The Cantina

~The Forgotten~

Location: Courscant, lower level.

Owners/Operators: Laylei Limora
Manager: NPC/PC(recruiting)
Barstaff: NPC/PC(recruiting)
Head of Security: NPC/PC(recruiting)
Security Staff: NPC/PC(recruiting)
Waiting Staff: NPC/PC(Recruiting)
Maintenance Staff: NPC/PC(recruiting)
Undercity Representative: NPC/PC(recruiting)

Image of the what the Cantina's style looks like. Art by Simon Murton

Layout:

          Ground Floor                                                                       Basement

Located in the Lower city of Coursacant, near the Upper city. The Forgotten Cantina is a pleasant if not slightly garish sight to behold amidst the scum of the crime invested lower city. Its bright neon lights stand out as they burn your cornea's, its enticing promise of drinks, the opposite sex, drugs, danger and music

The Forgotten Cantina is very much a gritty yet refined place. The neon lighting fills almost all aspects of the Cantina with the exception of the private back rooms and leaves the places not filled with light a dark contrast. The entrance to the Underground is an always guarded bulkhead, bright neon digital screens cycling through the name in various languages. Please note: There are emergency shutters which can close to seal off the entrance, but they are never used unless its an emergency. There is usually some form of live entertainment , usually Belly dancing Twi'leks, singers, and even bands, but the music is never upbeat and fast, it is usually sultry or soft and relaxing.

The main room is a great place to relax, get a drink, meet privately or dance in the crowd. The bright neon lights keeping the place's mood in mind, a place to relax and drink your troubles away. But make no mistake, its no watering hole, its more of a club. The bar keeps the drinks flowing while the dance floor writhes with bodies moving against each other. Those that would prefer a quiet time sit in the booths, provided they are available. There are also the open tables that have a few tables situated around them, but they are less private due to the public standing around drinking. There is always a thick haze in the cantina, the heat and people keep the place the sensual place of the night it should be.

Storage: This area is accessed from the private employee rooms. Storage is where all merchandise and supplies are kept. It is the most secure room in the entire building. It can only be accessed by a specific code. Inside are crates upon crates of drinks and back up supplies for the cantina, ensuring that the drink never stops flowing. This is also where the control panel and maintenance access for the Cantina resides, in the form of a large box on the wall that once opened, reveals various screens, inputs and readouts along with several thousand wires and cables. While not usually open to the public, for the right price you might be able to store something there.

The cantina's smuggling operations require absolute security which is what the storage area provides, and then some. Hidden in a secret area beneath the storage room is a large smuggling room, used for hiding and storing illicit materials and items waiting for transit. This area is off limits to all but trusted Cantina staff, the area has no known blueprint. The walls are air tight as no vent leads into the room, everything is on a closed circuit and accessed at a remote panel in a different city block. There are vaults less secure than this room and for good reason, as it also serves as a rudimentary panic room capable of surviving planetary annihilation which may be unlikely, has been proven to be more than a possibility in the past.


History: “The Forgotten” Cantina has always been in existence in one form or another on the planet Coruscant. Originally called the Black Lotus Club, the original owners used it as a base of power, to help keep the poor living in the Undercity safe from the more violent gangs and twilighters. As years passed the Cantina proper became a place known not only for its kindness to the poor, but also for its security and privacy, which lured important men and women down to the Cantina to meet Powerful men to meet and negotiate when publicity was not wanted or the person being met with was less than noble. Because of this, and because of its location “The Black Lotus Club was allowed to operate the more “graying” trades the owners were involved in, such as trades of various goods, most of which may be illegal, the brokering of information, cashing in of bounties, and other below the board affairs. It is also a place which gives just enough danger and intrigue to lure VIPS who seek an adventurous night down to the Undercity, and even Jedi, who seek information which may not be readily available would come to frequent The Black Lotus Club.

The growing popularity and nature of the Black Lotus Club became a problem however as it soon began attracting the wrong kind of attention, those who felt they could take from the club or used it to exchange information that brought bad attention to the club. A series of planted information drops in the club lead to a republic raid, suspected of conspiracy to commit treason. A shoot out ensued and a majority of the staff were killed in the cross fire along with many patrons, effectively killing the Black Lotus club.

