While the deWulf Navy gets most of the attention (and the funding) the simple truth is that nothing is yours until it’s your boots that are on it, and not the other person’s. And to that end, that means you need boots. Boots with guns, tanks, air support, logistics, and everything else that making sure that land is your land and staying that way. And when you have those things, they need to get stored someplace, which means that bases are part and parcel of the whole thing.
The standard small permanent base is a trio of hexagons interlinked together, built out of heavy layers of plas- and ceramic concrete. Almost two meters thick even at the thinnest point, the outer walls were designed to resist anything up to and including a contact nuclear airburst (though the contractors politely never mentioned what the concussive effects that would also result). The outer walls of the base were filled with offices, logistics supply stores, and various ancillary services that, while useful, are not critical.
The three inner walls on the other hand are used for critical systems and supplies, as well as the base’s primary barracks. Here, the walls and ceiling are easily three meters thick, capable of surviving and absorbing even strategic nuclear weapons. While it’s admitted that actual survival is unlikely, this level of resistance makes sure that the resources contained inside are intact and usable even after direct attacks. At the meeting point of the three inner walls is a tower designed to function as a local air control tower, as well as offices and communications. The tower itself is expected to be destroyed upon a direct nuclear hit, but redundant systems at the base help ensure that after the strike, basic sensors and communications can still be run and reconnected to provide some level of functionality.
Finally, the three enclosed areas are used as secure areas for various equipment that needs open air access. Typically, one is used as an external hangar for STOL and vertical takeoff aircraft, a second is used as a heavy vehicle park, and the third is used as an open air recreational space (featuring sports fields, external canteens, and the like.
This design came out of two separate ideas that came together at the same time. The first was that I was looking through a lot of building cutaway images that I saved for inspiration, and the second was I got my hands on a little geometry stencil that I could keep with my sketchbook. The stencils had a collection of hexagons of various sizes, so I tried them out to see what kind of shapes I could make. At the same time, I was writing about the “last stand” of the defenders of Dave’s World, so I was thinking about what did the Naval Canton look like, and one thing I knew was that they needed to have a proper base as part of it.
Dollarton Proxima Shipyards 