The planet of Crait, known mostly for its salt covered red soil and minerals, became the setting for the reborn legend of Luke Skywalker. The tale of the First Order's siege upon the remnants of the Resistance and Skywalker’s solitary last stand spread like wildfire throughout the galaxy. The scars born of the siege still remain, alongside the breached and empty carcass of what was once a rebel base. After what became known as the Battle of Crait, the planet now sits forgotten by the First Order and Resistance alike. Which makes it the perfect place for scavengers and adventurers.

The crystalline flats extend far into the horizon until the distance ceases to hold meaning. The scorched salt mingle with the red soil, forcibly fused together by the violent discharge of heavy artillery fire. Old rebel speeders lie as skeletal reminders of the toll that the Resistance had paid in staging their last stand. Most of the parts have already stripped of what parts survived.

Standing opposite the endless flats is an expansive mountain side that stands almost completely vertical. Climbing it would be a difficult, if not impossible prospect. Tall, heavily armored doors—now breached—are built into the mountainside itself and mark the entrance to the abandoned base.

The approach to the base is lined by fallen turrets and crumbled trenches. Once inside, various crates and shrapnel litter the ground and offer nothing of value, save for cover when in need. The cave system expands outward from the entrance in a winding maze of crystalline pathways. If traveled long enough, and with some luck, an unmarked exit lies to be found. The hangar itself is divided into purposeful quadrants, with a command station situated deeper inside that leads to supply rooms and barracks.

Standing on the salted ground gives even the least perceptive a sense of gravity. The weight of what transpired is undeniable, with the visible reminders there for all to see if they care to look.

The planet is also known for its native crystal critters—Vulptex—which can leave the safety of their underground tunnels to investigate new visitors to their terrain.

Salt swirled in the air as each heavy footfall collided with the ground. The grit was finding its way into the cracks of the Warlords armour as he moved and it irritated. Kojiro had wanted to stop to strip himself, to feel the fresh air upon his tattered flesh and find some semblance of comfort from the salt. Perhaps once his task here was done he would take a moment to find relief, but not now. Not at this moment.

As another heavy step broke the salt layer upon which he trod he heard a soft whimpering emanating from somewhere to his left. He noted several strange canine creatures had scurried from a nearby burrow and were watching him curiously, their aura stood in stark contrast to the bleak surroundings he found himself in. The armoured Sadowan reached out his hand and felt them through the Force. Though he could not see them physically a mental image began to form within his mind and a rare smile creased his face behind the mask he wore. Kojiro knelt and beckoned feeling the creatures approach. As they did so something, or someone, else registered slightly upon his Force imbued senses.

The smile vanished as quickly as it had appeared. The Sith pushed himself back to his feet and continued his march towards the mountainous structure that lay before him. As he walked the small canine creatures followed in his wake, and more and more joined out of curiosity. Trenches and debris lay scattered around Kojiro as he walked, remnants of some epic battle no doubt but the Warlord paid them no heed having neither the time nor physical means to examine them.

A great door loomed before him. Twisted, ruptured and fallen into disrepair it rose out of the sand like some ancient fallen guardian. Kojiro navigated his way through the corpse of the door and as he did so a spark appeared in his Force imbued vision. An aura stood out against the backdrop of featureless shapes and he approached it. Salt that had drifted into the fallen base swirled around him as he walked, drifting lazily to the floor once more as he came to a complete halt.

The shape before him didn’t move. Likewise, the Clone made no movement. Neither spoke. Only silence reigned within the base, a silence only disturbed by the pattering of paws as a small group of brave Vulptex made their way into the base. The creatures found spots to which their curiosity could be fulfilled but gave them enough space to flee should they require it.

Atra’s head turned slightly to view the new visitors then moved back to the armoured figure before him. He found it interesting his first opponent in this tourney would be a member of his old clan. Even more so it would be a Keibatsu, but that's all it was; interesting. He had noted the figures head hadn’t really moved as they came face to face. There had been no sizing up, no obvious signs of one taking in his opponent and the featureless mask that rested upon his opponents face gave nothing away. He filed it away for later and simply shrugged.

“We begin.”

It wasn’t a question. It was a statement and it was met by a feral hiss as the armoured giant moved in, quicker than the Elder had expected for one of such bulk.

Kojiro’s lightsaber hung at his side as he approached the figure before him. He took a heavy step pushing himself into a stance, lowered his bulk slightly and rose; twisting as he did so to bring his fist forward and upwards in a heavy uppercut. Atra wasn’t there however causing the blow to swing wide. A snap-hiss to the Warlords right alerted him to a potentially lethal blow as his opponent made to end the fight quickly. Kojiro allowed the momentum of the missed blow to carry him around and as it did he brought his left leg up in a powerful kick.

A lightsaber dug into his shoulder, the blow filled his nostrils with the smell of burnt flesh, and as it did so he felt his leg strike the side of Atra. The Obelisk took the blow like a champion, the wind escaped his lungs but he had managed to steady himself to avoid being thrown off his feet. Both men moved away from each other and as they did so they once again took ready stances. Atra’s sabres had deactivated and he once again stood silent. Kojiro likewise made no sound but he reached down to his two-handed lightsaber, unhooking it from his belt and hitting a small button in the middle of the hilt. The weapon extended until it stood almost equal in height to the monster who wielded it. The spear illuminated the darkness both men found themselves in, throwing light across the armoured man and the face of the Umbaran.

