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..."
Cassie felt her forehead knit as she looked back to the image. She looked harder at the image and looked at the other larger stars past the dark one. Just to the right of it was a small silver piece, but it was being cut off. In the far difference there was a small dot, but it too was dark. She did sense familiarity though and closed her eyes to concentrate.
"Cas are you okay?"
She shook her head but held a hand up to stop him from asking more. It took a few moments for her to realize it but as her mind circled back, she came back the image and knew what it was she was looking at now. She blinked her eyes open and then felt her heart pound. "That can't be..."
"So, you do recognize it?" Ash asked gently. She nodded. "As a guess, it is Earth's solar system?"
Again, she nodded. "Those are Saturn's rings, just out of the screen. I think then that dark planet could be Jupiter... But why are they so close?"
Cassie looked back up at Ash to see him frowning. She felt those knots again and held her stomach tightly. She then closed her eyes feeling pain wash over her. Ash moved quietly so he was sitting down in front of her on his knees.
"No one else could tell what system it was. They couldn't see any problems, though the theory is that this is a two way pull. Atmospheric changes are happening on the planets just outside of Rian's Dome people are starting to run. That's what everyone agreed on at the end of this meeting. They said if this pull was causing universal changes to our system, then the only way to stop it was to run. Only one other ship made it on board the Sovereign. It's dead. Not one of the crew survived and the Sovereigns seem to have abandoned it. They decided based on the evidence that every man, woman, and child with the ability to run away from this thing should do so."
Cassie swallowed hard and then met his gaze. "These atmospheric changes are because this portal thing is slowly pulling objects towards it? Meaning planets too?" Ash gave a nod. "Then it is possible that the same is happening on the opposite side of the portal thing too then..." Cassie cringed, and Ash took her hand. "This changes things."
"I know it does..."
Tears sprung to her eyes, and she felt Ash squeeze her hand. "I can't condemn the Earth to death. Even if I technically didn't start this, I am the reason things are falling apart. It's what makes everything almost unbearable right now. I can just picture them all suffocating or burning..."
"It wouldn't be your fault, Cassie. Because it's not your fault they are being punished. It's this side of the universe that caused it. It's the men who created Earth who are destroying it." He ran his thumb across the back of her hand. "I know what it feels like to do the right thing though, Cas. I won't argue against this path. But if you asked me to run with you across the stars to a place where this won't catch up to us, then I would do it, Cassie. I would do it in a heartbeat."
She blinked back tears and that crumbling sensation was replaced with warmth that she hadn't felt in a while. Cassie pushed off the chair and then wrapped her arms around Ash's neck, his arms steadying her and holding onto her tightly as she fell to her knees. She buried her head into his shoulder and cried silently for a few minutes.
When she could she took a deep breath and pulled her head away, Ash met her eyes and his face betrayed him with tear trails flowing down his cheek as well. She took one of his hands and went to rub them dry when he leaned her forehead into hers and closed his eyes, tears still falling.
"I love you," Cassie said softly.
"I love you too, Cas," he replied. "And though it's not what I want, I can't argue that I'm proud of you for wanting to fix things. That and I'm grateful that seeing you take this on doesn't mean you are doing this alone this time."
Their blue eyes met each other's again both shining from their tears. She rubbed her thumb against his cheek, and he took it gently with his own hand. "Thank you for going with me this time. Hopefully... hopefully it is not the last time we are together."
They stayed like this for a few more private moments. Then once collected they concocted their plan of attack.
As captain, Ash refused to put the rest of his crew in danger. He wanted only those who were needed to come. That being SA who would be able to work and analyse the Sovereign ship for any means of shutting it down for good and the other huge factor being his parents. They both were scientists after all and after studying the machine they would be able to also see how it had malfunctioned and then potentially fix it if that were deemed possible.
Matt and Dean were coming as extra eyes. They also would be there to help Ash pilot and defend the ship once they got closer to the Sovereign ship. Especially since the universal effects were changing, he needed help. His star mechanic though he was still the youngest was coming and that also was thanks to Phil Jacobs's friendliness towards the crew. Plus, there was no talking the head cook and doctor out of coming. It was overwhelming how these few were still upholding their alliance to Ash and supporting such a dangerous and treacherous mission.
However, in letting the rest of the crew go, Ash did something no one saw coming. There was so much outrage at his request that Ash stopped and explained everything to the crew. His past, Cassie being Ceyona, and thus being the whole reason for going. It had shocked many and it even shocked Cassie. She felt guilty about it too and it took her a while to understand his reasons, but he admitted to being tired of hiding it. It wasn't doing him any good anymore and so to protect the relationships he cared about, he decided to be fully honest about things from now on. Cassie, both admired it but still felt guilty about it wondering who would come back to the Keimei once this journey was over.
