How big does Mira want the initial colonization wave to be?
[ ][PEOPLE] Small. "Small," is an interesting word to apply to a million people, but you're settling planets here, and your population measures in the billions. With this, you could get a very single solid foothold on the new planet in the first wave, and let them grow from there. This many people won't be hard to organize or supply, but it'll be a while before they reach the point of being able to truly exploit their new home in a way that's profitable to you.
[ ][PEOPLE] Medium. About ten million colonists could create several solid beachheads on the target world, allowing them to spread more quickly. However, that's a substantial group to equip, and the loss of ten million workers doesn't exactly pass without notice back home.
[ ][PEOPLE] Large. A hundred million colonists can nearly blot out the sky of their new world, landing in droves and establishing settlements all over the surface. For the smaller or less hospitable colony prospects, this is probably as large as they'll ever get. If you want a colony up and running quickly, this is the way to go. However, a wave this big is incredibly expensive to supply, and the loss of a hundred million people from Virmire's economy will be noticed in some significant ways -- you'll need the speed they'll grant to get the colony productive swiftly! It would normally be difficult to even convince this many people to pick up and leave, but with your current level of enthusiasm, you've successfully handled that problem a step in advance.
TWO-HOUR MORATORIUM. THESE VOTES ARE NOW CLOSED.
And here we are! Had to go back and edit, but we're done. Let me know if I made any mistakes, as usual; I'm still half-convinced I messed up the state of your finances.
Regarding the colony options: these options do not incur costs this year. Next year, an option will appear generated by the options you pick now. If you pick all of the most expensive options — SO 25 with Large, for instance — you will have hundreds of thousands of credits up front and several tens of thousands in maintenance before you count in building the chain of supply depots it'll take to get reliable civilian travel (if you decide to do so. I won't make you). Pick Assilia with Small and you'll see a few tens of thousands up front and the FDO's growth alone would swallow the upkeep in a year or two. Hugely variable. Either way, it will be within your present theoretical capacity to execute given a year or two's serious budgeting — and you will have a year or two.
