The conclusion of the meeting had leaned in the Imperium's favor. Elara managed to maintain control over the 150 worlds that were important and even managed to secure an additional 70 world that can be used for even more resources and other things.
The newly acquired territories were filled with untapped potential—rich veins of resources waiting to be mined, fertile lands ready for cultivation, and strategic locations that could serve as critical military outposts. For the 80 worlds that were relinquished, it was decided that a buffer zone would be created between Imperium controlled space and Coalition space.
Two new empires were created as a result due to the split ideas of the coalition. The first, the Concord of Sovereign Worlds, known simply as 'The Concord' was supported by both the Coalition of Free Stars and the Varraxian Technocracy. Its formation was heralded as a new chapter for independent star systems, one where collective governance, trade agreements, and mutual defense would bind them together.
Its creation stood as a rejection of centralized power like that of the Imperium, instead fostering a vision of decentralized unity. Its main values would center around freedom and cooperation, though such idealism would be tested when ambition and greed clashed within its ranks.
The second empire was different. The Pyrean Ascendancy, supported by the Theocratic Dominion of Kalyndra and the Kingdom of Rylothis. It was founded as a militarized theocracy that would be forged from the ashes of the Abominor war.
Their ideology would revolve around glorifying strength through sacrifice and would consider their victory over the Abominor as part of a divine prophecy. Unyielding loyalty would be demanded from its citizens in order to enforce its ideas and more.
Each of these empires were given 40 worlds from the relinquished territory, an even split designed to prevent immediate conflict while creating a neutral buffer between themselves and the Imperium.
After this almost a dozen agreements were made to facilitate the rebuilding of the war-torn sectors while also ensuring peace for the next hundred years. War was strictly forbidden between all of the signed members ensuring a lasting peace for at least the agreed upon hundred years.
The negotiations had ended with far fewer threats than Elara had anticipated, though only because the Imperium had made it painfully clear who held the upper hand. After the meeting concluded, the dignitaries dispersed, some already plotting for the future. The two empires that were created would be formed over the next few weeks.
Daimon on the other hand had returned to his flagship with Elara. The meeting was over, and he didn't want to linger here any longer than he needed. He had been away from Veldari for some time now and he couldn't wait to go back.
———
A few hours later
Daimon stood alone within the observation deck of his flagship, watching the view of the ship travelling through hyperspace. In his hands, were the various reports from some of the newly acquired planets. Since he was sure that they were getting them, he had already ordered a comprehensive survey of the conditions, resources, and other things to determine how they would develop all these planets.
Population would play a big part as the most populated planets would need to be prioritized first to avoid a major decrease in stability and prevent more deaths from starvation, disease, and the rise in crime. As of now more than 5 million soldiers would be permanently stationed on and throughout this newly conquered space to ensure they maintained a strong presence. Alongside this there would be 10,000 ships that would be split into battle groups and strategically placed at various locations to patrol various sectors and provide support to ground forces if need be.
And looking at the reports, the first thing they would need to develop is a stable food source. There are more than 5 billion people located on the planets that he took, which compared to the other regions taken by the other empires is not that much. While he took more planets than the Coalition did, the planets that he took were the least populated planets, which is another reason why they didn't fight him too much.
The others were worried about population more than resources and this mistake made them unable to see the potential of the least populated regions. This combined with the counterintelligence of the Intelligence Directorate made the others think that the region he got didn't have anything of value. But in time they will learn that they were quite mistaken.
Behind him, the doors to the observation deck opened. Admiral Caedus entered, flanked by two officers. "My Lord, we're approaching Veldari. Progenitor Thoryn has organized a massive celebration. The entire planet is being transformed to honor the heroes who have returned from the war and those who had died. And of course, your return."
"Tell Elara she'll give the speech. I'm tired of speeches for the next century." Daimon replied.
Admiral Caedus laughed a little, "I always wondered how you were able to do these speeches all the time, I guess even you get tired sometimes, My Lord."
"Yes, I do Caedus. It may not seem like it but doing speeches almost every month for 200 years will eventually start to get old. But luckily, I have Elara who can handle that for me. By the way, how's the wife and kids." Daimon asked.
"Their doing quite well. My oldest son is in the Exploration Corps and has been for as long as it existed and three of my other sons are Starfighter pilots. My oldest daughter works under Progenitor Telys and the Ministry of Science and Technology as his secretary so there's that. My other children are pretty much the same, either in admin somewhere or the military."
"Must have been a headache to raise all of those kids." Daimon remembered raising his three children and they were already a lot to deal with.
"Well, my wife mostly dealt with all of the stuff, though I was still there for majority of their lives to raise them."
"I remember when you were still just a naval lieutenant," Daimon muttered. "Fifty men, one cruiser, and that unshakable belief you were smarter than every damn officer in the command hierarchy."
Caedus chuckled, stepping forward and dismissing the junior officers. The doors closed behind them, leaving only the two of them. "I wasn't wrong," Caedus said with a small grin. "They were idiots."
Daimon smirked, "You got shot in the leg during your first boarding op because you thought covering fire was too loud' for a stealth approach." Caedus burst out laughing, "You will remember that?"
"I remember everything," Daimon said, "I remember when you refused promotion the first time because you didn't want to leave the field. I remember when you nearly sacrificed your ship to extract a colony transport from a minefield on Vortis. I remember when you stood against me in the early years—when I declared the rise of the Imperium."
Caedus turned, looking outside the window. "And I remember you didn't kill me when you could have."
"No," Daimon said. "You were the only one besides the Progenitors and a few select individuals who looked me in the eye and didn't speak out of fear. You just told me what you thought. That's rare."
Caedus gave a small shrug. "We've bled too much to be liars. You're not a god, Daimon. You've never asked us to treat you like one, not really. The people worship the idea of you. But we—" he gestured between them, "—we know the man behind the saber."
Daimon was silent for a moment, before giving a single nod. "That's why I keep you close, Caedus. Not because you serve. But because you remember."
The two of them stood there a while longer, watching the hyperspace lines outside the viewport. Then Daimon finally broke the quiet.
"I imagine that with the rise of the Concord and the Pyreans, we will see a lot more conflict in the region. Most of it will probably be about territory while another reason will be the split ideology of the two. And the two empires supporting them are going to directly fund it, probably use them as some sort of soft power in the region."
"That's the same conclusion I came to." Caedus added.
"For now, we will just observe what happens now that the war is over." Caedus nodded and the two continued their conversation until the fleet exited hyperspace. The fleet docked at the spaceport above Veldari and then Daimon boarded his transport shuttle to head to the surface.
On the surface, the planet itself was already preparing for the celebration. And it wasn't just the capital; it was every single planet across the Imperium. It would celebrate Daimon's return from a victorious war alongside the tens of millions of soldiers who participated in the war. Of course, the Republic volunteers would be honored as well, as they didn't need to join the war, yet they did so of their own volition.
After the celebration Daimon would sit down and discuss with various high-ranking lords and other officials and discuss what to do with the newly acquired territory.