Tedryn-Sha

"I am Tedryn-Sha, Palpatine's second in command! If you are wise you will surrender&mdash;"

- Tedryn-Sha

Tedryn-Sha was a Human male Dark Side Adept loyal to the Galactic Emperor Palpatine, during the latter's reign in clone bodies. In 10 ABY, shortly after Palpatine's third return in a clone body on the planet Byss, Tedryn-Sha and a darksider named Xecr Nist accompanied their Master during an inspection tour of the Emperor's newest superweapon, the Galaxy Gun. As Palpatine's elite cadre of Dark Jedi, the Dark Side Elite, had recently suffered losses due to the efforts of Jedi Master Luke Skywalker and his Jedi, Palpatine chose Sha and Nist to reinforce the group.

Sha and Nist were empowered with the dark side of the Force by the Emperor; the latter became the Emperor's newest Executor, while the former was appointed as Palpatine's second in command. Later, Sha participated in an attack on the New Republic hideout on the planet New Alderaan. Tasked with incapacitating Skywalker by poisoning him with scarab droids so he could be taken captive, Sha and fellow Dark Jedi Krdys Mordi infiltrated Skywalker's hideout while he was asleep and released the droids. However, the Jedi's screams alerted his sister Leia Organa Solo and Jedi trainee Jem Ysanna, who rushed to his aid. In an ensuing fight, Mordi was killed by Ysanna. Sha avenged Mordi's death, killing Ysanna with a blaster shot but was in turn slain by Organa Solo.

The initiation
"You&hellip;Tedryn-Sha and Xecr Nist&mdash;! I have watched you&hellip;you have advanced in submission to my will! I will make you Dark Jedi&hellip;extensions of my own power! Kneel before me! [&hellip;] Tedryn-Sha&mdash;you will be second in command."

- Palpatine

Tedryn-Sha, a Human male, was a Dark Side Adept serving as a personal adviser to the Galactic Emperor Palpatine, who was reborn in a clone body yet again after being killed in 10 ABY by Jedi Knight Luke Skywalker and his sister Leia Organa Solo. After the Emperor's return, Tedryn-Sha, along with a darksider named Xecr Nist and Imperial engineer Umak Leth, joined Palpatine on an inspection tour of his newest superweapon, the Galaxy Gun, which was being constructed in orbit of the world of Byss, the capital of Palpatine's Dark Empire.

As they were performing the inspection aboard a shuttle, Palpatine was notified that Executor Sedriss QL and Vill Goir, two members of the Dark Side Elite, Palpatine's elite cadre of Dark Jedi, had been killed by Skywalker on the planet Ossus. To replace the fallen Dark Jedi, Palpatine chose Tedryn-Sha and Xecr Nist, empowering them with the dark side of the Force. Palpatine then named Nist the new Executor, while Tedryn-Sha became second in command of the Dark Side Elite.

While those events transpired, a shipment of X-1 Viper droids, procured from governor Beltane of the planet Balmorra, arrived on Byss. However, Beltane had secretly allied with the New Republic and had allowed them to smuggle New Republic soldiers within the droids. After the droids were delivered to the Emperor's Citadel, the infiltrators powered them up and began their attack on the Emperor's fortress. In response, the Emperor gave the order to release the fearsome Chrysalide rancors, which repelled the Viper droids' attack. The New Republic troops managed to escape from Byss, however, with the help of local smugglers.

Having complete confidence in the power of his Galaxy Gun, Palpatine gave his forces the order to let the fleeing smuggler ships go, a command that took his newly-appointed Dark Jedi by surprise. Knowing that the enemy would return to the Pinnacle Base on the moon Da Soocha V, Palpatine issued an order to fire the Galaxy Gun, obliterating the moon.

