"How goes the focus on the ship?" Lia asked politely as Janace and Anubis scooted over to a side to allow Talia to come and sit before them.
"Nemo, Casey, and some of the NASA engineers are going to check on pieces we've recovered and figure out how some things will work together with the new design," Talia answered.
"New design?" Luna asked.
"The NASA engineers want a design they think will be more effective which in many ways will mean taking the Ark apart to rebuild it," Talia answered, "and the rebuilding will ultimately be done in Janace... so things will need to be moved from where the Ark and the pieces of the ship..."
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Nemo was somewhat unnerved by the warships that patrolled around the Ark as it floated in the Pacific Ocean. These included two destroyers and several patrol boats.
"I do not like having this military presence," Nemo stated, "We are working with you."
"Yes," the NASA engineer, Wallace, answered, "we are working together... but you stated that a lot of this is engineer your search for a colony for Earth's Kats... and well... people may try to steal parts of the ship because they think it would sell well on the black market. And after all the nonsense you guys and the army had to fight concerning the Kat outbreaks, we've agreed that security was a good idea."
"We're only trying to protect your ship," the other NASA engineer, Williams, added.
"I appreciate the protection," Nemo answered, "I just feel nervous about said protection being capable of destroying my ship and its pieces."
"You have no need to worry about that," Wallace answered, "We're all working toward a great future... to boldly go where no one has gone before."
"For us it is to find a home," Nemo answered, "We bread prolifically and we have VERY lengthy lifespans. We can't stay on Earth and compete with humanity... compete with our friends."
And for Nemo the line was definitely true. While the author, Jules Verne, had been hir best known friend from the past, shi had worked and befriended many other humans. While there were few Kats around, shi found no reason to leave Earth, but thanks to the outbreaks, shi did agree with Talia's decision to find a new planet to live on. The memories of hir friendships had assured hir wish to keep humans safe.
The NASA engineers nodded and they looked around what looked like a floating island. There were several pieces of equipment, including the magnetic submarines that had played a role in preventing the war. A couple of the others looked like they were metal pods. What surprised the engineers the most was what just came in for a landing near the center of the Ark's top center.
"Is that..." Wallace began.
"The Eiffel tower?" Williams finished.
"It lookssss like part of it," Casey commented, "but it wouldn't have come here if it wassssssssssssssn't part of the Ark..." Casey glanced to Nemo, "Right?"
"Many parts of the ship broke apart when we landed on Earth and would need a reboot for their systems and would only react to DNA that matches its makers," Nemo answered, "and given that Talia's blood was the starting point in creating the world's Kats... but much of this looks more like humans found metal from the ship and reforged it."
"So the French found a piece of your ship and reforged it into the top section?" Wallace wondered.
"That is not impossible, as I do not know for sure where all the pieces went when the Ark landed after being broken up by Earth's magnetic field," Nemo answered, "and I can also say that it would not be impossible for humanity to have found pieces and reshaped them. As was the case here."
"So what did this look like on the Ark?" Williams wondered.
"As a small metal dome, housing computerized navigation equipment," Nemo answered, "the present design is human in nature. The material used is from the Ark."
"You navigation system wasn't part of your main computer system?" Wallace gasped, "that makes no sense! How could you have piloted the ship?"
"Not the computers for the navigation system, but sensors needed to gather data for them and make accurate interstellar maps as we went," Nemo explained.
The engineers shrugged and they kept looking around. They eventually followed Nemo until shi came up to what looked like a hatch. Nemo carefully approached it.
"Thissssssssss issssssssssssssssssn't a sssssssssssssssubmarine hatch, isssssssssssss it?" Casey asked, "I might not fit."
Nemo only gave a smirk and pressed a small button that the others didn't notice. It opened to reveal a wide sliding door that concealed a flight of stairs that led into the Ark. It left them in awe and they slowly made their way in. What followed was a tour of the vessel as Nemo showed them where the cryogenic pods had been stored, where the main engine areas were. Nemo did hir best to explain the purposes and how many of the systems worked while the engineers took notes. They were also surprised to find that the engines worked in a way very similar to how they had theorizing on a engine that would work with a projection system that allowed the ship to get into a sort of subspace area that would allow them to accelerate past the speed of light. The surprise was soon replaced by intrigue and began to talk among themselves.
"They seem to really like this," Nemo commented.
"It'sssssssssssssss NASSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSA," Casey gave a chuckle, "exxxxxxxxxxxxxxploring sssssspaccccccccccccce issssssssssssssssss their dream."