Lady of Patience
Location Competition -- The Hydian Bastion
Credit: National Space Society “Kalpana 1” // Artist: Brian Versteeg // Rolf Amsel
OOC INFORMATION
Intent: To create a submission for the location competition, based on the first invasion of the Great Galactic War, the First Order invasion of Galactic Alliance hex L-49.
Image Credit:
In order of appearance --
Links: Justiciar-Class Defence Station
SETTING INFORMATION
Space Station Name:
Official name - “The Hydian Way Defence Platform”
Nickname(s) - “The Bastion,” “The Hydian Bastion.”
Station Model Classification: Military Station, Interdictor Station.
Location: Hex-L-49, adjacent to the Dagobah hex.
Affiliation: The First Order
Population: Heavily Populated. The station has 65,000 permanent residents. This includes 30,000 crew, 25,000 stormtroopers & military personnel, and 10,000 janitorial and support staff.
Demographics: Mostly human (95%,) some near human (5%.) Humans are free to serve on any field on the station, whereas near-humans are restricted to maintenance, and support roles, all of which are non-combat. Medical staff make up a large portion of the Bastion’s non-human population.
Accessibility: The Bastion is very isolated, residing in the depths of the empty L-49 sector, on the Hydian Way trade route. Following the First Order’s blockade of the sector, access by civilians is near impossible. Only military vessels are allowed to operate near the station, and clearance is required to dock or land at the station. Navy vessels constantly patrol the area around the station, especially around the contested Galactic Alliance-First Order border, where the Bastion supplies a Task Force guarding the front-line. The station is guarded by a fighting force of 25,000 Stormtroopers, all of whom have undergone training in space combat, and ship boarding. The Stormtroopers are used to board enemy ships, or to act as a last line of defence should the station come under attack.
Description: The Hydian Way Defence Station is a gargantuan cylinder, floating at the centre of hex L-49. At a distance, the platform is rather featureless, with obvious docking arms and sensor arrays located at the dorsal and ventral sections. Upon closer inspection, the structure consists of a vast network of trenches, and gun emplacements. Around the station is a buzz of activity, various Navy ships cruise alongside, moving to dock, or to resume patrol, sometimes escorted by buzzing fighters. Around the massive station, further out, the damage from the Hydian Way blockade can be seen. Remnants of First Order and Galactic Alliance ships alike drift in the darkness, a stark reminder to all who serve in the sector of what would happen should the station fall.
DEFENSES
The Hydian Bastion is heavily defended. As the only major source of supplies for the First Order Navy in the area, the Hydian Bastion is a high-value target to the enemies of the Order, especially the Galactic Alliance. As such, the station was outfitted with advanced weaponry, numerous turbolasers of various types, and many emplacements of point defences, to prevent boarding. This, coupled with an advanced shielding system and interdiction capability, makes the Hydian Bastion a fearsome beast, capable of holding its own even against enemy capital ships. With the support of the First Order Navy, however, the Hydian Bastion becomes a near impenetrable fortress, a staging ground from which the First Order can launch its vessels against the enemy, then return to resupply and repair time and again. The full list of defences for the Hydian Way Defence Platform can be found here.
POINTS OF INTEREST
Credit: DeviantArt user KypcaHT, “Engine Room.”
Reactor Rooms: To operate its many systems, the Hydian Bastion needs to constantly generate huge amounts of power. To do this, the station is fitted with 6 reactors, housed separately. The reactors are arranged in a ring around the station, and buried deep within the heart of the platform to protect them from enemy fire. The reactors are typically used to support different systems, with one devoted to weapons, another to shields, one for tractor beams and interdiction, and the others for life support, electrics, and other standard systems. While the structure of the station defends the reactors from external attack, they are vulnerable to internal sabotage. If one of the six reactors were shut down, the station would lose a significant portion of its usable power. In the event of an overload, the reactor could go critical, resulting in an explosion so damaging it would likely disable the entire platform. This is one of the reasons the reactors are separated, to avoid a chain reaction that would obliterate the entire station.
