{Sir, the decryption is complete,} Nova informed Aron a few hours after receiving the decryption keys.

“That was fast,” Aron remarked, surprised by the speed. Previously, when processing the unencrypted information it had taken considerably longer.

{The groundwork was already laid when I accessed the unencrypted knowledge,} Nova explained. {This time, all I had to do was decrypt it and run it through the algorithm, which handled the rest.}

“Mhhhhh.” Aron nodded in acknowledgment before adding, “Let’s hold off on assimilating the knowledge until they leave, just in case. Send the information to the Lab City researchers and have them work on incorporating any beneficial aspects.” He restrained his excitement, opting to be cautious in case their visitors had ulterior motives.

{Understood,} Nova confirmed.

Upon receiving her response, Aron returned to his research.

For the next week, the purchased goods were continuously delivered to the ships of the Astral Conclave representatives, while in return, they handed over the materials exchanged for those products. Once the exchange was completed, they wasted no time in opening their wormholes and returning home, marking the conclusion of the first official trade between the two sides.

“Finally, they’ve left,” Aron muttered as he watched the projection of the solar system. The display slowly filled with a red overlay, indicating the reactivation of the military’s spatial locks hidden within the Oort Cloud. These locks had been deactivated and placed into active stealth about a month before the agreed meeting date.

The empire was now officially sealed off from all Tier 1 and lower spatial technology.

“Let’s start the assimilations then,” Aron said the moment the entire projection turned red. Without wasting any time, he initiated the logout procedure, knowing that Nova would put him into a deep sleep for the process. This time, he planned to assimilate all the remaining knowledge, leaving only one piece that was still encrypted—the Trinarian knowledge.

As Aron began the logout sequence, Nova activated the standard protocol she always used whenever he was expected to be out of commission for an extended period.

..

A week later.

“How long do you think it will take?” Aron asked, his gaze fixed on John, who sat across from him, listening intently.

John took a moment to gather his thoughts before responding. “The biggest issue is the lack of critical information about the other side, which makes it impossible to give a precise timeline. Given how long they’ve existed, how fragile their peace is, and the fact that anyone can declare war under specific conditions, it’s clear that all of them are maintaining active militaries with no signs of downsizing. Based on that, I’d estimate at least ten years—if we operate at maximum production capacity.”

“Does the assessment include the previously decrypted technologies?” Aron asked.

“Not entirely,” John admitted. “The scope of knowledge is too vast for us to develop implementation strategies in such a short time. Depending on how we learn to exploit these technologies to our advantage, the timeline could be significantly reduced. That’s why I request at least six months to thoroughly analyze the knowledge and allow the researchers to uncover as many applicable technologies as possible before we commit to large-scale production. This period will also give us time to restructure the military to align with the plan.”

“I’ll give you a year and a quantum supercluster running at maximum time acceleration,” Aron stated, fully committing to his plan. “You’ll report to me with updates once a month on the project’s progress. Will that be enough to ensure our preparations are so thorough that it won’t matter what the other side has?”

“Although there’s no such thing as absolute certainty, this period should give us enough time to get as close to perfection as possible,” John replied, his voice filled with conviction. He was confident that, with the resources provided, they could minimize any risks and prepare for whatever came their way.

“Good, and how are we doing with the preparations for intelligence-gathering operations?” he asked, moving on to the next topic, now that the previous one was settled.

“The preparations for that have also been paused for now. We’re currently looking into the available Shadari knowledge to see if it can benefit our operations. It will also be included in the research during the period you’ve given us. Their knowledge is promising enough to be a game-changer if used alongside our stealth technology.

Taking into account how long it will take to have them spread throughout the Conclave, we need to ensure they are as prepared as possible. The first batch will be operating with almost no backup, so we've came to the conclusion that they need to be as ready as possible," John replied.

Aron nodded as he listened to John’s explanation. Though he had something he could add, he decided against it for now. He planned to wait until he had access to the Trinarian technology, knowing that it was not only a game changer but also the spearhead for initiating all the plans. RάΝǑꞖĘȿ

After spending two more hours discussing with John, the meeting finally came to an end. John left the room, leaving Aron alone to process the information and reflect on the next steps.

“What is our progress on the decryption of the Trinarian knowledge?” Aron asked.

{I’ve tried using encryption technologies from other civilizations as a reference, but it seems the Trinarian tech is vastly different. At the moment, progress is slow.} Nova responded, materializing and taking the seat where John had been sitting.

Upon receiving Nova's response, Aron took a moment to consider his options, wondering whether to wait the remaining two weeks or use the system shop to buy a solution for decrypting the technology.

{I suggest we wait for the remaining two-week period. While we may not decrypt it immediately, the knowledge we gain during that time will still be valuable. Plus, you should use this time to rest; you haven’t taken any breaks since the trade, and that’s not good.} Nova said, noticing the look of contemplation on his face.

“Yeah, let’s do that,” Aron agreed, rubbing his face with his hands before beginning the logout procedure. He hoped Nova would manage to crack the encryption within the time, as the thought of how much it would cost to purchase the decryption technology was enough to make him not want to think about it.

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