Underside

The well-defended fortress at the center of the underside is the command center and barracks for Bral's Army. The Port Tower and the Starboard Tower are connected to the Citadel by narrow, covered walkways. Three passages branch off from each tower and end at smaller towers dispersed along the edges of the Rock. All these locations enable soldiers to maintain surveillance of the asteroid’s immediate environs, and they are equipped with ballistae and mangonels to defend against an invasion.

The fruits, vegetables, and grains harvested from the fields on the underside keep the Rock’s occupants well fed without the need for imported foodstuffs. The planting, cultivating, and harvesting of the produce are performed by farmers and a handful of convicts working off their sentences.

The work of the prisoners is loosely supervised by bands of army regulars.

Along the leading edge of the underside is an array of docks where ships of the Bral's Royal Navy are berthed. At any time, at least two or three ships are actively stationed at the docks, prepared to depart at a moment’s notice.

Just inland from the docks is a sprawling complex, the base proper, that includes a drydock area where most of the fleet is moored. The facility also contains barracks and mustering areas for captains and crews.

Convicts who have been sentenced to hard labor on the underside are housed in two rectangular, windowless buildings connected to the Citadel by narrow walkways. When they’re not out working the fields, prisoners are kept behind locked doors in the barracks and left to their own devices.

The vanes, extending out from four towers on the trailing side of the asteroid, are enormous sails that can be moved to generate a disturbance in the Rock’s air envelope, causing the Rock to rotate or turn in a certain direction if the need presents itself. If no other reason arises, the vanes are adjusted once every few months to ensure they’re in good operating condition.