Credit: Ralph McQuarrie.
Command Centre: The Commend Centre is the brain of the Hydian Bastion. From here, the station’s many systems are controlled, with sections for weapons, shields, and other systems. The command centre is where many of the station’s officials and commanders are stationed, including Commodore Antoine Starr, commanding officer of the entire station. In addition to the main Command Centre, a Secondary Command Centre exists in the centre of the Bastion, to be used in the event the main Centre is damaged and unusable. Both Command Centres are locked behind heavy blast doors, each one equipped with retinal and fingerprint scanners, to prevent unauthorised access. A small squad of Stormtroopers are always stationed outside each Command Centre, to maintain security.
Credit: Halo 5, “Central Chamber.”
Medical Wing: The Medical Wing is the name for the floors on the 2nd subsection of the Hydian Bastion that are dedicated to medicine. This includes clinics where personnel can consult with doctors, hospitals where surgeries and treatments are conducted, and laboratory facilities to test water, food, and other organic specimens. In total, the Medical Wing is staffed by over 2500 crew, and employs the largest number of near-human personnel on the station. To prevent the outbreak of infection, the medical wing has Quarantine Bunks, for holding any personnel with contagious diseases. To function properly, the Medical Wing relies on supply shipments from First Order space, as the sophisticated technology and medicine cannot be produced on the station itself. In peacetime, each shipment lasts 2-3 months, though this is significantly decreased if the Bastion is engaged in long-term combat.
Credit: ArtStation user Eddie Mendoza, “Hydroponics.”
Agricultural Level: Located near the bottom of the station, just above the waste processing, and water storage levels, is the Agricultural Level. It consists of a sprawling expanse of interconnected rooms, each one environmentally sealed, and separated by sections of positive pressure to prevent any cross contamination. In each room, racks of hydroponic equipment is used to grow fruit and vegetables to feed the Bastion’s population. As well as hydroponic farms, the Agricultural Level also has various breeds of livestock, to provide fresh meat, dairy, and other produce. Grains produced on the farms include Grassgrain, Roti, and Phraig. Fruit and vegetables produced include Revwien lettuce, pink lettuce, Ojomian onion, and Sunberries. Some of the livestock farmed on the Agricultural Level include Bantha, Bukk, and Nuna.
Credit: DeviantArt user 5isalive “Underground Nuclear Missile Base”
Waste Level: The Waste Level is situated at the very bottom of the Bastion, it is split into three sections. The first is devoted to handling waste products produced by the residents of the station. Rubbish produced on the station is disposed of via a network of garbage chutes, before landing in one of several massive trash compactors. Droids sort through the waste, picking out organic material such as food scraps, from which nutrients are extracted for the farms. Once all organic material has been extracted, the rubbish is compacted, and then incinerated and vented into space. The second section handles sewage. Blackwater is collected, and vented into space, urine is treated, and water is extracted before it too is vented. The third section consists of massive collection tanks, used to hold the Bastion’s vast reserves of water.
Credit: RealClear Science, “Advanced Test Reactor Core.”
Hyperdrive: The Hydian Bastion has no way to move itself through realspace, it is only capable of slowly turning. To get the station into position, from the drydock in which it was constructed, a colossal hyperdrive was installed at centre of the station. Once it arrived in the sector, it was towed into position by several starships working in tandem. Once in position, the hyperdrive maintained operational, a contingency only to be used if the station was under a threat so significant it would be destroyed. Unfortunately, due to the size of the Bastion, it is unable to use its hyperdrive if it sustains too much damage, as it could result in a complete structural failure. During normal operations the hyperdrive is completely disabled, and must be activated and spooled up by a team of operators and engineers, in order to shift the massive structure into hyperspace.
Credit: DeviantArt user Rahmatozz, “Dormitory.”
