Kaliska (S'kytri)

"I am Kaliska&mdash;I speak for the Doomed."

- Kaliska

Kaliska was a Force-sensitive female S'kytri and a member of the Doomed on the planet of Kesh.

Origins
"...that the Force is a curse. A disease. No one can leave while any among us has the ability to use it. And so we are -- The Doomed"

- Kaliska explaining the Doomed's view of the Force

Kaliska was a member of the Doomed, the descendants of ancient Jedi and Dark Jedi who had become stranded on the planet of Kesh. Following the Hundred-Year Darkness, several defeated Dark Jedi survivors were exiled to the Stygian Caldera where they settled on the planet Korriban, the homeworld of the Sith species. These Dark Jedi re-established themselves as the Sith Order and eventually founded the First Sith Empire. However, a group of these Dark Jedi exiles led by Remulus Dreypa, a former Jedi Admiral, decided to return to the galaxy and seek vengeance against the Jedi and the Galactic Republic. Dreypa and his followers acquired a starship and managed to exit the Stygian Caldera. However, they intercepted by a force of Jedi starships which pursued them across the galaxy.

This pursuit ended up on Kesh and the two rival Force factions became trapped on the planet due to its strong magnetic fields. The Jedi and Dark Jedi fought a violent conflict, which devastated much of the planet, and endangered the indigenous Keshiri people. The Dark Jedi's weapons included leviathans, massive reptilian Sithspawn that were capable of draining the life energies of sentient beings. Both groups of Force-users contained individuals from a diverse mixture of species including Ithorians, Chagrians, Celegians, Wookiees, Rodians, and S'kytri. The Keshiri would remember this incident as the Great Calamity, which pitted Kesh's Protectors against the malevolent Destructors. Eventually, the two sides became disillusioned with the fighting and decided to make peace. In exchange for making peace, the Dark Jedi agreed to seal their leader Dreypa, who was still committed to his grandiose ambitions, within an oubliette. Meanwhile, the Jedi hid their last remaining starship beneath the Circle Eternal at the settlement of Tahv.

To atone for the terror and damage they had inflicted on the Keshiri, the Jedi and Dark Jedi migrated to the polar continent of Eshkrene in the planet's south pole. There, they constructed a settlement known as the City of the Doomed, which became their home for the next four thousand years. Over the following millennia, the Doomed dedicated themselves to finding true neutrality between the light and dark sides of the Force. The Doomed also believed that being Force-sensitive was akin to a curse or disease, and that none of their members could leave Kesh while any among them still had the ability to use it. They also maintained a constant vigil over the imprisoned Dreypa, who remained alive in suspended animation within his oubliette for nearly four millennia. Within the annals of the Doomed's history, Dreypa would be remembered as their dreaded "Great Weapon."

They also developed ice mirrors for monitoring developments in other parts of Kesh. These enabled them to monitor developments in other parts of Kesh including the arrival of a group of stranded Sith led by Yaru Korsin in 5,000 BBY. These Human Sith came to dominate the Keshiri on the continent of Keshtah Minor, and became known as the Lost Tribe of Sith. The Doomed did not reveal their existence to these other offworlders but instead monitored their developments. While the Doomed had contemplated intervening during the Time of the Rot when infighting between rival Sith factions threatened the survival of the Keshiri, they decided otherwise after the reformist Grand Lord Varner Hilts succeeded in reforming Sith society on Keshtah Minor. Under his leadership, peace returned to that continent which enabled the Lost Tribe to annex the neighbouring continent of Alanciar with minimal bloodshed on both sides.

Due to their isolation from the wider galaxy and the harsh icy conditions on Eshkrene, the Doomed's population declined over the millennia. By 2,975 BBY, there were barely enough members from each species to keep the Doomed population sustainable. Some of the migrant species on Kesh died out over the successive generations. During that year, Kaliska was the last known remaining member of the S'kytri species within the Doomed community. As with all other members of her community, she was Force-sensitive. At an unknown point, she became the leader of the Doomed community.

