V.2-C.53│More Trouble II│

Then there is Issor within the Issor star system.

It is currently the most powerful planet within its system, meaning that if he took it over, he would own the system. It is currently not affiliated with anyone, but it doesn't have anything in particular that could help him elevate the Empyrean.

It was just another point, another choke hold from the rest of the galaxy he could cut off from getting closer to the core of the Empyrean.

It is an industrialized planet however, and could serve to better increase the amount of jobs his people would have access to. He has no one dumb, maybe there are crazies like he had seen when those dissidents were still here, but other than that, the average intelligence score was higher.

Even so, common sense doesn't always go with higher intelligence.

Taking Issor would be great as then he could start expanding even more in the region of space. While Anakin's expansion may seem slow, that is because he wants to secure these planets he takes over completely.

He is of the mind that when you do something, you should do it to the best of your ability. Of course this isn't for everything but for things like work, it makes sense that one would try and do their best, unless it is some shitty job... Or your boss is shitty, or the pay is not worth the workload...

Ok, there are other and more reasons as to why one wouldn't or shouldn't be motivated to do things when it comes to work. For Anakin's situation however, it requires some level of diligence and patience combined together to create something truly amazing.

For himself, for others, his people, his loved ones and now that the possibility is on the board, he would do so for his future children as well.

It is unfortunate that Issor is under the protection of the Republic currently. So he would have to pick his battles wisely.

The last place he is looking to expand towards is Vuzsa. Vuzsa is an Outer Rim Territories world located in the Arkanis sector. It served as a refueling point for starships traveling along the Trans Gulf Route hyperlane.

This systems, this world would be a good place to start building up some more fleets. He would have to buy Pi III first.

Which, now that he has everything under control with the Empyrean, he could go through with this idea which would increase the Empyrean's independence. No conflict is needed to take this place because it had no one to really protect it, just another galactic corporation that owned the world.

Pii III was a planet famous for the luxury greel wood that grew there. It was located in the Pii system inside the Arkanis sector of the galaxy. It was here that he would be able to make use of this commodity and put it to good use within the Empyrean.

Everything seemed to be going on the right track, in terms of the expansion of the empire. However this expansion wouldn't be easy because some old enemies wanted to make his life harder...

[]

Within Hutt space, in an undisclosed area, the fallen Trade Federation had gathered.

It was a strange relationship between them and the Hutts, considering they both had an enemy in mind to face off against.

While the Hutts may not exactly overtly endorse the fallen Trade Federations behavior, they did however house them and even sometimes provided ample resources or information.

The Hutts were not that all that happy with Anakin, Shmi or the Empyrean in general but that also doesn't mean they are willing to risk getting themselves caught in the ongoing conflicts of the galaxy. They still had control over their main territories, so why would they care all that much about Jabba's fallen empire.

No, they would be dragged into a conflict with the Republic as well, and the Hutts have been seeing some movements for the Empyrean that would indicate their military strength.

They weren't going to risk everything just because they wanted some revenge, but if they had someone else to act as a sort of go between. Then they are all the more for this organization that started up as a result of Anakin's actions.

Hutt Space was an autonomous region of the galaxy on the border between the Mid Rim and the Outer Rim Territories, near the entrance to Wild Space. It encompassed the Si'Klaata Cluster, and bordered on the Tion Hegemony. Hutt Space was named for the Hutt species, who dominated the region. Differing accounts attributed different numbers of planets in Hutt Space, but reasonable estimates ranged from a few hundred to a thousand inhabited worlds.

Meaning that it would take a very long time for Anakin or anyone else to identify where anyone is within this space.

Also considering that the Hutts wouldn't appreciate his intrusion, they would most certainly try to find a way to retaliate.

Back within a meeting room, the current leader of this fallen organization of the Trade Federation was making plans. Plans to further stop the Empyreans expansion because there was nothing they could do at the moment to cause internal instability, while they could only cause some chaos from the outside.

It was something that was only natural to do, as they have exhausted all other options at this point and Anakin was dangerously close to figuring out where they were holed up in.

"They are close." Someone spoke.

"Yes, those Empyrean bastards are getting closer and closer to finding us." Another interjected.

"The rest of those within the Federation of Vengeance will not be pleased. We have barely anywhere else to go to and if the Hutts cant keep us covered..."

"That doesn't matter." The person who spoke here was King, the current leader of the Federation of Vengeance.

One only needs to look at everything that was going on, that would draw the attention of the Empyrean from them onto other ventures. The Empyrean was currently looking to expand and were successfully doing so with no push back from another else.

However, the Hutts were getting annoyed by how the Empyrean had gone to taking something that would be considered under their control. It was a move that was perfectly calculated, considering that the Hutts hold very little sway in the region of space that encompasses the current empire of the Empyrean.

"Sir, what do you mean?"

King answered. "We will have to try and make it harder for them, specifically we will try and back up the mining guild on that planet they now have cornered."

Anakin, after successfully taking the planet that he wanted from the Hutts and after occupying it, was putting pressure on the system owned by the mining guild.

The Mining Guild was one of the many galactic corporate entities that operated during the time of the Galactic Republic. It would survive the fall of the commerce guilds during the Clone Wars and would have the potential to continue into the Galactic Civil War.

The Mining Guild was originally founded in the early days of space exploration, predating even the formation of the Republic. The Guild was established in the Core Worlds, and though a specific homeworld did not come to light Koros Major was one of their strongholds, because of its abundance of carbonite, so valuable in the early space travel.

Eventually the Guild was based on Coruscant during the rule of the Galactic Republic, though they maintained a regional headquarters on Empress Teta, where they ruled by proxy through the Emperor.

