Ludo Kressh ' s faction Ludo Kressh ' s faction was a collection of several Sith Council members , Sith Lords , and their respective systems that broke off from the Sith Empire to oppose its newest Dark Lord , Naga Sadow , around the time of the Great Hyperspace War . These factions opposed Sadow and his forces , both philosophically and militarily , under the lead of the former Sith Council member Ludo Kressh . Originally forced to engage in sudden , concentrated acts against Sadow and his supporters , the group eventually seized total control of the Sith Empire . It eventually crumbled after the loss of Kressh , and a devastating invasion by the Galactic Republic . History . Growing divide . After the natural death of the Dark Lord of the Sith Marka Ragnos , with no immediate successor to follow , the Sith Empire was in desperate need of leadership . The Sith Lord Ludo Kressh , a presiding member of the Sith Council , and a popular candidate for the next seat of Dark Lord , was intent on taking the Empire by the reins and ensuring Ragnos ' advances during the last century would be preserved . As Kressh led the procession of Marka Ragnos ' funeral in the Valley of the Dark Lords , his arch - rival Naga Sadow challenged his candidacy , claiming that by all rights he should be the next Dark Lord . The two exchanged fierce words until drawing swords and entering into a duel to resolve the dispute . Midway through their battle the two were visited by the spirit of Marka Ragnos . For the moment the two halted their squabbling and Ragnos foretold of tumultuous events that were soon to unfold . While Kressh was willing to work past their differences , Sadow would not capitulate to his sworn rival . Soon thereafter , a stray Republic vessel piloted by the Hyperspace explorers Gav and Jori Daragon landed in the basin of the Valley of the Dark Lords . The siblings were then immediately captured by the local Sith forces and shipped off to the Sith capital of Ziost , where their fates would ultimately be decided by the Sith Council . Kressh wished the two executed from the start , fearing that they were the precursors to a Republic invasion . Sadow , on the other hand , wished to interrogate them and use whatever information he could pry out of them to his advantage . Once the ten Council members had gathered on Ziost Kressh pleaded his case : that the Daragons were too dangerous to be left alive , and that allowing them to live would lead to an inevitable attack by the Republic . Initially his motion saw support , but both Lord Simus and Sadow argued that Kressh was acting out of fear - - that the prisoners presented a golden opportunity to lead the Sith Empire back to the Republic and to conquest . Despite Sadow and Simus ' protests , Kressh ' s popularity within the Council was enough to convince the other Lords that executing the prisoners was the only way to ensure the Empire ' s safety . A date for the public execution of the two individuals was set , and Simus was sent down to the lower levels to deliver the news to them personally . Sadow cared little for the Council ' s decree , so he set in motion a series of covert strikes on the Council Citadel to force the Council ' s hand . Sadow had his warriors wield Republic - issue blasters found in the prisoners ' ship , the Starbreaker 12 , to make it appear as if the strike originated from Republic agents . During his staged assault on the Citadel all witnesses were killed , save the prisoners Gav and Jori , whom Sadow broke from their cell . Meanwhile , Simus was carried in by his Massassi bodyguard , bewildered to see the carnage surrounding Sadow . Upon seeing his old ally , Sadow shot and killed Simus using the Republic blaster , further cementing the ruse of a ruthless Republic attack . Formation . Once word of the attack reached the Council chambers the Sith Lords were convinced that it had indeed been a Republic raid . Naga Sadow soon rejoined them , feigning no knowledge of what had transpired . Kressh scolded Sadow for his perceived lack of foresight , then directed the rest of the Council that the only hope was to raise the Empire ' s defenses and prepare for an imminent invasion from the Republic . It was at this point that Simus ' withered skull was brought in by Council member Dor Gal - ram , stunning many of the other Lords . Sadow took hold of what remained of his former mentor and delivered an impromptu eulogy that eventually evolved into a rallying speech , simultaneously taking the opportunity to make a stab at Kressh ' s character . He ended his monologue by reasserting his candidacy for Dark Lord . Much of the Council immediately voiced their support for Sadow as the new Dark Lord , while Kressh pleaded for them to listen to reason . Sadow then demanded that his rival stand down , that he had lost , but Kressh would not give in . As a