The Owl Dragon Star System
This time away from the Owl Dragon Star System might be counted a rather long stretch; and though he had come back within it once or twice upon this business or that, it had always been in haste.
With no time at all to be at leisure.
And now Zhao Chen at last had the chance to look quietly once more upon this star system where he had made his start.
Through the port, Zhao Chen gazed at the star in the distance, and at the scattered points of light further off still.
"This is the latest state of the Owl Dragon Star System's development. And a plan for the future besides." Jiang Hong, the acting lord, stood beside Zhao Chen and made her report.
Zhao Chen ran his eye over it.
These plans Jiang Hong had in fact settled with Lilith beforehand; only once Lilith had confirmed them did Jiang Hong's side have the right to go on drawing up what came below.
So that what was set before Zhao Chen had, in the main, no very great problem in it.
Within this plan was set out the Owl Dragon Star System's next 10 years.
Considering that the interstellar map Zhao Chen now touched had already spread to two further great empires.
A great many things had to be taken into account.
First of all, interstellar transport.
Within this plan, the Owl Dragon Star System was to build out, at the star system's fringe, a projected 10 medium-and-large star gates, 30 small star gates, and five special star gates.
The medium-and-large star gates were chiefly for passage to the capital worlds of the three great empires, and to certain important hub systems and resource systems; these were to be borne by the T4 Voyager-class Star Gate Zhao Chen had obtained before.
While the other 30 small star gates were, as the name says, for short hauls.
Chiefly to connect several important strategic hubs within the Starlight Empire's borders, and so make the Owl Dragon Star System's contact with the outside world convenient.
For which Zhao Chen had expressly redeemed a T4 Wanderer-class Small Star Gate.
As for the five special star gates, those were still to be borne by the T3 Radiant Moon-class Star Gate.
Why this T3-grade star gate should still be used — ask, and the answer is that it gives good value for the money.
The special star gates were chiefly in the service of the Owl Dragon Legion, or rather of the Owl Dragon military industry.
So that the demand upon carrying volume was not high; it was merely that certain places lay rather far out of the way.
And the T3 Radiant Moon-class Star Gate was precisely a gate of small carrying volume but wide range.
As for why so many star gates were to be built.
That, of course, had to do with the Owl Dragon Star System's positioning in the years to come.
First, though the Owl Dragon Star System had grown prosperous under Zhao Chen's development.
It was, being limited by its resources after all, fated never to become a high-resource producing district; nor was it a suitable trade-hub system either.
Jiang Hong had proposed before that the Northern Goose Group's military industry might be moved into the Owl Dragon Star System.
But Lilith had refused it.
Her reason being that the Owl Dragon Star System was only so large; move too much military industry in and it must call for a great quantity of people, and trade and transport and the rest besides.
Which looks like making the Owl Dragon Star System greater, but in fact makes it far more disordered to manage.
For the Owl Dragon Star System the harm would outweigh the good.
And in Lilith's conception, the Owl Dragon Star System was to be built into a high-value star system.
Military industry it must have, but not the middling and low grades of military industry.
The production of T1- and T2-grade interstellar warships, for instance — the manufacture of those interstellar warships had all been handed over entire to outside military industries under the Owl Dragon Legion, such as the Northern Goose Group.
And the Northern Goose Group would in future build branches all over the Starlight Empire, and draw the Starlight Empire's development along as a whole.
This being a matter raised before now.
At present the T3-grade and T4-grade military industry, and the T5-grade only just begun, were the charge of the starship manufacturing industry here in the Owl Dragon Star System.
Zhao Chen looked at this map of the Owl Dragon Star System's planning, wherein a district touching the Owl Dragon military trades was marked off expressly, given over to producing those high-end interstellar warships of the Owl Dragon line.
The number of interstellar warships to be produced in this district was not great, but the profit and the value of every single hull were exceedingly high.
And as the Owl Dragon Legion's technology climbed hereafter, production tasks such as those for T3-grade interstellar warships would by degrees be phased out too, and handed to the Northern Goose Group.
So that the Owl Dragon Star System, though it had no vast starship manufacturing industry, would have the most advanced starship manufacturing industry!
Which was precisely what the Owl Dragon Star System needed.
At the same time, the Owl Dragon Star System had one district more — the Owl Dragon Legion's station, the Owl Dragon Base!
Hard against the Owl Dragon industrial district.
The Owl Dragon Legion was now a banner in itself; so long as the Owl Dragon Legion stood in the Owl Dragon Star System a single day, the Owl Dragon Star System was a thing out of the common.
Besides which, this planning had one district more in it than before.
Called the "Owl Dragon Free Trade Zone," made up of several asteroids and interstellar space stations; and in future several planets within that district would be ecologically remade and taken into it as well.
Every interstellar enterprise under the Owl Dragon Legion would set up its headquarters here.
Hereafter, whatever great business was to be talked of, all of it would come here.
Beyond this, the Owl Dragon Star System was making ready besides to build a high-end seat of learning, something like a larger and more comprehensive "Goddess Academy-class starship", which might use those technologies in Zhao Chen's hands now nearing obsolescence to draw talent in and attract it.
And let them do research in the Owl Dragon Star System, and teach, and train talent, and the rest.
Under all this cultivation together, the Owl Dragon Star System would become the true center of these three great empires!
The uncrowned king!
As for how long it would take — Zhao Chen did not know that either.
But he knew it was a thing that must be done; for otherwise, should the day come when he was gone, would that not mean the Owl Dragon's technology stood still and went no further?
That would not do.
Zhao Chen must lay his plans early, so that supposing the day truly came when he was gone, the Owl Dragon Star System, leaning upon this inheritance Zhao Chen left behind, might still hold the three empires in balance.
"It will soon be four years, will it not?" Zhao Chen said of a sudden, in a mutter.
Jiang Hong was blank a moment; then she understood what Zhao Chen was speaking of, and answered, "A full four years — this is already the fifth."
"Jiang Hong, do you not feel it is all rather like a dream?" Zhao Chen laughed at himself a little.
Jiang Hong supposed the Commander was speaking of the whole of this development.
And indeed, in the space of a bare five years, the Owl Dragon Star System had gone from an already barren star system to become at a single bound the most brilliant new star in the Starlight Empire, and in the three great empires besides.
She, this acting lord, now dealt with people of the order of dukes and marshals.
To think of it was to feel it past all belief.
And now there were visions further off still; it was hard to imagine, were this plan in her hands to be realized, what a scene of splendor the Owl Dragon Star System would be.
"Just so. It feels as though all of it were a dream. Several times, when my secretary has reminded me of a new day's work packed full from end to end, I have felt… that none of it seems real."
By the end of it, Jiang Hong was looking at this man with some resentment.
He truly was content to be a lord who let the reins drop; apart from the business over on the Owl Dragon Legion's side, every other affair of the Owl Dragon Star System was handed to her to manage.
One who did not know would suppose that she was the Owl Dragon lord.
In fact, Jiang Hong had guessed wrong.
What Zhao Chen meant by like a dream was a sigh over his own life.
From that one dream five years ago, coming into this interstellar age, all of it now made him feel as though he were dreaming.
"Report. Marshal Zhao Ruyue and the Empress request an audience." And just at this moment a voice window sprang up.