Expansion and a forming community

To be frank, the War against the Imperium proved to be quite underwhelming when compared to the Empire's previous, do-or-die conflicts.

Every time, the universe seemed to give the middle finger to Adam during such conflicts, making some incredibly difficult situation happen that he had to deal with, usually with his own life on the line.

This time, no such thing happened. That isn't to say the Imperium went down easily, no no no, they fought to the last, bringing down as many humans with them as they could, causing devastating casualties in the process.

However, when Adam joined and directly led the charge, all the soldiers stopped caring, as fanaticism pushed out all care for their own well-being, determined to make the Empire great at the cost of their own lives.

Ah... such is the beauty of propaganda and indoctrination.

The was proved to be a learning experience for the Empire, as they invaded their worlds without reducing them to rubble with nuclear weaponry first, encountering heavy resistance.

Since the Imperium's people were large, dark creatures that were several times stronger than the average male human, they ripped and tore their way through them in close-quarters urban warfare, with the power-armored units having to cover for their squishier counterparts.

Adam led these planetary invasions, using it as a learning opportunity while boosting the soldier's morale and increasing their ferocity.

This is the greatest opportunity they will ever have! They have to impress their Emperor, no cowardice is allowed.

The Imperium lost world after world to the alliance and the Empire, making them all the more desperate to somehow turn the war around, but no one came to their aid.

No great sudden twist, no new crisis, nothing, just the slow inevitable march of the Empire's army.

Eventually, after years of conflict, the Imperium capitulated, accepting its fate.

Now Adam stood at a crossroads, he could try to incorporate the aliens into his society, which would be troublesome at best, he could kill them all, which would define them as absolute monsters in the eyes of all civilizations which could be watching them now, or he could make a subject.

Adam chose to do a mix of the first and last options, conquering the outer planets while subjugating the core worlds and the systems around them.

The new nation was known as the Imperial Protectorate, and it was not allowed to employ a fleet, colonize new worlds, or do anything at all without Adam's explicit permission, locking it without any power of its own.

Now completely neutralized, the proud people of the Imperium resisted, hiding away ships and resources from their new masters.

All of such things failed miserably, as opportunistic traitors appeared, some greedy for more money, others forced to obey after having their families threatened and used as hostages, the civilization was utterly paralyzed by paranoia.

The Azburgians proved to be reasonable masters however, ensuring their new subject recovered from the conflict, sending aid, and taking meticulous care of each individual that came for help, which most did in secret.

The Azburgian name slowly began transforming, as propaganda and good deeds overshadowed the slaughter that happened not long ago, the events completely forgotten a few generations later, making the protectorate a good subject for the Empire to use as it pleased.

With the Alliance, a more equal relationship was established, with each of them re-joining the Azburgian Protective Sphere.

The new agreement included the Azburgian promise to not invade or attempt to subjugate the various nations as long as they remained steadfast allies of the Empire, which was detailed further later in the document.

Even with all this fancy talk, the Alliance members didn't truly have a choice in the matter, since the Azburgians would invade them if they didn't.

So they joined, still technically independent but clearly below the Empire in terms of authority.

Not all was bad, as the Empire accepted all talented people into its institutions, which changed to accommodate their new students, the ones on Earth were the only exceptions.

These colleges and schools promised opportunity and success to all who entered them, giving them the highest quality education modern technology could provide, adding many aliens to the Empire's ranks, whether it be in the army or the home front.

The Empire itself continued its expansion, soon encountering more and more civilizations as they all began expanding, slowly filling the once-dead Orion Arm with life.

The powers beyond the Orion arm itself also didn't sit still, using the death of the Hive to expand their influence into a comparatively primitive region, using their advanced technology to bully the weaker races into submission.

Their influence remained limited to the outer reaches of the Arm, but it was destined not to last, as Adam already set himself to become the Emperor of the Orion Arm next.

The Azburgian Interstellar Empire became wildly known as the champions who contributed greatly to chasing the Hive away among a few other great powers, causing a great influx of diplomatic missions, tourists, and talented individuals to flock to the Empire and its subjects, all of whom flourished together as they became the central stage of the Galactic Arm.

So, when the concept of a meeting place between all civilizations of significant importance within the Arm appeared, the Empire was one of the first to support it, its influence strengthening even further upon the creation of the community.

At the end of the decade, the Orion Arm was filled with activity, its scars from the hive all but gone, and Adam's ambitions were coming along beautifully.

"Long live the Empire! Long live Azburgia!" Amda could only hear the cheers of praise which rang out from the thousands of systems the Empire controlled, Aliens and humans alike celebrating him and him alone.

As Adam stood on the balcony from which he has made countless speeches, grim announcements, and rallying calls, a wide grin adorned his face, revealing his brilliant white teeth, and he felt joy and fulfillment, but a hunger for more left a tiny little hole in his heart.

And he would fill that hole, whether it would be the last thing he did or not.