Vall`to was a planet in the Unknown Regions and the capital of the Vall`to sector under both the Tetrarchy of Mezlagob and the Golden Empire. Settled by lost explorers from the known galaxy, it was one of the few planets in the early Empire to feature species widespread in the rest of the galaxy, such as Humans, Duros, and Bothans. It was the home of the Vall`to Sector Bank, and consequently an economic hub for both the Tetrarchy and the Empire. It was located on the Keblygrin Way, which, because of Vall`to's presence on it, was nicknamed the "Money Line".
Geography[]
Vall`to featured several enormous cities spanning tens of kilometers. Public transportation connected them with outlying cities, which were more provincial both in scope and culture. The largest spaceports on the planet took up dozens of square kilometers by themselves.
The area of Vall`to which remained natural were largely plains and mountains. A small desert belt existed around the equator, but featured mining colonies. Vall`to's mountains had large lommite deposits, one of the sources of the planet's wealth.
Apart from that frozen in the ice caps, Vall`to's surface water was mixed between small oceans and large seas, as well as rivers and lakes. Numerous oceanic fauna lived and fed close to the surface and were an important foodstuff for Vall`to's colonists. A rare crustacean species found near the south polar ice cap was exported as a delicacy.
Society and culture[]
Vall`to was principally known as a financial world, but though the Vall`to Sector Bank was responsible for a substantial portion of the planet's economy, relatively few beings actually worked for it. Lommite exports were a major source of income, and Vall`to's lommite deposits were usually sold to starship production worlds like Baes, Mir Kaldu`uz, Iscandar, and Waldragos.
Possessing no native sentient species of its own, Vall`to's culture was shaped by the presence of the majority Human population, as well as Duros and Bothans. The culture which resulted from the comingling of these three species was adventurous, innovative, self-sufficient, and politically astute. Vall`to had a reputation for producing qualified spacefarers and shrewd merchants.
History[]
The arrival date of explorers from the known galaxy at Vall`to was not known precisely, but occurred during the era of expansion and relative peace between the Second Great Galactic War and the New Sith Wars. Descendants of the original settlers were similarly unsure of whether the explorers had made their way through what would one day become the Chiss Ascendancy or had found a path through the hyperspace disturbance at galactic west, although Rin Sakaros later speculated it had been a combination of both. In addition, it was theorized that Vall`to's Bothan population had actually come from another planet nearby, also colonized by the Bothans.
Regardless, spacefarers located the planet and established a colony world there. Unable to communicate with or return to the known galaxy, they built up cities and mining camps on Vall`to. The presence of lommite allowed the production of additional starships, and the exportation of resources to other nearby worlds. Vall`to contacted the Bothan colony world and did trade with Haerch, as well as creating several satellite colonies of its own. During this period of expansion, the Vall`to Sector Bank emerged as a predominant financier of colonization campaigns.
Despite its technological and exploratory success, Vall`to defensive forces were no match for the Tetrarchy of Mezlagob fleet that arrived to claim the world in 214 BBY. Though defeated, Vall`to managed to become not only a member world rather than a vassal planet, but became the sector capital for the Tetrarchy. The Vall`to Sector Bank replaced the Bank of Mezlagob as the agency backing the Tetrum, further cementing the planet's importance in the Tetrarchy's economy.
Over the following three centuries, Vall`to steadily increased in importance. It worked closely with Baes to maintain the Tetrarchy's hold on the Vall`to sector, and finance ministers and bankers from elsewhere in the Tetrarchy often came to Vall`to for training and internships. Vall`to's scientists also taught the Tetrarchy's soldiers how to manufacture turbolasers. Pockets of protestors and dissidents existed, but they were usually quickly suppressed or eliminated.
Vall`to remained loyal to the Tetrarchy at the onset of the Great Liberation, but public support waned as the Empire triumphed at Tizgo V. Vall`to had invested heavily in the colonization of the Xoquon sector, and many Vall`tese citizens were irritated at the Tetrarchy's inability to protect their investment. When the Empire set out to capture the Vall`to sector, Tetrarchy commanders divided the majority of the sector's defense fleet between Vall`to and Baes, unsure where the Empire's forces would strike. Newly strengthened by the ships and materiel confiscated at Tizgo V, the Empire hit Baes first, pummeling the Tetrarchy defense fleet into surrender. Having captured several Tetrarchy capital ships, the Empire stormed Vall`to next, and the planet surrendered when its defense fleet was beaten.
Vall`to fared unusually well for a former Tetrarchy capital now under the Empire. The Vall`to Sector Bank cut its losses, abandoned the Tetrum, and backed the Royal Credit instead. With new resources and intelligence which had not been available on Xoquon, the Empire liberated the remainder of the Vall`to sector before finally leading a successful attack on the Mezlag sector and permanently toppling the Tetrarchy.
Vall`to yielded up its Tetrarchy agents and collaborators to the Empire without complaint, and after their executions and imprisonments, the planet continued to prosper. Some of its disproportionate wealth was confiscated and paid out as reparations to former vassal planets in the Vall`to sector, but many Vall`tese corporations were willing to invest in development of these worlds as well, seeing potential for great profit. With the Vall`to Sector Bank backing the Royal Credit, the planet ingrained itself into the new government as it had the old.
The Royal Mint was built on Vall`to.