From space, Malachor seems no more than a lifeless ball of ash. In the center of an open crater, however, lies the ancient Sith Temple. This colossal pyramid of black stone is the relic of a disastrous battle between the forces of darkness and light thousands of years ago.

Though the surface of Malachor has a breathable atmosphere, the air is dead still, and there is no sign of life. The caldera housing the Temple is a tableau of the terrible struggle that took place here so many millennia ago. Scattered through the causeways and crumbling boulders are the petrified figures of the foregone combatants, their hands raised eternally against whatever cataclysm took the life from their bodies. Some still grasp their Jedi weapons, though most likely the life is gone from them too. The pallid white light of the sun spreads unhindered through the crater, but it does little to illumine the intrinsic darkness of the stones.

The Sith Temple is not a place of the light side. It is said the very stones react to the touch of the dark side. The pyramid itself is seemingly inaccessible, though its blocked entrance is associated with an old saying: “Two must lift these stones, no more, no less.” Despite its undeniable age, the crater is littered with signs of a more recent calamity; ash and debris, columns toppled outwards from the Temple, broken arches. It is as though the millennial dust stirred, briefly, then returned to its repose under the sun.

The dead air hung in stasis, with absent gusts of wind leaving everything the way it had been many hundreds of years ago. The stale, rocky bodies had been rarely traversed, as Dek soon found out. His sight was slightly impaired, considering the lack of light below the hard shell of the planet’s surface. His droid, 9T9, lit the way with a lightsaber that gave a green hue to everything around them. It contrasted with the red light coming from the brutalist shrine of the ancient Sith off in the distance.

The Quaestor of House Imperium had come here for one reason: to find a Jedi. He had received a communique from an Inquisitorious member aboard the Kola, his ship. The source stated that they had reports of a Jedi and alleged Lotus ally mulling through the Malachor system. Dek’s dislike of Force Users, the Iron Throne, and the history of Imperial ideology bending to the will of egotistical magicians made this opportunity one he could not pass up. He knew his contempt might have been purposefully weaponized for this purpose, but he continued knowing that another Force User might die.

As they edged closer to the temple, Dek halted his droid, “Disengage your saber. You’ll take whoever this Jedi is by surprise while I try to talk them into a false sense of partial security. I need to know why they came here as well, because this might be a trap.”

9T9 did not respond, but Dek knew that his droid would listen to every word and come up with hundreds of potential tactics to respond to every situation. Dek did not know the droid’s exact strategy, letting it decide for itself.

In the distance, Dek saw the Jedi pondering near the entrance of the Sith temple. Upon getting closer, Dek hoped to draw the attention of the Jedi to the Commander and away from his droid.

They both were approximately 30 feet from each other when Dek stopped. The Jedi was facing the temple, having his back turned to the non-Force User.

The Jedi spoke regretfully, “I knew it was too good to be true. The Force called me here in the voice of my old master.”

The Jedi turned around and continued, “Dark intentions. I’m not sure what you are planning, but it can’t be good.”

Dek responded, “So you were brought here, too? I was called to come here by another power myself. I am unsure of why though. Maybe we can parse out this answer?”

The Jedi chuckled. Although the light had improved in this part of the underground, Dek could only see a few heavy wrinkles on his face. Dek knew that the Jedi's aged look could be a deception. The Quaestor knew better than to underestimate his kind based on appearances. Dek could see Solari’s hesitance, knowing that the Jedi may be reaching out to feel his ill-intentions. Hopefully Malachor would distract those thoughts.

The Shadow responded with action, igniting his saber, stating, “This place is full of darkness. And I simply don’t trust you.”

The Director immediately started running away from the temple. He brought out his blaster, spun around and wildly fired off a few bolts in his wake. Dek’s opponent had already seen this coming. The Ranger had taken shelter behind a petrified body. The Commander lined up another shot through holes in the stone body, but Solari spun out of his position and immediately empowered himself to face his opponent head on. The Jedi quickly attempted to close the gap in between the both of them.

At that moment, 9T9 had ignited the green lightsaber behind Dek, but the Jedi was unfazed. The Commander frowned and tried to put more distance between them while the droid closed the gap with the Jedi. Meeting Solari’s charge, the droid stabbed forward. Solari ducked, bringing his saber to the legs of 9T9. The droid jumped, spinning to kick Solari’s collar. The Jedi easily saw it coming and dodged backwards. Dek fired a bolt at Solari’s feet. Feeling out-strategized, the Jedi stepped back to reevaluate his strategy for a split second. Dek used the opportunity to close in on the Jedi and fire from the Ranger’s flank. Gen was forced into a defensive position.

“I wanted to talk!” Dek yelled, “But you wanted to fight! This place is masking your ability to see clearly.”

Dek had worked with Force Users almost his entire life, so this opponent would be no different than the others he’d faced.