Prefsbelt Commander
THE OLD FORT
The Old Fort's Eastern Wall (Heritage Daily x)
OUT OF CHARACTER INFORMATION
Intent: To submit the First Order’s current headquarters.
Image Credit: Found within the submission.
Canon: None.
Links: None.
Military Base Name: Astrusk'ati Bastord'a [Basic: The Old Fort.]
Classification: Military Camp
Location: Pa’Desh (x), Alchazeri Island, Old Pa’Dan
Affiliation: The First Order (x)
Population: Crowded
Demographics:
38% Civilians/ Recruits
30% Stormtroopers
20% Retribution Corps
6% Navy
4% FOSB
2% Logistical Support Staff
The holding cells housed within the North Tower. (Harid Taskin, artstation x)
Accessibility: The Old Fort is not easily accessible to outsiders. Any outsiders who are admitted in other than Pa'Deshi security personnel of the highest calibre, are done so in chains. Since the First Order’s lease of the fortress, access to the mainland has been cut off, and all physical weak points regarding land access have been walled off. Any easy access must be done via the logistics yard, and requires military clearance from the junta within.
Description: Geographically, Alchzeri Island, is an island within the Bora’dahl River within Old Pa’Dan, Pa’Desh’s capital. The island sits in the widest part of the city, meaning the streets and markets can be seen from it. Physically, large walls of the fortress span across the entirety of the island. Upon the island and within the fort, are a series of inner walls and courtyards, and two parade grounds. The largest ground, has been re-purposed as an improvised refugee camp. Designed to house the thousands of civilians who have fled to Pa’Desh, seeking refuge with the First Order. The large stone walls and fortified keeps have been fortified with anti-air batteries. Antennae and shield generator dishes reach into the sky, broadcasting encrypted messages to mysterious allies through the Outer Rim and Unknown Regions.
POINTS OF INTEREST
One of the Sprawls many sidestreets (Turbosquid x)
The Sprawl: Housed within the western courtyard, is the sprawl. It is a veritable tent city, which houses the families of personnel who escaped the First Order’s collapse, and civilians who have flocked to the Unknown Regions. The tents and ramshackle structures offer little comfort in the tropical heat, but each tent is fitted with moisture evaporator allowing for fresh water to be allocated to each tent as well as rudimentary bedding.
The Parade Ground: The most recognisable part of the fortress, the Parade Ground. The ground is used by Grand Admiral Carlyle Rausgeber as the set piece for his declarations against the enemies of the First Order and to rally loyalists. A large First Order banner nominally hangs from behind the stage, and can fit two thousand stormtroopers at capacity. The perfect setting for these pieces of military theatre.
The Central Keep: The centre keep has become the intelligence hub and communications centre. The equipment which has been transferred there is capable of reaching most of the Galaxy, and also receive transmissions from most of it. The Keep also acts as a space for military workshops in its lower levels, where weaponry is maintained and upgraded while the upper levels house intelligence and communications specialists.
The Logistics Yard: Formally a dock and now walled off, the logistics yard is an open air area which allows for the easy drop off and collection of supplies. It acts as an ad hoc staging point for troops departing to the command vessels in orbit as well as housing the severely diminished motor pool of the First Order Armies mechanised and armoured divisions. Anti-air batteries are scattered around to deter any forced landings or bombers, but it is a vulnerability which may be exploited.
The Eastern Armoury: After a successful recruitment drive of local forces, the Eastern Armoury, which once stored weapons had become something of an academy to train recruits. Simulation equipment is housed on the upper floors, reserved for prospective TIE pilots. The lower floors have been dedicated to physical fitness centres designed to make sure recruits are kept in peak condition.
The Imperator Bunker: Excavated beneath the entirety of the Fort is the Imperator Bunker. It is here classified intelligence is collated, recorded and classified. The bunker system also holds rooms for the swift evacuation of civilians from the surface in case of attack. A number of field medical stations are kept for civilian use, as well as supplies in case of siege. The bunkers tunnels have been mapped and dug in such a way as to funnel any attackers into traps, and shooting galleries for defending forces.
