Dealer's Run
The Mobile Air Fortress (MAF) designated the Dealer's Run was once the property of the Acrean Empire and the linchpin in its offensive operations against the Druacians to the south. Now it is famously the operations centre and moving home of the mercenary organisation known as the Loaded Deck. The fortress has been heavily customised by the generations of mercenary forces and the interior is now more akin to a floating city than the military platform it once was and provides all manner of services and goods both to its owners and those they employ. Entire families have lived out their lives in the sky as successive generations work in its metal corridors and maintained its almost constant flight across the world. Despite all that has changed the Dealer's Run remains a devastating platform with state of the art weaponry and an entire fleet of warships dedicated to its protection. Nowadays many compare it to the city-state of Oshen in that it is completely neutral ground and almost completely unassailable by any nation that would seek to break such neutrality.
Purpose / Function
The Dealer's Run operates as both a home, mobile command centre, staging ground and military emplacement all in one. It allows the Loaded Deck to maintain significant operations across the world while maintaining a distinct neutrality between them and their client nations.
Alterations
Multiple internal modifications to provide more comfortable accommodation and maintain a thriving service industry. Continued improvements to the outfitting and military capabilities of the MAF to maintain relevance. Significant reductions in fleet maintenance capabilities in exchange for extended storage facilities and efficiency upgrades.
Architecture
Built by the Acrean Empire over three thousand years ago and accommodating much of the styling employed at the time, the Dealer's Run is an incredible feat of engineering, rivalling the mega-cities of the time. As a military ship a lot of the structure is plain metal with little incorporation or styling beyond military colours and icons until the arrival of the Loaded Deck. Since then there have been a number of surface level changes and the addition of a number of comforts and modifications to make the place more homely to its residents.
History
The Dealer's Run was originally known as the Emperor's Light and was the sixth of the ten Mobile Air Fortresses that were commissioned by the Empire in the wake of the Cataclysm to try and maintain order in the tumultuous times. While the mighty vessel originally saw little combat, being stationed in Arbus to monitor for rebellion at home while dealing with the colonial unrest, it would eventually be deployed in the Druacian rebellion and was the primary staging ground for Imperial Forces in the region. The vessel would continue to fill that role during the Grand War and would be on the frontlines during the siege of Druace and most operations within the region. Eventually as the Oshen Peace Accords came into force it was placed at the border of Druace and the Empire as a semi-permanent installation.
The mighty station would finally change hands after almost nine-hundred years of peacetime when a mission at the border went wrong for the Loaded Deck. The mission was considered so dangerous that the entirety of the Aces had been deployed alongside the High Commander to raid an Imperial ship carrying powerful artifacts. While they had been able to complete their objectives they had been delayed long enough for the Emperor's Light to arrive and engage the mercenary rearguard. With the ship crippled and facing overwhelming firepower the High Commander at the time made the desperate decision to board the mighty fortress to buy time for the rest of their forces to escape with the objective. The fighting on board was brutal and legendary as the four Aces tore through the outer defences and soon the Imperial troops were forced to focus entirely on the powerful Immortals. While these brave actions allowed the completion of the mission three of the Aces and the High Commander had been killed in the fighting and the last Ace activated the emergency teleport on the fortress as a last act of defiance.
The Emperor's Light was believed lost in the months after the battle but would eventually make a reappearance as the Empire's forces attacked the original base of the Loaded Deck in retaliation for the damage inflicted. The arrival of the fortress allowed the majority of the mercenary forces to evacuate safely. The Loaded Deck made the great ship their new home and renamed it into the Dealer's Run as it was placed under the control of the new High Commander. While it would rarely see combat from that point on it became the heart and soul of the mercenary group and allowed them to become a globally recognised power. It would become the home of two further High Commanders, countless mercenaries, tradesmen and families as their influence grew and underwent many modifications that made it stand out even compared to the others of its class. To date it remains the only such fortress held by a neutral power in the world and stands as a beacon of freedom, opportunity and security in the world.
Type
Fortress
Owner
Owning Organization
Characters in Location
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