APOLLO

"The cycle gives us purpose, gives us meaning. Each role shapes us, strengthens us, prepares us for greater service. In the glaciers, we learn patience. In the mines, we build endurance. In the factories, we master precision. But it's on the battlefield where we truly become whole. My squad leader says I show promise - says I might earn a glorious death in our next engagement with Artemis. I pray to be worthy of such an honour. To die in service of Apollo, to have my name etched on the Wall of Sacrifice... what greater destiny could one ask for?"

• Worker-Soldier PKR-591, Third Cycle, Pre-Battle Log

Apollo was the first city built on the moon, as mankind's technological progress was reaching new heights. Apollo's functional design and facilities are less advanced than those of Artemis and Ascension, which were built years later, but allow the city to mostly sustain itself nonetheless. As long as the vast storage of Omnimorph lasts, Apollo could theoretically keep going for a few more decades at least, but the constant fighting against the army of Artemis and the devastating raids by Artemis infiltrators have effectively put Apollo permanently on the brink of collapse.

Apollo city operates on an almost completely flat hierarchical structure. As part of the great "Cycle", every worker continuously rotates through duties as Astronaut, working in the factories, working in the mines, maintenance and so forth. Some lucky few are even selected as hosts for the Apollo AI for a few rotations. Like most AI, Apollo uses these host bodies to interact with her environment. Unlike many other AI's however, Apollo usually takes care not to harm her host body - if at all possible.

Being chosen as a host for the Apollo AI brings with it a short time of privileges that most of Apollo's workers could never dream of. For the duration of being the chosen host, the worker lives in private quarters and receives other preferential treatment...

Apollo AI gives her orders to a council of workers. These workers are on the council purely by merit of experience and length of service.

Being an older AI model, Apollo's hosts tend to overheat quickly and require prolonged cooling down periods several times a day.

Apollo city's workforce structure means it can shift its focus where it's required the most at any given time, maximising either its workforce when not fighting, or its military force when under attack. Fighting on the silent battlefields of the moon brings with it a certain honour, but also a unique form of terror. The average worker of Apollo simply doesn't live long enough to have to worry about the long term mental trauma caused by this especially unforgiving form of warfare though.

Scouts in their thin lightweight suits sacrifice protection for speed and manoeuvrability. But these suits tear open easily, bringing certain death for the wearer.

Being deployed as a scout is the most liberating and most dangerous part of a worker's job rotation, the duty where they are most likely to be killed. But they will also experience a few moments of personal freedom and serenity, that can never be found in the confines of the city.

The factories under the domes of Apollo produce an endless stream of spacesuits and weapons, fuelling the forever war with the city of Artemis.

Factory duty in Apollo is mundane, especially when compared to being out on the lunar surface...

...but death is everywhere on the moon. The relentless pace of work and aging equipment take their toll every day.

The next shift of workers is getting ready to take over - the factories never stand still!

Maintenance is a somewhat misleading term for the most important role a worker fulfils as part of their rotation. While on maintenance duty, a worker is charged with the running and the safety of the entire Apollo city. At any given time, the maintenance force is often one of the biggest of all workforces. Maintenance workers are crawling through the ducts and tunnels of the entire city, constantly fixing leaks, repairing power lines, maintaining air filters and untold other tasks. When the city is breached by Artemis infiltrators, it is the maintenance workers that will arm themselves and proudly stand in their way!

The maintenance tunnels are full of danger. All across the vast city old systems fail more and more often, usually with dire consequences for any workers nearby. Countless brave souls perish every day, bravely disappearing into a maze of tunnels, never to be seen again.

When on maintenance duty, the workers of Apollo are also effectively the city's defence force.

While the Astronaut soldiers fight on the silent battlefield outside, the maintenance workers will defend the city from the inside, stubbornly fighting for every tunnel and every junction. Maintenance duty may not be the most glamorous part of a worker's job rotation, but it is certainly the proudest and most important.

Working in the mines is the hardest, most physically demanding job in Apollo city. The mines are pressurised, but the danger of a fatal accident is always present, if not from the vacuum of space, then from failing machinery, sudden rockslides or toxic fumes.

During every shift, scores of workers are trapped in rockslides or simply get lost in the endless maze of mineshafts and tunnels. As each worker only carries enough air for the duration of their shift, they soon run out of air...

Apollo city was built on large frozen deposits of water. Working at the underground glacier that sustains not just Apollo with water, is by some regarded as the easiest job in Apollo. Working a rotation at the glacier is almost a form of reset, before beginning another, more difficult job a few rotations later. Most of the tasks here evolve around checking and maintaining the large pumps that distribute the water throughout the city. A considerable part of the water is exported to Ascension city, and from there even to Artemis. In return, Apollo receives most of its food supplies from Ascension.

Working in the cloning facility is regarded as a special privilege, especially when being able to witness the birth of a new batch of workers. Without the lifeblood of new workers, the city of Apollo would soon die and as such, both the facility itself and the newborn clones, are revered in an almost religious manner.

No matter where they currently work, after a long hard shift, exhausted workers briefly eat, drink and relax before their allotted rest period.

New clones are paired with an experienced worker when they first begin their life of duty. These pairs stay together until one of them is killed - seeing a worker alone during the rest period is therefore considered a bad omen.

Throughout the vast city of Apollo, dormitories come in all shapes and sizes. Sleep time is organized on a rotational basis, as one shift leaves for work, another takes over the beds for their rest period.

Any form of privacy or a personal life are non-existent in Apollo. But of course the workers of Apollo don't know any other way...

The rest period is suddenly interrupted when alarm sirens begin to blare - the city is under attack!