Chương 498: Chapter 499: Universal Time

"Affirmative, bringing the experimental drive online," Spector responded. [Noobkiller9000 (Earth): Here we go, here we go.] [SciFifanboy (Earth): Time for an epic sci-fi moment.] [Animefangirl (Earth): Time for an epic anime moment.] [Beinglittleisnotadisadvantage (Strathorp 7): I need to pay close attention to this.] [DeverinianLordMalacoss (Deverinian 9): Agreed.] [1000yearsofdeath (Earth): I just hope it fucks up again. Kekeke.]"Target destination: Felinia Seven Spaceport."

"Target Time: Universal Year Thirty-Two, Forty-Seven."

"Energy levels of experimental drive are reaching optimal levels." [[Activating condition purple]] [[Weapons systems offline]] [[Shields to maximum]] [[Energy output to maximum]] [[Redirecting energy output]] [[All hands brace for Time Jump]]"Time jump commencing in five seconds."

"CAN SOMEONE PLEASE TELL ME WHERE THAT FUCKING SHUTTLE WENT?" The captain of the Nobu shouted angrily on the bridge, only for no one to reply. Just as they were about to continue shouting, a flash of light from the viewscreen caught the attention of every crew member on the bridge.

"Unstable electrical discharge detected directly ahead!" The sensor officer said in alarm as everyone watched arcs of lightning suddenly appear out of nowhere and streak across the blackness of space.

"I can see that. Where is it coming from?" The captain asked just as the Nobu shook violently, causing the captain to grab their chair in an attempt to remain standing upright before they asked, "What was that?"

"The unstable electrical discharge is striking our shields, Captain. Shields down to eighty-one percent," the weapons officer replied just before the ship shook violently again and they added, "Sixty-one percent."

"What is going on?" The captain asked as they continued to watch the lightning striking the shields until it all of a sudden vanished.

"Zero. Initiating time jump." Spector declared, and the next thing the chat saw was the damaged and scorch-marked docking bay on Felinia 7. [OfficialMuriel (Aqua Primus): Wait. Did it work?] [Lizziethetruepower (Palaxia): I think so. It looks like the same docking bay as when they left. I mean, there are even the scorch marks and damaged items from the lightning strikes.] [HackerSu (Trillion): So they made it back?]"Temporal analysis complete.

We have successfully arrived at the target time and destination, Felinia Seven Space Port, Universal Year Thirty-Two, Forty-Seven," Spector announced. [Beinglittleisnotadisadvantage (Strathorp 7): It worked? 😱] [OrangeeyedStace (Felinia 7): What a relief.] [OfficialLorelie (Felinia 7): Oh, thank God.] [DeverinianLordMalacoss (Deverinian 9): But when in 3247 did they return to? Just after they left, our time or some other time in between?]"We're back," Adam said as he closed his eyes in relief.

Rowena opened the stream on her uniband and saw that the chat was moving, and so said, "We appear to have returned to our own time since the chat is moving again." [OfficialAphrodite (Felinia 7): YOU'RE IN SO MUCH TROUBLE BITCH! 😡]"Trouble? Why?" Rowena asked innocently. The tale has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.

"Rowena is correct. Since no specific time point was designated, I returned us to the present universal time off; nineteen hundred hours, twenty-eight minutes and seven seconds on the three hundredth and fifteenth day of Universal Year Thirty-Two, Forty-Seven," Spector replied. [Whostolemyduck (Earth): That's 19: 28: 07. Does the universe also run on a 24-hour day cycle then?] [DeverinianLordMalacoss (Deverinian 9): No. Every planet naturally has its own day cycle, and so the Universal Senate created a universal time which actually runs on a 26-hour day cycle.] [Whostolemyduck (Earth): Interesting. What about minutes and seconds? Are they still 60 seconds in a minute and 60 minutes in an hour?] [DeverinianLordMalacoss (Deverinian 9): They are.] [Whostolemyduck (Earth): Then what about days in a year? We have 365.] [CEOHopkins (Earth): 366 in a leap year.] [DeverinianLordMalacoss (Deverinian 9): We do indeed have 365 days in a year, how coincidental. But what's a leap year?] [CEOHopkins (Earth): A leap year comes around every four years and is when the second month of our calendar has 29 days instead of 28. It's to compensate for the fact that a period of 365 days is shorter than a tropical year by almost six hours here on Earth.] [DeverinianLordMalacoss (Deverinian 9): Ah, yes. Almost every planet has months in its individual calendar. However, because there are so many different names for those months throughout the universe, the Universal Senate decided not to include them in the universal calendar and just say x day of x year.]"Wait," Adam said as he opened his eyes before asking, "How did we return to a point after we left when that hasn't happened yet? You said that it's impossible to travel into the future."

