L`Univers:

Cosmos

    “Are you going to tell him?” Azra stood next to Benedict who was spying on Simon and Clara before he answered he took a last glance at them being all happy and cute.                                                                                                         

“Should I?” he turned at Azra.                                                                                             

“I don`t understand his emotions you are his friend you should know how he is going to react,” answered Azra.                                                                                      

“He is a changed person after he met Clara and for the better, so I won`t tell him, I think it would be for the best for him and Clara,” finished Benedict.                                                                                                                        

“And I think it would be for the best to destroy the laptop before he gets his hands on it,” Azra gave him an idea.                                                                               

“Sure thing,” nodded Benedict as both of them walked toward the kitchen picking up Zack along the way.

“So how exactly are you planning we exit this universe, I mean…” Benedict pulled a whiteboard with equations, symbols, and whatnot, Zack was confused because he did not understand what was on the board. Viktor walked in and took a can of soda from the fridge.                                                                                             

“It says that this universe is infinite,” he explained what was on the board.

“But other than that I was wondering myself how are we going to exit, cause there is this superluminal thing?” Azra was just ready to start explaining Simon and Clara showed up.                                                                                                                      

“What are you all doing in the kitchen?” Simon asked them as Benedict called him aside.                                                                                                                   

“Remember when I wanted to go to the telescope and you said we should eat?”                                                                                                                   

“Yeah, so what about it?” Simon looked at him strangely.                                       

“Well, I kind off moved the telescope here so I can eat and at the same time watch through it.”                                                                                                             

“What?, Telescope? in the kitchen? are you crazy?” Simon stuttered. But he did not get an answer as Azra was pissed off and started yelling because she wanted to explain.                                                                                                                 

“Remember the bracelets that we use for teleportation?” she asked. “Right well this whole ship is now a teleportation bracelet, as we jump from one location to the other over long distances, for an outside observer it would seem that we are disappearing and popping out in other destination but from our perspective, we go through a tunnel, now surely this drains power but… we drain power from the old core, combined with the collider and also that the Star Fury is now made from panels that use radioactive energy given that there`s lots of it in space it gives us a ton of energy,” she finished.                                                                                                                      

“Holy s**t!!!” Peter even cursed how awesome that is.                                 

“How didn`t we think of this?” Benedict asked everybody.                                     

“Yeah, you lack the part where you are an advanced civilization,” smiled  Azra and left the kitchen. 

☼☼☼

    One of the main guards at IASA brought somebody into Caty`s office and pushed him on his knees. “We`ve caught the traitor that helped them escape.”                                                                                                                  

“Very well chieftain,” she turned away from the window and smiled as soon as she saw Jackson on the ground. Caty knew that he was friends with a former member of the crew so he probably knows much about them, she walked toward him as she pulled a syringe and injected him some sort of liquid. “It`s poison, if you don`t help me find Star Fury you will die in a couple of months without the antidote.”                                                                                                     

“You will lose Caty, mark my words,” Jackson threatened her. One of Caty`s first officers came close to her and whispered something in her ear. “Very well, get it ready,” she smiled. “Two can play this game Lenov,” she said to herself as she looked out of the window toward the sky.

☼☼☼

   On Star Fury while Peter was looking through the telescope, he called out that he had seen Einstein, as Benedict immediately wished to peek through the telescope's eyepiece and see the creative physicist, and alas he saw him as a skilled Einstein taught in a class, while Max Planck and Rontgen listened carefully, Simon explained to Clara why the captain is so obsessed with him and why he is important in the history of humanity.

“I have an announcement to make, from now on I won`t be spending much time in the kitchen, but I shall focus to get us out of this universe,” Benedict stood on the bridge. “I`ve seen Einstein with my own eyes and now I`ve had enough of the past it is time to focus on the present and await the future.”                                                                                                                 

“It was about time,” John exhaled.                                                                          

“But we don`t know what to expect once we get out there,” Sarah was sort of frightened.                                                                                                                        

“If there`s advanced civilization they will not attack us, I`m sure of it,” Benedict comforted.                                                                                                                         

“Ok I don’t know what we can expect out there, but this is unexpected,” Dave was uneasy.                                                                                                                       

“Well, what is it?” Zack calmly asked him.                                                        

“Something is following us in hyperspace!!!” Dave yelled at them.                     

