not a starwars geek's definitions
Mos Espa is one of few port cities on Tatooine, born out of the desert and built piece by piece over many years. Domed buildings protect the citizens against the glare of the twin suns and the scorching heat. Among the dwellings, workspaces, and commercial operations of many bizarre kinds there are also entertainment areas, including some of colossal scale. The famed Mos Espa Grand Arena can can hold an audience almost as large as the city's entire population.
Most of Mos Espa's inhabitants are settlers and subsistence earners who scratch out a meager living as best they can. The only real wealth in Mos Espa is tied up in gambling and off-world trade, especially in the lucrative black market beyond the trade laws and controls of the galactic government.
In the time of the Republic, slavery persisted in Mos Espa, though the despicable trade was outlawed elsewhere. An entire section of the city's outskirts had been transformed into a Slave Quarter. Live slaves functioned more as prestige possessions than cheap laborers, and owners parted with them only reluctantly. Slaves could even find themselves used as capital in business transactions. The true powers in control of Mos Espa were the Hutt gangsters, who found slavery a useful institution for their purposes, and Tatooine's remoteness allowed them to practice their illegal ventures.
Most of Mos Espa's inhabitants are settlers and subsistence earners who scratch out a meager living as best they can. The only real wealth in Mos Espa is tied up in gambling and off-world trade, especially in the lucrative black market beyond the trade laws and controls of the galactic government.
In the time of the Republic, slavery persisted in Mos Espa, though the despicable trade was outlawed elsewhere. An entire section of the city's outskirts had been transformed into a Slave Quarter. Live slaves functioned more as prestige possessions than cheap laborers, and owners parted with them only reluctantly. Slaves could even find themselves used as capital in business transactions. The true powers in control of Mos Espa were the Hutt gangsters, who found slavery a useful institution for their purposes, and Tatooine's remoteness allowed them to practice their illegal ventures.
by not a starwars geek November 30, 2004
Get the Mos Espamug. When stationed on Hoth, the Rebel Alliance modified T-47 airspeeders to become snowspeeders, fast flying conveyances for patrol and defense of their hidden base. It took some doing to keep the crippling cold from permanently grounding their airforce, but Rebel ingenuity overcame the relentless Hoth elements.
The T-47 airspeeder is a small, wedge-shaped craft with two forward-facing laser cannons. In its rear arc is a harpoon gun fitted with a heavy-duty tow cable. The snowspeeder is a two-man vessel, with a pilot and rear-facing tailgunner.
The main Alliance snowspeeder unit at Echo Base was Rogue Group, led by Luke Skywalker. This unit was tasked with delaying the thundering Imperial invasion force long enough for Rebel command to evacuate Echo Base.
The Imperial taskforce consisted of AT-AT walkers. The snowspeeder laser cannons were ineffective against such heavy armor, and Luke Skywalker turned to a tactic of desperation. He ordered his pilots to employ their harpoons and tow cables to ensnare the walkers' legs. Wedge Antilles and his gunner, Janson, were the first to successfully entangle a walker. With its legs roped, the walker's raw strength brought it crashing down, where the Rebel snowspeeders were able to get a clear shot at its weaker neck column.
The T-47 airspeeder is a small, wedge-shaped craft with two forward-facing laser cannons. In its rear arc is a harpoon gun fitted with a heavy-duty tow cable. The snowspeeder is a two-man vessel, with a pilot and rear-facing tailgunner.
The main Alliance snowspeeder unit at Echo Base was Rogue Group, led by Luke Skywalker. This unit was tasked with delaying the thundering Imperial invasion force long enough for Rebel command to evacuate Echo Base.
