The ancient stone walls of the long abandoned tomb they traversed looked like they would collapse at the slightest of touches. Dr. Caballeron knew they wouldn't, he'd been in enough ancient forgotten structures to know when one was unfortunately too unstable to traverse into safely with any expectancy of returning. It had taken him months of research to locate this place, the name long forgotten to time, he'd taken to calling it the Temple of Memories, for if what was rumored to lie within its decaying walls was actually here, he'd be making it big.

Looking behind him, his two guards remained vigilant as ever. Two odd bipeds in strange black armor with red and purple markings on them, carrying two long sleek weapons. He'd never seen their faces, they never seemed to sleep, eat, or drink, or at least if they did, he never saw them do it. These two guards had been provided by his new Employer, a very wealthy Employer at that, and one eager to ensure his services were not, disturbed. Already they had killed two stone statues that'd come to life to guard the entrance of the tomb from outsiders, their weapons having torn the two stone creatures apart into powder. Looking closely at the somewhat ruined carvings on the walls, he nodded. "What we're after should be down this way, if nothing goes wrong we'll be out of here in less than an hour." His guards said nothing in return, just silently giving a nod, they rarely spoke. Suited Dr. Caballeron just fine, they didn't sound natural when they spoke, he assumed it had something to do with the odd helmets they wore, which looked like more advanced versions of Equestrian Military gas masks. As he took a step forward a small slab of stone sunk into the ground, causing his eyes to widen. "Fuck."

A large door of stone slammed shut, there was no way he'd be able to get past it without the use of explosives, and he didn't exactly feel comfortable blowing shit up so deep underground, in what was likely not a very stable structure of ancient stone. Before he could comment on that however, both of his guards stepped forward to the door and forced their hands into the stone where the two halves slammed into one another. Caballeron watched in astonishment as the stone cracked, and groaned in protest before it began to slide apart as the two pulled and pushed. They didn't make the opening very wide but they had cracked open doors that a minotaur would have had trouble doing. He was glad they'd been paid to be on his side.

Peering into the darkness, it was lit up for the first time in what was likely centuries by the lights he carried with him, and the two lamps shining out of the guards helmets. Carefully stepping down onto the staircase he traversed his way deeper, before finally standing before them was a door decorated with gems and rare metals depicting various events, the creation of an artifact, its use and the eventual construction and sealing of the artifact within this very temple. Those didn't matter to him, what mattered was getting the door open. Dr. Caballeron looked to his two guards. "You two, get that door open."

They moved to obey, this time not using their hands but planting odd devices alongside the door, before flipping a switch. The ground began to shake and vibrate slightly as the devices on the door beeped, hissed, and clicked oddly, before the door shattered into thousands of razor sharp stone shards, and bits of gems and metals. Dr. Caballeron was glad he was wearing boots, that wouldn't be fun to walk on. Walking into the camber he grinned like a madman, the artifact was sitting on a stone pillar, no traps, no pressure sensors, primitive as they'd be to be seen or found with his guards' odd scanners. Carefully he picked up the artifact, it was called 'The Memory Stone' it was a small, gray oval shaped rock that had green markings that dully glowed in the darkness of the cavern it was left in. Carved with various small designs the middle pattern is shaped like an eye, the top markings three triangles, and at the bottom patterns that where lines that end with swirls. As for why he was so happy about having found the artifact after several months of searching, and avoiding Daring Do in the process, was because now he'd get a massive payout. "Alright boys, time to go, we got what the Big Boss wanted."

They obeyed, they always did. Getting back to the surface of the Forbidden Jungle was a trivial matter, his two guards had already disabled or bypassed the ancient traps, arrows, flying poison darts, the two stone guardians at the entrance. Now all that stood before them was the jungle which was about to make him a very rich stallion. One of the guards grabbed his shoulder. "Prepare for Relay." He didn't like what was about to happen next. It was like unicorn teleportation but far more disorienting to him.

Before they could Relay however, Daring Do shot into view, swooping down and landing hard with a glare on her face. "Dr. Caballeron! It took me over a week of tracking you in this Faust Forsaken jungle, but I finally managed it. Your evil scheme ends here! You are to give me the artifact and maybe I won't kick your ass black and blue, m'kay?"

Dr. Caballeron's face broke from a serious glare, to a large grin, eyeing his two guards. "Boys, I do think someone's trying to get in our way, would you mind taking the trash out?"