display of strength , Kressh slammed his alchemically strengthened Sith sword on the floor , shattering it as the room was illuminated by the release of its stored energies . The rebellious Council Lord stormed out in protest along with his supporters , including Council members Horak - mul and Dor Gal - ram . Kressh and his supporters lingered in the Sith Citadel , deliberating on events while Sadow went through the rituals to anoint himself as Dark Lord . Elsewhere in the Citadel , agents of Sadow eventually infiltrated the lower chambers once more where Starbreaker 12 was being impounded . There they confronted guards loyal to Kressh who had been stationed there earlier . Sadow ' s Massassi took the guards by surprise and dealt with them quickly , leaving only a small insignia of Sadow ' s warriors behind . By the time news of an attack on the hangar had reached Kressh it was already too late , the Massassi and Sith engineers loyal to Sadow escaped with the impounded vessel before Kressh and his guard could arrive at the scene . What they saw horrified them , and the first conclusions were of another Republic attack . Upon closer examination of the dead , Kressh stumbled upon the planted insignia of Sadow ' s , allowing him to piece together that the attack was staged by his treacherous rival . Out From the Shadows . Upon the realization of Sadow ' s treachery , Ludo Kressh summoned his closest supporters — Dor Gal - ram and Horak - mul — to his Contemplation Chambers on his private world of Rhelg to inform them of the betrayal as well as his intentions . Upon his retelling of the events at the hangar , Kressh became so impassioned in his hatred for Sadow that upon thrice calling out his name he pulverized several massive stone statues in the chamber with dark side energies , reducing them to rubble . Once he composed himself he called for all his allies to immediately gather their fleets and prepare for an invasion of Sadow ' s fortress world , Khar Delba , to wrest control of the Empire from him before he could do more damage . Once in orbit around Khar Delba , the coalition ' s fleet of Derriphan - class battleship s quickly descended to Sadow ' s personal fortress and opened fire , laying waste to the stone bastion . Kressh ordered that no messages were to be transmitted to the surface and that they were not interested in Sadow ' s surrender , that his transgressions had been too deep . By all appearances the attack was going better than expected , as the forces of Khar Delba seemed to be putting up little resistance to the warships of Kressh . Meanwhile , within the confines of the crumbling fortress , Sadow urged Jori to escape before it was too late . Accepting his advice grudgingly , she fled the fortress aboard the Starbreaker 12 , knowing not of the tracking device Sadow had planted on it to lead him directly to the Republic . As the Starbreaker entered orbit Jori managed to narrowly avoid being blasted by the capital ships under Kressh ' s command , as Kressh cried out in desperation as he witnessed the republic vessel jumping to hyperspace . As the battle waged on , a hidden fleet of Sadow ' s located on the far side of Khar Delba ' s moon appeared and ambushed the faction ' s forces . At the same time , hidden Massassi sleeper cells activated on the ships of both Horak - mul and Dor Gal - ram , brutally murdering both Sith Lords by hand . With the instant loss of two of his battleships , the forces under Kressh were outnumbered and outgunned . Sith starfighter s surrounded the few remaining battleships under Kressh ' s command , and his faction ' s four largest capital ships were forced to beat a hasty retreat back to their slice of the Stygian Caldera . Deception . Assuming Kressh would be too cowardly to return , Naga Sadow proceeded with his plan to invade the Republic . Gathering all the Sith Lords with significant military might , Sadow and his followers began to strategize for the upcoming invasion on Khar Delba . The assembly was interrupted , however , when Ludo Kressh ' s flagship was identified in orbit . Sadow was dumbfounded as to why his rival would be foolish enough to arrive , only to be defeated once more . Eventually , a hologram transmission from Kressh himself appeared in the primary display of the meeting chamber . Kressh attempted to inform the other Sith Lords of Sadow ' s betrayal , but they were unmoved . Sadow ordered Gav to take care of the issue , resulting in a singular blast from one of the fortress ' cannons that caused Kressh ' s flagship to rupture and explode . Debris from the mid - orbit explosion continued to fall for hours over the fortress , while Sadow ordered the final preparations for the mobilization of the Sith invasion fleet to begin . Unbeknownst to Sadow was that Kressh was not actually present within his flagship , but that it was a decoy