The Imperial taskforce consisted of AT-AT walkers. The snowspeeder laser cannons were ineffective against such heavy armor, and Luke Skywalker turned to a tactic of desperation. He ordered his pilots to employ their harpoons and tow cables to ensnare the walkers' legs. Wedge Antilles and his gunner, Janson, were the first to successfully entangle a walker. With its legs roped, the walker's raw strength brought it crashing down, where the Rebel snowspeeders were able to get a clear shot at its weaker neck column.
by not a starwars geek November 29, 2004
Get the Snowspeedermug. On the outskirts of Mos Espa was an immense venue for watching the popular Boonta Eve Classic Podrace. Over one hundred thousands beings filled the Mos Espa Grand Arena to capacity during the annual event. They filed into the grandstand seats, crowded into broad viewing platforms or clustered into the upper tiers to catch a glimpse of the high-speed spectacle. For a modest fee, spectators could rent hand-held viewscreens which displayed images recorded by fast-flying Podrace holocams tracking the race. From a distance, the arena's seats looked to be a flowing tapestry of color, as race-fans from all throughout the Outer Rim Territories congregated. Alien food vendors roamed the crowds, offering exotic wares, bands both amateur and professional tootled race themes and popular melodies to cheer on their favored pilots, fans brandished flags bearing their racer's emblems.
The wealthier of Mos Espa's residents and guests could afford private viewing boxes separated from the rest of the rabble. The Toydarian junk-merchant Watto hosted viewing parties for his friends and gambling partners. The most opulent of viewing boxes was reserved for the ruling Hutts, particularly Jabba the Hutt, who hosted the Boonta Eve Classic.
The wealthier of Mos Espa's residents and guests could afford private viewing boxes separated from the rest of the rabble. The Toydarian junk-merchant Watto hosted viewing parties for his friends and gambling partners. The most opulent of viewing boxes was reserved for the ruling Hutts, particularly Jabba the Hutt, who hosted the Boonta Eve Classic.
by not a starwars geek November 30, 2004
Get the Mos Espa Grand Arenamug. Located in the Hoth system is a chaotic asteroid field filled with dangerous swarms of colliding rocks. Stray bodies from the field get caught in Hoth's gravity well, and enter the ice planet's atmosphere, becoming meteorites.
If the threat of being crushed by massive asteroids is not enough to deter the most foolhardy pilot, the asteroid field is also home to dangerous lifeforms. At least one unbelievably huge space slug has made a home out of one of the larger asteroids. Furthermore, the field is infested by mynocks, leathery-winged energy parasites that attach themselves to passing ships and then chew on the power cables.
The odds of successfully navigating an asteroid field are approximately 3,720 to 1. Han Solo, never being too concerned with the odds, recklessly plunged the Millennium Falcon into the field to escape Imperial pursuit after the Battle of Hoth.
If the threat of being crushed by massive asteroids is not enough to deter the most foolhardy pilot, the asteroid field is also home to dangerous lifeforms. At least one unbelievably huge space slug has made a home out of one of the larger asteroids. Furthermore, the field is infested by mynocks, leathery-winged energy parasites that attach themselves to passing ships and then chew on the power cables.
The odds of successfully navigating an asteroid field are approximately 3,720 to 1. Han Solo, never being too concerned with the odds, recklessly plunged the Millennium Falcon into the field to escape Imperial pursuit after the Battle of Hoth.
by not a starwars geek November 30, 2004
Get the Hoth Asteroid Fieldmug. While not as imposing as its larger AT-AT walker cousin, the AT-ST nonetheless served as a significant addition to the Imperial side of battlefields in the Galactic Civil War. The two-man craft is lightly armed with chin-mounted laser cannons, and side-mounted weapon pods. The two legged craft, dubbed the scout walker by many, serves as a reconnaisance and patrol vehicle, often flanking approaching AT-ATs and mopping up infantry that sneaks past the larger walkers. The Imperials used AT-STs in both the Battle of Hoth and the Battle of Endor.
by not a starwars geek November 29, 2004
Get the AT-STmug. A loving, soft-spoken woman, Shmi Skywalker was determined to provide a better future for her only son, Anakin, than their lives as slaves could possibly offer. She knew her son was special -- despite their hardship, Anakin was selfless, kind and gifted. His birth was extraordinary -- there was no father. Some have speculated that it was the will of the Force that created Anakin in Shmi's womb. This would suggest that Anakin is the one spoken of in an ancient Jedi prophecy -- the Chosen One who will bring balance to the Force.
