The Deranak Arena was broad, shallow, and ringed with metal seating in an amphitheater style. In the center was a fighting pit coated with sand which, according to advertisements, had been transported from Tatooine. On the eastern side of the oval arena was a special viewing box for VIPs, while heavy durasteel doors along the pit's edge led to the understory. It was in the humid, dimly lit understory where Mat, Lan, and Amys now stood. Around them pit fighters of several different species jostled, boasted, and readied weapons. One fighter, a Wookie, brandished a heavy dual-bladed sword. In his guttural language the fighter challenged one of his fellows to a fight. Mat, seated on a bench and clad in his green coat and broad-brimmed hat, ignored the fighters and ran a whetstone over his ashanderi, honing the blade to a razor edge. He felt the foxhead medallion go cold on his chest. Amys, seated next to him on the bench, was channeling. No doubt preparing to show off, Mat thought. Nearby, Lan had his sword drawn and was practicing forms. Dressed in a suit of Imperial military armor found aboard the Gambler's Folly, the Warder looked even more intimidating than usual. He moved with the same graceful ease despite his armor's encumbrance. Several pit fighters eyed him warily, either preparing to face him or dreading having to do so.

Similarly, Amys was also dressed for combat. The Wise One had discarded her dress in favor of a gray tactical suit that reminded Mat of a cadin'sor. A quarter dozen short spears, borrowed from the Arena's armory, were slung on her back in a leather sheath, along with a short bow. From her belt hung a long knife and a bag filled with arrows. A strip of black cloth fashioned into a shoufa was tied around her neck. Perhaps in violation of Aiel tradition, Amys had become a Maiden of the Spear once more.

A hulking Gammorean carrying a truncheon rounded a corner. The pit fighters snapped to attention as he entered the chamber, recognizing him as the pit boss. "Listen up, scum," The pit boss grunted in his native language, "Opening match is gonna start soon. Volunteers to go first?"

The Wookie and a Trandoshan armed with an aging blaster rifle stepped forward, brandishing their weapons proudly. From yellowed lizard eyes the Trandoshan glared menacingly. "For the glory of the hunt," he growled.

The pit boss nodded approvingly. "Ready to spill some blood, are ya? Good. Follow me to the gate. Those of you that want to watch the fight, come as well. You all know the drill. Hop to it."

The Gammorean turned and walked down the corridor, brandishing his truncheon, while the Wookie and Trandoshan followed in his wake. Mat stood up and followed the bloodthirsty trio as they departed. Not to his surprise, Amys and Lan accompanied him. Lan had his sword sheathed but kept a hand on its pommel. One of Amys' spears was unsheathed and in hand, tip pointing outward, prepared to strike. As Mat walked down the dim passageway, he made a mental check of his gear. Ashanderi? Check. Knives? He twisted his wrists. The blades pressed against his coat and skin. Check. Blaster? The pistol holstered at his right hip knocked against his side. Check. Energy shield? Mat felt for the small metal casing on his belt. He pressed a switch, and the shield hummed to life as it came online. Check. Matrim Cauthon was ready for battle.

Up ahead, the Gammorean pit boss had stopped at a heavy cross-barred gate of durasteel, beyond which the arena's sandy floor was visible. He pushed a nearby button and, with some effort, the gate lifted open. The Wookie and Trandoshan pit fighters charged through the gate. From the opposite side, another gate opened, and two more fighters entered the arena. One was a male Rodian holding a pair of blaster pistols, while the other was a female Twil'ek armed with matching curved short swords. The crowd let out a tremendous roar of approval as the fighters approached the arena's center. Overhead a human male voice sounded loudly from a PA system.

"Give a big cheer for the owner of Derenak Arena... Zobra the Hutt!"

Again the crowd cheered. Louder, this time. Mat didn't believe that was possible until he heard the noise. Light!

"Thank you, Janin. Welcome, good people, to today's tournament," Zobra said into the PA. In typical, pompous Hutt fashion, he spoke in Huttese rather than Basic. "The roughest fighters from across the galaxy shall face each other in pitched combat. Cash prizes await the winners, and an ugly death for those less fortunate. Let the tournament begin!"

Zobra slithered aside, allowing a tall man with short blonde hair and a beard to take charge of the PA. "For the first round, Jindar the monster of Coruscant and Kyrak, the devil of Rishii, square off against the bloodthirsty ex-slaves Marina of Ryloth and Treelo of Hutta!" The crowd let out a tremendous cheer of approval.

