A tall man strode through the metallic corridors of a ship.
The man wore the uniform of the GOE-N and by the numerous medals on his chest, he seemed to be a high-ranking official.
"ADMIRAL ON DECK." A soldier shouted as the man entered the bridge. Everyone stood up before saluting as the man took a seat in the Captain's chair.
"Report." A man who looked to be in his 50s with Gray hair spoke. His brown eyes exuded experience as he looked towards his second in command.
"Sir, as we've detected prior, the higher-ups have informed us that we're getting close to Astrillith territory." An officer spoke.
"Do we have any information on these Astrillith's?" The Admiral spoke.
"The Navy's sources in the Kreedian embassy have given us a briefing of them, if I may sir?" The officer pointed at the main screen and the Admiral nodded for him to continue.
The officer displayed on the screen photos and videos of the Astrillith homeworld and the Astrillith species.
"The Astriliths, are a humanoid species but diverge significantly from the human form.
Standing tall with an average height of 2.5 meters, their bodies are slender and covered in iridescent, crystalline exoskeletons that refract light in patterns.
Their bodies are a type of armour on their own and as such have a strong military.
From what we have learned their culture is significantly based around crystalline arts, where individuals sculpt intricate formations from the ambient energy crystals that populate their homeworld.
Complex geometric patterns and ethereal sculptures dominate their cities, reflecting their appreciation for beauty and the ephemeral nature of existence." The officer spoke.
"So they're religious?" The admiral asked.
"Well no sir, it may seem so but they are atheists in that they don't believe in God. It is just that they have developed over thousands of years with their bodies evolving around the crystals in their home world. As such it is deeply ingrained in them."
"Are they an empire as well?" The admiral asked curious about their government type.
"No sir, they are a republic, the Astrillith society operating as a meritocratic council, where individuals with exceptional contributions in the arts, sciences, and diplomacy ascend to leadership roles.
Decision-making is collaborative, guided by the collective wisdom of the council, and their governing structure emphasizes creativity and innovation."
"How are their diplomatic relations?" The admiral asked.
"We don't know sir, unfortunately, our sources were tight-lipped in that regard. We can deduce however they engage in a more careful diplomacy than others, since they're not aggressively expanding, they would more likely focus on building relations and trade."
"What about war estimates, can we handle them?"
"As you know sir, the Navy has been rapidly expanding these last few years, we should be able to defend in the three chains due to our planetary defenses, but we still might be lacking in a confrontation on a frontier."
"Damnit, this is why I've been warning those politicians to increase the defence budget. After what I saw against those Kreedian ships half a decade ago, we are lagging behind." The admiral expressed his worries.
"Sir, it's not fair to compare ourselves with them, they have been spacefaring for much longer than us. Even though we struggled against the Thraxian invaders, we still prevailed. I'm sure the GOE is aware of this." The officer tried to calm the Admiral.
"Hah." The admiral sighed. "You people are stuck in the past. War is never fair soldier, there's no such thing as an even battle or respect in war. It's gruesome, terrible and unjust.
The longer we delude ourselves with these misconceptions, the worse we will be when we face our enemy. We must not be stuck in the past or our species will end up as history.
Have you not learned our history, how many civilizations lived and thrived for centuries, yet crumbled into nothingness? We will end up the same if we delude ourselves, do you understand?" The admiral spoke, this time to the entire bridge who listened attentively.
Even the officer lowered his head, feeling embarrassed at his own words.
"Do you understand soldier?" The admiral spoke again to the officer.
"Yes sir!" He raised his head and gave a proud salute.
"Good, now tell the scouts to push on, let's see how close we can get."
6 Months Later:
"This is Anastasia Steele and you are watching Sol News.
Rumours that a small skirmish has taken place on the North Western border between the Navy and the Astrillith Republic.
So far there has been no comment by either the Navy or the government with officials giving no answer as of yet.
Many citizens are worried about war breaking out even though the GOE had signed a treaty almost 4 centuries ago when humanity was attacked by the Thraxian invaders.
Some analysts say that because of the GOE's aggressive expansion in the North West, other species have been increasingly wary of us and as such have taken a more aggressive stance toward us.
We will have more News of the developing sorry after a short break."
The news ended as Jake switched off the TV in the living room.
(That was sooner than I thought.) The Atlas spoke.
'There's quite a distance between our territories, so why are the Astrillith's so close, it's essentially no man's land.' Jake spoke to the Atlas.
(True, the Astrillith Republic is not an aggressive species, if we had wandered into their territory it would be understandable but I believe there is another reason as to why they're so close.)
'What do you think?'
(The ChronoScribe.)
'What about it? You think they're looking for something involving it?'
(Yes, for such power, any species would immediately go to war for evidence of the ChronoScribe.)
'Can we handle it?' Jake spoke to the Atlas, referencing the Navy.
(In an all-out war yes, however, small-scale battles will not be in our favour. The Astrillith use a lot of energy-based weapons developed from the energy crystals on their homeworld.
It may be difficult for the Navy to create countermeasures and strategies for such weapons in a short amount of time.
Another issue is that we're not at war, defense spending even though it has increased, is still very limited.)
'Shit, even though we have been doing well with the trading jobs, We're still not ready to leave Serenitia yet.' Jake spoke with worry.
(Don't be too hard on yourself, Aria and Lyra have been doing extremely well with your guidance.
You're doing much better than I expected. By my estimates, we'll be ready to move soon. While it is relatively safe here, if we could get closer to the three chains we may get bigger jobs.
Your reputation has skyrocketed after that rescue in the Celis system. We just need to get into the Kreedian trade lines, then we can move forward with the next stage of our plan.)
Jake turned to his left as he looked at Lyra sleeping, her head on his shoulder.
Although his shoulder was a little numb, he didn't want to disturb the young girl's sleep.
'She's very tired today.' Jake thought.
(You guys just came home the other day from that delivery to Sorensen. She worked very hard on that job, none of you got a lot of sleep but you have me. She's still young but has been doing her best to prove herself to you.)
'I know, I told her to rest so many times but she doesn't listen, still, I am very proud of her.' Jake smiled as he patted her head.
(Don't forget the other one.) The Atlas spoke as Jake looked down to see Iris sleeping, her head on his lap.
'She has been sticking to me ever since I came back home, she's like a koala.' Jake thought.
"Jake, we're home!" Elizabeth's voice was heard as the main door opened.
Elizabeth, Aria and Grace had been out shopping. Since Aria, Jake and Lyra started working, The house's income has increased tremendously.
Elizabeth and Grace had refused multiple times to leave their jobs or use the money Jake had tried to give them until Iris had convinced the two mothers who finally accepted.
Elizabeth decided to only tutor on weekends and would focus on Iris at home and Grace had taken an easier job working from home.
Both women were too proud to give up working completely but still understood their children and gave more time to Iris who was alone since the other three started working.
"Aww, look at them Elizabeth, they're so cute." Grace pointed at Jake and the girls' sleeping next to him.
"Don't be so loud Grace, let them sleep, you know how excited Iris has been to see her big brother."
"I know, Aria I'll put these away, you can go rest okay?" Grace spoke as she took the groceries from Arias's hand.
"Okay, thanks, Aunt Grace." Aria spoke with a smile as she walked towards the living room.
"Hey, Aria want to watch something?" Jake smiled and spoke to his sister as she turned towards him.
Aria looked at him, focusing on Lyra peacefully sleeping on Jake's shoulder as she gave a cold stare.
"Hmph, later." She spoke coldly before going to her room.
Jake noticed Aria's demeanour change and thought to himself.
'What was that about?'