The Stronghold

The Stronghold was a fortress and its associate paramilitary group which was present in the Cradle of Lunaterra between 2714 and 2717

Location
The Stronghold was located near the intersection of the Fernway and Blood river, on the southern shore of the former and the western shore of the later. It's area of activity spanned an area around the Fernway, but didn't go as far as Dawn or the Fountain Fort

Members

 * Beryl (leader)
 * Chloe
 * Ally
 * Meredith
 * The Children of Neptune
 * Olivia
 * Various other Elite Soldiers
 * A few members of the 24th Regiment

Origins
The Stronghold was founded Shortly after the end of the War Against the Red Light. After the crash, Beryl's half of the Elite Soldiers quickly bounced back up, fetched the Children of Neptune and accepted Beryl as their leader. Their arrival on Dawn coincided with the Battle of Paurlaw, which took place in the same area, in which two Imperial Calamarian Cruisers clashed with Lib-CC-010680-417 and Lib-CC-00 over the village of Paurlaw. In the aftermath of the battle, the two Liberator ships were shot down, but managed to bring down the Krakens when members of the Twenty-Fourth regiment forcibly embarked on one of the krakens, took control of the ship, and made it attack the second kraken. The two krakens collided together and crashed together. This would later become the structure made up the Stronghold's fortress. The Elite Soldiers quickly marched to Paurlaw, but by then, the village had been mostly destroyed by the falling debris. Beryl and his followers tried their best to save the survivors and tend to the wounded. That was when Ally found Olivia, who's parents had died in the battle.

Some of the residents chose to band together with the Elite Soldiers, but most fled, either to Dawn or the Fountain Fort. The Elite Soldiers and their friends stayed in the Ruins of Paurlaw until winter approached. Then they migrated southward to occupy the ruins of the two krakens. The group soon found that the ruins of these krakens were occupied by a few members of the Twenty-Fourth Regiment, those who had contributed to taking down the krakens.

When supplies grew short, the fighting men and women of the Stronghold went out on missions, where they were hired as mercenaries or for security jobs. They had strong ties with a young aspiring resistance group: the Fountain Fort, as well as the Mountain Way group. Beryl and Ally also but into practice their experience in guerilla warfare, acquired from their involvement in the Martian theatre of the War Against the Red Light: they started raiding and attacking the occupying Imperial forces, often for supplies or for information regarding the other half of the Elite Soldier company.

The reputation of the Stronghold quickly grew. They helped train local guerilla resistance groups across the Cradle, and are widely considered the father of the resistance groups of the Cradle. Eventually, the Stronghold starting bringing in loads of civilians, especially groups which had been oppressed by the Lunar regime, like Gasans and Torsians. At this point, the Stronghold became a small commune, similar to the Fountain Fort. The Elite Soldiers had completely remodeled the inside of the krakens into a functioning facility, with housing zones, shops, medical facilities, hobby areas and places of worship.

In the summer of 2716 the reputation of the Stronghold reached the attention of Meredith Barrios, who traveled all the way to the Cradle in hopes of finding the Elite Soldiers.