“It`s Tereshkova,” John confirmed.                                                                         

“Wait what is Tereshkova I`ve been meaning to ask?” said Azra.                       

“It`s the first woman from Earth to go in space, it`s sort of a thing we do on Earth naming things after some remarkable deeds by great people,” explained Zack.                                                                                                                              

“Now is not the time for explaining!!!” yelled Benedict as he pointed at them and told them to get into their stations. Caty ordered to attach a device to monitor Star Fury, as the first officer of Tereshkova confirmed the order and got the Star Fury in his sight as he pressed the button that launched a tiny device on the back of the ship as it breached through the hull and hid from plain sight. “No, we can`t relly on the tracking device it`s now or never open fire!” ordered Caty as the crewman opened fire on the Star Fury.                                                    

“Minor damage in the back of the ship captain,” Dave warned,                           

“Zack shields now!!!” Azra ordered.                                                                              

“But they are active,” Zack replied.                                                                            

“What the hell kind of weapons do they use?” Alexander asked him.                          

“I don`t know but they are powerful,” said Zack.                                                              

“It`s futile to fight,” said Dave.                                                                                 

“Captain the aerodynamics wing is damaged it might fall on the thruster and cause the same damage as before,” Viktor warned them.                                     

“Damn these wings we have to do something about it, all right stop the ship,” Benedict ordered. John pulled the lever to change the polarization of the ship. Caty was confused because the Star Fury just disappeared out of sight.                                                                                                                           

“What happened? Where are they!?” she yelled at the crew that was on Tereshkova.                                                                                                                        

“They must of left hyperspace and stopped the ship instantaneously,” said one of the crewmen on Tereshkova,                                                                                  

“So follow them!” she yelled.

“Leaving hyperspace means technically they could be anywhere in the universe and we need time until the tracking device kicks in,” explained the engineer. But never the less she had the tracking device from which she can monitor all their actions, and sooner or later that thing will activate itself and she will be ready, as she walked up to Jackson who was tied up on a chair. “You did well, little traitor,” she smiled as she tapped him on his shoulder.                                                                                    

    “One question…” Benedict turned toward the rest of the crew. “If Tereshkova was on Earth, how were they able to find us and catch up to us quickly?” he asked.                                                                                                                                    

“I think that she was on Clara`s planet,” said Sarah.                                                    

“Still it does not explain how they found us and got so quickly and close to us,” Zack stepped up.                                                                                                            

“All right, for now, we should focus on repairs and continuing our journey,” said Raven.                                                                                                                                  

“But if she found us once, wouldn`t she be able to find us again?” asked John.                                                                                                                          

“Yeah this time we`d be defenseless,” said Peter.                                                     

“No worries, this ship is invisible when it`s not moving, but when it does that’s when we should worry,” said Azra.                                                                            

“Should have taken the chance when I had it,” Dave stood in front of Benedict looking at him angrily. “We wouldn`t have had this nuisance now.”                                                                                                                                

“Dave please…” Benedict looked at him.                                                                      

“I told you this would happen, I told you she would hunt us, I warned you.”                                                                                                                                 

“Now is not the time!” said Benedict angrily.                                                      

“When is it going to be the time? When we are all DEAD!?” Dave raised his tone repeating himself over and over again with the same words as everybody on the bridge turned at them.                                 

“Sorry guys, Dave`s been pretty nervous lately.”                                                      

“Let`s just hope that I get the chance before she gets the chance to do anything that both of us will regret, especially you!” Dave pointed a finger at Benedict`s face and walked off of the bridge without saying anything anymore.

