Astrophysical (completed)

Chapter 16

"We could still quit this. Go somewhere else."

"I can't. This is something I need to do. It might be my only answer..."

"Answer to?" But Cassie stayed quiet as she began to clean everything up. SA just looked down and said, "I do trust you, but I wish you would tell me."

"I will. As soon as we are done." She then smiled weakly at him, and he turned away. For Cassie, even though SA had pledged his loyalty to her, she still questioned his commitment and wondered if he would turn on her. She had trained harder than ever while he was away preparing just in case the worse came to pass.

That night was barely restful. Her mind just couldn't shut down enough to rest. But instead, she just began to prepare herself for the task.

The two began early in the morning. They quickly got dressed in uniform and put their helmets on. Then they boarded their ship and began their route onto Simera. It was still dark out and it made navigating the moon's craters a bit difficult, but SA's muscle memory kicked in from all his trips and he expertly manoeuvred them into the planet's orbit.

In the dark, they landed out on the far edges of the port and the farthest away from the mining facility that they could. Before exiting the ship, the two slipped on the Sovereign's helmets and then began to make their way closer to the Sovereign sector. Not many were out except for a few guards and in the dark of night, their black uniforms lent themselves to blend in well enough for the two to find an ideal hideout in the docking back that a shuttle would be arriving.

As the orange and yellows began to fill the world around them, Cassie and SA stayed calm and still behind one of the small porticos where shipments sat. After the morning set in, the sounds of a large spacecraft echoed around them, and the time neared for the first substantial risk of this mission.

A black shiny spaceship began to land. It was like the small ship aboard Ash's ship however she recalled what Ash had told her about how much more updated their ships were. This in fact was true because as it landed, Cassie got to see its engines turn upward like they were gliding into place for a more stable landing. Also, the build was sleek and full of weaponry so cleverly disguised that it was near impossible to make them out in the shadows of the ship.

Many more Sovereigns soldiers appeared while the ship powered down. Once the hull opened a group of at least twenty men popped off the shuttle and saluted to an officer standing by the entrance bay. They began talking briefly before breaking off either to fuel the ship or leave the bay itself.

Cassie glanced back to SA, and he just stared back. Their plan was to sneak aboard in the cabin while they loaded the cargo but that meant leaving their shell. They needed a good opportunity to walk aboard without drawing to much suspicion especially since now, Cassie could not recognize their speech without the assistance of SA's translations.

The two intruders carefully treaded away from the cargo and paused at another dark enclave. A couple of men who had set up the fuelling hoses were now beginning to open the cargo hatch. Cassie watched but when the men went inside and the other followed, Cassie nodded and signalled to sneak aboard. Obviously, they were swapping cargo and that would work perfectly to climb aboard.

SA followed behind her as she quickly and quietly made her way to the ships entrance. The doors opened for them, and they marched inside as proud as they could. Cameras monitored each entrance in case of any intruders looking to do harm. They then made their way to the door behind the cabin and entered it to go down the hallway towards one of the storage rooms.