Combat Master’s Note: Because your matches are against a member of your Clan, this battle takes on a unique format. You and your ally will be encountering three bounty hunters that have been trained to kill Jedi. Treat these bounty hunters as you would any other ACC opponent. In addition, note that your character is unaware of the nature or history of the bounty hunters you will be facing. You will recognize their armor and their weapons as Mandalorian in nature, but you will not know their true identities or motivations. You will be judged using the ACC rubric, so the person posting the best story will move on to subsequent rounds. If you wish to fight your Clanmate as well, you may, but this is not a requirement.

One month. The Dark Crusade’s latest conquest has cost one month of time and much more in terms of sacrifice. Sith, Krath, and Obelisk warriors from across the Dark Brotherhood have fallen in combat and withdrawn from the dusty plains of Begeren. Rivals from within the Brotherhood and external One Sith forces have reduced the once proud field of ninety elite warriors to just four. Guided by the Force, impatience, or a mix of both, the remaining combatants have been drawn to the final stages of their quest.

The palace’s main gates were barred and sealed; ancient Sith magics seemed to hold them in place, and even lightsabers couldn’t open them. However, you noticed another entrance, far above this one, accessible via a long bridge into the cliffside. Not long after, you were there, standing before a massive stone bridge built to reach one of the palisades of the gleaming palace. In the distance, you can tell One Sith activity has greatly increased on the palace; soldiers and cloaked figures can now be seen on the palace superstructure along terraces, moving hurriedly in unknown tasks. All activity seems to spiral up towards a massive, single tower. Even from here, before reaching the palace, the dark side can be felt snaking down from the top of spire. Whatever the One Sith are up to here on Begeren, this is the center of it.

Your eyes take in the fine craftsmanship of the bridge and its impressive scale, but your heart sinks at the sight of multiple sections that have fallen into ruin. Built of stone and mortar, the massive structure serves as the only passage across a deep and treacherous chasm. Expansive gaps, rubble, and debris litter the length of the bridge. Skeletons, long stripped of their flesh, sit in their final resting place, giving the impression that a great battle had once occurred to protect the ancient palace resting just beyond its reach.

You sense your ally as they approach and offer a subtle head nod in greeting. The two of you watch with little enjoyment as lightning strikes, the horizon holding torrential rains and gusting winds as an immense storm spreads across it, rolling menacingly towards the palace. The bridge before you groans as the strong winds force it to sway slightly, pieces of rubble falling into the dark chasm below. The first drops of rain patter off of your robes as you step onto the bridge and begin to move towards the conclusion of your Begeren journey. Far in the distance, you notice the One Sith soldiers guarding the door slip inside the structure; whether it was your presence, or the impending storm, you are briefly unsure. Moments later, a lightning strike behind you sends a large chunk of bridge flying into the abyss below. Instantly, you realize this bridge is doomed – whatever storm is overtaking Begeren, the bridge is sure to be destroyed… and you with it, if you don’t get to the palace.

You and your ally begin to run with a determined purpose across the increasingly slippery surface, and you pull your robes tighter around your throat as a slight chill enters the air. You glance at your ally and notice that they, too, have pulled their robes tighter around their shoulders. As the rain pours down around you, it is as if the dark side itself is enveloping the area, and you feel a twitch in the Force. Realizing it is more than a chill, your hand drops to your lightsaber at nearly the same moment as your companion.

The orange glow of jetpacks silhouetted against the increasingly dark sky signal the arrival of three unknown combatants. Dressed in Mandalorian armor, the warriors’ presence reveals a sense of grim determination. You and your ally simultaneously understand that whoever these beings are, they have come to prevent you from leaving the bridge before it collapses.