PLANET RECOMMENDATION

I'm starting a new campaign, set around 4 BBY. I know both the setting and the system pretty well, but I'm not an expert with either. I'm looking to start the game somewhere that would make sense for all of the following characters to have found themselves, presumably somewhere in the outer rim:

1) a reluctantly force-sensitive gank who disappeared and started a new life for herself running a bar to prevent a force vision from coming true;

2) a besalisk mechanic from a space station orbiting Ojom who woke up on a transport bound who-knows-where after a drunken night of stories ignited her sense of adventure;

3) an IG-100 magnaguard who was reprogrammed by a mortally wounded jedi following Order 66, and who--after a stint as a medic for the Rebel Alliance--came to believe the jedi were the galaxy's only salvation;

4) a twi'lek slave who escaped from her Hutt master on Vodran after stowing away on a smuggler's ship that was redirecting supplies meant for a core world;

5) a defel padawan who survived Order 66 and has been smuggling and lurking in the shadows while keeping an ear to the ground about the possibility of surviving jedi;

The hook that's going to pull this party together is the opportunity to pull a heist to commandeer a slavers' ship, and I've more or less figured out how to work that into all of my players' motivations, but I need a starting planet where the gank can operate her bar and the other characters can meet one another. Anyone have recommendations for somewhere with a low imperial footprint that could act as a safehaven for all of the above without drawing too much attention to any of them?

SETTING DETAILS INQUIRY

Further, the only slave ship stats I can find are for the Y164, so it's likely going to be a Thalassian slave transport, but for the hook to work there needs to be a chance that a slave the twi'lek character knew during her time with the Hutt is on board. Is there any material out there that indicates Thalassians and Hutts were above trading with one another? Also, what do Thalassians look like? Wookieepedia's a little light on those details.

SHIP LAYOUT HELP

Finally, I want to put together plans for the layout of the Y164, and to present the opportunity for the PCs to get their hands on schematics during the course of planning their heist. I don't know anything about ship design, though, so I'm looking for resources that might help me work out a reasonably realistic layout for the ship. Anyone know of a crash course in starship layout and design anywhere I could take a look at?

Thanks in advance!

TBH, any ship could be used as a slaver ship.

There’s not much known about the Y164, see https://community.fantasyflightgames.com/topic/226182-deck-plans-or-maps-for-y164-slave-transport/

IMO, the Zygerrians are better known as slavers in Canon, and you might be able to find examples of their ships more easily.

But there’s a wealth of information at http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Slavery/Legends

If you do go with Zygerrians instead, there is a fair amount of information on their Aurore-class freighters on Wookieepedia at http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Aurore-class_freighter

And there’s a deckplan you might be able to use at http://thompsonpeters.com/eote/deckplans_transports/

There’s a nice image of an Aurore-class freighter at http://www.starwars.com/databank/zygerrian-slave-ship

And another nice image at http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Preigo's_Traveling_Aurore-class_freighter

So, lots of options there, if you can think outside of the box and choose to use a different race of slavers.

The other option is to design your own world & place it wherever you want in the galaxy! I like to use a mix of "known" planets & my own creations in my campaigns! World building has always been something I've enjoyed plus you the option to add locations to the world whenever you need them.