A meeting adjourned and DNA altered

The meeting was very hectic for Adam, as he was bombarded by questions both minor and of great importance in random succession by the leaders surrounding him.

Some were dealt with easily while others were a struggle to overcome, but most concerns were properly addressed by the end of the first meeting, after which there was a pause for the Great Shield members to discuss among themselves.

Adam sat in a different room with his bodyguards, thinking back on the first meeting he just had.

A great success from one perspective, but he wasn't very happy about it.

He had to make plenty of concessions, which weren't anything collapse-inducing, but still a blow to the Empire's image, and it would certainly affect their reputation among other powers.

Now word would spread that the Imperial Juggernaut could be stopped, and even bested maybe with a bit of help, which would be a pain to deal with.

Nonetheless, the temporary peace would be worth it, as the Empire could finally expand at full speed into other, comparatively minor, federations.

Adam had to admit to himself, that he underestimated the Xeno leaders. These aren't the incompetent Xenos he dealt with all those years ago when Humanity was taking its first steps.

No, these people actually led their people against the Hive, against other powers, and survived, the weak and incompetent are all long dead. Killed by others or removed from power by their own people.

This was a nice snap back to reality for Adam, and he wouldn't slip up like this again.

The meeting wasn't all bad for the Empire, of course, Adam wouldn't just take a loss without getting a win elsewhere.

One of the many benefits, aside from a non-aggression and truce pact between both parties, was the gain of many key systems that were rich in resources, were strategically important, or had colonizable planets on them, which were exceedingly valuable.

Humanity had to give up any attempts at expansion towards the Greater Shield, and promised not to attack any members within said alliance, effectively blocking off a part of the Orion Arm for the foreseeable future.

Additionally, the Empire would compensate the families which were displaced as a consequence of the war, and the Greater Shield would do the same for the Empire.

The conditions that they made within the meeting felt fair, the Empire would get the territory it wanted, the Greater Shield would no longer have to fear invasion, and both sides people would be compensated for their losses.

All fair, no hidden tricks.

Soon enough, Adam walked back into the room and stood at the podium, the various flags and symbols of each nation adorning their resting places.

A plant creature rose from its seat, its head like a flower with long stalks for arms and fingers.

It spoke, everyone else looking toward it to announce the decision made.

"We, the leaders of our respective nations and the Great Shield, have decided that the conditions written and decided upon by the ruler of the Azburgian Interstellar Empire, Adam Valencia the first and the representatives of the Great Shield, are satisfactory and are agreed upon by the Great Shield."

Celebratory cheers and noises were heard all around, all species doing the equivalent of clapping their hands.

"Now, the meeting is officially adjourned!"

Adam's trip back to the Empire was boring, mainly consisting of spreading the news in a way that painted the Empire as the dominant force, completely overshadowing the concessions they had to make for this outcome.

Of course, when news reached major population centers, huge parties were thrown in celebrations, and soldiers were sent home to enjoy a bit of time with their families, knowing all too well it was just a matter of time until they were sent to war again.

Speaking of war, with the Imperial Navy now fully freed, the Empire steamrolled any opposition, dominating thousands of systems in mere months, expanding so fast that the bureaucracy struggled to keep up with the army's zealous expansion.

The nations that were in the way tried to make a federation, desperately clinging onto hope, but were left without a chance to create anything powerful enough to stop their impending doom.

Some tried to join the Great Shield, hoping for their protection, but the Empire was prepared for this and blocked all signals coming to any members of the Great Shield, sending back their own replies which were disguised as refusal from whichever member they begged for help.

The Great Shield had not the slightest clue about the hatred the surrounding nations now held for them after they "left them all to die."

They would find out eventually, but at that point, the Empire would be on another level.

After careful calculation, along with interference from their spy networks, it would take decades for them to find out and do something about it, as many, many spies are occupying important positions now.

They even had contenders for leaders in many of the member states, threatening to usurp control and hijack the democratic systems for their own use.

They haven't succeeded yet, since their leaders were all very capable so far, but all it took was one slip-up, and a nation would fall into the hungry maws of imperialism.

Months passed, technology advanced, and finally, a breakthrough was made regarding genetic engineering.

Minor changes to human DNA were possible now, with the maximum of changes possible that wouldn't risk irreparable damage being six.

Everyone jumped at the opportunity to perfect their imperfect bodies, with most becoming 1.2 times stronger than a normal human, 1.2 times smarter than a normal human, more attractive, more confident, and so many more changes being made to hundreds of thousands at a time.

How could the men miss the opportunity to enlarge their tools? finally, all those fake ads and desperate attempts would amount to something!

Everyone jumped on the ship, with many simply choosing to slightly alter their appearances, with some even wanting cat ears or tails and other such things, which were impossible for now.

But for all the cultured men out there, it was a beacon of hope, one which the more extreme elements of society didn't react well to.

Nonetheless, they were silenced with copious amounts of propaganda and censorship.

Adam couldn't care less if people wanted to do it with a cat girl or dog girl, as long as they only added tails and ears, and did not go further, it was fine.

Any more than that and it would basically be zoophilia, which made him want to throw up.

So humanity received a minor boost in intellectual capability and strength, one which the already intelligent and strong benefited the most from, widening the gap between the normal and the lucky.

Colonies expanded faster as more fertile men and women were sent out to colonize worlds, speeding the process up considerably.

Soldiers became more built for war, and their muscles strengthened.

Engineers threw out better designs, employees worked better, and every part of the Empire became even more of an effective, well-oiled, war machine.

This was the simple beginning of the path, soon, humanity would become perfection, all they needed was time, and they would fight tooth and nail for it.