The Ta'asyak Za'vek (Sith for "Return to Glory") was a fleet of warships constructed by and originally under the command of Khrado Ragnos, though it passed to his blood-brother and former Apprentice Tak Sakaros after his death. While it featured ships based on the designs of the ancient Sith Empire, most had been upgraded with more modern technology by Ragnos, based on designs he obtained in the Old Republic. Following the advent of Star Destroyer technology under the Empire, Sakaros made additional modifications to the ships.
History[]
Khrado Ragnos had been training in the ways of the Sith for decades when he settled on the plan to recover the lost territory of the old empire. Following his fact-finding mission to the Core early in the last century before the Battle of Yavin, he spent three years going over warship data in Sith holocrons, making endless modifications. When he was finally satisfied, he employed his newly grown crop of Massassi warriors to begin building.
While the Massassi labored, it quickly became apparent that their technological skills were limited to simple construction, and so the Dark Lord took a group of them on a number of raids to Outer Rim systems to "requisition" weapons and engine technology. After a decade of very slow and frequently delayed construction, Ragnos had a dozen powerful warships and enough landing craft to seize a planet.
After three planetary conquests all almost resulted in the fleet being destroyed by fighters that moved past their turbolasers, Ragnos recognized the need for more ships. Choosing wisely, he spent his resources seizing the nearest lightly-defended world with a shipyard. Designers on the world proved far better-suited to construction than the Massassi, and they began to churn out ships and fighters at a much faster rate based on the Sith Lord's designs. Adapting his alchemical techniques slightly, Ragnos was able to grow Massassi with an inborn aptitude for space combat, and he used them to crew his fleet.
At its peak, before the disastrous Battle of Khar Delba, the fleet was comprised of almost 300 warships and stretched over a dozen systems. Many capital ships were damaged at the battle, forcing the Sith fleet to withdraw back to the first territories it had conquered. More warships were lost to pirate raids, until a group of raiders were finally cornered by Ragnos himself, who used the Force to amplify the coordination of his fleet and slaughtered his enemies.
During the Clone Wars, Ragnos led parts of his fleet into several skirmishes in the Mid Rim, with various successes and defeats. By 19 BBY, slightly over a hundred capital ships remained. Leaving the fleet dormant at the recovered system of Urkupp, Ragnos journeyed to Coruscant in 18 BBY and was subsequently killed by Darth Vader and the Emperor. For two decades the fleet lay still, attended only by the diligent Massassi, whose numbers waned over time.
In 12 ABY, the fleet was rediscovered by Ragnos's former apprentice Tak Sakaros, now a Sith Lord in his own right. Hoping to pick up where his brother had left off, Sakaros led a renewed conquest of some of the systems the Sith had conquered decades before, ultimately leading an assault Coreward that took the system of Cato Neimoidia. In response to an attack by the Republic, much of the fleet was destroyed at the disastrous Battle of Dorian IV; only the arrival and intervention of Tak Sakaros himself allowed the rest to escape.
After Dorian IV, the remnants of the Sith fleet kept a very low profile, hiding at the Denarii Nova for a few years until Sakaros pulled it to assist in the Yuuzhan Vong War and, later, his defense of Naboo. Subsequently, the fleet saw minor engagements against the Imperial Remnant, capturing a few Star Destroyers, which were incorporated into the fleet.
In 87 ABY, Rin Sakaros defeated her father in a duel aboard the Vengeance and claimed the fleet for herself. The Ta'asyak Za'vek became the foundation of the Royal Navy of the Golden Empire. Due to their enormous crew requirements compared to more modern craft, as well as their archaic designs, Rin and her brother Tariun eventually started phasing the ships out of service.
Ships[]
Following the Battle of Dorian IV, the fleet consisted of the following ships:
- Heavily modified Overlord-class War Galleon
- Fleet flagship
- Vengeance
- Captains: Valadyn Ragnos, Rin Sakaros
- Rage
- Hellraiser
- Ambition
- Plunderer
- Ziostian
- Indomitable
- Wrath
- Assassin
- Overlord
- Marauder
- Mortality
- Eternity
- Torturer
- Bowel
- Broad Axe
- Bondage
- Dominator
- Dominatrix
- Sadist
- Masochist
- Mutilator
- Quicksilver
- Lance
Commanders[]
In chronological order:
- Khrado Ragnos (87 BBY–19 BBY)
- Kartok (19 BBY–12 ABY) - as caretaker
- Tak Sakaros (12 ABY–87 ABY)
- Tariun Sakaros (answering to his father, but in day-to-day operational command) (21 ABY - 87 ABY, intermittently)
- Rin Sakaros (87 ABY—)
Special features[]
- When he took command of the fleet, Tak Sakaros had a slave-rig system installed in all the capital ships, to better coordinate movements among the fleet and make for a quick escape if one became necessary. This proved useful at the Battle of Dorian IV, when all surviving ships simultaneously escaped into hyperspace. In addition, droid control and bare-minimum life support allowed the ships to be crewed by only a few thousand Massassi after Tak Sakaros's forces had been badly depleted.
- The Sith Star was painted all black and covered with slash-like red streaks, to make it more intimidating. It is unknown if any other ships of the fleet featured similar designs.
- The captured Imperial Star Destroyers were partly re-designed to better accomodate a non-human crew.