Duel at The Home

The Duel at The Home was a lightsaber duel that took place in the year 40 ABY between Jedi Knights Jacen Solo, and Nelani Dinn, orchestrated by the Dark Lady of the Sith Lumiya. The duel took place in The Home; an asteroid-mansion that was once the domain of Darth Vectivus, an ancient Dark Lord of the Sith. It was here that Lumiya convinced Jacen to become a Sith, in order to save the galaxy from the anarchy Jacen felt was all too common.
The duel was the culmination of a series of events that began with an investigation into the origin of a set of strange tassels that were Force-imbued with unintelligible meanings, found by Jaina Solo on the recently attacked Toryaz space station. The search, led by her brother Jacen and his informal pupil Ben Skywalker, led them to the planet Lorrd, renowned throughout the galaxy as a center of high academia. Upon going planetside, they linked up with female Jedi Nelani Dinn, who directed them to a specialist in language decryption.
Dinn, a female Jedi Knight whom Jacen met around 33 ABY and trained in lightsaber combat, was present while Lumiya attempted to corrupt him to the dark side, and thus intervened by engaging Lumiya in a duel. In his own confusion, Jacen turned on Nelani and battled her, spurred by a Force vision of Luke Skywalker dying if Dinn remained alive. The duel ended with Jacen running her through with his lightsaber, with death soon to follow. In her triumph, Lumiya regarded Jacen Solo, as he accepted her offer to lead him down the path of the dark side of the Force.
==Background==
Jacen Solo, renowned Jedi Knight and galactic hero, was sent on a mission to discover the meanings of a set of strange tassels that were found by his sister, Jaina Solo. He immediately felt a connection to them through the Force upon receiving them from his twin. While on Toryaz Station, Jacen met with the Twi'lek scholar For'ali via holocam, who translated one of the tassel strands for him into, "he will strengthen himself through pain". For'ali could not decipher the meanings of the remaining eleven strands of the tassels, and so suggested that the Jedi go to the planet Lorrd, renowned as a repository of knowledge. With his cousin Ben Skywalker, Jacen left for Lorrd, in hopes of discovering the remaining meanings.
When they arrived, Solo and Skywalker met up with Nelani Dinn, the Jedi Knight assigned to the Lorrd station. Nelani informed them that Dr. Heilan Rotham, a scholar from Lorrd, could help with deciphering the tassels. She then led her Jedi colleagues to Dr. Rotham, who decoded the tassels one by one. As she explained them, Jacen began to feel as though the meanings were laden with underlying Sith philosophies. He was also keen to notice that Dr. Rotham skipped a tan tassel, with jagged black designs. When probed, the only thing Dr. Rotham could glean about the inscription, was that they were the same as writings she had seen from the Sith world of Ziost. Jacen surprised them all however, when through the Force, he discerned their meaning as, "He will be drawn from peace into conflict". Jacen then admitted that he felt the tassels were in fact regarding him.
===Meeting Brisha Syo===
After leaving Dr. Rotham, Ben told Jacen and Nelani about the escaped shuttle from Toryaz station. These events turned out to be Lumiya testing Jacen on if he would deal with such situations like a Sith. Later, Ben found a shuttle that escaped from Toryaz Station which led to a woman named Brisha Syo. When Brisha was captured, she refused to cooperate unless Jacen came with her to The Home. Intrigued by the tassels the woman claimed to leave specifically for him, Jacen agreed. Ben and Nelani believed it may be a trap, but agreed to go with him anyway.
Brisha, who was actually Lumiya, took the three Jedi back to her asteroid home and told them that it was the lair of a Sith Lord called Darth Vectivus. The four of them went down to the caverns to confront Vectivus, where Lumiya managed to throw Nelani and Ben from the mining wagons they used as transports. Ben and Nelani battled Force phantoms created by Lumiya, while Jacen and Lumiya continued to the lower levels to confront the Sith.
==The duel==
While the Force phantoms kept the other Jedi distracted, Lumiya gave Jacen a tour of Darth Vectivus's mansion, while explaining how a true Sith was not always unspeakably evil and could be someone who sacrificed to save the galaxy. Jacen soon realized that Lumiya's plan was to persuade him to take up the path of a Sith Lord. Lumiya stated that Palpatine was a psychopath consumed by power and Darth Vader was too much of a machine to be a true Sith Master.
She told him that it was his destiny to become the first active Dark Lord of the Sith in decades. Nelani then walked in and encouraged Jacen to arrest Lumiya. Jacen still wanted to hear what she had to say and let her continue. Lumiya then revealed that Jacen's mentor during the Yuuzhan Vong War, Vergere, had actually given him Sith training. As Jacen seemed to be considering Lumiya's claims, he told Nelani to watch the Dark Lady while he attempted to locate the unconscious Ben. However, Lumiya halted Jacen by telling him that bringing Ben there was not wise; in the Force, she saw that one of the individuals present would die, and bringing Ben there would only make him one of the possibilities. To his own dismay, Jacen felt Lumiya's truth through the Force as well.
As Lumiya continued to seduce Jacen, Nelani arrived and revealed herself, and attempted to sway Jacen back into the light. He was unmoved by Nelani's pleas, as Lumiya continued her seduction. When Nelani could endure no longer, she interrupted the Dark Lady, and finally attacked her. However, Lumiya easily countered, unfurling her previously hidden lightwhip from inside her prosthetic leg. Bringing it suddenly to life, Lumiya flailed her whip, the first strike slightly cutting Nelani's face. The Jedi woman kept up her attack, and Lumiya flicked the strands or her lightwhip around Nelani's blade, this time cutting her chest and right biceps. All the while Lumiya continued to explain to Jacen the faults of the Jedi, as Nelani cried out in pain. Nelani then began to throw busts of Vectivus's family at Lumiya. The second bust she threw was stopped by Lumiya, and the two pushed the statue back and forth, but neither woman gained an advantage.
Lumiya took the opportunity to tell Jacen he was the only one who could bring peace to the galaxy. Jacen questioned her about the Sith in Luke Skywalker's dream, the man that "didn't exist". Lumiya explained that the "Dark Man" was him, that Jacen would one day become him. She couldn't hold on the bust any longer and Nelani sent it hurtling into her chest, causing her to drop her lightwhip. As Nelani lunged to finish her off, Jacen stopped her blade with his own and told her Lumiya had no power over him.
Nelani turned off her lightsaber and attempted to arrest Lumiya. As this happened, Jacen had Force visions that always began with Nelani living and arresting Lumiya and ended with him killing his uncle Luke. As he entered into the present day he saw Nelani guiding Lumiya away with stun cuffs around her wrists. Jacen ignited his lightsaber and cut them off, and realized that he had to kill Nelani.
Nelani looked at him, sensing his intent and ran off. Jacen chased after her and searched for her in the Force. She was heading towards him in a kicking motion, and Jacen caught her inner thigh with his lightsaber. Jacen approached the wounded Nelani, and after a few words apologized to her before he killed her.
==Behind the scenes==
Jacen's options of letting a Sith Lord being arrested or joining the Sith Order is similar to the Showdown on Coruscant, in which Anakin Skywalker let Palpatine kill Mace Windu and joined the Order of the Sith Lords so that he could protect the one he loved.
==Appearances==
*Legacy of the Force: Betrayal 
*Legacy of the Force: Bloodlines 
*Legacy of the Force: Exile 
*Legacy of the Force: Fury 
==Sources==
*Jedi vs. Sith: The Essential Guide to the Force
==Notes and references==
Category:Battles in the MZX32905 system
Category:Battles of the Second Galactic Civil War
Category:Duels