As morning began to dawn, the rays of the local star began to shine through the windows that had become increasingly clearer in the last hour.
The bright and warm rays of light lit the bed in the center of the large and opulent bedroom.
As the two figures sleeping on the bed just started to awaken from their slumber, the door to the chamber unexpectedly slid open!
Three different munchkins wearing cute and colorful pajamas stormed inside and ran straight to the bed!
The three kids climbed onto the soft and bouncy surface and began to jump on it in unison!
"Wake up! Wake up! Wake up!"
"The ceremony is starting in a few hours!"
"I love you, mama! I love you, papa!"
"Meow…" Lucky tiredly floated inside the room.
"Miaow." Clixie looked more enthusiastic as she looked forward to witnessing a grand show.
The two girls and boy jumped so much that Ves and Gloriana had no choice but to rouse from their slumber and calm their overexcited children.
"Quiet down, my darlings." Gloriana said as she embraced both her daughters at once. "The main show starts at noon local time. We still have more than enough hours to do our makeup and dress in the custom ensembles that I have commissioned for you all. Each of you will look so pretty!"
As his wife continued to talk about the upcoming founding ceremony as if it would become a joyous occasion where she could show off her offspring, Ves maintained a more sober mood.
He held his youngest child in his arms and cuddled with him for a moment. Marvaine looked so small and delicate that Ves could not bear the thought of seeing any harm befall his only son!
"Today is an eventful day, Marvaine. While I want you to have fun, don't get distracted by all of the shiny and impressive looking mechs. There is more to this ceremony than what is obvious on the surface."
His pajama-clad son tilted his head in confusion.
"What are you talking about, papa?"
He sighed. "I will explain it to you when you are older. For now, make sure that no matter what happens later today, make sure to stick close to me. I will always keep you safe."
Now that they had risen from their beds, Ves and Gloriana along with their children proceeded to prepare for the day.
An elaborate team of bots, cosmeticians, tailors and other beauty experts did their best to elevate the appearances of their subjects as much as possible.
Each of them looked more dignified, professional and beautiful than any previous points in their lives!
Though Ves did not see much of a difference to be honest, his wife constantly gushed how gorgeous she and the others had become.
She bent down and touched Aurelia's shoulders. "You are so pretty now! Do not let anyone tell you that you are ugly. I can already see that you will be able to wrap any boy around your finger once you have grown into a big girl."
"Hihihi!" Aurelia giggled. "I already have boys wrapped on my finger, mama."
During breakfast, Ves decided that the time was right to give his children an unexpected but welcome surprise.
He clapped his hands, which not only caused his wife and children to quiet down, but also caused a trio of bots to float into the dining room.
"I know that none of your birthdays have arrived just yet, but I decided to give each of you a birthday present."
"Ohh? What is it, papa?! Is it a new toy?!"
As the children all lit up when they heard the word 'present', the bots that each carried a decoratively wrapped box stopped close to them. The shiny wrappings were just begging to get torn!
As the present boxes tempted the kids into action, Gloriana threw a puzzled look at her husband.
"What are you doing, Ves? We haven't talked about giving them any presents."
"I know. I am sorry about that, honey, but I had to take care of this on short notice. The presents that I have ordered for them have only arrived late last night."
Meanwhile, Aurelia, Andraste and Marvaine all wanted to receive their presents so badly that they found it difficult to control themselves as they had been taught by their mother.
Gloriana let out an exasperated sigh. "Very well, children. You can open your presents now, but be sure to control yourselves!"
"Yes, mama!"
Andraste promptly ignored her mother's advice and tore at the paper like a cat that went crazy!
Once she threw away the wrapping and opened the composite box, her eyes displayed confusion as she pulled out a small metal belt-like contraption.
Aurelia and Marvaine looked similarly perplexed as they obtained identical gifts.
"What is this, papa? Is this a comm?"
"No, honey." Gloriana replied as she studied the advanced devices with increasing consternation. "They are not communication devices. They are personal shield generators, similar to the ones your parents always wear."
"Huh? But these are smaller!"
Ves smiled. "That is right. These are copies of the Rison GK-22, a first-class compact transphasic shield generator that I have carefully selected from the catalog of the MTA. Compared to the shield generators that we are currently using, these ones make use of phasewater to generate significantly stronger protection in a much smaller form factor. You will hardly notice the weight at all once you have worn them for a while."
He moved forward, took the shield generators and clasped them onto their bodies one-by-one, replacing their older second-class models while he was at it. The nature of their designs allowed them to function as belts if necessary, but Ves preferred to keep them underneath a layer of clothing to avoid drawing attention to the advanced technology.
His wife meanwhile looked increasingly more suspicious as she crossed her arms.
"Ves…?"
"Yes, my dear?"
"How much did it cost for you to exchange these first-class shield generators from the MTA?"
"Only 5,000,000 MTA merits each. I would have liked to go for a more expensive one that can resist greater hits, but it will eat too much in my budget if I have to buy three of them at once."
His wife immediately grew still when she learned how much Ves had spent on these goods. Her eyes narrowed in a dangerous manner.
"You refused to contribute 60 million MTA merits to an essential upgrade to my design capabilities, but you did not hesitate to spend a quarter of that sum on protection that is largely redundant? They already have the shield generators that we bought for them a few years prior!"