The communication signal lit up the moment the last of the smaller territories left the empire and proclaimed independence.
-Well, emperor, it seems that the Five Races Federation was right about you.
You accepted every one of us despite the chaos it brought to your empire and gave us technology we could not dream of achieving otherwise.
One of the midsize territories' rulers gloated.
-I should thank you in the name of our new Alliance, and if you are thinking about sending your fleets to take us out?
You should remember that we now have the same defenses you do, so it won't work.
-Do you all realize that you just became the enemies of my empire?
Andrew asked coldly.
-We do, and we also know there is nothing you can do about it.
The moment you attack us, we will retaliate, all of us, and you can't win against all of us at once.
In the worst case, we can fight you to a standstill, which won't benefit any of us, and we all have the same problem now, which is to prepare to fight and survive in the battle verse, so I doubt you wish to squander your forces on a futile war.
-Sarill, revoke the traitor's access to the relay network.
Andrew ordered.
He had had enough of hearing this traitor gloat and threaten him.
The alien tried to say something more, but was cut off when his access was revoked.
Andrew could have destroyed the relays, but decided to keep them, if for no other reason than to see what this new alliance was up to.
-Andrew, we have a wormhole opening within the system.
Lan reported the moment she saw the portal appear.
-Don't fire on the incoming ships.
Tanera said entering the command center.
-Care to explain?
Andrew turned to the elf.
-It's your reward.
The guild is bringing the ship they have been keeping for you, and the funds have already been transferred to your account.
The merchant explained.
-It took a while for the guild to pinpoint our new location, since, for some reason, your whole universe was divided and distributed randomly in any free space in the battle-verse.
-Then can you tell us where we ended up?
Lanarine asked.
As far as their sensors and relays could tell, there was no other star nation out there except the bunch of traitors.
-You might count yourselves lucky.
The elf replied.
-This part of the space was abandoned centuries ago after its inhabitants were wiped out by one of the first thousand.
There is no other space nation within a hundred thousand light-years, and the chances of anyone finding you here are slim to none for the time being.
I advise you to use this time wisely, or you may be added to the graveyard outside.
-Why are you talking like this has nothing to do with you?
Tarina asked, surprised at the way Tanera spoke.
-Because it does not.
Along with the ship, the guild will deliver a merchant station for me, which will guarantee my safety.
Unfortunately, this station is only for me and the guild staff to use, so I can't use it to help you if the empire falls.
She explained, shocking everyone.
-I understand.
Andrew said.
He liked to have the elf close by, but an organization such as the merchants' guild had rules for a reason.
Additionally, he would not ask her to stay there when they had just learned that they were more or less defenseless in case of a serious attack.
-You can come visit me whenever you want, and as for the trading in the market, we can meet personally or use communication to stay in touch.
She added, just as the merchant guilds' ships arrived, towing a monstrous-sized battleship and a small station behind them.
-Do I get a new flagship?
Runir asked, almost drooling at the sight of the behemoth that just arrived.
The ship was at least six times larger than an imperial cruiser, and bristling with weaponry on all sides.
Everyone needed only one look, and they knew this rectangular giant would be a menace to anyone who dared to cross it.
-Not for now, we need to scan it and reverse engineer its tech before it enters active service.
Andrew shook his head, making the admiral disappointed.
-I think that you might want to reconsider this, since you can't build this kind of ship without nanites, and you also have much more advanced tech in the wrecks outside.
Tanera advised.
-Besides, I think that this won't become your standard battleship, so you might as well let her have it.
She added.
-Can we buy specialized nano tech now that I have all that money?
Andrew asked.
-With ease.
When my new station is set up, we can get to work on that.
The merchant said.
Not mentioning that with the amount of money he now had, he could pretty much buy anything at his access level.
The human grinned as this was the technology he needed the most right now.
It would not only allow him to build ships many times faster, but also help in other fields, such as medicine.
Additionally, he wanted to get his hands on better weapons and shields, not to mention a few other things he could not afford before.
-Andrew, what are we going to do about the traitors?
Runir asked, hoping to let loose with the new battleship at her disposal.
-If you want to conquer them, then all we need is Andrew's order to do so.
Tanira said with a sly smile on her face.
-What do you mean?
The emperor asked.
-As much as I liked the idea of expanding our empire so much in such a short time, despite all that work that has now gone to waste.
It was a bit suspicious for all these territories to want to join us at once, all of a sudden.
So I took precautions in case they had some hidden agenda.
The diplomat explained.
-Vulcan is the Judas protocol in place?
She asked.
-Yes, it is.
All that is required is his majesty's order to activate it.
Everyone was surprised at this turn of events.
-What is a Judas protocol?
Aelita asked.
She knew who Judas was, thanks to her studies about Earth, but she had never heard about this protocol.
-To sum it up, it's a program installed in all the defenses and technology we shared with the new additions to the empire.
The moment it is activated, the defenses, ships, and any other piece of technology they received from us will target them and do as much damage as they can.
In the best-case scenario, they will all be wiped out, or so weakened that they won't be able to resist us at all.
When Tanira finished explaining, everyone's jaws hit the floor, and they stared at her, not certain if they should praise her or fear her.