It took a few weeks to arrive back to that sector of space. Things indeed had changed on a couple of the planets they had stopped on for supplies and refuelling. People were scared. Many were preparing to leave worlds they had come to know as home. Oxygen was thinning out and on some of them the suits were needed. Temperatures had dropped and the days and the nights were changing so rapidly people didn't know how to cope.
The terror in the eyes of the population still trying to survive out there was hard to take in. But it fuelled Ash and Cassie on in their mission to end this thing. The downside was instead of feeling that fire that fuelled this, the two weren't talking very much anymore. Cassie often found herself spending long hours in the Observatory trying to work out how far she would go to protect Earth and the solar system she called home. She did still feel obligated but the closer they got the more the risks lit up.
The morning they were going to approach the ship, tension had taken its toll among the few passengers. Everyone was short with each other and there was nothing to do for those not actually helping the ship arrive. Ash and Matt were in the control room preparing while Phil and Dean were keeping the engine room intact.
The spectacle from the Observatory had drawn the attention of the others, but Cassie sat on top of one of the tables in Atrium, hugging her knees to her chest. SA was sitting near her, watching her closely.
"What's the worst thing you're imagining about all this?" SA asked.
Cassie sighed. "Well, at least back home the first thing you do to try and fix a problem was to start from the beginning, reset it, or start over. In this situation that means somehow, I won't be staying here. That's why I'm worried."
"You don't want to go home?"
Cassie felt that pain in her chest again. "It's not that I don't want to go home. I miss my home a lot and I miss the people I left behind. But I've never been as close to someone as I have been to Ash. I don't know what will become of me if I leave him. In that way, I want to stay."
The ship rocked a little and Cassie glanced up towards the control room. They must be close. She then glanced back to SA who hadn't stopped watching her.
"It sounds terrible, doesn't it?" she asked him.
"Miss, you love him. I may not understand what that is, but I can recognize how important that feeling means to you."
The ship shook again, and this time jerked badly sending Cassie crashing off the table. She steadied herself as the ship rocked continuously and the jerking continued.
"The atmospheric pressure is causing many problems with the interfacing. I need to go to the engine room and make sure that the ship's mechanic can handle the issues. Excuse me, Miss."
SA began to leave, engaging his feet so that the metal magnetized to the floor, and he could steadily walk to the engine room without falling.
Cassie tried to see if she could get to the stairwell to hold onto, but as the ship jerked again, she felt herself fall back towards the doorway to the kitchen. Inside she saw the utensils flying and some of the stock falling but there was nothing to be helped. The ship than rattled so hard for a moment the lights began to flicker. Cassie looked up before another jerk sent her flying to the opposite wall. She went to touch her com, but the line was full of static. Then with another jerk, she felt pinned to wall. It was an excruciating wave of pressure that pinned her to the wall for a few seconds, but then it let her go so she could press her hands and knees to the floor.
The mechanical parts began groaning and creaking loudly throughout the metal body but then the ship's rocking stopped. Cassie listened and could hear the faint sounds of wind tearing against the metal shell protecting her. She breathed heavily trying to recover from the sudden sickness the rocking induced.
Dean came running in through the hallway but stopped heading towards the stairwell seeing Cassie on the ground. He bent down next to her.
"Are you okay?" he asked.
"I will be. What's going on?"
"We just stabilized to the Sovereign ship. The engine needs a lot of rest though. It nearly blew both with all that pressure."
"Go then and tell them," she said meeting his gaze. "I'll be okay."
Dean just nodded and rushed up the stairs. Cassie sighed but then looked down the hallway to the cargo bay. That's where the ship would have connected. She got to her feet feeling a pounding in her head. They had arrived.
The sound of feet coming from the stairwell made her turn. Dean and Ash were running down them. Cassie sighed trying to appear all right but that didn't stop the fact Ash was slowing down upon seeing her. She just shook her head.
"Just go, I'm fine," she said meeting his gaze.
He frowned a bit but then followed Dean out of the Atrium. She watched them go and sighed. If they had arrived though then they would need to suit up before going out. Knowing this, Cassie went to head towards the closet holding all the space suits. She stumbled though and fell back to her knees feeling nauseous.
Another sound of feet hit the stairs. Cassie didn't glance up though and waited until Doctor Beckett stopped near her.
"Cassie are you alright?" he asked grabbing an electronic scanner from his pocket. She just shook her head as he began scanning her over. "Your temperature is fluctuating... Also, your muscles seem to be tensing causing your blood pressure to rise. But this doesn't make sense..."
Cassie glanced briefly at the younger doctor as he looked her over. She just felt pinching pain all over her body. Johnson also came to her side.
