Satal Keto

"Father, you've had your day. Now we will have ours!"

- Satal Keto

Satal Keto was the the son of Lord Keto and nephew of Lady Magda Keto, as well as the cousin of Aleema Keto. He and Aleema co-founded the Krath, a secret dark side society, and together succeeded in overthrowing the Tetan Monarchy just prior to the Great Sith War. As the new co-rulers of the Empress Teta system, Satal and his cousin instigated the conflict known as the Krath Holy Crusade. Satal's progression down the path of the dark side saw him transformed into an accomplished Sith magician, though his true talents were in the creation of poisons and other alchemical Sith practices.

Shortly after the First Battle of Empress Teta, Satal and Aleema accepted a rogue Jedi named Ulic Qel-Droma into their fold. Time passed, and Satal grew increasingly suspicious of Qel-Droma, fearing he had ulterior motives for joining the Krath. As Qel-Droma advanced through the Krath ranks, he became the lover of Aleema, further spurning Satal's jealosy and his suspicions of Qel-Droma's true purpose. It was not until another Jedi was captured in the streets of Cinnagar that Ulic's infiltration plot was exposed, and Satal decided to have Qel-Droma assassinated. The assassination attempt failed, and during the resulting confrontation, Satal was struck down by Qel-Droma in a fit of rage.

Coruscant endeavor
The son and daughter&mdash;though not siblings&mdash;of the then-rulers of Empress Teta, Satal and his cousin Aleema were the successors of the throne of Empress Teta. Out of boredom, Satal, his cousin Aleema, and some of their socialite friends formed a secret society called the Krath, so named after a fairy-tale magician-god. The cousins learned much about the ancient Sith Empire, which instigated the Great Hyperspace War in 5,000 BBY&mdash;so much so that they were compelled to explore the history further on their own.



To appease their curiosity, Satal and Aleema planned and took a trip to the Galactic Museum on Coruscant, with hopes of finding anything related to the ancient Sith. As they browsed the Museum, they were allowed access by the Museum curator into the Hall of the Sith: an section of the dedicated exclusively to Sith history. The Museum was currently in production of a new exhibit entitled "Dark Lords of the Sith", and from what the Ketos could see, there would be much to explore. The curator finally was convinced into allowing the Ketos to peruse the restricted exhibit, reasoning that it was highly unlikely someone would steal any of the various dark side artifacts, and even less likely that they would be used in an attempt to dominate the galaxy. Satal proved the curator wrong however, when at Aleema's prodding he stole an ancient Sith spell book.

Much to Satal's surprise, the book was written in the ancient Sith text, a language neither he nor Aleema was able to decipher. The downheartened cousins returned to their lodgings, where they scanned the current holonet news reports. Aleema scanned to a report about dark side users who, with their dark powers, were terrorizing the citizens of the planet Onderon. Satal and Aleema were intrigued by the fact that there were still dark side practitioners throughout the galaxy, and decided that traveling Onderon was their best chance in learning the secrets of their stolen book. Armed with this new knowledge, the pair ditched their quarters, and left Coruscant onboard their pleasure yacht dubbed the Krath Enchanter on a direct path for Onderon.

Battle on Onderon


When the Ketos exited hyperspace, they found that they had arrived in the midst of the Galactic Republic naval battle formation, stationed in orbit around Onderon. The Republic fleet noticed the Ketos as well, and the captain of the Republic command ship Alliance I hailed the Krath Enchanter, informing it's passengers of the current situation, and advising them to steer clear of Onderon's orbit. Despite additional caution expressed by Aleema, Satal instead chose to disconnect the comlink and ignore the Republic's warning.

Satal piloted the Enchanter through the formation, through the atmosphere of the planet, only to find that Republic troops were already engaging the Onderonian forces. Trying to evade the battle, the Enchanter was caught in the crossfire of a Rocket-jumper air-to-ground assault, and crash-landed in the center of Iziz, Onderon's great walled city. Escaping the wreckage unscathed, the Ketos began wandering the streets of Iziz, searching for any practitioners of Sith teachings. They eventually made contact with some darksiders, who in turn lead them to Onderon's ruler, the sorcerer-King Ommin.

Ommin himself was operating in his secret underground lair, as his dark side warriors were heavily engaged in combat with the combined forces of the Republic military and the Jedi Order. While the sorcerer-King was coordinating battle strategies, he was interrupted by his servant Novar. Novar informed Ommin that in the midst of the battle, two visitors had arrived on Onderon claiming to be in possession of dark side treasures, and were requesting audience with the King. Curious that visitors would choose a tumultuous time such as this for a visit, and even more curious in these supposed treasures, Ommin allowed for the two individuals to brought before him.

