E:A Vol 7 Ch 18—February 2, 2121

Chapter 18: February 2, 2121

“Janice, honey, it’s just my family now. Becket and Lia returned to their own quarters last night. You don’t need to stop in and fix breakfast for us,” Victoria said as she walked into the kitchen rubbing the sleep out of her eyes.

“Per your orders, Vince, Becket and Lia will be here for meals throughout the day. And someone needs to cook for the guys up in the flagship, so I’ll handle that. It’s the least I can do since your husband is You’re still doctoring and Becket’s only permitted to work four hours. And just so you know, on Thursday, Kaven, Kol’non, and Be’atta will be fixing dinner. We decided, now that people are getting back into their routines, that we should start our weekly family dinners.”

Ky’nayth came running into the kitchen with Baxter on his heels. “Mommy, I no find uniform!”

“It’s hanging up in the laundry area. You were so tired last night you just threw it on the floor. I got it all ready for you. But honey, remember, it’s Sunday, you’ll have to change into your Sunday clothes before we go to church.”

“But Daddy wear uniform to church,” he said and, not waiting for a reply, went running back through the chambers.

“He seems to be in a hurry,” Zy’nayth said walking in.

“Thought he lost his uniform.”

Zy’nayth shook his head and sat at the table. “I told him that he did not have to wear it.”

“He wants to be official,” Victoria said. “And you wear yours…even to church.”

“I am the Supreme Commander of the fleet, I should be in uniform when on the flagship. And as leader of the Raythian Empire, I should dress accordingly even at church. I am not one for a suit and tie. Besides, this is all I have other than my loungewear.”

“I can get you…”

“No,” came the quick response, then he kissed her. “Good morning, by the way.”

Ky’nayth came running back in a few moments later, this time in his little uniform. “Mommy, hair all knotted. I can’t comb. Help, please! I just a mess. I sorry. Need to be more dissy-plin.”

“Come here and stand on the chair,” she said as she took his comb. “You’re doing a good job for only being three.”

“Can I has my eggs over easy?” he asked as Janice finished up the bacon.

“I thought you liked scrambled.”

“Uncle John like over easy and he let the juice out and mixed it with the bacon and taters. He let me taste. I like it all mixy up like that. It my new favorite.”

“When was this?” Victoria asked, “Because I know you had oatmeal for breakfast yesterday and John wasn’t here.”

“We stop in after meeting and Uncle David made us food. John no eat breakfast just had nanner, so Uncle David made him big breakfast. I just had a scammered egg and slice of bacon…and try Uncle John mixy up stuff.”

“And yet you brought snacks up to the flagship?” Zy’nayth asked.

“Working hard. Need nutrients. I growing boy,” he giggled. “I eated mostly fruit and cheese cube for snack. You saw.”

“That’s fine, honey,” Victoria said, kissing her son’s cheek as Mik’kenna walked in rubbing her eyes and yawning. Still in her one-piece pajamas, she padded in with Celeste trotting past to greet Baxter.

“Kenna, sweetie, you don’t have to be up so early,” Victoria said as she finished with Ky’nayth’s hair.

“I smell breakfast,” she said. “I no sleep well anyway.”

“How do you want your eggs, hon?” Janice asked.

“Scammered,” she replied through another yawn.

“Sissy, try over easy and mush it with the taters. It really good.”

“I try what Bubby said,” she replied without a thought and climbed up in her chair. “Daddy, my head hurt.”

“Pain or headache?” he asked. “Is this why you did not sleep well?”

“Head pain,” she frowned. “Probably hurted so much I no sleep. I no know. I not doctor.”

Zy’nayth’s hand settled on the area over her heart, “Did you fall or stumble yesterday?”

“I fell out of bed. I roll over too far and fell.”

“Oh sweetie, I’m sorry,” Victoria said. “You should gotten us up to check you. Baby, it could have been serious.” She ran her fingers through her daughter’s hair, not just offer a tender caress, but to visually search for bruises as the hair was brushed from the face.

“You twisted your neck a little, but it is fixed. You should start to feel better,” Zy’nayth said. “It may take a bit for the pain to subside, but not long.”

“Thank you, Daddy. What time is it?”

“About 5:30,” Victoria asked.

“We go church today? Bubby in uniform.”

“Yes, we will go. Your brother and I will work until 8:30, then return and ready ourselves for church,” Zy’nayth said. “You can go back to sleep after you eat.”

Mik’kenna nodded and yawned again as Janice served up the breakfast. Zy’nayth prayed before they ate, thanking God for Janice’s willingness to help his family.