Both guards raised their weapons, before either could fire Daring Do had jumped into action, delivering a swift kick to the guards heads, only to scream as her leg broke from the force of the impact. The guards helmet cracked, the glass faceplate shattering showing two hellish red eyes beneath. Without the helmet to filter its voice, it was harshly synthetic and hostile sounding. "By order of Dr. Caballeron you must be destroyed, commencing termination of organic life form." Daring Do was seized by the throat while the barrel of his guard's weapon was put under her chin, she had only a moment to scream before several bangs rang out, her head reduced to a red pulp of mist and bone. Not seeming to care about the blood it had just gotten on itself, the guard threw the corpse to the ground, and the other began peppering it with rounds.

By the time it was done, the corpse was almost unrecognizable as a pony, but just to be sure it the corpse couldn't be identified a round object was inserted into what was left of the chest cavity, which soon thereafter exploded with a burst of plasma, turning the corpse into a pile of burnt flesh and meat, bones instantly turned to ash. Caballeron grinned widely, after all those years of having his deals ruined, Daring Do would bother him no more. The guard without the broken faceplate looked down and grabbed his shoulder. "Prepare for Relay." With an instant, all three of them were gone leaving the forest to remain eerily silent, no one would ever discover the true fate of Daring Do.

----------------------------Military Republic of Lunarum Flagship---------------------------

Calculator's voice spoke through the vid-screen again. "I have received word that the Emperor wishes to converse with you."

Fleet Admiral Johan Schmitt nodded. "That seems like a good idea given the circumstances, how will he be arriving? I don't think your shuttles are compatible with our docking bays."

"Standby for Molecular Relay, no shuttlecraft needed."

The Fleet Admiral stood there with a raised eyebrow, but did as told and waited. What the hell is a Molecular Relay?

A loud flash of light and sound answered that for him, as a man literally materialized out of nowhere. Without waiting one of the ensigns opened fire upon their visitor. As the magnetically accelerated round impacted center of mass, the rest of the crew stood in shock, thinking they'd just started a war. Without hesitation, Fleet Admiral Johan Schmitt drew his own sidearm, along with his Lieutenant and half of the bridge crew and opened fire on the trigger-happy ensign. Magrail rounds ripped through the Liberis ensign's body, spraying the consoles and deck with cobalt ichor. Oh Shit! Oh Fuck! Oh Fuck! Johan thought as he stared at the corpse of the supposed Emperor. Red colored blood splattered everywhere.

Fleet Admiral Johan Schmitt was about to begin panicking, when the corpse simply seemed to vanish, and now stood in its place was the man who'd just been killed, with a bored deadpan on his face. "That's a fine howdy do if I do say so myself." This Emperor was dressed in a simple purple suit, with a black tie. With an odd silver crown on his head lined with various blue and purple gems, while the center gem looked to be a black golf ball sized void that held a spinning galaxy within its core.

At once, all weapons were trained upon the supposed corpse. "Lower your weapons you fucking morons, or I swear you will join the dumbass who we gunned down for lack of discipline!" Only with the commanding bark from Johan to lower weapons did the crew relax slightly. Despite the fact the body was gone, and the Emperor was well and whole, the Admiral as well as much of the crew could not wrap their heads around the fact they just watched him get blown away only to quite literally respawn before them. What was this some old videogame? Shaking his head, Johan collected his thoughts and straightened up. "Apologies Emperor. While your entrance was unexpected, it was no excuse for that piece of shit to gun you down." He said pointing at the shredded body of the former ensign. "I truly hope this will not be held against the Republic. As you can see, the perpetrator has been dealt with. Severely..." He said the last part darkly. Snapping to attention, he gave their visitor a crisp salute, followed by the rest of the bridge. "Fleet Admiral Johan Schmitt, of the The Military Republic of Lunarum." He belted out, his gaze now steely and ready for anything. He personally wouldn't be surprised if this Emperor decided to declare war. He did just literally get gunned down without provocation. Trigger-happy fool...

The Emperor smiled. "Take no notice of the buffoon's lack of discipline with weaponry, I've been shot and riddled with holes more times than I can count, one time I even crashed into a mountain going Mach seven or eight, this wasn't much worse." The Emperor's tone wasn't angry, or even disappointed, just amused. "You may call me, Lorenzo, or if you want to be fancy, Emperor Lorenzo, whichever works for you, there is no need to salute or bow, for you are not my citizens."

