Duel on Ronu II

"Stand down, brother. My path is clear before me, and I would rather not have to strike you down. Join me, Guan, and together we can bring Sivter to an end. You've heard of what is happening, just as I have. Don't tell me you refuse to believe in his power, in the threat he poses."

- Darth Odium to Guan Blackthorne

The Duel on Ronu II was a conflict between Guan Blackthorne and his brother. Guan, believing that he needed to convince his brother to return to the Jedi Order, traveled to Ronu II with Ryy'Suuk and Neddac. There, he found Jerik, who had proclaimed himself as Darth Odium, a Sith Lord, and tried to convince him to turn away from the path he had taken. Jerik refused, and after offering Guan twice to join him and his Sith Order, engaged his brother in a fierce duel in the dense jungles of the planet.

Guan was able to hold his own, thanks to his training with the Mandalorians, but was ultimately unable to defeat his brother. As Darth Odium ran him through with his lightsaber, a glimpse of hope returned when he realized what he had done. This quickly faded, however, when his apprentice challenged him, claiming him to be weak by not finishing the Jedi off.

Darth Odium grew furious and fought against Dolosus, bringing the duel to a quick end. He struck his apprentice down and delivered a killing blow, before leaving his brother to die.

Guan was recovered by his companions shortly afterwards, and was taken to the medical frigate Mercy for recovery.

Prelude
"I accepted my fate, brother. You should do the same. I will only offer you the choice to live one more time." "Jerik, come with me... return with me to Onderon. It isn't too late, we can get through this together! [...] Then may the Light have mercy on you."

- Jerik and Guan

Guan traveled to the Ronu System in search of his brother, fearing that he had fallen to the dark side. He learned of the escalating events over the past two years in the surrounding sectors of space, and the death of several Jedi with the disappearance of a padawan. Knowing that he would be able to sense his brother, he brought his ship to the system, only to find it largely desolate. He opted to travel where to what was known as the forbidden planet, Ronu II, given its strong dark side presence.

Upon landing, Guan set out for a large structure he spotted in the distance. En route, he intercepted Jerik, and learned through both conversation and observation that his suspicions proved true. While Guan attempted to talk Jerik into returning with him to the Jedi Order, his efforts to redeem Jerik failed. Guan was told twice by his brother that he would kill him if Guan didn't join him, to which Guan refused. As a result, Jerik attacked his brother.

The Duel
"Don't do this, Jerik. Please... come back with me to the Jedi."

- Guan Blackthorne

The duel was fierce, taking place in a vast part of the jungle between the Hellfire and Jerik's Sith temple. While Jerik had proven to be more than a match for Guan, the Jedi Blackthorne nevertheless held his own well against the Sith Lord, due in part to his training with the Mandalorians on Mandalore.

There was no room for mistake, as their fight progressed from a slow start to a fierce battle of skills. Guan started simply by defending himself, hoping that his brother would come to his senses, but soon discovered he would have to defeat Jerik should he be able to help him, and found himself on the offensive. Despite Jerik's attempts to exploit any weaknesses in Guan's defense, Guan was able to block or dodge his brother's various attacks.

The duel soon took to the trees briefly, as Jerik used his fibercord extension to his lightsaber to send the weapon flying after Guan. The attack missed, however, and cut down a tree behind the Jedi Knight. Guan leaped into the air and, while up, sliced the trunk in two, using the new opening as a means to provide leverage for him to vault himself further into the air. He landed on a branch and catapulted himself back down as Jerik followed, the two clashing in mid-air, before Guan used the Force to send Jerik to the floor. Guan landed not long after, before the two charged after each other and clashed once more.

Jerik gained the upper hand, physically, and began to push Guan back, in the direction of the temple. During their moving in the general direction, Guan went back on the offensive, and a wide sweep felled three of the surrounding trees, to which Jerik was able to push away using the Force, before he continued to press his attack. Jerik distracted his brother with a series of quick attacks, which eventually lead to an opening in Guan's defense. The Sith Lord kicked Guan, who landed on his feet, but just as he was about to re-engage, Jerik used the Force to send him flying through the jungle for several meters, before landing harshly. Guan got back to his feet, but his brother was nowhere to be found.

He sensed Jerik just as the Sith Lord vaulted himself into view, continuing their fight. Guan fought his brother to a brief standstill, and used the opportunity to try once more to bring him back to the Light. It was here that Jerik denied his former identity, declaring himself Darth Odium, and Dark Lord of the Sith. As Odium pressed against the standstill, Guan weakened, and used the situation against the Sith Lord, but Odium was too fast. The two interlocked, grabbing each other's weapon arm, until Guan broke free and blocked his brother's following attack. What he did not know, however, was that it was a lead-in for Odium's true assault, as Odium spun and thrust his lightsaber behind him and through Guan's abdomen.

Guan collapsed to the his knees and awaited his fate, using what little strength he could to try one last time to bring his brother from the dark side. Jerik realized what he had done and, momentarily, calmed himself, deactivating his blade, which was already in position for him to execute sai cha on his brother. As he struggled with what to do next, however, another individual entered the fight.

The Master Betrayed


"You are weak! The title of master will be mine!"

- Darth Dolosus

Darth Dolosus had witnessed the end of the engagement and, noticing his master's growing concern for his brother, attempted to strike the Sith Lord down while he was off-guard. The plan failed, however, and Jerik was easily able to deflect his apprentice's attacks, before he went into the offensive. Once more fueled with hatred, Darth Odium resurfaced and ruthlessly engaged his apprentice in combat, before swiftly cutting Dolosus down. In Dolosus's final moments, helpless to fight against his master, Darth Odium chided his apprentice for being foolish and rash to seize his power. Before driving his lightsaber through Dolosus's neck, he declared his apprentice unworthy of the title of Sith Lord.

Aftermath
Believing his brother to be dead, Darth Odium left Guan's body on the jungle floor, and departed for his temple to continue with his part of the Jedi Purge. Shortly thereafter, Neddac and Ryy'Suuk had come across the Guan's body, and took him back to their ship. Neddac was able to determine that Guan was alive, using both his programming knowledge of his father and, thus, the Force, as well as vital scans, and plugged the young Blackthorne up to the ship's makeshift medical station. However, both knew that he would soon be truly dead if he did not receive proper medical care.

Guan would eventually wind up on the medical frigate Mercy, and was kept under intensive care by the ship's staff.