Skirmish on Kinooine

Several skirmishes on the planet Kinooine stemmed from a series of events that began when a scouting party sent there by Alliance of Free Planets Commander Luke Skywalker was abducted and murdered by Lumiya, Dark Lady of the Sith. Skywalker took notice of their disappearance and, along with fellow pilots Kiro and the Zeltron female Dani, traveled to Kinooine in search of them. Upon their arrival, Lumiya brutally attacked Kiro and Dani, taking the Zeltron prisoner while leaving her companion for dead. Skywalker managed to save Kiro before leaving in search of Lumiya. He located and engaged her in a duel which resulted in his capture and subsequent imprisonment within Lumiya's underground lair. The Dark Lady meanwhile went to finalize preparations for the arrival of the Nagai invasion fleet, with whom she planned to finally crush the rebellion.
Kiro infiltrated Lumiya's base in her absence, killing a Nagai warrior in the process before rescuing Luke Skywalker. Together they found and confronted Lumiya, who fully expected to once again defeat Skywalker in combat; she was unprepared, however, for the Jedi's use of two lightsabers—one long and one short—and was beaten before being stripped of her armor and exposed as former Imperial Intelligence agent Shira Elan Colla Brie. The Nagai fleet arrived at that moment, forcing Skywalker and Kiro to take Lumiya into custody and hasten their plan to rescue Dani from the bowels Lumiya's lair. They were ultimately successful, though not without casualty; Kiro had been lost in combat with Lumiya's Nagai cohort Den Siva. With the invaders rapidly dispersed over Kinooine, Luke Skywalker and Dani were forced to abandon Lumiya and flee the planet, also leaving Kiro—whom they believed to be dead.
==Background==
During the preliminary stages of their incursion into known space, the extra-galactic Nagai species chose the desolate planet Kinooine to serve as the staging point for their invasion into the galaxy. Dark Lady of the Sith Lumiya pledged her support to the Nagai, and rendezvoused with their emissary Den Siva on Kinooine. Together they fortified a hidden underground base of operations, and from there made preparations for the arrival of the main invasion fleet. The sudden surge of activity on the previously uninhabited Outer Rim world caught the attention of Jedi Knight and Alliance of Free Planets Commander Luke Skywalker, who sent twenty person scouting party to investigate. The party was intercepted upon arrival by Lumiya and Siva, who executed nineteen of them. Only one, a male named Faron Tolis, was left alive, only to be subjected to torturous interrogation regarding the whereabouts of Alliance leader Princess Leia Organa. Tolis, who had no direct dealings with Organa, was unable to disclose anything about the Princess' whereabouts. He instead revealed that it had been Lumiya's sworn enemy Luke Skywalker who had sent him to Kinooine.
==Arrival==
===First encounter===
Failure on part of Tolis' team to report their progress was a cause of concern for Commander Skywalker, whose suspicions led him into an investigation. He traveled to Kinooine along with the Chuhkyvi Kiro and his Zeltron lover Dani, and landed their starship near a body of water where they also established their camp. Lumiya was aware of their arrival, and stalked Kiro and Dani for a time during their preliminary exploration of the surrounding area, before she violently attacked them with her lightwhip. Repeated lashes overwhelmed the pair, knocking the Zeltron unconscious and destroying Kiro's necessary aquatic respiration apparatus. The Sith Lady took Dani prisoner, but Kiro—who was left for dead— managed to stumble back towards the camp where he was found and rescued by Luke Skywalker. The commander learned of Dani's abduction while he tended to Kiro's injuries and, when Skywalker was certain that he would recover, left the Chuhkyvi in search of his unknown assailant.
Skywalker found the cyborg woman waiting for him on a hilltop. They regarded each other in silence as both readied their weapons in preparation for battle. The Jedi had never faced a lightwhip-wielding opponent before, and Lumiya thrashed him repeatedly before he was disarmed and defeated. Skywalker recovered and engage the lone Sith again, but when she revealed her weapon's unique combination of energy beams and tendrils of metal and studded leather, he was rendered defenseless yet again and knocked unconscious. Rather than kill him, the Dark Lady collected Skywalker and imprisoned him within her underground stronghold. Den Siva, who had been awaiting her return, congratulated Lumiya on her victory but suggested that Skywalker would be prepared for the dual nature of her lightwhip should he be given a chance to face her again—an opportunity Lumiya was certain would never come. Siva also advised her of events that had unfolded on the planet Kabray which involved the defeat of thirteen Nagai warriors at the hands of Princess Organa and several Zeltrons. Because of this, Siva asked permission to examine the captive Zeltron Dani with hopes of learning more about her species. Lumiya granted the request while she finalized preparations for the arrival of the Nagai invasion fleet.
