Editing Alta Base

|'nation=[[Defiant League]]

|universe=[[Cytoverse]]

|books=[[Skyward (series)]]

{{update|sky2|sf1|sky4}}

'''Alta Base''' is a military outpost on the surface of [[Detritus]], directly above [[Igneous Cavern]]. It is the primary DDF base,{{book ref|Skyward|3}} until the Defiants reclaim several of the planet's orbital platforms and establish [[Platform Prime]].{{book ref|sky2|2}}

== Geography ==

Alta Base sits over 120 kilometers west of a mountain range. Anti-aircraft (AA) guns protect the base in a ring 75 kilometers from Alta and have a maximum range of 120-kilometer radius around Alta Base. The area around Alta Base has been turned into farmland.

It contains the only trees on Detritus.{{book ref|sky1|7}}

== Features ==

=== Flight School ===

[[Flight school]] is located at Alta Base, with cadets training and living at the base. Cadets are housed in the same buildings as full pilots and share facilities with these pilots. Some of the facilities include mockpits,{{book ref|sky1|9}} a mess hall,{{book ref|sky1|27}} bedrooms, and bathrooms. [[Spensa Nightshade|Spensa]] is denied lodging at Alta Base during her time as a cadet,{{book ref|sky1|11}} and instead stays in the nearby cave that houses [[M-Bot]].

=== Elevators ===

Public elevators are available to take people to Igneous Caverns about 200 meters from the base proper,{{book ref|sky1|7}} however, they are quite slow and prone to breaking.{{book ref|sky1|11}}{{book ref|sky1|9}} In comparison, it is possible to travel from Alta Base to the [[deep caverns]] in less than five minutes,{{book ref|sky1|52}} although the journey normally takes closer to fifteen.{{book ref|sky1|15}}

=== Housing ===

On duty DDF pilots live and work at Alta Base and are rotated down into the deep caverns at different intervals in order to protect some of the DDF forces in the case that Alta is destroyed by a [[lifebuster]]. If a lifebuster is dropped directly on Alta Base it would also destroy Igneous Cavern.

Civilian housing makes up a town within Alta Base, filled with homes for the farmers of the land past the base, as well as shops.

=== Private Hangars ===

Private hangars, near the public elevators, allow rich citizens such as Jorgen Weight to park hovercars while they visit the base.{{book ref|sky1|11}}

In the beginning, Alta Base had been cloaked to hide it from the [[varvax|Krell]], in an attempt to build up a defense force against the aliens using ship factories in Igneous Cavern. The Krell, however, discovered the base and sent a large force to attack and destroy the humans. The DDF won the Battle of Alta, chasing off the Krell and saving Alta Base. Following the battle, they removed the cloaking from Alta Base and further fortified their position.

The [[Battle of Alta Second]] took place on the day of [[Skyward Flight]]'s graduation. [[Judy Ivans|Admiral Ironsides]] sent the entire fleet of the [[Defiant Defense Force]] to a falling [[shipyard]] to recover its [[acclivity ring]]s,{{book ref|sky1|48}} leaving the base vulnerable. As expected, the Krell attack the DDF ships, attempting to destroy the shipyard and acclivity rings. This attack, however, was a diversion planned by the Krell so they could gain an opening to directly attack and destroy Alta Base.{{book ref|sky1|49}} A second force of Krell, including a [[lifebuster]], went to attack Alta Base while it was undefended. The force broke through Alta Base's exterior defenses where a falling lifebuster from the other battle had destroyed anti-aircraft gun outposts forty-six through forty-eight.{{book ref|sky1|48}} [[Spensa]] defended the base in a damaged [[Poco]] by anticipating the movement of the Krell using her [[cytonics|cytonic]] abilities.{{book ref|sky1|50}} Spensa's ship crash-landed before she is able to take down the lifebuster. [[Cobb]], piloting [[M-Bot]] (who had rewritten his code to allow another pilot to fly him into combat), found Spensa and gave her control of M-Bot so she could rejoin the battle.{{book ref|sky1|51}} When the lifebuster dropped its bomb, Spensa dives towards it and uses her [[Starfighter#Light-Lance|light-lance]] to pull it safely away from Alta Base and [[Igneous Cavern]].{{book ref|sky1|52}}{{book ref|sky1|53}} Just before its detonation, she used her cytonic abilities to hyperjump M-Bot outside of the blast radius. {{book ref|sky1|53}}