Tanya had said everything she could say; now the community needed space to discuss without feeling watched by the person asking them to transform their world, so she escaped to the familiar comfort of her workshop, where problems had practical solutions rather than political ones. The current problem she was working on was an orbital defence system for any system she settled.
The workshop was filled with focused intensity as Tanya spread holographic projections across every available surface. The Aegis Net design brief floated in golden light while Mera pulsed with colours that conveyed its enthusiasm for the company in the workshop. Tanya could feel that Sage was more active than normal.
//The fundamental challenge is not destruction,// Sage observed as Tanya manipulated power flow calculations. //It is control. We must make Eden-Five hard to enter, hard to target, and impossible to surprise.//
"Which means non-lethal systems wherever possible," Tanya replied, highlighting sections of the design that prioritised disabling over destroying. "We need to look like protectors, not conquerors. We need to focus on gaining a reputation for fairness."
Mera's bioluminescence shifted to deep blues and greens. The organism had no direct experience with warfare, but its dimensional sensing capabilities provided unique insights into the vulnerabilities of conventional defensive thinking. Tanya didn't know what Mera was trying to communicate, but she could sense they were missing something.
"The power backbone is our first critical decision," Tanya said, activating detailed energy distribution models. "Genesis or the workshop could serve as the central reactor, but that makes us a single point of failure... that also means we can't leave the system."
She sketched power flows that connected Eden-Five's geothermal taps and generators to an orbital base using either existing space elevators or ones they would have to build. The defensive network would be linked to the planet, allowing for larger power generation than if it had onboard generators.
//The orbital links would become targets themselves,// Sage pointed out.
Mera pulsed agreement, their patterns suggesting recognition of what they were doing. But that still didn't solve the problem.
Tanya dove into the technical details with focused intensity. She understood that engineering could mean the difference between salvation and catastrophe. She knew the tether would need to be well-protected as well as backed up. Microwave power transmission could be used if the line went down.
She worked on that before turning her attention to the shielding design. This was going to be a core element of her design and the section that would take most resources.
"The shield drone infrastructure needs to function as a carrier crossed with a hospital," she said, designing berth systems that could house thousands of autonomous units. "Each drone needs specialised roles, either umbrella units for wide-area coverage or ward units for localised protection or suture units for emergency repairs."
//And decoy units,// Sage added. //False signatures could misdirect enemy targeting while preserving the original drone.//
The drone designs emerged from practical necessity rather than theoretical perfection. Umbrella units carried shield generators powerful enough to protect civilian shipping corridors. Ward units created localised bubbles that could envelope ships under inspection or rescue. Suture units patched holes in orbital infrastructure with emergency shielding that bought time for proper repairs.
But it was the decoy units that made Tanya smile with professional satisfaction. Each one carried sensor packages that mimicked drone's unique signature, creating false targets that would force attackers to spread their fire across multiple apparent threats.
"The dimensional blocker is the most complex component," she said, establishing lattice points at strategic positions across the system. "It needs to deny vortex transitions continuously while allowing controlled friendly access."
//Phase-scramble fields,// Sage suggested. //Each node projects dimensional instability that makes forming a vortex window impossible. We can provide the master phase key for authorised users.//
Tanya wasn't sure exactly how Phase-scrambler fields worked at the moment, so she just wrote down a black box.
Mera's colours shifted to warning patterns. Warning of the trap they were creating for themselves and the allies. The blocker that protected Eden-Five would also limit their own escape options if something went wrong.
"Acceptable risk," Tanya decided. "We control the keys. And if we need rapid evacuation, the system can be shut down in sections."
The non-lethal interdiction suite required the most careful consideration. Every weapon designed to stop rather than kill carried political implications that extended far beyond immediate tactical effectiveness.
"Inertial dampening nets to prevent aggressive manoeuvring," Tanya said, adding systems that could force acceleration limits on approaching vessels. "Mass anchor for pinning ships that try to ram orbital installations. EMP pulses for selective weapons shutdown without affecting life support."
//Communications isolation is also required,// Sage added. //Force intruders to negotiate rather than coordinate with external forces.//
The workshop was filled with overlapping displays as the complete architecture took shape. The Aegis Citadel would serve as the central hub of the Aegis Net. A fortress visible from the planet's surface that announced defensive capability without aggressive intent. It would be connected to modularised nodes at key orbital positions that would interlock their fields, ensuring that losing individual stations wouldn't open clean holes in the coverage.