Residential Block: The Residential Block takes up a significant portion of the Hydian Bastion’s non-military floors. It consists of a series of stacked rooms used to house the station’s 65,000 residents. The rooms are divided depending on profession and rank. For example, Stormtroopers live in large communal dormitories, whilst support and maintenance staff get a small room for themselves. Officers are provided a larger space, and are allowed to decorate with personal effects. The Residential block has several unoccupied dorms, and 100 spare single rooms to accommodate visitors and guests, such as high ranking Security Bureau, Government, or Army officials.
Credit: Kotaku, “The Dark and Lonely Art of Dead Space.”
Interdiction Level: The Interdiction level is located near the top of the Hydian Way Defence Station. It consists of a single floor, most of the floor space of which is cluttered with the equipment required to power the Bastion’s Gravity Well Generator, a colossal machine that sits in the centre of the Interdiction Level. To operate the Gravity Well Generator, a team of trained professionals must constantly communicate with the Command Centre, managing power spikes and dips to maintain interdiction. This is an even more difficult task in battle, as power fluctuations from ship damage and shield impacts can cause interference with the Gravity Well Generator. As well as the Gravity Well Generator, the Interdiction Level houses two Tractor Beam Projectors, which also need to be carefully operated and maintained. About 1000 crew work on the Interdiction Level, with 250 deployed at any one time.
Credit: ArtStation user Tim Ridley, “Hacker Room.”
Security Bureau Offices: Spread over 3 floors in the bowels of the station, the Security Bureau Offices do not only consist of meeting and storage rooms. The floors actually consist of a series of interrogation rooms for the Bastion’s 78 Security Bureau personnel to conduct interrogations, a communications centre used to decrypt enemy transmissions, and a small armoury. Access to the Security Bureau Offices is restricted, though it is accepted by those serving on the station that there are no important cloak-and-dagger operations being conducted behind closed doors, merely standard Security Bureau work.
Credit: DeviantArt user St-Pete, “Storage Corridor”
Storage Level: The Storage level is mostly frequented by droids and janitorial staff. It is located above the Agricultural Level and contains the Bastion’s supply of consumables, parts, technology, munitions, and small arms. To retrieve items from storage, a request is sent via a terminal from the Docking Bays, Kitchens, Quartermaster’s Store, Medical Wing, or weapons emplacements. A courier droid then collects the requested items, and delivers them to the desired location through a series of service tunnels. The entire process is automated, human workers are only used to maintain the tunnels and machinery. Deliveries are made to the Storage Level roughly every week, though it can often be longer for supplies that aren’t diminished as quickly.
Credit: Artist SPARTH, “Concept Spaceship Art”
Docking Bays: The Docking Bays are located on the dorsal and ventral sides of the Hydian Bastion, tucked into the wide area underneath each set of communications arrays. The bays sit inside a large cylindrical space, the lip of which is lined with point-defence cannons and turbolasers. Each bay varies in size, from smaller bays for docking shuttles and freighters, to the largest bays which consist of retractable arms used to dock with frigates and cruisers. Star Destroyers and larger vessels are unable to dock with the station, and are instead resupplied using freighters carrying supplies, and refuelling ships.
HISTORICAL INFORMATION
War is inevitable, the Galaxy is plagued by it. At every second, on any given day, in the entirety of Galactic history since the first sentient life emerged, the many far-flung star systems have been bathed in blood. Each world descending into chaos and destruction at a point in its long history. For the First Order, war is the lifeblood of the empire. The system relies on it, the economy is enriched by it, and her people are placated by it. Without war, society begins to tear apart at the seams. With no enemy, schisms begin to reveal themselves between religions, systems, and political factions, schisms that threaten the security of her homogeneous people.
At the end of the First Galactic Alliance-First Order War, a dangerous peace began to settle in across First Order space. The regime's monstrous appetite was briefly satisfied with brutal strikes against the Silver Jedi Order, but it soon ground to a halt. With no enemies to hate, to destroy, to crush, the First Order's military and government institutions began to fester. No longer were officials focused on doing their duty, or routing the enemy, now they were focused on securing power.
