The next morning, was the time Andrew's treatment came to an end.
-How is Tarina?
These were the first words he spoke after opening his eyes and remembering what happened.
-She's alright, you saved her, but if you do something like that again, you will wish that you died.
Iliana answered and started giving him a piece of her mind.
Unfortunately for her, Andrew almost immediately drifted into the dreamland, leaving her with a lot of anger and with no one to release it on.
A few hours later Andrew woke up, only to be greeted, by a group of happy and extremely angry women, that tore into him as soon as Iliana declared him fully healed.
Even Tarina went off on him.
Not that she was not grateful that he saved her, but in the eyes of all the ladies he was the most important person, and his life mattered much more than theirs.
-There is no way I will just stand by and watch any of you get hurt, if I'm the most important person to you all, You are all as important to me.
Andrew said, trying to defend himself.
Sadly this only pissed the ladies even more, since they all thought that he was trying to sweet talk his way out of the situation.
After about an hour of unloading their frustrations on the human, the ladies finally gave him a break, warning him that this better never happen again or he would be sorry to ever be born.
With that taken care of, they proceeded to brief him on all that happened while he was in the tank.
Some of the things surprised him, some didn't, but he was genuinely shocked that The Lady and Droga wanted to join the territory.
As for the loss of the Alpha Pictoris system, he didn't care too much, especially once he heard how big the enemy force was.
-You ladies did a great job.
He said, approving of their actions.
-So how large a fleet do we have at the moment?
-At the moment we have: 380 corvettes, 215 frigates, 77 gunships, 56 heavy frigates, 14 destroyers, 260 drone frigates, 355 drone corvettes, 36 cargo ships, 24 tugs, 15 tankers, and 25 resupply ships, for a total of 1457 ships.
However, almost a third of the combat vessels are still waiting for repairs or are being repaired as we speak, so these numbers will grow shortly.
Also, I didn't include the fighters since they are mainly defensive craft.
-Is that with or without the Lady's fleet?
Andrew asked shocked at the number of the ships his fleet possessed at the moment.
-No, these are our own forces, The Lady is not yet a part of the territory, so I didn't include her fleet.
They have about 130 frigates and about 200 corvettes, plus some unarmed vessels, but I see no utility for them other than maybe as transport ships.
The fleet commander shrugged.
The briefing lasted for over three hours as there were a lot of things the ladies had to inform him about.
Andrew approved of everything, glad that the territory didn't fall into chaos while he was being treated.
Aelita of course didn't forget to give him a piece of her mind regarding the ship designs, only to be shocked by his answer.
-I never told you, because you won't have the time to design ships.
I have a special project for you, but before I could tell you, I got blown up.
He stated.
Aelita looked at him in disbelief, trying to figure out if it was the truth or if he was trying to avoid another scolding.
-Vulcan, did the scout team from Earth transfer my gaming capsule memory, before we lost connection to them?
-Yes, they did transfer it.
-Good, open the data and find a file named Atlantis.
-I found it, displaying on the main screen.
The AI said, right before the files were displayed.
What they saw made the ladies speechless and their jaws hit the floor.
-This is the project I was working on in the game, the main design is copied from a TV series, but for what I envisioned, the basic design was too small, so I intended to redesign and enlarge it.
However, before I could reach even 10 % of the design, this event started.
-Is this an enormous station or a spaceship?
Nairin asked, fascinated with what she saw.
-In the series, it was a city ship, I wanted to turn it into my territory's capital station, with every bit of technology I could get my hands on built into it, shields powerful enough to repel a bombardment from an armada and enough firepower to wipe out anyone stupid enough to attack it.
-Let me get this straight, you want me to design this thing in reality and then you want to build it?
Aelita asked, still barely able to comprehend the basic concept, much less, what Andrew was asking of her.
-That's ambitious.
She commented, not knowing what else to say.
-Yes it is, and we don't have nearly enough production power or even resources to build this thing.
Andrew agreed.
-But I want you to work on this design and possibly improve it as much as possible.
-Vulcan, how long would it take to build the original city ship?
Nairin asked, intrigued by the idea.
-With our current technology and production power of the territory, we could build it in eleven human years.
However, it would require us to use every bit of the territory's production capabilities.
Vulcan answered after taking a moment to analyze the task.
-And that's why I want you to design our capital station now before we have the means to build it.
-Does that mean that you finally decided on what we should do?
Nairin asked.
-Yes, and I decided to establish our own star nation.
Andrew's statement surprised the ladies, as it seemed that this decision would take a lot longer to be made.
-As soon as one of the merchants comes back, I will renounce the noble title, I received from the elves and announce the creation of our nation.
-You might want to think this through, I don't think the elves will be too happy with this.
Tarina said.
-I know, but It has to be done, if we want to have our own empire.
-Did you at least figure out a name for the empire we want to build?
Nairin asked excitedly.
-Yes, It will be called after our capital station.
He answered with a smile.
-Atlantis Star Empire
It has a nice ring to it.
Aelita said, with a smile.
-Yes it does, but to make it a reality we have a lot of work ahead of us.
Hearing his words the ladies nodded in agreement.
They all knew that it wouldn't be easy, but for the first time since this whole thing started, they had a clear goal ahead of them ( other than survival), and all of them wished to reach it.
-I have a proposal for one of the empire's laws.
Jalina, who was quiet for a while now said suddenly.
-What would that be?
Andrew asked.
-Abolishement of slavery inside our borders.
I never want to be a slave again and I dont wish to see anyone else made into one either.
She explained.
-It's a good idea, but I suggest making an exception for criminals.
That way we can be sure they will receive their punishment and won't try to escape or anything like that.
Arien chimed in.
-Slow down ladies, the empire hasn't been officially established yet.
Andrew pulled a break on their enthusiasm.
-I agree with your ideas, and they will be implemented, but first let's focus on consolidating our territory and gaining more of it.
Also, we need to inform the others about our plans and see what they have to say about it.
He explained.
An empire in name only, would not gain much recognition and it might not be taken seriously by other factions.
So the first order of business was to gain and secure more territory while increasing their military might at the same time.
With that in mind, Runir was sent to eliminate any invasion forces still lingering in their sensor range.
While Arien and Giarna would keep guard around the territory and the wormhole.
Then Andrew contacted all the station masters under him informing them about the decision he had made.
Their reactions ranged from shock to humor.
-Finally, All hail the emperor.
Drevon said while laughing.
-Took you long enough to figure that one out boss.
The shark-like alien said with a grin that would cause most species to have nightmares.
-Keep that up Drevon and as soon as I get my hands on some rise you'll end up as sushi.
Andrew retorted.
The shocked expression on the big alien face was enough to make everyone laugh.
-Alright you got me there, but seriously, do you even have a plan for the establishment of an empire?
Drevon asked.
-I do, and Runir is already working on the first step, which is to secure our sector of space.
Andrew said.
-Then what do you need us to do?
After that question, Andrew laid out the beginning stages of the plan to them all.
In the end, everyone was on board with it and soon the whole territory became as busy as a bee hive.