Duel on Nar Shaddaa (Sakaros and Daragon)

The Duel on Nar Shaddaa was the third and final lightsaber battle between former Sith Lord Tak Sakaros and Sith Lord Gav Daragon. Fought early in 139 ABY, the duel resulted in the death of both masters at each other's hand, as well as a great many of Daragon's troops.

Prelude
Following the invasion of Nar Shaddaa by Daragon's forces and the subsequent bombardment of much of the surface, the Merquise Syndicate began a series of unsuccessful reconnaissance missions toward Daragon's territory, all of which were rebuffed by the concentrated Imperial presence. However, Daragon's field commander, General Grievous, leaked a rumor that the Imperials had taken hundreds of Nar Shaddaan children as slaves and put them to work in a factory. Outraged, both Sakaros and his apprentice, Alluria Quinn, sought to come up with a plan to liberate the slaves.

On a recon trip, Alluria located the factory, and led her team of elite in without waiting for backup. As her elite freed the children they found, Alluria proceeded in alone, where she engaged Grievous in single combat. Though a match for the cyborg general, Quinn was momentarily distracted when the "slaves" she found had no interest in being rescued; Grievous had brainwashed them into thinking that Sakaros was behind the various atrocities perpetrated by Gav's men. Surprising the Sith apprentice, Grievous knocked her out and captured her.

The general contacted Sakaros, boasting of his capture and challenging the Sith to liberate his apprentice. Stopping only to exchange parting words with his lover, the Chiss Senesha`rae, and to kiss his friend Reiko Kaytana, pregnant with his child, Tak went off to meet Grievous (and, he presumed, Daragon), accompanied by the Jedi Master Souv Tanake.

The Colosseum
When Sakaros and Tanake entered the windowless warehouse, Grievous revealed the trap he had planned: the entire warehouse had been hollowed out and reshaped as a massive arena. Taunting the Sith that he had to face the adversaries behind each of a series of doors to reach Alluria, the general released his first surprise: twelve elite shock troops, the remainder of Grievous's personal guard, the Marked Twenty-Four. Faced with two Force masters, though, the unit was quickly reduced, and the general released his next surprise: a maddened wampa, armed with a makeshift chain mace. At the same time, five of Daragon's personal sparring droids attacked.

Sakaros launched into the droids while Tanake concentrated on the wampa and the remaining Marked. Blasting two droids to electric cinders with Force lightning, Tak was able to recover one of their fallen lightsabers, and hacked into the remaining droids with his Jar'Kai swordsmanship. Meanwhile, Tanake had used the Force to calm the wampa enough to redirect its anger, loosing the beast on the startled Marked, who were quickly reduced to the Marked Zero.

Incensed and startled, Grievous unleashed the remainder of his surprises at once: a company of stormtroopers, two destroyer droids, and two AT-ST walkers. Though burned and injured in several places, Sakaros charged one walker, amputating both its legs and blasting the severed carcass at the droidekas, crushing them both. At the same time, Tanake attacked the stormtroopers while sending her wampa at the other walker; though shot badly, the beast managed to smash the walker with its mace. While Tak attacked the startled stormtroopers and massacred them with his dual blades, Tanake mercifully killed the wampa with a single blow to the head.

The Duel
Standing amidst the carnage, Tak screamed a challenge for Gav to come face him. At last the Sith obliged, entering the arena personally. After asking Souv to rescue Alluria, Tak focused on Gav entirely. The two former friends exchanged brief words and jibes, tinged with anger and ancient bitterness. But it was not long before the duel began.

Both masters were the match of each other, attacking with ferocious Djem So maneuvers, altered occasionally with Tak's Makashi and both indulging in their Force powers. When they attacked one another with Force lightning, both sustaining severe burns in the process, the two were blasted apart. Daragon was disarmed by the impact, but Sakaros retained his lightsaber, mechanical hand clutching it. He moved to kill his former friend, but Gav used the Force to reverse the polarity in Sakaros's replacement hand. Dropping his lightsaber as his fingers sprang open, Sakaros engaged Daragon in a hand-to-hand brawl.

Both Sith were also masters of Var Shek, and each took a brutal beating at the hands, feet, and knees of the other. But eventually Tak threw Gav, and Gav recovered his lightsaber. Pulling his own to his grip with the Force, Tak stared down his former friend before both charged simultaneously. Daragon was committed entirely to the attack, a killing blow aimed for Tak's lungs. In Tak, however, a split decision made the end of the fight. Subconsciously, Tak knew that while he was a slightly better swordsman than Gav, his control of the Force was slightly weaker, and if the battle continued, he would eventually be defeated, and his dependents left to the mercy of Daragon. So rather than defend himself, Tak let Daragon's blow through, gouging the Sith Lord through the stomach at the same moment.

Brothers
"See you soon...bro...ther..."

- Tak Sakaros's final (vocal) words

"Syrth...I'm trying...to...talk to...my brother..."

- Gav Daragon's last words

Mortally wounded, both Sith dropped their blades and fell to their knees. They crawled over to the decapitated head of one of the AT-STs, speaking haltingly and with pain for a moment more. Though neither forgave the other, they had some final reconciliation, calling one another brother and clasping hands as they died. Recalling his loves, losses, and children, Sakaros died peacefully, slipping into the Force, reaching out one final time to touch those closest to him. Daragon remembered his many campaigns, allies, and glory, then slipped into unconsciousness. Finally appearing from hiding, Grievous impaled his master through the heart, killing Daragon as well.

Aftermath
Following the death of the two Sith, General Grievous assumed the style Emperor, took control of what remained of Gav Daragon's fleet, and ordered a full withdrawal from Nar Shaddaa.

Syrth Daragon, Gav's widow, arrived on the sight of the duel just before the brothers passed, and took Gav's body back to her ship, the Salvation, for transport to Korriban.

Tak Sakaros's body was claimed by Souv Tanake, and delivered to Ara Merquise's Fortress, where it was entrusted to Alluria Quinn for burial.