Igni Irae
OUT OF CHARACTER INFORMATION
Intent: Expand on Tephrike and further explore the repercussions of an ongoing ic storyline.
Image Credit: Here, Here.
Canon: N/A.
Permissions: Can use Archangel stuff because I own the company (Enyo Typhos is one of my subaccounts).
Links: Into Darkness, After Darkness, Tephrike, Disciples of the Vader, Republican Guard, Firemane Industries, Nexus City, Jedi Inquisition.
SETTING INFORMATION
Military Base Name: Bastions of the Impenetrable Faith. Informally called the Mahtara Line, after the Dominion's Battlemaster. She discourages the nickname.
Classification: Fortifications.
Location: Tephrike
Affiliation: Dominion of Light, Battlemaster Mahtara, Tephrike, Grand Army of Light.
Population: Heavy
Demographics: Inhabited by troops from the Dominion's Grand Army of Light as well as support personnel such as engineers, medical staff, intelligence officers, military police, and technicians. While most of the personnel stationed here are Non-Force-Users, there is also a sizeable contingent of Force-Users distributed in key areas. These are members of the Windian Jedi Order. Many of these Jedi are warriors, but there are also Force healers and other Force-using support personnel. The Dominion is extremely conformist, but multispecies, and this is reflected in the demographic makeup of the Bastions. Indeed, aliens outnumber humans to a degree. One can find humans, Twi'leks, Zabrak, Duros, Houk, Devaronians and others.
A significant proportion of the inhabitants are clones, as the Dominion prefers cloning to natural reproduction. However, in contrast to the ancient Grand Army of the Republic, the clones do not all have a single donor. Instead, the Dominion is fond of cloning its most accomplished soldiers or other people who could be of use it. There are also a number of droids, which tend to have support roles such as patrolling, guard duty or construction.
Accessibility: Known on Tephrike, all but unknown outside of it. Tephrike has been isolated for a long time and this is a very recent construction. The Bastions are not a single, continuous fortress, but rather a line of fortifications, bunkers, obstacles and so on. Many of them are concealed in some way, such as via camouflage netting, as well as electromagnetic countermeasures, but others are more obvious. A few of them are close to villages and the like, which means they are les hidden.
The fortifications are not accessible to the public. It is a military defence work and the Dominion is a nation at war. It is also a totalitarian dictatorship, so it is by definition not transparent to the public. All this means that only Dominion soldiers and allies have access. Thus the defenders of the Bastions will use lethal force against unauthorised individuals. The command centre of the Bastions has been built into a mountain. As a result, while detection is not impossible, it is very difficult, even for dedicated sensor ships.
Description:
The melodramatically named Bastions of the Impenetrable Faith are a series of fortifications that have been set up by the Dominion of Light to protect its heartland, especially Nexus City, following the fall of Fortress Purity to a combined Firemane and Republican Guard offensive. While Firemane has withdrawn its troops from Tephrike, it still supplies the Republican Guard with weapons and material and sometimes launches air strikes in support of the secularist, anti-Force-User rebel movement. For the first time since the Netherworld War, the Dominion finds itself seriously threatened. However, the coalition of hardliners and pragmatists that has taken control over the totalitarian Jedi theocracy has sought to adapt to the sweeping changes.
In order to protect its core territory and ensure the survival and eventual triumph of its regime, it has aimed to manifest some of its key advantages. The Dominion is the largest of the feuding factions on the planet. This means it can afford to trade space for time. Its use of cloning also gives it considerable manpower reserves and it controls most of the industry. The new management is also less wasteful with lives. However, the fall of Purity, a major citadel that guarded the way to the capital Nexus City, has been a serious blow to morale and resulted in heavy casualties. Moreover, Firemane bombed Nexus City during its brief but intense campaign, razing the Jedi Temple.
The Bastions are supposed to not just protect, but also shore up morale. All in all, the network of fortifications is about nine hundred miles long. Less a single fortress and more a network of fortifications, they take advantage of the fact that the rebels mostly rely on light infantry and guerrillas, putting them at a disadvantage in pitched combat. At the same time, the Dominion has installed a few surprises should the 'space people' return. Moreover, it serves as a deterrent to the ambitions of the human supremacist, Vader-worshipping Disciples of the Vader, another rival in the struggle for dominance.
