Tommy looked at Rose and saw her fear for their parents.
Cassandra looked at the Gardners and said, “If we are going to do this, then we have to try and make sure we have the best chance of success. Twig, have you thought about how we go about finding him?”
Twig said, “There is literally room for a galaxy inside that skin. We can’t just jump in and expect to run across him. There is also the possibility that he might not be there. I have talked with Sprig and we think that we should enter the skin at the area that was directly above the Moscow’s bridge.”
Tommy thought a moment and said, “That original skin has miles of new surface melded into it since it was brought back by Cade McAllister. How can we possibly know where that section might be?”
Sprig said, “Sten recorded every step of the Kosievs’ construction. We made close-ups of the skin as it was blown away from the Moscow and we know that it extended from just behind the nose to the elevators behind the conference room. We also know that the bridge was approximately seventy feet from the leading edge of the part that was blown away. The leading edge was also narrower than the rear section. We have to look at the construction recordings and see how the subsequent hull was added and mark very closely where it was located. We should have an answer on that in another two days. If the group doesn’t mind, we would like to go continue that process.”
Rose said, “Go ahead and continue your work. We will discuss what we will do once that determination is made.” The two Algeans ran from the room. Rose then looked at her parents and said, “I don’t suppose as Queen of the Stars Realm that I could order both of you to stop what you’re planning?”
Tag smiled at Rose and said, “Only if you tell me honestly that you wouldn’t go in there looking for Tommy if it was him that was lost.”
Rose sighed and said, “Do you always have the answer to those types of questions?” Rose then looked at Danielle and said, “Have you tried to talk some sense into him?”
Danielle shrugged, looked at Tag, and then back at Rose and shrugged again.
Tommy broke the silence by asking, “How long are you going to look before you decide that he’s not in there?”
Tag smiled and said, “As long as it takes.”
Cassandra shook her head and said, “Time is not what you have; how many worlds have to be destroyed before you give up.”
Tag looked at her with a furrowed brow and said, “How do you come up with that?”
“I can’t go back in to the nerve centers of energy space without exploding the particle into a new universe and I know that now is not the time for that to happen. In less than four months those centers will have cooled off enough for the Captors to look into them and see every part of our civilization. Each of their ships can destroy a planet and there are four million of those ships. The Kosiev must lead the attack against them before then and I know that neither Tommy nor Rose will allow this ship anywhere near a battle with you in the outer skin. So I ask you again, Mr. Gardner; how many planets will need to be destroyed before you give up your chase?” Tag said nothing and after a few long moments Cassandra said, “It was my understanding that you took an oath to protect the Realm and that oath should be the main priority here. I don’t want to be the one to point this out but your family appears unwilling to say the things that must be said.”
Tag looked and saw Tommy, Rose, and Danielle looking miserable. He stood and said, “Ok, you’re right but I am not giving up without trying. I will search until the last minute and hopefully it won’t take that long. I refuse to wait until after the battle because the Kosiev might be damaged and we would lose the chance to find him. However,” and Tag looked at Danielle, “I am the only one going in.” Danielle stood and started a protest but Tag said first. “I need you outside to help me find my way back.”
Danielle was stopped mid word; then she said, “Tag, if you don’t come back to me, I promise you that I will come in looking for you battle or no battle.” She then turned to Rose and Tommy and said, “And you two will take this ship into battle whether we are back or not. Your sworn duty is to the Realm, not your parents; do you understand!”
Rose and Tommy looked at each other and said nothing. “I said; “Do you understand,”” Danielle said in a stern voice!
Rose squared her shoulders and said, “Yes, I do; and if I lose the two of you as a result of this decision you’re making, I want you to think about what effect it will have on Tommy and I.”
Cassandra watched the Gardners confronting each other. She then asked, “So how do you do it?”
Rose said, “We will put electronic gloves on Dad and a matching pair on Mom. He will enter the wall and begin his search. Mom will maintain contact with him through the gloves. The main problem is that we do not know the glove’s range. If Dad goes outside the broadcasting range, we may lose him. If that happens, Mom will go in the wall and I will put on gloves to keep track of her.”
“No you won’t, Rose,” Tommy said. “You are Queen of the Realm; you will be the last one to be put at risk.”
Tag said, “He’s right, Rose.” Rose frowned and Tag said, “Part of the price for your chosen profession. Tommy will track Danielle. If she goes outside the range, Tommy will come in and then Cassandra will track Tommy. Tommy, you will not lose contact with Cassandra at any cost; we need you to lead the battle against the Captors. Do you agree to these conditions?”
Tommy looked at Rose and wondered if he could say no to look for his parents if it came to that. Cassandra listened to him in her mind and said, “I will not help you unless you promise to do as he says. I will not lose you!” Tommy looked at Cassandra and she thought to him, “I mean it.”
Tommy hung his head and said, “I agree.”
Rose stood and said, “Well, we have two days; let’s make the most of them.” She then stood and walked over and hugged her parents.
Tag thought, “Are you in there Alex? Please be in there.”
The First Male was overseeing the reconstruction of the construct around the gas giant when he received a call from the Old Watcher. “Do you have a few moments?”
“I always have time for you. What do you want?”
“I have been keeping track of the nexus and it appears the temperature is coming down. If the trend continues, I should be able to use it again within a hesp.”
“That is good news. We should be able to go after the strangers and not wait on them to attack us.”
“I have thought about that and it occurs to me that there is a possibility that they can see the nexus and realize the same thing. It may be that they will attack before the time is up.”
The First Male thought about what the watcher said and replied, “I suspect you’re right. We will go on high readiness immediately and cease looking for the strangers. I’m certain we will need all our resources to defend our home.”
The Old Watcher paused then said, “I know that the strangers attempted to work out a means to stop this conflict. Is there no way to come to an agreement?”
The First Male thought and then said, “Can you allow another ship to enter our system without attacking?”
The Old Watcher paused and said, “No, you know my instincts would take over and drive me to attack. I think that even with our intelligence we are still basically mindless on issues like this. Could we possibly look at our construction and see if there is a way to modify our responses?”
The First Male did not respond. Here was a novel thought. “I don’t know. I’ll mention it to the First Mother and see what she thinks about the idea.”
“Thank you for your time,” and the Old Watcher went back to his task.
The First Male thought about what the old watcher had said and thought, “No, thank you.”
Twig stood in front of the main monitor in the control room of the Kosiev. All of the Gardners were gathered around the monitor watching as Twig rolled the recording of the construction of the Kosiev in high speed. “I have marked the section that McAllister brought back for Sten to work on. I have colored that section that was directly above the control room red so that no matter where it goes during the construction it will keep that color. Now I will run the construction at high speed and follow the section. I think it might surprise you where it ends up.”