Citadel Station

Citadel Station was a massive orbital space station that served as the staging area for the Galactic Republic's Ithorian-led effort to restore the planet Telos IV. This titanic complex covered nearly one quarter of the skies above Telos. During the early stages of the Jedi Civil War, a Sith fleet under the command of former Republic Admiral Saul Karath and under orders from Darth Malak, devastated the surface of Telos, shattering cities and killing many of the planet's inhabitants, including the wife of Republic officer Carth Onasi. After the war's conclusion, the Republic, directed by Supreme Chancellor Cressa, funded an attempt to restore Telos to its formerly pristine state. To achieve this, the station was constructed in orbit around Telos IV, consisting of a series of large modules interconnected by a base of girders and other support structures. Inhabitants would travel from module to module via small orbital shuttles that made regular runs.

Seeing a chance for profit, Czerka Corporation embedded itself within the operations of the station, installing members friendly to its interest onto the Telosian Council, which in turn ensured that the planet's laws kept Czerka in control. Over time, the corporation intertwined itself into vital areas of the Project, gradually marginalizing the efforts of the Ithorian herd, led by Chodo Habat using loopholes within the law and their own hired mercenaries to take over restoration zones with the intended purpose of salvaging technology from them. With the arrival of the Jedi Exile and her companions in 3,951 BBY, after barely escaping Darth Sion at Peragus, things began to change. The destruction of the primary fuel source that kept the station in orbit as well as powering the restoration efforts ground the project to a halt. This and other problems that plagued the running of Citadel Station were eventually resolved by the Exile, the most serious of which was concluded when she struck a deal with Vogga the Hutt, based out of Nar Shaddaa, to secure shipments from the fuel-rich world of Sleheyron. In the years following, the station came under a surprise attack by Darth Nihilus but continued operation after his defeat. The Restoration Project continued and, eventually, succeeded; as a result, the station was gradually dismantled.

Overall structure
Citadel Station itself was a vast network that consisted of hundreds of fully-enclosed, multi-level modules that were connected by a series of girders and other support structures such as power conduits, waste disposal vents, and other such engineering necessities. Covering an area of approximately one-eighth the surface of Telos IV, the space station contained a vast number of residential modules for station personnel, entertainment modules that included cantinas and other commercial venues, docking modules that contained hangar bays for incoming and outgoing starships, as well as small docks for inter-station shuttles. As an aid to navigation, each module was given numerical designations appended to their type.

Residential modules
Many of the station's modules were set up to contain residential apartments for the many technicians, mechanics, and other laborers who worked for the Telosian Restoration Project for which the station was built. In addition, these types of modules held offices for various corporations that had dealings on Citadel Station or with the Telosian Council. Such businesses included the Bumani Exchange Corporation, which was in reality a front for the Exchange, as well as the ubiquitous Czerka Corporation. Other offices included those of Chodo Habat.

Entertainment modules
Other modules were outfitted for entertainment purposes; venues housed within included independently-owned and -operated cantinas, as well as local businesses. Some of these cantinas also sponsored swoop racing tracks, which ran through various sections of Citadel Station that were otherwise unoccupied. The Telos Security Force (TSF) also typically set up their stations, which included offices, armories and holding cells complete with force cages, within these entertainment modules. Like residential modules, these units also contained small terminals for inter-module shuttle travel.

Dock modules
Larger and better-equipped than their inter-module counterparts, the hangars within dock modules were intended to service starships that were bound for Telos, carrying supplies, new crew, and resources for the Restoration Project as well as the space-to-surface transports that were tasked with bringing them to and from the various restoration zones. Typical dock modules were built with three hangars apiece; some of them were reserved for private use by the Ithorians, as well as Czerka Corporation and the TSF itself.

