Aron had been spending more and more time with his family since he had decided to go to Proxima Centauri at the Proximians tree folks' request, and that decision was further reinforced after the two-star systems were connected.An hour before, the Emperor addressed the Proxima Centauri exploration fleet.While the fleet admiral was sending out an emergency call order for the meeting Aron had requested and scheduled for an hour later, Ayaka was seen leaving the mothership and heading back to the planet, having been assigned another mission.Upon landing at the designated zone, Ayaka wasted no time. She stepped off the ship with a suitcase in hand and walked purposefully toward a lone tree.When she was about a hundred meters away, the lone tree began to shake and transform. Branches and leaves twisted and rearranged until a humanoid figure emerged, facing Ayaka with an uncanny valley smile."Welcome, Ayaka," the humanoid tree said. Her tone and manner of speaking seemed to have evolved
Ayaka wasted no time and immediately logged into the VR, reporting the results of her discussion with Birch to the emperor. After logging off, she opened the suitcase, which immediately materialized a physical copy of the emperor thanks to the nanomachines inside it.The physical copy's eyes had been closed since its creation, but they shortly opened, revealing golden irises as the body looked around, adjusting to its new environment.He extended his hand and closed it into a fist, testing the responsiveness and sensation through the nanomachine body. Feeling the smooth movement and the sensory feedback, he nodded with a satisfied expression.But that didn't last long. ‘I don’t like this stuffy feeling,’ he thought to himself. Currently, he could be considered to have his consciousness transferred into this body, and as a result, he could only sense what this body was sensing. With it being a purely technology-based nanomachine, he wasn’t sensing a single bit of mana or experiencing
Two weeks later.The fleet members had wrapped up their vacation and returned to their duties, brimming with excitement and enthusiasm—at least the majority of them. The fleet's exploratory mission was now in full swing once again.As usual, a meeting was taking place somewhere within the fleet, but this one was special because of one of its attendees – the emperor.Although the mission had shifted from a no-direct-contact protocol to an active-contact protocol, its core procedures remained unchanged. The only notable difference was that fleet members could now stay in touch with their families after their shifts.This meant the fleet continued to operate as a self-governing entity, with no interference from anyone other than the emperor. His oversight remained the only exception, and it would only extend beyond his usual limits if he explicitly stated otherwise.This rule, combined with the fleet's unique circumstances, led to the emperor's personal attendance at the meeting he had c
Two weeks later.It had now been a month since the two sides had been connected, and the empire had spent that time efficiently setting up the necessary infrastructure to live stream throughout the star system.However, due to it coinciding with the Proximians finally awakening from their VR pods, the live stream was momentarily restricted to viewing areas of the star system other than the planet. This was to respect the privacy of those awakening, who would be in a vulnerable state. Despite this limitation, the live stream still attracted a few million viewers, eagerly watching different locations of the star system as the exploration fleet continued its work.Generally, such events would have attracted even more viewers, but a significant portion of the usual audience for this type of livestream was currently focused on something else.………..High Earth Orbit.Outside Earth, a fleet of about a thousand military-style spaceships could be seen, their sheer number a testament to the empi
About an hour after the emperor's journey had commenced, the activity in Proxima A reached a dramatic crescendo.Ptssss, A soft hiss echoed as air escaped from a pod that began to open. The lid slowly rose, revealing a stunning dark elf woman lying peacefully inside.She remained still for a moment longer before her closed eyes began to flutter and then slowly open, revealing striking green eyes that gradually came into focus.“Mh…” she groaned slightly as she grasped the edge of the VR pod, using it for support as she shifted from a reclining position to a seated one.“Although I believed it was real, I still had a slight suspicion that we were merely part of a simulation undergoing a test,” she said, her voice initially crackling. As she spoke, her vocal cords gradually adjusted, growing clearer with each word, signaling their first true use after being constantly stimulated by the pod to prepare for movement when the time for their awakening came.“It’s good to be skeptical and que
Task Force Teegarden.It had been more than a year since their arrival, and they had discovered two planets in the Goldilocks zone, both shrouded in nuclear winter as a result of a devastating war. This discovery marked the beginning of their exploration.Inside a private office, Fleet Admiral Jason Ryfczinski could be seen going through the final pieces of collected data from the entire star system. The majority of important data had been collected from the two habitable planets within the star system, Teegarden B and Teegarden C, both currently experiencing nuclear winter.Despite the primary goal of the exploration fleets being discovery, the selection of specific star systems hinted at the empire's fervent hope to find intelligent life. Each of these star systems boasted planets within the Goldilocks zone.However, after meticulously searching every nook and cranny within the two habitable planets within the star system, they were certain there was no intelligent life remaining. A
{Why not just kill them?} Athena interjected, offering her suggestion amidst the discussion.Although Aron was in transit on his journey, he wasn't exempt from working. He was currently undergoing his daily morning briefing, which was being provided by the head of agencies AI.Currently, they were discussing how to deal with the people who had been exiled by the empire. These individuals were considered irreconcilable opponents of the empire, always on the verge of causing trouble whenever they had the chance.The reason they were discussing these exiled individuals now, despite their banishment a few years ago, was due to recent simulations. These simulations indicated that, given the empire's rapid expansion and the sudden addition of ten billion people, all in their prime and of childbearing age, their population would increase exponentially. If there were no technologically superior civilizations to threaten the empire's existence or expansion, by the time the exiles arrived at th
Six Months Later.Throughout the journey, Aron dedicated as little time as possible to his official duties. Instead, he chose to spend the majority of his time with his wife and his friends, cherishing his friend's rare physical presence together in the past several years. He also enjoyed playing games with his younger brother and occasionally had a talk with his parents, who were still reveling in their renewed vigor like every old person following the empire-wide rejuvenation program."I will do so," Unfortunately, no matter how enjoyable a semi-vacation might be, it eventually has to come to an end. No matter how powerful he was, Aron wasn't exempt from this rule. His fleet arrived outside Proxima Centauri's heliosphere, emerging from FTL travel and releasing whatever they dragged throughout the journey to be dealt with by the heliosphere.The fleet was currently at a full stop, as per Aron’s order. He wanted to test something.“Mhh….” Aron mused with his eyes closed before opening