Thanks, guys. You all seem to be on the same page, and that’s helpful. So in other words, Erso really only designed the laser itself, not the whole station? (Hey, I own these movies, and I’ll be rewatching them, but just thought I’d post this for some insights from the forum.)
Of course, I could just drop the Geonosis connection altogether, without negatively affecting the remaining storyline from that point all the way through A New Hope.