Welcome to the Setnin
Sector
1999 story by
Jonathan Hicks Three years after Episode IV – A New Hope As my vessel, the Bolder Than Most, decelerated from hyperspace, and the
streaks of light that denoted the transition to real space were reduced to
mere stars, I couldn’t help but feel excited. Here I was, over the planet Zelon, over the city of
Chancai. Chancai! The greatest Trade Centre in the galaxy, or so I had heard.
The planet glowed blue and green below me and directional satellites
indicated which direction I should go. Hundreds of ships were coming to and
from the planet’s surface, and as I watched the great lumbering form of an
Imperial Star Destroyer hove into view. But not even the presence of the Empire could stem my
feeling of joy. After all, I had travelled who-knows how many parsecs to get
here, right here. From the core, approaching the outer rim. All my friends
had told me I was crazy to come here, that most people came to find their
fortune and only found death or misery. Well, with me it was going to be different. I was going
to show them all that I had the energy and the confidence to get further than
everyone. If you make it on Chancai, you can make it anywhere. I dropped the nose at the instruction of the automated
orbital satellite, and followed the pre-set course to the surface. I hit
atmosphere and then cloud, and, as I looked out of my port window, I watched
another vessel trailing me, a large heavy freighter with a long nose and a
wide rear engine compartment. With a burst of energy it lurched forward and
led me down. My heart leapt from my chest as I saw the city; a huge,
mile-high construction with the appearance of a giant pyramid with the very
top lopped off to make a flat summit. Down the centre of the construction was
a shaft where vessels of all sizes flew in and out, with hundreds of landing
bays lining the walls on all sides on all levels. Like insects the ships
buzzed around the city, and long lines of vessels formed orderly queues as
they awaited landing instructions. The heavy freighter joined the queue. My ship was small enough to be slotted into a communal
landing bay, and I steered her in carefully. I entered the top of the shaft,
lowering her on repulsors and thrusters only, and dropped to my landing
level. A small circular pilot ‘droid zipped out to help guide me into the
bay. It’s difficult to explain how I felt travelling down that
shaft. On all sides were large and small bays and huge plastiglass windows
looking into consumer centres and parts of the city that appeared to be small
townships built into the walls. Beings of all kinds leaned over railings to
look down the shaft and watch the multitude of ships coming and going. I slotted my ship into position and disembarked. My first
conversation was an argument about landing fees! Two hundred credits a day,
and Imperial credits at that! That was huge chunk out of my budget already. I walked angrily from the bay and into the bustling
street. What a sight! A huge promenade stretched out before me.
On either side were multitudes of shops and trade rooms, with thousands of
beings from all over the galaxy walking about. Repulsorlift traffic sped
along the causeway, with four lanes flying above and below each other in some
form of organised chaos. I imagined that being in the city was to be a
claustrophobic affair, but the ceiling of this level went as high as an
eight-storey building. I took one step and was immediately swept along the tide
of beings scurrying off in all directions. I laughed to myself; maybe if I
let these streams of life take me I would end up somewhere practical. I
decided to follow the flow and just try and comprehend what I was looking at. White-armoured Imperial Stormtroopers walked in pairs
through the streets, shadowing Chancai’s own policing force. I had heard that
the Empire had sent a token force here, but Chancai was such a huge source of
revenue it wasn’t worth their while invading and scaring off potential
spenders. As I mulled over this particular thought, I felt a huge
hand wrap around my upper arm and yank. Before I knew what was happening, I
had disappeared into the long alley between two trade rooms and was deposited
heavily on the floor. I looked up to see the biggest, most ugly alien I had
ever seen. Even in the dim light I could see a long face and scaly lips, a
horned head and a strange cluster of dark eyes. It grunted as it held tightly
onto my arm and squeezed. I yelped and grabbed his huge double-jointed wrist. A small human seemed to materialise behind him, and
smiled a thin-lipped smile. "Saw you touch down," he
whispered, wiping a sweaty brow with a dirty cloth. "Need a ship". I explained
I had only just arrived and needed my vessel checked out, but this answer
just made the alien squeeze tighter. "Need a ship," the man said
with a movement of his hand, and he produced a wad of credit chips. As I began to consider the offer, not just for the
monetary gain but because of the concern over my health, the alien suddenly
slumped forward. I rolled out of the way as the huge form fell flat on his
face. The man, shocked and scared, leapt sideways and reached for a weapon at
his belt. He squeaked strangely as his chest exploded into sparks, flinging
him back and against the wall. The shot had come from the opening to the
alleyway. "Alive, Galletti! Glann wanted him
alive!" came a deep resounding voice, and a
huge figure stood over me. I looked up into the face of a man with a
concerned expression as he looked down. "You okay?" I explained I was, and he nodded and kicked the alien,
holstering his pistol. "See, Goah? Stun shot, no mess.
Now we take it back and we question it. Why? Because I stun shot him and
didn’t blow him all over the alleyway on high power". The other figure seemed to materialise out of the
darkness as he approached, dressed in black with several strange attachments
to his headgear and weapon. He looked at me with a stern expression and then
looked away dismissively. "Stow it, Jan. The sanction has
been fulfilled". The tall man looked back at me and held out a hand to
help me up. "What are you
doing here? Don’t you know it’s dangerous to walk so close to service
corridor entrances? This is a dangerous place". I told him the man’s questions, and that I was just a
passer-by. I explained why I had come here, to make my fortune and try to
find fame. The two men looked at each other and smiled knowingly. "What just
happened to you is pretty much the norm around this whole sector," said the dark man as he
holstered his own weapon. The beings bustling past the open end of the
corridor seemed to be trying their best to ignore what was happening. The tall man looked at me and smiled, holding out a hand
that I took and shook firmly. "First rule of this place - buy a bigger gun. Oh,
and welcome to the Setnin Sector." Welcome to the Setnin
Sector
1999 story by
Jonathan Hicks Three years after Episode IV – A New Hope Histories – A short Jonathan Hicks tale that shows the inherent dangers in
working and operating in the Setnin Sector. An outsider, the unnamed
visitor comes across Jan Lomona and Goah Galletti, two of the sectors most famous names.
Cast of Characters
Jan Lomona
Goah Galletti |