The Supreme Leader, Sieger Ren, understood this fact very well. For years he'd granted control of his expansive empire to a small group of underlings, most notably Grand Moff Natasi Fortan. However, as the months of peace dragged on and on, Sieger saw the danger that was looming if they stayed the course, and for the first time in a number of years he took affirmative action, directly intervening the First Order's political affairs, and ordering a massive strike against the Galactic Alliance. The Hydian Way Blockade.
The battle was brutal, old tensions wasting no time bubbling to the surface in violent fury. A fact that was exacerbated on by the Battle Meditation used by both sides during the fight for the blockade. Casualties were high, and though the First Order came out victorious they did so at a great cost, with large naval losses. In the days and weeks following the battle, and the slow disintegration of the blockade as the territory was absorbed into First Order influence, it was quickly decided that a less resource intensive means of defending the sector was needed.
The First Order's fleet would soon be needed for the larger war effort, so ensuring the the Hydian Way in sector L-49 was properly defended was an urgent task that would have to be completed before the next major campaign against the Alliance. The opinion, shared by the First Order Military Command, was that it was impossible to maintain the same number of ships in L-49, while also waging a full-scale war against the Alliance.
So came the Hydian Way Defence Station, a gargantuan platform designed not only to replace a significant portion of the sector's support craft, but also to take on the roles of some of the sector's larger capital ships and interdictors. Once construction was completed, the Hydian Bastion was transported through hyperspace into the sector, and towed by tugs into position. Now, it houses over 60,000 personnel, and acts as a symbol of First Order dominance, a military stronghold and projection of power, lying on the frontlines of the warring states.
Credit: National Space Society “Kalpana 1” // Artist: Brian Versteeg // Rolf Amsel
OOC INFORMATION
Intent: To create a submission for the location competition, based on the first invasion of the Great Galactic War, the First Order invasion of Galactic Alliance hex L-49.
Image Credit:
In order of appearance --
National Space Society “Kalpana 1.”
DeviantArt user KypcaHT, “Engine Room.”
Concept Artist Ralph McQuarrie.
Halo 5, “Central Chamber.” Artist: Toby Lewin
ArtStation user Eddie Mendoza, “Hydroponics.”
DeviantArt user 5isalive “Underground Nuclear Missile Base.”
RealClear Science, “Advanced Test Reactor Core.”
DeviantArt user Rahmatozz, “Dormitory.”
Kotaku, “The Dark and Lonely Art of Dead Space.”
ArtStation user Tim Ridley, “Hacker Room.”
DeviantArt user St-Pete, “Storage Corridor.”
Artist SPARTH, “Concept Spaceship Art.”
Links: Justiciar-Class Defence Station
SETTING INFORMATION
Space Station Name:
Official name - “The Hydian Way Defence Platform”
Nickname(s) - “The Bastion,” “The Hydian Bastion.”
Station Model Classification: Military Station, Interdictor Station.
Location: Hex-L-49, adjacent to the Dagobah hex.
Affiliation: The First Order
Population: Heavily Populated. The station has 65,000 permanent residents. This includes 30,000 crew, 25,000 stormtroopers & military personnel, and 10,000 janitorial and support staff.
Demographics: Mostly human (95%,) some near human (5%.) Humans are free to serve on any field on the station, whereas near-humans are restricted to maintenance, and support roles, all of which are non-combat. Medical staff make up a large portion of the Bastion’s non-human population.
Accessibility: The Bastion is very isolated, residing in the depths of the empty L-49 sector, on the Hydian Way trade route. Following the First Order’s blockade of the sector, access by civilians is near impossible. Only military vessels are allowed to operate near the station, and clearance is required to dock or land at the station. Navy vessels constantly patrol the area around the station, especially around the contested Galactic Alliance-First Order border, where the Bastion supplies a Task Force guarding the front-line. The station is guarded by a fighting force of 25,000 Stormtroopers, all of whom have undergone training in space combat, and ship boarding. The Stormtroopers are used to board enemy ships, or to act as a last line of defence should the station come under attack.
