The Wheel

[Shia-Ro-Nala]

The Wheel is a large space stationed located in the Besh Gorgon System of the Mid Rim.

Characteristics

Well-known for its casinos, this space station resembles a huge wheel, with a central axis consisting of the main fuselage of the station. This axis is an immense cylinder, and at its midpoint there are four main spokes leading out to the circular promenade and inner-rim city. At the main axis's top is the Wheel Executive Tower, where the administrator lives and works, it offers everything a sentient being needs in order to live comfortably.

The Executive Tower is a lavish room that has been redecorated countless times to fit the current administrator's tastes. While the decorations of the room may have changed through the ages the security system has not. Located at every corner of the room are turrets in case of a break in or hostile takeover. The viewports are made with a triple layer of transparisteel for the utmost protection. If the viewports were to break a containment door will quickly cover the broken viewport before any major harm can be done.

From the main tower, people can access the transport tube and travel through the entire installation in airflow cars. There are several other transport tubes besides the main one, but it has access to a special dock, reserved for VIPs only. All parts of the station are equipped with containment doors that can seal off damaged sections during an emergency. These walls are all blast-shielded.

Sprouting from the circular section are nearly a hundred docking piers, allowing any size of ship to safely approach and dock with the Wheel. Beyond these luxury docks, thousands of buoys are placed to allow for less expensive docking, with shuttles providing guests with transport to the station.

The outer section of The Wheel, which gives the station its name, is a sprawling city with an untold number of casinos, including the Crimson Casino and the Grand Casino, which are two of the Wheel's star attractions. Deep in the central axis there is also a gladiator arena, where all manner of beings are forced to fight to the death for the entertainment and wagering of The Wheel's visitors.

Security is provided by a heavily-armed and well-trained organization known as the Wheel Security Force which helps enforce the law aboard the Wheel, as well as provide armed escort for winners of large jackpots at the casinos. The top ranking officers in the Security Force are all chosen by the administrator to assure the upmost loyalty. In space, two Ardent-class Fast Frigates provide traffic control.

History

The Wheel was constructed sometime between 39 BBY and 38 BBY. For a more in depth study of the Wheel's history, between 22 BBY and 137 ABY, please see the following datacard.

During the final days of the second Yuuzhan Vong War the space station fell under attack by the Peace Brigade. Due to the combined efforts of those on the station at the time, and the leadership of administrator Shia-Ro-Nala, the attack was unsuccessful and the Peace Brigade were defeated. After the war the Wheel continued to flourish as a place of entertainment for everyone in the galaxy.

[Rico Henlen]

As soon as Rico and Kal had exited hyperspace near the Wheel they'd been contacted and given coordinates to one of the many docking bays. Once on the space station they were greeted by the local security force and told to leave there weapons on the ship. Although Kal argued for a few minutes the Wookiee finally agreed and they were both led to a room that adjoined to the hangar. One of the things the smuggler had noted was that no other ship besides their own was in the hangar, he assumed it was used for occasions such as these but it left him with a feeling of unease.

After around five minutes of waiting Rico started to get restless and stood up. He aimlessly wondered the room and glanced over at Kal.

"You're pretty calm considering the whole thing. I thought you were going to floor one of those security goons."

He offered his friend a grin, trying to lighten the mood.

[Kallabacka]

Kal's only response to Rico was a low growl as his eyes surveyed the room. Meetings like this weren't all that odd but they usually knew upfront what their cargo was going to be, this time they didn't. This entire job was shrouded in mystery and he didn't like. As he continued to survey the room he noticed a camera in one of the corners and growled. They knew they were here and despite how big the Wheel was it shouldn't have taken them this long to get here. It was obvious to him this waiting thing was just a mind game which usually meant the person they were working for thought of themselves as someone with a lot of power. In the worst case scenario they were someone with a lot of power who could easily crush both him and Rico if they wanted.

[Shia-Ro-Nala]

Just as there patience was about to wear thin the door to the room slid open and in walked a Cerean woman dressed in an elegant dress. The woman was obviously older and had an air about her that told them she meant business. Beside her stood two guards, neither of which were wearing the same armor as the Security Force. With a nod of her head they both left and stood on the other side of the door which closed behind them. She casually walked up to the table which only the Wookiee was sitting at and glanced at the human male. She offered a slight smile.