"Miss Cassie, we need to git ya to lie down," he said in a soothing voice. With a steady hand he began to help her down into a lying position on the floor. Cassie coughed a few times as her head began feeling foggy.
"I just don't get these readings," Beckett said again. "They keep fluctuating and changing. Cassie, can you describe what's wrong?"
She shook her head twice before a headache began to wrap around her. She closed her eyes to also forget the spinning.
"May I?" Mr. Reece said sitting near Beckett. The blonde-haired man passed over his scanner and Howard began to furrow his brow as he examined it. In a few moments he then nodded. "This looks like radiation damage. She must have never been exposed to any at this volume before."
"Is it that high?" Louisa said behind him. "Should the rest of us be concerned?"
"It is a little higher than what we are used to, but I don't think we should get sick like this. At least not this fast," he said. "I think because she hasn't really been anywhere with as much radiation before this is affecting it more than it would affect us."
"I'll be back," Beckett said. "I think I might have something to restore her a bit."
Cassie heard him leave, but then coughed a bit more feeling a fire in her chest.
"What's going on?" Ash called.
"Radiation damage," Howard said calmly. "You haven't been close to any before this have you?"
There was no sound, but Cassie felt someone else sit down near her and take one of her hands and she squeezed it back.
"Can we stop it?" Ash asked his voice near her now. "I would say we should go and get away from it, but the engines need to cool down for at least a few hours before we start them up again."
Cassie tried to speak but coughed again. That hand squeezed hers again in reassurance.
"Step away for a moment," Beckett said. The hand holding Cassie's vanished and she felt cool air blow against her face. "This will stop the effects for a while, but I only have a limited supply." She felt something attach to her neck and then small jolts flow through her body. She let out a deep breath and turned her head as her body began to release toxins. "There. I have a few more of these but we can't stay here long."
"How long do we have?" Ash asked.
"These should last around six hours at least. I have four of them so that should give us a day, Captain."
"How long did you say those engines needed Jacobs?"
"At least thirteen hours by my calcs Captain," the young mechanic said. "Otherwise, they won't survive getting out of this wreck."
"The pressure will cause them to erupt again," SA added.
"Fine thirteen hours then," Ash said softly. "Then we-"
"We need to check out this ship then while we have time," Cassie said finally opening her eyes.
Everyone was standing around her and they all grew wide eyed as she said this. Beckett was bent down next to her monitoring something on his scanner while the rest had given them a couple of feet. Ash however locked onto her gaze and shook his head.
"No-" he began
"Ash, listen," she said interrupting him. "We came here for a reason. Let us do what we came for since it's caused so much trouble already. Don't let it be in vain."
He frowned deeper but didn't say anything.
"It might take us more than thirteen hours to examine this device," Howard said.
"We have twenty-four, correct?" she asked turning towards Beckett.
"Twenty-four is putting us close to you getting badly poisoned Cassie. Twenty-two at Ashima to get away," he said softly.
"Okay, so twenty-two then," Cassie said. "That gives the engines plenty of time to recover. Agreed?"
Ash had crossed his arms while watching her closely. His lips were still curved downwards, and his eyebrows were knitted. No one else said something and she was sure it was because they could tell just as easily as she did that, he was mad.
Moments later he just turned toward the closet full of space suits. "Twenty hours but that's all."
Everyone else raised their eyebrows but Cassie turned her head and closed her eyes taking deep breaths. Silently the others moved to get suits and she just lay there with Beckett who was still giving her a once over.
"Will I be okay, Beckett?" she asked quietly.
He nodded. "We'll have to see afterwards if anything has settled into your system permanently which I can't determine while you are on these patches. But for now, you seem okay. Just take it easy all right?"
"I will. Thanks."
He pushed his glasses up his nose and then slipped the scanner back into his pocket before standing. The others were already moving towards the cargo bay, suited up and following the Keimei captain who was walking with ever more determination than before. Cassie sat up watching them and sighed loudly.
"I realize that this situation isn't fun and butterflies," Matt said from behind her. Cassie looked back to see him sitting on his knees with his fingers pressed to his lips. "But don't piss him off. He's doing all of this for you, after all."
Tears started to creep into Cassie's eyes, but she took a few calmly breaths to prevent them from falling. She had cried enough already. "I didn't mean to piss him off. I really didn't."
Matt smiled softly at her. He stood up and offered her a hand. She took it and he helped her to her feet. "Let's just get through this as carefully as we can. I mean that physically and mentally."
Cassie nodded and the two began to suit up. Once they had they joined the others in the cargo bay. Cassie and Ash met each other's when she stepped up next to him. She mouthed the word sorry since they were all tied to each other via the now coms in the suits. Ash's mouth twitched and he looked away from her. But to her relief he took her hand, and she smiled a little.