Project Guardian - A Guided Tour

"painting235655"                        a painting of an access hall
Positioned at the base of Project: Guardian, this cramped hallway serves as an access portal between the living and engineering spaces of the flying fortress. A ladder attached to the wall leads upwards to the personnel quarters, while three doors provide access to the generator and control stations. A panel on the floor bears the label "Weapon Maintenance Shaft", but has been sealed completely shut.

"painting47329"                         a painting of the control room of Project: Guardian
Small but critical, the control room of Project: Guardian sits ready to receive commands. Myriad displays cover the wall of the room, displaying the status of the critical components of the fortress. The floor space of the chamber is otherwise unoccupied, optimized to allow maximum personnel during missions.

You read what is written on a small, metal plaque:

Project: Guardian is based on a weapons design by Kiradawea, and is an aerial fortification equipped with a high-powered energy cannon, capable of wide swathes of destruction.

To control the Project, from within the control room one from Hallifax must speak the phrase "Assume command", and the Project will recognize that person as the Project's controller so long as they remain in the control room. The controller may then speak the following commands to control the Project:

o Relinquish Command - This command will signal the Project to no longer recognize the current controller.

o Update Status - This command will display status information for the Project, including generator charge and weapon status.

o Recall Beacon - Return the Project's targeting beacon to the control room.

o Arm Weapon - This will drain the weapon generator of 30 charge to power the Project's cannon.

o Acquire Target - The Project will attempt to lock on to the target beacon in order to aim its cannon. The beacon must be above ground in the target area, and will need to remain there for several pings while the Project pinpoints its location. The project will only acquire targets in a limited number of areas at any given time.

o Fire Weapon - The Project will fire its cannon at the target area, devastating it. After firing, the cannon will be in a recovery state, rendering it inoperable for a time.

"painting235634"                        a painting of an observation station
Large viewing screens of crystal cover the walls of this station, displaying real-time images of various locations around the Basin of Life. In the centre of the room, a large control panel flashes the current state of the monitoring systems. The lights in the room are dimmed to avoid glare on the massive crystals, allowing the most accurate observations possible.

"painting173810"                        a painting of the generator station
A deafening buzz fills the air through the chamber, emanating from the massive generators dominating the room. Each generator is covered in a grid of status lights and buttons for controlling their functionality. Three of the towering mechanical beasts are positioned at the perimeter of the station, with wires and pipes traveling through small access panels in the wall to power the rest of the fortress. A larger generator sits in the centre of the chamber, its energy output directed downwards to the station's weaponry system.

"painting235644"                        a painting of within a utilitarian dormatory
Featureless but for an array of beds, this cramped but functional dormitory supplies sleeping space for up to eight individuals. The beds themselves are utilitarian in the utmost, with thin mattresses and dense pillows. The walls of the room form a dome arcing over the quarters, marking the space as the peak of Project: Guardian.

"painting235711"                        a painting of living quarters
An array of tables and desks fill the majority of the Project: Guardian living quarters. The domed sides of the chamber curve upwards from the room's perimeter, imperceptibly transitioning from wall to ceiling before meeting the fortress's central column at their apex. A series of small, but bright, lights positioned on this dominating feature indicate the current status of the Project's generator and weapon systems.

"painting174060"                        a painting of a recreation center
A small assortment of bookshelves line the wall on one side of this moderately sized chamber. The books bear an array of enthralling titles, from "A Analysis of the Effects of Asphyxiation of Varying Durations on the Bodies and Minds of Dracnari and Merians, Vol. III" to "Zoos: Are They Really What They Seem?". Opposite the small library, a group of fitness devices are arranged in a small semicircle, their myriad needles and clamps glistening in the light.

"painting235648"                        a painting of a well-stocked kitchen
This small but functional kitchen features a long shelf following the circumference of the room, stocked with a variety of pre-packaged, ready-to-eat meals. A small table adorns the centre of the chamber, topped with a drawer filled with eating utensils. Conspicuously absent from the kitchen is any type of cooking appliance.


And the result...

"painting208424"                        a painting of the ruins of Mount Zoaka

Nothing remains of Mount Zoaka but utter desolation. The ground is cracked and heaved over itself, leaving the surroundings barren. The remains of the mountain itself are vague, a steady uphill trek covered in flows of lava and glassy obsidian. Smoke and steam rise from the ground in places as the wounded earth slowly cools.