With nothing to do at the moment since the production was mostly automated.
Andrew remembered the true reason he went to the asteroid.
Events that happened at the ship and the appearance of a potential powerful enemy in the system made him forget all about the crystal box he went to retrieve.
He gathered everyone in the conference module and brought the box with him.
-Ladies, this is a multi-choice treasure chest.
He said, placing the chest in the center of the module.
-There is a list of things we can get from this box, but the catch is that we can only choose one of them.
I asked you all here to help me choose as all the items on the list are incredibly valuable and they are all S- tier so there is no way to get them other than finding them in a box or capturing them from other ststionmasters, we wont even be able to copy the item we chose,
as the system won't alow it, not to mention we don't have the technology to do so.
Andrew explained everything as best he could since most of the ladies had never even heard about a crystal box before.
-Then why didn't you choose one of the items already?
Runir asked, not understanding Andrew's intentions for calling them here, as he always had the last word in everything anyway.
-Because the item we choose will be very important to our future so I think you all should have a say in deciding something so important to all of us.
He answered.
-Are there any more questions?
If not, I'm opening the box.
He said.
Seeing that no one wanted to speak, he proceeded to open the item.
The moment the lid was opened, a list of available items popped out in front of him.
The list was not long, containing only 6 items, but all of them were S-tier, and each one would be immensely useful to them.
The first item they could choose was a dreadnought-class ship, fully loaded and with a complement of an advanced droid crew to operate it.
The second item was a special jump gate, capable of sending whole armadas to wherever they'd like, no matter if there was a gate on the other side or not.
The third item was a shipyard, much more advanced and way bigger than the one Nairin wanted to build, capable of producing ships all the way up to the super dreadnought class, and big enough to build 100 ships at once, if they were of the cruiser class or smaller.
The fourth item was a repair dock, capable of repairing a ship no matter how damaged it was, even if the only thing brought back was a small aprt of the ship, this dock could rebuild the whole thing as long as it was able to identify the ship the part was from and had resources to do it.
The fifth item was a set of matter converters, one for organic and one for non-organic matter.
With these, they would not need to worry about the lack of materials of any kind.
The technology was also available through the research, but it was only available at tier 5, so they would need to wait for a long time to get it, and even then, it would not work as good as the one they could receive now.
What made this item even better was its ability to produce anything as long as it fitted inside of the device and it had enough matter to convert into the required materials.
The sixth and last item was a fully equipped medical substation, with the most advanced technologies that were not even available through research.
According to the description, this place was capable of even reviving the dead as long as the brain was not damaged and the time of death didn't exceed a certain time frame.
Additionally, it could produce all of the required medicine, nanites, and whatever else was needed for its operation and patient treatment.
The only downside to all of the items were their power requirements, as they were enormous and would require a fusion generator or several to power them up and use their full abilities.
Even the dreadnought class ship was specified to use helium 3 as fuel for its reactors.
When Andrew finished reading the descriptions of all the items, it became clear to all the ladies why he gathered them and wanted their opinion on this matter.
The choice was far from easy to make as any of the items would significantly impact their future, and every one of the technologies on the list was something they needed.
Each of the six items covered some of their needs; the problem now was deciding which needs should be addressed and which would be left to deal with later.
-I can already tell you that the ship is out of the question.
Andrew spoke first.
They all nodded in agreement, not needing any explanation as it was self-evident.
Simply put, they didn't need such a large ship for now, and during the invasion, it would attract the enemies, which was the last thing they needed.
-We should also discard the jumpgate.
It will be more trouble than it's worth, and if the invading forces catch wind of it, they will swarm us to take it over as it would allow them to conquer this whole universe in a matter of years.
Not to mention all the other universes, if they managed to figure out how to build more of them.
Arien explained her idea, and everyone agreed with it.
-As much as it pains me to say this, since I realy would love to have it, the medical substation is also not something we need at the moment, and even with its ability to revive the dead if the conditions are met, it wont do us any good if it's taken over during the invasion.
Iliana said with a pained expression.
As a doctor and an enthusiast of anything connected to medicine, this item would be like a dream come true for her, but there were other more pressing matters to consider.
-Alright, this leaves us with half of the original six choices.
Andrew stated the obvious when everyone agreed to Ilia's suggestion.
-We are already building a shipyard, but this one is way better than even the one I originally wanted to build, and with enough power and resources, we could have a fleet in a matter of days.
Not to mention that it can build even a super-dreadnaught, which, if I remember correctly, we would need to wait till the later part of tier 5 research to unlock.
So I propose choosing it.
Nairin said, while everyone was pondering about what to choose.
-Additionally, it could also be used to repair damaged ships, doubling as a repair dock.
