After six months underway, they crew had settled into a nice routine. The pilots had their rotation set, and everyone else was busy working. Pepper and Vanessa were kept busy with the photos that were slowly making their way to the ship, even slower than they had back to the earth. But they had a lot of the old pictures to go back through now that they knew what to look for. Pepper had finally gotten over her nerves of having the CEO moonlighting as her assistant, and they were now working together very well. Miles and Anton were alternating reviewing the older moon photos that one of the other photo teams had overseen, while planning on which ship should be visited first. Brody reviewed on his own, alternating with old moon and ring photos, and then checking anything that Pepper and Vanessa had passed him.

So far, they hadn't found any other large ships, but there were at least a dozen objects that could be smaller ones. Privately, Pepper and Vanessa were encouraged by that, as it meant that if Anton couldn't destroy everything, then it would be pointless to destroy anything. At least that was their hope.

"Mister Joseph," Emily's voice came over comms. "There is an incoming message for you."

"I'll be there shortly, thank you," Anton replied.

"We've been getting a lot of those," Vanessa mentioned to Pepper.

"True. Updates from Earth maybe?"

"Probably. Jason might be asking for advice too. Could be a lot of things," Vanessa mused.

The latest image of the inner ring was up, and they were trying to find anything of interest to show everyone. There were several regularly shaped items, almost as if they were smaller broken pieces of that larger piece of ship that Pepper had found that first day. "I bet when we get close and look over that ring, we're going to find it is almost all from those ships. I bet there was some sort of a battle, and the ruins made up the ring," Pepper guessed.

"But why wouldn't the survivors come to earth?" Vanessa wondered.

"That... I don't know. Meh, it's more likely something we just don't understand."

Anton's voice came on over the comms. "Can everyone please come up to the bridge?"

Vanessa and Pepper shared a shrug, then started heading up towards the bridge.

"Good timing, I was getting hungry, and I could use some sleep," Vanessa said while stretching.

Pepper nodded in agreement. "Good plan!"

Once everyone was up on the bridge, Anton held up a tablet with the latest news. "As you know, we've been in constant communication with Earth, both our own command center, as well as those at NASA and the European Space Operations Centre. Evidently, there have been many discussions that include quite a few groups over what this discovery may mean for humanity. The good news is, we have been assured that no other missions will be following us until we have had had a chance to examine whatever we find on this expedition."

"That sounds like there is going to be some bad news," Brody pointed out.

"Yes, there is a large 'but'. The two large ships that are visible in the photos are being declared heritage sites. While we may bring back any artifacts that we find on them, we're not allowed to destroy or move them. Our original plan to see if they can be towed is off the table."

Vanessa quickly grabbed Pepper's hand and squeezed, happier to hear the part about no destruction. "So, if there was equipment that was easily transportable, we could bring that, but not disassemble an engine?" she inquired.

"That is how I understand it, yes. I'm quite shocked that they don't want the engines for study, but that is not our decision," Anton muttered.

"But they didn't say anything about the smaller ships?" Pepper pointed out. "They may not even know that they exist."

"We don't know they exist either," Brody snapped.

"They're there," Venessa countered. "They may not be 100% confirmed, but it is almost a certainty. That means we could perhaps bring back one of those, which would be much lighter and reduce the time of the return trip."

"And we can drag race them!" Lena added with a grin, sharing a high five with Xavier.

"Our first priority would be to get one of the smaller ships operational, if not we will try to mount one and bring it back with us," Anton agreed. "But no drag racing!"

"I believe that we should check out the intact ship first, there is a better chance of that one having items in it that aren't destroyed," Brody suggested. "That larger ship has many sections that are open and exposed, it is unlikely that we will find much in there to take unless there are sealed compartments."

"Yes Brody, I believe that will be the order we search in. I was originally going to suggest two teams, one for each ship, but they're so large that it might be better to just pick one," Anton agreed.

"Father, wouldn't it be better to have one team searching the intact ship, while another team tries to get one of the smaller operational? If it can't be fixed, having it attached to our ship early would mean we're not rushing at the last minute," Vanessa pointed out.

Her father was silent for a moment, but then nodded. "Yes, that makes sense. Having an intact smaller ship, or even better a pair of them, could be immensely valuable."

"After that, we can search the rest of the ships and see what we can easily transport. We should take recordings of everything we can as well. No doubt people will want to see that," Vanessa added.

"Not all people," Miles interjected. "Evidently there are a lot of religious groups worried about these ships and what they mean about their beliefs. There could be a lot of people questioning things soon."

"What are they worried about?" Emily asked.

"Well, some are worried we'll find humans on the ship, which might mean humans didn't originate on earth, which invalidates a lot of what they've read. Or, what if we find some weird aliens, and they have to ask in whose image those were made in. Could be any number of things. What if we find a religion that the aliens believe in? Do we have interstellar Crusades?" Miles ticked off the points on his fingers.

