Combat Master’s Note: Because you are matches against a member of your Clan, this battle takes on a unique format. You will be encountering Synin Torin with an ally. Treat Synin Torin as you would any other ACC opponent. You WILL be judged using the ACC rubric, so the person posting the best story will move on to subsequent rounds. If you wish to fight your Clanmate as well, you may, but this is not in any way a requirement.

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 and an ally 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. Finally, there is a One Sith engineer thought to be working in the installation on some kind of upgrade, and he is likely to interfere with your mission. 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.

You and your ally cautiously enter the tunnels, unsure what exactly awaits you beneath the giant stone monument.

The Arconans made their way into the natural tunnels, the rough walls and ceiling giving the pair a sense of claustrophobia despite the large space. The dark side permeated the environment oppressively, making their senses tingle and fueling nervous anticipation.

For the Onderonian, it merely increased his paranoia tenfold, making Celevon eyeball every corner for possible hostiles. However, the unfamiliar surroundings and lack of technology seemed to have turned the Cirran into a chatterbox.

The Archpriestess turned to him, catching his attention:

“Why would they send me when they’ve already sent you?! I’m a mechanic and computer person, I’m no good-”

“I don’t know. Perhaps they wanted you here to compliment my skills. You handle the electronics, I kill things?” the Prelate retorted, annoyed with the woman for distracting him.

“I will shank you with this screwdriver if you interrupt me again,” Saskia growled back, holding the aforementioned tool threateningly.

“Feisty. I like. Now shall we get to work?” the Obelisk smirked, enjoying the byplay. Without realising it, the two had come to a fork in the tunnel. A glance at the signs embedded into the rock revealed that the fire control and targeting room were to the left, whereas the power generators were to the right.

“My being feisty is hardly going to make a decision, is it?” she replied sarcastically, shoving the tool back into her belt. “Shall we split?”

“That depends. Can you handle it yourself?”

The Inquisitor augmented her vision with the Force. A glance down the right fork revealed the hazy, glowing outlines of several Guardsmen and the even fainter echo of nearly a dozen droids. She turned her Force-enhanced vision to the left, noting that there were two seated sentients and three upright, carrying what Saskia assumed were blasters. The Krath blinked, placing a hand on the rock to keep herself steady as her vision returned to normal.

“What do you think are our chances?” Celevon queried, burying his emotions beneath a cold façade.

“I think we should stick together. Are we aiming to destroy or take over that weapon?” Saskia asked in turn.

“Whichever works. Left or right?”

“Definitely left,” the Galerean replied. “There are five enemies in that area. Two are seated whilst the other three are standing and pacing. What’s the plan?”

“I’m thinking of turning them against each other. Get them brawling and once they’re distracted, we go in for the kill,” the Assassin said, fingers wrapping around the hilt of his curved dagger.

“We?” the Krath inquired with a raised eyebrow.

“Turn of phrase. Your forté lies with trickery from a distance. So, whilst you have them working on your strings, I can go in quietly and... eliminate the opposition,” Celevon chuckled lightly, an icy gleam in his argent gaze.

“Just try not to destroy the control panels. I want to see how these things work if we take control of the cannon,” the XO of Dark Forge replied, resisting the urge to roll her eyes at the male’s bloodthirsty nature.

The Onderonian seemed to blur as he leapt past her, using the momentum he gained as he grasped the mouth of the Guard and spun behind him, turning the head at an unnatural angle. The harsh crunch of ligaments tearing and bone separating seemed quite loud in the silence of the tunnel before the corpse dropped lifelessly to the ground, resembling a puppet with its strings cut.

“We will have to be fast. It won’t be long before his friends notice he has yet to return,” the Prelate stated calmly, clearly not phased in the least by the death he caused with his bare hands mere moments before.

Saskia shook her head, drawing upon the energies of the Force as they quietly made their way towards the room. Out of the corner of her eye, the Inquisitor noticed the Obelisk fade from view, becoming little more than a shimmer of displaced air.

Time for some fun, Saskia smirked to herself as she extended her senses into the room, focusing on the minds of the five men. The Krath carefully drifted past the consciousness, going one at a time as she increased the suspicions they felt towards one another. The woman planted a suggestion into the subconscious thoughts of the militant nearest her position, making him believe that his wife had been involved in an illicit affair with his comrade.

