After an hour the timer finished and Jace started turning the dial up. Going one point at a time, letting it acclimate. For each level something different happened. For the first one a light appeared everywhere spreading out. On the second level he could hear the movement of the station around him as other things began changing. Cain also reported he had access to the control station as well. But could not switch on anything.

Power was running but was not moving to any systems. Like it was all waiting for something. Jace could not turn the dial all the way up either. After each click up, it seemed like the dial was locked in until some process finished.

At the third level the several pillars began to appear around the edge of the room while the walls began to disappear. They retracted to the void of space, but his armor showed that the atmosphere did not disappear. "The walls just disappeared."

"I know, did pillars grow along the edge of the platforms we are now on?" Jace asked as he looked at the containment unit as it seemed to change. It looked like the micromachines were remaking it. Just like how he made a design for a better reactor rather than the one the UEE used, the gateway station recognized the power source and was making a better reactor to accommodate the star engine that was burning inside the containment unit.

"Yes they did. I can see it growing along the edges of everything from my position. Even the landing platform has grown to accommodate the wyvern’s size and the pillars." Cain explained. "How much longer until I can power up this place?"

Jace shook his head as he felt he could turn the dial up again and did so. "It is taking longer for each dial phase to finish. So maybe another thirty minutes?" Jace admitted as he turned it up again.

When he did he could start to hear a hum. It was not the hum of machinery but the quiet hum of electricity. There was enough moving through the facility now. But for some reason it was running all along the floor. It was not enough to electrocute someone, but if Jace was right it could be used to power anything. Just like how some of the electricity was running into his body.

Just as he thought it took ten minutes before he could turn the dial again. Each time something different seemed to happen like a set of directions was being followed. By the time the last dial was done the place had been lit up as well with the top of the pillars having a yellow crystal at the top of them.

The yellow crystals almost looked like the light crystals he had seen before in Xenar ruins. In fact they might just be. Although he was betting they were modified or a different variety with how their color was different.

"Okay, I have controls and options now. I can open the gate now but it would take an hour to start up. But it requires us to activate phasing technology first." Cain explained. "That sounds like that would remove the yellow bubble."

"Activate the phasing technology." Jace told Cain quickly. He was recording the foreign reactor design for later.

"I have started the process, but it appears that it needs more manual participation to continue." Jace glanced at the two hour marker that had passed. Then he looked over as a pedestal rose up out of the ground nearby. "Several buttons need to be triggered throughout the gateway station. In a specific order."

"Okay, which one do I need to go to first?" Jace asked as he looked at the two buttons on pedestals in the room.

Jace spent the next twenty minutes running back and forth throughout the facility. Literally running. Once that was done and the process was triggered another timer popped up. This one was in the control station. Then through the next two hours they waited and watched as the yellow crystals around the edges of the platforms glowed.

When the timer ended there was a pulse of yellow and he could see the yellow bubble fade and disappear. Once it was gone they could hear static over the communication channel before they heard a voice.

"Cain and Jace, are you there?" Shilla asked.

"Yeah," Jace answered as he looked at the timer. "Did anything go wrong while we were in the bubble?" 𝚏𝕣𝕖𝚎𝚠𝚎𝚋𝚗𝐨𝐯𝕖𝕝.𝕔𝐨𝕞

"No, but we figured it would have been quicker. It has been almost two years." Shilla sounded a bit more flushed now that she heard his voice.

Jace looked around at the power station before nodding and started walking up toward the control station. "We know. Am I right to assume it has been a year and nine months?" Jace asked as he began walking. He was too far to access the ship’s systems remotely. But he could make sure there was no communication chatter nearby.

"Yes, we have been stuck here bored out of our minds." Shilla responded. "I was actually about to switch off for the day when I picked up an energy spike. Usually it is a gradual climb."

"It was immediate this time because the warp bubble was disabled. Jace, I need you up here." Cain declared.

"I know, I am on my way up." Jace declared. "What time is it onboard?"

"Almost midnight. I will send a message to wake up the others. Are we leaving immediately?" Shilla asked over the comms.

"We are not. We need like an hour of real time to start up the gate. I have already begun the process." Cain explained.

"I hope you all are well rested. As soon as we go through that gate we will be in our own galaxy. From there we could be in the deep end." Jace explained on the network as he sent a message to the ship containing the data he and Cain had collected in the last three and a half hours.

"We could take a few hours." Shilla suggested.

"A good idea in theory. But as soon as the gate opens we will be able to receive signals from our galaxy. As soon as that happens the emergency signals will start coming in. Do you think anyone currently on the Lance of Thanatos will want to waste time when they start hearing the mayday and emergency calls?" Cain asked jokingly.

There were a few minutes of silence, during which Jace arrived at the control station where Cain was sitting with his tail laying flat. He turned to look at Jace and bowed his head slightly. "What did you need me for?" Jace asked directly rather than over the channel. Cutting Shilla out of the loop.

Cain turned and nodded at the console where something was sticking out. "Something called a passkey popped out of the console. Looks like it needs to be installed on ships and other space craft before they go through the portal."

"Can we get more than one?" Jace asked as he walked forward and pulled it out. It almost looked like one of those ancient floppy disks from earth. He looked it over and it was mostly black with a white visible disk.

"This station seems to have a set amount. All of them probably do. This one can grant five more passes. Should I print all of them?" Cain asked.

Jace considered it for a moment before tapping his back. "Open your internal storage." Jace told him. Cain glared at Jace before some of the plates slid to the side and then the metal coils hidden underneath moved slightly to reveal a slot to store something. Jace slid it inside and then the coils closed and the plating moved back. "Keep that one, print the other three. Leave the last one in case the locals manage to find this place."

"That is very generous of you." Cain pointed out as he stood up on his hind legs and began moving the analog controls with his paws. It was a very entertaining sight, but considering that he did not have to translate the information like Jace did, he was able to quickly access the console and work it. "I assume the one you inserted into me is for something else?"

Jace shrugged. "Just don’t mention it. In fact it might be a good idea to update your security protocols." He took the first disk that popped out and then waited for the second one.

"Why did we not do this before?" Cain asked with a twinge of annoyance.

"Because you do not need my help. You can do it on your own." Jace reminded him. "Just because you rushed it with Ignius does not mean you made a horrible mistake. You can always just take a step back." Jace took another disk and waited for the third.

Cain sighed mechanically. "Why does that feel like a deeper piece of advice?"

Jace shrugged, "just remember your roots and where you came from and you should be just fine in the challenges ahead." He grabbed the last passkey that popped out of the console.