===Bo-Katan===
The air around them crackled with tension, a storm of emotions ready to break. Bo-Katan's breath came in steady and deep as she steadied herself, her hands hovering over the hilts of her weapons. She could feel her pulse pounding in her ears, the weight of the challenge pressing down on her shoulders. There was no turning back now.
Sebastian stood before her, his towering form unyielding, like an immovable mountain. The Astartes' armor gleamed under the harsh twin suns of Tatooine, the black and white design of his Black Templar plate striking a terrifying contrast against the golden sand. His stance was relaxed, almost casual, as if this fight meant little to him. But Bo-Katan knew better. Every fiber of his being radiated an air of quiet, unshakable confidence—an arrogance she could feel deep in her bones.
"I've already warned you, Bo-Katan," Sebastian's voice was low, cold, a calm before the storm. "You will regret this."
The words barely registered in her mind before she charged forward, her beskar-clad boots kicking up sand as she sprinted at him, her vibro sword drawn with deadly intent. Her blade hummed through the air, aiming for the opening between his armor. The sight of his towering form in her sights only fueled her rage, giving her the focus she needed to strike fast.
But Sebastian didn't move. He didn't even flinch.
With a single, effortless movement, he brought his massive gauntlet up, catching Bo-Katan's blade with the side of his fist. The clang of metal against metal echoed like a drumbeat, reverberating through the air, and Bo-Katan's arms nearly buckled under the force of the impact. The shock shot up her arms, and for a split second, doubt crept in—Was she out of her league?
Before she had a chance to recover, Sebastian threw her off his wrist, striking her with his open palm in the chest to shove her backward.
She staggered, her boots sliding in the sand as she struggled to regain her balance. Her breath came in quick, frantic bursts, the sting of humiliation already creeping in, while she started to feel her chest bruise. This isn't how it's supposed to go, she thought, her heart hammering in her chest. She had expected him to be strong, but this? This was beyond anything she had imagined. She was a Mandalorian, a leader—but here, in this moment, she felt small. Weak.
Sebastian's voice came again, this time tinged with something like disappointment. "Is that really all you have?"
Bo-Katan snarled, shaking off the doubt, her focus sharpening. She wouldn't let him see her falter. She lunged again, this time aiming for his legs. If she couldn't outmatch him in strength, she'd try to outsmart him. But once again, Sebastian was too fast, too aware of every angle. As her blade slashed at his legs, he moved to the side, using the momentum of her attack to spin her into a shoulder-check that sent her crashing into the ground.
Pain shot through her side as she hit the hard sand, but she rolled instinctively, her hand snapping out to catch her weapon before it could slip from her grasp. The dust and sand clouded around her, and she quickly sprang back to her feet. The bruise on her ribs would likely be a reminder for days to come, but she didn't have the time to worry about it. Not now.
Sebastian was waiting. His posture was unchanged, the expressionless helmet making him look like a statue, a towering presence that felt like a suffocating weight.
He took a single step toward her, his boots sinking into the sand with an almost unsettling calm. "You're a fool to think you can defeat me. This is not a fight you can win. You never even stood a chance."
"And who decided that?" She asked, her voice tight with defiance, even as doubt gnawed at her.
"I did." He answered simply.
Bo-Katan's fury flared hotter. She couldn't let him break her. She couldn't. With a roar, she lunged again, her sword cutting the air in a blur. This time, she aimed for his head, hoping to strike where the helmet met the rest of his armor. The blow was swift, meant to catch him off guard. But just as quickly as she had moved, Sebastian was already there, his fist moving like a battering ram to intercept her.
The hit came so fast and so hard that she didn't see it until it was too late. The force of the blow landed square on her chest, the strength of it slamming her back several meters. Her chest constricted with the impact, the wind knocked out of her in an instant. She felt a wave of panic rise within her as the air was squeezed from her lungs.
The world spun, her vision swimming, but she refused to let herself fail She had fought too hard, too long for this, to be brought down now. She shook her head, clearing the fog, and rose back to her feet, wincing in pain. Her body screamed for rest, but she couldn't afford it. Not now.
Sebastian was unphased. He stepped toward her again, his footsteps slow and deliberate.
He raised his hand, the motion so casual it made Bo-Katan's blood run cold. She tried to react, but before she could even think to move, he reached forward and, with one swift motion, grabbed her by the throat, lifting her from the ground as if she were nothing more than a ragdoll.
