Interstellar Age

Erich posed a serious question to Daelia and Lunaria, one that neither of the two women had an answer for. It was obvious that the Ghimderi would be a major obstacle in their goal of uniting the galaxy against the upcoming Naraku Invasion.

After all, the Ghimderi never cared for the galaxy as a whole, only about their own personal wealth and power. Because of this, there was simply no feasible way that the Ghimderi would ever allow for the now five major galactic powers to unite into an alliance outside their influence.

With this in mind, Lunaria and Daelia sat in silence for some time, albeit shorter than expected, as Lunaria gave voice to her opinion on the matter, one that shocked Daelia.

"Isn't the solution obvious? We obliterate them? The Ghimderi have been an eyesore on the galaxy for eons, an eyesore which Daelia has enabled. But even Daelia wouldn't' be so shameless as to back the Goblins now that she is married to their mortal enemy, right? Such a thing would be, dare I say, treasonous..."

Daelia was not like Lunaria and Erich. She had no outright hatred for the Ghimderi, and in many ways felt sympathetic towards them, and the lies they had spun about their past "oppression." But she also knew better than to sacrifice this alliance for the sake of the Ghimderi, especially since even she knew they would never go along with their plans.

Thus, in a shocking display of loyalty towards Erich and this newfound alliance, Daelia nodded her head, and spoke her opinion on the matter.

"I'm not so foolish as to remain unaware of the grievances between the Empire and the Ghimderi. I will admit my own fault in helping enable the Goblins in their previous attempts to undermine your society, Erich. As Pennance for this, I will hereby revoke the protection that the Federation has provided for the Ghimderi Trade Union and their race as a whole.

Though I hope you know, annihilating the Ghimderi will caus significant problems towards our goals, as there are many sub-galactic powers who are sympathetic towards them. You may be able to annihilate one enemy, but by doing so, you will create a thousand more.

Is that a price you are willing to pay?"

Erich surprised Daelia with his determination, as he boldly declared his intentions towards both the Ghimderi and anyone who would dare stand up on their behalf.

"The galaxy has no place for disunity and internal chaos. Those sub-galactic powers will bend the knee, or they will share the fate of the Ghimderi. At this point, there is nobody left who can challenge our hegemony. Even the so-called gods in the Asuran Cabal and the Ennead Theocracy have no choice but to bend or break."

Lunaria smiled with approval towards Erich and his display of dominance, while Daelia was slightly anxious. These were civilizations she had long since worked with. Allies. She was happy to call her friends. But she could not deny what she had seen in Andromeda. And the idea that the majority of the universe was also infested with the bugs to such a degree. It was a truly terrifying thought.

She would much rather back Erich and his plans for galactic unity in the face of this external threat, then make an enemy of him by siding with some sub-galactic powers who would provide little use to her when the Naraku finally arrived.

Thus, Daelia found the resolve to agree with Erich's plans, even if she found them to be abhorrent.

"Alright... I understand.... I know what it is at stake, and if some sacrifices need to be made for the greater good of the galaxy, I won't stand in your way. But Erich... I will make this abundantly clear, I will not turn my forces against those who side with the Ghimderi. This will be a war that you and Lunaria will have to fight on your own..."

There was a nervous expression on Daeia's face as she said this. Almost as if she expected Erich to demand her to fall in line and aid him in this conquest. But surprisingly, Erich wore a warm expression as he shook his head and dismissed these fears entirely.

"I would never ask such a thing of you, Daelia. But rather, I implore you to use your excellent diplomatic skills to turn these civilizations to our cause, and against the Ghimderi. I would rather avoid annihilating those who could prove to be of use to us in the wars to come. Such bloodshed would be regretful..."

Daelia did not expect Erich to say this. She, of course, mistook his ruthless pragmatism with actual empathy for alien life. While Erich was empathetic to those he was close to, such as the Elves, Oni, and Dvrakians. He had no concerns for life forms halfway across the galaxy who he had never made any contact with.

Daelia had not been around the Germanic people long enough to understand that they were a ruthlessly pragmatic people. If peace was a better option than war, then the Empire would take it. But at the same time, if war was unavoidable, the Empire would not hide from it, and would rather relish it as a chance to obtain glory through combat.

They were not the barbarians that Daelia had always painted them to be. Unlike the Orcs, the Empire had control of their bloodlust, but once unleashed, it was a truly admirable thing to witness. Or if one was far more sensitive to bloodshed, it was truly a terrifying thing to witness.

Because Daelia didn't understand this aspect of Erich and his people, she actually became more endeared to him, thinking that he was willing to spare the lives of these allies of hers simply for her sake. Something which caused Lunaria to roll her eyes when she saw the misunderstanding in her little sister's eyes.

But while Lunaria had the ability to easily spoil this fantasy of Daelia's, she did not do so. Not because of the goodness of her heart, but rather because the more Daelia genuinely fell in love with Erich, the greater the unity of their alliance would be.

And because of this, Lunaria let her little sister believe Erich was far kinder, and more empathetic than he actually was. Erich of course had no idea what Daelia was thinking, and when he saw her, shall we say, reverent expression? He was deeply confused, but did not say a word about it.

Instead, Erich decided to close out the meeting with a brief farewell to his two newest brides.

"Alright... Well, I have preparations to make. I intend for Earth to be reclaimed within a month at the latest. So I will allow the two of you to get back to whatever it is you were doing before I called you. And a final reminder, the moment the war with the confederacy ends, we will deal with the Ghimderi once and for all.

Also, you should speak with the emissaries of the Asuran Cabal, and the Ennead Theocracy personally. They have many questions, and I think they're starting to get an idea about why this alliance was formed.

It would be better to make allies of them, rather than enemies. As I would rather avoid spending the next thirty years waging a galactic war, only to have Naraku show up and fight us while we are weakened from conflict.

With that said, I bid the both of you farewell."

After saying this, Erich exited the call, and when he did so, his holographic projection vanished. Leaving the two sisters alone together for the first time in a very long time. Lunaria glared at Daelia. She had not gotten over the idea of Erich moving his capital back to Earth, and thus would in the future be much closer to Daelia than herself. Something which she commented on with a pissy tone in her voice.

"If you think I will let you wrap Erich around your disgusting little fingers, guess again. If it means preventing such a thing, I am more than willing to move to Earth to be with Erich full time."

Daelia, however, took this as a challenge, and immediately responded in kind to Lunaria's threat, one upping her as she did so.

"Oh? You're only willing to move into Erich's home after he moves to Earth? Well, I'll have you know my ship is packed and I am currently en route to Germania to be with my new husband full time. I mean, honestly, big sister, what kind of wife doesn't live with her man?"

Daelia did not wait for a response from her elder sister. And instead dropped the call, leaving Lunaria in a state of wrath. Immediately, the ancient Elven beauty called out to her daughter, who had been nearby listening to the conversation, shouting in the loudest and shrillest voice she could manage.

"Celestia! Pack your things! We're moving to Germania!"

Celestia sighed heavily, feeling slightly bad for Erich, as the man would soon be forced to live with her mother and aunt, two women who would make the man's life a living hell by constantly fighting among one another.