Menat Ombo

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Menat Ombo
Geographical
Climate:

Temperate

Terrain:

Light Urban

Points of Interest:
  • Tythonian Palace
  • Visulu Markets
  • Memorial Gardens
Societal
Native species:

Harakoans

Immigrated species:
  • Humans
  • Non-Humans
Official language:
  • Harakoan
  • Basic
  • Various others
Population:

110,000

Political
Imports:
  • Tribal goods
  • Light weapon shipments
  • Fuel
  • Foodstuffs
  • Black market goods
Exports:
  • Refurbished machinery
  • Crafted wares
  • Medical supplies
Affiliation:

Odan-Urr

[ Source ]


Menat Ombo is the capital city of the Tythonian Colonial Alliance and the largest city on New Tython. Once insular, it has gone through hardship and rebuilt itself multiple times before growing to become a unique, eclectic, and colorful place. While the population has grown and new developments have been reclaimed, the city now hosts a burgeoning criminal underworld as well. The city is the seat of government for the Tythonians.

History

Establishment

Following the Jedi of Odan-Urr, colonial groups that were largely human, yet included minority species, flocked to the planet Harakoa in droves. Upon landing on the world - rechristened New Tython - they first set out to establish homesteads and farms before clashing with the indigenous Harakoans over territory and resources. As conflicts worsened, they began to build homes and structures around the Jedi home of Ooroo Abbey, and to use the field that held their ships as a spaceport.

In time, a marketplace popped up, while two distinct districts - Memit and It'kla - were formed from the colonist housing. Over the next few years, trade, travel, and immigration led to the growth of the colony, while the colonists built a wall to protect it from Harakoan incursions and the Jedi presence kept the city stable. It would continue to grow, before becoming a true city.

Invasion and Hardships

In 33 ABY, the Dark Jedi Brotherhood would invade New Tython, forcing the Jedi into a corner and inciting a war with their Mandalorian allies of Ge'tal Gaan. This war would be one the Jedi would ultimately lose, leading to the evacuation and bombardment of Menat Ombo, along with Arconan pillaging of the planet surface. In time, the peoples' resistance, the Jedi's intervention, and the political realities of the Brotherhood would lead the Sith away from the world, allowing the city to recover and rebuild.

Following this, deep anti-Jedi sentiment led to the formation of the New Dawn, a terrorist group that would undermine the government, kill Harakoan natives, and target civilian populaces with bombs and other attacks. The Jedi eventually fought back these forces, though it cost them the life of their High Councillor, Ji, who died at the hands of their leader - a mad, Force-sensitive hermit called Cy Thuron. The insurgents would fall back into the woods, but would ultimately regroup behind an army of mercenaries and pirates, with a newly trained Sith in the form of Thuron himself as their King. While the Jedi were away during the Dark Crusade, they ambushed the world and conquered it, forming the Thuron Monarchy.

Under Monarchy law, life changed radically; aliens and Harakoans were either killed, forced into slavery, imprisoned, or a combination of the three. A rich elite, coupled by corporations and off-worlders, would form the top echelon of society; massive, haphazard development would occur, funded by Thuron's mysterious Master. All the while, the Thuronian Royal Forces would oppress the people, robbing, pillaging, and killing them as they saw fit to promote order. Eventually, the rich would only encompass a rough nine percent of the populace; for the rest, poverty led to quiet rebellion, until the liberation of the planet in 38 ABY.

Recovery and Prosperity

Following a massive surge of colonials coming to the city, the immigration of newcomers brought in by KUDF reinforcements, and a wealth of opportunity, the city of Menat Ombo would grow drastically. Soldiers' barracks, often large enough to hold hundreds or even a couple of thousand soldiers, would be sold off to become housing and apartments; shanties were restored and built, alongside proper houses. The marketplace saw its new buildings, largely warehouses and armories for the Thuronians, turned into shops and stores; meanwhile, an expanded spaceport would see an influx of traffic, new trade, and immigration continue.

Under the rule of the Colonial Alliance, the city would be cleaned up by a group of former volunteers, civilian workers, and former rebels that would comprise the Colonial Security Corps. Though functional as armed forces in times of strife, they would turn to non-lethal means to enforce rule, with their first focus on the Memit District that had once been wild and untamed. Driving the crime back to its corner of the city, they would usher in newfound peace and a chance for neighbourhoods to grow and develop. Today, Menat Ombo has grown and is reaching stability, a gem of recovery for the war-torn world.

