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 Bridges.

High-suspended walkways cross and weave through multiple levels of platforms. Some are solid, metal and duracrete crafting an unmoving foundation. Others are mere rope and wood, swaying with even the most gentle of breezes.

Below the walkways is a void filled with mist, the ground unseen for combatants and spectators alike. Periodic ripples of electrical energy can be seen through the mist, hinting to the deadly nature of the arena floor below.

TuQ stood on a durasteel platform acting as a hub of intersecting bridges, the platform was a dozen meters across and situated in the upper levels of the arena. He surveyed the battlefield before him, eyes peeled for any sign of his opponent for this match. A slight breeze caused the brim of his hat to twitch and the rope bridge before him to swing as if he were on a children’s play structure. While he was glad for the breeze, it was certainly better than the heat in the last arena, he was definitely going to do his best to avoid that bridge. A flash of electricity in the mist bellow drew his attention back to the arena and the fight at hand. The Plagueian’s eyes kept getting drawn toward the swirling gray clouds that sat ominously below. He wondered how deep the drop was. The floor beneath could be a few centimeters beyond the surface or a few kilometers, either way, he had no intention of finding out first hand. TuQ made a mental note to ask someone after the fight was over, but first he had to actually get through this match.

Out of the corner of his eye, TuQ noticed a flash of movement. Karran was moving quickly and with purpose across a bridge one level down. Raising his blaster, the Kel Dor unleashed a volley of shots towards his Zabraki opponent. Karran dove forward and was suddenly obscured by a pillar supporting a wide walkway. If the Sith didn’t know where his opponent was before, he sure did now. It was time to move. TuQ had two options, take the rope bridge and be one platform away from where he had last seen Karran, or take the wide, solidly anchored bridge to his left and have to cross an additional four platforms in order to get there. He looked at the rope bridge, shook his head and turned towards the more stable option. It would be more roundabout, but it would be safer and might open up another angle of attack. With his blaster at the ready, TuQ took off.

As he moved across the bridges towards his destination, TuQ kept glancing back at where he spotted Karran. He wouldn’t just hide there, would he? How does one lose sight of their opponent in an arena like this? After a few minutes he stood on at the intersection of two bridges, one ran by a few meters below the other. Scorches marked it as the one he had fired his blaster at, yet there were no signs of his enemy here. How did one lose sight of an opponent in an arena like this? A cool wind howled as it passed by, sending an unnatural shiver through the Plagueian. As the wind died down though, the hum remained.

Frak. TuQ turned, finger on the trigger of his blaster, ready to let loose. Turning, he found himself face to face with his quarry. The hulking Zabrak stood over a full head taller than him, staring down through the viewplate of his helmet, the hood of his Krayt hide armor pulled up to cast a menacing shadow across his faceplate. TuQ could feel the anger and rage emanating from his opponent, smothering him. At his side, held loosely in one hand was his saberstaff, the twin blades of crimson parallel to the ground. If the intent was to intimidate opponents, TuQ had to admit, it was working.

“First the Consul, and now her lap dog.” Karran let out a laugh that sounded far more menacing than jovial. “At this rate I’m going to work my way through the entire Plagueian summit in no time at all.”

The di Plagia raised his blaster and fired off a single shot. Karran didn’t even flinch as the crimson bolt slammed into his chest and dissipated against a shield erected using the Force. Three more shots rang out, each returning the same result.

“Is that really all you have?” the Arconan Juggernaut asked, a hint of annoyance creeping into his voice. How had this puny thing become a Proconsul? This whole fight was just a waste of his time. With a quick twirl, Karran brought his saberstaff into a readied position, both of his hands gripping the hilt as his feet slid into a stance that was ready to both attack and defend.

With a sigh, TuQ slid his blaster into its holster on his hip and drew his Sith Sword. Testing the heft of the blade in his hands, he quickly whipped the sword back and forth slicing through the air and nodded.

“Alright, pointy, let’s do this.” TuQ launched forward and swung his blade low at his opponent's legs, trying to take advantage of his loose stance. Karran slid his foot back and batted the sword away with ease. Using the momentum of the swing, the Arconan brought the back end of his saberstaff around in a wide arc, attempting to end this fight in one quick swipe at the Kel Dor’s throat. TuQ twisted and blocked the attack short of its target. The force of the blow caused him to stumble back a step.

