Seetha

Sithian Lucasi

Larry Garfield

Revision History
Revision 1 25 January 2011

Approved by Gamemaster Director David Wonderly


Table of Contents

Overview
Physical appearance
Language
Culture
Naming
Politics
Space travel
Technology
History
The rise of Darth Slithe
The Crag War
The Seetha-Federation War
The betrayal of Darth Sidious
The Great War
The return of the Palpatine
The fall of Maul
The second burning

Overview

The Seetha are a reptilian species with whom the Federation has had limited but mixed contact. That contact to date has been unfortunately mostly hostile and has allowed for only limited cultural exchange, so much information on the Seetha is still unknown. Most of the information presented here about the Seetha was gleaned from selected prisoners of war from the Federation's multiple small conflicts with the Seetha. In particular, Starfleet Intelligence would like to thank Darth Sosa, who provided most of the historical background of Seetha politics in exchange for diplomatic asylum.

Physical appearance

The Seetha are a bipedal reptilian species generally considered part of the Crocodylidae family. An adult Seetha stands approximately 1.2 meters in height, although their torso is curved forwards giving the Seetha a permanent forward hunch. That, combined with strong leg muscles, allows the Seetha to spring forward very quickly for their bulk to catch a quarry. The Seetha's legs angle significantly outward from their body until the knee, where the leg heads straight downward. The Seetha's arms are more similar to terran arms, with a single elbow.

Seetha have six digits on each limb, including two opposable thumbs on each hand, one on each side. However, Seetha arms are built to allow the Seetha to drop to all fours and run quadruped for short distances of less than 20 meters, achieving a surprising speed. Each thumb has a non-retractable claw, approximately 1.5 cm in length. Most Seetha keep their claws trimmed and blunted to avoid them getting in the way of daily activities, although they can still be quite dangerous when desired.

The Seetha also have a broad tail that tapers from the back of their body as an extension of the backbone. The tail serves as a counter-balance for the Seetha's forward-leaning torso, and if a Seetha spins around quickly it also serves as a blunted weapon.

The Seetha's skeletal structure is very dense, giving them considerable strength and resistance to broken bones. On the other hand, that density makes it very difficult for broken bones to heal, and often a Seetha with a broken bone is considered a cripple for life. The Setha's tough musculature also adds to their strength but reduces flexibility. Seetha skin is equally strong, a thick leathery scaled skin that is almost universaly dull green in color. The Seetha also have a set of short, rounded spikes running down the length of their spine, growing smaller as they reach the tail, that are generally considered vestigial armor from earlier in their evolution.

Language

The Seetha have over 70 major language groups spoken throughout their territory. The most widely spoken lingua franca is called Slolam, and has proven extremely difficult for non-Seetha to learn due to its incredibly subtle tonal differences and dependence on the Seetha's forked tongue to form the correct sounds. All but the most skilled linguists are encouraged to avoid attempting to speak Slolam, as a slightly misspoken word can frequently result in a vastly different, and often grossly inappropriate, meaning.

Because of their mouth and tongue structure, Seetha also have a difficult time properly forming words in Linguacode. The most recognizable attribute of a Seetha accent is an over-emphasis on any letter S, accompanied by a a guttural growl or hiss throughout most of the sentence.

In Linguacode, the word "Seetha" is considered both the singular and plural noun as well as an adjective.

Culture

The Seetha live in a stratified feudal society. Seetha do not mate for life, and although little is known of their social habits it is known that eggs, once fertilized, are not kept by parents. Rather, they are deposited essentially anonymously at a local or regional hatchery. These hatcheries serve as nurseries, schools, and primary child-rearing facilities until the young reach adolescence, at which point they are tracked into a number of different possible life careers.

Most are tracked into a trade of some sort, apprenticed to a craftsman in either a formal guild or an independent, depending on the field. They form the bulk of the population, and rarely will a Seetha from this class travel far from his home region unless he joins a military.

A select few are directed toward one of a number of academies. These academies function as institutions of higher learning, military academies, and political training grounds. The curriculum at such an academy includes standard academic subjects but also intensive physical training and discipline. More than a third of entrants into an academy either wash out or die during their training. Those that complete the process, however, and survive their final review tests, are granted the title of Padawan.

The Padawan form the backbone of Seetha society. Most positions of civilian leadership, most military officers, and political administration and bureaucracy are restricted to Padawans, and they hold a position of respect and authority that would come with such a position. Some anthropologists have equated them to the priesthood of Medieval Europe on Earth, although the strenuous physical training would be closer to that expected of a would-be knight.

The true leaders of Seetha society, however, are the Darths. A Darth is a lord and noble, and most of Seetha politics and culture revolve around them. Any Darth may bestow Darth-hood upon a Padawan, but only a Padawan. Although there is no inherent hierarchy amongst the Darths, there is an expectation of loyalty from one Darth to the Darth who titled him.

