Colloquially known as Outland Station, Outland Transit Station was a large outpost situated above a barren planetoid within the Outer Rim Territories.

The station itself is divided into districts attracting anyone from traders and mercenaries. It's key attraction, however, is the Fight Pit.

Legends say the bounty hunter Jango Fett once fought a borhek in this very arena. One might question how, given these arenas were used for bets on beasts fighting to maim and destroy each other from all over the galaxy.

The arena itself is circular in shape, large, especially for humanoids, and surrounded completely by an electrical fence that deliverers painful shocks to any who are unfortunate enough to touch it. The floor is flat and even, a blank slate for those competing.

Today, you are the main event for the evening. The crowd has gathered, bets have been made, and they cheer and jeer to see you win, or lose, depending on where their credits lay.

Will you be able to overcome your foe in whatever form it may be? Or will you crumble like so many before you? The crowd at least hopes it will be entertaining.

“Aaaand welcome back everyone, from those near to my heart to those far away behind a screen!”

The announcer was annoying, in an endearing way. She was a small, yet quick Toydarian with an uncharacteristically pleasant voice, all of which made her a great commentator for bloodsport. Carmen supposed everyone had a calling, he just wished she tried a little less of the embellishments.

“I don’t have to ask if anyone needs more time to grab a drink, because I know none of you are gonna want to miss this!”

Carmen stood from his bench under the seating of the arena and turned towards the entrance tunnel. He was hearing her, as well as the audience, from out there. His stomach turned over again as he began to move towards the sounds, the constant grimace on his face morphing into a scowl. He didn’t want to be here. At least all these other “missions” he kept getting sent on actually accomplished something, but a pit fight? For the entertainment of randoms? At least he wasn’t likely to die here… but he was likely to get a scar or something, and that was almost as bad.

“Finally, after all you’ve been waiting for, the main event! A no holds barred, fight to the blackout! Unfortunately, we’ve lost our death license…”

The gate in front of Carmen lifted, with only a fence left behind. It appeared he would be entering second.

“On this hemi-circle, we have the slick and steady, smooth and ready, silent and violent Torpedo Vigooooooooo!”

On the other side of the arena, a pale skinned man with messy hair and… a metal arm stepped up, about as excited as Carmen felt himself. He grumbled something, probably about the moniker, “Torpedo.”

“Aaaaaaand on the other, he’s as pretty as he is smart, the brains that give brawn, Carmeeeeeen!”

At least he didn’t get a name as well. Surprisingly, as he stepped out into the nearly circular arena to face Vigo, there actually was some cheering from the big metal grates ringing the top of the arena. Obviously, there was actually some enthusiasm for this fight, even if it wasn’t from the participants.

“Well, well! Looks like we are all set!” The announcer buzzed overhead, her fat little body surprisingly graceful in flight, and the acrobatic motions didn’t seem to show in her voice. A calling indeed.

“You two, know the rules…”

Silence. One moment… two…

“And no killing! Hehehehe!”

“Hey,” Vigo called across the small space between them. It was small enough that the audience probably wouldn’t be able to hear.

“Go down, I won’t keep hitting you. I don’t really care about this whole thing.”

An offer to end it immediately, huh? Carmen looked up at the announcer again, who was still giggling.

“Alright, race fans, let's get it going! Fight!”

Carmen looked back down at Vigo, who was now rubbing his mechanical wrist as he watched his opponent. After a moment, Carmen gave his answer with an underhand toss.

“Catch.”

A flash grenade arced over Vigo, who raised his arm without breaking eye contact. He did move, however, when Carmen fired a sonic microgrenade at his feet. Together, the bombs unleashed a torrent of light and sound from two directions, both of which Vigo seemed to brace himself for. Without hesitation, Carmen shot out his grapplewire to mag-lock onto Vigo’s metal arm, pulling the two a step closer before they planted their feet.

“That hurt, grease monkey,” Vigo grumbled as he blinked a bit faster than usual. His voice was also a bit louder than before, so he wasn’t entirely successful in defending.

Reaching out with his flesh arm, he snatched the wire and pulled Carmen another step closer, a short blade shooting out from the metal wrist and sparking against the thin cord. His eyebrows shot up in surprise.

“Wha-?”

“Beskar, nerd,” Carmen said smugly, as he unloaded his entire store of Saberdarts at the now perfectly distracted target.

Vigo spun, his sword flicking out of its sheath and neatly cutting the first half of the darts out of the air before most of the other half bounced off of empty air. Only two managed to strike, one in Vigo’s right shoulder, and one dangerously close to his heart.

“The Force? That can’t be fair. I can only do a little bit of Supernatural Suggestion with mine,” Carmen mused as he snapped his grappling hook back into its spool.

