Citadel Station

Citadel Station was a sprawling complex, comprising countless self-contained, multi-story modules. These were interconnected via a framework of girders and essential support systems, including power lines, waste disposal systems, and other critical engineering components. Positioned in orbit above Telos IV, a planet within the Telos system of the Kwymar sector in the Outer Rim Territories, the space station featured a multitude of residential units for station personnel. It also housed entertainment facilities, such as cantinas and commercial spaces, as well as docking bays with hangars for arriving and departing starships, alongside smaller docks for internal shuttles. Each module was assigned a numerical identifier, appended to its type, to aid in navigation. Furthermore, the station projected shield barriers that delineated the restoration zones, controlling weather patterns across each area.

A significant portion of the station's modules were designed as residential apartments. These accommodated the numerous technicians, mechanics, and other workers involved in the Telosian Restoration Project for which the station was established. These modules also contained offices for various corporations engaged in business on Citadel Station or with the Telosian Council. These included the Bumani Exchange Corporation, a front for the Exchange, and the pervasive Czerka Corporation. Additionally, offices were maintained by Chodo Habat, the leader of the Ithorians on Telos. The modules themselves were functionally designed, featuring rows of rock gardens with planted trees that divided each space.

Other modules were equipped for entertainment, hosting independently operated cantinas and local businesses. Some establishments sponsored swoop racing tracks that traversed unoccupied sections of Citadel Station. The Telos Security Force, or TSF, occupied several stations, including offices, armories, and holding cells with force cages, within these entertainment modules. Similar to residential modules, these units included small terminals for inter-module shuttle transport.

Dock modules, larger and better-equipped than their inter-module counterparts, were designed to service larger starships. These vessels primarily transported supplies, new personnel, and resources from across the galaxy to Telos for the Restoration Project. Furthermore, space-to-surface transports used to move goods and people to and from the restoration zones operated from these modules. Typical dock modules contained three hangars each, with some reserved for private use by the Ithorians, Czerka Corporation, and the TSF.

Following the bombardment of Telos by Republic-turned-Sith Admiral Saul Karath in 3960 BBY, the planet's surface was devastated. The land was scarred, and the atmosphere transformed into a toxic mix of acidic vapors, causing destructive chemical rain that eliminated all remaining life. After the defeat of the Sith Empire under Darth Malak three years later, the Galactic Republic, prompted by Supreme Chancellor Tol Cressa, embarked on a mission to restore Telos IV's environment. This initiative aimed to foster recovery, stimulate the galactic economy, and assess the feasibility of similar projects to restore other Outer Rim worlds ravaged by the Mandalorian Wars and Jedi Civil War. The Republic initiated the project in 3955 BBY, funding the efforts of the Ithorian herd under Chodo Habat, who sought to restore Telos to its former glory. As part of the Restoration Project, the surface was divided into restoration zones, managed through facilities on Citadel Station in orbit above Telos.

Citadel Station was intended as the operational hub for the Telosian Restoration Project. It served as a residence and community for the workers and a storage point for the supplies needed to restore the planet. It also acted as a conduit for introducing flora and fauna from across the galaxy. As the station's modules were constructed and assembled, various groups began to occupy the growing complex to capitalize on the Republic Senate's funding. Czerka Corporation, the Exchange, and other merchants established operations in the station's modules as it developed, even as refugees from other Outer Rim planets affected by the Jedi Civil War arrived on Telos.

By the time Meetra Surik reached Telos in 3951 BBY, the Telosian Restoration Project was in significant danger. In addition to the fuel supply cutoff due to the destruction of the Peragus Mining Facility, the local Czerka Corporation branch was steadily taking over Ithorian-run restoration zones. The company used legal loopholes and lobbying before the station's governing body, along with underhanded tactics, to seize control of these zones. Led by Jana Lorso, this branch prioritized profit over the project's overall success. Instead of focusing on general recovery, salvaging old defense installations damaged during the Sith bombardment became the main objective. Additionally, smuggling rings had been established throughout the station, diverting supply shipments for black market sales and importing unlicensed weapons. The Exchange, under local boss Loppak Slusk, oversaw most of these illegal activities. However, independent operations, such as the one run by Samhan Dobo, also existed.