===Kiro's mission===
Kiro, who had suffered life-threatening wounds during his encounter with Lumiya, managed to effect a sufficient recovery by submerging himself in the body of water near where he and his comrades had lodged. As he anticipated the rescue endeavor he planned to embark on, he was able to convert a normal helmet into one that would provided a constant circulation of fresh water to facilitate his breathing. He then collected his short sword and Stinger hand-blaster, and set out to find Dani and Luke Skywalker. Kiro located the entrance to the underground stronghold, but was momentarily prevented from entering when several patrolling Nagai warriors appeared. He startled one of them, a male named Mendo, with a slight diversion before he attacked the Nagai and ran him through with his blade. He was forced to take cover as two additional soldiers, Rei and Taru, returned from a failed attempt to locate the camp and starship of Kiro and his companions. Kiro sneaked into the stronghold behind them, and it did not take him long to locate Commander Skywalker. Kiro revived Skywalker as he blew the cell door open with his Stinger. He proceeded to dress Skywalker's wounds, while discussing with the Jedi plans to rescue Dani. Before they could, however, Skywalker determined that Lumiya had first to be dealt with. He used parts from Kiro's Stinger to fashion a short bladed-lightsaber which, upon recovery of his original weapon, he planned to use against the dual nature of her lightwhip.
===Rematch===
Skywalker and Kiro found Lumiya standing outside on a precipice in the barren wastes of Kinooine. Luke caught her by surprise when he used the Force to summon his lightsaber from her side, and revealed that he was also armed with a shoto that produced a shorter blade than usual. The dual blades counteracted the two forms of her lightwhip, the combination of which had overwhelmed Skywalker in their initial confrontation. In their first duel, Lumiya refrained from killing Skywalker, being simply content with defeating him in combat. She refused to let him interfere with her plans any further and, as she ignited her lightwhip, told him that his death would satisfy her far more than allowing him to escape. Their rematch began much differently than before, with Lumiya flailing the various strands of her whip in an attempt to overwhelm Skywalker from all angles. In response, the Jedi used his longer lightsaber to entangle the whip's extensions and the shoto to cut them away. He repeated this strategy until Lumiya managed to ensnare the longer blade within her whip's energy strands, at which point Skywalker destroyed the pliant beam with shoto, forcing both his green-bladed lightsaber and the hilt of Lumiya's whip free of their respective grasps. With the cyborg rendered weaponless, Skywalker moved in to attack with his short blade. Lumiya was quickly defeated and stripped of the majority of her armor in the process, revealing her true identity of Shira Brie. The Nagai invasion fleet arrived shortly afterward, forcing Skywalker and Kiro to take the Sith Lady prisoner and go into hiding.Star Wars (1977) 97
===Dani's rescue===
Faron Tolis, who had also been taken prisoner by Lumiya and the Nagai, attempted to free Dani, but was swiftly killed by Den Siva. As the invasion force began to spread over the surface of Kinooine, Commander Skywalker and Kiro were happened upon by several Nagai warriors. Fighting quickly broke out after a failed attempt by Skywalker to persuade the Nagai to turn away.
==Aftermath==
While both Luke and Dani escaped, the loss of Kiro weighed heavily on them both. The information Luke stole proved vital to the Alliance cause, however, providing key information on the Nagai plans and capabilities.
==Appearances==
*Star Wars (1977) 95 
*Star Wars (1977) 96 
*Star Wars (1977) 97 
*Star Wars (1977) 99 
*Star Wars (1977) 100 
*Star Wars (1977) 102 
*Star Wars (1977) 103 
*Legacy of the Force: Tempest 
==Sources==
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*The New Essential Guide to Characters
*Jedi vs. Sith: The Essential Guide to the Force
*The Complete Star Wars Encyclopedia
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==Notes and references==
Category:Battles in Wild Space
Category:Battles of the Nagai-Tof War
Category:Duels