For the first time in as many years as Erich could remember, he was sitting on a call with a member of his family. Who was none other than one of his agents he had embedded in the Confederation of Human Worlds.

Bruno Jaeger stood at attention as he addressed his brother, who was the new emperor of their people. Though Erich considered the man nothing but a stranger, he had always looked up to Erich, at least since Erich was disowned by their parents and actually made something of himself. Still, the man made sure to address his elder brother with all the proper honorifics that were required of him.

“Your Majesty, you will be happy to know that the envoy sent by the Heavenly Domain to the Confederation of Human worlds is already thoroughly disgusted by human society. Although I have not in any way spoken ill of the Confederation, I have subtly pointed out its degeneracy, causing them an to investigate these matters himself.

We have already detected a primitive long range transmission being sent in a direction of space which matches that of the Wang Princess, who is currently your guest. What the IIS does not understand yet is whether this is a deep space relay station, or the actual homeworld of the Heavenly Domain.

Either way, we can safely say after monitoring both of their communications that the Confederation is viewed as an amoral degenerate wasteland, while our Empire is deemed to be infinitely superior to our human cousins.

There is no doubt in the minds of the Imperial Intelligence Services that the Heavenly Domain should soon ask its envoy to the Confederation to return, and cut off all diplomatic ties. To think that nothing more than a simple stroll on the street was enough to convince the Wang Envoy that this degenerate wasteland was simply not worth interacting with.”

Erich smiled and nodded his head when he heard this report, before speaking to his little brother with a bit of praise in both his tone and his words.

“You have done well, Captain. Director Kuhne has taught you well… I have no doubt that you will go far among the ranks of the IIS. But for now, continue to act as you have been. Our undercover agents in the Confederation will be critical to the future war effort. And you hold a particularly powerful position in human society. Keep up the good work, and I may award you with the Distinguished Intelligence Cross.”

Bruno saluted Erich in the fashion that was common among their people, before saying the battle cry that was so common among the Empire’s soldiers and operatives.

“Hail Victory!”

Erich stood up and responded to the man’s salute and chant with one fo his own, before hanging up on his brother.

“Hail Victory!”

Once the long range communication was halted, Erich sat back down and sighed, thinking about how he would deal with the Confederation. Normally it would be a simple matter to invade such a minor civilization, which was not even a part of the Galactic Community. But in an act of spite against the Alfheim Dominion, the Svartalfheim Federation had declared that it would guarantee the independence of the Confederation of Human Worlds.

After all, until recently, the Germanic Star-Empire was the favored War Hounds of the Alfheim Dominion, and it was only recently that they had gained their independence and established themselves as a Quasi-Galactic Power.

In twenty years, the Germanic Star-Empire would be a full-fledged Galatic Power, with the territory to prove it. But that was a part of Erich’s current efforts to restore and colonize the worlds that once belonged to the Rylonian Imperium, which had been granted to the GSE by the Alfheim Empress herself.

Once Erich’s thirty-year plan was completed, he would officially propose to Lunaria, and form an unbreakable bond between their two empires. This alliance would destroy the current balance of power and cause the other major Galactic Powers to think twice about attacking the Germanic Star-Empire and the Alfheim Dominion. However, it may have an unintended consequence of turning the Asuran Cabal against the Alfheim Dominion, let alone the Ennead Theocracy.

The idea of the three remaining Galactic Powers ganging up against him and Lunaria did not sit well with Erich. Especially since he would need to start a galactic wide conflict if he wanted a hope of taking back Earth. With this in mind, Erich had no choice but to reach out to the Ennead Theocracy, who he knew he had a better chance of convincing to remain neutral than he did the Asuran Cabal.

Though the Ennead Theocracy had closed its borders to all outsiders, including those sovereigns who ruled over the other major galactic powers. Erich was an exception. Because he still had possession of the Mark of Anubis, giving him special privileges in the borders of the Ennead Theocracy.

In fact, he was the only one of the Galactic leaders who bore the mark of an Ennead deity. Thus, Erich decided to take his personal starship, and visit the Ennead Theocracy, for the second time in his life. With this in mind, he called out to Tia, who was omnipresent within the Germanic Star-Empire and tell her of his plans.

“Tia, I think I’m going to visit the Ennead Theocracy. I need to ensure that they remain neutral when the balance of power collapses. And my best chance of doing so is to reach out to them before Lunaria and my Alliance is made public.

Tia’s holographic projection appeared in the room. Her body was elsewhere at this moment, and thus she chose to communicate with her master via another method. Her robotic voice had a hint of approval in it, as she spoke to Erich about his plans.

“Of course Master, it is indeed wise to ensure the Ennead Theocracy’s neutrality in the upcoming wars. However, Master should be made aware that the Naraku has been behaving rather… Erratic lately. The various Hive Fleets seem to be moving in the same direction.

Perhaps the ongoing chaos around the galaxy has made them unsettled… But it would be best if Master spoke with his little bug bride about what her people are up to before Master embarks on such a journey.

Though the Germanic Star Empire is protected because of its Alliance with Terminus, the same can not be said about Master’s future wife and her mighty empire. And if the Alfheim Dominion ends up being the primary target of the Naraku, that could prove… troublesome for Master.”

It had been close to a week since Erich had visited Terminus. Every time he stepped foot in the hive, he marvelled at what they had created beneath his world. And he had to admit, he would need to visit Terminus before his visit to the Ennead Theocracy, anyway.

After all, the urges he felt to lie with Terminus were deeply engrained in his body and mind thanks to his joining with the Hive, and Erich would need to take care of those before departing from the Empire.

Thus, Erich sighed heavily, before going to visit the Terminus Hive and its Queen. After all, Tia’s warnings about the Naraku had been proven correct in the past, even when Erich himself was too proud to admit the possibility. And due to the consequences of that mistake, Erich would never underestimate the bugs ever again.