"That's correct. However, time was still moving forward even when we were in the past; that's how your viewers were able to watch the stream," Spector replied.

"What?" Adam asked.

"What?" Rowena asked. [All of chat: What? 😵💫]"Time is constantly in motion, even when we are in the past. This is why chat is able to watch the stream of you in the past, even though they can not comment on it. No force in the universe can stop time moving," Spector explained. [StealthAssassin9 (Earth): Do any of you understand what she just said?] [Beinglittleisnotadisadvantage (Strathorp 7): Partially.]"Rigghhhtttt," Adam replied as he decided he was too tired to try to wrap his brain around temporal mechanics, or whatever that famous TV show used to call it. And so suggested, "Shall we head back?" [OfficialLorelie (Felinia 7): Yes, you definitely should.] [OrangeeyedStace (Felinia 7): Agreed, and don't forget our gifts.]"Sure, let's go," Rowena said happily as she stood up from her seat on the shuttle and began making her way towards the exit. Adam nodded and stood up to follow her while saying, "End stream."

[[Affirmative.]] [[Ending Stream.]]"Damn that Rowena," Revi cursed as she sat at her desk staring at the now black holographic screen that had previously shown Adam's stream, which had just ended.

"Stacey and Lorelie, I'm fine with since they had already entered a relationship with Adam before he met me, but now even Rowena is getting ahead of me. I need to do something about this before even more women join and I get forgotten about."

She tapped her finger on the desk for a while as she tried to think of a way she could become closer with Adam, when she suddenly remembered something that Shalendra had said on the stream, causing her beautiful face to break into a scheming smirk, after which she accessed her unibands contact list and searched for her goddaughter.

"Why hasn't Sakura been brought here yet? I thought you said you sent a team to retrieve her," Umeko asked in an annoyed tone towards Ichiro, who was on a holographic screen above her desk.

"I have, but there is a problem," Ichiro replied nervously.

"What problem? The team has been on Felinia Seven for a few hours now, but during that entire time, Sakura hasn't left the side of Diva Lorelie and, by extension, her boyfriend." Ichiro explained.

"The guy who threatened us," Umeko replied in understanding before asking, "Why is she with them?"

"From what the team has found out, Diva Lorelie asked the pseudonym she goes by, Eri, to be her guide while she is in the Felidae Galaxy and also to be the photographer at a recent photoshoot they just did at Alpha Entertainment."

"Alpha Entertainment? Didn't a team with a rank one recently fail a job there?" Umeko asked as she remembered seeing the report only a few hours ago.

"That's correct, the team, including the rank one, was captured and handed over to the authorities. We are currently formulating the best way to get them out."

"You don't suppose HE had anything to do with that?"

"Impossible to say, and I am still trying to ascertain exactly what went wrong and how they got captured," Ichiro replied before adding with an ugly expression, "The client has already made their request for a full refund under the guarantee clause."

"That's to be expected and though annoying, we need to pay, or it will damage our reputation," Umeko replied before instructing, "Keep investigating what happened and inform me as soon as you know anything."

"Yes, family head."

"Now, why is Sakura getting so close to that group? Is she using it as a ploy to get invited on board so that she can steal it?" Umeko wondered aloud.

"Possibly, after all, she wants the cloaking tech so that she can attempt the black job, but I doubt that's the only reason," Ichiro replied.

"What do you mean?" Umeko asked curiously.

"It's well known that Sakura is a huge Diva Lorelie fan."

"It is?" Umeko asked in surprise.

"Do you really not know about your own daughters' likes and dislikes?" Ichiro asked in amazement.

"When I want parenting advice from you, I will ask for it," Umeko responded dangerously as her eyes narrowed.

"Yes, family head. Sorry, family head," Ichiro apologised quickly.

"Good, now get back to the topic of retrieving Sakura," Umeko instructed.

"Because of your previous orders not to move against that man, the team is waiting until Sakura is no longer with them before making their move, though they did report that neither Diva Lorelie's boyfriend nor Diva Rowena is with the group right now."

"Not with them? Where did they go?"

"Unknown, however, they left on a hoverbike, Diva Rowena was driving and headed in the direction of the spaceport. It's possible they returned to their ship for something."

"Whatever, what those two are up to is not our concern," Umeko replied while waving her hand before ordering, "Once Sakura parts company with that group tonight, have the team move and apprehend her at once. We can't risk her trying to steal that ship."

"Understood, family head."