Dooku:

Silence consumed the golden landscape.

Only the occasional grunts of the crowd, and low clanking of manoeuvring armoured bodies filled the air. All were eager to witness this battle. The best of both sides – Separatist and Mandalorian – who also happened to be the leaders of their respective factions.

Dooku remained his usual, emotionally controlled self. It was one of his better talents that had always helped establish himself as a leader amongst men; emotion, impulse and a lack of control were things he could not stand, even going back to his days as a Jedi. He had always made sure to instil in his students that level-headedness was always the key to the first step of victory.

Across from him stood Manda'lor, while he appeared to be armed only with his blaster rifle and side arms, Dooku knew the Mandalorian was likely concealing other weaponry that he may not know about until it was too late. Memories of the Bounty Hunter, Jango Fett, revealing his hidden flame thrower that nearly set Master Windu alight before his very eyes had even surprised him.

Flanking on his left and right, were Skorr and Sey. He had informed them of the plan and that they were to under no circumstances interfere on his behalf.

Not a word was spoken as to what the pledge he had made to Manda'lor would mean in the unlikely event of his defeat. Skorr would jump out into the vacuum of space with no oxygen supply if Dooku commanded it, yet Sey had a tendency of asking questions when it was not requested.

"Do you truly believe that this is wise master? You face a great risk ahead and if you lose-"

"I will not lose, Sey, this Manda'lor has more pride than he has sense. He fails to consider that I was one of only a dozen Jedi who survived through Galidraan and you know quite well that my power far exceeds any other being… now stay back."

As the young Iridonian woman turned her back to join Skorr, Dooku called out to her, without turning his back.

"Sey… do not seek to question my decisions again, unless I ask you."

Kadrian Sey's frown only deepened.

"As you command, my master."

Keeping the appearance of absolute confidence was vital to Dooku, even if, truth be told, he was feeling some trepidation himself.

Dooku felt the force and used it to calm himself. He feared only two beings in the galaxy and this savage was not one of them, yet despite this, Dooku knew it was not his skill with a lightsaber, nor his power with the force, it was his physical abilities. Long and sustained fights were no longer something his body could take, there was a limit to how much he could rely on the force to nourish him, and he knew it would only become worse as time went on: were it just thirty years ago, he could fight this battle ten times in a day and be prepared for another ten the next, now… his mortality was as evident as the bulky, armoured opponent in front of him.

Not only was the beskar covered Manda'lor no doubt a powerful warrior, but also that he had not removed his helmet at any point since they had met made his age impossible to discern. For all that Dooku knew, Manda'lor could very well be either a youthful and energetic young man in his prime, or a matured and experienced veteran, or somewhere in between, they all had their strengths and weaknesses, Dooku would have to find out. He knew he could end this fight as quickly as it would start with his Force abilities if he chose to, but to simply rely on his knowledge of the Force would not endure him to these warriors who only respected martial prowess. For that, he would have to hold back and only utilize his renown skill with a lightsaber.

All around, the Mandalorian crowd had swelled to a gigantic size, yet it remained silent regardless. He could spot many odd numbers of the warriors with their helmets removed, mostly human, yet with a noticeable number of Twi'leks, Rodians, Togorians, Zabraks, Rattatakai, Aqualish and even some Ithorians and at least one Wookiee as far as he could see.

The Wookiee in question did not wear the whole suit of armour, instead it was covered only in an upper body vest of beskar. He also stood next to the Mirialan whom Dooku and his associates and earlier been forced to contend against, Dooku could see and feel her anger directed towards him; like his former Jedi comrade, Luminara Unduli, she bore the tattoos of her culture, yet Dooku doubted she held much regard for it otherwise, the tattoos being black squares were placed symmetrically across each of her cheeks.

No doubt her anger came from having killed her comrades in arms, as well as humiliating her before her people. Dooku could care little for what some insignificant savage thought of him, a sentiment that applied to every being in the Galaxy save his master.

He felt the palm of his blade's handle, familiar and empowering comfort.

"Are you prepared to have your live ended, Jedi? The Confederacy is as good as ours now!"

Dooku's response was no more than a raised eyebrow.

"Strange… I seem to still be breathing."

He ignited his lightsaber and pointed it towards Mand'alor

"For you, your submission is inevitable."

Manda'lor activated his jetpack and charged towards the Count's position.

