultaneously.

They snapped to attention. "My Lord, my apologies. We didn't expect to see you today."

Rathus forced an authoritarian tone to his characteristically nervous speech pattern. "Surprise inspection, by orders of command. I need you to open these doors immediately."

One of the men raised an eyebrow. "My Lord, don't you have your own code for--"

A quick scowl drove the words from the young man's mouth and caused both guards to shuffle quickly to the blast door's console. One hastily typed in a code, while the other leaned forward. A quick light flashed from the mechanism as it scanned his image. A green light flashed on above the door as it rumbled open.

Rathus nodded to the pair. "Good. Now I want you two to keep silent about my presence, lest my inspection go awry. Oh, and I was ordered to inform you alarm system is malfunctioning -- another reason for the inspection. Relay that to the other guards."

This time both men looked suspicious, driving Rathus to renew his mental assault. They nodded absent-mindedly as he stepped past through the gateway, their gazes distant as they relayed the message into their comms.

As Rathus stepped into the room and the door closed, it was quickly evident his reliance on trickery was at an end. Three heads turned to him now--two startled gunners in simple gray uniforms, and another militiaman. One of the gunners twisted about in his chair, which was stationed in front of beeping consoles, and immediately slammed a hand down upon an emergency alarm. The militiaman standing further in turned, a look of surprise crossing his face as he rushed to grab his holstered blaster.

Rathus immediately sunk into a defensive stance as a blaster bolt came a mere second later only to be deflected right back into the assailant's chest. With a sizzle of burnt flesh the man collapsed to the ground. Rathus was already preparing for the inevitable interrogation of the gunners as the muffled sound of a conflict beyond the thick door caught his attention. He cursed under his breath and turned to face the doorway, watching as the molten metal sparked around the purple lightsaber blade that was slicing its way through the door.

With a crash, the crudely cut portal through the doorway fell. The hole revealed a tan-fleshed Mon Calamari. Both bulbous eyes blinked as she glanced both at Rathus and the body’s on the floor with disdain. For a moment they stared silently, sizing each other up. Rathus' eyebrow twitched.

It was the woman who spoke first, her gravelly tone calm despite speaking over the alarm. "Greetings, Dark Jedi. I am Kaira Rohana of Odan-Urr. I was hoping that the darkness I sensed here was simply the traces of the One Sith. But, it seems I was mistaken. However..."

She padded forward, causing Rathus to take a half-step back. Her large eyes were piercing--he could swear he felt her aura of the light side probing at him. She actually flashed a smile, a gesture so bizarre given the situation that Rathus could only feel something bordering upon revulsion.

"You don't want to fight, do you? You'd rather be far, far away from here, right?" She spoke in a matter-of-fact tone despite her questioning.

Rathus sneered, commenting in a guttural Huttese undertone. "Wonderful, who decided to tell the Jedi they can play mind games, too?"

"Oh, no mind games,” she replied despite his shift in language “Just reading your stance. And, well, a bit of your thoughts. I suppose you’re after the controls."

Rathus nodded. He could tell from her tone that she already knew as much. He replied, his voice laden with a sense of droll sarcasm. "And now I suppose we're in for the classic battle to the death? I personally prefer to battle to the death over a nice shiny relic--it happens enough that it seems like a realistic enough desire. Instead, I guess it'll be over this poodoo."

The Mon Calamari frowned before replying. "I'm not a fan of killing, myself. And it sounds like you aren't a fan of dying, at least. But even if we think this cannon is poodoo, our comrades don't. Perhaps we can reach a resolution."

Rathus let out a mangled laugh. "Last person I tried to reach a resolution with wanted to feed me to some wraids. How about I take the cannon after doing all the work, and you leave knowing that the weapon is in better hands? Taldryan is relatively mild."

Kaira shook her head, the multitudes of fins jostling about and flowing much like a human's hair. "I can't allow that. You Dark Jedi are too dangerous. Not to mention my duty to Odan-Urr. How about this..." She brought her saber forward, sinking into a duelist's stance. "We don't kill each other. Whoever disables the other takes control of the facility."

Rathus shrugged before assuming a ready stance, firmly gripping the curved hilt of his saber. "About as good an offer as I'll ever get."

This was no time to do any kind of battle as the alarm blared throughout the control room. It would only be moments before reinforcements were on them. There would be no time to disarm and destroy this room before they were overrun. Part of that was her own fault however since she was the cause of a very large hole in the door.

With her thoughts so full and clouded by the dark side she almost missed the obelisk in front of her lash out at her right arm with his lightsaber. A bit slow on her defense, she lit up her saber to block the force of his blow. Then with the power of the force, she sent a chair through the air at the man’s back.