Description: The Hydian Way Defence Station is a gargantuan cylinder, floating at the centre of hex L-49. At a distance, the platform is rather featureless, with obvious docking arms and sensor arrays located at the dorsal and ventral sections. Upon closer inspection, the structure consists of a vast network of trenches, and gun emplacements. Around the station is a buzz of activity, various Navy ships cruise alongside, moving to dock, or to resume patrol, sometimes escorted by buzzing fighters. Around the massive station, further out, the damage from the Hydian Way blockade can be seen. Remnants of First Order and Galactic Alliance ships alike drift in the darkness, a stark reminder to all who serve in the sector of what would happen should the station fall.
DEFENSES
The Hydian Bastion is heavily defended. As the only major source of supplies for the First Order Navy in the area, the Hydian Bastion is a high-value target to the enemies of the Order, especially the Galactic Alliance. As such, the station was outfitted with advanced weaponry, numerous turbolasers of various types, and many emplacements of point defences, to prevent boarding. This, coupled with an advanced shielding system and interdiction capability, makes the Hydian Bastion a fearsome beast, capable of holding its own even against enemy capital ships. With the support of the First Order Navy, however, the Hydian Bastion becomes a near impenetrable fortress, a staging ground from which the First Order can launch its vessels against the enemy, then return to resupply and repair time and again. The full list of defences for the Hydian Way Defence Platform can be found here.
POINTS OF INTEREST
Credit: DeviantArt user KypcaHT, “Engine Room.”
Reactor Rooms: To operate its many systems, the Hydian Bastion needs to constantly generate huge amounts of power. To do this, the station is fitted with 6 reactors, housed separately. The reactors are arranged in a ring around the station, and buried deep within the heart of the platform to protect them from enemy fire. The reactors are typically used to support different systems, with one devoted to weapons, another to shields, one for tractor beams and interdiction, and the others for life support, electrics, and other standard systems. While the structure of the station defends the reactors from external attack, they are vulnerable to internal sabotage. If one of the six reactors were shut down, the station would lose a significant portion of its usable power. In the event of an overload, the reactor could go critical, resulting in an explosion so damaging it would likely disable the entire platform. This is one of the reasons the reactors are separated, to avoid a chain reaction that would obliterate the entire station.
Credit: Ralph McQuarrie.
Command Centre: The Commend Centre is the brain of the Hydian Bastion. From here, the station’s many systems are controlled, with sections for weapons, shields, and other systems. The command centre is where many of the station’s officials and commanders are stationed, including Commodore Antoine Starr, commanding officer of the entire station. In addition to the main Command Centre, a Secondary Command Centre exists in the centre of the Bastion, to be used in the event the main Centre is damaged and unusable. Both Command Centres are locked behind heavy blast doors, each one equipped with retinal and fingerprint scanners, to prevent unauthorised access. A small squad of Stormtroopers are always stationed outside each Command Centre, to maintain security.
Credit: Halo 5, “Central Chamber.”
Medical Wing: The Medical Wing is the name for the floors on the 2nd subsection of the Hydian Bastion that are dedicated to medicine. This includes clinics where personnel can consult with doctors, hospitals where surgeries and treatments are conducted, and laboratory facilities to test water, food, and other organic specimens. In total, the Medical Wing is staffed by over 2500 crew, and employs the largest number of near-human personnel on the station. To prevent the outbreak of infection, the medical wing has Quarantine Bunks, for holding any personnel with contagious diseases. To function properly, the Medical Wing relies on supply shipments from First Order space, as the sophisticated technology and medicine cannot be produced on the station itself. In peacetime, each shipment lasts 2-3 months, though this is significantly decreased if the Bastion is engaged in long-term combat.
Credit: ArtStation user Eddie Mendoza, “Hydroponics.”
