Page 10 of Ava Stargazer (Planet Xai #2)

“Lirell!” Ava exclaimed as a tired looking Lirell exited a large shuttle, his posture drooping a bit instead of standing tall. Ava’s head still held a dull ache from the night before, but the medicine Vox gave her in the morning had blunted the worst of it. Thankfully those pain pills always work fast.

She didn’t let any pain show on her face though as Lirell grinned back at her and walked in her direction. It had only been a little more than three weeks since she last saw him, but it didn’t matter. She bounced on the balls of her feet. I missed him.

The shuttle parked on the baked ground next to the main lake where Orla and Erox’s ceremony had taken place. The landing area was the same place where Ava herself had first stepped onto the planet.

Lirell was not alone. Ava gave a jolt as she saw the pair of Spry exiting behind him. They were bigger than she expected, almost matching the Vorbax in height. The Spry gleamed black in the sun and had a carapace attached to many limbs and short, stubby arms, with a few longer appendages they used as legs. Their insectoid, segmented bodies easily climbed down from the shuttle and onto the dirt of Xai.

Ava raised her finger in signal to silently communicate, looking at Vox and raising her eyebrows. He tilted his head to her and mutely glowed, connecting them. She asked silently. “ Is it only the two?”

“No, there are others still in the transport, but one of the ones with Lirell will be working on the modifications and cloaking for the ship.”

She winced, realizing connecting like that with him made her head throb a bit. Ava looked to the Spry as they went back into the transport to bring out some bags.

Lirell joined their connection as he walked close, his glow steadier than it had been before. “It is good to see you, Ava .”

He opened his arms wide and Ava rushed into his embrace. The boyish charm was still present in his expression, but more subdued. He stopped glowing and grinned down into Ava’s face. “Your mind seems clearer, but your head hurts a little.”

Ava gave him a large hug back, gripping him tight. “Yes. It’s better overall though. You got bigger too.”

“Did I?”

“You’re not as easy for me to wrap my arms around like before.”

“Oh, good.” Lirell’s tone was pleased as he hugged her back.

Lirell noted Ava’s gaze at the Spry exiting. “These are the Spry who will help retrofit the Phor ship. They have some good ideas on how to cloak it so it will look completely new and like part of our fleet once they’re done.”

In an undertone he added, his eyes snagging on the biologics around her neck, “They are very interested in seeing the biologics up close in return for their help. They gave a better deal than usual on some supplies with that as part of the negotiations.”

Ava frowned at that, still unsure she’d given the right answer in letting them observe the biologics. “Yea, Iryl told me they were happy about it.” The biologics, for their part, remained calm. Ava took that as a good sign they were not upset. Vox had told her that they weren’t when he connected with them, but Ava still felt the container for unease, rubbing it soothingly. They will look only. I promise.

Vox pressed his forehead to Lirell’s before waving above at the shuttle. “This ship is different from the one you left on. Is it here to stay, or on loan?”

Lirell was eager to explain. “On loan, our transport is still with Iryl. This is the Spry’s, and they fit a lot inside. Some of it is for Ava’s ship, but a lot of this is for plumbing and electrical upgrades for homes here that collected the IO minerals this summer.”

Vox nodded. “Very good, Lirell. We should relocate this shuttle next to Celestial first and unload those components before taking the other materials to the quorum.”

The large shuttle was around a fourth the size of Celestial , making it almost a ship of its own. Ava looked up and down its sleek hull as she walked closer, the design unfamiliar. “This will fit so much to take back to sell.”

Lirell frowned, nervousness on his face. “There is something else.”

Vox turned back. “What?”

“One of the Tuxa ships were spotted nearby as we were coming in. They were off their path near us. The Spry were not concerned though.”

“Let the quorum know. We'll find out more about their intentions when we visit Iyrl. They still think settling for peace will be easy.”

Ava lost track of Lirell and Vox’s discussion and noticed the Spry looking at her, their large eyes reflecting her face back. That was what was odd about their eyes that Ava remembered. Definitely mirrors. She gulped as their gaze bounced between her face and the biologics on her chest.