The Sith Explorers
"Who are you? How do you know my name?" "You would have known by now, Pricess of the Sith -- had you been patient."

- Takara and Kaliska's first encounter

In 2,975 BBY, Kaliska and her people's isolation ended with the arrival of a Sith exploration team. The Keshiri Captain Chegg and his ship Southern Star had been sent by the Lost Tribe to explore and survey Eshkrene. Following the annexation of Alanciar, Grand Lord Hilts had embarked on an exploration program to survey and map all lands and seas on the planet Kesh. The Alanciari Keshiri had developed wooden sailing ships capable of traversing the oceans of Kesh. This exploration party also included two Human Sith: the outcast Parlan Spinner and the Sith princess Takara Hilts, the daughter of Grand Lord Hilts. Unhappy with the working conditions aboard Chegg's ship, the two Humans attempted to desert the crew. However, they were pursued by Chegg and his men, who intended to kill them.

However, Kaliska and a party of Doomed were nearby and killed Chegg and his followers with bows and arrows. Kaliska then detained the two Humans along with the surviving Keshiri crew aboard the Southern Star. These explorers were brought into the City of the Doomed. During this journey, the two Humans Takara and Spinner attempted to escape and bring back news of the Doomeds' existence to the Lost Tribe. However, they were subdued by their captors. Kaliska herself personally intervened and used the Force to levitate Takara into her hands. She then took Takara on a trip towards the Hall of Regret, the Doomed's place of worship.

During this trip, Kaliska reprimanded Takara for disturbing the peace on Eshkrene before introducing herself as the leader of the Doomed. She also mentioned that the remaining crew on the Southern Star had already been rounded up, and reiterated that there was no place for the Sith to run. She also admitted that she had used the Force to sweep Takara into her hands but added that using the Force gave her little joy. After they arrived at the Hall of Regret, Kaliska explained to Takara that she could not allow the Sith explorers to find Eshkrene but added that she was unwilling to allow any harm to come to her or her "protector" Spinner.

Kaliska then explained the history and origins of the Doomed to the two Sith, which was sketched on ice murals that decorated the Hall of Regret's interior. After Kaliska finished recounting the Doomed's story, Takara expressed her amazement that the Doomed's presence on Kesh had preceded the Lost Tribe's settlement and then asked Kaliska whether her people had been spying on the Sith. Kaliska admitted that the Doomed had been monitoring the Lost Tribe on Keshtah Minor and that her people had once contemplated intervening to safeguard the Keshiri during the Time of the Rot. However, the Doomed had relented after Takara's father Varner Hilts had succeeded in restoring peace and stability to Keshtah Minor. Kaliska praised Varner Hilts as a wise man who had restored peace and order and thanked Takara on behalf of her father. Takara was however more critical of her father since she believed that he had done nothing for her.

She also criticized Kaliska for expressing concerns about how the Sith treated the Keshiri and reiterated that her people had a privileged position on Kesh. At that point, Kaliska sensed that Takara had a strong sense of ambition and added that this trait was common among the Lost Tribe. Despite their initial differences, Takara came to respect Kaliska and to empathize with Doomed. By contrast, her companion Spinner alienated his hosts by expressing his desire to use the "Great Weapon" while deriding the Doomed for not using it. Kaliska responded that Spinner was the last person they would let near the "Great Weapon" and reprimanded him for sitting on the holy reliquary. She then ordered her followers to confine Spinner with the sailing ship's crew. Since the Doomed wanted to preserve their secret existence, she had considered executing the Sith explorers.

The Anarchist and the Great Weapon
"Yes -- I can see what you would do. You're the last person we would let near it. Now get your behind offour holy reliquary!" "Whatever you say, wings."

- Kaliska's first direct conversation with Parlan Spinner

However, Kaliska allowed Takara to remain since the Sith princess expressed her interest in staying with the Doomed and learning more about them. However, Spinner and the Keshiri crew escaped from their prison and overpowered their guards. They then stole the "Great Weapon" from the main tower in the Doomed's settlement, and lowered the weapon down from the tower on a sledge. Spinner and his followers then reclaimed their impounded sailing ship and overpowered the sentries stationed there. They then sailed away from Eshkrene while the city was still in morning meditation. By the time the Doomed had discovered their escape and theft, the Southern Star was already heading into open ocean.