When Anakin was a toddler, Shmi and her son became the property of Gardulla the Hutt, and were brought to Mos Espa. Gardulla subsequently lost the pair to the Toydarian named Watto. Though none would ever confuse Watto with a humanitarian, he was nonetheless a fair owner who afforded Shmi and Anakin their privacy. Still, Shmi wanted more for her son than the life of a slave.
The opportunity came during Anakin's ninth year. A Naboo delegation led by a Jedi Master was stranded on Tatooine, and the ever-generous Anakin offered them shelter in the small hovel the Skywalkers called home.
The Jedi, Qui-Gon Jinn, sensed great Force potential in Anakin, and arranged for his freedom. Unfortunately, he could not free Shmi from slavery. Shmi said a tearful farewell to Anakin, knowing that his future lay in the stars beyond Tatooine. Anakin promised to return and free his mother, but he did not know at the time that the life of a Jedi precluded such personal missions. Adherence to the Order meant abandonment of his previous life, and it would be years before Anakin returned to Tatooine.
Watto, rendered nearly destitute by his chronic gambling, was forced to sell Shmi. A moisture farmer named Cliegg Lars had fallen in love with Shmi, and purchased her freedom. The two wed, and Shmi became a loving stepmother to Cliegg's son, Owen. They lived a quiet existence on the Lars homestead as moisture farmers, forming a strong bond of a loving family. Still, Shmi looked to the stars with an empty ache in her heart for her son who had left long ago.
A month prior to Anakin's return to Tatooine, Shmi left the safety of the house in the early hours of the Tatooine morning to gather mushrooms that collected on the moisture vaporators. A raiding party of Sand People suddenly attacked, and Shmi was kidnapped by the bandaged brutes. Outraged and grief-stricken, Cliegg rounded up a posse of moisture farmers to rescue her, but the Tuskens lay in wait. After a bloody ambush, only four of the 30 farmers returned, including a maimed Cliegg.
A month passed, during which Cliegg reluctantly accepted Shmi's death. Anakin, who had been plagued with nightmares about his mother's safety, suddenly arrived at the Lars homestead. Cliegg told him the terrible news, but Anakin refused to accept that his mother was dead. Borrowing Owen Lars' swoop bike, Anakin sped into the twilight desert in search of Shmi.
Shmi was barely alive, relying solely on hope to sustain her beaten form. She was held captive at a Tusken camp, beaten and starved. She knew, somehow, that Anakin would come. She weakly opened her blood-caked eyes to see her handsome, grown son enter the Tusken tent and free her from her bindings. She whispered her love for her son before finally succumbing to her wounds.
Anakin, enraged at his mother's death, lashed out at the Tuskens. He slaughtered the entire village, killing the male warriors as well as the females and children. Shaken and terrified by the power he awakened, Anakin quietly returned to the Lars homestead with his mother's body.
Shmi was buried at the Lars homestead at a quiet funeral. Cliegg spoke of his love for his wife. Anakin felt shame for his failure to protect her, and promised to never fail again. Sadly, this was but one of many promises that Anakin would break.
When Anakin was a toddler, Shmi and her son became the property of Gardulla the Hutt, and were brought to Mos Espa. Gardulla subsequently lost the pair to the Toydarian named Watto. Though none would ever confuse Watto with a humanitarian, he was nonetheless a fair owner who afforded Shmi and Anakin their privacy. Still, Shmi wanted more for her son than the life of a slave.
The opportunity came during Anakin's ninth year. A Naboo delegation led by a Jedi Master was stranded on Tatooine, and the ever-generous Anakin offered them shelter in the small hovel the Skywalkers called home.
