November 10, UC 1587 | ???, Planet ???, Capital City ???, Drikon Family’s Home

‘Clack!’ The toy mech lands a few feet from Astinia.

Gazing at the toy mech for a few seconds, “Mom!... Mom!” I yell, trying to get her attention.

“What's the matter, sweetie?” After a few seconds, Annika opens the door and pokes her head inside.

With a pouting look, “Can I read ‘Strength is Might’? Please? Please?”

“Asitiniaaa? I told you that you aren’t old enough to read it by yourself,” she reproves me with a disapproving gaze.

“But?” My face, pouting cutely a second ago, now has a few tears in the corner of my eyes.

“No buts,” she decisively says.

“Bu… B.” Not believing that she would say no. I started to breathe heavily, tears that began to build up were falling, and a pitiful cry left my mouth.

And just like that, her determined gaze started to soften until finally, ‘Sigh.’ “How about I read the book to you? Does that work for you, sweetie?”

“Ye… ‘Hic’ Yes.” ‘Sniff.’

“Come here, it’s alright,” her arms opened wide while she lowered herself to her knees.

Without delay, I walked into her embrace. Yet before my tears started to subside and a slight smile began to form on my face.

I heard the whisper, “If you wanted me to read you the book, you could have said so.” I was stiff in shock that she saw through me. “There was no need to do this,” she envelopes me tighter.

“Umm…” Before I could say anything, she ended the hug and held my shoulders. At a glance, I could tell that she was displeased by my antics.

“I’m sorry.” With a sheepish face while squirming under her gaze.

“You should be. It’s a good thing I know you,” Annika said while pinching my cheeks.

‘Ugh’ “Mom!” I try to stop her from pinching my cheeks.

“Stop! Accept your punishment,” she commanded.

Since this was punishment, I stopped moving and implored her with frustrated eyes to stop.

Sadly it was a dream that wouldn’t be coming anytime soon as she had her way with my cheeks.

Five minutes later, which felt like an eternity, we both came out of my room. One had a bright smile as Annika got absorbed in Astinia’s cuteness.

Sadly the other was sulking and holding his cheeks, internally crying about why his cheeks deserve to be pinched, prodded, pulled, and squashed.

Humming a merry tune, Mom strides away from me. Yet right when she turns the corner, I see her peeking back at me, “behave,” she warns.

‘Why did I do that? I don’t ever want my cheeks to be played with again.’

Still rubbing my cheeks, I notice the time on the wall is 5:20 PM.

In the direction of the kitchen. ‘Clatter.’

I then wander over to the kitchen. My stomach was growling for something to eat. I became curious about what we will have for dinner.

“Mom? What are you going to make?” I ask in anticipation, as whatever she makes is always good.

Expecting my question, “I’m going to make my special.”

I blanked out on what else she spoke because I knew that Mom always has a special occasion whenever she cooks her special meals. A celebration that something good is happening.

“Mom? Is something happening?” I ask in interest.

“It’s a surprise,” she puts her finger on her lips.

“Hmph,” feeling the frustration from being kept in the dark. I blew out my cheeks which I regretted doing as I forgot that they swelled up from Mom’s loving care.

Smirking in amusement, “Would you like to help me,” she asks.

“Yes!” Since she won't tell me anything. I might as well help out and taste-test the food.

“Mmmm.” Closing my eyes. ‘Yummy!’

“Sweetie, that’s enough because you’re going to get full early,” she stops me from spooning another bite.

“Aw,” ‘I want more.’

‘Beep! Beep!’

“Since it’s about time to eat, why don’t you help the bot set up the table? Okay?” She offers.

“Okay.” I follow the bot carrying the plates, utensils, and cups. Humming, I lift the lighter items to and fro, and before I know it, the table is ready.

Poking her head out, “Sweetie, make sure Dad’s place is ready as well.”

“Huh?” I sweep my gaze to Dad’s empty spot.

‘Whoosh.’ My head instantly gravitates toward the door that just opened. It was like they rehearsed him coming in, as the timing was spot on with Dad’s entry.

“Dad!” Forgetting that I was supposed to help the bot, I rushed toward him.

Due to me running towards him, Dad crouches lower to catch me and envelope me in a hug.

“Looks like you got bigger and… redder cheeks…,” with a bemused expression.

I looked away in embarrassment as I didn’t want him to ask me why.

Luckily before he could, “Dad!” Kideko sprints from the couch and frantically goes for a hug which Dad opens his arm to receive.

Sadly, I wish he didn’t as before I can even think to get away, ‘smoosh.’ In between them, my arms wave in distraught. I couldn’t understand how they could be oblivious to my plight. Unfortunately for me, they continue their hug without caring for my well-being.

Annika smiles brightly after noticing the happy atmosphere with Haylock coming home. “Food’s ready. Let’s eat it before it gets cold.”

‘Finally!’ I gasp for breath now that I’m free.

“Astinia? Why are you just standing there? Are you not hungry?” She wonders.

