As it turned out, Andrew didn't need to create an intelligence agency from scratch.
General Taylor, who had a lot of time to think things through ever since he was sent back to Earth, was the person the young emperor asked for advice.
-Your majesty, creating an intelligence network is time-consuming, dangerous, and utterly unnecessary.
The general, who was now enjoying something like a retirement, while fishing and hunting, said when Andrew visited his log cabin in former Canada.
-The merchants provide all sorts of information for a price, and it saves you time on recruiting, training, and placing agents who, by the way, might turn on you.
What you really need is someone who would gather, sort, and interpret such information, giving you a better understanding of your enemies.
-Do you have anyone in mind?
Andrew asked after thinking about it for a moment and admitting the old soldier was right.
-Actually, I do.
In my spare time, I browse the market, looking for some of my friends and possibly even some of my family.
Lately, I found a few, and they are still listed for sale.
-Why didn't you send a request?
The emperor asked in surprise.
-I did, and two of my friends are already back on earth.
But the one I have in mind was my subordinate, assigned to my command right before this whole mess started.
She's a brilliant data analyst, and I don't use this term lightly.
From the moment I read her first report on our intelligence sources and data, it was clear as day she was a genius.
Within two weeks, she managed to find no fewer than five data leaks and found crucial details, saving two black operations conducted by our special forces.
I found her on the market yesterday and was about to send a request today.
Since you're here, I can ask you directly.
The general said, displaying the data of the young, pretty woman who was being sold as a general labor and pleasure slave, on his wrist communicator, which most people used as personal computers as well.
Andrew didn't waste any time.
He contacted Tanera, sent her information, and marked her as a priority.
-Thank you, General, this will help us a lot.
-No problem, it's nice to be useful for anything more than sending some food up there once in a while.
The general grinned.
-Well, if you ever get tired of this retirement, you can always join the fleet.
I won't be able to make you an admiral, but with all the ships we are getting lately, it won't be a problem to make you a captain or a fleet commander.
Andrew suggested seriously.
-I'll think about it, but for now, this is all I need, and I must agree that it's way better after all the bureaucracy and the chase after the material goods were eliminated.
I actually even catch myself thinking that I'm not sending enough food and materials every so often.
The general laughed, remembering his skepticism when this young monarch explained this utopian dream to him a few months back.
Yet now here he was, hunting, trapping, and fishing for fun while sending most of his catch into space since there was no way for him to eat all of it.
It also helped a lot that since humanity left the planet, nature started recovering, and it didn't take long for the forests, rivers, lakes, and seas to once again thrive and be full of all kinds of animals and fish.
It also helped that thousands of drones and hundreds of humans were going around removing everything unnecessary and even erasing whole cities and returning the land to nature.
-I'm glad you like it.
Andrew smiled, seeing the changes in the general, who even seemed younger after a few days in the regeneration tank, which cured all the problems he had in the past, and living a carefree life for a few months.
-I more than just like it, and the rest of us are all the same.
The general also smiled.
Andrew stayed at the general's place for the rest of the day, talking about everything and asking for some advice on a few problems he faced, and the general was happy to host him and even happier to give out some advice.
From his perspective, Andrew had what it took to become a great emperor, and that impression only grew when the old man spent a whole day talking with him on numerous subjects.
For Andrew, this was also a great day off and an educational opportunity he never expected.
-The wisdom, comes with age.
He thought about this proverb he had heard long ago, and finally understood it fully, thanks to the general who gave him a lot of advice.
After this short R&R, Andrew returned to the capital system armed with more advice than he ever expected to get, and he immediately shared it with everyone.
One of the general's ideas was about the use of drone fighters, who at the moment were stuck in the systems playing a minor defense role.
The general reminded him about the drone frigates and the FTL engines that allowed four drones to jump along with the frigate.
-We forgot about this, but it's actually a brilliant solution.
Runir commented once she was reminded of this technology.
-Yes, it is, and it will dramatically increase the power of our fleets, especially if we add a ship or two to rearm the drones in each fleet.
-We don't need to design new ships for this purpose; the Nasca class we have is perfect for this job.
All we need to do is send a supply ship with bombs and missiles with each fleet so they won't run out.
Nairin said, approving wholeheartedly of this idea.
The more they discussed this, the better the idea sounded.
In the end, it was decided that every ship would be equipped with a drone control module and have at least two FTL balls, which was the new term for the drone fighters' FTL engines assigned to it.
This improved the firepower of every ship and gave the transport, engineering, and medical ships their own escorts, which were capable of destroying even cruisers with their torpedoes.
There was more advice and ideas that the general and Andrew talked about, which were now being discussed by both councils, and mostly approved with only minor changes.
At the same time, Andrew didn't forget about the small secret operation they were conducting.
Ghost Six was already in position, and the alien they were sent to retrieve was already on board.
Now they just awaited the orders to return, which, according to the plan that Runir and Andrew came up with, would come the moment the Imperial fleet was ready to deal with the traitors and the five races' federation fleets.
At the same time, the pardoned traitors would execute their own part of the plan which was to evacuate for the one who wished to leave and to surrender and turn on his former allies for the one who was blackmailed with his sister's life.