History
In the aftermath of the bombardment of Telos by the former Republic Admiral Saul Karath in 3,959 BBY, the surface of that world was devastated; Its land was scourged and its atmosphere turned into an inhospitable miasma of acidic vapor clouds that produced a toxic chemical rain destroying the remaining life on the planet. After the defeat of the Sith Empire under Darth Malak three years later, the Galactic Republic set out to restore the environment of Telos IV in an effort to inspire a general sense of recovery, to help spur the galactic economy and test-pilot the effort needed to restore other Outer Rim worlds devastated by the Mandalorian Wars and Jedi Civil War. The Republic began the project by funding the efforts of the Ithorian herd under the leadership of Chodo Habat, who wished to restore Telos to something approaching the planet's former glory. As part of this Restoration Project, the surface was divided up into an array of Restoration Zones, which would be coordinated through facilities on Citadel Station, built in orbit above Telos.

Construction
Citadel Station was intended to be a base of operations for the Telosian Restoration Project, serving as a home and community for the vast numbers of workers and supplies used in restoring the planet, as well as a conduit for bringing in specimens of flora and fauna from across the galaxy. As the modules of the station were constructed and assembled, various interests began to move into the growing complex in order to take advantage of the generosity of the Republic Senate in funding the project. Czerka Corporation, the Exchange, and other small merchants began to set up shop in the various modules of the station as it took shape, even as refugees from the many other planets devastated during the Jedi Civil War poured into Telos from all over the Outer Rim.

Mismanagement


By the time the Jedi Exile arrived on Telos in 3,951 BBY, the Telosian Restoration Project was in considerable jeopardy. In addition to the cutoff of fuel supplies to the station as a result of the destruction of the Peragus Mining Facility, many of the formerly Ithorian-run Restoration Zones were steadily being taken over by the local branch of the corrupt Czerka Corporation. The company used loopholes written into Telosian law, lobbying before the governing body of the station, along with a variety of underhanded and strong-arm tactics to wrest control of these zones. Led by Jana Lorso, this branch sought to maximize profits at the expense of the project itself, by focusing on the salvaging of the old defense installations that had been damaged or destroyed during the initial Sith bombardment instead of general recovery. In addition, smuggling rings had been established throughout the station, skimming off supply shipments in order to make money from their black market value and importing unlicensed weapons. Most of these and other illegal activities were overseen by the Exchange under local boss Loppak Slusk. Other independent operations, however, did exist. One such ring was run by Samhan Dobo.

Intervention
Having fled Peragus with Darth Sion in close pursuit, the Exile and her companions&mdash;Atton Rand, Kreia and the astromech droid T3-M4&mdash;had little choice but to go to Telos. Immediately upon her arrival on Citadel Station, she and the crew of the Ebon Hawk were taken into custody by the TSF under Lieutenant Dol Grenn, who suspected them of having some part in the disaster that befell the mining facility. After being put into force cages while waiting for quarters to be arranged, an assassin, disguised as TSF officer Batu Rem, launched an ultimately fatal attempt to kill the Exile and the rest of the party. Grenn, who was investigating the shorting-out of the security room's holocameras, happened upon the scene and at first assumed the Exile was attempting to escape. After the duplicity of the impostor was established the party was moved into quarters in Residential Module 082, where they were placed under house arrest until the Peragus incident could be properly investigated.



In the hours that followed the party attempted to get some rest, however the Exile was roused from her meditations to receive a visitor and a comm call, which were routed through after being cleared by the TSF guard assigned to their quarters. The visitor was Moza, the representative of the Ithorian herd's leader, Chodo Habat. Over the course of the conversation that followed, Moza informed the Exile of the situation on Citadel Station, citing the thwarting of the Ithorians' efforts by Czerka Corporation, their use of mercenaries to bully citizens on the station and steal Restoration Zones, and their corrupt interrelationship with the Telosian Council. The Exile agreed to visit Habat, at the Ithorian Compound, as soon as she was released from house arrest. Not long afterward, she was again disturbed by a communication from the protocol droid B4-D4, representing Czerka station head Jana Lorso. Lorso, when the Exile spoke to her, attempted to recruit her to perform work for Czerka, however the Mirialan's tone was filled with veiled threats&mdash;even as she herself accused the Ithorians of utilizing the same tactics. Eventually Grenn returned, informing the trio that they were to be released from house arrest, since the Telosians' investigation into the Peragus disaster put them in the clear; however, they were required to remain on the station itself until the Republic performed its own investigation and, though it went unsaid, to possibly detain the Exile as well.

