Their early exit was probably due to one of two reasons: one, the fragment had sped up in a direction opposite to the ships’ current heading. Two, the fragment was shrinking. The crews believed reason number two was more likely. Other than the data, they also remembered the answer from the Ring: When the sea is drying, the fish have to gather into a puddle. The puddle is also drying, and all the fish are going to disappear.