Areas / Boroughs

The city of Menat Ombo is divided into six distinctive boroughs; the Ooroo Abbey, Jedi Library, Traders Forum, It'kla and Memit Housing Districts, as well as the Docking Circle, which lies on the outskirts of the city. Each borough is described below in detail:

Palace District

Once the site of the Ooroo Abbey, this area was heavily bombed during the Fall of New Tython and was later razed completely to make way for the Palace of Thuron, a veritable fortress built by Cy Thuron using his mysterious credit sources. Now liberated, the District's gardens are still kept clean and beautiful, though much of the flora within has been replaced by a mixture of indigenous plant life and specimens from the homeworlds of colonists. This district is thus a very beautiful, verdant place to walk, with several rivers sculpted and diverted through it to provide both beauty and a free source of fresh water to the locals.

Looming on the hilltop is the Palace itself, renamed the Tythonian Palace after its capture. Larger and more secure than the Abbey was, this huge building still bears battle scars and always will, wherever they don't compromise the structure. Its black outer walls are now draped with flags and banners of the people, while inside its lavish artwork and gaudy statues and monuments have been taken down and sold to help fund recovering refugees. The Palace's many rooms include a library, a conference room, and several wings of bedrooms, refreshers, and even balconies within the towers. Today, it can be found filled with citizens petitioning their leaders, politicians, and diplomats from other nations.

The District's last vestiges of the Abbey can be found below, in the Dungeons of the Palace; once the Abbey's catacombs, they were retrofitted by Thuron in many places and contain many rooms and chambers that are as yet sealed and locked down; the Jedi have either cleaned out anything dangerous or sealed the rest of it away. These dungeons still see use, though the conditions within have improved drastically.

Visulu Marketplace

a fruit vendor in Visulu Market

The Visulu Marketplace is the main market for supplies and sundries. Within these stalls and tents are the main products which supply the homes and appetites of the citizens of Menat Ombo. In addition, between the occupation and the subsequent influx of development, it has developed a number of proper stores and warehouses to supplement trade, while some buildings built by corporate entities under Thuron's rule have been repurposed by the people.

The stalls range from inexpensive to tasteful luxury. The hawkers of the stalls can be heard from one end to the other without any problem, except garbling due to fighting the other barkers. Stores are typically less noisy, and often employ a few guards just in case, but in general flow through the marketplace is smooth and serene. Now more than ever, the Jedi and their families are usually given special prices, both due to vendors trying to curry their favor and those thankful for their help.

Recently, a new trend of shops and stalls run by Harakoans and other non-human species have cropped up, with merchants from the Independent Colonies setting up stalls from time to time and offering deals. In addition, more and more trade arrangements are utilizing light vehicles and even some limited air traffic, as the populace of the world becomes more connected; this traffic is usually limited to no more than five or six vehicles, and is reserved for larger deals.

The smell of smoked meat from the indigenous animals hovers thickly in the air mixing with the rank smells of sweat and alcohol; offsetting these are scents of spices and goods designed to attract buyers and sweeten the air. The people who congregate near the markets are anywhere from honest citizens to the underside of the city, urchins and pick pockets.

Memit Residential District

Memit District, River Side

Once containing only the dregs of Menat Ombo, the Memit District saw massive modification due to the demand for soldier housing during the occupation. Hovels and shacks were either built beside, or destroyed in favor of, larger buildings. This gives the District a varied look, a mixture of shanty-town and larger, two-to-three story barracks repurposed as housing. In addition, some neighborhoods display flags or symbols of their native peoples, be they Harakoans or other alien species; these areas are often quite colorful, but are typically poorer.

In the months following Thuron's fall, Memit has become a far less hostile place, especially with the creation of the Colonial Security Corps. The semi-professional police corps, using non-lethal weapons and tactics learned from the Kotahitanga-Unity Defense Force and the rebellion, moved in quickly to root out the worst of the district and make a peaceful home for the people. Now, neighborhoods are rising up with stable citizenship and friendly interaction, a sign of progress.

However, the District still has a rough side, and now that area is more concentrated than ever. Violence is often a regular and expected occurrence in the streets of this area. The CSC is usually kept on high alert within this part of Memit to quell the outbursts of violence and vandalism of the houses along these streets. Increased population and security has fostered the rise of illicit gambling and spice dens, alongside other criminal activity, and security officers are encouraged to never go to these areas alone, or at all if it can be helped. Simply put, this is the underside of Menat Ombo; the rough get rich, and the soft turn up dead.

