Diranor Cadain
Artorian Royal Intelligence
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OUT OF CHARACTER INFORMATION
Intent: A base for an organization creating new story opportunities in the Outer Rim.
Image Credit: Star Wars: Invasion, Issue 5
Canon: Yes - Artorian safe haven
Links: ARROW
SETTING INFORMATION
Military Base Name: Haven Command
Classification: Intelligence Annex
Location: Artorias
Affiliation: Artorian Royal Intelligence, Government of Artorias
Population: 23,000 analysts, supply officers, trainers, field agents, handlers, and support staff
Accessibility: Haven Command is situated on the ocean floor, several kilometers beneath the surface of the Great Sea of Artorias. So well hidden that even when the Yuuzhan Vong held the entire planetary surface they were unable to locate it, the facility maintains its security through secrecy and isolation. All personnel live full-time within the self-sufficient undersea dome, and even field agents don’t actually know where it is - when they are required to travel to Haven Command for training or debriefing, they are tranquilized and transported long distances by teams moving in random patterns. Only a handful know the base’s true location.
Description: Haven Command is the heart and brain of Artorian Royal Intelligence. Constructed centuries ago but maintained and updated in the intervening years, it has been infiltrated exactly once, and the infiltrator did not survive the experience. The ocean facility is the central hub of ARROW, the artificial intelligence coordinating Royal Intelligence’s many agents and analysts, and hosts the massive processing power required to make sense of thousands of ongoing operations and data streams. It also hosts training facilities, gear storage, briefing rooms, dormitories and other areas essential to day-to-day operations, such as food production.
POINTS OF INTEREST
Pressure Dome: All of Haven Command is situated within a vast undersea dome. Covered in sensor-baffling material and reinforced to survive the pressures of tidal surges and the weight of the water above, this dome is the agency’s primary defense, and the key to maintaining its vital secrecy. Extending a dozen meters into the ocean bedrock, the dome also serves to protect the geothermal taps that power the base, a virtually undetectable form of energy because it cannot easily be distinguished from the natural activity of undersea volcanoes and the shifting of the planet’s mantle. Not designed to withstand an actual assault, it is built simply to never be found.
Comm Relays: It is essential that the ARROW hub within Haven Command have a fast and reliable uplink to the rest of the planet and beyond. This would be difficult enough from the bottom of the ocean even without the need for intense secrecy. Royal Intelligence’s solution is a vast network of comm relays across the ocean floor, allowing heavily encoded transmissions to rapidly bounce through hundreds of connections before arriving at their destination. Backtracing the signal is virtually impossible, as the order of the relays is ever-shifting and their number is immense. Uplinks with urban relays and satellites allow real-time communication far, far away.
ARROW Data Center: Flawlessly coordinating far more information and personnel than any being, or even team of beings, could possible manage, the artificial intelligence known as ARROW requires a vast databank staffed by many analysts and technicians. This massive structure takes up a large portion of Haven Command, and is a frenzy of activity at all hours, personnel sleeping in shifts to ensure that every station is constantly manned. The data center represents by far the largest power drain in the base, and is covered by redundant sensor jammers. Backup generators exist to keep ARROW running, but might compromise its stealth.
Training Facilities: Every field agent of Artorian Royal Intelligence undergoes training at Haven Command, and it is the rigorous sort of training intended to prepare operatives for the dark, brutal, and underhanded world of covert operations work. The base hosts simulators, firing ranges, and classrooms staffed by the best veterans Artorias can offer, each imparting their years of experience to up and coming spies. No punches are pulled in combat training, from no-gloves sparring to live-fire exercises; the base infirmary is well-attended, and no small number of would-be agents wash out to become analysts or support personnel instead.
ARI Command: Second in security only to the ARROW data center, the innermost chambers of Haven Command are devoted to the spymasters of Artorian Royal Intelligence, men and women who have not left the base for years and likely will not until they do so in a casket. Their identities shrouded in decades of false names, holo-maskers, and cover identities, they are legendary operatives who now lead the charge in protecting Artorias from the shadows by using ARROW’s data and advice to make tactical decisions. These invisible dejarik masters have their own quarters and briefing rooms which few agents ever see - and none ever speak about.
Gear Warehouse: Royal Intelligence employs many tools in order to carry out its mission, and when they are not being deployed in the field, they are stored in vast vaults carved into the ocean bedrock. Exhaustively cataloged and carefully maintained, the inventories of these vaults are ready for deployment at a moment’s notice whether they were last used a month or five decades ago. Regular security checks and integration with ARROW ensures that the gear never goes missing, which is probably more paranoid than necessary given the base’s already impressive security and secrecy. But Royal Intelligence is nothing if not thorough.