Raising a Darth is considered a closer bond than most cultures view family, and life-long loyalty, both directions, is expected. In fact, a Darth will typically track his "lineage" much the way a hereditary nobility will.

Political leadership is restricted to Darths, as are key positions within the military and especially high military positions, such as command of an especially large vessel or of a fleet or army. All hatcheries and academies are also overseen by either a single Darth or a council of Darths, depending on their size and level of prestige.

The vast majority of Darths are male. Females are eligible to become Darths, but it is extraordinarily rare for them to then hold any position other than administrator of a hatchery. Although it is not technically forbidden for a female Darth to follow some other path it is quite rare for them to do so. It is also unusual, but not unheard of, for a male Darth to hold an administrator position at a hatchery.

At any given time, between 5 and 10 percent of the population earns the title of Padawan and only about a half percent of the population achieves the status of Darth.

Naming

There is vast regional variation in Seetha names such that there is no consistent cultural naming style as there are among some species. However, at birth a Seetha is given a name by his hatchery and also takes the name of the hatchery with the prefix "sa", much as a human would take a family surname. A Seetha who completes Padawan training will additionally take the name of his academy, denoted by the prefix "s'he" (pronounced "sah-hee"). Thus, a particular Seetha may be named "Skaha sa Trundis s'he Khalg", which would more literally translate as "Skaha of the Trundis Hatchery, Alumnus of Khalg Academy".

When one is made a Darth, or "raised" as the Seetha refer to it, one also takes a new name. The individual's old name and identity are considered in the past and never spoken again. The individual is in a sense reborn, and from then on they are one of the elite of Seetha culture. A Darth has only the single name he gives himself.

Politics

Sith is divided into a multitude of territories, or Parsels, ranging in size from a single city to a vast territory spanning thousands of square kiliometers. These Parsels are largely historical and do not necessarily correspond to current political or strategic considerations, but the borders do occasionally shift due to political maneuvering. Every Parsel is ruled by a Darth, who is, for all intents and purposes, The Law within his Parsel. Each Darth maintains and equips his own military that is answerable to him, or to a Darth that commands a military division and is sworn to him. A Darth also has authority to raise an army from the civilian population, although in more recent times that is less common due to the skill level required for modern warfare.

A Darth may raise a Padawan in his employ for a variety of reasons, including support for a growing military or economy, to serve as a senior adviser, or to administer an area within a larger Parsel such as a city or district. These landless Darths, while loyal to their raisers, frequently spent much of their time trying to position themselves to take over either their home Parsel upon their raiser's death or a neighboring Parsel, particularly those in the military.

It is also common for a Darth to swear fealty to a neighboring Darth for mutual protection, and to keep that more powerful Darth happy. Both loyalty and tribute is expected from the vassal Darth, and a Darth may demand both economic and military assistance from a Darth sworn to him. However, there is no expectation of loyalty or even friendship between two Darths both sworn to the same Darth, and it is not unusual for two Darths to be at war with each other while both being sworn to serve the same 3rd Darth, who is himself sworn to another Darth, and so on.

When a Darth dies, all oaths sworn to him are annulled. Although the Seetha do not track heredity and there can therefore be no heir, it is common for a landed Darth to make it known who his chosen successor is out of those that he has raised. There is no guarantee that Darth will be able to hold the Parsel, however, and convince the rest of the Darths in the area to become or remain loyal to him. Most Darth deaths, therefore, are followed by a brief period of local political chaos and sometimes bloodshed as everyone jostles for new position. The larger the network of loyalty unraveled by a Darth's death, the messier the resulting fallout typically is.

Although it is rare for a vassal Darth to turn on the Darth to whom he is sworn, it has been known to happen. It is generally considered a dishonorable betrayal unless successful, in which case it is viewed as a proper course of action to unseat a Darth who was so weak. (The distinction is in practice frequently made by the size of the occupying army.) For a Darth to turn on the Darth who raised him, however, is almost unthinkable. It is viewed as a worse offense than patricide and treason rolled into one.

It is also not at all unheard of for a Darth commanding an army or fleet on behalf of his raiser to, upon his raisers death, take the military under his command with him and go elsewhere. These mercenary militias may be absorbed by another Parsel, the Darth may swear loyalty to another landed Darth, or simply end up in the employ of another Darth (either landed or another mercenary) for as long as it remains profitable to do so.

Should a Darth from one Parsel go to war with and conquer a neighboring Parsel, the Parsels remain independent of each other but both under the rule of a single Darth. Depending on the situation, the conquering Darth may rule in his own name in both Parsels, name another Darth from that area or his own military to act as his regent, raise a new Darth loyal to him to rule the territory as a close ally, or simply leave the area in chaos to sort itself out.