Over the course of their stay on Citadel Station, the Exile and her companions performed a series of tasks for the Ithorians and the TSF under Lieutenant Grenn. The first task for the Ithorians was the procuring of a droid intelligence that was needed to oversee areas of the Restoration Project as a replacement for their prior one that had gone missing. When a quintet of Exchange thugs appeared as the droid was being acquired, they were swiftly dispatched by the Exile and her companions, who then took the droid back to Habat.

The Exile also took part in the pursuit of two criminals that had escaped TSF custody shortly after her release. On behalf of the Ithorians, she led an attempt to reason with the Exchange boss Slusk, which resulted in his death along with his lieutenant, Luxa, sending the crime syndicate's presence on the station into disarray. Other tasks the Exile performed were the infiltration and exposing of the smuggling ring ran by Samhan Dobo, the finding and returning of a former Czerka worker named Batono, investigating the origins of the false TSF officer who had tried to kill them, and thwarting an attack on the Ithorian compound by Czerka's mercenaries. It was also during this time that the Exile asked Grenn about securing a new supply of fuel for Citadel Station, a task which she agreed to perform. Once she had done all she could on the station to help restore the balance of operations, Chodo Habat, as he had agreed to do prior to the mercenary attack, provided the Exile with the use of their orbital shuttle so that the party could travel to the surface of Telos in pursuit of the Ebon Hawk, which had been stolen from impound even as the Exile's party was confined to their quarters. Some time later, the Exile returned, bearing an offer from Vogga the Hutt to ship fuel to the station from the mineral-rich world of Sleheyron

The Battle of Telos IV
"It came out of nowhere. A fleet of warships dropped out of hyperspace, and before we could scramble fighters to intercept them, we were under attack. There were Sith fighters everywhere, and the few flights we sent out were barely launched when the bombardment began. We did our best, but we couldn't stop the landing craft that followed the initial wave. We couldn't hold back the Sith troops. We chose to retreat and began the evacuation instead."

- Dol Grenn briefs the Exile on the Sith attack

Some time later, Citadel Station came under surprise attack from the Sith fleet of Darth Nihilus, who had come to Telos believing that there were a large number of Force-sensitives on that world upon which he could feed his hunger. The fleet of Sith fighters and Interdictor-class cruisers, led by the Ravager, assaulted the station's defenses and landed battalions of Sith troopers on the station itself even as the Telosians attempted to hold them off with starfighters of their own. As the battle unfolded, the Jedi Exile and her party, in pursuit of Darth Traya, boarded the station and met with Lieutenant Grenn in the Ithorian Compound as he organized the fighting retreat and evacuation. The Telosian Security Force was joined up with reinforcements led by Major Riiken on behalf of Queen Talia of Onderon, in addition to a contingent of Khoonda Militia from Dantooine under Captain Zherron. The Exile led the combined forces in a charge against the Sith lines, breaching their cordon in Residential Module O82 and headed for the nearby entertainment module and the TSF station, where a number of Dark Jedi were attempting to sabotage the station's fuel supply. After securing the station, the Exile, Mandalore, and Visas Marr infiltrated Nihilus's flagship even as Republic reinforcements, under the command of Admiral Carth Onasi, arrived to engage the Sith fleet.

