The call ended.
"We need to have the girls talk," Alvida remarked. The others nodded in agreement, understanding the importance. Conis and Raki exchanged glances, aware of how crucial this was.
"Our crew just keeps getting bigger," Mikita observed with a slight smile.
"Yes, it does," Zala agreed.
"You all are special to me, each one of you plays a vital role for me, for the crew," Ben declared. The girls smiled.
"I am going to call Sumi, Master," HQ reported.
"Sure Ben," replied.
HQ pressed a few buttons on the screen. The call was being connected and it connected. "Sumi, Emma are you there?" Ben asked. There was no response.
The screen was blurry at first however it cleared up and they could see both Sumi and Emma sitting down next to each other on a chair.
"Work husband, can you hear us?" Sumi asked.
"Yes I can," Ben replied.
"Everyone is there," Sumi said as she saw Kaya, HQ, Alvida, Mikita, Honey, Nojiko, Vivi, Marianne, Zala, Robin, Saphir and two other girls.
"Hello," Emma said. She looked down.
"Work husband, two more girls," she remarked.
"Three actually," Alvida corrected.
"Conis and Raki joined," Honey said.
"Andy Ivy joined just a minute ago," Marianne added.
"You have been busy Work husband," Sumi remarked.
"They are lovely ladies," Ben replied. He added, "I am sure you have been busy."
"We have Miss Sumi," Emma said.
"We have, but we would like to apologize," Sumi began.
"No need to apologize about the remote," Ben interrupted. "It was a mistake, and that's the end of it. We'll learn from it." His tone was firm and final.
Sumi looked at Ben and smiled. "Thank you, work husband. We'll work hard," she replied.
"My love might give you a firm spanking," Alvida teased, a mischievous glint in her eye.
Some of the girls exchanged knowing looks. "Pervert," Kaya remarked with a smirk.
"It's only discipline," Nojiko giggled, causing Kaya to blush and look away.
"I'd be happy to take it for Miss Sumi," Emma volunteered. She did not want Miss Sumi to be punished. Her heart skipped a beat at the thought of Ben, bending her over and spanking her like a naughty child.
Before things could escalate further, Ben interjected, "No one is getting punished or spanked over this," he stated firmly, putting an end to the playful banter.
"So, Sumi, this place looks a bit different," Ben remarked, glancing around.
"Yes, I was wondering when you would bring that up," Sumi replied with a smile.
"This is the Skypiea lab," Ben explained. "It specializes in satellite launches," he added.
"Satellites?" Sumi asked, her curiosity piqued.
Ben nodded and began explaining. "Satellites are objects placed into orbit around the Earth.. They collect and transmit data, providing communication links between distant locations, so of like radio or the Den Den Mushi but much much stronger."
"Wow," Sumi replied, her eyes wide with amazement.
"That is incredible technology," Emma added, equally impressed.
"Yes, it is," Ben said, nodding. "In our case, satellites link all of our labs and control the Miss Love Ships. We've recently added a new ship called Miss Love Maxima. This ship is capable of flight. The idea is that we can use Miss Love Maxima to travel safely between the labs for you, Emma, Amelia, Isla, and Zara," Ben explained further.
Sumi thought for a second. "Emeraude and Rubis are fighters. The rest of us aren't, so if we move around without supervision, we risk being attacked. Having a flying ship would mean we could avoid danger altogether, no pirates, marines, or civilians. We'd be able to move around safely," she explained.
"The satellites have created a global map, so all our labs can be located and traveled to easily," Ben added.
"That's perfect," Sumi said, nodding. "I can ask the girls to travel to the other labs, like the Alabasta lab, and work on the shields," she added.
"Those shields are really useful," Marianne remarked.
"They are, and they protect the girls," Ben agreed.
"We only have 3 Shields right now," Mikita commented.
"I want everyone, and I mean everyone, to have it," Ben stated firmly.
"We'll work on it, work husband. I'll have the girls travel there as soon as Miss Love Maxima arrives," Sumi remarked with determination.
"That sounds good Sumi, like my love said, the shields can be a difference between life and death sometimes," Alvida stated. The room got serious.
"She is right, there the world is dangerous," Robin added.
"I know it is and it will get tougher as we go and that is why I want all you girls to be safe when we travel," Ben explained.
Ben changed the conversation "Did you have any more time to recruit anyone new?" Ben inquired.
"Not yet, work husband," Sumi replied. "We've been tied up with the rogue Mech, " she added.
"How is that going?" Ben asked, concern evident in his voice. "I know there was one Mech that kept turning on and off sporadically," he added.
"Emma and I checked the software and mechanical status of the Mech. It seemed there was nothing wrong with it," Sumi replied, her brow furrowing in thought. "We looked for any patterns in its behavior, but there was nothing of note," Emma added, her tone thoughtful.
"Then we hit the jackpot. The Mech activates from a specific source. We don't know what that source is, but there was a faulty part that we replaced, and now it seems to have solved the issue," Emma explained, a sense of relief in her voice.
"Miss Sumi is phenomenal," Emma added with a proud smile, nodding towards Sumi.
"You also worked on it," Sumi added gratefully. Then, turning to Emma, she continued, "Emma has been putting in tireless hours, checking and triple-checking every detail."
"The Miss Love Ships all have a space beneath for the Mechs so we can use them now," Nojiko remarked.
"Indeed," Sumi added.
"She does sound like Sumi and Emma deserves a reward my love," Alvida remarked.
"They have been working hard," Zala added.
Sumi's eyes lit up. It had been a short while since she had time with Ben however, any time was too long.
"Pervert," Kaya added. "But she has been away and she loves you," she remarked.
"Even Kaya agrees," Nojiko stated.
"We should give them some privacy," Alvida stated. She looked at Honey. "Would you assist Ben and Sumi and Emma?" she asked.
"I will," Honey replied. The other girls smiled and slowly left the room one by one. Raki and Conis thought this was a bit strange however they could see the love on Sumi`s face.
Alvida was the last to leave. "We will get things ready my love," Alvida remarked. Ben thought all this happened fast. He was speechless.