Darth Temnateta
Empress of the Sith
Mandator IV-class Siege Dreadnought
"The Allied Federation - as they call themselves now - have a fleet of about two thousand ships. Seventy percent of them are former civilian vessels with weapon modifications, the rest are antiques." spoke fleet Admiral Daise Notrox, seated at a large roundtable aboard the Sith Empire's temporary flagship - a Mandator IV class Siege Dreadnought taken from the former First Order. Seated at the table was Darth Temnateta in her black jumpsuit and cloak, with her white half-mask, Chief Vizier Daha, and two other fleet commanders: each female. Admiral Daise Notrox was third in command in the new Sith Empire, leading the conference about their next mission. Projecting above the center of the table was a hologram of their full fleet; the Mandator, six Resurgent-class Star Destroyers, and three newer model ships developed on Exegol; the Defier-class Star Destroyer. The Defier was just a hundred meters shorter than the Resurgent, at 2.8 kilometers long.
It was wedge-shaped like the Resurgent, yet with more protruding juts that ran along the sides of the ship, bearing more hangar bays. The bridge complex of the ship was tiered like an Imperial-class, yet flatter and longer with a more protected command center. There were far more turbolaser cannons than its Resurgent predecessor, making up for firepower where it lacked in size. However, compared to anything in the Federation fleet, it was more than capable than handling itself.
"Our spies have detected that a fleet of just four ships are heading to Listehol at this very moment, from Coruscant." continued Admiral Notrox. The forty seven year old Admiral was born on Exegol, raised in Palpatine's Sith Eternal, and oversaw the initial design and prototype construction of the Xyston-destroyer. She had pale red hair, straight and cut perfectly at her shoulders, wearing a dark black suit with a red badge on the upper right side of her chest.
"A single Resurgent star destroyer is on its way there to combat our enemy. We will overwhelm the enemy with our new droid TIE fighters, saving our living pilots for a final confrontation if they break the initial line." said Notrox, "Then our reinforcements will ambush from behind, destroy the Federation fleet, and catch their ground team off guard - with the Jedi."
"Should we be sacrificing a fully crewed star destroyer for this operation?" asked one of the female commanders at the table, "That's about ten thousand crewpersons. And they could very well destroy one of our ships." Commander Galda Destus, thirty six, bright blond hair, was seated beside Darth Temnateta. She was also born on Exegol, and served as an intelligence director for Palpatine as he commanded Snoke from afar.
"I agree," noted the second female commander - Casarra Vens, thirty five, brunette, seated next to Chief Vizier Daha, "I think a more frontal attack with our entire fleet would prove safest."
"We are going to have to take risks if we are to destroy Organa and the Jedi." said Admiral Notrox, "And their cruisers are far from capable of destroying one of our ships. As long as we keep their fighters and bombers away, there is nothing to worry about." Darth Temnateta sensed something from Commander Vens, and looked at her, past Daha.
"Speak your mind, Commander." she said reassuringly. Casarra Vens was the youngest of the bunch, and cleared her throat,
"Well, I did some research on Listehol and the region, and there is a nearby nebula. We could hide our ships there, making them undetectable by scanners. Let the Federation forces land, and we can ambush them using transports and shuttles from the opposite side of the planet." Casarra Vens looked around the table. Galda Destus didn't seem to disagree, she was very straight-faced. Chief Vizier Daha didn't seem to oppose either, and Admiral Notrox crossed her arms, looking at the Sith Empress for final say.
"Our fleet is small, thus vulnerable." spoke Temnateta, "We will proceed with Commander Vens' plan. We shall hide the fleet in the nebula and send a ground team to overwhelm the Federation forces at the distress signal's location."
"Very well." stated Admiral Notrox, with a slight sigh, shifting her weight onto one leg, "How many troopers are we sending? We have thirty thousand remaining." Temnateta didn't like the sound of that. The number was very low.
"I'll only need a single garrison - a hundred troops." said Temnateta, getting up from her seat, "I can take the Jedi myself. Once the Jedi are dead, there will be nothing standing in our way from finding the Star Forge, and taking Coruscant."