Agricultural Level: Located near the bottom of the station, just above the waste processing, and water storage levels, is the Agricultural Level. It consists of a sprawling expanse of interconnected rooms, each one environmentally sealed, and separated by sections of positive pressure to prevent any cross contamination. In each room, racks of hydroponic equipment is used to grow fruit and vegetables to feed the Bastion’s population. As well as hydroponic farms, the Agricultural Level also has various breeds of livestock, to provide fresh meat, dairy, and other produce. Grains produced on the farms include Grassgrain, Roti, and Phraig. Fruit and vegetables produced include Revwien lettuce, pink lettuce, Ojomian onion, and Sunberries. Some of the livestock farmed on the Agricultural Level include Bantha, Bukk, and Nuna.
Credit: DeviantArt user 5isalive “Underground Nuclear Missile Base”
Waste Level: The Waste Level is situated at the very bottom of the Bastion, it is split into three sections. The first is devoted to handling waste products produced by the residents of the station. Rubbish produced on the station is disposed of via a network of garbage chutes, before landing in one of several massive trash compactors. Droids sort through the waste, picking out organic material such as food scraps, from which nutrients are extracted for the farms. Once all organic material has been extracted, the rubbish is compacted, and then incinerated and vented into space. The second section handles sewage. Blackwater is collected, and vented into space, urine is treated, and water is extracted before it too is vented. The third section consists of massive collection tanks, used to hold the Bastion’s vast reserves of water.
Credit: RealClear Science, “Advanced Test Reactor Core.”
Hyperdrive: The Hydian Bastion has no way to move itself through realspace, it is only capable of slowly turning. To get the station into position, from the drydock in which it was constructed, a colossal hyperdrive was installed at centre of the station. Once it arrived in the sector, it was towed into position by several starships working in tandem. Once in position, the hyperdrive maintained operational, a contingency only to be used if the station was under a threat so significant it would be destroyed. Unfortunately, due to the size of the Bastion, it is unable to use its hyperdrive if it sustains too much damage, as it could result in a complete structural failure. During normal operations the hyperdrive is completely disabled, and must be activated and spooled up by a team of operators and engineers, in order to shift the massive structure into hyperspace.
Credit: DeviantArt user Rahmatozz, “Dormitory.”
Residential Block: The Residential Block takes up a significant portion of the Hydian Bastion’s non-military floors. It consists of a series of stacked rooms used to house the station’s 65,000 residents. The rooms are divided depending on profession and rank. For example, Stormtroopers live in large communal dormitories, whilst support and maintenance staff get a small room for themselves. Officers are provided a larger space, and are allowed to decorate with personal effects. The Residential block has several unoccupied dorms, and 100 spare single rooms to accommodate visitors and guests, such as high ranking Security Bureau, Government, or Army officials.
Credit: Kotaku, “The Dark and Lonely Art of Dead Space.”
Interdiction Level: The Interdiction level is located near the top of the Hydian Way Defence Station. It consists of a single floor, most of the floor space of which is cluttered with the equipment required to power the Bastion’s Gravity Well Generator, a colossal machine that sits in the centre of the Interdiction Level. To operate the Gravity Well Generator, a team of trained professionals must constantly communicate with the Command Centre, managing power spikes and dips to maintain interdiction. This is an even more difficult task in battle, as power fluctuations from ship damage and shield impacts can cause interference with the Gravity Well Generator. As well as the Gravity Well Generator, the Interdiction Level houses two Tractor Beam Projectors, which also need to be carefully operated and maintained. About 1000 crew work on the Interdiction Level, with 250 deployed at any one time.
Credit: ArtStation user Tim Ridley, “Hacker Room.”
Security Bureau Offices: Spread over 3 floors in the bowels of the station, the Security Bureau Offices do not only consist of meeting and storage rooms. The floors actually consist of a series of interrogation rooms for the Bastion’s 78 Security Bureau personnel to conduct interrogations, a communications centre used to decrypt enemy transmissions, and a small armoury. Access to the Security Bureau Offices is restricted, though it is accepted by those serving on the station that there are no important cloak-and-dagger operations being conducted behind closed doors, merely standard Security Bureau work.
