The lead ship sent the precise time and location coordinates for where they were, and Max began the calculations. It only took a split second to match the ship's clock back up with the rest of the world and realize that while they had spent over a day in the other layer of space, they had only been gone from here for roughly three minutes.
The time dilation at the site of their first fight had given him the impression that the time flow in that space was not linear. It was a solid theory involved in antimatter reactions and research, but non-linear time wasn't really something that the average person would normally experience.
If his calculations were right, it might actually be possible to exit the exact instant that you entered, but on the far side of the universe, and without leaving a trace. All they had to study was how to get around in that layer and how to tell where they were going to come out.
They could open micro portals and send probes to check, but at the moment, Max didn't know if the two layers were equal in size and direction. It was possible that the currents were like warp bubbles, and the distances between locations in this layer could be very different based on where you were in the flow.
Those studies would all have to be done once they had more information and knew a bit more about where they had ended up.
Max hadn't seen any sign of the Darklings, the Arisen Army, or really anyone else but the unfortunate group of Galen Soldiers who had ended up near them. For all he knew, the other species weren't even going to that layer.
"Hey, I've got a question. Now that I think about it, we didn't see anyone but the Galen the whole time we were there, right? They arrived right by us at nearly the same time that we did. Do you think that there is a chance they created that Anomaly, which pulled us through to the other layer of space?
It might not have been on purpose since it looked like they weren't prepared to get sucked in too. But if we capture some of them, we might be able to learn how they did it." One of the Innu researchers suggested.
"What's this? Our innocent Innu are suggesting capturing and interrogating prisoners?" Nico joked.
The student shook her head vigorously. "No, no, not at all. But if you should happen to have some Galen prisoners in the future or one of their ships, perhaps we could learn something."
Nico smiled and patted her head, letting the girl's tentacles wrap around her hand and hold her in place.
"You know, we already have some of their ships. We can copy the data, and everyone can go through it for more information that might help their thesis studies." Max suggested.
The lead ship in front of them broadcast again after verifying their story.
[We have confirmed your sudden departure from the Anomaly region immediately before a Galen attack. The humans were victorious, with the only major casualty being your disappearance.] The Koleska Destroyer informed them.
[We should return and verify our survival. One Galen ship was pulled through the unstable portal with us, and we can confirm its demise.] Max replied.
[Excellent news. If their new weapon failed in such a spectacular fashion, they might reconsider their strategy of surprise attacks against the humans. Your new Mecha are much too advanced for them to expect to defeat.]
With that, the Koleska Patrol retreated back to their position, assured that this wasn't some Arisen Army trick to come out of nowhere and pretend to be allies.
Max ordered the Duty Captain to set a course back to the Anomaly at maximum warp and then settled down onto a comfortable couch to decide what should come next. Likely upgrades to the Cutter. It needed to be faster and able to maneuver in that strange place they were sent to.
Even if it wasn't where the other species were ending up, it was a great way to sneak up on people once they learned how to travel in it. Plus, there was the possibility of using it as a training ground for their special forces once they got the navigation thing under control.
Being able to fight an enemy that didn't die and kept returning was a great way to train Pilots without wasting huge amounts of time and resources or needing an ongoing war.
The Alliance would likely freak out if they knew that Max was planning any such thing. All that had been openly speculated about was finding ways to navigate through that space and find a way out, so the crew members who had openly admitted that they were sent as observers had no reason to suspect that Max was planning something out of the ordinary, much less something that would lead to an even faster military development for the human species.
There was really no need to worry them like that. The humans would find a way. They always found a way to get better at war.
The new Cutter was surprisingly fast. They had made a breakthrough in the Warp Bubble design since the last generation, and this one was capable of sustaining Warp 30. That was a game-changing level of speed, allowing the movement between Galaxies within a reasonable time frame without Portal use. Here on this side of the Nebula, that kind of speed was nearly unheard of, which made communication and reinforcement somewhat difficult, with troops sent from other Galaxies arriving weeks or months later.
Even across the same Galaxy, it was a pain without Portals, but the makeup of the region made them too unstable for general use.
"Alright, the design team. I have directions for you once we get back to our station. We will begin the Warp Drive modification process next.
I know there are a lot of things that everyone wants to try, but I have two new items for the list. I want to optimize the creation of Portals in and out of the other layer of space, and I want to come up with some way of overcoming the currents while we're there.
Even if it's not brute force, we need a way to get around to make that a viable resource. I don't care if you turn the ship into some sort of energy barrier surfboard. Just make sure we can get around."
That was the key to getting the Innu to focus. Vague directions so that they would be able to get as creative as they wanted and wouldn't get bored doing only one thing at a time.
"I think we can do most of that. We might not have enough information about the surfboard idea, but I like it. We were carried around by the current, like racing through the gravity slides, so maybe the surfing method isn't that farfetched.
Are you maybe part Innu yourself? That's a genius idea. Hey Nergal, the Commander thinks that we can use the ship as a surfboard," a researcher rattled off as if the rest of the team wasn't standing right there listening as well.
"Don't worry, boss. We will come up with something." Nergal laughed, then led her over-caffeinated friend back to their workstation.
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