“See, Sissy, this how Uncle John do it,” he said and showed her how John had mixed his eggs with the bacon and potatoes. “Then you scoop with toast like this. Mix all flavors together.”

Mik’kenna followed her brother’s instructions and took a bite. “It more messy than scammered eggs,” she said, “but good. Maybe more taytoes to soak up eggy juice.”

“You have a very generous helping of potatoes,” Zy’nayth said, “I do not think you need more.”

“But I test theory like you tell us,” she refuted.

“You could, but I would rather you eat what you were given.”

“There is maybe a half of a serving left in the pan,” Janice said, “I could split it between the kids. I was just going to save it if someone was still hungry after they finished what they were served.”

“Please, Daddy?” Mik’kenna asked.

He groaned. “Very well.”

“Thank you,” Mik’kenna beamed. Janice served up the last of the potatoes and Mik’kenna decided that the few extra fried potatoes made it better since there wasn’t as much of the “eggy juice.”

“What do you have in store for lunch?” Zy’nayth asked, “I will most likely be asked.”

“Keeping it simple today. Meatloaf, corn, sliced tomatoes since the mess is trying to get rid of them before they rot, and more of those rolls that everyone seems to like.”

“No taytoes?” Mik’kenna asked.

“Probably some sort of potato,” Janice said.

“Thank you,” Mik’kenna smiled, “I love taytoes with meatloaf.”

“My beloved daughter, you love potatoes with everything,” Zy’nayth smiled.

“I know. They good.”

“Are you going to help out in the infirmary today?” he asked.

“I no know. Mommy, you no say last night.”

“Danielson has the morning shift. I’m on call, so we’ll stay here and go to church. I wouldn’t mind a couple more hours of sleep. I will stop in after lunch for a few hours, if you want to help then.”

“Kay, I do that.”

“Maybe instead of working you and your brother could just bring the dogs down for their visit, then you can come back home,” Victoria said.

“I like helping in infirmary. Is Uncle Becket be there?”

“For two hours starting after lunch. I have him on light duty.”

“Then I be there too, case he needs me.”

“I’m sure he’ll appreciate it. Ky’nayth, you’ll bring the pups by, right?”

“Yup. But there hardly anyone in there now.”

“True, but Baxter and Celeste cheer them up. It’s been a long sickness. Thank you for bringing them by.” Victoria turned to their head nurse, “And Janice, tomorrow, there’s no reason for you to be here to cook for us. You’re working full shifts, the last thing I need is for you crashing and burning. Vince, Becket, and Lia can go to the mess to eat.”

“And who’s going to cook for your husband and the team up on the flagship?” Janice smiled. “Honestly, I’m having a blast. It’s a nice change of pace. Like I said at Christmas, I miss being able to cook. With you letting me adjust my hours so I can take off to make lunch or dinner, it’s fine. Keeps me occupied. Besides, it’s not every woman who can say she cooks for the High Chancellor and his top commanders on the flagship.”

“Which is very much appreciated. Our chefs are still learning and have greatly improved, but they are not up to your level or my lovely wife’s,” Zy’nayth said.

“Did you ever talk to Vince about getting larger chambers so you can have a decent kitchen?” Victoria asked.

“No. There are too many other things that need to get done. Those guest suites, for one. And neither of you are to say anything to him. I am content.”

“Janice, may I come by your chambers before I head up to the flagship?” Zy’nayth asked.

“Why?” she asked, biting off a bit of her bacon slice.

“I want to reacquaint myself with the layout. I might be able to remodel things so that you may have a larger kitchen.”

“As much as I’d love that, you have your hands full as it is. More than any of us.”

“Just as you do not see cooking as work, I do not see building or remodeling as work. This would be fun.”

“Let him take a look,” Victoria said, “he’ll pester you until you let him.”

“Fine,” Janice said, “but I am content.”

“If I am able to do something, consider it repayment for cooking for us and watching over the family while they were sick. It is not much, but it is the least I could do.”

“No payment necessary,” she waved off his comment.

Breakfast was finished, as John walked in. There were a couple slices of bacon left, and Janice fried up an egg for him. “You have to do up the dishes,” Janice said as she and Zy’nayth went up to her chambers, Zy’nayth telling John that once he finished, he could escort Ky’nayth to the flagship.

Zy’nayth walked into Janice’s chambers, much the same as most of the residential units. Upon entry there was a living space that doubled as a bedroom. Depending on what side of the tower you were on, the bathroom and kitchen along with a small closet with a laundry unit were either to the right or the left of the living area.

“I will have to check the schematics, but I believe that if you do not mind a smaller living area, I can add in enough room to allow you a full-sized stove or refrigerator, however, I do not believe there will be room enough for the larger versions of both.” He paused, “Unless you wish get rid of your closet.”