Bo-Katan's vision blurred at the edges as her breath caught in her throat. Her hands flew up, desperate to pry his grip off her neck, but it was no use. His power armor, reinforced by strength beyond anything she could muster, held her aloft effortlessly. She could feel the pressure of his grip, the sheer force behind it, and it was like nothing she had ever experienced.
This is it, she thought bitterly, as darkness started to creep in at the edges of her vision. 'I'm going to die here... in the sands of Tatooine.'
"Is this your idea of leadership?" Sebastian's voice was a mockery of everything she had once fought for, calm and calculating. "Is this how you lead Mandalore? By throwing yourself into a foolish battle?"
She struggled, but her movements were sluggish now, the edges of her vision growing dark as the oxygen in her lungs began to run out. But she wouldn't give in. She refused to let him have the satisfaction of seeing her falter.
With a final, desperate burst of energy, Bo-Katan twisted in his grip, managing to hit him in the elbow. It barely made him budge, but it was enough. He released her, and she dropped to the sand with a harsh gasp, clutching her throat and gasping for air.
Sebastian didn't even seem winded. In fact, he seemed amused. "You're tenacious. I'll give you that."
Bo-Katan rose to her knees, spitting sand from her mouth as she glared up at him, hatred burning in her eyes. But she could already feel her strength waning. She knew deep down that there was no way she could win this. Not against him. Not in her condition. But I won't give up, she told herself, her fist clenching in the sand. Not ever.
Sebastian took another step back, his posture finally shifting, though still confident. "Get up," he ordered, his voice cold and authoritative. "This is over."
Bo-Katan's chest heaved, every breath a struggle, but there was no time to rest. No time to give in. The doubt that had once crept into her mind was now buried beneath the searing heat of defiance. She would not lose. Not here, not now.
With a sharp motion, she pulled both of her blaster pistols from their holsters, the cool metal biting into her fingers. Her mind raced. She couldn't match him in strength. She couldn't match him in speed. But she had something else. She had agility, cunning, and the will to fight until her last breath.
In a single fluid motion, Bo-Katan activated her jetpack, the thrusters roaring to life as she shot into the air with a burst of power. Her blasters were already in her hands, and as she soared above him, she opened fire, the twin shots tearing through the air toward Sebastian.
The Black Templar didn't flinch. His helmet remained unmoving as she swooped around him, firing from every angle, her movements fluid and quick, a blur against the Tatooine sky. The sand beneath her kicked up as she spiraled, trying to find an opening, trying to force him into a mistake.
Her shots rang out in quick succession, the blaster bolts striking him directly—once in the chest, again at his side, a third time aimed straight at his head. But to Bo-Katan's shock, the impacts did nothing. The bolts sparked harmlessly off his black and white armor, their energy absorbed or deflected with ease. Not even a dent.
She circled around him again, frustration rising in her chest. How is that possible? Her mind raced. His armor was made of material far beyond anything she'd ever encountered, but the blaster shots—those should've at least left some mark.
One thing she realized was he never left his eye lenses vulnerable. No matter how she moved, no matter where she aimed, he would always move his head, or block with his hands if the shots were going to hit his optics.
Her next shot flew wide as she tried to adjust. The anger she felt threatened to consume her, but she clamped down on it. This wasn't about raw power or blind rage. She needed strategy. Speed. Precision.
She climbed higher into the air, hoping the angle would give her the advantage. Her blasters screamed in her hands as she fired, but again, each shot collided with his armor like a hammer against stone, sparking without consequence. He didn't move, didn't even shift his stance to avoid them.
Damn it!
Her fuel was running low, the thrusters on her jetpack sputtering as she struggled to keep her distance. But Sebastian was patient. His posture never changed. He was a wall. A mountain. A statue.
With a casual motion, he raised one hand, catching a blaster shot mid-air with his gauntlet, the bolt dissipating harmlessly against the reinforced armor.
This is hopeless. Her thoughts were clouded with frustration. She was out of tricks. She couldn't win this with brute force, and her agility didn't seem to be enough to shake him.
Before she could make another move, he did. With terrifying speed, he shot upward, his gauntlet shooting out to grab her by the ankle. The next thing she knew, the world flipped upside down as she was yanked from the sky and slammed into the sand with bone-jarring force. Her blasters flew from her hands, clattering uselessly against the ground. Her jetpack sputtered out of control before it too failed.
Bo-Katan gasped for air, the wind knocked out of her as she struggled to push herself up from the ground. Her ribs ached with every movement, but she refused to stay down. Not yet.
