The Palace of Queen Popara the Great

[Queen Popara]

The Palace itself is designed from the ground up as a pyramid like structure, in a stark contrast to the more standard Hutt designs. The massive opening near the bottom of the Palace serves as the primary ground entrance, with a large landing platform at the bottom of the stairs leading to it. The larger opening above the main entrance serves as a private hangar, as well as transport nexus to get from one side of the Palace to the other. The top levels of the Palace are designed with metal and protective shielding, allowing anyone within to see out into space without risk of exposure. The center of the area is devoted to an arena, with each consecutive smaller level around the rim of the area serving as the viewing areas.

POINTS OF INTEREST

• 
  Throne Room: The Throne Room of Popara the Great, the main throne itself is more or less a large slab of obsidian, smoothed to a perfect shine and set on tracks against the back wall of the large room. Directly below the Throne Room is a Rancor Pit, accessed by a small opening at the back of the room, though most people discover it from falling through the trap door set before the throne.
  
• 
  Gamblers Den: Set in the very center of the Palace, the Gamblers Den is a multi level area of the Palace dominated by gaming tables, chance machines, and almost every form of entertainment that could be imagined. Immense sums of money are made here each day, with patrons coming from across the galaxy to test their luck at the great Gamblers Den of Popara the Great.
  
• 
  Residential Quarters: Situated near the base of the Palace, several floors are dedicated to the living blocks of all those who call the Palace their home, willingly and otherwise. A large section of the living quarters are given over to temporary housing, allowing patrons visiting the Palace to stay there and spend more money.
  
• 
  Landing Platform and Grand Stair: Just outside the Palace is the primary Landing Platform of all the standard visitors to the Palace. Easily twice the size of the Palace itself, it is capable of holding thousands of vessels of varying sizes. Near the end of the platform, and leading up to the Palace is the Grand Stair, a half mile long path leading up to the waiting doors of the Palace. Situated regularly along the length of the Grand Stair are massive statues dedicated to Popara the Great in different positions.
  
• 
  Grand Colosseum: Placed at the very top of the Palace is the Grand Colosseum. A massive open floor dominates the area, with viewing platforms along the rim in shrinking layers going up. A massive section of the viewing platforms is dedicated to the private viewing section, containing Popora the Great’s own personal viewing box, and the location of all special guests.
  

In her throne room, the hutt lorda sat drinking and watching as her peers danced around her. How she loved her new palace, he still smelled of new and had to be filled with her pleasure court yet. She could have stayed in the depths of Coruscant, but that place was still dangerous for the likes of her, and so preferred her cold palace in the deep space, where she could make some honest pay and don't worry about a single thing. The only sad thing, was to look at her pit, and find it empty, she had to disintegrate her enemies, and maybe, eat them.
"More music, more drinks!", she shouted to her majordomo. Demanding more for delicacies for her most holy and evolved mouth. Which he replied, and so did the musicians.

 

[Ithnan Cryo]

This was the place was the first thought that came into his head as the ship began its landing sequence on the massive landing pad beneath. It had seemed that what he had heard about Hutts were true in that overcompensation was bred into their DNA. casting a shadow over the pad was the palace, or as people kept referring to it "The Grand Palace of Queen Popara" again he thought Overcompensation. He had heard of her from some scum and drunkards while executing missions in the area. After a few choice messages and some persuasion, he was able to procure this trip here. While he had no loves for the Hutts grandiose style, as supported by the grand statues of her along the even grander steps, he did love what could be offered by her and that was credited to which he could store and amass for a rainy day.

Working for a Crime Lord wasn't the worse thing he could be doing in his spare time. He stepped off the ship with his newfound "friend" who was more than happy to have him off his ship. The man nodded before looking back at the palace and hopping back on his ship. Ithnan wasted no times with goodbyes as he began what seemed like a rather extensive trip up the stairs. With each step, he looked at the images of Papora and wondered what it is she was like in person. He wasn't expecting gentle or nice as one didn't become a crime lord as either but if there is one thing he had learned growing up is that people can be deceiving.

As he reached the top his eyes shifted from the statues and to the armed machines watching the door with all their robotic software allowed. Entry was one thing but he assumed there had to be far more of these things to properly lock down the building, especially with the number and caliber of guest they let in. Heading to the waiting door he announced himself to whoever was in charge of watching it.

" I'm Wraith, your mistress should be expecting me." As he spoke he picked off any lint that was gracing his cloak, being proper was even important while doing scum work.

A Twilek approached him,datapad in hand and swiped through a listing of what Ithnan assumed were warrantded clientel. When the scroll cease and the Twilek looked up at him with a complacent face he took it that his invitation had not passed as he had hoped.

"It appears tha-"

"You missed my name at the top" He said with a small gesture of his hand.

"It seems I have" The Twilek checked off on a name that obviously wasn't his. "Right this way"

"Thank you" Ithnan replied poignantly.
[member="Queen Popara"]

 

[Queen Popara]

As music rushed through her hall, the Queen laughed while eating snails, chubas, live porgs and other small animals from a giant silver bucket at her side. Her two zeltros male dancers did their jobs with torches, while the screams of a rodian hang up upside down from the ceiling, while a big gamorrean played with a flamethrower at his feet, gushing flames to burn his skin. Leaving a smell of roasted meat that made Popara even more hungry.

“Echuba!”, the Hutt screamed, spitting half a porg in the floor. She said that to her dancers and musicians, while they played even louder with Biths working their way with their flutes.

