Azali Penitentiary
I despise this place with every fiber of my being. If I were a lesser man, I'd burn the whole place down with everyone inside so it wouldn't be needed any longer. Just my luck, though, I'd survive and the government would just rebuild it.Located on the southern end of the continent of Lucent, Azali Penitentiary is one of two prisons for violent criminals. For most of the planet's history, citizens only vaguely were aware of its existence as a place malcontents were sent if they could not be rehabilitated. The prison was built to house anywhere from two to five hundred prisoners divided among five buildings, with "Building E" being more recent and smaller than the others. During the White Reach Incident, that number was tested as numerous mercenary and pirate prisoners were sent to the prison for processing. At the tail end of the incident timeline, a number of groups attempted to break out prisoners to bolster their ranks only to be stopped by a defense force provided by the Harbingers.
Following the jailbreak attempt, the High Senate of White Reach authorized funding to completely enclose the facility within three-story walls. Most of the construction was completed by 3034, but changes to the ranks of Senators caused funding to dry up and instead a permanent garrison was created from the Lucent Militia ranks. Members of Priam Company were paid to consult in training the "Azali Security" units in how to deal with BattleMech attacks, and several assets were seized from the Militia Impound lots to equip this new security force.
Architecture
Built in 2475, the prison's buildings followed a design which was tried and tested amidst other colonies already known to have been successful. A singular large building was constructed in a vaguely cubic shape eighteen meters tall, with two underground levels. This building would serve as the central administrative and operations building. This main building contains two mess halls, one for the prisoners and one for the employees, and housing for those stationed at the facility. Various other functions are located on other floors of the building, with the underground levels having most of the infrastructure present. Two buildings nearby were built similarly thirty cells on each of two stories, with the cells being designed to provide eight square meters of space to be shared between two prisoners. A compact fusion reactor was built nearby to provide power, though as more buildings were added during the period of Amaris Civil War, this would be upgraded with a less compact reactor building.
When the reactor was expanded, there had been two more buildings built along similar lines as the original buildings, though one of them was built using a different external style, the façade being metal-framed concrete instead of brick-and-mortar. Two more buildings were added to provide logistics support for the prison security to use Light and Medium BattleMechs in case of a serious incident. In a similar vein, during the 2900s there was a plan to add external walls ten meters tall to enclose the facility, but this plan was cancelled and remained unfinished until 3033. The previous walls were torn down and metal-clad concrete walls were put in place, measuring three meters thick and fitted with guard posts every fifteen meters along the top.
The fifth prison building was finished in 3000, and was considered "a more modern take on incarceration", being only one story tall with a mere twenty cells fit into the same footprint as the other buildings. While the interior size of the cells remained unchanged, lost construction methods meant more space was required for the building's internal workings.
The structure of Azali Penitentiary remained unaltered until after the White Reach Incident, when funding was released to upgrade the facility. Aside from the aforementioned walls, the buildings intended to support BattleMechs were completed and remain active as of 3049. A seventh building, in addition to the five prisons and the administrative building, was added to hold the security personnel assigned to Azali. This building was built using the old blueprints for the original structures, and so resembles the other prison buildings. This is not lost on those stationed there, as they call themselves "The Unintended" as a sour inside joke.
When the reactor was expanded, there had been two more buildings built along similar lines as the original buildings, though one of them was built using a different external style, the façade being metal-framed concrete instead of brick-and-mortar. Two more buildings were added to provide logistics support for the prison security to use Light and Medium BattleMechs in case of a serious incident. In a similar vein, during the 2900s there was a plan to add external walls ten meters tall to enclose the facility, but this plan was cancelled and remained unfinished until 3033. The previous walls were torn down and metal-clad concrete walls were put in place, measuring three meters thick and fitted with guard posts every fifteen meters along the top.
The fifth prison building was finished in 3000, and was considered "a more modern take on incarceration", being only one story tall with a mere twenty cells fit into the same footprint as the other buildings. While the interior size of the cells remained unchanged, lost construction methods meant more space was required for the building's internal workings.
The structure of Azali Penitentiary remained unaltered until after the White Reach Incident, when funding was released to upgrade the facility. Aside from the aforementioned walls, the buildings intended to support BattleMechs were completed and remain active as of 3049. A seventh building, in addition to the five prisons and the administrative building, was added to hold the security personnel assigned to Azali. This building was built using the old blueprints for the original structures, and so resembles the other prison buildings. This is not lost on those stationed there, as they call themselves "The Unintended" as a sour inside joke.
