Agent047
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721 - Enjoying the Process
🕑 Added 2024-09-09 10:16:25 +0000 UTCAron paused for a moment, taking a deep breath to gather his thoughts and process the information he had just absorbed. The weight of what he had learned required a moment of reflection before he could continue reading.
Although much of the information appeared legitimate, Aron remained cautious. He didn't consider it the absolute truth, knowing that the data from humanity's side also contained skewed details—while not outright lies, certain aspects were deliberately vague or not fully explained. This understanding made him approach the other side's information with a critical mindset.
But the absolute truth of the information wasn’t what mattered most. What truly mattered was that the other side expected them to believe it. Aron knew they would act based on this information. From the information he had already reviewed, it became clear that the other side likely consisted of the so-called opportunists that were included in the information hoping to strike it rich.
This led Aron to suspect that they were previously gathering coordinates to sell to potential buyers who could come to this star system to stake their claim to it. It was highly probable that they were either in the process of selling this information or were prepared to do so at a moment’s notice.
But it didn't matter whether they had already sold the information or were still preparing to do so—either way, the data would eventually be sold. However, if the sale hadn’t occurred yet, there was still a sliver of hope for Aron and his team to recover from the situation. That hope hinged on the other side's level of greed. Selling something without knowing its true value would fetch a lower price, while waiting to fully understand what they had could increase its worth. This gap in knowledge might give Aron the time he needed to act.
Given that they had undertaken a journey spanning years to reach this star system, they would need to earn enough to justify the effort and time invested. This made it highly likely that they would only sell the information after thoroughly investigating the mana pulsar anomaly that had originally drawn them here. Depending on what they discovered, the value of this information could skyrocket, potentially allowing them to retire in luxury. Alternatively, if the star system’s worth surpassed a certain threshold, they might even risk declaring ownership of it, deeming it something worth fighting for.
Based on that reasoning, Aron hoped that greed had overtaken the other side—not just because of the phenomenon they were investigating, but also because of the reported population of over eight billion people. To them, this massive population represented potential slaves that could make them incredibly wealthy. From their perspective, they likely believed they could win any confrontation easily, considering the other side unworthy of even challenging their single ship. This overconfidence and greed might provide Aron with the opportunity he needed to outmaneuver them.
Having reached that conclusion while hoping for the best and preparing for the worst, Aron refocused on the hologram to continue analyzing the information.
As Aron sifted through more of the information, he found that although it was important, it wasn't immediately relevant to the current situation. He skimmed through these details as quickly as possible, planning to revisit them later once he had dealt with the pressing issues at hand.
Once Aron had finished reviewing all the information, only five real-world minutes had passed, though to him, it felt like hours of reading and processing.
“How long until the others are up to date on everything?” he asked.
{It will take another twenty-five minutes before everyone on a need-to-know basis is caught up,} Nova responded promptly, as she was the first to have a comprehensive understanding of the current situation.
“Good, tell the fleet to be ready to engage at any moment. Depending on how quickly they process the information we provided, an attack is likely. We need to ensure we're not caught off guard,” Aron instructed, pulling up the hologram showing the ship’s image.
They were using radio communication to initiate contact not just because it was simple, but also because it allowed them to use the signals as a form of radar to scan the ship discreetly, without alerting the other side.
While the signals weren’t strong enough to penetrate every part of the ship, they provided sufficient detail about the basic thickness of the side that was facing them. This information revealed the thinner, more vulnerable areas as well as the hardest parts, which they could avoid in the event of a confrontation.
{Are we going to annihilate them?} Nova asked Aron, as his directives would guide the stealth fleet’s actions in the potential faceoff.
“If we can handle them, we should gather as much information as possible. Given that they might have means of instantly communicating with their home base, we must get our hands on that. But what I want most is their knowledge—so instruct the fleet to do their best to capture them alive if possible. However, If they find the enemy to be too powerful, they should drop all of the directives and focus on destroying them,” Aron said, returning his attention to the hologram of the ship. He didn’t need to provide further directives; the fleet members were experienced and would implement the orders based on their training and skills honed over thousands of simulation training.
{Sent,} Nova responded shortly.
Now, it was a matter of waiting to see if events would unfold as anticipated or if something unexpected would occur.
……………….
Ten hours later.
The other side initiated a video call, which Niwildan immediately accepted. He noted the delay, considering how quickly he had processed their information, but he found it understandable given the advanced technology of their empire.
“From the look on your face, it seems you’ve already reviewed our material. So, how long until your so-called emperor receives the news and surrenders, or do we need to do it forcefully?” Xalthar asked with an air of arrogance. He was now fully confident in his power and the capabilities of his ship to take over the star system, and he had shifted his focus to enjoying the process.
