The Solar Flare (40 page)

     “Here, take this
, it is for your eyes only,” Emma said as she handed Ava what appeared to be a small cosmetics bag.

     “What’s this?”
She turned it over in her hands. She could feel there were a few small objects inside.

     “
It’s life insurance,” she said mysteriously. “If you should ever need us, inside you will find the code to unravel the signal to contact us. You know, just in case.”

     “Thank you.” Ava wasn’t sure she would ever need it, but put i
t in her bag anyway.

     Ava hugged them all again. Her face was a wet, flushed mess by the time she saw Wesley’s courier approac
hing. “Where is James?” She asked Melanie quickly. She had been feeling the sadness building up since the others arrived. She wanted to see him again, just once more to say goodbye before she left for good.

     “He just couldn’t take it Ava. It’s better this way. Maybe one day, when he’s accepted the situation
, we can come and visit you,” Melanie said hesitantly as she smiled sadly at Ava. She nodded back at her, knowing inside that day would probably never come. Before she knew it, Wesley was back at her side. He said a polite farewell to James’ family before ushering Ava quickly back towards the courier. Andre scooped up Ava’s bag as he and Naomi thanked the others for their hospitality and their kindness to Ava and then they were off.

    
It took mere minutes to reach the concealed Principia. The cloaking mechanism worked so well to conceal the ship and it seemed odd that they appeared to be driving right up into something invisible. Once inside and the ramp to the cargo area was closed everyone hopped out and Wesley gathered Ava into a passionate embrace and kiss while Andre and Naomi smiled.

     “Come, let’s get you strapped in for lift off.
Andre will take your bag to our quarters.” He seemed so happy, but still a little on edge, as if he expected something to happen.

 
   “Ava! Welcome back!” Ash called to her as they walked towards him on the way to the observation deck.

     “Hi Ash
!” Ava smiled at him, looking into his sky blue eyes, happy to see another familiar face.

     “Don’t worry, we haven’t forgotten the way home!” He joked.

     “Very funny,” Wesley said dryly as he led the way holding Ava’s hand. She laughed lightly. Once Ava was safely secured in her seat, Wesley took the one next to her and fastened himself in.

     “You’re not going to the flight deck?” She asked, a little confused.

     “I’m not letting you out of my sight,” he said seriously as he took her hand and kissed it.

     Ava leaned back and closed her eyes, concentrating on the famil
iar feel of Wesley’s energy as Andre counted down and the ship powered up. Everything was just as smooth as she remembered it as the Principia soared upwards into the atmosphere, and then further and further away from the green haze of the planet known as Sphene. She was once again in the company of her trusted family and she should be happy. She was happy, but she was also sad. Wesley seemed to pick up on her emotions and squeezed her hand.

     “Let’s get you settled,” he suggested, unbuckling her safety restraints as the cabin pressure evened out and the Principia glided along steadily. Ava
took his hand and walked with him up to his quarters. She noticed that he closed the door behind them once they were both inside. “How are you doing, are you okay? I know how intense he can be.” He seemed very concerned.

     “It’s going to take some time,” she answered honestly.

     He nodded, drawing her close to him. “You’re cold,” he observed, wrapping his arms around her.

     “Wesley, why do you suppress your energy from me?” She asked, remembering how wonderful it felt when James shared his with her.

     “I don’t want to hurt you . . . why?” He looked puzzled.

      “I want to feel your energy, it won’t hurt me if we’re careful. Just
. . . turn it up a notch,” she said lightly.

       “Okay,” he said cautiously pressing his lips against hers.
“Ava, I love you.” She warmed up immediately as his familiar energy penetrated her, comforted her and excited her. They kissed passionately, their hands roaming over each other.

     “I love you too.”
Ava pushed Wesley’s shirt off over his head and ran her hands over his sculpted chest and broad shoulders. His impressive physique never failed to thrill her. It seemed like it had been ages since they had been together and she could feel her spirits rising. Her skin tingled everywhere he touched her as he slowly slid her T-shirt over her head. He leaned forward into her, lifted her up and gently laid her down on the bed. She could feel his intense desire for her. Their energy started connecting, strengthening the bond between them. She wanted him, she needed him. She needed to forget James. This is how it should be she thought as he kissed her. She had made the right decision.

Chapter 29:  Hope and Doubt

     Wesley slept more soundly than he had over the last several months. As he woke he reached over to where Ava had been only to find the space empty. He opened his eyes and shot out of bed in a nanosecond, donned some clothes and te
leported around the ship frantically looking for her. Naomi and Ava gasped as Wesley startled them when he suddenly appeared before them in the kitchen. The two women were sitting at a small table with mugs of steaming hot tea in front of them.

     “What’s wrong?” Ava asked, getting up and walking over to him quickly.

     “Nothing . . . nothing,” he breathed heavily as his eyes raked her over. “I was just wondering where you were.”

     “I couldn’t sleep. It’s the reverse time change,” Ava explained. “Naomi and I were just catching up.”

     “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to frighten you. Please, . . . go back to your visit. I’m going to shower so that I can relieve Ash.”

     She kissed him softly and smiled at him as he walked out of the kitchen.

