Age of Cosmic Exploration

Jacko stood in front of a large group of military officers at the space port. They had been there for several hours, but no one was impatient. In fact, everyone had smiles on their faces and the occasional topics were light.

Today was the day the soldiers’ families were supposed to arrive. The newly upgraded military family law focused on the soldiers stationed at the first and second defense lines as well as those posted at the meteorite factories. The number of soldiers at these places totalled to over 15,000 and their immediate families that agreed to move and stay with them was close to 100,000.

This upgrade was more than just moving the soldiers’ families, that was impossible. This upgrade included a series of constructions, including an expansion of the amenities inside the defense lines and more AI robots. After all, this involved the migration of about 100,000 people, and among them were 60,000 babies and children. Questions of living arrangements, medicine, and education had to be solved.

Living arrangement were considered an easy problem to solve. With the advent of AI robots, most manual labor tasks had been taken over by them. When the time came, they would need the military wives to open a day-care center or something. With the aid from the robots, one adult would be able to take care of 10 to 20 babies or children. That meant that a big problem had been solved.

But what about medicine? AI robots weren’t doctors and the medical devices within the base were meant for injured soldiers to help with recuperation. In comparison, medical services for infant and child care were lacking. Therefore, they would need a group of related doctors and nurses as well as their families...

Then came the issue of education. The eldest children born in the first wave of baby booms since humanity arrived at the New Solar System was nine years old, so it was time for them to enter primary school. After humanity entered space, they understood the importance of education and that education was a right deserved by everyone. Currently, the years of mandatory education for humanity was 18 years, from six years old when they entered primary school to 24 years old when they graduated from university. After that, they could enter the world of academia if they wanted and the government would provide social benefits for those who did. There was no limit for the life of an academician; they could go on studying forever. The only thing that they had to do was make sure they passed the annual exam.

The fact that so many children were moving to the military bases meant that it had caused a series of explosive chain effects. From the latest government economic assessment, practically every defense line base would have to expand greatly, and in a few years, they could be called a small town. Among them, the second defense line would have the biggest base. The place was projected to be done in the year 32 and it would be able to fit 2,00,000 people...

However, these were not the concerns of the soldiers. They only knew that their families were coming to live with them. There were no more monthly visits because now they could see their families whenever they wanted to. One could say that every soldier’s heart was filled with happiness and joy.

"They’re here..."

The soldiers among the group started to mumble when several large transport shuttles appeared in the sky escorted by 10 guardian spaceships. However, due to their military training, none of the soldiers acted out of line, they still stood in attention. It wasn’t until people walked out of the shuttles that contained commotion started among the ranks.

"Marrion, I’m here, do you see me? Marrion!"

Jacko was a group captain of the Defense Unit. It was a high rank and this meant that he was at the front of the group. When people were ejected from the shuttles, he scanned their faces carefully. Soon, he discovered a young, beautiful Caucasian woman accompanied by two AI robots that were pulling along a pouting boy with a head of brown hair. When Jacko shouted, she immediately turned to him and a wide smile blossomed on her face. She shouted in return, "Honey, I see you! Rei, can you see him? That’s your father."

The boy seemed to be in his uncooperative years because he pouted and huffed, "How can I not see him? He’s so tall that he’s blocking the people behind him..."

Marrion didn’t get mad but reached out to pat the boy on his head lightly. Then she walked happily towards Jacko. When she reached him, she didn’t care about the people around them. She leaped up into his arms and planted a passionate kiss on his lips. The boy cringed involuntarily while standing behind them. After a while, the pair separated and Jacko rushed over to pull his boy up into his hug. Then he proceeded to plant a big wet kiss on his son’s cheek. "Rei, you’ve grown so much taller."

"Hmph, if you don’t return for a few more years, then I’ll be taller than you!" Rei pulled back from his father’s prickly stubble and retorted in his childish ways.

Jacko then started laughing, and through the laughs, one could see some shine in his eyes. He then added, "I promise I’ll come back home more often and we can stay with each other now... Didn’t you say that you wanted to hear about my adventures on the cursed planet? How about we stay up through the night and I’ll finish the story from where we left off?"

Rei’s eyes lit up and he claimed loudly, "Liar, liar, pants on fire, you won’t lie to me, right? Oh, but Mommy said I cannot stay up overnight..."

Jacko continued to laugh. "Don’t worry, I’ll talk to your mother..."

Marrion then chimed in, "Come on, let’s go visit your apartment. I’m sure it’s a pig sty, but I’ll help you clean it up... Also, you better make sure you got rid of all the signs of the other woman, or else there will be hell to pay."

Jacko laughed awkwardly as he looked around before whispering, "I wouldn’t dare. Furthermore, there are only dudes around here, and I’m not gay. Come on, let’s go to our new home. The accommodations were been assigned a few days ago, but I haven’t had the time to move. However, while I was waiting for you to arrive, the AI robot should have moved all the furniture to the new place already. We’ll stay there from now on!"

Just like that, with the boy cheering, the married couple walked to their new home holding hands. When they arrived, the family was satisfied with their new home. The place was at the end of the street, had three stories, and was already furnished. Jacko was especially excited when he saw the fireplace in the living room. He told Rei happily, "When I was small, we would use fireplaces like this when I visited your great-grandfather in the winter. We would sit by the fireplace and he would tell me his hunting stories. I hear they’ll be using the four seasons cycle again starting this year, so it won’t constantly be spring anymore. So when winter arrives, we can do that, Rei!"

Rei looked at the fireplace and was reminded of the many old movies about Earth that he saw, then he nodded quickly with light glowing in his eyes. Marrion commented, "This place is not bad, and look at this carpet, this is authentic mink caterpillar skin... Then again, you’re a group captain. This is probably how they compensate you for returning home so rarely in the past few years."

Jacko coughed awkwardly and he later leaned in to kiss Marrion. Marrion took the hint and stopped throwing jabs at Jacko. She waltzed into the kitchen to take inventory of the utensils. After a long time, she returned to the living room to talk to the pair of father and son who was bonding. "Alright, you can resume this conversation after dinner. Come help me if you want to eat. We’ll go to the nearby mall to make some household purchases. By the way, what do you guys want to have for dinner tonight?"

"Pizza!"

The pair of father and son said in unison, "Seafood pizza with shrimp flavor!"

Marrion laughed as she shook her head. "If you want seafood pizza, then come help me. Come on, we have many things to buy!"

This situation appeared all over the second defense line. Every family was happy and everyone was celebrating their family reunion in their own way. The second defense line base was submerged in a sea of happiness. Soon, the stock of luxury items and various resources reached a red line. For this, the Defense Unit even commissioned the military ship to go back to the City of Light Moon to move some necessary produce.

Of course, that was not all. Among this move, three Steel Balls had also been secretly moved to the second defense line. Along with them were three Homo Evolutis, and one of them was S-grade Homo Evolutis Wang Hwa, a member of the Black Star Unit. His presence alongside the Steel Balls were a secret known only to those above the rank of group captain.

This didn’t affect Jacko’s happiness. In fact, he didn’t think much about this move. He didn’t believe it would affect life on the second defense line in any way. One month later, he received good news, he was promoted from captain to major as well as the leading commander of the second defense line. He became the first person originally from the Noah One to enter the upper echelons of the Defense Unit.