“We have no time for this. I sense we will not be alone much longer. Destroy the controls; I shall hold off the droids.” The sound of approaching droids sent a ripple of fear though her.

Kaira went to the door and stood to the side of the hole. The Jedi then knelt down and closed her large eyes as she bowed her head. She looked like she was praying; however Kaira had learned long ago that if she focused on her task she could do much better than being in a rush. The woman then called upon the force to set up a barrier in the opening. She knew that it would not hold off the droids for long but it would give Rathus time.

“I can not hold them off for long hurry.”

With a simple nod he used his lightsaber to start cutting into the controls. He sliced up most of the panel by the time the droids were at the door. “There. They won't be able to use this for a while. Now why don’t we take care of these droids.”

They would have to fight their way free of this room to get back to their houses. For now, they were a team but how long would that last? “Why would you leave it to be able to be repaired later? It must be destroyed.”

“Hey, I was told to disable it to be able to use it against our enemy in the future.”

“We can’t do that if we die here. We should just destroy it so they will not be able to fix it and use it against us. Do it now!”

Just then the droids had broken down Kaira’s weak barrier. The shots they fired were deflected easy enough from them both. They quickly made short work of all the droids. With the droids gone however the two turned on each other once more. “We have to get out of here…..” said Rathus.

“No. We must finish this job of destroying that cannon. I was tasked with destroying it, not simply disabling it to use later. It is much too dangerous. You know it to be true. There is no way we can take on this whole base and win. The one Sith I am sure has already been alerted to the problem here.”

No matter what their defenses were Rathus knew she was right; for he had already felt the approach of something much darker. “You will not do that Jedi. I will stop you.”

As Kaira had turned to walk back to the controls, she frowned. “You would rather die then let me do my job? So be it but it is on your head and your house’s if we all die.” With a quick flick of her wrist, Kaira had her saber back on. Then she went on the attack. She would have to simply throw Rathus off his game. If she could simply knock him out the better off it would be for both of them, but she would have to do it fast as she knew more droids were on their way. That stupid alarm was still blaring over their heads. Maybe they should have taken out the power then come to this room to take out the controls.

Rathus didn't wait for his opponent to get the first strike this time. As his blue saber slashed forth the woman responded with a counterblow, causing the sabers to spark and hiss as they met. He was quick to notice that the form she used was identical to his own as they renewed their duel, exchanging an intricate series of attacks more like a deadly dance than the typical shows of force present in battles amongst members of the Brotherhood. Judging from her ability to read his attacks, and the skill behind the previous battle, he would not be surprised if her mastery matched or even exceeded his own.

Fortunately for Rathus, he was better equipped. The curved hilt of his lightsaber allowed his assault to flow far more naturally than hers, which was hindered by her standard hilt. This was just enough advantage to drive the Mon Calamari Jedi into the defensive. His assault proved fruitful as he landed a gash across her right arm, the blade hissing and filling the air with the acrid stench of burnt flesh.

With a snarl of pain, Kaira jumped back and the two circled one another, neither sure when to strike. After what felt like a small eternity, but was surely little more than a few seconds, she had recuperated and rushed forward. Rathus staggered as Kaira began a series of blows, weaving her blade gracefully with speed far exceeding normal physical limits. Her ability to ignore the pain proved tremendous as she seemingly ignored her wounds with her connection to the Force. But even more distressing was the fact that her wound had almost completely healed before his eyes, despite her concentration on the battle instead of her injury.

It took all of his skill to merely stall her attacks and bear the assault as he drew upon his own connection to the Force. But something was wrong, his connection tenuous. He had never quite felt something like this before from a Jedi, but he had personally overwhelmed another’s connection to the Force with the sheer power of the dark side himself. It was likely the Jedi’s ability was not unlike his own.

"Didn't think you lighty types were the sort to try and warp the Force." Rathus' words were spoken between pants and through gritted teeth.

In response, his opponent only slipped a slight grin. "I prefer to think of it as suppressing darkness, myself," she replied.

Rathus snorted derisively. Whatever she wanted to call it, two could play that game. He bolstered his resolve despite the sheer aura of the light dampening his draw upon the the dark side. Rathus' power began to oppose her own, clouding her senses and attacking her own connection to the Force. Kaira was quick to notice her growing fatigue, her grasp on the Force growing weaker and weaker.

But even as Rathus began to amplify his own abilities, he was still outpaced. They clashed together both mentally and physically in a renewed assault, Rathus still on the defensive as he attempted to tear apart the power that amplified her body. However, try as he might, the light side dampening his power left the attempt futile, her steadfast devotion to the light overwhelming his manipulation of the dark.

