Interstellar Age

While the Naraku had begun their assault on the Milky Way Galaxy, the Empresses which ruled over the two invasion forces remained within their respective galaxies. After all, if either of them were to be killed, it would be disastrous for the entirety of the invasion.

But things were not progressing as they expected. Resistance was definitely stiffer than they had previously estimated. Sure had been decades since they received any information regarding their opponents and their strength.

Yet that did not explain how they were capable of resisting two entire galaxies worth of Naraku. At least, to which they were currently doing so. By now, only a few hundred worlds on the fringes of the galaxy had been successfully invaded by the Naraku.

And that was only in 4/5s of the galaxy. In one very specific portion of the Milky Way, the Naraku fleets send to invade it were suppressed at the border. Seemingly losing their forces faster than they could be replaced.

It was utter madness. Their expectations with sending the invasion forces from both Andromeda and Triangulum was that within a few weeks thousands of star systems would be fully devoured by the Naraku. Yet as it stood, less than a thousand worlds were besieged by the bugs, and only a fraction of that had fully fallen into their hands.

It was because of this that the two empresses were starting to panic. The war had only been going on for about three months now. But their gains in this time were minimal compared to the losses sustained.

Sure the worlds they devoured covered their losses, for the time being. But if they continued such a casualty rate, then it would take anywhere from ten to a thousand times longer to conquer the Milky Way than they initially calculated.

And because of this, Triangulum was pissed at Andromeda. After all, Andromeda had assured her the Milky Way’s major powers would be severely weakened and lose most of their territory within a few decades, perhaps a century or two at the most. But in no more than a thousand years would they have devoured the entire Galaxy? Or so they had previously anticipated.

I mean, how could the galaxy not fall within this timespan when facing two full galactic invasions at the same time? But… That was not what was happening. Within three months, the Milky Way had put up a valiant defense. One could barely claim that the Naraku had gained a foothold in the galaxy to fully extend their invasion from.

And it could still be argued that after three months they had failed to achieve this end. Naturally, this angered Triangulum who blamed Andromeda for lying to her. And she was more than willing to say this aloud.

“You assured me that this would be a swift conquest. A mere millennium at the latest. If that were truly the case, then our gains in these last three months should have been in the tens of thousands of star systems. Perhaps even the hundreds of thousands.

And yet currently, we have acquired a hundred, maybe two that have fully been conquered across all sectors of invasion. That is, of course, for that one stubborn front whose defensive lines refuse to break no matter how many of our offspring we throw at it.

At my current estimation, this campaign is likely to take at least 10x as long as you have claimed perhaps even 100x as long. If I wanted a long and costly conquest, I would have sent my forces to another neighboring galaxy, one which I would be guaranteed the spoils of, rather than having to contend with you for them in the end!”

Andromeda had no excuses. Her agents had all been detected and eliminated decades ago. Still, it did not make sense that in less than a century, the Milky Way was able to build such robust defenses.

She had no idea how to explain these losses. And while the lack of gains across the galaxy as a whole was deeply concerned. The most baffling thing of all was the crisis at the edge of the Germanic Star-Empire’s borders.

Triangulum was ignorant of the Milky Way’s history, which Andromeda had been spying on for a million years. The Germanic Star-Empire was a recent upstart in terms of galactic history.

Their history as an interstellar civilization spanned a mere five centuries. And yet, in the last hundred years alone, they had advanced from a relatively minor power of little significance into a major galactic power. One which was clearly the most powerful force in the galaxy at the moment, as they seemed to be the only one capable of stemming the tide against the Naraku invasion.

And because of this, Andromeda was quick to express her concerns about them. Even going so far as to make a suggestion that deeply infuriated Triangulum.

“I suggest we each withdraw a portion of our forces from each of the four regions, and concentrate them in the sector of the galaxy where our fleets have reached a stalemate. There is something deeply unusual about the enemy we are facing in the region, and I fear if left unchecked they will be the end of us…”

Triangulum, however, thought this was utter madness. To divert forces from the regions in which they were actively albeit slowly taking ground would only slow down their advance. If not, halt it altogether. And all for the sake of an enemy that while their forces could not break through their defense, was clearly well and truly contained?

Naturally, Triangulum voiced her disagreement, even questioning if Andromeda was sane for even proposing such a strategy.

“Have you gone mad? In what world is it a good idea to withdraw our forces from the regions we are winning in, in the hopes of breaking through a stalemate on the other edge of the galaxy? Sure, they may be a tougher opponent, but they are contained aren’t they?

It’s not like they are sending reinforcements to the other portions of the galaxy? So clearly we have them tied up with our current forces. Why would we risk slowing our advance elsewhere, or halting it altogether for such a thing?”

Andromeda was quick to argue, pointing out Triangulum’s ignorance on the matter. But it was ultimately an argument she was going to lose.

“Triangulum, you haven’t been studying this galaxy like I have. This civilization is unusual. Their rate of progression is unlike anything our species has ever come across. Except… Except for the machines… I am seriously convinced that the greater threat lies in this portion of the galaxy, and it would be best to concentrate our efforts on destroying them first!”

The mention of the “machines” was enough to send a chill down Triangulum’s carapace. Contact with their sisters across the universe was limited. In fact, it was difficult just for Andromeda and Triangulum to maintain a line of communication, and they were the two closest empresses.

But every few thousand years, mentions of powerful enemies in distant galaxies would reach their ears. All either of the two Empresses really knew was that in a galaxy far away, one of their sisters had come across a galaxy inhabited which had a hostile race of machines that were capable of replacing their losses at a rate that was equal to if not greater than that of the Naraku.

But Triangulum found it unlikely for such an enemy to exist here. Especially since there were indeed reports that there were biological life signs detected within the Germanic Ships by the Naraku fleets they were fighting against.

And thus she was quick to dismiss this claim entirely.

“Preposterous. You are being paranoid, Andromeda, either that or you are trying to come up with some excuse for your failures! Either way, we will stay the course, and continue to advance in the other 4 sectors of the galaxy. Do you understand?”

Andromeda was forced to admit defeat with an exhausted tone in her voice. Ultimately settling this dispute and continuing to provide forces to the other four areas of the galaxy.

“Fine…. But in the future, when our invasion is repelled from the Milky Way, I’m going to tell you I told you so!”