Bartyn's Landing

Bartyn's Landing, often called The Landing for short, was a seaside settlement located on the planet of Lamaredd. This town held the position of unofficial capital and the planet's only spaceport. The official naming of the town recognized its founder, Hugo Bartyn. Bartyn cleverly used a decommissioned Hoersch-Kessel LH-3010 capital freighter, strategically positioned along the coastline, as the foundational structure for his settlement. Utilizing mining technology, Bartyn blasted openings in the freighter's hull, thereby establishing a coastal town complete with harbors. Subsequently, he populated it with indentured workers drawn from various species. From its genesis approximately five centuries prior to the Battle of Naboo, the town's economic base centered on harvesting and exporting seafood through the enterprise known as Bartyn Gourmet Delicacies. The descendants of Bartyn maintained control over both the company and the town, serving as its mayors. Furthermore, through their management of local mines officially under the ownership of Outer Rim Oreworks, the Bartyn family exerted considerable influence across the planet. Over time, the living standards for Bartyn's near-slaves improved substantially, eventually granting them full citizenship. Bartyn's Landing faced numerous attacks from external forces, including criminal syndicates and the indigenous Menahuuns. ## History ### Genesis Hugo Bartyn served as an operative within the exploratory branch of Outer Rim Oreworks. His duties involved the identification of planets suitable for resource extraction of metals and gases by ORO. Approximately five hundred years before the Battle of Naboo, while examining the Lamaro system, he discovered that the planet Lamaredd possessed abundant reserves of valuable minerals, alongside diverse life forms, including the sentient Menahuun and various types of seafood. Bartyn, nearing retirement as a scout, also harbored ambitions to personally exploit the latter resource for personal enrichment. To achieve this, he engaged with the Senate Mining Bureau and filed a claim for Lamaredd. Subsequently, he contacted ORO. Leveraging his influence and expertise, Bartyn secured a lucrative retirement package as a scout and assumed the role of Administrator for the mining operations that ORO intended to establish on Lamaredd, later designated as ORO Mining Station LM0228. Bartyn's original team also remained on Lamaredd with him. At Bartyn's request, ORO also officially registered land surrounding a local bay near the mine under his name, granting him complete autonomy over its use. ORO executives were aware of Bartyn's history of illicit activities, including the extermination of sentient indigenous populations for sport, but they also recognized the positive outcomes of his work. ORO deployed droids to construct the mines and extract metals, while Bartyn focused on hunting the Menahuun to near extinction—to the point that even ORO believed them to be extinct. Following the completion of the mine, Bartyn ensured the droids remained behind. Bartyn then reached out to Neimoidian traders and procured an aging, three-kilometer-long Hoersch-Kessel LH-3010 capital freighter that they planned to scrap. Bartyn utilized his droids to position the vessel along the shoreline of his property, with its bow submerged in the water. Subsequently, Bartyn employed his mining technology to create openings in the ship's hull, effectively transforming it into a town. The upper portion of the core command module was demolished, resulting in an open town square that later became known as the Center Sphere District. Bulkheads were dismantled to construct piers, the engines were removed to establish a spaceport, and a seafood processing facility was integrated into the hull. The remaining sections of the outer hull formed the town's perimeter wall. Over time, rust and breaches allowed brackish water to seep into the town's interior. Simultaneously, he remained mindful of ORO's interests and continued mining operations. Within a few months, he had established a ghost town—populated only by his team and dozens of droids. Bartyn acquired software for fishing and seafood processing for his droids, but he still required organic, skilled fishermen to secure catches and workers for the processing plant. He dispatched recruiters to planets inhabited by amphibious species, including Champala, Dac, Iskalon, and Naboo. Bartyn's representatives approached impoverished, uneducated locals, enticing them to relocate to the pristine oceans of Lamaredd and begin anew. Many accepted the offer. Given Bartyn's lack of integrity in his dealings, he destroyed the settlers' documentation and reclassified them as "indentured servants," effectively slaves, confined to the outer areas of the freighter—thereafter referred to as "The Ring." The majority of