Ando Prime

Ando Prime is a planet in the Mid Rim.

History
In truly ancient times, before even the establishment of the Jedi Order, Ando Prime was a barren wasteland with nothing on its surface but ice, Talid, and the main enclave of Dai Bendu monks. The planet was peaceful for quite some time, though the powerful echos of the Force were obviously felt by such spiritual individuals. There was almost no appeal to the little ball of ice floating through nothingness, and few found any interest in settling, even after the flight of the Tho Yorships and the founding of the Jedi Order.

The few settlers to the planet were normally Human, Rodian, and especially Aqualish, all three of which brought their violent mindsets with them. Mining settlements and cities, normally of mixed racial composition, started to develop several thousand years before the Clone Wars. Each brought with it its own traditions, its own clan-like structure, and eventually its own powerful warriors. Clan wars were extremely common during the time before the Republic Era, and the sheer amount of blood that was shed on the ice and snow of Ando Prime's surface gave rise to the term "red ice," normally referring to the space between two cities at war.

After the Republic was organized and got a hold on most of the mid rim planets, Ando Prime was reined in slightly from its warlike state, but instead expressed its love of violence and glory in a different way. The advent of podracing gave the warriors of Ando Prime a direction to channel their aggression in that didn't result in a perpetual state of planetwide civil war, as well as a tourist attraction to bring a bit more money into their economy. Additional traffic from outside their planet allowed Andoan mercenary groups to advertise more effectively, spreading Andoan warriors across the galaxy. Normally, these warriors spent their time working for pirates, criminals, and the like, but none had any real inclination towards crime; criminals were simply much more likely to get into a good fight.

Around 27 BBY, a crime lord named Kaeline Ungasan attempted to undermine the Hutts' control of podracing on Ando Prime. Founding his own podracing track known as the Ungasan Cross Country, he used this as a cover for his illegal Vonium mining operation. A Hutt-funded bounty hunter named Davon Gitta tracked him down and not only put an end to his competition, but exposed the illegal mine. All of the attention thus generated, especially the knowledge of rare Vonium on the planet, caused a sudden population explosion and the establishment of several new cities, including the capital of Elesa.

Ando Prime was nominally part of both the Old and New Republics, but spent time under Imperial jurisdiction as well. Whatever claim official government factions have, largely Ando has always been considered independent. Its defenses are privately operated, and there is no stigma against a warrior joining whatever side of a war s/he feels is most worthy of glory. It is a mercenary planet, after all.

Canon History
To read about Ando Prime's canon history, please see the Ando Prime's page on the official Wookie.

Defenses
Ando's orbital defenses are somewhat lacking, but no one in their right mind would attempt to occupy its surface. Orbital defenses normally boil down to whatever mercenary companies have their fleet-for-hire orbiting the planet at a given moment, and the few orbital stations are privately owned and operated.