Sith empress 2

Empress Teta

The long war was finally coming to an end—thank the gods, and by the Force, we had finally driven the Sith all the way back to their home capital of Korriban. At least, one of their capitals. Expeditions to the planet below indicated that this was no longer their main capital, but it was one of the major homeworlds of their empire.

An empire that had launched a crusade down the Dragon Road, onto the main trade ways, and all the way to the core of the Republic—an empire that stood in direct opposition to everything the Republic stood for. A place of evil, slavery, and war. Though I suppose we couldn't exactly claim the moral high ground on the matter of war. After all, I had fought a war—war had been necessary for the unification of my system, the crowning of myself as Empress. But I couldn't let my thoughts on that matter cloud my judgment. So many people had died, so much had been destroyed by these Sith, and now we had to figure out what to do about it.

There were calls in the Republic to fully launch invasions into Sith space, but I wasn't sure about that yet. So much death had already been wrought in this space. We had arrived expecting the final battle, but instead, it had been a brawl unlike anything we'd ever seen—two or three different factions fighting each other over this planet. While I was sure we killed some of the top leaders of the Sith Empire, I suspected we had not finished them off. Some had escaped, and they would become problems in the future.

Which meant somewhere out there, remnants of the Sith Fleet were probably getting ready to launch an attack on Korriban. The talks I had been having with Republic Admirals seemed to have led to an agreement: we would take whatever attack came, destroy as much as we could, and then pull out. We needed to drain the Sith Fleet of all resources and make sure they could never rise again within a generation. As for the Republic, I didn't know. They would figure it out, I assumed. Most likely, they would end up sending some sort of force to delve into the esoteric region. The Jedi would most likely send their own forces to figure out what the hell this place was. They had some theories, of course. They had told me some of them—rumors of dark Jedi who had been removed from the Order and fled Republic space long ago. Perhaps they had made it here. Perhaps they hadn't.

All I knew was that I had to fight a war because of these people—one more war than I had planned for—and so much death and destruction was now on their hands. I wasn't happy about it. I wasn't happy about what might be coming. From what I had been able to gather through the scouts we'd managed to send deeper into space, rumors of breakaway factions, colonies fighting each other, mass suicides on the planet below—there had been some sort of event where nearly eight thousand Sith, taking a moment of reprieve from our bombardments, had gathered on a hill and committed some sort of mass ritual suicide. So much death for nothing. There was no gain from it, as far as I could see. Was it an attempt to cast some sort of Sith spell that had failed? I don't know. All I knew was that if we maintained control of this planet for much longer, there might not be any Sith left on the planet below if things kept going the way they were. Shaking my head, I could only wonder.

What drives these people to such madness? What drives them to kill their fellow sentient beings? What drives them to kill themselves? Shaking my head, I could only theorize, and those theories led to a dark place. As soon as this battle was over, I would go home and I would never think of this place again. If the Republic decided to send forces here, well, it would be without my kinsmen. We did our part: we destroyed the Sith Fleet and saved the Republic. If the Republic wanted to pursue it, that would be for them. For us, peace was what we wanted—and peace was what we would have. Of that, I was sure.

I smiled. I simply thought, I would fight for peace and nothing else. If they wanted to try and take some of my forces to declare some unorganized war in this space as recompense for what had happened, that was up to them. As far as I could see, the Sith were gone. It's just a matter of destroying that last fleet. Once that fleet was gone, maintaining control of this space would fall apart. Warlords would spring up, and this would become a pirate haven in no time. It would destroy itself. It had been done before. It had been seen before.

This was close enough to the trade routes that I imagined it would become a problem in the future, but that was not my problem. That was the Republic's problem.

"Empress," a voice called, drawing my attention as one of my officers approached, looking sharp in his armor. I noted that it had been shined—good. We needed to look good for the men below us; otherwise, they would think we were overburdened. My own armor was as splendid as I could get it, though even that was somewhat damaged from the recent fighting. It had saved my life just enough times to get me here, so I wasn't exactly mad about that outcome. I would fix it in time. Everything would be fixed in time. Just how much time?

"Yes, Commander?" I said, wanting to know what he had to report.

Clearing his throat and straightening his collar, he said, "We've detected a ship entering close orbit. It's paused not too far away from our fleet."

That was interesting. Without looking out at the screen, I said, "Do we know who it is? Is it Republic?"

"No, ma'am. It came from Sith space."

My head whipped to look at him. "Sith space? Just one ship? That's unusual," I said, moving toward the command station of the ship. Quickly, I took my seat and ordered, "Send out a message to this Sith ship. Tell them that they better have a good reason for being here. Otherwise, we will be blasting them out of space."

