Sith empress

Râhur Ragnos

Shar Dakhan, potential Dark Lord of the Sith Empire that he was, looked impressive in his regalia and appeared ready to start a party, judging by the fact that he brought along a lot of servant staff. The man did enjoy his parties, I guess. After all, word had reached him that they were going to war with the Republic, so he had held a grand festival to send his warriors off with good memories of home before the war. A war that had resulted in nothing but the destruction of said warriors and most of the empire, if you looked out the window. But that was to be expected; that was the nature of war.

"War we almost won, but things, of course, had not gone as planned. Naga Sadow had led an invasion deep into the core, attacking the capital of the Republic itself, up to the steps of the Senate. Then things had gone sideways. The tricks that Naga had used — illusions and Sith alchemy — had failed at the last moment. Why? When was not known. All that was known was that the forces had been defeated on the steps of the Senate, and what was left of the army had retreated back to the Sith Empire.

"Which should have been a moment for the army to recover, the ships rebuilt, forces to be recomposed, and for us to ready for a second round. With the second round I've been waiting. Ludo Kressh, I mean, I most thought that when he had been defeated by Naga, had reappeared with a fleet of his own and engaged the army and Naga in personal combat. He finally, finally had been killed. But we can't. What was left of the army wasted time, time for a Republic strike force to arrive and engage that naval force, but it had already been run down and then beaten before they even arrived.

"The grand fleet of the Sith Empire had been destroyed. Naga was dead, deciding to go out with a bang by taking most of the Republic fleet with him, buying us time at the very least. But that time was quickly running out.

"What had my grandfather been thinking, putting those two against each other, I thought, leaning back, shaking my head. All the effort he'd done to build the Sith Golden Age undone by these two idiots who cared more about their own dark powers and not about the empire. The empire would die at this rate. I just had to hope Lord Shar had an actual plan."

Standing there, observing the gathered Dark Lords, Lord Shar observed them before finally nodding his head, deciding that enough had arrived, which was not a lot. He had put out a call for the major Lords of the Sith, the Dark Council.

"There weren't many left. Sure, there were some old hands, those who elected the previous Dark Lord into power. But unfortunately, the war had seen the loss of many of them as well, which meant a new cast of Lords had started taking their place, such as myself. Lords who were still gaining in power but not as wise as the older floor to would have more power in this vote. After all, they had much more wisdom than many of us, and those who are young and joining this organization would defer to the wisdom of their elders."

Shaking his head, the potential Dark Lord of all Sith began his speech. "Gentlemen, my fellow Dark Lords and Ladies of the Sith. Naga is dead, his rival Ludo is dead. The Republic has been stopped at Coraband for now. But every day we leave them there on our homeworld, our planet of birth, is a day that they grow in power and prepare to push deeper into our space. Every day we waste here is a day that the Republic has time to launch a further invasion. So, I ask the Dark Council to invest the power to do what is necessary in me. Declare me the next Dark Lord, and I will push them from Koraban and save the Empire."

There were several claps from the elders, as well as some youthful individuals. However, just as the claps were ending, a voice called out.

"And pray tell, how do you plan to take back Coraban from the Republic? The fleet is destroyed, our armies are reduced to slave soldiers, monsters, and well below strength when it comes to Sith warriors."

Murmurs went through the crowd as Shar looked towards the speaker. I turned to get a better look myself, wondering who would speak up against Shar at this moment. After all, he may have been defeated at the steps of Coruscant, but he hadn't made it to the steps of the Senate. Of course, everyone here had not even been involved in the war.

The figure sat in one corner of the grand room, the remnants of the council room that once belonged to my grandfather, probably chosen because Shar preferred my grandfather's style over Naga. The figure was a female, but of shorter stature, her red skin appearing now from under a dark cloak that covered most of her features in shadow. The only thing I could tell for sure was that she had some power with the dark side; her eyes glowed a slight yellow. They weren't angrily yellow or fierce; they were just cold, dissecting eyes, as if she was judging everyone in this room.

"Dark Lady," Shar began, trying to fish for her name.

"You may call me Yorua," she said, which was odd, avoiding the second name implied she was trying to avoid revealing her identity. Scratching my chin, I tried to see if I knew anyone by that name, but I couldn't recall any major Lords by that name. Well, to be fair, there had been a lot of shake-up over the last few years, so it was possible I just missed this character in my day-to-day intel briefings for my spymaster.

