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.

Howlader Taldrya wiped the sweat from his brow for the third time in an hour. Agreeing to Keirdagh’s request to visit the planet had been a huge mistake. Howlader believed this mission would be a fool’s errand—like most orders that came from Grand Master Ashen these days. The objective was to retrieve a long-forgotten, ancient artifact from a One Sith-occupied world solo, and with no support from the Expansionary Force or the Iron Throne. This madness was something he had heard many times before.

Howlader sighed at his predicament, shook his head, and then began to trudge down the steps towards the basin of water below. At least, he thought to himself, he could get out of these dusty robes and cool off. As he drew near to the end of the would-be staircase, he noticed a set of plain, brown robes on the opposite end of the basin. Odd… someone else was already here. Normally his senses were better than this. Perhaps the heat and his own fatigue had clouded his ability to interpret the Force, Howlader mused. Or, there was the possibility that Ashen’s premonitions were correct, and this journey served a purpose after all.

Seemingly without warning, at least to his tired mind, a young, human figure emerged from the crystal blue depths. Howlader surmised it was the owner of the Jedi robes, undoubtedly sent by the Odan-Urr leadership to retrieve whatever it was Ashen felt was important. Perhaps the Iron Throne’s secrets were not as well kept as the Dark Council thought.

Speaking of secrets not well kept, Howlader had not been particularly subtle in his movements through the quarry, and had been detected by his opponent, who took the opportunity to call out to him.

“Sith,” the Jedi spat the term like a curse. “We both know why you are here.” He raised his left hand, showing off the golden talisman clutched between his fingers. “Unfortunately, you will not be leaving this desert with the relic. In fact, you should abandon this quest for power and seek atonement for your sins.”

Howlader cracked a smile at the Jedi’s holier-than-thou attitude. “I don’t mean to ruin your crusade against evil, boy, but you should really re-think this. Frankly, I have no interest in destroying you. So why don’t you just give me that trinket and we can get off this rock and move on with our lives?”

“A pity you cannot see the error of your ways,” the Jedi responded. He shook his head as if filled with regret. “Since you will not forsake your path, I will not hold back.” The boy pulled the silver hilt of a lightsaber from his belt. “It is the duty of all Jedi to defeat the evils of the dark side whenever and wherever we can.”

Howlader’s smile grew, mirth causing the corners of his mouth to twitch upward in a grin. He watched the Jedi fall into an offensive stance and activate the yellow blade of his lightsaber. It was annoying, but he would have to teach the boy a lesson before he could complete the mission and finally go home. Ignoring his own lightsaber, which rested firmly at his side, Howlader gestured for the Jedi to come at him.

The Jedi had no fear. Zed could see there was an arrogance he could exploit. Zed lunged forward letting out a battle cry as he swung his blade over his head. Howlander raised his hands and released a burst of Force lightning from fingertips. Zed quickly lowered his lightsaber to absorb the attack. The yellow blade hissed, sparked, and whistled as the Jedi walked closer and closer to the Dark Master stopping nearly toe to toe. Howlander’s frustration began to boil inside of him. Red lightsaber igniting, Howlander locked blades with the Jedi.

As their blades crossed between their bodies Zed cocked his left arm back and punched Howlander in the face between the lightsabers. The Inquisitor was completely caught off guard and stumbled a few steps back grabbing his noise with his hand. Howlander looked down at his palm and saw a pool of blood. As his eyes rose he saw the Jedi standing both fists raised and lightsaber back on his belt. In one motion Holwander pulled his right hand back and swung it forward launching the Jedi back down the crystal blue quarry mouth he emerged from. Zed could hear his back crack as landed on one of the numerous piles of rocky rumble scattered across the quarry floor. Zed rose with sharp pains radiating from the small of his back, but back pains were the least of his worries. There was a Sith who wanted a certain gold talisman and Zed’s head for good measure.

“Do you plan on punching me to death Jedi?” the Sith said as he walked out of darkness into the quarry tunnel. The mineral veins in the walls reflected the red hue from the Sith’s lightsaber as he passed by.

“I don’t want to kill you without giving you the chance to give up your evil ways.” Zed replied.

The Jedi raised his fists and readied his feet. The Dark Master charged forward with his lightsaber at his side. Zed dodged, and deflecting the frenzy of attacks waiting for the perfect movement. The red blade made contract with the tunnel walls sending rock fragments flying and knocking out the occasional mining light fixed to the roof.

“Fight me!” Howlander commanded.

“Not yet.” Zed said with a smile. He knew with enough patience the Sith would open himself up.

The Jedi slowly back peddled one step at a time while keeping the deadly red blade from cutting him in two. Howlander pushed forward swing in every direction trying to strike the illusive Jedi Knight down. Suddenly Howlander powered his lightsaber down and raised his hands to use his Force Lightning again. With Zed’s lightsaber on his belt he couldn’t block his attack this time. That was the Jedi’s opening.

