The prime minister did not expect this turn of events and was shocked that the empress was taking the threats of the human race seriously.
He had to admit that they fought hard to defend their planets and the alliance took much heavier casualties than predicted but in the end there were only a handful of humans left alive and even if they managed to rebuild their civilization,it would take centuries for them to do so and in the meantime they were safe.
The empress remark about humans taking them down with them was a bit worrisome as he watched the Terran council members last stand and they were ferocious in combat for the old men and women that they were.
The council members managed to take down nearly five thousand soldiers before they were all killed.
The threat of the suicidal attack was real as the human fleet managed to cover the retreat of more then four hundred ships and if humans decided that they had nothing more to lose then they might want to exact revenge on their betrayers.
He wasn't worried for his family as most of them were living in his willa on one of the Federation core worlds but he himself was on the Elani home world and no matter how strong his grandson became he was no match for human soldiers in an actual combat.
-If this is your majesty's last word then so be it.
He said and left the empress alone in the throne room.
The prime minister went to find his grandson as they mostly got what they wanted. It was time to think about their own safety for now and as for the princess,she was of no use to anyone.
Now that she was humiliated by her human lover and all of the galaxy knew what she did to deserve it.
It was impossible even for Irio whose reputation was also tarnished to marry her.In the end Irio could claim that the attack on their homeworld made the human spare his life as was his right as the victor.
Everyone knew that this was a lie but it was still better than the video that humiliated the princess and everyone knew why this video was made.
If Alesia married Irio while her pendant was in possession of the human then she would be humiliating him as an unworthy partner.
In Elani society this would be the worst kind of insult that one could imagine and that was the plan all along.
But no one predicted that the human would do something like this and turn the tables on them.
Liara in the meantime was trying to rebuild their species reputation among the neighboring star nations with little success.
Zendari,Atrandi and the Iriani closed their border entirely for the Elani merchant ships and she couldn't blame them for being cautious after what she had to do.
A few other species still allowed the trade ships to enter their territories but as soon as their trade was done they were escorted back to the border by military vessels.
The only place where they could trade freely was the federation and this market was also diminishing fast thanks to the video that Simon spread.
Right now she didn't have any allies that would help her and it looked like her empire's trade would collapse since there was no one that was willing to trust them now.
She was near tears after just two hours of talking to the leaders of other factions.
Most of the conversations were short and she was lucky if she wasn't called a traitor before the chanell went silent.
Only now did she finally understand that the Terrans were a very respected race and that they helped many species by destroying the pirates that plagued the sector.
Now that everyone knew that she and her empire betrayed humanity and helped to almost exterminate them,the other species didn't want to have anything to do with the Elani.
Some of the leaders of the smaller star nations even threatened to open fire if the Elani ship entered their territory.
The Zentradi were one of the bigger factions that she had contact with but they simply stated that they would cease all trade with the Elani empire and if any ship from her empire tried to enter their space,it would be destroyed.
The biggest blow however came from the merchants guild,as they simply closed all of their establishments and declared Elani as unsafe and untrustworthy,placing them on their black list which meant that any trader that valued his reputation would stay as far away as he could form the Elani empire.
The guild was powerful enough that even the Federation wouldn't want them as enemies especially with their power to stop the trade between the factions.
Liara was near despair when she got the rapport and a message from the guild.
This was just a small part of the price that her people had to pay for what they did to the humans.
At the same time Simon and his fleet were just about to jump into the system where Mikael and steuner were waiting for them.
Oblivious to the chaos that his video created for the Elani,The young Admiral was now ready to pick up his friends and all the people that they managed to save and retreat to their new home that would hopefully be safe enough for the human race to recover and to prepare for their revenge.
When they jumped in form FTL to the system they were greeted by the remains of the Terran fleet.
The ships were damaged to various degrees and the hasty repairs showed just how much they were trying to survive.
All the civilians that Mikael and Steuner managed to save were transported to Simon's fleet as it had much more space for them and better medical care then they were able to provide.
The total number of humans that survived barely exceeded a hundred thousand and the lizard men were in even worse state as there were barely two thousand of them left.
Both species were on the verge of extinction but there was hope for them as the confederation technology would allow them to repopulate without the genetic deficiency.
-It's good to see you kid.
Was the first thing Mikael said before he gave him a bear hug.
-It's good to see you both in one piece.
Simon said, barely halting his tears as he switched from Mikael to Steuner who he also gave a bear hug.
Simon was relieved that they managed to survive and what's more they even managed to save quite a bit of the fleet and some civilians.
-We have a lot to talk about,but first you two need a solid meal and some rest.
They both looked thin and it was obvious at a glance that they were neglecting their meals and rest for a long time.
Simon brought them to the mess hall which was full of people who didn't have a decent meal in a long time.
Since he was able to scavenge the supplies from earth,Simon decided to have a feast ready for them.
He knew that the ship rations would run out in the fleet really fast especially with thousands of civilians that they rescued and the fleet was surviving on protein bars for the last few days.
Both of his friends were shocked at the sight of such a meal prepared for them since they were both living on reduced rations and even sharing most of their food with some kids that were orphaned.
They were both leaders now and they both took the responsibilities seriously which meant that they made sure that the people under their protection or orders were taken care of first.
They sat down at the table full of delicious and hot food trying their best to look dignified before the people gathered in the mess hall.
This was very hard for them especially since they wanted nothing more than to devour all the food on the table as soon as possible.
They were both sure that Simon was doing this on purpose to get back at them for all the times they made fun of him when he was still dating Alesia.