Vigo, on the other hand, ripped both of the long needles out and inspected them, a small amount of anger showing on his face, “Light, sound, now poison? You’re one to talk. What did you hit me with?”

Carmen smirked and raised his pistol again, the droid brain inside shifting the barrel slightly.

“Just a little hallucinogen. My stuff isn’t that good, so it isn’t fast acting. But it does put this little shindig on a timer… well, for you.”

“So win fast. I hear you.”

Vigo vanished.

The last thing Carmen was able to see was a slight squint of amusement behind Vigo’s mask before vanishing. Focusing his might into the Force to cloak himself, he took a moment to let his eyes and ears recover from the impact.

Poison.

It was always poison.

He sighed, focusing a bit harder than usual. The throbbing in his chest and shoulder didn’t help. The frantic pounding of his heartbeat raced through his ears.

Concentrate. Think. Why was he here?

Right, Dom. For his brother. For the family.

He thought this would be a brawl, some place he could let go.

Let go of the pressure and the hunger–

The memories from all those years came flooding back. The last memory of his parents' faces. Happy and content, but he didn’t know that was the last time he would see them.

The shunning from the townsfolk, the lack of contact. The hunger. The cold winters. The sweltering summers. The dirt and grime. Scrounging for scraps. The occasional person who would at least acknowledge them in the shadows, giving them moldy bread or old, half-eaten food. How the brothers deemed it as a miraculous gift from whichever God hadn’t abandoned them. The beatings he got from others for stealing supplies. The whimpering of his little brother begging Vigo for something to eat, or complaints about the wind chill.

Vigo’s introspection was cut short by the sharp effects of the poison. He shook his head slightly side to side. That didn’t help.
Wisps and colors clouded his vision. Was it from the poison? Or the grenades? He pushed on, trying to maintain concentration as he slowly walked circles around Carmen.

Here he was, attempting to prove himself once again. He hated having to prove himself.

Carmen backed up slowly, putting his back as close to the electrical fence as he could, without being electrocuted. Using common sense when you couldn’t see an enemy and making sure they couldn’t sneak up behind you. He was constantly glancing between the open air and the Scan Pulse he whipped out of his pocket the moment he didn’t have eyes on Vigo.

Vigo, like a stealthy viper that was coiled and ready to strike, smirked beneath his mask. The Force cloak protected him from being picked up on any technology. Vigo positioned himself to Carmen’s right, his eyes examining the Hapan for any weak points. His usual attack zone was the neck. A quick sneak up, and slice of the jugular and windpipe usually did the trick. After all, his knuckle-plated vibroblade was itching to be unsheathed.

Maim not kill. Channel that anger. The mantra rang through Vigo’s mind, like a broken record. A reminder.

He breathed in, counting the beats of his racing heart.

He swore he could hear the small whimpers of his younger brother sobbing into his arms.

“For Dominik,” He whispered, and quickly side-stepped to Carmen’s left.

Carmen’s face and reaction turned to the right, where he heard Vigo’s quiet pledge.

Uncloaking, Vigo planted a swift punch into Carmen’s left hip, causing the Hapan to slightly buckle to the side. The Scan Pulse, now beeping frantically, fell from Carmen's hand with the impact. This movement allowed enough room for Vigo to slip in for a headlock. Vigo’s cool metal arm wrapped around the base of Carmen’s neck, latching onto his own bicep. His left arm curled around his prosthetic wrist, securing, forming a lock.

“Oooo the sneaky Umbaran Viiiiigoooo hid from Carmen to get the upper hand!” The announcer exclaimed as the crowd cheered at Vigo’s sudden appearance.

Carmen stumbled back, clutching his hip. Why didn’t his shielding go off? It was that damn vibroblade, even in its sheath it must be frakking with it, even if the edge wasn’t directly cutting him. And now Carmen's sonar was out of reach, Vigo presumably standing guard over the one thing Carmen could use to see him. Standing guard…

Running forward, Carmen made to slide for the sonar before Vigo appeared over him, elbowing down into his stomach and kicking him away. Thankfully, the shield actually functioned that time, though the force was still enough to shove him around. Carmen didn’t wait for any change, rushing around the side, this time, only to be met with a flying knee and a heavy-metal haymaker that sent him sprawling, and his shield shaking. It was going to be good for maybe one more hit. Yelling in frustration, Carmen charged once more, eyes locked on the sonar pulse, almost not noting the metal fist appearing directly in front of his face.

The shield visibly tried to stop the metal fist, but only took some of the bite out before Vigo's entire body weight collided with Carmen's nose, breaking it immediately. However, before the smaller man went flying back, his hand released hold of the pair of grenades he was carrying. The blast of the stun and concussion charges coincided neatly with the impact of his back hitting the floor- just outside the blast radius.

