"Tessa, we have just entered subspace and are on course for the Rabitouser Galaxy jumpgate," Andria said after entering Tessa's royal cabin.
"Thank you, Andria," Tessa said with a smile.
"Great, I'm going to test out the Pink Vinnaka now," Becky said excitedly before dashing out of the cabin.
"Do I even want to know what a Pink Vinnaka is?" Andria asked.
"You might after you hear about it," Tessa said with a smirk before adding, "but you will have to wait till Becky finishes experimenting with it."
"Well, that's certainly got me curious about it," Andria replied just as a voice came over the comm.
"Bridge to captain."
"Go ahead, bridge," Andria replied.
"We are receiving a communication for the Princess."
"Who is it?" Andria asked while sharing a curious look with Tessa.
"Princess Liluth Solar."
"What?" Andria and Tessa asked simultaneously before Andria asked, "Did you say Princess Liluth Solar?"
"Yes, captain."
"Put her through," Tessa suddenly said.
"Understood, Princess," The bridge officer replied before ending the comm call and after a few seconds, a call notification came from the console in Tessa's cabin.
Tessa leaned forward and accepted the holocall on the console before a large holographic screen featuring a stunningly beautiful woman with long blonde hair, along with ears, eyebrows and facial features that Adam would call elflike.
"Greetings, Princess Tessa Terrana," Liluth said with a smile.
"Greetings, Princess Liluth Solar," Tessa replied with a similar smile before adding, "Thank you for inviting me to Solarian Prime so that we can work together to rebuild the friendship our two races once shared."
"I am more than happy to, it is something that is long overdue," Liluth replied.
"Might I also introduce the captain of the ship I am travelling on and also my cousin, Captain Andria Ororis."
"It's an honour to meet you, Princess Solar," Andria said politely.
The pleasure is mine, Captain Ororis," Litluth replied before adding, "If I may be so bold, can I ask you to leave for a short while, Captain Ororis? There are some things I wish to discuss with Princess Terrana in private."
Andria looked at Tessa, who nodded before replying, "Not at all, Princess Solar, if you will both excuse me."
With a small salute, Andria left the room.
"So, what might you wish to talk about in private, Princess Solar?" Tessa asked.
"One moment," Liluth said before doing something with her console for a few seconds before saying, "there. Now we can talk without worrying about someone monitoring us."
💫💫💫
In another part of the Imperial Down, a TISF officer was watching the recording of the conversation between Tessa and Liluth with a few seconds delay when all of a sudden the recording came to an end, causing the TISF officer to frown before saying.
"What happened?"
The officer played with the controls and tried to watch the recording again, but as before, the recording stopped right after Andria left the room.
"Did they end the call?" The officer wondered before checking the ship's current ongoing communications and saw that the call was still ongoing.
"What the fuck happened? If this is some kind of computer glitch, I'm going to be pissed."
💫💫💫
"What did you do?" Tessa asked curiously.
"It's standard procedure for military ships to record any communication they do, especially your TISF, after what happened on Trillion. I simply made it so that the Imperial Downs recordings will fail," Liluth explained.
"How did you manage that? And why does it sound like you know what really happened on Trillion Princess Solar?"
"I know much more than just that, but please, call me Liluth, and I will call you Tessa," Liluth replied before she smirked and added, "But should it be Princess Tessa Terrana or perhaps Lieutenant Tessa Kirkmeld?"
Upon hearing what Liluth said, Tessa's eyes widened even more before filling with shock and confusion, which quickly changed to alertness, as she went on the defensive and forced herself to calmly say.
"I'm afraid you are mistaken, 'Princess Solar.' I am not Lieutenant Tessa Kirkmeld; we just happen to share the same name.
"Please, Tessa, call me Liluth." Liluth smiled while replying before continuing, "I understand why you want to keep this a secret; only your family members and a few high-ranking TISF officers know that you're secretly Lieutenant Kirmeld of the TISF and not working in the Terran Empire's Universal Affairs department."