Listehol
Northeastern Outer Rim
A planet of savannahs and steep rock formations, Listehol has been a quiet planet for most of recorded galactic history. Today, that has changed. A squadron of X-wings emerged out of hyperspace; T70s and T80s. Over forty total starfighters arrived over the greenish yellow planet, being followed by a Pelta-class frigate, three CR90 Corvettes, two Acclamator-class Assault ships, two Alliance Assault MkII frigates, and a Liberty-type MC80 warship.
The X-wings began to fly towards the planet, and a shuttle deployed from the MC80. The Resistance shuttle, carrying a company of Federation soldiers, whisked through space, following the X-wings towards the planet. The Federation fleet slowly moved towards the planet as well, activating all of their scanners, searching for any enemy ships.
"Send word to Admiral Prentos and Arch-Consul Organa, there are no signs of the enemy." ordered a male Quarren fleet commander, named Jintos Ros, wearing a deep blue uniform, standing at the front of the bridge of his ship. There were a few other Quarren officers on board, along with some humans. His crew manned the ships' major coms systems and weapon controls, monitoring the reactor and shields power - for the ship they were using was roughly forty years old.
"Yes, Commander, sending a signal now." responded one of the Quarren crew members. Commander Ros crossed his arms as he stared out the front viewport of his ship, watching the X-wings, shuttle, and Corellian corvettes get farther and farther away.
Rey led the X-wings and Resistance troop transport with her green Eta-Actis Jedi starfighter, whisking through the dense clouds of Listehol. The ship shook slightly from the strong turbulence. She occasionally checked her radar, anticipating enemy ships to appear and await them at the surface. They were approaching the location where the Listehol government sent a distress signal, informing the Federation that their leader was being held hostage by the newly named Sith Empire. R2-D2 whistled and beeped from his socket in front of Rey to her left, and she sighed,
"I know, Artoo. This place is very strange." she came through the last group of clouds, coming upon a vast valley of steep rock formations and towering trees that were spindly and skeletal. There were small streams and creeks cutting through the landscape, surrounded by dried yellow grasses and shrubs.
"Commander," spoke one of the pilots in Silver Squadron, which Rey was leading, "Arch-Consul Organa and Admiral Prentos have arrived with reinforcements."
"Good," responded Rey, "tell them we're coming upon the signal origin point." She saw a small village up ahead on a ridge, small buildings made of stone and sand. She felt a chill across her arms, running up to her shoulders, and down her back. She shook her head gently, trying to shake away the cold feelings. This wasn't the time for random instincts to kick in.
Rey got out of her starfighter, ordering R2 to remain in the ship, just in case they needed to make a quick escape. The white garbed Jedi padawan landed her starfighter in an open plaza outside the village, along with the troop transport. The rest of the squadron circled overhead, scanning the region for any enemy forces. The troop transport opened and twenty troopers came out with their rifles ready, eyes peeled, and ready for anything.
Rey took her lightsaber off her belt and held it in her right hand, firmly. The troops' captain approached the Jedi, seeking their next orders.
"Scout the west end, I'll check the east side." she said.
"Shall we split our forces evenly?" he asked.
"No, I can handle myself." nodded Rey succinctly, "Stick together, stay safe. Keep your comlinks on and alarm. Once we find any trace of the leader, contact the other, and the flagship up in orbit." the captain nodded, and he and the other soldiers began moving out to search the west end of the village. Rey continued to the east.
She walked by ceramic planter boxes in front of homes that were totally abandoned, she couldn't sense any other lifeforms in the Force, other than her troops. The doors to the houses were boarded up with panels of wood, nailed and drilled together. Some windows were shattered, with glass out on the cobblestone paths. She looked onto the rooftop of a nearby house, which was just one floor. There was a piece of cloth dangling in the wind on the ledge of the roof, caught between the struts of a small satellite dish. She looked at her comlink, the blinking green light was rapidly flashing, and she raised her wrist up to the dish.