Sebastian stood above her, his helmet as unyielding as ever, the lenses never breaking their unblinking watch of her. The air between them felt thick with the weight of inevitability.
"Did you really think you could defeat me?" His voice was low, amused, like he was talking to an insect that had just realized it was about to be crushed.
Bo-Katan's hands trembled as she pushed herself to her knees, anger bubbling in her chest. She had no more tricks left, no more plans to execute. But she was not finished. Not yet.
She met his gaze, refusing to let him see her surrender. "I haven't given up," she spat, her voice raspy, her chest still heaving. "Not yet."
Sebastian's helmet tilted slightly, as if considering her words, before he took another step forward, his boots sinking into the sand with each heavy, deliberate step.
Bo-Katan's pulse raced. She knew the end was near, but the last shred of defiance inside her refused to go down without one more fight.
Her body trembled as she tried to push herself up, but her legs betrayed her. They buckled beneath her, and she collapsed back to the sand with a heavy grunt, her hands scraping across the coarse grains as if they might offer some support. Her vision blurred for a moment, and when she looked up, her gaze was met by the cold, unfeeling optics of Sebastian's helmet.
The red lenses locked onto her, like twin pools of blood, cold and endless. It was as though he were seeing straight through her, piercing the very core of her being. For a brief moment, Bo-Katan almost thought she could feel the disdain emanating from those lenses, a suffocating weight pressing down on her chest, crushing her will.
Her breath came in shallow gasps, the pain from her bruises and battered ribs threatening to overwhelm her. She forced herself to push against the sand, trying once more to stand, to show him she wasn't finished. But before she could rise, she felt the crushing force of his boot slam into her side. The air was knocked from her lungs as her body was sent sprawling to her back, the ground shifting beneath her with the brutal impact.
Sebastian's towering form loomed over her like a mountain, his shadow casting a deep, oppressive darkness over her. She could do nothing but stare up at him, the feeling of helplessness washing over her, suffocating her spirit. And then, with terrifying indifference, he brought his foot down onto her chest.
The pressure was unbearable. She heard a sickening crack—then another—as the pain exploded across her ribs. It was as if he were trying to break not just her body, but her soul. She gasped, the sharp sting of broken ribs sending waves of nausea through her. Her hands curled into fists, but it was useless—she was pinned beneath him, completely at his mercy.
Sebastian's voice came again, his tone cold, almost casual. "You certainly have the makings of something great within you, not unlike the Sisters. I can feel it. But for now, you only have one option if you wish to stay with the Death Watch."
Bo-Katan's breath came in shallow, pained gasps. Death Watch… The thought should have spurred her into action, but there was no strength left in her body. She could only lay there, helpless, as the words hung in the air between them like a terrible omen.
Sebastian's foot lifted from her chest, the sudden relief almost enough to make her gasp with what little breath she had left. But there was no escape, no victory. She could only glare up at him through the pain, her eyes burning with a defiance that even broken ribs couldn't extinguish.
He stared down at her, the distance between them growing even more oppressive as his form towered over her.
"Penance."
Bo-Katan's blood ran cold as Sebastian's voice rang out, sharp and commanding, cutting through the haze of pain and exhaustion that clung to her like a heavy cloak.
His gaze never wavered as he looked down at her, his helmet's lenses unreadable, but she could feel the weight of his command pressing down on her.
"Strip her of her armor and weapons, save for her blade and a single blaster," he ordered, his voice cold, devoid of emotion. He gave her no room to fight back, no chance to resist. The words felt like the final dagger, a painful reminder of her humiliation, her failure.
Bo-Katan's mind raced, but her body refused to respond. Every muscle in her body screamed, her ribs still broken, her lungs burning with each breath. She couldn't move. She couldn't fight. She could only lie there, broken, as the shadows of her enemies closed in.
Sebastian's words came again, and they were no less chilling. "You will be given the night to recover from this foolish action. Then, in the morning, you will lead us in wiping out the xeno filth known as the Jawas. Unarmored, and unprotected. If you survive, your penance will be over, and you will be brought back into the Death Watch."
The pain in her chest flared again as she struggled to sit up, but the pressure of her broken ribs was too much. Her breath hitched, but she clenched her teeth and refused to show any weakness. She wouldn't let him see it.
Sebastian's words, however, offered no reprieve. "Until then, you are nothing."
He turned his gaze toward his second-in-command, who he had given the Darksaber.
"Prepare her."
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