Built from the shell of an ancient foundation, the Arx Colosseum has undergone renovations to allow multiple new configurations for battle. Its spectator setup remains largely the same, with high walls, tall enough for even the most savvy Jedi to find unscalable that lead up to spectator chairs which are divided into nearly organized sections to accommodate several thousand people. At the center, an elongated platform “box” contains a central throne of stone with various seats of smaller scale lined beside it in both directions. Two large holo-projection screens are set up on each side of the Colosseum, offering different angles of the match bia holocam drones.

Today’s setup is known as The Forge.

Inspired by the droid factories on Geonosis and the flowing lava rivers of Mustafar, the Forge is a collection of deadly heat and hard-slamming steel. In the center of the arena is a “peak” from which the lava flows downward through rivers and cliff-faces. Radiating outward is a series of tiered rings, each getting lower the further from the center you get.

Along the rivers of lava, various arteries suck out the super heated earth to melt metal. The loud clanking slamming of metal sheets heating and cooling, tempering and forging together ring clearly through the entire arena. Conveyor belts lead the metal sheets away from the arena to be used by ACE in the spaceship yards.

Kamjin pulled the hood and gaiter of his new armor off his head. His eyes stung as sweat poured from his forehead. Why did Idris decide our next match should be in this horrid place? he thought as he surveyed the massive peak of flowing lava that had been erected in the center of the Colosseum. The noise was deafening as metal was forged all around him. It was as if Hell had set up a manufacturing complex with the single goal of producing an assault on a person’s senses.

Splatters of molten lava and metal dotted Kamjin’s ‘new’ gray cloak, burning holes through it. Kamjin blinked his eyes to clear the sweat. Had there always been droids working the conveyor belts? The world simmered in the heat as Kamjin wiped his face again. While he didn’t mean it he made a silent deal to sell out his Empire for a drink of water. The heat was making him go mad. He was seeing things. There was no way there was a smaller than usual Nexu bounding around the lava cliffs.

Kamjin lazily smirked as his body rocked from heat exhaustion as he saw the Nexu prowl above him. When the Nexu pounced, Kamjin realized too late that it wasn’t a mirage. “Oh Sithspit,” Kamjin cursed as he tried to pivot. The loose lava rock caused him to slip, which saved his head. The Nexu’s claws slashed long gashes into his cloak. Even above the din of the machinery an ear-splitting sound could be heard as the claws ripped into the armor concealed beneath. Kamjin fought to regain his breath as he scrambled to his feet. The Nexu was already trying to circle around him. Its massive jaw was open, baring its fangs.

Kamjin kept his arms spread wide. Hoping what remained of his cloak would make him appear bigger and more threatening. “Easy…girl?” Kamjin said, tentatively towards the creature. He started to back up towards the conveyor belts. Perhaps he could get on one and put some distance between himself and the creature without expending too much energy. He still had no idea whom he was supposed to face in this hellish landscape.

Kamjin’s head was still swimming in the heat as he began to bat his arms to appear intimidating to the Nexu. Something was wrong. He chanced a look around him. There was no one there. Just the droids…just the droids. The droids weren’t moving. Kamjin cursed at himself for not realizing it sooner. He pivoted to see one of the droids dissolve into the shape of a lean human with tan skin and a cybernetic arm. Kamjin shot his hands out and gripped the person’s thrusted arm. The tip of a hidden blade was mere centimeters from his side.

The person whistled, and the Nexu pounced at Kamjin’s back. Kamjin spun his opponent around, forcing the Nexu to collide with its master. Kamjin scrambled back, gaining as much distance as he could. He probed his belly, finding his bodysuit had been pierced. The barest bubbles of blood appeared on the slight scratch.

“Bico, get off,” Luka said, pushing against the Nexu that had taken them to the ground. Kamjin drew his lightsaber, the blood-red blade nearly invisible against the lava background. Luka rolled over as the Nexu finally rolled off them. Luka swore under their breath as they fumbled in their cloak for their blaster pistol. They smirked slightly as they saw the moist stain on Kamjin’s glove. They’d won the first strike.

Luka leapt backward to land catlike upon the conveyor above them. Although the hammering of metal sheets nearly deafened them, the distance was necessary for them to take their aim. Kamjin sought to follow Luka but found himself faced with the snarling Nexu. Her twin tails lashed as she prowled low on her haunches.

“I’m not responsible for what happens to your pet!” Kamjin shouted over the din as he drew his lightsabers from his belt. He ignited the red and blue beams and deflected the first peppering of shots from Luka’s blaster.

