A change of pace

[Ktulha pervie]

The Colonel watched the holograms and listened to Cayran's explanations. The explanations seemed mostly condensed and focused on thematic points. For someone whose background wasn't engineering, technical design and construction of space installations was what was needed, while the details would have been needed for review by a special committee.

"Your plans are ambitious, I admit, but I didn't count as many turret nests as I expected. I understand that the station's core also needs to support production facilities for the inhabitants of Pygar. It needs to be made largely self-sufficient. However, I believe it will require an increase in the number of turret nests and the installation of weapon platforms. About three or four around the station's perimeter."

The Colonel pointed to the biodomes to draw Cayran's attention.

"What can you tell me about the flora and fauna that will be used to generate oxygen and maintain the supply system? There's a proposal to take some samples from Planet Jiangxi, as they're fast-growing and highly productive. However, the possibility of using certain plants will be discussed after initial negotiations."

The Colonel only knew that the plants could be genetically modified using Planet Jiangxi's radiation. But he decided not to mention this detail, as their use would be decided by others. Biryukov then turned his attention to the dry docks.

"Our agreement that Coalition ships have the right to use your Corfu Base for resupply is subject to expansion. These dry docks could be used for more thorough repairs of our ships and for temporary berthing of higher-class ships, such as battlecruisers and battleships. Order capital ship on orbit of Corfu will not help us against Corsairs if they will try to Planet, as we perfectly know Order is collaborating with them. However, expanding dry docks would also allow more transport ships to dock simultaneously. "

The Colonel considered using Corfu as a staging area for ongoing offensives against Corsair forces and possibly besieging Freeport 9 in the future to reclaim it from enemy control. But a more pragmatic option was to fortify Corfu with as many weapons as possible, while still being able to deploy heavier ships in case of a full-scale siege from the Corsairs, in order to repel it or at least buy time until the main forces arrived.