Kojiro nodded slowly.

“We begin.”

Atra found himself unable to keep from sighing. A single note of exasperation that hissed between barely parted lips. A pike? Really? The bravado of it would have been almost commendable if it wasn't such a blunder. Sure, it might have made sense against a crowd—assuming they didn't wield lightsabers of their own—but a single foe? The range didn't counter the disadvantages.

Suddenly, the Umbaran cared even less for the supposed tournament the pair found themselves in. He had a point to prove.

As if just to compound things, Ventus felt an emanation pulsing from his opponent. Dark tendrils creeping across the floor and gripping to his thoughts like vines. As they burrowed—serpentine shards of power penetrating his thoughts—Atra could hear whispers.

Hissed doubts bombarded him. Was he making the right choices? Had he fallen too far? The Praetor allowed himself a slight snarl and silenced them all. His resolve would not waver.

With a roar, Kojiro lunged forward. His massive frame had to fight against the very armour that protected him, willing the heavy plates to follow his movements. Small explosions of dust followed the clone's footsteps and he was upon his foe in the span of a few breaths. Atra merely raised an eyebrow and weaved to the side. In his wake, the Keibatsu's pike crashed down and cleaved a glowing streak through the rock beneath their feet. Kojiro worked his arms like a lever, carrying the momentum to spin the pike above his head. The crimson blade hissed and carved through the Umbaran's trailing hood. That brought a chorus of panicked cries from the audience of vulptex they had amassed. Some handled the sudden cacophony of aggression better than others, with many retreating.

Ventus pressed on. He could perceive the coming attacks like so many ghostly apparitions, allowing him to react quicker. The same could be said of Kojiro. Just as one of Atra's sabers came to life, the clone shifted his weight and let his monstrous form fall low. The weapon left the Umbaran's hand—sparking, cerulean blade only half the length of a full extension—and spiralled through the space Kojiro's head occupied but a breath before. Another snarl accompanied the clone's next attack as he thrust his pike forward.

The Umbaran slid left, then pivoted. He made a show of it, the length of his coat spinning about him before he brought his boot down upon the extended hilt of the pike. Atra dropped his weight, going onto one knee while driving the pike hard into the ground and momentarily trapping it there. "Now, imagine I'd just cut it in half," Atra chided with a lilting yet even tone as his lightsaber returned.

The Keibatsu drew in a deep breath before exhaling hard through his nose. The sheer audacity of the Umbaran seeking to not just fight but instruct him threatened to ignite the clone's fiery core of bestial rage. The muscles of his arms coiled as he made to heave Atra off his weapon, but instead found himself knocked back by a sudden push. Kojiro found himself staggered and his grip slipped upon his hilt. Atra turned, still in the grips of power as the dark sensation danced through him—hot yet cold, bringing goosebumps to flesh. The Umbaran took a double step forward and thrust with his shoulder, missing as Kojiro shifted back in turn. Atra pushed again, gripping the clone with unseen tendrils without any gesture and sent Kojiro stumbling.

Atra flicked one eyebrow up as if taunting.

Kojiro grasped onto the Force, needing to reclaim the advantage. His right, armoured fist clenched tightly just as he mentally bent the power to his will. The clone spoke once more, his modulator distorting the words but clear nonetheless. "Kneel!" he bellowed. The clone forced the single word of command into Atra's thoughts and sought to make it push away all others.

For the briefest of moments, it worked. Atra's body dropped ever so slightly, but he broke free with a quick shake of his head, narrowing his black-gold eyes. Still, that had never been the Keibatsu's true aim.

Kojiro instead forged an empathic link with the remaining vulptices. Their crystalline spines bristled as they initially fought back. The Keibatsu slowly smiled, hidden behind his mask, as those that were swayed began to collapse in from the periphery to add to his threat.

The Keibatsu and his animal helpers let out equally bestial cries as they charged. Several of the vulptices came at Atra from one side while Kojiro took a bounding leap, followed by the remainder of his allies. The Umbaran's head shifted rapidly, swivelling between threats and prioritizing them. He grunted with effort as he took the first strike to his shoulder and rolled with it, shrugging off the vulptex before flicking his right wrist and sending his sparking cerulean lightsaber—igniting as it travelled—straight through the chest of its companion. Pain surged through the link Kojiro had forged and a vengeful wrath surged through him. He bellowed once more and brought his pike down and then back up across the diagonal plane, following the Umbaran's movements. Beset on all sides as he was, Atra couldn't properly navigate the chaos. Instead, he let out a hiss of pain as the crimson blade carved across his left arm, the cybernetics whining in protest.

Atra looked for an escape route, finding several crates behind him. He seized it, imbuing his legs with the Force's surging energies and catapulting himself into a flip that landed squarely atop them. "So, when strength fails, you turn to the Force," Atra mused. "And without that?"

The Umbaran reached out into Kojiro through the Force and squeezed, not literally but instead seeking to snuff out the clone's very connection itself. As that connection faded, the link he had forged with the vulptices broke away. Free of influence and seeing one of their fallen, they scattered in their entirety. Lost to the caverns.