As one would expect from such a system, allegiances are continually shifting and loyalty amongst Darths complicated. It also results in situations that would seem horribly confusing and contradictory to most observers but are simply part of daily life for the Seetha.

Despite that, enlightened self-interest generally keeps conflict to a dull roar. Although rarely in a state of widespread planetary peace, total all-out planetary war is rare and there are, generally, less than two dozen major alliances planet-wide. These alliances, of course, readily shift over time.

The history of Darth Slithe's rise to power, described below, gives a deeper glimpse of Seetha politics.

Space travel

When the Seetha began developing space travel, first within their own system and then to other systems, they took their political system with them. At first, different colonies were ruled by Darths, raised by a Darth on Sith, who acted as a governor on his raiser's behalf. Naturally multiple competing Darths frequently set up colonies on the same worlds, leading to predictable conflict. After a generation or two, the colonies developed into Parsels in their own right and the same structure continued.

Off-world Darths frequently allied themselves with powerful Darths on Sith that commanded sizable fleets, either trade vessels or combat vessels or both, but just as frequently went their own way. Ironically, the first time in Seetha history that a single world was under the rule of a single Darth was approximately a century after Sith's primary moon, Xizor, was colonized and the moon was united (through both conquest and allegiance) under Darth Fessalh. That unity lasted only 30 years until his death.

Although the exact number of colony worlds is unknown, it is believed to be less than a dozen. Their populations are unknown but are believed to range from a few hundred thousand to several million. Known colonies include: Sith's primary moon of Xizor (Zeta Epsilon IVa), Alderaan (Zeta Epsilon VII), and Maul (Zeta Omicron II) in a neighboring system.

Technology

The Seetha are inferior to Federation technology with regards to spaceflight and military capacity, at least as observed to date. The fastest Seetha vessel observed was traveling at warp 6.8. Their primary weapon systems are disruptor style, similar in design to Klingon disruptors although there does not appear to be any evidence of technological exchange. Although not as fast or powerful as Starfleet vessels, they do tend to be quite maneuverable.

The Seetha often prefer to operate in small fleets or packs to independent operation. That is due in part to the desire of a fleet-commanding Darth to be present and in command should his fleet be responsible for a notable victory.

History

The rise of Darth Slithe

Darth Slithe is widely regarded, by both the Seetha and Federation observers, to be the greatest Seetha leader in centuries. It is under his leadership that the Seetha have known the greatest unity and stability in their history, although ironically it came just before the greatest period of strife the Seetha have ever known.

Slithe (his birth name being unknown as the Seetha do not acknowledge it) was hatched in the Parsel of Shassah, a modestly sized territory that has few natural resources but controls a number of strategic over-land trade routes. He was raised by Darth Aahasszaha and named governor of the second largest city in the territory, Kazaa, only 2 years after completing his time in an academy. Darth Aahasszaha had sworn allegiance to Darth Ssanda who ruled the nearby Parsel of Tesahas, a large, wealthy, and militarily powerful Parsel.

When Darth Aahasszaha died in ERY 2334, most expected Slithe to maneuver himself into his place as the new ruler of Shassah. However, he instead allowed his main rival, General Darth Nihlas, to seize the capital city and take over. Slithe did not swear allegiance to Darth Nihlas, however, creating a temporary confusion as to whether Kazaa was even part of Shassah at that point. That was quickly resolved, however, when Darth Ssanda was found dead by dismemberment at the hands of a mercenary army commanded by Darth Ssyfoah that had been in his employ. Slithe promptly declared himself ruler of Tesahas, a claim that had no support or justification aside from the subsequent death of the three leading members of Ssanda's court who had planned to succeed him. The rest of the Darths that had been loyal to Ssanda quickly swore allegiance to Slithe, solidifying his power as lord of both the Parsel of Tesahas and the city of Kazaa.

Two months later, the full military might of Tesahas turned on Shassah and Darth Nihlas was quickly defeated. Slithe named Darth Ssyfoah to rule Shassah as his vassal, fulfilling their prior agreement.

With the clear shift in power in the area, several other landed Darths in the area, three mercenary armies, and two mercenary fleets, most of whom had been loyal to Darth Ssanda before, allied themselves with Slithe within a year. That solidified him as the most powerful Darth on the continent, a position he maintained through generous, almost magnanimous support of those Darths sworn to him. Slithe also demonstrated a genuine skill for managing and ruling his empire, not just creating it, and enjoyed considerable support from the general populace.

Slithe then turned his attention off-world. When the most powerful Darth on Xizor died, Slithe positioned his fleets above the capitals of the two largest now-independent Parsels on the moon, gunports open and fully armed, but made no demands or moves to attack. His reputation by that point well-established, both Darths made the self-interested decision to swear their loyalty to him. Since they already had numerous other vassal Parsels that gave Slithe indirect control over a large portion of Xizor. Providing military and economic backing to both of his new supporters he aided them in annexing, either through conquest, political maneuvering, or outright bribery, nearly two thirds of the Parsels on Xizor. One even turned his attention back to Sith, attacking and capturing several territories on the homeworld which were, then, in turn, under Slithe's dominion.

