Gallagher reaches out with his senses upon landing, glad to not have been fried by lightning on their way in. He wonders if that will be a risk he faces often while on Crzkz.
"What were those meetings like?" Gallagher asks before they step off. He pulls his bags to himself with the Force and straps it over his shoulder.
Crzkz feels strange to you, Gallagher. On Coruscant, you can sense multitudes of life forms and every wall and walkway. Here, things feel muddled and unclear. It will take the utmost concentration to use your supernatural senses here. You lift your bag just fine.
"The Crzkzi are suspicious but polite," Korth says. "And with good reason. Over the millennia, many have tried to manipulate the Crzkzi and take their prized creations. The task before us is an uphill battle."
You disembark into the hangar and are immediately drawn to a blue glow moving toward the ship.
Korth emits a series of vibrations with his lips and tongue, which is returned by the blue glow... which comes into focus as you approach. It is a Crzkzi! They are tall slender beings with narrow, oval-shaped heads and vertical mouths, with dark round eyes on the sides of their heads. Despite their distinctly alien appearance, they remain beautiful.
Korth and the Crzkzi talk briefly before Korth explains that this particular being is the one he met, years ago.
"I am called Cazzr," says the Crzkzi. "I am your contact here, both with the foreign affairs ministry and the technological community."
"I appreciate that they provided a familiar face for our visit," Korth says.
"Who are you, child?" Cazzr asks.
"Now you have," Cazzr says.
"Shall we move on?" Korth asks. "I am eager to meet with the Storm Lord and proceed with our talks."
"Oh, of that I am certain," Cazzr says. You sense a hint of irritation from the Crzkzi, if not distrust. It fades quickly. "He is expecting you. Come with me."
Cazzr guides you to another hangar, where a Crzkzi speeder is waiting. It is a short ride from the starport to what you perceive to be a tremendous palace at the city center. It scintillates as power courses through its glass-like walls, redirected from the weather vanes that crown it. It is amorphous and strange in shape.
"The Electric Court," Korth explains. "The leader of the Crzkzi, the Storm Lord, rules from here."
"Fairly," Cazzr says. "The Storm Lord has access to and control of the entire power network, which is integral to our society. Interest groups lobby with the Storm Lord for energy, not money."
"That I didn't know," Korth says.
"Money is still important, of course," Cazzr says with a smile.
"Of course," Korth says, smiling back.
The airspeeder lands near the palace, keeping its distance from the energized weather vanes and lightning rods. You walk the rest of the distance to the grandiose palace gates- which, of course, are electrified.
Cazzr emits a vibrating sound you think is laughter.
"I'm not sure you should know," Cazzr says. "The Crzkzi are a durable people, or we could not have evolved where we did. Only the strong survive worlds like ours."
"It's not information we need," Korth says, smiling. "We're here as friends, not enemies."
"Just so," Cazzr responds.
The guards recognize Cazzr and open the electrified gates for him. They are not physical gates, but electrified walls of energy. The conductors that control them are intricately decorated with imagery of angry lightning gods, which glow fiercely when the gates are active. They flicker and fade when it turns off, and you pass through.
Gallagher admires the artistic effor that went into making the gates, and anything else worthy of notice around the gate and through it. He offers respectful nods to any Crzkzi guards he passes, and looks up at the palace in awe.
"How long has the palace been here?" Gallagher asks. "How far back does Crzkzi history reach back?"
Crzkz's history reaches back to the founding of the Republic 25,000 years ago. It was not a founding member and generally stayed apart until fairly recently.
The palace has been here for thousands of years, dating back to the time of the earlier Sith Wars.
"My, you're inquisitive," Cazzr jests.
The overall lightning imagery does not relent inside the palace. Everything is jagged edges and glowing lights, flickering and dancing across the walls.
"Sorry," Gallagher says, if he senses that Cazzr is offended. If not, Gallagher just carries on in silence, observing his new surroundings. He fiddles with the hems of his cloak as he walks.
The grandiose design of the palace is probably a bit much for spartan Gallagher. He likes things simple. Crzkz definitely isn't.
"Where are we going?" Gallagher asks after a bit of walking through the halls.
"To our advanced research facilities," Cazzr says. "All are contained here in the palace, as it is the most secure structure on Crzkz. No army has ever penetrated this place, nor will they ever, should one try."
"For all sorts of reasons," Korth adds, with a knowing smile.
"Sometimes I wonder if you know too much..." Cazzr says, returning the grin.
You are ushered into a lift which smoothly shoots upwards, powered by strong electromagnetic pulses. Everything about this place is a marvel, Gallagher.
You sense great power here.
"Both," Cazzr says.
The lift stops after a long ascent to what must be the highest reaches of the palace. It dispels you into an open corridor where everything, as before, is scintillating with energy that crackles through the reflective mercuric walls.
The hall widens into the laboratory. The interior design continues, but the laboratory is a high hall with tremendous windows and vaulted ceiling. The layout reminds you of a church altar, with steps rising at the rear to a vault door. The windows give splendid views of the lightning rods that adorn the palace's peaks.
Several Crzkzi in the garb of scientists are working with a variety of equipment, all of which sparks and glows with electricity.
"A multitude of projects," Cazzr says.
He pauses by one of the work stations, where a group of Crzkzi in lab coats are positioning an advanced suit of armor. They flip a switch, and there is a faint crackle and shimmer as the suit is powered up.
One of the technicians aims a pistol at it and fires.
The bolt dissipates upon contact with the armor, leaving a light scorch but nothing lasting.
"Impressive," Korth says.
"A sustained energy source could short-circuit them," Cazzr says. "It's what they're working on, currently. Our armed forces utilize those suits. Our lord does not like that they have a weakness."
"Understandable," Korth says.