Axius Star Base
| Axius Star Base | |
|---|---|
| |
| Type | Star Base |
| Manufacturer | Black Lance |
| Primary User | Black Lance |
The Axius Starbase was a covert installation in the Axius System. It was the headquarters of the Black Lance, a black operations division which operated within the Terran Confederation without the knowledge or authorisation of the Confederation government.
The Axius Starbase is the only major starbase in the otherwise lifeless Axius System. Axius' lack of population and strategic worthlessness made it an ideal site to host a secret facility for the Black Lance. It was of an independent starbase design, being one large, modular structure in contrast to the segmented block-like stations typically seen in Confederation space.
The Axius Starbase hosted thousands of personnel and held a large stockpile of the Black Lance's advanced weaponry. It housed several squadrons of fighters and could tend to the needs of multiple warships. It hosted laboratories for scientists to develop their latest weapons for use against the Terran Confederation and the Union of Border Worlds, and finally, it held a large audience hall to hold rallies for Black Lance pilots and for meetings amongst Black Lance leaders. It was an all-purpose base with ideal facilities to organise Black Lance activities.
After the Black Lance attacked Telamon in 2673 during the Border Worlds Conflict, Colonel Christopher Blair and his Border Worlds allies on the BWS Intrepid tracked the attackers to Axius. Flying in on captured F-107 Lance, Blair infiltrated the Axius Starbase and comandeered a uniform from a Black Lance officer. Blair found the audience hall where the pilot known only as "Seether" was holding a rally for fellow Black Lance pilots. It was here that Blair learned of the Black Lance's name and their leader: Admiral Geoffrey Tolwyn.
Blair listened as Tolwyn outlined his plan to force the Confederation to declare war on the Border Worlds so that he may return the human race to its Kilrathi War-time military strength and exterminate "undesirable" human beings with the Gen-Select Bioweapon. All of this was to ensure that the Terrans would be ready to face future threats from races far stronger than the Kilrathi. Blair fled the hall, just as Seether spotted him among the crowd.
Blair fled from station security in the station's vast corridors when he encountered Dr. Tuesday Brody, a Terran scientist who had been forced to help develop the Gen-Select Bioweapon. She recognised Blair and was determined to help him stop the Black Lance. The two fled to the hangar bay to board Blair's ship, only to be ambushed by station guards. Although Blair killed both men, Dr. Brody was fatally shot. She gave him a data-disk holding important data on the Black Lance activities before dying in the hangar bay. Blair fled before the guards could stop him.
After Blair revealed the conspiracy to the Confederation Senate on Earth, the declaration of war against the Border Worlds was rejected, foiling Tolwyn's plans. The Black Lance were forcefully disbanded shortly afterwards.
Behind the Screens
Appears in Wing Commander IV: The Price of Freedom.