Most of the workers who laboured to build the Bastions were organics, but the Dominion has also purchased labour droids from Archangel to speed up. When the Dominion dissolved most of the camps maintained by the Inquisition, its ideological thought police, it conscripted several freed prisoners as workers. Ironically, a number of former Inquisitors who had sided with the losing faction during the Dominion's palace revolution were also put to work as a way to 'redeem' themselves and atone for their sins through labour. The Citadel is the heart of the Bastions. It has been solidly built into Mount Ashla, a triple-peaked mountain. This means it is strong enough to resist all but the heaviest bombardment, including a nuclear bomb or turbolasers. It serves as the main command bunker and is the nerve centre of the Bastions. Only a limited amount of actual defences are visible here.
However, a veritable maze of underground tunnels leads to a network of bunkers, trenches, fortifications, and observation posts. The fortresses are called the Sacrum Lines - or Sacred Line. These defence works are manned by soldiers of the Grand Army of Light as well as militia units. These include Jedi of the Windian Jedi Order, as well as specialists like engineers, artillery, tanks and aerial forces. Artillery guns enable the defenders to rain down destruction upon enemy soldiers. Regular troops are supplemented by reservists and militia. Weapons' emplacements, barricades, communications towers and shelters have been set up. Thanks to Archangel, the Dominion has been able to conceal two hypervelocity cannons in the mountain. These cannons are designed to take down capital ships, but need to drop their particle shielding in order to fire.
Troops permanently stationed here are accommodated in barracks. Moreover, the defenders have set up a series of block houses. These are less well-defended than the barracks and lack the capacity to withstand serious bombardment or overwhelmning force. However, the purpose of the troops there is to act as watch posts and first responders. They can provide the defenders with early warning in case of attack, repel skirmishes and delay a more serious offensive until reinforcements arrive. Moreover, terrain has been mined as well as blocked through use of anti-vehicle and anti-infantry obstacles, with the goal being to funnel enemy troops into kill zones.
The bunkers are designed to have strong frontal walls, but their defences in the rear are thinner. This is supposed to make it easier for allied troops to retake them if they fall into enemy hands. The forts and casemates have various amenities to make life easier for the soldiers stationed there, such as a mess hall or infirmary. This is important to maintain morale since soldiers may have to live here for an extended period of time, but life is far from a luxury cruise.
It is pertinent to note that not all fortifications are complete. The Dominion is actively at war and must at times quickly draw troops away to other fronts, so the quality of the forces assembled across the Bastions can vary. The installations are not joined in a single wall, but dispersed over a wide area to guard the most important invasion routes. This, of course, makes it easier to take a single bunker, but when taken together they form a strong defence work. This is also a response to the fact that Firemane orbital and air superiority turned Fortress Purity into a death trap.
One of the Bastions' role is to soak up enemy forces and embroil them in a prolongd battle that will allow the Dominion to mobilise and muster a force to repel the enemy in a flanking attack. In short, despite the melodramatic name, the people responsible for its construction no it is not impenetrable because no fortress is. Instead it is a shield that is supposed to blunt the enemy advance and allow the sword to strike, while chewing up as many enemies as possible and demoralising them. The Dominion is not a democracy and thus does not have to worry about elections, though military coups and public unrest are obviously threats its leadership has to watch out for.
However, it has indoctrinated its population into believing that it is the last bastion of the forces of light and that the war is a conflict between good and evil. It is quite willing to take staggering casualties and continue fighting. This does make every civilian or soldier a religious zealot - far from it. But even those who are cynical about the Dominion's propaganda will have unconsciously absorbed some of it because it is their only frame of reference. Confessors, who perform the duties of morale officers and political commissars, have been assigned to the combat units to steel morale and carry out commissar justice if needed.
The Dominion does not like droids because as soulless beings, they cannot truly serve the Light, but has recognised their utility. Thus battle droids are often employed for garrisoning, patrol and guard duties. Soulless they may be, they cannot be bribed and do not need to sleep, so they are good for support rules like this. Many though not all of the organic soldiers are clone troopers. Others have been conceived through natural means. Many of the latter tend to be peasant conscripts from rural areas. The Inquisition has a presence in the base. This largely refers to Division Two, which is responsible for monitoring the armed forces.
POINTS OF INTEREST
The Righteous Lances: Two hypervelocity cannons have been concealed on the mountain. Dominion soldiers with a sense of humour have nicknamed them 'Bad Neighbour' and 'Ashla's Trumpet'. They are camouflaged when not in use. As is typical, each cannon is protected by ray and particle shielding. However, the particle shield must be lowered briefly for a cannon to fire, which represents a potential vulnerability.