The twin pair of Spry came closer, their segmented black carapaces dragging on the ground. Ava could see her own wary expression reflected back in their countless forward-facing eyes. “You are Human?” one asked, their furred mirrored heads coming closer to her.

The one on the right had a streak of muted red on the top of his head instead of being all black. He leaned forward, his antenna extended. “We can sense your tension. We mean no harm.” Both him and his companion gave her the universal sign of deference.

Ava relaxed at seeing the gesture made. That’s the first time anyone’s done that gesture for me . It felt respectful in a way she had never encountered before, filling her body up with a warm feeling. She watched as their mirrored eyes tracked her movements and again settled on the biologics she carried. She resisted the urge to cover the biologics with her hands and instead gave the universal sign of deference back. Her posture softened as she watched their antennas dance in the air as she matched their gesture.

The antennas reminded her of Ebel, only the Spry’s antennas were longer and more delicate looking, which probably put her more at ease than she should be meeting another foreign species for the first time. She kept her eyes on them as they danced, ignoring their eyes in front.

Her heart panged, and she fought to keep a frown off her face as she remembered Ebel and how his antennas had moved like that as well. The Spry tilted their heads at her questioningly, their mirrored eyes seeming to reflect more than just her face.

Vox stood at her side, but was quietly conversing with Lirell about the peace talks instead of paying attention.

The Vorbax Quorum showed up as well. It was the first time since Ava met them in that meeting a few days ago.

Oh. She forced a smile, and the Spry twisted their head to watch her as she gave the group, almost all ten of them, the universal sign of deference as well, determined to try again. I will do what I can.

Ava eyed them warily as the quorum moved forward, each with a muted glow. Their focus was not directed at her, but they also made no effort to really try to exclude her from their scan of the environment. At least they were not probing her directly, which was a start, and a relief to her pounding head.

Keervel in particular cooly nodded at her as they passed, then continued walking toward the transport to inspect it.

Ava kept her hands held in front of her a bit longer than was necessary before she slowly lowered them. I’m trying. That’s the best I can do. She clenched her hands together, now back at her side. Despite Vox saying they didn’t matter, Ava felt like she needed them, needed their support, or at least their acceptance. Not just for herself, but for the other Humans, if she could ever start getting some data on them.

Ava eyed the shuttle as Vox and Lirell walked in and out of it, greeting the quorum while she stood on the side with the Spry. The communicator presumably inside that transport could help with her getting more data. Or at least I can try to contact Ebel and Nuor.

Her hope rose when Pyra broke away from the others and walked toward her. And he does not look angry.

“Ava,” Pyra said out loud, “it is good to see you again. Under better circumstances.”

Ava nodded, giving a smile. She said in a rush, “I can understand needing to know more. I am an alien, like the ones who harmed you.”

Pyra blinked and looked taken aback at that statement. “You are not like them. Not like them at all. Anyone could see that if they looked.”

He reached out with his wrinkled hand as if to touch hers, but then brought it back to his side. “Truthfully, I wish to help more than the rest of the quorum seems to at the moment. But I will be watching from afar.”

Vox walked up, curiosity on his face as he regarded Pyra. “Thank you. Acceptance is what we need right now. And space for us to figure out the next moves.”

Pyra nodded and with his small smile, Ava’s heart leapt. “We all need that, it seems.”

****

Ava led the Spry into the room the biologics were in, her hands slick with sweat as she keyed the room to open. It should be alright. She glanced up and down the tank. These biologics had met so many different species by this point. Nuor, the Vorbax, myself. Not to mention all the places the ones on her chest had gone now that they weren’t tethered in the tank with the others.

Still she took deep breaths while watching the initial meeting, where the two Spry that were allocated to work on the ship walked up close to the tank to watch the bubbles swirl. Ava walked closer as well, wanting the biologics to see her, hoping it would help put them at ease. They accepted Vox. She didn’t think they would slow down for him now even if Ava was absent, not like they had on the journey to Torga.

