The Solar Flare (19 page)

     “Ash, when we fix the Andromeda, I want you to apply that cloaking technology to her as well.”

     “We’ll have to re-configure a lot and install a ton of sensors, but it can be done,” he assured him.

     Trevor Vance approached the group of Asterions with a big smile. They had learned of their triumph over Kaden with Ash’s transmissions.

     “We have victory,” an exhausted and worn-out looking Wesley informed Vance.

     “The sacrifice of the Andromeda and the damage to the city
was worth it in order to bring us peace,” Vance replied as he put a hand on Wesley’s shoulder, congratulating him on a battle well fought.

    
At Wesley’s request Vance proceeded to tell the Asterions about the extent of the devastation the city sustained under Draves’ low flying attack. He also informed them that two bodies, badly burned beyond recognition, were being pulled from the wreckage.

     After a short debriefing, Wesley regrouped with the others to discuss a few things. Everyone agreed that it would be best to wait until the morning before they flew to Ibis to collect Ava. They all needed to rest.

Chapter 14: Missing

     Ava inhaled deeply, sensing Wesley’s warm hand in hers. She squeezed it gently and opened her heavy eyelids, only to gasp in confusion after she realized it was not Wesley’s hand that she held. She immediately pulled her hand back out of Xavier’s soft grip, eyeing him suspiciously, unable to hide her disappointment. He said nothing, although she thought he looked a little let down as he stood up and moved away to allow Melanie by, who greeted her and informed her she was there to take a set of vital signs. She noticed that the IV in her arm had been removed and replaced with a small bandage. Her eyes went to Bryant as she noticed him standing at the entrance to the small room she was in. He seemed to breathe in deeply through his nose.

     “
It’s so peculiar. She reeks of Justin Gaines . . . he’s all over her. How is that possible?” He said flatly to no one in particular. Suddenly everyone’s eyes were on her, awaiting an explanation.

     “I guess that’s probably from the blood transfusion I had a few months ago
,” she replied coolly, not wanting to tell them about the whole story.

     “Blood transfusion? They infused Justin’s blood into you?
Were you injured, . . . or sick?” Melanie asked curiously. “That potentially could have killed you. . .”

     “I caught
a virus and I was very ill. They transfused Justin’s blood to me to save my life. That’s it,” Ava said definitively, not wanting to discuss her personal health issues in front of these people who were nothing but complete strangers to her.

    “I see
. I sensed that something was off about your energy.” Melanie said, looking at her, beginning to wonder about Bryant’s story of her abusive treatment from Wesley and the others. Ava looked away from her and practically glared at Bryant.

     Xavier
noticed Ava’s hostile attitude towards Bryant and changed the subject, asking her how she was feeling. Ava didn’t know how to respond to them. She felt betrayed, lost, exhausted, and a little apprehensive about her new companions. “I have a headache,” she replied honestly, rubbing her right temple. Ava looked down at her clothes. Her cargos were smudged with dirt and moss stains and also torn in various places from her unsuccessful attempts at climbing out of the crevice. Then she realized that she didn’t smell very fresh as well, with an odor of sweat and dried mud on her clothes. I must look terrible, she thought. They seemed to notice her looking herself over. Lucas arrived with a protein shake for her to drink, which she did slowly, as her appetite seemed to have vanished. Afterwards they let the recliner down so that she was in a sitting position.

      “Ava, i
f you feel up to it I could show you down to your quarters. Would you like to have a shower and re-dress into some fresh clothes?  You and I seem to be about the same size,” Melanie offered in a gentle tone.

     “That would be great, thank you
,” Ava replied softly, deciding that now was not the time to argue with them about taking her back home. She wanted to save that for after she had another night of good sleep to give her time to think of a way to be more diplomatic about it. After a few minutes Melanie walked with her down a level to the living quarters. She opened the door numbered “5” and they entered a small room with a bed, table, closet, and bathroom. Melanie demonstrated how to operate the controls in the shower and explained the time limits to conserve water.  All very similar things to the Andromeda, Ava thought. Melanie pointed to a small stack of clothes that she put out for her in the closet. After she left, Ava headed straight for the shower. It felt so good to have a hot shower and to wash her hair, which she noticed, had not felt very fresh either since she had left the crevice. Afterwards she toweled off, brushed her teeth, dried her hair, and dressed in the borrowed clothes, which felt strange, but she was grateful they were clean.

     A tap on the door interrupted her thoughts.
“Yes?” Ava answered, wondering who it could be. The door slid open revealing Xavier standing there holding a small tray of food.

     “Melanie s
aid that you should start with something small to see how you feel. If you’re still hungry afterwards you can have more,” he said with a casual friendly smile.

     “Thank you, but I’m really not hungry right now.” Ava replied. She watched as he slowly walked past her to set the tray down on the small table on the other side of the room. He turned and gestured for her to come and sit down at the table. She noticed that she did not feel afraid of him and decided to
comply. She studied him closely for the first time since she met him as he sat down opposite of her at the table. He appeared a few years younger and was taller than Wesley by about an inch with a much different build. While Wesley was more muscular and athletic, Xavier was well built but seemed more slim and toned with broad shoulders and long arms and legs. His hair was every bit as black as Wesley’s but worn differently. Parted in the middle it fell below chin length and it appeared to be rather thick, to the point where it had been thinned out by trimming it up in the back.

