BULWARK Active Defense Platform
The BULWARK Active Defense Platform, usually simply called the Bulwark, is a chamber held inside of the Shield capital city and designed by ORACLE. Although it remains heavily defended within Shield territory, it has an effective range of the entirety of Minerva and into orbit around Minerva. The defense platform has a number of segments:

1. TYMHARK Defense Artificial Intelligence
2. Rapid Response Tunneling Platform
3. VENHARETH Oracle Tracking Systems
4. VIGILANT EYE Orbital Platform

The chamber from which BULWARK is headed is in fact a mobile capsule about 1,000 feet in height, buried entirely below ground. BULWARK landed on Minerva with the first Shield colonies and was used as a rallying point that allowed them to immediately establish powerful defenses. The capsule involves a series of input and output routes which permit vehicles and materiel to move through; at any given time, 100 or more Shield operators must be available and inside of the capsule, prepared to respond to situations throughout Minerva. Usually this involves dropships as well, but individual operators can be dispensed through the Rapid Response Tunneling Platform. Large quantities of materiel, such as sentry guns, ammunition, and other battlefield supplies and reinforcements are held in reserve here and prepared to be deployed at any time.

The TYMHARK Defense Artificial Intelligence is an advanced artificial intelligence which forms the network core of the Shield presence on Minerva. All Shield networks are in some way connected to TYMHARK. TYMHARK is capable of superhuman judgment and response times, and is responsible for operating the BULWARK platform, responding to distress calls and requests, and operating all automated defense systems such as sentry guns. Although such devices have secondary AI cores in cases of emergency, TYMHARK is much more powerful than such devices and should always be used when available. TYMHARK also works alongside the DISPATCHER Vigil device to protect Shield networks from penetration. TYMHARK is connected to countless 'nodes' throughout Easia, mostly belonging to native settlements, that can be used for quick access to Shield assistance.

The Rapid Response Tunneling Platform is merely a set of portal devices designed for extremely short-notice deployments. Portals can be active in as little as one second from when a distress call is sent, allowing response times of Shield emergency teams or military operators to be as little as 5 or 6 seconds.

The VENHARETH Oracle Tracking Systems, or V.O.T.S. is a specialized set of devices unique to the BULWARK platform. These devices keep track of Shield territory; they are large, thin spires, usually defended by sentry guns, that detect and communicate with vehicles, monitor radio signals, and track movement through Shield territory.

The VIGILANT EYE is a small, unmanned orbital station in possession of no weapons, but an array of advanced optics and scanners. It is connected via TYMHARK, and is involved in scouting and intel gathering. TYMHARK uses this device to communicate with operators on the ground, providing them information gathered from above. The Vigilant Eye has scanners capable of piercing even the thickest walls, but produces significant psionic energy runoff when doing so, alerting any occupants that they are being observed.

Overall, the BULWARK Active Defense Platform forms a massive and complicated network of functioning devices. It allows extreme response and deployment times, and is the primary means by which Shield dropships and detachments are deployed. All networked Shield defenses of all types are connected through TYMHARK; between the use of the Vigilant Eye station, VENHARETH towers, and other sensors, as well as seeing through the helmets of operators and sensors of automated defenses, the TYMHARK system allows nigh-unrivaled battlefield awareness and provides tactical guidance to operators in the field, allowing Shield to maintain steeled defenses and outmaneuver any enemy on the ground.

BULWARK OPERATIVES
Bulwark Operatives are heavily modified operatives. They are extremely capable in both offense and defense, and are considered Shield's most 'elite' operators. They wield some of the most advanced weaponry available to Shield and are mostly a product of Oracle manufacture, belonging to no particular Shield fleet. Most Bulwark operators are mobile tanks; they are immune to small arms fire and regenerate from physical damage quickly, requiring specialized weaponry or massive applications of force to put down. One or two Bulwark operatives are deployed in high priority operations, and quickly take command over their less powerful allies.