   Azra spoke shipwide through the radio telling the crew that was in charge of repairs that they are safe to get out as the team was composed of Zack, Simon, and Dave. After they came out with the equipment and their helmets they were delighted with the beauty that surrounded them, Dave was especially admired, but Simon and Zack warned him not to get attached too much because they have to fix the ship as soon as possible. After repairing they welded the upper side, they turned to the opposite.                                                                                

“Hey guys,” said Viktor through the radio.                                                                  

“What?” asked Dave.                                                                                                       

“I`ve got a question,” said Viktor.                                                                                     

“Go ahead,” said Zack.                                                                                                 

“Why aren`t astronauts hungry after blasting into space?” he asked.                      

“No idea, why?” said Simon after a moment of silence.                                                    

“Because they had a big launch,” laughed Viktor.                                                   

“Yeah very funny, all right we are done here returning to the ship,” said Zack. After half of what remained for them to return to the hatch and inside the ship Simon noticed something strange moving in the reflection on his visor and turned to see that it was just a meteor shower.                                                          

“Well that`s something you don`t see every day,” he took a minute to admire it as Dave also turned. Zack pushed his way through Dave and Simon stood in front of them and dramatically turned his gaze toward the phenomenon as he concluded that.                                                                                          

“They are attracted to the gravity of the ship!” said Zack as Peter comforted them through the radio and reminded them that the shields were active, but Zack shouted that the shield is not enough and that they will penetrate it into small bits.                                                                                                                         

“Well let’s run then!!!” Simon yelled.                                                                            

“Why is it that in any trouble we get into is related to death?” Dave asked.                                                                                                                

“Just keep running and stop asking!!!” Zack yelled, in the meantime, a fragment of the meteors hit Zack`s visor cracking it as his oxygen levels were rapidly decreasing.                                                                                                                           

“Guys, what happened?” Benedict was worried, as Simon ran back to Zack, who was suffocating now, Simon grabbed him and held his head with Dave standing frozen in front of them having no idea what to do.

“Dave go get another visor!!!” Simon yelled at him and at the same time, he talked to Zack hoping he won`t pass out, not that Zack could hear anything because there was no oxygen in the visor and the waves from the radio had nothing to travel through. Dave entered the ship and told them the situation but he was unable to go out again as Benedict ordered for Peter to go and to and grab an extra visor. While Peter was heading for them, Simon already exchanged his visor and put it on Zack as he started to suffocate after Zack regained his consciousness he realized what happened when he saw that Simon had no visor on him, he immediately cried out to Peter to hurry with the visor because already Simon fell unconscious. After they put the visor on his head, the two picked him up and led him back to the ship, where Clara got upset when she saw him unconscious and hugged him crying as Alexander and Raven instantly connected him to life-sustaining machines and tried to reanimate him.                                                                                            

“Come on!!!” yelled Clara with tears in her eyes as Azra just held her firmly. After a while, Simon`s HR flatlined as Alexander and Raven were still struggling as they kept pressing his chest.                                                                                   

“His lungs are not ruptured,” said Raven with panic in her voice.                                 

“I see,” Alexander who was sweating looked at Simon`s face. “He is lucky we weren`t close to a star he would have been burned by UV by now,” he kept pressing and made a CPR as Simon suddenly regained consciousness and started coughing as everybody exhaled in relief, but Raven started scanning him and pushed him inside the decontamination room. Upon exiting Clara immediately embraced him.                                                                                                                     

“You were lucky the shields protected you from the radiation,” Raven said to him. Then Zack thanked him for risking his life to save him. Everyone praised him, and the captain and Azra, as the first officer, told him that he would be a good captain one day. But Simon did not believe he will become a captain from a chef. Azra reminded them once again that they had a mission to commit to, and that was coming out of the universe, Raven completely agreed with it as they wasted a lot of time with the repairs.

    “Ma`am look at this,” said one of the officers on Tereshkova, as Caty grabbed the tablet that was given to her.                                                                                   

“What are they doing?” she asked. “Are they crazy?”                                                

“I think they are,” said the officer. “Either crazy or brave, leaving this universe just like that,” he added.                                                                                                    

“All right follow them!” ordered Caty.                                                                  

“Ma`am…” gulped the officer.                                                                            

“What!?”                                                                                                                     

“Nothing…” said the officer as he sat on his station and began preparations to leave.

