The Durandal bridge was slient for the most part, with only Mary and Shelley playing chess to pass some time.
"It's your move." Shelley reminded just after she moved her rook piece, but Mary couldn't even decide what piece of her own to move.
Since most of her pieces were off the board, only ones that remained were two knights, and her king.
With a deciding nod Mary moved one of the knights across the board, however at the very last second she considered it a massive mistake.
Her king was vulnerable from any direction of Shelley's pieces, and with another move- the game was already done within a few hours.
In defeat Mary slouched across the table, unable to understand why Shelley was so skilled in Chess- well in any board game really.
But after a few moments she couldn't help herself, but ask Shelley for the true reason as to why she was so good at them.
"Shelley, did Masta' Gaignun teach you how to play by any chance?" Whilst she processed Mary's question. Shelley moved herself away from the table.
"It's all self-taught, and besides Master Gaignun always has his hands fill."
Mary couldn't argue with that, it was true that Gaignun always had some sort of work to do.
Most of the time he was helping out with the Foundation's development, or just finishing off the regular stacks of paperwork.
Rarely, did Gaignun have time to spare.
With a gentle shove of Mary's hand, the pieces were put into an empty plastic bag, alongside the board itself soon after.
She could definitely tell that Jr. bought the Chess set, even it's wooden frame felt old yet well looked after.
Just after the girls had tided up their heads turned to see Jr. arrive, when the bridge's elevator stopped the two approached him.
With a few adjustments of her hat Mary spoke first, happy to see him after his long absence. "Sure been a while, hasn't it Little Masta'?"
Feeling the same exact, Shelley stepped forward with a smile. "Gaignun has been taking your place whilst you were gone."
Although Jr. was in good mood, he couldn't help but feel a little guilty.
When he approached the Durandal's main console, he agreed. "I thanked Gaignun just a little while ago, I had a few errands to attend to, Sorry."
The two Godwin sisters then looked at each in confusion, sorry- what did he have to feel sorry for?
His finger quickly double tapped to reveal U-TIC's current location, hidden across a few dwarf planets.
However a problem quickly came into Jr.'s mind, by using normal travel it would a very long time to reach their destination.
After a sigh and few vulgarities, Jr. turned around and discussed the issue at hand. "Damn' it, we can't even reach those bastards!"
"We don't have the time for this, not while we've gotta' protect MOMO."
Before Jr. could think of another plan of approach, Shelley leant forward towards the screen with an idea. "I have a proposal, Little Master."
Curiously, the redhead went aback. "Huh? What is it, Shelley?" When Jr. moved and allow Shelley to type, the Durandal was set to shift into hyperspace.
"In comparison to our regular means of movement, hyperspace should take no longer than a few hours."
"When that time comes, the others should prepared as well- including the android that's also onboard."
"Sounds like a plan, we've actually been given permission to work alongside her too, so it should easy to get a few shots in."
When the U.R.T.V turned himself around, he noticed Shelley's concerned expression. "Hey, are you all right? Did anything bad happen, while I was gone?"
Both the girls disagreed with a shake of their heads. but it was Shelley that spoke up afterwards. "Unprofessional as it may sound, but I can't help but find it strange to hear such a command. "Was it from Master Gaignun?" After Jr. watched one of the observational realians walk by, he replied with his stance more casual. "Yeah it was, we had a discussion about U-TIC's movements."
"We've discovered that not only are they after the Zohar emulators, but MOMO too." Once her image went past his mind, Jr. had to ask about her to current whereabouts. The last time that he'd even seen her, was when the two went the Urban District- more specifically the Smile bakery. "Speakin' of which, where is she now?"
Once Shelley changed the Durandal's screen, Mary was able to pinpoint the realian's exact coordinates.
"MOMO's on the Elsa although she's asleep right now, maybe it'd be best for her and Ziggy to sit out this operation out- if it turns nasty."
When Jr. agreed, his sight changed to face back towards the bridge's elevator. "Yeah, she's been through a lot lately." "Sleep is what she needs, especially what happened during our last mission." "In regards to all the complicated stuff, it's all been taken care of." "All that's left, is to call the others in once we're ready to lift-off."
After the U.R.T.V had waved goodbye to the sisters, he headed off to the elevator, but before his hand reached out to press the elevator's side-button.
Jr. stopped, to briefly talk. "Just remember to take care of yourselves too." "If things get out of hand before we start, you know where to find me." Not before long the bridge elevator descended, and took Jr. down to the Durandal's dock area. When it stopped, Jr. looked around himself.
On his right, there was few realians that discussed about the Foundation's newest functions, mainly about it's instalment of a new weather filter.
Although, the Foundation didn't have it's share of the sun's rays or even a few drops of rain, Jr. had complete control over the weather a few in places.
The device was fairly new it didn't affect every location, since it was primarily used for the private resort area.
However that wasn't the only thing that changed, the civilians did as well although they seemed happy and content enough.
Their minds often wondered, about what occurred outside barrier of the Foundation.
Sometimes distant explosions could be heard, even the very ground itself would sometimes tremor as a result.
But with the help of Vector's cooperation with the Foundation, things seemed peaceful.
Battles were almost non-existent, ever since Shion and others came on board.
However Jr. couldn't help but wonder how long the silence would truly last, before he'd need to rush back to the bridge again.