The Mining Guild grew into one of the many quasi-political corporate entities represented in the Republic, alongside the Trade Federation and the Techno Union. They often were engaged in confrontations with rival company Exargan Mining Authority that were settled through the courts.

The Guild dominated operations on billions of young, metal-rich worlds scattered throughout the galaxy's spiral arms and mined resources there extensively.

It was on one of these anonymous planets that Zam Wesell gained her Koro-2 exodrive airspeeder, subsequently using it far from the wastelands of these worlds, where there was a lack of complex lifeforms that could be hurt by the more noxious gases produced by the miners' vehicles.

Around five years prior to now, the Guild had holdings on Barlok, where they were represented by Guildmaster Gilfrome.

In fact the mining guild was quite the cheeky corporation, because they wouldn't be taking sides with either the Republic or the C.I.S., which would only lead to them being taken advantage of by Anakin.

They were doing something similar to Anakin when it came to engaging with either the Republic or the C.I.S. as he too wanted to make sure there is some distance between himself, the Empyrean and those two factions currently going at it.

King could see this as well, he wasn't a stupid person and knew his resources were limited as well. He didn't have the power to go up against anyone else within the galaxy, let alone the Empyrean.

It is foolish and maybe even mad, but that is the only thing they could do to get some vengeance. It is a path that was futile, maybe even completely hopeless in whatever endeavor they would try to do, but they would still try.

If Anakin was a part of this fallen organization, he would at least say they had some spirit and will to do something. Unfortunately he would not be helping them, especially when they have gone after him, his loved ones and his citizens as well.

Their future does not exactly spell survival.

"First, we will start here." King pointed towards the system currently under control of the mining guild. "We will make contact with the guild, but we will only use pawns. We cant be exposing ourselves more than we already have."

"They have a very powerful intelligence network." King continued as he finished.

[]

There were a whole host of planets that Anakin could expand towards but he wouldn't be doing at least not yet because they are simply not worth it. His current population, the population of the Empyrean is growing and people seem very intent in making love as the population just skyrocketed.

Not that he blamed them because they are finally free of the oppression of the galaxy at large and wouldn't have to worry about too many dangers to them or their families. There is also the stipulation that he encourages more and more people being born.

It is quite good that there are people that are smarter and smarter because of the super serum because they could read in between the lines. Of course it didn't actually make people smarter but instead increased the speed at which their thoughts are processed.

Their ability to take in information is far greater than what it could have been before and by default this should make his population smarter on average. It is the only term he could use to describe the situation going on within the Empyrean.

He was also looking towards his next planet.

Khubeaie was a misty, nondescript industrial planet that was located within the Khubeaie system of the galaxy's Outer Rim Territories region. A part of the Arkanis sector, located in turn within the regions known as the Slice and the Spice Triangle, Khubeaie lay on the hyperlane called the Old Corellian Run that connected it to the planets of Vor Deo and Shimia.

A smaller hyperspace route known as the Vaschean Way linked Khubeaie to the world of Heffrin.

Compared to the planet's industrial profile, Khubeaie was more widely known as a stopover for spice smugglers that traveled down the Old Corellian Run from the world of Ryloth to the planet of Tatooine. On Khubeaie, it was possible to encounter individuals of such sentient species as Humans, Hutts, Rodians and Twi'leks.

Then there was even further out from Cranan 12 that stepped more and more into the reaches of the unknown parts of the galaxy. Vactooine was a mining colony in the Arkanis sector of the Outer Rim Territories. Its dense jungles made it a suitable habitat for the Elix.

Here the Empyrean would be able to increase more and more of its own minerals and ores, which would further serve the purpose of proper independence from foreign entities. During the Cold War, a scientist had lost an incredibly valuable anode no bigger than a grain of sand somewhere in Vactooine's desert.

Around 2500 years prior to now, records showed that the Sith invaded the colony, but were driven out by the natives there. Some said that it was destroyed by the Sith, since the whole colony disappeared somehow.

Anakin could make use of this planet that had barely next to no inhabitants. It may be unfortunate for the species that used to exist here, the colony that may have bloomed into a spiraling civilization but Anakin had more uses for it now. It wouldn't simply be another colony that he starts up himself and would instead serve a proper purpose within the empire.

The last system that Anakin could expand the Empyrean into was a system outside of the Arkanis sector, which would be his first steps into the regions of space outside of the Empyrean space he had created.

Melnea's World was a murky, swampy planet located in the Melnea's World system, a part of the Arkanis sector in the Slice portion of the Outer Rim Territories. Melnea's World was located on the Cranan-Excarga Route.

Melnea's World was situated on the Hyperlane known as the Cranan-Excarga Route. It was settled by miners from Tatooine after local mining operations failed and the arrival of the Hutts, subsequent to which the world was transformed into a smugglers' hideout. The Smuggler traffic encountered by Vor Deo came from the worlds beyond Cirus and Melnea's World.

It wouldn't be no smugglers hideout anymore, just like the rest of the galaxy he was taken over for himself. The expansion of the Empyrean is eminent and there is nothing to stop him from achieving one of his goals of conquering and another in achieving the outlaw of slavery.

Freedom and liberty.

Freedom and liberty.

It was something every citizen of the Empyrean kept in mind, because alot of the laws while not everyone was used to or all that wanting them, they accepted the reasoning behind the logic of what was in place. Or the lack of what laws were in place to be more specific as there were laws that the people would have accepted as common sense within the Republic that weren't present here.

One amongst them being stuff to do with drugs, it was regulated, heavily so, but that didn't mean it was illegal to use, grow or even create substances that are like that. It wasn't Anakin's business and it certainly wasn't anyone else, plus he considered that his people should be far more immune to substances like that with the super serum as well.

All in all, it was still a win for him.