Unaware of these developments, Kaliska took Takara on a tour of Eshkrene's stables at dawn, which were home to the Doomed's farm animals. These animals were the descendants of ancient stock that the Doomed had imported from other parts of Kesh during their migration to Eshkrene. Takara was initially disinterested in the animals and claimed that they did not think much about her. Kaliska however explained that Takara had to treat the animals as equals and taught her the animal friendship ability, a Jedi ability which the Jedi ancestors of the Doomed had passed down to their descendants. Takara was amazed by Kaliska's Force powers since the Tribe had not learned how to calm their uvaks.

Their conversation was interrupted by a siren announcing that the "Great Weapon" had been stolen. Kaliska lamented that she had not burnt their ship immediately and ordered every warrior to assemble at the harbor. Takara then explained that Spinner was an enemy, an anarchist who was seeking to destroy the Tribe and expressed her fears that the "Great Weapon" would further Spinner's ambitions. Takara convinced Kaliska to let her help her stop Spinner, and flew with the Sith princess towards the sea, in pursuit of the Southern Star. While Kaliska had hoped that Takara could reason with him, Takara knew that neither side of the Force would compel him to see reason.

Kaliska and Takara caught up with the Southern Star and landed on the deck. Takara tried to reason with Spinner not to open the "Great Weapon" but Spinner was beyond reason, and reiterated that he was not a slave of the Tribe anymore. He was not afraid to see the weapon which even Kaliska's "great" Jedi ancestors were afraid of. Kaliska could only watch in horror as Spinner broke the oubliette with a hammer, which triggered a small explosion and released a small cloud of foam. Baron Remulus Dreypa emerged from the broken oubliette and proclaimed that he still lived despite spending four thousand years confined within his prison. Spinner and the Keshiri crew immediately pledged their allegiance and services to the ancient Dark Jedi. Outnumbered and unarmed, Takara and Kaliska were quickly taken captive by the crew and imprisoned below the Southern Star's hold.

Captives of Dreypa
During the Southern Star's voyage back to Keshtah Minor, Kaliska and Takara were imprisoned within the ship's hold. In line with a pacifistic religious beliefs, Kaliska entered into a state of meditation. By contrast, her Sith friend Takara struggled with her captors and had to be restrained. After several days of sailing, the Southern Star landed at the port town of Eorm, which was home to a large number of slaves and pariahs who had fallen out of favor with the Lost Tribe's government in Tahv. Eorm had also been Spinner's hometown until he rejected serfdom and became an outlaw fighting the Tahv government.

Eorm was also ruled by the tyrannical Lord Galathos, who ordered the razing of several houses after their occupants failed to meet their quota of supplying sails to the Tribe's fleet of mariners. Using his dark side powers, Lord Dreypa quickly wiped out Galathos and the local Sith garrison, and seized control of the town. The local population was awed by Dreypa's dark side powers and rallied around the Dark Jedi. At the insistence of Spinner, Lord Dreypa reluctantly agreed to lead an uprising against the Lost Tribe ruling elite in Tahv with vengeance being the main motivating factor. However, Dreypa still desired to return to the stars and further his grandiose ambitions of ruling the galaxy.

Kaliska and Takara were later allowed to disembark by the Keshiri crew and were taken to the town square. Both women noted that Dreypa was a charismatic and vocal leader who was able to rally a crowd to do his bidding. However, Kaliska commented to Takara that his oratorical skills were only second to his dark side powers which had once threatened the existence of Tahv. She explained to Takara that Dreypa was the ancient "Great Weapon" that her ancestors had sealed within his own oubliette, a device of his own making. Unable to destroy either Dreypa or his oubliette, the Doomed had kept vigil over it for four millennia.

