Tonus Anchorage, formerly known simply as The Anchorage, is the former headquarters of Clan Plagueis, currently serving mainly as a fleet base and military headquarters. A massive station, originally built as a starbase several thousand years ago, it served as an important strategic center for Sith war efforts throughout the galaxy. The station was lost during the final conflict between the Sith Empire and the Republic over three thousand years ago, but was finally re-discovered in 30 ABY by the then-House Plagueis following the fall of Jusadih. Positioned in the upper atmosphere of the planet Tonus in the Aliso system, its specific location is unknown to those outside of the Ascendant Clan.
History
Old Republic Era
The construction of the space station is assumed to have started sometime before the start of a major war between the Sith Empire and the Republic. The station was thought to have been built purely for military reasons, however it also boasted non-military facilities for the support of crew and soldiers in between deployments. Sith fleets were stationed at the starbase, and it served as a strategic coordination center during the war.
Loss
As the war began to finally turn against the Sith, the Republic launched a full scale attack against the station and its assigned fleet. During the engagement, the massed Republic fleet overwhelmed the besieged defenders and began to board the station. The Sith commanders realised that the station was most likely going be captured by the Republic, which would be a devastating blow to their continued war effort.
Knowing that keeping the station and the strategic information contained within was of paramount importance, they combined their power to create a great wave of Force energy, ripping the station from its planetary orbit and hurling it into deep space. The few that survived the journey eventually died when their supplies of food and water were exhausted, leaving the station to drift like a ghost ship for the next three millennia.
Rediscovery
The re-discovery of station was made in 30 ABY by Clan Plagueis following the final naval battle against the forces of Archibald Zoraan over Kapsina. With most of the Ascendant Fleet destroyed, only the flagship Ascendancy remained. Under a continued heavy bombardment, Quaestor Tra'an Reith was forced to order an emergency hyperspace jump using the force to guide the ship. After completing the jump successfully and reverting to realspace within the Stygian Caldera, Reith realized they had stumbled upon a large object in space. It was only when the nebula distortion cleared that the Plagueian leader realised that it was in fact a derelict station.
When forces of Plagueis first boarded the space dock the sight that greeted them was horrible, the hangar bay had debris strewn across the floor, power conduits hanging from the overhead, and blast damage was evident throughout. The station's atmosphere had long since bled off into space after systems had failed. Skeletal remains, evidence of the running firefights of the Republic assault, were found in many sections of the station. With most of the database servers destroyed and powerless for a millennium, it was hard for the Clan to understand its history and origins and how it found itself to be on the outskirts of the Stygian Caldera. Engineers from the Ascendancy were eventually able to restore power to some systems and reestablish the station's atmosphere in some sections.
Originally serving Plagueis as little more than an isolated waystation and a place to start repairs on the Ascendancy, over time the leadership of Plagueis began to see the station's potential. From what little was able to be retrieved from the station's databanks, it was obvious that it had remained uninhabited and undiscovered for thousands of years. The Stygian Caldera in which it was located made it almost impossible to detect at distances of even system scale, and plotting a course to the station itself would prove problematic for any outsiders. Tra'an Reith eventually decided that the station would serve as the perfect base of Operations for Plagueis, dubbing it The Anchorage. As a headquarters, The Anchorage gave them a secret base from which to launch attacks, allowing Plagueis to become a phantom army that appeared out of thin air to destroy their targets before disappearing completely.
Upon the discovery of the Aliso system in the Unknown Regions, Clan Plagueis relocated the starbase in orbit of the gas giant Tonus. The Anchorage now acts as the Ascendant Fleet strategic fleet headquarters, as well as a position of retreat if the planet Aliso fell under attack. The importance of the station is still significant, though its primary focus has shifted to fleet operations, freeing personnel for work on the surface of Aliso.
Description
The Station
Even over a year after its discovery by Plagueis, Tonus Anchorage was still undergoing construction and repair. Approximately thirty percent of the space station had been explored and restored to habitable conditions, with much of the unused volume still open to the vacuum of space. The lack of full repairs was due to the attention of Plaugies being diverted away from more pedestrian efforts and towards the campaign against the One Sith.
Hangar Bays
Tonus Anchorage has four main hangar bays with various other smaller ones. The sheer size of the base allows for the largest hangar bays to accommodate vessels up to the range of mid-sized capital ships. Only two of the main hangar bays have been fully restored, as the effort required is substantial given the scale of the facilities. Since the completion of repairs to the two primary bays was completed, efforts have focused on smaller hangars located in and near the sections of the station in use by Plagueis. Each of the two primary bays is used by Plagueis for a specific purpose, with the north hangar currently used for docking and repairing starships and the east hangar used for processing slave soliders serving both the Ascendant Fleet and Legion, as it is in close proximity to the area of the station used for slave quarters.
Living Quarters
The living quarters are spread across the entire station, however with many decks still unexplored and even parts of explored decks still without power, most of the living quarters are located around the north and east hangar bays. The living quarters are simple as the majority of those aboard are slaves and are housed in barracks rooms converted from storage bays. Those officers of the Ascendant Fleet and Ascendant Legion that serve Plagueis willingly each are entitled to individual quarters aboard the station. The Dark Jedi of Plagueis are granted even larger accommodations, with those high-ranking members of the Clan being granted several compartments. All of the current living quarters have been rebuilt since Plagueis's arrival, and while most are not opulent, they still offer some luxuries in excess of the bare essentials.
Command Deck
The Command Deck is located in the center of the station, and was one of the few compartments which stayed completely intact during Republic attack. The facilities within were completely renovated in order to serve as a main operations center aboard the station that would still interface with more modern systems aboard the fleet.