Operations Center Alpha

Operations Center Alpha is the largest known currently-inhabited settlement on S.E.E.L. It was established originally in Nordic Frog Year -85 by the Anansi, and abandoned in Nordic Frog Year -70. It was rediscovered by Scrud in Nordic Frog Year -1, and re-inhabited by the Humans in Nordic Frog Year 2. Today (and since Nordic Frog Year 221), it is a joint Human-Anansi project.
The land for vast distances in all directions is a dense jungle inhabited by a dizzying variety of creatures, so the current focus at the Operations Center Alpha is xenogenetics analysis, botany, and atmospheric sciences. The Center is composed of approximately a dozen structures, several of them barracks and the remaining sealed research labs. One building serves as an equipment locker.
Also present at the outpost are launch structures that send equipment to the Beta and Ceti centers. It was deemed impractical to send biological people overland on S.E.E.L., due to the long distances. Equipment is launched by railgun on a parabolic flight through S.E.E.L.'s atmosphere to other research outposts, which are tens of thousands of miles away. Those who wish to travel to the Beta and Ceti centers must do so digitally via egocast and pass through high-altitude balloon relays.

Demographics

A single Anansi Queen and her hive operate out of the Center - twenty-eight Anansi in total. The twenty-six Workers are split evenly between biologists and hunters who secure food for the settlement.
Sixty-three of the remaining inhabitants are humans. Except for a single guard (who goes with field teams to keep them safe from predators during expeditions), the humans are all natural sciences researchers of one kind or another.
The remaining four inhabitants of the station are Synths. Synths make great S.E.E.L. researchers due to their digital form - they can travel freely between Alpha, Beta, and Ceti operations centers to keep tabs on all of the researchers.

Defences

The Center is surrounded by an electrified wall (to deter the jungle predators). Pulsecaster turrets (nonlethal electrical weapons) work to repel persistent threats. The jungle is constantly encroaching on the outpost, requiring several members of the outpost to cut back the jungle plants on at least a weekly basis.

Geography

The Center is built on and around a low hill and a shallow lake. Both of these features lie inside of a vast jungle that stretches completely to the horizon and beyond in all directions. The horizon can be seen from atop the hill, and explorers will often survey their surroundings from the observation post there before setting out.. The settlement's protective wall encircles the hill and lake. The lake is shallow and swampy, and has a strong smell. It is mostly home to small amphibians and algae.

Founding Date

Nordic Frog Year -85

Type

Outpost / Base

Population

105