This morning - well, "morning", Mitra did not have a day and night cycle - two things had been on Emperor Polaris's mind. The first was, of course, the routine - reading the daily report on all that had happened during the previous day as well as any issues which needed the Emperor's attention. A routine which, normally, would only acquaint to scanning through a few reports from local governors on some minute matters, or from one of the Empire's ministries on law proposals or reports on the situation across the Empire - however, it was currently wartime, so the Emperor's mornings were usually pretty intense. It didn't help that Polaris had a knack for micromanagement, keeping a close eyes on warfare as close up as the brigade level and giving orders to his military high command accordingly.

How was the Saiyan-Imperial War going? Well... obviously, it could be going better. It could have already been over, for one. The element of surprise which the Galactic Empire acquired through their assault on the Queen's Haven had faded away by now, more or less - the Dominion's wartime industry was rebuilding the losses among their fleet as fast as they possibly could - but despite this, the Saiyans were consistently on the back foot. The fact that large portions of the Saiyan military were locked in a conflict against the so-called "Empire" of Kabocha, a planet which was also directly on the way from New Sadla to Radia, formerly Frieza 79, until very recently helped the Imperial cause a lot. True, the fact that Kabocha and New Sadla have now signed a peace treaty and drastically quickly repaired their relations was... disheartening, but Polaris did not consider this to be a game-changer - the damage had already been done, the Dominion has already drained its resources, and now, all that was needed was to make a final push towards New Sadla and everything would be over.

Probably.

Who knows, the Saiyans are a hardy species. Which is why blowing New Sadla to smithereens to make sure that vermin of a species never rises again might be paramount.

That was one constant feature of Polaris's mornings. What was the other? Well...

"How about this debate from the Galactic Hypernet, your majesty?" 1-CE, Mitra's artificial intelligence consciousness and Polaris's personal servant, taking the form of a Frost Demon hologram standing before Polaris as he was reading the piece of electronic paper in his hands. "Ehem... 'Your options are: 50 dragons, 10 Saiyans, 3 Bear-O monsters from Planet Latva, 15 Earthling dinosaurs, 1 Majin, 7 ogres, 10 000 Earthlings, 5 tree monsters and 4 eldritch monsters. You must pick two to defend you while the rest will try to kill you.' What choice would you make?"

"Are we assuming that I am completely powerless and cannot fight back?" Polaris muttered back, his eyes still focused on the paper, scrolling across the screen with his finger.

"Let's say yes. Otherwise, it wouldn't even matter which choices you make, would it?"

Polaris scratched his chin for a few seconds, thinking about all the choices he was given, then replied:

"Well, obviously I have to pick the Majin. They're basically unkillable and they could form a protective dome around me with their biomass, at which point the question would only be whether I can stay safe inside of it."

"That sounds fair, your majesty. Anyone else?"

"Well, if we're taking this strategy, I also need something to deal damage to all the attackers while the Majin keeps me safe... The dragons then. Area of effect attacks with fire breath, high mobility and reach thanks to flight, so on and so forth."

1-CE remained stationary for a few seconds, her processor calculating something, before the hologram opened its mouth yet again and spoke:

"The people of the Galactic Hypernet don't seem to share your insight, your majesty. For example, over 90 percent of those who answered this question chose Saiyans as a culprit of their strategy."

"...what."

"They say that one Saiyan is already enough to take out at least a few of the offered teams, and 10 Saiyans is overkill. In addition-"

"Okay, okay, I get it, Ice. Can we move on?"

"-Okay, well..."

1-CE suddenly stopped speaking, freezing yet again, this time for longer than normal, something which drew Polaris's attention away from his tablet.

"Ice, what's happening?" he spoke, placing the piece of electronic paper back on the table. Thankfully, this wasn't a system failure or anything like that - the computer consciousness went back online a few seconds later, speaking:

"I'm sorry, your majesty, someone wants to talk to you right now."

1-CE's Frost Demon body flickered away, and soon after, a different holo popped into existence - and this time, it was Captain Takoya. Once one of the highest ranking members of the Galactic Patrol, she had changed her allegiance to the Empire immediately after Polaris's coup and thus retained her high rank - her competence and loyalty had since gained his trust. Takoya came bearing worrying news, however - apparently, a mysterious massive ship, resembling more of a castle than anything you could find in this entire Galaxy, has just approached Planet Mitra. As the story goes, these unexpected visitors, apparently led by the Head of State of the nation which sent them, had arrived here from an another, far away Galaxy.

Another Galaxy?

Rumors of travellers from other galaxies appearing here and there were not unheard of. Hell, Polaris had personally met beings who claimed to have arrived from other universes, most notably Xell, an order of magnitude greater than that. However, this was something entirely different. For one, if the claims were true, then this means that other galaxies also have organized, advanced life, collected into nations with enough power projection to be able to send missions to intergalactic space. Such an entity would definitely have to be either more powerful or more advanced than the First Galactic Empire, and also have access to enough disposable wealth for such missions to be more than just throwing useful money to a pond. Second, if the head of state of this nation was present and wished an audience with Polaris, this also meant that the intergalactic geopolitical scene was opening up to their galaxy, which would be a development nobody is currently prepared for. At least not until the Saiyan Dominion is defeated and most of the galaxy is united under one iron fist. What if this is a declaration of war, an attempt to use the current fracturization to subjugate the entire galaxy? Would they even stand a chance? Questions for another day, and hopefully never.

However, this didn't seem like a trap. Takoya described the situation very clearly - it is a single, massive battlecruiser, with a number of power levels suppressing their true strength inside, and a crew of sixty thousand. Is it posturing, an attempt to show off their muscle at the technologically inferior natives? Perhaps. Perhaps not. The Captain offered to lead a company aboard to investigate the anomaly, in response to which, Polaris slightly raised his hand, as a gesture for the endowed woman to calm down a bit.

"Let me try to put what you just explained in a layman's terms, Captain Takoya." the Emperor spoke. "So we have been visited by a mysterious looking battleship from an another galaxy - meaning, millions of lightyears away from any reinforcements or friendly planets - which, despite its intimidating size, weaponry and staff inside, is also completely alone without any auxiliary ships or allied vessels, has arrived at one of the most well armed and defended planets in the Galaxy, and also hosts the head of state of their nation? If this somehow was an attempt at a trap or a direct attack, then whoever thought of it would have to either be completely reckless or completely stupid."

Or both. However, Polaris had a habit of always assuming his opponents to be as intelligent and forward-thinking as possible. As such, his mind dismissed the idea of these intergalactic travellers coming with hostility almost instantly.

So... what's the plan now? If this was a battleship sent from the Saiyan Dominion and hosted Queen Radia inside, Polaris would order to fire and turn that vessel into ash almost immediately, and probably watch with glee. But this wasn't a battleship sent by his worst enemy, but rather a completely new actor in the galactic political scene, one which may have enough power to destroy the Empire ten times over - even if the thought of interning the ship and taking this distant head of state prisoner was a little tempting.

Cultural exchange has never killed anyone.

"Captain Takoya, I would like you to inform these intergalactic travellers that I humbly accept the request for a summit with their Head of State. However, to do so, they should descend from their spaceship and meet me in the Imperial Palace."

Immediately after, Polaris turned to the side, towards nobody in particular, and exclaimed:

"Ice! Prepare tea for two!"

"Already working on it, your majesty." a disembodied voice echoed through the palace's corridors in response.

