Cloud City
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Located high in the atmosphere of the gas giant Bespin, Cloud City is a vast aerial station, that juxtaposes the industrial complexes of a Tibanna gas refinery with the amenities and architecture of a luxury metropolis. During the Galactic Civil War it was associated with Baron Administrator Lando Calrissian and became a haven for Rebel and criminal activity, but since the Treaty between the Empire and the Alliance of Free Planets, Cloud City has become the unofficial "business capital" of the Greater Javin, which is being gentrified as a replacement for the now inaccessible Corporate Sector.
The current political leader of Cloud City is Baroness Administrator Sanya Tagge. The Moff of the Greater Javin, Ceto Rübezahl, maintains a permanent presence. The city is also home to a number of individuals who straddle the line between legitimate business and criminal enterprise, including Ambassador Wrath, Emelie Shadowstar, and Sanis Prent.
Cloud City is a significant roleplay setting on theholo.net, and has it's own forum.
History
Cloud City was commissioned in around 400 BBY by Ecclessis Figg, designed by engineers from the Incom Corporation and built by an immigrant Ugnaught labor force.
During the Clone Wars, the city was attacked by the Confederacy of Independent Systems in an attempt to disrupt the Republic's access to tibanna gas. The city was occupied by the Separatists for a short time, but was eventually liberated.
Under the Galactic Empire, Bespin's tibanna operation was too small to earn the planet significant notice, allowing it to be used as a haven by members of the fledgeling Rebel Alliance. After the Battle of Hoth however, the Empire garrisoned the station, and the rebel Baron Administrator Lando Calrissian was removed from power. Shortly before the Battle of Endor and the subsequent Iron Blockade of the Anoat Sector, the Alliance attempted a coup, but the Imperial garrison was able to withstand the Rebel forces leading to a stalemate; both sides expected reinforcements, but the heavy losses for both sides at Endor made that impossible. Food and medical supply shortages led to widespread rioting and looting, forcing the Rebels and Imperials to negotiate a ceasefire. While the Empire legally retained power, rebellion and underworld activity on the city persisted, particularly in Port Town, allowing numerous Jedi to reside in secret on Cloud City.
Following the appointment of Miranda Tarkin as Empress of the Galactic Empire, Sanya Tagge was appointed Baroness Administrator.
By 10 ABY, Ceto Rübezahl had become Moff of the Greater Javin and, after the Starkiller Crisis and the subsequent Treaty forced the Empire to concede a considerable amount of territory to the Alliance of Free Planets, Tagge and Rübezahl set about gentrifying Cloud City and the surrounding space, hoping to cultivate a replacement for the Corporate Sector - which had been separated from Imperial space - with Cloud City as it's hub. This was eventually formalised with the founding of the Greater Javin Corporate Authority in 11 ABY, based from Cloud City, to serve in a similar capacity as the Corporate Sector Authority once did.
Geography
Cloud City floats at an altitude of 60,000 kilometres above the core of Bespin, and stands at 17.3 kilometres tall with a 16.2 kilometre radius.
It consists of 392 levels as well as a plaza ("Level Zero") in the upper surface, and is home to nearly six million sentients.
Levels / Districts
| Tourist District Levels 1-50 |
The Tourist District features a number of luxury spas, restaurants, casinos, museums, and fashion boutiques, some of which extended upwards above the city's main superstructure.
The Administrator's Palace was the seat of the Baroness Administrator's leadership, while the Kerros Tower served as Cloud City's main air traffic control facility, and the headquarters of the Bespin Wing Guard. The Cumulus casino is one of the largest and most upmarket in the city, located on Level 1. Several other hotels and casinos like the Grand Bespin Hotel, Holiday Towers, Trest Casino, the Yarith Bespin, the Floating Fish; as well as other venues like the SkyCenter Galleria amusement park are in the Tourist District as well. The Figg & Associates Art Museum displays artwork from across the galaxy, with a particular emphasis on artists local to the Greater Javin, and is a popular venue for parties and gatherings of Cloud City's political and financial elite. Okar the Fabulous has a fashion boutique, OKwear in the Tourist District. The Downtown Plaza was the site of rioting following the death of Emperor Palpatine. |
| Residential District Levels 51-100 |
The Residential District consists of the larger and more upscale housing areas for Cloud City's wealthier permanent residents, as well as apartments available for short term lease for longer term visitors.
Emelie Shadowstar, Atton Kira, Ambassador Wrath, Skylar Trezen, and Okar the Fabulous all own apartments or suites on these levels. |
| Administrative District Levels 101-120 |
Also known as the Administrative Levels, these hold offices for Cloud City's administrative staff, and for businesses and corporations operating from Bespin. The Baroness Administrator's office is located on Level 105.
