Cassandra found herself staring at a half-empty mug of coffee, in a nondescript coffee shop near the edges of the hub. It was nothing special; and took most of the flat metal styling that most of the Ark followed. They had good coffee, though, and that was enough for Cassandra to have come here for the few days since the rather eventful launch. Although it was early afternoon within the Ark, there was never an inappropriate time for a good cup of joe.


Cassandra took a sip of the coffee, letting out a disappointed hum when she realized it had begun to cool. Finishing the caffeinated drink, she returned the mug to the shop, before briskly making her way into the bustling streets of the hub. It was currently afternoon on the Ark, as was dictated by the large screen that made up the roof of the hub. Advertisements occasionally streamed across it; typically for one of the many shops that made up the hub.


She yawned, even though she had just drank her coffee. Her first few days on the ark had been rather uneventful, as she had been in one of the squadrons on standby during the launch. However, after said launch, she had been reassigned to the 7th Grave Robbers due to the death of two pilots during the fight to keep the devastators at bay. While she, personally, had nothing against the Grave Robbers, she had yet to introduce herself to the other pilots, past the squad leader, Sara Hawkins, who she had met briefly during an interview.


She wouldn’t have the time to consider it, though, as her PDA let out a sharp ping from her pocket. She pulled it out, to reveal the voice of Noah, the ship’s AI.


“Miss Atkov, your presence is required for an away mission in the hangar” He droned.


“Thank you, Noah, I’ll head there now.”


Without a word, Noah disappeared, and Cassandra quickly made her way to her quarters, which would not take long, as they were located fairly close to the hub. The fact that they were sending an away mission surprised her; unless there was something special to note about one of the planets in the system that they had arrived in, the scouting party’s sensors should have been more than enough to get the data they needed. Even then; why were they sending a fighter squadron along? Were they expecting devastators?


Quelling her thoughts, Cassandra opened the door to her quarters. The room was, by all means, barren; the view screen remained blank, and the only personal possessions that were in the room were her clothes. She changed into the slate-gray flight suit, leaving her gun, and quickly made her way to the nearest transport to make her way to the hangar. The trip was short; and she was quickly greeted by the gleaming hull of the Nyx.


In stark contrast to the blocky design of the Arks, the Nyx was sleek, and Cassandra took a moment to appreciate the flowing curves of it’s design. The boarding ramp was currently down, and at the bottom sat two guards. It appeared the rest of the Grave Robbers must have already boarded.


With a salute, she recited her name and rank, “2nd Lieutenant Cassandra Atkov, 7th Grave Robbers, reporting for the away mission.”


With a nod, the guards allowed her onto the ship, and she trudged up the ramp.