Most of the blaster fire was redirected back to the master. However, the Nexu proved to be persistent as she lunged at him. He deflected a bolt downward, just close enough to require her to jump back to avoid some singed fur. Bico hissed at him, her quills raised along her back. Kamjin followed with a horizontal swipe of his lightsaber, which convinced the beast to back off. She paced at a further distance from him as her gaze shifted uneasily between her prey and master. When Kamjin threatened Bico with another swing of his saber, Luka gave two sharp whistles to call her to retreat. Kamjin turned his attention to his opponent and away from the fleeing animal…

…only to see that the master was fleeing as well.

Luka had engaged their magna-gloves and began their climb up the scaffolding to the melting pots above. Their movements seemed effortless as they clung to the moving machinery, then leapt over to a pulley chain to continue their ascent to the platform above. They disappeared over the ledge, and Kamjin’s gaze drifted down along the path they took.

“Yeah…no.” The Maverick would have to find another way. He took the moment of reprieve to wipe the sweat from his eyes with his cloak, then looked around for his options.

The droids, cranes, and hammers continued their tasks unperturbed by him as he tried to find the right angle to propel himself up and avoid taking a dip in one of the pots. However as he made his calculations, the movement of a nearby crane caught his eye. It lifted cooled sheets from above to the conveyors that brought the metal outward to ACE. As it returned, his plan shifted and he disabled his sabers to stow on his belt. When the crane reached down to pick up another sheet, Kamjin launched himself from the platform to grab it. The crane dipped with his weight as Kamjin scrambled to pull himself up, but it continued on its pre-programmed path with little disturbance.

Once steady, Kamjin pressed his fingers to his temple to hone his connection to the Force and find his opponent. He could sense that they were still climbing. Running. Climbing still. “Why are you running…?” Were they attempting to time out? What was their plan? Kamjin focused his attention more deliberately to find their proximity. They were somehow getting closer. Behind.

Kamjin spun around at the sound of scuffing metal behind him and was met with the Nexu once more. Her back legs struggled and scraped to push herself up onto the metal sheet he balanced on, which teetered as she did so, but she was still determined to slash at his ankles. Kamjin’s brow knitted as he stepped back and glared at the stubborn creature. “Think this is your stop, kitty.” He brought his foot down hard on the Nexu’s paw. She screamed and howled as her toes were crushed beneath his boot, and she twisted in a frenzy to free herself. The crane shifted and groaned with their movements. He had to get the beast off.

The Nexu's cry was discordant with the sound that tore from above as Luka ignited their lightsaber and dropped down. Instinctively Kamjin drew his sabers in a cross guard above his head, but the impact of the blade still brought the pale blue beam dangerously close to his neck. Luka’s body collided with his, and the two fell back to the lowest level of the belts.

The Grey Jedi tucked into a roll and sprang back to their feet, then searched the landing for their lightsaber. Kamjin, on the other hand, tumbled far less gracefully. He landed hard on his stomach, which lurched as he peered out over the edge of the conveyor belt to the bursting magma below. His sabers could be found a distance away, uncomfortably close to the hammers as they pounded the superheated metal flat.

Kamjin shook his head frantically. He had misjudged the distance of their fall. But why? Was it the heat? He sluggishly wiped the sweat from his eyes. The Nexu was somewhere; he could hear its howls between sloppy licks at its injured paw. He went to push himself up and fell face-first into the conveyor belt. Was it sweat? Had his hand slipped? As he pushed himself over, he felt the sting in his side from the earlier cut. No, it wasn’t a cut, a scratch really. Then realization washed over Kamjin.

“Oh no, I’ve been poisoned,” he groaned. He had no nack for the healing arts. He had to finish this fight soon. He felt like he was underwater as he tried to move his body into a sitting position. He could make out Luka’s form scrambling amongst the conveyor belts. They were reaching for something. The blurred shape of a cyan blade leapt to life. Kamjin needed time for his head to clear…if it would clear.

His arms felt like durasteel pipes as he raised them up. His fingers flayed open as he unleashed torrents of Force Lightning at his opponent. Luka leapt easily away, having noticed the sluggish Justicar’s movements a while ago. Luka took several light-footed steps along the edge of a nearby conveyor belt before flipping through the air to a third. Kamjin’s lightning raced after Luka like a snake hunting its prey. Arcs of energy cascaded over the conveyors as a spiderweb of energy formed above the Justicar.

Luka leapt casually onto a control box, falling gracefully through the air, they grabbed the framework with their free hand before flipping out of Kamjin’s sight as the control box exploded in a shower of sparks and flame. “Oh no…” Kamjin muttered as he felt the conveyor belt shuddered underneath him.

“Why would you do that?” Luka screamed at the Justicar from somewhere in the distance. Kamjin had no sense of where it was coming from over the din of the machinery. Kamjin felt himself lurch, toppling him back to his side, as the conveyor belt accelerated wildly. The sudden shift caused Kamjin to hurl as his body slammed into the sidewall of a curve in the conveyor belt. Wiping the sickness from his mouth, he looked up in time to see a massive power hammer ahead of him. “Oh shit…” was all Kamjin could muster before finding the strength to roll off the conveyor belt.

