Senator Sir L. Binghley-SprickfellowEsteemed colleagues of the Terran Congress, my apologies for the lateness of my response. I have been deeply engaged in my assigned task of assimilating the Kiadian people into our Republic. Thus far the natives have welcomed us with open arms. Why, only the other day I was out shooting pulsating mind tigers with the Raj when he said to me: “Galoop ballareep nangooblie-zop dingowalla-pop!” I believe the warmth of that statement should be evident to everyone.
Further evidence of their successful assimilation into our culture can be found in the following picture taken by one of my clones early on Tuesday morning in the foothills of the Northern continent:
The Kiadians have been doing wonders for our trade, the sale of false moustaches alone has gone up over 300%. Meanwhile, they have proven themselves adept at scientific and space engineering endeavours. Rather bloody marvellous, if you ask me.
Now, I must address the business of Senate and State.
First, the extended dossiers presented to me by my staff indicate that we are ahead in economic terms, yet behind in military matters. The recent skirmish with a highly advanced piratical space ship lends credence to this. We were able to overwhelm them only through the superior numbers engendered by the veritable economic powerhouse of our glorious homeworld. Therefore, my dear colleagues, we should funnel as much money as we can spare into the construction of a powerful navy. I am not the first to say this by any means, I wish only to add my voice to the choir.
On the subject of naval matters, there has been some discussion as to the direction of research. It is imperative that we take an edge over both friend and foe alike in matters technological as soon as possible. To that end, I recommend we disassemble the newly found space hulk in order to unlock its secrets. I would further mention at this point that this sort of task is the very thing that my Kiadian constituents are adepts of. If they can make my clockwork watch fire lasers, they can uncover the secrets of that ship in no time! Additionally, I am of the opinion we should follow a doctrine of superiority in numbers, gleaned through small short range fighters operating from a mother ship. It is in this area we should focus our research, until such a time a we can field larger, better armed and armoured vessels.
To address the right-honourable representative Mikheal Tallos directly: That one ship would outclass all of our other ships completely. While yes, it would make an excellent flagship in some respects, would any of our other naval assets be able to keep up with it? Should the ship be lost in combat with overwhelming numbers, what would we fall back on? Would we be able to commit the asset to combat knowing that we could potentially lose the secrets of one of the most advanced spaceships we have ever seen? Commissioning such a vessel should be a last ditch action in a difficult war, not something we do in a period of relative peace.
The next topic of discussion I wish to expand upon is interstellar relations. At this point, I have little to say. Obviously we should avoid war with potential threats such as the immediately hostile insectoids and Mortalen, but nor should we be naïve appeasers. I am of the opinion that we should gain closer relations with the Ugnari and independent Kaidians, securing alliances in a dangerous galaxy as soon as possible.
To finish my extended missive, I have one final suggestion. I propose a great building scheme across all of our colonies, constructing space ports in orbit. These would contain command and control assets for future naval actions, act as logistical centres, repair and supply private space traffic both aligned and neutral, draw trade to our worlds and cement our control over our burgeoning republic. However, I am fully aware of our present difficulties with materials, so this can be made low priority if necessary.
Update #3
Suggestion: Continue with research into carriers and fighters.
Suggestion: Expand military fleet
Suggestion: Focus on improving relations with the Ugnari and Kaidians in particular.
Counterargument: Disassemble the new starship for technology.
Special Request: Construction of a starport at Kiadia ASAP, similar starports should be built at all of our colonies for more robust trade and logistic support.