“No, it can’t.”
Cassandra looked at Sprig and could sense the anxiety the young Algean was having. She turned to Rose and said, “I must go. I’m so happy for you and I’ll talk with you when I return.” She said this as Sprig was pulling her by the arm to a space away from the group. Sprig pressed his teleport device and they disappeared from the room.
Tommy looked at Tag and Kosiev and said, “I haven’t seen him that worked up since the day Wes was chasing him.”
Wes shouted from the end of the table, “You really didn’t have to go there.”
Tommy started chuckling and then laughed out loud. “It’s still hilarious, 3D.”
Wes took his head in his hands and said, “I suspect I’ll never outlive that event.”
Tommy looked at Tag and Kosiev again and said, “What are they working on?”
Tag looked at Kosiev and said, “I really don’t know but I suspect it will be something that will surprise us all.”
Tommy stopped laughing and said, “Where are they?”
Kosiev said, “Somewhere with Atlas and Twig.”
Tommy furrowed his brow and said nothing for a moment and then said, “Atlas is involved in what they’re doing?”
Tag put his arm around Tommy’s shoulders and said, “Kinda gets the ole curiosity going doesn’t it?”
Tommy said, “Yes, it does.” Then he thought, “Cassandra, is everything alright?”
Cassandra thought back, “Yes, but Twig is coming to get you. You need to join us.”
Twig suddenly appeared under the display and walked forward and took Tommy’s hand and pulled him away from the group. “Excuse me, I need Duke Gardner to go with me.” Then they disappeared.
Rose looked at Danielle and said, “What was that all about?”
Danielle smiled and said, “He’ll be fine. I just want to sit and think about being a grandmother.”
Rose smiled and said, “If it’s a girl we’re naming her Dannie.”
Danielle jumped up and started hugging her daughter again.
Tag shouted from across the room, “And if it’s a boy.”
Rose smiled and said, “That we’re keeping a secret.”
Tag looked at Kosiev and shook his head, “That figures.”
Kosiev started laughing and said, “You already have a son named after you. Don’t be greedy.”
“Easy for you to say; I want the girl named after me, too.”
Kosiev reached over and took a handful of popcorn out of Tag’s bag. “Hey, get your own.”
Kosiev smiled and said, “I fear I have underestimated the greediness.” Tag started laughing and then went to hold his wife.
Tommy and Twig appeared in Atlas’ control room and saw Cassandra and Sprig in an animated conversation with Atlas. “I don’t care if it’s possible; it still leaves the issue of my brothers in captivity.”
Tommy walked over to Cassandra and said, “What’s going on?”
“Sprig and Twig have a wild idea about sending the Captors into the new universe that was just formed when the spark ignited. Atlas is concerned that if they go, we have no way to release the field holding his brothers and even if we did, they aren’t ready to be released.”
Atlas said, “Tommy, we started this whole adventure to ultimately release my family from captivity. That screen holding them is impossible to penetrate. It could take millions of years to develop the means to get through it.”
Tommy looked at Sprig and said, “Atlas, do you think that the conflict we’re in with the Captors, if it goes to its natural conclusion, will leave any of them alive if we happen to win?”
Atlas was silent. Sprig said, “I just can’t see allowing it to go to total extermination of them, or us. There is a possibility that we might be able to end this conflict without having to destroy each other. However, it’s a moot point if we can’t do what I hoped.”
Tommy said, “Sprig, what do you have in mind?”
“We have the centers where the energy particle just exploded into a new universe and I thought that there might be a doorway into that new universe that the Captors could move through.”
“Sprig, that universe is hot and will remain that way for hundreds of thousands of years as it expands,” Cassandra said.
“We know that but we don’t know how much heat the Captors can tolerate. They are energy beings that live on energy which leads me to suspect that they would prefer the new universe if they could survive in it.”
“So what’s the problem,” Tommy asked?
“We can’t move anything from our universe into the new one. Everything we’ve sent into the centers has been destroyed.”
Tommy frowned and then said, “You brought Cassandra and I here for a reason. What do you think we can do to change the current situation?”
“Twig said, “You remember that it was you and Cassandra touching each other that originally caused the particle to reach a high temperature. Now that the particle has ignited and exploded, we think that it can still be influenced by the two of you together.” Tommy furrowed his brow and Twig continued, “I know, it’s a wild idea but it’s worth an effort to see.”
Cassandra sighed and said, “What do you want us to do?”
Sprig walked over and put his branches on Tommy’s and Cassandra’s shoulders. “I want you to hold each other and take your minds into the energy center and see if there is any kind of control over what’s happening. If you find something, we will fire a high shielded Coronado ball into the center.”
Tommy looked at Cassandra and said, “I nearly lost you when you went into the center. Is this safe?”
Cassandra raised her eyebrows and said, “I honestly don’t know but if this has the possibility of saving hundreds of thousands of ships, can we refuse to try?”
Tommy looked at her and shook his head. “No, I guess not.”
Sprig said, “Tommy, I think that if you had been with Cassandra when she was drawn into the center, she may not have been affected. I hope that it is the two of you that has the real power in the energy space.”
“Atlas.”
“Yes, Tommy.”
“We will find a way to free your family when they are ready. I promise you we will not forget them.”
“I know; I just haven’t thought things through and you’re right. If you are successful against the Captors, we would still be stuck with that field. If they are successful, they will never remove the field. Either way, the results are the same. Do what you have to do, Tommy.”
“Thanks, Atlas.” Tommy reached and took Cassandra in his arms. “We need to do this more often, Dear.”
Cassandra closed her eyes and felt Tommy come into her mind. Immediately they felt the center where the particle had exploded. “Would you like to enter with me?”
Tommy felt the immense space in the center and said, “It’s beautiful. Let’s go take a look.”
Cassandra went into the center and saw the place where the particle had broken into the new universe. The entrance was the size of a neutron but they could see the new universe through it as it expanded away from the center of the explosion at the speed of light. Tommy and Cassandra felt at peace and could feel each other’s love. Tommy thought, “I could stay here forever, Cassie. You are such a complete part of me in here.”
“I feel it, too, Tommy. I love you.”
“Better tell Sprig to launch the ball.”
“I will but I don’t want to do anything to the first one. I just want to see what happens.” Cassandra sent a thought to Sprig, “Fire a ball into the center, Sprig. We want to just watch and see what happens to the first one.”
Immediately a Coronado Ball was fired into the center. Tommy and Cassandra watched at it approached the point of the new universe and then it hit and blew apart. “Tommy, I can push the next ball through. We don’t even need to fire it.”
“I know, but the others need confirmation that we can do it.”
Cassandra thought, “Sprig, fire another.”