Relaxing his Salute, Johan stood rigid as he gazed upon the enigma before him. "Of course Emperor Lorenzo. How can I be of service?" He asked, his tone genuine, yet his eyes remained steely, watching the human if he had to guess, stand before him. If it was a human, some questions would have to be asked. Perhaps, unpleasant ones.

Emperor Lorenzo stood still, remaining in the same pose as when he'd relayed in, except when he was gunned down, he respawned in the exact same pose. "Well for one, if this world truly does belong to you, it's only fair to vacate the system and allow your people to do with it as they wish, the Empire is currently waging a war with the Holy Hegemony, which is what those vile creatures call themselves." The amount of venom when 'vile creatures' was said would have been enough to kill a Man-O-War Jellyfish. "So far they have attempted without success to retake worlds previously belonging to them three times now, the Crystal Empire is currently eradicating them as a species from every system they are found in."

Without prompt, a predatory smile graced the visages of everyone on the command deck. They had a name for the enemy that dared try to conquer their colony. Their people. While Xenophiles, and preferring diplomacy over outright hostility, this insult would not stand. "I see. If this is true, you have our thanks, for not only liberating the colony from those bastards, but also putting a name to the ones who so boldly attacked the Military Republic of Lunarum." If evil had a face, Johan was the one to wear it as thoughts of vengeance flitted about his mind, his eyes burning with hatred along with the other crew members. "If you will allow, once the Imperator approves, we would like to join you on this... Ethnic Cleansing..."

The gem in the center of Emperor Lorenzo's crown began to glow with an odd light as Lorenzo himself smiled. A smile far too wide for a human to be able to pull off, yet there it was clear as day on his face. "I find that acceptable, It Shall Be Done." He tacked on an emphatic cough, which none of them obviously had any idea what it meant.

The galaxy within the gem seeming to flash with light at the sudden increase of emotions, not that Lorenzo seemed to notice. However Fleet Admiral Johan Schmitt certainly did, but chose to not draw too much attention to it for the moment.
"Glad you are amenable to this situation. They Bloodied the MRL's nose, and we would have just followed even if you denied our request." He simply said nonchalantly with a shrug. If you would follow me to the War room, we can discuss this Alliance further over drinks. I hope you're a bourbon man." He said before turning to his Lt. "Lieutenant. You have the bridge. Alert me if anything comes up."

The Lieutenant saluted, returning to his station. "Aye sir."

---------------------Leva, Manukan Homeworld----------------

Hal'et was attempting to enjoy breakfast with his father Telj. It was his favorite meal, some small slices of cooked rutid meat with a small bowl of a red sauce made of merpfruit for dipping. The end result was a sweet and salty meal that was just perfect for starting the day, at least to him it was, not everyone would agree.

“So, that nice Clac family girl asked about you again,” Telj said nonchalantly while drinking a cool cup of water, they were lucky to have such a commodity. Since this was the former Imperial Capital of the Tar'oin Empire, access to fresh water was easier to manage as a large stream ran through the middle of the former Imperial Capital, getting water from still places tended to result in becoming very ill, towns father away with no flowing source of water often made ale, wine or beer, and drank that in preference over water. Less likely to become ill that way.

“She did?” Hal'et asked, his favorite meal quickly tasting like ash in his mouth. “What about?”

Telj looked at his son from across the table. “I think you already know, Hal'et, she wishes to spend the day with you.” He said, soon eating another slice of rutid meat. “Why does she not interest you? She seems nice enough, definitely easy on the eyes.”

"Father, you already know why!” Hal'et exclaimed angrily, putting down his food. It wasn’t going to taste very good now. “She is completely arrogant. She boasted and lied to everyone that I am already hers when I am not, do you know how many issues that has caused me the past two weeks?"

“Alright, alright." His Father said, trying to calm his son's temper. “How about Maehuts? She as well as several of her sisters have also shown an interest in you."

“By the Goddesses no! She always tries to correct every small mistake when someone speaks. She acts as if she was raised in the wilds, not in a city or town like a proper person!

His father seemed to ponder for a moment, then looked at him again. “How about Zikeds?”

“Father, are you trying to get rid of me?” Hal'et asked suspiciously. “We both know my sisters are out doing whatever it is they think is fun, my Mothers are out earning money to keep us fed, and housed, you need me to help around the fields and the house.”

“I do need you, Hal'et but I do not want you to be here all your life working out in the fields.” His father said slowly. “You are still young! You can start your own family and bring them to live here, at least before you become too old to be desirable.”

