believe in. I am a replica of the Alexander Kosiev and I am a warrior at heart. My quest is the protection of this universe and seeing it thrive again.”
“Well, we now have nine Searchers that have sworn their loyalty to the Empire. I would like to move all of them into a Zeta starting with the original three.”
“You can start sending them now.”
“Grace, are you going to accept a partner?”
“Do you have one in mind?”
“As a matter of fact, I do.”
Julie looked at Scotty with raised eyebrows as he said, “Her name is Virze and I think the two of you will be a great match.”
“Will you wait for three hours while I make the transition to my new home?”
“We will.”
“BC, Alex will assist you in moving once I’m done. Then you can send the others.”
“We’ll get Jessica to bring the Zord.”
“I’ll be able to do that, Your Majesty.”
“Won’t it be cramped quarters?”
“Not really.”
BC said, “I wonder what this new home looks like?”
Alex said, “I think you’ll like it.”
BC said, “We’ll see.”
Ro entered Jilico’s chamber and bowed. “Have we found out where the enemy is coming from?”
“Not yet, Your Majesty. The attacks stopped as quickly as they started. Placing our ships inside the jump limit may have prevented further attacks.”
“I can’t conduct business in the Kingdom with my ships stuck inside the jump limit.”
Ro thought about the problem and said, “Let’s see if we can set a trap.”
“How would you go about doing that?”
“We’ll have three of our ships go out to the jump limit and all jump away together.”
Jilico nodded, “You’ll have them jump to a place where we will be waiting for them.”
“Exactly.”
“What if the intruders are not where the ships jumping away are located?”
“We’ll have ships from all our planets start jumping sequentially one after the other. If nothing follows the first three, we’ll jump the next three after we send the first three back.”
“And so on until one of the groups is followed.”
Ro nodded.
“And if none of them are followed?”
“We’ll start the process all over again. Something should happen. You don’t always catch a fish with the first cast.”
“How many ships will you have waiting to spring the trap?”
“Six hundred.”
Jilico jerked his head back, “Do you think we need that many?”
“I don’t know so I’m taking no chances.”
Jilico smiled, “That’s why I trust you.”
“Thank you, Your Majesty.” Ro bowed and left.
“BC, I sense you’re reluctant to change ships.”
“I am, Julie.”
“Why?”
“I’ve lived here so long it’s like this ship is my body. I just don’t know about changing.”
“All right, I’m ready. Are you ready to see my new body?”
BC said, “You have me curious, Grace.”
Suddenly a ship appeared next to BC and Scotty and Julie were stunned at what they saw. It was at least three thousand feet long and was the brightest white Scotty had ever seen, “Wow! I thought Searchers had to be small.”
“It has to be this size to contain all the weapon systems.”
BC looked at the ship and said, “I’ve got to get me one of those. Are you saying that the systems are tighter than mine?”
“Much more than yours, BC. They have also been miniaturized as much as possible.”
“Alex, I’m all yours.”
“Here are your coordinates.”
“Welcome to our motley band, Grace.”
“Where do you want to go first?”
“I want to take Julie home and then pick up Virze to take a short trip.”
“On my way.” The huge ship disappeared.
Grace appeared above Bristone and Anglo came in at high speed challenging, “You will leave this system immediately or I will open fire.”
“Relax, Anglo. I’m bringing Emperor Robbins and Her Royal Highness Juliette home.”
There was a moment of silence and they heard, “Grace? Is that you?”
“Yes it is old friend.”
“Wow! You’ve changed.”
“How do you like my new clothes?”
“Quite impressive.”
“I’ve sent you the entry protocol for the Defense Facility and Alex will be waiting for you when BC returns.”
“Why is he waiting?”
“You are going to be moved into a Zeta Ship. We need to upgrade you as soon as possible. Alex will explain when you get there.”
“Are you in a Zeta Ship?”
“Yes, I am.”
“I kinda hate to leave this ship. It’s like family.”
“We’ll save it for you and you can return once we resolve the issue confronting us.”
“Fair enough.”
“I think you’ll like your new home. Let me know what you think.”
“I will.”
Scotty hugged Julie, “Grace, please send Julie down to the community and see if you can find Timmy and Virze.”
“It’s good to meet you, Grace. I look forward to working with you.”
“Thanks, Your Highness. Congratulations on your pregnancy.”
“You’re welcome. Scotty, are you coming back to make the announcement with me?”
Scotty took a deep breath and said, “There are some things that take precedence over work. Grace and I will delay until we can make the announcement together. I’ll join you after I meet with Timmy and Virze. I may still want to delay the announcement based on what we plan. Are you ok with that?”
“You know I am, Scotty.”
“Your Majesty, Timmy is with Greyson in the Life Province. Virze is at the learning center.”
Scotty smiled and kissed Julie, “Go home, I’ll be there momentarily. I need some personal time with you to celebrate.”
Julie hugged him and disappeared from the bridge.
“Grace, please teleport Virze.”
Suddenly Virze appeared and was shocked at her sudden appearance on the bridge with Scotty. “What’s going on? Oh, excuse me, Your Majesty.”
“There’s nothing to be excused, Virze. I want to make you an offer and see if it interests you.”
