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We were just hoping to get them off ship as soon as possible.”
    “ Why don’t you drop the hopper off on Trumach. Probably lots for him to eat down there.”
    “ That was my first suggestion. Brian seemed open to it, but the hopper wouldn’t go along. Seems to have developed a bond to your brother.”
    “ To Brian?” Jason asked, not understanding how that would be possible.
    The admiral shrugged.
    “ I’m sending The Lilly back to you, Dad. It’s just a matter of time before the Caldurians come looking for the Minian. We’re no match for their technology. How we overtook that ship was a fluke, and not something we should count on happening again. I don’t want to jeopardize the crew, especially Mollie.”
    “ And you’ll be able to deactivate the drones on Earth?”
    “ We have the Epcot shuttle, as well as what’s left of the Minian that we can use for a base of operations.”
    “ Let me know prior to your spooling a wormhole. And son, I’m staying optimistic you’ll be able to deactivate those drones. Seven billion displaced people are quite a burden for anyone to manage.”
    “ Thanks for reminding me. I’m well aware what’s at stake. Returning Earth to the twenty-first century is at the top of the list.”
    Jason cut the feed, turned in his chair, and saw Mollie coming down the hallway. Her hair was wet and she was all dressed, though barefoot.
    “ Well, is Uncle Brian going to be there?”
    “ Looks like it. Grandpa’s going to talk to him.”
    “ What should I pack?”
    “ Nothing. You’ll be going in The Lilly. Things won’t change all that much for you. You can even keep working in the Zoo, if that’s what you want.” Mollie brightened with that bit of news and even smiled. Jason heard noises coming from their kitchenette area: cabinets being opened and closed, the hum of the replicator, and silverware being laid out on the table. Teardrop hovered into view behind Mollie.
    “ Go get your shoes and socks on before sitting down to breakfast. Okay, kiddo?”
     
    * * *
     
    Why was the Minian’s AI being so amiable was a question still on Jason’s mind, as Billy showed him a part of the ship that was very unusual; in fact, an entire deck that had no correlation to anything like it on The Lilly.
    They entered another compartment similar to four others they’d exited from over the last few minutes. It, too, had rows of equipment, like generators or turbines; the ten-foot-high by thirty-foot-long items occupied every inch of the five compartments. Jason stood with his hands on his hips and looked up at the closest of the huge pieces of equipment. Black and heavy looking, they looked similar to early nineteenth-century locomotives. There seemed to be a layer of grease covering each mechanical component.
    “ Like I said, Cap. There are hundreds of these things,” Billy said.
    “ It’s a Zip farm,” Ricket’s voice commented as he entered from the far end of the compartment.
    “ What the hell’s a Zip farm?”
    “ I’ve never actually seen one,” Ricket said, stopping to take a closer look at one of the strange devices. “Only seen theoretical models. And certainly nothing of this scale.”
    “ Are these used to support some kind of weapon?” Jason asked.
    “ No, these are referred to as Zip accelerators and are how the Caldurians cross over to other planes of the multiverse.”
    Jason nodded, his mind returning to the AI.
    “ AI, are these devices of Caldurian technology?” Jason asked, out loud.
    “ No, Captain. This technology was developed on Alurian, a planet in the Corian Nez constellation system, one hundred thirty light years from Earth. Caldurians only discovered this technology eighty-nine years ago.”
    “ AI, can you tell me why you are assisting us?” Jason asked.
    “ Recent modifications to the Minian’s command structure subroutines necessitates my compliance with any and all of your requests.”
    “ When were these changes made?”
    “ Four days