Sparks flew as the blades clashed over and over again, the two combatants fell into a rhythm. Attack, block, attack, block. Back and forth they went. The fury of Karran’s blows pushed TuQ back inch by inch towards the edge of the bridge. The Plagueian pulled back and stabbed towards his opponent, the edge of his blade sliding along the lightsaber. What would have been a fatal blow turned into a glancing blow cutting a gash across Karran’s side. The Zabrak let out a cry of pain as he swatted away TuQ’s blade.

Light on his feet, Karran leapt into the air and felt the power of the Force flow through him, gathering within him, coursing through his limbs. His leg snapped forward as he flew towards TuQ’uan, boot planting itself firmly in the Plagueian’s chest, the force of the impact threw TuQ backwards. Time seemed to slow as a sense of weightlessness took hold of the falling Kel Dor. The drop seemed to stretch on forever as he watched his opponent shrank above him, and then he saw the bridge rising up. The fall felt endless, as if he were falling into the very depths of the planet itself. And then the fall suddenly stopped and time returned to normal.

TuQ coughed as he landed with a thud on the bridge below, he said a silent prayer to whoever would listen for putting that bridge there. Standing on the edge of the bridge he had just fallen from was Karran silhouetted by the sun at his back. He casually stepped over the edge and dropped down, landing in a crouch not far from the prone Plagueian.

“Get up,” he growled. “You will finish this fight on your feet.”

TuQ began to shuffle backwards on his elbows, making some space between him and the imposing figure, a plan beginning to formulate.

TuQ’s fingers felt around for something, anything that could turn this in his favor; however, all he found was smooth durasteel

Karabast! There’s never a handful of sand when you need it!

The Kel Dor quickened his backward pace as the towering Zabrak closed the distance between them. Karran stopped half a dozen paces away from his opponent. His expression was imperceptible behind the faceplate of his helmet, but his feelings quickly became clear as he looked down at the sprawled man before him and shook his head. The saberstaff in his left hand fell to a neutral position with one blade down to the ground and the other behind his back.

“Where is your sense of pride, Di Plagia? Is this how you bring honor to your clan? At least your witch of a consul had the good grace to stand and fight back when given the chance.”

The Sith spat out TuQ’s title as he spoke. The fingers of his clawed gauntlet twitched with impatience as the red crystal mounted on it pulsed with a red glow.

“Y’see, the thing about that is—” TuQ interrupted himself as a four fingered hand appeared from behind his back to roll a palm sized spherical device to the Zabrak’s feet. A warning pulse pounded in the front of Karran’s skull as he sensed the imminent danger. He looked down at the object as it rolled to tap the front of his boot before jumping back and crossing his arms in front of himself as the device exploded with a deafening whine. The concussive wave battered against the shield that Karran had summoned, protecting his body, but the sonic boom was not slowed.

The Sith reeled back as the sound thundered in his ears. When he was able to reopen his eyes, the Juggernaut’s vision was blurred and unfocused. However, he could see that his opponent had vanished. He hissed through his teeth, partly at him having lost track of his opponent and the droning whine ringing in his ears. Karran yanked his helmet from his head and threw it from the bridge into the void.

The Zabrak’s breath came in heavy, ragged gulps. He turned over his right shoulder, then back around again. One eye was blind, both ears deafened. Upon noticing a warm sensation, Karran moved his hand to his clavicle and then his upper lip. He pulled the gloved hand away to see thick, red blood. The juggernaut closed his eyes and opened his senses to the Force.

He stood in silence. He heard nothing but the ringing in his ears as they ached and throbbed with his heartbeats. Through the aching and ringing, a burning sensation built in the back of his skull.

Karran spun to deflect an incoming barrage of blaster bolts with his saberstaff and glared at the Kel Dor.

TuQ froze as he stared across the bridge into the single, hateful eye of the larger man for what felt like an eternity.

”Kriffkriffkriffkriffkriff!!”

TuQ scrambled away to where one of the various pillars joined the bridges together. As he drew near, he jumped to begin ascending the ladder. Meanwhile, Karran gave chase. His hearts pounded like war drums as he channeled the Force into his legs. The Sith summoned his strength and leaped into the air.

