Galactic Gazetteer: Chommell Prime

The planet Chommell Prime was one of the first planets colonized during early expansion into the Mid Rim. Hyperspace explorers catalogued the planet about seven hundred years ago, and Chommell Prime — so named because it was the largest planet in the sector — was discovered to be a gas giant with large quantities of naturally produced irolunn gas, a substance that substantially improves the fuel efficiency of capital starships. As no company had sponsored the scouts who discovered it, Chommell Prime became the subject of a bidding war between various mega-entities. The planet soon entered galactic prominence when its deed was purchased by the wealthy Medon family of Utapau.

No history of Chommell Prime is complete without a history of the Medons. This Pau'an family dates back to the early days of the Republic — no less than three Medons signed the Galactic Constitution. They made their fortune in planet exploration and prospecting, selling the natural resources of one world to buy another. As such, they have been very influential in the Republic because they have helped fund various hyperspace expeditions that found very profitable planets. The Great Manifest Period, in which the Expansion Region was established 15,000 years ago, was funded in large part by Medon money.

However, it is important to note that the Medons are fiercely independent. While they are patriotic to the Republic, their first loyalty is to their family. Most Medons who pursue business do so within their own corporations — they do not deign to work for others. The Medons are kind to their friends and ruthless to their enemies, and many competitors have been bankrupted by the Medons' superior business acumen. The Medons are aided by a group of Gen'Dai servitors, who have served them for centuries.

Upon purchasing Chommell Prime, the Medons took advantage of the natural irodunn gas and constructed a large starship repair hub, called the Expanse. Ninety kilometers long and two kilometers wide, this facility is one of the largest drydocks in the galaxy, capable of servicing over a hundred capital starships at once. Inside, the Medons have constructed a variety of tourist attractions and accommodations for visitors getting their ships refueled. However, the Medons are very strict about their investment — no weapons are allowed on the Expanse, and violent agitators have been known to be simply hurled off the station by security droids, to plummet to their death.

In the interest of business, the Expanse has been declared neutral territory by the Medon family, allowing any ship to dock there as long as they can pay (and as long as they can avoid any violent incidents). A small underworld has thrived in the lower levels of the Expanse, however, using the vast shipyard to smuggle contraband from ship to ship. Mercenaries who are looking for work can usually find a quick job from the ships passing through. The Medons have also allowed corporations such as Czerka and Lhossa to extract their own irodunn gas — at an enormous tribute, of course. Corporate espionage runs thick, as many entities would love to end the Medons' monopoly of irodunn gas.

Besides the Expanse, there are also several floating Medon estates drifting among the clouds, but these are heavily guarded and intruders are not welcome. (A nearby desert planet in the same system, Chommell Minor, also houses a Pau'an colony, but it is more for middle-class Pau'ans and is nowhere near as fancy.) A few smaller drydocks have been set up by the Medons across the planet, though these are not as popular as the more accommodating Expanse. Several small corporate-approved irodunn gas collectors float through the atmosphere, and a few cruise ships make short stops at Chommell Prime to enjoy the spectacular view. There are rumors that the Medons have secret drydocks hidden away in the lower reaches of the atmosphere for their more private customers, but given that they can easily move across the planet, no one knows for certain where they are.

Most curiously, a flotilla of stolen and battered Czerka ships has been recently spotted drifting through the atmosphere on the far side of the planet. Attempts to contact the ships have been met only with grunts and growls, and it's believed the ships fled a Czerka colony before suffering hyperdrive damage. The Medons have been trying to find and destroy the flotilla, as refugees on their doorstep is bad for business.

Troubling for the Republic is that despite Chommell Prime's loyalty during the Mandalorian Wars, the Medons are maintaining their neutrality during the Sith invasion, and many worry the Medons are positioning themselves to be valuable to the Sith in the event that Darth Revan destroys the Republic. Sith ships have been seen docked at Chommell Prime, but given that violence is not tolerated on the Expanse, the Republic has been stymied at trying to apprehend them.

