First Duel in the Iron Citadel Of the two contests of strength that happened there , the First Duel in the Iron Citadel occurred earlier in the year 3997 BBY , between the grief - stricken Jedi Ulic Qel - Droma , and Emperor Satal Keto , co - leader of the Krath and ruler of the Empress Teta system . The duel took place on the eponymous planet of Empress Teta , in the capital city of Cinnagar , on the balcony of the Krath ' s stronghold : the Iron Citadel . The duel commenced shortly after a weapons display by Ulic Qel - Droma who , as a secret agent of the Jedi , was attempting to infiltrate the dark side - following Krath cult from within . While Qel - Droma was explaining to Tetan officials new technological upgrades he had made to their planetary defenses , he was interrupted by Satal Keto , who had just received word of a female Jedi captured in the streets of Cinnagar . Accusing Qel - Droma of being a spy , Keto had the woman brought before them ; Qel - Droma immediately recognized her as his former lover , Nomi Sunrider , but unwilling to prematurely expose his deception to the Krath , Qel - Droma agreed to have her imprisoned pending execution . However , Qel - Droma had sent a secret message to Sunrider , explaining his need for more time to complete his mission . The message was never received by her ; instead , it was intercepted by Satal Keto who , in the face of Qel - Droma ' s newly exposed treachery , ordered him to be assassinated at once . The attempt failed , but succeeded in enraging Qel - Droma , who set off immediately in search of Lord Keto . Meanwhile , Sunrider managed to escape her holdings , and had also called her colleagues for an extraction in light of the deteriorating situation . Help came in the form of Qel - Droma ' s brother Cay , and the Twi ' lek Jedi Tott Doneeta . They were preparing to depart without Qel - Droma , just as Lord Keto encountered them from a balcony of the Iron Citadel . To everyone ' s surprise , Qel - Droma also appeared on the balcony , confronting the Krath warlord and engaging in a duel . It ended with Satal Keto being struck down by Qel - Droma in a fit of rage . With his dying words , Keto expressed his satisfaction in knowing that his death had successfully driven Ulic Qel - Droma to the dark side of the Force . Prelude . In 3997 BBY , Lord Satal Keto , Emperor of the Empress Teta system , was engaged in open war with both the Galactic Republic , and the Jedi Order . As leaders of the dark side worshiping Krath , Keto and his cousin Aleema Keto had recently attacked a Jedi Convocation on the planet Deneba . During the battle , Arkanian Jedi Master Arca Jeth was killed , in the presence of his former apprentice Ulic Qel - Droma . Consumed with grief , Qel - Droma vowed to topple the Krath by infiltrating them , learning their secrets , and ultimately destroying them from within . He arrived shortly thereafter in Empress Teta ' s capital city of Cinnagar , where he endeared himself to the Krath by foiling an assassination attempt on the life of Aleema . She thus became enamored with Qel - Droma , while Lord Keto instead grew suspicious of the Jedi and his reasons for being on Empress Teta . Against Aleema ' s wishes , Keto imprisoned Qel - Droma and tortured him in the dungeons of the Krath Iron Citadel , where he also injected the Jedi with a rage - enhancing Sith poison . The poison immediately affected Qel - Droma , who involuntarily released an uncontrollable wave of dark side energy , which destroyed both the torture droids and the restraint apparatus . He was then taken by Aleema to recover . Some time passed as Qel - Droma rose through the ranks of the Krath . One day , he was assisting the Tetans with upgrading their antiquated planetary weapons and defensive systems . While discussing war tactics with the Krath leaders , they were abruptly interrupted by a report of a Jedi woman captured in the streets of Cinnagar . After accusing Qel - Droma of being a spy and of being in collusion with the intruder , Lord Keto ordered her to be brought before them . Qel - Droma immediately recognized the woman as Nomi Sunrider , his fellow Jedi and former lover . Unwilling to expose his covert operation so soon , Qel - Droma agreed to personally execute Sunrider in the morning , much to both her surprise , and Keto ' s satisfaction . Later on , Qel - Droma secretly recorded a message inside of a maintenance