As the female manipulated their enemies, Celevon silently crept into the room, waiting for the inevitable confrontation. Only then would he act.

It happened without any prior warning as one of the three militia dropped his weapon and leapt at another, fists pounding away before his friend even hit the ground.

The Onderonian covered the mouth of one of the Gunners, plunging his dagger to the hilt in the carotid artery whilst the other was distracted. Celevon ignored the viscous liquid dribbling between his fingers as he lowered the body to the ground, twisting the blade to open the wound further. That one will bleed out quickly, the Prelate mused as he moved on to his next victim, driving the blade up through the soft underside of the other Gunner’s jaw and up into his brain.

The Qel-Droman released the weapon as the militant trying to break up the fight caught sight of him, a dark spectre that slashed through his comrades indiscriminately. Celevon drew his katana from over his shoulder, the single smooth motion sending the detached head tumbling. As that one’s upper body seemed to fall in slow motion, the Assassin plunged his blade downwards through both remaining enemies.

Channeling the Force through his limbs to increase his strength, the Obelisk ripped the folded durasteel free, neatly bisecting one of them from mid-torso to the right side of his neck. A stomp to the throat silenced the final militant’s attempt at screaming forever.

“Do you have to make such a mess, Edraven?” the Krath mockingly queried as she walked into the room.

The Archpriestess shook her head as she raised an eyebrow at the male. The cannon itself was guarded by a deflector shield, though it would take her all of a minute to bypass it. The caves had been artificially enlarged to accommodate their new tenant, as evidenced by the long scrapes along the walls as Saskia removed the cover from the control panel for the shield. Celevon coughed, causing the woman to look up with a questioning expression before it became apparent he was more bothered about being on the look out for any future problems than attracting her attention.

She expected to be faced with a massive heap of wires. In reality, Saskia had a very neatly laid-out motherboard, which meant in her mind that it was a trap. A low growl in the Force grabbed the attention of the two Arconans. Exchanging glances, they both grabbed the hilts of their lightsabers in preparation. Something had flared up on their internal radars, along with a fleeting grasp of absolute fear that they had failed in their task.

“I’m thinking we have company, and not the easy sort,” the slicer said as they began to creep back towards the scraped-out tunnel.

The sound of whirring mechanics suddenly flew down the passage. Both Arconans dropped to the floor to avoid the high-speed flying droid as the woman’s ears picked up the sounds of flawlessly working mechanics, much to her disappointment. Three prongs curled around to meet the ‘eye’ whilst also making it harder to get at the essential mechanics, with two elongated flat pieces of metal to balance the weight out and help it to steer. Saskia doubted it was any standard ASN-121, since they were easy to equip with a wide variety of dangerous additions.The droid in her line of sight was starting to act very jumpy, trying to take in every little detail before a sharp, scouring pain shot down her spine.

The Archpriestess leapt across the way, momentarily stumbling over the raised wires to the cannon before she grabbed at the surrounding railings and steadied herself. Blood was seeping steadily out from a small, painful gash just below her left ear as the Cirran checked for other injuries. An IT-O droid was hovering where she had been momentarily, and unfortunately for her, they had no fears to play upon to buy her the time she needed. It would have been laughing if it had the ability.

Two on two, easy enough, Ortega thought as Celevon’s lightsaber blade slashed through the air whilst her own silver blade ignited and blocked a stray sniper bolt from the alternative floating droid which had taken a deep interest in the Obelisk. Her problem would be getting close enough to fight without getting too close to be injected with any serums it was loaded with. It was likely she already had some sort of tolerance-lowering toxin going through her system from the cut she had just acquired.

The torture droid swooped in, repeatedly trying to get past the Krath’s Sapphire Blade and her lightsaber. Every attack was blocked by the argent blade as the droid kept pushing, ducking and lunging. The movements forced Saskia ever closer to the other droid as the ASN-121 started up its flamethrower, the fire catching both Humans unaware.