Galactic Gazetteer: Naboo

The planet Naboo was discovered in the past four decades by the unprecedented exploration boom of the Hyperspace Navigators Guild after the Great Sith War. With the reduction in use of hyperspace beacons and the introduction of more portable navicomputers, along with new routes recovered from Mandalorian ships, hyperspace exploration became the new frontier during the Republic's reconstruction. An intrepid explorer, Kwilaan, discovered the world and informed the Republic about its presence at the edge of the Mid Rim.

To call Naboo a beautiful world would be an understatement; the pastoral plains, lush forests and breathtaking rivers make the planet a veritable paradise. The planet is flush with natural resources, and while many mining companies have expressed an interest, Republic colonization protocol has first established several small colonies here to establish a local presence first. Small cities have been established at Theed, Dee'ja Peak, Harte Secur, and Keren; consult the Naboo METOSP for more information. While farming operations have commenced, the planet is not yet self-sufficient, and technology imports are shipped in every month.

There has been limited first contact with an amphibious species living underwater that calls itself "Gungans." These primitive creatures can be quite cunning and are believed to have a strong hunter culture; for this reason, civilian travel outside the cities is highly discouraged without an armed guard. For the most part, the Gungans seem unperturbed by Republic colonization; they have developed their own primitive technology and have been shown capable of learning Basic. While some isolated groups have attacked Republic settlements, most of the Gungans appear uninterested in the colonies, though their own settlements have yet to be discovered. Aerial reconnaissance has not yet determined where the Gungans live.

According to Jedi records, Mandalorians held the planet during the Mandalorian Wars before Revan and his followers liberated the planet. Several Gungans were spotted among the Mandalorian ranks during the war, but just as many appear to have deserted and can be found wandering former Mandalorian territory. Scouts have found wreckage of Mandalorian outposts dotting the planet, but recovered records indicate that the Gungans already knew some Basic before the Mandalorians arrived. A wide-ranging theory among Naboo anthropologists is that neither Kwilaan nor the Mandalorians were the first to discover the planet.

The planet is also home to fierce wildlife that has not yet learned to be afraid of hunters. Aside from large and fearsome varieties of marine life (as the loss of many oceanographers can attest to), powerful land predators include the tusk cat, the narglatch (a stealthy swamp hunter), the saw-tooth grank, and perhaps most fearsome of all, the gigantic simian veermok. Naboo has already seen an influx of hunters looking to make trophies of these big-game animals, and just as many hunters have brought home a grank pelt as have needed to be identified by dental records.

The Traveler's Guide to Myzil V

Where is Myzil V?
Myzil V is the fifth planet of the Myzil system, located in the Giju Arm of the Colonies region, near the Rimma Trade Route near Fondor. It is only a few light years away from the Herglic homeworld of Giju and was once part of the ancient Herglic Trade Consortium thousands of years before the formation of the Republic. Today, Myzil V is the home of one of the largest Skakoan colonies in the galaxy (outside of Skako itself), as well as home to a sizeable Herglic population. The main settlement of Aekaiki City is a bustling business community in a large canyon, divided into two sections: the upper Ridge, and the lower Pit.

What's So Special About Myzil V?

Not only is Myzil V a bustling corporate colony, but it boasts one of the most unusual atmospheres in the galaxy.  The planet is very cold, has no moons or bodies of water, and has very mild weather.  It has relatively high gravity (125% Coruscant standard), and it is extremely rocky and mountainous.  The atmosphere only settles in the lowlands and depressions of the planet, but it is occasionally blown about by solar winds, sending formerly breathable areas into vacuum.  At the highest peaks of Myzil V, the atmosphere is close to vacuum, so the only settlements are in large canyons where breathable atmosphere is unlikely to be affected by solar winds.  Because the high pressure of the deeper areas of the planet is so similar to their homeworld of Skako, the planet was colonized by Skakoan explorers about 500 years ago.