Hal'et gave a dismissive wave. “There is no need for such talk.”

His father gave him a disapproving look. “That may be true, but if you stay here and help at the expense of all else, you will end up alone, no family to call your own. And then what will happen to this land? It's been in the family for abo-"

Cutting his father off. “For ten generations, I know father.” He said with an exasperated sigh. “It is not that I do not want or desire a family all my own, it's just that all the women who have expressed interest in me only see me as a tool to be used, to gain this land since I am the only male child you and Mother's had, I am by law, the heir to this land and the farm upon it. They see me as a tool, something to boost their own image and wealth not as a person. They care not about what I want or hope for and dream of!”

“How can you say such a thing?” Telj demanded, smacking his hand against the wooden table. “Zikeds has always said she found you beautiful and that she wants nothing more than to fulfill your hopes and dreams!”

“So long as those hopes and dreams revolve around her.” Hal'et ground out, venom in his voice.

“Enough. I see you're still too stubborn to learn when you are wrong, you have much learning to do son." Hal'et said nothing, walking out of the house and leaving his breakfast unfinished, he wasn't hungry anymore.

He was tired of his Father always trying to set him up with one woman or another, all they wanted was to use him for their own gain, not for anything he was as a person, to them he was just a slab of meat with wealth attached. Which begged the question, what kind of woman did he want? He wanted someone who was honest and self assured. Someone who looked at him as a person, rather than what benefits he could offer, brave would be nice too. Every woman his father tried to introduce to him seemed to just lack those qualities.

Deciding not to think further on the matter, he made his way to the market. It was abnormal for him to be here alone, normally one or more of his sisters would be 'guarding' him, but they were off only Goddesses knew where, and he wanted something tasty for dinner tonight, so he'd have to brave it alone. Walking among the various stalls, their merchants shouting the greatness of their wears, it was easy to get overwhelmed along them. He'd been here enough times to ignore the ones shouting things like. "Bronze rings! finest in the land!" Or "Bead necklaces! Get something for that special someone!" And instead made his way right to the fish stall. Selecting the nicest one he saw, the stall owner, a large woman with a scar running over one eye, showing it to be a pale grey, dull and useless now from whatever had given her that scar. "15 coin."

"Eight coin, I know this type of fish is common enough, and while its size makes it worth more than the normal three coin someone would pay for it, 15 is far too much." They haggled for awhile, before finally he was able to pay and took the fish. Beginning a walk on a path that'd take him home at the edge of the town, bordering the forest. Just as his house came into sight, a large bellowing roar was heard as trees began to shake. Hal'et looked at the forest in a panic as a Stak came rampaging out of the forest, it's long furred body the pure visage of 'death', normally those things wouldn't be so bold as to bolt into a town, but this one clearly didn't give a damn as it rushed forward, goring a passerby. He stood frozen in fear as its gaze turned to him, growling as it began to bound at him from across the field. It got closer, and closer, faster than he could blink. What happened next left him in shock, as a short female no taller than him in odd purple armor rushed in front of him, raising an oddly designed musket and began to fire. Large bolts of green energy struck the creature causing it to wail in agony as hot plasma sizzled and burned at its fur and flesh. Trying to preserve its own life it turned and made to flee.

"Oh no the fuck you don't you big son of a bitch! Your head is going on my wall damn you!" The soldier screamed, rushing forwards at an astounding speed, stabbing at the creature with a long blade at the end of her weapon, blasting it with more plasma as the Stak flailed, screeching in agony, before finally slumping over dead. "FUCK YEAH! THIS BITCH IS MINE!" Standing atop her prized kill, the golden hair on her head shimmering in the sunlight, Hal'et swore that he could see the faint outline of a glimmering aura around her, She stood proudly.

Hal'et's mouth was agape, his eyes were wide open in surprise. She was it. Every ounce of her being exuded confidence, one would have to have been blind not to see it. She was brave and fierce, taking down a Stak single handedly. Something that even the most experienced of hunting parties would have a Goddess Damned time trying to do. It didn’t matter to him that her eyes looked odd, or that she had strangely colored skin or that she wasn’t as tall as a normal woman. She was perfection, as only a Goddess could be. How could a being of such beauty do such an amazing feat? Surely she was a divine!

---------------Unknown-------------------

The sound of turbojet engines screaming to life was all one could hear at the airbase. Air crews running to their stations, opening and closing hatches and flipping switches, buttons, and all manner of instruments as they prepared to do their sworn duty. Long tubular craft with sleek swept back wings each with three engines, three such craft taxied to one of the runways and began their takeoff.