One of those Parsels, the island of Urlachaa, was taken over by a mercenary Darth named Eeeassiah who fancied himself Slithe's successor, and attempted to have him assassinated. As he was not directly sworn to Slithe but only indirectly through two other Darths, that was considered "fair game". The attempt failed, however, and Slithe chose to make an example of him. He ordered his direct vassal on Xizor to raise an army, and directed him to do so by in turn raising an army from his vassal, who in turn was the one who had raised Darth Eeeassiah. That army, under Slithe's direct command, he sent against Darth Eeeassiah despite the army itself consisting primarily of troops that were, in theory, under Darth Eeeassiah's command, backed by Slithe's lieutenant, Darth Ssyfoah of Shassah. Darth Eeeassiah was, on Slithe's orders, captured alive after a bloody battle and permitted to watch as Ssyfoah's troops turned on those native to Urlachaa and slaughtered them, then proceeded to raze the entire island to the ground. Darth Eeeassiah himself was then executed over the course of four days, and his remains scattered across the island that they may serve to re-fertilize the island. To this day, Urlachaa remains uninhabited and Slithe was never threatened by a Darth indirectly under his dominion again.

With the loyalty of an unusually long chain of vassals thus assured, Slithe moved to seize control over most of the rest of the planet. Sometimes employing mercenary armies, sometimes employing targeted assassination, sometimes supporting vassals of his with considerable support, but rarely directly attacking a Parsel directly he was able to bring nearly a third of Sith and three forths of Xizor under his control. After that, most other Darths chose, wisely, to avoid conflict and ally themselves with Slithe's growing empire directly. Those that didn't were replaced by those that did, in some cases by those from within their own ranks or those raised to Darth status by Slithe contingent upon a favorable shift in political attitudes toward him.

Before he had even completed unifying Sith and Xizor, Slithe employed similar tactics to bring Alderaan largely under his authority, bringing fully 90% of the population of the system under one rule for the first time in history.

His crowning achievement, however, was the conquest of Maul. A harsh world, it had developed a strong industrial base that gave it a strong trading position with the homeworld, which along with Alderaan provided most of the food for the Seetha realm. Maul was surprisingly unified at the time, although by no means as stable as Slithe's empire. Nonetheless, Slithe was able to, through bribery, false intelligence, faked attacks, and outright lying instigate numerous wars between the most powerful Darths on Maul that quickly devolved into civil war. Into that situation stepped a young, aggressive Padawan who would later be known as Sidious.

Sidious had been a high ranking military officer originally from Xizor but who had moved to Maul to join the military of the most powerful Darth on the planet. Despite being only a Padawan he had begun forming his own alliances and networks of supporters long before Slithe approached him. Raised to Darth status by Slithe, Sidious leveraged his network of support to seize control of most of the military of his former Darth and turn it against him. Backed by Slithe's considerable military as well, he leveled two cities on Maul, declared himself ruler of the largest Parsel on the planet before his predecessor and former liege was even dead (an oversight that was soon corrected), and demanded the allegiance of the rest of the Darths of Maul. Most, deciding they did not want the bloodshed of Sith's unification to be brought to their world, reluctantly agreed. Those that did not were soon succeeded by Darths raised by Sidious for that purpose.

One of Sidious' closest allies was Darth Sosa, lord of P'hakt. He had been one of the major independent Darths on Maul before Slithe's involvement, and had managed to come out of the ensuing chaos in an even stronger position than before. He had befriended Sidious even before Slithe raised him, seeing the potential the young Seetha had, and when it became clear that Sidious was Slithe's chosen planetary governor he threw his support behind him before Sidious had even claimed a Parsel.

Now with four worlds under his dominion, Slithe took time to more firmly establish his own position socially as well as militarily. With most of Sith at a state of relative, if forced, peace defensive budgets were partially redirected to infrastructure, development, education, research, and other non-military endeavors. These reforms won Slithe even further support from the general populace. He even went as far as naming a chosen successor to Darths under him who had died of natural causes, an authority that no Darth before him had ever claimed. Some wondered if he would even name a successor for himself in time, creating a dynasty.

After three decades, the First Seetha Empire reached a state of stability and unity never before seen in Seetha history, in ERY 2367.

The Crag War

All of that stability came to an end only four years later. In 2368, the Palpatine Naboo sect, in control of the Rolchana, enslaved the Crag and turned their homeworld of Crell into a platform for a massive territorial grab. Their first target was the Seetha, not because they wanted the system but because they knew that the Seetha were a potential threat due to their proximity if not dealt with swiftly.

