That was indeed a problem. Agricultural World 496B had once been nothing more than a backwater planet. Chaos ships, pirates, and alien raiders had never bothered coming here.
But things were different now. With its Psychic Lighthouse lit, Agricultural World 496B shone alarmingly bright. All manner of unsavory characters would inevitably be drawn to it, so the planet's defenses could no longer be neglected.
Li Qinwu asked:
"Do we have any plans for future development?"
Governor Zeppelin nodded.
"Yes. Our planet already has a space station and a Space Elevator. We plan to spend a hundred years converting the existing station into a Space Fortress while keeping it in operation."
There was currently a space station above Agricultural World 496B, serving as a link between orbit and the Hive City.
The station was not particularly large. It could accommodate only ten visiting merchant ships at a time.
Governor Zeppelin intended to make the space station the focus of their upcoming defense efforts, expanding its length, width, and height by several hundred meters each year and installing more Macro Cannons and Lances.
In theory, after fifty to a hundred years, the space station could grow into an orbital megastructure fifteen kilometers in diameter.
Since a Space Fortress of that size had no need to move, it could be fitted with more Void Shields, house more Plasma Reactors and gun batteries, and accommodate more visiting ships.
A space station built that way would be like the coastal artillery of World War II, capable of thoroughly outmatching seagoing warships.
With just six such Space Fortresses, the planet's orbital defenses would be secure. Even a Chaos Fleet of twenty or thirty ships would never be able to crack them.
But once again, time was the problem. The dream was grand; reality was harsh.
Given