Astrophysical (completed)

Chapter 24

The planet they arrived on was dark. They weren't near a sun, unlike some of the other planets, so everyone was tightly bundled when they went out relying on the electrical generators to light the inner city and provide heating in the shelters. A light drizzle had settled over the planet which made the mood gloomy when the Keimei landed.

Secrecy surrounded the meeting, which was for captains only, so the crew scattered just like usual. Ash, meanwhile, left to find out about the details of his conference. He had been gone for an entire day before finally they had news. The meeting had already begun. Over thirty ships were here which was the most ever amassed for a meeting like this. However, the news was conflicted. Not one of the captains could say for sure what was going on. Those that had crept close enough to the ship had decided that the universe was falling into itself, much like a black hole, but instead of emptiness on the other side they could see planets of unknown origin floating there. The captains were now arguing about what it could mean.

The news had come via a message all ships of those attending. It was uniform and impersonal. Instead of venturing out, Cassie had instead rested on the ship in the control room trembling from the cold. She tucked herself under all the blankets she could find and had buried every part of her except her eyes. She preferred being on her own like this, but she was not doing well. That fear that had entered her a few weeks ago was slowly wrapping around her and tightening its grip. She was convinced nothing good was going to come out of this meeting.

It was late now. Early morning, she guessed. Two days had passed since she had last heard anything. Matt and Dean had come to check in on her a couple of times and the Reeces saw her once. But otherwise, she had been on her own letting her thoughts endlessly spin while her stomach knotted.

Suddenly the outer door rumbled, and she tilted her head towards the cabin's door entrance wondering who was here so late. She took a blaster lying next to her on the panels and held it ready aiming at the door. Silence fell and she waited her heart beating faster which did nothing to help her stomach.

Minutes ticked by until she heard footsteps outside the door. It opened a couple seconds later and in walked Ash arms up. Cassie scanned him over and seeing nothing out of place she began to let out a deep breath.

"Name?"

"Ash. Didn't think you would be in here, but I'm glad you're prepared for anything," he softly said a small smirk on his features. But it faded quickly as he walked over to her, and she lowered the gun. He gently bent down as she took off a couple of the blankets and kissed her forehead. "Hi."

"Hey," she said softly. "Is it over?"

"Not quite." Ash then sat down on the edge of her chair and pulled out a small thin screen. Cassie watched as he operated it and a picture began to shine as a hologram image above it. "This is the view of problem area in Rian's Dome. This is the view of the ray that's pushing through from the Sovereign ship, and you can see that this is the circle that has been created. See how small, tiny debris and particles are slowly falling into it?"

Cassie nodded. Ash then pushed a couple of fingers into it and expanded the image closer towards that circle. On the other side of the circle more stars appeared in the background as well as a few large planets. There was a large one closest to the circle, but it was darkened and hard to make out.

"Is there something I should be noticing?" Cassie asked glancing up at Ash who was watching her.

"I need you to tell me if you recognize anything on the image. I know it's not easy to make out because this is a zoomed in holographic file, but..."