the Iskalonians resisted this arrangement, leading Bartyn to exile them to their probable deaths. The city was primarily populated by Chagrians, Gungans, Mon Calamaris, and Quarrens. These initial inhabitants would later be recognized as the First-Wavers, a revered culture of martyrs who endured the harsh conditions imposed by Hugo Bartyn. In subsequent centuries, the origin of the town's name, "Bartyn's Landing," became unclear. The MD medical droid MD-0C6 would later assert to have coined the name, but its claims were met with skepticism. In the years that followed, Bartyn's Landing commenced exporting seafood, primarily to Alderaan nobles, Hutts, and wealthy dilettantes, transforming Administrator Bartyn into a wealthy individual through the independent enterprise Bartyn Gourmet Delicacies. ORO remained largely unaware of these developments, merely noting that Lamaredd was generating profits for them, even if Bartyn was likely engaging in some illicit activities. Bartyn's Landing flourished as a trading hub, and recognizing the value of the fishermen, Bartyn granted them certain privileges—prioritizing them over the less valuable plant workers, which inadvertently fueled inter-species conflicts. He established various services within the Landing and imposed substantial taxes on them. The Administrator also seized control of the budget for ORO's Security and Law Enforcement division, ensuring that ORO funded the local Security Chief. Bartyn also acquired the deeds to several key locations on Lamaredd from ORO, without the company's knowledge. Shortly thereafter, Bartyn was approached by a significant number of his Quarren citizens. The Quarrens were in conflict with the Mon Calamari and sought to establish their own isolated community. Bartyn leased them land, later known as The Shoals, on the opposite side of the bay. Only belatedly did ORO realize that Bartyn had transformed Lamaredd into his personal fiefdom. Some within ORO advocated for maintaining the status quo, given Lamaredd's continued profitability; however, many executives were angered. They dispatched a security detachment to seize control of the spaceport in The Landing, which Bartyn permitted—ensuring, however, that these ORO employees reported to the ORO Administrator, enabling the continued export of seafood without ORO's scrutiny. As Hugo Bartyn held no particular affection for non-Human species, he restricted their access to essential commodities, including food, and demanded strenuous labor from his employees. Plant workers, often from lower social classes and unfamiliar with cultural diversity, frequently engaged in disputes over trivial matters, sometimes escalating into violent confrontations—resulting in a higher death toll from inter-species violence than from plant accidents. Meanwhile, the sailors enjoyed a more comfortable existence aboard Bartyn's trawlers, with greater autonomy and more open spaces. ### The Final Years of Hugo Bartyn Around 517 BBY, Bartyn promoted seventeen diligent and skilled aliens to the position of unofficial skippers of trawlers. Among them was the Chagrian Sirrik Olyeg. Olyeg rallied the other alien captains, along with some Human captains, to challenge Bartyn's oppressive living conditions. Under Olyeg's leadership, many of the captains abruptly ceased operations in the open sea, vanishing from Bartyn's sensors in an unannounced work stoppage. On a planet that was 85% ocean, Bartyn could not afford to lose the few trawlers he still had searching for the missing ones. With no valid reasons reported for the trawlers' disappearance, Bartyn's Landing was rife with rumors, including the Menahuun, the discovery of an ancient Sith temple with an active Sith Lord and undiscovered predators. Eventually, the citizens of the Landing learned the truth, and the plant workers joined the strike, immediately ending all inter-species violence. Bartyn, eager to fulfill his outstanding orders, particularly with the Hutts, threatened the workers and resorted to violence, but they knew he could not afford to kill them. Sirrik Olyeg, representing the newly formed Sailor's Union, met with Bartyn, and they reached an agreement that allowed Bartyn to resume operations. However, Bartyn was compelled to open unused sections of the Ring to aliens, lease several acres of land outside the city to any worker willing to manage it, and cede the second-largest landmass, Jotsen's Island, later renamed "Little Mon Cal," as a homeland for those who did not wish to work for Bartyn. This significantly improved the living conditions in Bartyn's Landing. In 499 BBY, Bartyn's Landing was targeted by purported monsters seeking to abduct young infants. Outside the town, mysterious altar-like structures appeared overnight, and several trawlers were lost due to unforeseen mechanical failures. The 84-year-old Hugo Bartyn ventured into the jungle