This was the place they didn't show the tourists. Oh no, those filthy rich tourists, they'd never return to Berchest, tourist capital of the Anthos Republic.
While the rest of Berchest was a virtual glamour house, Lowlands never seemed to catch up to the prosperity of the rest of the planet.
Lowlands was an eyesore, home of the lower class and less fortunate of Berchest.
Lowlands was of squarish shape and located in infertile valley, that when it wasn't drenched with rain, was dry as a desert.
Most of the population of Lowlands, roughly 50 tousand, lived in decrepit shacks, flophouses full of rats and flitnats, and tenement complexes where the trash dumped into the middle courtyard reaked for miles.
In the center of Lowlands, was the commercial district. HA! Low-stakes casinos and gambling dens; houses of ill-repute; spice dens; unsanitary food vendors; and other proletariat forms of businesses could be found in this area.
Crime in Lowlands ran extremely high, despite the Lowlands Police Force, which was most of the crime. Between the bribery, protection rackets, and just plain apathy to the plight of the honest citizen, one could find a Hutt that had more morals and scruples than the whole LPF. The two-story police station, located in the northwest corner of town was one of the few well maintained buildings in town, but with all the graft they brought in, it was no surprise to anyone.
The government of Lowlands was no better than the police. What the LPF didn't corrupt, the government sure did. Between the @#%$ of a mayor who lived in his palatial mansion on one of the tallest hills overlooking Lowlands paid for with dirty money, the weatherbeat once-white three-story city hall building dead center in town, and every other despicable sign of government involvement, Lowlands bred crime and corruption from every pore.
Me, I was pretty lucky. I mean, I had little money, no family (that would talk to on a regular basis), and very little else, but what else is new?
I am Alexander Pratt, but friends call me Alex, but you probably don't know me that well yet, but oh well.
You see that small food dispensery in the Commercial District? The one called "Lowlands Grill", yeah I own that place. It may not be much, but it pays the bills.
"Lowlands Grill" was little more than a bar with several wooden stools in front of it, a faded red canopy over it, and an enclosed kitchen behind it. The kitchen, which was open to the public eye, was inset in an old prefabricated shelter. Me and my "chef" Leo (I still don't know his last name) run things. The bar, with more stains than most of my shirts, could seat six people uncomfortably, but it was one of the few eateries in town where you couldn't actually see the rats, although they were there, just hidden.
My housing was located in one of the odorous tenement blocks on the outskirts of town. It consisted of two rooms.
A dingy, all-purpose room with a slightly tipped wooden table and four mismatching wooden chairs, a small kithcenette area, an outdated holocomm, a bed, and small closet full of dust.
The other room was a bathroom which smelled up and down. There was a chipped ceramic toilet, chipped ceramic sink, and small square shower that used to have a glass door.
While the rest of Berchest was a virtual glamour house, Lowlands never seemed to catch up to the prosperity of the rest of the planet.
Lowlands was an eyesore, home of the lower class and less fortunate of Berchest.
Lowlands was of squarish shape and located in infertile valley, that when it wasn't drenched with rain, was dry as a desert.
Most of the population of Lowlands, roughly 50 tousand, lived in decrepit shacks, flophouses full of rats and flitnats, and tenement complexes where the trash dumped into the middle courtyard reaked for miles.
In the center of Lowlands, was the commercial district. HA! Low-stakes casinos and gambling dens; houses of ill-repute; spice dens; unsanitary food vendors; and other proletariat forms of businesses could be found in this area.
Crime in Lowlands ran extremely high, despite the Lowlands Police Force, which was most of the crime. Between the bribery, protection rackets, and just plain apathy to the plight of the honest citizen, one could find a Hutt that had more morals and scruples than the whole LPF. The two-story police station, located in the northwest corner of town was one of the few well maintained buildings in town, but with all the graft they brought in, it was no surprise to anyone.
The government of Lowlands was no better than the police. What the LPF didn't corrupt, the government sure did. Between the @#%$ of a mayor who lived in his palatial mansion on one of the tallest hills overlooking Lowlands paid for with dirty money, the weatherbeat once-white three-story city hall building dead center in town, and every other despicable sign of government involvement, Lowlands bred crime and corruption from every pore.
Me, I was pretty lucky. I mean, I had little money, no family (that would talk to on a regular basis), and very little else, but what else is new?
I am Alexander Pratt, but friends call me Alex, but you probably don't know me that well yet, but oh well.
You see that small food dispensery in the Commercial District? The one called "Lowlands Grill", yeah I own that place. It may not be much, but it pays the bills.
"Lowlands Grill" was little more than a bar with several wooden stools in front of it, a faded red canopy over it, and an enclosed kitchen behind it. The kitchen, which was open to the public eye, was inset in an old prefabricated shelter. Me and my "chef" Leo (I still don't know his last name) run things. The bar, with more stains than most of my shirts, could seat six people uncomfortably, but it was one of the few eateries in town where you couldn't actually see the rats, although they were there, just hidden.
My housing was located in one of the odorous tenement blocks on the outskirts of town. It consisted of two rooms.
A dingy, all-purpose room with a slightly tipped wooden table and four mismatching wooden chairs, a small kithcenette area, an outdated holocomm, a bed, and small closet full of dust.
The other room was a bathroom which smelled up and down. There was a chipped ceramic toilet, chipped ceramic sink, and small square shower that used to have a glass door.