Mountain of Ashla's Most Guarded and Resistant Truth: Normally shortened to Mount Ashla because the Dominion makes everything so damn long and flowery. This is the mountain itself. The triple-peaked mountain houses the command hub. It is a strong barrier against detection and enemy assault. Mount Ashla is guarded at all times and concealed artillery batteries have been set up. The mountain springs produce more than enough water to supply base personnel.
The Sacrum Limes: The Sacred Line. Though the name implies otherwise, this is not a continuous, single line. Rather it is a network of defences spreading out from the Citadel. It consists of numerous pillboxes, underground bunkers, forts, concealed gun batteries and tunnels. Underground tunnels connect the Limes to the Citadel. The principle behind the Limes is defence in depth, which means there are several layers of resistance rather than a single line the enemy must break through.
Various anti-infantry, anti-air and anti-vehicle weapons' emplacements have been set up across the defensive lines. These are easily camouflaged. The bunkers or casemates are armed with machine guns, rotary cannons, anti-armour gun emplacements and the like. Because soldiers can expect to be stationed here for a longer period of time, the forts and bunkers house amenities such as mess halls, infirmaries, barracks, recreational areas and the like. Living conditions are still not lavish, but it makes being garrisoned in cramped and often damp quarters more bearable. Mine fields have been laid to secure the pathways to the fortifications. Barricades, barbed wire and long, sharp spikes protruding from the ground also impede enemy advance. Ahead of the first line of resistance, metal rails have been planted in rows to provide obstacles for armoured vehicles.
Boundaries of Light Posts: This represents a network of blockhouses that have been set up ahead of the Sacrum Limes. In order to deceive the enemy, they are camouflaged as ordinary homes. In short, every blockhouse is a small fort. Most of them have been prefabricated and thus made on the cheap. Loopholes allow soldiers stationed in them to fire in all directions. They can be distinguished from a bunker by being mostly above ground level. They can function as air shelters and flak cannons have been set up on some of them. However, the primary role of the blockhouses is to be an early warning system. The troops here cannot withstand an overwhelming assault, but they can warn their comrades of an approaching enemy force, slow down and delay it. They have barricades, explosives and portable anti-armour missile launchers to combat armoured vehicles.
The Citadel: The nerve centre of the Bastions. It serves as the hub for all command and control infrastructure. The Citadel has been set up within the mountain. Tunnels and turbolifts lead into the heart of the base, which is located far under the mountain. Heavy blast doors ward access. Built deep into the mountain, the bunker is able withstand all but the heaviest forms of bombardment. In order to enable it to withstand a prolonged siege or an unexpected breakdown, the Citadel comes equipped with its own power plant, water supply, heating and cooling systems. Moreover, there is an extensive storage area. A massive reactor has been bored into the rock beneath the Citadel.
One can find various facilities within the Citadel, such as the following:
- Barracks: House the soldiers stationed here. The living quarters are austere, but functional. There are also refreshers, mess halls, gyms, training areas and so on.
- Supply Depots: Lying beneath the surface, these storage areas provide the troops with provisions, medical supplies, water, spare parts and everything else they need. It can allow them to endure a prolonged siege. For this reason, they are heavily guarded.
- Windu's Assembly: A place for troops to assemble for deployment and to listen to propaganda speeches and other announcements that are supposed to boost morale.
- Halls of Healing: Aside from a central hospital, there are several infirmaries. Archangel sells kolto to the Dominion, but it is overpriced. The means to grow bacta or kolto do not exist on Tephrike, so the Grand Army mostly relies on more conventional healing methods as well as on Jedi Healers.
- Armouries: Self-explanatory. This is the main hub to store all manners of weapons and ammunition. It is overseen by the quartermaster. The armouries are closely monitored.
- Control Room: The technical hub of the base. Surveillance and security are coordinated from here.
- Hall of Devotion: Essentially a religious shrine and prayer room where base personnel congregate to worship the power of Ashla. This applies to Non-Force-Users as well as Force-Users, for the Dominion aims to spread the faith to all strate of society. Religious services are held here.
- War Room: The situation room of the Citadel. Members of the high command can meet here for strategic, tactical and operational planning as well as receive communications from officers and Jedi in the field. A sophisticated communications scrambler is used to prevent incoming and outgoing transmissions from being intercepted.
- Communications' Chamber: The communications hub of the base. Equipped with potent communications gear as well countermeasures to prevent interception of transmissions.
- Detention Centre: The prison of the chamber. It consists of several specialised facilities and blocks in order to detain criminal individuals who will hopefully reflect on their actions and return to the Light. Special special holding cells and universal energy cages are available for rogue Force-Users. These are more likely to be rogue Windian Jedi or the occasional Vaderite, as the Republican Guard does not use Force-Users.