After fleeing Peragus with Darth Sion in pursuit, Meetra Surik and her companions—Atton Rand, Kreia and the astromech droid T3-M4—had no choice but to go to Telos. Upon arrival on Citadel Station, the TSF, under Lieutenant Dol Grenn, took her and the Ebon Hawk crew into custody, suspecting their involvement in the mining facility disaster. After being placed in force cages while awaiting quarters, an assassin, disguised as TSF officer Batu Rem, unsuccessfully attempted to kill Meetra and her party, resulting in his death. Grenn, investigating the security room's holocameras malfunction, arrived and initially thought they were escaping. Once the impostor's deception was revealed, the party was moved to Residential Module 082 and placed under house arrest pending investigation of the Peragus incident.

In the following hours, the party attempted to rest, but Surik was awakened by a visitor and a comm call, cleared by the TSF guard. The visitor was Moza, representing the Ithorian herd leader, Chodo Habat. Moza informed Surik about the situation on Citadel Station, including Czerka Corporation's obstruction of the Ithorians' efforts, their use of mercenaries to intimidate citizens and steal restoration zones, and their corrupt relationship with the Telosian Council. Surik agreed to visit Habat at the Ithorian Compound after her release. Shortly after, she received a communication from the protocol droid B-4D4, representing Czerka station head Jana Lorso. Lorso attempted to recruit Surik to work for Czerka, but her tone was filled with veiled threats, even as she accused the Ithorians of using similar tactics. Eventually, Grenn returned, informing the trio that they were released from house arrest due to the Telosians' investigation clearing them, but they had to remain on the station pending the Republic's investigation.

During their stay on Citadel Station, Surik and her companions performed various tasks for the Ithorians and the TSF under Lieutenant Grenn. The first task for the Ithorians was acquiring a droid intelligence to oversee areas of the Restoration Project, replacing their missing one. When Exchange thugs appeared as the droid was being acquired, Surik and her companions quickly defeated them and returned the droid to Habat.

Meetra Surik also participated in the pursuit of two criminals who had escaped TSF custody shortly after her release. On behalf of the Ithorians, she reasoned with Exchange boss Loppak Slusk, resulting in success but also the death of his lieutenant, Luxa, disrupting the crime syndicate's presence on the station. Other tasks Surik performed included infiltrating and exposing the smuggling ring run by the Duros Samhan Dobo, discovering and returning a former Czerka worker named Batono, investigating the origins of the false TSF officer who had tried to kill her, and thwarting an attack on the Ithorian compound by Czerka's mercenaries. During this time, Surik asked Grenn about securing a new fuel supply for Citadel Station. The TSF officer agreed, stating that any help would be appreciated. Once she had done all she could to help restore the balance of operations, Chodo Habat provided Surik 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 Surik's party was confined to their quarters. Some time later, Surik returned, bearing an offer from Vogga the Hutt to ship fuel to the station from the mineral-rich world of Sleheyron.

Later, Citadel Station was suddenly attacked by the Sith fleet of Darth Nihilus, who believed that there were many Force-sensitives on Telos whose Force-energy he could consume to sustain himself. His 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, even as the Telosians attempted to hold them off with starfighters of their own. As the battle unfolded, Meetra Surik 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 by 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. Surik led this combined force of TSF officers and reinforcements in a charge against the Sith lines, breaching their cordon in Residential Module 082 and heading 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, Surik, Visas Marr, and Mandalore, who had brought a sizable contingent of his Mandalorian warriors, infiltrated Nihilus's flagship even as Republic reinforcements, under the command of Admiral Carth Onasi, arrived to engage the Sith fleet. As their efforts at destroying the ship from within using proton cores were underway, forces of the Republic engaged the remainder of Nihilus's forces, drawing them away from the station. Eventually making their way to the bridge, the party confronted and killed Nihilus; in the wake of their master's demise, the Sith forces lost cohesiveness and were defeated. Once the battle was over, Surik and her party gathered on Citadel Station, where she met with Admiral Onasi to discuss a mutual acquaintance—Revan—prior to departing for the Unknown Regions in pursuit of Darth Traya.