Tessa finally lost her cool as she opened and closed her mouth in an attempt to reply, but was unable to find the words.
"Hehe," Liluth giggled as she saw Tessa's response before continuing, "calm yourself, sister, I won't tell anyone your secret, because for the time being it's necessary to keep it secret so that the plan succeeds."
"Sister? Plan?" Tessa asked in a confused voice.
"I'm afraid I can't tell you too much right now since doing so will change the desired outcome; however, I will tell you what I can," Liluth replied before thinking for a few moments before then continuing.
"Let's start with why I called you sister, the answer is simply one word: Adam."
"Adam? As in Adam Spencer?" Tessa asked in shock before adding, "You know Adam?"
"Yes and no."
"Huh?" Tessa replied in confusion.
"I know him, but he doesn't know me, at least not yet."
"I'm afraid you're not making much sense."
"Take a look at this," Liluth said as she held up the notebook for Tessa to see.
"A notebook? I didn't realise the first Solarian princess liked to write things down by hand instead of using a console."
"Normally, I don't; however, this notebook is important and its contents can never be made into a digital format," Liluth said before turning the notebook around and showing Tessa the back.
Tessa locked closely at the writing before reading aloud, "This product is published by Hopkins Group LTD, Hopkins? As in CEOHopkins from Earth?
Some strange symbol I don't recognise.
Two zero two zero? Could that be its year of production?
All Rights Reserved? Not sure what that means."
As Tessa finished reading the notebook with a confused expression, she realised something and asked, "Alamo City, Western Continent? That was where Adam was when he first started streaming, right? How did you get a notebook from Adam's home planet of Earth?"
"Adam gave it to me a little over thirty years ago," Liluth replied with a faint smile as she recalled the memory.
"What? Adam did? And thirty years?" Tessa asked in surprise before realising something and saying, "But his personnel information on the Universal Subspace Network stated he is only nineteen."
"You're correct," Liluth replied with a smile as she enjoyed Tessa's reaction. It made her remember how she had a similar reaction all those years ago when she learnt all this and what her destiny was.
"But how? That's impossible."
"Is it? He did it the same way as when he saved the Phoenix race from extinction at the Siege of Fenix Nest, by travelling back in time."
"What!" Tessa asked with a gobsmacked expression.
"I'm not surprised your mother hasn't told you that someone is known to have travelled back in time, I mean, my father hasn't told me, but then again, they don't know it was Adam; they only know someone went back in time with Tephe."
"Excuse me?" Tessa replied as her confusion increased.
"The Universal Senate is aware that Tephe travelled back in time with someone to the Siege of Fenix Nest and changed history; they even summoned Empress Revi to testify on the matter.
However, because they don't know who it was, they issued a Universal Senate Decree, silencing anyone from talking about it until they ascertain more information.
Naturally, most of the Universal Senators will go against the Universal Senate Decree and secretly inform the leader of their race; this will naturally include my father and most probably your mother.
Also, didn't you find it surprising that Adam's mech has the same capabilities as the Black Knight from the Siege of Fenix Nest?"
"Lord Malacoss…" Tessa began, only for Liluth to finish what she was saying for her.
"He theorised that something happened to the mech and its mothership, causing the crew to abandon it and, therefore, leaving it to drift through space until it reached Earth.
I saw the discussion in the chat. It's not a bad theory to be fair, though it's only partially correct."
"You watch Adam's stream?"
"Of course. I have been watching him ever since he first went live. You think I would pass up the opportunity to see my beloved?" Liluth replied before adding with a sad look, "Especially as I can't meet him in person again yet."
"Your beloved?" Tessa asked as she honestly thought she was losing her mind. She had just learnt that Princess Liluth Solar, a woman widely regarded as one of the most beautiful, if not the most beautiful, women in the universe, who had never shown any interest in romance, was in love with Adam.