“Stove,” she replied without hesitation, “and I need my closet. I don’t have a dresser, opting for a couple of chairs instead to go with the sofa bed. Dresser just seemed out of place.”

He looked at the wall separating the kitchen from the living area. “Instead of just moving the entire wall, I could rebuild it as a half-wall with a countertop under which stools could be placed if you would like to use it as your dining table. Then this,” he put his hand on the small table against the wall, “could be removed and replaced with another countertop with storage underneath. It would not be very deep, front to back, that is, but would give you more workspace, and with putting in a full-sized stove, you would lose what precious little storage area you have.”

Janice began to tear up, “Oh, Zy, I would love that. I really would. But…you’re so busy. I…”

“It will not take long. It depends on what is in that wall; electrical, plumbing could make it more of a project, but everything else is very easy and probably quite doable in a weekend. I will order cabinets and such. You may pick them out. I am sure I could also get another pair or hands to help. Perhaps more.”

She threw her arms around his neck and began crying. “Thank you! You have no idea how much that means to me. And no, I don’t want to hold up anything. I like what you did with your place. Pick anything. I do like white, though. A white kitchen. So, anything, really, I’m not picky.”

“Janice is there something wrong? You are usually not this emotional.”

She sighed and pulled away. “Sorry. I guess…I’m just not used to asking for favors or anything. This is the first time, in a very long time, where, well, someone offered to put me first.”

He gave her a warm smile then a hug. “Janice, if you ever need anything, no matter how big or small, ask. We are often very busy and involved in our own work and lives, but my dear, everyone in our little family would drop everything to help you. I am sure I speak for everyone. And even if they were to disagree with me, I will drop everything to help you, then order everyone else to do the same,” he flashed a mischievous grin, causing her to laugh.

“Deal,” she said. “Thank you, Zy.”

“You are very welcome. And if you can slip in a couple of strawberries for me at lunch, I will call it even.”

“It will be done,” she smiled and let out a sigh of relief. “I thank you a million times over.”

“I owe you a million times over.”

“Owe me? For what?”

“When I returned after divorcing Victoria and taking the babies, you had the strength to put me in my place. You were not out to please the Supreme Commander or get on my good side, you were very honest. You showed me how much you cared about Victoria, and how much you cared about me. I have often reflected on that time and how you were there for her, and especially for me despite being utterly infuriated with me. You really have always put others first. I have learned from you and I thank you for that.”

She smiled and wiped away her tears. “I was absolutely terrified of you, but…well, no need to go back over that. I love you and Victoria. I’m glad we’re a family. Now get going. Your son is probably going crazy not being able to work,” she chuckled, “and I need to get to the mess hall and get ingredients for lunch.”

***

“Electrical line is in the bottom of the wall,” Ny’van said at lunch which he was having with Zy’nayth and the team in Ja’val’s lab. Zy’nayth had told him of his plans for Janice’s chambers and the Vice Chancellor offered to look at the blueprints. “Shouldn’t be a problem to move them a couple of feet. If you want, I can also get the supplies we’ll need. I think we could work on it next weekend, the one after we visit my brother.”

“I’m willing to help,” John said.

“Count me in,” Kol’non added.

“Me too,” Ja’val said.

“I can talk to Chris and Kaven, too,” John said, “and David. He’ll want in. And Becket.”

“Her chambers are not that big,” Zy’nayth said, “and Becket may not be in any condition to work. Or his second will not allow him to work.”

“Then we can split up the work. Two teams, morning and afternoon. Switch it up the next day,” John replied. “And Becket will want to do something. He won’t take no for an answer. Aside from Victoria pulling some sort of medical rank or whatever, he’ll be there. We can find something easy for him. This’ll only take two days, right?”

“I believe so.”

“Now all we need to do is to figure out what to do with the women while we’re working,” John smiled.

“What if we simply tell them they are to spend the weekend relaxing? They are not to cook, clean, or work unless of course there is an emergency. Have them plan a weekend together,” Zy’nayth said.

“Then who feed us?” Ky’nayth asked.

“I can cook,” Kol’non said, “or we can go to your mess hall.”

“I think mess hall,” Ky’nayth said, “I think it be fun. We no do that much, so it be treat for me.”

“Then it’s settled,” John said. “We’ll eat at the mess hall. One last detail, the dogs.”

“I can help with puppies,” Ky’nayth said, “and maybe Pastor, Julia, and Steve help too. And Uncle Vince. We can has them in our place and I just need help to take them out.”

“I will not leave you alone in our chambers,” Zy’nayth said, “you know the rules.”

“That’s what the others for,” he replied, “they be there.”