In late 2371, an armada of over 1000 Furry-class Crag vessels (which would, a decade later, be converted into Starfleet's Yub nub-class) appeared without warning in the Sith system. They turned their anti-matter torpedoes on Xizor and in the span of a mere 12 hours reduced the entire moon to rubble claiming tens of millions of lives before departing.

The attack threw the Seetha into disarray. Xizor had been a major industrial center due to its plethora of natural resources, to say nothing of its political significance within Darth Slithe's network of power. Now all that was left of Sith's only natural satellite was a small asteroid field that made navigation hazardous, rubble that fell into Sith's atmosphere as shooting stars, and a spreading cloud of gas and debris that, in a century or so, will form into a small ring around the planet.

The calls for vengeance against the Crag were almost as loud as the deafening roar of an empire coming unraveled. Slithe moved quickly to reaffirm his position by claiming dominion over territories on Sith that he had controlled only indirectly through Xizor's Darths by fiat. In some cases he was successful, but in others it resulted in a lengthy conflict as several Darths had to be persuaded by force to remain part of his empire. Alderaan, too, was up in arms, less so due to political instability than because it had relatively little heavy industry of its own, relying mainly on agriculture that it traded to both Xizor and Maul. Only Maul remained relatively stable, as Slithe's control there was almost entirely through Darth Sidious who remained loyal. Ironically, the destruction of Xizor made the industry-heavy Maul all that much more influential.

By the time the Crag War had ended with the destruction of the Rolchana in 2375, Slithe had only just barely managed to re-stabilize most of his empire. Several Parsels were still no longer under his control, and a number of powerful fleets had turned to piracy rather than remain part of the hierarchy he had built. The Crag, meanwhile, had petitioned the Federation for membership. Despite the recent war and the Crag's relatively low technological level, the Federation Council still chose to admit Crell in order to help stabilize and solidify the region. To the Seetha, however, this was a horrible turn of events as it meant vengeance on the Crag would be difficult to impossible. Although Slithe was reluctant to do so, pressure from newly emboldened Darths, especially Sidious, prompted a clandestine attempt to infiltrate the admission ceremonies aboard the USS Alliance to sabotage them by any means necessary. That attempt was thwarted by Starfleet and Crell was admitted to the Federation in 2375, although the sabotage attempt stands as the first direct contact between the Seetha and the Federation.

The Seetha-Federation War

Slithe's power base weakened, he was unable to prevent several more aggressive Darths from beginning to attack Federation ships on their own. They were joined by a number of pirate fleets who saw both revenge and profit in raiding Federation shipping lines that were now stretched uncomfortably thin.

Although they were able to make several successful attacks against un-escorted civilian transports or lone Starfleet vessels, including the frigate the USS Wisconsin, Starfleet's Fleet Four command on Deep Space 20 quickly grew weary of the attacks. It dispatched a task force let by the USS Normandy that eliminated three independent Seetha fleets and one fleet under the command of Darth Sosa. (Slithe was unaware that Sidious had been one of the agitators of aggressive moves against the Federation.)

With the rebellious Seetha turned back, Slithe took the opportunity to contact the Federation to negotiate a peace treaty. He understood that a direct assault on the Federation was futile, and was more interested in retaining his authority at home and potentially expanding it to other Seetha colonies than in a long, protracted war with a technologically superior foe. In late 2376, therefore, the USS Alliance was dispatched to Sith to negotiate and sign a peace treaty.

That summit was sabotaged not once but twice. Darth Sidious, still not willing to accept peace with the Crag responsible for the destruction of his homeworld of Xizor, arranged for members of Slithe's delegation to assassinate the Federation Ambassador, Maurene Jensen. Meanwhile, Admiral John Johnson, administrator of the Arbuckle Ship Yards, arranged his own sabotage plan to avenge the death of his wife and children aboard the USS Wisconsin and plotted to have members of the Alliance crew assassinate Darth Slithe. Sidious' plan was successful, although Admiral Johnson's was not.

Nonetheless, in the ensuing on-board chaos both sets of saboteurs were captured and Alliance CO Fleet Captain William Bligh was able to reach a tentative treaty with Slithe. The treaty established a common border and neutral zone, and took the unusual step of turning the Seetha assassin over to the Federation for prosecution and the Starfleet assassins over to Slithe for prosecution, with a stipulation that the treaty would be re-negotiated in six months at Starbase 202 in Crell orbit.

The betrayal of Darth Sidious

Despite his loyalty to Slithe, Sidious was still furious at the Crag and the Federation for the destruction of his homeworld. That hatred became all consuming, especially after repeated failures to disrupt the Crag-Federation relationship and seeing the potential for Federation duplicity in Admiral Johnson's actions.