"Please have a seat Mr. Henlen and let's discuss business."

She pulled a chair out for herself and sat down, after crossing her legs she spoke into a comlink on her wrist.

"Have one of the astromechs bring us a bottle of Vistulo Brandale."

[Rico Henlen]

Rico glanced at the door as it opened and was about to offer a comment when he saw the guards with the woman, they were armed to the teeth and definitely weren't on the same payroll as the others. He cleared his throat and took a seat opposite of the Cerean and next to Kal. He'd dealt with these type of people before, the ones who liked to be in charge no matter what, and he knew if he started discussing the job before the refreshments arrived she'd simply ignore him. So he waited.

After what seemed like an hour the astromech arrived with a bottle and three glasses. The Cerean elegantly poured liquid from the bottle into the glasses then disrupted them. As she took a sip of her's Rico did the same. He had to admit it was pretty good but he wasn't here for drinks. He cleared his throat once more and finally spoke.

"You already seem to know our names but I'm afraid we don't know yours. Surven didn't tell us anything besides the location to this place."

[Kallabacka]

Kal sat quietly as the woman and her two escorts entered the room and watched them quietly. The way the Cerean moved said a lot of things to him, it told him not only was she someone of importance but she could also handle herself if things went south. All in all this was a very dangerous person. Throughout the wait for the Vistulo Brandale he kept his seat and didn't make a sound, his arms were crossed over his chest in defiant manner and he kept his eyes trained on the Cerean. When the drink finally arrived and one was placed in front of him he ignored it completely and waited for the woman to introduce herself.

[Shia-Ro-Nala]

She smiled as Rico took a drink from his glass and ignored his question as she met the Wookiee's gaze.

"It's impolite to refuse your hostess' drink Mr. Kallabacka."

Her gaze finally turned back to the human and she spoke kindly.

"My name is Shia-Ro-Nola but you can call me Shia or if you prefer Ms. Nola."

Shia finished her glass and set it aside. In a fluent motion she placed her elbows on the table and folded her hands together then placed her chin on her hands and stared intently at Rico.

"When I asked Mr. Surven for the best both of your names came up. When I asked some of my other associates for the best, again your names came up. Obviously the two of you really are the best or you've managed to fool a lot of people, let's hope it's the former."

Her gazed shifted between the two as she spoke and finally settled on Rico.

"I know that you both have a certain code you like to follow when you smuggle things and I find it quite asinine. You're cheating yourselves out of a lot of money not willing to accept jobs that involve slaves but I'm not here to give you business advice."

Shia removed a datapad from a bag she'd brought in with her and slid it across the table.

"I'm offering you half a million credits to ship these items to Talus. I think the price is more than enough to break your code just this once."

[Rico Henlen]

Rico would have scolded Kal for his behavior had the woman not seem amused by it. The longer Shia spoke the more dread he felt about this job. When the datapad was slid across the table he picked it up and looked over the contents and saw what he knew was already going to be there. Most if it was standard fair: weapons, drugs, and imported liquors that were outlawed but the thing he and Kal refused to smuggle was also on the list; slaves. These just weren't normal slaves either, they were Twi'leks. Now maybe a few years ago that wouldn't have been a big deal but when Ryloth joined the Galactic Alliance they put a stop, or as well as they could, to the whole slave thing.

To make a bad situation even worse the drop off point was Talus. He'd already had trouble there once before and he didn't feel like going through it again. Not to mention with the Corellian System's own anti-slavery laws and all the damn patrols they had going through the system things were looking very bad indeed. He glanced over at Kal and slid the datapad over to him knowing the Wookiee wouldn't bother giving it a glance. Despite how much money she was offering they weren't going to break there code.

"I'm sorry Ms. Nola but we can't accept this job."

[Kallabacka]

This is where things got interesting. Most people when dealt with this particular situation would keep raising the rate while Rico kept refusing until eventually they gave up. There'd also been a few times he and his friend had had to fight their way out of a situation. Kal knew this wasn't going to be like either of those. Whatever the Cerean was going to say was either going to end up making them do the job or end up with them dead. If they survived this he'd have to remember to pay Surven a visit.

