The ‘arena’ barely deserved the name. It was little more than a glorified hole in the ground, a pit about three meters deep and ten meters in diameter, littered with bones, rocks and other various bits of debris. The lip of the pit was lined with sharpened stakes, to ensure that those trapped within did not attempt to escape, and the gate at one end of the pit, covered in razor wire, was the only safe way out. For now, however, it was closed, and until the fight that was about to commence was concluded, it would remain that way. Stormtroopers and trainees stood around the edge of the arena, making bets and cheering on (or insulting) one of the two soldiers that were currently facing off in the arena, encouragement and threats filling the air in equal measure. This was a pit-fight.

One of the combatants was standing nonchalantly at his end of the arena, looking calmly with ice-cold blue eyes at his opponent. He was stripped to the waist, revealing a tanned, toned torso that was covered in little pale stripes that could only be scars, some recent but others looking as if they were well and truly over a decade old. His messy brown hair fell in front of one eye, obviously over regulation length, but he didn’t make any attempt to move it out of his vision. The slow, steady rise and fall of his chest made it clear that he was perfectly calm and composed. Medical scans from outside the arena confirmed that his heart-rate hadn’t even risen above resting. The convict’s tattoo that was inked onto his shoulder made plain why – this was far from his first pit-fight.

The other was…well, he wasn’t sure what exactly it was, other than intimidating as all hell. It was a good foot taller than him, and had an exoskeleton that made it look like it was wearing armour, even though it, like him, was stripped to the waist. Beady, bloodshot eyes stared at him from under a heavy brow, analyzing him for any weakness, for even the slightest hint of fear. Its own chest rose and fell deeply and rapidly as it psyched itself up for the coming fight, apparently willing to draw on its rage to lend it speed and strength. That, the convict noted coldly, was going to be its undoing. He looked over it and let his tactical mind take over.
Long arms – that means it is going to have a far greater reach than me, but it means its minimum attack range will be impaired. That exoskeleton looks tough, I’ll have to crack it somehow, or go for the joints. It’s looking angry – so it won’t be thinking as clearly. Good, I can use that.

That was all he had time for, however, as the Training Sergeant, an intimidating human dressed in full stormtrooper gear, save the helmet, spoke up, outlining the (very few) rules of engagement that their match was about to have.
”The fight will conclude only when one combatant is no longer in any condition to fight. How you go about putting each other in that condition is entirely up to you.
Begin.”

The creature wasted no time, grabbing a large, pointed rib-bone from the ground and letting out a long, blood-curdling bellow as it took off at a dash towards the convict. To his credit, the smaller human stood his ground, adjusting his stance to lower his center of gravity, his right foot forward, his right hand open and his left balled into a fist, standing still like a reek-fighter taking the charge of his opponent. The convict, Sam Jack Dunn, had been given extensive hand-to-hand training during his time in the Vast Empire Navy, and growing up on the prison-colony of Timbra Ott, had been fortunate enough to learn the deadly arts of the Gand Findsmen. He was prepared, both mentally and physically, for the conflict.

And now, he had the unique, deadly style of the Imperial Stormtrooper Corps to fall back upon, as well. As the creature reached stabbing range, the man pivoted his left foot and moved it aside, shifting his body out of the way as his opponent stabbed the sharp rib bone towards his neck, letting it move past him, before grabbing at it with his open left hand. He pulled hard, using his opponent’s own momentum against it and forcing it to lose its balance. As it started to pitch forward, Sam Dunn stepped inside its reach, where its other arm could not strike at him, moving as fluidly as the mist. The move was called Striking Mist, and enabled Sam to close with the creature, where it couldn’t fight effectively.

As he did, his right fist, still balled, shot out with astonishing speed and impacted solidly with the creature’s neck, a sickening crack sounding through the arena as the exoskeleton buckled and broke under the sheer force of the punch. It was known to the Gand as the Piercing Touch, and normally it was impossible for any human to replicate. It had taken years of agonizing training to toughen up Sam’s fists to the point where they could strike as hard as a Gand’s own armoured fists, and the training paid off as he stunned the creature, leaving it gasping for breath. But, he wasn’t done yet.

His fist opened and grabbed onto the wrist of the creature, pulling further and twisting as he did so. The joint gave way with a ‘pop’, causing the creature to shriek in agony as it pitched forward and fell, its dislocated wrist impacting solidly with the dirt floor. Holding his prize, the rib bone the creature had tried to use against him, aloft, Sam spun it in his hand and stabbed it down, targeting the elbow joint of the creature’s other arm. Striking with practiced precision, the improvised weapon punched through the gap in the creature’s natural armour with a spurt of purple blood, punching all the way through the weak point. He twisted, and the creature shrieked again, pinned to the floor by the rib bone. At this point, with both arms disabled and its body wracked with blinding pain, it was out of the fight.

Sam Dunn stepped away and looked defiantly up at the Training Sergeant, daring him to doubt that he had learned the lessons he had been taught – to use anything you can find to your advantage. In this battle, Sam Dunn had used his /enemy/ to defeat him, turning its attacks, weapons and even physiology against itself.

”Victory to Recruit Dunn.”