670 An Early Christmas for Some

Aron, having completed his lengthy discussion with the fleet's admiral and granted him leave, sat alone in his VR room, enveloped in silence.

{Whats on your mind?} Nova inquired as she materialized beside him, breaking the stillness of the room.

Im trying to imagine the range of emotions theyll experience during their reunions, Aron replied, accustomed to her probing questions.

The majority will feel happiness, he said, but there will be a few who experience profound distress. Some of the soldiers might face the harsh reality that their spouses, whom they left behind, were unfaithfuleither having cheated out of remorse or used the mission as a chance to welcome others into their lives during their absence.

The opposite is also true, Aron continued. Some members of the crew, while on the exploration mission, were unfaithful to their spouses. Additionally, some will receive the devastating news of the deaths of their loved ones during their absence.

He reflected on these scenarios, contemplating the range of emotions the explorers would face.

These are just a few examples of the difficult news they might receive, and its making me consider how I would react if I were in their position.

Nova quickly accessed the relevant information and understood the situation fully.

{Would you prefer I drop subtle hints to help them uncover the truth, or should I let events proceed naturally and allow them to discover it on their own?} she asked, offering him the choice between intervention and letting things unfold as they may.

Aron took a moment to think before he said, For now, lets leave it as is, but have Mnemosyne assign an Akashic Librarian to continue monitoring the situation. They should report anything that warrants my attention, and well decide how to proceed from there.

Although Aron wanted to intervene, he held himself back, knowing that doing so could set a precedent for future interference. Nevertheless, he recognized his responsibility to those who risked their lives for him, and he remained committed to monitoring the situation and he will decide how to act based on it from there on.

Their arguments included the assertion that instant communication across light-years would require faster-than-light technology, which they considered impossible despite the empire's previous confirmations of having FTL technology.

These critics dismissed the empires claims and continued to challenge the veracity of the reported accomplishments.

The majority of people dismissed the conspiracy theorists as usual, treating their claims as baseless and ignoring them in favor of celebrating the achievement. The focus remained on the positive aspects of the occasion.

Despite having access to a wealth of information about the new star system for more than eight months and having people who actually lived and are still living there for over a year, many were eager to personally connect to the network on the other side.

However, their attempt to access it were met with nothing but frustration.

No matter how hard they searched, they couldnt connect or find any network to connect to despite knowing that all of the Proximians were still in the VR simulation receiving training or not even a live stream to tune into from the new star system.

The absence of access to VR was understandable, but the same couldnt be said for the absence of live feeds, as that was especially surprising given the empire's past practice of providing such coverage for events of great public interest, like during the Unification War, when they had live-streamed the war for citizens Eden and Espaira to boost citizens' morale and show their confidence in winning it, which they did.

This lack of transparency led to further speculation and curiosity, even among those who otherwise celebrated the achievement.

Not long after, the reason behind the lack of public connection to the other side became clear.

Members of the exploration fleet began sharing the emperor's address, revealing that the star system was still an active exploration zone.

This meant that the area was kept under a controlled bubble to prevent public interference and maintain mission integrity.

Adding to the information, the emperors official social media accounts announced that a live stream showcasing various locations within the star system would be set up and made available for viewing online a month from now. This promise of future visibility helped quell some of the publics curiosity and speculation while still maintaining the excitement surrounding the new milestone.