[Shia-Ro-Nala]

Shia leaned back in her seat and chuckled. She started to make a "tsk" sound as she shook her head and poured herself another drink. After taking a sip she sat the glass down and leaned back in the chair, a smirk was now plastered onto her face.

"You seem to think you have a choice in the matter Mr. Henlen."

She chuckled again and took another sip from her glass and held it lightly in her hand.

"I haven't had a good laugh like that in a while."

The smirk vanished from her face and her grip tightened on the glass in her hand.

"Mr. Henlen let me explain to you who I am. I'm the administrator of the Wheel and a hero to these people but that's only the person I pretend to be."

Downing the rest of the liquor in her glass with one gulp she arched her arm back threw the glass, it sailed past Rico's head and exploded on the wall behind him.

"I am one of nine Vigos in Black Sun, the rulers of the Underworld. I knew about you as soon as you started smuggling and I could have crushed you a long time ago. I saw the potential you held so I let you go about your merry ways and sure enough you proved yourself to be a fine smuggler. I was quite disappointed when you decided to join the Jedi but the great ones always come back to their calling."

She let those words sink in for a moment then continued.

"Black Sun has had its eye on you for a while and you have no idea the trouble I went through to get you. Do you know how many of the other Vigos wanted you? Do you have any idea what they were willing to do to get you? Let's just say your sweet little Nessa would have had a much worse fate then those Twi'lek slaves you're going to deliver."

Shia stood from her chair and grinned at the two of them.

"My men have confiscated your weapons, disabled your ships weapons systems, and have loaded the items onto your ship. Three of my men will be accompanying you to Talus to make sure everything goes smoothly."

She turned and walked towards the exit, as the door opened she looked back at Rico with a smile.

"As soon as my men stop reporting to me your daughter dies. I hope we understand each other Mr. Henlen."

With that Shia left the room.

[Rico Henlen]

A thousand thoughts flashed through his mind at once but none of them would resolve this issue. He'd dug himself into a hole he couldn't climb out of. Maybe if he could still use the Force there might have been a slim chance of changing things but not now. Rico looked over at Kal and shook his head.

"I'm sorry. I didn't think things would turn out like this."

They'd threatened his daughter and he knew the Vigo wasn't lying, they'd kill her in a moment's notice. The only thing he could do to protect her was to complete this job then get to Kashyyyk as fast as possible. From there he'd have to go to the Jedi and ask for help, if he knew Mercy she'd be more than happy to teach these thugs a lesson. Although if what Shia said was true they'd only be stirring up the mynock's nest, sometimes though that was better than nothing.

The one thing Rico didn't want to admit to anyone though was that he was excited. He loved his daughter and he'd never wish any harm on her but his blood was bumping. He hadn't felt this alive in a long time. Despite himself he grinned but it only lasted for a second, he glanced at Kal and headed for the door.

"Let's hurry up and do this, we've got a lot of stuff to do afterwards."

[Kallabacka]

Kallabacka had been expecting something but not Black Sun. Nothing had been heard from them in years but if what the Cerean said was true they'd simply been hiding. It took everything he had not to jump across the table and rip Shia's head from her body as she threatened Nessa but he restrained himself for her sake and Rico's. As he watched his best friend he realized the human was oddly calm about the entire thing and that worried Kal.

He didn't say anything as Rico apologized and continued to watch his best friend. As he saw the human grin a chill ran down his spine. It seemed Kal's guess was right, Rico was looking for a fight. If he hadn't sworn a life debt to him he would have been inclined to rip at least one of his arms off. With a low moan the Wookiee stood from his seat and resigned himself to his fate. He'd do whatever it took to keep both Rico and Nessa alive, if he died doing it then so be it at least then his debt would be paid back.

The following thirty minutes was spent prepping the ship and ignoring the pleads of the slaves. Kal did his best to stay in the cockpit and away from the Black Sun Operatives and there 'merchandise'. Finally after the prep was completed Rico piloted the ship away from the Wheel and to whatever fate awaited them at Talus.