First Duel in the Iron Citadel

"There's only one way to deal with Arca's killer! " " Careful, Jedi. Didn't your Master tell you that anger is not the way?!"

- Ulic Qel-Droma and Satal Keto

Of the two contests of strength that happened there, the first duel in the Iron Citadel occurred earlier in the year 3,997 BBY, between the grief-stricken Jedi Ulic Qel-Droma, and Satal Keto, co-leader of the Krath and ruler of the Empress Teta System. The duel took place on the namesake planet Empress Teta, in the capital city of Cinnagar, on the balcony of the Krath's stronghold: the Iron Citadel.

The duel commenced shortly after a weapons display by Ulic Qel-Droma, who, as a secret agent of the Jedi, was attempting to infiltrate the dark side-following Krath cult from within. While explaining the technological enhancements he had recently upgraded the Tetan defenses with, Qel-Droma was interrupted by Satal Keto, who had just received word that a female Jedi had been captured in the streets of Cinnagar. Accusing Qel-Droma of being a spy, Keto had woman brought before them, and Qel-Droma immediately recognized her as his former lover, Nomi Sunrider. Unwilling to expose his deception to the Krath so soon, Qel-Droma agreed to personally execute Sunrider in the morning. She was then imprisoned, left to await her demise at the hands of the man she had once loved. However, Qel-Droma had composed a secret transmission to her, explaining his need for more time to complete his mission. After completing the recording inside of a maintenance droid, he sent the droid to the dungeons where Sunrider was being held. The message was never received by Sunrider; instead, the droid was intercepted by Satal Keto, who discovered the recording, and, in the face of Qel-Droma's newly exposed treachery, ordered him to be assassinated at once. The attempt failed, but succeeded in enraging Qel-Droma, who set off immediately in search of Lord Keto.

Meanwhile, Sunrider had managed to escape her holdings, and had also called her colleagues for an extraction in light of the detriorating situation. Help came in the form of Qel-Droma's brother Cay, and the Twi'lek Jedi Tott Doneeta. The two Jedi collected Sunrider and were preparing to depart without Qel-Droma, just as Satal Keto encountered them from a balcony of the Iron Citadel. To his surprise, Qel-Droma had also appeared behind him on the balcony, and confronted the Krath warlord over the death of Jedi Master Arca Jeth, who was killed during an attack staged by the Krath. The two men then regarded each other, and mortal combat ensued. The duel ended with Satal Keto being struck down by Qel-Droma in a fit of rage. With his dying words, Keto expressed his satisfaction in knowing that his death had successfully driven Ulic Qel-Droma to the dark side of the Force.

Prelude
"Wait-I sense him&hellip;my brother! He's here! " " Yes, Cay-I'm here. And this is the man who murdered Master Arca!"

- Cay and Ulic Qel-Droma about Satal Keto



Lord Satal Keto, Emperor of the Empress Teta system, had recently engaged in open war with both the Galactic Republic, and the Jedi Order. As leaders of the dark side worshipping Krath, Keto and his cousin Aleema, had recently attacked a Jedi convocation on the planet Deneba. During the battle, Arkanian Jedi Master Arca Jeth was killed, in the presence of his former apprentice Ulic Qel-Droma. Consumed with grief, Qel-Droma vowed to destroy Krath by infiltrating them from within. He arrived shortly thereafter in Empress Teta's capital city of Cinnagar, where he endeared himself to the Krath by foiling an assassination attempt on the life of Aleema. She thus became enamored with Qel-Droma, while Satal instead grew suspicious of his seemingly benevolent swagger. Against Aleema's wishes, Satal imprisoned Qel-Droma and tortured him in the dungeons of the Krath Iron Citadel, where he also injected the Jedi man with a rage-enhancing Sith poison. The poison immediately affected Qel-Droma, who instantly released an uncontrollable wave of dark side energy which destroyed both the torture droids and the restraint apparatus. He was then taken by Aleema to recover.

The following day, Qel-Droma was assisting the Tetans with upgrading their antiquated weapons and defensive systems. While discussing war tactics with the Krath leaders, they were abruptly interrupted by a report of a Jedi woman having been captured in the streets of Cinnagar. After accusing Qel-Droma of being a spy and in collusion with the intruder, Satal ordered her to be brought before them. Qel-Droma immediately recognized the woman as Nomi Sunrider, his fellow Jedi and former lover. Unwilling to expose his covert operation so soon, Qel-Droma agreed to personally execute Sunrider in the morning, much to her surprise, and to Satal's satisfaction. Later on, he secretly recorded a message inside of a maintenance droid to Sunrider, saying that his mission was not yet complete. He then sent the droid off, and was called to bed by Aleema. Unbeknownst to Qel-Droma, Satal had intercepted the droid, and had also discovered the hidden message. Outraged by the deception, Satal ordered his servant Norgor to assassinate the Jedi at once.