The green light stopped flashing, but remained solid green. Rey took in a deep breath and crouched slightly, launching into the air, and landed on her feet firmly on the roof. She looked around, the roof was barren. There were some old wooden panels scattered about, abandoned tools, but nothing else. Rey slowly turned around, looking around at the nearby buildings. The wind pulled at her hair, tied up into three large buns, tugging at the loose ends of her white shawl and tunic.
Up in the sky, she saw the Corellian Corvettes remaining in position, in the upper atmosphere. The MC80 Liberty cruiser followed as well, looming through the clouds. Rey looked at her comlink, it was off completely. She tapped it - nothing. She rushed over to the edge of the building, leading to a road she hadn't been down before - it was towards the west side. She hopped off the roof and landed on her feet, crouching slightly.
"Go." the voice in her head told her, "Run." Rey looked over her shoulder, there wasn't anyone behind her. But she kept on going forward, quickly.
Leia Organa
MC85 Heavy Cruiser
Democratia
The largest ship in the Federation fleet had arrived over Listehol and was descending towards the atmosphere of the barren planet, moving in with three old Alliance Assault Mk2 frigates, two Dreadnaught cruisers, and four Nebulon-C frigates. Leia Organa commanded her small fleet from the bridge of her flagship, the Democratia, watching intently from the viewport as they approached the pale green planet.
Her ears were tuned with the nearby radar stations, waiting for the alert of enemy ships entering the system. The bridge was quiet as everyone worked at their own stations. It was solemn and dark.
"We lost contact with the ground team." informed Commander Connix, approaching Arch-Consul Organa at the front of the bridge. The young blond woman held a datapad in her hands, and had a worried look in her eyes. "And we cannot establish any contact with any other town on the planet. It's gone silent."
"This is what I was worried about." muttered Leia, shaking her head, walking down away from the viewport over to the main holotable. Admiral Prentos was standing at the table, examining the hologram of the star system - and neighboring hyperlanes and any passerby ships.
"Hyperlane activity in the area is abnormally large." stated the gruff voiced Admiral, "We must call in for the remainder of our reinforcements."
"No, let's wait until the Sith arrive. They are probably going to ambush us, and try to trap us on the planet. Let's make the bait look good." contested Organa.
"Yes, ma'am." replied Prentos.
"We need to get the ships to the signal origin point."
Rey
Rey ran down a narrow alleyway in the village on Listehol, desperately searching for the rest of her troops. The Force was pounding loudly in her mind, alerting her of danger. She needed to find the others. She needed to get to them. Rey turned at a sharp intersection, going to the left. She came upon another town-square. She froze, seeing dead bodies all across the plaza. There was a small stone fountain in the center of the square, and its water was mixed with blood… The bodies around her were all of her Federation troopers. Her heart was beating against her chest.
She felt a cold breeze come from the north, and she turned to look. Standing atop the rooftop of a house was a black caped woman, with a half-white mask on the left side of her face. In the sky, far behind her, were three Resurgent-class Star Destroyers, and a Mandator-IV class Siege Dreadnought. There were TIE fighters deploying from the star destroyers, making their way south, over the village, to the X-wings that were circling in the valley.
"I've heard a lot about you." said the woman atop the rooftop. Rey immediately grabbed her lightsaber, igniting one end of the weapon. It glowed golden, bright, and hummed loudly as she held it close to her body, pointing up at the sky; form IV stance - prepared to use a more aggressive technique. "Rey Palpatine," boomed the woman's voice. Rey could see the yellow-gold glow in her eyes, her skin was pale, she wore a fitted black jumpsuit, and her cape billowed in the wind. "you have committed an atrocity…" Rey gritted her teeth, perhaps she was referencing how she killed the Emperor.
"Who are you?" she blurted, "One of Palpatine's pawns?"
"Pawn?" Darth Temnateta snapped. She took one step off the edge of the roof and slowly floated down to the ground. She landed about twenty feet in front of Rey, right beside a dead human soldier. "No, no, no… you've got it wrong. Put down that lightsaber so we can talk, like civilized ladies." Rey tightened her grip on her black hilted lightsaber.
"Stay back." she urged. Rey could feel the ominous strength and dark energy just radiating from the ghostly woman. Darth Temnateta held out her right hand, which she had a black leather glove on.