The hot licks of fire from Manda'lor's wrist thrower were unleashed, almost seeming to have life of its own. The Count, ever nimble despite his age, easily parred out of the way and faced his opponent, who immediately retrieved blaster rifle and fired at the Count, who deflected each shot.

Dooku was impressed, he felt no Force sensitivity within the armoured warrior, yet his reflexes were as fast as any wielder he had encountered. Had he himself not maintained his own naturel abilities; he was in no doubt that he would be dead already.

As each shot was fired in lighting quick succession, Mand'lor threw a grenade towards Dooku; this time, the Count was not able to avoid, taking a good percent of the blast, which threw him back and down towards a small hillside, chants, cheers and hollers arose.

Pain coursed through him, his upper body feeling it the most. His also rung, he staggered up as quick as he possibly could and used the Force to numb the pain as best as he could.

Manda'lor came full force into his direction, jetpack going at the top speed that was possible. Dooku remained firmly in place as the warlord charged, while it was in truth only seconds, it felt like hours, then, at the last second, Dooku sidestepped and landed an upwards slash across Manda'lor's side, from his upper hip down to the lower thigh. The Beskar armour seeming to save him, but a noticeable grunt of pain was still heard for all.

"A Mandalorian leader against one feeble old man? This is pathetic."

Manda'lor resumed firing at the Count, trying to find a weakness in his guard. A vain effort thought Dooku. The succession of blaster fire ceased, yet mere moments was followed by swoosh sound of sharp blade being withdrawn.

"Ahhh!" cried Manda'lor in a berserk-like state, with a vibroblade protruding from his forearm, the speed and ferocity of the attack nearly caught Dooku off guard, of only narrowly avoided being decapitated on the spot. Dooku landed a heavy blow alongside the left shoulder, which was covered in a heavy pauldron, as was the right.

The two began a short duel with their respective blades, the short, quick and violent slashes and stabs contrasting with Dooku's ever elegant and refined swordsmanship, Dooku manoeuvred to the side and slashed the blade in two, the full half landing with a thump.

From his position, Dooku smashed the back of his fist into the armoured helmet, the Mandalorian tumbled down the rest of the hill, dry dirt and dust marked his position as he continued to fall.

Dooku levitated down with the Force, by now the crowd of blue armoured Mandalorians – as well as his two acolytes – had now moved from the centre of the plains towards the edges, determined not to lose sight of the fight.

As Dooku lowered and made his way towards Manda'lor, now on his back and quickly trying to make his way up, huge rocks covered this area, in direct contrast to the gold wheat fields above. Dooku now felt it prudent to make use of them and his abilities. As Manda'lor stood up, going for his wrist control to activate his jetpack, Dooku used a force assisted leap to his opponent's position.

Mere inches separated Dooku's blade and Manda'lor's head.

"You fight well, my friend. A warrior of your skill will be indispensable to the Confederacy"

The warlord went reach behind his back in order to retrieve something…

"This battle is not over"

The object that lay in Manda'lor's hand was the shape of a sphere, round and metal, and it made a small, but noticeable alarm sound.

A thermal detonator

Dooku went to set up a force shield, it was only within the bare minimum of time as the blast consumed almost everything else around him, it caused the surrounding massive rocks to be pulverised within the radius. The surrounding group that spectated from above the hills, subconsciously took a step back from the impact.

With this as the final catalyst, Dooku could no longer ignore the internal fatigue, he knew now more than ever, this had to be put to an end. The sounds of an activated jetpack made him aware that Manda'lor was airborne.

He used the force to take control of the already the massive dust cloud, a result from the detonator, and proceeded to create a minor sandstorm that engulfed both he and Manda'lor.

Using the Force, he concluded that he was unseen, with Manda'lor trying to locate his position.

Dooku grinned.

Good

With his skill and power in the Force, Lord Tyranus used it to sprint, then jump faster than the sentient eye could process, landing a blow on the back of Manda'lor's jetpack. Sparks, flames and smoke poured from the cut, as well as the propellers.

The jetpack was out of control, as it left a smoke trial, going in every direction.

As he watched, it seemed that this warrior's death neared.

Yet, as the out-of-control device went lower, the Manda'lor was able to detach from the failing system, dropping down and rolling painfully on a hard surface with small and ragged rocks.

