"What are we looking at?" Valkyrie asked on behalf of the others once they all gathered. The only living creatures that were not here were Gaz, Colonel, and Catherine Hex. Gaz and Colonel were in the cargo bay which had been transformed into a pseudo stable and field with grass already growing. While Catherine was stored in the brig in a cryopod.

"An hour inside the bubble is roughly six months out here. We are going to have to move fast. But we also need to drag and install the extra power source." Jace began explaining as he handed the tablet to her to look at. "More importantly, the station is analog."

"Which means we can not automate or remotely activate the station." Colvert declared in annoyance. "But I thought we determined the actual gateway could be remote activated?"

"We did, but we need a specific twelve dimensional codex key which is too complex for anything we currently have." Jace explained with a shrug.

The others started looking at each other before Valkyrie asked the question. "What is a dimensional codex key?"

"Umm..." Jace frowned and looked over at Cain. "I have no idea. I tried to understand the concept once and my head hurt from trying to learn about it." He waved at Cain, "Cain has a better idea but even then..."

"I only know from memories I absorbed from Ignius. He interacted with an array of people from other galaxies looking for help exterminating organic life. One of them mentioned the need for a twelve dimensional codex key. He only got a short explanation but was told that it is a digital key that has a reaction on not just the digital plane but on physical reality and on other dimensions." Cain explained. "It is not a concept or idea that I can wrap my head around either."

"Could we copy it if we trigger it once?" Valkyrie asked as she passed the tablet to Shilla.

"No, something like what Cain and Jace are talking about does not operate in our current technology limit." Crystal declared. "There have long been theories about other dimensions but no understanding of it so the dimensional key is not something we cannot even understand or copy without time." Crystal grunted out. "Time which we will not have." 𝚏𝗿𝗲𝐞𝐰𝚎𝕓𝐧𝚘𝘃𝗲𝐥.𝐜𝚘𝕞

Jace looked over at the material printer that was making a modified cart that would easily drag the power source. He had some time so he designed a new one after the first one they used had been damaged. This one he should be able to push on his own. "So the gateway has to be manually opened but could we just leave it open?"

"No, that we do know for a fact is a bad idea." Colvert declared quickly. "If we left the gateway open for more than an hour, the portal would collapse on both ends and would create a black hole that would swallow both our galaxy and this galaxy."

"Okay, so that is not an option." K decided almost immediately. "What should we do?"

Jace sighed as he ran a hand through his hair. "Nothing. Cain and I have to go in. Then I will probably come back and Cain will stay at the gateway station."

"Once we get back to our own galaxy we will find a gateway station and send someone back to replace him and maybe establish a foothold?" Valkyrie suggested and Jace nodded, glancing at Cain whose optical devices blinked.

"Even if we do manage to get the portal started, how are we sure it will take us home?" Victor pointed out and the others looked at him. "We never really talked about it but there is no guarantee this will even take us home."

At this, Jace exchanged a look with Cain, then Colvert, then Shilla, and then Crystal. All of which nodded or waved at him. Indicating for him to explain. "Star maps. While we were checking the gateway devices we discovered that they use star maps as navigation information. Something that I have in spades. Specifically I have four star maps for four different galaxies."

"How?" Valkyrie suddenly asked first. "How do you get four star maps?"

Jace shrugged slightly before waving at the Xenar in the room. "The Xenar were the ones who made the ones for our home galaxy, the Mortella home galaxy, and the Daemon home galaxy, while our ancestors made the one for this galaxy."

"But over time wouldn’t that change?" Victor asked. "I am no scientist or navigation expert, but planets disappear and even stars fade."

Jace snapped his finger and smiled. "That is the trick isn’t it? We are betting that whoever was smart enough to create these gateways was smart enough to know that change would occur over time. So we are thinking that even the historical record of a star map will act like finger print."

"That is your plan!?!? Hope?" Valkyrie asked. "We are going to be stuck for months with just hope? What about teleportation? We have the technology and the power. Why don’t we use it?" Valkyrie suggested as she looked over when the material printer beeped once it finished printing the cart.

"Because we do not have the navigational data for it." Cain was the one to answer. "I was the one who insisted this was the safer of the two available options."

That was partially true. While they did not have the navigational data they could have done some error checking. But between Crystal, Colvert, Cain, Shilla, and Jace, they all figured that doing trial and error like that would have a bad effect on not only themselves but would certainly have a negative effect on the child that was currently growing in Valkyrie. But they kept that information out of circulation since Valkyrie was already moody as it was.

Valkyrie huffed in annoyance. "There is no other option?"

"No other option." Cain shook his robotic head. "It is time for us to say our goodbyes. It will be at least six months before you see Jace or hear from me again."

"I thought the time bubble would prevent that." West pointed out. "I may be out of depth but..."

"Once the power is restored on the gateway station the bubble should disappear. While the station is currently out of phase, we doubt that was an intended side effect. It is more likely that the station lost power and that happened." Cain explains quickly. "Now can we move onto something more productive."

"I am going to move the power source to the ship. Say your goodbyes." Jace told them as he walked over and grabbed the handle of the cart and quickly pushed it out of the room. Waving Victor off when he offered to help.

—--------------------

It had been a few hours by the time Cain arrived at the hangar. Jace had finished setting up the Wyvern, their transport ship. Just like with the probe it would have to be an automated process. There would be a moment when they passed through that they would probably either lose control or pass out. But automating the process would prevent the repercussions from such an event from occurring.

"Not going to say your goodbyes?" Cain asked as he walked in through the lowered ramp. Jace was finishing setting the harness as the Wyvern’s engines spun up. "Whose flying?"

"Neither. The ship will land with its ramp facing the facility." Jace answered as he hit a button and the ramp started closing up. He materialized his armor around his body.

"You really don’t want to talk about it." Cain grunted out as he moved to the pilot cabin. They just had to trigger the process to start.

"How I will probably have to leave you behind? Or how I will probably miss a year or more of time? Time that will cost our galaxy lives." Jace grumbled out as he triggered the autopilot and moved back to the storage cabin with Cain.

"You have been hiding your worry really well. But you are going to need to open up to someone." Cain pointed out.

"I already have someone, they are in another galaxy." Jace pointed out as the Wyvern shuddered as it went through the atmospheric barrier and entered space. It would take a few extra seconds since they were on the hangar opposite of where the tachyon bubble was located.

"Promise you will talk with her when you get back." Cain requested.

"Fine I will." Jace grunted out. "You left stuff for Cho and Jordan?"

"I did." Cain nodded his head as Jace relaxed a bit more. They looked through the front view port as the ship rounded the cruiser and began moving on a direct course. "I left all of the stuff for them in your room. As well as a teaching program for when you eventually decide you want to homeschool your off spring. Because I know you will be a shit teacher.."

"You flatter me... thank you Cain." Jace told him as they neared the bubble.