The incursion on New Alderaan
"How can we take him alive? Even in his sleep, he may sense our approach!''" "We will not make the first attack. I intend to use&hellip;these." "Scarab droids!" "Yes. Lovely creations, aren't they? A dozen of them will burrow into Skywalker's flesh, filling him with poison and pain. Then you and one other Dark Jedi will capture Skywalker. I will take the others to steal the children." "But.....what if Skywalker detects the scarab droids?" "''He will not. The Emperor himself has promised&hellip;a distraction."

- Tedryn-Sha and Xecr Nist, upon arrival on New Alderaan

With the New Republic in disarray after the destruction of their base, Palpatine believed that his nemesis Luke Skywalker and a handful of Jedi he had managed to recruit would take refuge on the planet that served as the secret hiding place of Leia Organa Solo and her children&mdash;the twins Jaina and Jacen. The Emperor hoped to capture the children so he could turn them over to the dark side, but he needed to learn the location of the planet first. The opportunity presented itself when a New Republic pilot, Major Ntthan, was captured by the Empire in an uncharted region of space while making a supply run to the New Republic hideout. The pilot was promptly delivered to Bast Castle on the planet Vjun, the headquarters of the Dark Side Elite, where Dark Jedi Kvag Gthull started interrogating him in order to learn Organa Solo's location.

Sha and Nist accompanied Palpatine to Bast Castle aboard the Lambda-class shuttle Tridius to oversee the results of the interrogation. When they arrived, Gthull informed Palpatine and the Dark Jedi that after a twelve hour-long torture session, Ntthan had revealed the coordinates and the name of the planet&mdash;New Alderaan. Palpatine ordered Nist to assemble all Dark Jedi and embark on a mission there. The darksiders were to capture Skywalker and the Solo children, after which the Empire would launch a full-scale assault on the planet using All Terrain Armored Transports. Boarding I-7 Howlrunner starships, Sha and the rest of the Dark Side Elite embarked on a journey toward their goal as part of Dark Side Squadron. Upon exiting hyperspace near New Alderaan, Sha consulted the ship's sensors but was unable to detect the presence of Skywalker and his allies. Nist assured him that they were indeed on the planet and advised Sha to rely on the dark side to guide him to his target.

Upon landing on the planet, Sha did not mask his Force presence well enough, which almost allowed Skywalker to detect the darksiders, and Nist reprimanded his second in command for his mistake. The Executor then dispatched Sha and Dark Jedi Krdys Mordi to Skywalker, providing the pair with a number of scarab droids, tiny droids that carried a powerful poison capable of incapacitating the Jedi. Sha and Mordi were to release the droids upon the sleeping Skywalker, who would supposedly remain asleep as the Emperor himself had entered his dreams and was haunting him there. Nist himself took the rest of the Dark Jedi and went after the Solo twins. Sha and Mordi successfully infiltrated Skywalker's chambers, released the droids upon him and were waiting for the droids to finish their work and immobilize the Jedi in order to capture him. Just as Sha and Mordi moved in to claim their captive, Skywalker cried out in his sleep, alerting Organa Solo and the Jedi trainee Jem Ysanna, who arrived at the scene ready to defend the Jedi Master. Ysanna immediately killed Mordi, slicing him in half with a lightsaber.

Certain in his powers as the Emperor's second in command, and knowing that Palpatine wanted Organa Solo to be taken alive if possible, as she was pregnant with her third child, Sha gave the women a chance to surrender, but Organa Solo refused and fired her blaster at Sha. The Dark Jedi blocked her shot with his hand and, in response, shot Ysanna square in the abdomen with his own blaster pistol. Not skilled enough yet to avoid the shot Ysanna was gravely wounded by it. Angered, Organa Solo struck Sha with her own lightsaber, killing him as well. Skywalker was healed from the poison by Jedi Vima-Da-Boda, while Nist and the rest of the darksiders were defeated by Skywalker's remaining Jedi, with Kvag Gthull and another Dark Jedi slain by their light side opponents. Signaling the Imperial AT-ATs to attack, Nist and the two survivors were forced to retreat from New Alderaan under their covering fire. Although the Empire captured the planet and Jem Ysanna died from the wound inflicted by Sha, the New Republic was able to retreat and regroup once again, and the Emperor failed to capture Skywalker or the Solos.

