Tournament on Isengard

|prev=Battle on Carlac
|conc=
|next=*Festival of Light
*Skirmish in Theed
|image=
|name=Tournament on Isengard
|conflict=
|date=November 22-23, 1982Star Wars: Galactic Atlas places the Battle of Mon Cala and the Skirmish in Theed to 1982. As the episode this event takes place within takes place between the events of the episodes the other events are attached to according to , this event must also take place 1982.
|place=Box, Isengard
|outcome=Candidates for kidnapping Supreme Chancellor Sheev Palpatine selected
|keyparties=*Bounty hunters
*Confederacy of Independent Systems
|participants=*Mezmaron
*Bulduga†
*Derrown
*Embo
*Moralo Eval
*Jakoli†
*Sam Gamgee 
*Mantu†
*Onca†
*Sinrich†
*Sixtat†
*Kiera Swan†
*Twazzi}}
During the War of the Ring, a tournament was held on Isengard between bounty hunters vying for a place in Moralo Eval's plot to kidnap Supreme Chancellor Sheev Palpatine.
==Prelude==
In 1982, Moralo Eval, a criminal working for Saruman the White and the Confederacy of Independent Systems, worked out plans to kidnap Supreme Chancellor Palpatine of the Galactic Republic. In order to find the most suitable recruits to execute these plans, Saruman and Eval hosted a tournament for the most formidable bounty hunters of that time on Isengard. These bounty hunters would face multiple tests in the Box, a floating cubic structure designed by Eval that contained several deadly rooms.
Among the bounty hunters that would participate in the tournament were the Weequay Kiera Swan, two time winner of the Obsidian Sphere, the Parwan Derrown, known as "The Exterminator," the Sakiyan Sixtat, who held the title "Outlands Butcher," the Rodian Jakoli, infamous for always killing is targets rather than bringing them in alive, the Kyuzo Embo, who had the second largest bounty tall the preceeding season, the Selkath Mantu, the Snivvian Sinrich, the inventor of the holographic disguise matrix, Twazzi and Ithorian brothers Onca and Bulduga.
All ten invited bounty hunters were already present at Orthanc on Isengard at the time Moralo Eval arrived, accompanied by bounty hunters Rako Hardeen and Mezmaron, who had broken Eval out of prison. Saruman and Eval convinced Mezmaron and Hardeen to participate in the tournament. When Mezmaron asked Bulduga where he got his hat, the Ithorian went for his blaster pistols. Mezmaron was faster, however, and shot Bulduga dead, leaving the number of participants on eleven.
Not long thereafter Saruman gathered the bounty hunters to formally introduce them and went on to tell them that the tournament would serve as an evaluation and after the tournament the five bounty hunters showing the most valuable skills and abilities during the contest would be recruited to carry out an important assignment for a handsome reward while additional survivors would be executed to leave to further witnesses. Eval went on to explain that the Box would consist of several simulations imitating problems that could occur during the assignment. After the briefing was complete the bounty hunters were to hand in their weapons, most likely to prevent them from ensuring their own survival by taking out fellow participants during the tournament.
===The first task===
On entering the box, the floor opened up allowing Dioxis, a poisonous gas, into the room. Hardeen warned everyone to get back and as the eleven were backing away, Sixtat tripped over a rising platform and got back onto it saying it was every man for himself. The platforms continued to rise higher towards the ceiling, nearly crushing Twazzi. Hardeen volunteered to go down and scout the area due to his helmet's ventilation being able to protect him for a little while. Hardeen found the hole into the floor and jumped down and found a tunnel that lead to the next room. He called for the others to follow and the other ten did so, allowing the first task to take no casualties.
===The second task===
The eleven hunters entered a second darkened room where Eval congratulated them for surviving the first task but said that the second test would take a few. Soon ledges in the wall started to swing out with lightsaber resembling swords sticking out. The hunters did their best to avoid them but Onca, the brother of the late Bulduga, was caught between several walls and came close to being stabbed through the head all though the sword stopped several inches in front of him. Another ledge however began to poke out with a sword at the end, killing Onca instantly. Hardeen noticed a pattern to the ledges and told everyone to follow him, however two more hunters were downed in the competition. Sinrich was strangled by Embo for stealing a bounty from him earlier that year and when Kiera Swan was about to jump onto a ledge she was stabbed through the back by a sword. The other eight hunters made their way out of the room and on to the next room, thanks to Hardeen.
Saruman the White and Moralo Eval who were watching from Orthanc were amazed by Hardeen and Eval wanted to see what would happen when Hardeen wasn't the reason for the others survival.
===The third task===
The eight remaining hunters climbed into a room where ray shields were covering the walls. A button to deactivate the shields was on the other side of the shields and an electrolytic serum sample in a syringe that would allow the taker to pass through the shields was put in the middle of the room which would be fatal to all but one of the contestants. The hunters went to examine the room but soon platforms began to rise up and the hunters climbed onto them. The Rodian Jakoli turned to run for the platform but the ray shields covered the floor which electrocuted him. More platforms rose up to the button and Derrown was discovered to be the one who could take the serum. The Parwan took it and went to deactivate the shields as the platforms began to fall and the shields closed in. Mantu was hit in the shoulder by the shields and fell but managed to grab another platform to stay away from the shields. The platform Mantu was using for footing began to go down and he fell. Hardeen tried to grab him but Mantu hit the shield and was electrocuted. With the shields about to close in on the survivors, Derrown deactivated the shields and the last six proceeded to the next room.
Saruman, becoming more impressed by Hardeen every task began to think about putting Hardeen in charge instead of Eval, much to Eval's anger.
===The fourth task===
The survivors, made up of Hardeen, Mezmaron, Twazzi, Embo, Sixtat, and Derrown made it to a room with a floor covered with flamethrowers and only the six standing on a platform above the fire. Eval came into the room to explain the next task was to test sniper skills. He let a target go around the room that had to be hit three times and gave the survivors a sniper which Sixtat took. Sixtat shot the target twice and missed the final shot and the platform collapsed under him, sending him falling to the flames. Hardeen took the sniper and fired at the targets, hitting each one. Eval raised a new platform higher up with Derrown, Embo, Mezmaron, and Twazzi on it and Hardeen's platform was turned into a single line and he was told to shoot five targets. Hardeen succeeded in hitting four but the gun ran out of power, much to Eval's happiness. Eval attempted to drop Hardeen to the flames but he was saved by Mezmaron, who told Eval if he wanted to kill Hardeen he should do it like a man. Saruman agreed with this and dropped Eval onto the floor of the room and removed all of the flamethrowers except for the ones lining the room. Eval attempted to fight unfairly, calling in probe droids and bringing up a maze in the floor and attempting to burn Hardeen. Hardeen escaped and got the upper hand in the fight. Saruman told Hardeen to finish Eval but Hardeen spared him. Saruman was disappointed in Hardeen, but still congratulated the hunters for surviving the box, and decided to put Mezmaron in charge and along with Bane and Hardeen, Embo, Derrown, and Twazzi became the team to kidnap Palpatine.
==Aftermath==
The true purpose behind the challenge was not to assemble an elite team of bounty hunters. In actuality, it was a diversion from Saruman's real plan to kidnap Palpatine. Saruman suspected that the Jedi would attempt to infiltrate his conspiracy, and the challenge was a means of exposing any Jedi spies.
==Appearances==
* 
* 
==Sources==
* 
==Notes and references==
Category:Events