Crying internal tears, Mom was also oblivious to my pain! “I’m hungry! I’m hungry!” I hurriedly took my seat.

Eyeing the array of cooked dishes, I promptly chow down to eat my fill.

‘Delicious!’ Even after eating all this food, I still didn’t want to stop.

Yet, it felt like she could read my mind as I noticed Mom eyeing me, “Since everyone finished eating, let’s head to the family room and enjoy the fire.”

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‘Huh?’ I slowly put my fork down that was just about to pick up another piece.

‘Crackle… Crackle. Pop!’

Hovering my hands closer to the fire. ‘Sigh.’ ‘The heat feels so good.’

“Here you go.” Mom hands me a cup of hot cocoa.

Grabbing hold of the cup. “Thanks, Mom.”

“You're welcome,” she then kisses my forehead and sits beside Dad.

‘Mmm,’ ‘Just the way I like it. It has the perfect amount of whip cream.’

Haylock was waving his arms all around. “... and before we knew it, they had us surrounded.”

‘Gasp’ “No!” Cries out Kideko with wide eyes. “How did you get out?”

“We tried desperately to find a way out.” Shaking his head. “That was until a small gap presented itself that, without thinking,” with his body facing Kideko, ”I led the remnants of my command to charge the enemy mechs.” Dad then pounced on Kideko and roared. “We were able to take the enemy by surprise and break free.”

“Haha,” trying desperately to break free from Dad’s bear hug. She found a way by accidentally kneeing his chin.

Dramatically raising his chin, he falls on his back and plays dead.

“Hehe,” Kideko, finding an opportunity, jumps on top of him in triumph.

Mom and I smiled due to the silly atmosphere between those two.

Seeing the two settle down, “...and what happened after that, Dad?”

Speaking with such confidence, not just for us to hear. “We ran. We ran with everything we had, but the enemy continued to chase after us. They had the advantage with their numbers. Even though the terrain helped us block some of their sensors, it was best to keep running until we were safe,” but for himself as well.

Looking slightly down with a despairing smile. Haylock whispers just enough for Annika to hear, “We lost a lot of good men and women down there," eyes closed, ‘Sigh.’

Annika grabs his hand to give some amount of comfort to him.

We both didn’t understand why Dad suddenly became sad and had the urge to try and comfort him as well. Yet before we could say or do anything.

“That’s right! I brought you both something.” Like a flip was switched, he rises to pick up a bag of goodies. Which worked as our focus was on the shiny toys and candy he brought out.

“Kyaaa! Mechs!” Kideko screams in joy and rushes to grab hold of the toy mechs.

“Yay!” I also eagerly grabbed a toy mech, but my attention was on the variety of candy.

As if reading my mind, “You can only have a few as it’s close to your bedtime.”

With dampened spirits, “Yes, Mom.” I was a little unhappy that I could only have some.

I grudgingly pop a red piece in my mouth, ‘sweet,’ so I can savor the taste for as long as possible.

One, two, three, before I can take my fourth piece, “Kideko! Astinia! It’s time for bed.”

“Aww! Okay, Mom.”

I was looking longingly at the fourth piece. There was no way that three pieces of candy were enough. Yet I had to accept the inevitable that I wouldn’t be able to eat anymore tonight.

‘Wait, should I swipe a few to take with me?’

Yet before the thought could take root, slowly rotating my head, I could see Mom observing me.

With a crestfallen face, I knew sneaking a few wouldn’t be possible.

“I don’t want to go to bed yet!” Kideko whines.

As if I got a new lease on life, with determination and yearning eyes, I needed to muster my hope again even though it was already futile. With only one goal in mind, ‘More Candy!’

“I don’t want to go to bed as well!” With beseeching eyes, we don’t give her a second to rest.

‘Just like in Dad’s stories, a two-pronged attack, will she give in?’

Yet, I could tell that she still wouldn’t give in. ‘Sigh,’ ‘I guess this is it.’

“Honey, how about I tell them one more story before they go to bed?” Dad tentatively appeals as well.

‘A three-prong attack?’ With anticipation and excitement, it was like watching cracks develop all over the ice. Just a little more, and the ice will shatter.

“Please?” Getting up with imploring eyes, Kideko goes for the hug.

‘Sigh.’ With a defeated expression and a look of being betrayed by Haylock. “Alright, one more story, and then you're both going to bed.”

“Yay!” Kideko jumps for joy.

Grinning at my fortune, I swiftly open a couple of pieces and place them in my mouth. Sadly, my action was too suspicious as I noticed Mom scrutinizing me.

Not wanting to be called out, I ask Dad what the story will be, only to realize afterward that nothing I said made sense as my mouth was full of candy.

‘Oops.’ With a sheepish face, I peek at Mom.

I can tell she noticed what I did with her mischievous smile. Thankfully she settled to turn a blind eye as she didn’t call me out.

“Hmm… Ah! How about this one?” “Would you like to hear how I destroyed my first mech?”

