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The entire Proxima Centauri star system returned to a semblance of its previous silence before humans arrived. The majority of the machines were put into automatic mode, while those requiring human control were switched to power-saving mode.

Everyone who wasn’t engaged in an essential task had already donned their VR devices and logged into the local VR network. They clicked on the invitation link, which transported them to a massive meeting hall capable of accommodating all of them. The hall reminded them of their last gathering of such magnitude, right before they embarked on their exploration mission.

“What do you think they gathered us for?” Yavuz, a mechanical engineer standing next to Lee, asked him, as Lee was currently one of the most well-known people in the exploration fleet.

He was on the same level of being known as the fleet admiral, with everyone knowing and jokingly addressing him as the father of all the created Proximians since they were literally created from his imagination.

“I don’t know. Do you think maybe it\'s a surprise celebration?” Lee responded before asking his own question.

“Maybe, but based on the way they called us, it doesn’t seem so; plus, why celebrate in VR when we can celebrate in the real world? Also, if you’re celebrating something, you make it known beforehand to create anticipation, but they did quite the opposite,” a third person responded, joining them after overhearing their discussion.

“Anyway, how are your kids doing? They aren’t even allowing us to see them.” Yavuz asked, both serious and joking, eliciting laughter from those who heard him as they also perked their ears to listen to Lee’s response.

“They are doing well, and that is all I can say at the moment,” Lee responded, having gotten used to these types of questions, sometimes even enjoying hearing them, but since he couldn’t tell much about it as it was classified information in the first place.

But before the conversation could continue, the fleet admiral appeared on the podium, followed shortly by the emperor.

This caused everyone in the room to almost have a mild heart attack and immediately snap to attention, saluting in unison. They were baffled as to how someone who was supposed to be on Earth was currently standing in front of them in a VR network in Proxima Centauri.

“At ease, gentlemen,” Aron said as he walked to the podium, looking at everyone with a warm smile.

Everyone lowered their salutes, but their eyes remained on him, filled with curiosity and confusion, as they tried to deduce what exactly was happening and whether the fleet admiral was playing a joke on them.

"Take a seat. My address will be short, as I’m sure many of you would prefer," Aron began with a smile, speaking in a benevolent manner.

Despite being the highest in the military command chain, Aron didn’t adhere to the strict military speaking style required of those like John and the other soldiers. n/ô/vel/b//in dot c//om

“With my appearance, I’m sure many of you have already connected the dots that I’m either here or communicating with you from the empire. It’s the latter. I’m not here yet, but that should be good news because it means there is now a direct communication network to Earth with no latency, allowing me to speak with you in real time." He paused, allowing them to process his statement before continuing.

"Although the mission required you to operate without direct communication with the empire to help us learn and develop solutions for long-term missions, the importance of what occurred during your mission warranted breaking that protocol.

For that, I would like to congratulate all of you on your achievements and everything you have accomplished. All of your accomplishments will be rewarded accordingly once the mission is deemed complete and you are relieved of it."

"However, that doesn’t mean I can’t give you a small reward at the moment.” He paused, watching the anticipation grow in their eyes.

The pause seemed to amplify their curiosity, and the longer they waited for him to tell them what the reward was, the more their imaginations began to speculate on what the reward might be.

“My small reward to you for your achievements is a change in your mission protocol from a no-direct-contact mission to an active-contact mission. You can now use the network to maintain contact with everyone on the side of the empire.”

When he said that, he could see the excitement in their eyes. They wanted to jump, cheer, and celebrate, but they still maintained their standing stance, waiting for him to finish his speech.

“I’m sure you’re familiar with the protocol for using the network during active missions, so I won’t repeat it here, knowing that some of you are eager to check it for yourselves,” he said, subtly reminding them of the rules—namely, that they should only use the network when off duty.

“Since you’ve been out of contact with your families for over a year, I’m granting you two weeks off. All operations will be officially halted unless immediate action is required. Enjoy your vacation.”

He continued for two more minutes before wrapping up his address, as he was someone who despised long and unnecessary speeches, a sentiment stemming from the experiences of lengthy addresses he endured during his university days, prior to his expulsion.

With that, he saluted them, and they all responded in kind. Aron then disappeared, followed by the fleet admiral after he officially dismissed them.

“WHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!” The room erupted in a unified scream of joy as everyone began hugging, jumping, and celebrating together, their excitement overwhelming.

Life had been good for them here, thanks to numerous amenities that provided distractions from their mission and the constant danger. They had grown accustomed to their surroundings, almost forgetting they were in a foreign star system. Their large numbers allowed them to socialize as if they were in any city on Earth.

However, this didn’t mean they were completely fine. For many, the memories of their husbands, wives, children, and other loved ones left behind, occasionally for some and always for others, resurfaced, reminding them of what they had left behind.

But now that the burden had been lifted from them, they channeled their relief into celebration.

A few minutes after the initial jubilation, nearly everyone remembered that, rather than just shouting in joy, they had a unique opportunity at hand. They could use this moment to contact their friends and families, delivering the surprise of their lives.

The emperor had mentioned that while their loved ones knew about the construction of the communication network, they were unaware of its completion.

This was their chance to bring that surprise to them.