Caveship

22 || The Conduit

As his gaze stays settled on the screens aboard the cockpit, Nicholas seems distracted, almost anxious. The stars outside sail by as blurs, barely more than specks of light; how many of them harbored systems with life? He wondered. They seemed almost infinite, or at least far more than he'd ever imagined he'd see.

"Nicholas?" Tah-Kuell nudges him with his elbow to gain his attention.

Startled, Nicholas jumps at the physical contact, looking back over at the others. "Oh," he clears his throat. "Sorry."

It had been several weeks since their encounter with the Ophio. Although the initial shock had managed to fade, Nicholas could tell the memory of the attack was still something they were all struggling to forget.

"As I was saying, knowing how to handle the ship's systems will be useful, just in case I'm gone. The more people that are trained to have their hands on the controls the better. Now that you've gotten a better grasp for the omnitools, translating the alien language onboard should be much simpler than before," Tah-Kuell speaks, seated at one of the terminals, all five teenagers surrounding him. Sarah, Sophia, and Darius look on intently, while Ava seems largely disinterested, only listening and taking vague glances from the wall beside them. Tah-Kuell stands and motions for someone to sit. "How about a volunteer?"

Sophia quickly slips by the others and settles into the cockpit seat. "Okay. So, if we want information on the solar system we're heading to, we just have to input these..." She taps a few of the buttons, the terminal lighting up with a hologram that shows several planets positioned around a bright white sun. It is fully three-dimensional, every detail able to be seen from any angle. Ava rolls her eyes and shakes her head.

"And if we want information about the planet we're going to land on..." Another few quick taps brings up information of a barren planet, much too close to the sun to support any kind of life.

"That says the planet we're headed to has no atmosphere, no water, no life." Sarah points out.

Ava walks closer to the hologram and stares at the floating shapes. "But most of the other planets in the system look capable of supporting life. So why aren't we going to those places?"

Tah-Kuell rubs his chin thoughtfully. "Good question. The ship has never before ignored habitable planets." He crosses his arms. "That's troublesome. Hopefully we don't get dropped off anywhere too deserted, or else we'll be struggling to survive until the ship returns." He settles back into his chair once Sophia stands up. "Sadly, I'm afraid we've run out of time. We're almost there as it is. Wherever the ship is taking us, that's where we'll be landing."

The ship's engines hum audibly as it falls out of warp space, slowing down once it reaches the outer edges of the new star system. One of the planets orbiting the star is blue, with specks of green and brown signifying land. "Why don't we try to head there? That seems promising," Ava speaks, pointing toward it. However, the ship continues on its course toward the rocky and barren world near the sun.

"Wait a minute." Darius leans forward, his eyes darting from the holograms to the actual screens showing the planet on approach. "Am I seeing this right? I think something is happening with the planet."

All eyes turn to the screen Darius is staring at as the barren moon begins to split into four separate pieces, right down the equator, and through the north and south poles. The massive chunks separate as if to reveal the planet's core. The only thing that keeps them from drifting too far is a massive ring-like structure that holds them together at the center with several mechanical tendrils. It appears as though this is no mere planet, but a machine of colossal proportions.