As Mat watched from behind the safety of the gate, the four pit fighters faced each other, ready to attack at a second's notice. A horn sounded overhead, echoing throughout the arena. The fight began.

Jindar broke into a run, charging in Marina's direction, his duel-bladed sword raised for a strike. As he met Marina, the Twil'ek rolled to the left, out of the weapon's way. Jindar's strike sliced only through air. Marina, down on one knee, swung both her swords at the Wookie's vulnerable right leg, but Jindar skillfully turned right, blocked the strike with his weapon's opposite blade, then delivered a swift kick to Marina's chest, knocking the former slave on her back. Jindar thrust downward, hoping to pierce Marina's chest, but the Twil'ek rolled aside and jumped back to her feet. To gain an edge, Marina threw one of her swords close to Jindar's head. The Wookie made the mistake of watching the blade travel past his furry cheek. Marina exploited his error by sprinting towards Jindar and slicing open his neck.

Bad luck, fuzzball, Mat thought as the Wookie bled out.

Treelo and Kyrak both dove for cover when the match began, opening fire as they went. Kyrak ended up crouched behind a section of concrete wall and reloaded his rifle. The Rodian lobbed a thermal detonator towards Kyrak's position, forcing the Trandoshan to stand up and roll to another location and dodge the blast. The detonator's explosion threw a shower of sand into the air and left a small crater behind, but failed to inflict any damage.

With Jindar defeated, Marina rushed to rejoin Treelo, dodging blaster bolts from Kyrak as she ran. Mat could just barely see the two of them crouched down together behind a boulder. They must have been whispering to each other, Mat suspected, as a few second later both emerged from cover. Treelo stood up and unloaded his blaster pistols wildly at Kyrak. Marina took advantage of the covering fire and circled around to Kyrak's left. The Trandoshan returned fire at Treelo with accurate shots, no doubt hoping to score a headshot. He succeeded. A single bolt broke through Treelo's energy shield and punched a clean hole in his skull. The Rodian collapsed to the ground in a heap.

As Treelo fell, Kyrak shifted to his left ready to squeeze off a shot at Marina. The young Twil'ek was upon him before the veteran hunter could raise his weapon. Marina plunged both of her curved swords into Kyrak's chest, ending his life.

"Nicely done," Lan said approvingly.

"Give it up for Marina!" Janin boomed into the PA. The crowd roared their approval while Marina raised her bloodied swords in victory. Some audience members threw credits into the arena, all of which Marina gleefully caught. Someone held up a sign asking Marina to marry him, causing her to laugh. After a few more moments of reveling in glory, Marina withdrew from Derenak Arena a bloodier and wealthier woman. Five arena workers carried out the bodies of the deceased. Only a few bloodstains in the sand gave any hint to the previous engagement.

The dice began to tumble in Mat's head. Blood and ashes, what now? he groaned silently.

I hope you're ready to fight, meat," the Pit Boss grunted. "You and your pals are up next." Before Mat could protest, the gate opened, and Mat was walking out onto the sand.

"Now let's continue the tournament, good people," Janin announced once Marina had departed. "Up next is Captain Abel and his shipmates, Jain and Keri!"The crowd cheered. Mat, getting into the spirit of the event, spun his ashanderi overhead in a flashy manner. Lan walked onto the sand behind Mat, his face unreadable as ever. Amys raised her makeshift shoufa and followed the two men, her bow drawn with an arrow nocked. Mat scanned the crowd as he entered. The only faces he recognized belonged to Niko Okarr and Hylo Visz. Both smugglers waved in his direction. Mat returned the kindness with a mock salute. The dice in his head stopped rolling.

"Challenging this ragtag crew of renegades is... the ruthless bounty hunter Shae Vizla!"

What?! Thought Mat as his jaw dropped in shock. Light! Sure enough, Shae emerged through a gate at the arena's far end, clad from head to toe in her signature Mandalorian battle armor and carrying a blaster rifle. Her face was concealed behind the menacing, eyeless stare of her helmet.

Janin's voice boomed once more. "Let the match... BEGIN!"

Shae raised her rifle and fired a single shot in Mat's direction. His energy shield absorbed the impact while he dove for cover behind a sandy hummock. Lan and Amys also took cover. The Aiel Wise One loosed an arrow at Shae, which ricocheted harmlessly off her energy shields.