Farms and Fisheries: In order to be truly self-sufficient, Haven Command needs a way to feed its biological population. Fortunately, the Great Ocean of Artorias is full of life. Automated fish traps and sea plant farms ensure a steady supply of foodstuffs that, when thoroughly processed, almost loses the salty, fishy odor that still manages to pervade the mess halls. The quality of on-base food is something of a running joke among personnel - the first question asked of a field agent being debriefed is often “What did you get to eat? Describe it in detail.” Still, it fulfills the need, being both edible and nutritious. It just gets a bit samey after the first week or so.
Launch Bays: Those few who know the route - highly respected agents known as “Introducers” - can reach Haven Command with little more than a dive suit and an abundance of caution, but often more speed is necessary. The base is equipped with launch base for submersible shuttles, each one capable of both spaceflight and gliding beneath the waves. Launch procedures are a complex affair; the shuttles are full of beds rather than chairs, as everyone aboard except the Introducers piloting the shuttle is sedated for the duration of the trip. No amount of interrogation or Force persuasion can force an agent to reveal a location he or she simply does not know.
Halls and Dormitories: The spaces between all of the base’s major locations are simple and spartan - the only decorations are what personnel put up themselves. There is, however, a proud tradition of doing so, and most dormitories are covered in posers, holopics, and minor graffiti. Internal Affairs lets this slide as long as the hallways are kept clear. Heavily reinforced to withstand the pressure of the depths, along with potential tidal surges or sea creature collisions, the halls are actually reasonably spacious, able to accommodate five or so beings abreast at the same time. When equipment is being transported down them, however, they feel quite narrow.
DEFENSES
Haven Command does not have turrets, shields, or mines surrounding it as perimeter defenses - all of these would be additional power drain or risk exposing its location. Its primary defense is secrecy, and it maintains that very well. Its power usage blends seamlessly into local geological activity, and the sensor-baffling material covering the pressure dome makes it appear as little more than another irregular bump on the ocean floor, surrounded by similar structures. At a depth of several kilometers, visibility is extremely limited, and even if someone were to stumble across the base, they would have to be extremely close to recognize it for what it really is.
HISTORICAL INFORMATION
During the Galactic Civil War, the peaceful planet of Artorias became a haven for refugees, far enough removed from the bulk of the struggle that it seemed safe. In the wake of the Battle of Yavin, however, the Galactic Empire began a sweeping crackdown on suspected rebel hideaways in the Outer Rim. Caled Galfridian, King of Artorias and a veteran of the Battle of Hoth, began to fear that the Empire would occupy his world and kill or enslave those taking refuge there. As a result, he ordered the construction of a vast underwater hideaway that could shelter his people. Before its completion, however, the Empire fell, and it sat unused thereafter.
During the Yuuzhan Vong invasion of the galaxy, Artorias was one of the first planets to fall. Much of the planet’s surface was Vongformed, and the population was largely either enslaved, killed, or forced to flee. Caled Galfridian, however, led a group of resistance fighters to the hidden underwater base. Striking from this location, he and his soldiers caused considerable damage to the Vongforming efforts. Ultimately, Caled was killed by a Yuuzhan Vong infiltrator disguised as one of his advisors, though the infiltrator did not survive to reveal the base’s location. The resistance fighters evacuated, abandoning the planet for the rest of the war.
When the Yuuzhan Vong were defeated, the Artorian people returned and began to restore their ravaged world. The new monarch declared that Artorias had fallen not because of any lack of spirit on the part of its people, for they had fought long and hard to preserve and reclaim their homes, but due to a lack of information. There had been no warning when the alien invaders had attacked, and they would not be the last to attack Artorias. In order to prevent future threats from causing such terrible damage, the royal family ordered the creation of Artorian Royal Intelligence, an agency that would safeguard Artorias and her people from the shadows.
Combining the techniques of Rebel Alliance veterans and the guerilla fighters of the Yuuzhan Vong war, agents of Artorian Royal Intelligence served with distinction throughout the following centuries, identifying and eliminating threats to the planet and the royal family. They were instrumental in keeping the Gulag Plague away from Artorias, enforcing - sometimes brutally - the planet’s isolation during the 400-Year Darkness in order to keep their still-recovering people safe from being finished off by the terrible disease. They remained on the fringe of the galaxy, a very minor player with little role in galactic affairs beyond protecting their own.
As the 400-Year Darkness drew to a close and new galactic powers began to form, it became increasingly clear to Royal Intelligence that enforced isolation was no longer a sufficient defense. The One Sith and the Primeval drew perilously close to Artorias, annexing countless neighboring systems, and although they collapsed, new and dangerous governments arose in their wake. As the galaxy fell into chaos, the agency reconsidered its operations. It was time to take a more active role, working to gather information and influence local events. By 840 ABY, it had begun to refurbish the undersea shelter into Haven Command to facilitate this change.
In 851 ABY, a new Sith Empire was on the rise, cutting off Artorias from the Core Worlds and leaving the peaceful planet far from any assistance. Artorian Royal Intelligence, operating out of the recently-completed Haven Command, would be the first line of defense against any aggression by the Sith - or any other power that chose to threaten the region.
