Trepus Mine

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Trepus Mine
General information
Constructed:	344 BBY
Location:	Trepus on the planet Solyiat
Builder:	Solyiat Mining Consortium
Physical specifications
Population:	3400 personnel 2000 visiting individuals
Usage
Era:	New Order era
Affiliation:	House Hoth (formerly) Knights of Allusis (formerly) House Sunrider Clan Odan-Urr
[ Source ]

Trepus Mine, also known as Trepus Mine Base, is the primary operations facility for Clan Odan-Urr on Solyiat. Originally owned and constructed by the Solyiat Mining Consortium to extract metal deposits beneath Trepus' central mountain range, the mine itself stretches for several kilometers beneath the mountain in a complex series of primary tunnels, natural caves, and man-made openings. This was then gifted to JTF Hoth following the arrival of the Jedi, and repurposed into a primary HQ for the House. The positioning of the base on the continent allows them to monitor and cover the surrounding local airspace for possible threats along with maintaining a constant watch of events in local orbit of the planet. Along with the close location of the Transfer Station, thus controlling the primary means of arriving and departing Trepus via airborne means, this allowed House Hoth to keep multiple rapid response units on standby. These could counteract any threats while providing cover for the scattered townships across the continent against hostile groups.

When required, Trepus Mine retained the space to guard and protect several thousand civillians. The Mine could serve as a means of defending and guarding the continent's sparse populace from massed invasions and orbital bombardments. With the mine limited to only a few heavily defended entrances, guarded by both the mountain itself and military-grade shields along with heavy cannonade, it served as a symbol of Odan-Urr's might. Even following the dissolution of House Hoth, the base remained active as an outpost for House Sunrider and an essential linchpin in their defenses.

History

Original Role

Trepus Mine was established in early 344 BBY following an operation by the Vatali Empire to scan Trepus' mountainous ranges. The continent had been fully mapped centuries before and the outlying townships established to serve as ports, but the value of the inland regions had been disputed among various groups for years. Ground-based exploration was a hazardous endeavor due to the various predator species which had adapted to the mountainous regions, while orbital efforts had been disrupted by beds of Sarsirians absorbing and reflecting energy. The decision to launch a further investigation was only made when a geological examination and series of theories indicated valuable metals lay within the larger mountain ranges lining the Akux Sea. After several probing efforts by droids were made to establish early probing shafts, one of which met with some success. It was eventually discovered that while the area was rich in metal vital to starship construction, the veins were broadly spread out over a wide area. As such, the initial mine was established with the impetus of covering an extremely broad area and allowing for rapid divergences. These were heavily reinforced and supported, and over the years each would frequently cross paths with other main tunnels, forming a semi-chaotic maze which stretched deep under the mountain.

Using geothermal generators to power machinery, the mine was steadily expanded to incorporate new facilities. Internal scanners intended to monitor the mountain were dotted throughout the core of the facility, several artificial caverns were constructed to better allow for coordinated sweeps in search of new materials, and even internal bunk facilities were built to better accommodate its scale. As airlocks, security systems and internal rails were constructed, the mine in question gradually turned into a self-sustaining base. Over time this was further expanded with the addition of a transfer station, allowing for easier access to the facility from freighters and starships. For more than three hundred years it would remain in operation, until in 30 ABY all relevant and substantial metal deposits were thought to have finally been extracted.

New Ownership

The end of operations for Trepus Mine brought more problems than its long active period ever had. Besides the potential loss of income and employment for Trepus' populace, the mine itself retained a substantial amount of complex and heavy equipment. Removing it was a process that would take years, and certain essential systems were difficult to disassemble let alone fully transport. Many could simply be left to rust, but this was an option that did not sit well with any involved with the mine. For a time, the mine continued its day-to-day activities in scanning for further deposits, simply to avoid inactivity or the risk of abandoning it entirely. It was only later that in 34 ABY that a new option presented itself for all involved. As the Empress had permitted Clan Odan-Urr and the survivors of New Tython a home within the Vatali Empire, each was granted new territories to occupy and maintain. Land on Daleem had been given to House Satele Shan while House Hoth had been granted areas of Solyiat to serve as their new home.

As the military arm of their Clan in its former command structure, Hoth required a highly defensive and easily fortified base of operations. Trepus mine, while in a state of partial disrepair, fitted their needs. As the House would take over any costs it offered a way out for both investors and employees, a substantial portion of who remained on-site to assist with the repurposing of the mine into a military base. Expanding the bunkhouses to form full barracks and tunneling deeper into the mountain, they were set to work on reinforcing the tunnel against quakes from possible artillery bombardments. Sensors were further enhanced to allow for scans of the surrounding area and moving targets in the surrounding area. As tunnels were dug into upper areas of the mountain, the base soon established the foundations for heavy cannon emplacements and surface to orbit weapons.

