Jorus Merrill
is mek bote
OUT OF CHARACTER INFORMATION
- Intent: I like cities and I like Zonju V.
- Image Credit: “Recall” by Adrian Marc, found at https://www.artstation.com/artwork/aVeYq
- Canon: Zoronhed
- Links: 3:10 to Kathol (ORC Dominion of Zonju V), ORC procurement meeting in Zoronhed, ORC meeting outside Zoronhed, ORC meeting outside Zoronhed, ORC tournament on Zonju V, CJMB Clarke-Porras (decommissioned as described below)
- City Name: Zoronhed
- Classification: Urban Center
- Location: Zonju V
- Affiliation: Zonju V is a constitutional monarchy and a longtime member of the Outer Rim Coalition.
- Demographics:
Human 40% - Duros 10%
- Klatoonian 5%
- Weequay 5%
- Dug 5%
- Gran 5%
- Trandoshan 5%
- Rodian 5%
- Twi’lek 5%
- Jawa 5%
- Gand 5%
- Bith 5%
[*]Wealth: High. In recent years, an aurodium rush has brought offworld immigration and investment.
[*]Stability: Medium. Zonju V has always been known for its swoop gangs, and the aurodium rush hasn't helped with the whole law and order thing. The planet has all the problems of a bustling frontier. Zoronhed is the most orderly and civilized place in the system, but that isn't saying much. The Zonju Defense Force relies on Zoronhed for supplies and shore leave, and Task Force Cresh-Nine makes port at Zoronhed as well. Naval crewers and the King’s security squads are common sights. Basically, Zoronhed is fairly safe but rough-and-tumble, and it’s easy to fall through the cracks if you’re not paying attention. Think Mos Espa and you wouldn’t be far wrong.
[*]Description: One part ancient stonework, one part modern city, and one part sand, Zoronhed is a frontier enigma and a bit of a mess. Local transportation options hinge on banthas, eopies, dewbacks, swoop bikes, and ‘Ute’ utility transports.
POINTS OF INTEREST
- Barthemos, the cyborg king of the Zonju System, rules from a modest palace in the middle of Zoronhed. Coalition dignitaries and messengers can often be found here. Barthemos has often denied ideological sympathies toward the First Order, but FOSB agents on quiet errands might find the palace a relatively safe place to do their work.
- A decommissioned citadel on the edge of down has been converted into a (well-defended) refugee intake centre and immigration support facility. Its defenses remain largely intact, though laser cannons tend to fall off a truck every once in a while.
- Note also that several corporations maintain facilities in or near Zoronhed. Arceneau Trade Company has a warehouse and private port there, and a trade station in orbit. RingoVinda StarYards, a major shipbuilder, has a facility on Zonju, as does the entertainment conglomerate Heartbeat House. Other sales offices include Gallofree Yards and Merrill-Valkner Systems Engineering, whose headquarters and prototyping facilities are located just outside Zoronhed. The Wretched Hive considers Zoronhed a primary port of call.
- Medium. As noted above, an aurodium rush, a frontier environment, swoop gangs, and Wild Space ship crews make for a complex and challenging setting. The presence of Zonju Defense Force crewers and King Barthemos’ own security forces, as well as ORC Judges and assorted peacekeepers, keep things chugging along. It’s safer than Mos Eisley or Nar Shaddaa, let’s put it that way.
- As for defenses, the city has three area shield generators for emergencies, and a handful of quad laser cannons.
- Note also that travelers who venture into caves or forgotten basement areas risk running afoul of a Zonju Cave Cactus.
HISTORICAL INFORMATION
Zoronhed has been the capital of Zonju V for a millennium or thereabouts, and Sharukan ruins indicate the site is much older. The Gulag Plague hit the Zonju system hard and made it even more of a dusty backwater than it was. In the modern era, Zoronhed has found new prominence as the seat of the Zonju System’s hereditary kings. Zoronhed became a popular refuge for unsettled local survivors of the First and Second Akala Crises. The Bando Gora Reavers also had a presence nearby at one point, but were eradicated during the Crises.
The aurodium rush of the past decade has only increased Zoronhed’s centrality to the planet’s flows of trade. So has the occasional presence of the Foundation, a massive, mobile station that carries out many of the Outer Rim Coalition’s administrative functions.
Zoronhed is a common destination for émigrés from the collapsing Galactic Alliance territories. Repurposed ships serve as trading posts, shelters, and centres of industry in the city’s outskirts.