- Recreational Areas: Recreational and fitness facilities can be found here, such as gyms, common rooms and so on. There is also a library.
- Meditation Chambers: A few meditation chambers have been set up to enable Windian Jedi to commune with the Living Force, reflect upon the will of the Light and harness their powers.
- Vehicle Depots: The garage, essentially. Vehicles ranging from speeders to armoured fighting vehicles such as tanks are stored here.
- Hydroponics: While state farms have been set up to feed the soldiers, the Citadel has a hydroponics section for emergencies in case it is cut off.
- Fusion Reactor: Provided by Archangel as a replacement for the old, antiquated one. It has been bored deep into the mountain and is powerful enough to provide power for the batteries, the shield and other needs. Needless to say it is heavily guarded.
- The Sanctum: Serves as a private sanctum for Jedi Master Mahtara, the Battlemaster of the Windian Jedi and thus supreme commander of the Dominion's military. The interior of the sanctum is nothing fancy, as she cares little for luxury. However, it features a meditation room with several Force conductive crystals to allow her to focus her powers.
- The Deep: Vault areas, essentially. Before it was turned into a military base, the Dominion used the mountain to store artefacts. Most of them have been removed, but the Dominion still stores a few special weapons' systems and Force artefacts here.
Estates of the Brave Toilers: Three collective farms operate near the Citadel, though well away from the frontline. These farms have been set up by the Dominion to ensure the residents of the base are not in danger of running out of provisions in case supply lines break down. The farms are state property. Reformist elements in the Dominion have promoted a 'New Economic Policy' to abolish collectivised farming in favour of private landholdings and limited capitalism, but this has met institutional resistance.
Landing Field: A narrow paved strip above ground, but still covered by the Bastions' AA guns. Aside from being used for air traffif control, it is also a landing area for shuttles, transports and the like.
Hangars: Camouflaged to make them more difficult to detect and bombard. Starfighters can land, be stored, refuelled and deployed from here. Overall, there is enough space to accommodate three squadrons. A long period of isolation and technological regression means that Tephriki starfighters tend to be older than contemporary galactic standard. An example would be the Z-95 Headhunter. The Dominion compensates with the use of Jedi ace pilots.
Dummy Airfield: Not the actual name obviously, but this airfield is a mockup. All transport and fighter craft here are dummies. Some are actual aircraft that look functional on the outside, but are incapable of flight due to technical issues, others are simply fakes. There is even a control tower that periodically directs faux air traffic. The place is maintained by a unit of engineers and some aerospace personnel who make a show out of being busy.
Redoubt Train Station: An underground train station located near the Citadel. It utilises armoured hovertrains comparable to those employed by the Galactic Empire on Kessel, though their purpose is a different one. The Dominion uses the trains to transport supplies and reinforcements from the Citadel to the outer defences. Rail tracks also connect major fortifications at the Limes. Its location beneath the mountain means that the station is well-protected against bombardment. Precautions have been taken to prevent a train from being hijacked. A train can be remotely shutdown from the station's control centre inside the mountain.
SECURITY
Maximum, with the qualification that this is within the context of Tephrike. While not impregnable, the Bastions are very heavily defended, following the strategic concept of defence in depth. In addition to the fact the main base is literally inside a mountain, there are also innumerable guards, bunkers, turrets, artillery cannons, trenches, mine fields, emplacements and fortifications which make up the defences. An underground network of escape/entry tunnels is in place.
- A considerable force of soldiers from the Grand Army of Light is stationed here. This includes clone troopers, reservists and Windian Jedi. They can also utilise droids, droidekas and HRDs purchased from Archangel. Moreover, they have access to rugged, but reliable tank designs such as the HAVw A6 Juggernaut and the Occupier. A few starfighter squadrons can take off from the hangars.
- The base is well-protected by artillery, which is placed in casemates - fortified gun emplacements. The outer defences feature a staggering number of weapons' emplacements, such as artillery cannons, mass drivers, flak cannons, particle cannons and anti-vehicle turrets. Many e-webs, rotary cannons, heavy machine guns, light and heavy mortars, missile launchers. Land mines have been laid across the approaches to the fortifications.
- In order to distract enemy forces, especially artillery and air strikes, the Grand Army has set up dummy tanks and bunkers. This keeps the enemy in the dark about the true strength of the defenders and means they waste time, manpower and ordnance hunting down phantoms. For instance, there are dummy artillery cannons made out of wooden logs. They have been paint black to make it harder to tell the difference.
