On an artificial sea, a luxurious yacht bobbed up and down gently on one of the Alliance of Free System's planets. The weather was sunny and hot while a dozen or so jellies were having a party on its open deck. The loud music reverberated through their see-through bodies as many of them were melded together, having their own form of wild orgy. While the party was raging on the upper deck, in the ship's master bedroom, below the sea's surface, Junita was talking with one of her agents a few systems away. She was watching the young, human-like figure's holo-projection. She was around 160 centimeters tall, with a thin, petite body, huge grey ears, and a twitching, long tail. It was as if a mouse was interbred with a human in one way or another.

"I hope you made sure these reports are real," Junita said, her pinkish figure sprawled out on her bed, looking behind her agent's figure, watching the blurry images on her curved screen on the wall. They were of multiple ships, wreckages, and a colossal station that they had not seen before.

"We couldn't get closer without them noticing us! The system is closed down completely, and we had to sacrifice one of our pawns!" she sighed, sounding slightly frustrated.

"No matter. We have many tail-wagging idiots lined up!" Junita chuckled, drawing a smile onto her agent's face. "So, Kuti, tell me, what do you think!"

"Well…" She crossed her arms, thinking, scratching her chin. They sent in a Wuulfharn pawn, not telling them what they were heading towards. They only sent them forward, telling them to send back pictures as many as they could take. They were obliterated as soon as they appeared, and only these few images made it through. "They occupied the system. That is for sure! They successfully repelled the first attempt of their neighbors to retake it. That… threw the smaller clans into disarray. They were aiming at the Gate, but now they couldn't retake one, lousy little star system?" She flashed a grin. "So they called back the fleet that was already on its way! They are going to refocus them and try again!"

"Hm… Do we know from where?" Junita asked, already having an idea.

"Yeah! I have sources, Boss! I already know their plans! They are leakier than some of your friends! I can still hear the music on my end, hah! I bet you are angry that I drew you out from partying!"

"Ahahaha, naaah, I was getting bored anyway! Compile their plans! I am going to make contact with my grandpa and see if I can bring the two sides under one roof!"

"Are you really considering it?"

Kuti asked, unsure of the idea. On the one hand, the Wuulfharns were notoriously thick-headed, the one force in the galaxy who actively produced slaves and the one species that liked to wage war the most. The Neo-Hegemony was not that much better either if it came to being thick-headed. Being a mixed species, she knew full well that her kind was persecuted all over the known worlds, but in her eyes, the Neo-Hegemony was also nothing but a collective of zealots. They were only interested in helping her because she had some human genes inside her body. Not because of her background and what she went through but because she was one of them. Nothing more, nothing less.

"I do!" Junita answered happily. "It was a request from one of the big boys~ If I can bring this to fruition, you do know what it would mean? I would have my foot stuck into the highest tiers of their empire!"

"You don't even have a foot, so to speak of, Boss."

"I do!" She formed a tentacle looking like a boot. "And I can kick your butt with it! Hell yeah, we will do everything to make this deal into reality! Just imagine the things we could sprawl our tentacles onto! Get ahold of many, many little secrets and dodads!"

"Boss, now I am in a pickle! I don't have any tentacles!"

"Fufufu, but I do~" Junita giggled, forming two dozen of them. "Do what I asked you. Leave the rest to me. Tell the other agents to pull back for now. Let your Boss handle this!"

…
….
…..

After the station of the North Pole finally settled down in the middle of the asteroid field, its actual function quickly showed itself. It processed the destroyed wrecks of ships and released a swarm of drones at an incredible speed. They were all controlled by Dawn, and all Neo-Hegemony's ships were getting repaired at an unbelievable rate. Yet the most excited person was not Admiral Jankho, Parthen, or Mirian. It was Keshnar. He was rolling through the station, level after level, getting his hands, tentacles, or whatever appendages he grew on everything he could.

"How's the old jelly?" Jankho asked, meeting with Mirian inside the North Pole's control room.

"Hyperactive," Mirian answered, holding a mug of coffee, blowing on the steam rising from it. "What about you?"

"Astonished." The Admiral answered honestly.

When Mirian was just a kid, it was not only Keshnar who taught her. Jankho was the one who taught her how to fly ships and also how to pilot all the bigger vessels in the Neo-Hegemony's arsenal. Simply by being the descendant of Kaltazar, most high-ranking officers and individuals knew her in person.

"Yeah! This station is something else!" She nodded, agreeing.

"No, I meant the Xanthe," Jankho answered with a smile, watching the holo projection in the middle that showed the many automated drones doing repairs on the Veil.

"Excuse me?" Mirian blinked her eyes, tilting her head to the right.

"It was piloted by a complete amateur. Yet reading through the analytics of the battle… I was floored. For the first time in 30 years! If an untrained bumpkin can have that kind of results, just imagine what real soldiers would be capable of doing!"

"Heh…" Mirian chuckled, feeling a bit proud and expectant to have her own Suit soon enough. "The Prof said if we can calibrate the North Pole, it will craft presents for us all."

"I don't get it," Jankho replied bluntly, not trying to figure it out or playing it off, waiting for Mirian's explanation.

"I looked it up." She smiled, meaning she asked Omega after they returned from the battle. "It is an old place on Earth."

