First Battle of Onderon (Naddist Uprising)

The First Battle of Onderon took place during the Freedon Nadd Uprising, being the first battle of that conflict, early in the year 3,998 BBY. The battle commenced during the funeral procession of Queen Amanoa, as the Jedi Knights led by Jedi Master Arca Jeth, prepared to transport both Amanoa's sarcophagus and the that of the Sith Lord Freedon Nadd to a newly constructed mausoleum on the far side of Onderon's fourth moon, Dxun.

During Amanoa's procession, a massive war machine bored upwards through the ground, revealing an army of darksiders led by the Dark Jedi Warb Null. The army managed to retake the coffins, and retreat with them on their war machine into the subterranean levels of Iziz, where it was suspected that Amanoa's husband, the sorcerer King Ommin, resided. Master Arca, Jedi Knight Ulic Qel-Droma, and Amanoa's daughter Galia followed the borer into the tunnels, and discovered that Ommin was indeed alive, and in league with the spirit of Freedon Nadd. Under orders from Freedon Nadd, Arca Jeth was captured and taken deeper into the tunnels. As Qel-Droma and Galia attempted to escape, Warb Null confronted them, but was swiftly defeated by the Jedi Knight. They then returned to the surface, where Qel-Droma, realizing that reinforcements were necessary, sent a distress message to the Galactic Republic beseeching their aid.

Funeral for the Queen
"It looks like we arrived just in time for a funeral, Tott Doneeta." "Yes, Oss Wilum. Master Arca has ordered that the body of Queen Amanoa, and the remains of the Sith Lord Freedon Nadd, be removed from the planet. The Onderonians are taking it to a tomb on the fourth moon."

- Oss Wilum and Tott Doneeta



Iziz, the capital city of the planet Onderon, was in a state of peace, following the end of a three hundred-plus year civil conflict between the city's dark side-worshipping citizens, and the Beast Riders from the planet's wilderness. The final battle saw the intervention of the Jedi Order, who had dispatched the Jedi Knights Cay and Ulic Qel-Droma, and the Twi'lek Jedi Tott Doneeta, to mediate the civil unrest. The Knights were unsuccessful in bringing about a peaceful resolution between the Beast-Lord Oron Kira, and the ruler of Iziz, Queen Amanoa. Thus, their mission quickly degenerated into an all-out battle. Only after the arrival of their own Master, the Arkanian Jedi Arca Jeth, who used his skill with Jedi battle meditation to sway the tide fighting, was the battle brought to an end. As a last measure, Master Jeth and his Jedi confronted Amanoa, who had been secretly drawing upon the power of the dark side Master Freedon Nadd in his tomb, underneath the royal palace of Iziz. Arca cast out the darkness of Nadd's tomb with the light of the Force, and without the Dark Lord's influence, Amanoa's power faded as well. She died in her daughter's arms, unable and unwilling to succumb to the light.

With Amanoa dead, Iziz was left without a legitimate ruler. As was the way of the Onderon Royal Family, Amanoa's daughter Galia then assumed the throne, and together with her new husband Oron Kira, became the new King and Queen of Onderon. Immediately they began making preparations to inter Amanoa and Freedon Nadd, whose remans had been confiscated by the Jedi when Amanoa perished. A funeral commenced, under the direction of Arca Jeth, who was still concerned with the stong darkness he felt emanating from the coffin. To ensure that the dark side power of Freedon Nadd's sarcophagus could no longer oppress the citizens of Onderon, Master Jeth ordered the construction of a nigh-impregnable tomb on Dxun, the planet's fourth moon. Amanoa would be laid there as well.

Naddist ambush


Meanwhile Oron Kira's second-in-command Gobee, and another Beast Rider, were ordered by the Jedi to search the catacombs under Iziz, because it was rumored that practitioners of Sith magic still were lurking in the depths. As they delved deeper through miles of tunnels, Gobee and his partner came upon none other than King Ommin himself. The Queen's procession was interrupted by commander Gobee and the other Beast Rider, when they emerged from the tunnels, moments ahead of an attack. Before they could warn their fellow Beast Riders and the Jedi, a massive boring machine drilled its way upwards out of the ground. More than just a tunnel-maker, the war engine protruded and sprang forth from below Iziz, releasing several hundred Naddist soldiers. At their front was a gigantic, armored, lightsaber-wielding Dark Jedi, whose armor radiated with the dark side power of the Sith magic.

