The moment the elf disembarked from her ship, Andrew could tell that she was nervous.
-What did you want to talk about?
He asked to begin the conversation when she was quiet for a few seconds, trying to find the right words.
Finally, she took a deep breath and began to speak.
-I came here to ask you and Aelita to leave this universe and move to the empire.
She said.
-Can you repeat that?
Andrew asked, shocked at what he had just heard.
-I know this is not an easy thing to do, but this is the only way for both of you to survive.
Tanera said, looking everywhere but his eyes.
-And what about the rest of my people?
Andrew asked, finally comprehending what she was talking about.
-They can't come; only the two of you have the right to enter the empire.
She shook her head with a sad expression.
Tanera liked all the ladies, but it was not up to her to save everyone.
-Thank you for the offer, but I have to decline.
Andrew shook his head.
-Why would you decline?
The elf asked, surprised.
She thought that he might oppose this idea, but not that he would reject it without even a second thought.
-Why would I accept?
Andrew asked.
-Everything and everyone I care about is here, and there is no way I'm leaving it all to go to the empire while this universe is invaded.
He explained, hoping she would understand.
-You don't get it; the chances of this universe surviving a normal invasion were already small.
However, there was still a chance to do so, but now it's not just a normal invasion; it's also a test to determine if this universe is ready to join the Battle Verse.
She almost screamed at him.
-Then maybe start by explaining what this Battleverse actually is.
Andrew said, trying to be patient.
-The Battleverse is composed of galaxies that survived the test, but even if you managed to survive the test, the real battle starts once you are sent there.
Every star kingdom, empire, territory, and even the pirates, are always going after the new arrivals, which almost always ends up with the new arrivals, being enslaved or wiped out.
For the last 200,000 years, there was not even one new arrival who managed to survive, and these were beings from universes who had decades or even centuries to develop and prepare.
Tanera explained.
-Now, tell me what chance you have when you don't even have a year to prepare and the highest technology level in this universe is a tier 4.
She asked him.
-That's why I came to get the two of you out of here before it's too late.
The elf said, pleadingly.
If she could, she would take them all and everything they had with her, but that was impossible.
-Thank you for your intentions, but I'm not going anywhere, and I'm sure Aelita will tell you exactly the same thing.
Andrew said.
-However, you can still help us with information and, if possible, by selling us as much stuff as we can afford.
He added.
-Are you insane?
She asked, almost tearing her hair out of her head.
-No matter what you do, the chances of your survival are next to nothing.
She tried to convince him.
-Be that as it may, it's still better to at least try than to simply run away.
Especially when running away leaves everyone and everything behind.
Andrew responded.
-I'm not convincing you no matter what I say, am I?
Tanera took another deep breath to calm down.
-I don't think there is anything you could say that would convince me to leave.
He confirmed.
-But if you want to help us survive this, there is plenty you could do
-Alright, if I can't convince you, then I'll do my best to aid you. What do you need?
She gave up, seeing how stubborn this human was.
-What I need the most at the moment is information, and I will need your help with acquiring some things.
-Alright, you still have quite a bit of silver credits, and if you want more, then I can buy the stuff you got from the crates.
As for the information.
I think it would be better to explain it all to everyone at the same time.
The elf said.
-Alright, let's go to the conference module; that way, we can get everyone on the comms.
Andrew suggested.
A few minutes later, they were inside the module and had a teleconference with every station master and captain at the same time.
Tanera explained once again what the Battleverse was, shocking everyone present.
-What's the difference between the normal invasion and the test?
Tarina asked.
-The main difference is that a standard invasion has limits on how many ships the invading forces can deploy into the invaded universe; however, since this is a test, there are no such limits.
Additionally, if they manage to conquer the whole galaxy during the test, this galaxy is added to their territory and transported to their universe.
The elf explained.
-Don't ask me how this works because I have no idea.
She added, to stop them from asking about it.
-Are the limits on the class of the ships they can send here still in effect?
Aelita asked.
-Yes, they are, but as soon as even one of the system masters gets his hands on a heavier ship, it is automatically added to the list of the ships they can send into this universe, so I advise you not to build any dreadnought anytime soon.
-Is there any time limit to the invasion?
Runir asked.
-In a standard one, there is a time limit, but in a test, there is none.
The test ends when the invading forces decide to stop the conquest or are defeated and routed back into their own universes.
There is a third option to end it, but it has never been used since the condition for it is to conquer a galaxy belonging to one of the invading universes, which, as far as I know, was never accomplished.
However, in your case, I would advise you to prolong the invasion for as long as possible, to buy yourselves time to prepare for the Battleverse.
If you can even survive it, that is.
-Why can't we detect any portals opening anywhere in our sensor range?
Lanarine asked.
-Because the portals have not stabilized yet, it will take another four hours at the earliest before they are stable, so it's not like the invasion forces will arrive in a few minutes.
The only other way for them to get here is to get access to the jump gate, like we planned to do with the Empire's merchants.
However this is risky as the jump gates are usually heavily guarded, so coming through one of them and taking it over would require a lot of forces and it would be costly.
Not to mention that the gate could also be destroyed, leaving the invading forces with nothing but losses.
-Can we expect the merchants to come during the invasion?
Jalina asked.
-This would be difficult, but if you can secure enough territory or activate your jump gate, it is possible.
The elf explained.
She answered the questions one after the other, while her droids transported the crates to her ship and were calculating the value of the merchandise she was going to acquire.
Luckily, the galactic supervisor granted her an unlimited trading privilege once she explained what she wanted to get from Andrew.
After another half an hour of talking and asking questions.
Andrew ordered everyone to prepare a list of the most needed items and modules that they wanted to acquire, giving them an hour to do it.
The same applied to his station.
He already knew that he would need to prepare more food and increase the storage capacity of his station if he wanted to build ships and continue the research into tier 4.
-You should activate the jump gate to the empire; at least that way, there won't be any uninvited guests coming from it.
Tanera advised him once they finished the conference.
-This might be a good idea, and it would grant me access to the empire's merchants, but does the empire participate in the invasion?
Andrew asked.
-It does. Every star nation that has enough forces will be participating.
The main reason for the invasion is to gather as many resources from the new universe as possible.
If you miss the opportunity, then your enemies will be able to get the upper hand, and you could be conquered.
That's the kind of place a Battleverse is.
She explained.
-So basically, it's the kind of a place where the law of the jungle reigns supreme.
Andrew said.
-What's the law of the jungle?
The merchant asked, as she had never heard this term.
-It's kill or be killed, the oldest law on my planet.
Andrew explained.
He suspected that it was the same on most planets, if not all of them.
-If that's the case, then yes, the law of the jungle reigns supreme in there.
The elf confirmed.