“Your Greatness…”, the voice of the twi’lek said in her ear pointing to a man with long silver hair not far from there, “This is Wrath, he is here to see you. You are expecting him.”, it was not his place to say that, Curufin was but a simple host at the gate and a jester, not her majordomo. The Hutt looked half closed eyes at the creatures direction, calling him to get closer to her throne with a small gesture by swinging her chubby fingers in the air, saying out loud for the male, her huttese words being repeated out loud by her necklace, some sort of translator beneath her big red ruby.

“Approach, male creature and state your business in my presence.”, her hand went to slap the man in his cheek, tossing his body aside for him to learn his place in her court. While a new figure went to her side, a tall Zygerrian with keen eyes, her Majordomo. “Take this filth outside and teach him some manners.”, she growled to her guards, as they took him by the arms and dragged his screaming body to do as they were told. Her eyes back to Wrath, as the Hutt was slightly interested with this strange person in her presence.

[member="Ithnan Cryo"]

 

[Ithnan Cryo]

The theatrics never stopped. He couldn't say he wasn't impressed by the spectacle of it all, but this sort of revelry, rugged, unrefined, and without purpose did not tickle his terms for a party or fun time in the slightest. He watched as the Twilek that had gotten in his way was dragged and half listened to what the Hutt had to say. A crude species he had always felt a tinge of disgust toward. Their strength was in their history and there might only extendable by those who would bow before a credit. In his case, he was intending to do the same, though bowing was far from what he would ever consider doing in this place. When the Twileks screaming had died out he finally decided to speak.

"I am here to offer my services in exchange for credits. I hear you have businesses and I also hear that there are people in the business of corrupting and diminishing them. It is quite simple really, a person such as yourself does not build all of this by leaving yourself defenseless, and in this ever war-torn galaxy the amount of people looking to make a name for themselves see's no end. What better way to do that than by bringing down The Great Queen Popara herself. With my services, I can help ensure your trade stays protected and in exchange, I keep my account numbers high."

His distance from her hadn't really changed despite her saying to approach. He wasn't privy to all the major hutts in the galaxy but he knew that the Hutts were clever and he'd be better off acting carefully to cordial to all of this women demands. Even then he was mentally counting the guards in the room and the escapes available. It was a decently large palace, but with the high rollers that came in hear a ruckus would be less than ideal for any business owner. So, he leveraged her are for her business over his determination not to kowtow to anyone that wasn't his master or commanding officer.

[member="Queen Popara"]

 

[Queen Popara]

Sitting in her throne, relaxed with her immense body, Popara watched his every move interested about what was said. Her chubby and strong arm grabbed a fat porg from a basket not far from where she sat, taking the animal to her mouth, still screaming and crying, eating his whole body and licking her finger in the process, getting them dirty with gray drool. This one was another criminal looking for work, another outlaw seeking her grace, she half closed her eyes for a moment, because there was something else about this, something that was left unsaid in this talk about her enemies. She had very little ones, the Smuggler’s Run was hers, she killed the Brothers for control, made her pet eat the Zabrak in Skor III and flayed the black wookie alive to take Skorr IX. She still had his fur as a blanket, right under her tail. In Coruscant, there was peace, The Family made her sign a deal with the Yakuza to ensure peace in the Underlevels, now she had very little to get. the greatest ones were in the Hutt Cartel, and she could not touch them… not yet.

“Chaos is good for business. As the galaxy tear each other apart, I get richer selling spice to orphans and broken people, selling food by huge prices for starving humans, take slaves from the worlds torn by war and hire troops from the conquered planets, but... You talk a lot about your services.”, she said, her deep voice speaking in huttese, being translated to the common tongue by her necklace, “But I do not know you and I don’t know how you can be of service to me.”, staying quiet for a moment, a grotesque sound of came from her throat that followed Popara spitting in the floor the porgs head. “A trial is required as tradition dictates.”, she pressed the button in the panel next to her hoverboard throne, opening a small gap in the floor showing a deep darkness beneath. As the door opened, a zygerrian came forth from behind a column, bowing to the Queen and speaking in her behalf.

“The Queen asks that you prove your skills to her in her Pit. Fight in your way against her weapon of choice. If you win, you will have what you came for and get the opportunity to become rich. If you die, well… we won’t mourn you.”, said that some guards laughed a bit, but not the Queen, she was serious. Being alive for so many centuries almost gave her a natural intuition about what she was to expect, and if he was what she was thinking, she had a job for him worth half a million credits or more.

[member="Ithnan Cryo"]​

 

[Ithnan Cryo]

Of course, there would be some unnecessary work involved. He had hoped to avoid this step but nevertheless, he had prepared himself mentally for the scenario. It was times like this where he wondered if heading for the Gakudo on Coruscant would have been an easier idea then a Hutt on an asteroid. At least the former came with less pompous clientele and more openness to new employment. Heading there after this would probably be a good venture.

Returning to the present he spoke.

" A trial? In your pit? This seems more than senseless but whatever you wish. "

Ithnan would keep his cloak on and continue to stand where he was. If he was gonna be forced into some task he would allow them to escort him and not be taken by surprise by some secret offender. He barely trusted the people he called allies back home so to trust these criminals and expect them to have any semblance of honor would be a failing on his part and no one else's.

" I already have my weapon of choice so you may choose yours. I won't spare your champion should the opportunity arise so pick whatever fodder you find dispensable. Overconfidence can be a slow and insidious killer and I have just the right amount to feed on those don't."

He would point at the Queens Majordomo "You, ensure that your tricks are kept to a minimum or I'll throw you in as a bonus example for your queen. If I wanted to play games I could've gone to someone else and avoided the theatrics. Show me to your arena then, let us see if I am to the Queen's liking."

[member="Queen Popara"]