She added.
-I'm actually, leaning more in the direction of matter converters.
Aelita said.
-They would allow us to equip everyone in space armor or even power armor, produce weapons, ammunition, food, clothes, drone parts, whatever we need.
Not to mention that they would make us truly independent from any merchants, be it the merchant guild or the ones we are expecting to arrive once the jump gate is operational.
She explained her choice.
-This has a lot of merit.
Arien agreed with her.
-We still have some food reserves, and we already have the hydroponics modules operational, but it will take months for the crops to be ready for harvest.
Additionally, my fleet has over a thousand people to feed, so these matter converters would go a long way in making sure that we don't run out of food.
Not to mention that Theresa's fleet will also need additional food sooner or later.
The commodore explained, and everyone had to agree that she was most likely right about it.
-Additionally, this would solve the problem with drone fighters' ammunition.
Lanarine said, opening her mouth for the first time since the meeting started.
-The missiles and bombs we have for them can be produced in parts and assembled with no problem, but we lack the explosives.
With these matter converters, we could make as much of them as we need.
She explained.
Usually, she was not the greatest fan of war, but she saw firsthand that pacifists dont stand a chance in this universe.
-I think you are all forgetting that soon enough, we will have our jump gate, and with it, we will be able to trade with the Moon elf empire.
Sarill said, reminding them of that fact.
-With their merchants coming here to trade, we should have no problem with getting everything we need or even ordering some things if necessary.
On the other hand ,I seriously doubt that they will sell us warships, which we need to defend ourselves against the invasion.
She said, surprising them all.
They indeed have forgotten about this fact, and most of the ladies were thinking that the matter converters would be the superior choice.
-Choosing the shipyard would also allow us to repair the three heavy frigates we captured.
Jalina added her thoughts.
-Tarina, what's your opinion?
Andrew asked the diplomat, who had been sitting quietly till now.
-I voted for the shipyard as well.
She said calmly.
-From my perspective, the only way we can survive is by having a strong enough fleet to make the enemy reconsider attacking us or, at the very least, to force them to negotiate.
She explained her position, giving the other ladies one more reason to reconsider their stance on the matter.
-Whatever we choose, we will need to start producing fusion generators and helium 3 collectors to power it.
Nairin said.
-And for the record, I also think we should get the shipyard. That way, I can stop producing parts for the one I'm about to build and divert all of that production power into making the jump gate.
She added.
-No, you will build the shipyard either way, and the reason for it is that we won't be able to power up the new shipyard or matter converters for at least two or three days.
Andrew said, pointing out a small detail she had missed.
-Since no one is interested in acquiring the repair station, we are down to two options, and I call for a vote to decide which one we will be getting.
-Why vote when you have the last word anyway?
Arien asked, surprised at this development.
-Not this time.
This is too important, and the decision we make right now will alter our actions and plans for the foreseeable future.
Andrew responded.
-Now, all of you voting for the matter converters, raise your hands.
He said.
Aelita, Arien, Lanarine, and Kirn, a who was sitting quietly but had a vote on behalf of Theresa, all raised their hands.
-Those of you in favor of the shipyard raise your hands.
He repeated, and the ladies did as instructed.
Iliana, Jalina, Sarill, Nairin, Runir, and Tarina rinsed their hands.
-It's decided then, we will get the shipyard, as for the other things we require, we will need to trade for them with the empire.
Andrew announced the decision.
-Why didn't you vote?
Aelita asked, surprised that he didn't raise his hand at all.
-Because I'm a greedy bastard and would prefer to get all six items if I could.
Andrew said with a grin, making the ladies chuckle at the answer.
This lightened the mood a bit as the ladies who wanted the matter converters were not happy that they lost the vote.
A moment later, he selected the shipyard, and a countdown appeared on the box along with the instruction to place the box in the desired location before the timer ran out.
They had two hours to do so, and Andrew decided to use a drone to deliver the box to the place where he wanted the shipyard to arrive.
-Arien, Kirna, contact your people and inform them that I want them to start building helium 3 collectors in all the systems along with the storage modules for it.
Andrew issued orders as soon as the drone was gone and he returned to the command center.
-Aelita, we need to do the same as soon as possible.
-I can start building them tomorrow, otherwise, Theresa's station will need to wait longer to catch up to Arien's stations.
The engineer answered.
She wasn't thrilled about the decision, but it was what it was, and she had to deal with it.
After a few minutes of thinking about the vote, she had to admit that the choice might be a superior one if the empire's traders were able to provide them with everything else, but that would also make them dependent on the delivery of goods from the empire.
The other ladies were also not that happy about it, but the majority decided, and they all agreed to it.