Fort Jesus

Fort Jesus is a fort located on Mombasa Island in Kenya. It was designed by the Italian architect, Giovanni Battista Cairati. It was built between 1593 and 1596, by the order of King Philip I of Portugal. Its original purpose was to guard the Old Port of Mombasa. Fort Jesus is widely recognized as the first successful attempt by a European power to establish influence over the Indian Ocean.

The design of Fort Jesus takes heavy inspiration from Renaissance design, with additional amalgamations of techniques and architectural styles adopted from the native Swahili People. The fort is shaped in the form of a male figure when viewed from the air, and is roughly square. The fort has four bulwarks at its corners. Fort Jesus was captured and recaptured over 11 times from its construction until it's official retirement in 1958. In 2063, Dystricon (later known as Aegis), took ownership of the fort during a massive resource acquisition campaign that targeted corporate, public, and governmental assets. At the end of the undertaking, Dystricon was rebranded as Aegis. A decade later, in 2073, Aegis repurposed the fort as their African command center to aid in their DCP program (Distribution, Conservation, and Protection of Precious Resources and Natural Wealth Program).

Fort Jesus served as a location for several of the conflicts leading up to the Helium War, as well as the location for several battles during the war itself. Fort Jesus was partially damaged during the Raid on Fort Jesus in January of 2076 when a misplaced endostatic detonator caused part of the south wall to crumble. Fort Jesus again sustained damage caused by the Kenyan military's resistance upon Aegis' seizure of the surrounding streets on November 11th, 2076. Several building were eventually captured by Aegis paramilitary forces, most notably the Mombasa County Commissioners Office and the Mombasa County Governor's Office. Later, Fort Jesus sustained heavy damage and partial destruction during the battle that ensued upon the United States' landing and occupation of the fort on January 30th, 2077.