Duel with a Dark Jedi


Immediately Oron Kira and his men engaged the Naddists as the darksiders emptied their war-machine, while the Knights engaged the Dark Jedi, who identified himself as Warb Null. Master Jeth was suddenly attacked through the Force, and incapacitated. Meanwhile, Warb Null's engagement with the Jedi provided ample distraction for his Naddist soldiers, giving them the opportunity to recapture the tombs of Nadd and Amanoa, and bring them onboard the war machine. Warb Null then called for a retreat as he warned the Jedi that they would soon meet again. The tunnel-maker pulled back and descended into the depths, with the Dark Jedi following close behind. The sheer mass of the machine caused the ground around it to collapse into a massive sinkhole, just as Ulic Qel-Droma grabbed hold of its side and demanded that Warb Null return and face him. At the last moment he jumped off, and returned to his Jedi companions, who were tending to the felled Master Jeth.

Arca Jeth was barely recovered from the dark side attack when he realized that the Naddists were only distracting the Jedi; their real intention was to recover the sarcophagi of Amanoa and Freedon Nadd. Successfull in their mission, the darksiders retreated to their subterranean domain while Ulic Qel-Droma chased after them, grabbing onto the tunnel-maker and demanding that the armored warrior Warb Null return and face him. Warb Null never came out, and Qel-Droma was nearly pulled into the gaping maw left behind in the war machine's wake. He jumped off the machine in time to avoid falling in after it, and rejoined his comrades just as Tott Doneeta received a message that another contingent of the darksider army was approaching the city. Master Jeth deduced that the coffin of Freedon Nadd was the source of the dark power plaguing Onderon, and that retrieving it along with Amanoa's was the only course of action. It was then that Galia revealed the fact that her father was indeed alive, and that he may be the Jedi's only hope in recovering the sarcophagai. Tott Doneeta, Oss Wilum, and Cay Qel-Droma remained behind with Oron Kira while Arca Jeth and Ulic Qel-Droma planned to follow the war machine's exit-tunnel, in hopes of confronting the darksiders. Galia insisted on going with them, due to her familiarity with the catacombs. The trio descended into the darkness of the tunnels, intent on finding the darksiders, the sarcophagai, and possibly even King Ommin.

Enter King Ommin


Galia found that as they traveled deeper underground, she was less familiar with the the catacombs than she first believed. Master Arca however, felt the potency of the dark side much stronger here; he was sure that they were indeed going in the right direction. Ulic was not so concerned with where they were going or finding the King as he was with confronting Warb Null. It was not long however before the trio stumbled upon King Ommin himself, who was being physically supported by a full-body, durasteel exoskeleton. Ommin told them that his support-frame was required to augment his movements, but Master Jeth sensed that a darker power was at work. Ommin bid him close, as he revealed his allegiance with the spirit of Freedon Nadd, whom he had summoned personally from Chaos. Freedon Nadd then appeared behind Ommin, also empowering him with the dark side of the Force.

Arca Jeth immediately confronted Freedon Nadd, but was intercepted by Ommin, who seized Jeth's throat and commenced to smothering him with waves of dark side energy. Jeth was incapacitated, and the Jedi Qel-Droma attempted to rescue him, but he was unable to penetrate the energy field he was encased in. Ommin then revealed his Dark Side Army: fully armed, ready for battle, and led by the armor-clad Warb Null. With the Dark Jedi at his flank, the King attempted to seduce Galia to the dark side. He was promptly refused by his daughter, whose only wish was to escape. Qel-Droma however was given over to his revenge; he cut his way through Ommin's warriors to Warb Null, and as the King and Freedon Nadd descended into the depths with a subdued Master Jeth, Qel-Droma engaged the armored darksider in lightsaber combat.

Death of Warb Null
"My arm! You've cut it off! The pain...mercy I beg!" "I'll show you mercy&mdash;The same mercy you showed my brother!"

