Legend Zig Kaliska vs. Adele Valreyes

Located within the Moddell Sector of the Outer Rim territories, the Endor system is a well known location of much importance to the Galactic Civil War. This was the location of the destruction of the second Death Star, and the deaths of both Emperor Palpatine and Darth Vader. It was this victory and this location that allowed the Rebel Alliance to become the New Republic.

The Forest Moon of Endor, designated IX3244-A, is the ninth moon of the planet Endor. Its surface is covered in dense forests of redwood trees. Several of these trees were connected via wood plank bridges and walkways by the local Ewok population, who made their homes within the trees, high above the forest floor.

You have arrived at night. The thick foliage of the trees blocks out almost all external light sources, making it very difficult to see without naturally or artificially enhanced vision, or at least some kind of light. The sounds of nearby streams can be heard, as well as the chirps of thousands of nearby insects and birds. As you begin to settle into the business that brought you here, the loud, startling “TOOO-ROOOO!” of some kind of horn rang out nearby... then another in the distance, and another.

Zig Kaliska had been told multiple times by multiple well-meaning friends that she needed to get out and “touch grass” more often. She just wasn’t sure if this counted.

Clad from head-to-toe in her beskar armor, the Zygerrian did not get a real sense of the organic texture of the leafy branches she waded through. She couldn’t sense the concealed but very exposed tree roots that she nearly tripped over more times than she cared to admit. Her suit’s artificial intelligence—Clive—had repeatedly pointed out an endless list of deadly insects to add to her growing list of reasons she stuck to droids, not nature. The humidity readings she was seeing were also a keen reminder of why she tended to stay on the ship or asteroid shadow ports. Or space. Or anywhere that wasn’t a jungle, really. Vegetables were for eating, not traversing.

It did not help that she was already in a sour mood, silently seething over her “treatment” at the hands of the Combat Master’s first game, even if she had gotten a pass for the first round of whatever this stupid tournament was supposed to be.

“I’m sorry for locking you up and drugging you, Zig. You totally have a right to be upset, Zig,” she grumbled to herself as she tapped at her wrist pad, triggering a Scan Pulse sweep. An audible ping sounded inside her helmet as multiple red dots appeared on her HUD, as well as one blue dot.

“ZIG...” Princess Eclair started. There was a hint of concern in her mechanical voice, which was lilted slightly like an imperial aristocrat despite only having ever seen one on the holonet. “ARE YOU TALKING TO YOURSELF AS IF YOU WERE THE COMBAT MASTER? YOU KNOW HOW I FEEL ABOUT PEOPLE THAT TALK TO THEMSELVES—”

Zig absently pulled back a branch, waited a moment, then let it go with a snap. The tree limb whipped into the floating Ascendent Drone that hovered just behind her shoulder.

“—OW. YOU DID THAT ON PURPOSE DIDN’T YOU! THIS IS WHY YOUR PARENTS LEFT—”

“—Not now ‘Clair, it looks like we have multiple incoming, and yes, I’m annoyed that the Combat Master sent me here to face my next ‘opponent’. At least it’s an improvement over that frakking death cell.” Which was true. However, Vincent had neglected to actually reveal who her opponent was, but if it was blue, that probably meant it was a fellow Arconan. She just hoped it wasn’t—

“Zig?” a familiar voice called out, drawing her attention across the outcropping of assorted shrubberies.

“—Adele!” Zig replied with a level of feigned excitement that she hoped Lucine would have been proud of. “Fancy running into you here!”

“I was just about to say the same exact thing,” the blonde woman replied, her tone smooth and even. Adele Valreyes. Sister of Anselm Valreyes. The same sibling that Zig had been stuck in a death cell with where they both nearly died. Exactly the person she was hoping to have avoided.

”HI ADELE!” Princess Eclair said excitedly in greeting.

The former right hand of the Ember Crown waved at the Ascendent Droid and approached the duo.

Out of the corner of her eye, Zig watched the red dots on her HUD grow steadily closer at a slow, predatory pace. She had to talk quickly and clear up any confusion before this situation went south.

“Look, I...I promise I didn’t mean to hurt Anselm at all. It was just really tight quarters, and he wasn’t accepting the rebreather I modded for him, and then he tried to boil me like a crustacean and so I had to think quickly and knock him out and then try to get us out of there so he didn’t die...”