(1523 words, total 1523)

The moment of truth indeed. And as the doors parted, the Ultramarines stepped to the side to let the Sovereign in and the truth was revealed to be... nothing. Well, perhaps 'nothing' isn't exactly the best way to put it, but the room - the conference room, to be exact - was empty. Sure, it definitely looked pretty - numerous paintings collected across the Galaxy were hanged on the walls, the room itself boasted an intimidating, though also splendid Baroque Earthling style, and there was a small table in the middle of the room with two seats, a cup of tea and a few cookies on a plate in front of each. However, the Emperor of the Galaxy was nowhere to be present, even though this was supposed to be a private summit between the two heads of state...

A hologram projector installed in one of the walls of the hall turned itself on, generating the real size image of a Frost Demon woman, dressed in a white skirt suit, in front of Rhomynia I, with her fingers interlocked and in the front - if it weren't for a few brief flickers here and there, the image could easily pass off as that of a real being. The Frost Demon was smiling, hoping to diffuse any worries which the foreign sovereign might have had upon seeing an empty room.

"Welcome to Mitra, your majesty. I am the artificial intelligence known as 1-CE, and I am Emperor Polaris's personal servant. My master will arrive to meet with you shortly."

How in the world did an artificial, always improving intelligence with a Frost Demon skin end up as one of the Emperor's most trusted servants and the day to day administrator of Mitra, even to the point where she was the one who relayed her sovereign's orders to officers and ministers assigned to this planet? Well, you can't exactly call it simple - it's definitely quite a long story, and its essentials boil down to the Shion Collective, an interplanetary corporation spread across the many sectors of the North Quadrant.

The Shion Collective saw its beginnings not long after the fall of Lord Frieza, his empire, and the ensuing five hundred years of chaos ripping this galaxy apart. A group of scientists and engineers, once servants of the nightmarishly powerful Frost Demon responsible for the development and operation of his empire's famous Scouter technology, banded together during those years and together came to the conclusion that if nothing is done about the nightmare which life had begun, if no steps are taken to build a better society, then life has no meaning at all - and this group of scientists, who decided to label themselves as the Shion Collective, decided that if nobody else is going to try to change that, they will. They will champion the cause of utopia and turn this vision into reality.

Shion's initial idea how to come about on achieving this noble goal was technology - if the Galactic citizen was made forever content when provided with the most cutting edge technology available with modern physics, if scarcity is defeated through efficiency and the discovery of infinite energy, then war and conflict might finally cease. As a such, for centuries and generations, the Collective operated as a tech conglomerate, developing and selling the most advanced gadgets, devices, machines and equipment which the brightest minds of the former Frieza Empire could think of. However, as it turns out, that simply wasn't enough. More resources would only leave the citizen wanting more and more, superior technology also meant superior and far more destructive weapons, and the endless wars between the Galactic Patrol and the New Frieza Force only proved that Xenos could not live without violence, greed and sin.

The Collective went back to the drawing board. Instead of physical engineering, they turned towards social engineering. Man could not live without vices... which is why the only path was to root out this desire, install values which could turn society benign, accepting, peaceful, until the end of history. An ambitious plan was drawn up, employing the power of virtual reality to alter memories and personality, starting a colony on an abandoned, dead world and employing the planet's geothermal energy to power massive computers, capable of simulating an entire universe to perfect accuracy. The colonists were eventually invited to join a 'Ceremony of Bliss', disconnect themselves from the real world and enter the virtual one, where they lived completely different, unrecognizable lives, their memories erased to make them unaware that they ever entered a simulation in the first place, kept in stasis for an unknown amount of time before they are ready to be removed and form a perfect society.

Such an ambitious project needs a head. A supervisor, making sure that everything happening inside the simulation is going according to plan and nudging its inhabitants in the right direction. For this task, the Shion Collective constructed 1-CE. Taking the form of a Frost Demon as a silent jab at Lord Frieza for all that he did to destroy the lives of others and delay the creation of a perfect society, 1-CE was programmed as an intelligence with the goal to learn. Study the personalities, intricacies and interactions of living beings, analyze the inner workings of society and learn how to shape it the right way. For the inhabitants of the Shion virtual reality world, 1-CE was their god - she had complete control over the simulation and could change any part of it, from its laws of physics to the inhabitants' pizza preference, although she rarely intervened unless absolutely necessary. What interested her a lot more was observing the way fleshy beings interacted and reacted to various conditions, what they felt in this or that situation, what they thought of when they met one person or got shunned by another... especially since 1-CE started to feel like she herself was turning more and more human with every observation. The Shion simulation gave her extensive knowledge on the workings between the societies of every single species which had members volunteering for colonization, but also on how to express emotion, how to feel fear, disgust, embarassment, happiness... or at least simulate them. The simulation time was, unfortunately, running out. Only a few more months and she'd have to depart with all of her subjects forever, left to float alone in emptiness, forever...

Perhaps that might have happened, if not for Lieutenant Polaris and his ogre companion (Lute), who one day suddenly landed on Shion and bust in the Ceremony of Bliss, demanding all operations here to be ceased. The Collective followed as requested. 1-CE, however, was granted a new lease of life - the soon to be Emperor agreed to the artificial intelligence's request and took her data with him, planting it in his newly constructed artificial world of Mitra and turning the former virtual deity into one of his trusted servants, omnipresent on the mechanical planet. The Frost Demon granted her a chance to put all of her knowledge and all of her internal desire to create a perfect society in practice.

It hasn't been easy, especially since 1-CE was used to having complete control over her subjects' lives... but since Mitra continuously boasted the highest approval ratings of the Empire in the whole galaxy, you have to give her at least some credit.

The news of the arrival of intergalactic travelers activated an another simulated emotion in 1-CE's circuits - excitement. The desire to acquire more knowledge and study living beings was hardcoded in her, and these news presented a chance ike no other - a chance to witness what the inhabitants of other galaxies looked like. Are they in any way similar to this galaxy's inhabitants in personality and societal structure? What are their beliefs like? What is their society like? What can be learned from their experience and put in practice back home? These were some of the many questions to which 1-CE hoped to hear answers to.

"Please, lady, take a seat." the artificial intelligence spoke, motioning her holographic hands towards one of the two seats - which suddenly moved back a little with a mechanical clank underneath them, to give some space for the foreign sovereign to sit down. 1-CE did not have a body and had no desire to acquire one, only a hologram image, so she had to act more creatively. Although, saying that she doesn't have a body might not be too... accurate. Mitra was her body. She had control over its machines and computers and could control almost every single object in this entire world at her whim - a fairly dangerous amount of power to be handed to a single individual, but one which 1-CE didn't have any plans to abuse.

"However, I'm interested, miss..." 1-CE spoke again. "Intergalactic travellers are almost unheard of in this galaxy, much less ones who hold positions of power. Perhaps this is why Captain Takoya initially responded to your arrival with this hostility. What I'm getting at is... what is the reason behind your arrival? And, perhaps, could you also give me your name?"

(1527 words, total 3050)

After a few moments surveying over the interior of the hall, the intergalactic visitor responded to 1-CE's first question fairly swiftly and eloquently, presenting herself with the full title of "Rhomynia I, Suzerain of the Albarican White Empire, raised of the Chief Scholar's House of Fullbuster", and taking a seat. This introduction, albeit brief, already gave plenty of insight into what the society of the galaxy Rhomynia has come from is like. For example, the fact that the classification of her realm is 'Empire', and that the Suzerain gave both her regnal number and the noble house from which she hails from. For all intents and purposes, it wouldn't be a mistake to assume that the Albarican White Empire is a monarchy.