Saskia rolled on the floor, putting out the rapidly chunks of her hair that smouldered away as the IT-O droid came in at full speed with three shining points. Before she could aim her weapon steadily, a male hand sliced through the air, destroying the torture droid with his lightsaber. The relief was short lived, until the woman plunged her Sapphire Blade into the ASN-121 to stop it from killing them both with a harpoon dagger in one fell swoop.

The Krath was feeling a little disturbed as the two Equites disentangled themselves. She was trying to shake off the feeling that Celevon was only using her for now. People didn’t like her in battle, especially in close combat as they were. Saskia was one for sending up into air ducts, down service tunnels and anywhere out of the way that would let her get on with things. Torture droids were not her forté.

The clunking sound of metal feet came echoing down the tunnel, the pace steady as the Assassin pulled himself into the shadows of the wall. The Archpriestess jumped over the railings, using the ion cannon to shelter her from view as she took a deep breath to steady herself. The Cirran closed her eyes, taking her focus deep in the Force to see through her shelter and look down the tunnel as the features of a two metre tall protocol droid came to light. Then smaller features began to form: the red sensors, the teeth, the mostly covered wiring. A YVH1. Saskia had only heard of these droids and had never seen them in action. But the stories she’d heard were enough to chill her to the bone.

The warming up of a blaster cannon brought the Krath back into the present. Seconds before it hit the ion cannon, Saskia tucked and rolled backwards in a subconscious movement. Bits of metal and shells scraped at the woman’s skin, burning and stinging as material and flesh alike were sheared open. All the Cirran could hear was a loud ringing in her ears before another wave of blaster fire echoed around the clearing.

She didn’t dare to move from the rubble that had settled on top of her. She tried to cease breathing too heavily, knowing too much movement would give her away as the Krath willed for her hearing to come back. The uncertainty would be her undoing as footsteps came towards her, breaking bits of cannon under their feet in the process.

The Obelisk clipped his lightsaber to his belt as he stopped walking. The remnants of the final droid were merely a smoking pile of scrap. He knelt down and removed the debris from his partner and found himself staring into her fearful hazel eyes. Celevon noted a small trail of blood leaking from the Krath’s left ear.

The Onderonian forced the woman to look into his eyes and focused on the Force, the urgency of the situation making it easier to pass along the message to the Archpriestess. We need to get moving.

A roar of rage seemed to emphasise the Prelate’s instruction as they both felt the Elder’s fury through the Force. It flowed over the both of them like a raging inferno, pure hatred given the form of numerous tongues of lightning, flicking over their bodies.

As quickly as it had come, the white-hot agony halted. The Assassin stumbled to his feet, glancing around for the Adept. Celevon found the emaciated Bpfasshi knelt by the YVH1, crooning words of comfort to the smoking pile of parts.

Saskia had her eyes closed, fueling the illusion with every fibre of her concentration. Without warning, the Elder screamed a denial and turned to the Krath, murderous intent clear in the Sorcerer’s eyes.

The Onderonian used a tendril of Force energy to summon the head of the droid, ignoring the skull-like appearance. “Oi! Mir’osik! Over here.” When the Sith turned to him, Celevon smirked. “Looking for something?”

At the widening of the One Sith Engineer’s eyes, the Obelisk tossed the mechanical head in the air and drew his lightsaber. The cobalt blade sprang to life mid-motion, slicing through the laminanium with ease. The skull fell to the ground in two parts, the right photoreceptor visibly dimming as it looked to its master in a silent plea for help.

"No!" The Bpfasshi screamed, a curled hand coming up almost instinctively. The Onderonian noted it was pointed at his heart as lightning crackled over the Elder’s hand before erupting in his direction. “You will die for harming my darling!”

Celevon caught the burst of energy with the blade of his lightsaber. The dark blue blade flared as it struck, becoming almost painfully bright for a split-second.

An argent blade flashed, sending the Adept’s head tumbling from sight. As the body fell, the cauterised trachea released the final breath from the body.

Saskia panted as she deactivated her weapon, a small amount of blood still leaking from her ears as she glared at the Obelisk. “Why did you have to piss him off? I had him handled, thinking his droid was talking to him!”

The Prelate shook his head, deactivating his lightsaber before returning the hilt to his belt. “Let’s just get out of here.”