Chapter 267: Contribution, Rewards, And Development Structure 2
"You found the region," Cassian said. "You secured the foundation. Refusing all personal reward may sound humble, but it creates the wrong example. If people discover new territory and build something valuable, they need to be rewarded clearly. Otherwise, future commanders learn that success only brings more work."
That was hard to argue against.
Orvain gave a faint smile. "Take the reward. If I had to guess, you’ll probably invest most of it back into the March anyway."
Astercourt looked at Aurelian without hesitation.
"He will."
Aurelian sighed. "I feel very understood today."
A few people in the room quietly smiled, and the atmosphere lightened for a moment, though the discussion itself remained serious.
Cassian continued.
"Your personal share won’t be excessive. Enough to recognize your contribution, but not enough to create problems later. The current proposal gives you five percent of the net output from family-administered expansion holdings during the first phase."
This time, Aurelian reacted instantly because he knew this was better than he expected.
Five percent sounded small at first.
But it is not, if considered in the massive scale it is in.
If the Crownward March grew into multiple systems and even some of those systems became productive, five percent could become a staggering amount of wealth over time.
He looked at his father.
"I’m guessing negotiating downward isn’t an option."
"No," Cassian said simply.
Astra stood nearby with her usual calm expression, though Aurelian thought he saw the faintest hint of approval in her eyes.
Neris, who had remained mostly quiet until now, finally spoke.
"Useful. Very useful."
Aurelian turned toward her.
"You already have plans for money we don’t even have yet."
"Yes."
"At least wait until it exists."
"No."
The meeting soon shifted toward development priorities, and the atmosphere changed again. Everyone present understood that building worlds mattered just as much as winning battles.
Larkspur Haven was habitable.
But it had been damaged.
The planet still needed recovery work, and rushing things would only create bigger problems later.
Elowen stepped forward when her turn came. She didn’t speak dramatically or try to impress anyone. She simply explained the situation the way she always did.
"If we want Haven to become a strong world someday, we can’t treat it like a warehouse with air and land. Some areas need time to recover, and opening everything too quickly will only hurt us later."
One of the older ecological specialists from the family nodded immediately.
"She’s correct. A recovering world can be damaged just as easily by success as by war."
Aurelian noticed Elowen relax ever so slightly.
That mattered because the Arcturus family had older ecological shipgirls and experienced specialists, some far more powerful than Elowen.
But Elowen knew Haven.
She had personally worked on its recovery.
That gave her words weight.
Cassian looked toward her.
"What do you need first?"
Elowen already had an answer.
"Survey teams that listen to local conditions. Soil labs. Water purification systems. Atmospheric scrubbers for damaged regions. Seed banks. And authority to stop settlement groups from building wherever they think is convenient."
Astercourt immediately replied.
"Granted, if Aurelian approves."
"I approve," Aurelian said.
The room moved on to production after that.
Meridian brought up several reports, and the discussion quickly became more technical.
Larkspur Haven’s shipyards were working, but they weren’t uniform. Some production lines came from captured Kharov equipment.
Others had been restored from Helion Bastion Twelve. Some used Alliance tools provided by the family.
The system worked.
It just wasn’t elegant yet.
Meridian calmly displayed the numbers.
"Tier IV production is stable. Tier V production is possible but is limited by the availability of rare materials and specialists. Specialized vessels take significantly longer."
Aurelian nodded.
That matched what he already knew.
Then Meridian brought up a specific topic.
Ecological ships.
More specifically, ships similar to Elowen’s Whiteheart.
The March would eventually need more vessels like that.
Not necessarily full shipgirls, but at least support ships that could help with restoration, environmental recovery, farming systems, climate control, and future terraforming work.
Meridian pointed at the projection.
"The issue is complexity. Ecological ships are very different from transports. You can’t simply build a large hull, add cargo space, and call it complete. The internal systems are delicate and require precise material tolerances."
One of the family engineers frowned slightly.
"Production estimate?"
Meridian answered immediately.
"With current March facilities, one Tier III ecological support hull every three months if everything goes well."
Astercourt adjusted her glasses.
"Everything rarely goes well."
Meridian nodded.
"Exactly. With family automation and specialist support, perhaps one every two months. Better numbers are possible if Eirenne allocates additional processing power, but she is already performing the work of a small government."
Eirenne smiled politely from her projection.
"I appreciate the recognition."
Several people quietly smiled.
Nobody argued with the statement.
If anything, Eirenne might have been underselling her workload.
Aurelian looked toward the display.
"Can we expand the production line?"
"Yes," Meridian said. "But not immediately. We need clean-room fabrication systems, bio-synthesis cores, atmospheric modeling suites, and specialists who understand why rushing those systems can poison an entire continent."
The ecological specialist visibly winced.
"Unfortunately accurate."
That answer alone told everyone in the room all they needed to know, as mistakes in ecological systems didn’t just break equipment.
Sometimes they ruined worlds, which they would not like to see, as it would ruin the first planet they had secured in this sector of the universe.
Aurelian tapped the table once while considering everything, although March was growing quickly, but it was growing too quickly in some areas.
And growth without support was how territories failed, which is something he will need to fix, which will take time, and this is something that is unavoidable.
He looked toward Elowen.
Then Meridian.
Then Eirenne.
"Ecological ship production becomes a priority," he said. "But not a reckless one. Elowen gets authority over deployment needs. Meridian gets authority over production safety. Eirenne coordinates with family engineers."
"Accepted," Meridian said.
Elowen nodded as well.
Eirenne gave a graceful bow.
"Understood."
