Astronomically Imposterble

III

The astronauts all sit around the cafeteria table like the day prior. Only this time they aren't wearing their helmets and they're down a member. Cordelia and Carter sit close together; Carter's got his arm wrapped around Cordelia as she tries her best to recompose herself, the side of her face pressed close to his chest. Her eyes glisten with tears she wishes not to shed and her whole body seems to tremble as she holds back sobs. A few strands of hair fall into her face but she can't be bothered to care nor to move them so she can see. Carter occasionally sends sharp glares in Helena's direction. He's under the impression that she hasn't noticed; this isn't true in the slightest. Beside those two sit Havien and Teagan. They're relatively closer than they were yesterday. Havien's hand hover over Teagan's that's resting on the bench between them. Eventually she sets her hand down atop theirs. Teagan smiles faintly, the tips of their ears turning bright red, as they turn their hand palm up, lacing their fingers with Havien's. She ends up biting her tongue instead of her lip (which was her plan) to keep herself from squealing. Helena and Elorie sit side by side once more. They're reasonably spaced out as good friends would be. Elorie, like Carter, keeps glancing over at Helena only she doesn't glare at her, she sends her a worried look. Helena's expression remains cold and regal as she holds herself the same way a queen would sit atop their throne. Her fists clench at her sides until Elorie places a hand on the one closest to her. Helena snaps her attention to Elorie; her eyes soften just a tad when she notices what the young girl is doing. She nods before turning her attention back on everyone else. Ian and Sahara sit beside one another. If it were up to Sahara, she'd be sitting on the other side of Elorie and leave the boys to sit by themselves. However, if she were to do that, Ian would probably strangle Dominic. So she positioned herself between the two men so they wouldn't start anything during the meeting. Elorie sent her a small, thankful smile when she watched Sahara sit down. Sahara smiled back but didn't say more; she didn't need praise for acting humanly. Which leaves Dominic on the other side of Sahara, alone, close to Carter and Cordelia.

"I have gathered you eight--" Cordelia lets out a strangled sob. Elorie takes in a shallow breath as she looks to Cordelia. She shuts her eyes in order to recompose herself. She must remain composed until the end of the meeting. It's how her mother would've acted; so it's how she will act. "--here today to regretfully inform you of the passing of our fellow crewmate, Gwenyth Bale."

"She didn't pass away, she was murdered!" Carter exclaims, sending Helena a sharp glare in the process.

Helena raises an eyebrow, her lips twitching to be pulled in a smirk. She resists the temptation; if that's how she reacts to someone accusing her of murder, the whole crew would think it was her--well, besides Elorie perhaps. The rest of the crew, however, cries out upon simply hearing the word.

Elorie holds up a hand, giving Carter a pointed look. He huffs and slouches a bit, almost curling around Cordelia. "I have yet to see the body," she continues to explain. "But from what Cora and Carter have described, yes, we have reason to believe that she was murdered." Elorie licks her lips as she glances around the table. "By one of our own."

Elorie doesn't exactly know what she was expecting from everyone after basically accusing all around her of murdering their fellow crewmate. Angry screams berating her for accusing them? Sounds reasonable. Cries about Gwenyth being gone and it being at the hands of someone in this room? Most in the room appreciated the girl's existence, so yes. Shouts of where they were and what they were doing and who they've seen? Probably. Automatically pointing the finger at someone without any proof to back it up? Yes. The dead silence she was actually met with? No, she doesn't think that was what she was expecting.

"Where was the body?" Sahara asks, trying her best to remain composed. Her bottom lip continues to quiver, however, letting off the impression she's ready to cry. She sniffles and rubs at her nose before looking to Cordelia.