"Happy Birthday, Rain!", say everyone in the crew in unison. A big cake on the table, ready for Rain to indulge in.
Rain, barely awake, in the middle of the morning, doesn't even know what 2+2 is at the moment, is only able to say "thanks!", until she sees the cake. She gains all the energy in an instant, and sits down at the table.
"Oh my, even Xita's here!", says Rain.
"Of course I'd be here!", says Xita. He gives Rain a wrapped box. "This is from all of us."
Rain opens the box and sees something resembling Earth. "Is this an Earth globe??", asks Rain, looking at the crew, wondering why they got that for her.
"It resembles your home. You'll be reminded of what you fight for. Freedom of your home planet, right?", says Aeternum.
"I guess... I left to bring peace to the universe, and now I am trying to stabilize the universe and bring the Solar System back to normal.", says Rain.
"Then, perfect. The Earth globe will remind you what you're fighting for.", says Aeternum.
Rain wants to indulge in the cake, but the crew, especially Mailen and Aeternum, talk her out of it. Zarya, on the other hand, is also hard to control. Her 'beast-like' thoughts of just eating that cake in one go is unmatchable to anything else in the universe at the moment.
"Zarya, I can see you. Don't you dare.", says Xita.
"Okay.", says Zarya, grumpy.
Suddenly, a knock at the door. It's Vega and Asten.
"Hey there, guys! I hope you guys don't mind us inviting over 4 more people, the leaders of the Maikitan planets. They aren't UHC aligned, don't worry.", says Asten, fully acknowledging his role as Almatia's new leader.
"There's also something else I want to talk about, right after the party.", adds Asten.
4 people walk in. 2 men and 2 women.
"Hello there, Astral Thread. Our names are Jeanne, Nerev, Lucien and Hikari. We lead Xeron, Thetis Prime, Lambda and Homiya respectively.", says a lady, who names herself as "Hikari".
"Hello there, I am Rain, and these are Aeternum, Mailen, and Zarya.", says Rain, pointing at the rest of the crew. Aeternum nods, Mailen and Zarya wave. "And this little guy is Xita, our caretaker. He's usually inside the Thread, keeping it safe during our missions."
Xita's screen blinks as a greeting. "Hello there, Miss Empress Hikari Reizen!"
Hikari laughs and gives Xita a small pet on the head. "You're a cute one, aren't you~?"
Xita does not react.
"Oh, well... Anyways, We have heard it's somebody's birthday! Who's the lucky one?", says Hikari, looking at Vega, still waiting for the introductions to finish.
"That should be me.", says Rain. "I'm turning 26."
"You're just 9 years younger than me! Congratulations!", says Hikari.
Everybody meets each other, and gets contact information. They quickly celebrate Rain's birthday – the first one she is celebrating without her family, and with her friends, and in outer space, on another planet.
At dawn, Vega walks to Rain. "It's time we start discussing the alliance. I won't lie; the Thread easily unites star systems. Almatia – and the Maikitan system will always be there to help you."
They all sit down, and start discussing. On the roundtable, the representatives of UHC in Almatia – Asten and Vega; the Thread's core members – Rain and Aeternum; and Maikitan leaders – Homiya's Empress, Hikari; Jeanne of Xeron; Nerev of Thetis Prime; and Lamba's Archon, Lucien.
"Alright. Tomorrow, all forces strike at the Driftspace. As of right now, Leo – the UHC's defense minister of Almatia, and member of the 'Burning Gang', is using a special wormhole to move the Driftspace to the edge of the Maikitan system.", says Vega, taking a huge piece of paper and laying it down on the table.
"Here is where I want the Homiyan forces to be placed, with Xeron as a substitute. On the opposite side, I want Thetis Prime and Lambda to break the layers of the Driftspace. The Thread and we will destroy it from the inside using the teleportation point.", says Vega, pointing at many different places.
"Understood", say the leaders of Homiya and Xeron.
The leader of Thetis Prime, Nerev Solmare, asks: "I am guessing this is a memetic virus, right?"
"Correct.", says Vega. The Lambdan leader understands everything and agrees on Vega's plan. Rain and Mailen quickly agree, but quickly mention that they should use the Thread's nukes too.
"Good idea. Very well, we'll use the Thread's nukes and also destroy as much as we can for now. Prepare for tomorrow. Leaders, follow me, and we'll accommodate you guys in our finest houses.", says Asten. "Also, Vega, Mailen, you guys know the Burning Gang, right? They'll be involved too. They were dealing with some small stuff with Mrs. Voss earlier, but they'll be of help too."
"Got it.", both reply.
Everybody leaves, and the crew goes to sleep. Tomorrow is a huge day, and they need all their energy to weaken the Driftspace and destroy it once and for all.