Page 4 of Ava Stargazer (Planet Xai #2)

“Ava. Iryl is ready.” Vox’s message came to Ava a bit muted, but still clear enough that it startled her, almost making her drop the box she held.

Vox was the only one who could connect with Ava over large distances. He had explained it had to do with familiarity on his end. Vox was able to communicate with her from nearly anywhere with effort, but they noticed that when she was inside the ship and he was outside it was harder, as if a component of the metal hull added extra resistance.

“Okay, I’ll be right there.” Ava’s heart pounded, but she was thankful Vox had been true to his word on getting in touch with Iryl. That was fast, actually. Ava had been sorting engine components when he notified her, and there was a mess on the floor by her side. There were boxes with components squirreled away everywhere, all labeled in Ebel’s meticulous scrawl from numerous cycles ago. Her fingers traced the lettering. The Phor were clean by nature, but Ebel took it to another level.

Ava was starting to learn that the counters didn’t have to be strictly wiped down every cycle—day—and that nothing really happened if there was a little clutter. Vox, though, was eerily similar to Ebel in that he was very organized, which made Ava’s natural untidiness go unnoticed as he almost compulsively organized things behind her.

I'll finish this later. The box closed with a snap as she pushed it shut, grabbed her clipboard that she took inventory notes on, and left the engine room in a hurry. As usual, she traversed the halls at her practiced run, taking exaggerated, heavy steps to break the silence. She reached the navigation room quickly, eyes adjusting to the brighter light that streamed through the windows from outside as she walked in.

Vox noted her arrival, his eyes lingering on her in concern as she took deep breaths from running so hard all the way up there. “You alright?”

“Yes.” Ava stood up, facing the hologram head on. A direct line to Iryl, straight to his feed at the Galactic Board, was the only communication they dared do with the Phor transport until it could be retrofitted to remain untraced and undiscovered. As much as Celestial was Ava’s in her heart, it was technically a stolen vessel.

The familiar hologram of Iryl, complete with amused eyes, stared back at her while she caught her breath. Oh, Iryl. He was thinner than Vox, and always much less serious looking than any of the males she had come to know. He looks happy to see me.

The morning sun came in strongly through the navigation windows, cutting through the hologram. The sun’s rays lent an otherworldly glow to Iryl’s transparent form, adding to the sense of mystery he always seemed to exude.

“Ava,” Iryl addressed her warmly.

Ava’s mouth broke into a wide grin. “Iryl, I’m so glad to see you.” She stood in front of the hologram, her black hair tied back in a messy bun and a bit of dirt across her nose.

“How are you settling in? Has Xai been different?” Iryl asked, his face tilting this way and that, animated.

“Ah, yes,” Ava said, now recovered from the run up to navigation. “Xai is a beautiful planet.” Almost everyone has been welcoming as well.

“It is beautiful,” Iryl agreed.

“It even rained last night!” Her tone rose, remembering her excitement.

“Yes. You never had anything like that before, huh? Must be different.”

Ava blushed and dipped her head forward, remembering what else happened last night. She looked at Iryl in the hologram and tried to see past him. “Where’s Lirell?” The youngest of the Vorbax who had gone on the rescue mission with Ava had joined Iryl at the board almost immediately after landing back on Xai. “Is Lirell there?”

“No, an embassy representative just arrived, and there was a ceremony. I sent Lirell to stand for us in attendance.”

“Oh.”

Iryl huffed, looking distracted. “So many meetings. In fact . . .” He pointed at Vox, directly over Ava’s head. “I will need you to schedule another meeting with us and part of the quorum after this is done.”

A bright blue came from Iryl while saying this, which made Ava frown. Fear?

Vox answered calmly, though his eyes narrowed. “Alright.”

Ava eyed Iryl as he turned back to her. “What?”

Iryl had a forced smile on his face. “Just updates on the peace talks. The Tuxa have been vocal since we went to Torga.”

Ava had forgotten that those talks would need to happen, mandated by the Galactic Board. There was an intense pressure from the Galactic Board to settle for peace. “Are the talks going well?”

The bright blue flash was still there as he replied, tone scattered, “As good as they could be.”

Ava rubbed her face in confusion. Why is he bright blue? That usually only meant fear. She had a distinct feeling something was being omitted.

The uncertainty in Iryl’s eyes dimmed into seriousness. “Anyways. Besides that. I have several pieces of news for you.”

“Yes?” Ava clasped her hands and clipboard together across her front.

“Yes.” He turned away from the feed. “I have additional information about ah . . . where you were born? Cipra.”

