Black Vault

## Black Vault Research and Development Facility

The **Black Vault** was an Red Wood Industries Research and Development facility used to house multiple classified projects and experimental technology. It was stationed in a secluded mountain range on RWI's capital world of Icarus.

## History

### Green Drone War

The Black Vault was a crucial station for the RWI Intelligence Division during the Green Drone War of 2733. Multiple classified projects, such as advanced weaponry and experimental vehicles, were worked on and researched in various sections of the facility. Despite its secrecy, the GDA (Green Drone Armada) managed to somehow gain information about the Artifact from the Black Vault in order to assist with their own research prior to the Battle of Ravcor.

Sometime prior to or during the war, the Black Vault had a hand in the construction and retrofit of the RWI *Pegasus*, a black-ops Daedalus-class Battleship outfitted with experimental laser weaponry and other technology that was being still tested vigorously by the Black Vault; the *Pegasus* was a field test for those weapons, but it was lost at the beginning of the war, along with its CO, Admiral Markus. It was not recovered until after the war.

#### The Artifact

After the Battle of Demus, the RWI *Discovery*, a Venture-class Science Cruiser (which was developed in the Black Vault) arrived at Icarus with the Artifact and delivered it to the Black Vault for research. Doctor Colt was put in charge of its research, and he spoke with Grand Admiral Adam Williams, commander-in-chief of RWI, and Captain Sarah Hawk, the *Discovery*'s CO, about his initial findings about the monolith. Shortly after, the crew of the RWI *Eclipse* led by Captain Jack Roberts, stole a GDA Destroyer from a shipyard above Demus, and soon returned it to Icarus, where teams from the Black Vault began researching the Atlas Superlaser technology, leading them to retrofit the RWI *Zheng-He*, the sixth and newest Daedalus-class Battleship and flagship of Captain Gideon, head of the Intelligence Division, with two Atlas Superlasers to give them an edge in the war.

#### The Battle of Icarus

The Artifact remained in the Vault until the Battle of Icarus, during which the GDA invaded Icarus and The Commander personally attacked the Black Vault with forces from his GDA Dreadnought. RWI had sent a company of marines led by Commander Sam Reed to secure the Vault when the attack began, but they were overrun, leaving Reed as the only survivor, trapped in a corridor by the invading drones. Most of the scientists and other personnel in the base either evacuated or were killed, but the GDA only cared for the Artifact, and didn't bother stealing any other technology in the Vault.

RWI sent a task force led by Captain Jack Roberts to retake the Vault, arriving approximately fifty minutes after its initial breach. Roberts and his crew fought their way through the corridors and laboratories of the facility, rescuing both Reed and Doctor Colt, who was left for dead when the Commander breached the vault containing the Artifact. However, the Commander had already brought the Artifact to a shuttle in the large hangar bay ("Charlie" entrance), and fled after a brief shootout with Roberts. After the Commander's escape and withdrawal from the planet, the Vault and Icarus as a whole was secured.

Despite the loss of the actual Artifact, Colt and his team continued their research with the information they already had, trying to theorize what it was capable of if its power was harnessed correctly. However, the Artifact was later destroyed during the Battle of the Black Hole, which ended the war and the GDA leadership, but barred RWI from discovering much more about the Artifact.

### Post-War Operations

After the war, Vice Admiral Kieron Hask became head of the Intelligence Division after Gideon's death, and subsequently became head of the Black Vault. The facility continued to experiment with new technology, including tech recovered from the GDA. Hask and other officers of RWI's High Command oversaw the creation of Project X-12, a company of reprogrammed GDA sentry drones outfitted to serve RWI. Although many officers were against its creation, the Project was approved for transport aboard the RWI *Prometheus* during their mission to the Chrome System.

## Description

The Black Vault was a highly secretive facility that was built within a mountain on Icarus. Only a few authorized personnel knew its location, and fewer still traveled to the Vault to work on or oversee projects. The facility had three entrances - Alpha, Beta, and Charlie. "Alpha" entrance was a landing platform on the edge of a mountain, which served as the primary entrance; "Charlie" entrance was a large hangar bay for larger ships to dock in; "Beta" entrance is unknown. TO BE CONTINUED