"You are so confused and scared, you just want this to be over, and I can help you with that." hissed the Sith Empress.
"I'm not confused! I know who I am, I'm a Jedi." said Rey proudly, she took a step back, keeping her form still. "Stronger than whatever disaster you are."
"Disaster? Ouch." sneered Temnateta, flicking her wrist at her chest. Temnateta looked over her shoulder, to her fleet. The Resurgent Star Destroyers were coming closer into the valley, and the Federation fleet had arrived. The MC80 Liberty and MC85 were side by side, deploying X-wings and A-wings to combat the Sith fleet. The smaller Federation frigates and cruisers began to fire upon the Sith warships. "No one is going to save you." she added. Rey heaved her left hand back and thrusted it forward, sending a powerful wave in the Force at the Sith Empress.
Temnateta held out her right hand gently, stopping the Force-push. The wave shook the dirt and sand at her feet, slipping far to the sides in crumbles and cracks. Rey tried again, but Temnateta blocked the second attempt.
"We must work together, Rey." said the Sith, "It is our destiny."
"To hell with your destiny!" shouted Rey, grunting. She ignited the second end of her double-bladed lightsaber. Rey ran at Temnateta, holding her lightsaber behind diagonally. Temnateta immediately whipped out two lightsabers, stopping Rey's lightsabers from coming down on her. The gold and red flashed and crackled in both of their faces, and Temnateta began to laugh.
"I love your lightsaber, darling!" she cackled, and managed to push Rey back. Rey stumbled back a few steps, but gained her footing. She leapt and spun at the Sith Empress, swinging one blade end at a time. Temnateta kept her composure relaxed yet attentive, taking swift steps to avoid being cut. Rey unleashed a barrage of attacks, swinging both ends of her lightsaber, one after the other, pushing back Temnateta.
"I'm tired of this." sighed Temnateta, using the Force to lift Rey off the ground. Rey was stunned, and dropped her lightsaber. She couldn't believe what was happening - how strong she was.
"Drop her!" shouted a man on a nearby rooftop. Temnateta and Rey both turned their heads, seeing a Resistance transport landing atop a building, deploying only two individuals. The man was black haired, very tall, standing beside an older human woman… his mother. The two ignited their lightsabers at the same time, both blue, and both held them in form IV, just like Rey.
"In the name of the Jedi Order," boomed Leia, "your reign has come to an end, your majesty." Temnateta began to grin,
"Wonderful, more kills today." she threw Rey across the plaza, and Ben leapt off the building. He held out his left hand, while in the air, slowing Rey's fall to the ground. Leia jumped down to the plaza ground as well, between Temnateta and the younger Jedi.
"Surrender," ordered Leia, "and perhaps the Senate will be merciful." Leia Organa pointed her blue lightsaber at Temnateta. The Sith Empress spun both of her lightsabers at her sides as she laughed,
"Surrendering is the way of the weak - the way of the Jedi!" she spun through the air towards Leia. Leia prepared herself, lowered her lightsaber, and extended her hand. She caught Temnateta in the air and pushed her back. The Sith Empress roared angrily as she was thrown up against the wall of a house.
Both Ben and Rey watched in amazement as Leia singlehandedly threw the woman across the plaza, and grouped together. Rey got back up on her feet and ignited her lightsaber, as did Ben. The two young Jedi stood on either side of Leia, all with their lightsabers drawn. Temnateta laughed as she got up onto her feet. Her mask was cracked, running down from her left eye hole across her cheek.
Laser fire and explosions rocked in the skies above as X-wings engaged with the Sith TIE fighters, and the two fleets were exchanging turbolaser fire. Ben and Rey nervously glanced up at the fleets - seeing the destruction of an Alliance Assault frigate, and the complete engulfment of flames of the Liberty Mon Cala cruiser. The engines of the MC80 Liberty started to whir loudly as it began to fall out of the sky. A Nebulon-C frigate was destroyed, broken in half from its weak midsection, crashing into the jagged mountains.
