Following the recent signal from Caecilia, and the detection of stray signals from the west of us that are consistent with our ally Ætherium, the Republic eagerly expands outward, both eastward and westward, in an attempt to bring themselves closer to the detected nations. We send about fifteen individual swarms, each containing about three hundred tiny, FTL-capable "Ant" drones, in both directions each, searching for habitable worlds. A world found to be habitable is constructed upon in preparation for actual Tuaini arrival; in a system without any habitable worlds, the closest to habitable planet is picked and paraterraformed. In either case, the Ants begin preparing a basic settlement, utilizing some degree of nanotech for construction and self-repair. They regularly go back and forth from the planet, conducting mining operations on moons or asteroids to gather critical resources for the construction; when possible, they try to avoid mining on the planet itself, in order to preserve its resources for as long as possible, but do occasionally do so. This work continues for about four to eight galactic months before the settlement is finished and Tuainis themselves are sent there. Once the settlement work is complete, specialized satellites are deployed in orbit of the newly settled world in order to more effectively facilitate the detection of outside signals as well as responses to them. We hope to use these to establish good relations with Caecilia, and finally link ourselves to Ætherium in the west...
