A combat encounter, a duel, transpired on the planet Tatooine in the year 17 BBY. The participants were two Jedi, A'Sharad Hett and Obi-Wan Kenobi, both survivors of the Jedi Order's near destruction during Order 66. After escaping Order 66, Hett journeyed back to his homeworld, Tatooine, where he rose to become the warlord commanding several Tusken Raider clans, following in the footsteps of his father from decades prior. Hett's leadership spurred the Tuskens into an aggressive campaign targeting Tatooine's settlers. Eventually, Hett and his warriors encountered the Lars homestead situated on the edge of the Jundland Wastes. Unbeknownst to him, Jedi Master Kenobi, who had also survived Palpatine's Order 66, was secretly safeguarding the Lars moisture farm. A brief discussion ensued between the two Jedi. Hett's refusal to cease his aggressive actions led to a heated duel between Kenobi and Hett. Despite Hett's proficiency with dual lightsabers, Kenobi emerged victorious over the fallen Jedi. Kenobi then compelled Hett to swear upon his father's honor to never return to Tatooine, ensuring the Lars Homestead's continued safety. Hett conceded to Kenobi's terms, pledging to stay away from the remote desert planet.
As the Clone Wars neared their conclusion, Palpatine disseminated a highly classified directive, widely known as Order 66, to numerous clone commanders. This order mandated that the clones assassinate their Jedi superiors, resulting in the near obliteration of the Jedi Order and marking the commencement of the Great Jedi Purge. Concurrently, A'Sharad Hett, a human Jedi raised as a Tusken, was on a reconnaissance mission near enemy lines, away from his clone troopers, when the order was issued. Witnessing the demise of many Jedi comrades, Hett returned to his clones and eliminated those tasked with executing him. After dispatching most of the clones, he kept one alive long enough to ascertain the events that had transpired and the reason for the clones' betrayal of the Jedi. Surviving Order 66, Hett fled the battlefield, attempting to contact other Jedi through the Force. However, unable to sense any other Jedi and anticipating the worst, he resolved to initiate his own private war against Palpatine's forces.
Thinking he was the sole Jedi survivor of Order 66, Hett returned to his birth world of Tatooine, and once more donned the garb of a Tusken Raider. Echoing his father's actions, A'Sharad Hett unified several Tusken clans, declaring himself their warlord. Responding to the long-standing conflict between the Tusken people and Tatooine's settlers, Hett led his new war bands in retaliation against the Human settlements that had encroached upon Tusken territory. Enhanced by years of combat in the Clone Wars, Hett's leadership and martial skills significantly reclaimed Tusken land lost since his father's death. Under A'Sharad Hett's command, the Tusken Raiders re-emerged as a formidable fighting force, forcibly reclaiming the land they believed rightfully belonged to them.
Through scattered reports from other colonists, Obi-Wan Kenobi, who had settled on Tatooine to safeguard Darth Vader's infant son, learned of the Tuskens' attacks on at least three large moisture farms, including the killing of seven farmers in a single day. Unaware that his former comrade had returned to his homeworld after Order 66, Kenobi was troubled by the potent Force presence he detected on the desert world. Suspecting it might be the Sith, Kenobi resolved to remain close to the Lars moisture farm, where young Luke Skywalker resided, in case his assistance was required. En route to the Lars homestead, Kenobi encountered the Valley of the Spirits where he was approached by the spirit of his deceased master, Qui-Gon Jinn. Jinn's spirit revealed the massacre that Anakin Skywalker had perpetrated in the valley, an event he had only shared with the Tusken-turned-Jedi A'Sharad Hett. Gradually piecing together the information, Kenobi inquired whether the tribe Anakin had destroyed was that of Hett and his father; however, Jinn did not confirm or deny Kenobi's assumptions. Armed with this knowledge, Kenobi continued toward the Lars homestead, intending to position himself between Hett and his Tusken army and the Lars family.
Eventually, Hett and his Tusken warriors stumbled upon a small moisture farm on the outskirts of the Jundland Wastes, which belonged to the Lars family. To Hett's surprise, his war band was confronted by his former Jedi acquaintance, Obi-Wan Kenobi, who had also chosen Tatooine as a refuge from Palpatine. While residing in the desert, Kenobi had observed the Tuskens and Hett's aggressive campaign, concluding that Hett was gradually succumbing to the dark side. Confronting Hett at the Lars homestead, Kenobi expressed his concerns that Hett was becoming the very thing the Jedi had sworn to oppose. Kenobi implored him to cease his crusade against Tatooine's settlers, but Hett refused to heed Kenobi's advice. Hett argued that it was the Jedi's duty, indeed his duty, to defend the oppressed, and that was why he fought for the Tuskens. Unwilling to forgive the settlers, whom he had witnessed killing countless Tuskens, Hett informed Kenobi that he would continue his war.