History
Construction and Early Years (2473 - 2770)
While White Reach had been founded in 2340, they had largely no need for a singular place to handle criminal incarceration. Most places on the planet where people went tended to settle their issues in a private manner, which was officially frowned upon. However, it was understood to be necessary unless a dedicated prison was to be constructed for the purpose of housing criminals who weren't deemed too dangerous to ever release. In 2473, Baron Mattis Duvall commissioned a prison to be constructed as part of a program meant to expand and empower law enforcement. Azali Penitentiary was finished two years later, and immediately a number of convicted criminals were relocated to it to serve out the rest of their life-long sentences. Surviving records of the time showed there was very little dissent over the decisions, save for the residents who had settled on Lucent as a means of "getting away from the big city". Assurances were made Azali was meant only for criminals who were convicted of violent crimes, those deemed unfit to return to society, but these were not particularly soothing to detractors.Expansion and Political Prisoners (2771 - 2785)
Despite the unease generated over the centuries by the prison's presence, in 2771 the Amaris Civil War was causing stirs across the known Inner Sphere. As locals were becoming aware of the Star League being torn between Emperor Stefan Amaris' loyalists and the Star League Defense Force led by General Aleksandr Kerensky, Baron Osmund d'Wall put money into expanding Azali to twice its current size and promising to send those trying to sway White Reach to join either side to the site. News archives show this was considered a gross over-reach of authority by the residents of Vernier City, and many other settlements across the planet. However, Archon Robert Steiner II issued a statement of support for these acts in keeping with current policies of the Lyran Commonwealth. The matter was considered closed until the following year when the Commonwealth declared war against Amaris' Rim Worlds Republic; this was followed by official pardons for any prisoner who agreed to serve the Lyran Commonwealth as a combatant. Unsurprisingly, this program emptied out most of the prison cells, which left Azali mostly-vacant for several decades.The Succession Wars (2786 - 2994)
During the First and Second Succession Wars, the penitentiary was once again put to more aggressive use housing prisoners of war from the Draconis Combine. While the planet was spared direct involvement until much later, the Commonwealth's Armed Forces would use White Reach as a stop to resupply and repair during campaigns against their neighbors. As such, prisoners would be left here until the Combine negotiated their release. This was restricted to the newer buildings, and during the year of 2797 it was suggested BattleMechs would be a suitable addition to the Azali security forces. The initiative lasted only one year until Baron Toal d'Wall received a budget proposal to acquire and modify at least two FS9-H Firestarter BattleMechs for this purpose. Aghast at the potential outrage this would cause, Toal refused this proposal and the buildings left to function as under-equipped maintenance facilities for the militia. Prisoners of war would continue to be sent to Azali, until the situation abruptly changed.In the year 2951, a push made by the Draconis Combine to claim Lyran territory included White Reach, and Baron Lawrence Wallings was forced to flee the planet. A change in affiliation brought a change in leadership, which trickled down to a reorganization of Azali's purpose. All of the prisoners who had sympathies with the Combine were pardoned, while those who were loyal to the Archon were imprisoned there. The following year, the planet was restored to Lyran rulership in a counter-push and the reforms were undone rapidly. When Baron Lawrence's health declined, his daughter Naomi presided over a governmental reorganization in favor of more oversight and input from the citizens in matters. This did not quite extend to Azali Penitentiary, which garnered a reputation for being a place where "anti-establishment" individuals were sent for punishment. News and publication archives from this decade show there was significant displeasure with the warden publicly claiming to be for "ensuring the will of the people is done", and there were numerous accusations of him being merely a puppet for the new High Senate. Despite this, it appeared nothing had truly changed in Azali other than the rhetoric.