- Warb Null and Ulic Qel-Droma, as Qel-Droma beheads Null

Qel-Droma and Null's duel was brief but intense, and Null was overpowered by the enraged Jedi. Qel-Droma parried several blows before dodging an overhand slash completely and flipping over Null, landing behind him and gaining the advantage as well. Qel-Droma instantly attacked by severing Null's weapon arm, leaving him downed, humbled, and begging for amnesty. Qel-Droma lent no ear as he brought his lightsaber around, and beheaded the Dark Jedi. Unbeknownst to him, the death of Null had been planned by Nadd, who saw the duel as a test of the young Jedi's growing power.

It was only then that Qel-Droma realized that he had forsaken both Galia and Master Jeth, the latter of which having been kidnapped by Ommin and Freedon Nadd in the midst of Qel-Droma's duel with Warb Null. In their place was Ommin's Dark Side Army, who stood between Qel-Droma and Galia, blocking them from the tunnel in which Ommin had departed. Realizing that he was no match for an entire army of Sith magic-empowered warriors, Qel-Droma quickly fled with Galia through the tunnels towards the surface.

Aftermath
"If the dark side could take Master Arca, then it's too strong for us. We're going to need more Jedi Knights&mdash;and the forces of the Republic!"

- Ulic Qel-Droma



Galia and Qel-Droma emerged above ground, only to find that the Royal Palace as well as the city had been retaken by the Naddists. They wandered the war-torn streets of Iziz until they happened upon Cay Qel-Droma, Oss Wilum, and Oron Kira. Ulic Qel-Droma explained to them that Master Jeth had been kidnapped, and that another of Ommin's dark side militias was approaching fast to join their colleagues in battle. It was then decided that Galia would be ferried away to safety, while the Jedi and Oron Kira would take up command from the Beast Rider stronghold, Fortress Kira. Ulic Qel-Droma knew that the situation had deteriorated further into something that he and his current strength in numbers were incapable of handling. Therefore, his only recourse was to relay a message to the Jedi Order, and also the Galactic Senate on Coruscant, with hopes that they would both dispatch reinforcements.

Qel-Droma's messaged was indeed received, and debated over by the Republic Ministry of Defense, who decided to send the entire Republic Navy in defense of Onderon. The Jedi too ackwowledged the call for aid, and responded to their fellows by sending five Knights to aid them. One of the chosen Jedi, a young woman named Nomi Sunrider, was also selected to lead the Republic Fleet into battle. These things were unknown to Qel-Droma and his companions on Onderon, however, leaving them with nothing other than hope to rely on.

Behind the scenes
The First Battle of Onderon first appeared in the issue Freedon Nadd Uprising 1 of the Tales of the Jedi series of comics. The battle was conceived and written by author Tom Veitch, and was drawn by artist Tony Akins. Originally, Veitch was contracted by Dark Horse Comics to do a "one-shot deal," and the end result was The Freedon Nadd Uprising. Eventually, both Veitch and Kevin J. Anderson would use the events portrayed in this battle and the following battle as background details for their joint venture Dark Lords of the Sith, where such characters as Ulic and Cay Qel-Droma would be explored in depth while playing integral parts to the story line. The battle also provided a backdrop for the Krath Holy Crusade, which was written as a part of the larger Great Sith War. The battle was recounted in the Tales of the Jedi audio drama, written by John Whitman and based on the original script by Veitch.

In the original comic appearance of the First Battle of Onderon, Queen Galia is reunited with Oron Kira, and also accompanies him to Fortress Kira with the Jedi. In the audio version, however, Galia is taken to safety by Tott Doneeta, while Oron Kira and the rest of the Jedi take up command from Fortress Kira. Also, Warb Null loses his arm to Ulic Qel-Droma in their duel before being killed, whereas in the comic version he is simply killed.

Appearances

 * Tales of the Jedi: The Freedon Nadd Uprising
 * Tales of the Jedi audio drama
 * Tales of the Jedi: Dark Lords of the Sith 1: Masters and Students of the Force
 * Tales of the Jedi: Dark Lords of the Sith audio drama

Notes and references
Erste Schlacht von Onderon