Gaia Station
Gaia Station is the agricultural and ecological center of the Fortrop. It is here that the entirety of the ship's food supply is produced, from the algae cultures and vat-grown proteins that form nutrient paste, to the rare hydroponic vegetables reserved for the upper decks.
Its population of approximately 20,000, known as the Gaians, consists of highly skilled biologists, botanists, and agricultural technicians. Gaia is very different to the other stations; there's less metal, less concrete. More life, somehow.
Daily Life
The station is quiet, filled only with the gentle hum of water pumps and air circulators and the faint rustle of leaves. The daily life of a Gaian is a routine of monitoring growth cycles, adjusting nutrient flows, harvesting crops, and conducting biological analysis.
While the environment is peaceful, it is underpinned by a profound, constant pressure: the knowledge that any failure, any disease, any mistake on their part could lead directly to mass starvation for the entire Fortrop.
Demographics
The Gaians are a culture defined by patience, observation, and a deep, almost spiritual connection to the life they cultivate. They see themselves not as workers, but as custodians of the ship's fragile ecosystem.
Their society values knowledge of living systems, precision, and a harmonious approach to their work. They are fiercely protective of their biomes, and a crop blight is treated with the gravity of a plague.
Weaving here is a delicate and precise tool; always used to help growth.
Government
Gaia Station is co-managed by the Ministry of Economy, which sets the strict food production quotas, and the Ministry of Science, which oversees the biological research.
The station's day-to-day operations are run by a directorate of senior botanists. Security is clinical and focused on bio-integrity.
The Wardens here guard the station's entry and exit points, enforcing strict quarantine and decontamination protocols.
The Watchers are integrated into the environmental control systems, their sensors calibrated to detect the earliest signs of plant disease, atmospheric imbalance, or unauthorized genetic modification.
Points of interest
Hydroponics Dome Alfa is the largest agricultural dome, containing acres of leafy greens and vegetables growing in nutrient-rich water under the glow of the massive sun-lamps.
The Aquaculture Sphere is a spherical water tank suspended in the station's central cavern, where algae cultures and protein-rich fish are farmed. Its bioluminescent algae cast a gentle, eerie green light throughout the station's hub.
The Seed Vault is the most secure location in Gaia. A cryogenically frozen and heavily guarded vault containing the last genetic samples and viable seeds from Earth. It is the Fortrop's ultimate link to its past and its only hope for a future on solid ground.
The Terraces are the homes for Gaians, built as a series of stepped terraces along the curve of a dome, allowing each small dwelling to have its own personal garden plot. It is the only place on the ship designed to feel natural.
Architecture
The geography of Gaia is unlike any other station. It is not a network of corridors, but a series of massive, interconnected biosphere-domes, each a self-contained and precisely controlled environment.
The architecture is one of vaulted ceilings fitted with brilliant, full-spectrum sun-lamps, glass-walled tanks, and vast fields of green. Sealed, sterile transit tubes connect the domes, ensuring no cross-contamination.
The air is warm, humid, and rich with the scent of chlorophyll and clean soil, a smell that is utterly alien to the rest of the Fortrop's inhabitants.
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