Bastion-class Commerce Vessel

Bastion-class Commerce Vessels are common voidships found in the Leagues of Votann Fleets and are considered among the smaller vessels employed by the Kin, though by the standards of the other star-faring races they are quite large, well-armed and more than capable in a fight.

More common among the Leagues of Votann than the larger Stronghold-class starship, Bastion-class starships are nonetheless only occasionally sighted by Imperial vessels and other outposts in the great vastness of the Wilderness Space along the Eastern Fringe of the galaxy.

Bastion-class vessels appear to be more heavily configured for asteroid mining than the stately Stronghold, which is known to function as a factory/processor ship for Kin leagues and Prospects like the Demiurg. Presumably resources and finished goods are exchanged between these vessels but there are no eye witness reports of such available to the Imperium of Man.

Those Bastion-class vessels that belong to the Demiurg have often been seen travelling alone or allied with the forces of the T'au Empire, though some have also been employed at times as mercenaries by the Imperium.

Scattered reports by Rogue Traders operating on the eastern rim of the galaxy indicate that a Bastion-class vessel is crewed by a Demiurg sociopolitical unit known as a "Brotherhood" and that Stronghold-class starships serve as homes to typically 2 or 3 Brotherhoods.

It is possible that Strongholds and Bastions form some type of extended affiliation but if this is the case each group must be widely scattered in different star systems many light years apart. The Imperium as yet knows next to nothing about the Demiurg's culture or societal organisation. The one exception to this is when the Demiurg muster for war, which is when two or three Bastion-class vessels gather to protect each Stronghold.

DemiurgBastion — A Demiurg *Bastion*-class Commerce Vessel entering a new star system.

As warships, Bastions compare to Imperial cruisers in most respects, though impressive Lance turrets and the firepower of its weapons batteries at close range make them a thorny prospect for many capital class vessels of even larger size to face. As with the larger Stronghold-class, Bastions have the capacity for launching mining craft and prospector probes reconfigured as attack craft and spatial torpedoes.

This class of starship, like most Leagues of Votann voidships, also uses an electromagnetic Bussard Scoop to collect stellar hydrogen which it projects through the core of the ship for Newtonian propulsion in realspace, much like its Stronghold-class counterpart. This system also provides the source of fusion power for the laser-based cutting beam the vessel uses to open up asteroids for mining or for puncturing enemy ships' hulls as the circumstances dictate.

Armament[]

A Bastion-class Commerce Vessel is armed with weapons batteries on its port, starboard and prow sides, Lances to port and starboard, and a laser cutting beam projector on the prow.

Its dorsal section maintains launch bays for up to two squadrons of mining craft that can be reconfigured as fighters, bombers, and assault boats or can be doubled up to serve as four torpedo silos.

Canon Conflict[]

The Bastion-class Commerce Vessel was originally a starship of the Demiurg when they were considered to be a minor xenos race. In 2022 in the 9th Edition Codex: Leagues of Votann, the Demiurg were retconned to become a formerly misidentified Prospect of the Leagues of Votann. The Bastion-class is now considered one of the smaller vessels available to the Leagues of Votann Fleets.