System: Gelgelar system, Gelgelar
Starport Type: Standard class (Limited Services)
Traffic: Slow
Control: Controller
Landing: Controller
Docking Areas: Landing platforms
Docking Fee: 10 to 50 credits per local day
Customs: None
Services: Food, lodging, repair facilities, spacer documents
Capsule: Gelgelar Free Port is run by an enterprising Sullustan named Loro Ecls. He and his rather extensive family run most of the starport businesses, and offer several illegal services unavailable at many other starports.
The starport control area and many of the landing platforms are built along one edge of Gelgelar, the planet's only city. Other platforms are located on the outskirts of the city, bordering the extensive swamps which cover much of the planet's surface. The platforms are either run by Ecls and his associates or other entrepreneurs who had enough credits to build platforms of their own. Docking fees vary depending on the owner of the platform (Ecls' facilities are the cheapest) and the size of the ship.
Type: Terrestrial
Temperature: Cool
Atmosphere: Type II (breath mask suggested)
Hydrosphere: Standard
Gravity: Standard
Terrain: Ocean, plains, wetlands
Length of Day: 30 standard hours
Length of Year: 287 local days
Sapient Species: Humans, Quarren, Sullustans, Twi'leks, various other aliens
Starport: Limited services
Population: 10,000
Planet Function: Agriculture, criminal haven, trade
Government: Anarchy
Tech Level: Space
Major Exports: Shvash gas, vohis mold
Major Imports: Foodstuffs, high technology, starship parts
Capsule: Cloud-covered Gelgelar is a backwater planet and haven for criminals, spacers and a few thousand farmers who extract shvash gas and vohis mold from the extensive swamplands. The principal city is built on a somewhat dry hill in the swamp, and is a collection of prefab living units, ancient survival shelters, and homes built of scrap metal and old starship hull plates.
Gelgelar Free Port is inhabited mostly by criminals, spacers and other vagabonds, although swamp farmers commonly visit for supplies and transport of their pressurized canisters of shvash gas and crates of mushy vohis mold off planet. Occasionally pilgrims arrive to visit the Shrine of Kooroo, the only building in the city made completely of stone. Pilgrims bring extra wealth and economic prosperity to those running businesses catering to the spacefaring crowd.
The planet was first colonized almost 250 years ago by a small group of criminals, escaped political prisoners and vagabonds. The refugees built their own town where they found a mysterious abandoned stone structure, what is today known as the Shrine of Kooroo.
No indoor docking facilities are available at Gelgelar Free Port unless a ship is housed inside the Nofre Repair Bay for work. Gelgelar's constant rainy weather has few short-term effects on starships, but after about a week sitting in the rain, some older starships develop quirks in their electrical systems, resulting in incorrect sensor readings, diagnostic systems failures, and problems with communications equipment.
Ecls is really a friendly Sullustan once you earn his trust. He tends to reflect the manner in which someone approaches him. Some who meet him are arrogant, and he is arrogant in return. I'm always very affectionate and friendly with the fellow, and he returns it. Just be careful who you mouth off to at the starport — you never now which one of those Sullustans is Loro. It's not good business to insult your host. Ecls is also a good sabacc player. Maybe not as good as Calrissian and Solo, but he's good.
Fenn's security goons do a very good job of protecting ships at Fenn's Landing. They usually shoot anything that comes near them, including the ship's crews. Their security duties often include breaking into ships while crews are in town. They grab small items, usually a few credits here, a hydrospanner there. Luckily, they're not smart enough to go rummaging through ship's computers. Fenn has thought of hiring somebody to scan computers for him, but he never seems to have enough credits for it.
I heard Fenn once blasted a freighter captain for complaining about the docking fees at Fenn's Landing. I'd believe it. You don't want to get into an argument with Fenn; just act graciously and let him believe you think he's doing you a big favor by letting you land on his platform. Sometimes sucking up is a better alternative than getting blasted.
Despite it's lack of obvious exports, Gelgelar Free Port does offer something smugglers need — a place to hide from the iron grip of the Empire, and a place where no one cares what goes on.
Vohis mold isn't a bad cargo to haul — it just smells. As soon as you load it into your cargo bay, keep the hatches sealed until you're ready to unload the cargo. The damp fungus has an earthy odor which manages to leak out of the old plastic crates and penetrate anything nearby. After hauling vohis mold, it's a good idea to wash your hair out with a power sprayer.
Shvash gas purchased from Vleen is a risky cargo to haul. Her tanks aren't always sealed properly and sometimes ruptures if mishandled. Should shvash gas leak into a cargo hold, seal the hatches. One small spark from a faulty electrical system will ignite the entire bay, causing other pressurized units to explode like fragmentary grenades. Leaking gas also causes nausea and unconsciousness in most beings, something you don't exactly want when you're piloting your ship or calculating astrogation coordinates.
I've used the Nofre Repair Bay's services several times. Nofre herself is friendly and talkative, as usual, and we sit for hours discussing the ports I've visited. She is very perceptive, and knows when someone is lying or trying to hide something from her. One of the reasons I frequent Gelgelar Free Port is because Nofre's repair work is so good, and Gelgelar is a nice, backwater planet. After a few visits, Nofre starts offering discounts to her regular customers.
Always bargain for an item when you're in Gelgelar Outfitters. It's expected of you. Besides, most of the merchandise is marked up about 10 to 25 percent to begin with. The clerks want you to feel you've haggled a good bargain, and they want to minimize their financial losses.
The Slippery Gelgelar Eel is one of the few dry places on the planet where even a lukewarm bowl of gruel tastes good. The prices are reasonable as long as you don't come off as a brash spacer. Thulls is a good source of information, and I always pay him a visit when I make port to see what's up. He's an information broker at heart. He also keeps a blaster rifle beneath the bar, just in case those rowdy spacers make trouble for the regular, paying customers.
The Shrine of Kooroo is certainly a mystery on Gelgelar. However, the pilgrims bring their credits to the starport's businesses, and pay respectable prices for transport to and from Gelgelar. The pilgrim groups can be seen throughout the galaxy, heading for one shrine or another. These are rather safe groups, and I have, on occasion, disguised myself as a pilgrim to evade Imperial authorities and bounty hunters.