It looks like the V'rix fly around to different nav points. When you have to go to the ship yard, register at the closest station, get the upgrade as fast as you can, and get out. Do lot linger for any longer than necessary.
The game client dates back to the late 90s when the game was being developed it is the client we used when the game was live. It was written long before UI customization was even thought of for games.
The client belongs to EA, there is no source code, and it it is a miracle that something written for Windows 98 runs on a modern OS at all.