With a final peace treaty looming, Sidious began to form his most ambitious plan yet. Through his own agents he began to spread dissent with Slithe through Maul's populace, and especially key Darths. Darth Sosa (although not a native of Xizor) supported and encouraged those efforts out of loyalty to Sidious, hatred for the Federation, and a sense that he could increase his own position considerably in what was clearly building.

For the peace summit, Slithe had sent Darth Ssynthia to represent him. Ssynthia had been the young chief administrator at the hatchery where Slithe was hatched and was the closest he had ever had to a mother figure. As he rose to power, he had taken her with him as an advisor, confidant, and occasional ambassador. As one of the extremely few female Darths of political significance, she had earned a reputation as trustworthy, honest, and not to be trifled with when she had the backing of Slithe himself. It was also said that she had personally slain four men, including a Darth, who had threatened her, her hatchery, or Darth Slithe. (Although a homicidal record was expected for a male Darth, it was extraordinarily rare for a female Darth to even have a need to do so, much less to have actually killed another Seetha.)

Ssynthia's loyalty to Slithe beyond reproach, Sidious instead turned to captains within Slithe's personal navy, offering them money or raising to Darth or both in return for their support. He even cut deals with Federation civilian captains to turn them to his side. By the time of the peace conference, Sidious believed, he had everything in place for a two-pronged strike. He would throw the conference into chaos, damage or destroy the Federation-Crag alliance, and then take advantage of the resulting fall-out to break from Slithe himself and challenge him for rule of Seetha space.

Once aboard Starbase 202, his agents kidnapped the Crell head of state, Chief Elder Daltuak. Thinking that only Daltuak could sign a treaty, as lord of his territory, Sidious calculated that without him no treaty would be possible. He had not counted on the Crag militia, however, as not only Starfleet security but much of the civilian population of the station turned out to locate and stop his agents before they could make good their escape and rescued Daltuak. Seizing control of one of the Seetha vessels Sidious' agents attempted to escape without their prize, but were intercepted by the USS Robert E. Lee, which was assigned to Starbase 202 as a support vessel, and the Yub nub-class USS Foam. Seeing no means for escape, the Seetha rammed the Lee, destroying both ships with all hands.

The immediate threat dealt with, the treaty was quickly signed. However, before he could depart the station Federation Ambassador Bric Harden was killed by a lone remaining suicide bomber that had not left with the rest of the Seetha rebels.

Within an hour of the treaty being signed, Sidious broadcast a message across the entire sector declaring Maul's independence from Sith, and, by implication, his from Slithe. Shocked, Darth Ssynthia departed quickly to race back to Sith. Such a betrayal was nearly unprecedented, certainly so when Slithe was still in a position of greater power than any Darth before him. As an unintended parting gift, however, her vessel left behind a number of skara, a small non-sentient lizard native to Sith that inhabits some Seetha vessels much as rats inhabited early ocean-going vessels. A skarum, much like a rat, has a proclivity to breed rapidly.

Within days, all-out warfare had begun between forces loyal to Slithe and those loyal to Sidious. Despite his unconscionable rejection of his raiser, Sidious commanded surprising loyalty and even some elements on Alderaan sided with him, further complicating matters for Slithe. Bloodshed on both Maul and Sith, as both Darths purged their own power base of those too close to their adversary, was swift and violent.

The Federation, not wishing to become involved in clearly internal Seetha politics, forewent an exchange of ambassadors and ordered the newly established Seetha-Federation border sealed in August of 2377.

The Great War

Although Federation diplomats referred to the situation as a Seetha Civil War, Seetha politics didn't view it that way. Over the next year, in no less than 40 major engagements those Darths loyal to Slithe clashed with those that had sided with Sidious. Although Slithe's forces were more numerous, Sidious' position within Slithe's power hierarchy, wide-spread dissent, lingering hatred for the Crag, and Maul's strong industrial base meant that the battle was very evenly matched for some time.

Most of the conflict centered around Alderaan, where Sidious had commanded surprising support. Alderaan had been largely ignored by Slithe after the destruction of Xizor while he rebuilt his power base on Sith, and Sidious had stepped in with support of several Darths. As far as Slithe was concerned Sidious was simply doing his part to support his liege, but the shift in loyalty made Alderaan a key front. War raged across the planet between Darths loyal to one or the other party and several that attempted to remain independent as Slithe's personal fleet engaged Sosa's in orbit.

Darth Sussudio was one of those independent Darths. His liege, a loyalist of Darth Slithe, had been killed early in the conflict and he had opted to secure additional territory for himself from other newly-unaligned Darths rather than to immediately take sides. Both Slithe and Sidious courted his support, but he refused to ally himself to either party and neither was in a position to force him. A native of Alderaan, he had no natural allegiance to either Darth.

