A week had passed. A very, very hectic week. I hadn't slept almost the entire time, so thank God Almighty, or is it Faust Almighty? I didn't know anymore, that I no longer needed to actually sleep, or eat to remain functional. However weird it felt not doing so. Firstly, diplomatic relations were beginning with a species called the Nga Noho, the Fedan's had slaughtered 25% of their planetary population of their colony world. Yep, that's right, colony world. These folk did what the Akun had done but without the cryogenic stasis, these crazy fuckers remained awake the entire trip from their homeworld to their first colony world, and seemingly had the Holy Hegemony not invaded a crew from said colony would have been trained and ready to make a trip back to their homeworld and then repeat several times. It was learned the colonists during the first hours of the war to keep control of their world, didn't send a signal to their homeworld for fear the Holy Hegemony would take their world too. They didn't have Faster Than Light technology so it was reasonable to do this in their eyes.

Currently the Crystal Empire was undergoing diplomatic meetings with the Council of Requirem, which is what they named their homeworld. And I was currently on my way to one of these meetings, it was the first 'official' one. However, Calculator had spoken with these people and managed to set up a deal where temporarily large portalgates would be set up, and then set up on the former colony world, so the colonists could return to their former homeworld. Seemingly since they had the chance too, they all wanted to leave, none wanted to stay and try rebuilding the life they had before the invasion. I didn't completely understand why they'd abandon a perfectly fine world to live on, but, I expected that I didn't need to understand it, the world would be up for grabs once the living, and dead Nga Noho had been removed from it, so I wasn't going to complain. I watched out one of the round port windows as my personal shuttlecraft hovered over a runway. Looking down I saw Nga Noho with their jaws to the floor, eyes wide, I didn't understand why until I remembered these people didn't have antigravity technology of any sort, gravity was still a bitch and a half for them to deal with. The landing gear extended as the shuttlecraft auto landed itself, the basic AI piloting it able to pick a suitable landing spot from the markings on the runway itself and those next to it.

As I stepped up to it, a hatch opened and unfolded into a staircase which met the pavement. I walked out and onto this new alien world without much fanfare. After you've walked on a few alien worlds it loses its novelty, and was escorted to what they called the Iron Citadel. The capital of their world, of their government, and where their Council resided. My two escorts seemed perplexed at why I did not have my own Imperial or Royal guards to protect me during this diplomatic meeting, however I didn't feel the need when this was supposed to be a peaceful and short meeting. If these people where stupid enough to try something, it would be easy to glass the planet and fuck off, given they had no FTL drives and no possible way to shield from the Plasmatic Lance of the starship in high orbit of their world. I was hopeful they where not stupid however, given how they've conducted themselves so far with Calculator. Being led down a long hallway a door was opened for me and I was ushered in, the two escorts taking up places beside the door before closing it. Leaving me in a room with Six Nga Noho in total. The room was almost oval like in formation, with six table like objects facing me in a half circle, with the Nga Council members each sitting at one of them, a singular chair was placed in the room for me to sit, and so I did.

One of them stood up and spoke. "As Council Member Three of the Council of Requirem and in charge of Diplomacy, I hereby officially start the first true diplomatic meeting with Emperor Lorenzo, ruler of the Crystal Empire." The others spoke in damn near perfect unison. "Aye." In agreement. With that, the meeting began. "The Council would like to thank you and your Empire for being willing to help Colonists return to Requirem in as short a time period as possible, as well as the returning of the dead. We are working as best we can in tandem with your own personnel to ensure this is done as quickly as possible to get out of your hair."

I shrugged and spoke. "Take as much time as you deem needed, these people have gone through something horribly traumatic and will likely need years to recover both physically and mentally, even then the scars will never heal completely, mental ones never do." These guys almost looked like the Manuka, if the Manuka had bony plates of armor all over their bodies, claws on the ends of their hands, and were short as hell. These things were like, five feet tall max. "The Crystal Empire will also be turning over five undamaged Fedan Starships, what you do with them is your own concern."

Three spoke again, I nearly forgot to mention that Three was a Female of her species. "The Council has prepared a defense pact deal we would like you to look over, and give your opinion on, and if agreed to the terms shall go into effect as soon as is reasonably possible for you to accomplish."

A Nga Noho quickly walked up and took a large thick sheet of paper from Three, and walked over to me looking nervous before quickly walking back out of sight. Looking down and reading the paper, it was written in Equish since Calculator had Translated it for them. They spoke English, most species did thanks to Faust, but the written words were often different to the point they needed translating. The agreement boiled down to defending their solar system with a small fleet of 35 ships, rendering aid wherever viable, and generally improving overall Nga Noho science and life for their population. In return, the Crystal Empire would be given a series of meats, fruits, seeds, plants, etc, to test for how edible they were to Empire citizens, as well as establishing an Embassy and the migration of a few Empire Citizens to this world, and theirs to the Empire to begin a cultural exchange. Looking on the dotted line after finding no loopholes, I signed and handed it back to Three, who nodded. "This meeting has been called to an end, a further series of meetings will follow in the coming days and weeks to solidify deals and treaties made with the Crystal Empire, you may now return to your Shuttle and your People.