Most importantly, civilian corridors would provide clearly marked safe passages for normal trade and travel, making it obvious that the system protected rather than restricted legitimate activity.
"Resource requirements," Tanya said, pulling up fabrication estimates that made her wince. She could salvage most of it, but the crystal requirements would require some work to obtain or to grow.
//The Gamma-5s will prove essential for construction phase,// Sage observed.
"Which gives our refugees productive roles rather than just temporary shelter, but do we trust them?" Tanya said. She wasn't sure if it was wise to trust new refugees with orbital defence as their first project.
Mera's patterns brightened with what looked like approval of the Idea. Tanya couldn't help but ponder what made Mera so sure of their loyalty, or if trusting the strange alien was the wisest of ideas.
"Implementation timeline," Tanya said, breaking the design into achievable phases. "Immediate Citadel and a few nodes that cover key orbital lanes with partial blocker coverage and limited drone support. Phase Two expands to a full lattice of nodes and drone swarm capacity. Phase Three adds redundancy and hardened sensor networks. We will have to wait to see the result of the vote."
As the design session concluded, Tanya stood back to examine the complete architecture floating in holographic detail above her workshop tables. The Aegis Net looked like what it was intended to be: a shield rather than a sword, protection that announced capability without threatening aggression.
The only problem was building it; this wasn't going to be a quick task, and she didn't have access to the space docks she had hoped for.
//While you haven't successfully integrated the refugees into a civilisation, you have successfully negotiated their compliance. I deem the mission a success. // Sage announced as the holographic displays faded. //Workshop Level Three capabilities are now authorised.//
Before Tanya could respond, she was moved to a lower level, and the area around her began expanding in a way that defied normal spatial logic. The workshop walls receded into distant perspectives while new fabrication systems materialised from dimensional storage that had been waiting for who knows how long. What had been an engineering space suddenly became something approaching a small manufacturing plant.
"This is impossible," Tanya breathed, watching as the chamber expanded beyond anything she had imagined. Still surprised at how advanced gardener technology was.
The ceiling vanished into dimensional distance while assembly bays large enough to house capital ship sections arranged themselves in orderly rows. Each bay contained fabrication equipment that made her previous tools look like children's toys. A molecular assembler the size of buildings, quantum enhancement chambers that could process materials on unprecedented scales, and materialisation platforms that stretched into the distance.
//Level Three incorporates dimensional enlargement protocols,// Sage explained, as new systems activated around them. //The technology allows conscious manipulation of spatial ratios within controlled dimensional pockets. Components fabricated here can be enlarged or reduced relative to baseline space according to engineering requirements.//
Tanya approached one of the materialisation platforms. The system could create objects at molecular scale precision, then expand them through dimensional manipulation to any size required. A bolt designed at centimetre scale could be enlarged to meter proportions while maintaining perfect structural integrity. Ship components that would have required multiple assembly phases could be fabricated as single pieces regardless of their final dimensions. It meant she could continue to craft pieces before enlarging them, or even any truly fiddly pieces could be constructed at a macro scale and shrunk.
//The enlargement process maintains quantum coherence across all scale transitions,// Sage continued. //Materials fabricated at optimal microscale precision retain those properties when dimensionally expanded. This eliminates the structural weaknesses typically associated with large-scale manufacturing.//
She was excited, yet frustrated, that she only had access to this now. She understood what it meant. Ship construction that had required months of careful assembly could be completed in weeks. Vessels that had been limited by the sizes of available components could be designed without manufacturing constraints. The Aegis-class ships she'd struggled to mass-produce could be fabricated in batches using dimensional enlargement to scale proven designs to any required specifications.
But it was the sheer scale that left Tanya struggling to comprehend what she was seeing. The workshop had become large enough to fabricate vessels five kilometres in length, with assembly bays that could house entire fleets under construction simultaneously. The tools and fabrication systems were proportionally massive, each one representing manufacturing capacity that exceeded most planetary industrial complexes.
//This capability was always intended as your eventual reward,// Sage said, responding to her obvious amazement. //The benchmark achievements were designed to ensure you understood the responsibilities that accompany such unprecedented manufacturing power.//
Tanya had to wonder if there was a level 4, but first, she would need to use this new level.