"It will be done, Empress," the man said, stepping away and quickly moving to give orders. Already, I was receiving communications from the Republic Admirals via text, asking for the honor of blasting the ship out of space. I considered it. Some of those Admirals had served well, and giving them such an honor was within the realm of possibility, but I would wait to see what would come of this strange lone ship that had decided to meet me in person.

There was a few minutes of silence before a messenger stood up from one of the consoles, looking confused. He turned and stepped forward.

He cleared his throat before saying, "This is a message from the vessel Dark Lady Sadow. She wishes to come aboard to discuss a peace treaty and an end to the conflict between the Sith Empire and the Republic and her allies."

I blinked in confusion. "Sadow is dead. What did you say?"

One of my commanders stepped forward, saying, "Sadow is dead. We saw one of his ships destroy itself in that conflict."

I raised a hand to calm him. "He said 'Lady Sadow.' That's not the Sadow we know. Perhaps his wife, daughter, sister… I'm confused," I said, shaking my head. I looked over at the man. "Message this unknown ship. They are allowed to approach and may connect their transport apparatus to the side of our ship so that they may board."

"My lady?" my commander asked.

I raised a hand to stop him. "If the Sith had come with their full fleet to attack us, I would kill them without issue. But to come to us and ask for a peace treaty? That's either insanity or someone worth listening to. I'm going with my gut on this. Let's meet this Lady Sadow and see what she wishes to offer for this peace treaty."

My commander's loyalty was ever firm, though he stepped away as I waited. Soon, I received a communication saying that the ship was on the move, heading toward us. I wondered what kind of ship it was. If it were large, I would be concerned and might even attempt to move the meeting to the planet's surface. But as the ship came into view, I quickly realized it wasn't that big—more of a small blockade runner at best. It probably had the ability to run if we started shooting at it and escape, but not enough firepower to pose a real threat to our ship if they had explosives.

I stood up from my chair and walked toward a nearby door, pressing a button to step through. Looking at my commander, I said, "Have Lady Shadow and her entourage escorted to the negotiation room." He nodded and signaled for two guards to follow me. I stepped into the room and took a seat at the head of the table.

Now, to wait. I thought. Wait and see what would come.

I didn't know what I was expecting—perhaps some old crown, some failed sorcerer. But what came through the door was none of that. At first, the figure was cloaked in black robes of the Sith, with the faint outline of armor beneath, purple in color, with gold inlays and blue jewels. The figure stopped when they saw me waiting in my own armor. They raised their hands to their neck, unclasping the cloak and letting it fall away, giving me a clear look at her for the first time.

She was young, somewhere past 20, I would guess, though species age differently. Her hair was black and rather unkempt, as if she cared not for her appearance, only that it served its purpose. Her face was angular, a notable feature of the Sith, which I had expected. Her eyes were gold—not the dark side gold I had seen in other warriors, but a natural gold, vibrant and striking. She wore a purple armored chest plate connected to a skirt, with her shoulders covered by a gold neck brace to protect her neck, I assumed. Her arms, however, were uncovered. One arm had a small purple band that led from her dress beneath the armor, creating the illusion of an open sleeve. The other arm had no such adornment, and it became quickly apparent that those arms were not soft. They were hard, as if she had spent her life strengthening them.

I also noticed two lightsaber handles at her side. I was briefly concerned, but then she slowly reached for them, handing them to one of my guards. He did as ordered, taking the handles while looking at me. I waved him off, signaling to keep them until the conversation was over. I pulled my own blade from my side, handing it to a guard in turn. Dropping my weapon was a sign of mutual respect—showing that, though power in violence is always present, we could meet without weapons. The woman nodded and stepped forward.

She took a seat across from me. Two more guards entered behind her. They were dressed in dark green armor, bearing a pattern of numbers in Sith language imprinted on their chest plates. Their faces were hidden, giving them a more mysterious presence.

After a moment, the woman spoke. "It's an honor to meet you, Miss Empress. I've heard quite a few stories about how you've foiled my bastard father's foolish and idiotic plans."

I tilted my head. "So, is there a connection between you and the last Lord of the Sith?" I asked.

She nodded, tilting her head. "Barely. I'm the child of a concubine—cast aside, left to fend for myself. I took my place amongst the others through my own hands, not his." She said this matter-of-factly, offering a brief rundown of her story. "Well, I suppose that gives you an idea of who you're dealing with."

"A self-made woman. I can respect that," I remarked, though my curiosity was piqued. "But I still don't understand why you've come all this way to discuss a peace treaty. How did you become the new Dark Lady of the Sith?"

She responded, almost casually, "I killed the man who was going to send the entire fleet here to fight you until they were all dead, just so we could take back that red dead ball below us." She gestured toward the planet.

"Of course, you did. And why would you do that? Isn't this planet sacred to your people?" I asked.

