The image below is a layout drawing of Quantum
Corps’ Western Command base at Table Top Mountain, Idaho, USA. This base is one of three bases for UNQC
operations. The Central Command base is
at Balzano, Italy. The Eastern Command
base is at Singapore.
All three bases have similar missions, though their
layout is different. I’ve chosen to
illustrate Table Top because it is better known and its facilities and
organization are typical for Quantum Corps facilities.
Table Top was built on top of a mesa in Idaho’s
Buffalo Range, actually in the back range of hills. The terrain slopes away on all sides of the
mesa. They have spectacular views of the
surrounding countryside from Table Top.
The two
runways (2) to the left (western) side of the base are for hyperjets and other
aircraft conducting operations into and out of Table Top. The circular pads north and south of the run-
ways are lifter pads (1,3), for approach, landing and takeoffs of lifters. Lifters are VTOL ships that are often used by
UNQC forces in operations. They carry a
full detachment and their gear up to several thousand miles away and a good
amount of light cargo as well.
There is also a Terminal building (4) just to the
east of the North Lift Pad, for all aircraft and lifter ops in and around the
base.
Immediately south of the Terminal are three hangars (6)
for lifters, hyperjets and other aerial vehicles. Next to the row of hangars is a building
called Ordnance/Mission Prep (5). O/MP
is a secure facility for storing, testing and maintaining all the various
weapons and gear that a QC detachment uses on a mission, things like HERF
(High-Energy Radio Frequency) guns, magpulse guns, Mobility Obstruction Barrier
(MOB) canisters, Super-Fly drones, camou generators and so forth. Significantly, this building does not house
ANAD systems. That’s done somewhere
else. But anything else a Detachment
might use to defeat the bad guys is usually housed and maintained at O/MP.
The Ops Center (12) is to the east of the hangar and
O/MP complex. Operations houses the
mission control center for QC missions and command and control functions for
the base itself. Table Top’s area of
responsibility is the entire Western Hemisphere, but they provide support and
expertise for ops all over the world, to other bases and even off-world as
needs dictate. Ops is the nerve center
and brain for most Quantum Corps missions.
Building 7 is the PX and commissary for all base
personnel, officers and enlisted. As
with many services, even retired Quantum Corps personnel have PX and commissary
privileges. Once at atomgrabber, always
an atomgrabber!
The Barracks and the Bachelor Officer Quarters are
located in complex (8). Table Top has no
provision for housing married officers.
They must seek housing off-base and the Corps does provide a housing
stipend for this purpose. Needless to
say, it’s never enough. You won’t find
atomgrabbers living like royals in Buckingham Palace, although with enough
feedstock, ANAD could replicate a reasonable facsimile of such.
The Containment Center at (9) is a critical
structure in any QC base and is extremely well defended and guarded. This is where ANAD systems live, are born,
housed, tested, tweaked, maintained and upgraded. Containment means just that…these things must be securely contained at all
times. There are multiple levels of
security, electron beam injectors, biometrics and big guards with big guns
defending this building. In the 20th
century, atomic bomb bunkers weren’t defended this well.
Building (10) is for Simulation and Training. A lot of money and time is spent on simming,
wargaming and training for the many missions that Quantum Corps conducts. There is an actual wargaming range north of Table
Top in a secluded location called Hunt Valley.
Hunt Valley is not shown on this map but it exists for live-fire,
full-bore exercises that can’t be safely conducted at the Sim/Training
complex. Inside Building 10, the Corps
has spared no expense to provide the most up-to-date training possible for its
troopers.
The outdoor stadium and parade ground is at Drexler
Field (11), to the far east of the mesa.
Here football, lacrosse and other outdoor sports are played and
ceremonial and commencement exercises are conducted. Normally the Field is open, but it can be
automatically enclosed in inclement weather, which does happen up on the mesa
from time to time. The enclosure is
actually a fully-capable ANAD-class swarm structure that normally resides in a
containment tank at one end and envelops the field in less than an hour.
Those are the basics of the Table Top complex. I mentioned the Hunt Valley wargaming range
to the north. To the east of the base,
out through the Main Gate near Drexler Field, is Highway 7. This road follows a winding path through a
narrow valley to the small town of Haleyville, about the only liberty place for
atomgrabbers on their few hours and days off-base. Table Top is an isolated facility and the
Corps likes it that way.
The next post, in early November 2015, will cover
another very important facility that plays a key role in Quantum Corps and
other UNIFORCE missions. It’s actually
not operated by Quantum Corps at all, but rather the host organization is
another UNIFORCE command, Frontier Corps.
This facility is called Farside.
It’s located on the far side of the Moon, at Korolev Crater.
I hope everyone has a nice September and
October. See you in early November.