It was never guaranteed that they wouldn't just dive nose first into the ground the first few moments after takeoff, a design flaw that was still being worked on, but these where the largest bombers they had for the time being, and the only ones that could carry their tool of vengeance to those who deserved its wrath. As the end of the runway grew closer, they lifted from the tarmac and into the skies just as the runway ran out over the edge of the mountain. It had been designed that way so aircraft that hadn't managed to get liftoff could still have a chance to not crash, and manage a takeoff.

The target wasn't very far from them, each of them knew what to do. Minor turbulence rocked each of the bombers as they maintained an arrow formation, the land below them passing by rapidly as their target came into sight less than an hour after takeoff, a city that seemed absolutely massive to someone so small. A winding metropolis of primitive wooden houses, farms, and even a port for wooden ships to come and go as they pleased for trading. Each aircraft went in a different direction, the craft at the head of the formation remaining on a straight course, for its target was at the edge of the city, a monumentally large castle made of stone and timber lie within the bomb sights.

Without much fanfare the aircraft dropped its payload and veered off, at the same time the other two did the same maneuver, pulling back into formation as three egg shaped devices slowly floated down on parachutes to the settlement below. As they floated down, an arrow shot into one of the parachutes from below as they got less than twenty feet off the ground, the inhabitants of the town grabbing spears and knocking more arrows. They didn't get a chance to fire another as the world erupted into searing heat and light as three bombs went off, each with the power of 21 kilotons. The surrounding town of wood and stone was vaporized into glass and ash. Farms set ablaze for the briefest of moments, animals screaming in agony, before the shockwave hit them and gave them a quick, merciful death. The luckiest had been vaporized instantly, any survivors would find in the coming days that the water would poison them, that the burns they had wouldn't heal. Scales and feathers would fall out, and some would have their organs liquefy from inside their own bodies. Truly this was the wrath of their gods, punishing them for some unknown sin.

------------------Equestrian Everfree Construction Effort-------------------

Lucky Logger smiled watching ponies with chainsaws and other cutting tools slice apart the trees in their path, anything obstructing their construction effort was quickly destroyed and then used for the construction in of itself. The timber could be processed and used for frames of houses, while any large animals in their way quickly met a swift end by the royal guards armed with laser rifles. All Lucky Logger had to do was ensure no 'rare' wildlife was killed without reason, and if possible relocate it to an environment NOT selected for absolute destruction. Sure, it was sad to have to kill so many animals or relocate them, but the majority of beasties in this forest were nothing more than mindless monsters that would eat ponies given the slightest of chances. It was high fucking time this forest was wiped off the face of Equis in her eyes.

It was less than a mile from Ponyville for Faust sake, the town had been dealing with all manner of nasty surprises from the forest before it became the Equestrian Kingdoms primary starship launch site. Now, automated turrets would spit magical plasma-bolts at anything stupid enough to get too close. Her radio barked to life. "This is team two from Section Seven of the Everfree zone, I've got to report something to you Boss, over."

Lucky Logger's smile vanished as she reached up and tapped a large red button on the side of her radio. "What is it, team two? Over."

"We've found a large settlement of Bone Breezies, established protocol means you decide what happens to them."

That surprised her more than she'd expected, she'd thought that some rare species of manticore was found, or that another magical plant had tried to eat one of the ponies sawing down trees. "Gather them all up for transport, we'll send em to the Crystal Empire. They can't stay in this forest, and they certainly won't be staying in Equestria to cause further drain on our resources, the Crystal Empire more often than not is all too happy to accept any species into their territory, as much as that seems stupid to me, we'll ship em off there, let the Crystal Empire worry about the pests. Over."

The voice on the other end was silent for thirty seconds. "The one who speaks for these breezies says that is acceptable, I'll ensure it's done, Team Two out, Over."

Lucky Logger sighed happily, that was one issue dealt with in a satisfactory manner, at least to her. Looking back she saw a timberwolf reduced to ash as magical laser rifles struck it with dark purple and pink beams. Soon enough a large path to the Castle Of The Two Sisters would be cut through the forest, then railroad tracks could be placed down. Having a railroad that lead directly to the center of the rebuilding effort would ensure a steady flow of easily acceptable construction material. Already ponies were hard at work uprooting tree stumps and flattening the dirt to make way for gravel and railroad tracks. Further back the sounds of metal hammering was heard as railroad spikes got driven into the ground as areas already cleared had begun construction on the soon to be completed railway line.