Adele tilted her head slightly, one hand resting on the curve of her hip, the slender fingers of her other hand tucking an errant stand of hair behind her ear. She did not seem angry, but calm. Eerily calm. Shouldn’t she have been mad?

“I didn’t—”

Adele waved her hand dismissively. “Fret not, Kaliska. If anything, I should thank you for poking a hole in his over-inflated ego.”

Zig exhaled a sigh of relief. “Oh thank god, I’m so glad you understand.”

Adele nodded, but then her lightsaber seemed to just...appear in hand. The violet blade hissed to life, casting a faint glow to her caramel colored skin and outlining her lean, muscled figure against the shadows cast by the forest moon's shrouded canopies. The humming blade matched the intensity of her eyes as she slowly lowered herself into a fighting stance. Zig might have felt an entirely different emotion in this situation if it weren't for her body's fight or flight mechanic kicking into gear.

“That said...” the taller woman mused with a sharp grin. “I am disappointed that only my brother has gotten a chance to go toe to toe with the famed Vice-Captain of our new crew. You wouldn’t play favorites and pick him over me, would you?”

Zig swallowed. While a recessed part of her mind filed that line away for later, she slowly drew her beskar beskad and lowered herself into a fighting stance as well. “I uh, of course not. We can definitely have a friendly match, here...alone in the woods.”

Her HUD flashed. Oh, right.

“Actually, I’m getting a reading that we have incoming—”

Adele surged into motion. One moment she was standing perfectly still and in the next she unfurled into a blur. In one smooth, sinuous motion she snaked her blade into a stab for Zig’s chest before slashing it upwards. The Zygerrian shuffled backward on instinct, then sidestepped the stab with practiced grace as she snapped her own blade up to parry the Human’s saber strike. Sparks flashed as plasma hissed and clashed against beskar. Valreyes laughed, her voice bright as a bell, excitement dancing across her face.

“Not bad at all,” Adele said as she forced the armored Zygerrian backward.

Then the horn sounded, distant at first but then growing louder. This actually caused Adele to pause her assault as she considered. She glanced at Zig, who still had her beskad raised in a guard position. “Appologies, but you were saying?”

“I was saying, it looks like we have company,” Kaliska panted. “‘’Clair, Cloak and Dagger,” she ordered the Ascendent drone.

“RIGHT NOW? AND MISS OUT ON WATCHING YOU GET YOUR BUTT KICKED?” Princess Eclair countered.

“Now, ‘Clair!” Zig growled. Cloak and Dagger was a maneuver Zig had developed with the Ascendent drone knowing that she’d be facing off with Force users. It meant that Princess Eclair would conceal herself or hide away, removing her as a target from the field of battle while also ensuring that she could come to Zig's aid when needed.

“OKAY FINE, BUT I LIKED MY CODE WORD FOR IT BETTER” the floating droid protested but, thankfully, complied and seemed to disappear into the foliage.

Adele disengaged her lightsaber.

Zig sheathed her beskad.

Both women looked down as a trio of meter-high, animated teddy bears stalked toward them with spears drawn.

They were not the crude spears spoken of in the legends of the creatures that had aided the Rebellion in overthrowing the Empire, however. Zig felt her breath catch. The craftswoman at heart could tell when a weapon was made of beskar or not even from a quick glance.

Zig swallowed and glanced one more time at Adele, who seemed to have a bit of a...concerning glint to her eyes.

I have a really bad feeling about this.

Another day, another bizarre match, Adele thought as she watched the three diminutive figures approach, trying to decide how they would figure into her plans. It was just her luck that she was facing off against another member of Arcona’s leadership. Which meant she had to throw the match. There was simply no other way. She could not risk embarrassing anybody in a position of power within the Clan’s hierarchy. Not when her brother’s safety was at risk. He needed the Clan’s protection, and she would not do anything to put him in jeopardy.

Though she did not remember much of her match against Tahiri, she’d learned a few lessons from it. So of course, she knew better than to announce her plans to intentionally lose to Zig. Once they dealt with the Ewoks, they could have their friendly match, she’d find a way to lose convincingly, and they could move on with their lives.

But what to do about the Ewoks?