    When Star Fury arrived at the walls of the universe they were greeted by a barrier a sturdy one from the looks of it, it changed colors like an aurora it had the same lines just sliding on the wall.

“Let`s go,” Azra stood next to John and touched him on the shoulder reassuring him, he looked at her and slowly pushed the lever as Star Fury slowly gained speed and moved toward the barrier. They left their universe and entered the hole that sucked the ship, all sorts of crazy colors and shapes appeared on the window like if you were to squeeze your eyes hard enough and start seeing out of worldly things, it lasted for a while as it sped up more and more becoming very intense everyone was pretty hyped up about what was beyond and then…                                                                                                                    

“This is it?” asked John.                                                                                                          

“It`s all black!!!” cried out Viktor in disappointment.                                                 

“Well this is a huge build-up to a shitload of disappointment,” said Sarah.                                                                                                                                        

“I don’t know what you were expecting,” Azra looked at all of them strangely.                                                                                                                             

“Well we are outside the universe, it`s reasonable that something badass should happen,” said Dave with his sad face.                                                                              

“This was the biggest disappointment of the century,” said John as he tapped on the desk.                                                                                                                           

“What should we call it?” asked Raven,                                                                         

“How about cosmos?” asked Alexander.                                                                      

“Yeah that works,” said Zack.

    Outside of Star Fury, there was nothing but blackness the ship itself was a grain of salt left on a black table there was nothing near its vicinity.                                                                                                                    

"There, on the left, it seems to be some sort of light, like a star,” Viktor spotted something, as Sarah steered the ship in that direction.                                                                                                                       

“Would you look at the time?” Dave looked into his pocket watch.                        

“Dave seriously it`s enough,” said Azra.                                                                         

“No, but look at it!” erupted John as everybody took a peek at the pocket watch and were surprised because the arrows were moving rapidly back and forth, as Azra assumed that it was probably because there was no time in the cosmos.                                                                                                             

“Oh this is like our first discovery, we should write that down,” John was excited. As the Star Fury was making its way toward the source of light, the source of light also made its way toward them with tremendous speed.

“That`s not a star,” Viktor changed his statement.                                                                                                                                  

“No buddy, but we are witnessing an expansion of a universe,” said Zack as the ship broke through the barrier of it and all those crazy lights came to be once again.               

“I think these lights represent the energy and everything that drives a universe, the blueprints of it,” thought Azra. The Star Fury came to a halt to a nearby galaxy as Dave began to scan whether there are planets with life in their vicinity.

“So… if our universe is expanding, and this one is expanding as well, then how long before they collide with each other?” asked Benedict.

“Universes collide all the time and bump into each other before deflecting each other until they die out,” explained Azra. “One universe collapses while a small piece detaches and grows on its own like a seed.”

“So they bump into each other?” asked Zack. “Like wax in a lava lamp?”

“I don`t know what a lava lamp is,” she looked at Zack, but he was right the principle was about the same with the lava lamps. The scanner immediately detected a planet and after a while, they headed for it. The captain immediately ordered to land on it as everyone was amazed by the beautiful cities, the tall and futuristic architecture that was composed of skyscrapers that touched the clouds with the authentic brutalist look, and on top of them were flying cars and the bridges who instead of a normal asphalt were made out of an invisible matter, laser bridges they were called.                                                                                                                     

“I hope this is a sufficient enough advanced civilization,” Dave turned toward Benedict as he just looked at him and nodded.

    In a large hall, one of the guards approached his queen and said something in an unknown language. They immediately attached a device on their head to learn the language that uses the expedition that arrived on that planet. The expedition was split into two groups to cover more ground, not that any of them was sure what exactly they were looking for or what they were after.                                                                                       

“Why is everyone bald on this planet!!!?” Viktor shouted, but Zack warned him not to be rude and it`s probably their nature.                                                          

“Remind me again why did we split up in two groups?” Benedict was confused and did not understand what they were trying to accomplish.          

“So that we can easily find someone we can talk to,” Zack simply replied as one mysterious lady called out to Benedict and Zack.                                                                                  

“She is probably homeless,” Zack assumed by the old look and her torn off clothes, and the bad smell of garbage combined with mud.                                     