Standing up from the chair I grinned. "You may want to cover your eyes, this'll be bright." Before any of them could ask what I meant, I used the Molecular Relay to teleport to my personal shuttlecraft, a flash of light and the sound of muffled thunder accompanied that as per normal.

Three spoke with shock and awe in her voice to the rest of the Council. "I think this Crystal Empire is a lot more advanced than we thought...." Silence was the response she got, as the other members just stared at the chair Emperor Lorenzo had been sitting on mere moments before.

--------------------------------------------Leva-------------------------------

Frank Horrigan stood with the former Empress Kocans in shackles next to her, she had been kept fed, and alive. The population would give some minor annoying resistance until she announced her surrender to the Crystal Empire. So he would keep her alive as long as it took her to do it. However Empress Vodain and Empress Ulgo were also present. He grinned beneath his helmet, a sight which would have horrified even the most hardened of souls given how scared and mutated his face was below the shield of metal and wire. "You all fail to grasp the power the Crystal Empire has, with the exception of Vodain." He did not refer to them by their titles, for they were powerless from his point of view. "The other two of you will learn this soon, as will all those who see the video of this event."

Frank Horrigan pointed to a mountain in the distance, at the top if it was a city. A city which produced most of the metals used by the former Arkeil Empire such as gold, tin, copper, iron, and many others. It had been named the Bronze City because it was the sole supplier of the metal alloy within what was the Arkeil Empire. Empress Ulgo spoke with confusion. "How exactly do you plan to prove the power your 'Crystal Empire' has by pointing at a city?"

All this did was cause Frank to smirk, though none could see it. He handed out large bulky looking goggles to each Empress, having to put them on Kocans for her, as her arms were chained tightly together and behind her back. Vodain and Ulgo put them on with some hesitation, and Frank once more pointed to the Bronze City upon the near top of the mountain. "Observe the power the Empire holds, with a singular bomb." Once he was sure all three of them were looking upon the city, a hatch popped open from his power armors left wrist, and he flicked a switch that was hidden within without taking his eyes off the city. In an instant a third star was seen. For a split second Leva had not two, but Three stars. It quickly vanished and a cloud of smoke and dust rose from the blast site in the shape of an ominous mushroom. The shockwave caused the top of the mountain itself to shatter like glass and slide down below slamming into the tree's of the forest that surrounded the mountain for untold centuries. The one megaton blast also flattened a good chunk of the forest around the mountain, setting a good chunk of it on fire from the thermal shockwave.

In that instant, a brief second was all it took to destroy an entire city. One that was considered to be impossible to invade due to its location and local defenses. All three members of Manukan Royalty looked on in pure terror at the utter destruction. Frank Horrigan, despite what anyone may have thought at the moment, did not just instantly slaughter an entire city worth of the native species. The city had been evacuated and all citizens rehoused in other cities that their own species had constructed before the arrival of the Crystal Empire to this world. "Now you see the power the Empire holds. That was one bomb, that weapon is considered weak to what is currently in the arsenal of the Crystal Empire's Armed Forces. A single bomb leveled the top of a mountain, and we have thousands that are hundreds of times more powerful."

Empress Ulgo stared in horror at the scene before her, and thought quietly to herself. She was utterly fucked, a single projectile charged with all the power in the Goddesses Domain…An incandescent column of smoke and flame as bright as a thousand stars, rose in all its splendor…it was an unknown weapon, an iron thunderbolt, a gigantic messenger of death which reduced to ashes an entire city, and nearly an entire forest within an instant. And the Crystal Empire considered it weak? Kocans remained mute as well, and a puddle formed at her feet as she promptly pissed herself. Vodain, Vodain while horrified was the least affected by this display as she had been to the Crystal Empire itself and had been shown the weaponry and way of life for citizens of the empire beyond the stars. Despite knowing, seeing them in action was still different than knowing something could be done.

Frank had been ordered to ensure the locals submitted to the rule of the Crystal Empire, and say what you will about how he goes about following orders, but he damn well intended to get the job done. And he'd do it by any means required under the condition he was given of 'do not needlessly slaughter the local populations.' And from the looks of fear on the faces of the three Manukan Royalty it looked to be cowing them well. "Now, let's discuss your unconditional surrender to the authority of the Crystal Empire, otherwise I can have every single settlement on this backwater world blown into glass, but we don't want that, now do we?" The eyes on his helmet began to glow a nightmarish red while he chuckled.

Author's Note

Hello all, I'm working on a rewrite for the first story in the series, a new empire! More lore, more details, more story, etc. It'll be a long while before it comes out, when it does I damn well fuckin hope ya like it XD