Page 35 of Ava Greasemonkey

Vox didn’t answer that question. Instead he responded, “I think, until the rest of the ship is cleared out and more stable, you should try to rest and stay out of the fray.”

Erox grabbed Lirell roughly by the arm when he didn’t follow immediately; he was still staring at Ava raptly. Erox and Lirell finally walked away, leaving her and Vox alone.

Ava watched them go for a minute.They must be . . . securing the rest of the ship.

“If I walk away and try to sleep, what will happen?”

“Again, your mind leaps to conclusions. Then you will sleep, Ava. That is what will happen.”

“The rest of your team will not seek me out?”

“No, Ava. Pick a room from the crew quarters to claim for the next few cycles.”

She glanced down the hall, to where the doorway to navigation lay. “Nuor?”

He glowed and tilted his head as if listening far away. “Erox has taken the Vali to the cargo bay. She will not be harmed.”

Ava sighed, reassured.

Vox continued, “ I . . . no, we, request no more unplanned journeys into the vents or down to the engine hall.”

Ava heard the implied threat underneath indicating how far their trust of her went. Keep to where they could see her.

She nodded, unwilling to resist at all, but was now concerned about Ebel and if he was still in the engine hall. They said he would be unharmed, but did they even know which Phor he was? She told Ebel she would be back with news. What if he was still hiding there, afraid? Before she could settle someplace else she wanted to go check and see the state of the engine room that had been her home so long.

“Can I get my things from where I used to sleep?”

Vox nodded and gestured for her to follow.

Ava walked silently in his wake, stretching her legs to keep up with his longer, silent stride. She stuck close to his side, ignoring the chaos still occurring in the opposite direction.

The engine room was empty when she walked in, eyes scanning the entire time, searching for Ebel.

Vox followed as Ava felt the tears threaten again as she looked around at the static video feeds coming from the control room. The door was open and Ebel wasn’t there. It didn’t look like the entry was forced at all. Ebel must never have locked it and stayed put after she left.

“Ava. He is unharmed,” Vox said from the doorway, watching her survey the room. “I know you wanted to come down here to look for that Phor, Ebel, but he has already been taken away.” He waited while Ava spun in the room, her hands nervously clasped, before adding gently, “Let’s get your things now.”

Ava nodded and walked with him past the swirling biologics tank to her alcove. Vox stood a few paces outside and watched her as she picked up her patchwork blanket and the magazine printing of Joy. It felt wrong to leave her behind, alone downhere in the engine hall. She pulled a few more of the jumpsuits she wore and put them in her arms.

She had so little. It never really struck her before as it did now, packing up to go someplace else for a bit.I have so freaking little. Everything important and personal to her that she owned she could carry in her arms. Only a few feathers from Nuor, gear ends, and scattered books on the shelves remained in the tiny room. Her area didn’t even have a door to lock behind her, the curtain pushed aside wide.

Feeling a prick on her mind she turned around, not surprised to see Vox slightly glowing as he reached out to probe her. She looked back at him. The fear of him from the ship takeover was quickly being tempered by her growing annoyance that she had been under constant telepathic surveillance since she met him.

“I am right here. Why do you need to scan my mind?”

“I wish to gain insight into the items you have reclaimed. They seem to make you sad.”

Ava bristled. “You can just ask me. You obviously have been searching my mind this whole time.”

Vox nodded, not dimming his shine. “I can, but we both know by now that your words and the actual truth running through your mind very often disagree.”

Ava didn’t have a comeback to that. Speaking out loud she answered, “It is just so little for me living here. I thought there would be more. So much has changed in the last few cycles and I have nothing to show for it.”

“Why do external items define you? I see in your mind knowledge learned. The best riches no longer matter when you are cold and still.”

Ava stilled, thinking of that for a moment before the intrusion became too much.

“Stop,” she said, firmly, raising her eyes assertively to look into his. Now, away from the horror in the halls above, in theprotection of the engine hall and in her own small room, she felt the security of familiarity. He was still Vox. He was the same creature she had begun to trust in the prison cells. The same one she had dreamt about in this very room when she thought about gaining her freedom. She was not afraid of him.

---