Future
"Under the care of the herds of Ithor, the surface of Telos will bloom again, and its golden fields shall again harbor scientists and thinkers. And complacent and peaceful, it shall forget the time that Saul Karath orbited it and brought fire to its skies. But it shall be a homeworld again to others, who will stretch out across the galaxy and bring life."

- Darth Traya to the Jedi Exile at Malachor V

After her defeat at the hands of the Jedi Exile on the graveyard world of Malachor V, Darth Traya used the intense presence of Force-energy at the Trayus Core to predict the future. According to her, in the wake of the battle, the Restoration Project&mdash;by then placed under full control of the Ithorians and with its flow of resources restored&mdash;would continue to prosper. Gradually, as the surface was restored and the world was resettled, Citadel Station would be eventually dismantled.

Inhabitants
Citadel Station was inhabited by a wide variety of beings from across the galaxy, as well as members of many different occupations. Foremost among the residents, however, were many thousands of refugees, both from the Mandalorian Wars and the Jedi Civil War, who used Telos as a conduit to move on to other planets where refugee communities had been established. One of these, the moon known as Nar Shaddaa, was both an endpoint for the refugee traffic and a significant source of the station's criminal element. Among the populace of Citadel were: Ithorian specialists in natural cycles and ecosystems management, droids, both astromech/utility and protocol, employees of Czerka Corporation such as Corrun Falt and a large force of mercenaries hired by the corporation, members of the Exchange, TSF officers, and a large number of the dispossessed from a number of worlds that had been devastated in the conflicts of the prior decade.

Residential Module 082
This particular Residential Module, which was one of at least eighty others on Citadel Station, contained a number of important locations. Aside from the apartment that had been lent out to the Exile and her party, it was also the home module of the offices of the Czerka Corporation, Telos Branch. From here, Jana Lorso, the executive in charge of that office, oversaw Czerka operations on the station; the facility also played host to many of the mercenaries that the company had put on retainer. In addition, the module hosted the offices of the Bumani Exchange Corporation, which served as a front for the pan-galactic criminal organization known as the Exchange. Further along the module was located the headquarters for the Ithorian herd that initially ran the project; within could be found their vivarium, where they maintained samples of plants to be introduced to Telos' surface. On the other side of the module was a small medical facility.

Entertainment Module 081


One of many such entertainment modules on Citadel Station, this particular one hosted a cantina, the branch office of the Telos Security Force that was under the command of Dol Grenn, and the Dobo Brothers' Emporium that sold mundane goods as well as more esoteric items and weapons such as blasters, grenades and armor. The cantina itself catered to a wide variety of tastes, including paazak, swoop racing, live Twi'lek dancing girls, and an all-Bith band as well as samplings of food and drink "from Ryloth to Coruscant".

Behind the scenes
If the player takes the alternate dark path throughout the game, they will side with Czerka Corporation and the Exchange, performing a number of duties for them which include saving Jana Lorso from her own mercenaries when they decide to attack the corporation's offices. If this, along with the alternate dark-side playthrough for RZ-0031, happens, then Kreia will predict a different outcome for Telos, stating that, under Czerka, it will "become a cold world of machines".

Citadel Station was featured in the video game Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic II: The Sith Lords and was created by Chris Avellone and the developers at Obsidian Entertainment. During development, before cuts were made to The Sith Lords, Telos's Citadel Station was to have had a much larger Entertainment Module. Also, there would be a choice within the game that, dependent upon what the player chooses for the Jedi Exile, would result in Czerka's Jana Lorso taking control of the station due to the situation on Onderon.

In the multimedia patch that was released for the game on September 30, 2005, a new movie, malmov06.bik, was included. In this clip Citadel Station is shown being destroyed during the Battle of Telos IV, when Darth Nihilus rams the Ravager into the station. It is not used in the game itself and is assumed to be a cut alternate ending, though what in-game choices were intended to have led to this clip being displayed is unknown.

Appearances

 * Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic II: The Sith Lords

Notes and references
Citadel Station Estación Ciudadela