Interstellar Age

Chapter 282 Destabilizing the Galactic Economy

The world of Ghimderi was in flames. Far more Parvaxian Insurgents had entered the planet than they initially realized, and thanks to their advanced stealth technology, which was provided to them by Tia. They were all incapable of striking and disappearing at a moment's notice. 

The thing is, most of the galaxy did not even know who the Pavaxians were, or their history with the world that used to be their homeland. And naturally because of this, they bought into the false narrative that the Ghimderi were the true victims of this war. 

Almost immediately after the attack on the Galactic stock exchange, Bixle Goldentooth, who was still considered being the most wealthy and powerful of the Trade Princes, got on the galactic network and made a bold speech. 

As a goblin, he did not stand very tall, nor was he very physically imposing. But those who knew his name feared it, specifically, because when he put his mind to vengeance, there was nothing to atrocious that he would engage in. 

"This blatant act of terrorism on the lifeblood that is the Galactic economy will not be tolerated! Though we do not currently know how these criminals unlawfully entered our world and infiltrated the stock exchange. Make no mistake, now that the Ghimderi Defense Forces have been mobilized, this insurgency will come to a swift and brutal end. 

As for the galactic economy, the various Trade Princes are doing everything in their power to currently mitigate this unfortunate incident, and assure everyone that the damage that has been done is only minor, and will not have an effect on most civilizations. 

However, we are humbly requesting that all interstellar civilizations that are capable of sending support to the Ghimderi Nation will please do so. After all, without your support, it will be much more difficult to stamp out these roaches, who spread malicious lies, in an attempt to gain sympathy from the galaxy. 

And for those who are responsible for supplying these terrorists, so that they may commit these heinous acts of murder! Just know that we will find you, and when we do, we will rally the galaxy against you! There is no place you can hide, or run to, that the Ghimderi will not find you and enact their vengeance. So, enjoy your last few moments while you can, because soon enough, the entire galaxy will be on your doorstep! 

That is all for now, and in the meantime we suggest that those who are currently visiting the world of Ghimderi stay indoors until a time where the Ghimderi Defense Forces have eliminated the terrorists. Thank you all for your love and support and have a good night."

Immediately after this broadcast stopped recording, Bixel began to scream and shout at his aide, while he tried to pin the blame on the Alfheim Dominion for this attack. 

"It was those pointy eared shits! I fucking know it. Only that old witch would be so bold as to arm and supply terrorists to wage war against us! We should have had her killed during the Great Schism!" 

The aide, however, shook his head, before denying his superior's allegations, while presenting some evidence of his own to counter it. 

"I don't believe so, your highness. From what we can see here, the technology used in these weapons is very different from those wielded by the Alfheim Dominion. And just because of the past disputed between you and their Empress, that does not mean that she would attack the entire Trade Union, I mean attacking the Galactic Stock Exchange, that would hinder the Dominion as much, if not more than just about anyone else!" 

This remark caused Bixle to lunge towards his aide and grab the young goblin by the neck, where Bixle began to choke the man after wrestling him to the ground. If it were any other species witnessing this attempt at murder, they might think it was adorable. 

"Are you perhaps suggesting that this attack was fronted by one of the dissidents? If so, then please do tell me where they got their hands on such advanced technology all of a sudden? Hmm? Have nothing to say? That's what I thought!" 

After saying this, Bixle released his grip over his aide's throat, who began to breathe deeply and heavily in an attempt to recover from the near death experience he had just suffered at the hands of his boss. 

While the aide was recovering, Bixle began to shout at his other subordinates in an equally hostile tone. 

"These weapons had to have come from somewhere? And these stealth field generators? Since when do we possess sensors that are incapable of detecting such gimmicks? No, this was done by a major galactic power! Nobody else has the technology to pull this off. And I might say that this was done by a major galactic power who has been hiding their military capabilities from the rest of us! Investigate all those worthless fools, and find me who armed those damn roaches!" 

Immediately, the Ghimderi Trade Union began to search for whoever had supplied the parvaxians with the equipment that they were currently using to engage in a war against the Ghimderi. But of course, their investigation would not take them far, as there was a particularly powerful guardian angel watching over the perpetrators of this attack, one who could easily send the Ghimderi investigators on a wild goose chase every time they found a clue regarding the origins of this attack. 

---

While the Ghimderi had made their public announcement in an attempt to assure the galaxy that the economy would not suffer too much because of this attack. Tia had begun to manipulate the galactic market to tank. It took just a few whispers in the right ears by the advanced artificial intelligence to completely collapse the market.

If the galactic economy was in a severe recession before this attack, it had suddenly free fallen into a great depression afterwards. Entire worlds went bankrupt overnight, and international corporations lost the ability to produce their products. 

There was, of course, a handful of civilizations unaffected from this market crash, and that were those like the Germanic Star-Empire, and the Silber Enclave, who had an economy that was almost self sufficient, if not entirely so. 

However, Tia also made the most of this economic depression, because certain materials that used to be worth quite a pretty penny, where now suddenly worthless. To the point where interstellar corporations could no longer sell these raw materials, nor could even afford to store them.

Thus, Tia began to buy these raw materials, many of which were needed for the construction of Erich's army, for less than an old United States cent piece per kilogram. And at the same time, Tia sent out a message about the galaxy from the public face of her major defense corporation, the one which was having an IPO during the attack. 

This public face was a masked man, and was AI generated to a state that was so believable that not even the most advanced technology in the galaxy could detect a difference from this generated video, and a real one. 

"Here at Tia Heavy Industries, we understand that the galaxy is going through hard times. And yet, it is particularly because of these hard times that it is now more important than ever to invest in defense. 

The attack on the Galactic Stock Exchange was an evil and twisted act. But it was entirely preventable. After all, with our new sensors that have been on the market for a year already, the Ghimderi authorities could have easily detected not only the hidden terrorists but also the explosive compound which they used to commit such a heinous crime. 

In fact, we at Tia Heavy Industries even made a proposal to the Ghimderi Trade Union to sell them several of our new products to ensure the security of what was clearly a critical component of the Galactic Economy.

Yet despite our generous offer, they refused us out of concerns that our products were too expensive. Don't be like the Ghimderi who made the foolish decision to trust outdated technology to defend them against those who would do them harm.

As I always say, an investment in defense is always worth the price!" 

Not only had this advertisement acted as an attack ad against the Ghimderi Union, blaming their own cheapness on the lives that were lost, and the economic depression that followed the attack. But is also acted as a way to vastly increase Erich's wealth, without him having to lift a finger. 

Thus, civilizations across the galaxy had begun to spend absurd degrees of what wealth they still had left, to invest in the watered down products of Tia Heavy Industries that could not compare in the slightest to those that were manufactured for the Silber Enclave.

All the while, those massive profits were invested into cheap and abundant raw materials which were used to forge the Silber Enclave's massive war machine. When Erich realized that Tia had single handedly used his petty revenge against the Ghimderi Trade Union as a means to ruin their reputation, and increase the size of his army ten fold. He could help but pick up the robot and kiss her. 

"Tia! You're the best!" 

In response to this, Tia simply smiled and nodded her head, before thanking her master for his kind words. 

"Thank you Master!"