Barrow
Corpse Fleet Spacedock
Untold millennia ago, an unnamed planet was pulled from its regular orbit and launched into the greater galaxy. If any life existed on this world, it died long ago, leaving the planet a barren, airless rock hurtling aimlessly through the void. Shortly after the advent of Drift travel, scouts of the Eoxian Navy discovered the rogue planet during a routine reconnaissance mission. The bone sages marked the dark world as a possible site for a future colony, but these plans were forgotten only a few years later when Eox signed the Absalom Pact and the Corpse Fleet abandoned its home world.
A few decades ago, however, an enterprising Corpse Fleet navigator stumbled across records of the rogue planet’s existence. In need of a place to repair its vessels and build new ones, the Corpse Fleet established a base on the forgotten world, which its new occupiers named Barrow. With no rotation and no sun to orbit, Barrow has no days or years, and as the planet is constantly on the move, Corpse Fleet command doesn’t see the need to dismantle it like it has for many other production facilities. Barrow hosts a massive shipbuilding facility that is perhaps the largest producer of Corpse Fleet vessels. On the rare occasions when Barrow passes close to a viable target, the Corpse Fleet uses the planet to devastating effect, launching dozens of fighters directly from the base without the need of carriers or transports.
Recently, top Corpse Fleet scientists completed an audacious plan: by attaching massive thrusters and Drift engines to certain parts of Barrow, they hoped to direct the rogue planet’s flight, possibly even engaging in interstellar travel. The resulting explosive catastrophe destroyed most of the personnel involved and shattered part of the planet. A continent-sized chunk of Barrow now floats a few hundred meters from its previous location, though it is held in place—for now—by the remaining planet’s gravitational pull. This region, dubbed “the Fracture” by Corpse Fleet grunts, still contains remnants of the failed experiment, as well as several strange entities that seem to phase in and out of reality. These creatures seem mostly harmless, despite their grotesque appearances, but when several of them manifest at once, they begin to drain the necromantic energy that animates the Corpse Fleet’s undead soldiers. As a result, the Fracture has been marked as off-limits.
Since the disaster, a seasoned necrovite Corpse Fleet officer named Commodore Knarstov has taken command of the base. She has enacted strict guidelines curtailing the work of the resident scientists and technicians in order to avoid a mistake similar to that which resulted in the downfall of her predecessor, and she is determined to exceed the yearly quota for building new vessels imposed by Corpse Fleet high command. Luckily, Knarstov doesn’t have to worry about the comfort or morale of her troops and appears to be well on her way to achieving her goals. Commodore Knarstov knows her job isn’t a glamorous one, but she doesn’t care much about personal glory, focusing only on keeping the Corpse Fleet strong and ready to face any enemy.
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