"Lady Yorua," Lord Shar said with a smile. "I'm not very familiar with you, but I will give you the briefest of plans. We will gather every fighter, every ship we have left, and we will throw them at Koravan. Those in the pirate seats will be given one order: sell their life for the freedom of Coraband. We will push the Republic out of Empire space."

The woman let out a sigh before making a rather strange comment. "It's imperialist Japan all over again."

She raised her hand and snapped her fingers, and there was a gunshot. Everyone looked around in confusion, trying to figure out what had just happened. Though I quickly realized it as I saw Lord Shar fall to the ground, holding his neck as blood poured from a hole the size of a fist that had been ripped through his neck sideways.

Everyone soon realized it as he clung to life, trying to get back up to say something, or maybe to try and find his killer, maybe even strike down the woman who would obviously orchestrate it.

He wasn't given a chance. The woman stood up, walked into the room, and activated her crimson lightsaber before saying, "You should have saved your honor and killed yourself after the defeat at the Senate," then slicing his head from his torso. The head rolled to the feet of one of the older members of the Dark Council, who looked on with curiosity.

"This is an outrage!" someone shouted, standing up, only to be knocked down as a Force push came from the woman standing there, putting him back in his chair.

"The last Dark Lord was chosen by personal combat, and what did it get us? A Dark Lord that led us into a war that is on the verge of the complete defeat of the Empire," I said. "I would say the comment that the last system Lord left us with was not the greatest way to run a government, but I'll use it." She clicked her fingers again, and as if summoned by some Force, the doors to the council chamber burst open. Warriors wearing heavy armor rushed in, carrying blaster rifles, which they pointed at the Sith Lords gathered here.

"So let's try this again. How many people here are in favor of wasting what's left of the military to grab a homeworld that's mostly crypts for our dead and people who worship on said crypts? How many people here want to continue this war knowing that the continued destruction of our military will result in the complete destabilization of the Empire and the return of the barbarian states that this Empire came from?"

Surprisingly, several people raised their hands. I noted that a good portion of them were on the younger side, although half were definitely older individuals who probably voted in or were fans of Naga. I kept my hand down because I wasn't exactly sold on the whole idea of wasting our military as she explained it.

It wasn't a hint of command, but blasters began firing. Everyone with a raised hand was brought down in a matter of moments, executed as quickly as could be dispensed. The room's numbers went from forty Dark Lords to twenty in a matter of seconds.

"Okay," the woman said with a smile, "now that the idiots are gone, let's have a conversation with us intellectual folk who want to see the Empire survive. As it stands, all parties responsible for this war on our side are dead. The individuals who led it, the individuals who approved it, are removed from the board of politics. So why continue the war? What goal is there for us?"

"To conquer the Republic," someone called.

The woman shook her head. "No, that's no longer on the board. We don't have the military for that, if we ever had it to begin with. Let's not forget that Naga used tricks of the mind to make the enemy believe our army was bigger. That may have worked in open combat, but would we have been able to actually hold any territory for a longer period? I doubt it. We never had the capability to hold territory. We could scare the enemy, we could defeat the enemy, we could even probably have taken their core worlds, but sooner or later, simple logistical facts would have come for us. We could not support a war that far away. We could not support an occupation that far away, and the Republic has more worlds further south to draw troops from to throw at us. There is no victory possible. There is no reason to waste our forces on a grand assault that will result in the complete destruction of the Empire in just a few decades as the military will have been exterminated.

"What we need to do now to save the Empire, to save Sith culture and people, is openly negotiate a peace treaty with the Republic and its allies."

"That's madness! They won't let us keep our culture, our way of life. They'll intercede in our beings and let the Jedi occupy us, scavenging our relics for their use," someone called.

The girl chuckled before saying, "If we had no military, you would have a point. But that's why we need our military to be still. A caged lion is dangerous; a toothless lion can be butchered as they please. Better to be the caged lion preparing his escape than a toothless lion waiting for death."

The oldest member of the Dark Council rubbed his chin ridges and thought before saying, "This girl has a good point. And I'm not just saying this because she is obviously more than likely willing to kill us all and just declare herself the leader anyway," he said, indicating the row of individuals still aiming their guns at us.