“Huh?” Sweeping my gaze towards him, it took a while for me to process what Dad had just told us.

“Dad? How did you do that?” Kideko giggles thinking it’s a joke.

“Was this a training mech?” I question, hoping for him to say yes.

“Oh no, this was after I left training and became a full-fledged pilot. I even got a medal for it.” Dad grin’s widely and presents us with a medal from his collection of dozens. Each is more impressive than the last one, yet the one Dad picks up seems out of place. It was so ordinary that anyone looking at his collection wouldn’t think much of it.

“Really? But it’s so ordinary.” Kideko doubts while grasping the medal.

‘Haha!’ “You’re right! This medal is ordinary. There is nothing special about it.”

After realizing there wasn’t anything interesting about the medal, she quickly lost interest, “so, how did you destroy your mech?”

‘Hmm.’ “I guess I’ll start at the beginning. It was about a year after I completed training. I had already finished participating in destroying another pirate holding. Everyone thought we would be hunting down more pirates as they were rife in this part of space. That was until we got reassigned to go planetside. While everyone was confused as this was sudden, we all took it as a vacation.”

Dad smiles, “and it was. We had a week's leave to enjoy ourselves. Everyone was ecstatic as the entire planet was like a resort. There were amusement parks, shops, restaurants, beaches, and more. Sadly that week came so fast that before we knew it, we had to head to the ship.”

“Restaurants? What type of food did you eat?”

‘Umm…’ Darting left and right. I catch the gaze of Mom and Kideko on me.

‘Haha. Hmm.’ “Let’s see. I had this type of meat that I found at a food stall. You can see the fat dripping off the sides while it’s cooking. It had this deep aroma that you can’t ignore. The moment I bit into it, I could tell it was tender. You can pull it apart with your fingers type tender.

‘Gulp.’ With my mouth watering, it wasn’t difficult to picture this.

‘Sigh.’ “Sadly, the good times had to end. We had to focus on the now, which was to hunt down more pirates. Nope! We got deployed for escort duties. We had no idea why we were doing this when many more pirates needed to be found and cleaned up. Well, orders were orders that we had to follow. We were about halfway to our destination when suddenly we were attacked by unknown ships. Who would be reckless enough to attack us? We had over 5000 mechs and 40+ spaceships.”

“Who? Who?” Kideko exclaims in wonder.

“Pirates. It didn’t take a genius to understand why they would attack us. For an entire year, we were clearing pirate holdings every other week. Sometimes every week. They must have felt threatened and planned to eliminate us.”

“No!” Gasps Kideko.

“Everyone was frantic. No one thought the pirates would have the courage to attack us. It was always us hunting them down. Even though they surprised us with their ambush, it was thanks to our training and superior-quality mechs that we could fight evenly with them. It was tough to know if we were winning the battle. They had superior numbers in both mechs and spaceships. In the end, thanks to finding multiple holes in their battle formations, we pushed the pirates back.”

“Yes!” Kideko shouts in joy.

“The pirates were heavily disheartened in continuing the battle with us. It was our victory, yet the pirates wanted to inflict as much damage on us before they fled. They left some of their battered ships and sent them on a course to crash ours. Most of our spaceships and mechs were still preoccupied. There wasn’t enough firepower to disable the spaceships or time to get away from those they targeted. I was near one such spaceship. We received orders to do anything we could to stop it from crashing into ours. After I fired my rifle, I realized that this would be futile. So in a moment of desperation, I programmed my mech to ram the pirate spaceship at the fastest speed possible. I had the AI navigate the best course to alter the pirate spaceship’s route as much as possible. Several moments before impact, I ejected from my mech.”

“BOOOM! What a spectacle. It was like fireworks painted on the front side of the spaceship. Then I noticed that it did nothing to the pirate spaceship’s course. I was disappointed that I couldn’t change the situation. After my desperation to try and change something in our predicament, many other mechs in the area followed my lead. Before the pirate spaceship collided with ours, it took over 70+ mechs to deviate the pirate spaceship's direction from a head-on collision to a glancing collision. Unfortunately, we didn’t save our spaceship from the crash as there wasn’t enough time. Thankfully a considerable amount of people were protected from harm.

With worshiping eyes, “You’re a hero, Dad!” Kideko marveled.

“Yes! You’re amazing!”

“And that’s how I got a medal with my mech destroyed.”

“Dad! I want to be just like you.” Kideko affirms after hearing how amazing Dad is.

“Hmm? Are you sure, Kideko?” Dad ponders.

“Yes,” she once again asserts.

“Alright, you’ll be ten years old next year. I’ll apply to have you sent to one of the best Jr. Academies in the area. Of course, this depends on if you can pass the entrance examination.” Granted Dad.

‘Ugh.’ Kideko doesn’t look too happy about having to do the entrance examination.

“Don’t worry. Mom and I will help you prepare for the test.” Consoles dad.

Looking at the time, “Kideko, Astinia, it’s time for bed,” informs Mom.

“Aww, okay!” Both accepted that it was finally time for bed.