The New Millenium (2995 - 3028)
In 2995, the High Senate wanted to have a significant public works project to show successful leadership, and the expansion of the prison system was amidst three proposals for this project. Archives show the other two projects were a revision of public transportation within the capital and a new spaceport to service Vernier City. The "prison initiative" won by a slim margin, and plans were made to build a new prison on the north of Lucent and expand Azali's buildings with a more modern building. Protests on Lucent over their loss to "just warehousing more malcontents" were quickly quashed as ground was broke on the sister facility of Garamoth. The new building at Azali was given the same footprint as the existing buildings, but due to several data archives being misplaced during the Combine Occupation there were no records of the original interior blueprints. The construction firm responsible simply tried to do the best they could, and the result was a building with a more cramped interior, electrical and plumbing issues, and an insufficient heating system for the winter. "Building E" became known by residents of Azali as a punishment similar to the then-discontinued solitary confinement, which was reinforced by later wardens' policies.Similar in tone to this, the security were overhauled during this project to be armed with "less-lethal" weaponry, which nevertheless were proven to be as effective as inflicting fatal injuries when used to put down a prison riot in 3012. Two riot-control vehicles were added to the security forces, but these would wind up being decommissioned by 3022, when the High Senate returned to "traditional" equipment and training of the Azali security officers. During this period the prison was operating at roughly half-capacity, and this was touted as a sign the system worked and was sufficient. Yearly requests for budget increases were denied, on these grounds, leaving the facility under-staffed and having dozens of known maintenance issues.
The White Reach Incident (3029 - 3032)
Following the Fourth Succession War, rumors began to circulate about a Lostech cache on the planet and many mercenary outfits began to land on White Reach to search for it. This wound up straining militia resources, and soon a few of these outfits turned to acts of violence against citizens and authorities. For those times when the militia could successfully detain individuals, Azali Penitentiary was the choice location of incarceration. Commanders were sent to Garamoth instead, where negotiations would begin for how to remove them from the planet into the custody of others who had more training in such matters. By 3032, however, this had begun spiraling out of control and the prison population had grown to nearly eighty-percent capacity.In the following two years the combined efforts of Priam Company, the Harbingers, and the Twenty-Second Skye Rangers began to clean up problematic groups. Despite the High Senate authorizing an "expedited" process to execute those convicted of piracy, the population reached - and then exceeded - capacity. Kommandant Emile Harvey of the Twenty-Second was informed they were to keep charge of prisoners, as the security of the prison system was in danger. This was proven to be an understatement after the Twenty-Second was forced to flee the planet after pressure by the Harbingers had escalated out of control.
In the late summer of 3032 inmate Richard Yates, formerly of the mercenary outfit "Pryde's Crucible", successfully made contact with another mercenary outfit on the planet known as "the Ash Demons". A plan was made to assault the prison complex and liberate as many prisoners as could be safely released. When plans were uncovered by the warden for associates of the rebel organization led by Elizabeth Wallings to also stage an attack, he frantically began making offers to the mercenary commands led by Commander Sethan and Commander Dupree. The Harbingers were the only outfit capable of handling the task, and they dispatched three Assault-class BattleMechs to provide additional security. After a pitched battle, the attempt was stifled and significant compensation was authorized to Commander Dupree for damages done to the Harbingers' equipment. It would not be the last prison break attempt, but the Lucent Militia was able to prevent them from getting any worse.
Aftermath (3033 - 3049)
Following the chaos in late 3032, Priam Company was authorized to leave a garrison on White Reach and train the militia. As the new Baron was installed and Archon Katrina Steiner authorized additional funding support to "ensure the security of the Commonwealth citizenry on White Reach", previously unfunded propositions were reviewed and some selected to be put into work. Enclosing walls were built to new specifications, and the two BattleMech hangars were refurbished to support a Lance of mixed Light and Medium weights. A new building was constructed in 3039 when Melissa Steiner succeeded her mother's place and reaffirmed financial support of the process to ensure its completion.As such, a special detachment of the planetary militia was created officially termed the "Azali Regulars", including four 'MechWarriors and two dozen individuals trained in various combat vehicle operations. These individuals were intended to be rotated out every year, but the leadership of the militia became lax with this over the course of decades. Thus the "Azali Regulars" began to refer to themselves as either "the Forgotten" to reference how their scheduled rotations were not followed up on. A darker term was coined in the 3040s, "the Unintended", as in "unintended incarceration", as their facilities were little different from the prison buildings already existing at Azali.
Alternative Names
"The Cold House" (Long-term Residents)
"South Vernier City" (Derogative)
"South Vernier City" (Derogative)
Type
Prison
Owning Organization
Related Report (Primary Locations)
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