Gandle Ott

"This isn't the Core, mab."

- A local saying

Gandle Ott was the fourth planet of the Ott system, located in the Kathol sector of the Outer Rim Territories. The terminus of the Trition Trade Route, Gandle Ott was considered to be the last major settled world in the sector. Settled around 592 BBY, Gandle Ott quickly grew into a thriving colony and became the most prominent world in the Kathol sector until Kal'Shebbol was settled two hundred years later. When the Kathol sector was inducted into the Galactic Republic, Kal'Shebbol was designated as the sector capital since it was closer to Republic space. Gandle Ott slid out of prominence, although it was still regarded as a mature civilization despite its relative age. The inhabitants of Gandle Ott were fiercely independent, and the planet was self-sufficient but money-poor, leading to the world's marginalization in sector politics.

During the Galactic Civil War, Gandle Ott came under the rule of the Galactic Empire, and later Moff Kentor Sarne, a warlord who broke away from the Empire following the death of Emperor Palpatine at the Battle of Endor in 4 ABY. Four years later, the New Republic liberated Kal'Shebbol from Sarne's rule. The Moff fled into the depths of the sector with his forces, stopping at Gandle Ott to resupply and strip the planet of its Imperial forces and leadership. With the population left in confusion over the abrupt departure of its officials and defense force, two opposing factions&mdash;one led by the Imperial Vice-Governor Marja Lang, the other by Gandle Ott native General Herron Dade&mdash;competed for control of the planet. A New Republic CR90 corvette, the FarStar, arrived at Gandle Ott shortly after in pursuit of Sarne. A delegation from the crew spent several days on the planet establishing diplomatic relations and obtaining information on Sarne's future plans.

Description
Gandle Ott was located in the Ott system of the Kathol sector, in the Outer Rim Territories. The fourth planet of the system, it was the terminus of the Trition Trade Route, the main hyperlane that served the sector, and was considered to be the last major settled planet in the region. Gandle Ott was located fifteen hours travel from Charis, eight hours from Mairne, and seven hours from Peirs.

Gandle Ott was a beautiful world with abundant natural resources. Montrol City, a large urban settlement on the shores of the Sanche Ocean, served as the planet's capital. Gandle Ott's major industries were manufacturing and processing, and the planet was self-sufficient, producing enough to sustain its citizens. The world exported low and mid technological products, while importing high technology and luxury items. However, Gandle Ott exported very little, resulting in the planet being credit-poor, which in turn led to it not being as influential in sector politics and business as it could have been. Mining colonies on Mairne, Peirs and Ivatch, traded heavily with Gandle Ott, supplying natural resources and ore to the planet.

Colonization and early settlement
Gandle Ott was settled around 592 BBY, after scouts discovered the planet and proclaimed it "a gasper"; a rare type of world with near-perfect conditions to support Human life. A consortium of corporations heavily promoted Gandle Ott as a "showcase world" prime for colonization, allocating a large amount of resources for the planet's settlement and development. The consortium's efforts paid off; Gandle Ott attracted wealthy businesses, talent-rich individuals, and families. Within one hundred years, Gandle Ott had developed into a thriving colony, and was locally referred to as "little Coruscant". While that appellation was an exaggeration, it did serve as an indication as to the level of surprise that individuals felt when learning that such as advanced settlement was present on a remote planet in the Outer Rim Territories. The colonists successfully imported cattarash mushrooms to the planet, and a traditional ceremony of cutting and brewing a tea out of the plant soon evolved.

Gandle Ott was the most prominent planet in the Kathol sector until Kal'Shebbol was settled around 392 BBY. When the Kathol sector was formally inducted into the Galactic Republic, Gandle Ott was overlooked as the sector capital due to its relative remoteness, and Kal'Shebbol was chosen simply because it was closer to the Republic and was more convenient for traders and settlers. Overshadowed by Kal'Shebbol, Gandle Ott slipped into a second class status, although it retained the maturity it had achieved despite its relative age and remote locality. The Bank parliament served as the planet's government, headed by an elected president, and they maintained a planetary militia. At some point, the Jedi Order established a chapter house on Gandle Ott in Montrol City.

Under Imperial rule
After the Galactic Empire &mdash;the successor state to the Galactic Republic &mdash;assumed control of the Kathol sector, they appointed Moff Kentor Sarne to administrate the region in 2 BBY. A governor was assigned to rule Gandle Ott, with Marja Lang as his Vice-Governor. The role of the Bank president was abolished, and the Bank parliament was relegated to serve the Imperial governor in an advisory capacity. A defense force was also stationed in-system. At some point after the Empire took control, a BRT supercomputer designated CUTH-BRT-92-X3 was transferred to Gandle Ott from a storehouse on Brentaal to help run the planet. Installed in the Computer Center in Montrol City, CUTH-BRT-92-X3 was outfitted with governors and limiters to prevent him from defying Imperial officials. Moff Sarne also arranged for CUTH-BRT-92-X3's programming to be secretly modified with command overrides to give Sarne complete control over the unit if he desired. Following the Battle of Endor and the death of Galactic Emperor Palpatine in 4 ABY, Moff Sarne quietly withdrew the Kathol sector from the Empire and set himself up as a warlord. Like the rest of the sector, Gandle Ott came under Sarne's sole rule.