He paused as Ava processed what he said. The clipboard drooped in her hands as her mood turned somber. Oh. There. She squirmed uncomfortably at hearing the name of the place she wished she could forget.

Iryl continued in a softer tone, “It’s good, though, Ava. We received more data. A packet actually. I will send the full data packet to you after this call. You can try to make sense of it all.”

“Data packet?” Ava scrunched her nose in thought. About Cipra?

“Yes. It was ... ah ... sent directly to me right as you arrived on Xai. I believe it was from that Phor you were close with, Ebel. But you’ll have to see it once you get it to confirm.”

“Ebel?” Her voice wavered. Did he know more than he told me? The clipboard drooped even further in her hands.

Iryl nodded and exchanged a glance to the side with Vox.

Even unpacking those boxes earlier with Ebel’s handwriting made her emotional. Ava’s heartbeat picked up. Did he really send something?

Iryl nodded and turned back to Ava again. “Ava. After you have a look at that packet, we can talk further. If it was Ebel that sent it, he could be a wealth of knowledge for us.”

“A wealth of knowledge?” Ava frowned, then shook her head rapidly. “I haven’t talked with Ebel or Nuor. I don’t even have a communicator yet.”

Iryl shook his elegant head, the frills on the sides longer than Vox’s. “You can contact him once the communicator we are sending with the next transport is in place. If Ebel truly sent that packet to help you, he could be more useful than we initially thought.”

Useful? I don't even know if he’s all right. Ava frowned, not liking to think of Ebel that way. She loved him. Her grip tightened on the clipboard, folding her arms across it, and she fixed Vox with a stare until he tilted his head to her and glowed to hear her thoughts. “I won’t use Ebel, Vox.”

“No one is asking for that. I think it was a poor choice of words on Iryl’s part. Ebel might be happy to help. We should hear everything out.”

“I still. . .”

Iryl was already moving on, interrupting her glare. “I have something else.” There was a clicking noise in the background; Iryl worked a separate transmitter, and a moment later a picture came online that hovered next to his projection. “This in particular I wanted you to see.”

Ava let out a gasp and her eyes grew wide. Excitement raced down her spine as she leaned forward on the balls of her feet. Is that . . .? In front of her was a photo of a despondent Human female with long blonde hair and troubled blue eyes. The picture stared back like it knew her personally. The picture from Ebel. The one I carried. The photo was back in her engine room alcove now, wrinkled and in the same spot as before. She waved her hands in front of her, fast, frantic. It’s another. Another.

“Joy,” she breathed out. A frozen sensation filled her body as she stood transfixed by the photo. Then a second later she turned back to Vox, pointing at the screen. “Joy! Vox! That’s the girl in the image I had. Joy. The picture Ebel gave me.” Her tongue tripped over Ebel’s name. She looked back at Iryl and grinned. “You found her! How did you . . .?”

The picture stayed static as Ava put her fingers through the hologram. She walked closer to the image to see more details. “Joy looks ... different from how she did in my picture. Maybe a bit older?” Her hand touched her own face since she couldn’t touch Joy’s.

Iryl’s voice cut through her musings, his eyes soft as he watched her reactions. “Yes. This is from a more current auction house image. She was recently resold in an auction lot from an estate with the furnishings and livestock. I used facial recognition to find the match. Humans are not on any public trades, or recognized at all really, so it was hard to find much data.”

Ava looked back at Vox, who stepped forward next to her. He looked at the rotating form speculatively, brows furrowed. “Yes. It is your photo.”

She leaned close to look at the photo of Joy again, her voice rushed. “We need to go save her.”

“We will . . . but . . .” Iryl shook his head, sighing.

“But what?”

“Not everything needs to be a grand, dramatic rescue. Let’s simply offer to buy her. Less complicated and messy.”

“Buy?” Ava’s brows furrowed as she reached for the photo with her fingertips again. That’s so wrong. It hit something uncomfortable in her to be doing the same thing that was done with her so long ago. Buying Joy like a machine part. But we would be doing it to free her. Her gut still swirled at the implication. That Humans could still be bought.

“Yes, as in a transaction. A business arrangement. I have the details here. We have enough credits and things to trade. If they won’t sell, then we can get creative.”

Vox spoke from behind her. “Do you think they will sell? Do you know these organizations?”

“I am hopeful. I will go myself and ... persuade them after I find out exactly who her buyers were. I can be very persuasive.”

Ava stood, eyes riveted to the photo. Of Joy. But we will be paying to free her. Not to own her. She stood transfixed and missed some of the conversation between Vox and Iryl discussing logistics and credits. Her eyes were tearing up. She brushed them dry hastily.