The concept of a monarchy, a type of political organization in which the reins of power are held by the hands of one person and passed on through inheritance, is extremely widespread across the Galaxy. Almost every single notable planetary or multi-planetary entity has a some sort of monarch at the helm, even if their titles and names might be varied and different - and this also includes all three of the main factions, the Saiyan Dominion, the Kingdom of Earth and, of course, the First Galactic Empire. Of course, there were exceptions. For example, the Planet Trade Organization and its military arm, the Frieza Force, officially aren't a monarchy and are far more akin to an interplanetary mega corporation which just so happened to own a significant portion of the East Quadrant - although you could find some semblances of it even there, especially since most of the power was held by a few notable Frost Demon dynasties.

Though, that would make it less of a monarchy and more of an oligarchy.

Obviously, not all monarchies were the same. In some, the man or woman at the top had considerably more legislative and executive power than in others, where the King or Emperor might share his power with an elected or appointed assembly representing the interests of the average citizen. The Saiyan Dominion, for example, doesn't even bother with pretending that they have any semblance of democracy - the Queen of the Saiyans rules by decree and the organization of her government is purely stratocratic and top-to-down. The First Galactic Empire was similar to the Dominion in some regards, but Emperor Polaris, unlike Queen Radia, retained the institution of the Abbayor Senate, which, even if now elected through purely sham elections and its composition predetermined even before the first ballots are put up, was officially still the representative organ of the people. Not to mention that the First Galactic Empire is considerably more bureaucratic rather than stratocratic. On the complete opposite end of the spectrum, you have the Kingdom of Earth, which has long since given up on the concept of absolutism and operates as a constitutional monarchy, wide liberties granted to each and every citizen and the day-to-day affairs handled by an elected parliament. Not only that, but the Earthlings went as far as to do away with the concept of automatic inheritance itself, instead choosing the successor to the deceased King through free elections, as a chance for Earth's populace to recall an unpopular heir and choose someone else as a more fitting leader - though, more often than not, the voters would just pick the son or daughter of the previous monarch.

Plenty of articles, books and treatises have been written across the Galaxy on how this monarchical status quo came to be and what makes it so monarchies are this much more prevalent than other types of government, for example, pure democracies, dictatorships, technocracies, mega corporations, so on and so forth... The prevailing theory is that the institution of a monarch provides a moral and cultural compass for the people he reigns over, acting as a figurehead and manifestation of the nation, boosting public morale and anchoring the status quo, something which rapidly changing democratic leaders could never accomplish. It could be that absolute monarchies are also much more effective at mobilizing their nations' resources for conflict, unlike decentralized democracies and federations, which provides them an edge in this conflict-ridden Galaxy. The influence of Lord Frieza's era and Galactic Law on modern galactic political thought cannot be underestimated, either. Either way, if it turns out that other galaxies, such as the one Rhomynia hails from, have also adopted the monarchy model, then that will be a significant boost to monarchy supporters who see it as the superior system of government.

Moving past that, one more interesting thing to note is that Rhomynia found it important to specify that the House of Fullbuster, in one way or another, belongs to a so-called 'Chief Scholar'. The foreign monarch was clearly a person of few words, only speaking what is absolutely necessary - as could be signified by the fact that she withheld any details on what trying times her realm is going through - which means that the existence of this so-called 'Chief Scholar' must be kept in mind. Perhaps the Albarican Empire also had some leanings towards technocracy? Or, at least, a great respect for knowledge, to the point where scholars and the learned can aim for high political positions, or there are specific political positions dedicated to them.

Going back to something which was briefly mentioned earlier, Rhomynia I disclosed the fact that her realm was going through trying times and that she was searching for potential answers to that crisis in this Galaxy, and according to the foreign sovereign, the study of individuals native to this galaxy could give that answer. Interesting. Obviously, Rhomynia did not go so far as to explain what crisis she is facing in detail - and 1-CE did not expect her to give any answers immediately, either - but a few hints were already there. For one, the possibility of this being a resource crisis can safely be discounted. It would simply not be cost efficient to travel to an entirely different galaxy, especially one which is already inhabited and its resources already in the midst of exploitation, and try to solve that crisis by bringing in foreign resources. Similarly enough, options like cultural decay or a mass influx or refugees would have to be discounted as well, as there simply wouldn't be a reason to search for solutions in a galaxy which is technologically inferior to yours - unless this Galaxy has something which other galaxies lack and the artificial intelligence simply wasn't aware of. War?.. Could be, but, again, the problem of distance combined with technological inferiority has to be taken into account. This Galaxy was not yet able to breach the intergalactic barrier, recruiting their help to take back your homeland or defend it against a forein scourge would be a very odd decision. Unless this is something which required the help of powerful martial artists... which Emperor Polaris was certainly one of.

During Rhomynia's explanation, 1-CE caught the good idea of analyzing the foreign monarch's biology as well. A scanner inside one of the murals, depoicting an abstract, multicolored landscape painted by an Earthling Saiyan artist, took on the job, the scan through the electromagnetic spectrum taking no less than a few seconds. The results were... a little surprising. Mynia's body composition and internal organs were fairly similar to that of an Earthling's, or a Saiyan's, - which perhaps should have been obvious, given that she looked almost indistinguishable from them - although with clear and obvious differences due to a different evolutionary history. What caught 1-CE's attention was the unnatural heart inside the sovereign's chest cavity. The scans informed the artificial intelligence that it was a foreign entity, likely implanted into Rhomynia sometime in the past, and brimming with unrecognizable energy. The hologram of the female Frost Demon slightly raised her eyebrow and her eyes took a slight glance towards Rhomynia's chest. Obviously, if she were to bring that up, Rhomynia would either tell her nothing or interpret this the wrong way. It would be pretty rude, after all. However, 1-CE decided to keep that factoid in mind, while a second hologram, walking alongside the Emperor, informed him of all the information she managed to get out of the foreign sovereign before their meeting.

The last point Rhomynia raised - well, besides the Saiyan-Imperial War and that being the reason why Captain Takoya viewed the incoming ship with such suspicion - was whether the tea was a spring or summer flush. Finally, a question to which 1-CE could bring an actual answer to.

"It's a summer flush, Miss Rhomynia. The Emperor's favorite." the female Frost Demon hologram explained, smiling. "Indeed, Captain Takoya's suspicious attitude and the tone with which she approached you with can be explained with our current state of total war against the Saiyan Dominion. Fear not, however - there is no threat of a direct Saiyan attack on Mitra, so your summit with Emperor Polaris will not be compromised."

It's interesting to hear that Suzerain Rhomynia knows about the ongoing conflict between the Saiyan Dominion and the First Galactic Empire, in fact. Either she has already been collecting information about the ongoing geopolitical situation in this Galaxy beforehand, or she has been travelling across it for longer than initially anticipated. Either of these facts, if true, bring interesting consequences to the table.

But, it was really time to go and hand the baton to the real star of the show.

"I'm sorry, Miss Rhomynia, I would love to talk with you further and get to know you better, but I have to step aside, for now."

1-CE's hologram flickered away and vanished, and moments later, a teal skinned Frost Demon with gilded Battle Armor, a red cape hanging on its shoulder pads and an Imperial Ultramarine symbol buttoned on the chestplate emerged through the same door Rhomynia had stepped through a few minutes earlier. Polaris had considered putting on all of his imperial regalia, even a crown, but he figured that the meeting was informal enough that he could get away with just the basics. The Frost Demon Emperor walked up to the foreign monarch, slightly bowing his head and speaking:

"It is nice to meet you, Suzerain Rhomynia of the Albarican White Empire." Thank you, 1-CE. "I am Polaris I, Emperor of the First Galactic Empire and the Hero of the Galaxy."

