The Skirmish at the Kete hive represents a small-scale engagement within the broader Stranglethorn crisis. This incident stemmed from the unauthorized entry of two juvenile Ewoks into the Kete hive. Upon detecting the intruders, the Kete Queen and her hive launched a pursuit of the Ewoks throughout their territory, ultimately resulting in the Ewoks' successful escape.
Following the commencement of the Battle of Bright Tree Village, two Ewoks, identified as Kneesaa a Jari Kintaka and Wicket Wystri Warrick, resolved to procure the necessary components for an antidote designed to counteract plant growth formula, a potent concoction responsible for the dramatic enlargement of a carnivorous stranglethorn. This expansive plant had begun its takeover of the village; the antidote reserves held by the Ewoks were trapped within the hut of the Ewok Shaman Logray due to the stranglethorn's vines. Faced with the inability to bypass the hostile plant, the Ewoks were compelled to rapidly acquire the required ingredients.
The initial ingredient required for the antidote was kete nectar, a sweet liquid produced by the nearby insectoid species known as Ketes. Journeying to the Kete hive, the two Ewoks observed a Kete worker ascending the hive's exterior, utilizing its adhesive feet for support. Inspired by this observation, Kneesaa ingeniously crafted makeshift sticky shoes using leaves and materials from the surrounding bog. Donning these shoes, the Ewoks scaled the hive's exterior and gained entry, remaining vigilant for other Ketes.
As the Ewoks moved cautiously within the hive, they discovered the Ketes in the act of storing nectar pearls filled with kete nectar within one of their storage chambers. The Ewoks formulated a plan to infiltrate the storeroom and retrieve a pearl; however, before they could execute their plan, they were discovered by the Kete Queen along with several of her subjects. The Ketes, disturbed by the presence of the outsiders, cornered the Ewoks within the hive. Kneesaa attempted to explain their urgent need for a nectar pearl, but the Queen responded only with menacing mandible snaps. Recognizing the imminent threat of attack, Wicket seized Kneesaa and fled, pursued closely by the Ketes.
The Kete warriors started to close in on the two Ewoks, but Wicket and Kneesaa managed to evade their pursuers eventually. Returning to their initial location, the two Ewoks entered a storeroom containing nectar pearls and were pleased to see the large quantity of pearls within it. However, as the two Ewoks prepared to take one of the pearls, a single Kete, who had seen their escape from the Queen, was able to roll a boulder in front of the entrance to the storeroom, trapping the two Ewoks inside. The victorious Kete then signaled the rest of the hive, and they quickly arrived at the site with their Queen.
Unbeknownst to the Ketes, Wicket W. Warrick had accidentally dislodged a nectar pearl from the base of the large pile within the storeroom. This action caused the entire stack to collapse, inundating the room with pearls and engulfing the Ewoks. Outside the storeroom, the Queen instructed several Ketes to remove the boulder blocking the Ewoks' exit. Once the rock was moved, the pearls and the Ewoks surged out of the room. The flood of nectar pearls struck the unsuspecting Ketes, knocking them aside. With the Ketes cleared from their path, the Ewoks rolled the rest of the way out of the hive to freedom.
Unfortunately for the Ewoks, their escape lacked coordination, resulting in a less-than-graceful descent from the hive's entrance. Along with several nectar pearls, the Ewoks plummeted into the bog surrounding the Kete hive. Covered in sticky goo, the two Ewoks struggled to free themselves from the mess. As the Ewoks slowly moved away from the hive, the Kete Queen and her subjects came to the entrance of the Hive to see the plight that the Ewoks had found themselves in. The Kete Queen found the sticky Ewoks to be extremely hilarious and collapsed in laughter. As the rest of the hive joined their leader in guffawing at the two Ewoks, Wicket and Kneesaa grabbed one of the nectar pearls surrounding them and escaped the area still covered in the bog's goo.
Following the acquisition of kete nectar, the Ewoks proceeded to obtain a ganga root. Regrettably for the Ewoks, the kete nectar proved largely ineffective in formulating an antidote, as they were unable to secure the final ingredient, trome sap. Nevertheless, the events at the hive enabled Kneesaa to learn one of the Three Lessons, specifically the lesson of the hand, which prepared her for future leadership within the tribe. Furthermore, the invention of the sticky shoes proved crucial in rescuing several woklings during the Battle of Bright Tree Village, as Kneesaa utilized the shoes to climb to their location and fed one of the sticky shoes to a stranglethorn, sealing its jaws shut.