"I know what a north pole is!" Jankho twitched his mouth. "Every planet has one!"

"Ahahaha~" Mirian winked at him, enjoying the fact she was teasing one of the leading voices of the Neo-Hegemony. "Anyway, in their legends, a man lived there, crafting toys for kids that he brought to those who were deserving it at the end of every year! Something like that!"

"Hah… well, I just hope we were good enough kids to get its presents!" Jankho sighed, looking forward to what the future will bring to them.

…
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…..

Keshnar has sealed himself away in his own room. More precisely, his own floor on the North Pole. He was trying to figure out, working with Dawn, how to modify the station so they could focus on not repairing ships but producing proper Suits of Areses. He was in a vast and spacious hangar, examining multiple disassembled drones. The same kind that was out there, repairing the damaged ships. He was mumbling something when he felt a jolt, and he knew it was a nanochip inside his body. It was a little communicator that very few knew how to reach. Only those who were related to him.

"Dawn."

"Yes, Professor?" She asked quickly.

"I have an incoming call. Can you connect to me?"

"I noticed it." She answered, surprising the Professor. "I already established a connection."

"Are you spying on me?" Keshnar asked with a curious voice, not finding it offensive… as he would do the same.

"No, but as the call comes from the outside and not from Neo-Hegemony territory, I am ensuring our side is safe and secure."

"Good." Keshnar nodded. "I am opening up the channel. Record everything."

"Yes." She replied with a kind, cheerful voice.

"Grandpa!" Junita's voice came through as soon as the connection was made, and Keshnar could already see her pinkish form jiggling on the other side.

"It was a long time since you called me that, Juny~" He answered, but his voice was kind and caring. "And usually, when you did, you asked me for a favor. Money. Or something."

"Ugh… Grandpa… I am not that kind of girl!"

"Sure you are! So? What now? Someone came to you to find me and offered you a big pile of money? Drugs? Both?"

"Ugh…" Junita flinched. "I am not THAT kind of girl! I just like-"

"Gossips. I know. You love knowing about secrets, especially those no others know about. You are a secret whore, my dear!"

"Grandpa… that sounded very wrong!" She grumbled, feeling exposed and even more naked than her species usually is.

"Dear, you are only one step from my own genes! I know you well enough! So! What now? Out with it! I am swarmed with work and have no time to babysit a grown-up woman who is addicted to cocktails!"

"I already forgot how dirty your mouth is, Grandpa!" Junita sighed but also chuckled a little. "You are right; I was asked to contact you."

"See? Was that hard to start with? So? Speak quickly; I am busy!"

…
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…..

After their lengthy talk, Keshnar called upon Mirian, Jankho, and Omega to have a meeting in the control room. After telling them everything Junita has told him, Jankho was the first to speak up.

"I don't like it. I know of the Claws. Only one branch is capable of wielding a fleet that would even threaten our Gate of Kaltazar. We are lucky that we are pretty far away from them!"

"It is still an opportunity." Mirian countered. "For hundreds of years, we had zero interaction with any other forces besides our neighbors trying to raid us."

"For good reason!" Jankho added.

"Roxo is the most peaceful amongst his people," Keshnar interjected. "He is fascinated by old history and is more open to us than the other three. Of course, I am not saying we should trust him! But if he is the one who wants to talk, at least I would listen."

"And the formium would also be a great boon," Mirian added.

Junita had a serious bargaining chip in her hands, and she knew it. She quickly discovered why her grandfather had come to the Alliance not that long ago. If he needed it, for whatever reason, she could get them a steady supply of formium. He just had to make sure the meeting happened.

"What do you think?" Keshnar turned towards Omega, who stood behind Mirian silently, scratching his chin.

"Sure. Why not?" He asked with a slight smile. "You are a relatively small force. We can take on your neighbors, but you are still a fledgling empire until you build up some new toys. Also… it is not a bad idea to form friends. With force, you won't be able to change things."

"The Wuulfharns are one species that mostly understand force." Jankho shook his head, sighing loudly. "They respect the strong but crush the weak."

"Then it is good that I am not weak." Omega chuckled. "If you agree to the meeting, send me."

"You are brave." Jankho looked at him, raising an eyebrow, trying to guess who he was in reality, but he had heard nothing about him until a few months ago. "You hid him well." He said to Mirian, who just smiled as she was not about to tell him Omega's origin.

"I also thought about that." Keshnar nodded. "I would go with you as Junita will also be there. Let us see what he wants! Even if the meeting falls through, we would still get our hands on formium!" After Mirian nodded, agreeing to the idea, Jankho also gave his agreement. "Good! I am going to call her and work out the details. Maybe this will open up some doors we don't know about…."

"You do that!" Jankho nodded, glancing at Mirian. "We are going to work out our defenses. Knowing our enemies' plans, we can counteract them and keep the system! I just hope we can trust her intel!"

"You can." Keshnar ensured him. "Junita loves secrets, and if she shares with us some, it means she aims to gain something even juicier!"

"We are already building defenses; multiple platforms are on their way," Mirian added with a confident voice. "I wouldn't worry. By the time you get back, there are going to be more wrecks that our new station can use to build us toys~."