ROCKFORT ISLAND

Rockfort Island was a privately run island located somewhere south of the equator owned by the Umbrella Corporation. Operating as a paramilitary training facility by the head of the corporation, Rockfort was administered by Alfred Ashford, the last head of the noble Ashford family. On the island, there was also a prison camp and an airport. The prison camp especially represented a darker side to Umbrella. Potential industrial saboteurs and traitors to Umbrella were captured and sent there to by used as human guinea pigs in biological experiments. Once inside, prisoners were held there indefinitely.

Rockfort’s history is documented as far back as the 1960’s when it was home to the inhabitants of a small village. Rodrigo Juan Raval was born in this village and later went on to work for Umbrella. When Rodrigo was just a boy, Umbrella purchased the island and the village was destroyed.
Both Alfred and Alexia Ashford grew up on the island and remained there until 1981 when Alexia was made head researcher at the Antarctic Transport Terminal and the family relocated to the South Pole.

Alfred returned alone to Rockfort in 1984 and served as base commander up until the present day. Although Rockfort was considered an important facility by Umbrella, the corporation had more or less side-lined Alfred from any responsibility. No one from Umbrella expected anything from him and he was largely left to his own devices. He squandered his responsibilities by using the island for his own private torture facility. He also had a strange obsession with adorning the base with military collectibles. To Umbrella, Alfred was an encumbrance, nothing more than a petty dictator attempting to emulate a greatness that was far beyond him. With no one around to counsel him, his mental breakdown accelerated as he spent his day’s obsessing over the restoration of his family’s power.

The island itself has many notable locations spread across the whole diameter. The prison is on one coast and a huge bridge crosses a chasm which leads to the palace and training facility. There is also a lighthouse on the opposite coast.

NOTABLE LOCATIONS:

Prison:
The prison was built in 1994 and used as a holding facility for criminals, convicts and traitors that had somehow wronged Umbrella. They were very basic, with dirty bunk beds and rotted wooden tables. Security was minimal yet no one bothered trying to escape as there was no way to escape from an island in the middle of nowhere. The prisoners were used either as guinea pigs for experiments, executed on the guillotine stand on the hill, or taken to the alchemist’s hut to be tortured. The alchemist had struck a deal with Alfred and a hidden room was built in the hut filled with all manner of torturing devices.

Training Facility:
The Military Training Facility was the first phase in the expansion of Rockfort Island. It was completed on December 8th 1993. Many of Umbrella’s Special Forces teams have used the facility for training purposes, including the infamous Hunk. Several B.O.W.s have been manufactured solely for training purposes also, the most notable of which was the grave digger. The facility has two main levels above ground, and two basement levels. The 1F houses mainly offices and there is also a Jacuzzi and sauna for trainees to relax. The second floor has a small testing room where baby albinoids are tested. There is also a model room with a diorama of the base. The B1 level contains a small laboratory and an air purifying room. It also houses workshops and T-Virus storage. The elevator can also ride down to B2 level which contains the ‘Kill House’. A twisted obstacle course designed for the trainees.

Palace:
The Ashford’s grand palace was built over two floors. A grand hall comprised of a reception desk. A door on the left led to a small bathroom stall and a door at the far end led to a corridor branching off towards numerous rooms such as a meeting/conference room, Ashford gallery room and a room full of military collectibles. The upper floor of the main hall contains a huge portrait of Alfred Ashford and a door to the left which is a small casino, complete with ceiling based aquarium spanning the whole room. To the right is another reception room which is Robert Dorson’s workspace. Two gold lugers are needed to pass through the next door which leads to Alfred Ashford’s office. The computer on the desk activates a hidden passage leading to the bridge which runs to the private mansion.

Mansion:
The mansion was built sometime in 1994 as a private house to which only Alfred was permitted to enter. This was so he could act out his cross-dressing fantasies in complete privacy. Even the family butter Scott Harman and Alfred’s private attendant Robert Dorson were not allowed inside. Alfred has the prisoners on the island construct a bridge that crossed the waterway from the palace to the mansion. He then killed everyone involved in its construction to keep it a secret.
The mansion itself is dark and foreboding. The downstairs area is library space filled with many rare old books. There is a small meeting room and upstairs leads directly to the bedrooms of Ashford and Alexia. There is an attic which houses a working carousel and other toys.

Airport:
The airport is accessed by using a submarine docked next to the palace. The submarine automatically heads down to an underwater docking bay which leads to the airport.

Rockfort Island was attacked by private military forces acting under the orders of Albert Wesker in December 1998. The attack caused a biohazard and the T-Virus was released. Eventually the island’s self destruct mechanism was activated, yet only the mansion and palace were completely destroyed. Much of the training facility was left in tact, although it was badly damaged.