"Lan! Amys!" Mat called. "We need to bring her shields down. The One Power should do the trick. Can you do that for us, Amys?" The Wise One did not reply. Mat felt his foxhead medallion grow cold on his skin. A split second later, Amys sent a bolt of lighting in Shae's direction, striking her in the chest. Her shield faltered, but did not shut down entirely. Mat fired his blaster pistol at Shae twice. One shot missed while the other struck Shae's left shoulder, dropping her energy shield but inflicting no damage.

Peaking around his hiding place, Mat noticed that Shae was no more than thirty paces away. A man running at a full sprint could easily cover that distance. And with her shields down, Shae might be open to attack. Lan must have had the same thought, because he darted out from cover and charged at Shae, sword raised. Mat then remembered just how devious Mandalorians could be...

"Lan, don't!" Mat shouted, but the Warder took no notice. Shae allowed Lan to come within fifteen paces before unleashing her wrist-mounted flamethrower. The sudden wave of heat caused Lan to stagger and yelp in surprise and pain. His energy shield flickered and died and his hair caught fire, forcing the Warder to extinguish the flames with his bare hands. Shae raised her rifle again, ready to fire.

Mat stood up and fired his blaster at Shae. "Hey! Fire breeches!" Mat taunted. "Over here!"

Shae slung her rifle and pointed a finger at Mat. "You're good," she replied, "but I'm better!" A pair of flames shot out from her metal backpack, aiming downwards. A second later she began to hover above the sand.

Now that's just not fair... Mat thought. A bloody jet pack?!

Lan recovered and swung his blade at Shae. His blow missed as the Mandalorian took to the air, flying upwards over Lan's head. Realizing that his opponent was now airborne with a ranged weapon, Lan darted for cover while Shae opened fire with her blaster rifle. The Warder's shields flickered out and a single bolt struck his right thigh, causing him to collapse behind a pile of sandbags. With Lan out of the picture, Shae turned toward Mat and flew in his direction, firing her rifle as she went. Mat allowed his energy shield to absorb the bolts. A sudden blast of air from Amys knocked Shae onto the ground and extinguished her jet pack. When she recovered, Mat found himself face to face with the infamous Shae Vizla.

The bounty hunter slung her rifle, drew a pair of knives, and charged at Mat, who dodged her initial attack and countered with his ashanderi, striking her across the back. The weapon's edge left a gouge in her armor, but drew only a few drops of blood.

Amys, now too near her opponent to use the One Power, slung her bow and drew one of her short spears, closing the distance between her and Shae in just ten quick strides. Shae turned and met Amys' attack, unleashing her flamethrower. Even with her energy shields down, the Wise One rolled out of the way of the flames and thrust her spear at Shae, only to have her weapon snapped and a punch delivered to her head, knocking her out cold.

Mat was left alone with Shae. For a second, the two stood apart, eyeing one another, waiting for the other to make a move. Then Mat spoke. "Why challenge us, Shae?" he asked. "What's all this about?"

"Defeat me, and I'll tell you," Shae responded and attacked again. She and Mat then became embroiled in a duel - one with twin knives, the other with an ashanderi. Back and forth attacks were made, parried and blocked, until finally Shae delivered a kick to Mat's left knee, knocking him to the ground. For one terrifying second, Mat looked straight into the visor of Shae's helmet, certain that his life was over. Then suddenly, Shae froze. Mat wondered why she had hesitated... until he noticed the sword blade protruding through her midriff. Lan, though limping, had recovered. Shae collapsed on top of Mat, bleeding out, and Lan withdrew his sword.

"Captain Abel and his crew are the victors!" came the voice of Janin through the PA. The crowd roared in approval.

"No," said Mat, clutching Shae's body in his lap. "No, no, NO! Lan, we needed her alive!"

"There is still time to save her life, Mat," Lan said calmly. He then went to fetch Amys, who was back on her feet. The Wise One kneeled down beside Mat, placed her hands on Shae's chest, and channeled. The foxhead medallion froze on Mat's chest. Shae spasmed, coughed, then removed her helmet and vomited a small amount of blood. Still lying in Mat's lap, she turned her head to face him. "Thanks for that," she said with a wink. "Now things get are going to get real interesting."