Ordain Vonoro Spaceport District


"'Tis where the Jedi keep their flying ships!"
―Young boy on the Docking Circle

The Ordain Vonoro was created to house all Jedi starships, and as such, it was built around a large area to accommodate the fighters therein. It was one of the first targets of the Monarchy, and was then expanded and augmented; where a series of landing pads once stood, amidst shanties and huts, a round wall was built around the main area. Within, the ground is still largely dirt trod upon by droids and landing pads, but now clusters of equipment can be found near parked ships. With the growth of the KUDF into a proper space force, the spaceport has largely become civilian, and now hosts the tiny beginnings of aerial trade and commerce on New Tython.

The Spaceport also has a high level of immigrant traffic, comprised of both those coming to stay permanently or visiting their relatives who settled on the surface. With this influx of population the CSC also patrols the ground of Ordain Vonoro for the sole purpose of keeping the peace. With the criminal element in the city growing stronger, this is also the hub for an increase in cargo smuggling, with illicit goods and supplies arriving inside of normal goods or containers. The CSC is diligent in their searches, but their numbers are too small to effectively catch everything; besides which, bribes are often offered, while the smugglers get better with each day.

Finally, the Monarchy built a number of vehicle garages and maintenance stations in this area; little more than prefab warehouses with equipment in them, these have been retrofitted either by the government of Menat Ombo or by civilian entrepreneurs, creating a new business of maintaining and improving upon the often old, well-used equipment of the planet. This has led Ordain Vonoro to become something of an industrial center, which is fitting given the influx of resources. Shacks, shanties, and small homes have popped up, as businesspeople relocate to better seize the opportunity presented.

It'kla Memorial Gardens

Once a district of calm living and small communities, and the primary housing of Jedi and their families and affiliates, the It'kla District was razed violently by the Monarchy in retribution for Thuron's perceived slights. Its buildings were all obliterated, their ruins and anything within incinerated; those people within were either captured and detained, murdered, or burned alive. Following this, the District was barred off, with minimal security forces protecting it; this would change with the Liberation, when its outer wall was blasted open and Jedi forces used it as a staging area.

Now, with the bodies of many moved to graveyards and proper areas, the District has been cleaned out; a new wall, largely mismatched and built by multiple sources, has been built between the ruins of the outlying buildings, while the hole in the greater wall has been left intact, a symbol of the broken barriers of the past. Remains of buildings have been removed, while the Ithorian populace of the city has stepped in with their terraforming brilliance to restore the area. Today, it is a monument to the fallen, be they Jedi, Harakoan, Tythonian, or Independent.

Statues built by civilians have been put up throughout the gardens, alongside headstones and plaques for the fallen; gardens have been planted, while plant life such as moss, vines, and even tree saplings are beginning to overgrow the area. In the spirit of the Jedi, this is allowed to go unchecked; life flourishes here, with small birds, mammals, and reptiles even moving in. Small rivulets and ponds of water have been built, or have formed naturally, and people are allowed to roam freely within the gardens; aside from dislodging dangerous wildlife, the CSC has outlawed any hunting within the gardens. They are often the site of congretations, ceremonies, and festivals by the Tythonian people.

Government

Main article: [[Tythonian Colonial Alliance|Tythonian Colonial Alliance]]

Once a city governed independently, following the Liberation of the planet, Menat Ombo became the capital city of one of the four national groups of New Tython - the Tythonian Colonial Alliance. A democratic government, they back such institutions as the Colonial Security Corps and support voting and government officials in each Colony. In Menat Ombo, the Prime Minister and his Cabinet - typically no more than three to five people - rule based on votes from the populace.

The Prime Minister's powers are limited, and while they have the final word on the passing of legislature and the appointment of civil servants, they cannot have complete control of such things as justice, finance, or infrastructure. The Prime Minister leads the Tythonians for a term of five years, and can hold office for no more than three total terms in his or her lifetime. All elected officials can hold their office for no more than two consecutive terms, are elected for four years apiece, and are subject to dismissal by vote if the Prime Minister requests it.

Government of Menat Ombo

  • Interim Prime Minister: Gideon Varos
  • Justice Minister: Pending Elections
  • Finance Minister: Pending Elections
  • Infrastructure Minister: Pending Elections
  • Immigration Minister: Pending Elections

At any time, the Government or the people may request a Jedi investigation into any elected official; if they accept, they are given exemption from many Tythonian laws for the duration of the investigation, provided they work in concert with the CSC. Should the Prime Minister or any other become a dictator, the Jedi are contacted and will remove them from power, while the Captain of the CSC becomes interim leader and elections are held.

Places of Interest

  • Tythonian Palace
  • Ordain Vonoro Spaceport
  • It'kla Memorial Gardens