The Trepus Transfer station also underwent a number of notable changes, with a group of point defense turrets established about the ring of the platform and pushed for some much-needed maintenance along with its main landing facilities. The system was also redesigned to both allow for larger dropships to utilise the area, and for far harder landings associated with rapid descents. Along with alterations to its main transportation network to fortify it against enemy attacks, every change was made to emphasize heightened efficiency and defensive capabilities. These endeavors became the main focus for the House during its initial years, as their members sought to repurpose and use anything on hand to establish a new home for themselves.

Hoth HQ

As the Odanites finished reworking the former mine's facilities and reconstructing essential areas of what would become Trepus Mine Base, thought was put into how best to utilise their new asset. Its location and role meant that House Hoth could effectively keep watch over the continent and guard the one major orbital drop point for several hundred kilometers, but given the House's low numbers direct and effective responses were difficult to maintain. As such, the base became a coordination point for wider efforts rather than being used as a singularly large fortress. Retaining only a skeleton crew of operatives, officers and a small garrison of soldiers, the majority of the House was instead tasked with focusing on street-level actions or assisting the fleet-based JTF Hoth. This detail was kept as a carefully guarded secret and, as such, Hoth was able to project the impression of acting with far greater numbers than they actually possessed.

As recruitment and support from the Vatali Royal Guard bolstered Hoth's position, they were able to steadily reinforce their position and further patrol the surrounding airspace. This would prove beneficial to Hoth as, between its existence and that of Sky Breach Base, Clan Odan-Urr was able to establish itself on its primary worlds. Along with granting the clan much-needed infrastructure to support its troops and warships, this served as a visual and definitive confirmation that the clan was ready and able to assist the Vatali in defending its territories. This would become essential in the following months, as Odan-Urr found itself embroiled in far more than its resistance movement against the Dark Brotherhood. The Collective, a fanatical anti-Force user crusade, declared open war on the Brotherhood and all associated with it, allies or enemies. This left the Jedi scrambling to respond as previously unknown spies and sleeper agents gutted portions of the Sentinel Network, before joining a massed assault on the enemy stronghold of Nancora.

During the opening stages of this new war, Trepus Mine Base was left undermanned and preparing for any strike which might be made against them. Running continual drills and remaining on high alert, the local staff prepared for anything from a skirmishing raid to a full-scale invasion by the Collective during this time. Although nothing would befall Trepus following the attack, multiple strikes on other Brotherhood Clan homeworlds confirmed that this was a definite risk, and that Odan-Urr would need to readily defend itself against a superior enemy at a moment's notice.

Enemy Incursions

Trepus Mine base would eventually serve as a staging point and stronghold against two major attacks from Vatali elements backed by foreign powers. The first of these was a massed rebellion by a local governor, seemingly backed by the Collective and a substantial number of armed forces. Trepus Mine itself was used as a staging area and rallying point during this battle, even with the majority of the fighting taking place on Strokera and other continents. While the rebellion was brought to a swift end, another followed it soon afterward. Framing High Councillor Alethia Archenksova as having initiated a coup against the Empress, the Vauzem Dominion worked with Inquisitor Ishanta‎‎ to distabilize and turn public opinion against the Jedi. False flag attacks, terrorist activities and the attempted abduction of nobles were used in an effort to turn public opinion against Clan Odan-Urr. These met with failure thanks to the response of several clan members, blunting what was intended to be a crippling opening strike. As with the previous rebellion, Trepus Mine was used as a staging area, but the presence of the base also served to deter attacks on the sparsely populated continent. This allowed Odan-Urr to concentrate its forces elsewhere across the planet and even the wider system, freeing up soldiers to engage in multiple peacekeeping efforts once the Dominion's role in the attacks was revealed.

The conflict between Odan-Urr and the Dominion continued for some months, with neither side making any serious headway in the following skirmishes. Even as Odan-Urr's fleets were dispatched to engage and then capture Meridian Prime space station, the Dominion failed to capitalise on their absence or push for a hostile invasion of either Daleem or Solyiat. While multiple concerns lay in logistical issues, and suspicions that the Dominion was unprepared for a prolonged conflict, the presence of Trepus Mine and Sky Breach Base meant that any invasion would drag out into a siege. Time and time again in every war, the bastion stood as a deterrent against attacks, permitting the clan to make the best use of its limited numbers.

Once Empress Kaltani Anasaye recovered from the attempt on her life and retook the throne, she declared open war on both the Collective and the Dominion. The former had been part of a deception by Archenksova, to push the Empire into participating with the Brotherhood's wars as part of a clandestine peace agreement. As such, Trepus Mine base became the headquarters for strategic operations within its nearby space, assisting with coordinating the movement of allied battlegroups.

The base's defenses were reinforced during this conflict, thanks largely to an influx of material taken from Nancora during a second battle, freeing the population from the rule of Collective remnants. Claiming the weapons batteries of multiple dreadnoughts as salvage, along with armour and advanced power cores, House Hoth's engineers worked to retrofit many defensive elements into the mountain base. This only further enhanced its formidable defences, adding a multitude of surface-to-orbit emplacements that could bombard enemy ships descending through the atmosphere. Though these were never used in the conflict with the Dominion, they further secured the planet against possible raids.

