The journey through the hyper lane was quiet, and after a few hours, they made it to the Harzal 37B System.
Unlike the Tharsis System a mining system, the system which Jake lived in on Naru, Harzal 37B was a civilian system that focused on trade, one of the few trading systems on the far eastern corner of GOE territory. While it is a good system, it still is NC-controlled territory so Jake would have to ignore it for now.
They arrived at the spaceport next to the Hyper Lane before docking and refuelling. Since Elizabeth was the administrator of the Avalon Family she naturally had all the money the family had left after they moved from Earth.
'THAT WILL BE 50 EC'S. PLEASE TRANSFER FUNDS BEFORE REFUELING.' The automated system of the station sounded as Jake selected to refuel.
'50 EC's huh, a little higher than the economy average, but whatever we need to leave as fast as we can.' Jake thought, The Atlas helped him learn a lot about the local and System economies which is why he knew the value of most resources.
Fuel was cheap, cheaper than water to be fair as the amount of resources humans had access to when they expanded was astronomical.
"Mom, can you pay for the fuel, how much do we have anyway." Jake asked, curious about how much his father had with his mining Job. Jake expected they would have a few thousand ECs, not a lot but enough to find a place to live for a while.
"I will transfer it now. We have about 32 thousand EC's why?" His mother responded nonchalantly. "What!" Jake was shocked as EC's were the Credits used standard on Earth, the most powerful currency among all in the GOE territory, and 32 thousand was a massive amount for his father to have earned in less than 2 years.
'Never mind, at least we have something' Jake decided to think about it after. The system refuelled Jake's ship and they made their way to the next hyperlane.
'So Atlas, once we get to Iona, where should we go?' Jake asked the Atlas trying to figure out the next step of their plan.
(I have looked at the System Map of Iona, it's a dual star system with 4 colonised planets and multiple stations and planetary stations. Our best option would be Iona Prime, it will be in our best interests to settle there. The administration centre and shipyard are based on Iona Prime as well. The other planets are either agricultural or resort-type planets and are not useful for our journey.)
'That's fine and all but do we have enough credits though, Iona Prime is the most expensive system to live on even if we were to live in a cheaper settlement?' Jake asked the system worried about their funds.
(It's fine, those 32 thousand credits will be enough and Job opportunities are much higher with better pay as well.) The Atlas answered Jake's qualms.
'Alright Atlas, we'll do as you say.' Jake was satisfied and trusted the Atlas so he naturally agreed with its choice.
"So Jake, what are we going to do do when we get to Iona?" His mother asked, she trusted her son but was still the adult in the room and everyone's safety was her responsibility.
"We will go to Iona Prime mom, I know it's a bit expensive but it's the safest planet in the system." Jake answered his mother who was happy Jake's priorities aligned with her own.
4 hours later:
Aria Avalon woke up from her sleep, she saw Lyra sleeping soundly with her mother, while Iris was not next to her.
She woke up and walked to the cockpit where she saw Iris sitting on Jake's lap pointing excitedly towards the planet in front of them.
They finally reached Iona Prime, like Earth it was a continental world, though a little smaller but a greater land mass, which increased its favourability.
"You're finally awake Aria." Elizabeth smiled as she stretched her arms out toward Aria who quickly skipped into her embrace.
Aria was much warmer now with her family because of Jake's efforts and sat comfortably with her mother.
"Where are we, mum?" Aria asked her mother.
"We're on Iona Prime big sis." Jake answered Aria as he played with Iris who was in a happy mood.
"I see." Aria answered Jake before paying attention to the world in front of her.
The planet had a few stations surrounding the planet and a fleet had been stationed nearby. Iona was an administrative world, so there were not a lot of cargo vessels instead passenger traffic was much more common.
They descended after a few scans and checks into the main city of New Canberra, albeit a few districts away at a smaller port.
Jake was worried about their name and their identities being exposed but Elizabeth had assured Jake that when they left Earth, the military had removed all of the Avalon family's database, so they would just be normal civilians, only Earth would be blacklisted for them to travel to.
Soon enough they passed through customs, Jake on the advice of the Atlas had put the transporter into storage instead of selling it as they would always have a getaway vehicle.
When they left the port, the family was greeted by the bustling city, large skyscrapers, shuttles and railway lines were littered across the city.
Jake's heart was thumping with excitement as knowledge poured into his head, thanks to the Atlas.
Lyra and Iris were a bit intimidated by the scene and hid behind their mothers while Aria quickly got used to the situation.
Jake noticed a man approaching them, he recognised that they were not locals and wanted to offer to show them around.
Jake didn't care for his words and quickly chased him away, instead hiring a shuttle.
"Jake that man could have shown us around, we don't know much about this city." Elizabeth asked as they got into the shuttle.
"It's fine mom, he would have wasted our time anyways and I didn't like the look on his face." Jake could read the man's face and realised he was the only man in the group and they would have been an easy target.
"So where too now?" Grace asked as Jake set their destination.
"A real estate company, I filled out the information online already so we just have to go and confirm in person and make a deposit." Normally it would have been easier to do it all online and head directly to the place they leased but more reputable agencies still had final dealings in person.
The shuttle landed near an apartment complex with a woman waiting outside the building. They left the shuttle and the woman quickly approached them greeting Elizabeth and Grace.
"Hi there, my name is Sarah Evans, a real estate agent of Canberra Properties." The woman introduced herself as she shook Elizabeth's hand.
"Elizabeth Avalon, a pleasure to meet you, Sarah." Elizabeth greeted her.
Jake had filled Elizabeth in on the details as Sarah led them inside the apartment complex. The apartment on the 15th floor was a fully furnished 2 bedroom, 2 bathroom dwelling and the house they lived on Naru could not compare to the interior finishing of the apartment.
Elizabeth quickly signed a year lease and Sarah filled in both Grace and Elizabeth on the amenities in the complex and New Canberra.
'She managed to give us more information in a few minutes than that man would have shown us in a day.' Jake thought.
When Sarah left both Elizabeth and Grace finally felt at peace, allowing themselves to relax after a perilous 24 hours.
Everyone went to freshen up and Jake sat on the couch and turned on the news recognising the young woman on the TV.
"Hello, I am Anastasia Steele and you are watching Sol News, your number 1 news channel for all news on Earth."
The woman spoke of the ongoing Human-Kreedian naval exercise with Politicians praising the exercise as an advance in relations with the Kreedian allies and technological development for future industries as well.
The news also mentioned new colonies being founded on the Northwestern border of GOE territory, the closest humanity has been to another species part of the Galactic Community, The Valon Republic.
'It seems things might get heated if we continue to expand on that front.' Jake spoke to the Atlas.
(It seems so Jake, while the Valon Republic is not territorial, it will still deploy measures to protect itself from any threats, and Humans are viewed as a dangerous threat to most species. Do not worry though, I suspect we should not have much to worry about for at least a decade.)
Jake spent the rest of his day in normalcy, with Grace and Elizabeth cooking food and the kids settling in their new home.
With dinner over, Lyra and Grace went to their room and Elizabeth took Iris and Aria to bed, while Jake stayed out sitting on the verandah looking at the bustling nightlife.
"So Atlas what's the plan?"