Our Corporate Masters
Myzil V is not a part of any intergalactic government, though its parent corporations currently support the Republic during the Jedi crisis. The planet is officially owned by the Techno Union, a technology business coalition which encourages corporations to operate on Myzil V, but Yozad Industries holds a shareholder majority on the planet.
The primary corporations on Myzil V are Oavomi Bulk Loading (Herglic-owned), Ikuis Importers (human-owned), Telubo! Lichen Biproduct (Herglic-owned), Movol Droidworks, Yozad Industries (both Skakoan-owned), and Eutix Research Laboratories.
The planet is controlled by the Council for Development, which handles property claims and violations, but justice is outsourced to Movol DroidWorks. Movol's droid security forces are responsible both for keeping the peace (for select paying customers) and maintaining upkeep on Myzil's unique city structure. While most Movol security droids are programmed to stun troublemakers, instigators who repeatedly break the law will not be so lucky.
Most Skakoan firms are housed in the Pit, which encompasses the bottom half of the canyon that Aekaiki City resides in. The Pit is a high-pressure area that is suitable to Skakoan physiology, though non-Skakoan visitors are advised to bring a pressure suit. Most of the buildings in the Pit are interconnected as well, funneling between them the unique gas mixtures of Skako to make the Skakoan engineers feel at home. Security is tight in the Pit, as many Skakoan businesses do not want trouble, and protecting the repulsorcoils that support the Ridge is of tantamount importance to the Council for Development.

Fun And Attractions
Almost anything an enterprising tourist could want is on the Ridge, the Herglic-centric area of the city. All of the buildings are designed for larger species, and vacationers on a budget should be aware that food and beverage portions are served with Herglics in mind; on Myzil V, everybody's a one-beer drunk!

Aunaumi Casino
Love to gamble? The giant Aunaumi Casino dome in the center of Aekaiki is for you! Gambling has a high place in Herglic culture, and the Aunaumi Casino is as much a religious experience as a fun destination. We offer sabacc, pazaak, trin sticks, jubilee wheel, and many more! Every cycle we even host the Neimoidia Trin Series, one of the most prestigious trin sticks competitions in the Colonies. Also enjoy our Myzil-made BT-194 bartending droids, programmed in over six million forms of inebriation! Want to know more? Check out the Aunaumi Reporter, the local holonews source. To get to the Aunaumi Casino, just look for one of our automated droid airtaxis, which can be seen all around the Ridge.

Hunting
Because of its unique atmosphere, Myzil V is home to a wide variety of unusual life forms. Our lichens are studied and processed into all kinds of pharmaceuticals by Telubo! Lichen Biproduct, the creator of Telubo! Salty Lichen Discs, the delicious snack that's sweeping the Colonies. But lichen isn't the only thing found on Myzil V. Our hunting safaris have turned up all manner of strange beasts. The unusual yolaak is a clam-like mollusk that reproduces by spores and can survive in vacuum. And no hunter's trophy case without a rokyem shell; rokyems are fierce, crab-like creatures with a ferocious bite and an armored shell that's said to be harder than Mandalorian armor. If you're looking for more standard fare, we also have imported animals from all corners of the galaxy on our special hunting preserves.

Swoop Racing
Interested in some high-speed action? The Nesulb ice caves are the hottest race track around, and only the strongest competitors are able to compete in the subzero environment. Nesulb swoop betting is one of the hottest sports at the Aunaumi Casino or any of the smaller bars and pubs in town. Rumor has it that five-time champion Chuumo Mnoae is even in negotiations with the Intergalactic Podracing Authority to bring even more action to Myzil V.