"The Sith Empire is just beginning, you are no match for the might of us - the might of me." bellowed Temnateta, holding out her lightsabers out from her sides. She whipped them together and ran at Leia. Leia attempted to Force-push her, but Temnateta rolled onto the ground. The Sith Empress leapt back onto her feet, swinging one blade at Leia. Leia blocked, and jumped back as her son and Rey moved in on the offensive. Temnateta held back Ben and Rey with each of her lightsabers, Ben at her right, and Rey on her left. Ben clenched his jaw tightly as he tried overpowering the Sith Empress, he was going to use her own tactics against her.
"The Emperor was right, you're no real Skywalker." grunted Temnateta. Before Ben could respond, Leia speared her lightsaber into the opening in the middle of Temnateta, yet she flipped backwards. "House of Skywalker is no match for the pure might of Palpatine." Rey shook her head confusedly - glancing at Ben. Before anybody said anything, there was a ground-shaking explosion. Everyone turned their heads, seeing the winged Liberty cruiser smash into the mountain peaks that bordered the valley. The mountains crumbled, the weak and brittle stone shattered, causing enormous landslides into the valley.
TIE fighters began to approach with troop transports, from the Sith fleet. The TIEs' engines roared loudly as they flew over the village, and the troop transports landed on the outskirts of the town, quickly deploying soldiers. Ben threw his lightsaber at Temnateta, but the Sith Empress smacked it away with her left blade, and the Jedi caught it back with the Force.
"You are not powerful enough to save the ones you love." said Temnateta in a dark, sweet, tone, tilting her head. They each could hear the rushing footsteps of the Sith troopers marching through the village. Rey looked at Leia nervously, unsure what to do next. Within moments, red armored Sith troopers encircled the entire town square.
"Kill the young Jedi!" shouted the Sith Empress, and she focused on Leia. Ben and Rey stood back-to-back.
"Take the left, I'll take the right." whispered Ben, and Rey nodded. The two split and each ran into the fray of blaster fire from the Sith troopers. Rey spun her double-bladed lightsaber, keeping her head low, evading blaster fire. She threw her blade like a disc, and it sliced through five Sith troopers, who screamed in pain as they were cut in half.
Ben used the Force to pull two troopers towards him and sliced them at their necks upon close proximity. He threw the bodies forward, slamming into another three troopers. He Force-jumped up into the air, landing in the middle of a group of enemy soldiers. Upon landing, he sent a shockwave on the ground, causing the troopers to lose their balance, tumbling over. As more approached from the nearby streets, he wielded his blade around his body as fast as he could, deflecting laser bolts from every direction.
Leia stood with both her hands on her lightsaber, held at her right side, form IV, the technique that her brother taught her long ago. As screams of death filled the air from the Sith troopers, Temnateta paid no attention to them, focusing on Leia Organa. Temnateta paced forward, eyeing the Jedi Master. Leia stared back at her, maintaining total focus on the Sith Empress, and feeling her impulses through the Force. The Sith Empress wanted to attack her immediately, but withheld, knowing Leia was a formidable opponent.
"Your fleet is falling apart," said Temnateta, "I have won."
"You've spoken too soon, Empress." said Leia calmly. Leia looked up to the sky. Temnateta heard the sound of more starship engines entering the atmosphere. She looked over her shoulder. Emerging out of the clouds, between the MC85 and Resurgent destroyers was another armada of warships. There were two Venator-class Star Destroyers, three more MC85 heavy cruisers, six MC75 cruisers, a long Bothan frigate, two Corellian destroyers, three Pelta-class frigates, and a swarm of starfighters of various classes and types. The first wave of ships wasn't alone, joined by even more starships: a Lucrehulk-class battleship descended from the skies from the other end of the valley, behind Leia, with three old Techno Union light destroyers, six Munificent-class frigates, a squadron of Mandalorian gunships and fighters, and four Lancer anti-fighter corvettes.