The War Room: The central command hub of what remains of the First Order. In here, lies the nerve centre of the First Order, where the planning for its next strategic movements are made. Located in the lower levels of the Imperator Bunker, tunnels in which only the highest ranking officials and officers of the order are allowed access to it. Inside, is an archive of all intelligence and data the First Order once drew in, as well as banks of computers. Calculating either simulations of offences, or collating data and logistics.
The North Tower: Off limits to all, is the northern tower. The tower is an FOSB black site, administered by the remnants of the security bureau. What is performed within is the work of speculation by the garrison and civilians. In terms of operation it sits as simultaneously a prison and an organisational headquarters for FOSB operatives.
The Shrine: Situated within southern portion of the Old Fort is a small chapel. A shrine to the arcane Gods of Pa'Desh, now corrupted by the dark side and warped into the at least temporary accommodations for the mysterious Knights of Ren. This too is off limits to most, and its conditions aren't the most hospitable. The Ren are forced to abode in close proximity and must share communal resources. This has, at least amongst lower acolytes, lead to speculation that this is a deliberate provocation by the Grand Admiral and his cronies to isolate the Ren as a threat should they rise up.
SECURITY
The interior of the Imperator Bunker. (Daniel Ax, artstation x)
Security Rating: Maximum
Breakdown: The Old Fort is a highly fortified structure, still formidable despite its age. Already imposing with its grand walls, upgrades to the defences and the installation of modern weapons systems have seen that Old Fort has become one of the toughest nuts to crack yet. The battlements present the largest logistical challenge to any offensive, and have been supported by the addition of turbolaser mounts. These vary from rather stock standard weapons, all the way to the gargantuan mega-class turbolasers.
The occupiers of the Old Fort were also self-aware enough of their centralised location to establish a series of shield generators. These were installed to defend against any orbital bombardment commenced by opposing forces who may have been able to clear any orbital defence fleets and try to snuff out the First Order. Within the walls, a garrison of stormtroopers sit, armed with the latest weapons and complimented by soldiers of the recently founded Retribution Corps.
Should a hostile force breach the surface defences, tunnels and bunkers dug beneath the fortress complex have been comprised to withstand any assault. These tunnels of the so called 'Imperator' bunker, have been designed to flush invaders into traps and shooting galleries, to cause as many casualties as possible during the final stand.
HISTORICAL INFORMATION
The War Room in use. (Silver Screen's Amazon storefront x)
The Old Fort is a structure whose origins can be dated back to two thousand years old. Badishah Palu’d the Second, who constructed the first semblance of a fortress in order to house his officer corps, whom he feared were plotting against him. By segregating them to an island, the Badishah managed to hold unto power until death. His successors continued to build up the fortress and saw it as a way to house forces in case of uprising or attempted coups.
The Old Fort however over the centuries lapses in terms of its usefulness as a feasible military facility. It became a largely ceremonial centre of power, and at one point did undergo a few decades as a museum. But when Pa’Desh underwent its series of coups in the last few decades, the fortress became again a point of strategic import during this period of political turmoil. As such, its fortifications and inner workings were updated to ensure that the fortress was well defended. These updates would be the last until the First Order’s arrival.
The First Order arrived on Pa’Desh, ruined. The shattered remains of the Sixth and Seventh fleets sat in negotiations with the Badishah, Reynash Chieema'bal the Third, until he allowed the Order to plant its flag upon Pa’Deshi soil in an uneasy manner. The Old Fort was leased out to the First Order, with the terms of leasing undetermined. Once there, the First Order set to work, disassembling a number of corvettes and using their technical equipment to install advanced communications arrays and equipment needed to advance the First Order. From there, broadcasts were dispatched over military and civilian frequencies, drawing the remainder of the First Order military and government apparatus toward Pa’Desh. The series of broadcasts was successful and drew over two hundred thousand to the system.
While most were relegated to the Star Destroyers above, many were put up in one of the squares. Established within was a network of tents. A small city devised to house the young, and the civilians who had come to take shelter, away from the Ssi-Ruuvi and whom now fought to return to their home. A system of tunnels were also devised, in order to act as stores and an inner sanctum of sorts for the junta of military officials who had now begun to declare themselves as the First Order’s government in exile.
