Skirmish on Eshkrene

The Skirmish on Eshkrene occurred in 2974 BBY when the two Human Sith Takara Hilts and Parlan Spinner were pursued by the Keshiri Captain Chegg and the crew of the Southern Star. The Southern Star was a wooden sailing ship that had been sent by the Lost Tribe to explore Kesh's frozen southern continent. Cheggs caught up with the two Humans and was about to execute them. However, Cheggs and several of his crew were then slain by the Doomed, the descendants of stranded Jedi and Dark Jedi who had settled on Eshkrene following the Great Calamity.
==History==
===Background===
Following the conquest of Alanciar in 2975 BBY, the Sith Tribe gained access to a continent that was rich in lumber. The Alanciari had a maritime culture and had experience with building large wooden sailing ships that were capable of long-distance travel.Testament of Varner Hilts Grand Lord Varner Hilts theorized that the Sith Tribe had not been the first offworlders to come to Kesh since the Tribe had been so easily accepted by the native Keshiri. Hilts wanted to discover the origins of the legends behind the Protectors and the Destructors, powerful gods in Keshiri mythology. He sent an Alanciari ship, the Southern Star, under the command of the Alanciari Captain Chegg to explore Eshkrene, the planet's southern polar continent.Lost Tribe of the Sith—Spiral 5 Among the crew were the Sith outcast Parlan Spinner, who had been given a "second chance" following a failed assassination attempt against Varner Hilts, and Hilts' own daughter Takara Hilts, who had secretly stowed aboard.
Spinner and Hilts became tired of the harsh working conditions aboard the Southern Star where they were treated by the Alanciari crew as "slaves." Takara planned to sneak aboard with several dissident Alanciari crew while the other crew were away and then take the ship and head for Alanciar. Upon landing on the frozen shores of Eshkrene, the Alanciari crew established camp and began erecting shelters in preparation for a storm. Captain Chegg was unhappy with his polar mission and wondered why the Tribe had wanted to survey what he perceived as a "frozen pit". While the Alanciari were preoccupied with making camp, Takara and her supporters attempted to sneak aboard the Southern Star but were spotted by Captain Chegg. Meanwhile, Spinner also attempted to stage a mutiny but was caught red-handed as well.
===The Skirmish===
Captain Chegg accused them of staging a mutiny and denounced Spinner as being a source of trouble the second the Tribe had sent him. The captain ordered his crew and the guards aboard the ship to kill the slaves. Takara Hilts and Parlan Spinner fought back using Takara's lightsaber and their Force powers respectively. Meanwhile, Chegg promised to give double rations to whoever killed the ringleaders and promised to triple the rations if they were captured alive. Outnumbered, Takara and Spinner were forced to flee into the frozen tundra. During their escape, Iliana told Spinner that she was going to board the Southern Star quietly and take the guards out one at a time. She criticized him for his impatience. Spinner responded by stating that he had wanted to see Captain Chegg squirm, remarking that it was no use winning if no one saw it.
Takara and Spinner ran down a hill but slipped on the snow, causing the former to lose her lightsaber in the snow. They then stumbled on the skeleton of a massive unknown creature. Before they could explore the skeletons, Chegg and his Alanciari crew caught up with them. One of his men had found Takara's lightsaber and had spotted them among the skeletons. Chegg then confronted the two Sith and told them that while the Alanciari may not have the same powers the Sith had, they knew not to lose their weapons in the snow. He dismissed the official propaganda that the Human Sith were Protectors from the stars as a lie before remarking that they would certainly die like Keshiri. Before Chegg could finish his sentence, he was hit by three arrows in the back and fell down dead.
Several cloaked figures then appeared in the snow and killed the other Keshiri crew. Takara attempted to fend them off with her lightsaber but was shoved aside with the Force by one of the strangers. The group's leader ordered her followers to spare the lives of Takara and her Human companion on the grounds that the former was familiar to her. These cloaks strangers then removed their cloaks and introduced themselves as the Doomed. Their leader Kaliska explained that her people had been sharing Kesh with the Tribe for a long time. They were called the Doomed and she stated that they too were "Doomed".
===Aftermath===
The Doomed quickly took the two Human Sith into custody. Other members of the Doomed also detained the remaining members of the Keshiri crew who had landed and impounded the Southern Star. Meanwhile, the dead bodies of Chegg and the other Keshiri pursuers were left to rot on the frozen ground. Takara and Spinner learnt more about the Doomed and their origins during the Great Calamity. The Doomed were the descendants of stranded Jedi and Dark Jedi from the Hundred-Year Darkness. The Dark Jedi had been exiled to the Stygian Caldera following the Battle of Corbos but had attempted to return to the galaxy. However, they were pursued by several Jedi and became stranded on Kesh. The Jedi and Dark Jedi had fought on Kesh but eventually the two parties made peace and migrated to Eshkrene, and became the ancestors of the Doomed.
After Spinner expressed interest in seeing the Doomed's "great weapon," he was imprisoned by the Doomed, who intended to execute him and the other Keshiri crew. However, Spinner and the Keshiri were able to escape from their poorly-guarded prison and stole the "Great Weapon". This "Great Weapon" turned out to be an oubliette containing the hibernating Dark Jedi Remulus Dreypa, one of the Dark Jedi who had survived the Battle of Corbos and helped found the Sith Empire in the Stygian Caldera. He had been imprisoned by his former Dark Jedi allies, who had made peace with the Jedi. After escaping Eshkrene, Dreypa instigated an armed uprising on Kestah Minor with the intent of return to the stars.Lost Tribe of the Sith—Spiral 3 However, the Sith Lord was defeated through the combined efforts of Spinner and his former enemy Takara Hilts who saved both the Lost Tribe and the Keshiri of Kesh.
==Behind the scenes==
While not officially named, the Skirmish on Eshkrene took place as the climax of John Jackson Miller's Lost Tribe of the Sith—Spiral 1, the first comic issue of the Spiral comic story, which was released on August 8, 2012.
==Appearances==
*Lost Tribe of the Sith—Spiral 1 
*Lost Tribe of the Sith—Spiral 2 
==Notes and references==
Category:Battles of Kesh
Category:Conflicts during the inter-Sith Wars period