“I’ll talk to them,” John said. “We’ll get it worked out. I think this is going to be fun. She deserves it.”

“Gentlemen, I have a personal question and could use some advice. Ky’nayth, you too.” The boy turned to the Vice Chancellor. “Zy’nayth, Ja’val, Kol’non, John, you know Janice much better than I. Do you think she would…” he paused.

“You like her, don’t ya?” John grinned.

Ny’van smiled. “I do.”

“For what it’s worth, Be’atta thinks she’s a little, how did she put it? Ah, yes, sweet on you,” Kol’non said.

Ky’nayth spoke up, “I told you guys she just helping him learn to cook.” He waved off the idea that there was anything else and went back to flying his drone while listening to the others discuss Ny’van and Janice.

“I think there’s some chemistry between the two of you. I say go for it,” John said.

“But it has been quite some time since I last courted someone. What does she like besides cooking and nursing?”

“I think she would appreciate a true courtship. She told me that she has always put others first, never herself. I would suggest you have dinner together and alone, not with the entire family around, and get to know each other. Be her friend, first. If something more is to happen, it will.”

“Oh! Daddy! Bridge! I found bridge!” Ky’nayth exclaimed.

Zy’nayth swung around in his chair and changed the view on his screen to see through the “eyes” of his son’s drone. “Are you still on the main floor?”

“Yes. I went east from control room.”

“Pan around the room, please.”

John looked over at Ky’nayth’s screen, “That room is massive. Four workstations, like ours, but sort of clustered in the back of that room. Odd.”

“To your right, Ky’nayth,” his father said, “go to that room. John, if this is their main bridge portal for this facility, they would need the room for incoming troops, hence the workstations to the back.”

Ky’nayth buzzed over to the right per his father’s instructions. His drone noting two floors. “Up or this room down here?”

“Check the lower level first, though I suspect it is a holding room of some sort.”

Ky’nayth went over and activated the automatic door. It slid open. There was nothing in the room. “Empty,” he said.

“Holding room,” Zy’nayth said. “Note the thicker window material.”

“How can you possibly tell it’s thicker than the other glass we’ve seen?” John asked.

“There is a slight amber tint to it. It is reinforced. The other glass, as you would call it, though it is not glass, it does not have the tint. This particular amber-tinted glass is a common material used for prisons.”

John finally saw the amber tint, it was very slight, something he may not have noticed even had he been there in person, but now that he saw it, he knew he’d recognize it any time he’d come across it in the future. He had a notepad and on it noted the tinted glass to inform his team to look for it whenever entering a new area. This was good information to know. “Mythicans only make this type of glass?”

“No. Rayth as well.”

“Good to know,” he jotted down the information then went back to watching Ky’nayth explore the area as the boy tried to eat his lunch at the same time.

“There is also a control panel outside the room,” Zy’nayth said, “with an alarm under it. There was not a control panel on the inside of the room. Therefore, it is meant to keep people in, not out.”

“That Rayth eyesight is amazing. Didn’t even get a full second to examine the wall and you noticed that.”

“Daddy good,” Ky’nayth said. “I done here?”

“Yes. Go on up the stairs.”

The drone’s thrusters went off, lifting it up to the second floor over the holding area. He entered the code he’d been using all along, either an English or Raythian version of 1-2-3-4, and the door slid open. “Lots of stuff!”

“Go to the central workstation; the large one, at the top of the half-circle, turn it on.”

“I put up blinds?”

“Blinds?” John asked.

“The bridge room is semi-circular,” Zy’nayth said, “around the upper level, that is your control area hidden behind blast-proof barriers which my son just termed blinds. And yes, Ky’nayth, open them up.”

“Power on.” He was quiet for a few moments, “No find button.”

“Top row, left side, third from the left. The Mythican word means ‘screen’ as well as ‘search’ if I remember correctly,” Chris said.

“You are correct,” Zy’nayth replied.

The arm of the drone reached over and pushed the glowing button and slowly the iron-looking barrier around the horseshoe shaped upper level began disappearing into the roof overhead.

“Ja’val are you set up to receive a data dump from these stations?” Zy’nayth asked.

“I am.”

“Ky’nayth, go from station to station, I’ll send you a list, and begin transmitting the files. Once you are done, return to the bridge portal.”

“Yes, sir.”

“There has to be what, a two, three dozen workstations up there?” John tried to count but couldn’t see the entire floor from the drone’s vantage point.

“We only need six stations dumped right now,” Ja’val said. “Main unit, which Ky’nayth is at, power, life support, shields, security, and communications. As for the others, some are probably dedicated to handling traffic in and out of the shuttle bay, possibly have weapons down here, and I would also venture to guess that each department had its own workstation there as either a primary or secondary station.”

