During the Sith Lord Darth Angral's crusade of revenge against the Galactic Republic for the death of his son Tarnis in 3643 BBY, a duel occurred on the planet Tatooine between Angral's apprentice Lord Praven and the young Jedi Knight who had slain Tarnis. Desiring justice for Tarnis's death but disagreeing with his Master's dishonorable order to destroy the deactivation codes for the Shock Drum superweapon and therefore prevent the Jedi from stopping the active weapon from destroying Tatooine, Praven challenged the Knight to a duel for the codes on the Esus Mesa. The duel ended with Praven's defeat at the hands of the Knight, but the Jedi refused to kill the honorable warrior and convinced him to abandon the ways of the Sith and become a Jedi, and the Knight then departed to the Dune Sea region in order to deactivate the Shock Drum weapon while Praven surrendered himself to the Jedi Order.
The Jedi was attempting to deactivate the stolen Republic superweapon known as the Shock Drum, and Praven had offered to give up the deactivation codes if the Knight could defeat him. After receiving Praven's offer, the Knight and their Padawan Kira Carsen traveled into the rock formations separating the Jundland Wastes and the Dune Sea on Tatooine. They arrived at the Esus Mesa, where they found the Sith Lord waiting for them.
Praven informed the Knight that he was Tarnis's master, and that he should have trained his apprentice better. The Knight attempted to convince the Sith to turn away from the dark side, appealing to the Sith's strong values of honor and courage, but Praven believed that the Jedi and the Sith held no common ground. Forced to duel, the Knight and their Padawan were able to defeat Praven, but the Jedi refused to strike down the wounded Sith.
The Jedi appealed to Praven again, asking him to reject the dark side and embrace the light. The Knight swore to him that he would be accepted into the ranks of the Jedi Order, and that his past did not matter—only his choices now. Convinced, Praven accepted the Knight's offer, and gave them the deactivation codes as per their agreement. He told the pair that he would contact the Republic and the Jedi, as he was too injured to aid the Knight. The Jedi continued on into the Dune Sea, determined to destroy the Shock Drum.
The duel on the Esus Mesa appears in Star Wars: The Old Republic, a massively multiplayer online role-playing game released by BioWare on December 20, 2011. The mission "Desert Duel" serves as the first major boss battle on the planet Tatooine for the Jedi Knight class, followed by the battle with the sand demon in the Shock Drum facility. Robert Chestney developed the scenario behind the mission, and Hall Hood wrote the dialogue for the conversation.