NationStates Jolt Archive

The planet of Tenetia was once one of the most vibrant and powerful planets in the Core Worlds. It's cities were a blend of traditional Orient style with a touch of Alderaan for the main capital, Edinburgh, with a splash of Nature from Naboo architecture. Thus, it was a beautiful place to live, though not as grand as Juria, now an asteriod field. But now...now it was hell.

Three moons once shared the sky with their mother planet. Three moons once danced the eternal dance with Tenetia. But after the battle against Chronosia, the moons were shattered beyond repair, shattered into a ring around the planet, which would have been quite beautiful in itself to see, if it wasn't for the all-too-frequent meteor strikes keeping the populations fearful of the next incoming strike.

Ah, the people. Decimated by the war against Chronosia, they were stripped of all that they took for granted by the Empire. They were 'punished for rebellion' and harboring Jedi, regressing one thousand years in a mere hundred. Weapons were nothing more than swords and spears, for to advance beyond that was to risk the wrath of the Empire upon the populace, especially from the Beast, a single unstoppable AT-AT used to terrorize the people into submission. Populations did increase again, but slowly due to the rampant diseases that struck ever so often. Only the very oldest remembered what it was like before the Empire took everything away, but those days became more and more legend as time wore on.

The Governor of Tenetia was actually the third generation of Governors that now rules over the planet with an iron fist and an army of stormtroopers culled and trained from the population. He was the son and grandson of previous governors and his own firstborn son will continue the line for the Empire if all goes well. Governor Kelso ruled from a giant castle that oversees all, leaving the people with no doubt as to who was the ruler of Tenetia...until now.

The castle was the only location on the planet with Imperial technology, the only place where it seemed like any other planet in the Empire. As such, it had a room from which relays to and from the Golan X Station, a spiky artificial moon in space, could be monitored, especially if the Jedi managed to somehow break through the FTLi field that protected and doomed the planet at the same time. For many years, nothing happened except an occasional report to and from Coruscant every now and then. But today, the status quo has changed...everything has changed...

Aboard the BlackStar Golan X space station, three clonetroopers and a whole bunch of droids were on patrol duty for anything that comes in, even if it was a mere asteroid. For many years, the scanners showed nothing more exciting than the occasional Imperial shuttle that came by to check up on things at Tenetia. But today...

Blip...blip...blip...blip...blip..blip..blip..blip...blipblipblipblipblip... The scanners have detected hyperspace reversions, a lot of them.

"We have incoming. Looks like fifty ships." One of the droids deadpanned to the clones.

"Challenge them." Clonetrooper 3284 ordered.

The droid pressed switches. "Unknown navy, you are trespassing on Imperial space. Respond or be destroyed."

"BlackStar, let the Governor know that there has been a...regime change. Lady Nightshade has returned to claim her systems by order of the Emperor."

"Aye, sir." The Clonetrooper replied and sent a message down to the Governor's Palace.

----

The governor was in his office writing in his journal when an aide walked in. The Governor was irritated. "I told you not to interrupt me when I'm working!"

"I apologize, milord. A fleet has appeared, bearing Lady Nightshade herself."

Suddenly, the Governor blanched. "A...are you sure?"

"Yes, milord."

"My word!" The Governor nearly tripped as he shot himself out of the room and ordered the honor guard to stand ready to receive the Dark Lady. His wife and three children were readied as well to meet her as per protocol when meeting an Imperial dignitary.

Moments later, the Governor, his family and honor guard assembled on the landing pad/roof of the castle, and soon, a jet-black Lambda shuttle and two screaming TIE escorts descended upon the landing pad like shadows and touched down softly. With a hiss, the hydraulic door opened on the side and a young woman with a heavyset bodyguard on her side descended down the ramp, followed by a trusted cold-hearted servant, guardian of the pair of young twins -about six years of age- also walking down the ramp impassively. The boys were Janus and Jesse, Nightshade's sons, strong in the Dark Side and someday the destroyer of what's left of the Masaki family, if she doesn't get them first.

The Governor tried not to show it, but he was afraid, deathly afraid of her Majesty. The Emperor must have been displeased with something to send her here. How the Governor displeased him, he did not know, but he does know that few have survived the resulting...punishment. He stood firm, ready to face whatever comes if it comes.

"My Lady. What a pleasure it is to see--" The sycophantic voice of the Governor was cut off by an invisible grip on his throat. He gasped for air, but could not release the supernatural grip.