“So, Simon would have the main station in his lab and one here in case maybe his lab was compromised?” Chris asked.

“Exactly. It appears this room is probably the most heavily protected compared to what we’ve seen so far. Now that Ky’s tapping into their data,” Ja’val said, “I can cross-reference with the files we have, that might help me locate the schematics faster.” He paused then let out a whistle. “These files are more encrypted than anything I’ve ever seen, with a few exceptions. This facility, not just its location, but how it was built, its layout, everything, yeah, this place was never meant to be found.”

“Good thing they used such difficult combinations on the shuttle bays. One-two-three-four,” John grinned.

“Like I said, this place wasn’t meant to be found. On another note, the code was not in Mythican. Remember, they used English for one and Raythian for…” Ja’val stopped. “I don’t know why they used Raythian. If we had gained access to the facility, we would have tried something as simple as that. I would have. Obviously, Ky would have.”

“Obviously, we never got in,” Zy’nayth said. “Our scanners, with ten thousand years of more advanced technology built into them, could not even detect this place.”

“Clearly you need to upgrade your scanners. Can’t trust you guys to stay on top of things,” Chris said, evoking a groan from Zy’nayth.

Thirty minutes later, Ky’nayth told his father that he had triggered all of the uploads that Ja’val wanted.

“Do you know how to power up the bridge portal?” Zy’nayth asked.

“No. It not flyable, so I no know.”

“Makes sense,” John said. “Just pretend it flies. I have no doubt you’ll figure it out.”

“I no take risk. I prolly figure out, ‘course, but no take risk and blow it up. It possible. Might has special security. Daddy and Science Commanders best show me what do.”

Zy’nayth moved his chair over to his son’s station, thanking him for being so cautious, and walked him through the start-up procedure, explaining in detail why things were done in a certain order. Using the portal’s own control panels, Zy’nayth had him check for security measures and then told him how to disable them. “Very good. Now, push that…correct.”

A golden glow appeared.

“Coordinates captured,” Ja’val said. “Good job you two.”

Kol’non tapped his comlink, “Second Commander, scan for a bridge signature, sending coordinates.”

“Coordinates received…Scanning…Yes, sir, we see her.”

“Student Pilot One is at the location, run through start up protocol. Let’s make sure this thing works.”

“Yes, sir.”

“Ky’nayth when it comes through, let us know,” his father said.

“Kay. Want me to look in other rooms while wait?”

“It will only take a moment.” Zy’nayth said, and just as he finished speaking a foot-long metal pipe rolled across the bridge into the room.

“Got it.”

Kol’non, still in touch with his Second told him they had received the metal pipe and were sending it back.

Ky’nayth’s drone picked it up, entered the flagship bridge code into the control panel on the portal, then rolled the pipe back across.

“Item received. Everything seems to be functioning properly. Running scan for integrity of the pipe.”

Kol’non explained to Ky’nayth that there were be several test items with various materials sizes and shapes to be sent through. He was to acknowledge receipt of the item, then return it to the flagship. Then Ja’val made sure Ky’nayth’s comlink was patched into that of the Second Commander.

Zy’nayth called his wife and told her that they found something important and that Ky’nayth would be an hour late in taking the dogs to the infirmary. “It is a significant find and having him help with this allows the rest of us to finish our work.”

“No need to apologize. Thanks for letting me know. Love you,” Victoria replied.

An hour of passing items back and forth, having them scanned for structural integrity showed that the bridge portal that had been dormant for 10,000 years was working perfectly.

“We now have that option open to us,” Kol’non said.

“So far everything we’ve encountered is intact and running properly, except for the generator,” Chris said.

“Gentlemen,” Gno’toz said, “I believe I have found the dock.”

Ja’val looked at the scan. “That’s it! Sir, she’s deep, we’ll probably have to take the flagship down in order to scan the integrity. I’m sure we could do it from here, but with all we’ve been through, I don’t want to take a chance and mess this up. We have to know for sure it’s working otherwise if we try to connect city-ship to it, it will be quite disastrous. If it looks secure, I can try docking the flagship to it.”

Zy’nayth looked at Kol’non, “Park your drone. I want you to pilot the flagship down, communicate directly with Ja’val. We will not dock the flagship to it. Given the various power sources we already use, let us not complicate matters and potentially harm this ship.”

“Yes, sir. Though I’d drop the energy into an empty tank. Not like I’d be mixing…oh you know what I mean.”

“Should I alert Vince?” John asked.

“No need,” Chris replied, “he’s here with me, heard the whole thing. Brought me lunch.”

