(Nuevo Edo System)

The Gateway opened for the first time since the Prime Minister went through to try and negotiate a trade deal. The Black Star Fleet and the beginnings of the Nuevo Edo Navy were on the lookout, however, and four Gunboats (two BSN and two NEN) readied their weapons, just in case.

When the first ship came through, proving to be the Shinokage, there was a collective sigh of relief as no one was really all that eager to fight while the new NEN was still in its infancy. Sure, with skill manuals people could get the skills needed to be a military space force, but there was a difference between having a skill and being proficient with it. That required time and training. Even more than that, it required the experience in live battle that separated a green rookie from a blooded veteran.

No one really wanted to start getting the NEN blooded until they’d had some more time to train. Otherwise, most of the blood spilt might be theirs. And that would put a damper on the growing military force very quickly.

The NEN ships went about checking the incoming forces while the Black Stars watched, until finally the incoming fleet was assembled. Quickly, a message was dispatched to Nuevo Edo, so people there could hear the news. The Premier had returned from her trade mission, and had evidently had some success, as four large freighters had followed the group in.

On Nuevo Edo, the news spread like wildfire. The Premier had returned safely, which was good, but she had brought trade from ‘Known Space’, which was better. Four freighters, plus the Raven-class freighters that had gone with the fleet, did not a thriving interstellar trade make, but that was more than they’d had since the Founders had landed on Nuevo Edo.

The best news of all was that two freighters wer full of colonists: men who had heard of a colony almost bereft of males and full of females who were so desperate for companionship that the men had to be locked away for their own protection. They were mostly young craftsmen or laborers looking to make it big in a place where they had more options than they did at home. But regardless of their age or skills, they were all unattached, and more than one had said that they’d come hoping to find someone to start a family with.

In the eight hours it took for the ships to make their way to Nuevo Edo orbit, a crowd had begun to gather at the spaceport. Oh sure, there had been crowds before, when the Black Star people went down on shore leave. Most of them found it odd, and certainly exciting, since the bars they walked into were mostly female, and the women spent quite a bit of time plying them with drinks in hopes of getting some ‘companionship’, literally the reverse of most everywhere else the Black Stars had ever gone. More than a few Black Stars had lived out their fantasies of having multiple ladies at once, thanks to the proportions. But everyone knew that they were bound to the company first and foremost.

But now? These people were coming to Nuevo Edo to start a new life, and a new family. These people wanted to put down roots and join the community. They were an instant commodity, and the crowds trying to get into the spaceport were larger than they had been since the first time the Black Stars had come down on leave, with their Marines leading the way to the bars.

Just a day before, the government had finalized the law to end the protective custody of males on Nuevo Edo, and the Premier signed the virtual document as soon as she was back in communication range. Everyone knew that the changes brought by this act would be difficult, but with new men coming, and perhaps being only the first of many additions, it was hoped that the difficulties that had led to the protection orders would be avoided.

Events that would have been unthinkable back during the time of the constant fear of the Demons coming through the Demon Gate to destroy their works and capture their men were now becoming reality. Many felt as though they were living in a dream while in the waking world. Some wondered when they would wake up, while others feared the dream becoming a nightmare. But one thing was certain: for good or ill, their entire world had been completely changed, and there was no going back to the way things were.

(Owner’s Suite, Black Star Tower, Yokosaki, Nuevo Edo)

Located in the heart of Yokosaki, Nuevo Edo’s capitol city, the new Black Star Tower shone in the night sky. At twenty-five stories tall, it was hardly a skyscraper, but it was one of the taller buildings in Yokosaki all the same. The first five floors belonged to the Black Star Company, and were the site of their Nuevo Edo headquarters. Floors six through fifteen were office spaces for other companies, some of which had already been leased out to various shipping and other companies. Sixteen through twenty-four were for luxury apartments.

The twenty-fifth floor, however, was the Owner’s Suite, and if there was any living quarters that were more luxurious on the planet, then they would have to be those afforded the Premier, or some of the oldest of the Founding clans. Seeing as how the Owner (namely me) used these quarters as my base of operations here on Nuevo Edo, and I was able to design it to my taste as it was being built, that made the process relatively easy, and not that expensive.

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Of course, I also used it for ‘business meetings’, like the one currently going on. According to the schedule, Assemblywoman Maria Sanchez was here to talk with the owner of the largest new business to set up shop on Nuevo Edo about him possibly supporting her in the next election. I would say we were having a very thorough discussion, exploring several positions she might take.

Currently, I was supporting her against the wall, having just found that the position of placing her knees in the vicinity of her ears while standing was a very stimulating one for her, which encouraged us both to make the conversation as vigorous as possible.

“Oh, Master!” Maria moaned into my ear as I plunged into her depths. Oh, the taking of slaves was illegal here in Nuevo Edo, but I hadn’t made her a slave. No, I had simply used a bit of mindreading. Reading her fantasies from out of her own mind was simple enough. Maria was a strong woman on a planet that had strong women by necessity, as the men had mostly been taken or killed. She was always strong, for her people, and her constituents. She was always in control.