Credit: DeviantArt user St-Pete, “Storage Corridor”
Storage Level: The Storage level is mostly frequented by droids and janitorial staff. It is located above the Agricultural Level and contains the Bastion’s supply of consumables, parts, technology, munitions, and small arms. To retrieve items from storage, a request is sent via a terminal from the Docking Bays, Kitchens, Quartermaster’s Store, Medical Wing, or weapons emplacements. A courier droid then collects the requested items, and delivers them to the desired location through a series of service tunnels. The entire process is automated, human workers are only used to maintain the tunnels and machinery. Deliveries are made to the Storage Level roughly every week, though it can often be longer for supplies that aren’t diminished as quickly.
Credit: Artist SPARTH, “Concept Spaceship Art”
Docking Bays: The Docking Bays are located on the dorsal and ventral sides of the Hydian Bastion, tucked into the wide area underneath each set of communications arrays. The bays sit inside a large cylindrical space, the lip of which is lined with point-defence cannons and turbolasers. Each bay varies in size, from smaller bays for docking shuttles and freighters, to the largest bays which consist of retractable arms used to dock with frigates and cruisers. Star Destroyers and larger vessels are unable to dock with the station, and are instead resupplied using freighters carrying supplies, and refuelling ships.
HISTORICAL INFORMATION
War is inevitable, the Galaxy is plagued by it. At every second, on any given day, in the entirety of Galactic history since the first sentient life emerged, the many far-flung star systems have been bathed in blood. Each world descending into chaos and destruction at a point in its long history. For the First Order, war is the lifeblood of the empire. The system relies on it, the economy is enriched by it, and her people are placated by it. Without war, society begins to tear apart at the seams. With no enemy, schisms begin to reveal themselves between religions, systems, and political factions, schisms that threaten the security of her homogeneous people.
At the end of the First Galactic Alliance-First Order War, a dangerous peace began to settle in across First Order space. The regime's monstrous appetite was briefly satisfied with brutal strikes against the Silver Jedi Order, but it soon ground to a halt. With no enemies to hate, to destroy, to crush, the First Order's military and government institutions began to fester. No longer were officials focused on doing their duty, or routing the enemy, now they were focused on securing power.
The Supreme Leader, Sieger Ren, understood this fact very well. For years he'd granted control of his expansive empire to a small group of underlings, most notably Grand Moff Natasi Fortan. However, as the months of peace dragged on and on, Sieger saw the danger that was looming if they stayed the course, and for the first time in a number of years he took affirmative action, directly intervening the First Order's political affairs, and ordering a massive strike against the Galactic Alliance. The Hydian Way Blockade.
The battle was brutal, old tensions wasting no time bubbling to the surface in violent fury. A fact that was exacerbated on by the Battle Meditation used by both sides during the fight for the blockade. Casualties were high, and though the First Order came out victorious they did so at a great cost, with large naval losses. In the days and weeks following the battle, and the slow disintegration of the blockade as the territory was absorbed into First Order influence, it was quickly decided that a less resource intensive means of defending the sector was needed.
The First Order's fleet would soon be needed for the larger war effort, so ensuring the the Hydian Way in sector L-49 was properly defended was an urgent task that would have to be completed before the next major campaign against the Alliance. The opinion, shared by the First Order Military Command, was that it was impossible to maintain the same number of ships in L-49, while also waging a full-scale war against the Alliance.
So came the Hydian Way Defence Station, a gargantuan platform designed not only to replace a significant portion of the sector's support craft, but also to take on the roles of some of the sector's larger capital ships and interdictors. Once construction was completed, the Hydian Bastion was transported through hyperspace into the sector, and towed by tugs into position. Now, it houses over 60,000 personnel, and acts as a symbol of First Order dominance, a military stronghold and projection of power, lying on the frontlines of the warring states.
