From cannon fodder to sweeping across thousands of stars.

Chapter 522 Orbital Defense Platform
"Master, are you planning to focus on the Rubion system first?"

After watching Amber advance the completion date of the maintenance of the three unmanned fleets to now in the command interface and assigning destinations to each of them, Lilith asked.

Amber nodded without hesitation: "Yes, we have already laid a lot of foundation in the Rubion galaxy, and the initial investment is not counted. It hasn't even started to pay off. I don't want anyone to interfere at a critical juncture."

Lilith: "What about the A-Bava-Ku Fortress and Pyla IV? From what you said, Master, you only plan to leave an unmanned fleet on Pyla IV, and not deploy a fleet defense at the fortress?"

"The situation in these two places is relatively stable at the moment, and there won't be any threats in the short term." Amber casually opened a star map. This three-dimensional star map with a 'situation map' function has been updated relying on Lilith's information collection ability.

He pointed to the two areas mentioned by Lilith, one in the no-man's land and the other in the former empire, and continued:
"The common feature of these two places is that they are temporarily away from the flames of war. I think that after the last display of strength, no one will dare to attack the asteroid fortress in the short term. Moreover, after Saleh moved here with the dock, he helped upgrade the Forerunner's 'mining equipment', and now it can fire three times in a row.
At the same time, the 'satellite missile group' and new automatic defense equipment have been deployed, and the marines inside the fortress have also been replenished. Even if someone is really desperate and comes to besiege, they can hold out for a long time.

As for Pyra IV, the main construction work of 'fortification' of several key nodes on the planet's surface has been completed, and the fusion reactor group has been put into operation. Except for some heavy artillery positions that are still waiting for the main guns, these places actually have combat capabilities.

And the 'Orbital Defense Platform'."

As Amber spoke of her judgment, she clicked a few times on the star map, and finally zoomed in on the location of Pella IV. A layer of densely packed "small dots" also appeared on the outer layer of the three-dimensional model of the planet.

"According to the Outer Space Engineering Department, the completion of Pyla IV's 'Orbital Defense Platform' has reached 72%, and the completed parts have been put online and entered the trial operation stage. In addition, an unmanned fleet has been dispatched as a mobile force. Unless we are attacked by a massive fleet or a direct attack by a celestial fortress, I am not too worried about the defense."

"And the Empire really doesn't have the time to dispatch such a large force to attack this planet that has no strategic value. Master, I'll do the math again. Please wait a moment~"

Lilith continued what Amber had said, and at the same time, she recalculated based on Amber's current deployment and the actual conditions of the two key locations.

After a moment, Lilith looked at Amber again: "If the 'Orbital Defense Platform' of Pyla IV can be fully online within the next month and a half as scheduled, then we can indeed reduce the threat from the Empire in this direction and the probability that they may take military action."

The "orbital defense platform" mentioned by Amber and Lilith is a planetary end defense system composed of 2400 large autonomous defense platforms and planned to be deployed in the high orbit of Pyra IV.

Most of the defense platforms are equipped with firepower projection capabilities equivalent to heavy cruisers, and a few defense platforms that serve as "regional cores" are equipped with battleship-level weapons.

Of course, as the current mainstream defense system of mankind, there will naturally be no shortage of deflection field generators.

Therefore, each defense platform has the ability to independently supply and store energy, and can also supply energy to surrounding damaged defense platforms in an emergency through microwave transmission.

These defense platforms are usually supplied and maintained by the 'Hive Core-Orbital Type' which is also deployed in orbit. In combat, the 'Worker Bees' released by the Hive Core can also carry out emergency repairs on damaged defense platforms.

Moreover, after abandoning the crew cabin, living quarters and other loads, the ammunition and energy reserves are greatly improved compared to manned units of the same size. In addition to the attitude control nozzles that need to change orbits or adjust positions on weekdays, the remaining power units of these defense platforms are array plasma thrusters arranged on the extension line behind the heavy particle cannon to offset the recoil.

When these components are integrated together, it is not difficult to see that the defense platform is a warship with a greatly reduced size.

However, the cost and technical requirements for building this thing are much lower than those for a battleship.

After all, defense platforms do not need to consider long-distance navigation, jumps, or tactical maneuvers in space, nor do they need to consider crew comfort, and they do not have the same structural strength requirements as warships.

Therefore, the manufacturing time and cost are not at the same level as warships. Especially after Atlas Group acquired a large number of physical industries sold by the military-industrial complex at a "fire sale price" and relocated them, the construction speed of these defense platforms is as fast as making dumplings.
Of course, low cost is only the most insignificant advantage of this system, and its technical level is not high. The Federation and the Empire can also manufacture and equip it. In fact, in the core galaxy circles of both sides, there are similar defense systems in the orbits of major colonial planets, military planets or industrial planets.

Even the orbital defense systems deployed on the capital planets of both sides can be said to have spared no expense, with firepower and defense at super-standard levels, known as the "absolute defense circle".
But the biggest difference between similar systems of the Federation and the Empire and the system deployed by Atlas on Pyla IV is the need for personnel to stay behind.

Even though the defense platform, which is the smallest node, does not require personnel to stay behind, the large defense platform, which is the "regional core", and the logistics platform responsible for daily maintenance and supply all need personnel to stay behind.

Moreover, the command platform is responsible for conducting operations, and it is a special decision-making body, the Orbital Defense Command. In terms of decision-making speed and efficiency of issuing instructions, it is definitely not comparable to the Orbital Defense Platform, which uses the Lilith clone as the system control core.
Amber asked Lilith to cooperate with Dr. Mephisto, who had already joined the Atlas Group's Technology Research and Development Center, and the team below to put together this defense system. In addition to using it as a "pilot" for unmanned combat units, the more important purpose was to solve Atlas' current manpower problems.

Unlike traditional countries such as the Federation and the Star Dragon Empire, the Atlas Group is obviously much more difficult to expand and has much higher manpower costs.

Especially in the absence of a military service system, the human costs of combat troops formed through similar "labor contracts" and the additional expenses that the group needs to pay when members of the combat troops are injured or killed have always accounted for the bulk of the group's "operating costs."

It may not have been felt in the past when the combat troops only had a few hundred or thousands of people, but with the rapid expansion of ground combat troops and fleets during this period, the manpower cost has reached an astronomical figure.

The problems that Amber had been worried about before, such as "slow expansion of combat troops" and "combat troops cannot afford casualties", have also begun to surface recently.

Although Atlas Group is currently expanding at a high speed, Amber has begun to discuss with a large number of recruited sociologists how the "global giant" can develop stably in the future, and plans to design a new system of "employee relations, hierarchy, power, and obligations."

The original intention of this new system is to scientifically "reduce costs and increase efficiency", but it is obviously not something that can be accomplished in a short period of time.

This made Amber finally make up her mind to agree to the construction of the Immortal Legion and the unmanned combat force. The "orbital defense platform" of Pyla IV was the second answer sheet given by Lilith besides the Immortal Legion.

This system was put to use even before it was fully completed.

(End of this chapter)