Galactic Gazetteer: Nar Shaddaa and the Duros Sector

Nar Shaddaa is one of the best known ecumenopolis planets in the galaxy; despite being a mere inhabitable moon with no discernible resources, its proximity to the Hutt throne world has elevated its presence to make it well-known from Coruscant to the Unknown Regions.  The planet has been covered with sprawl since the early days of the Republic, when the Hutts moved onto the planet Varl, renamed it Nal Hutta, and evicted the native Evocii to the moon as slave labor.  The Evocii, at the Hutts' behest, built docking bays and spaceports all over the moon, some extending into orbit, and over time the entire moon was completely urbanized. Massive cities grew, and the planet was soon named by the Hutts "Nar Shaddaa," or "The Vertical City."  Because of the moon's proximity to the Hutt underworld, it acquired the more common moniker "The Smuggler's Moon."  It has been said that just about anything can be illegally purchased on the moon.  Many infamous criminals, pirates and smugglers throughout history made their start on Nar Shaddaa, and it's widely said that even the wisest Jedi fear to tread into the deepest bowels of the moon.

The moon has a population stretching somewhere between 72 to 95 billion; no organization is willing to conduct a census, and no one is brave enough to go into the lower levels where the feral degenerates and worst dregs of society dwell.  It is said that the Evocii still live in the lowest levels, horribly mutated by the industrialization of the moon, but no one wants to find out for sure.  As the Great Sith War and Mandalorian Wars ended, Nar Shaddaa was flooded with refugees who had lost everything and had nowhere else to turn.

One well-known sector of Nar Shaddaa is the Duros Sector.  Roughly the size of a city, the area began to take its moniker after a small but brutal civil war on Duro about 10,000 years before the current time displaced many Duros from their homes.  Having lost everything, many came to Nar Shaddaa, and most congregated together in large groups.  Over the years, they made their corner of Nar Shaddaa their home, importing Durese architecture to the buildings there and expanding Durese businesses to the Vertical City.  The Neimoidians, offshoots of the Duros species, poured their own resources into the Duros Sector, hoping to establish a positive relationship with the Nar Shaddaa Duros.  As such, the Duros Sector still stands to this very day, and it is widely regarded as one of the most cosmopolitan and well-kept sectors on Nar Shaddaa.  In recent years, the Duros Sector has seen a large influx of refugees again, as Duro was hit hard during the Mandalorian Wars.

Popular landmarks in the Duros Sector include:

• The Glitterstim casino, a classy establishment that offers sabacc, pazaak, trin sticks, legal sports betting, and all manner of gambling games from throughout the galaxy.  The casino is well-guarded by a contingent of Trandoshans and droids who ensure that none of the violence of the planet creeps inside.  The popular singer Merezel Keeg, one of the Duros Sector's favorite daughters, makes it a point to perform at the Glitterstim whenever she is on tour.
  
• The Zhug family estate.  The Zhugs were one of the original families displaced in the creation of the Duros Sector, and they have maintained holdings here ever since.  Successful in the blaster design business, they are one of the richest families in the Duros Sector, and all residents know not to cross a Zhug.  As just about every Duros family on Nar Shaddaa has married into or out of the Zhug family at some point in the 10,000 years since the establishment of the Duros Sector, the Zhugs consider nearly all Duros on Nar Shaddaa family, blood or not.  They have also gained a reputation for ruthlessness in their business dealings on Duro; many Duros say that they have too much Nar Shaddaa in them.
  
• The Slag Pit bar.  When Torve Metal Concern, a front for the Hutt Faljozic kajidic, was shut down, their foundries in Hutt Space were left abandoned.  An enterprising Neimoidian named Kund Ekorr took over one of them and decided to convert it into a gigantic bar.  While the Glitterstim strongly discouraged violence, Ekorr realized there could be profit to be made by allowing weapons inside.  The arms-allowed rule has led to an unusual peace inside the bar; knowing that everybody else in the building is well-armed is a strong deterrent against violence.  The Slag Pit is known as the most popular bar in the Duros Sector for bounty hunters and pirates, and the large, cavernous factory structure allows for an enormous number of occupants.  The back offices have been converted into private rooms for those seeking to avoid attention, and the slag pit namesake, a large melting pit in the middle of the bar, has been emptied and is used for raucous droid fights.

The Slag Pit