Kaliska also warned the younger woman not to underestimate Dreypa since he dabbled in powers beyond the comprehension of many other Force-users. At that point, Lord Dreypa interrupted the conservation. Based on Spinner's information, he quickly recognized Kaliska as one of the descendants of his ancient Dark Jedi followers who had accompanied him to Kesh. These same Dark Jedi had then turned against Lord Dreypa and imprisoned him within his oubliette. Lord Dreypa explained that he would have been driven insane by his millennia-long imprisonment within the oubliette had it not been for an amulet given to him by a rival Sith Lord Sorzus Syn.

While Syn had intended to used the amulet to trap his spirit, Lord Dreypa had succeeded in altering the talisman to help him survive. Dreypa also recalled that he had been looking for something long ago but was unable to recall exactly what it was since he was still recovering from the effects of suspended animation. Dreypa asked Kaliska whether she knew if it was with her people in the ice. Kaliska feigned ignorance and expressed disinterest in the topic, claiming that the Doomed were only concerned with the native Keshiri's welfare. She added that Eorm and the rest of Keshtah Minor was controlled by Humans.

Lord Dreypa then turned his attention to Takara. He boasted that he would subjugate the Lost Tribe and show them what it meant to be Sith. Shortly later, they were joined by Spinner who had just collected the local Sith garrison's collection of lightsabers. Spinner and Dreypa planned to used these lightsabers as weapons against the Lost Tribe. With Dreypa's forces preparing to march on Tahv, the Sith Lord ordered his Keshiri followers to bing Kaliska and Takara. He intended to used Takara's status as a Sith princess to extract leverage from the Tribe's leadership.

Escape back to Eshkrene
Kaliska and Takara were then taken by several Keshiri guards to the local uvak stables where they intended to bind them with a strong material. During their journey, Kaliska advised Takara not to waste her breath fighting with Takara and explained that she had foreseen Spinner betraying the two of them. Takara replied that she had not expected to change Spinner's mind before she revealed that she had stolen two lightsabers from him. She quickly dispatched the Keshiri guards. Kaliska then expressed her relief that she did not need to dispatch their captors on their own.

The two then entered the uvak stables and Kaliska used her Force powers to calm the winged reptiles, and convince them to fly her and Takara to Eshkrene. While Takara was sceptical that uvaks could fly for such long distances, Kaliska assured the Sith princess that these winged reptiles were capable of flying for much longer distances than the Sith imagined, and that one had to know how to ask them. Takara agreed to help, and the two women succeeded in bringing Eorm's entire herd of uvaks to Eshkrene. This journey across the Southern Ocean would take several days but the two women and their uvaks managed to survive the turbulent winds.

After reaching Eshkrene, Kaliska managed to rally the rest of the Doomed for an assault on Dreypa's forces on Keshtah Minor. The Doomed would fly on these uvak steeds while Kaliska herself was able to fly on her own by virtue of her S'kytri physiology. Meanwhile, Dreypa and Spinner's rebel army clashed with the Lost Tribe's forces at the Marisota Floodplain. While Dreypa's forces initially triumphed over the Tribe's infantry, they crumpled following an assault by the Tribe's Skyborn Rangers, an elite airborne cavalary which served as the Tribe's "air force."

Many of Dreypa's followers were killed during this assault and the survivors retreated to Sessal Spire, a volcanic caldera at the southeastern edge of Keshtah Minor. Dreypa had recalled that he had hidden several leviathan larvae within Sessal Spire's volcanic crater after his forces had landed on Kesh. Dreypa's tattered forces were pursued by the Tribe's army under the leadership of Grand Consort Iliana Hilts, Takara's mother. She believed that Dreypa had made an error in retreating to the volcano and thought that victory was within her grasp.

However, Dreypa succeeded in awakening the hibernating leviathans, which by then had reached maturity. He then unleashed the monstrous Sithspawn on both his former allies and enemies, which proceeded to capture and devour the life energies of their prey.

