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130. SPOTLIGHT ON: Watchtower Zil


A freestanding Ele space station on the border between the Ele Dominion and ‘uncharted’ space. Watchtower Zil is equipped with long-range sensors primed to detect a wide range of variables, and serves primarily as a monitor of beings entering or leaving the Dominion nearby. A series of watchtower stations runs the length of the Ele border, anchored in place by advanced gravimetric drives which simulate the presence of a planet or moon nearby.

Though Watchtower Zil and its kind do police those entering the Dominion, their primary purpose is to prevent Ele from leaving the territory unsanctioned. The Ele Metanation spreads between its farthest points and assimilates all beings within its area, so Ele leaving the Dominion without first being isolated from the greater system pose a significant risk to the galaxy at large. The watchtowers ensure that the Metanation’s influence does not spread beyond the Dominion’s borders.

Watchtower Zil also offers a number of more utilitarian services, however. These include opportunities for spacers to eat, drink and rest, terminals at which to acquire maps of the local area and plan onward journeys, and refuel their starships. Astrum-36 is in notably short supply throughout the Ele Dominion, so a number of alternative fuels are made available.

The Watchtower has a resident population of around fifty Ele, who maintain and operate the station’s amenities and sensor suite. Each such station also incorporates a ‘panic button’ which will notify El-Kera directly if any large-scale threat should cross the border - in either direction.


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