The duel
"I have no more time for flattery. I have work to do. Don't try to stop me!"

- Ulic Qel-Droma to Aleema, moments after the failed assassination attempt

A masked man suddenly crashed through the bedroom window of Aleema and Qel-Droma, firing two blasters in his direction. The Jedi quickly ignited his lightsaber and deflected the shots, and slew the assassin immediately after. Aleema recognized the dead man as Norgor, one of her cousin Satal's lackeys, also added that it was Satal who ordered the assault on Deneba, which resulted in the death of Qel-Droma's Jedi Master, Arca Jeth.| The vengeful Qel-Droma then stormed from the bedroom search of Satal Keto.



Meanwhile, Satal had been alerted by his men that Nomi Sunrider, the Jedi woman whom they captured and detained in the dungeons of the Iron Citadel, had managed to escape. Furious, he ordered his men to find her as he went out on a balcony, only to see Sunrider as well as two other Jedi, Tott Doneeta and Ulic's brother Cay, running through the streets of Cinnagar making short work of his Krath forces. Satal ordered the three Jedi to be eliminated at once, but before the order could be carried out, Ulic appeared on the balcony behind him. He revealed that Satal was responsible for the massacre at Deneba, while bringing his lightsaber to life. In response, Satal drew his Sith sword, and as the Jedi dispatched the remaining guards on the platform below, a fierce duel between Ulic Qel-Droma And Lord Satal Keto ensued.

From the onset of the duel, Qel-Droma maintained the upper hand, driving the Tetan Emperor back under the force of his blows. Keto, however, was actually giving quarter as he taunted the Jedi, inciting his hatred of the Krath and holding them accountable for the battle at Deneba. As rage welled inside Qel-Droma, it was further catalyzed by the Sith poison that Keto injected him with days before. steadily drove Lord Keto back, hammering at his defenses while being drawn closer to the dark side. Furthermore, Qel-Droma's rage was being amplified by the Sith poison he was with several days before. Thus, Qel-Droma became infuriated as Lord Keto engaged him in a psychological battle, using words to undermine the Jedi's morals and force him to strike Keto down in anger. His plan came to fruition when he mocked Qel-Droma with the memory of Master Jeth's death. Qel-Droma gave fully in to his anger and thus the dark side, and smote Lord Keto where he stood. Keto's dying words were a final mockery, telling Qel-Droma that the Sith poison was what finally ensured his transition to the dark side.

Aftermath
"C'mon, Ulic--let's get out of here! They're sounding the alarm&hellip;in a second we'll be fighting a zillion Krath killers! " " Get away from me! I swear I'll kill you all!"

- Cay and Ulic Qel-Droma



As alarms blared throughout the Iron Citadel, the three Jedi prepared to make a hasty exit. However, they implored Qel-Droma to return with them to Ossus. When they approached him, his poison-enhanced rage caused him to scream through the Force, while unleashing a powerful wave of dark side energy that threw his friends across the platform. Devastated that he had succumbed to the dark side, and had even gone as far as attacking them, they fled, promising to return for Qel-Droma as soon as possible. Qel-Droma rebuked them, and refused their attempts to sway him from seeing his mission through. The dejected Jedi then left Empress Teta for Ossus.

Back inside the Citadel, Ulic and Aleema were discussing the day's events. He confessed his now exposed treachery to Aleema, but she admitted that she had been well aware of his secret for several days now. Aleema also confessed to being intrigued by Ulic, and playing naive was as much of a test for her as it was for him. She then took Ulic to Satal's chambers, where she gave him Satal's Sith amulet, the same one the Ketos recovered from King Ommin on Onderon. Aleema took Ulic as her official partner, as co-leader of the Krath. With the death of Satal, the first phase of Ulic's infiltration mission was successful.

Behind the scenes
It is here that Ulic's friends first realize that he is on the path to the dark side. The author used this contest to yet again display Qel-Droma's prowess with a lightsaber, as well as to bring the established character of Satal Keto to an end.

Appearances

 * Tales of the Jedi: Dark Lords of the Sith 4: Death of a Dark Jedi
 * Tales of the Jedi: Dark Lords of the Sith 5: Sith Secrets
 * Tales of the Jedi: Dark Lords of the Sith 6: Jedi Assault
 * Tales of the Jedi: Dark Lords of the Sith audio drama

Notes and references
Primer Duelo en la Ciudadela de Hierro