"Get in touch with Caroline to come up with a specific plan, then just send it over to me like all the other proposals. I only see benefits to this, and it's not like we have much use for the crystal in its current state anyway," He replied after some thinking.
"Great! I'll get out of your hair then and get in contact with her," Hopi replied swiftly before leaving the table.
Once he finished eating, he began to plan once more to scout; this time, though, he was thinking of a different method of getting it done. Once Caroline finished the previous plans he assigned her, he would have a talk about his idea then, but for now Ridge could only continue training the troops.
Yet another two days passed; it was now the fourth of the fourth month; for Ridge, the days only seemed to be passing by faster and faster. The weekly production of the metal and wiring units was about ninety-eight units and thirty units, respectively. So, adding that onto their current stockpile, they had 4,732 metal units, 2,420 wiring units, and finally the most important one of them all, they had 3,336 units of food remaining.
Just under two months of food, and since they planted that first batch of starch plants on the second of the fourth month, it'll be ten days overdue till its harvestable. They really needed to find a solution quickly to this food shortage, he thought pensively.
It was during this time that he was mulling over the resources when he was approached by Caroline.
Sending out some data via the panel, she smiled as she walked up, " Finished the plans for the upgraded greenhouses, luckily didn't take long, we just expanded upon the foundation of the first iteration."
"Let's have a look then," Ridge said in response while opening his panel.
Just as Caroline was prepared to explain all the details, Ridge held up his hand.
"Save your voice; I'll just read the details myself. I'm sure it won't be that different. If it is, I can just let you know when I'm done reading," he smiled.
Scrolling through the data himself, he began to read the new plans. The first thing he noticed was the size; compared to the more basic design, these new greenhouses will be approximately twenty meters long, ten meters wide, and four meters high. The entire building will take up around a 200 m² footprint within the base.
The old greenhouse was designed to support around forty-five to fifty-five plants, though he didn't exactly remember how many they actually planted; this new design would almost triple that number. To be more specific, it would hold exactly 140 mature plants.
Scrolling down more, he saw that the harvest cycle was still the same seventy days; this time, though, with the added plants, when they were finished growing, each greenhouse would produce 550 food units every cycle. Since he had asked for around three of these to be built, they would produce 1,650 food units altogether.
"How much would these produce if broken down to individual days?" Ridge inquired.
"Mm, off the top of my head, around twenty-three something units a day," Caroline answered slowly.
Nodding at her words, he continued looking at the data. With around 200 food units from the first greenhouse they already built for each cycle, the total came up to 1,850 food units, which should cover roughly forty-five percent of the group's needs. Meaning that although they didn't solve the group's food problem, they were at least able to continue stretching it out until the base can produce more power for more buildings.
Finished with the food aspect of the data, he then scrolled further down to the end, where a conclusion showed the resources required to build the upgraded greenhouses. 228 metal units and 168 wiring units. Not bad, he thought to himself.
Seeing him close his panel, Caroline spoke up, "I've decided to name the first greenhouse design a type-S starchworks greenhouse and this second one a type-L starchworks greenhouse, just for convenience, really, but as you can see, they don't require many resources to be built. The only real problem is the base's current power output," she said while tsking.
"How much power does the base take up currently? And I guess I should also ask how much it produces, since we only have the advanced solar panels and battery system we set up within the first week of being here," he replied.
The two had also at some point walked all the way up to the wall, and Ridge leaned back against it as he awaited her answer.
"Uh, the solar panels, I believe, produce around forty-five kilowatts of power during the day, and of course, barring any bad weather, this is consistent. The base itself, without the added pressure from the new greenhouses, has a power demand of around forty kilowatts; however, this is where the problem starts to show up, because with the three new greenhouses, it brings the total power demand up to fifty-eight kilowatts. Which we can't support without cutting off the power for other things," she said.
"Did Hopi contact you yet about adding the large Aetherite crystal power system to the base?" he asked while rubbing his stubble.
"No, since you brought it up, I imagine she will soon, though, so until she gets in touch with me about it, I think we may have to put the construction of the greenhouses on hold," she answered with furrowed brows.
"Ok I agree. Go pester her about it as quickly as you can. The food situation is quite urgent," he said while standing up properly from the wall.
Nodding at his words, she walked away and towards the laboratory to do exactly that.
Scratching his head, Ridge let out a breath of air and walked to the south of the gate. He had sent out a message earlier while thinking and walking around the base to have the ten scouts meet him there.
He planned to scout the south this time. Although he worried about the base's safety, especially with Becke having escaped, he also knew that if he constantly loomed over Yayha and George while they fulfilled their duties to the best of their ability, it would seem like he was undermining them and, in general, didn't trust them enough. So, to avoid this, he just decided to go ahead with his own plans.
Changing course, Ridge walked back to the main base to grab some components of his suit that he wasn't wearing at the moment and also weapons and rations. It would be a bit embarrassing if they were all ready and he walked up completely naked without any equipment, figuratively of course.
This only took around ten minutes, so finally he was once again on his way to the gate. Using his wrist panel, he sent out a message to Yayha letting him know where they were going and also prepared a message to Caroline in regard to the construction plans.
'To Yayha,
I will be heading south to continue my scouting plan. I have full faith that you and George will ensure the safety of the base, so just keep me posted of any major incidents that pop up whilst I'm out and about.'
'To Caroline,
Leaving soon to continue my scouting plan. By the way, I also have another project idea that we can discuss when I get back; it's regarding drones and surveying the entire planet with them essentially. We can get into specifics later. As for the ideas we just discussed, once Hopi tells you about the crystals and all that, you have my full permission, if needed, to start constructing it.
Once again, when I return, you can give me the details on it. As for the three greenhouses, I should realistically make it back to personally approve them, but if I don't, you have my permission to build those as well.'
Stretching his fingers from all the typing, he sent out both messages and continued on his way. It didn't take long at all for both of them to reply.
'Yayha,
Understood, sir. Don't worry, I'll make sure things continue operating smoothly when you return.'
'Caroline,
I think it's a great idea, but the bad news is that we need Veltrite Ore for the drones. Unfortunately, our large ore vein that we're currently mining has none. So whilst scouting, if you spot a dense, silvery-blue metallic ore, that's what it is. It's excellent for its conductive and energy-retention properties, which also make it essential for compact, high-efficiency battery systems, sensitive scanner components, and lightweight structural elements in small aerial drones.
Without a source of Veltrite, the so-called drone factory would basically just be producing empty shells, meaning the advanced electronics, long-duration batteries, and reliable sensor packages you want for them wouldn't be there.
It'll also be a great metal to use if we choose to upgrade our current battery system within the base as well. Anyways, good luck and see you soon. Keep an eye out for that metal! '
Frowning as he read Caroline's message, Ridge just shook his head and let out a frustrated sigh; he could only hope to get lucky on this trip, otherwise his drone idea would be a complete bust.