One of the Spry raised his bony hand, clawed fingers extended. Their hands looked like they could clamp down hard on objects. Ava, leaning against the wall, wondered idly how they could handle touch screens, or if their technology was modified somehow. Their black carapaces moved swiftly across the floor. They even climbed a bit on the tank, making Ava wonder if they could climb the walls. Which would make it even easier to repair things.

But those thoughts were pushed out of her mind as she looked at one of the Spry’s hands resting against the tank, his eyes and the tank’s reflection mirroring each other, making the image look like it went on for infinity.

The Spry stood there, pressed against the swirling orange bubbles, until the silence became uncomfortable for Ava, and she fidgeted with her container of biologics. I wonder what they’re doing. The collection of Spry eventually turned away and spoke quietly to each other. Ava tried to catch the conversation but was too far. She looked at Vox in question.

He took his hand and put it over hers, holding hers steady in his own. Ava’s heart rate spiked immediately at the contact.

He leaned over and connected with her. “They’re discussing how the biologics’ energy works. I’ll admit it’s a bit beyond me, but they seem to understand part of it. Something about how their energy is compressed and that adds extra power.”

“Even I don’t understand it fully.” Then again, Ava had to admit she’d never thought too deeply on it. She smiled down at her container, tapping on it as she whispered, “You’re just magic.”

More than the two Spry working on the ship had come inside. Around ten were present in total; they had all wanted to see the biologics for themselves before moving on to other tasks here on Xai. The engine room felt cramped with so many in here. Actually, I don’t think I’ve ever seen it this full before.

One Spry, part of the pair who initially talked with her, came closer, moving away from the others that stood marveling at the tank. He was identifiable to Ava by the red hues on the top part of his head, which were brighter now in the fluorescent lights.

He gave what looked like a bow before her, his antennas extended, voice reedy and without clicks. “I am Fijjak. I will be overseeing the modifications here to make this ship part of the Vorbax fleet, and not identifiable as a Phor ship.” As the Spry spoke, his antenna dipped forward so close to Ava that she took a step back to put more distance between them. “I saw those around your neck earlier, outside. Are those on your chest ... ?”

Ava nodded, clenching the container. “They are more biologics, yes, but these like to be with me.”

Fijjak extended his clawed fingers, eight attached to a hand. They all were segmented with a hard shell on the outside. “Can I feel?”

The swirling inside her container appeared calm and Ava had no reason to refuse. Still, she hesitated as she walked closer to him to hand the container over, though she left the loop around her neck.

Fijjak held it for only a moment before releasing it and looking at her speculatively. “These are more aware.”

Ava looked down at the container in confusion. “Aware of what?”

“Not of what, but in general. They have seen more.”

“How can you tell?” Are the Spry telepathic too?

“We can feel the energy waves that come off of living things. It is deeper from them.”

Ava rubbed the container and met Fijjak’s eyes. “They see everything I see. More than the others in the tank.” It makes sense that these are more aware now.

“They seem fond of you.”

Ava looked down again, touched, the words warming her. “I know.”

Fijjak reached towards her. “Can we take some? To study?”

Ava recoiled back as the container around her spun. “No. I thought to look. Only.”

“We will not harm them, Human. I promise. You do not need to worry. We just want to learn more. The Phor have not let any be studied before.”

Ava remembered Wert, the lead Phor when she was still on the ship, saying as much, back on the ship prior to the takeover. Wert had discussed with her how the biologics were the Phor’s greatest asset. Well, before he was killed, that is. Ava didn’t let the shudder that went through her at that though show and smiled at Fijjak instead.

His antennas were raised in the same orientation that Ebel’s did when he was surprised, but the Spry’s clawlike hands were clasped together as if in prayer, radiating sincerity.

I believe him. She smiled back at Fijjak. “Ava. My name is not Human. It is Ava.”