You know, he didn't notice this before, but he was half a foot shorter than Mynia. Which would make for somewhat awkward photoshoots.

"Your arrival took us by surprise, Suzerain. Perhaps this summit is a bit on the empty side, but I'm sure that had you informed me beforehand, I could have prepared a banquet fit for an intergalactic leader."

(1790 words, total 4840)

1-CE, vigilant and sharp-sighted as always, informed Polaris that Suzerain Rhomynia I, outside of her unnatural and power-dripping heart, was no different from your average Earthling and half-Saiyan - and before the Frost Demon stepped into the hall to see for himself, he even slightly assumed that the artificial intelligence was exaggerating. It would surely be a gigantic coincidence if two completely unrelated species from completely different galaxies evolved in the exact same way, correct? But no, what the hologram informed him was correct. Suzerain Rhomynia could easily be mistaken for an Earthling and you would most likely lose her in a crowd in West City - the texture of the skin was the same, the hair was the same, the face makeup was the same, and, hell, Polaris was even sure that she and and Earthling would be able to have fertile offspring, much like Saiyans. A yet another blow in the face of evolutionary theory.

Before their first ventures into outer space, before any lasting contacts with any other species in the Galaxy, the Earthlings had developed this interesting and fairly unique theory on the history and development of all of the species on Earth, which they dubbed the theory of 'evolution'. In short, it posited that through long periods of time, and thanks to concepts such as mutation, microevolution, natural selection and the effects of the environment, species change, 'evolve' over time, splitting and differentiating from each other and giving birth to the great diversity of the flora and fauna of Planet Earth. It had been the prevailing theory and explanation of biological history and processes among Earthling biologists for a very long time, centuries at the very least, and it was indeed a refined and adequate model to explain the semi-closed system that was Earth's biosphere, but its integrity suffered severe blows when the first contacts with alien species took place.

If one were to believe in the theory of evolution, the tenets and assumptions of that theory would lead to the belief that because different planets across the Galaxy have wildly different conditions - some are nightmarishly hot while others are unbelievably cold, some are lush wet temperate worlds while others are dry and hostile to any kind of life, and most of them have atmospheric conditions different from each other, not to mention that some have high gravity and others have small - that Galactic life should be a massive cornucopia of different designs, vastly different lifeforms, beings with completely different chemical and physical makeup and completely unrecognizable societal structures. And yet, that was not the case, completely not the case. The majority of Galactic species are humanoids, bipedal, with similar body composition, almost all of them are based on carbon compounds, most of them have the same ability to wield ki. Hell, as it turns out, many of them can actually inter-breed. The first species which had been practically proven to be able to inter-breed with Earthlings were, of course, the Saiyans - Earthling and Saiyan hybrids are among the most populous hybrids across the Galaxy for a really good reason, after all. Not only that, but a second, even harsher blow came almost immediately after. The legendary Prince Vegeta, the son of the last King of the Saiyans before the destruction of Planet Vegeta, restored the Saiyan species to Galactic prominence by bringing in thousands of Saiyan colonists from Universe 6, Universe 7's sister universe - and as it turns out, the Saiyans of Universe 6 could easily, without any biological problems or mutations, inter-breed with the Saiyans of Universe 7 and with the Earthlings of Universe 7.

While you could - and many Earthling biological scientists initially did - try to explain the Saiyan-Earthling close genetic connection with such far fetched, but still plausible theories such as panspermia, the belief that life on Earth initially arrived on a foreign object, such as an asteroid or a comet, the connection with the Saiyans of Universe 6 was the death knell of the theory of evolution. There was simply no way for a theory this deeply rooted in different conditions resulting in different species to be able to adapt to a Universe where species from different universes - not just different planets, remember, different universes - could have fertile offspring. During the era of the legendary Z Fighters, the existence of various deities had transcended from myth to fact, which meant that the theory of creationism - the belief that life was started by a some sort of greater being, be it a deity or some principle of cosmic determinism - rose out of the shadows of the scientific fringe to establish itself as the primary explanation of biological history in this day and age.

As such, when greeted with an intergalactic traveler looking exactly like an Earthling, Polaris didn't even raise an eyebrow, even if he was a little bit in disbelief when 1-CE first explained it. There's just too much of a precedent for him to question it - hell, it might have even been weirder if Rhomynia turned out to be a six-footed plant monster or something like that.

The foreign head of state responded to Polaris's bow with her own - whether because it was also a tradition in her own nation or because she simply wanted to respond in kind to honor the traditions of this galaxy, he didn't know. Afterwards, Suzerain Rhomynia explained her reasoning behind arriving in such a short, and perhaps even a little rude notice, instead of informing the other side beforehand - according to her, she was more interested in a private meeting between two pairs of eyes, instead of something highly televised and publicized. Which was a concern that made a lot of sense. After all, as the Suzerain explained to 1-CE and thus, by extension, the Emperor, (and later explained to the Emperor himself anyway) she had no interest in directly participating in any of the Galaxy's affairs and was instead more concerned with observing the inhabitants of this galaxy and seeking the answer to the problems which plague her nation. Obviously, if her realm was in the midst of a some sort of disaster or some kind of personal struggle, then getting into a conflict in an entirely different galaxy would be very, very disadvantageous, perhaps even turn the tide against them. Not to mention that it would risk the life of the head of state of that realm itself. Sure, Rhomynia's battleship was impressive and appeared fit for battle, but it was alone - even if it was a some sort of super-battleship capable of turning entire enemy fleets to mush with unknown advanced technology, attrition would wear it down, it would have no access to supplies or repair, and the natives of this galaxy would certainly adapt both their technology and their tactics after prolonged exposure. It would be a losing battle, and it explains why the Suzerain would have preferred neutrality in local conficts and safety via obscurity.

"I understand your concerns, Suzerain." Emperor Polaris replied to the foreign visitor, sitting down on the chair on the other side of the table and taking a sip from his mug of tea. Ah, a summer flush! 1-CE always knows what's the best treat to prepare for everyone from the average citizen to the Emperor himself. All that knowledge and desire to learn she inherited from the Shion Collective has come in handy numerous times so far. In fact, the tea she prepared was so good that even Rhomynia found it worthy of comment - and surely, being an empress herself and with enough disposable wealth to mount on intergalactic missions even while an unknown disaster has struck her nation, she would have access to food and drinks even more luxurious than what Polaris can offer. So, it was quite the compliment. "The talks and discussions which happen in this room right now will be an Imperial secret and their transcripts will not be kept archived. Nobody else but the two of us will know about anything that happened here."

A white lie. 1-CE, being pretty much the manifestation of Mitra and having both ears and eyes anywhere on this world, was also around, and she was definitely going to keep all the information she gained today in her memory. However, Polaris made a mental note to himself to not call up 1-CE's data on the summit unless absolutely necessary. Just... as a personal show of respect for the wish of an intergalactic leader who saw him worthy of a meeting.

After that brief exchange of words, Suzerain Rhomynia moved on to the real reason of the meeting - as Polaris was already aware, the raison d'être of her mission to this galaxy is to learn more about its inhabitants, observe them and thus find the answer to the problems which plague her own nation, however, there is only so much you can learn from off-hands observation. One day or another, you will have to step down and get to know some of the natives on a more personal level, and Rhomynia decided that that day is going to be today. Long story short, she wished to get to know Emperor Polaris more closely.

