Editing Bastion (Space Station class)

{{otheruses|the space station class|the [[Clan]] ideology|Bastions}}
{{InfoBoxSpaceStation
| image = [[File:System-Defense Stations TRO3057r.png|191px]]
| Name = Bastion
| Manufacturer = [[Nicholas Spacecraft]]<ref name=IO>''Interstellar Operations'', p. 117</ref>
| Type = [[Space Defense System]]
| Tech Base = [[Inner Sphere]]<ref>''Technical Readout: 3057, p. 204''</ref>
| Cost = 
| Introduced = [[2584]]<ref name=AT2RSp322>''AeroTech 2 Record Sheets'', p. 322</ref><ref name="BSs60">''BattleSpace'' sourcebook, p. 60</ref>
| Mass = 150,000
| Length = 345m
| Width = 345m
| Thrust = 
| Fuel (tons) = 2000
| Fuel (days) = 
| LF battery = No
| Armament = <span></span>
* 12x [[large laser]]
* 60x [[medium laser]]
* 72x [[small laser]]
* 18x [[PPC]]
* 6x [[AC/5]]
* 6x [[AC/10]]
* 12x [[LRM-15]]
* 6x [[LRM-20]]
| Armor = 20 (Capital scale, on each of six sides)
| Structural Integrity = 1
| Docking Collars = 1
| Small craft/<br>Aerospace fighters = 12/36
| Crew/Passengers = 400/25
| Grav Decks = 1x250m diameter
| Escape Pods/Life Boats = 35/35
| Heat Sinks = 1000 Single [[Heat Sink]]s
| BV (1.0) = 9,064
| BV (2.0) = 
}}

==Description==
Designed in the early days of the [[Star League]], the '''''Bastion'''''-class space station was the most common orbital fortress in the [[Space Defense System]]s. It was also probably the first space station to be constructed from modular parts that could individually be docked to [[JumpShip]] [[hardpoint]]s for jump transportation. The ''Bastion'' consists of two such modules massing 75,000 tons each, greatly simplifying the assembly process at their destination site.<ref name=IO/>

Though once common around many worlds, almost 500 years of continual warfare destroyed most of the stations that were deployed in border systems. By the [[31st century]], most of the ''Bastion'' stations were found in orbit around [[Successor State]] capital worlds or other important worlds located in the core of a state, with less than two dozen SLDF relics still existing.<ref name="BSs60"/>

With the general loss of technology during the [[Succession Wars era]], the ''Bastion''s and other stations like them were relegated to the sidelines. No attacker wanted to face a ''Bastion'' and no defender wanted to lose one. The ''Bastion'' instead changed its focus from combat to sentry duty: Capable of identifying attackers early,<ref>''Technical Readout: 3057'', p. 204'', "A ''Bastion'' can detect ships in a 200,000km radius".</ref> and maintaining up to 48 [[aerospace fighter]]s and [[small craft]], the ''Bastion'' was a secure launch facility for defending [[jump point]]s.

==Weapons and Equipment==
To fulfill its primary role, the ''Bastion'' mounts a variety of energy and projectile weapons. The [[LRM]] launchers engage targets at long range, supplemented by the PPCs and AC/5 mounted alongside them. As the enemy closes, the AC/10 and suite of laser weapons makes the area around the ''Bastion'' a bad place for an attacker to be. Astute observers will notice that these weapons are perfect for anti-aerospace Fighter operations, reflecting the reality of war during the [[Succession Wars (History)|Succession Wars]]. With no [[WarShip]]s to defend against, any [[:Category:Capital_Weapons|capital weapon systems]] were removed or replaced by more effective anti-fighter weaponry.

==Cargo==
Capable of carrying almost 126,000 tons of cargo, the ''Bastion'' dedicated much of this space to a pair of pressurized repair bays. Here, aerospace fighters, small craft, and even full-sized [[DropShip]]s can undergo repairs.<ref>''Technical Readout: 3057'', p. 204, "Pressurized repair bays can house ships up to 30,000 tons".</ref> These repair facilities proved to be useful to armies again and again. 

The most daunting aspect of the ''Bastion'' is the access door to the main repair bay. A single large hatch opens the top third of the ''Bastion'', allowing DropShip access to the main repair bay.<ref>''DropShips and JumpShips'', p. 76</ref> This bay can only handle DropShips smaller than 119 meters by 151 meters, but when the ship is in the bay and the hatch is closed, the DropShip isn't visible to any scanners. A hidden DropShip has been an unwelcome surprise to more than one attacker.

==Variants==
There are presumably many variants of the ''Bastion'' class as the design has been in service for nearly half a millennium. These variants are likely to swap the existing PPCs and lasers for extended range or pulse variants, or adding [[Artemis IV]] guidance systems to the LRM launchers. As the station already has so much armor, it is unlikely that any military would replace it with [[Ferro-Aluminum]] or [[Ferro-Carbide]] armor.

==Named stations==
(See [[:Category:Individual Bastion-class Space Stations|List of named Bastion-class Space Stations]])

==Gallery==
<gallery>
Bastion.png|Original ''Bastion'' from ''[[DropShips and JumpShips]]''
System-Defense Stations TRO3057r.png|''Bastion'' from ''[[Technical Readout: 3057 Revised|TRO:3057r]]''
</gallery>

==References==
<references />

==Bibliography==
* ''[[AeroTech 2 Record Sheets]]''
* ''[[BattleSpace]]''
* ''[[DropShips and JumpShips]]''
* ''[[Interstellar Operations]]''
* ''[[Technical Readout: 3057]]''


[[Category:Space Station classes]]