- Two HVs-2 Hypervelocity Guns have been concealed on Mount Ashla. They can target capital ships in orbit. As is standard, they are protected by ray and particle shield generators. However, the particle shielding must be lowered briefly when the guns fire.
- DSS-02 Shield Generator.
- Observation posts on the hills as well as a network of block houses ahead of the main defensive lines provide the defenders with early warning about approaching enemy forces. They also impede infiltration attempts. The block houses are less heavily defended or fortified than the Sacred Line, but represent an effective tripwire system. A few block houses have been converted into flak towers. The anti-aircraft guns are concealed, but ready to fire when needed.
- The gate of the Citadel is made of alchemised Turadium and features guards, surveillance cameras, ray shield traps, heavy turrets and the like. Inside, there is a comprehensive network of cameras, military-grade scanners and pop-up auto-turrets. The Citadel has heavy blast doors. Keycard access is required for sensitive areas, which are also guarded by layers of biometric security. The retinal scanners can detect whether or not the retina they are scanning belongs to a live person. Security checkpoints can be found at important junctures. Ventilation shafts are filled with locked grates, motion sensors and extremely narrow, with a lattice of crosshatched, intersecting planes made of turadium, There are also traps for the intrepid adventurer. In short, this is not the place to sneak in through ventilation shafts or use them to make a daring escape. The base's concealment is enhanced by a full suite of electronic countermeasures. It is also lined with anti-sensor camouflage netting, which is also often used to conceal bunkers. These ensure that even dedicated sensor ships will have trouble detecting it.
- Comparatively simple, but effective traps such as mesh traps and monofilament wires are used for perimeter security or in gaps between the fortifications.
The Dominion of Light is the product of the chaos caused by the outbreak of the Gulag Virus. When the Gulag Virus ravaged the Galaxy, Tephrike descended into chaos. Isolated from the rest of the Galaxy, the planet regressed technologically and socially. When the virus reached the planet, millions perished. The death toll was further increased by infighting between rival factions. Tephrike's fragile, multispecies democracy unravelled. A coalition government proved unable to restore order, contain the plague or provide shelter, food and protection to millions of displaced fleeing the fighting. Many died from disease, starvation and the civil war-like conditions across vast swathes of the planet.
The Jedi were called upon to assume a protective stance. After government soldiers shot unarmed protesters who had come to parliament to deliver a petition, the Jedi decided that it was their duty to intervene and take control. The radical Duros Jedi Master Zaras Dant was the ringleader of the coup. With the support of renegade elements in the army, they took control of the capital Palmyra, arrested Tephrike's prime minister and disbanded parliament. However, they soon faced opposition from rebel forces, such as the Alliance of Democratic Forces.
What was supposed to be a provisional emergency junta turned into a dictatorship without end. Racial tensions between Tephrike's people triggered pogroms and the Jedi came under fire when they tried to put an end to the violence. Faced with enemies on all sides, the Jedi had to militarise. Calling themselves the Windian Jedi Order, they became soldiers and generals like during the Clone Wars. Except this time they were also control of the government and thus had no one to answer to.
In time, the nation they founded became known as the Dominion of Light, a dictatorial theocracy. It faced the the Disciples of the Vader, human supremacist Sith who regarded themselves as the heirs of the 'Dark God' Vader and the Republican Guard, a rebel faction by Force-blind for Force-blind who idealised the Rebel Alliance and regarded the Force as antithetical to freedom. All the while, Tephrike bled. The story of the Bastions of Impenetrable Faith is a fairly recent one. Until recently, the command bunker built into Mount Ashla was not a military installation. Instead it was a vault the Windian Jedi used to store artefacts and other arcane items in. It was guarded and maintained by the Inquisition and the Council of First Knowledge.
Back then it had the name Vault 02, informally known as the Adegan Vault. In time, it was also used to stash away technology from the Golden Age that could no longer be used, as well as 'forbidden knowledge' that was of interest, but at variance with the Dominion's official narrative. Primitive mining and construction droids were used to build the vault, which was set up deep below the mountain. Organic engineers who had to be involved in the construction were sworn to secrecy.
Because people usually cannot tell secrets if they do not know any, Jedi mentalists used memory rubs to wipe the knowledge from their minds, creating false memories to fill the gaps. Automation was employed as far as Tephrike's comparatively primitive droid industry allowed it. The droids used for the construction were later liquidated. The facility was designed in such a way that any attempt retrieve items stored in the vault would cause it to self-destruct. Exceptions were made for certain senior Jedi Masters, such as Battlemaster Mahtara. This required authorisation in form of biometric data and access codes.