Sure, her tutors had taught her about the Battle of Endor, but seeing the Ewoks in person was doing little to convince her that their role in the victory wasn't just a masterful bit of Rebel propaganda. Each wore a leather hood that partially obscured their faces in the murky forest gloom, and each carried a spear that would be too short for a Human, but seemed just the right size for them. Though they held their spears in a very threatening manner, she just couldn't see how a pack of Ewoks had managed to score a victory against the Empire.

Fierce, perhaps. But adorable. Like large, spear-wielding teddy bears.

The trio of Ewoks studied them over the hafts of their spears, chattering to each other in their own language. Adele couldn't understand what they were saying.

Apparently, Zig couldn't either. “Clive, can you translate?”

Despite holding their spears aloft, the Ewoks were not showing overt hostility. One of them had lowered their spear and was now speaking to the Arconans in Ewokese, gesturing wildly.

“No, I can't get closer so your audio sensors can pick up what they're saying. They have SPEARS, Clive!”

“They're only a meter tall,” Adele said. “And we're both wearing armor. I think we'll be all right if we have to fight them.” She glanced at Zig out of the corner of her eye. Why did the Zygerrian seem so agitated at the sight of them? In a way, they reminded Adele of a stuffed bear she’d had as a child.

The Ewok at the front of the trio was now jumping up and down in his excitement. Adele had no idea what he was saying, but his urgent tone was impossible to miss. He was moving with such intensity that his little leather cap fell backward, revealing his face.

Adele's eyes widened. “He looks just like….”

Mr. Crenshaw. Her stuffed bear, who had been a part of her earliest memories. He had light tan fur with a dark patch around his eye. She used to carry him everywhere. Until…

Child or not, you are the Princess of Embers. It is unseemly for you to be seen carrying a stuffed animal around. Get rid of it.”

The vibrodagger her father had given her had felt too large and heavy in her small hand. But it had been sharp, cutting easily through fabric and stuffing, even when the blows were struck through eyes filled with tears.

But there was nothing for it. Even at that age, she'd known not to disobey her father.

She roughly shoved that memory down as she drew her lightsaber once more. This was not the time or place for sentimentality. Especially since she could hear something large crashing through the trees to the north of them. It was combined with high-pitched Ewok war-cries. Whatever was going on, it sounded like it was heading their way.

The trio of Ewoks had already turned, leveling their spears in the direction of the disturbance. They still kept a suspicious eye on the Arconans, but had apparently decided that they were a lesser threat. The one that looked so much like her childhood friend had not bothered to fix his cap, so Adele could see the way his face was scrunched in fierce determination.

“That is so adorable,” she muttered.

“What did you say?” Zig asked, momentarily distracted from arguing with Clive.

“Uh… I was asking what your readings are showing. Because it sounds like we're about to have more company.”

Zig checked her HUD and blanched. “Yeah, we have incoming. Lots of them. And fast.”

The words had no sooner left her lips than two Ewoks came sailing through the trees to land in furry piles a few feet away from the Arconans. A moment later, something considerably larger barreled into view, shoving a tree aside to clear its path. It was massive, close to eight meters tall, and covered in dark, matted fur. Whatever it was, it definitely was not an Ewok.

“What is that?!” Zig gasped as she drew her beskad. She then made a sound of annoyance. “I know it’s not an Ewok, Clive!” The creature took a step forward. Adele could see that it was wrapped in ropes that trailed behind it into the forest gloom. It took a step forward, growled, then seized one of the ropes and yanked on it. The Ewoks that had been pulling on the other end screeched as they sailed into view, launched by the obvious strength disparity.

The trio that had originally greeted them shrilled a war cry and began to close the distance between them and the creature, though they weren’t moving very quickly on their stubby legs. The creature snorted and bent down to pick up the tree it had shoved aside.

Adele extended her hand, seized the diminutive creatures with the Force and pulled them backward, even as the creature swung the tree like a club through the air where they’d been seconds before.

“Clive says it's a gorax,” Zig said as Adele set the three Ewoks on the ground. “He also seems to think they’re herbivores.”

The gorax snarled as an Ewok rushed from the shadows behind it and began stabbing at its ankle. It snatched the Ewok up, and the sound of crunching bone, combined with the Ewok’s cries of pain, filled the air.