The Jedi, Qui-Gon Jinn, sensed great Force potential in Anakin, and arranged for his freedom. Unfortunately, he could not free Shmi from slavery. Shmi said a tearful farewell to Anakin, knowing that his future lay in the stars beyond Tatooine. Anakin promised to return and free his mother, but he did not know at the time that the life of a Jedi precluded such personal missions. Adherence to the Order meant abandonment of his previous life, and it would be years before Anakin returned to Tatooine.
Watto, rendered nearly destitute by his chronic gambling, was forced to sell Shmi. A moisture farmer named Cliegg Lars had fallen in love with Shmi, and purchased her freedom. The two wed, and Shmi became a loving stepmother to Cliegg's son, Owen. They lived a quiet existence on the Lars homestead as moisture farmers, forming a strong bond of a loving family. Still, Shmi looked to the stars with an empty ache in her heart for her son who had left long ago.
A month prior to Anakin's return to Tatooine, Shmi left the safety of the house in the early hours of the Tatooine morning to gather mushrooms that collected on the moisture vaporators. A raiding party of Sand People suddenly attacked, and Shmi was kidnapped by the bandaged brutes. Outraged and grief-stricken, Cliegg rounded up a posse of moisture farmers to rescue her, but the Tuskens lay in wait. After a bloody ambush, only four of the 30 farmers returned, including a maimed Cliegg.
A month passed, during which Cliegg reluctantly accepted Shmi's death. Anakin, who had been plagued with nightmares about his mother's safety, suddenly arrived at the Lars homestead. Cliegg told him the terrible news, but Anakin refused to accept that his mother was dead. Borrowing Owen Lars' swoop bike, Anakin sped into the twilight desert in search of Shmi.
Shmi was barely alive, relying solely on hope to sustain her beaten form. She was held captive at a Tusken camp, beaten and starved. She knew, somehow, that Anakin would come. She weakly opened her blood-caked eyes to see her handsome, grown son enter the Tusken tent and free her from her bindings. She whispered her love for her son before finally succumbing to her wounds.
Anakin, enraged at his mother's death, lashed out at the Tuskens. He slaughtered the entire village, killing the male warriors as well as the females and children. Shaken and terrified by the power he awakened, Anakin quietly returned to the Lars homestead with his mother's body.
Shmi was buried at the Lars homestead at a quiet funeral. Cliegg spoke of his love for his wife. Anakin felt shame for his failure to protect her, and promised to never fail again. Sadly, this was but one of many promises that Anakin would break.
by not a starwars geek November 30, 2004
Get the Shmi Skywalkermug. The All Terrain Armored Transport, or AT-AT walker, is a four-legged transport and combat vehicle used by the Imperial ground forces. Standing a towering 15 meters tall, these walkers are intimidating, and are used as much for psychological effect as they are for tactical effect.
An AT-AT has blast-impervious armor plating, and resembles a gigantic beast as it moves across the battlefield. An AT-AT's head carries the main armaments, a pair of light blasters located on the walker's "temples," and heavier, twin laser cannons mounted on the walker's "chin."
The command crew pilots the AT-AT from the walker's head, which is connected to the main body by a flexible neck. The crew consists of a commander, a gunner, and a pilot. Additional crews and troops can be carried in the walker's main storage bay.
An AT-AT has blast-impervious armor plating, and resembles a gigantic beast as it moves across the battlefield. An AT-AT's head carries the main armaments, a pair of light blasters located on the walker's "temples," and heavier, twin laser cannons mounted on the walker's "chin."
The command crew pilots the AT-AT from the walker's head, which is connected to the main body by a flexible neck. The crew consists of a commander, a gunner, and a pilot. Additional crews and troops can be carried in the walker's main storage bay.
by not a starwars geek November 29, 2004
Get the AT-ATmug.