The turning point came at the battle of Darnassus Tower. Darnassus was a mountain range in the southern hemisphere where forces loyal to Sidious had established a surface-to-orbit cannon, giving them a strategic advantage in any space combat over a quarter of the planet. Despite that, Slithe's fleet frequently made raids against shipyards in that area. Nine months into the conflict, Slithe launched a massive attack on an orbital shipyard over that part of the planet despite its seemingly strategic folly. Although they initially faced strong resistance and were sandwiched between the ground cannon and a larger fleet loyal to Sidious, the ground cannon suddenly went silent. Then, without warning or explanation, it turned on Sidious' ships, eliminating them one by one and driving them out of formation where Slithe's fleet was able to pick them off. The shipyard was taken intact and Sidious' main fleet on Alderaan was obliterated.

It was later revealed that Sussudio had finally decided to take sides and had launched his own coordinated assault on the cannon. How Slithe had been able to persuade him, or if Sussudio had acted of his own accord, is unknown. The battle, however, turned the tide in the war for Alderaan. Darths loyal to Sidious, now largely undefended, were quickly eliminated by strategic orbital bombardment and new Darths elevated to replace them. Many were loyal not to Slithe directly but Sussudio, who quickly grew into the new strong-man of Alderaan despite Slithe's misgivings about anyone else having that much power in light of Sidious' betrayal.

With Alderaan secured, Slithe directed Sussudio to turn his attention to Maul personally. It was a gamble, but Slithe's intent was, in fact, to allow Sussudio to soften up Maul's own defenses and hopefully die on the front lines. That would allow Slithe to reaffirm his own supremacy on Alderaan while weakening Sidious' home military for a later assault by forces more firmly under Slithe's control.

Sussudio's capacity as a space military strategist was as strong as his land strategy, however, and he not only survived but was victorious in three sequential engagements, destroying two fleets loyal to Sosa and routing mercenary fleet in Sidious' employ and driving Sidious' forces back to the Zeta Omicron system.

The return of the Palpatine

What was known to only a scant few was that when the Rolchana was destroyed by Starfleet there was a single lone survivor, a Palpatine named Anakin. He managed to escape from the the Rolchana along with a portable Force Generator, a smaller version of the Rolchana itself that needed only a power supply to function. He had managed to make his way undetected to Maul where he was found by Darth Sidious and befriended him. Their mutual hatred for the Crag and the Federation made them ready allies, and Anakin became a stealth advisor to Sidious. It was, in fact, Anakin who had encouraged Sidious to plan for all-out secession.

Even before the Alliance peace summit, Sidious and Anakin conspired to destroy the Crag themselves. Locating, by chance, the wreckage of a Romulan warbird left over from the Crag War, they salvaged its warp core, a quantum singularity, and used it to power the portable Force Generator. Working through agents, they managed to smuggle the Force Generator to Crell where their operatives, both Seetha and Federation citizens either bribed or "converted", slowly began re-enslaving key members of the Crell government. Their intent was to, eventually, destabilize Crell and start a civil war, causing the Crag to commit genocide against themselves and eliminate the Federation's main power center in the region.

For his role in the Sidious' plans to date, Sidious raised Anakin as a Darth despite him not being a Seetha and having never survived a Padawan academy. Anakin took the name Darth Vader for himself, and he quickly adapted to Seetha culture as his own family and people had died with the Rolchana.

It was not Starfleet that discovered Sidious and Vader's plot against the Crag but a lucky group of civilians, led by the editor of the local branch of the Starfleet News Network, Oliver Garfield. Nearly a year after the Seetha civil war began, Garfield and a half-dozen other civilians, both human and Crag, managed to locate and infiltrate the underground facility where the Force Generator was held, steal it, and attempted to transport it off-world in Garfield's company liner the SS Scandal.

As the shuttle achieved orbit, however, the civilian freighter SS Essess under the command of Thomas "Tug" Benson broke dock at Starbase 202 and attacked the Scandal. Benson had been in Sidious' employ for some time smuggling supplies to and from Maul, and had been directed by agents on the surface to stop Garfield and his team. Quickly taking out the Scandal's shields, the Essess transported the Force Generator aboard and attempted to leave the system. Starbase 202 was at the time still repairing damage done to major control systems by the year-long skara infestation. Having just managed to corral the pests, however, the station was able to transport the majority of them on board the Essess before it went to warp and disappeared from sensors.

The fall of Maul

Two weeks later, Garfield and his assistant Elliot Carver visited the Darwin-class USS Asimov under the command of Captain Eyota Thwaya as part of a journalistic series on life in Starfleet. While on patrol near the Seetha border, the Asimov encountered, of all ships, the SS Essess. The freighter had spent the intervening time ridding itself of the skara before trying to transport the Force Generator back to Maul for safety.

The Asimov stopped the Essess for attempting to breach the sealed border, but before Garfield could convince the crew to inspect and seize the ship they were attacked by a squadron of vessels from Maul who disabled the Essess and stole the Generator and headed back to Maul at maximum warp. Taking the Essess crew prisoner and pausing to repair damage sustained in the attack, the Asimov followed.

