The political uprising of the Empress Teta system was a military and political coup that happened in the year 3997 BBY, staged against Lord Keto and Lady Magda Keto, the rulers of the Deep Core planet 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. The coup was initiated when Aleema and Satal, accompanied by the royal tutor Korus, boarded the orbital Tetan carbonite smelter where Lord and Lady Keto were attending to matters of state. After a heated confrontation with Lord Keto and the subsequent humiliation of tutor Korus, Aleema and Satal reintroduced themselves as the Krath—dark side magicians under the tutelage of the ancient Dark Lord Freedon Nadd. The Krath then declared themselves the new rulers of the Empress Teta system and proceeded to execute the present Tetan officials, including Lady Keto. Lord Keto himself was slowly dipped into the vat of molten carbonite by Satal, to further symbolize the end of the old regime. What emerged was a freshly-molded carbonite frieze of Lord Keto, which Satal visibly displayed on one of the walls of their newly inherited palace, the Iron Citadel.
After solidifying the military and political might of the seven worlds of the Empress Teta system, the Krath were prepared to face the Jedi Order, who themselves recognized the Krath's Sith powers to be the remnants of an uprising that was recently quelled on the planet Onderon. Their chance came when the Jedi, again supported by the Galactic Republic, arrived in Tetan space with intentions of restoring a legitimate government. However, the Jedi were unprepared for the depth of the Krath's Sith powers; they were repelled and forced to leave the Tetan worlds under the heel of the dark side.
Royal tutor Korus falls unconscious after regurgitating an adegan eel.
The Empress Teta system was well known in the galaxy as being a prominent producer of carbonite, a metal alloy popular for its many uses, including being an essential component in hyperdrive engine production. The Carbonite Guild, a powerful mining conglomerate under the jurisdiction of the Tetan Monarchy, regularly oversaw its production. On one particular occasion, Lord Keto, Emperor of the Empress Teta system, was making a routine inspection of the Carbonite Guild's progress of carbonite production. Arriving on the Guild's orbital smelter, Keto was escorted along the tour by the Guild chairman, Bearus. 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.
Bearus proceeded with the tour, but was interrupted by a comlink. 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 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 Korus under his breath for being foolish enough to bring the Keto children on a governmental inspection, Aleema and Satal entered the room.
Lord Keto commands his guards to arrest Satal and Aleema.
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 chaperon. 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 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, appearing dead. Completely dumbfounded, 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 Lord Freedon Nadd for months. Bearus was completely shocked; Korus had been seemingly murdered and by his own pupils, no less. Satal explained that the tutor was 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. Keto then called for his royal bodyguards, but Satal denounced them and turned their swords into snakes that constricted the terrorized guards. 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 Keto started. The deposed Emperor led the way as Satal and Aleema ordered him into the carbonite chamber.
Aleema confounds the royal guards with Sith magic.
Proceeding straightaway into the carbonite smelting chamber, the new Tetan rulers had 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 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 Keto screamed for mercy all the way down. Afterwards, Satal took the carbonite friezes and hung them on the dining room wall in the Iron Citadel, where they would spend the rest of their days. Satal and Aleema had now symbolically become the new Emperor and Empress of the Tetan worlds.
Aleema and Satal held court in their newly acquired palace, the Iron Citadel. From there they would establish their base of operations. Their takeover had been a success; six of the seven Tetan planets were subdued, and nearly all of the planetary leaders swore fealty to the Krath. Satal saw to the complete leveling of three cities on Kirrek as Aleema located several of the insurrectionists on Empress Teta, and had them wiped out. However, in spite of the growing Krath dominance over the system, Empress Teta was the only world that continued to offer any resistance. While discussing plans for permanently ending the revolts on the Krath homeworld, 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 she liked it nonetheless. Korus was dead, and the last of 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.
The Krath council presided over by Lord Satal Keto.
With the military forces of the in check and the former political leadership out of the way, the Krath was now firmly in control of the Tetan governmental infrastructure, save for Empress Teta itself. The system's namesake world 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, they took command from an orbital relay station and consolidated their military might, staging an assault on their own homeworld. Before long, word of the planet's war against the Krath reached both the Galactic Republic government on Coruscant, 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 the Tetan 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.
The political uprising of the Empress Teta system was first mentioned in the Dark Empire endnotes, and first appeared in first issue of the Dark Lords of the Sith story arc, conceived and written by authors Tom Veitch and Kevin J. Anderson. It was also captured in the Dark Lords of the Sith audio drama, written by John Whitman and based on the script by Veitch and Anderson.
The Star Wars Insider 26 article Straight from the Horse's Mouth: A Guide to the Star Wars: Tales of the Jedi Universe, Part 1 says that the uprising took place in 3996 BBY, while the Tales of the Jedi comic places the event at 3997 BBY. As Insider 26 contradicts many other established dates, this article treats the comic as being correct.
- "Straight from the Horse's Mouth: A Guide to the Star Wars: Tales of the Jedi Universe, Part 1" — Star Wars Insider 26
- "Straight from the Horse's Mouth: A Guide to the Star Wars: Tales of the Jedi Universe, Part 3" — Star Wars Insider 28
- Star Wars Encyclopedia
- The Essential Chronology
- The Dark Side Sourcebook
- Power of the Jedi Sourcebook
- Jedi vs. Sith: The Essential Guide to the Force
- Dark Empire endnotes: Lost For Over 300 Years on Hyperspace
- The Complete Star Wars Encyclopedia, Vol. I
- The Essential Atlas