Naomi had just jostled her way into a comfortable position on the couch, getting into bed had seemed like too much trouble, when a new comms request caught her eye.

She groaned as she propped herself up.

Looks like sleep will have to wait.

It was the XO, not someone she could just ignore a call from.

She ran her hands through her hair quickly, trying to straighten out the mess of hair, before opening the connection.

'How are you holding up Ensign?'

Naomi could see the concern etched on First Mate Dorsey's face as he scrutinised her appearance over their video link. Under other circumstances, she had no doubts that her unkempt appearance and tired, raw eyes would have elicited a more disapproving appraisal.

'I'm doing alright, sir. Not too sure what to do with all of this spare time if I'm being honest. Catching up on sleep and some overdue reports mostly.'

'Feeling a little loose with the truth Naomi? I know Stephen's has you working on those elevator feeds. Your report ready yet?'

'Didn't mean it like that sir. I was pretty bored until Chief called earlier. Not much to report really. I referred everything to security. Sent on some hardware issues to Chief.'

'External interference scrambling the feed. I read the security report already. Lingering issues?'

It was less of a question than a statement, she had never believed that she was the first to notice the issue. Chief had passed her the residual issues with the sensors as a way to keep her in the loop. The real test had been to see what she would do with the data, not if she would find the source of the problem.

'Yes, sir. Whatever scrambled the video feeds in the elevator was pretty strong. It messed with some of the more delicate sensors, causing some minor latency. Nothing outside of operational specs yet.'

'That everything?'

'Everything in the report, sir.'

'And what isn't?'

'I'd rather not say.'

'Ensign?'

It wasn't impatience that she heard in his tone, more like amusement. She had known him long enough to know that he enjoyed the process of cajoling information from his crew. He very rarely needed to order someone to talk.

'Nothing as of yet, I'm still working some angles.'

'Care to share?'

'Not until I have something, sir. It may be nothing. There wasn't much to go on and I'm probably clutching at straws anyway.'

Her attention was distracted by a notification flashing next to his head.

Her LAN had finished running the secondary analysis of the air exchange. The UV spectrum filter had thrown up a hit. 98% relevance to her search criteria. She pulled up the image. It was obscured by a splash of blood, but the filter showed a string of numbers scrawled across the floor of the exchange.

Naomi recognised them immediately. They referenced a point in space on the ship's hull, just off the bridge section of the ship. Or at least to her they did anyway. The numbers weren't part of any official coordinate system on board the fleet ships; latitude and longitude, a long defunct system of coordinates from Old Earth.

They referenced the location of her family's ancestral home before the Great Exodus. To most people it would just appear to be a random set of numbers, but to Naomi, it spelled 'Home'. That was what her family had always called the bridge, their position within the command crew of the ship reached back to the earliest years of the fleet.

Placement on board the Ganesha was purely merit based. The assessment process was tightly controlled to prevent nepotism and favouritism. And it was a point of pride in her family, that they had consistently held positions on the bridge for generations.

But to Naomi and her father, 'Home' had another secondary meaning. It was what they used to call a small portion of the ship, just outside the bridge, in the shadow of the primary sensor array.

Since her mother's death, they had often retreated there to get away from the noise and constant movement of the ship, sometimes alone, but often in each other's company.

She often used the place to meditate, gazing off into the distance at the small bursts of light, the only visible evidence that they weren't out there alone. The location itself was purely incidental. It wasn't particularly private or hidden, but the structure at the base of the array just happened to provide a place to sit, if it could even be called that out there in the void.

There were few people who would understand the vague reference or its significance. It was obscure in astronomical terms, a terrestrial system that had no place out in the void, and its meaning dead, by thousands of years.

But it meant more than that to Naomi. It was a private message from her father. A message meant only for her.

Her heart sank as his face flashed in her memories. How long would it be before that faded? Naomi could barely recall her mother's face. What would it mean to her when she needed images to recall her father's as well?

'Sir, I have to go. Something's after coming up and I have to see to a few things.'

'The reason I'm calling Naomi, your father's body has been released from the med bay. His cremation and internment ceremony are scheduled for two hours' time.'

'Two hours?'

She had always known that it would come around fast, it felt like a mountain had just settled on her shoulders. Her words were choked and angry, family was a distant fourth in the fleet hierarchy of importance.

