Tolea Biqua

Tolea Biqua, sometimes known as TB was a floating city on Genarius, considered the twin city of Varna Biqua, and built at the direction of crimelord Riboga the Hutt. Unlike the uniformity of other Genariusan floating cities like Ipsus, Tolea Biqua was disheveled and disorganized. It was a conglomeration of clashing building styles laid out without a clear plan. Surfaces were brightly painted in primary colors, and neon tubes were frequent. From a distance, it actually looked beautiful, but the illusion did not hold up long when approached.

Tolea Biqua's radiation shields were designed to absorb and use the radiation of the planet's storms to power the city's bright lights. Without the power absorbed from the storms, in a week Tolea Biqua would use up power cells which could power a full-sized freighter for a year.

Riboga would later order an office to be built there for him, although it would be used more for his personal relax and to spy on potential enemies, as the Hutt had other headquarters to make business.

Tolea Biqua centered around gambling, though almost any vice could be accommodated there, such as drinking, companionship, or addictive spices, with no public discussions or negotiations. There were many gambling establishments to be found there. One of the most profitable since 53 BBY was Riboga's Barge. One of the many things to gamble upon were the races through the tunnels of Eskaron. Due to the city's reputation as a den of iniquity, it had touristic appeal among certain kinds of sentients: Newly-wealthy Gungan Brute aimed to go to Tolea Biqua on vacation to spend a part of his money.

Tolea Biqua had no law enforcement agency. Each individual protected her own interests with her personal weaponry. Even Jedi were attacked, and the Jedi masters strongly suggested that padawans were always in groups. Nevertheless, Tolea Biqua had its own jail.

Bodyguards were easily found in Tolea Biqua, and sometimes easily disposed, as explained by the six-person security crew of a transport to Depatar &mdash; they were marooned in Depatar, where they resorted to thugging.

The bars in Tolea Biqua outnumbered all other business establishments combined. There was the usual range of bars from dives to upper establishments, but unlike many cities, their locations were not geographically delineated. Usually the names of the cantinas were also not helpful in determining which category it fell into. It was said that a new visitor would visit five bars and get in three fights before finding the right place to drink. However, other dining establishments in the system (such as the Hutt's Tail in Nirama's public asteroid) were considered even worse than the worst bars in Tolea Biqua.

Tolea Biqua was central to a yearly holiday called Festival. It began when the workers of Edic Bar were unexpectedly given the day off because they had finished production for the first operative G-59 Cannibalizer unit. They migrated to Tolea Biqua and its frequent drinking establishments to have a good time. The party ended up lasting four days, spreading through all the cities in Genarius and some cities in other planets of the Cularin system. Every year since then, on the anniversary of that party, Festival is celebrated. This Festival was known to attract a wide variety of sentients, including most of the pirate gang known as the Red Fury Brotherhood, whose leader used the Festival as a reward for his men.

The young thug gangs known as the Blood Velkers and the Blood Raptors were commonly causing trouble in this city. Another occasional visitor of the city was playboy Xav Verivax, who mixed with the local cream of the society.

In 31 BBY, Rodian merchant Teeloo accidentally collided with a ship of the Blood Raptors while arriving to Genarius. Seven Raptors, under the lead of Scar Blenner ambushed him in his docking bay at Tolea Biqua, requised his cargo and challenged him to a mandatory race through Eskaron and back to Tolea Biqua, betting the cargo against his ship, the Neeva-Beelo - an agreement they did not intended to respect. In fact, the Raptors attacked Teeloo's docking bay that same night, attempting to disable the ship. Teeloo managed to get the selfless aid of some good Samaritans and survived the race. Nevertheless, the race caused some losses to local crimelord Nirama, who sent his lieutenant Len Markus and some minions to kidnap both Teeloo, his friends and the Raptors, taking them to Mikish.

Later that same year, during the local Festival, most of the Brotherhood pirates were in Tolea Biquea, leaving their base partially unprotected. This was an essential part of Jedi Knight Alec's plan to destroy dark Jedi Karae Nalvas's flying fortress near the core of Genarius. Alec's allies succeeded in this mission and left the doomed locale in a stolen ship. They crash-landed near some surprised SoroSuub Sullustan executives who recognized their vehicle as a stolen prototype and rewarded them for that. Alec organized a honor reception for his friends during the Festival.