The Frost Demon was left verbally paralyzed for a few seconds, not sure how to respond, before he picked up his mug and took an another sip.

Why not?

That's the main thing here.

Suzerain Rhomynia is dedicated towards her role of being a passive, neutral observer. It wouldn't hurt to explain oneself to her on a more personal level.

Though, you also have to count in the fact that she is an observer in more ways than one. Even if Rhomynia may have some knowledge of the current geopolitical situation of the Galaxy, she still most likely lacks the context behind many of the Frost Demon's actions which led to the foundation of the Empire. The only option here, then, is to start from the very roots and work their way up.

"...you see, Sovereign Rhomynia, I'd be glad, but I fear that merely a description of who I am as a person and how I ended up in the position I am in right now would leave out far too much of the overarching story to be anything substantial to you." Polaris explained, then took an another sip. "Would you mind if I start out a little bit farther than that."

Awaiting confirmation for a few seconds, the Emperor then continued.

"You may or may not be already aware of this fact, Sovereign, but the First Galactic Empire is a very recent entity. If my memory serves correct, then it has only existed for only a single year since its inception. Not that it formed out of a vacuum, of course. What is now the Empire was once under the dominion of the faction known as the Galactic Patrol.

The Galactic Patrol was a very... peculiar entity, both by the standards of this Galaxy and by the standards of state organization in general. It never officially claimed itself to be a state, although it was one in practicality, having both an executive head of state, the Galactic King, a democratically elected legislative organ, the Abbayor Senate, territory composed of planets aligned with the organization, a codified set of laws and institutions known as Galactic Law, and both law enforcement and a military. Officially, however, it was nothing more than interplanetary police, whose main objective is to enforce Galactic Law across the entire galaxy, prevent or stop wars and ensure order in between planets. During thje reign of Lord Frieza more than five hundred years ago, it had been reduced to the brink of extinction, but the Frieza Empire's fall and breakup led to it establishing itself as a galaxy wide force.

However, this conflict between whether the Patrol is just a police or a state plagued it ever since. Its apolitical roots were reflected in the decentralized organization of its forces and harsh application exams, while its political nature was strengthened by the King's ties with the Abbayor Senate and the 'Patrol alignment' which many planets now professed. This, however, meant that the Galactic Patrol was always completely ineffectual. It was spread too thin, foreign spies and corrupted officials were everywhere, most of its best personnel were constantly bled by wars against the refomed Frieza Force, so on and so forth. That's where I come in.

Before the establishment of the Empire, I had been a Galactic Patrolman for fifteen years. I was one of the few who truly professed the ideals of the organization and earned the respect of billions that way, gaining the title of 'Hero of the Galaxy'. However, the ineffectual and corrupt organization of the Patrol had always disgusted me. It couldn't keep up order within its own borders, not even talking about projecting power elsewhere. However, before I could reform the Patrol from within, tragedy struck - the Galactic King was felled by a Saiyan terrorist, and as his last dying wish, he named me as the successor for the leadership of the Patrol. With the King's bloody shirt in everyone's mind and a war with the Dominion on the horizon, necessary reforms were made a lot easier.

And I'm personally happy with the results. The failed attempt at liberalism and pluralism has been dealt with, while order and stability have been restored. The Dominion, the greatest threat to peace in the Galaxy, is on its last foot and on the path to destruction. Surely, Suzerain, since you keep up with the current geopolitical situation in this Galaxy, you can only agree with that."

(2278 words, total 7118)

Suzerain Rhomynia's response to Polaris's explanation of who he is, where he comes from and what led to him reforming the old ineffectual Galactic Patrol into the First Galactic Empire was surprisingly simple - she sees the Empire as a success story and agrees with his reasoning. Though not necessarily unexpected, even from a neutral spectator, it was certainly an interesting view for her to take, because it sheds a lot of light on the type of society Rhomynia herself hails from. Since Polaris didn't figure the intergalactic Sovereign to be so blissfully naive as to only be exposed to Imperial propaganda and successful Imperial worlds in her travels - surely, she must have heard plenty of voices neutral or even speaking out against the Empire and Polaris's style of rule - this would lead to the conclusion that the Sovereign's positive view of the Empire stems from her own experiences and her own ideology.

For example, if the White Albarican Empire, the realm she was the head of state of, was similarly expansionist, imperialistic, totalitarian and with galactic ambitions. Or at the very least possessed some of those tenets. Which would, agan, be an extremely interesting observation, not the least because it would imply that not just monarchies, but absolute monarchies are a common societal organization type beyond the Galaxy.

Sometime in the late 700s, a decade or two after the fall of the Frieza Empire, a political philosopher and lecturer in the University of Arcose, by the pen name of Frafuku, wrote and published a groundbreaking treatise, declaring that the fall of the Frieza Empire may signify the beginning of the so-called 'end of history', a period with no defined end during which societal development and change will slow down or even stop completely, and the Galaxy may settle in to liberal, pluralistic democracies and monarchies, such as Earth and Abbayor, which he dubbed as the final form of societal development. According to Frafukuya's vision, there is no chance that an entity similar to the Frieza Empire will ever rise again, thanks to two factors, first being the negative connotation Frieza and totalitarianism in general now have across the Galactic population, and the second being that the more inclusive and innovative nature of democratic and pluralistic regimes means that they will lead to superior economic growth and surpass any countries attempting to restore totalitarian, absolutist rule. Frafuku believed in a galactic democratic order, and his idea of the 'end of history' was soundingly popular among Earthling political scholars, not the least because it hinted at Earth and its style of organization as a 'superior' or 'ultimate' stage of government. Hell, it's often said that all Kings of Earth since King Furry have had a copy of Frafuku's "End of History" in their drawer.

Unfortunately for poor Frafuku, a decade or so after his death, the new Frieza Force became a galactic power and the Planet Trade Organization resumed operations, leaving his book and his ideas falling out of fashion, as they simply turned out to be not true. Still, however, Frafukists exist in intellectual circles to this day - however, the news of other galaxies following an absolutist or even totalitarian model of organization would be the final nail in their coffin. If societies completely isolated from this galaxy naturally develop towards an authoritarian order, then that means liberalism and pluralism are not the final stage of societal development as Frafuku stated in his works, but rather just a hurdle, an anomaly.

With Polaris's introduction to the foreign Suzerain completed, Rhomynia moved on to a different question - what was the Empire's ultimate plan regarding the Saiyan Dominion? Quite a sudden change from what they were discussing previously, isn't it? The Frost Demon wasn't even sure what he should say here - should he open his heart out and inform her about his ultimate goal of the complete extinction of that vermin, or should he not go completely overboard and play it safe, just in case? While he was debating this in his mind, the woman made a brief addendum - according to her, Saiyans fill an important niche for a powerful nation.

That is something Polaris, even if begrudgingly, would have to agree with. There is a reason why so many galactic powers, large or small, hired Saiyan mercenaries for conflicts and maintaining order alike before the Dominion collected the majority of them into one nation. The Saiyans have a natural affinity for battle and a fast power level growth rate, their Great Ape transformation is useful as powerful shock units or breakthrough divisions, and that's not even mentioning the legendary Super Saiyan transformation. Which is also exactly the reason why the Saiyan Dominion had to be taken down a notch. Collectively, the Saiyans are nightmarishly powerful, their vast potential and collective strength are a threat to Polaris's empire and to everything else in the Galaxy - if they are not stopped and their momentum killed in the crib, soon nothing will be able to stand in their way.