“Yeah well, she is the only one that speaks English on this planet and also has hair,” Benedict looked at Zack as he started walking toward her.                                     

“You are a long way from home, but you are not lost you are seeking for something?” Zack put two fingers in front of her eyes and realized that she is blind as the situation evolved into being creepy. At that moment the queen also ordered the intruders to be captured, as the guards immediately went out. The police searched for the scattered groups around town, all of them had to be apprehended, they can`t just land on a planet and expect to be just roaming around freely.                                                                                                                        

“Sir you`ll have to come with me,” said a guard to Benedict as he just turned back to the homeless lady.                                                                                                       

“If you want to know more come to the abandoned hut at the end of town,” the mysterious lady told Benedict as the police dragged him. The police took everyone from the expedition to the Queen's room, she welcomed them and introduced herself as Soldana, queen of Derbians. Then she asked them who their captain was, Benedict was psychically absent he was thinking about the mysterious lady and the things she told him as Jackson slightly kicked him with his elbow and Benedict immediately reacted and presented himself as captain of the entire expedition.                                                                                                                        

“What is your business here?” the question was obvious form Soldana. 

“I have some questions that make no sense,” answered Benedict, Soldana heard him and immediately called out to the guard that arrested them as she started whispering something to him.                                                                                     

“This way!” the guard called out to everybody as Benedict with somewhat hesitation began to follow him and the rest of the crew did the same. The guard brought them in front of a large and tall cathedral that was not very different from the ones that are on Earth with the dark grayish tone of bricks and the two towers on the sides and the middle curved building and the authentic architectural look with statues of goblins, demons, and flowers, the cherry on the top of the cake is that it had colorful fragile windows depicting some religious figure from the past. The crew took their time and gazed upon the cathedral a sight that they have not seen in a while.                                                                                      

“Oh… it`s like the Sagrada cathedral,” said Simon.                                                       

“Yeah, speaking of which have they finished building it?” asked Benedict.          

“Nah, Atheism went above every religion and people were like it`s pointless to even finish it,” answered Zack.                                                                                                 

“In here, please,” said the guard as he opened the wooden door and followed him inside. Inside they were greeted with pretty much…nothing, the walls were empty no icons, no portraits just stone and pillars, but at the end of the hall there was a throne made of stone and on the throne, there was a girl whose eyes were glowing bright yellow.                                                                              

“Zenya!” Soldana called out to her.                                                                                

“My queen, what can I do for you?” she asked in a majestic deep feminine voice.                                                                                                                          

“Zenya is one of the brightest Derbian on this planet she will answer to all your questions, her talent is beyond our comprehension,” explained Soldana.                                                                                                                 

“We come from IA... our space administration…” Benedict was stopped as Zenya assumed what Benedict wanted to say and told him that the star is younger than the universe. He freaked out because she seemed to read his thoughts, she explained to them that these were logical holes because they followed his adventure; they thought to put one of them.                                                                                      

“Wait you were watching us all this time?” Azra was angry.                                      

“Well that`s not true but technically yes,” answered Zenya. “Could watch so many things, but can`t ever change the past, but the future we can try to control it,” she explained.                                                                                                              

“Uh… no, you can`t control the future,” Dave stepped up as Zenya instantly and with anger turned toward him.                                                                                            

“Yes we can,” she said. “We did it with you…the logic hole it made you come to me,” Zenya finished.                                                                                                        

“Why are you talking in plural?” asked Jackson.                                                     

“Because there are many of us, scattered around the very borders of existence, around many universes, galaxies, planets we are everywhere watching, changing fates for better or worse, we decide whether you are worth pursuing your dream or not, we are…THE WATCHERS,” Zenya stood up and spread her hands as a bright hologram of the universe filled up the empty cathedral as she sat down and finished.                                                                                                                   

“Woah…” John was impressed with how epic this all is and walked around the holographic galaxies and planets that were around him as suddenly it all made sense as to why the hall was empty.                                                                           

“So much for an advanced civilization,” Zack joked, but Azra yelled at him to shut up.                                                                                                                                                 

“So you said that you made us come here, why?” asked Sarah.                                 

