Bandhan-Class Refuge

The **Bandhan** (English: Nexus) Class Refuge was a modified Dhvani refuge used by the Saamanjasy to flee their former existence.

## Technical and Development History

A Refuge or 'Sharan' was a common Dhvani megastructure. Being space-native, the Dhvani simply expanded their homes forming great ring-shaped installations over time. Over the ages, they built numerous of these structures, effectively forming their equivalent to a planet. Following the war with the Unity, many of them were destroyed. Of the 12 Bandhan class structures only one, the *Bandhan* itself, managed to escape to normal space.

A Bandhan consists of three colossal rings, and resembles a ringworld. Their shape however, has nothing to do with rotational gravity, but rather the massive ring-shaped Singularity Chords they use to power them. While the Dhvani do live on the inner band of the rings, their space-native nature allows them to freely move between the rings. Even when dependent on Metreon fields for this existence, a Dhvani can drift up to about 100 meters past the diameter of the structure and remain in the field. The two outer rings are the main habitats, while the center ring handles the Refuge's drive systems and heavier industries.

The Saamanjasy used older refuges for their exile, hoping to not draw the attention of the Unity. While it received some upgrades over the years, it still has many older systems, some dating to a previous golden age the Dhvani aren't even sure how to use or produce anymore. This, combined with the damage suffered during the final battle, and the complications of operating in 'normal space', make it a mysterious, unreliable construct even for the species that built it.

## Damaged Systems

* Due to half of the central ring being destroyed, neither the station's warp drive nor transwarp corridor systems function.
* The central ring's massive primary Singularity Chord is severed, making power spikes and disruptions common as the other chords are used to try and contain its wild power.
* The Matter Decompressor is unstable and smaller versions are used at the moment to perform repairs mostly.
* Numerous weapon systems are offline, along with half the Subspace Manipulators, and the Subspace Shrill Chord.

## Equipment and Design Features

* *Many x Metreon Field Emitter:* In order to escape their former existence, the Dhvani used overlapping fields of Metreon Particles. This allows them to exist somewhere between dark and conventional matter. As a consequence, many systems do no perform up to the high standards they once did. Should the emitters fail, the shell and its crew is violently transitioned to their native state. The fields of the Bandhan are so vast that a Dhvani can safely wander out to 100 meters from the spherical field its overlapping emitters create.
* *Quadrinix Armor:* A material that exists in phases between matter, anti-matter, and alternate universes, Quadrinix is a form of Dark Matter used in Dhvani construction. Resistant to disruptor weapons, its mass has been subtly altered by Dhvani tonal engineering to also work similarity to a gravitational deflector.
* *30x Tonal Shift Shields:* Defensive shield system that uses spatial vibrations to destabilize or destroy projectiles before they make contact with the vessel.
* *300x Tractor Beam:* Primarily used to haul cargo. Features surprisingly long range, able to lift objects from a planet's surface to space.
* 12 x *Subspace Manipulator:* Resembling a warp drive, this system is actually designed for both support and enemy interference. Using inverted warp fields, the vessel can accelerate its own projectiles and nearby allied craft. It can also force enemies to drop out of warp further from it, and jam subspace communications.
* *1x Transwarp Corridor*: Similar to a wormhole, a Transwarp Corridor system can bridge space between two points, typically between two similarly equipped Refugees or a constructed end node.
* *1x Matter Decompressor:* Best likened to a giant energy drill that extracts dark matter from a black hole in usable forms for the Dhvani.

## Fixed Armaments

* 1*2x Forte Arc Grand Ensemble:* Best described as a 'lightning projector in space' this weapon ionizes dark matter to deliver arcing energy bursts over long distances. A *grand ensemble* is similar to a multi-tubed torpedo bay, each one on the Bandhan able to fire up to 100 simultaneous arcs.

* *Many x Null Void Beam:* Utility weapon that creates a zone of inert space. Used to neutralize most forms of energy shielding. This weapon is actually fairly deadly against Dhvani but has less effect against organic lifeforms.
* *1x Subspace Shrill Chord:* A weaponization of the Bandhan's Transwarp Corridor system, it creates a chaotic field of opposing warp fields, accelerating different parts of its targets at opposing warp velocities.

## Remote Armaments

* *Many x Discord Pod:* A disruptor weapon that weakens the molecular bonds of matter it comes in contact with. Unlike a traditional phaser or disruptor however, it draws from the vessel's warp field and channels it through fermion lenses into warp-sheared particle corridors to inflict massive damage on their target, with a tremendous potential increase in rate of fire through controlled overloading. Containing their own warp cores, pods achieve movement through Dhvani propulsion methods, and hang suspended above their host’s hull by spatially locking their individual warp fields to its own.