Personality and traits
"I'm sending your spirit back to your Emperor! Tell him the daughter of Anakin Skywalker has beaten his proudest warrior!"

- Leia Organa Solo, when killing Tedryn-Sha

One of the Emperor's personal advisers, Tedryn-Sha was a faithful servant of Palpatine, although he initially doubted in his Master's return after his latest death at Pinnacle Base, until he saw the Emperor alive with his own eyes. Sha's service to his Master ultimately earned him the indoctrination into the ranks of the Dark Side Elite and the position of second in command. Initially meek and subservient, the initiation into the ranks of Dark Jedi gave Tedryn-Sha a boost of self-confidence, which showed in his intonation and behavior and a distinctive yellow glow in his eyes. Even before his empowerment, he respected Nist's authority over him, and that attitude carried over to their service in the Dark Side Elite. Sha addressed his superior darksider using the honorific title of "Lord" and did not argue with his reprimands.

Sha took pride in being the Emperor's second in command and boasted on this fact before Organa Solo, whom he recognized as the daughter of Palpatine's deceased apprentice, Darth Vader. Upon first arrival at Bast Castle, Sha was awed to discover a statue of Vader there&mdash;erected by the late Sedriss&mdash;and he realized that the Castle had once belonged to Vader himself. He was also fairly fearful of Skywalker's powers as a Jedi, being confused as to how the darksiders were supposed to subdue him. Customary for the members of the Dark Side Elite, Sha wore a dark robe with a long flowing cape, as well as heavy boots and gauntlets and head coverings. The darksider was armed with a blaster pistol on New Alderaan.

Powers and abilities
"Let this power enter you and fill you with the knowledge and the strength of the dark side of the Force that is mine to give&mdash;!"

- Palpatine, as he empowers Tedryn-Sha with the dark side

After being empowered with the dark side by Emperor Palpatine himself, Sha became a full-fledged Dark Jedi. However, his connection to the dark side of the Force was not perfect, as he had to be reminded by Nist to rely on the dark side in order to locate Skywalker on New Alderaan. He could mask his presence in the Force to avoid detection by Skywalker, although he initially almost failed in that task, and he could intercept a blaster bolt fired at him by Organa Solo with his bare hand. Sha could pilot an I-7 Howlrunner and was a good-enough marksman to be able to kill Jem Ysanna with one blaster shot, although Ysanna's lack of evasion skills played a part in it as well.

Behind the scenes
Tedryn-Sha was created by author Tom Veitch and first appeared in the comic book Dark Empire II 4: Battle on Byss, originally published on March 21, 1995. Sha appeared in two subsequent issues of the Dark Empire II comic series, before being killed off in the sixth issue. In all his appearances, Sha was illustrated by artist Cam Kennedy. Sha later appeared in the audio drama adaptation of the comic book series.

In the audio drama of Dark Empire, Tedryn Sha's role in the battle on Byss is presented differently from the original portrayal in the comics. In the comic, he and Nist stay with Palpatine aboard the shuttle near the Galaxy Gun throughout the battle. In the audio drama, Sha and Nist perform an inspection of the arriving Viper droids, with Sha displaying his authority over the workers unloading the droids. When the Rebel commandos activate the droids, Sha is taken by surprise and is wounded by the droids firing at him. Sha then commands the defense of Byss alongside Nist until the Emperor gives the order to release the Chrysalide rancors. This article currently follows the events as depicted in the original comic book.

The comic guide Handbook 3: Dark Empire mistakenly states that it was Krdys Mordi who underwent the initiation alongside Xecr Nist instead of Tedryn-Sha.

Appearances

 * Dark Empire II 4: Battle on Byss
 * Dark Empire II 5: The Galaxy Weapon
 * Dark Empire II 6: Hand of Darkness
 * Dark Empire II audio drama