Quickly Zed shot forward and tackled the Sith. The Jedi spotted Howlander’s lightsaber hilt and ripped it from his hand. Zed threw the lightsaber as far down the tunnel as he could and began punching the grounded Sith with all his might. The Dark Master kicked Zed off and they both stood up staring each other down. Howlander was caught off guard with this Jedi’s propensity to fight hand to hand. The Dark Master had not studied hand to hand combat in years. The two dove at each other and began grappling as they crashed side to side into the tunnel walls. Zed kneed Howlander in the abdomen and elbowed him in the back. The elbow strike dropped the Dark Master. Howlander grabbed a rock from the ground smashed the Jedi’s knee with it. The Sith popped up off the ground driving the crown of his head into Zed’s chin. The Jedi stammered backwards while Howlander continued striking. Zed began bleeding above his eye, and his vision was becoming more blurred as blood poured down. Through the haze Zed barely saw Howlander’s fist coming. The Jedi raised his elbow to block the strike. The Sith let out a scream as his fist struck the end of Zed’s elbow. Howlander could feel he had broken bones in his left hand. Zed swung his leg around and tackled the Sith again. The Jedi began striking as fast as he could. Howlander brought his forearms up to block his face. The Inquisitor calmed his mind and used the Force to raise the largest rock he could sense. Howlander move the rock into position and dropped it on Zed. The Jedi rolled aside on the ground howling in pain as he grabbed his shoulder.

Howlader could no longer stomach the piercing howls coming from the wounded Jedi, and resolved to put an end to this farce in short order. Ignoring the shooting pains in his left hand, he focused on the large rock covering a sizeable portion of his opponent. Using his mind, Howlader flung the rock several metres further into the tunnel, freeing the Jedi from his bonds for milliseconds, before instantly reaching with his right hand and pushing the Jedi out of the tunnel and into the open air quarry.

The young Jedi flew through the air and crashed into one of the quarry’s walls, dislodging a number of rocks and drowning out the wounded Jedi’s groans. Satisfied with himself, Howlader shouted, "Are we done here? Are you ready to give up, so I can get on with my mission and get off this rock?"

The injured Jedi let out a tired grunt—ignoring the old Sith's words—and began shifting his arms around trying to regain his footing. As the luck of the Force would have it, the Jedi’s aimless grasping netted him the golden talisman. It was as if the Jedi had become rejuvenated by the artifact's power, as he slowly rose to his feet. The Jedi was eyeing the artifact, pondering its importance to his House and its power.

Howlader was not interested in prolonging this encounter. He hoped to appeal to the young Jedi’s sense of duty to his House, and hatred of all Dark Jedi, to turn the situation to his advantage and not have to expend any real effort. Howlader attempted to put on his best ego-driven Sith persona.

"That talisman is mine, Jedi! You are far too weak to benefit from it, just leave it and you may live. Do not make me destroy you!"

The Jedi snorted a retort. "I will not listen to your lies, Sith! I can feel its power, and I know that it will help me, and help the galaxy!"

Ignoring Howlader, the Jedi placed the talisman around his neck. The quarry exploded with a burst of power, throwing Howlader to his back as dark side energies consumed the Jedi. When Howlader rose, he saw his changed opponent standing over him with sunken, purple tinged eyes. Due to Howlader’s knowledge of ancient Sith artifacts as well as the behaviour the Jedi was exhibiting, he was able to deduce that this golden talisman was one of ensnarement. It was now clear that the naïve Jedi had become everything he dedicated his life against—a power hungry Dark Jedi.

The newly minted dark sider, engorged with power, began testing out his new abilities. He began firing blasts of electricity from his fingertips, causing the air in the quarry to momentarily heat up. Thanks to the Jedi’s inexperience, the bolts were not directed at the old master. The shocks were accompanied by the characteristic laugh and facial expressions of those that had been consumed by the dark side of the Force.

The old master fired off a telekinetic blast at his opponent that sent the Jedi towards the body of water in the middle of the quarry. Striking the water with an electrified body caused much of the water to turn into steam in an explosion that nearly drowned out the terrible screams of the man that believed so strongly in his cause that it destroyed him.

The former Jedi had succumbed to the attraction of the dark side’s power—and had died for it.

Howlader, exhausted by having to expend all that energy to retrieve another object for the Dark Council, reached out with the Force and retrieved the talisman from the former Jedi’s corpse, and then began trudging toward the landing zone where he had left his beloved Senility.

Zed could feel his shoulder was dislocated. Howlander wiped the blood from his mouth and grinned as he looked down at the wounded Jedi.

"I give you credit, you put up a good fight," the Sith said as he raised his right hand up "but now your time is over."

Zed's whole body began to rise off the ground. Howlander used the Force to throw the Jedi into the tunnel walls and ground like a piece of meat. Zed's focused all his energy on his Juggernaut trainings, toughening his skin as much as he could to withstand the repeated blows. The Force was with Zed. The final slam into the ground popped the Jedi's shoulder back into place. Zed layed motionless on the ground, his body swollen and bruised. Howlander basked in his brutality and walked over to his next kill. The Dark Master used the Force to return his lightsaber to his one good hand from the darkness of the tunnel.

Zed had only one shot to make his move. Howlander powered his lightsaber on and dropped the blade down to impale the Jedi. Zed rolled to the side and jumped on the Sith's back taking them both to the ground. Zed swung his arm around Howlander's neck and put the Sith in a chock hold. With his left hand broken Howlander instinctively dropped his lightsaber trying to pull Zed's arm off his throat. The Dark Master tried everything he could to get the Jedi off, but the harder he tried the faster he faded.

"How is this possible!" The the Sith muttered as he gasp for air.

"You're arrogance clouded your judgment and you became one dimensional." Zed answered. "I don't want to strike you down but I will. Release your dark ways and turn to the light side."

With his eyes closing ever so slowly Howlander just chuckled.

"At least I tried." Zed said before grabbing Howlander's chin and snapping his neck.

The Jedi Knight stood slowly, every bone in his body ached. Zed slowly shuffled to his ship. The Jedi didn't like taking a life, but he knew the galaxy was better without Howlander in it.