From the ashes however rose a new cantina, one known as the Underground cantina. The Cantina moved to Nar Shaddaa in this time, too many people on Coruscant knew of the cantina and the aim was to avoid attention this time round. Holding many of the same ideals as the Black Lotus, the Underground was far more secretive and private and information exchanged there became something the Catalina needed to know about, your intention stated at the door. Things went well for a long time, there was a harmony in the world of crime. The Cantina took to a small smuggling operation, taking special orders and smuggling items all over republic space. Sadly, all good things come to an end, especially on Nar Shaddaa. In their efforts to escape the troubles that had befallen them in the public eye, they had forgotten about their other troubles. The cantina soon became the desire of a Hutt crime lord, a particularly violent one at that. It was only 3 months before the staff were all either dead or enslaved, and so died the Underground Cantina.

It was several years later that the Cantina rose like the phoenix once again, rising in its original place of birth. By this point the connection to the previous Cantina's iterations were all but lost, due to most of the previous staff dying it's unsure how the place even came to exist. There could be speculation that it was simply a new Cantina, but the way it was operated and its style were too coincidental in this galaxy. Most who would remember the previous Cantina on Coruscant were either dead or wouldn't say anything for risk of ending up that way, you couldn't ask for a fresher start. So rises the Forgotten Cantina, will it last? Who knows, but it will be fun going along for the ride.

Security: Risks are not something taken in the Cantina, as such the security force is something to truly be reckoned with. There is a private security force present at all times in the Cantina, mercenaries who pride loyalty over all else as to be sure that they cannot be paid off. Standing strong at the door as bouncers and in various dark corners of the room, the highly armoured and armed presence is always felt and respected. These guards take no nonsense as there is a zero tolerance policy on violence and in general any hostile of threatening attitudes toward staff or other patrons is not met well.

This is also not counting the patrons of the Cantina themselves. While most are easy going and looking for a drink, there are several who are more than capable of self defence. Due to the nature of the cantina, characters of ill repute and vast skill are attracted. Jedi looking for information, Bounty hunters for their marks or Sith for some manipulative fun. Needless to say that trying anything with these individuals around is a swift way of being atomized and forgotten.

Smuggling/information trade: Perhaps one of the most potent things to trade in the galaxy is information, certainly one of the most lucrative. As such the Cantina specializes in information gathering and trading. Being a bar helps immensely in that regard as there is no easier way to loosen a tongue than with hard liquor, but they have far more intelligent methods along with that. Information trading can be a risky business, those that you trade against may not like you exchanging info about them, as such they are careful in who they trade with and whom that information may concern. One could make a pretty credit selling some information to the cantina, a few have even been taken on as Cantina staff, specifically paid to gather information. The information trade is a valuable one to the Cantina, but not one of its only services beyond the alcohol and half naked Twi'lek's.

Smuggling has been a staple of the galaxy for thousands of years, it's a source of revenue that cannot be ignored. As such the Cantina is set up with its own smuggling operation, having its own vault in which to store items up to a time where they can be transported. They do not handle anything too illegal such as Sith Artefacts or any kind of object that would beget the wrong kind of attention. Illegal trade of goods is risky in of itself, as such the Cantina does actively smuggle the goods themselves. Acting as a middle man for clients who do not wish a smuggler to be traced back to them should things go astray. No smuggler worth their salt would ever give up a client should they be caught, however the Cantina is able to deny all allegations due to its contract format and thereby avoid all issues.

Lodging: Enjoying a rather premier lot in its particular building, the Cantina has managed to build a set of rooms in the floor below the Cantina proper. These rather small and simple rooms are akin to prison cells but for the money they cost per night there is naught to be expected. They are simple and rugged, allowing for a moderately comfortable nights sleep in the lower levels of Coruscant which is a rare thing. There are also two rooms that have an almost hotel-esque feel to them, having double beds and a more refined finish. However of course these have a higher cost.

All of the rooms have a few things in common that make them a cut above the streets that you might be sleeping on otherwise. They are all refined, metal plated rooms with a tough but tolerable synthetic fabric board floor. They each come with storage for basic clothes and gear and all doors featured a coded deadlock seal that can only be opened by a card given to you when you book the room. That card will also give you access to the bathroom and shower facilities in the building that are kept clean enough that you don't want to vomit from the mere thought of them. Finally, there is a public eating room that offers a table and a few amenities to make drinks and some basic food. This is used as somewhat of a staff room also. The staff often stay in the rooms if the Cantina is open particularly late so it becomes difficult to book rooms the later the night goes on. You can stay indefinitely if you have the credits, management don't care who's paying so long as someone is.

Maintenance: A minor point of the Cantina, not highly worth mentioning beyond its operation. The Cantina has a series of passages and openings beneath and behind the main floor of the Cantina that allow staff to repair any systems. Behind the scenes in the staff area there exists several access panels that allow entry into the Cantina's computer regulated systems. A moot point of knowledge for anyone who doesn't work in the Cantina's bowels but a point of knowledge all the same.