Interstellar Survival: Invasion

”Welcome back to Eternal, envoys, ” greeted the emperor cordially.

”Thank you for giving them a ceasefire of 12 hours, Your Majesty.
Too many innocent lives have been lost from this war, ” I said.

Master Wind quickly gave me a series of eye signals, reminding me that I had spoken too much.

”Envoys, I only have one question.
Do you have any blood in your hands? ” the emperor suddenly questioned.

Everyone sank into silence, except Domo who meekly said, ”The fighter drones do not bleed. ”

”I am aware of everything you have done.
Half of your companions are still staying with the rebels even now, harming the lives of imperial soldiers.
That alone qualifies them for capital punishment, ” said the emperor sternly.

I broke out in a cold sweat.
It did not seem like this audience would end favorably for us.
As the emperor grew furious, four Gando warriors entered and stood guard at the two sides of the room.
Each Gando warrior held a different weapon as they stood, filling the room with an oppressive atmosphere.

”Emperor.
I have a question.
Was the league the one to attack first or was the empire the one to attack Akko first? ” Zhang Bao ’er decided to ask a straightforward question when he saw that I wasn ’t saying anything.

The emperor looked at Zhang Bao ’er coldly and replied, ”Does that matter? Why don ’t you tell me who the fleet of 1,500 battleships hovering outside Lidu belongs to? ”

The emperor ’s eloquence left us speechless.

”There must be a reason for you to agree to a ceasefire of 12 hours to meet us.
What can we do for you? Please tell us, ” Old Du finally said after staying silent for quite a while.

The emperor seemed to much appreciate what Old Du said.

”It ’s still the Gliesens who are more pragmatic about war.
Since I am willing to agree to a ceasefire, I am naturally the one wishing for peace, ” said the emperor with a straight face.
Of course, nobody believed a word.

”Please enlighten us, Your Majesty, ” said Old Du.

”Three legions of my Northstar Army are trapped on Lidu.
I am willing to trade the Akko captives I have with the three legions.
As for Lidu itself, I don ’t care.
However, the league will not be allowed to plant a military base right at our doorsteps, ” said the emperor.

”So you mean that you want to trade the Akko captives for the league ’s withdrawal? ” asked Old Du.

”Yes.
I believe it is a fair trade, ” said the emperor.

”How about the Akko army? Do they need to retreat as well? ” asked Zhang Bao ’er.

”I can end the battle on Akko and even let King Xido stay on the throne.
However, Akko must remain a part of the empire.
That is non-negotiable, ” said the emperor.

’See, I knew this fellow wouldn ’t meet us without a reason, ’ I thought to myself.

”Emperor, I understand what you want.
However, you seem to have overestimated our abilities.
We are nobodies in the league.
None of them care about us, ” said Old Du.

”Gliesens are truly a pragmatic race, ” praised the emperor.

He then nodded at one of the Gandos before fishing out a scroll and handing it to Master Wind. 

Master Wind accepted the scroll and started reading from it, ”As decreed by the emperor, Li Canyue is hereby appointed as the representative of the Divine Empire for the peace talks with the Interstellar League.
He shall be representing the empire in all matters related to the ceasefire between the Divine Empire and the Interstellar League. ”

After Master Wind finished reading the edict, a Gando warrior walked in with two familiar faces.

”General Edward, why are you here? ” Old Du exclaimed in astonishment.

The people brought in by the Gando were none other than General Edward of the Interstellar League and his daughter, Kelly.

”I never expected us to meet again in such a circumstance.
This is truly a peculiar meeting, ” said General Edward with a smile.

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Looking at the general and his daughter, who were both tied up in thin transparent strings, I couldn ’t help but feel rather sad.

”Alright.
This is not a place to catch up with old friends.
General Edward was supposed to be the best candidate to represent us in the peace talk, but the general refused.
I respect his courage.
He would rather sacrifice his daughter than work toward peace for even more people, ” said the emperor.

”You did not make the offer for peace.
You only wanted to free your three legions trapped there, ” said General Edward.

”You can ’t say that, General.
The Akko army is rather strong as well.
In fact, they had just created a miraculous result of defeating five imperial units for every one of their own units.
I am merely trying to achieve peace and protect more lives, ” said the emperor, maintaining the grace of a monarch.

”The Interstellar League will not engage in exchanging prisoners with terrorists.
We will rely on our strength to save them.
Justice can never mingle with evil, ” said General Edward resolutely.

”Hehe, you actually claim to be on the side of justice? What if King Xido is the one requesting to have this prisoner exchange to get his soldiers back? ” said the emperor coldly with his voice lowered.