En route to Maul, the Asimov was intercepted by Sussudio's main battle fleet. Bypassing most of the system's outer defenses, Sussudio was making a direct strike on Maul itself with the intent of taking Sidious by surprise. After a brief exchange, the Asimov temporarily joined Sidious' fleet in hopes of securing the Generator in the process.

Sussudio's fleet was met by Darth Sosa's personal elite navy, but once again the Alderaanian Darth's military prowess proved superior. Employing classic ocean-navy tactics translated into three dimensions, Sussudio's fleet crushed Sosa's force in an outer asteroid belt, leaving only Sosa's own ship still intact. Sosa made a hasty retreat to Maul with Sussudio close behind.

Sosa returned to Maul just long enough to pick up Sidious and Vader, and the Force Generator, and attempt to flee the system. They would likely have been successful, too, were it not for the Asimov, which managed to disable Sosa's ship's warp drive long enough for them to be boarded. Once the ship was secure, Vader's existence was revealed to both Starfleet and Sussudio, much to the horror of the latter. It was Sidious' second betrayal of core principles of the codes of a Darth to raise an alien, and a third to raise someone who had not survived a Padawan academy. Fighting re-ignited on the ship, and in the chaos Sidious and Vader managed to slip away in a shuttle with the Force Generator aboard.

Sussudio's lead ship pursued and fired on the shuttle, attempting to disable it. The shots went wild, however, and destabilized the Romulan warp core that was still attached to the Generator. The singularity ruptured and ripped a hole in space-time, destroying the shuttle.

Sosa, knowing he was a dead man with Sussudio, surrendered himself to Starfleet forces and the Asimov quickly departed, its mission at least partially complete with the Force Generator's destruction. Sussudio's fleet closed on Maul to secure key ports before the power base shifted with Sidious' apparent death.

The second burning

Little is know of what happened in the closing days of the war. It was, however, a short-lived reprieve. Only a month after the Asimov returned from Maul, and almost exactly as the SNN expose on the Asimov's mission was airing across the Federation, Starfleet listening posts picked up a massive disruption and shockwave coming from Seetha space. They quickly learned that it was the total and complete destruction of Alderaan.

As it was later revealed, when the Force Generator was destroyed the shuttle carrying Vader and Sidious was not. The rupture in space-time caused by the singularity had resulted in a slingshot effect, causing the shuttle itself to be cast thousands of light years away to just outside the edge of the Milky Way galaxy. Sidious was killed, but Vader barely survived and lay dying until he was by chance noticed by an approaching vessel. Several kilometers long, vaguely wedge shaped, and sporting weapons never before seen in the Milky Way, it was the bastion of his own people, the Palpatine, arriving from their home galaxy far far away to reclaim the Rolchana. Finding Vader, they revived their lost kinsman and encased his broken body in a full suit that kept him alive. When revived, Vader took command of the Palpatine vessel and set himself on the destruction of all that he felt had wronged him.

Alderaan was his first target. Embracing his new-found people, he saw the Seetha as weak and Alderaan in particular as the place where his and Sidious' hopes had fallen. The massive vessel, moving at transwarp speed, arrived without warning in the Zeta Epsilon system. There it turned its main weapon on Alderaan, a massive anti-proton beam that with a single shot drilled to the core of the planet and ignited its core, shattering the world to pieces.

The Star Destroyer was later itself destroyed in orbit of Hargh, the homeworld of the Yuki, at the Battle of the Five Fleets. Acting in rage at the loss of his homeworld, much as Sidious had done before, Sussudio led an attack fleet in pursuit of the Star Destroyer. He arrived just as the Star Destroyer was destroyed in combat and demanded reparations from the Federation, more because the Federation was there than anything else.

With the arrival of the main battle fleet of the Malencar sect of the Palpatine, however, Sussudio was forced to join forces with Starfleet's Fleet Four and the Fett sect of the Palpatine, also present. Joined by a fleet of the Bendu, from the Palpatine's home galaxy, their combined forces were able to defeat the Malencar sect but only just barely. The Bendu fleet then departed to round up the remaining Palpatine in the Milky Way and return home with them. Sussudio's fleet suffered heavy losses, leaving him little choice but to return to Seetha space and presumably Maul.

The Battle of the Five Fleets in 2379 marks the last known contact between the Federation and the Seetha. How Seetha politics has shifted with the destruction of Alderaan, and whether Slithe has even managed to remain in power after this latest blow to his empire, is unknown.

All Starfleet vessels are advised that although the peace treaty between Slithe and the Federation is nominally still in force, Seetha politics is such that it may not be considered binding on other Darths. Even if it is, recent events may make it impotent in practice. Seetha vessels, if encountered, should be considered potentially hostile.