A Closed Fist Has No Claws

"A Closed Fist Has No Claws" is a short story written by Tessa Gratton as part of the anthology The High Republic: Tales of Light and Life. The story was published on September 5, 2023. The story is written in first person, from the perspective of Marda Ro, after the events of Phase II of Star Wars: The High Republic. In the story, she speaks directly to an undefined entity she considers to be her legacy.A Closed Fist Has No Claws
==Plot summary==
Marda Ro tells a story to her legacy. She reflects on where the journey began, in a public house in an old settlement on the planet Dantooine. She sits at a table wearing a white flight suit, white scarf and white cowl hoping to attract the attention of passersby. She waits with a beer and tea, and is bothered by a few patrons before spotting a human on the other side of the establishment. She asks him and his Rodian friend about the whereabouts of any other Evereni, to which the human tells her he saw a pair of them about a year earlier on a station off Pantora.
In an alley outside the public house, Ro is approached by a Twi'lek woman aware of the stories of the Evereni. She tells Marda that she would like to touch her, something which the Evereni girl had not felt in a long time. Marda recruits the woman, whose name is Fori Nagor, to her mission to track down other Evereni. Ro finalizes the deal by kissing Nagor, officially making her the first person brought to Ro's ship, the Gaze Electric, that was unaffiliated with the Path of the Open Hand.
Ro reflects on the Gaze and the remnants left behind by Elecia Zeveron, leader of the Path of the Open Hand, after her defeat at the hands of the Republic. She considers the riches, but Ro realizes there is no true bond among her crew and that there is no gift that is truly given freely. Ro makes her home the throne hall of the ship, laying claim to its hidden weapons caches and taking the throne as her bed. Among her new crew are the human girl Alirya, the Kessurian couple Esstrop and Kortanio, the Ozrelanso cook Rox, and the human pilot Milan Stor. Also living on the ship is the Great Leveler, who Ro becomes somewhat obsessed with.
In another flashback, Marda Ro describes a time she attacked a human Jedi in a marketplace before bringing his heavily injured body to the Gaze. She brings the concerned Alirya, Stor, and Rox along to watch the Leveler prey upon the Jedi, calcifying his body. Later, as she gazes at a holo-mirror of herself, Ro is interrupted by Alirya, who desperately wants to help Marda. Ro acquiesces, allowing Alirya to sit by her throne, but later she tears down the blue banners in the throne room and paints the wall with a massive red sun.
At some point, Marda Ro finds herself in a bar on Ryloth after following a rumor of Evereni hunting lyleks in equatorial caves. Eventually, she encounters an Evereni man who only introduces himself as Isren, the Evereni word for "old uncle." He explains some Evereni culture, and introduces to her the Evereni word riferi, meaning legacy. The man refuses her offer to join him on her hunt for more Evereni.
Marda subsequently explains the lifestyle aboard the Gaze. They hunt and steal anything they like, hoarding and selling the excess they acquire. Ro, Alirya, and Rox stay behind while the others pillage, what Ro sees as the natural progression of gifts freely given. Once, however, the raiders returned with a group of refugees. Despite her fury at her raiders for bringing the people aboard, Ro manipulates the refugees into admitting that one among them is Force-sensitive. She offers the other refugees to either join the crew or leave, but takes the young Force-sensitive man to the Great Leveler.
At a point in the future, Ro and Alirya have tea together in the throne room. The crew has grown to 37, and Alirya wonders what their overall goal is. Ro explains that the goal is to hunt down more Evereni and take as many resources as possible to allow them to do anything they want. Alirya tries to explain her own goals, but Ro shuts her down so that she never can purposefully take that away from the human. Ro tells her, since the ideology of the group is so different from that of the Path of the Open Hand, that she is making them into a beginning.
Over the planet Siquay, Ro finds the Evereni siblings Vika and Velya Faer, who tell Ro more stories of Evereni culture over a meal. Vika and Marda later spar with knives before they join Velya for a drink. Days later, following a feast, Vika tells Marda that Velya finds her beautiful. As they share the moment, Alirya sneaks up behind Vika and stabs her. The Evereni woman quickly slaughters Alirya with her claws. Ro responds by grabbing a hidden blaster from a panel in her throne and shooting Vika down. With the vacancy at her side, Ro offers the spot to Velya, telling him to be with her for the rest of his life. He accepts, and the two grasp each other's wrists, digging their claws into the flesh. 
After the celebrations, Marda Ro and Velya Faer discuss Evereni customs surrounding death and the importance of remembering names. They embrace once more before he notices her art on the walls, the red planet at the heart of a storm, created from smeared blood and paint, what she considers to be representative of her legacy.
==Continuity==
At New York Comic Con, it was established that the story takes place after Phase II of Star Wars: The High Republic.
==Appearances==
==Sources==
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==Notes and references==
Category:The High Republic: Tales of Light and Life