”We won ’t agree no matter who ’s asking.
I know the league well.
We will never negotiate with invaders, ” replied General Edward unyieldingly.

”Good.
Very good.
Only an opponent like this will make things interesting.
Li Canyue, as our representative in this peace talk, I will let the general ’s daughter go with you.
If the talk fails, you may return.
I will execute the general and destroy Planet Akko, erasing both of them from existence, ” said the emperor ruthlessly.
He then turned to leave before any of us could say anything.

Just as the emperor was about to leave the room, I yelled loudly, ”I will never help an ambitious warmonger like you! ”

The moment I said those words, the entire room sank into silence.
Nobody dared to make a noise, and I could see Master Wind ’s hands tremble.
The emperor stopped walking.
He turned around and leveled a sharp gaze at me.
His gaze felt like a sharp blade slicing through my body.

After a while, the emperor coldly said, ”Early morning tomorrow, execute all these people and melt their ship.
I do not want to see any signs of their prior existence in the universe. ”

After giving the cruel order, the emperor turned and left.

The four Gandos stepped forth.
Without our equipment, we were completely helpless.
We were all captured.
Master Wind sighed as he shook his head in silence.
We were all escorted out of the room.
Outside, a steel prisoner shuttle was waiting.

”Guardian Wind, where do we send these people? ” asked an imperial official.

Master Wind gave it some thought and said, ”Where is their ship? ”

”The ship has been disarmed.
It ’s currently parked at the smelting center outside the palace, ” said the official.

”Send them to their ship.
His Majesty decreed that they are to be destroyed together with their ship early tomorrow morning, ” said Master Wind before moving forth to board the shuttle.

”Guardian Wind, please wait.
His Majesty decreed that we will be enough to escort them.
You don ’t need to trouble yourself with this task, ” said a Gando warrior as his arm reached out to block Master Wind ’s advance.

Master Wind could only stop helplessly and watch as the four Gando warriors and a group of imperial policemen escorted us onto the shuttle.

When I met Master Wind ’s gaze, I gave him a firm nod.
I did not regret my choice.
I also believed that Zhang Bao ’er and Old Du would understand my choice.
I could not facilitate this trade and save the lives of the invaders.
That would only result in more loss of life in the future.
Perhaps Master Wind understood my thoughts.
He also gave me a firm nod. 

The shuttle started traveling toward the smelting center outside the palace.
In a few minutes, we reached our destination.
When the door opened, a black world of fire appeared before our eyes.
This place seemed like a place the empire used to dispatch their trash.
In the middle of the field, Fearless was parked silently.

”Fearless! ” Dondon was unable to stop himself from calling out at the ship.

The ship before us had been completely stripped of its weapons.
Imperial police surrounded the ship, and several tanks were also present.
In the air, four drones could be seen constantly patrolling around.

”Looks like that bastard emperor is still afraid of us even when we ’re completely unarmed if he has such tight security for just the few of us, ” sneered Zhang Bao ’er.

An imperial policeman stepped forth and asked the Gando warriors, ”Where do we lock these people? ”

”His Majesty decreed that early morning tomorrow, these prisoners and their ship will be smelted.
Is this ship still capable of launching any attacks? ” asked the Gando warrior.

”All the weapons and energy sources for its engine system have been stripped.
This spaceship is completely harmless now, ” replied the imperial police.

’Looks like General Edward was right.
The emperor has always been harboring bad intentions.
He had had our way out blocked long ago, ’ I thought.

”In that case, lock them all in their own cargo bay.
Have 20 imperial guards keep watch on the ship.
The other Gandos and I will patrol outside the ship.
No mistake can be made, ” said the Gando warrior.

”Roger, ” replied the imperial police.

Twenty imperial guards immediately stepped forth and escorted us into the cargo bay.

The interior of Fearless had been thoroughly ruined by the imperial police.
Many of the machines were torn down and destroyed.
Seeing the destruction on a ship that had been our home for a long time, everyone was furious.

After going through numerous checkpoints, we finally reached Fearless ’s cargo bay.
Everything of value had been removed from it, leaving only some worthless food that not even the imperial police was bothered with moving.
After pushing us inside, they locked the door and left four armed guards to keep watch outside.

”Looks like there won ’t be any miracle this time, ” said Old Du with a smile, something he would rarely do.

”This transaction is a complete loss.
Not only am I losing money, but I ’m also losing my life, ” complained Domo.

I smiled at everyone and said, ”This is our final night.
Let ’s talk about something happy. ”