used to lull Sadow into a false sense of security , and to cease future persecution of Kressh and his remaining followers . Over Khar Shian , fighters , carriers , and flagships from around the far reaches of Sadow ' s empire converged in perpetration for the invasion . Although Sadow ' s military presence in his own empire is almost entirely depleted to swell the numbers of his invasion fleet , he is confidant that his rule is secure , despite protest by Gav Daragon . As Sadow ' s entire stretch of military might jumps to lightspeed towards the Republic , it was this exact detail that the very alive Kressh would exploit . An Empire Under a New Banner . As Naga Sadow waged his costly war against the Republic , Ludo Kressh and his followers acted quickly in retaking the Sith Empire . Soon Kressh was crowned Dark Lord of the Sith , ruler over the civilian populations and those warriors still remaining in the Stygian Caldera , while Sadow was fighting a losing battle against he Republic . At this point Kressh ' s followers ceased to be limited to a coalition of like - minded Sith Lords and Council members , but instead encompassed the whole of the Sith Empire not away fighting the Republic . Upon Sadow ' s return to Sith space after defeat at the hands of the Republic , he and his few damaged battleships were met by an armada under the command of the newly ordained Dark Lord Kressh . After an impassioned explanation of the new order of things , Kressh officially declared that Sadow be exiled from the Sith Empire forever . Sadow , proud ruler that he was , would not fall in line to Kressh ' s commands , and initiated the first battle of Korriban by ordering his remaining ships attack his enemy . Outnumbered , Sadow ' s already damaged vessels began giving out , and with nothing left to lose Sadow ordered his damaged ships to collide into Kressh ' s new flagship . The impact was sufficient to destroy both ships , and the battlefield fell quiet without a proper ruler . Soon after , the Republic forces tailing Sadow from the Inner Rim arrived and decimating what forces Sadow had remaining . Catastrophic damage forced Sadow to rout in his only remaining battleship to the remote world of Yavin 4 . The last vestiges of Sith loyal to Kressh dispersed among the stars with the Sith Emperor - to - be , or were forced to flee the descending Republic forces which bombarded the Sith worlds . Legacy . After learning of his father ' s demise at the hands of Sadow , and the Sith Empire ' s further loss against the Republic , Elcho Kressh set in motion an attempt to regain his father ' s and the Empire ' s honor . After years of preparation and alliance - forging , the junior Kressh amassed a massive force comprised of dozens of pirate systems and those disloyal to the Republic . However , Elcho Kressh ' s premature death caused the alliances that held these armies together to disintegrate before a counter - attack could be made on the Republic . Nearly three centuries later , the Sith Emperor ordered that all information and history regarding the Kressh family and their orders be destroyed . The cause of this was linked to the betrayal of the Emperor ' s apprentice , Exal Kressh , a direct descendant of Ludo Kressh . Prior to this edict , the Kressh lineage was considered one of the Empire ' s noblest , as its predominantly Pure - blooded scions over the generations were considered great champions of the Sith cause . Exal Kressh was one such Scion . Despite this edict , the Kressh name and lineage endured , and continued to produce rebellious Lords and Scions well into the future of the Empire . During the Cold War the Spirit of Horak - mul would later meet the Sith Inquisitor Kallig on the planet Hoth . Horak - mul promised aid to the Inquisitor In exchange for desecrating the temple of the Sadow ' een that had killed him and doomed the faction ' s attack on Khar Delba . In introduction to the Inquisitor , Horak - mul declared that Ludo Kressh was the true Dark Lord of the Sith , and he his right hand . Behind the scenes . Ludo Kressh ' s faction first appeared in " " , a story arc of the " " comic series , which was written by Kevin J . Anderson and released in 1996 . He later appeared in " The Golden Age of the Sith " follow - up arc , " " , in which the organization fell apart . In these appearances , Kressh was illustrated by Dario Carrasco , Jr . During these two story arcs , the faction ' s clash against Naga Sadow ' s was a major storyline . In " The Fall of the Sith Empire " first issue , " " , the head of the faction appeared severed and would soon disband without leadership . In the arc ' s final issue , " " , however , it was revealed that leader was not killed , but had staged his death so that the group could gather support while Sadow was off at war . The faction was later defeated within the same issue .