SUPERIOR TACTICS: PERMANENT EXHIBIT — a point-and-click adventure in the spirit of 1990

▶︎ PLAY THE PROLOGUE FREE
The Superior Fleet Museum

Graveyard Orbit · Established at the end of the war · Opening hours: not yet

OPENING SOON

Your Guides

Six caretakers were posted aboard to keep the fleet ready for opening day. Nobody ever cancelled their orders. Eleven years later they are still here, still ready, and listed in the museum's inventory like everything else.

Every item aboard has a lot number. The staff asked whether that included them. It does.

THE CARETAKERS · LOTS 212–217

Dex: spiky brown hair, a lopsided grin and an orange engineer's jumpsuit with a screwdriver in the pocket.

LOT 212

DEX

Engineer

ORIGINAL, SLIGHTLY USED.

Keeps the fleet in working order, mostly by hitting it. Can kick open anything that's jammed, and a few things that weren't.

“DON'T TOUCH ANYTHING. THAT'S MY JOB.”

Mara: an auburn ponytail, flying goggles pushed up, and a light blue flight suit with a pilot's wings badge.

LOT 213

MARA

Pilot

VINTAGE.

The fleet's last qualified pilot, in a fleet that is not allowed to fly. Has not left the hangar in eleven years, and would like that on the record.

“I'M A PILOT, NOT A PLUMBER.”

Cookie: a tall chef's hat, a big grey moustache, rosy cheeks and a steaming mug.

LOT 214

COOKIE

Cook

WITH SOUP.

Has run the officers' mess since the war, and still lays the table for twelve every night, just in case. Responsible for Lot 88, and proud of it.

Wren: a black bob, big headphones with a microphone and an aerial, and a purple uniform.

LOT 215

WREN

Comms officer

TALKATIVE.

Has kept a channel open to the Admiralty for eleven years, in case anyone calls. Nobody has. Wren has filled the silence personally.

Hollis: bald with grey tufts, round spectacles, a pencil behind one ear and a red ledger, in front of a wall of drawers.

LOT 216

HOLLIS

Quartermaster

COUNTED.

Knows where every one of the fleet's 41,006 stores is kept, and which nine are missing. Will count you on the way in, and again on the way out.

Penny: yellow bunches with red bobbles, freckles, a big smile and a volunteer's badge on a lanyard.

LOT 217

PENNY

Volunteer

UNPAID.

Signed up to help for one weekend before opening day. That was eleven years ago. Still very keen. Still unpaid.

ALSO ABOARD

The Docent: a white tour robot with a cyan visor, a red-tipped aerial, a brass name plate and a tour flag.

STAFF

THE DOCENT

Tour robot

ONE WHEEL. MANY OPINIONS.

The museum's tour robot. It has waited in its alcove on the bridge for eleven years to give the full tour, and has rehearsed it every day. You are its first visitors. Please stay with the group.

“WELCOME TO THE BRIDGE! YOU ARE MY FIRST VISITORS IN ELEVEN YEARS.”

Admiral Vance's portrait: grey hair in a bun, a stern frown, and a navy uniform with gold epaulettes and medals, in a gold frame.

OUR FOUNDER

ADMIRAL VANCE

Commander of the fleet

FORTY BATTLES. ONE FROWN.

She commanded the fleet from the bridge of the SUPERIOR through forty battles, and designed her own portrait for the officers' mess. Its eyes follow you round the room. The eyes were her idea.

Auditor Pell: a tight black bun, an unimpressed look and a grey suit, holding up a clipboard stamped SCRAP and a rubber stamp.

NOTICE

A VISITING OFFICIAL · BY ORDER OF THE ADMIRALTY

Auditor Pell of the Admiralty is aboard tonight. Somebody started the flagship's engines, which the treaty does not allow, and she has come to see about it. Her ruling is simple:

OPEN THE MUSEUM BY NINE, OR THE FLEET IS SURPLUS.

If the fleet is surplus, the other side gets the flagship as a ride, and everything else on the inventory goes for scrap. That includes the soup (Lot 88) and the staff (Lots 212–217).

Staff are asked to be helpful, punctual and open by nine. Please do not offer the auditor soup.