The location that Manda'lor now lay was not far, only fifty meters from where he now stood, much more of an even ground to where the gathered crowd of Mandalorians were. Calling upon the power of the Force once more, this time, to jump directly towards his adversary, who now staggered up to face the approaching Sith.

Manda'lor' was now in severely bad condition. Cuts and jagged scabs grazed the unprotected areas of his legs and arms. His armour now bore noticeable scrapes, up to his helmet.

Despite the loss of the jetpack, and whatever inquiries he had suffered – externally and inwardly – the warlord would not stay down, refusing to concede. Dooku could not help himself from feeling admiration for his opponent's efforts.

Manda'lor again resorted to the use of his wrist flame thrower, which Dooku was sure to avoid, dodging and weaving as he ran. The warrior also drew his rifle and fired it simultaneously, trying to gain one good hit on the deceptively fast Sith Lord, who quickly rolled into cover. The fire did not cease though, with Manda'lor continuing to pin Dooku down behind the large rock. The heat causing perspiration to drop from his forehead. The flames coming in from the sides, partially caught the lower part of his cape. Luckily, the tailored fabric was designed to be resistant to heat and other dangerous substances.

Luck, and perhaps, the Force itself were on his side this day, as the flamethrower had overheated and ceased its attack. Taking the chance, Dooku leaped from over the rock to slash and destroy the device while he had the opportunity.

Landing directly behind his enemy, who quickly turned around. Dooku landed a straight kick towards the helmed face of Manda'lor, who dropped his rifle as a result.

As the warlord was knocked down, Dooku pointed this blade towards his opponent.

At this point, the Count was prepared to give an ultimatum to bring this duel to an end, before the words could leave his lips, he was met with the Mandalorian landing a punch directly into his jaw, he tried to tackle at Dooku's leg, who narrowly jumped to avoid it. This gave Manda'lor brief window to get to his feet again. Despite the futility, with the Count now having him beat, this warrior would not go down without being decisively beaten.

Brave… but pointless

Dooku dodged and weaved the wild and desperate hits, his own footwork impeccable as always, letting his opponent tire himself from what was clearly a last burst of strength.

As Manda'lor tried again to land a strike to Dooku's face, the Count sidestepped and caught him with a deep slash across the back, even with his Beskar armour, the burn that came from the slash would hurt, with the heat of the blade and armour leaving a deep mark.

As Manda'lor turned back, Dooku again caught him with a sideways slash across the chest.

Manda'lor had fallen. The head of the Separatists had won.

Looking towards the crowd, Count Dooku saw the reactions: shock, surprise, confusion. They had full faith that this warrior whom they had chosen would triumph over any opponent through sheer might and will, yet this elderly statesmen and former-Jedi had proven them wrong, now they knew, their future as a people and culture lay in his hands.

The Manda'lor was now on his knees in front of Dooku. One hand on his knee while the other on the large wound upon his chest.

"You are indeed a warrior worth following, Count, there can be no possible doubt with that… I and my people will follow you. My warriors and fleet are yours to command. I swear on my honour."

The Iridonian Zabrak woman from before was the first to drop to a knee, followed by every Mandalorian present. The last one and most reluctant was the Mirialan, who looked pained to have to submit.

Lord Tyranus smiled, a genuine and triumphant one.

Deactivating and putting away his lightsaber, Dooku offered a hand to his fallen foe, now turned ally, who took it with dignity.

"And you truly are an example for your people to follow, Mandalorian."

Soon his acolytes returned to his side. Skorr was in utter awe at his master. The man who he would die and kill for without the slightest of hesitation, had single handily gained the allegiance of hundreds of clans.

Sey said nothing and portrayed nothing, but she too could not help but marvel at the power of her master. Under him, they would never loose, and their cause would undoubtedly triumph. She was glad she was wrong to doubt him.

"Manda'lor, you will unleash your forces upon the Republic. Aid the droid forces as required. You set out within the day."

Manda'lor nodded.

"As you command, Count"

The day was his, and soon, the fall of the Republic would be at a

Author Notes:

For anyone who enjoys this story, I must let you know, I am considering dropping it or at least taking a sabbatical with this project. Viewership is not a factor; it just is not clicking as It did initially in my head, and I have another Star Wars story concept in mind, and I am strongly considering moving onto that.

If you want me to continue, drop a review or two, otherwise I will drop it by the end of the week.

On another note, I enjoyed writing this fight scene and hope it was engaging and fun.