For the next few days, Andrew was busy addressing different issues that popped out.
One of which was the food problem.
As much food as there was on Earth, it would not last forever, and the hydroponics were not enough to provide for the whole empire.
So Andrew found all the slaves who were farmers, before they were sent into space, and after some talks, he sent them back to earth to start farming again, which they were more than happy to do, especially with all the support provided by the empire and no need to worry about taxes or any financial trouble, which made their lives hard before.
This also solved the problem of dissatisfaction of many humans who wanted to go back, as they also agreed to work, as long as they were sent back to Earth.
Andrew was sitting in the command center, reading through the reports, which was his main job at the moment, when they received a signal on an emergency frequency provided only to the ghost ships.
-Your majesty, this is Ghost 2, we found something that looks like a graveyard of ships, there are hundreds of them.
The vessels do not seem to be damaged, but there is something you should see.
The captain of the second stealth ship reported, her voice near panic.
Then she sent the image that sent shivers down Andrew's spine.
Among the ships were some that looked like cruisers, dozens of them.
-Can you determine who these ships belong to?
Andrew asked.
-No, we don't have them in our database, but they are cruiser class for sure judging from their size and armaments.
Aelita responded after checking the data.
-This looks like a fleet, but what's it doing all the way out there, dead in space?
Runir asked after joining the call.
-We have no clue.
The captain of Ghost 2 answered.
-With your permission, I would like to send a scout drone to assess the situation and, if possible, a boarding party to one of the ships.
-Do it, but be careful, at the slightest sign of trouble, jump away.
Runir decided after thinking about it for a moment.
This was one of only two stealth ships in the Empire, and she didn't want to lose it.
However, the implications of this finding were not that great for everyone, since there were cruisers present in this universe, the invasion forces would be able to use them as well.
The scout drone approached the ships and went around scanning them one by one.
There were no life signs on board, no energy readings of any kind, and nothing indicating what happened to this fleet.
The only thing they were sure of was that the ships were of similar design, indicating that this was someone's fleet.
After the drone found nothing, the droids were sent to enter one of the destroyers to try and determine the reason for this fleet being abandoned in the middle of nowhere.
If not for the fact that this place was determined as the next drop-off point for a relay, the Ghost 2 would have never seen this fleet until the relay was online.
The droids entered the ship and found no atmosphere inside; however, there were remains of the crew inside.
They looked humanoid and quite similar to Arien.
All of them died from a gunshot to the head, and the weapons were lying next to them, while some of them still held them in their hands.
As the droids moved forward they found more and more bodies and it also became obvious that the ship was much more advanced than the Imperial vessels.
-Why would they commit suicide?
Runir asked the obvious question.
-We might find out soon.
Andrew answered as the droids approached the bridge of the ship.
The bridge crew was all inside, all of them at their stations, and all of them with a hole in their heads.
The droids approached the consoles, plugging in the extra batteries they had with them, using the standard access ports every ship was equipped with.
These ports allowed access to the files and the ship's logs by the salvage and rescue teams.
The data was sent straight to the Ghost 2 and stored on a secure drive, to minimize the possibility of downloading any viruses from the ships.
-Captain, open the last entry from the ship's logs. I want to know what happened there.
Andrew said the moment the download was complete.
-Right away, your majesty.
The captain replied and opened the file.
It took a moment for the file to be converted, but after two minutes it was opened.
-This is Captain Trin, from the 39th fleet's destroyer Leneril.
It's been ninety days since the incident, and the fleet is doomed.
Our supplies ran out, and our power reserves are almost gone.
We still have no idea where we are and why we were even transported here.
If this message is ever found, let our people know that we died with honor.
The captain said before putting his weapon to his head and pulling the trigger.
Ten seconds later, the video file ended, with a notification of insufficient power to maintain recording.
-They were trapped, Arien said, with sadness.
She also connected to the channel when she heard that the bodies of the crew looked similar to hers.
-Do you know who they were?
Andrew asked.
-No, but they look similar to my people.
Arien said after a moment.
-Maybe you should ask Tanera; the merchants' guild might have some information in their databases.
She suggested.
Andrew nodded and sent the image of the ship to the merchant, asking for information about it.
Less than five minutes later, Tanera entered the command center, breathing heavily.
-Where did you find this ship?
She asked.
-Do you know whose ship this is?
Andrew asked, surprised by the urgency in her voice.
-Yes, it's a part of a fleet that disappeared around two hundred years ago.
The star nation that owned this fleet contacted the guild and offered a substantial reward to whoever found it.
For all this time, there was no sign of the fleet until now, and the moment the image was sent to me, it triggered an automated message to the guild.
-So what will the guild do about it?
Andrew asked.
-They will most likely send a team to investigate, if it's just the one ship, then they will search for the rest of the fleet in the surrounding area.
Tanera explained.
-Well, it's not only one ship, it's the whole fleet.
-Wait, what?
The merchant asked, shocked by the revelation.
-We found an entire fleet of ships and only sent you the one image to find out who they belonged to and if we could claim them.
Andrew explained.
-You most certainly can't claim them; their technology is above tier 5, so there is no way this would be allowed, but you can claim the reward for finding them.
The merchant explained, trying to keep her composure.
-What's the reward anyway?
Lan asked.
-For finding one ship, it would most likely be some money and credibility points, but for the whole fleet, I have no clue.
I'd need to contact the guild to ask them.
-Then you might want to get to it before they send their team, I already sent you all the data we collected on thast fleet.
Aelita said.
Tanera nodded and sent the data to the guild using her tablet with the inquiry about the reward for finding the fleet.
The answer was almost immediate.
-The investigation team dispatched, possible reward to be discussed after the team confirms that the found ships are indeed from the missing fleet.
Tanera read out loud.
-We have five merchant ships on sensors.
Lan reported the moment the elf finished reading.
-That was fast.
Andrew commented.
-Well, it is a priority assignment from the guild, so they would not waste any time investigating this matter.
Tanera explained.
-How come I never heard of these assignments?
The human asked.
-Because you are nowhere near the required credibility level to even see them, not to mention accept one.
The minimum level to accept a task from the guild is level five, and these are the easiest and lowest-level tasks that the guild has.
The one that you most likely accidentally completed is a highest-level priority task that no one got even close to completing for the past two hundred years, so if this is truly the entire fleet, I can't even imagine the reward you will receive.