Bulwark Mark III

A massive capital warship spanning 2,500 meters, the Bulwark Mark III, or Bulwark-class battlecruiser, was the product of TransGalMeg Industries, Incorporated. Despite persistent rumors regarding the unreliability of its electronics and sensors, the Bulwark Mark III compensated with a formidable arsenal, enhanced shielding, and a substantial carrying capacity. Equipped with numerous turbolasers and ion cannons, and further augmented by a support contingent of up to ten starfighter squadrons and four troop regiments, the Bulwark functioned as a veritable mobile stronghold. Enhancing its operational flexibility, the colossal battlecruiser possessed the capability to execute planetary landings and deploy ground forces. In addition to a standard sublight drive, the Bulwark also featured a hyperdrive system.

The Bulwark Mark III's significant offensive and defensive attributes rendered it exceptionally well-suited for large-scale military endeavors. This battlecruiser could both withstand and inflict damage on par with that of Imperial-class Star Destroyers.

TransGalMeg Industries based the Bulwark Mark III on the antiquated blueprints of the Bulwark Mark I, a colossal warship manufactured by the Techno Union and subsequently utilized by the Confederacy of Independent Systems against the Galactic Republic during the Clone Wars. The Bulwark Mark II, another Clone Wars-era Confederate battleship, was directly succeeded by the Bulwark Mark III.

During the ensuing Galactic Civil War, the Bulwark Mark III demonstrated itself to be among the most heavily armored, resilient, and combat-tested starships in service with the Rebel Alliance Fleet. The Sullustan Home Guard, an antipiracy armada established by the SoroSuub Corporation for the defense of the planet Sullust, also deployed the Bulwark Mark III during this period.

Not long before the Battle of Hoth, the Bulwark battlecruiser Arrow of Sullust was constructed by the SoroSuub orbital shipyards. SoroSuub, while officially neutral during the Galactic Civil War, harbored secret sympathies for the Rebel Alliance in their conflict against the Galactic Empire, and thus could not openly deliver the vessel to the Rebellion. Consequently, the responsibility of acquiring the Bulwark fell to a team of Rebels who, with only a minimal crew, managed to fend off Imperial forces long enough to reach a safe distance and escape into hyperspace aboard the Arrow of Sullust.

TransGalMeg subsequently manufactured Bulwark Mark IIIs for the burgeoning New Republic, the successor state to the Rebel Alliance, early in its existence. In 25 ABY, during the Yuuzhan Vong War, the New Republic dispatched a minimum of four Bulwarks to aid in the evacuation of the embattled planet Rychel, whose civilian population had come under assault by the Yuuzhan Vong. The Bulwarks transported a combined force of Republic troops and Jedi led by Masters Luke Skywalker and Lar Le'Ung to the surface of Rychel to combat the Vong and evacuate as many civilians as possible aboard the battlecruisers. Once filled with Rychel evacuees, the Bulwarks departed the planet, carrying the surviving Jedi and Republic forces, although numerous civilians were left behind at the mercy of the Yuuzhan Vong, as the New Republic lacked the resources to evacuate everyone.

Later in 25 ABY, a minimum of two Bulwarks participated in the joint New Republic–Imperial blockade of the planet Shramar, an undertaking designed to prevent the Yuuzhan Vong fleet from recovering its captured slaveship, the Heart of Artorias, which the Republic and Imperials were utilizing on the surface to evacuate refugees from the planet. However, the blockade ultimately became a component of a larger scheme orchestrated by Queen Nina Galfridian of the planet Artorias to obliterate the Yuuzhan Vong's critical supply depots on Shramar. As the Vong assault on Shramar commenced, Galfridian ordered the combined Republic–Imperial fleet to retreat into hyperspace and await further instructions, a diversionary tactic. Convinced that the planetary defenders had been routed, the Vong moved in to attack the Heart of Artorias. At that precise moment, Galfridian commanded her ships to return to Shramar. The Bulwarks and the remainder of the fleet materialized on the opposite side of the planet from the Vong force and unleashed a devastating orbital bombardment that annihilated the enemy supply depots before once again escaping into hyperspace and subsequently rendezvousing at the edge of Wild Space.

The Bulwark Mark III made its initial appearance in the 1998 PC game Star Wars: Rebellion as one of the playable capital ships available to the Rebel Alliance. Referred to in the game as the "Bulwark Battlecruiser," and by the in-game encyclopedia as the "Bulwark class capital ship," the Bulwark represents the game's most powerful warship in the Alliance arsenal, designed to be a competitive match for the Galactic Empire's Super Star Destroyer in gameplay. As noted in the Bulwark's entry in the Star Wars: Rebellion: Prima's Official Strategy Guide, "the Bulwark battlecruiser is the most powerful in the game and can stand toe-to-toe with all Imperial ships except the Death Star […] this battlecruiser is almost a fleet in and of itself. It's the natural flagship for any major Alliance fleet."

The Bulwark from Star Wars: Rebellion was later acknowledged in the 2005 reference book The New Essential Chronology, which mentions a "Bulwark Mark I" vessel used by the Techno Union during the Clone Wars. Author Daniel Wallace clarified that he intended this vessel to be a tie-in to Rebellion, serving as a Clone Wars-era precursor to the Rebellion Bulwark battlecruiser. Wallace further speculated on the exact relationship between the Rebellion Bulwark and his Bulwark Mark I: "I'll allow that they could be Mark IIIs or IVs, depending on whether anyone ever goes back to create new ship classes. I've always thought that the New Republic got their hands on Bulwarks at some point post-ROJ, but that the Rebel Alliance never did."

In 2008, the Rebellion Bulwark was officially classified as a starship with the release of The Complete Star Wars Encyclopedia, which identified the vessel as the "Bulwark-class battle cruiser," drawing upon the original in-game encyclopedia entry from Star Wars: Rebellion. Author Jason Fry, who has collaborated with Daniel Wallace on several previous Star Wars projects, included the Rebellion Bulwark in his 2012 reference book The Essential Guide to Warfare, where he established the vessel's designation as the "Bulwark Mark III" and described it as being constructed by TransGalMeg Industries for the New Republic. Fry aimed to canonize Wallace's plans for the evolution of the Rebellion Bulwark class, which Wallace had previously discussed but had never had the opportunity to implement. However, given that Wallace's evolution is inconsistent with Star Wars: Rebellion, The Complete Star Wars Encyclopedia, and the 2015 Star Wars: Age of Rebellion roleplaying sourcebook Strongholds of Resistance, all of which state that the Rebel Alliance utilized the Bulwark, this article attempts to reconcile all information.