Ceto Rübezahl maintains a suite of offices on behalf of the Greater Javin Corporate Authority. Several businesses, such as Elysian Acquisitions owned by Emelie Shadowstar and a number owned by the Rath Cartel, have offices here. The city's main hospital facility, Cloud City Central, is located within the Administration levels. |
| Starport District Levels 121-160 |
Better known as Port Town, these levels are made up of the city's privately owned industrial areas, and is a haven for much of the city's smuggling and underworld activity.
Several casinos and drinking establishments aimed at a slightly less wealthy and/or more disreputable clientele are located on these levels, including the Royal Casino run by the Tenloss Syndicate; the Cloud 9 Bar & Grill; and the nightclub Elysium owned by Elysian Acquisitions on behalf of The Exchange. Market Row was once a flight corridor leading into the heart of Cloud City, but by the time of the Galactic Civil War had become a bustling market where anyone could allegedly acquire anything they needed, legal or otherwise. A number of private docking bays are located in Port Town, including one owned by Atton Kira and frequently used by Vittore Montegue. |
| Worker's District Levels 161-220 |
The Worker's District or Mining Quarter is home to low cost and low quality housing for Cloud City's industrial workers. A high population of Ugnaughts lives in this part of the city.
The Bespin Mechanics Union had a meeting hall here, as well as another in Ugnorgrad on the Ugnaught Surface. The Trauma Center is a hospital catering for industrial accidents, but is also favoured by residents of the lower levels who do not want the cause of their injuries to be scrutinised. |
| Industrial District Levels 221-280 |
The location of most of Cloud City's production and heavy industry. Because of its aerial isolation, Cloud City has an extensive recycling infrastructure located here, to extract usable raw materials from broken droids to sentient waste.
Ubrikkian Repulsorlift Manufacturing, which produces the Talon I Combat Cloud Car for the Bespin Wing Guard, is located here. |
| Tibanna District Levels 281-370 |
The location of Cloud City's tibanna gas refineries, extraction apparatus, and the accommodations for the workers required to operate them. It sits at the bottom of the Cloud City Core, the vast empty space at the heart of the city. |
| Tourist District Levels 371-392 |
The city's lowest levels are dedicated to operating and powering the 36,000 repulsorlift engines and tractor beam generators that keep the city afloat and in position. The city's main reactors are located on these levels, though many of the casinos, corporations, and factory complexes generate their own power locally. |
Hierarchy
Nominally, Cloud City is ruled by the Baron Administrator: a position that began with Ecclessis Figg at the city's construction. The Baron - or currently Baroness - Administrator controls Figg & Associates, the corporation that owns the Cloud City platform and many of its businesses; and has direct control over civil organizations such as Cloud City Control and the Bespin Wing Guard. The incumbent Baroness Administrator is Sanya Tagge.
The businesses and workers of Cloud City are represented by two other government bodies. The Exex represents the owners and major investors in Cloud City's corporations and businesses, in a manner similar to the Direx Board of the Corporate Sector. The Parliament of Guilds meanwhile represents the various workers in Cloud City's industries, and oversees the safe and lawful operation of everything on Cloud City.
Due to the current Administrator's affiliations, Cloud City is currently a loyal subject of the Galactic Empire, and is protected by an Imperial Garrison stationed in the city.
Administration
Most of the Baron Administrator's executive power is exercised through the Cloud City Control agency. This body is responsible for providing Cloud City with security and law enforcement, as well as orbital and air traffic control. It's major component is the Bespin Wing Guard, which serves as both a security force and a defensive militia for Cloud City and Bespin. The Storm Guard meanwhile is a meteorological agency, tasked with ensuring the health and safety of Cloud City's citizens in the face of Bespin's sometimes dangerous and unpredictable weather.
Most of Cloud City Control's operations are coordinated from Kerros Tower. Offices for the Administrator's support staff are found in the Administrative District on Levels 101 through 120.
Criminal Underworld
The government authority of Cloud City is subverted by a number of criminal groups.
- The Black Sun Syndicate operates at least two of Cloud City's casinos (Cumulus and Holiday Towers), using them as a front for their various smuggling enterprises.
- The Tenloss Syndicate has recently acquired the Royal Casino for a similar purpose, though Tenloss' criminal activities skew towards trafficking, extortion, and other far worse crimes.
- The Exchange is an information broking network, that uses Elysian Acquisitions and the Elysium nightclub as a front for it's operations, which mostly exploit legal grey areas.