with a team to investigate these occurrences. All of them vanished mysteriously, presumed dead at the hands of the attackers. ### The Era of Benevolent Tria ORO Administratorship, BGD ownership, and the title of mayor were inherited by Hugo's eldest daughter, Tria Bartyn, establishing a succession practice that persisted until at least five centuries before the Battle of Naboo. Tria reversed Hugo's policies. She emancipated all aliens from their indentured servitude and encouraged the Sailor's Union to expand its influence to other cities. During this period, Lamaredd experienced prosperity, attracting additional settlers from aquatic species, even though the economy remained largely under Bartyn's control. Hugo's trawlers were aging, but they were not replaced. However, during Tria's tenure, independent and private fishermen became increasingly common. The descendants of the First Wavers constructed a new port in Bartyn's Landing, The Three Jetties, which became the preferred port for fishermen. It also served as one of the entry points for visitors from other parts of the planet. Due to Tria Bartyn's immense popularity, she became a local legend and almost a religious figure. In subsequent centuries, natives of the Landing offered thanks to "Benevolent Tria," as she was known, and to the First Wavers. She was considerably more popular than one of her successors who was active around 229 BBY. ### The Situation Five Centuries Later In 69 BBY, Bartyn's Landing, along with its surrounding farms and local trawlers, were repeatedly raided by a band of outlaws led by Byrch Dyshkava, a dark Jedi who went by the moniker "The Padawan" and gained a reputation as a sorcerer. Security Chief Ertine and his four Seconds tracked Dyshkava to his hideout and were ensnared in his trap. The sole surviving Second was a young Mon Calamari named Mix Liddell, who sustained severe injuries. Liddell recovered and was appointed as the new Security Chief. Chief Liddell then appointed several Seconds, including his close friend Grubber Vapps, and baited Dyshkava using the farm of a courageous volunteer. Dyshkava fell into Liddell's trap, and his entire gang was either captured or killed, although Dyshkava himself escaped from jail soon afterward. Liddell became a well-liked Security Chief who enjoyed a distinguished career for many years. He was also a skilled sniper who won the annual Landing Shootout ten consecutive times, a record that further enhanced his prestige. In the period immediately following the Battle of Naboo, Bartyn's Landing experienced some notable events, including a visit from representatives of the Jedi Council seeking to investigate local history—although, until that point the Jedi Order had never shown any interest in Lamaredd or Bartyn's Landing, an anti-Human terrorist group demanding retribution for Hugo Bartyn's crimes, and the Landing acting as the unofficial planetary capital by assisting the remote Little Mon Cal with epidemics, in addition to routine police investigations, local competitions, attacks by local aquatic and terrestrial fauna, and the resurgence of the Menahuun. Around 29 BBY, Bartyn's Landing was targeted by several Menahuun conducting covert raids and sabotage, while largely concealing their presence. A renewed contact with the former outlaw leader Byrch Dyshkava, who was eventually imprisoned for good by Liddell, led to the Chief hiring some new Seconds who, in turn, established diplomatic relations with the Menahuun. The Menahuun agreed to cease hostilities in exchange for certain concessions, much to the relief of the inhabitants of the Landing. A number of Menahuun joined the community of the Landing. However, the Menahuun served as living evidence of Bartyn's illegal activities as an ORO official. To avoid a scandal, ORO decided to relinquish Lamaredd and cease its operations there. This diminished the power of the Bartyns to the point where, for the first time, Bartyn's Landing held free, democratic elections for the position—with Mix Liddell becoming the new leader and his former second-in-command, Grubber Vapps, replacing Liddell as Security Chief. Although BGD remained profitable, the town council assumed control over it, and the Sailor's Union intended to acquire BGD in the near future. Disgruntled, Guther Bartyn reprogrammed several MMV security droids to attack the Menahuun citizens. During the Galactic Civil War, the Galactic Empire stationed at least one garrison of stormtroopers in Bartyn's Landing, but the Alliance to Restore the Republic nonetheless considered the advantages of establishing a secret base there. During the Yuuzhan Vong War, the Yuuzhan Vong species deemed a city constructed from a massive machine an abomination deserving of complete destruction, and the resource-rich and unspoiled planet appealed to them. However, the planet was fortunate enough to be