Bucksworth felt a bit of salt in Holliday's words and immediately tried to correct the situation. He wanted the deal to be as good as it can be. His goal was for both sides to benefit, while reducing the required bureaucratic hustle as much as possible. He tried his best to make it clear.
"I may have not phrased it correctly, and I apologize for making it sound like a one-sided deal. As I said, we can still host labs for MFE aboard our stations. The definition of 'ambassadorial labs' is purely arbitrary and only exists to enable a channel through which we can conduct joint research aboard Cryer stations as well as MFE, with as little limitations as possible. I'm just trying to find ways to overcome legal complications that may arise from the matter. I'm sure you can understand.
The recent bloodshed between Liberty and Pennsylvania's Zoners is indeed unfortunate, and would definitely complicate matters in regard of Syracuse. I would've recommended opening a lab on Atka as well, but there's not much real estate left on the station. Any attempt to expand it was immediately halted by GMG, and I wouldn't risk it again. As an alternative, if you don't feel safe in Liberty space, I could offer lab space on an island we rent on the surface of Planet Curacao in Cortez. It's an independent world, so you wouldn't have to fear Liberty officials sniffing around."
Bucksworth finished his coffee and tried to calculate the expanses of sending an "offshore" team in a mobile lab, counting in the insurance, logistics, and deployment costs. Considering the recent funding Cryer has received, and the small amount of stations owned by MFE, he decided to give Felcher a free hand as the head of R&D.
"Dr. Felcher, how many scientists do you reckon we'll need aboard each mobile lab for the joint research?"
"Well, that's a tricky question. It really depends on the nature of research conducted. If we're talking about a general-purpose team, as a rule of thumb I'd place three scientist in each joint lab. One senior to lead the team, and two lab-assistants to help operate the machinery and peer-review any decisions. Then, based on findings, we could reinforce individual teams with additional scientists on-demand."
"Makes perfect sense to me. What do you say, Dr. Holliday? Dr. Xi?"