    
Next, Ava noticed his striking large almond shaped eyes. They were a beautiful shade of blue Ava wasn’t sure how to describe. They almost seemed to be lit from within. He appeared, like all Asterions, to be in good health. His skin was perfectly luminous and flawless. He had an angular straight nose and flat cheeks over a nicely shaped mouth. He did not wear the typical attire Ava was used to seeing on Wesley and some of the other captains and crews she had encountered in some of her travels. Dressed well entirely in black he looked very much like a musician. She did notice that he wore a nice sized antique cross on a simple black cord around his neck. The cross looked in good condition but very old, much older than the cord it hung from. Wesley had never talked about religion so Ava found this interesting. Overall she could not deny that he was a handsome man.

     It was Xavier that spoke first. “I hope that you are feeling much better now
.” He seemed to study her as if he were awed by what he saw, pleased that she looked rested.

     “I am. Thank you for your kindness
. . . Mr. Xavier, what are you planning on doing with me? Where are you taking me?” She asked quickly.

     “Please, call me James
,” he responded. She remained silent. “We are going to take you someplace safe.”

     “I was perfectly safe where I was . . .”

     “Really? Things looked differently to me,” he said patiently.

     “I have a
reasonable explanation for that.”

     “Ava, believe me, you are going to be safe with us.
You don’t have to cover up what’s happened to you because you are afraid. We can give you a new beginning, away from the abuse that you have endured at Robinson’s hands. It won’t be like that with us. I can protect you.”

     “What are you talking about?”

     “It’s okay, Bryant told us all about the cruelty you have suffered with them. I won’t treat you like that. You know what we are, it’s supposed to be different than what you have experienced,” he spoke calmly and sincerely.

     “Bryant? . . . He cannot be trusted! I don’t know what he’s told you, but he’s obviously serving his own agenda here, not mine
or yours!” Ava replied heatedly, becoming a little upset figuring out a little about Bryant’s angle.

      Xavier was about to question Ava more about this when Melanie entered the room and interrupted them. “I think it’s time that Ava had some rest James.”
When he didn’t get up, she gave a more authoritative command. “Go on, shoo!” She said lightly to him. “Ava, try and eat a little bit, you’ll feel better and have more restful sleep.” Xavier stood and said a polite “Good night,” and left the room.

     Ava could not deny that she was still tired.
  She took a few bites of food to please Melanie and then climbed into bed as she left. She had a difficult time falling asleep despite her fatigue as her mind raced to come up with a plan to reason with these people to try and convince them to take her home.

     After leaving Ava’s quarters Xavier walked up to the flight deck to speak with
Nicholas. He could sense Ava’s apprehension and anger once they started discussing Bryant and he didn’t like it. “Nicholas, I want you to take us to the nearest space station that will allow us to dock.”

     “A space station? That might take us some time
because of the Orionis situation. I thought you wanted to go home?”

     “I do, we’re not staying there long. I want to be rid of Bryant as quickly as possible.”

     “Why?”

     “I don’t trust him.”

∞

     The passing storm gave way to a sunny, hot, humid, and windy day in Kyanos city. Wesley slept in a lot later than he had planned to. Teleportation always drained him for days. He showered,
put on fresh clothes, ate, hopped into his courier, and sped off for the hangar. On the way he could already see the cleanup crews and military at work trying to restore balance to the city. He surveyed the damage as he drove, pledging to help with the re-build once Ava was back safely and they had towed the Andromeda down for the repairs to begin.

     Naomi and Andre met Wesley at the hangar that housed the Principia. It had been refueled and readied for their short mission to Ibis to retrieve Ava. Andre offered to pilot the ship to give
Wesley a break, but he refused. He raced the starship towards the wind-swept desert eagerly awaiting his reunion with his beloved Ava. He set the ship down outside of the base just as he had done with the Andromeda, powered down, and the three of them approached the heavy doors. They surveyed the landscape out of habit and everything appeared as usual. He thought maybe Ava would have seen them coming and open the doors to greet them but she did not. Wesley punched in the entry code and the doors slowly opened. The cool silent air of the base hit them as they stepped inside of the dimly lit entry way, which illuminated when the sensors detected movement. Strange, Wesley thought. They waited for a few seconds, expecting to see Ava run out towards them to greet them, but she did not. “Ava!” Wesley called out. Silence was his only reply. The three of them looked at each other, concerned that she did not reply. Then all of them simultaneously started calling her name and fanning out to search for her. No one was faster than Wesley, who started frantically teleporting himself into all of the rooms one after another searching for her.

     After a less than a minute they met back up in the entry-way, with Wesley appearing visibly upset. “Let’s think about this Wesley, maybe she went for a walk. Andre and I will take the West side
of the base, you take the East,” Naomi advised.

     “Okay.” Wesley started to calm down a little. Ava had mentioned that she planned to stretch her legs
during her stay. They left the base and closed the doors behind them. They looked for footprints in the sandy ground, but could not even see their own from a few minutes before because of the wind. They split up, each sprinting in opposite directions along the rock face, calling Ava’s name. It did not take Wesley long to reach the opening in the rock face. He suddenly became very concerned as he recalled that there was a cave further back. Surely Ava wouldn’t have gone back there. He jogged back inside of it, drawing a small flashlight from his utility belt. Ava’s name echoed off of the walls as he called out to her. He aimed his light down into the crevice and gasped as he saw a backpack on a rock ledge at the bottom. He teleported himself down to the bottom and picked up the bag, looked around the small enclosed area, and teleported himself back up to the surface. He opened the bag and groaned when he recognized Ava’s sunglasses.

     Wesley ran out to the entryway of the cave and called to his friends on the PCD. Within minutes they were by his side, but not before he got a good look at the ground outside of the crevice. The wind and sand had covered most of th
e evidence, but there they were; small, distinct deep depressions in the dry ground where a starship had landed.