“If we dock the city-ship and top off our energy supply, will that stop the quakes?” Vince asked, “I mean, if we turn that generator back on? We’d be taking the pressure off of the pipes.”

“In theory, yes, if that’s the reason the quakes started,” Ja’val said, “but from what I’ve been able to read in their logs, they had redundant systems, ventilators for excess energy, so this should never have happened. There’s damage somewhere, we need to find it and fix it.”

“Well, we’re making progress. You guys are. It’s not like we’re helping much from our end.”

“Vince, we are happy to help. Terra 2 has become a second home to many of my crew members. We have a stake in this,” Zy’nayth said.

“Daddy, I go look in other rooms now or go back to city-ship?”

“Ja’val, do you have all you need from my son?” Zy’nayth asked.

“I’ll have more for him tomorrow, but for now, he can go cheer up people in the infirmary.”

“Dishes are packed up, except Ky’s there,” Ny’van said. “Thanks. Didn’t mean to rush you.”

“I done,” Ky’nayth said and grabbed his drink. “Kay. I ready. See you for work tomorrow,” the boy waved as he left with Ny’van to return to the city-ship.

“And before I get involved in the dock situation,” Ja’val said, “I’ve located the schematics. This is the end of the facility. Sir, suggest we postpone any further work, including scanning the dock, until I’ve had my staff go over these schematics.”

“Agreed,” Zy’nayth said. “I will stay and help since my wife is not expecting me until dinner.”

***

With Mik’kenna accompanying her, Victoria returned home after a long afternoon of work. She was surprised to find their entire extended family there and even more surprised to find that Kol’non, Be’atta, and Kaven had cooked dinner.

“Puppies been takey out,” Ky’nayth told his sister. “Mommy call and say you stay with her all afternoon, so Uncle David and Uncle Ny’van took them out then me and Daddy took them just few minutes ago. So you no worry ‘bout have to do.”

Mik’kenna hugged her brother. “Did you has good day at work?” she asked.

“You no believe day I had!” he said with a wave of his hand. “We tell you all ‘bout it at dinner.”

Victoria stood, amused at her three-year-olds, until Zy’nayth walked over and drew her into a kiss. “They’re funny,” she smiled at him.

Burgers were made for dinner. Kol’non, the only one in the group who actually had a knack for cooking, thought burgers would be easiest for Be’atta and Kaven to help make. And instead the traditional fries, he made a hashbrown casserole, which Mik’kenna, of course, thought was the best thing she’d ever eaten. He also served up a salad with a twist on Ranch dressing, which went over well.

“I have to admit,” Kaven said with a smile, “these are mighty fine burgers.”

“It all gooey,” Ky’nayth said, “and juicy and spicy and good!”

“I’m sorry it was just burgers, but I knew my time in the kitchen would be a little limited,” Kol’non said.

“I wasn’t even expecting you to cook. I thought Thursdays were going to be our family day,” Victoria said.

“It is,” Alessa chimed in, “but the First suggested that we have it tonight just to give you and Janice a break. He, of course, offered to cook. Couldn’t say no.”

“I do wish to try more complex dishes, so I hope…”

“Hey, we agreed we wouldn’t worry about it. If we have cold cuts and chips, that’s fine. We’re doing this to be together,” Amelia said.

“Everything is delicious. Thank you, Kol’non, Be’atta, and Kaven. It’s very much appreciated,” Victoria said. “Now, I hear it was quite a day in your little exploration.”

Zy’nayth nodded and filled everyone in on the day’s progress. “At this point, Ky’nayth and John will continue to map the facility. Kol’non and Gno’toz will continue going through the facility’s database to find out if there is a log of when the generator stopped working properly. Gno’toz has it narrowed down to a few thousand files, so I am hoping to wrap that up tomorrow. Meanwhile, Simon, Ja’val, Ny’van, and I will be going through the Mythican database to figure out this dock mystery.

“I do have to mention that this coming weekend, the twins and I will accompany Ny’van to visit his son. The following weekend our beautiful ladies are hereby ordered to relax. You will not cook, clean, or tend to us. You may go shopping, dine out, or whatever you wish. The men and I will be remodeling Janice’s kitchen. We will go to the mess hall for our meals. Janice, you may stay in our guestroom until work is complete. Ky’nayth will remain here to watch over the dogs. Steve, Pastor, and Julia have agreed to help out watching and tending to all of our dogs.”

“No work, huh?” Victoria smiled.

“That is correct. Unless your schedules already have you on duty that weekend.”

“As much as I appreciate all of this,” Janice said, “you all can’t fit into my chambers.”

“We are working in shifts. We have it all organized.”