The Final Battle
By the time that Kaliska and the Doomed had arrived at Sessal Spire, Lord Dreypa's Leviathans were devouring both his former allies and the pursuing Lost Tribe forces. Doomed archers fired arrows at Dreypa's leviathan, causing him to fall over. Kaliska ordered members of the Doomed to target the blister traps and to avoid close-quarter combat with the leviathan monsters. Dreypa fought back by unleashing Force lightning on the newcomers. Meanwhile, Takara pursued Spinner and the two engaged in a lightsaber duel. However, the two interrupted their fighting and formed a truce after Spinner saved Takara's mother from being devoured by a leviathan.

Despite their Force abilities, the Doomed were no match for Lord Dreypa's dark side powers and his Leviathan minions. Several Doomed riders were knocked out or killed by Dreypa's Force lightning. Other Doomed riders and their uvak steeds were captured in the leviathans' tentacles and had their life energies drained. Through his amulet, Dreypa was able to access the minds of his leviathans and learnt about the identity and origins of the Doomed. While conversing with a Rodian member of the Doomed, Dreypa learnt that the Doomed were hiding something from him that he wanted.

Kaliska herself was only narrowly able to escape the battlefield and reunited Takara and Spinner who had also managed to escape Dreypa's leviathans. Takara's mother Iliana was alive but her youth had been drained by the leviathan, and she was resting on Takara's uvak steed. During a conversation with the two Humans, Kaliska warned Spinner that Dreypa's brood of leviathans was too strong for the Doomed and recommended combining their assault with the Tribe's forces. However, Spinner responded that the Tribe would be reluctant to ally themselves with the Doomed since they regarded them just as "freakish" as the leviathans.

While Takara's mother Iliana was a military commander of the Lost Tribe, she was unable to assume this role since she had been incapacitated by the leviathans. Despite the tensions between mother and daughter, Takara explained to her companions that she was unwilling to let her die and sought to bring her back to the capital Tahv for treatment. Kaliska observed that Takara and her mother had more in common with each other than they thought, and urged Takara to assume her mother's role as commander. She warned that Dreypa would pose a threat to the wider galaxy if he was not stopped on Kesh.

The Jedi Starship
At that point, Spinner questioned Kaliska about what she meant about the Doomed's "business" about the stars, and whether it was more than just poetry. While Kaliska blamed Spinner for bringing Dreypa's calamity back to Kesh and regarded him as a coward, she was surprised that the Sith anarchist was still with them. Spinner then persisted with his questioning over whether Kaliska and her people had the ability to leave Kesh. He came to the conclusion that the Doomed possessed a starship that would enable them to travel offworld.

When questioned by Takara, Kaliska finally revealed the Doomed's secret: that the Doomed had a Jedi Starship which had survived the Great Calamity. This starship was hidden within the Keshiri burial cairns beneath the Circle Eternal, the Lost Tribe's palace in Tahv. The Doomed had made a vow that any member of their community could leave Kesh provided they lost their Force sensitivity. Following the arrival of the Lost Tribe on Kesh, the Doomed had be unable to destroy the vessel since they did not want to alert the Sith to their presence. However, Kaliska feared that Dreypa would find out that there was a way to get off Kesh. She concluded that the starship had to be destroyed at all costs.

Kaliska enlisted Takara and Spinner to assist her with this task. Due to her winged physiology, the S'kytri woman was unable to enter the chamber leading to the Jedi Starship. Ultimately, Spinner opted to do this job since he was familiar with the catacombs due to his previous experience as a grave robber. While Spinner was initially reluctant, Takara was able to convince Spinner to take her mother back to Tahv for treatment. Due to Spinner's duplicitous nature, Kaliska was unwilling to trust Spinner. However, Takara managed to convince her to accompany Spinner and her mother while she herself held back Dreypa's forces

Their conversation was interrupted by the arrival of a leviathan which had emerged from the ground. Spinner and Iliana managed to fly away on the uvak but Kaliska was caught in the leviathan's tentacles. Shortly later, Lord Dreypa himself arrived and taunted Kaliska, telling her that he was finally getting his revenge against the Doomed and their descendants for imprisoning him millennia ago. The leviathan drained Kaliska's life energies in its blister traps. Through her death, Dreypa learnt that the Doomed had hidden the Jedi Starship beneath the Sith capital of Tahv millennia ago. He then ordered his "pets" to make their way to Tahv.