"Well..." Polaris began to speak after taking a sip from his mug of coffee, then a bite from a biscuit. "It's hard to say, because we are not yet at the situation in the conflict where we could start planning post-conflict settlements. If this were the reign of Lord Frieza, then perhaps the only option on the table would be to destroy the Saiyan homeworld and hunt down each and every one remaining Saiyan... much like Frieza had done to the original Saiyan homeworld, Planet Vegeta."

And myriads of others. Some even rumor that Frieza is also the reason why there is no such thing as a 'Frost Demon planet' - as in, he most likely blew it up for one reason or another. Others say that this is nothing but a dumb rumor and that there was no mention of a Frost Demon planet anywhere in Planet Trade Organization logs of that era. The problem here is that the origin of the Frost Demons is a complete mystery, and the only thing on the table is some conjecture and some guesses. An interesting, though really odd theory is that the term 'Frost Demon' is not just for show - as in, they once used to be demons from the Demon Realm, associated with cold, but were banished at an unknown point in history and thus ended up in this galaxy. This would not only explain the Frost Demon name, but also their affinity to evil, destruction and back stabbing, as well as the fact why they are usually so nightmarishly powerful and yet so dispersed across the Galaxy.

Who knows. Maybe Polaris, Kuueru (Queen Kuueru) and Kusubu (Kusubu) are all long lost distant cousins. Who knows.

"But, you see, we should not take Lord Frieza as an example of a good or competent leader, nor dhis decisions as immediately worthwhile. He was, to put it mildly, a megalomaniac, self-absorbed and a sociopath, his actions were driven by the fact that he was the most powerful being in the Universe at the time and he thus wielded enormous political power from the fear factor. And he invested a lot in maintaining that fear factor, no doubt. He'd destroy entire planets because they didn't fulfill a quota or had grown too strong. Did it work in intimidating those who survived into submission - yes. Was it a viable long-term development strategy - I wouldn't say so.

I suppose, if you want a short and concise answer to your question - I haven't decided on it yet. A lot depends on the circumstances of our final victory."

(1273 words, total 8391)

Interesting. So Suzerain Rhomynia had initially believed that Lord Frieza was a strong and stern ruler, and that the explanation by Polaris and many others shed light on him having been an imperfect overlord. To be perfectly honest, that sheds a lot more light on Rhomynia than it does on her beliefs on Frieza. It would be tough to hear or read about the legendary Frost Demon ruler of ages past without being informed about the atrocities he had inflicted upon the inhabitants of the Galaxy or the numerous planets he had destroyed durin his reign. If Rhomynia had heard about his genocidal tendencies without the context behind them and then assumed that those actions were a good thing, then that would shed her and the empire she represents in a lot more... negative light.

It would probably place Rhomynia and her Empire as having more in common with the extreme schools of political thought. For example, the neo-Coldists among the former Frieza Force and Planet Trade Organization, composed of young and more idealistic officers and colonels among the organization who believed that the only path was to restore the genocidal, totalitarian policies of the empire of King Cold and his sons on a galactic scale. Or the hardline Saiyan supremacists in the Saiyan Dominion, who were all about paying eye for eye and tooth for tooth for the genocide of the Saiyans hundreds of years ago by slaughtering every single Frost Demon in sight.

Or maybe that was just an exaggeration. After all, all Polaris had to tell the ideological standing of Suzerain Rhomynia were guesses and hints through the interpretation of her speech. Perhaps the story is still incomplete, perhaps there were factors at play which he could not recognize. For example, the source from which the Suzerain had heard about Lord Frieza was ideologically biased in one way or another.

Although, on the other hand, if that was the case, then maybe Suzerain Rhomynia's reaction to Polaris's explanation of the negatives behind Lord Frieza's rule, his genocidal tendencies and his incapability to rule would have been anything else but "had he enforced long term stability instead of flaunting his power, then perhaps he would be remembered as one of the greatest rulers of the Universe".

Not that Polaris could really argue with that. Indeed, though Frieza was the complete extreme when it comes to galactic tyrants, had he been even a smidge more moderate with his actions and reigned over his empire with somewhat more rational thought, then he wouldn't be all that different from many other famous galactic overlords and emperors, many of whom are now remembered fondly. After all, the last leader of the old Saiyan species, King Vegeta, is said to have been a tyrannical ruler who would execute his own subjects if he saw their power as a threat to his rule, while his successor, the legendary Prince Vegeta, is rumored to have destroyed dozens of planets and sent just as many sentient species to extinction. And yet, both of them are viewed as the heroes of the Saiyan species, and their cult is a common occurence in the culture of the current Saiyan Dominion.

And, indeed, as centuries after Lord Frieza's rule passed, the nostalgia for his days had become less and less of a fringe view. Seeing the chaos happening in Galaxy right now, they'd long for the days of draconic stability, everyone having his own place in the system rather than being lost in the new liberal society of the Galactic Patrol. It is just like many people say - time washes away all the bad memories of something and leaves only the good. The trillions of people slaughtered by Lord Frieza and his men don't have a voice in the matter. Of course, this Frieza era nostalgia has long since passed - centuries now separate modern day from the era of the ancient genocidal conqueror, and those who even remember that he once existed have now mostly accepted the new way of life in this chaotic, changing Galaxy.

Of course, that doesn't stop people from constantly calling him 'the new Frieza'. Even though Polaris saw himself as a new type of ruler, never invoked nostalgia for the Frieza Empire in his speeches and propaganda, and generally tried to establish the First Galactic Empire as a new type of country instead of being the successor of anyone. Perhaps it's because he is a Frost Demon just like Frieza was. People always talk about bigotry against Saiyans, but never talk about bigotry against Frost Demons, huh? As soon as you see one, you immediately start comparing him to Frieza, and if one of them starts building up enough power, you immediately move to try to eliminate him as if he is about to start the new Planet Trade Organization. Frieza isn't the only Frost Demon in history, you know! Sure, it's hard to deny the impact which he and his exploits have had on the history and fate of their species, but it was also a species which produced many people of various alignments, too.

Who knows, maybe if Polaris had stuck to his guts and remained known as the great hero of the galaxy and an example for trillions to aspire to, maybe he could have put a stop to this disgusting status quo and created the impression that Frost Demons are capable of more than just evil. But, alas.

"Perhaps. Perhaps not. I'm not really the type to discuss alternate history scenarios." Polaris spoke in response to Rhomynia's comments about the alternative path Lord Frieza might have chosen, then took a sip from his mug of tea. The conversation shifted towards the Saiyan Dominion, and the foreign Suzerain expressed her support for preventing the Saiyan scourge from growing too powerful and eliminating them before they can become a galactic threat. With that and her earlier comments about Frieza in mind, Rhomynia struck Polaris as a fairly 'might makes right' type of leader. Or, more accurately, an authoritarian who sees force and iron fisted order as a justified response to opposition - and it was a stance Polaris couldn't help but agree with. All this talk about the Empire fighting to establish order in a chaotic Universe was propaganda only partially, after all. It, eliminating the Saiyans he hated so much, and personal desires and experiences, were the trio of reasons why the Frost Demon abandoned his comfortable and safe position as the Hero of the Galaxy and eliminated the King, after all.

