"I will take you shopping next time, how about that?" Jake tried sedating Aria's anger.
Aria gave him a quick stare before agreeing.
"Fine, but it better be soon, I don't want you to forget."
"What about me?" Lyra who was listening from the side spoke to Jake with a sad expression, not wanting to be left out.
"Yes, yes, I will take you too, alright?" Jake spoke to Lyra.
"Yes!" Lyra agreed before also sitting down next to Jake.
Both girls proceeded to bombard him with questions about what he did at the park.
Jake, not wanting to create further conflicts, quietly answered all their questions before Elizabeth called them to dinner.
"So Jake, what did you want to tell us?" Elizabeth was sitting with her legs crossed on the couch as Jake sat across from her.
Grace was sitting next to her while Aria and Lyra sat next to him.
Jake had asked to speak to both mothers after dinner and they were curious as to what he wanted to say.
"The girls and I have accepted another contract from the DTG. It will be a bit longer than the usual Celis runs. I also want to look for a place in the third chain." Jake spoke to the two women.
Both Elizabeth and Grace were confused as to why Jake wanted the family to move further inward, Elizabeth was especially worried that if the GOE were to find out, their family might get arrested for breaching the ruling.
"Jake, you do realise we're banned from Earth and the inner systems, don't you? If someone were to recognise us or inform those who know of our identities, we would be in big trouble."
Elizabeth expressed her concerns with valid points however, Jake planned for it all.
"I know Mom, but just listen to my idea first." Jake spoke with Grace and Elizabeth nodding, giving him all their attention.
"After I finish the job, I plan on looking into the Carter System. There will be better job opportunities there for us. The chain will keep us safe from threats like Nexus Corp too."
Jake paused for a second before speaking again.
"I also want to go back home." His last sentence had both Elizabeth and Aria's eyes raised in shock.
"I know, but trust me." Jake emphasised the word trust before continuing "I have a plan, I promise you, we will get our home back, in 5 or 6 years maybe." Jake spoke as he thought of the picture and its timeline.
Elizabeth took a deep breath before slowly reaching forward and grabbing Jake's hands.
She looked into his eyes, and Jake saw eyes full of trust and a flint of worry.
"Alright Jake, we all trust you, if you believe we can be safer there, we will follow you. Just take care of yourself too." She spoke and Jake saw that everyone else had agreed with him.
"I will everyone, and thank you."
Astrionis, Home Planet of The Astrillith Republic:
In the Council House, the main building for the gathering of the elected officials of the Astrillith Republic sat Astrillith officials adorned in sleek, form-fitting attire crafted from advanced materials, reflecting their technological sophistication.
The clothing incorporated subtle luminescent patterns and symbols, indicating their rank and role within their society.
The discussion room was a circular chamber featuring holographic displays that projected intricate star maps and strategic data.
The walls were made of a smooth, iridescent material that mimicked the cosmos, providing a serene ambience. The central table was an interactive surface, allowing officials to manipulate holographic projections and share information seamlessly with others from around their territory.
An older male from the Astrillith species was tall and slender, wearing a dark blue uniform, he seemed to be the leader and quickly called for the others to be seated.
"Why have you called us here President Solarius?" Another Astrillith, also an old man wearing a silver uniform spoke.
"It seems that the humans have discovered the ChronoScribe Artifact in the Sulla system." Solarius spoke.
"What! How is that possible? We were told that they were too young to know of the ChronoScribe. Was it those damn Kreedians?" The same official spoke again in anger.
"Calm down Drakon, how they have found out is of little concern to us at the moment. The issue is that they had sent a scouting party into the Sulla system. Lucky for us, Chief of Defense, Admiral Astron had destroyed their task group without a chance of them knowing who it was." Solarius spoke again, describing the events that occurred a few days prior.
"LUCKY?, have you lost your mind Solarius, do you want us to escalate to war? You realise we are not prepared in the slightest.
We lost most of our investments because of those damn Thrulls, while the rest was spent on researching and finding Seekers.
While I do not doubt our Military prowess, we cannot sustain a long way Damn it!" Drakon stood up and shouted before banging his hand onto the table, a loud this reverberating across the room.
The rest of the officials dared not to speak as the two highest-ranking officials in the room argued.
"I will answer your question." Admiral Astron a younger Astrillith in a dark purple uniform raised his hand and spoke calmly.
Drakon nodded and took a seat as Astron woke up preparing to speak.
"The human race, Governed by the GOE is a rapidly expanding and technically evolving race. They are perhaps the fastest-growing race in our history.
However, they seemed to be fixated on their North Western border, and our intelligence service was wondering why.
It turns out, they found out about the ChronoScribe Artifact at around the same time as we did.
But they were too slow. They sent a light contingent of frigates and corvettes led by a destroyer.
We anticipated something a bit larger but all in all using our energy weapons we were able to easily wipe out the enemy.
They should have a rough idea it was us, but with no evidence, if we were to go to war, we could make them out to be the aggressor, and can gain meaningful terms if a treaty is brokered by the Galactic Council." Admiral Astron explained his thoughts.
"For too long the Humans have enjoyed neutrality and peace under the safety of the Galactic Council and those Kreedian bastards.
We thought they would suffer if they were not allowed into the Galactic Market, but it seems, even in a closed economy, they were able to thrive exceedingly well.
I plan to get the GOE into a short skirmish or border war, utterly defeat them and gain favourable terms in the treaty while forcing the GOE into the central market.
We will be able to get more information and have greater control over these humans if they were allowed in." Astron explained his plan, with many officials nodding in agreement.
Even President Solarius had a grin on his face, directed at Drakon.
Drakon listened before speaking "What if we were to lose, right now we are unable to support any type of war, no matter the duration. When do you think we can initiate this plan?" Drakon asked Astron.
"3 years give or take. If we increase a few tax rates for the citizens and decrease corporate taxes as well as write-offs, we can get enough support and money to sustain a war for 6 months. If we can achieve that, we can suck those humans dry for their resources."
"It will be extremely risky and tight, if anything goes wrong, the government will fall instantly." Drakon warily explained.
"Solarius, are you and your cabinet members willing to responsibility for this?" Drakon looked to Solarius who nodded with a straight face.
"I trust in Admiral Astron, the humans' weapons are too weak. They will suffer heavy casualties if they are forced to attack us.
What happened with the Thraxians was a long time ago, we have no reason to fear them anymore." Solarius spoke and Drakon reluctantly agreed not wanting to drag the issue out further.
After everyone had approved Admiral Astron's ideas, Astron stood up before pulling up blueprints and information regarding his operation.
"Councilmen, if you would please listen to my plan."
A Month Later:
Jake and the girls had just left the New Canberra Starport, the second largest in the city.
After spending most of his holiday taking Aria and Lyra out to places, Jake was happy to be back in his chair.
(That was a fun holiday, was it not Jake.) The Atlas spoke to Jake.
'We went everywhere Atlas! The mall, park, and gaming convention that Aria wanted to go to. Oh and the museum on Earth's history for Lyra. All the while I had to carry Iris on my back.' Jake spoke with a weary voice.
(Uh huh, you were fine Jake, at least you guys got to spend a lot of time together. Also, I heard there's this huge Space Centre in the Carter System. We should go there once when we finish up the job.) The Atlas spoke.
'Alright then, the girls are gone to change anyway so let's head out first.' Jake spoke to the Atlas as he flew the transporter up and out of the Upper Atmosphere of the planet.