Legacy
Despite her death, Kaliska's efforts to stop the return of Lord Dreypa and protect Kesh and its people were not in vain. Her friends Takara and Spinner succeeded in defeating Lord Dreypa and destroying the Jedi starship in the process. While Spinner had initially reneged on his earlier agreement to destroy the vessel and had taken it on a brief joy ride above the planet Kesh, he decided to save Kesh after Lord Dreypa threatened to kill Takara, whom he had come to develop an affection for. Spinner then used the Jedi Starship to destroy Dreypa's leviathans before they could completely obliterate Tahv and succeeded in rescuing Takara. In the end, Dreypa was killed when he was trapped aboard the Jedi Starship which had been set on a one-way suicide trip into Sessal Spire. This ultimately ended Dreypa's threat to Kesh and the wider galaxy. Following the defeat of Dreypa, Takara and Spinner would develop a romantic relationship and the latter became one of the Grand Lord's Hands

With the death of Kaliska, the last remaining member of the Doomed on Kesh died. All members of this Force-sensitive community perished during Dreypa's rebellion. They succeeded in fulfilling their duty of protecting Kesh and the indigenous Keshiri from a calamity that would have destroyed them. With their deaths, the City of the Doomed disintegrated into ruins since it was only their Force powers which were protecting the ancient structures from the elements. By the time a second Sith expedition reached Eshkrene, all they found were skeletons and wrecked buildings.

The presence of the Doomed supported Grand Lord Hilt's hypothesis that the Keshiri had so easily welcomed his ancestors&mdash;Yaru Korsin and his ship-wrecked Sith followers&mdash;because the Lost Tribe were not the first offworld visitors to Kesh. The ancient Keshiri had also believed that the Lost Tribe were the mythical Protectors. In reality, the ancestors of the Doomed had been both Kesh's legendary Protectors and Destructors during the Great Calamity.

Personality and traits
As the leader of the Doomed, Kaliska was known for her leadership, wisdom, and rational thinking. She regarded herself as the speaker of her community, and was known for her calmness and restraint, but was also capable of being firm and tough when she needed. Kaliska also had an affinity with animals and was able to communicate with them through the animal friendship ability. Unlike most other Force–users, Kaliska took no pride and joy in her abilities to use the Force since she had been taught from young that it was an affliction and a curse. As with all other members of the Doomed, Kaliska shared a strong dislike for the dark side, which they regarded as the undoing of their ancient ancestors. She was also known both affectionately and sarcastically as "wings" by Parlan Spinner.

Powers and abilities
As with all members of the Doomed, Kaliska was Force-sensitive. She was able to use the Force to sweep other people towards her. As a member of the S'kytri species, she was also able to fly for long distances. She was also skilled in archery.

Behind the Scenes
Kaliska was first developed by John Jackson Miller as a supporting character in the Star Wars: Lost Tribe of the Sith: Spiral comic arc story, which debuted on August 8, 2012. This five-issue comic series ran until December 12, 2012. She was also illustrated by Andrea Mutti, inked by Pierluigi Baldassini, and then colored by Michael Atiyeh. Kaliska was the only member of the Doomed to be named and allocated a major speaking role in the comic story. She was killed off in the fourth issue which debuted on November 14, 2012.

Appearances

 * Star Wars: Lost Tribe of the Sith 1: Spiral, Part 1
 * Star Wars: Lost Tribe of the Sith 2: Spiral, Part 2
 * Star Wars: Lost Tribe of the Sith 3: Spiral, Part 3
 * Star Wars: Lost Tribe of the Sith 4: Spiral, Part 4
 * Star Wars: Lost Tribe of the Sith 5: Spiral, Part 5