Edited by: Kuro and Lille
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The days after the funeral were painfully slow. It was a waiting game for Grey and Cyan. They had to wait for System 225 and the others and see what they found on the USB.
No other natural disasters or random outbreaks of viruses. It was eerily calm in XU239. Though for everyone else, it was normal, as though none of the disasters ever happened.
One day, Grey finally heard from System 225.
[Grey! I'm sorry this took so long. I sorted through all the information. I'm in utter shock with what we found. It's a long story, so I will tell you when you go home and in your room. In the meantime, I will condense the information. If you have any questions, I will answer them to the best of my ability.]
Since Grey was still teaching a class, he understood, so he gave System 225 his thanks and continued to teach his class. His pause seemed natural and no one found it off.
When he and Cyan got home, they did their usual routine and made their way into the bedroom so they could talk.
"I need to go over some information, I will talk with you after I'm done, alright?" Grey told Cyan as vaguely as possible.
He didn't want to go silent without Cyan knowing what was going on.
"I understand, I will watch some videos online in the meantime."
The two tactically got comfortable on their bed and began to do their own things.
'Alright, System 225, I'm ready.'
[Understood, Grey. Transferring data now… Transfer complete. If you have any questions, feel free to ask. It's a lot of information.]
'Thank you.'
Grey, with his eyes closed, was able to see an extensive, almost never-ending list of words. Most people would get overwhelmed, but he was a certified Host. This was nothing to him!
It took him an hour to speed-read all the information, but he was able to grasp all the information.
After reading the information, System 225's automated message went off.
[This is an automated message. Congratulations Host, for figuring out the secrets of XU239. A side mission has turned into the main mission. Missions have been rewritten to fit the current situation:
[Main Mission: Help the people of XU239 escape. Disclaimer: It is possible to save everyone, but at least 75% of the people must be saved.
[Side Mission: Liberate all of the people enslaved by the Seore family. Hint: XU239 isn't the only place enslaved by the Seore family.]
[Good luck, Grey.]
Grey unconsciously thanked the automated system and organized everything he just read so he could simplify it for Cyan. He didn't want the explanation to be too long.
He knew that just the main mission was going to be extremely complicated nonetheless the side mission, but there was someone who could make things easier if the other believed him…
There were three important parts to all of this.
The first was that his theory from earlier was correct. There was a group of people using this city as an experimental ground. The scientists were hired by a rich and influential family called the Seore family.
The Seore family was one of the founding families of the Federation. After breaking off from one of the biggest interstellar Empires, the Federation with a thousand years of history was thriving, becoming one of the interstellar's superpowers. They could rival the Empire they had broken away from.
The Seore family started off selling materials for everything since their resource planets were abundant and lively. As they grew larger and larger, they began to branch out into other industries, becoming one of the largest family-driven corporations.
For the Seore family to get all their power and money, many people were sacrificed, especially those living in XU239. There were other places like XU239, living like livestock and experimental guinea pigs.
Secondly, there were two ways to get out of this city. The first place would be heavily guarded as it was the only confirmed way of leaving the city. The second way would be destroying the mechanism that contained the city in a giant bubble. This would release the city, allowing everyone to escape. To do this though, Grey needed to understand the situation outside of the city. He also needed a way to get the people of XU239 to safety.
Lastly, if he could contact the biggest enemy of the Seore family, the Dawn family, and gain their cooperation, it would make everything a lot easier for him. As they say, "work smarter, not harder" and "the enemy of my enemy is my friend." If he didn't have to do a lot of the work, it was best to shove it to someone much more efficient.
The Dawn family, who was related to the first leader of the Federation, had been a long-standing family since even before the creation of the Federation. The Dawn family was a Ducal family of the Empire, but they resisted the tyranny of the Emperor of that time. The head of the Dawn family became the first leader of the Federation when they were able to break away from the Empire and establish their own country.
Anyway, the Dawn and Seore family had been butting heads for almost 500 years. They were once allies who fought against the Empire, but the Seore family began wanting more than what they already had. They even wanted to take control of the Federation. This caused the rift between the Dawn and Seore families.
If Grey could cooperate with them, cleaning up the Seore family would be easy. He had all the incriminating evidence to have the whole Seore family eliminated. All he needed to do was negotiate with the Dawn family to guarantee their safety.
If he couldn't get the Dawn family's help, he had a backup plan. It was a lot more work, but it would work if all else failed.
These three points were the most important, so he immediately conveyed that information to Cyan after he was done.
Cyan was silent the entire time, listening to everything Grey was saying. He was flabbergasted, but not completely surprised.
"Is there anything I can do to help you?" Cyan didn't want Grey to do everything by himself. If he could help, he would drop everything to do whatever Grey needed him to.
As long as he could stand by Grey's side and help him in times of need, he would be happy with just that.
"My husband, of course, there's something for you to do. Come closer, but I won't repeat this many times so you have to listen well."
Grey and Cyan whispered to one another, discussing their different plans to get everything started and situated…
*****
"Your Excellency, the report on the Seore family has been sent." A man with silver glasses bowed in front of the desk where someone was sitting.
His name was Kai Ezlen. His family worked with the Dawn family for hundreds of years already. He was a Beta but he was stronger than most Alphas, becoming the right-hand man of Marshal Elio Dawn.
"Summarize it for me while you are here." He was a bit busy so he couldn't look at it until later.
The man who was called "Your Excellency" was an Alpha in his early thirties. This Alpha was named Elio Dawn and he was the current head of the Dawn Family. His mother retired as the head of the family and was currently traveling the Federation with his father.
He had platinum blond hair and red eyes. He wore a black military uniform, adorned with medals. Since he was born into a large, noble family, he was sitting on his chair with perfect posture. He innately emitted an aura that made people not want to come close. No one knew what his scent was like, but he smelled like burning wood in a winter forest.
Elio was also in the military. Contrary to other countries at different points in history, their military was under one Marshal and each division had a General in charge of it. Because the military mainly focused on mecha warfare, there was only one branch of the military and a Marshal controlled them. The Generals were also chosen by the Marshal. He had more paperwork than actual fighting. He only went to the battlefield when he was needed.
"Understood. The only compelling information we have is that the Seore family has multiple planets with natives living there. These natives are tightly regulated and we aren't able to get any information on what's going on with them. What I do know is that these natives are helping the Seore family with the products they have been releasing."
"That's it?"
"I apologize, but the firewall has been extremely powerful. The only way to break through it might be from the inside, but the Seore family is very strict with their personnel…"
"Is there a way to get on these planets?"
"No. None of them are open to tourists and the only spacecraft docks are heavily guarded by the Seore family who have been amassing their own army. There are metal detectors and even pupil recognition devices implemented throughout the dock. Every spacecraft has to be inspected before they are allowed to land."
The founding families could have their own private army, but if it increased past a certain number of people, the leader of the Federation would automatically see it as a declaration of war. So the Seore family reached the maximum number of people allowed in their military, no more no less.
"With that much security, they are obviously hiding something on these planets… How many planets are there that have natives living on them?"
"We found four so far."
"Is there a way to look at the planets from space?"
"No, there is a large interference device that covers the whole planet…"
Marshal Elio scratched his chin in frustration. The information they had about the Seore family was too limited. He was trying to get incriminating evidence to take down the Seore family once and for all, but they were well protected and prepared.
What in the hell could be happening on these planets? Was there a way to break through this seemingly impregnable defense?