"Although I would say she probably has the right to take the throne, considering who she is."

"Who is she?" I asked, being far enough away that I had to speak up and wanting to have more information, figuring I could play the part that obviously the older man wanted to play.

He smiled and looked at me before saying, "These men around us are from the 203rd Home Guard, especially a unit created by a new Sith Lord. It's been growing in power in the last few years. The bastard daughter of Naga, child of a concubine that he took many years before, and someone who was thrown to the streets at age twelve because her mother died of a disease."

"I see I'm somewhat known," the woman said, sounding annoyed before smiling and saying, "Yes, I'm the daughter of an individual who once ruled this esteemed council. But I got here on my own, as you said yourself. And I'm not demanding the rulership based on family line; I'm demanding rulership because I'm the only one with a clear vision to keep the Empire together and prevent its complete collapse. It's your choice if you're willing to give me that thing, but as you said yourself, I'm more than willing to take it myself because I would rather have a living Empire than be a victim of the Republic's eventual cultural and species genocide of this space. They will most likely view the barbarian states we fall into as a threat that needs to be crushed before it rebuilds itself."

"Valid point," the older Sith said with a nod before saying, "But how do we get the Republic to meet with us, to, as you say, come to terms with us? As I see it, they've decided that we are something that needs to be destroyed, something that needs to be removed. I see no reason for them to even humor the thoughts of letting us still exist after this war."

The woman smiled, about the only thing you could see with the shadows over the top of her head, her golden eyes showing brightly.

"Well, that's where we use what we do know about the enemy. The current leader of the crusade against us, the counter-invasion as they're calling it, is Empress Tata, a fierce warrior and politician, but one that has shown compassion to her enemies in the past. We need to show this Empress Tata that we are worthy of that compassion, get her on our side to speak on our behalf. Perhaps we will have to suffer some indignities. No doubt the Jedi will want to come here and do something. The Republic will want to put forces in our space, at least for a time. I think we all can admit letting the Republic have Koraban for a short time during negotiations is not the worst option out there. Although if you do think that the dead's lives matter more than the living, well then I am afraid you'll be joining them rather soon," she said, indicating to the crowd pointing at her 203rd Home Guard.

The old Sith nodded his head before saying, "I, for one, believe that letting Miss Yorua have control over the Empire is the right move. What she makes of it, I don't know, but I'm willing to see her try. We are at a crossroads where either the Empire dies or it lives, and she seems to have a plan to make it live. That's more than wasting our forces on an invasion that would barely win back what we have lost."

There were several nods from around the crowd as others began to speak up, putting forward their own reasons to vote for Yorua. Many cited her logical reasons for why the Empire needs to exist. Before long, the remaining members of the Dark Council had all agreed—except me. As I just sat there listening, I noticed a few eyes looking at me, and I finally decided to speak.

"My grandfather brought in an age of golden times for our people. Your father pissed that all away," I looked at the girl before saying, "What are your opinions on your father?"

The girl smiled before saying, "An absolute moron. He was too intrigued by the Dark Side's potential for power and strange mysticisms to worry about what the Empire is or could be. His dreams of conquering the Republic were foolish to begin with. If he had been smart, he would have gone along with Ludo's thoughts and not put us in their crosshairs. If he had been even smarter, he would have started building up not for an invasion into the Republic but to dissuade the Republic's eventual thoughts of invading us. After all, sooner or later they would have found out that the Sith were using the Dark Side and had relations to fallen Jedi. This would have put us in a bad place. It still puts us in a bad place as it is, but if we had had the forces and a large enough military to dissuade an invasion, they would have just accepted it. After all, people marching to war will question why they are going to war unless they are on the defense. Then they tend not to care because they are defending their families. My father sold away that crucial buffer to our own people for this foolhardy war, and I will not put us in such a conflict ever again."

"She's not a traditional Sith," I thought. But then again, what did that matter? Traditional Sith had brought us to this point, and she had the power to murder us all if we didn't agree to let her in. Fine. I nodded my head, saying, "I favor Miss Yorua Sadow to be the next Dark Lady of the Sith."

With that statement, the end of the council was marked by the older Sith hitting his staff on the bricks of the ground, and our fates were tied to the woman who threatened us otherwise. Sighing, I just hoped she was everything that she claimed she was and would be able to save the Empire and our people.