"It's sacred to those who delve too deeply into the Force," she said. "For those of us with only passing familiarity, it's not a hindrance. I think too many people in our culture are infatuated with the Dark Side, obsessed with war—a waste of resources. So much has been lost because one man thought he should rule the Galaxy. He fooled everyone into thinking they could conquer it."

I raised an eyebrow. "Give it a good try, now, didn't you? Nearly took the Senate."

The woman laughed, musing for a moment. "Yes, the man I killed nearly took the Senate. But he failed, too. Now, things have changed. Now, we need to discuss peace."

"Hard to believe that the Sith want peace," I remarked. "You did a damn good job of destroying everything on the way to Coruscant. You showed yourself to be nothing but an evil empire waiting for its moment. You personally also got on my nerves—wasting resources. Do those lives mean nothing to you?"

She smiled softly. "Those lives were wasted—yes, wasted resources. I may not share your morals, but I have my own way of viewing the world. Those lives were lost in a senseless war. They could've been farmers, artists, warriors, or parents. But they're gone now, all because the last Lord of the Sith, a fool, thought he must rule everything. Though I view resources differently, I do mourn in my own way for the lives lost. There could've been great things—great trade deals, great cultures. But now there won't be." She shook her head. "At least, not the ones that could've been. My hope is that this conversation leads to something better—great trade deals, stability, and, most importantly, preventing what is coming. Something I'm sure you can see from a mile away."

"And what is it that I can see from a mile away?" I asked, intrigued. The Sith woman was acting far differently than any Sith I'd met before. There was no talk of ruling the universe, no grand speeches. She seemed more centered, focused on her own people.

"The destruction of the Empire, of course. It cannot survive, at least not in the form it was before this war. As we speak, many planets are falling apart. Their local dark lords are panicking, doing everything they can. I imagine you've already seen some of that. I know you've been sending scouts deeper into our space. There is no Navy that could stop you from doing that. I've gathered everything I can into one good defense to protect the actual capital of the Sith Empire, because if we protect that, everything else can be rebuilt."

"The Empire will be destroyed. And what will replace it?" I asked, folding my hands in front of me. "Nothing good seems to come from the Sith. From what I've seen—quite a lot of Dark Side and horror. Your alchemy, for instance, is horrific from what I've been shown. So, I'm not sure what could be built from the core of your people, left to their own devices."

"In essence, what's stopping another war from happening in 20 years?" I asked.

The girl raised an eyebrow, clearly amused, before nodding. "Me. And what I plan to build—a government to replace the one you destroyed. The one that was built by me and you working together, focused on the economy and self-defense. I'll do my best to make sure the dark side doesn't regain power in governmental policies. Of course, there will always be rogues, but I can assure you that anyone who defies me won't live long. I had to kill half of the Dark Council to secure my position and make it clear that I won't let our people be destroyed. That's why I'm here—to offer mercy to our people and give us a chance to turn things around."

I leaned back slightly. "So we just take our ships and leave? Leave Korriban and just go home?"

"If you want," she replied matter-of-factly. "I'll be honest, I'm more than willing to hand Korriban over to the Republic, under the condition that they return it in 50 to 100 years. That's enough time for them to build up some resistance to the dark side, and when they rejoin our system, there will be more people fighting alongside me against the fools in our ranks."

I thought for a moment. "I'll need to speak with the Republic's leaders. But, if your terms hold, that might be doable."

She nodded. "Understood. But the sooner we get confirmation that the war is over, the sooner I can start securing the borders and preventing this from turning into a pirate haven. Barbarism and chaos will be fought back, and civilization will reclaim this space. I'll prevent any further invasions for as long as I reign."

I smiled at her words. "If you're telling the truth, as a fellow monarch who has done what's best for her people, I hope you have a long reign."

"Thank you, Empress. I plan on it," she replied, her eyes calculating something I couldn't quite read. I shook my head, dismissing the thought.

"Is there anything else you wish to discuss before I begin the process of seeing if the Republic is willing to talk about peace terms?"

She nodded. "Yes, one other thing. We'd like the combat data your ships gathered during the last fight. Some of the ships that returned to the capital indicated that my father's flagship wasn't destroyed. This annoys me. I would like to hunt it down before it becomes a problem—if you understand my meaning."

I raised an eyebrow. "Not a fan of your father, then?"

She gave a rueful smile. "I doubt you are either. But imagine living with him for twelve years, only to be kicked out onto the streets because you weren't powerful enough in the Force. He assumed I'd be dead within a week."

I couldn't help but laugh. "I'll have those reports sent to you. Worst-case scenario, it helps you secure your rule against any remaining leadership we missed. And if you're more open with the Republic, perhaps this could be beneficial for everyone." Maybe this place could be rebuilt, and the destruction I've witnessed could be turned around.