--------------------------------------Former Zetan Mothership----------------------------

Moon observed all of the people in the room, the rulers of the other kingdoms, empires, or nations of Equis all gathered in one room, except those of Seaquestria and the Hippogriffs, which may as well have been the same kingdom as they where both controlled by Queen Novo. Moon stood at the end of a long metal table, where Emperor Lorenzo would normally sit. "I bring this matter to the attention of those within the United Equis Alliance on behalf of Emperor Lorenzo and the Crystal Empire as a whole, that this mothership is going to be renamed to 'The Hub' and while it will still act as the central command center for joint fleet attacks and defense, it will also be retrofitted to become a center of diplomatic relations with other civilizations, are there any questions in regard to this matter?"

Princess Celestia stood and spoke as Moon sat down. "Yes, what exactly do you mean a center of diplomatic relations? Shouldn't Equis itself be that center?" She asked with a raised eyebrow, the fact Moon was just a bipedal version of Nightmare Moon still put her on edge sometimes, but Lorenzo had said she was okay, so she'd trust his judgment on the matter until such a time deemed it needed that she step in.

Moon nodded, acknowledging her question. "I see how the way it was worded could be confusing, I said it exactly as Lorenzo wanted it said. This ship is to put it lightly, massive. It will have sections hallowed out and newly constructed parts put in, to allow it to be a floating series of embassies from other civilizations, as well as its own medical facilities, and other such things."

Celestia seemed to ponder that. "Alright I suppose, I pose no objection to this."

"Another matter I'd like to bring to attention to those present, is the renaming of the United Equis Alliance to something more fitting." Moon looked around the room.

Queen Carnelia stood. "What do you mean something more fitting? Are almost all nations of Equis not allied to one another in a struggle against an outside enemy?"

"It's not just Equis within the Alliance anymore, the Maunga Council from Requirem is also part of this alliance now, the Nga Noho's homeworld government. We must consider renaming the United Equis Alliance based on the simple fact its no longer just those on Equis who have joined, and I have no doubt that more shall join in the future." Moon sat back into Lorenzo's chair. "As such from this day forth the UEA is renamed to the System Defense Alliance for the time being, or the SDA, until either a better name is found, or it is decided that the System Defense Alliance will remain the name of this for a long period of time to come."

No objections were raised, so Moon went on. "To the last matter on the agenda, the Abyssinian Empire is to turn over all Caribou to the Crystal Empire Border Control on it's side of the territory formerly belonging to the former Caribou Empire."

Queen Carnelia stood. "That is an outrage! Why would I do such a thing?!"

Moon turned her gaze to Queen Carnelia, her eyes and tone sending chills down everyone's spine. "Because the Crystal Empire has witnessed the great abuses you and your people are currently putting the Caribou through. Do you think we are blind to the blatant abuse of them? We see everything. Nothing escapes our sight, for the past three months I've been dealing with Caribou having night terrors every, single, night." Carnelia went pale. "I have spoken to Emperor Lorenzo on this matter, and he has given me full permission to enforce this, you will be turning over every single caribou in your territory, or the Crystal Empire will hold a vote to eject the Abyssinian Empire from the System Defense Alliance." She tossed a disc onto the table which began projecting silent videos of caribou being beaten, held at gunpoint, robbed, and even shot by Abyssinian troops. Houses and farms being raised to the ground in flames.

Princess Celestia stood. "I agree with Moon on this matter, if you do not turn over all of the caribou under your control to the Crystal Empire, Equestria will vote in alignment with the Crystal Empire's wishes."

General Secretary Vadik stood as well. "As will the Union of Canine Socialist Republics, we shall not stand idly by as the weak and poor are abused so blatantly."

One by one, every other ruler within the room did the same, causing Queen Carnelia to seethe in rage. "Fine, the Abyssinian Empire will hand them off to the Crystal Empire, you can take the vermin if you are so eager to protect those who attacked us without provocation." She stormed off, her two guards following behind her. If they wanted the vermin so badly, they could have them. It wasn't worth throwing away the protection the Alliance allowed her Empire and her people. She knew full well if she pissed off Lorenzo, nothing would stand in his way to eradicate her and absorb her people into his own.

Author's Note

Here's another chapter for y'all. Longer than normal too, so there's that I suppose, let me know what ya think :D. I look forward to reading your various comments on the chapter as per usual.