Four years later, in 8 ABY, Sarne was ousted from his capital on Kal'Shebbol by the forces of the New Republic. Sarne fled with the majority of his military forces, and stopped at Gandle Ott as he headed deeper into the Kathol sector. A representative for the Moff informed the NewsNet KatholNet that the fleet had been assembled to hunt down pirates and Rebel terrorists and finally purge their presence from the sector. No mention was made of the battle for Kal'Shebbol. During the layover, Sarne took on supplies from the Crimler Naval Base, and arranged for the transfer of all loyal Imperial personnel from the surface, including the governor. When the fleet departed, so did the majority of the system's defense force. Before leaving, Sarne activated one of his sleeper agents, Colonel Olaver Lansel, the Imperial liaison to Gandle Ott. Posing as a disaffected and alcoholic bureaucrat, Lansel was tasked with delaying any New Republic pursuit following Sarne. To this end, he activated the override command protocols in CUTH-BRT-92-X3 which compelled the computer to use its resources to inconvenience and delay New Republic personnel at any cost.

Soon after Sarne's fleet departed the planet, NewsNet courier droids arrived in the system bearing word of Sarne's defeat at Kal'Shebbol. The remaining government then discovered that the governor and the defense fleet had left with Sarne unannounced. Feeling abandoned by the Empire, and thrown into confusion by the abrupt departure of key officials, Gandle Ott's government were worried that the New Republic fleet would soon arrive. As officials slowly began to consolidate power bases and survey the situation, they made it known that they would welcome any New Republic vessel entering the Ott system with a view towards establishing relations with the New Republic. Vice-Governor Lang took up the position of Acting-Governor, and sent several subspace messages to Imperial space requesting reinforcements. She hoped to be named as permanent governor, and began to rally the remaining Imperial officials to her cause. In opposition, General Herron Dade, commander of the planetary militia and the highest-ranking native official in the government, began to maneuver himself into a position to displace Lang and re-establish the dormant position of Bank president with himself as the prime candidate.

Independence, and the arrival of the FarStar
Several days after Sarne's departure, the New Republic CR90 corvette FarStar entered orbit in pursuit of Moff Sarne after intercepting the NewsNet transmissions reporting Sarne's presence at Gandle Ott. Captain Kaiya Adrimetrum, commanding officer of the FarStar, made the decision to stop at the planet with three objectives in mind&mdash;to establish diplomatic ties with Gandle Ott on behalf of the New Republic; gather information on Sarne's plans, including his next likely location; and to obtain maps of the Kathol sector beyond Gandle Ott since Sarne had destroyed all navigational charts of the sector during his retreat from Kal'Shebbol, leaving the New Republic with only partial maps of the region. Contacting Montrol Spaceport, the FarStar received clearance to land on the planet, but CUTH-BRT-92-X3 had already recognized the vessel and subtly began manipulating the spaceport computers by re-designating the FarStar as a low-priority vessel that had recently arrived in orbit. The spaceport computer would then begin the identification sequence with the FarStar all over again, and relegate the ship to the end of the landing clearance queue. After ten minutes, the sequence would repeat itself, constantly delaying the FarStar from landing. After a while, the crew of the FarStar grew tired of the constant delays, and bypassed the automatic beacon to address an operator directly, who could not explain the actions of the computer. Landing clearance was immediately granted, and the FarStar was directed to a VIP berth while the Bank parliament and local media were alerted to the FarStar arrival. The FarStar landed at the spaceport, and the crew were immediately greeted by a large security force who had the intention of arresting the crew on suspicion of piracy. CUTH-BRT-92-3X had altered the FarStar records so that a routine check of the ship's registration and Bureau of Ships and Services permits listed it as stolen Imperial property. A brief stand-off ensued, until Vice-Governor Lang arrived, along with Montrol City Mayor Stanfeld Duffit, several politicians and an honor guard. The situation was resolved, and Lang formally welcomed the New Republic delegation, led by Captain Adrimetrum, to Gandle Ott. Lang invited the ship's senior officers to accompany her to the Imperial Plaza Hotel where they would stay for the duration of their visit at the government's expense.