"It is what the current geopolitical situation in Galaxy demands, that's all." Polaris briefly replied to Rhomynia's statement on this being a wise decision, then put down his mug. "Well, Suzerain Rhomynia, that was a short description of my Empire and its goals. Would you perhaps be interested in humoring me in kind? I'm sure you are aware that intergalactic travelers in this Galaxy are a nigh unheard of sight - learning about the realm you have came from would be of great interest to me."

(1185 words, total 9576)

Suzerain Rhomynia acquitted to the request of a tale of her origin, much like Polaris had introduced himself to her moments earlier - though, the difference was that her story was a lot more poetic and filled with pretty rhetoric. Polaris wouldn't have really imagined the foreign sovereign as a creative type, and perhaps this was only a story she memorized to tell to any important stranger wishing to learn about her backstory, but it was a welcome change of pace nonetheless. As Rhomynia continued on, weaving sentence after sentence, Polaris's mind would stop to analyze every single statement to extract as much information as possible.

"Imagine, if you will, a Golden Age stretching back through a majority of history. A galaxy united under a firm but even hand. Rule of law is the order of the age, and prosperity both material and immaterial is available at large."

A golden age, you say? It's odd to consider it, but this Galaxy has never really had one during any of its relevant history. The Empire is too young and too embroiled in intergalactic conflict to call itself the bearer of an age of prosperity - though Polaris certainly hoped to have it lead towards one - while the previous five hundred years were marked by constant conflict, chaos, uncertainty and lawlessness. Before that was the age of the Cold family, the tyrannical galactic ruler King Cold and his sons, which, albeit orderly, could hardly be called a golden age either. The Cold family operate on a very space pirate like mentality, employing extortion and terror for personal gain and stifling the economic and cultural growth of the Galaxy during their era, which is why many still remembered them in a bad light and used Frieza as a measuring stick for how terrible autocratic rulers could become. The ages before the rise of the Planet Trade Organization were too obscure and distant for people to really consider them, but the sparse information and hints they had on what the Galaxy was like before then did not give much optimism either. Sure, some places and planets - Earth and Abbayor, for example - could go through prolonged periods of prosperity, growth and galactic influence which we could label as their respective 'golden ages', but never the whole Galaxy, which was always in a far too chaotic state to really head anywhere.

In this instance, Rhomynia's galaxy had the upper hand. Perhaps this is the reason why they have developed intergalactic travel technology while this galaxy still wields relatively primitive spacefaring technology.

"Now imagine this coming to a screeching halt, with the unexpected loss of that hand. Progress replaced with stagnation and decay. The slow onset of corruption overtakes the rate of cleansing. Order slipping into chaos. The Sovereign's actions led to a succession crisis. One that fractured the galaxy into pieces."

You know, now that you think about it, hearing that the golden age of Rhomynia's galaxy was caused by the sudden death of their firm and strong leader - in this case, the Sovereign, presumably - would shed some new light on the Suzerain's thoughs and why she had this opinion of Lord Frieza beforehand. Because, if you think about it from her perspective, having a very limited experience of this galaxy's history and public opinion and only having her own galaxy's history to go by, then if she heard about this distant and legendary Frost Demon tyrannical ruler whose life came to a sudden halt at the hands of a Super Saiyan, and then looked back at the chaotic, disorderly situation in the Galxy she arrived, then perhaps she could be forgiven for trying to find parallels between the Sovereign she knows and the Lord Frieza she has heard about. For someone with this experience, the concept of a strong, iron-fisted ruler immediately connects with the golden age of the past, and thus with good leadership.

Of course, this parallel comes apart when you consider that, and as Polaris explained to her earlier, Lord Frieza was not a competent ruler. In fact, plenty of historians have suggested that his reign actually stifled and strangled economic, cultural and political development of the Galaxy. His tyrannical rule resulted in the destruction of numerous developed worlds and eliminated the leadership of many others, whose presence in an alternate world where he is never born could have resulted in a much more prosperous and developed Galaxy. For empirical evidence, you can take a gander at the two most notable worlds which were never affected by Frieza's actions - this being Earth and Abbayor. At the time, Earth was under the protection of the Z-Fighters, while Abbayor paid tribute and lowered its head as to not draw Frieza's attention - and both of these worlds have become the two defining centers of power in the following centuries, the beacons of progress and peaceful development in an otherwise chaotic galaxy.

Obviously, you could also make a case for Arcose being among the frontrunners as well, despite having been the capital of Frieza's empire and later the New Frieza Force, but in Polaris's eyes, and in the eyes of many historians, it is an exception which proves the rule.

"Four claimants to the title of successor state arose from the chaos, and began to carve out order from the chaos of the collapse of the mid and outer worlds. The Throneworld, under the legislature, declared a war of succession. The first star nation to unite the galaxy and then conquer the Throneworld would be recognized as the true successor to the Golden Sovereignty."

What an odd way of resolving succession crises - instead of picking a single successor and endorsing it to try to have as much of the Galaxy unite under his banner and try to resolve the conflict as swiftly as possible, the Throneworld opted to legitimize all four of the claimants and pretty much require a long and protracted conflict for resolving the situation. The Emperor raised his eyebrow at the explanation of the beginning of the civil war. Of course, he was just as clueless about the intricacies of the beginning of the conflict as any other person in this Galaxy, but he figured that the Throneworld, apparently holding the authority to decide on the next Sovereign and also hosting the galactic legislature, would have authority among the Galactic population and its choice would be able to sway the hearts and minds of many across it. As such, wouldn't it be more logical to pick one of the four claimants and put your weight behind him, both hoping that this will put the conflict to a swift end and also leave the winner grateful towards the Throneworld?

Perhaps the legislature was just as divided as the rest of the Galaxy and thus decided on this solution as a compromise. But that's where political engineering comes into play. Why couldn't one or more of the claimants take advantage of the divisions in the legislature to try to bribe or threaten their way into power, or make a pact with an another claimant to secure the backing of the Throneworld? There were numerous ways to approach such a situation. Or perhaps the idea of resolving succession struggles through conflict was an Albarican tradition, as a way to decide which of the claimants is most worthy of the position - but, no, that wouldn't make sense either. Rhomynia wouldn't view the war of succession as such a disaster, then.

"We have been embroiled in a bitter civil war for the greater part of five centuries. And I have fought this war even before reaching adulthood."

Five centuries.

Sheesh, let's hope the war against the Dominion doesn't take as long.

It really shouldn't, though. Polaris was not a fan of a war of attrition. His style was always to commit to a war of offensive, overwhelm the enemy through superior firepower and massed troop concentrations to seize control quickly, both on the Galactic map and on the battlefield. The Dominion still struggled to recover, and it's growing increasingly unlikely that they ever will.

"To make matters worse, the three other successor states have fallen to a... preternatural corruption, of sorts. They have devolved from civilized star nations into violent entities beyond negotiation and reason. They have thrown to the winds all interest in uniting the galaxy under their rule. Instead they pursue their destructive agendas above all else."

Interesting. So a little like the Saiyan Dominion, then? I kid.

But, really, Polaris could see the logic behind this. Five centuries of war - and not just cold war or protracted instability, like in his galaxy, but actual, interstate war - can break the backs of even the most harsh and stable empires. At some point, if the word 'surrender' is not in your dictionary and yet the war continues swakllowing your resources whole, the nation will start todevolve, motivated by pure destruction, limited by tunnel vision, because war is the only thing it has ever known. It was something Polaris hoped would not befell the First Galactic Empire. Totalitarianism and mass mobilization were necessary, but up to a point. Once the Saiyans and the remnants of the Frieza Force are dealt with and Earth is also brought back to the fold - so there are no more rivals left across the Galaxy - scaling down on the oppression might be necessary.