droid to Sunrider , saying that his mission was not yet complete , and that he required more time to see it through . He sent the droid off , with hopes that it reached Sunrider in the dungeons . Unbeknownst to Qel - Droma , Keto intercepted the droid , and also discovered the hidden message . Outraged by the deception , the Emperor ordered his servant Norgor to assassinate the Jedi at once . The duel . A masked man suddenly crashed through the transparisteel window of Aleema and Qel - Droma ' s bedroom , firing two blasters in the Jedi ' s direction . Qel - Droma quickly ignited his lightsaber and deflected the shots , and slew the assassin immediately after . Aleema recognized the dead man as Norgor , one of Lord Keto ' s lackeys . Also professing her cousin ' s incompetence , she added that it was Keto who orchestrated the assault on Deneba , which resulted in the death of Qel - Droma ' s Jedi Master , Arca Jeth . The vengeful Qel - Droma then stormed from the bedroom in search of Satal Keto . Meanwhile , Lord Keto had been alerted by his men that Nomi Sunrider , the Jedi woman whom they captured and detained in the dungeons of the Iron Citadel , had managed to escape . Furious , he ordered his men to find her as he went out on a balcony , only to see Sunrider in the company of two more Jedi , Tott Doneeta and Ulic Qel - Droma ' s brother Cay , in flight through the streets of Cinnagar and making short work of his Krath forces . Keto ordered the three Jedi to be eliminated at once , but before the order could be carried out , Qel - Droma appeared on the balcony behind him . Igniting his lightsaber , he revealed that Keto was responsible for the massacre at Deneba . In response , the Tetan Emperor drew his sword , and as the Jedi on the platform below dispatched the remaining Krath guards , a fierce duel between Ulic Qel - Droma and Lord Satal Keto ensued . From the onset of the duel , Qel - Droma maintained the upper hand , driving his quarry back under the force of his blows . Keto , however , was actually giving quarter as he taunted the Jedi , inciting his hatred of the Krath and validating his accusations of their accountability for the battle at Deneba . As rage welled inside Qel - Droma , he steadily advanced upon Keto while being drawn closer to the dark side ; his hatred was being amplified by the Sith poison he had been injected with by Keto several months before . He became more infuriated as the Krath warlord engaged him in psychological battle , verbally undermining Qel - Droma ' s Jedi morals to force him to strike Lord Keto down in vengeance . His plan came to fruition when he mocked Qel - Droma with the memory of Master Jeth ' s death , blaming him for the tragedy instead . The Jedi gave in fully to his anger and unwittingly the dark side , and smote Keto where he stood . The Emperor ' s dying words were one final mockery , telling Qel - Droma that the Sith poison was what finally ensured his transition to the dark side . Aftermath . As alarms blared throughout the Iron Citadel , the Jedi strike team prepared to escape the planet . They implored Qel - Droma to return with them to Ossus for debriefing . When they approached him , his poison - enhanced rage caused him to scream through the Force , while unleashing a powerful wave of dark side energy that flung his friends across the platform away from him . Devastated that Ulic Qel - Droma had succumbed to the dark side of the Force and had even gone as far as attacking his own loved ones , the Jedi fled , promising to return for him as soon as possible . He rebuked them , and refused their attempts to sway him from seeing his mission through . As his dejected friends departed for Ossus , Ulic Qel - Droma realized that by submitting to his anger , he had indeed given himself over to the dark side of the Force — just as Satal Keto proclaimed . Behind the scenes . The first Duel in the Iron Citadel was written and conceived by authors Tom Veitch and Kevin J . Anderson for the fifth installment of the " : " comic series , " " . Veitch used this event to bring an end to the character of Satal Keto , as well as to further Ulic Qel - Droma ' s progression down the path of the dark side of the Force , a transition which culminated in the following " Dark Lords of the Sith " issue , " " . The duel was also featured in the , which was written by John Whitman but based on Veitch and Anderson ' s script .