“A foreshadowing…” said Zenya shortly.                                                                 

“Oh… so it`s like something evil threatens the very existence of all living things?” asked Viktor.                                                                                                                    

“Yes,” replied Zenya.                                                                                                         

“Does it have a humanoid nature?” he asked again.                                         

“Yes.”                                                                                                                                     

“Is it called Caty?”                                                                                                    

“Yes…What!? No!” Zenya finally snapped out of it. “Caty is but a joke to him, You think Caty is cruel and evil, wait till you meet him,” laughed Zenya.                                                                                                                                 

“Who is…him?” asked Benedict.                                                                                         

“A god, yet a mortal human, it can`t be hurt yet it can be killed, it kills yet it revives, just as I am to you complicated to explain he is complicated to the watchers,” she stopped.                                                                                                   

“Night King!” yelled Dave out from the back as everybody turned on him and scoffed. “Oh I`m sorry I thought it was a riddle,” he apologized.                                                                                                 

“Well what`s his name?” asked Benedict.                                                         

“Unknown, but he goes by Professor H,” answered Zenya.                                       

“Okay…now that does sound scary,” said Zack.                                                        

“It should be scary, you don`t know half the things he is capable of,” Zenya managed to scare them even more. They looked at each other frightened and whatnot and could not believe what they just heard.                                                                                                                  

“We need a new planet for our civilization to live because the old one will soon be swallowed by the Sun,” John said out of the blue. “And our universe is dying as well,” not that it was going to be swallowed by the sun any time soon, but it was better for them to establish presence sooner than later in this universe.                                                                                                                                      

“I accept your demand I will give you a new planet,” Soldana quickly answered.                                                                                                                        

“Wait!?” John was confused that she accepted so quickly, surely there must be a twist of some sort.                                                                                                        

“Yes and in return, I will need one of your members from the crew to stay on this planet,” Soldana told her demand.                                                                         

“I cannot agree to those terms, I need everyone from the crew!” Benedict rebelled, Zack tried to make an objection to settle in some other way, but the Queen did not want anything else. During that conversation another spaceship appeared in the sky, the Derbians were surprised especially the guards two unknown objects appearing on the same day, this cannot bode well. And it didn`t, the U.N.E. Tereshkova stood idly in the sky without making a sound, probably scanning for the Star Fury, Caty as soon as the scanners spotted it she started attacking immediately, killing off everybody that was near its vicinity. She landed on the surface and made her way toward the cathedral as her soldiers that followed her shot the guards that were guarding the entrance and placed a bomb on the walls. Benedict kept arguing with the queen as Zack walked toward the wall hearing faint sounds of ticking as it intensified.                                                                                                                              

“Everybody! Get dow…” BOOM!!! The wall shattered into pieces with debris flying all over the hall and amidst all the dust and rubble Caty appeared, walking amongst everybody who was on the ground as her soldiers walked in as well they shot Zack in the left shoulder, then shot again in his chest as he turned to Benedict and fell.

“Not only did I find you…” she looked at Benedict. “But also you,” she turned her gaze toward Peter. “Two birds with one stone,” she smiled. The guards stood behind Caty and loaded their rifles as they started shooting all across the hall and killed Zenya and the other members of the council. Not that Zenya could be killed but let`s just say that her physical form was destroyed beyond salvation.                                                                                                                      

“You will not get away this time Caty!” Dave yelled at her.                                             

“I will, you see when Star Fury was confiscated I found these bracelets they are quite useful,” she looked at the patrols of police chasing after her and immediately teleported taking Peter with her,  she didn`t have time to take the rest because the guards and the police were on their way and were close, but she had enough time to do the damage. Benedict kneeled to Zack, who was bleeding, and urged to Alexander and Raven to try to save him. Raven immediately asked for help from others to pick up Zack and take him to the ship. While Benedict was still on his knees, the queen was screaming over his head because he was the culprit for the great number of victims in which some of the senior officials of the Kingdom were also killed.                                                                                       

“This…this is a war crime, human! Prepare for war!!!” Soldana warned.