When Jay looked at her with an upraised eyebrow, she just shrugged and grinned. “You are always pointing out that we are all fused, not just you. So why can’t I kiss my sisters and fused.”
Jessie laughed. “You are so crazy, Huong, but I love it.”
“If you really love it, we can find out more about that later,” Huong replied without missing a beat.
Jessie’s face got red, but she nodded her head as she looked at Jay and said, “Who knows.”
“Not that I’d mind watching, but we actually do need to talk about serious issues,” Jay said.
“Shouldn’t we wait for the entire team?” Mia asked.
“No, I don’t think that we will. We will set up a meeting with the rest of us, and then with the other humans, but I don’t have the time for politics. We need to focus on finding Higen, dealing with the A’snkarnt and Forlorn, and finding a home for our people,” Jay replied.
“I agree. It would take too long. We need a plan in place. Then we can present it to the rest of the team. As far as I’m concerned though, it is Jay’s decision to make. We voted him to be the leader,” Amelia said.
“The other clusters didn’t vote,” Trina said.
Amelia turned on her. “So, what are you saying, that we should have another general election?”
“No, that is silly. I agree with you. Jay is our leader and none of the rest of them have a fraction of his power or even that of those of us who are fused. We don’t owe them anything. They already owe us their lives, so as far as I’m concerned, they either follow Jay or they get left behind,” Trina replied.
The two women stared at each other for a moment and then both grinned and nodded. Since the threesome, these two had definitely been getting along better. They were both hard charging and ready to bring anyone into line who didn’t listen to Jay. It drove home the point of how important it would be to stay on their good sides.
“The first question I have is how long will it take for us to arrive at the other leviathan?” Jay said, looking from face to face.
Huong said, “It isn’t clear. The map information that we have been able to extract from the A’snkarnt systems suggests that it was a little over two million light-years away. The hyperspace drive technology from the A’snkarnt could have made the trip in about three months.”
“Isn’t there a way to get there faster? Who knows what could happen to Higen during that time,” Meikiyo said desperately.
“The good news is that Ava’s spatial jump drive moves us much faster based upon the data that we are collecting. I am guessing that it will take us about a month to get there,” Huong answered.
“Is that true, Ava?” Jay asked while he extended his hand down and stroked her head.
“Yes, Master. I’m sorry though. If I already knew where we were going, we could jump there in a single jump. As it is we can only jump as far as I can get sensor data for,” Ava said.
“That isn’t anything to be sorry about, pet. It is amazing. Are you saying that the ship could jump more than two million light-years in an instant?” Jay asked.
“Yes, well I mean if we had enough PSI. The way the jump works, the amount of distance doesn’t really matter. The jump drive just connects one location with any other known location. For that great of a span, we would likely need more than two million PSI energy. As it is now, we are powering the drive with PSI crystals, Master.”
“Would it help if I supplied more energy?”
“Only if we knew the exact location and had either sensor information or personal knowledge of being there. I’m sorry, my Master, extra power isn’t the solution,” Ava replied.
“Okay, so, we essentially have three more weeks then till we get there?” Jay said, looking from Ava to Huong.
The two women looked at each other before Huong nodded. “I would say that is pretty accurate.”
“Then it is incumbent upon us to make the most progress that we can before we get there,” Jay pronounced.
“Well I for one get all turned on when you take charge. I absolutely love it, maybe not as much as Ava but there is something about a man with a plan. So, I don’t wanna seem stupid, but what exactly do we need to make the most progress in?” Jessie asked.
“I told you what my goals are, but we honestly can’t work on those until we get more information. Hopefully, we will get that at the next leviathan. But we don’t even know what we will encounter there. We don’t know if the residents are another race being tested like we were.
“If they are like the Bal’gi then we will have to be very careful with them and be ready for a fight. Either way, what we can work on now is improving our skills, technology, and teamwork. To that end, I’m going to make something of a drastic recommendation.
“I want to get the people from the other clusters out of our way. It will be hard enough to focus on improving ourselves. We simply don’t have time to start from scratch with building them up,” Jay said.
“So we are going to lock them up?” Jessie asked.
“No, well I have a better solution, I think. If I can make a reverse tempus fugit field then time will pass much slower