Which left only desperation for Rathus. He lashed out recklessly, hoping the unexpected brashness of his attack would put the Jedi on the defensive. And, for a moment, it seemed he had succeeded. Only the slight gleam of a blade seen a moment before the assault gave away Kaira's trick. As she parried his blow, she swiftly pulled her Sapphire Blade in her left hand, slashing upward at Rathus' shoulder. He just barely managed to dodge, a quick smirk flashing across his face as he reveled in the fruit of his labors, his dark affliction finally doing its job.

But his revelry was short lived. Kaira had a grin of her own, her face full of the confidence that only comes with assured victory. She surged forward, gathering all her strength and speed into one singular point—her knee. Rathus staggered from his previous dodge and tried to avoid the new attack, but to no avail. With a resounding thump, her knee drove into his stomach. Spit and bile oozed slightly from his mouth as he bent in two from the sheer force of the blow. A split second later, a hard hilt collided with the back of his skull, dotting his vision with stars. He stumbled as he attempted to recover, his sight fading in and out.

"Ah, sorry." Her voice sounded far away. "That was supposed to knock you out. I’ll clean up this mess myself."

There was another thump, and then only darkness.

The blaring sound of the alarm seemed to have them both on edge. With her large eyes, the Jedi had seemed to split her attention between the door and Rathus. This dark Jedi seemed to have a plan - but that plan was to take over like always. There had to be some way to make him understand that if they didn’t work as a team - at least until this job was over, they would both die.

“Listen to me.” She said through the Force. “You and I need to work as one. At least disable that stupid cannon with some kind of lockout. Will you at the very least let me cut the power?” Her voice rang with the power of the Force with in his ears.

“Don’t…..Get out of my… GRRRRRRRRRRR.” He could feel the Force with each word as he fought back against them.

The man’s lightsaber glowed to life with a soft blue hue. Then he made a quick lash to the right side of Kaira’s fishy frame. “You will not win today Jedi slime.”

With one eye forced on the Templar, her body went into defensive mode as she jumped back away from the powerful slash of his weapon aimed to the right side of her body. There was a clank sound just outside the door now as Kaira knew she could not keep up a fight on two fronts for very long. “You know, you’re very stubborn. I don’t want to die today, so do what you must Sith.”

That sound that echoed down the hall just outside the door pulled him up short. “Alright cut the power while I lock out that cannon.”

Rathus did not like that he had to work with this Jedi - but at least for now that cannon would only be disabled to use again later. He Knew if he could his first target would be a member of this Jedi’s House, just to prove a point to her that no Jedi could be as powerful as a Dark Jedi.

It just so happened that the Templar was very good with computers as Kaira watched him move his hands over the computer at unhuman speed. Her job however was much harder as she had to disable the power without destroying the whole place. As she searched with the Force, she felt a large energy source from a different area of the room. With quick steps to a closet or what she thought had been a supple closet, her hands moved to open the door where she found the circuits for the whole room. If she could not destroy the cannon controls, at least she could destroy the power to this room.

Kaira brought her weapon to light with a soft hum and a purple glow. It sent a soft light over the circuitry as she swept her saber down thought the panel. The lights in the room went off as did; the computer console looked as if Rathus had just finished working on it. The sound from the hall told them they had just run out of time.

“You ready for a fight to get back to your House?” Kaira said with a smile.

“Oh I am ready - but you’re not going back to your House today, Kaira.”

Rathus had finished, it was true - but he had also moved to right behind her. She had not remembered to watch her back. It was her downfall today as she felt her connection to the Force blocked in part. In that one moment of confusion in Kaira’s mind it was all the man in front of her needed. With one quick move he sent the butt of his hilt into the side of her head with a blow with such force she knew there had to be a little Force power behind it. That one blow was enough to knock her out.

He turned just in time to see the droids file into the room with a very dark presence right behind. Really, Rathus didn’t want to wait around for whomever that One Sith was. There was only one option to him at this point leave Kaira to the Sith and take off to save his own skin. That had been the plan as he started his attack on the droids.

What he didn’t plan on was Kaira was a quick healer. The Jedi stood up only moments after he had engaged the first set of droids. “I think it is time we get out of here.”

That Jedi was pissed off now with a rather large headache. If that was all she had to deal with, she would have been fine but it was not. She was tired of this and wanted to get free so she used the Force to send a wave of wind to push the droids back into each other. “Get through the door.” She screamed.

“Why are you helping me, when I just tried to kill you?” He sneered at her as he went through the hole in the door.

“Because I hold out hope that each dark Jedi can still see the light. Go!” She screamed.

Kaira was not far behind Rathus as she took off out the doorway and away from the droids that were already recovered from the Force wave. As they took off down the hall the dark presence seemed to get father away from them as did the sound of the droids. Why was that? What was the plan?

Neither of them found out what the plan was as they both found different paths to take just then. “Until we meet again, Jedi.” Rathus took the right tunnel as Kaira took the left.