Before the Admiral's ship even left the system, Andrew contacted every station master in the territory and every fleet commander to inform them about the situation.
Their reactions were mixed; some thought that this was a saving grace, as there was no way for them to wipe out the massive fleets of the invaders with what they had at the moment.
While others were much more concerned about the future, since this entity was powerful enough to order the invading fleets to leave the whole local group of galaxies, and no one dared to oppose them, what chance did they have in confrontation with something like that?
-Whatever the case, it's already too late to back out, so instead of worrying about the future, let's focus on preparing for it.
Arien suddenly said.
-As we are now, we can't even hope to survive what's coming, but we have a great opportunity to strengthen our territory and make it larger by a lot without any fighting.
She pointed out.
-The invaders have retreated, but they did take out a lot of system lords, so we can now take over these systems and add them to the territory, before anyone else can even react.
Moreover, the same thing can be done in the Milky Way galaxy.
Arien explained.
-She's right, if we move fast enough, we can gain hundreds of systems in a short amount of time.
Runir agreed with her.
-But will we be able to hold them?
Rodill chimed in.
-Don't get me wrong, I'm all for taking more territory, but we need to be able to hold it to profit from it.
He presented his doubts.
-We actually might be able to hold it, and this might be the only chance we get to do so.
Undine said, making everyone pay attention to her.
-We can do it because our fleet is mostly intact, while the fleets of other system masters and territory leaders mostly took a beating.
Additionally, they have no idea what's going on at the moment, and that should force them to keep their forces in their systems for protection.
If we can use this opportunity, our territory might gain a lot, while we won't lose much if it fails.
Others also joined the discussion, with the majority supporting the idea, but the decision was not theirs to make.
Andrew thought for a moment before opening his mouth.
-How long would it take to send the beginning module, Life support module, and helium generator with dome armaments and a few defense satellites to each system?
He asked, looking at Aelita, Nairin, and Jalina.
The three of them had a quick discussion before Aelita answered.
-If we use only the cargo ships at our disposal, we can get 45 systems in one go, more if we use military vessels, and even more if we ask our allies for help.
As for the time to do so, we can have 45 sets of the modules you mentioned ready within three hours, if we use our full production capability, and I mean the whole territory's production capability.
She explained.
-What about the station masters?
He asked.
-We have hundreds of people volunteering for this job, and that's not counting the new arrivals, since we didn't have the time to ask them.
This time, Jalina answered.
-Do we even know which systems to take over?
Andrew asked again, like he was trying to discourage the idea.
-Yes, we do, and all of these systems are now ownerless.
Lanarine answered.
-Before you even ask, the fleets are ready, and the cargo ships are on their way back after delivering the supplies to our allies.
Runir said, before he could even ask.
-Good, select twenty systems in the Milky Way and twenty-five here, build the stations and secure them, then proceed with the expansion.
Andrew started giving out orders.
-Tanira, prepare for the diplomatic fallout.
I'm sure that there will be someone who won't like what we are going to do.
Then he paused for a moment.
-Why do I even bother? You all know what to do, so make it happen.
He said, sighing.
There was no need to give out instructions at this point since they all knew their duties.
All they needed from him was the green light to begin work.
The meeting was over, and everyone rushed to get things done.
Within the next three hours, the new station masters were boarding ships that were being filled with module parts and drones.
As for the diplomatic fallout, there was none, since everyone was still trying to figure out what was going on.
Tanira, for her part, kept quiet about the information for now, to prevent any interference with their plan.
Not that many factions in the area could do anything about it anyway, since their fleets were battered after the battle.
By the next morning, the territory had more than doubled the number of systems under its control, and the cargo ships were already on their way to their next set of targets.
After some time, the other factions also started grabbing territories that were now ownerless, but they only grabbed a system or two at a time, worried about stretching their forces too thin and making themselves an easy target.
This was of no consequence to Andrew and his territories expansion as no matter what the others did, he already profited enormously and was going to squeeze this opportunity dry, by grabbing as much territory as he could hold in both galaxies.
For the next couple of days, Andrew's forces took over one system after another while still expanding the navy and building more cargo vessels.
The new station masters also were not idly waiting for parts to upgrade their stations, opting for getting the production modules as soon as possible and expanding their stations using the local resources, which lessened the strain on the other systems and allowed the expansion to progress faster.
Then there were some unexpected gains in the form of a few system masters and smaller territories pledging allegiance to Andrew.
These individuals saw what was going on and deduced rather quickly that they would not survive for long if they wanted to stay independent.
On the other hand, some had seen the expansion as a threat and decided to send a warning, stating that they would not allow Andrew to conquer them without a fight.
Not that the human planned on conquering them, at least not at the moment, since he lacked the strength to do so anyway.
Individually, he could have taken them out, but he knew that the moment he took out a few of them, the rest would most likely unite to oppose him.
The biggest surprise, however, came from Adurians, who not only didn't oppose his expansion, but they also took the opportunity to expand their territory as well, contacting Tanira to make sure their expansions would not collide or bring conflict.
-Why do they even want to expand their territory?
Nairin asked while she, Tanira, and Ilia, who left the tank a few days prior, were taking a dip in the jacuzzi to relax and were discussing this topic.
-Their territory is more or less surrounded by ours at this point, so what do they expect to gain from it?
The student asked.
As good as she was at engineering and many other things, politics turned out to be her Achilles' heel.
-My people, as arrogant as they seem, are no fools.
Iliana said, not even opening her eyes as the warm water and bubbles made her body relax.
-They know or at least suspect that sooner or later, they will be forced to either ally themselves with us or pledge allegiance to Andrew.
She continued.
-Wouldn't it be better for them to submit earlier rather than later?
Nairin asked, still not understanding.
-What she meant is that they want to expand their territory and become more powerful, to have something to offer when the time to negotiate comes, and if I'm not wrong, they will want to at the very least get the right to self govern or a seat at the empires council, when we finally establish it.
Tanira explained.
-Do we even know when we will be establishing the Empire?
And why do we need the council since Andrew will be the Emperor?
Nairin asked curiously.
-We are already working on it, and the Expansion is a big part of that.
Tanira said seriously.
As for the council, it is Andrew's Idea.
He is only one man, and it is impossible for him to be able to control the empire by himself.
That's why he will need the council to help him address any issues and control the territory while reporting to him.
-This makes sense.
The student admitted after thinking about it for a while.
This was only one conversation out of many, as the entire territory was talking mostly about the expansion and creating an empire.