"Aren't you just full of good news," Lena grumbled.

"That is none of our concern for now, let's just do what we're out here to do, and everyone on earth can decide what they want to believe," Anton's voice rose over everyone else to try and calm them. "I don't have anything else, so go get some rest."

The crew dispersed to their various tasks, or in the case of Pepper and Vanessa, to get some food. They were finishing a bagged meal of rehydrated pasta when Lena sat down opposite the other women. "Hey, can I talk to you guys in your bunk after we eat?" She asked quietly.

Pepper shrugged. "Sure thing. We'll meet you there."

The pair made their way to the bunk compartment, slipping into sweats and tee shirts for sleeping before Lena finally joined them, carrying a lock box with her.

"Alright ladies, what did you bring on the trip?" She asked, while squatting on the floor and opening the box. Vanessa and Pepper both blushed as the box contained a variety of sex toys that started to float in the low gravity, till Lena corralled them. "I brought a few, but I'm going to be bored after ten years so I figured we could pool our resources. I even have a bunch of cleaner and lube."

The other two just stared at her, wide eyed and shocked.

"I mean, I didn't bring anything," Pepper finally blurted out.

"I don't... I didn't... I mean I didn't think about it," Vanessa admitted.

"Well shit, I should have known, you two have each other, I just thought you might have brought things to spice it up. Damnit!" lamented Lena.

"Oh, Nessa and I aren't... I mean we're not together," Pepper stammered, while turning red.

"No, not us," Vanessa agreed, her neck and cheeks crimson.

"Uh huh. So, you have a nickname for her, spend all your time with each other, hold hands all the time, obviously like each other and blush all the time near each other. But you're not together," Lena confirmed with a smirk.

"Right," squeaked Pepper.

"So, if you're both single, I have a chance, huh?" she teased, looking them both up and down. Pepper immediately scooted closed to Vanessa, gripping her hand again. "Right, not together. I can see that! Tell you what, if you two decide you might actually be together, let me know, I'll let you borrow some toys."

The two just stared back, not sure how to answer.

"I tell you, I'm, going to die up here with no sex though. Xavier is hot, but Emily would kill me, and Brody is obviously compensating. Your dad is too old, so I might have to go after Miles if I can pry him from your dad's side."

"What's Brody compensating for?" giggled Vanessa. Lena was just too fun to be around sometimes. Her candor was refreshing.

"Oh, he's obviously a two-donut man," Lena waved her hand in the air as she sighed contemptuously.

"Two donuts?" asked a confused Pepper.

"Well yeah, if you're both naked in bed and he's going to go bring you breakfast, he can carry you both a cup of coffee. But I think Brody could only carry two donuts after that," Lena explained, with a raised eyebrow.

"Oh my god!" Pepper exclaimed, blushing even harder while giggling at the image in her brain.

"Oh yeah, my ex, he could carry nine, he'd be useful right now."

"But he's an ex?" Vanessa questioned.

"Oh, hell yeah. The boy tended to share his donuts with everyone. He wasn't too bright either, so he'd forget the coffee too," Lena grinned. "But you know, if you girls want to cut loose, I do play for both teams," she winked, getting to her feet. She pulled a small rainbow vibrator out of the box and left it floating in midair. "Just in case!" Then sauntered out of the cabin before closing the hatch.

"That might have been the most embarrassing conversation I've ever had," admitted Vanessa, while she stared at the floating vibrator. At least Lena hadn't turned it on.

"I'm sorry if I'm embarrassing you," Pepper said in a low voice.

"Pepper, you could never embarrass me. It never dawned on me that people would see us that way, but it doesn't matter. I haven't had a relationship in so long that I forget what it's like."

"Do you? Like women?"

"I don't know what I like. I like being around you a lot though if that helps," Vanessa smiled, putting her arm around Pepper's shoulder, and pulling her closer. "I had forgotten you started calling me Nessa. I never even noticed the switch, I guess it seemed natural. But I like it."

Pepper leaned into Vanessa's body, enjoying her warmth. "I don't remember consciously deciding to do it, it just happened. I like being around you too though. I don't know how to do relationships though. Especially with my boss! Wouldn't we get in trouble with HR?"

"We don't have to do one. We can keep staying together and see if we decide to have one. We're going to be stuck together in a strange environment for a long time, things could get awkward. If we start something here, could we transition it to something on earth, or would it not be the same? And I'm not your boss anymore. I resigned, and Jason is the CEO now, so we're safe from HR."

"Well, then we just keep doing what we're doing?" Pepper asked shyly. "And see where that takes us?"

"Yep!" Vanessa smiled.

"Then we should probably hide that!" Pepper pointed back at their flying rainbow friend, causing them both to burst into laughter.