located far from the invasion route. ## Life in Bartyn's Landing ### The Epoch of Hugo In the early stages of settlement, before the Landing itself was established, the area was simply a tract of land in the bay owned by Hugo Bartyn. At that time, the area was inhabited by Bartyn himself, his personal retinue, and their droids. Many of the Menahuun residing there were either exterminated or forced to retreat into the forests due to Bartyn's extensive hunting. Once Bartyn had secured the area, constructed the mine, and modified the cargo freighter's hull, Bartyn's Landing experienced an influx of hundreds of Chagrian, Gungan, Iskalonian, Mon Calamari, and Quarren immigrants who had been lured with false promises of a new life in a frontier world, working freely in the untouched oceans. These individuals became Hugo Bartyn's indentured servants, forced to labor under harsh conditions. Some of the settlers, including most of the Iskalonians, refused to submit. Bartyn then exiled these individuals, sending them out to sea on poorly constructed rafts, where they were presumed to be killed by predators or the elements. The remaining immigrants, or "First Wavers," were assigned to live in designated areas of The Ring, under crowded conditions. Bartyn provided them with meager rations and demanded strenuous labor in return. Many of the First Wavers worked in the seafood processing plants, while the rest worked on Bartyn's old trawlers, fishing boats he had acquired from the Hutts. Although the alien sailors spent most of their time in the bowels of the boats, the relative freedom of the seas was considered a better alternative than working in the plants. Once Bartyn's Landing began to generate significant profits for Bartyn, the Administrator established various entertainment businesses for his citizens, ensuring that they were heavily taxed. He also granted the citizens certain privileges, including allowing them to live outside Bartyn's Landing in some cases. Recognizing that the death of his workers was counterproductive, Bartyn also attempted to mitigate threats to them, including his effort to eradicate the Gulletbeasts, aquatic predators that attacked the trawlers. Even in his advanced age, Bartyn himself served as a hunter to unravel the mysteries that plagued his people. Bartyn's deceptive manipulations enabled him to evade his superiors at ORO for long enough to stabilize the small empire he had created on Lamaredd, centered around the Landing. ORO seized control of the local spaceport with Bartyn's consent, and from that point forward, the Administrator would oversee the spaceport security staff—allowing him to export both minerals to ORO and "gourmet delicacies" to independent customers. Many of the aliens came from lower social and economic strata and were unfamiliar with life in multi-cultural conditions. Although plant accidents were common, inter-species violence was even more prevalent, including competition among people for living space in the form of street fighting and later major conflicts. This situation persisted until 517 BBY, when the Sailor's Union united all of the aliens under its banner. Following an unauthorized work stoppage, Bartyn negotiated with the union and authorized various changes that improved the living conditions for the citizens of the Landing. Furthermore, inter-species violence also decreased, and the Union became a constant presence. The inhabitants of Bartyn's Landing were highly superstitious. In 517 BBY, when the work stoppage began unexpectedly, numerous rumors circulated throughout the Landing, some of them related to the Sith. In 499 BBY, the appearance of strange altar-like constructions and the disappearance of ships and babies led people to believe in goblins. The so-called "Half Under" population, who inhabited the underwater area of the city, were particularly inclined to believe in myths. The locals also distrusted the Jedi, even though they knew almost nothing about them. Both ORO and BGD encouraged this belief, as it would help keep the Jedi away from Lamaredd. ### The Era of Guther (29 BBY) In the five centuries since the time of Hugo Bartyn, many aspects of Bartyn's Landing remained unchanged, and it was by then known simply as "The Landing," except by tourists and members of the Bartyn family. Although Lamaredd was still a backwater planet and Bartyn's Landing was a backwater town—even if it was "the big city" for people coming from anywhere else on Lamaredd—the population had steadily increased to 10,000 official citizens, 10% of whom were Human, several decades before 29 BBY. Extra-planetary tourists visited Bartyn's Landing, drawn by its natural beauty, and often stayed longer than they had intended. A number of Aqualish, Ithorians, Rodians, and Talz had become citizens of Bartyn's Landing by that point. The political power of Bartyn's Landing was