TuQ risked a glance down the ladder to see how close his opponent was, only to find no one in pursuit. Karran did not take long to reveal himself, however, as the furious Sith landed at the top of the ladder above. The Kel Dor cursed as he reversed his path, descending the ladder quickly. Suddenly, he felt an unseen grip take hold of his body, suddenly yank him upward. The mercenary looked to where he had seen his opponent land to see the towering Arconan with an outstretched hand.

TuQ’s hand came to rest on the hilt of his sword as he felt himself gently deposited at the top of the ladder facing the Sith.

“TuQ’uan Varick di Plagia, I give you this last chance to stand, fight, and die with honor.”

TuQ paused for a moment, blinking behind his goggles. Well, that wasn’t quite what he had expected, though he wasn’t exactly surprised by much anymore when it came to the behavior of Force users. It seemed that Karran was doing everything in his power to keep the combat in close quarters, TuQ needed to avoid that. With his hand still on the hilt of his sword, TuQ took a half-step away from his opponent, the edge of the platform under his heel.

“You see, Karran big guy Val’teo, the thing about dying with honor is that in order to do that, you would need to live with it first.”

Karran let out a cry of fury as TuQ spread his arms to the side and tipped backwards, letting gravity pull him down. The mist below crackled once more with electricity as the Kel Dor fell towards it, this time by choice. The wind whipped around the Plagueian as he rapidly descended, back parallel to the ground as if he were flopping backwards into a bed of clouds. After a moment of freefall the rockets of TuQ’s jetpack roared to life, carrying him away from the platform and his opponent. A soft chuckle came through the anti-ox mask as he thought about the narrow escape he just made and the look he pictured plastered across Karran’s face. The amusement was quickly replaced with confusion and then shock as he watched the stubborn Zabrak launch himself out into the open air.

“You can’t escape from me, coward!” Karran screamed as he arced out over the abyss, his arms outstretched as if he were reached for a fruit hanging from a tall branch.

Before TuQ could react, the two collided in the air. Karran wrapped his arms around his prey, using the claws of his gloves to grab hold as the impact sent the combatants spiraling out of control, the rockets struggling under the added weight. Face to face, the two were so close that TuQ could nearly taste the Arconan’s breakfast.

“Get off me!” the di Plagia cried out, trying to wriggle free of the grapple. He found it difficult to control their flight with his arms now pinned to his side.

“You talk to much,” Karran grunted. “And fight too little.”

The Zabrak reared his head back as far as he could manage without losing his grip and slammed it into TuQ’s, his hat flew off of his head, slowly floating downwards into the roiling mist below. The impact felt like a speeder crashing through a duracrete wall. Between that and the nausea from their out of control flight, TuQ was struggling to remain conscious.

“Now,” the Kel Dor growled, “you've karked up!”

Wiggling his fingers around, TuQ found and unhooked the slim cylinder attached to his belt. He pressed the tube up against Karran’s ribs and and thumbed the activator, springing the monomolecular blade of his stiletto from its housing and stabbing into the Arconan. Karran let out a roar filled with frustration and pain, his grip on TuQ loosening a touch. The distraction gave TuQ time for a quick glance at their surroundings, they were rapidly reaching the lowest parts of the arena, not far from them was a platform connecting what appeared to be the lowest level of bridges. TuQ desperately attempted to angle their flight up, rolling so that he was on top of the tangled mess of bodies and aiming to put the feeling of sweet, sweet, solid ground beneath his feet once more.

The jetpack’s rockets finally gave out from the stress of the flight. As they came careening down, the two came up a meter short of the platform and instead crashed into a wood and rope bridge connected to it. The bridge exploded into a shower of splinters as Karran’s body hit the wood planks of the bridge first, finally shaking him loose. The impact pulled the supports attaching the bridge to the pillar ahead loose. What was once a bridge had quickly turned into a jumbled, chaotic mess of rope and wood. Karran and TuQ both flailed wildly, searching for something solid to grab a hold of and stop their fall. TuQ reached out for the rope, his fingers brushing against the course material as he failed to grab hold.

The Kel Dor’s fall came to an abrupt halt as his hip popped from a sudden yank back upwards, tangled up and wrapped around his leg was a taut length of rope swinging him like a pendulum away from his original target. TuQ bounced roughly against the cliff-like wall of the pillar that held the opposite end of the bridge, the blood rushing to his head as he dangled upside down. Across the chasm, claws buried deep within the duracrete, Karran scowled at the Plagueian.

“‘Should call you Karran the relentless,” TuQ muttered under his breath.