| |
| Watchpoint Alpha | |
| General information | |
| Affiliations | Rubicon Research Institute, Planetary Closure Administration |
| Real world information | |
| Appearances | ARMORED CORE VI FIRES OF RUBICON |
Watchpoint Alpha is one of the Watchpoint facilities built on Rubicon 3 by the Rubicon Research Institute to monitor Coral flows. It was originally concealed in the Unobservable Area outside Old Bertram Spaceport in Rubicon 3's Central Ice Field region by the Planetary Closure Administration, but its existence came to light after the destruction of IA-02: ICE WORM, which was guarding the area.
Overview[]
Watchpoint Alpha is a cavernous subterranean facility that connects the surface of Rubicon 3 to Institute City, the headquarters of the Rubicon Research Institute. After the Fires of Ibis, the Planetary Closure Administration occupied the Watchpoint and put multiple defensive measures in place to keep Institute City sealed off. The mainframe for the Enforcement System, the PCA's administrative AI, was also built inside the Watchpoint to protect it and serve as the facility's final line of defense.
Layout[]
Depth 1[]
Depth 1 is the entrance to Watchpoint Alpha. It consists of an elevator shaft descending from the surface to the entrance to Depth 2. The PCA modified Depth 1 to stop the elevator from descending all the way if intruders were detected, and placed the autonomous artillery unit AB08: NEPENTHES at the bottom of the shaft to annihilate anyone attempting to circumvent the elevator.
Depth 2[]
Depth 2 is a section of the Watchpoint containing various railyards and warehouses for the transportation and storage of resources. It is guarded by numerous autonomous PCA MTs, as well as AAP03: ENFORCER.
Depth 3[]
Depth 3 is the last charted section of the Watchpoint. It holds an enormous reactor which supplies power to an impenetrable laser grid blocking any further progress while it is active, and the mainframe for the Enforcement System. In the event the reactor is sent into meltdown by an intruder, the Enforcement System is programmed to deploy its final weapon, the AC IA-C01: EPHEMERA, to stall the intruder long enough for the reactor's blast to destroy them.
Unknown Territory[]
Unknown Territory is an uncharted section at the lowest depth of Watchpoint Alpha that leads to Institute City. It consists mostly of caverns and tunnels, but halfway through it passes through a ruined structure presumably from the time before the Fires of Ibis. Handler Walter explains that the structure contains breeding pods for mealworms, and with the pods broken open, numerous mealworms have escaped into the caverns and grown to an unnaturally large size by gorging on Coral.
Related Missions[]
- Underground Exploration - Depth 1
- Underground Exploration - Depth 2
- Underground Exploration - Depth 3
- Intercept the Redguns
- Ambush the Vespers
- Eliminate V.III
- Unknown Territory Survey
- MIA
Gallery[]
