Page 28 of Ava Greasemonkey

“Yea, I didn’t tell you before because . . . well you weren’t here, but one of the Vorbax, Vox, could see through my disguise.” Before Ebel could look shocked Ava continued, “But it’s okay. They aren’t going to rat me out. I feel so bad for them, Ebel.” Ava struggled, trying to think of how to put into words the last few cycles and the connection that was growing between Vox and herself.

Ebel let out a tired click, “Careful, Ava.”

Ava rushed to explain, rubbing the back of her neck and trying to think of the right words. “No, Ebel. They are like me. They are fighting because they have no choice, not because they committed a crime or anything.” She sat back on the chair again, feeling it squeak under her weight. “I wish I could help them. All this shit is just so unfair. They’re going to go to that home planet of the Tuxa—whatever it is—”

“Torga,” Ebel supplied helpfully.

“Right, there. And just be ended because they fought back in whatever is happening between them and the Tuxa. I don’t believe they were the aggressors. And then we’ll just move on to the next transport like nothing happened.”We’ll move on like nothing matters. I’ll just keep working here forever. No change.Rage began to build inside her.

“Ava . . .” Ebel’s voice was tired and strained. He shook his head.

Ava pounded on her keyboard, then closed her hand into a fist and pounded on the metal table, feeling the pain in her hand. There was nothing she could do. Her blood pounded in her ears in anger.

Clarity came to her in that moment, making her breath catch in shock. She was, as Vox said, just as stuck as they were.

Who is really imprisoned here?

Ebel said nothing about her outburst, just stared at her sadly, wringing his hands together.

She reached forward and grabbed the bag of yavi fruit still sitting on her desk. The squishy red pieces stared back at her when she looked into the bag. She picked one up, roughly put it in her mouth, and started to chew. The lush flavor was at odds with her stormy mood. The only thing Vox had requested was some fruit. Well, she at least had some of that.

She bit into the fruit angrily as she glared at the feed on her computer. At the rate she was eating them she’d need to go get more. Now that Ebel was back and Ava was no longer preoccupied with concern for him, the anger building inside her took center stage in her mind.

Ebel turned back to his computer feed and was slowly tapping his keyboard to bring everything online. He didn’t seem to know what to do with Ava’s outburst as he avoided her gaze.

Ava left in a huff a minute later to go to her small alcove, wanting to be alone. She was exhausted from waiting for Ebel and being worried about him. Now that he was back, her nerves should settle enough for her to sleep.

It took a while, and she lay on her pallet bed, staring at the ceiling, wrapped in the patchwork blanket she had for years.

I’m mad. Why am I so mad? What has changed?The answer eluded her, but the feeling did not. Never did she feel so trapped before. She did breathing exercises like she learned to do as a child, relaxing until she fell asleep.

The next cycle, Ava suited up in record time now that the routine was down, hands sure as she put her costume on. She barely had to check in the mirror anymore if everything looked alright. Her brain and her hands moved as if they were on autopilot. Which was handy as the feeling of anger and being trapped still lingered this morning, making her unfocused.

Ebel and her didn’t talk about what she mentioned the cycle before. They let the unspoken words and anger hang in the air, both appearing overly preoccupied with the tasks they were doing.

Nuor was not available to chat in person about how everything was going, as she was needed in navigation full time right now due to the ship going through an asteroid belt the last two cycles. Nuor also didn’t want to talk much over coms since she was paranoid they were being monitored.

Ava didn’t know if it was true or not but kept everything vague just the same. In her current frame of mind she wouldn’t put monitoring all communications past the Phor. It would be just another way they could control her.

Even so, Ava messaged her friend throughout the day, but didn’t talk too much about how everything was going other than to reassure her she was alright.

She didn’t want to burden Nuor anyway, not since Nuor already helped her out so much with the disguise. Nuor seemed like the only spot in her heart Ava didn’t feel a bitterness toward.

“How far away are we from Torga?” she asked Ebel, the first time speaking to him since entering the room.

Ava was dreading the end of this voyage and having to say goodbye to the Vorbax. It was crazy how much her sentiments had changed over the course of just a few cycles. Before they came she was mostly bored. Now she was . . . well, she was angry. About a lot of things. None of which she could share with Ebel freely.

She loaded the trays into the cart roughly, taking out some of her frustrations by hearing the trays clack together loudly.

Ebel, now recovered after a good night’s sleep and a video feed binge of all the sports highlights he missed, tapped on the screen to bring up the ship’s progress. He answered briskly, ignoring Ava’s mood. “We are roughly three-quarters the way there. We are going a bit slower because of this asteroid belt but we’re not that far outside the expected timeline.”

Ava nibbled the inside of her lip but stopped after biting too hard, tasting coppery blood. In her fantasies, when she tried to sleep, she dreamed of a Vorbax ship coming and rescuing the four of them in the cells. If her fantasies got really carried away, she went with them and lived, for good, in a place with sunshine and fresh air. This daydream felt so real she had a hard time focusing on the engine the last few cycles. Her heart was someplace else.

Thinking of her daydreams, she innocently asked, “Do the Vorbax have any ships?”

Ebel shrugged and returned to his video feed, uninterested.

Ava didn’t press but instead hatched a plan in her head as she prepared meals for her rotation. She shook her head to focus on her task instead of her thoughts.

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