- The Rath Cartel operates the Trest casino, and owns a number of corporations (including Ubrikkian Industries and Czerka Arms) that have industrial operations on Cloud City; while the Cartel is not overtly criminal, it is owned by a Hutt, so is hardly legal either.
Miscellany
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Corporations
A number of companies and corporations are based on, or have invested in, both Cloud City and her sister-city Tibannopolis. Many of the facilities and small businesses - and indeed, Cloud City herself - are owned by Figg & Associates, a corporation founded by Ecclessis Figg and controlled by the incumbent Baron or Baroness Administrator. Due to the other associations of Sanye Tagge, the current Administrator, TaggeCo has a significant presence in the City, ranging from Biscuit Baron outlets to operations by the Tagge Mining Company, and manufacturing by Mobquet Swoops and Speeders.
With the expansion of the Greater Javin into a replacement for the Corporate Sector, a number of other corporations have begun to invest heavily in Cloud City. Several subsidiaries of the Santhe Corporation, including Santhe/Sienar Technologies and the Incom Corporation have manufacturing operations on Bespin, producing I-7 Howlrunners for civilian agencies in the region, and developing the TIE/d Automated Starfighter for the Galactic Empire; while Santhe Security provides protection for corporate interests on Tibannopolis. Ubrikkian Industries also has a significant investment in Cloud City and Tibannopolis, including the Trest casino, and manufacturing facilities for both Ubrikkian Transports and Ubrikkian Steamworks.
A number of shipping corporations operate from or through Cloud City, including Santhe Passenger and Freight, Valorum Shipping and Transport, Ororo Transportation, and Elysian Acquisitions.
- Figg & Associates - founded by Ecclessis Figg; a conglomerate of businesses owned by the Baron Administrator.
- InterGalactic Banking Clan - interstellar financial conglomerate; operated by Parak Bell.
- Tagge Company - interstellar corporate conglomerate; owned by Gallus Tagge and Sanya Tagge.
- Ubrikkian Industries - interstellar conglomerate; owned by Ambassador Wrath and run by Skylar Trezen.
Manufacturing
- Bespin Motors - former subsidiary of Incom Corporation, now owned by Figg & Associates; manufactures the Storm IV Cloud Car.
- Czerka Arms - an arms manufacturer, owned by the Rath Cartel; operated by CEO Victor Montegue.
- Mobquet Swoops and Speeders - a subsidiary of the Tagge Company.
- Santhe/Sienar Technologies - interstellar technology conglomerate; operated by CEO Achilles Sienar-Santhe.
- Ubrikkian Repulsorlift Manufacturing - a subsidiary of Ubrikkian Industries; manufactures the Talon I Cloud Car.
Shipping & Transport
- Elysian Acquisitions - interstellar shipping and acquisitions; owned by Emelie Shadowstar.
- Galindas Exports - a corporation affiliated with the Tenloss Syndicate; operated by Svenskeren.
- Ororo Transportation - a corporation affiliated with the Tenloss Syndicate.
- Santhe Passenger and Freight - a transport subsidiary of the Santhe Corporation.
- Valorum Shipping and Transport - interstellar shipping; owned by Grand Moff Augustus Valorum.
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Entertainment
Much of Cloud City's real estate is dedicated to entertainment venues. Broadly speaking, these are divided into two main categories: the upmarket establishments of the Tourist District, and the seedier establishments of Port Town and the lower levels. Many of these entertainment venues come in the form of hotels and casinos, and many such venues are owned by, or serve as fronts for organised crime, such as Cumulus and Holiday Towers (operated by Black Sun) and Trest (operated by the Rath Cartel) in the Tourist District, or Elysium (operated by The Exchange) and The Royal (operated by the Tenloss Syndicate) in Port Town. Venues with less nefarious ownership include the Pair O'Dice casino in the Yarith Bespin hotel, and the Grand Bespin Hotel - which currently boasts Sector Governor Ceto Rübezahl as a resident.
A number of other establishments help to make life on Cloud City more comfortable for residents and visitors alike. Restaurants like the Cloud 9 Bar & Grill or the Twin Star offer a variety of cuisines, and chain outlets like Biscuit Baron and Stratobucks are available for the less discerning pallette. The fashion boutique OKwear boasts the most famous and talented designer in all of Hutt Space (arguably a low bar), and patrons are able to spend their days and nights enjoying the non-stop masquerade ball in the Masque Hall, or the various rides and distractions of the SkyCenter Galleria amusement park.
Hotels & Casinos
Bars & Restaurants
Clubs & Venues
Chain Outlets
Stores & Boutiques
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Appendices
For more information, visit the Cloud City Roleplay Group or the Cloud City forums.