King Ommin
The Ketos entered Ommin's lair, escorted by his royal guards. Satal and Aleema were surprised to find that Ommin had been expecting them. Ommin, an elderly man confined to a steel contraption that supported his weakened body, welcomed the cousins and expressed his interest in their "Sith treasures". Satal then unfurled his stolen Sith spellbook, and asked the King if he was able to translate the text. Pleased with the the ancient book, Ommin was eager to own a copy for himself. Apprehensive as always, Satal challenged Ommin, asking what made him so trustworthy. The King replied, that he sensed a strong capacity for learning within his young guests. In a demonstration of his ability, Ommin weaved his fingers in an intricate pattern, and channeled the conjured energy into feelings of malaise that directly affected Satal. Aleema however, was unphased by Ommin's magic; she instead felt as though Ommin's power was legitimate, and that the old King was genuinely interested in helping them. Ommin then showed Satal and Aleema his collection of Sith artifacts, treasures that were given to the him by the ancient Dark Lord Freedon Nadd. The King took one of the treasures, an amulet, and gave it to Satal saying:


 * "When I wish to read the ancient Sith writings...I wear this. Put it on. Go ahead try it!"

Satal did as he was commanded, and much to his astonishment, he was able to understand the previously unintelligible script. Now thoroughly convinced, Satal allowed King Ommin to take the book, which he in turn gave to Novar to have transcribed. Ommin then showed the Ketos his "greatest prize", the Jedi Master Arca Jeth, who was hanging on a wall and suffering heavily under the power of Sith magic. Ommin's plan for the Jedi Master, as he explained to Satal and Aleema, was to destroy his body with the power of the dark side, and then restore him as a dark side spirit.

Even as the Jedi Master endured the relentless torment of Ommin's dark side prison, he had hope. Whispering to the sorcerer-King, Arca Jeth asked if he could hear it. Ommin believed that Arca had finally given in to the dark side, but he was wrong; what Arca was hearing was the arrival of his team of Jedi Knights, coming to free him.

In stormed seven lightsaber-brandishing Jedi, catching everyone by surprise. King Ommin's Sith war droids immediately assumed the offensive, but were quickly and soundly defeated. Ommin meanwhile, proved himself to be a formidable adversary as he blasted the Jedi with waves of dark side energy. Things came to a halt for Ommin when one of the young Jedi, a human male named Ulic Qel-Droma, slashed through the King's metal armature, utterly incapacitating him. In the midst of the skirmish, Satal and Aleema managed to escape further into the catacombs of Ommin's lair.

Krath takeover
Aleema and Satal then fled Onderon with a collection of ancient Sith artifacts and texts. Armed with their new Sith knowledge, they were instrumental in bringing down the Tetan aristocratic leaders, with Aleema tricking them with horrible images of Adegan eels and terrible lizards. However, some of the citizens of the Empress Teta system rebelled against their new Krath rulers. Then, a Jedi/Republic fleet under the Jedi Nomi Sunrider and Ulic Qel-Droma was sent to deal with the Krath. However, during the Battle of Koros Major, Aleema used her powers to create illusions of space grazers to fool the task force, while Satal turned the pilots of the Krath's Chaos Fighters into living weapons with his hypnotic will.

After that, he and Aleema used Krath War Droids to attack a Jedi assembly on Deneba. Prior to this, their agents reprogrammed the servant droids that would be present at the assembly. During the assembly, the servant droids suddenly attacked their Jedi owners, causing enough confusion to allow a Tetan Corsair to deposit its deadly cargo of war droids. During the assault, the Jedi Master Arca Jeth was slain and his student Ulic Qel-Droma swore revenge on the Krath.

He would later infiltrate the capital world of Empress Teta system Koros Major. Following a skirmish in Koros Major, in which Ulic appeared to save Aleema from being assassinated (although this was in reality a ruse orchestrated by her for Ulic's benefit), she took him as her lover. However, Satal was jealous and suspicious, believing him to be a Jedi spy. He then interrogated and tortured Ulic in the dungeons of the Iron Citadel. Despite his denying that he was a Jedi spy, Satal injected Ulic with a Sith poison that would ensure his fall to the dark side.



Ulic became a Krath general in charge of the sect's military forces and the personal pet of Aleema. Months later, Ulic's Jedi companions, including his brother Cay Qel-Droma, Nomi and Tott Doneeta traveled to Cinnagar after hearing no word from Ulic. While Cay and Tott Doneeta waited in orbit on their transport Nebulon Ranger, Nomi infiltrated the planet by flying down on an escape pod. She then arranged for herself to be arrested by the Krath authorities. When Sunrider was dragged before the Krath leadership at the Iron Citadel, Satal tested Ulic's loyalty by asking him what to do with the captured Jedi spy. Ulic, trying to maintain his cover, ordered his former comrade Sunrider to be imprisoned; however, Ulic sent a secret message to Nomi in which he expressed to her that he intended to stay in disguise for a while longer, in an effort to learn more of the Krath's plans. Unfortunately for Ulic, Satal intercepted his conversation with Nomi, and sentenced them both to death.

