-Take them away.
Andrew ordered, and the battle droids took the slaves and Sophia away before she could say anything more.
-Hi Alex, long time no see.
Andrew took off his helmet, showing her his new face.
The girl gasped, seeing the handsome man in front of her.
-What happened to you?
She asked, barely believing her eyes.
-A lot of things happened, and we don't have the time to discuss this all.
Besides, I sent you a message explaining everything through the merchants a long time ago, didn't you get it?
Andrew asked, not wanting to waste time that was quickly running out.
-No, I didn't get any message from you.
She shook her head.
-More importantly, is anything my sister said true?
She demanded her voice become sharper, as did her gaze.
Andrew knew she was pissed and would not accept any excuses when she was like this.
-It depends on what she said.
Andrew responded neutrally, not wanting to lie to her.
-She said that you became an emperor and have a harem of alien beauties.
That you kill without mercy or conscience, and turn everyone you capture into a slave and torture them for fun, among other things.
She listed.
-Well, I am an Emperor of the Lantean Empire, and you might say that I have a harem of alien beauties.
Andrew confirmed with an uneasy voice.
-However, there is much more to that than meets the eye, so dont hate me before you hear the whole story.
He quickly added, seeing her eyes turn cold.
As for the rest, I kill when I have to, like we all do, but I don't turn everyone into slaves and I dont torture people for fun.
He said with a shrug.
-What will you do with Sophia?
Alex asked with a bit of concern.
-Nothing much, but I will scare the heck out of her for what she has done.
He admitted.
-Good, just please don't kill or torture her.
I know you have every right to be angry with her, but she is still my sister.
Alex pleaded.
-As you wish, my lady.
Andrew smiled.
-Right before I forget.
Did you find your parents yet?
Andrew asked hurriedly.
-No, not yet, why?
-If you do, don't believe anything they say, you were right, they were planning something for you, and it was nothing good.
I'll send everything in a message through the merchants.
As soon as he finished the sentence, the timer reached zero, and Alex disappeared from the screen just as she was about to say something.
Andrew cursed and struck the nearest wall with his armored fist.
This was the first time he had seen her after nearly a year, and the time ended way too fast.
He knew that he could contact her again using the same device that Sophia just used, but he kept it for emergencies.
However, it gave him comfort knowing that he managed to tell her the most important things and that Sophia's last try at making him suffer was foiled.
It would hurt him deeply if Alex started hating him, which was that bitches plan all along.
-So that's our older sister.
Arien's voice cut through the silence, bringing Andrew back to reality.
-Yup, and she has a bit of a temper, so try not to get on her bad side.
He smiled.
-I think she will fit right in, if she can share you with us, that is.
The admiral smirked.
-We shall see, for now she is in the Pegasus galaxy, so it will be a while before we can meet face to face.
-Then let's focus on the present. We need to do something about the patrol fleets that are approaching this system.
Arien reminded him.
-That should not be that hard.
Andrew grinned with confidence.
Not long later, he found Sophia and implanted her with his slavery chip, setting the control on level seven, allowing her the freedom of thought but getting full control over her actions.
The young woman was far from being cooperative, but it changed the moment the chip activated.
-Are all your subordinates slaves?
Andrew asked her.
-Yes… Master.
She answered with difficulty.
It was evident that she was trying to fight the control chip.
-Dial down their control to level 1.
He ordered, not that he wanted to have control over her slaves, but he didn't want them to open fire on the installation if they held a grudge.
Sophia did as she was told, walking with him to the command center escorted by two droids just in case she tried anything.
Then she contacted every fleet and station in her territory, which became possible after Andrew ordered a relay to be dropped into the system.
-All chips dial down control to level 1.
She said without any emotion in her voice.
A second later, the comms channels turned into chaos as the slaves regained most of the control of their bodies.
To Andrew's shock, each and every one of Sophia's slaves were a female.
There was no male in the whole territory.
Intrigued by this he asked for a reason and was shocked at the answer.
-I'm a lesbian, master, and I hate men, so all the males were either killed or they escaped.
She admitted, under the control of the chip, but she was still fighting it.
This was not what Andrew was expecting, but he left this matter for later, since he had more pressing issues.
-This is Emperor Andrew Eagle of the Lantean Empire speaking.
He said, momentarily quieting all the ladies down.
-The main system of this territory was captured by my forces, and Sophia Hajduk is in my custody.
There is no need for further conflict between us.
Your slavery chips will be fully deactivated in a moment, returning your freedom.
-And what then?
One of the ship captains asked.
-Will your empire conquer this territory?
Another one asked.
And just like that, all the ladies started asking questions at once, with the most repeated one being if they were going to be forced to join his harem or be his playthings.
-Silence!
Andrew raised his voice, shutting them up immediately.
-What happens now will depend on all of you.
My Empire has no direct connection to this territory, so we won't be occupying it anytime soon, unless you ask to be annexed by the Empire.
And you definitely won't be forced to be my playthings or whatever.
He explained in a much calmer voice.
-As for what we will be taking as spoils of war, that's simple: a copy of all the research in this territory, any special modules or upgrades that were found here, and Sophia herself.
The rest is for you to decide what you want to do with it.
Sophy, deactivate all the slavery chips.
He finished, returning the freedom to all the ladies.