In the official Star Wars canon, Emperor Palpatine had numerous safehouses and observatories across the galaxy. Many of these held ancient Sith artifacts, relics of the Jedi Order, and even superweapons like on the desert world of Jakku. However, one of these safehouses may have been secretly revealed in 2023, with a very dark galactic history.

In Marvel’s canonical Dark Droids series set during the original trilogy, the droid menace known as The Scourge rose against the galaxy. However, the very first issue saw a group of Imperials cleaning up the aftermath of the preceding Hidden Empire event, one where Crimson Dawn’s Lady Qi’ra had activated an ancient Sith device known as the Fermata Cage in a bid to capture both Palpatine and Darth Vader. While her plan failed, Palpatine took an interest in the device and ordered it to be collected and stored elsewhere on a planet with a very dark history: Al’doleem

Darth Vader Killed His First Jedi On Al’doleem

Jedi Master Kirak Infil’a

As seen in 2017’s Darth Vader series set in the aftermath of Revenge of the Sith, the тιтular Sith Lord was tasked by Palpatine to kill a Jedi and claim his lightsaber’s kyber crystal (as is Sith tradition). To that end, Vader eventually located Jedi Master Kirak Infil’a on the river moon of Al’doleem. Infil’a’s practice of the Jedi Order’s Barash Vow meant he didn’t have any clone troopers near him during the events of Order 66, nor could he intervene when he felt so many Jedi fall during the resulting purge and rise of the Empire.

Although the incredibly well-trained Jedi Master initially had the upper hand, Vader killed Kirak Infil’a by destroying a dam and drowning the nearby village below, distracting the pain-stricken Jedi Master which allowed the new Sith Lord to deliver the killing blow with the dark side of the Force. As such, Al’doleem became the site of great darkness, serving to be the location for a key chapter in Vader’s rise to becoming a full-fledged Sith Lord, taking the Kirak’s cyber crystal and making it bleed red with all his rage, pain, and hate for his first Sith blade.

It’s Likely Al’doleem Was A Force Vergence

Home Of An Ancient Jedi Monastery And Training Ground

Having been in exile for years on Al’doleem due to his observance of the Barash Vow, Jedi Master Kirak Infil’a lived at an ancient Jedi monastery that also served as a training ground for young Jedi apprentices. Prospective Jedi Knights would have to scale the mountain to get to the monastery at the top, all while avoiding various traps and obstacles their masters would trigger with the Force. Such was the case when Vader arrived to Al’doleem and sought to face his Jedi prey at the peak, allowing Kirak to observe and study his Sith opponent.

In the Star Wars canon, most Jedi temples and outposts were built near vergences in the Force, powerful locations, beings, or entire worlds rich in the Force’s power. As such, the same was likely true of the Jedi’s Al’doleem monastery as well, only for its legacy to be tainted by the dark side with Vader’s brutal murder. However, Dark Droids teases that Emperor Palpatine may have doubled down regarding the darkening of the remote river moon.

It Would Be Typical Palpatine To Turn Al’doleem Into One Of His Secret Bases

Corrupting The Jedi Order’s Legacy Even Further

With the Imperial crew members having been ordered to take the remnants of the ancient Sith Fermata Cage to Al’doleem, one could easily guess that there’s now some sort of Imperial facility on the former Jedi world. Having already been corrupted by Vader’s murder, perhaps Palpatine determined that a secret safe house or observatory should be constructed to replace the monastery. Palpatine wanting to further erase and mock the Jedi Order’s legacy would definitely make sense.

Considering the dangerous power of the Fermata Cage, one can ᴀssume that Al’doleem was chosen as a secure location. While conjecture, it does track that Palpatine would likely find some kind of sick satisfaction in corrupting a once-sacred Jedi location into a world now in service to the Dark Lords of the Sith. After all, this is the same Sith Lord who turned the primary Jedi Temple on Coruscant into his own Imperial Palace.