However, Nomi managed to escape and called Cay and Tott Doneeta to stage a rescue. Destroying the Krath's defenses, the Jedi managed to pull Nomi from her captivity, but Ulic decided to stay behind. In a fit of rage, Ulic dueled Satal and struck him down, demanding vengeance for the death of Arca Jeth and completing his fall to the dark side. Ulic then took Satal's place at Aleema's side as the head of the Krath.

Legacy
Satal and Aleema's legacy would be realized many thousands of years later in the form of Satal's descendant, Sebban Keto. Sebban, a Tetan businessman who like his ancestors, practiced dark side magic and used it to reestablish the Krath traditions on Empress Teta.

Personality and traits
Satal Keto was a pompous young man (something he accused his father of being), having grown up the son of the Emperor of Empress Teta. His ambitious nature led him on a journey to Coruscant, where he, along with Aleema, discovered ancient Sith relics. Their combined hunger for dark side knowledge led them to Onderon, solely for the purpose of unlocking the mysteries of the Sith treasure they pilfered on Coruscant. Once able to understand the Sith teachings, Satal proved to be an insatiable learner who quickly mastered his newfound abilities.The fact that Satal was able to formulate Sith poisons, a skill limited to only the most experienced of Sith alchemists, was a testament to the capacity for knowledge first recognized in him by King Ommin.

During his rise to power, Satal showed how he was not above bribery to acheive his goals. After mastering the power of his newfound Sith abilities, Satal became more ruthless, executing individuals at a whim for seemingly minor offenses. As the Emperor of the Tetan worlds, Satal ruled with an iron fist, but preferred to play the background, while his cousin Aleema acted as the visible face of the new government.

Satal was also an overly jealous man. On several occasions Aleema commented on his envious nature, something he made quite obvious with the arrival of Ulic Qel-Droma. As jealous as he often was, Satal was equally apprehensive. Upon meeting King Ommin, he initially refused to give the King his stolen spell book, but he quickly relented when Ommin displayed his Sith powers. He was also very suspicious of Ulic Qel-Droma, to the ends of poisoning him, torturing him, and finally attempting to have him murdered. His suspicious nature would ultimately be his undoing, as the failed assassination attempt ultimately resulted in Ulic murdering Satal.

Powers and abilites
Though Satal preferred the workings os Sith alchemy, his proficiency with Sith magic was considerable. As a Sith sorcerer, Satal developed a working mastery with mind control, which he displayed during the battle for Koros Major. Under Lord Keto's power his Krath chaos fighters became kamikaze pilots, crashing themselves into the enemy Republic ships while bound by the dark influence of Keto's will.

Satal was also proficient with creating life-like illusions, such as those he projected against his father and aunt on the carbonite smelter.

Behind the scenes
The character of Satal Keto was first conceived and written by Tom Veitch and drawn by Tony Akins for the Tales of the Jedi comic series, first appearing in the issue The Freedon Nadd Uprising: Initiates of the Sith, published in 1994. However, he was first mentioned in the Dark Empire endnotes, a series of short essays that provided back stories for several Star Wars topics, including Ulic Qel-Droma and the Krath. The endnotes' mention of the Krath laid the foundation for Keto's involvement in the upcoming Tales of the Jedi story arcs.

For the Tales of the Jedi audio drama, Keto was voiced by Christopher Sena, the same voice actor used for the character of Andur Sunrider. Satal was voiced again for the Dark Lords of the Sith audio drama, though the name of the voice actor is currently unknown. Even though his involvement was minimal, Satal Keto's role for the Freedon Nadd Uprising was an important one, and provided sufficient background for the character to be further explored in the Dark Lords of the Sith story, where his actions would directly influence the fall to the dark side of another character, Ulic Qel-Droma.

Appearances

 * Tales of the Jedi: The Freedon Nadd Uprising 2: Initiates of the Sith
 * Tales of the Jedi (audio)
 * Tales of the Jedi: Dark Lords of the Sith Special Ashcan Edition
 * 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 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: The Sith War 1: Edge of the Whirlwind
 * Tales of the Jedi: The Sith War 2: The Battle of Coruscant
 * Tales of the Jedi: Dark Lords of the Sith (audio)
 * Tales of the Jedi: The Sith War 4: Jedi Holocaust

Notes & references
Satal Keto