After her defeat by Meetra Surik on Malachor V, Darth Traya used the intense Force-energy at the Trayus Core to foresee the future. She predicted that, following the battle, the Restoration Project—then under full Ithorian control and with its resources restored—would continue to thrive.

Eventually, Citadel Station fulfilled its purpose in recreating the scorched planet; Telos IV was restored to its former glory and featured many parks and sacred places after the restoration. The station remained in place, still surrounding a large portion of Telos IV, well into 53 BBY.

Citadel Station was inhabited by a diverse array of beings from across the galaxy, representing various occupations. Primarily, it housed thousands of refugees from the Mandalorian Wars and the Jedi Civil War, using Telos as a transit point to other planets with established refugee communities. Nar Shaddaa, a moon, served as both a destination for refugees and a source of the station's criminal activity. The populace included: Ithorian specialists in natural cycles and ecosystems management, droids (astromech/utility and protocol), Czerka Corporation employees such as Corrun Falt and a large mercenary force hired by the corporation, Exchange members, TSF officers, and many displaced individuals from worlds devastated by the conflicts of the previous decade.

This Residential Module, one of at least eighty on Citadel Station, contained several important locations. Besides the apartment lent to Meetra Surik and her party, it housed the offices of the Czerka Corporation, Telos Branch. From here, Jana Lorso oversaw Czerka operations on the station; the facility also accommodated many of the company's mercenaries. Additionally, the module hosted the offices of the Bumani Exchange Corporation, a front for the Exchange. Further along the module was the headquarters for the Ithorian herd that initially ran the project, including their vivarium with samples of plants to be introduced to Telos's surface. A small medical facility was located on the other side of the module.

This entertainment module hosted a cantina, the Telos Security Force branch office under Dol Grenn, and the Dobo Brothers' Emporium that sold mundane goods, esoteric items, and weapons such as blasters, grenades and armor. The cantina catered to various tastes, including pazaak, swoop racing, live Twi'lek dancers, and an all-Bith band, with food and drink "from Ryloth to Coruscant."

This dock module, one of many on Citadel Station, was where the Ebon Hawk landed after evading Darth Sion aboard the Harbinger at Peragus. Housing three hangar bays, one was reserved for the Ithorians and another for Czerka Corporation. After the Hawk was stolen, the third hangar was sealed off by the TSF, but it was later reopened after Surik left Telos.

Citadel Station was first featured in the computer and video game Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic II: The Sith Lords and was created by the developers at Obsidian Entertainment. During development, before cuts were made to The Sith Lords, Telos's Citadel Station was originally intended to have a much larger Entertainment Module 081. Also, the game originally included a choice that, depending on the player's decisions for the Jedi Exile, would result in Czerka's Jana Lorso taking control of the station due to the situation on Onderon.

If the player chooses the dark side path in their playthrough, they will align themselves with the Exchange and the Czerka Corporation. This alliance involves completing various tasks for these groups, such as rescuing Jana Lorso from an assault by her own hired guns on the corporation's headquarters. Should this occur, alongside the dark-side narrative for RZ-0031, Kreia will foretell a different future for Telos, saying that it will "become a cold world of machines" under Czerka's control.

A new video, named malmov06.bik, was bundled with the multimedia patch that launched for the game on September 30, 2005. This video depicts the annihilation of Citadel Station during the Battle of Telos IV, caused by the Ravager's crash. Despite its inclusion in the patch, the clip remains unused in the game, leading to the belief that it represents a discarded alternate ending, although the specific in-game decisions meant to trigger its display remain a mystery.