"Impossible…" grunted Temnateta angrily, seeing more and more allied warships enter the sky from all directions. They were surrounding the Sith fleet. Two Providence-class carriers arrived behind the Sith fleet, firing upon the engines of the Mandator-IV dreadnought. The Providence carriers were flanked by four total Acclamator-class assault ships, eight Nebulon-B frigates, two Virgillian Bunker Busters, a modified Recusant Heavy Dreadnought, two round Umbaran support frigates, half a dozen Old Republic Consular/C70 light frigates, three MC80 wingless cruisers, four MC60 frigates, and three new Nebula-class Star Destroyers.
"Today is the day the Sith is put out of the Galaxy's misery." announced Leia, removing her left hand from her lightsaber. She held out her left hand at Temnateta, who was slowly looking back at Leia. Within a split second, golden Force-lightning fired out of Leia's fingertips. Temnateta remained still, and was hit with the lightning. She flew back, smashing into a metal wall, screaming in pain. Thunder exploded up in the sky, joining the chorus of explosions, laser barrages, and bombing runs from the full Federation armada.
The three Resurgent-class Star Destroyers began to call back their TIEs, sending all power to their engines and shields. As they began to rise out of the sky, the Federation fleet did not let them go. The Venators from the east fired their modified laser beam weapons from their top-side hangars at the ascending Resurgents. One of the blue beams struck the central engine of the closest Resurgent destroyer. The capsule of the engine tumbled down out of the sky, and the ship started to lose its lift.
Temnateta tried catching her breath as Leia ceased her lightning attack. She had dropped her lightsabers a few feet in front of her. She reached out her hand, wanting to take them back with the Force. Before she could, they flung the opposite direction - caught by Ben and Rey, respectively. Ben ignited the red lightsaber, examining it. He was disgusted by its craftsmanship, and pointed it at Temnateta.
Temnateta was laying on her side, trying to prop herself up with her gloved hands. Her mask was cracked and some pieces had broken off. Her half white and brown hair was strewn and messy, she started to laugh uncontrollably, and insanely.
"I - I - I can't believe this is really happening…" she stumbled onto her feet, nearly falling over. The forehead portion of her mask was cracked, and there was a hole where it should cover her cheekbone. Leia stared furiously at the Sith Empress, with her blue lightsaber angled towards the ground.
"Our reinforcements." noted Rey, looking at the sky. There was a Resistance troop transport descending from the MC85 flagship, guided by two old Republic LAAT gunships, and a squadron of Z95 Headhunter starfighters.
"I will not…" coughed Temnateta, "lose to you!" using the Force, Temnateta lifted Ben and Rey off the ground, choking them. Ben dropped the red lightsaber, causing it to deactivate upon hitting the ground. Rey gasped and coughed, clasping her neck, and dropped both her own lightsaber and Temnateta's lightsaber. Temnateta looked at Leia, she was being choked as well. Temnateta looked over her shoulder. There were four Sith TIE fighters roaring towards her, firing upon the Z95 fighters and LAAT gunships. One of the gunships was critically hit, spiraling out of the sky, and crashed into the hills. Temnateta let go of the Jedi angrily and jumped onto the roof of the house behind her.
Ben and Rey coughed loudly, trying to catch their breath. Rey glanced up from the ground. Temnateta was staring at her. The Sith Empress' mask was shattered, parts of deformed side of her face were visible. It was pale gray and wrinkled, scarred as well. There was a deep red circle underneath her left eye … just like Rey remembered that her own grandfather had.
"May we meet again, my darling niece." said Temnateta. She used the Force to retract her lightsabers off the ground, and extended her right hand into the air. Within moments, she caught onto a TIE fighter that soared overhead, which was extending a rope. Temnateta flew off with the TIE fighter, laughing. Rey's head hurt immensely. She looked across the plaza, seeing Ben cradling Leia in her lap. No. No, no, no, no. Rey struggled to get up onto her feet, crawling across the cobblestone a few feet until she had the strength to stand up. She limped over to Ben and Leia, where she lay unconscious. Ben rocked back and forth, trying to wake his mother. There were tears running down his face. Rey felt a pounding in her head, and soon could no longer hear anything around her. She stood silently still.
She paid no attention to the Federation soldiers that rushed to the scene, medics with a stretcher lifting Leia, urging Rey that it was time to go. She couldn't move. She had to be pulled by Ben.
