Jake was pacing restlessly. They'd kept him in quarantine at Ita for an additional two weeks and it was killing him not being able to hold his son.
His immune system was in shock after exposure to the atmosphere of Tansa. He would have died if it wasn't for the medicine Ita's doctors injected into his bloodstream.
But still they had to keep him quarantined.
His body fought the pathogens with fierceness that rivalled his own at the battle of Tansa, where he disabled the entire Tansan fleet and routed entire battalions of the local militia.
He had managed to convince the government to cease all hostilities against the peaceful alien race known as the C'Nosi. He had even managed to secure everyone at the abandoned base of Ita citizenship of Tansa, in addition to diplomatic immunity.
Thanks to his actions they were finally free, and a race of sapient beings was spared the bloodshed that lasted for centuries. At least by one of the governments in the local cluster.
The quarantine was a boring ordeal, and he really wanted to see his son and wife. They had been visiting him frequently but he still missed them greatly, and talking through an intercom was no substitute for a real conversation.
Hannah was furious at what he did, but he thought he'd managed to calm her down. She was worried sick about him and wouldn't stop pestering him about it.
He'd been working on fixing and reinforcing his armour ever since. He was about to get to work on it yet again when the intercom buzzed. Doctor Lev greeted him.
"I think it's safe for you to be out of here, Jake." he heard the doctor's voice.
"Thank god." he said as he moved towards the hatch.
***
He found Hannah at the hydroponics facility. She was having her daily time there with little Jaden, who apparently loved the greenery. She squealed in delight when he hugged her from behind and whispered loving words in her ear.
When he took little Jaden in his arms he found that the baby was thinking to him, only in emotions instead of words. The baby projected love and comfort when Jake hugged him tightly and tried to tell him how much he loved him.
"I missed you." he whispered to Hannah as they embraced.
"We missed you, too." she told him.
They were heading to their quarters when Hannah turned to him.
"Will you tell me first before trying to get yourself killed next time?" she asked.
"Hannah, I wasn't trying to kill myself. I had to do this!" he defended.
"You had to take on an entire fleet and god knows how many soldiers by yourself?"
"It was the only way, I had to spare you the bloodshed."
"I was worried sick, you have no idea..." she started in anger.
"I know." he interrupted her.
"Well, at least it's over now." she said with relief.
"It's not over yet."
"What do you mean it's not over yet?" she asked in trepidation.
"The rest of the cluster is still at war with the C'Nosi, Hannah, and I have to stop them."
"Do you mean we'll go into relativistic travel again?" she asked him in anger.
"Hannah, the UEF is the source of this problem. If we can stop them, everybody else will take heed."
"But Jaden is too young for relativistic travel!"
"Then I'll go alone."
"No! I'll be old when you come back!"
"I'll try to figure something out, but first, I need to have a conversation with a friend."
***
The C'Nosi was waiting patiently in the hangar bay.
"Don't you ever sleep, or eat?"
he asked it.
"We do not need sleep you speak of. We eat when we need to."
it responded.
"What kind of food do you eat?"
"Rocks."
"Like, asteroids?"
"Yes."
"What about those crystals that I ate, the ones that gave me wings in my dream?"
"Nos is the essence of life."
"So, you eat it too?"
"To heal, to learn, and to grow."
He sighed. This C'Nosi was not particularly talkative it seemed.
"We know what you came here to talk about. You want to go to your homeworld."
"Yes."
"You fear that you'll never see your companions again."
"Also, yes."
"Do not fear, we can travel faster."
"I suspected that, but how?"
"We will show you on the way."
"I need to prepare myself first."
"We shall wait."
***
He went to visit his uncle, who'd been silent this whole time.
"Not even a single visit to your nephew, uncle?"
His uncle averted his eyes and sighed.
"You thought I was going to die, didn't you?" Jake said with a smile.
"God damn it, son. I told you not to go." his uncle finally said.
"Uncle, you know I had to."
"You didn't have to fight an entire planet."
"I'm sorry, uncle. Things got out of hand."
"What's done is done, son. I'm glad you're alive and well." his uncle said as he held his shoulders.
"But there is something else... What is it?" Jake said as he held his gaze.
His uncle stayed silent for a moment.
"I'm worried about you, son. I've seen what you did out there." his uncle pointed in a general direction, supposedly at Tansa.
"I'm worried that you're becoming less human with every passing day."
Jake stared at him in silence.
"I'm scared." his uncle said in a low voice.
"Scared of what? Scared of me?" Jake whispered.
"I'm scared of what you're becoming."
***
He found Hannah in deep thought at their quarters, little Jaden was asleep in his cradle.
"Hannah." he startled her out of her deep reverie.
"Oh, hey Jake." she said.
"I came to say goodbye. I'm leaving for Sol in a few hours."