"You may dispense with the pleasantries." Nightshade hissed. "There are changes to be made today. One, you are no longer Governor, and you will refer to me as Empress from now on."

The ex-Governor nodded quickly and was released, then hugged his family. But it was not over yet.

"Two." Nightshade intoned, as if talking about the weather. "You and your family will be summarily executed by order of the Emperor for failure to properly receive an Imperial dignitary. Janus."

"Yes, Mother?" The boy stepped forth as the ex-governor tried to spout excuses.

"Silence! Watch and learn, my son. For one day, you too will learn this power." His mother smiled as the Governor's family cowered in fear of what the Dark Lady will do.

"Yes, mother." Janus bowed, smiling as coldly as his mother. Janus is the favored son, the one who would rule when he is of age. Jesse is the lesser, for he is the weaker one, too unaccepting of his family's evil ways for some reason. He resented his two-minute older brother and his mother, but took care not to show it, but to watch and learn as well.

Black energy curled around Nightshade's right hand and a dark wind began to howl over the rooftops of the grand castle, swirling into the mass of black now forming on her hand. She thrust her palm outward, and the void was thrust towards the family who tried to hold on to whatever handhold they could grab to prolong their useless lives. The pull of the void was too strong and one by one, they were swallowed into a grey netherworld of eternally hungry demonic creatures: the Makai. They would not survive long in that world.

There were only two ways to escape the Makai: if Nightshade were so inclined to let her victims free, or if the victim somehow managed to escape the demon hordes long enough to reach and fight the Demon King. None (so far) have managed to do the latter, and the former was certainly not something Nightshade will do.

The punishment of the Governor and his family finished, the newly proclaimed Empress of Tenetia set about inspecting the pitiful world she landed on and deciding what must be done to carry out her Master's will: to form an Army of Darkness that will sweep across the galaxy under the Imperial banner...

When an opponent declares, "I will not come over to your side," I calmly say, "Your child belongs to us already... What are you? You will pass on. Your descendants, however, now stand in the new camp. In a short time they will know nothing else but this new community." ~ Adolf Hitler.

The pitiful state of Tenetia and surrounding systems infuriated the Dark Lady. It would take some time for the worlds to recover in order to fight for the Empire, but Nightshade had all the time in the world, thanks to the time-dilation device aboard the BlackStar. For the actual education, however, the Dark Lady had help, in the form of works by the universe's greatest (in her opinion) dictators.

She began to forge an educational system, much like that of the Hitler Youth of 1930s Earth, where children are taught to revere her as Empress, and above all to fight for the Empire, no matter what the cost is. Scattered in the teachings of math and science and Basic and other subjects was the idealism of war, of the Empire, of their Mistress. In that way, the children would be completely brainwashed to destroy all enemies of the Imperial Cause, for there is no other path for them. This was done for the first ten years of life.

When a boy turned ten years old, he was randomly 'chosen' to spend two years in boot camp, where he would be trained in the use of various weapons of the Imperial arsenal, from blasters to grenades to mortars and even heavy machine guns and light vehicles. Thus, is the mad genius of Nightshade, for she knew full well what youths are capable of in battle. Even the 'honorable' Coredians of her brother's side was forced to adopt a lighter version of the practice in order to keep military numbers up. Girls were given more specialized training, especially in assassination techniques taught by the Dark Lady herself, but they too were trained into vicious soldiers.

Boys and girls who show sign of Force sensitivity begin training in the ways of the Dark Side at this point as well. Nightshade has also called in favors, like the evil Uchiha Itachi, to train the young gifted in ninjutsu techniques as well as the Force.

Mundanes and gifted alike, once they entered the Gates of Hell -as one youngster put it- training was harsh to the point of exhaustion...and even death. Chronos, her Executor, has put his own troops in charge of training the young cadets, often beating them if they could not do a particular task. Those who failed the training (about 20%) after six months were sent back home...if they lived. Those who succeeded were to go on and train in more challenging prospects, like flying TIEs and maneuvering Walker units around. The top luckiest boys and girls were to go on and train aboard starships, and one of the Imperial Star Destroyers in orbit were given over to that respect. The failures were to go and work in agriculture, industry, and other important sectors of society, ensuring that there would be enough food and material to hold up the armed forces.

Thus was the education of the young taken care of.