Tetan carbonite smelter

A type of space station, the Tetan carbonite smelters were several space stations that were used by the Carbonite Guild for smelting the ore of the metal carbonite. The space stations varied in color, with one being a red-colored and another being black in color. The carbonite smelters were metal structures that had numerous antennae on their top and bottom surfaces. Two of the Tetan carbonite smelters the station had at least four intake vents through which asteroids rich with the ore of the metal carbonite were drawn into the smelter. The ore was subsequently smelted in large vats within the station in order to obtain the carbonite.The carbonite smelters were equipped with laser cannons that were used to shoot at the larger asteroids and split them into chunks of smaller size. The space stations had spacious interiors with a constant traffic of repulsorlift-equipped vehicles within as well as docking facilities that could hold at least two Tetan royal starships. The Tetan carbonite smelter had a crew of at least three carbonite workers, could support at least sixteen passengers and had a security force aboard.

The Tetan carbonite smelters were used by the Carbonite Guild for smelting the ore of the metal carbonite by the year 3997 BBY. Bearus, the Chairman of the Guild, had managed to improved the one smelter's profit margins by fifteen percent by 3997 BBY. That year, Lord Keto—the head of the Tetan Monarchy—and his sister Magda along with their royal entourage visited the carbonite smelter on an annual inspection tour. The royals were welcomed aboard the station by Bearus himself. After exchanging pleasantries, the group was notified of the unexpected and imminent arrival of the royal tutor Korus and his group of six students, which included the royal heirs Satal and Aleema Keto and whose members were part of the Krath, a secret Sith cult. Bearus and the royals commenced the tour with the former pointing out to the latter the working efficiency of the carbonite smelters. In the meantime, Korus and the students approached the group and were immediately confronted by Lord Keto, who reproached Korus for bringing the students to the carbonite smelter during the royal inspection and thus violating protocol.

As a response to Keto's accusations, Korus fell into a comatose state as a victim of an Force illusion cast on him by Aleema, who had been practicing Sith sorcery. That horrified the royals and caused Bearus to try to call the security force. However, with the help of illusions, Aleema was able to both halt Bearus's attempt and send the advancing Tetan royal guards into a catatonic shock. As a next step of their political uprising, the Krath members dragged the royals toward the molten carbonite vats. After a carbonite worker that was attacked by one of Aleema's illusions stumbled off the ledge into the vat, the Krath proceeded to slowly lower Lord Keto and his sister into the carbonite, killing them and encasing them within the metal. Following the successful coup, the Krath eventually took over all of the Empress Teta system, including all the Tetan carbonite smelters, and hung the metal cases containing the remains of Lord Keto and his sister on the wall of the Krath citadel for display. During the Krath takeover of the Empress Teta system, all of the Tetan carbonite smelters were captured by the Krath. Shortly before the Krath celebration of their takeover's success, the Krath General Vulpe informed one of the cult's leaders, Aleema Keto, of the last Carbonite Guild–owned carbonite smelter's surrender. Keto, in turn, told the fact to her brother Satal during the celebration.

One space station that orbited the yellow-colored planet continued its operations under the Krath rule. A year later, the warriors known as the Mandalorian Crusaders sought a challenge and hoped to provoke a battle with the military forces of the Krath cult. To that end, the Mandalorians under the leadership of Mandalore the Indomitable attacked the carbonite smelter. Approaching the space station on their Basilisk war droid mounts, the warriors destroyed at least a couple of the laser cannon emplacements that were busy firing at the attackers. Eventually a pair of Mandalorians who were towing an atomic compression bomb—a particularly potent explosive device—released the bomb toward the station, with the weapon attaching itself to the station's hull and causing a large explosion that caused the carbonite smelter to crash on the planet's surface. The Mandalorian attack and the crash of the carbonite smelter was witnessed by the Sith Lord Ulic Qel-Droma, who was one of the leaders of the Krath cult at the time. The attack prompted Qel-Droma to contact the Mandalorian leader and demand his surrender.

The Tetan carbonite smelter first appeared in the first issue of Dark Lords of the Sith story arc of the Star Wars: Tales of the Jedi series of comic books. The issue was published on October 1, 1994 and was written by Tom Veitch and Kevin J. Anderson and penciled by Chris Gossett.