The conflict eventually came to an end with Operation: Vanguard, which decapitated much of the Dominion's leadership in a single attack. Combined with Ishanta's death in a raid a year prior, this effectively ended the enemy threat in a single blow, leaving those left without the ability to coordinate or guide their forces. Following this victory, Clan Odan-Urr was awarded recognition as a noble house within the Empire and underwent a substantial restructuring. Houses Hoth and Shan were closed, merging into House Sunrider to better defend the Empire's borders against the threat of pirates. The role of Trepus Mine was promptly changed to that of an outpost for the newly formed house rather than its HQ, with its role now to serve as a watch station against hostile attacks.

Layout

The Trepus Mining Facility and its attached transfer station were long abandoned prior to Clan Odan-Urr's arrival. With its resources depleted, the facility had fallen into relative disuse despite some basic operational functions. The primary mining caves and tunnels were supported by a large central structure that had been built into the mountain's interior, existing as a support to probing efforts into the mountain. This existed above a large network of natural caverns and interconnected man-made tunnels. Below the structure, a large network of natural caves and man-made tunnels are interconnected, allowing Clan Odan-Urr future expansion.

The Trepus Transfer station became the main landing site for all of Odan-Urr’s personnel, equipment, and supplies following the clan's ownership of the facility. These cover the hundred-kilometer journey from the station to the base, via shuttles and an underground rapid transportation system. The buildings of both this area and the internal mine itself were refurbished or re-purposed for House and Clan needs. Many were easily adapted to a new role, with the likes of the individual stopping points being transformed into defensive guard stations, while first aid points and storerooms were adapted to house more vital equipment and ammunition. The tunnels themselves proved to be well suited to the role of a fortification, with many established junctions proving to be easy choke-points and command posts. Others were easily interlinked into broader internal formations, resulting in several areas being designated defensive rings surrounding the internal areas of the mountain. Storerooms and vital control areas were situated in the centremost point of the mountain itself, or its lower levels, as each was the most easily fortified against possible attacks. Following Hoth's dissolution, House Sunrider took ownership of the base.

Primary Facilities

Storerooms

The multiple storerooms fitted throughout the base's lower reaches are divided between primary and secondary posts. Littered throughout the interior defensive ring of the base, smaller storerooms hold a variety of vital piece of equipment ranging from medikits, to ammunition, to rebreathers, to mining gear. The defining concept behind these points was to offer smaller posts the equipment needed to deal with every situation, from dealing with incoming refugees granted sanctuary to excavating possible cave-ins. These were situated in command posts and choke-point fortifications, further strengthening these positions against disasters and offering the base fall-back positions to work from.

The larger storerooms situated in the lowermost reaches of the base were intended for larger-scale efforts and more regular supplies.

Communications Hub

The primary communications hub of the base is unique in that it is situated far beneath the earth. Lacking the external dishes or signal aerials exected of such a system, the machine instead utilises a series of signal boosters and amplifiers which resonate through the mountain itself. This allows it to use a significant portion of the levels above the mountain as a broadcasting array, benefitting long-range and widespread communications. This can be further enhanced by temporary external modules, which benefits contacting multiple targets at extreme ranges.

The original hub was adapted from a civilian transmitter array, gifted to the House by the Vatali Empire. This served as an effective means of contacting and communicating with multiple sources across the local system. This was then further enhanced when it was removed and replaced by a military-grade layout, which further boosted its effectiveness. This allows the base to individually contact and monitor every single one of its agents at any time, along with those of the wider clan. By tapping into open signal channels and the holonet, it can further track and monitor all commercial and military presence within nearby space. This has proven to be immensely beneficial to the clan in watching for pirate activity and hostile groups, and was a vital asset during the war with the Dominion.

The layout of the hub is divided into a variety of servers and individual monitoring stations. Any one of these can be isolated and locked down at a moment's notice in order to avoid hacking attempts, and only a limited number are in use at any one time. This allows the base to constantly cycle through existing channels and disrupt efforts to tap into their communications or slice into the network. Several encoding and decoding machines further scramble the messages which pass through the hub, shifting them on alternating frequencies and a reactive code which responds to tapping attempts by evolving and adapting automatically. This is governed by a series of droid brains housed in the hub, and monitored in turn by several operatives.

The hub has also been used to repeatedly tap into covert communications through pirates and hostile military groups, including the Collective. This has helped the Clan to track the progress of their fleets, along with pinpointing a number of enemy safe houses and agents throughout the galaxy.

Defences

Naturally benefitting from a strong defensible position, Trepus Mine was an already formidable base of operations even in its civillian role. With sprawling tunnels that extended out throughout the mountain, the base benefitted from meters to miles of rock between its inhabitants and any exterior threat. Odan-Urr's ownership has only served to further enhance this quality, with a steady supply of credits and material serving to bolster its position as a major planetary bastion. Multiple layers of defensive emplacements, weaponry and fortified positions stand between any military force and claiming the mountain. This was only further enhanced following the second battle of Nancora, which saw Clan Odan-Urr salvaging the weaponry of multiple Collective dreadnoughts.