All that happened on Torga, her stepping up, had directly led to her now having a chance, this opportunity to find another Human. She’d done something right by holding on to that flyer all those cycles. Something right . A flash of satisfaction and accomplishment surged through her. I can't wait to meet her. She fidgeted with her hair tie. Another Human. Living. Breathing. We can be together. To see someone else that looked like her ...

Seeing this picture was proof that at least one other Human still breathed in the universe, even if the Earth was no longer their home. A touch of doubt moved into her thoughts. Will she be like me? Will she be okay with me meddling in her life like this? Buying her? Ava bit her lip while looking at Joy’s photo. She has to be okay with this. I would be, if it were me.

Vox leaned forward, inspecting the hologram, and asked, “How soon?”

“It depends on other logistics. I’ll reach out and then will have a better idea.” Iryl clicked on the feed. “Ava? There is more information. Ava. Your attention, please.”

Ava reluctantly looked away from Joy’s picture back to Iryl.

Iryl nodded, meeting her eyes briskly, before he checked a separate screen and took Joy’s photo away. In its place was a list of the items that Ava and Vox had been sorting and sending to him from the Phor ship, displayed in the Common language with the transaction receipts. “A bit less ... joyful news, but ties in with the credits you’ve been helping accumulate.”

Ava still vibrated from excitement. She forced herself to focus on the numbers Iryl was presenting. Credits. We need credits. I can figure out credits.

She grabbed and held up her clipboard that she’d put down on the counter in her haste to rush to the hologram to see Joy closer. “I have finished going through everything in the cargo bay and cataloging it all, though we’re keeping some parts behind as spares for the ship, for Celestial .”

Iryl nodded. “Excellent. We were able to sell most everything you sent on the last transport with Lirell. The Spry here are helping us, funneling some through their connections and name in return for a cut.”

“Okay, I’ll keep sorting.”

Iryl looked over to address Vox. “How about the IO minerals? The Spry love them; they’re using them more as a fuel source. Although, speaking of energy, the biologics . . .” His eyes trailed to the container on Ava’s chest.

“I already told Vox the Spry can see them.” She placed her hand over the container. It pulsed back under her fingertips. Just to look.

“Yes, great. Well, between that and the IO minerals, the Spry are quite pleased with us right now.”

Vox cut in, “Good to hear. The cave’s water level receded in all this heat, and we have had a good summer collecting the minerals. We were even able to sense more deposits farther in.”

“I’ll let them know. Several will be coming with Lirell on the next transport back to help modify Celestial to pass as one of our own ships.”

Ava half listened as the talk became more political, her mind back on her clipboard list. The IO minerals made up the bulk of Xai’s exports. It was a fuel source that burned clean and was plentiful in all the caves around the area they lived in. But the items of the ship that Ava had been cataloging were even more valuable, at least until the ship ran out of sellable parts. And you, the most valuable of all. She glanced down and patted the container as the biologics spun within. I'll never sell you, don’t worry.

Now that Ava knew the credits could potentially be used for buying Joy and maybe even others, the mission to find things to sell took on new meaning.

She waited for a break in the conversation to ask, focused again on her clipboard. “Iryl? I’ll send you the data I have from what we’ve collected so far. Also, before Lirell comes back, can you give him this formula as well? I have run the biologics’ powder through the food synthesizer a few times. I have the protein components for it, but is there a way you can source some more?”

“Sure, sure.” Iryl moved his head and gestured behind himself. “Alright, I’ll need to go to this meeting, but I’ll send over a time for us to talk later, Vox.”

Iryl looked over at Ava again. “And the data from Cipra I already sent, so look for it .”

Vox nodded and tilted his head forward. “Thank you Iryl. I will let the Vorbax Quorum and others know you will want to meet again soon.”

Ava gave the universal sign of deference. “Yes. Thank you. For everything. It means ... so much to me.”

“Of course, Ava. I’m interested as well.” After another brief smile at her, the hologram, and Iryl’s reflection with it, winked out.

The room was now lit only with the bright light from Xai’s sun once more. Vox and Ava both stared at each other for a minute before she let out a shriek of excitement and rushed forward to throw her arms around his neck. “Oh, Vox. I can’t...”

He quickly enveloped her in his arms as she jumped up and down in his embrace, tears of joy on her face.

She spoke with the side of her face pressed into his chest, voice muffled. “He found Joy, Vox. One just like me.”

Vox stroked her hair, his heartbeats steady under her cheek. “I can only hope she is like you.”