With the entire Tusken army as witness, the two Jedi ignited their lightsabers, engaging in a fierce duel in the sands surrounding the Lars moisture farm. The battle raged for several minutes, with both combatants displaying the skills honed throughout their Jedi careers. However, the duel concluded when Kenobi sliced off Hett's right arm and tore off his Tusken wrappings—exposing any part of the flesh was forbidden and seen as a disgrace in Tusken culture. Furthermore, with only one hand, Hett could not wield the gaderffii, the traditional Tusken weapon, and therefore could no longer be their warlord. Witnessing their leader's defeat and humiliation at the hands of a stranger, the Tusken army abandoned Hett in the desert.
Now an outcast unable to return to his people, Hett requested that Kenobi grant him an honorable death in accordance with Tusken traditions. Despite Hett's willingness to kill Kenobi if given the opportunity, Kenobi could not bring himself to kill his former friend. Instead, Kenobi compelled Hett to swear upon his father's honor that he would leave Tatooine and never return, hoping that Hett would recognize the error of his ways and embrace the Jedi path once more.
Decades after his duel with Kenobi, Hett discovered that the moisture farm Kenobi had defended concealed the son of Anakin Skywalker. He also learned that Skywalker had become Darth Vader, the being responsible for the deaths of countless Jedi. Realizing that Skywalker and Vader were the same person, Hett regretted protecting Skywalker's secret about massacring a tribe of Tuskens, a secret the young Jedi had confided in him during the Clone Wars. Hett believed that had he turned young Skywalker over to the Jedi Council, he could have spared the galaxy immeasurable suffering and sorrow.
Before the duel, Hett had been training a Force-sensitive Tusken Raider named KkH'Oar'Rrhr, and Hoar continued to admire his mentor even after Hett was unmasked. Hoar decided to leave Tatooine with several other Tusken Raiders in search of Hett, but they were ultimately unable to locate their missing chieftain. Over a century later, A'Sharad Hett, now the Sith Lord Darth Krayt, recounted the details of the duel to his prisoner, the former Jedi Cade Skywalker. As a direct descendant of Anakin Skywalker, Cade would initially follow his ancestor's path and accept training in the ways of the Sith before eventually returning to the light and killing Krayt.
The duel between A'Sharad Hett and Obi-Wan Kenobi first appeared in flashbacks within the sixteenth issue of the Star Wars: Legacy comics series. This issue was authored by John Ostrander, illustrated by Jan Duursema, and published by Dark Horse Comics on September 12, 2007. Following the release of Claws of the Dragon, Part 3, some ambiguity arose regarding whether Kenobi utilized the Force or his lightsaber to sever Hett's right arm. This confusion stemmed from a series of comic panels, illustrated by Jan Duursema, which seemed to suggest that Kenobi might have used the Force to amputate Hett's arm. However, Jan Duursema clarified via her official message board that "…the arm was not Force pulled off. Certainly would be a lot messier than the surgical precision of a lightsaber. Probably bleed to death though…", thereby resolving the initial confusion among readers.
Prior to the release of Claws of the Dragon, Part 3, there was considerable fan speculation regarding Obi-Wan Kenobi's role in the Legacy storyline. Theories ranged from claims that Darth Krayt was the lovechild of Siri Tachi and Kenobi, to assertions that Kenobi's role would involve a confrontation with A'Sharad Hett on Tatooine, setting Hett on the path to the dark side. Similarly, upon learning that Kenobi would play a role in the Legacy comics, fans expressed a wide spectrum of emotions, from happiness and surprise to apathy and displeasure.
Likewise, following the release of Claws of the Dragon, Part 3 in September 2007, some fans criticized Kenobi for not killing the defeated A'Sharad Hett. These criticisms centered on the idea that had Kenobi killed Hett after their duel, he could have prevented Hett's eventual fall to the dark side—a criticism echoing Kenobi's reluctance to kill Anakin Skywalker after defeating him on Mustafar, which theoretically allowed Darth Vader to terrorize the galaxy. In response to these critiques, Claws of the Dragon artist Jan Duursema retorted, "Would Obi-Wan be a better Jedi if he killed every misguided fool that he ever met?" Along the same lines, writer John Ostrander commented that Kenobi suffered from what he termed the "Spider-man syndrome." In Ostrander's words, "Peter Parker didn't stop the Thief when he had a chance; Thief later kills gentle Uncle Ben. Uncle Ben's death is all Peter's fault for not stopping him when he could. In this case, Hett wasn't yet a Sith or even a Dark Jedi. A'Sharad really hasn't done anything that his father, Sharad, hadn't done earlier. Killing him would not have been an appropriate response for a Jedi."