vested in the mayor, who was always "coincidentally" the same Bartyn holding the Administratorship or a proxy. The town council also included fourteen publicly elected councilors with limited power, as ORO's town charter granted the Administrator complete control over interplanetary trade, and the mayor could veto any action of the council—although this was only done in the most dire circumstances. The councilors did have control over the trade of food and textiles with other parts of Lamaredd, including Little Mon Cal. The Security Chief or local constable was officially an officer of ORO's security division, but in Bartyn's Landing the Chief was elected by the town council. Any election, whether for councilor or for Chief, was susceptible to fraud. As the owner of the mines, ORO was officially the owner of the entire planet and received revenue from the nearby fully automated mines, but no citizen of Bartyn's Landing felt any need to visit them. The Bartyn family, administrators of the mine, owned most of the properties in the city, managed the bank, and taxed local businesses. A number of farmers cultivated the nutrient-rich soil in the lowlands outside the Ring, and many aliens and Humans fished the seas, although many of them did not reside in Bartyn's Landing. The Sailor's Union publicly represented the fishermen and crew, improving the living conditions of the workers and allowing them to earn a decent portion of Bartyn's sales, along with payment for their catches. Some of the fishermen were self-employed, an unthinkable concept in the era of Hugo Bartyn, while others worked for BGD. Most of the sailors were members of the Union, which was open to any organic being working in the seas of Lamaredd. The spaceport was staffed by ORO employees who were closely monitored by ORO—in contrast to the situation with the Security Chief. ORO controlled most of the exports, except for seafood, which was controlled by BGD. People traveling through the city commonly used swoops as their vehicle of choice, even for the illegal Cargo Track races around the Center Sphere, and swoop gangs were not uncommon. Anyone wishing to travel through the port typically used gondola skimmersubs, a vehicle engineered by the Quarren and Gungan. Air vehicles were rare, except for the cloud car owned by the Security Chief. The most common boat in the port was the 222 fishing trawler, which could be traced back to Hugo Bartyn. No organic doctor practiced in Bartyn's Landing, but the independent MD-series medical droid MD-0C6, known as "Doc," had been the official doctor since before the city was founded. In all these five centuries, MD-0C6 had never undergone a memory wipe, and as a result he developed a personality, becoming a well-liked member of the community. He acquired a small assistant, F-RTZ-2, alias "Fritz." Blaster technology was not widespread, because energy for that kind of weapon was difficult to obtain. Nonetheless, sidearms were common; most of the citizens carried a slugthrower of some kind and sometimes a secondary melee weapon. Blaster users included Miss Mylla, outlaws, and sailors who had problems with wet powder in the high seas. A public, annual Landing Shootout was held in Bartyn's Landing, with snipers competing for monetary prizes and short-lived popularity. As of 29 BBY, the Administrator provided 2,600 credits for the second to fifth prizes, while the Security Chief Mix Liddell, a skilled artisan himself, crafted a handmade, pearl-handled weapon for the winner. As it was a public holiday, non-participants could drink and eat while watching the show. ## Inhabitants The residents of Bartyn's Landing included: - Ackrahbala [1] - Bamfurd [1] - Bartyn Family [1] Guther Bartyn[1][3] Hugo Bartyn[1][3] Traggat[1] Tria Bartyn / "Benevolent Tria"[1] An unpopular Bartyn[3] - Boom Boom [3] - Nyubuna Bulul [1] - "Bantha" Burloo [1] - Vondri Deeq [1] - Byrch Dyshkava [1] [3] - Ertine [1] - Gillis Hayner [1] - Jerrahg [1] - Khreenk [1] - Mix Liddell [1] [3] - The Mighty Musstoro [3] - Miss Mylla [1] [3] - Trusty Trikker [1] - Olsini Turpo [1] - Grubber Vapps [1] [3] - Howe Walwahd [3] ### Locations The buildings in The Landing were mostly constructed from durasteel, duracrete, or a combination of both. Directions were handwritten on the walls. The locations within the Landing included: - Ackrahbala's Swoops & Speeders [1] - Bamfurd's Tapcafe [1] - Center Sphere District [1] [3] Center Sphere Flimsinews[1] Miss Mylla's Saloon[1][3] Tailfin Cantina[1][3] The Even Cut Sabacc Parlor and Casino[1] The Skylight Market[1] - Hayner's Mercantile [1] - Khreenk's Smithy [1] - [Olsini

Turpo, Tailor and Haberdasher is located in The Ring [1], as are Pier Green [3] and The Three Jetties [1] [3]. Other notable locations include Noloh Gunga Fuel Station[1], Three Jetties Gourmet Restaurant[1][3], and Trusty Trikker's Guns & Ammo [1].