“We can shop for baby things,” Victoria said. “I’m pretty sure Be’atta and Kol’non still need a few things.”

“And I can buy new things for my new kitchen!” Janice said, a bit excited about the prospect.

“Are you planning on going to Earth to shop?” Becket asked, “Because I don’t recall seeing the kind of kitchenware you’re probably thinking of in any of the villages we visit.”

“Lutia and Victoria are known around the capitol on Kiva. I can provide a guard and they may shop there. I can provide a list of friendly merchants which sell clothing items and such.”

“Oh, I’d like that!” Alessa said, “I really want to see your homeworld. Well, other than the island.”

“I think that’s a good idea,” Lutia said, “though I’m a little surprised Zy’s letting us go without him accompanying us.”

“As I said, I will make sure you have a guard and a list of trusted places.”

“I can’t wait,” Be’atta said, “I know I’m not very far along, and that at the holiday I wasn’t overly excited, probably because I was so sick, but now, I’m thinking about how to rearrange our chambers and how to decorate for the baby, and trying to figure out everything I’ll need.” She sighed, “Of course, I’m a little nervous too. I’m going to my village at the end of the month to tell them. I know I’m not particularly welcomed there anymore, but I’m still hoping I can convince them that not all Rayth are evil.”

“Is Kol’non going with you?”

“He’ll be on the planet, but not near the village. Just in case. Kaven will be joining me. They like him.”

Kaven grinned, “Everyone loves me, I’m so adorable.”

Chris burst out laughing, “Our six-foot-four adorable little behemoth.”

“We will pray for your trip,” Victoria said, “and if you need anything, for the baby or the trip, you just ask. Before I forget to ask, again, who wants dinner duty next Thursday? And remember, I can be here to help. I’m more than willing to help, you know that.”

Vince raised his hand, “As long as you help, I’m in.” Then he nudged John, “You too.”

“Okay. You plan the meal, find the recipes, and I will help you prepare it. Deal?” Victoria said.

“Deal!”

“I help too,” Mik’kenna said. “I still learning. And when we go shopping, I get new knife. Mine isn’t real knife. And Bubby, we get you one too,” she said.

“Thank you, Sissy. And I help cook too. I like cooking. I think Mommy rub off on me. I think it relaxy.”

“About the knives,” Victoria sighed and was cut short before she could continue.

“We will discuss the knives,” Zy’nayth said.

“When do you think we can go see this facility?” Vince asked, “I mean, actually step foot in it.”

“As I mentioned during our meeting yesterday, we need to find the leak or blockage in the pipes. That is of utmost importance for everyone’s safety. Hopefully we can walk through it by the end of February. I will not risk any lives, especially those of your crew. You have already lost too many.”

February 3, 2121

With most of the schematics quickly perused before the group reassembled the following morning, Ja’val had a plan set up. Kol’non was sent to the bridge to pilot the flagship to where Ja’val felt he could get the best scan of the city-ship’s underwater dock. Meanwhile, Second Science Commander Gno’toz was to note key locations that should be the first areas to thoroughly search.

“Anything related to energy generation. After that, technological areas, areas to help us understand the facility and how it was maintained. Anything after that, at your pleasure,” Zy’nayth instructed him.

“I think all of these rooms we first encountered from the generator room are just workrooms for the maintenance staff,” John said, “except those first four near the Control Room outside of the shuttle bay. Though without a control panel or workstation, that still seems a bit off.”

“Have you finished scanning all of the rooms up to the Shuttle Control Room?”

“Just finished.”

“Any chance those rooms might be decontamination rooms? You said there were suits found in one of those rooms, correct.”

“Yeah, but decontamination from what?”

“Energy,” Zy’nayth replied. “Remember these are off of the shuttle bays. With energy weapons of the time, there could be radiation, or Rayk energy. Or disease. The suits could be for those who staff the area; the other rooms could be for those who need to be cleared before returning to the main areas of the facilities. They could be quarantined there.”

“But why not have a quarantine area by the portal too, then?”

“The portal would absorb the radiation or rather clear it out. Some diseases as well.”

John looked at Ja’val and Gno’toz. Both were deep into their own projects. “Becket would know if this was quarantine zone. I mean, he does work with decontamination suits.”

“I’ll send for him,” Chris said. A few minutes later Becket was sitting next to Chris. “I’m only plugged into Ky’nayth’s drone. Ky, can you head back to those rooms, please?”

“On my way!” he said and zoomed out of the room he was exploring, then he went with John through a few of the rooms. Becket asked them to hold up certain items then he nodded.

“More advanced than what we have, but those are hazmat suits. Those hoses hanging from the ceiling, I bet those are oxygen. The way these rooms are set up…two stage door system…are those doors air-locked, pressurized?”

