"A strain." Fenrir hummed. "They are going to be difficult to dig out. What do you need?" She asked.

Then there was a beep as the gold hologram of another person appeared. While the High Priestess was green. The admiral was blue, this one was gold and the person put in a clear extra step in his makeup routine. Or was it her makeup routine. He honestly could not tell.

She is an accer with a bedazzled beak, fluffed feathers, an extravagant outfit. "I am-"

"I do not care." Jace said with a deadpan tone interrupting the politician. Then he turned to Fenrir. "Where is Hielo now? She should have actually been working on something for me."

"The Underworld System. She decided to hunker down there to build whatever it was you were having her build. But we have difficulty communicating with them since the foreign nations are taking control of the systems surrounding the Underworld System." Fenrir explained.

"Underworld System?" Jace asked with a raised eyebrow.

"It is the name given to that system that the unruly Cerberus unit has taken as their base of operations. Who are you?" The politician demanded after explaining.

"Ah, good." Jace nodded. "Then she should have made some progress. But she probably has not completed it." Jace brought a hand up to his chin and rubbed it while he became lost in thought.

"Do you need resources to get to them?" Admiral Dakota asked.

"No." Jace shook his head. "The Lance of Thanatos can reach them without being detected. We have an array of systems and capabilities to do so." Jace explained as he closed his eyes and thought for a few moments. "It will still take some time to build and accumulate all the resources."

"Resources for what?" The politician demanded.

"We will pack our ship full of refugees from this station and drop them off somewhere." Jace hummed as he looked at the High Priestess. "Which planet should I drop them off at?"

The High Priestess looked over at the politician. "Speaker Lenil. Where is Jace dropping off the refugees?"

"Humf." The politician crossed her arms. Seeming to think for a few minutes. "The Jasmine System. We are building a larger defensive battlement there to defend against the foreigners and act as a second line of defense. When should we expect you?"

"One-" Jace was elbowed in the side. "Two-" It happened again. "Three?-" Again. "Four..." He looked at the side where Salem’s face went from a frown to a soft smile. "In four days. I will arrive in four days." Jace subconsciously rubbed the soft armor plating where she elbowed him.

The others, aside from the politician, seemed to understand. But Fenrir was the one to jump in. "It is several systems away. You managed to perfect the warp and wave rider engine design?" She asked.

Jace nodded. "I did. But it was more of an issue with resource allocation rather than anything else." Jace waved it off. "Now is there anything else that we need to discuss?"

"Catherine Hex." Salem sighed as she spoke. Jace flinched as he had nearly forgotten.

"Explain." Fenrir seemed immediately more attentive as she hunched forward.

Jace shrugged. "She approached me in the Milky Way Galaxy, unaware of who I was. It was not my original intent. But she surrendered herself to me under the idea of seeking political asylum."

"Then she needs to go through the proper paperwork." The politician started.

"It is not that simple." Dakota jumped in. "Catherine Hex is a criminal, a thief, along with many other things. Seeking political asylum may be the idea but I doubt that is the reason she would have willingly returned. Jace, what was the reason she came back?" Of all of them, he was probably the most aware of his attitude toward his mother.

"She came back with the intent to find me. Although we also have a witness to an atrocity she committed aboard our ship as well. Willing to step forward with what she witnessed." Jace answered.

"What atrocity?" Fenrir asked.

"Dissecting a person alive and experimenting on them." Jace answered. "There is still a claim for asylum. But I figured you would want to keep her in prison somewhere while her claim is being processed and considered."

They were silent for a few minutes before the politician spoke up. "He is right. While the claim is being processed she will need to be detained. I believe this particular problem falls under MILD’s purview."

"It does. But she is also good at breaking out of places. I am thinking over where we could keep her." Fenrir explained. "It is not as simple as throwing her in a cell. She needs to be properly guarded."

"We can’t use a prison planet." The High Priestess declared. "The prison ships have been reallocated into warships. The only other place would be a station prison. Salem, do you think you could keep her there?"

"Ha... I was afraid you would say that." Salem sighed, she had been oddly quiet for the last minute. "I can. I will also debrief her tomorrow morning and keep an extra set of guards on her at all times. But it is not a permanent solution."

"We will just need a month or two." Fenrir answered. "If Jace can get in contact with Cerberus and push back the foreigners. We will be able to start focusing on the other fronts." She then looked at Jace. "Also, the former Empress of Oda claimed the dark elves are pulling out of the galaxy. Apparently they said something about you being a problem for them."

Jace shrugged and smiled. He had already decided ahead of time he would not share the particular details. "What can I say? I am just that good."

"Hmmm..." Fenrir’s eyes narrowed before she leaned back and sighed. "Okay. We will pass around word that the lost hybrid unit has returned. Go ahead and relax for these next few days. It is probably the only time you will get to relax for the next few years at least."

Jace bowed his head slightly. Then he heard someone clearing their throat and looked at Admiral Dakota. "I am sure you made substantial advancements in military technology. I would appreciate it if you could provide not only your wife. But also the rest of us with some of those resources."

Jace smirked. "I can provide some. But a bunch of it is still experimental." He then looked around at them. "You still have material printers don’t you?" Jace asked.

"We do." The High Priestess was the one to answer.

Jace went to continue when he felt a sudden pulse from his mind. A whisper as some information was slotted in.

Someone is listening.

Jace frowned and closed his eyes as he used his relationship with electricity to follow the path of radio waves and information. "Seems your communications are not as secure as you hoped. We have an eaves dropper."

Salem bolted to a side wall where a control panel was located. She immediately began looking over it and clicked her tongue. "Not on our end." She added some curses as well. "It is not any of the satellites either."

"It is not us." Fenrir answered.

Admiral Dakota walked out of view for a moment. The High Priestess was looking to the side at someone. "Not us."

Admiral Dakota walked back into view a moment later. "Not us either."

They all looked to the politician who was looking to the side. She then sighed and looked back at them. "Yeah... we have spies. We are looking into it. I would appreciate MILD’s help in the matter. But there is no telling how much they heard."

Jace hummed before speaking. "Not much. It happened within the last few minutes. So unless your office is recording these meetings-" From the way the politician flinched, Jace could already tell that is what was happening. Jace narrowed his eyes. "I can already tell that is exactly what happened. At what point did you think recording secure and possibly classified meetings was a good idea?"

"Haa..." Fenrir sighed audibly. "It is this whole political sphere. They are trying to dig up dirt and keep giving one of the enemies an edge in the fight."

Jace shook his head. "I do have plans. I will manufacture a few new drone fighter crafts and a few combat fighter crafts." Jace informed them. "If I am near a posting you command I will leave some drones with you as well."

"What about the manned ones?" Admiral Dakota asked.

"Full combat capabilities need a higher standard than normal humans can provide." Jace shook his head. "I am assuming Salem is going to fly one and then know who among her subordinates can man one as well."

"If that is all we needed to cover I believe we should end the meeting here." Salem suggested.

"I believe Admiral Wintry is correct." The High Priestess agreed. "But we should discuss last names. Now that Jace is back..."

Salem and Jace exchanged a look. She already knew. "My name stays the same. Jace is taking my last name."