“I don’t think it’s an herbivore,” Adele said. Her lightsaber ignited with a hiss, violet light cutting through the gloom.

They both acted at once, as if some wordless signal had passed between them. Adele reached it first, her blade shearing through the beast’s arm that held the Ewok. He began to fall, still clutched in the now severed hand, but she snagged him with tendrils of the Force to pull it away from the gorax and into her arms.

He gave a pathetic whine as he writhed in pain. She could feel the bones in his chest grinding unnaturally beneath his fur. “No… no… it’s okay…” She drew upon the Force as she pressed her free hand against his chest. Warmth filled her, and she let that warmth pass from her to him. He shuddered, his cries quieting. But the healing was slow. Dreadfully slow.

Part of her mind screamed that there was a battle going on, that she was wasting time when the enemy was still active. But for the moment, the single most important thing was saving this small creature’s life.

Dimly, she was aware of the sounds of battle moving further from her. She heard the gorax roar, followed by the sound of Zig's repulsor gloves discharging, and the THUD of something heavy hitting the ground. It was followed by Ewok war cries.

Adele needed to concentrate. She closed her eyes tightly, silencing the voice that told her to pay attention to the battle, and focused all of her attention onto the bundle of fur in her arms. It was panting, soft whimpers of pain escaping it's lips with every breath. Adele took a deep breath as she continued to pour Force energy into its small form.

The effort brought with it a wave of exhaustion. Healing had always been difficult for her. She sank to her knees, but did not stop.

“Come on….”

Gradually, the Ewok’s quiet cries of pain ceased entirely. She could no longer feel the sickening sensation of grinding bone beneath her hand. The realization brought with it a surge of hope. It's working!

She nearly lost her concentration at the sound of a CRASH, something heavy striking a tree. Then the sound of cheers, as the Ewoks burst into celebration. Clearly the battle had been won.

But Adele's battle was still ongoing. The Ewok had been gravely injured. It would take a lot to stabilize him enough for him to be moved.

“Please….”

And so she grabbed the hope she'd felt a few minutes ago with both hands, using it as a focus for her healing. She tuned out everything, the battle, the other Ewoks, even Zig and the knowledge that she still had a match against the Zygerrian she'd have to lose. Healing the Ewok was the only thing that mattered.

“Adele….”

It was Zig. There was an odd note to her voice. Adele shook her head, trying to wordlessly convey that she was busy.

“Adele. Hey. Come on. That's enough.”

She opened her eyes, intending to tell Zig to back off so she could work. But the sight of the Ewok in her arms caused her words to snag in her throat. “Oh.”

The Ewok was dead. His eyes were closed, his expression peaceful. He could have been sleeping, except for the thin line of blood that trickled from his mouth and the blood that was soaking through his fur and into his leather jerkin.

Adele stared at him in disbelief. “I… I thought it was working….”

The rest of the Ewok warband stood in a rough semi-circle around them. One of them, the one that looked so much like Mr. Crenshaw, pushed his way to the front. He crouched next to the broken body that Adele was still holding. He let out a high-pitched, keening wail that required no translator to decipher.

Adele lowered her head, placing the small creature on the ground in front of her. It was then a wave of exhaustion hit her. She pressed her lips together, focusing on that instead of the aching pain in her chest.

Of course she'd failed. It shouldn't have been surprising. She'd been cursed with weak powers, and she couldn't even use them correctly when it mattered.

Dimly, she was aware of Zig standing just behind her, along with the fast chattering of Ewoks in anxious conversation.

She pressed her lips together and scrubbed away the tears in her eyes with her sleeve. Weakness and uselessness were bad enough, she wasn't about to humiliate herself by crying too.

“Uh…” Zig's voice held an awkward tone. “Hey. Are you okay?”

Adele felt Zig's hand resting hesitantly on her shoulder. “I'm fine,” she replied, her voice ragged and harsh. She paused and took a deep breath, before getting unsteadily to her feet. “I'm fine.” This time, her voice was steadier. Calmer.

Zig gave her a look that made it clear she didn't believe her. She flicked the gorax blood from her beskad. “We'd better hurry. It sounds like there's more of those gorax things. They're attacking the Ewok village.”

“Fine.” Adele wasn't looking forward to finding new ways to fail, but she also could not refuse. “Let's go.”