     “He’s been beside himself with worry for you since you disappeared. He’ll be okay once we’re back on Kyanos. I think he’s still in shock that James didn’t try to stop you from leaving.”

     “He’s a good man,” she said softly.

     “I don’t doubt that Ava. He saved my life once.” Naomi smiled at Ava, herself feeling relief that James let Ava go without a fight.

     “How long will it be before we are home?”

     “We’re going to take a little detour back down to Earth first. Wesley and Andre want to check out that hangar where Kaden had the Andromeda. If they are still there we can ambush them, if not, perhaps they left some clues behind as to their whereabouts.”

∞

     Ava sat in the observation deck with Naomi as the Princi
pia neared the wormhole that had brought them to the new universe that James had taken Ava to.  On her way to Sphene she had been holed up in her quarters on the Solstice and had no knowledge of it. It was comforting to have Naomi’s company during this risky part of the return trip, even though they told her that coming through had been a breeze. The other three Asterions remained in the flight deck. Ava could sense the ship slowing down and feel Wesley summoning his energy to brace the ship for the journey into the abyss. They sat in silence as they watched the monitors.

     The ship shuddered, shaking them in their seats and the temperature dropped several degrees as they began passing through. They could not see much from the cameras
, just some occasional bursts of light and what appeared to be clouds of light debris that they were passing through. Sometimes they didn’t see anything at all, except the usual blur that they saw when they travelled at absolute velocity. After some rather wild turbulence and a minor panic attack from Ava, the Principia sailed out into the universe that they had come from.

     Over the next few days on the journ
ey back to Earth Ava related stories of her experiences on Sphene and what James and his family had taught her to her family. She even recounted the harrowing story of her near drowning experience and how James had saved her only a few days before they had found her. Wesley seemed very distant and looked away during that part of the story, figuring out that was how he had found Ava, through James’ desperate fear that she was going to die. The thought of how much James had come to love Ava disturbed Wesley. The fact that James honored Ava’s wishes to return with him demonstrated exactly just how much he did love her. Deep down, Wesley had doubts that he could have been that strong and felt ashamed for himself. Ava was human and not bound by their laws or attraction, she had to be the one to make the decision and James had no choice. Wesley felt sorry for him now.

     Ava became somewhat nervous the closer they ventured towards the old abandoned hangar, remembering the events of what transpired there. Ash cloaked the ship again as they pulled in closer and hovered a short distance above and away from the entrance.

     “Let’s send in a Scout first,” Wesley advised.

     The “S
cout” was simply a motorized flying remote controlled camera able to give them a visual on what was happening inside the hangar. Ash was proud of his new toy, especially since it assumed the risk of going in first and not them. Everyone congregated into the flight deck to watch what the news would be. At first it was hard to see anything due to the snow flurries but once inside they saw through the night vision that the hangar was empty. Ava could immediately feel the energy of the Asterions around her sink in disappointment and even a touch of fear because there could be no telling where Kaden and whatever new crew he assembled would be by now. She hoped Kyanos was okay, she could not shake the guilty feeling that she was the reason their planet had been left unprotected.

     Wesley inhaled and exhaled out of frustration that Kaden had yet again slipped through his fingers. “Go in for a landing and
we’ll see what kind of parts he left behind,” he said softly. Ash brought the Principia down inside the entrance, illuminating the lamps on the front of the ship to give them a view of hangar. Parts that Kaden had apparently felt were inadequate and pieces of the old Andromeda were strewn everywhere. The hangar resembled a junkyard of disassembled parts, computers, and wiring. It was simply a mess.

     Once the ship was secure Wesley wanted to go out and collect what he could of the usable parts, hoping there was something that would help his team of engineers re-build another starship on Kyanos. Ava followed him, Andre, and Ash to the entrance into the cargo area of the ship.

     “Whoa, Ava, I want you to stay on the ship this time. The three of us will handle this,” he said authoritatively.

     “I don’t want to stay in here without you
,” she argued. Now that they were back together, she disliked being separated from him.

     “It will be fine. I can sense that Kaden is not here if that’s what’s worrying you. We won’t be long.” He kissed her gently a few times and gave Naomi a look before shutting the door to the cargo area behind him.

     “Come up to the monitors with me, we can watch everything that they are doing. Besides, it’s freezing out there,” Naomi said confidently.

     Ava complied, remembering that she had more than once gotten herself into trouble by not following orders. She watched the three
men gather parts and toss them into a large cart that they ran back and forth to the cargo ramp of their ship. From the expressions on their faces they seemed pleased with some of their findings. Ava looked around the hangar, remembering that James had killed two Asterions here, but thankfully, did not see any signs of their bodies.

    
She reflected on the events of the past year of her life and felt a great range of emotions flood through her. She had changed and grown so much as a person. She had been gloriously happy and also immeasurably sad. But most of all she was grateful that she as a human had been fortunate enough to have the opportunity to know these wonderful beings that called themselves the Asterions. Melanie had told her that every day they try to learn to be more human, but it seemed to Ava that she herself had been learning to be more human from them.

     As she looked out at her beloved Wesley and her other two friends she felt a wave of hope sweep through her for the future. Aside from that, she also
could not help but instinctively feel a gnawing, sinking sensation in the pit of her stomach that their war with Kaden was far from over.