He landed with a thud on a control platform. Thankful to not be moving, he coughed as he tried to breathe in the ash-filled air. His head felt a little clearer. Either his body was metabolizing the poison or the pain of the fall had cleared his head. Kamjin grabbed onto the handrail and pulled himself up to his knees. His chest heaved with the effort. He shook his head and looked across the maze of conveyor belts and felt his eyes go wide.

Directly in front of him was the Nexu, casually keeping itself in place as it slowly walked in time with the tread. “Hey,” Kamjin started, pulling himself back to his feet and holding his hands outstretched. “Look, no hard feelings,” Kamjin said, risking a glance around for how to get off the platform. Somewhere in the distance Luka let loose a mighty whistle and the Nexu leapt at Kamjin.

“Sithspit.” Kamjin dove a nearby staircase as the Nexu collided with the handrail and scrambled to pull itself up. Kamjin scrambled to his feet but before he could take a step he was sent sprawling backwards as Luka swung down from above. Their feet connected hard with Kamjin’s breastplate. Luka whistled twice, and the Nexu purred as it stalked them from above.

Luka brought their cyan blade high over their head for a killing strike. Kamjin began to scramble backwards as his hand connected with one of his own lost sabers. In a blur, Kamjin’s own icy blue blade blocked the cyan strike. Luka’s strike skidded down the blade and connected with a pipe. As it erupted in a geyser of steam, Kamjin regained his footing. Through the haze, Luka saw the Justicar take up his fighting stance with the lone blade. The catwalk did not give them much room, but it was enough for them to finish this duel.

Luka crouched low and brought their lightsaber to their side with a flourish. Bico yowled as she paced overhead, a slight limp with her left front paw. Her beady eyes were trained on Kamjin with malice, but she awaited a signal from her master.

No whistle sounded. Instead, both beast and master moved like those of the same pack. Luka skirted past the burst of steam and launched a frenzy of lightsaber attacks against Kamjin. Each strike deflected provided the momentum needed to execute the next step in their deadly dance upon the narrow platform. A blast of telekinetic force from Kamjin threw the younger Human backward, but only for a moment before they regained their footing and charged him again.

With Kamjin's focus on Luka, the Nexu dropped with near-total silence behind Kamjin and latched onto the end of his tattered cloak. With a firm yank, she pulled him off his feet and onto his back. He choked and sputtered as he grabbed for the clasps that held the cloak around his shoulders. The Nexu growled and thrashed him about while dragging him backwards.

"I don't think she likes you very much," Luka shouted out over the hastened clanging of machines. The strain in their voice betrayed their exhaustion. They stooped to pick up Kamjin's lightsaber as they advanced cautiously. Who knew what tricks the Elder still had up his sleeve?

"Feeling's mutual!" Kamjin grunted as he struggled to free himself. Finding the clasps useless, Kamjin resorted to the hidden blade in his vambrace. It sliced through the cloth, and when Bico jerked the cloak again with a violent twist of her body she found herself tangled within the remains.

Kamjin pushed himself back to one knee, only to find his own lightsaber at his throat. He smiled wryly up at Luka. "You don't want to kill me."

Luka felt their arm stiffen as Kamjin's suggestion wove through their mind. They didn't want to hurt anyone. All they wanted was to win. Their stance softened as the tension left their body. "I don't want to kill you."

"You should give me back that lightsaber," Kamjin said, holding his hand out. He kept his sight unwavering upon Luka as he focused his resolve. Luka took a step forward, held their hand out…

Bico wrested herself free of the cloak, threw the tatters from her shoulders, and raked her claws down Kamjin's back. Though her claws clashed harmlessly against the beskar plates, she succeeded in breaking Kamjin’s concentration. Luka regained their senses with a jolt and crossed both sabers at Kamjin's neck.

"Yield!" Luka shouted.

Kamjin doubted they had the guts to kill him. For a moment he considered striking back with lightning, but he was exhausted, and overheated... At least he still had his head and barely a scratch on him. He could save his strength for the next fight.

"Fine," he muttered.

Though Kamjin refused to plead, Luka appeared content with that answer. The Equite disengaged both lightsabers and tossed Kamjin's back to him. "Done, yeah?" they asked as they brushed back sweat-drenched curls from their forehead. “I mean, I could go for another round. But a round of drinks sounds far more enticing. Ice cold, preferably.”

They gave a playful wink, then turned their attention skyward. Both contestants looked up at the display above that counted down the time for their match. The crowd was silent, breaths held.

Time for the judge to calculate the result of their bout.