'Yes, I know it is fast. The rest of the command crew want to put it behind them. He was loved, but they also wish to say their farewells. I tried to put it off until tomorrow, give you some time, but...'

'I understand sir. I get it. My father isn't the first captain I've seen pass.'

He's not the first parent I've said goodbye to either.

'Are you okay?' the concern was evident in his voice.

'I'll be there.' She was trying to sound strong, but as he signed off with a sharp salute, she wasn't sure how many of her words had been audible.

~

The ceremony was a brief, formal affair, religious beliefs a memory from the distant past, left behind generations before. The historical archives aboard each ship kept a full record of these belief systems, more for historical and cultural purposes than practical. There were still some small sects that held onto those ancient beliefs, although they were small and increasingly loose in their worship.

The only remaining vestige of spirituality practised widely throughout the caravan was the unwavering belief that everything must return to the stars. Out in the void between systems, it was easy to feel displaced form the rest of the universe. Land, sky, sunlight; these were all theoretical concepts now. To forever float in the void, outside the cycles of solar death and rebirth, had become a notion akin to purgatory.

When a crew member died they were cremated, their ashes sealed tight and then interred in the ships crypt, a depressurised portion of the ship starting at the bridge and running halfway down its length.

When the fleet eventually arrived at its destination, all of those ashes, from all of the ships in the fleet, would be taken into a close orbit around their new home star and allowed to burn up slowly as they descended into its atmosphere.

In this way the dead would eventually return to the universe. They would become fuel for a new generation of stars, providing the building blocks for new worlds, new life, far from their original home. They would be born again, carrying a little of the Earth with them into the distant future.

Naomi watched as her father's body was burned in the intense heat generated by a small-scale replica of the arkship's massive thrusters. Coincidentally, the same technology that was being used to test the effects of a sustained engine burn. The flames burned bright and hot and the cremation itself was almost instantaneous. But the thrusters were allowed to burn for a full half minute after the body itself was reduced to ashes. During this time, silence reigned in the small observation room, just enough room for the deceased's family, friends and close crew-mates.

The polarised glass of the observation deck reduced much of the glare to safe levels, but additional goggles were provided for the end.

For the final seconds of the burn, the flame was ramped up until it shone as bright as, according to the historical records, the sun in Old Earth's sky.

These last few seconds of the ceremony were the most solemn. Whispers spread through the crowd of mourners as they said their final farewells under the light of a sun.

Naomi tried to say her own farewell, but the words caught in her throat. She stood in silence with her head bowed until the glow subsided.

Her father was gone. He had returned to the universe.

She was surprised to feel tears tracing slow tracks down her face.

Naomi had spent her whole life in the void, relished the feeling of isolation that came with floating outside the ship. She had, however, never felt as alone as she now was, standing in the glow of the slowly dying thrusters, the crew slowly filtering out as the light dimmed.

Each member of the crew wished her well as they passed, until she was left alone in the observation booth.

It was up to her to complete her father's journey, interring his ashes alongside the remains of those who had come before. Alongside her mother.

And when it was done, she would be the one to carry her family's legacy into the future.

~

Both Chief and First Mate Dorsey had offered to come with her, as had several of her friends, but she had politely declined those offers.

Naomi wanted some time alone with her father to say goodbye.

Chief returned to the observation booth briefly to hand her the ashes. As Chief Engineer it was his duty to seal the ashes and present them to the family. For all usual brusqueness, he took this duty seriously. They stood together in silence for a full minute as he handed over the ashes, his hand clasped tightly on her shoulder. It was as close to emotion as she had ever seen him come.

He had moved up through the ranks with her father. The two had known each other their whole lives. It had to be hard for him as well. Naomi felt a brief urge to call him back but then shook her head. This part of the journey was hers alone to make.

Chief left and Naomi stood alone in the silence of the observation room, staring blindly at through the observation window. The chamber beyond now in complete darkness.

'Right, dad, it's time to go.'

Her voice was a whisper as she clutched the package tightly to her chest.

Naomi turned to the private transport pod in the corner of the room. It would take her directly to the crypt airlock.

She sent a call command through her SAN and the doors pinged open softly.