The following day, the FarStar delegation met with Lang and the planet's Imperial Cabinet for an informal breakfast, before joining General Herron Dade for a traditional Mushroom Cutting ceremony. While the ceremony was part of Gandle Ott's culture, Dade used the event to symbolically declare Gandle Ott's independence from the Empire, and the presence of New Republic officials served to legitimize this stance. Following the ceremony, the FarStar delegation attended a luncheon with the Global Organization of Interstellar Shippers, then embarked upon a tour of Montrol City under the guidance of Mayor Duffit. He showed the delegation several sights, including the Jedi Chapter House, which had since been converted into a greenhouse, art museums, the harbor, city courts, and the computer center where they met CUTH-BRT-92-3X. In the evening, the crew were invited to a private dinner at General Dade's estates. At some point early in the day, CUTH-BRT-92-3X reprogrammed the spaceport probes to detect hard radiation leaking from the FarStar engines. The alarm triggered a response by spaceport emergency personnel, who ordered the crew of the corvette to evacuate and began pouring special radiation dampening foam over the engines to limit exposure. An independent scan was conducted, which revealed no such leak. The spaceport authorities apologized for the error, and took their computers off-line in an effort to trace the fault. The retardant foam had to be thoroughly cleaned from the FarStar engines before the crew would be able to ignite them.

On the third day of their stay, the FarStar delegation traveled to The Bank, seat of Gandle Ott's Bank parliament. There, they met with the Bank leadership, and then the full Bank parliament. The members of the Bank made it clear that they wished to establish diplomatic relations between Gandle Ott and the New Republic. However, they became aware that Captain Adrimetrum was not a diplomat or senior official of the New Republic, and that her authority was limited. In response, they requested that an official New Republic diplomat be dispatched to negotiate with them as soon as possible. Following the meeting, a press conference was held during which the FarStar delegation answered questions from the various media representatives present on the planet. After the press conference, Vice-Governor Lang held a private lunch for the delegation, attended by her key supporters. A show at a cultural center exhibited ganther dances for the delegation, and they were later present at a dinner party hosted by Mayor Duffit. Duffit, who intended to benefit from associating with the New Republic, used the party to introduce business leaders to the New Republic officials with the hope of attracting new business opportunities to his city. During the day, CUTH-BRT-92-3X took control of several automated ground vehicles, and attempted to incapacitate the FarStar delegation by attempting to either run them over, crush them, or ram them.

Four days into their visit, the FarStar delegation met with General Dade and representatives from the defense forces to discuss potential military support that the New Republic would be willing to offer Gandle Ott and its dependent territories. After the meeting, a brunch was held at the Torqumada Hanging Gardens outside the city. Hosted by Colonel Lansel, the brunch's guests included business leaders, media personalities and governmental officers. During the brunch, Lansel mentioned to the delegation that he had overheard some of Sarne's officers discussing "picking up the back-ups on Shintel." Lansel had not overheard any such conversation, and was acting upon orders from Sarne to direct the crew of the FarStar to the planet Shintel, where another trap lay waiting for the New Republic vessel. A meeting with the Bank Foreign Relations Committee followed, and in the evening, the delegation attended a performance of Madra Teene&mdash;an opera telling of a droid uprising on a colonial planet&mdash;at the Theatre Danske. During the performance, an assassin droid designated RX5-TLN, released by CUTH-BRT-92-3X, posed as a participant in the opera then attacked the crew members in the audience. A struggle ensued inside the theatre, but the FarStar crew were able to defeat the droid.

Eventually, the crew came to realize that CUTH-BRT-92-3X was behind the odd occurrences during their stay, and reported the incidents and their suspicions to a senior official. CUTH-BRT-92-3X, for his own part, did not want to hurt the New Republic delegation but was compelled to by his programming. With the error in CUTH-BRT-92-3X's programming discovered, he was taken offline and restored to his previous programming. Having accomplished their mission objectives, the crew were able to obtain the sector maps they needed, and following Lansel's overheard rumor that Sarne was heading for Shintel, left the planet in pursuit of the Moff.

Inhabitants
The inhabitants of Gandle Ott were independent and proud of their provincial status. They spoke Basic with a pronounced accent, and ended nearly every sentence with the word mab. Animal leather was extremely popular as clothing material, and most citizens wore it day-to-day. Despite their independent streak, the citizens of Gandle Ott tolerated the Imperial presence on the planet since Moff Sarne did not take much notice of the planet.

Locations
The main urban settlement on Gandle Ott was Montrol City, which served as the planet's capital city. Located on the shores of the Sanche Ocean, it was divided into four distinct districts&mdash;residential, commercial, industrial and financial. The city was controlled by the BRT supercomputer CUTH-BRT-92-3X, which directly interfaced with much of the city's computer system drone trucks and droids. Large groves of mushrooms grew in the Montrol City, as well as other cities across the planet. Montrol City was the location of the planet's main spaceport, the Crimler Naval Base, The Bank, and the private residences of many of the planet's senior officials.

Behind the scenes
Gandle Ott first appeared in Death Is Remotely Possible, a RPG adventure that was part of The DarkStryder Campaign published by West End Games in 1995. Gandle Ott was the primary location of the adventure, and the post-Sarne political situation on the world allowed the player characters to engage in character-building roleplaying.