"I believe it will have to be a little bit more than that. Yes, I do have a personal stake in this since I [i]am[/i] assigned to the expedition, but that's not the point. I do not know how well you have been briefed about the means of getting where the ship is going, so let me quickly summarize." Persea said, switching her display to another file. The hologram that flashed to life was of a massive object. At the same time, a jamming device in her suit made the Eastwing drone cameras temporarily unable to broadcast.

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"You are about to learn something that my government only chose to disclose two weeks ago. Shortly before the cataclysm, my people have found a derelict ship on our former home world. It has been the source of much of our technology, most importantly our subspace drives. According to admiral Astra who is one of the last surviving members of our kind who actually saw the derelict, this... portal... is strikingly similar in construction, from the materials used to its function. That is why she theorized it is capable of generating artificial jump node to virtually any point in space. However, we have no way of knowing if it also requires a portal on the other end, and thus if this subspace structure can be used to travel back home."

"For that purpose, this ship will have to not only be self sustaining, but also capable of defending itself. The people on board may well have to rely on it for the rest of their lives." she finished the explanation. The image of the portal vanished and the drone cameras started buzzing around, trying to quickly accomplish a set of directives queued for them that didn't make it through the jamming before it turned off. "I will give you a copy of the file as well as a more detailed report. Your government is free to distribute it as you see fit."

"Back to the question at hand, the ship will need to be armed and carry a strikecraft complement, along with factory units to support this equipment. In light of what you told me, it may be beneficial to incorporate popup turrets. They may be more prone to breaking, but definitely less threatening." [i]A notion I would probably do well to forward to the Striker fleet.[/i] the Faira thought. "On top of the usual thing, space will need to be reserved for fuel collection systems and food production for the Khasi and Sinnsyk. Oh, and of course, laboratories and probably more comfortable quarters. This means that the extra space is going to take something off of the armor protection, however we have some ideas on how to bolster the ship's shielding."

"What worries me is the power plant. The vessel will be equipped with subspace motivator to transition the portal, but for local movement, bluespace drive is clearly superior. It's energy requirements are far too big for our fusion reactors though, and the RLC antimatter core would be impossible to refuel. I am hoping the Sinnsyk would be able to lend a hand there." Persea finished thinking out loud and sharing her worries.