Political uprising of the Empress Teta system

"Well, things seem to be peaceful enough on Onderon now!" "On Onderon, perhaps. But there has been a political uprising in the Empress Teta system. I suspect that this turmoil is connected to the Freedon Nadd Uprising here in the city of Iziz."

- Cay Qel-Droma and Arca Jeth

The Political Uprising of the Empress Teta system was a military and political coup that happened in the year 3,997 BBY, staged against Lord Keto and Lady Magda Keto, the rulers of Empress Teta. The coup was instigated by Lord Keto's own son Satal and Lady Keto's daughter Aleema, who, as cousins, were also the leaders of a newly established Sith cult known as the Krath.

Led by the royal tutor Korus, Aleema and Satal stormed the Tetan carbonite smelter and accosted Lord and Lady Keto, who were presently on a routine facilities inspection. After confronting Lord Keto and humiliating tutor Korus, Aleema and Satal revealed themselves as the Krath; dark side magicians under the tutelage of the Dark Lord Freedon Nadd. The Krath then declared themselves the new rulers of the Empress Teta system, and executed all the Tetan officials, including Lord and Lady Keto. As a final insult, Satal slowly and purposely dipped his father into the vat of molten carbonite. What emerged was a freshly-made frieze of Lord Keto, which Satal visibly displayed on the wall of their newly inherited palace, the Iron Citadel.

Background


Lord Keto, Emperor of the Empress Teta system, was making a routine inspection of the Carbonite Guild's progress with the production of their namesake. Carbonite was a essential comonent in hyperdrive engine production, and the successful progress of the mining station was attributed to this fact. Arriving on the Guild's orbital smelter, Keto was escorted by the Guild chairman, Bearus. Lord Keto was quite pleased with Bearus, noting that mining efforts had been successful in improving the station's profit margin by a substantial amount, resulting in a significant boost in the Tetan economy.

Ever so gracious, Chairman Bearus proceeded with the tour, but was interrupted by a comlink. Lord Keto's son Satal, and his cousin Aleema had arrived at the station, escorted by the royal tutor Korus. Hesitant at first, Bearus allowed for the Emperor's children to join he and Lord Keto on the inspection. Keto, on the other hand, was displeased with the arrival of the royal children, since they were not usually allowed to attend to matters of state. He saw no real reason for them not to join the tour, but as he cursed tutor Korus under his breath for being foolish enough to bring the Keto children on a governmental inspection, Aleema and Satal entered the room, led by their royal Korus.

The Coup


Lord Keto immediately reminded Satal and Aleema that they were not usually allowed on royal inspections, to which Satal replied that they brought Korus along as a chaperone. Keto turned his attention to Korus, demanding to know why he would blatantly allow such a breach in protocol. Korus was not forthcoming with any answers, however. When Lord Keto again asked him what his reasons were, Satal and Aleema goaded Korus to speak, and when he attempted to, he revealed that his tongue had been replaced by an Adegan eel. He regurgitated the eel, and fell to the floor, apparently dead. Completely dumbfounded, Lord Keto demanded to know what was going on. Aleema explained to him that Korus had fallen victim to Sith magic; ancient sorcery that Aleema and Satal had found on Onderon and had been practicing under the spirit of the dark side Master Freedon Nadd for months. Bearus was completely shocked; Korus had been seemingly murdered, and by his own pupils no less. But he wasn't dead, as Satal explained, simply unconscious. Keto tried to have Satal and Aleema arrested, but when the guard reached for the control console to call for help, Aleema stopped him short by turning the console into a womp rat. Lord Keto then called for his royal bodyguards, but Satal denounced them and turned their swords into snakes that constricted the terrorized guards. Emperor Keto was completely defeated. With none left standing to challenge them, Satal and Aleema proclaimed themselves the new rulers of the Empress Teta system. Their first official order of business as the new heads of state was to finish the facilities tour Lord Keto started. The deposed Emperor led the way as Satal and Aleema ordered him into the carbonite chamber.

The death of Keto


Proceeding straightaway into the carbonite smelting chamber, the new Tetan rulers had Lord Keto and the other present officials strung up by machinery. To Keto's horror, his son and niece were planning on having them all executed by lowering them into the vats of molten carbonite, with Lord Keto himself as the coup de grâce. Keto begged for his life, but his pleas fell upon deaf ears. Satal ordered him into the carbonite, and Lord Keto screamed mercy all the way down. Afterwards, Satal took the carbonite friezes and hanged them up on the dining room wall, where they would spend the rest of their days. Satal and Aleema effectively became the new Emperor and Empress of the Tetan worlds.

Final stages
Aleema and Satal held court in their newly acquired palace, the Iron Citadel. From here they would establish their base of operations. Their takeover had been a success; six of the seven Tetan planets were subdued now, and nearly all of the planetary leaders swore fealty to the Krath. Satal saw to the complete levelling of three cities on Kirrek as Aleema located the insurrectionists on Empress Teta, and had them wiped out. While discussing their next plans, tutor Korus, whose face had been hideously disfigured by Aleema's sorcery, approached with wine for the Krath leaders. Reduced to nothing more than a lowly servant, Korus was continually berated by the Ketos. As he was attempting to serve Aleema her wine, he tripped, and spilled it all over her new gown. Enraged, Aleema reached out with the dark side, and burned Korus alive with her sorcery. When Satal asked her what she had done, Aleema admitted that she was not quite sure, but whatever it was, she liked it. Korus was dead, and the last of Lord Keto's old regime was erased. Now all that was left was for the Krath to gain military dominance over all of Empress Teta's seven worlds, and they immediately went to work in bringing that to pass.

Aftermath


With the military forces of the Empress Teta system in check, and the former political leadership out of the way, the Krath was now firmly in control of the Tetan governmental infrastructure. Nonetheless, the seven worlds of Empress Teta refused to allow an illegal coup to take place, and thus rose up in rebellion against Satal and Aleema. This, however, was only a minor thorn in the Keto cousins' side. Using their new Sith powers, Aleema and Satal, taking command from an orbital relay station, consolidated their military might and staged an assault on their own homeworld, Koros Major itself. Before long, word of the planet's war against the Krath reached the ears of both the Republic government and Jedi leadership, respectively. The Jedi were suspicious of the Krath, recognizing their dark side powers to be the same as those they encountered recently on Onderon. On behalf of the Jedi Order, Master Thon went to Coruscant and requested Republic intervention. The Republic in turn sent the full might and support of the Galactic Republic Navy to deal with the Krath usurpers. The Krath Holy Crusade had officially begun. Eventually, the Krath overcame the joint Jedi-Republic effort, and drove them out of Tetan space. With Koros resistance crushed, and the Republic relief efforts repelled, the Empress Teta system remained in unchallenged control of the Krath. Their takeover was a complete success on all fronts.

Appearances

 * Tales of the Jedi (audio)
 * Tales of the Jedi: Dark Lords of the Sith (audio)
 * 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 2: The Quest for the Sith
 * Tales of the Jedi: Dark Lords of the Sith 3: Descent to the Dark Side