In
issues 58 and 59, readers are treated to a visit to the gigantic
travelling marketplace known as Bazarre. It is the setting of
a tale spotlighting Lando Calrissian and Luke Skywalker. The story
is self-contained but plays a key part of the larger Shira Brie
arc that makes up much of David Michelinie and Walt Simonson's
run.
The two issues which feature Bazarre "Sundown!" and "Bazarre" have been reprinted in "Screams in the Void", volume 4 of Star Wars: A Long Time Ago..., Dark Horse Comics' trade paperback series reprinting the entire Marvel run.
Bazarre
From the Apocrypha of Voren Na'al
The following is an excerpt from an interview with General Lando Calrissian regarding his activities following his escape from Cloud City.
"If you ask me there's only one constant in life: money. Call it credits, dataries, wuipiupi, truguts, peggats or vanderbux; it's the grease that oils the machinery of the galaxy. Sure the Empire's big, but the more they tried to regulate commerce and crack down on the free market, the more places sprung up to provide Imperial citizens the goods and services they need at discount prices.
"When General Rieekan said he needed four TIE fighters for a secret mission, I knew there was only one place to go: Bazarre. Nar Shadaa or any of the notorious shadowports were out of the question, thanks to the Hutts, so Bazarre was the only choice.
"Bazarre's big advantage over your standard wretched hive of scum and villainy is that it's mobile, yet still bigger than most cities. I heard a rumor that it was an abandoned alien colony ship that had been reconverted for commerce. Bazarre has traveled the ancient trade routes of the Outer Rim for years avoiding most Imperial notice and oversight. The central market place is so huge that it's easy to forget that you're on a starship! Merchants come from all over to sell on Bazarre. Some folks just don't want to pay Imperial taxes; others are looking to move goods that you just can't find on the open market. If it can be sold, someone's bound to be selling it on Bazarre.
"Still, it's important to remember, Bazarre isn't a free ride. I could probably work out how many credits it takes to run Bazarre for a year, but I don't think numbers go that high. Whether you're a buyer or a seller, you pay for the honor of doing business there. And if the goods you want are illegal or expensive enough, you may have to deal with one of Bazarre's more unsavory entrepreneurs, someone like Orion Ferret.
"He has the air of an effete snob, but don't let the look fool you. Believe me, I've dealt with them all, from Talon Karrde to Trade Federation hucksters. Orion Ferret is as dangerous as they come. He's about as far down the evolutionary chain as the invertebrate octopoid he keeps on his shoulder, and he'd send his own grandmother into the Pit of Carkoon if it meant a few extra credits.
"It's a sad fact of life, however, that it's the people like Orion who are invariably the only ones who can get their hands on the stuff you really need, especially during wartime. The best way to deal with Orion Ferret is the sink down to his level. Deceit is the only language he understands. If Han were here, I'm sure he'd say it was my mother tongue too, and maybe he's right. I made the deal with Orion to buy those TIEs the Rebellion needed, even though I knew he'd double cross me. But I made sure to bring some insurance of my own. And it worked out all right in the end. Barely. For him and me!
"But I'll let Luke and Chewbacca tell you about that."
Bazarre
Craft: Custom Mobile Space Marketplace
Type: Converted Colony Ship
Scale: Death Star
Length: 30 kilometers
Skill: Battle station piloting: Bazarre
Crew: 10,000, skeleton 1,000/+10
Passengers: 500,000
Cargo Capacity: over two hundred fifty thousand kilotons
Consumables: 1 year
Cost: Don't ask, you'd just max out your cred-stick
Hyperdrive Multiplier: x4
Hyperdrive Backup: x30
Nav Computer: Yes
Space: 3
Hull: 3D
Shields: 2D
Sensors:
Passive: 300/1D
Scan: 1500/1D
Search: 5000/3D
Focus: 50/4D
Weapons:
100 Turbolaser Batteries
Scale: Starfighter
Fire Control: 1D
Space Range: 1-5/10/15
Damage: 5D
50 Heavy Turbolasers
Scale: Starfighter
Fire Control: 1D
Space Range: 1-7/15/30
Damage: 7D
100 Laser Cannons
Scale: Capital
Fire Control: 1D
Space Range: 1-5/10/15
Damage: 6D
50 Tractor Beam Emplacements
Scale: Capital
Fire Control: 3D
Space Range: 1-5/10/25
Damage: 5D
Orion Ferret
Type: Black Market Entrepreneur
Height: 1.7 meters
Species: Human
Sex: Male
DEX 3D PER 4D
Bargain 7D+2
Command 6D
Con 7D+2
Hide 5D
Persuasion 5D
Search 5D+2
KNO 4D STR 2D
Alien Species 5D
Bureaucracy 6D
Business 8D
Cultures 5D
Intimidation 5D+1
Planetary Systems 5D
Streetwise 7D
Survival 5D
Value 6D
Willpower 5D
MEC 2D+2 TEC 2D+1
Archaic Capital Archaic Capital
Ship Piloting 3D+2 Ship Repair 4D+1
Astrogation 3D+2 Security 5D+1
Force Points: 1
Dark Side Points: 2
Cyberpoints: 1
Move: 10
Equipment: Gaudy, expensive clothes, several beefy bodyguards, pet Octopoid.
Description: To call Orion Ferret a fop or a dandy doesn't quite do him credit. His
clothes are inordinately elaborate and tailored specifically for him. His considerable
fortune has not been able to recover his receding hairline. A small green octopoid
rides on Orion's shoulder and is his constant companion and confidant.
Cybernetics: Orion Ferret has implanted a miniature comlink that allows silent
communication with his cyborg aide, P'lor.
A Quote: "It's all so simple really -- when one deals with ruffians of inferior caliber."
Octopoid
Type: Amphibious Invertebrate Pet
DEXTERITY 2D
PERCEPTION 3D
STRENGTH 1D
Special Abilities:
Tentacles: The Octopoid's many tentacles give it a
+1D to Swim and Climb rolls.
Move: 1 (crawl), 5 (swim)
Size: 0.25 meters
A Quote: "Skek hek hek!"
Bazarre and Orion Ferret were created by David Michelinie and Walt Simonson.