Vault 02 would have continued to remain an obscure location, if the 'storm from the stars' had not shaken the Dominion to its core. Long story cut short, Firemane Industries happened to come across Tephrike during an expedition meant to discover and aid worlds that had been disconnected by the Gulag Virus. Sadly, their first discovery was a war zone. After initial skirmishes with Firemane, the Dominion sought accommodation. Mahtara was one of the proponents, but was opposed by the Grand Inquisitor. Firemane dispatched a delegation to its capital to initiate negotiations. However, an extremist faction in the Dominion's regime regarded this as heresy. Firemane's delegation came under attack. Elpsis, one of its members and the adoptive daughter of Firemane's ruling couple, was captured by the Jedi Inquisition. She would be subjected to physical and torture in a Dominion black site.
In response, Firemane declared war. It proceeded to enter an alliance of convenience with the Republican Guard. A short, but intense campaign followed. After heavy fighting, the allied forces were able to seize a major Dominion fortress. Meanwhile, Elpsis was able to overcome her brainwashing and defeat her captors with the aid of rebellious prisoners and a Firemane rescue force. The Dominion had been humbled, but was not beaten. Instead the Mad Grandmaster was assassinated by the Council. His assassins invited Mahtara, who had been gathering her allies after being declared a traitor by the Grandmaster, to return to the capital and take command.
Unwilling to get bogged down in a conflict far from home and with allies it distrusted, Firemane decided to be satisfied with measured gains. The Dominion had been given a bloody nose, so it withdrew its troops. Before the pullout took place, the corporation did its allies a favour by razing the headquarters of the Vaderites, killing their Dark Lord and several members of the Dark Council.
However, Firemane did not want to entirely abandon Tephrike. The prisoners who had been rescued were given the choice between being resettled on a safe world or returning to Tephrike to continue the fight. Moreover, Firemane made a deal with the Guard. In return for resources, the corporation would provide the rebels with medical supplies and weapons. Occasional orbital strikes and aerial attacks would also be on the cards. Disappointed by the space people's withdrawl, but emboldened by their success, the Republican Guard launched an offensive. Its first target was a city the rebels called Vortanstad, after its original name, and Dominion loyalists the City of Harmonious Industry.
The Dominion's new leadership took stock. Their forces had suffered heavy casualties at Purity. The Jedi Temple and many key government and military installations in Nexus City were in ruins. It was a great blow to morale. But all was not lost. What the Dominion needed was time, even as it rushed troops to the frontlines to put out the fires. It also needed a new defence work to replace Purity in order to protect Nexus City and its other urban centres.
A labour force was found by having the Ministry of Plenty organise huge labour battalions. Civilians displaced by the destruction Firemane had unleashed were put to work. Moreover, the new government had dissolved most of the Inquisition's economic empire. Former inmates were promised their freedom if they worked well. In a darkly ironic twist, they sometimes found themselves toiling alongside former Inquisitors who had backed the wrong side during the coup.
Moreover, the Dominion made a secret deal with a shadowy group of outsiders called Archangel. When the HRDs arrived on the planet, the Dominion chose to negotiate and actually act in good faith, though it was guarded and suspicious. Given the type of corporation Archangel is, this was very justified. However, in return for captives and raw materials, Archangel provided the Dominion with droids and other technology. This proved beneficial for the construction of the fortifications.
The Dominion's troops still paid a high price in blood to buy time for the construction of the Bastions. The fortifications were garrisoned by a mixture of regulars and reservists. Vault 02 was cleared of artefacts and repurposed as the command bunker. The vault had been designed to withstand all but the heaviest orbital bombardment. This made it a perfect place for the command centre, as taking it out would require bringing down the mountain.
Tunnels and armoured underground trains connected the Citadel to external fortifications. Wary of Firemane air strikes, the Dominion's high command decided to take a page out of the Republican Guard's book and set up mockup bunkers, tanks and an entire fake air field. When the Republican Guard launched an initial assault, they were able to penetrate the first lines of defence, but were repelled. Likewise, a Firemane air strike called by the Guard had to be aborted. While Firemane attack craft were still superior in dogfighting, the Dominion's anti-air emplacements made an aerial offensive too hazardous. However, the attack had only been a probing assault to determine the strength of the enemy, not a full-scale assault. Thus the true test of the Bastions is yet to come.
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