We left the porters outside and entered the abandoned citadel. They did not complain. The natives of the planet had a healthy fear of the place. The ascent to the plateau had taken days. Both Anakin and I were unaccustomed to traveling over such harsh and rocky terrain, and it had been quite exhausting. If not for our Force abilities, I doubt we should reached our goal.
The planet was only known to us as Cerocan Alpha-7. The locals had their own name for it, but much of their language consisted only of released pheromones, consequently we were unable to engage in any serious conversations with them. Also I think our scents were offensive to them.
Much of the planet's surface was covered in ocean, but this resource had not been adequately cultivated to allow for any real civilization. The planet's population was spread out across many hundreds of islands and subcontinents which dotted the surface of the immense waters. The technological level of the societies we had encountered was certainly more primitive than we were used to. They had not even begun to fly in their own atmosphere, let alone travel in space.
The citadel had obviously been built here by alien hands, but to what purpose we could only guess. It was constructed from a light-colored veined stone. It was defensively located at the top of a plateau with its back to a cliff. The seaward side had experienced some moderate erosion but the rest of the structure was remarkably intact. I could not gauge accurately how long it had been here, but judging by the seemingly symbiotic relationship it had established with the surrounding vegetation, I would have thought a guess of centuries was not far off.
"Do you feel it, master?" Anakin stood a few steps behind me. The citadel was whispering to us. Whether it recognized us as Jedi or existed in a constant state of telepathic communication, I could not tell.
"Yes."
We had encountered such phenomena before. Our understanding of the ways of the Force was still greatly limited.
The citadel's voice was indistinct, but it seemed to be waiting for someone. I doubted it was us.
We entered the main hall. The walls were covered in stone carved reliefs depicting...
"Something is wrong." Anakin nodded silently in agreement. We both unhooked our lightsabers. I reached out with the Force.
Our porters were terrified.
"I see you've found my...salvation." The voice echoed down the corridor.
A tall man strode in through the archway. He wore a heavy black long coat and military-style boots. His dark hair was windblown, which made an interesting contrast to his neatly clipped beard. He smiled again, but his eyes betrayed him.
Anakin ignited his lightsaber and was about to rush the stranger. I brought up my hand to signal him to stop, but I saw the stranger had beaten me to it. Anakin lowered his blade towards the floor.
"I have your porters. Or, to be more exact, my men have them. They will all be killed should anything unpleasant happen to me. Please," he nodded towards Anakin. The lightsaber hissed as it disappeared.
"I expected company, but not Jedi." His laugh was mirthless. "Please, what may I do for you?"
Anakin was about to speak, but I silenced him with a glance.
"We are students with a thirst for knowledge. We have come to this place to learn."
"Indeed." He saw through my dissembling with ease. Of course, when you're evil, it is easiest to assume that when a Jedi Knight pops up on your porch, he is there to kill you.
"So, you've come to this place to learn its secrets? I will be happy to share them with you...but not yet. Let me introduce myself. I am Korps Kommandant Alric." He clicked his heels smartly.
"The same Alric who ran the murder squads on Giga Secondus?" blurted Anakin.
I rolled my eyes at my Padawan's ineptitude.
"No, the Korps Kommandant Alric who sold droids for half-price on Coruscant. Do shut up, Anakin," I whispered.
Alric raised an eyebrow and coughed. "Guards!" Two lines of commandos in full battle gear ran double-time into the room and came to a simultaneous halt. Their guns were pointing at us.