Academy Central University

Academy Central University, or ACU, is the largest military academy in the known worlds, and is often erroneously listed as the location of Gudersnipe School Proper. It is owned and operated by the Gudersnipe Foundation, who makes no effort to dissuade the notion that it is, in fact, "the school".

History

ACU was initially founded in the late Third Age and is listed amongst the Foundation's mega-projects. As with the bulk of these programs, there was no real need for it, but Grand Standardization and economies of scale are often cited as reasons for the organization and construction.

Campus planning took 17 years, and construction was ongoing for over a hundred before the facility was deemed "complete"(though it's door's opened to students just four years after breaking ground).

Though ACU had its share of minor scandals over the years, the sheer scale of the facility made it's reputation virtually impregnable. This was of course the goal, among others.

The site prospered throughout the Fourth and Fifth ages, though the most notable military leaders of the Crimson Blade tended to come from the smaller, more close-knit academies. Still, ACU graduates excelled throughout the lower ranks, with many pilots, navigators, radar operatives, and other commissioned positions frequently staffed by carrier personel. ACU's other programs also provided skilled workers throughout the Foundation's tech and manufacturing centers.

Early in the Succession Wars, the site was razed by a Kamian attack fleet that bombarded the site from high orbit. ACU was completely decimated. The Kamians had become eroniously convinced that ACU contained Gudersnipe School Proper, and that the attack would destroy the Foundation's ability to produce advanced weapons, as well as removing the next generation of their very best leaders. The Kamians launched a fleet of over a thousand warships, penetrating deep into Foundation space. Only seventeen capitol ships and a further six escorts survived long enough to make a run on ACU, and were eventually destroyed by a student task force. While the bulk of Kamian forces in the area were committed to the attack, a joint [{Alliance]] and Crimson Blade task force struck several key facilities. The entire assault is estimates to have cost the Kamians close to three thousand ships and forty-four million lives, with Foundation forces suffering less than a quarter as many casualties.

ACU was rebuilt slowly, and over the next two centuries eventually returned to it's former grandure. Throughout the rest of the war it would field a much stronger home guard and advanced defensive measures(the task force stationed to defend it during the attack had been transferred to Utopia Gregaria as it was believed to be the likely target of the assault).