Timmns had beaten them there. Argrein, Quinn, Pierce and Broonmark dismounted from their speeders. They had reached a grassy clearing in the middle of a thicket of Belsavis trees, their branches extending widely, blocking out large portions of the almost turquoise sky above them. The clearing housed what looked like an abandoned Republic security outpost – except that whilst it was guarded with sandbags and once-working turrets, the building itself looked about five stories high, and not at all like a simple outpost. The Force twinged as Argrein approached the building. Timmns was nearby, maybe even-
"My lord, perhaps we should do a scan of the building," said Quinn, brandishing a datapad. "For all we know, there may be a Republic force inside that we are unaware of. How do we know that Timmns will not ambush us? The Jedi know of your exploits, and will no doubt-"
"Quinn, shut up or I will repay you for your betrayal right here and now."
Argrein's had meant the words to hit hard, but not that hard. He could almost feel Quinn's embarrassment. The officer had probably thought that his crime was forgotten by now, but Argrein had just humiliated him in front of his comrades.
"Yes, my lord," was all he said. Argrein regretted his ferocity slightly; now was not the time to bring morale down. Nevertheless, he couldn't save face without making himself look worse, so he left it alone.
"Right. The three of you, sweep that building from top to bottom. I doubt Timmns is inside, but I want to be sure that there's nothing in there that can sneak up on us."
They walked past him wordlessly, Pierce on point. He watched as they entered the building, gun barrels sweeping through angles and around corners. The doors closed behind them, and after waiting several seconds, Argrein turned around to face the trees.
"You can come out now."
At first, there was no sign of the Jedi, and Argrein wondered if he'd been mistaken, but then the Mirilian dropped down from one of the trees about twenty metres to his left, landing lightly on his feet.
"Trouble with the crew?" Timmns asked, brushing the stray leaves from his cloak.
"With one. I'll deal with him at some point." Argrein said. He gathered the Force around himself, feeling it straining. It bucked like a leashed animal within him, yearning to be let free and to rain destruction on the man in front of him. Argrein smiled.
"So here we are," he said. Timmns drew his lightsaber but didn't approach any closer.
"You know there's nothing in the building, right?" the Jedi said, jerking his head towards it.
"Of course," Argrein responded, drawing his own sabers, but leaving them deactivated in his hands. "I just wanted them out of the way."
"Do we really have to do this?" Timmns asked, exasperation running through his voice. "Seriously, we were showing the galaxy an example of unity that's never been seen before, and now you want to undo all that?"
"I do. If another Sith finds out I cooperated with you, it will put me under scrutiny I would rather be excluded from."
Timmns laughed abruptly. "And you think I'm going to go around the Sith Empire spreading tales of our adventures?"
Argrein didn't respond, but started walking towards him. The Force surged.
"Come on, you're being shortsighted!" Timmns protested. "Think of what we've accomplished! If the Jedi and the Sith recognise that working together is a possibility, we could end the war once and for all!"
"We're enemies, Timmns!" Argrein said loudly. His lightsabers ignited in flares of blood-red. They were only a few steps apart now. "It doesn't matter what we do, the war will continue until one side is destroyed!" On the last word, he leapt towards Timmns, and the Jedi lit his azure blade just in time. Argrein attacked him with a series of rapid slashes, but he blocked and dodged. Argrein could feel the void in the Force that represented Timmns, devoid of emotion, devoid of activity. He had cleared his mind, and it sickened the Sith. He pressed forward, mixing in feints this time to try and throw the Jedi off his game, but Timmns was too quick, and Argrein reacted too late as he felt the Force rush towards him. The push knocked him off his feet, but Timmns didn't attack.
"You're blind, Sith. You refuse to think beyond your own ambitions, beyond your own path!" he said, and Argrein heard the trickle of frustration in his voice.
"My ambitions are that of the Empire: to wipe the Jedi from the galaxy!" Argrein propelled himself at Timmns with the Force, and the battle resumed. Argrein pushed him back, and their sabers marked the ground nearby and gouged at a tree that happened to flank their path. The battle was too fast for Argrein to think about it; the Force simply flowed through him, and he let it guide his actions. Timmns matched him blow for blow until their sabers locked, Argrein trapping Timmns' weapon in an X-shaped pin. The resulting burst of light made it hard to see, and Argrein instinctively squinted. The sizzling of the lock filled the air.
"Don't you get that it doesn't have to be this way?" Timmns said, his voice straining with the effort of maintaining the lock. "The Force isn't black and white, Sith! People turn from light to dark and back again, given the right circumstances! Just because we draw on it differently doesn't mean we have to kill each other over it!"
With a savage thrust, Argrein broke the lock and lashed out with his foot, kicking Timmns several metres. As he approached, Timmns raised a hand, but Argrein deftly blocked the incoming push.
"If we work together, we could-"
"Enough. Nothing you can say will convince me."
Timmns' face seemed to go blank, and he spoke completely without emotion, as if he was merely stating a fact. "Then I guess I'll have to kill you."
Argrein pointed both his blades at Timmns' throat. "You've already lost."
"I don't think so!" Timmns reignited his saber before Argrein could react. He lashed out, and the Sith was forced to somersault into the air to avoid losing his legs. By the time he landed, Timmns was back on his feet.
"In all honesty, I don't want to kill you," he said, "I wish we could put our difference aside."
"Keep wishing. That'll win you the war."
They fought viciously. Their blades and arms were blurs, Timmns weaving and dodging as well as striking to compensate for Argrein's dual-bladed attacks. Backwards and forwards they fought; the ground glowed with slash marks around them. The Force swept around them like a fierce gale that only they could perceive, and both of them used it to slow, to trip, to hurt each other. At some point Argrein noticed that Pierce, Broonmark and Quinn had returned, but they didn't interfere. The fight continued, seemingly without end, but Argrein could tell that Timmns was weakening – he had to strain to keep up with everything Argrein was throwing at him. Argrein had faced many Jedi, and he had to admire Timmns' combat prowess – even though he must by now know that he was going to lose, he kept throwing in unexpected Force pushes or twisting to attack from odd angles. Argrein couldn't break concentration even for a moment or he would be cut down.
But Timmns broke concentration first; he struck just a little too late, and Argrein blocked the blow with such strength that the Jedi's saber was knocked out of his hand. Argrein didn't think about what he would do next; he simply noticed that in the next moment he had pierced Timmns through the gut, and the Jedi crumpled to the ground. The Mirilian looked Argrein in the eyes, his breath coming weakly.
"Think of the bigger picture," Timmns whispered, and Argrein felt the Force recede from him as his eyes closed.
He simply stood there, feeling the remnants of the battle. Adrenaline still coursed through him, and he took deep breaths to slow his hearts down. In his mind, he quelled the current of the Force that had driven him to victory. As these influences died down and his mind cleared, he noticed that the usual rush of victory was completely absent. Think of the bigger picture. The words seemed to be etched into his mind; he couldn't dislodge them, but he didn't understand them either.
"M… my lord?" said a quiet voice beside him. He turned to see Quinn, Pierce and Broonmark.
"Yes, Captain?"
"The building was empty."
"Yes. Very good. Let's go, we're done." Argrein began to walk back towards the four speeders they had taken here, and it took him a moment to notice the extent of the carnage his battle with Timmns had wreaked on the area. The ground was ravaged in several places, low-hanging branches had been severed from trees, the sap inside cauterized, and a decapitated acklay corpse lay, legs still twitching, not ten metres from where Timmns had fallen. Think of the bigger picture. Argrein mounted his speeder wordlessly and sped off back towards where the Fury was berthed, the words repeating in his mind.