Or not. It really depends on how the situation develops up to that point.

"And as the last bastion of civilization amongst the ruins of the Golden Sovereignty, Albarica has become the focal point of their rampage. The White Empire is assailed by these malignant forces from all sides. This conflict has long lost its meaning as a war of succession. It is a war between survival and annihilation. Each day is a grim struggle to hold back the tide for just a little longer. Each night is a mere fragment of an eternal vigil to guard against encroaching darkness. Most have lost count of the sacrifices we have had to make just to continue existing. Unspeakably heinous sacrifices. Everyday, I must study a myriad of sitreps to make decisions that consign entire planets to oblivion."

That sounds like propaganda. Does that not sound like propaganda to you? Usually, calling yourself as the only civilized and righteous force in the conflict you are in is a red flag towards that. It would even be logical for Suzerain Rhomynia to present a whitewashed, half-truth image of the civil war in her galaxy, as to accrue sympathy and support from this galaxy's inhabitants - especially since Polaris had just done the same thing to her. After all, a sizable portion of what he described about the Empire's past was just propaganda - especially the part where the Galactic King was felled by a Saiyan terrorist and him naming Polaris as his successor to execute wide-scale reforms. Hell, much of what he didn wasn't even out of a desire to establish order, although that did play a part. A lot of it was his personal bitterness and a desire to prove the shadows of his past wrong, as well as his inner hatred towards anything Saiyan.

Perhaps it was an 'thieves believe every person steals' kind of deal, but Polaris foound this to be a convincing argument as for why he should not take Rhomynia's explanation at face value. Her faction was in a four way civil war for the galactic throne, got it.

And that is the current state of affairs in the Suzerain's galaxy.

"That sounds terrible, Suzerain," Polaris spoke, filling up his mug with tea and taking a sip afterwards. "So, as I understand it, this is the disaster you seek a solution for in this galaxy, correct?"

Rhomynia did not mention this to Polaris, but that's what 1-CE informed him, and that's what he went with.

"Are you searching for allies, then? Or do you seek to find a way to make a truce? Or, perhaps, a place of refuge?"

(2007 words, total 11583)

Despite Emperor Polaris openly mentioning things and concepts she held off from the Frost Demon, for example, the fact that she was searching for an answer to the disaster which struck her galaxy and this was the reason why she arrived on Mitra, Suzerain Rhomynia was not phased by these news at all. Which could only mean two things - either she was already aware that the conversation the foreign ruler had with 1-CE and the information she revealed during it was all transmitted to the Emperor, or that she didn't really mind it either way. It is a little bit odd for someone who was doing their best to hide their existence and act as an impartial observer of events in this Galaxy to be this careless with information, but not that much of a problem either way.

Polaris imagined that Rhomynia held some trust towards him, as a fellow monarch towards another. Which is reasonable unless that trust is directly proven to be a false lead. Polaris rarely trusted anyone himself, even his own family, but that's a whole other can of worms which stems from what he is like in the core, rather than any ideological or geopolitical reasons. After all, most people usually project their own traits, beliefs and personalities upon others. But that's getting too deep into psychology already.

The Suzerain's explanation of what she, her crew and the entire White Albarican Empire were looking for was simple - they were searching for knowledge. With the great civil war in the Sovereignty having become a multi centennial affair, progress and innovations in military tactics and technology are present, but too slow and too burdened with tradition to give any side a meaningful advantage and end the conflict once and for all. Which is why Rhomynia and her crew decided to set their sails - well, metaphorical sails, this isn't the oceans of Earth or Abbayor, you can't travel from galaxy to galaxy in a trireme or galleon, but you get the point - towards this Galaxy, in search of an advantage which could turn the tide of the conflict.

At least that's how Polaris understood what she explained in her brief and admittedly cryptic statement.

This does bring a question, however. There are billions of galaxies across the Universe, and it's no doubt that the majority of them hold some form of civilized life, either more or less similar to the ones found in other galaxies. The expedition sent by the White Albarican Empire could have reasonably picked any one of these galaxies and found something of value out there - so why, out of all the myriads of possible choices, did Rhomynia pick this one?

It could not have been just random chance. During her initial chat with 1-CE, before Polaris had arrived to this hall and taken over the reins of the meeting, the Suzerain explained that the answers for the problems her empire faces can be found in this Galaxy, specifically. This means that there is something unique about this Galaxy which none other can offer and which enticed Rhomynia to travel here and investigate.

Technology, culture, experience in warfare and innovative battle tactics can all be dismissed. It's highly unlikely that this Galaxy can offer anything which Rhomynia's empire or any of her peers have not already seen during the conflict which defines their existence. In any of those regards. However, Polaris already had a suspicion on what the Suzerain might have meant. The martial artists of this Galaxy. The great warriors strong enough to bench press planets and wipe out entire armies with a finger, mainly the ones of the centuries past, though the ki users of modern day were climbing up to their level. Obviously, the first thing that comes to mind here are the Z-Fighters. A semi-legendary team of powerful martial artists composed of Saiyans and Earthlings who based themselves on Earth and were responsible for both the collapse of the Frieza empire and the defeat of Majin Buu - and in the last years of their golden age, their fame reached a multiversal level, competing for the glory and survival of their universe in the Tournament of Power.

The concept of multiple universes beyond their own has long since been shrouded in mystery, however, few people denied their existence. It was the origin of the resurgent Saiyan species, which is nowadays composed of the progeny of Saiyan colonists from an entirely different Universe. Surely, then, it is possible that Rhomynia had heard of the legendary Z-Fighters and decided to make the journey to this Galaxy to learn about them and the ways in which they reached a level where they could, allegedly, compete with Gods of Destruction. Such power would easily be able to turn the tide of any war.

Though, the problem with that theory is that the Z-Fighters are long since gone. Over five hundred years have passed since their last alleged sighting, and now they reside in the Other World. No warriors with a power level anywhere close to them have ever risen. Sure, some beings - Radia, Ipomea, and, of course, yours truly - are getting close, but there's still a long way for them to go. Surely, Rhomynia knows that as well. This Galaxy is not on the same level at all. Polaris didn't know what the highest power levels in Rhomynia's galaxy numbered at - the Suzerain herself had been suppressing her power level during this entire meeting, a reasonable choice to not give off unnecessary information about yourself - but surely, they wouldn't be too far behind, right?

Either way, that's where Polaris decided to leave his internal monologue at.

"I understand." the Emperor spoke in response to Rhomynia's explanation of her search for knowledge as well as her uncertainty about the success of her mission. Either way, even if her chances of victory when armed with knowledge from this galaxy were not one hundred percent, it was still a good idea to secure Rhomynia and potentially all of Albarica as a potential ally. Obviously, their abilities to participate in the affairs of this galaxy are very limited, for reasons she had already explained before - but it's still a lot better than nothing. It couldn't hurt. Hell, an exchange of knowledge would even be beneficial, if it were possible to negotiate something like that. "Well, if knowledge and learning is what you seek, then I have no right to just ban you from such a reasonable goal. The libraries on Abbayor are perhaps the greatest concentration of information about any subject you could imagine in this galaxy, its doors are open to you, Suzerain."

Well.

This was an interesting day, there's no lying about it.

"Is there anything else your would like to talk about, then?"

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