“Well would you look at that!” The announcer buzzed closer to get a good look at the pair of stunned fighters, “If you can’t see ‘em, then attack where you know they'll be! Nu’Whin is out here using himself as bait! And what a piece of bait he is~”

Carmen stood, his nose twisted to the side, and blood pouring down his face. “Oooh, maybe a bit more crooked than bait should be, but who am I to judge?”

Carmen moved forwards, trying to clear his eyes as he focused on the Force to dull the pain in his face as he reset his nose.

“Do you have any idea how expensive it is for all these surgeries I have to get to clear all the scars and broken bits I get? Mech parts aren't cheap, y’know!”

His face wasn’t used to angry looks. He wasn’t used to saying angry words, and maybe that was obvious, but as he moved forwards to clap one of the stuncuffs on Vigo's metal arm, his frown turned into a twisted smile.

“But poison, tinnitus, maybe some permanent vision damage… at least my way of fighting is humiliating.”

Carmen shifted to put the other hand in the stuncuffs, but barely managed to duck out of the way of an uppercut. It seemed that Vigo wasn’t quite out of it yet, although his metal arm was not shaking and twitching, like he couldn’t fully control it, likely from the constant pulse of electricity from the stuncuffs.

“You’re right, fighting you is annoying as hell,” Vigo said, shifting his cloak back and reaching with his fleshy hand, “makes me more willing to stop giving you slack.”

With a swish, he pulled out a sword, previously hidden. With a jerk, Vigo then flipped it so the blade faced backward and narrowed his eyes at his opponent.

“If you’re so concerned about broken bones and scars, then I’ll bleed you dry.”

Carmen growled in frustration. This guy had to be half blind and deaf at this point, and he might just have a brainbleed from the concussions.Why was he not willing to just take the loss? Shaking his head, he drew his grenade pistol in his left hand, popping out the shield on his vambrace, and drew his lightsaber with his right. Its brilliant blue blade wasn’t something he was used to, a training saber more akin to a hot stick than a true saber, but it would still give a nasty shock to someone that had to be approaching his last legs. It was time to stall, and at least his favored saber style was all about stalling.

“Finally! No more tricks, no more posturing!” The announcer's excitement was somehow increasing, “from here on out, its blood, blood, BLOOD!”

“Smart. Using the fence to your advantage. Resourceful. You fell right into my trap however.” Like a constrictor, his arm squeezed tighter around the small Hapan’s throat.

“Rule number one–never turn your back on your opponent. Which you followed. Rule number two–expect the unexpected.”

Carmen shifted his weight, mule kicking backwards into Vigo in an attempt to throw the Umbaran off. Vigo side stepped, loosening his grip slightly. He avoided the kick and he chuckled.

“Good, but predictable.”

Using the movement from Vigo to mask his actions, Carmen reached into his robes pocket and pulled out the advanced stuncuffs. The Hapan threw his head back, as hard as he could, into Vigo’s shoulder, kicking again at the same time. Vigo once again side stepped, but this time, Carmen hooked one arm cuff around Vigo’s prosthetic metal arm. He took a deep breath, focusing his might into the Force, dulling the pain that was about to come. Carmen quickly flipped on the stuncuffs, and most of the strength from Vigo’s headlock fell away. The arm was temporarily disabled.

Carmen felt as if his veins were filled with an icy fire. It dulled quickly thanks to the Force as he channeled. He quickly dropped to his knees, using his height and body weight to help pull him out of the remaining headlock. He quickly scurried out and back on to his feet.

“Druk,” the Umbaran frustratedly exclaimed. He had unsheathed his knuckle-plated Vibroblade and jammed it into the connecting seams, attempting to break it off. It was no use as he pounded the prosthetic with his fist. No response. His arm was dead and he was wasting precious time. He made a mental note needing to ask Dom for an upgrade for the arm to sustain shocks better.

In the few seconds he had looked away, Carmen retrieved his elite shock collar, and was running up to Vigo at full speed. He let out a yell as he planted and secured the collar around the Umbaran’s neck, flicking it on. Vigo stiffened, falling to his knees. Thanks to his BioTech implant he was able to endure the pain. Carmen flipped off the voltage from the stuncuffs, taking them and wrapping around Vigo’s back. Securing the other wrist. Carmen flicked off the shock collar, now that Vigo was immobilized.

Carmen bent over, in a low voice, “Rule number two– expect the unexpected.”

Vigo looked up at the Hapan with an icy rage behind his eyes, but an amused smile etched onto his face.