Her fantasies, however, told me how she desired to be taken with a firm hand, a male hand, in ways she couldn’t get from the docile males at the pleasure houses. She wanted someone she could be the weak one with, and be controlled. She wanted to submit, at least in private. Fortunately, I knew just what she wanted, and I was more than happy to deliver as the twenty-two-year-old Latina woman shook her hips in ecstasy, her climax causing her to scream loud enough that it was good that I had ensured that there was plenty of soundproofing.

I grunted as I thrust deep inside her, and began to enjoy my own climax, slowly riding it out inside her as I filled her willing womb with my seed. Maria shuddered again, whimpering as she held her head against my chest, breathing deeply. Slowly I pulled out of her, and let her drop down to her knees in front of me. Her dazed eyes looked up at me like she had just gotten the best gift ever.

Ten minutes later, the very embarrassed Sanchez was on the stripper pole I’d had installed in the lounge area, doing her best to dance on the pole while a plug in her pussy kept her from dripping cum all over the place (the plug in her ass was simply for my amusement). The reason for her embarrassment was because she was dancing while a naked Sheila slowly rode me on the couch where I was sitting, sliding her warm wetness up and down my shaft while I watched Maria. Out of my view, Shearah knelt between my legs, and carefully used her lips and tongue to add to the sensations both Sheila and I felt.

The only thing Maria had on, other than the two pieces of plastic sealing her lower holes, was a leather collar. It was more symbolic than anything, as she couldn’t be made a slave on Nuevo Edo. I motioned for Maria to continue speaking while she danced. The woman moaned slightly as her dancing made the vibrators shift inside her, and began to speak.

(INS Aurum Throni, Earth Orbit, Sol System)

The old Aurum Throni had been destroyed in the Battle For Earth, but it had long been tradition for the leader of the Terran Empire to travel on a vessel of that name whenever they were in space. Of course, they also expected that said leader would spend much of their time on Earth, in the Imperial Palace. Now, however, it was judged an unacceptable risk for the Empress to stay on Earth, since the consequences for a ‘fence’ failing would cause her to be trapped on Earth, unable to communicate or rule. That was, as one might say, an untenable situation for an Empire where the Empress had no heirs as of yet.

So, instead of a new superdreadnought to serve as a floating palace, the new Aurum Throni was in fact a space station capable of moving at FTL speeds, if one gave them sufficient lead time warm the massive engines up. Instead of a superdreadnought, the new Throni was a space station the size of the former Imperial Capitol on the planet below, holding over a million people. It was no mere show piece, however, since it was armed and armored to match a squadron of superdreadnoughts, with a revolutionary multi-layer shield system. The Primary Shields were like a normal ship’s shields, though an order of magnitude stronger than those of a superdreadnought (meaning they could not be run constantly for obvious reasons). The secondary shield, which was always on, was far lower-powered, but had angled deflector screens, to greatly reduce the damage a massive kinetic strike might impart, proving that the Empress and her people had learned a great deal from the civil war.

Empress Merida Vaughn sat back in her throne, wishing that she was back on the bridge of her ship, the Triumphant. She had never wanted to be Empress. There was the heir and the spare, and she had happily joined the military. But she refused to allow Travis to get away with killing her father and siblings, and so she had taken up the mantle of Empress.

Her spies in the Confederacy had been keeping tabs on the enigmatic Nomad that had been crucial in securing her throne, and his ‘Black Star Company’. For the past year or more, she’d had the reports that he was planning an expedition to Unknown Space. Now he had found not one, but two new Gateways, the first to be found since they had found the partial ‘address book’ with the sixteen nearest Gateways.

Moreover, he had found a lost colony! Somehow, the Juan Ponce De Leon had been thrown so far off course that the Drake-class colony ship, which had no FTL drive, had wound up in a completely different arm of the galaxy! That he had introduced them to the Confederacy first before the Empire rankled a bit, but his company WAS based on Dimiya. It is always more prudent to keep your closest neighbors happy.

She was only half paying attention to the useless noble who was begging for clemency after his actions in the civil war. They had actually only arrested a very few of the instigators of the coup, as most had been ‘converted’ into slaves of the AI Deus. This sniveling noble was one of only twenty who could be found that had supported Travis and not been converted.

Lucio bent down from his position by her throne to whisper in her ear. “Your Majesty, I have just received a very interesting invitation from our friend the Commodore. The lost colony of Nuevo Edo is now open for trade, as a free port. They have sent a trade legation to the Confederacy, but he said they would no doubt welcome a legation from the Empire as well.”

Merida frowned slightly, before whispering, “A free port, you say? Why would that man do something like that?”

Lucio chuckled, and said, “He said that if you should ask that, to remember Switzerland of old. A neutral ground for commerce and banking, and a place where high level diplomatic talks or international criminal cases could be held without being influenced by the powerful host countries. It would provide a place where we could ease tensions with the Confederacy and the Ihm Imperium, while perhaps opening up new relationships.”

Merida smiled at Lucio, and said, “Do you feel up to a trip, Lucio? We may need a negotiator at my side when We see to this trade legation.”

Lucio chuckled. “For you, Majesty? Always.”

Merida nodded, smiling as she turned her head to the still prattling noble who was trying to justify his continued existence. “I have heard enough. You are guilty of high treason against the Empire, and shall be executed immediately. Take him away. And call for Trade Minister Bucaro. We desire to see the long lost children of Terra who have been found on Nuevo Edo, and open relations with them.”