“They were open when we got here,” John said, “let’s take a look.” His camera focused in on the walls where the first door retracted in it.

“Come out here, Uncle John,” Ky’nayth said, “I close it. I no lock you in. We no know if same code or not.”

John’s drone joined the boy’s then Ky’nayth hit the control panel and the door shut.

“Pressurized,” John said, recognizing the familiar sound, “yeah, she’s air-locked.” Ky’nayth then closed the other. Both were pressurized.

“Then I’d say, with ninety percent certainty, that’s a quarantine area. Or, at the very least, a safe area should unwanted people get in through the shuttle bay.”

“Ky, can you open it back up?”

“I trying,” he said, “not usual code.”

“If you need to get back to work, Doc, go on. You’ve solved this riddle for us. Thanks,” John said.

“Any time.”

After a few more minutes, Ky’nayth groaned. “I no get code. I sorry. I keep trying.”

“I will tend to it,” Zy’nayth said, “you two head back to the main Control Room. I want all of those workstations properly imaged.”

Zy’nayth’s drone was still in the shuttle bay. He’d been working on the files they’d received from the facilities’ workstations. He moved his screens around, fired up the drone and went into the Shuttle Control area. Within a moment, the door to the quarantine area opened.

“How you do that?” Ky’nayth asked.

“I found the file with the encryption key for the code,” he smiled.

“Ny’van, thank you for bringing up the food.”

“Gave me a chance to see what was going on up here.”

“Yeah, yeah, I know she’s not made to hover, just hold her still,” Ja’val said just as things had gotten quiet again.

Zy’nayth smirked, “The First having trouble handling this ship?”

“Doesn’t want to hover. Making some excuse about stabilizers and thrusters,” Ja’val waved at hand, dismissing complaints from the First Commander as he worked through his program, “I put the things in. Well, modified them. She’ll hold. Running scan. Give me five minutes, First. Just five minutes. Can you hold it that long or should I send your boss up there?”

Zy’nayth tapped into the conversation, “Not to dismiss your abilities, but I can take over if there are issues. We have not flown this close to a planet’s surface before.”

“I can hold her. She doesn’t like it, but I have it,” Kol’non replied.

“Then I leave you to your task.”

A few minutes later, Ja’val instructed Kol’non to return the ship to orbit, he had what he needed.

“What did you find?” Zy’nayth asked.

“The scans show that the dock itself appears to be undamaged, however, she’s too deep for the ship to make contact with…at least I think it’s too deep.”

“Reason?”

“Not sure. Maybe a quake after it was built caused the gulf floor to drop, but like I said, there’s no damage, so I doubt if that’s it.”

“Retractable?” Gno’toz asked.

“It would have to be.”

“But why was the city-ship not on the dock when the Expedition found it?” Zy’nayth said.

“Hopefully Simon can figure that out. Now that I’m sure the dock is okay, I’ll work on a program tonight to run a different diagnostic on the city-ship to find the dock connection then make sure it’s working properly.”

***

“Sir, the flagship is descending,” Tel’lok exclaimed.

“Something wrong?” General Karken’al disengaged his holographic workstation and stood, walking towards his First Officer’s station.

“No. Controlled decent.”

“Jil’ana?” Karken’al called out. “What are they doing?”

“One second,” she said, triangulating where the flagship was headed, checking her notes of the location. “Appears to be heading to the ship’s dock. Sir, if they try to use that dock for fuel…”

“Prepare to intercept. High alert!” Karken’al said. “We’ll fire across their bow, then I’ll make contact with them. Jil’ana, have the com-frequency ready for the Mythican ship. Unless you can get me through to the flagship.”

“Mythican ship, sir, unless you want me tampering…”

“The Mythican ship will do,” Karken’al said as they waited to see what the Raythian flagship was going to do.

“She’s too unstable in atmosphere,” Tel’lok said, “I doubt they could hold it long enough to dock.”

“They’re scanning, sir. Deep scan. Must be checking integrity of the dock.”

Karken’al paced the bridge, the main viewscreen showing the enormous Raythian flagship hovering over the gulf on Terra 2. Though there were no visible signs of scans being performed, Jil’ana’s equipment registered different light waves and could detect the scans.

“Up. They’re headed back into orbit,” Tel’lok let out a sigh of relief. Firing across the bow of the Raythian flagship was probably the quickest way to end his life. He looked down and saw his hand trembling above the workstation. He balled it into a fist and released it, repeating the process several times as he steadied his breathing.

Karken’al alerted the crew that they were to stand down, the crisis was averted. At least for the moment.