Page 36 of Ava Greasemonkey

Vox’s face made a small smile and he stopped shining. “We will talk instead.” He then picked up the picture of the smiling lady from her small collection of things, his chest bumping into her as he did so. Ava instinctively moved away from his searing heat, backing up against the wall as he moved into her small area. It felt cramped with the two of them now in it.

“It strikes me as odd how very different yet similar all you Humans seem to look.”

Ava gently tugged the photo back out of Vox’s hands. “Yeah, well, they tried to have a lot of genetic variety with us.”

“Who is they? The ones you referred to with Rhutg that captured your mother and forced her to bear young?”

“Yes. . . they were traders. It was more of a collective than any one species. My mother didn’t like to talk about how Earth ended.” Ava’s face pinched, remembering. She didn’t want to talk about that. Not now. She forced a fake smile and held out her hand, tugging on the photo of Joy.

Vox let her take the picture back, his eyes lingering on her as she tucked it into the knapsack she used to climb the vents. He reached out and gathered her blanket from her arms, briskly folding it to carry, before turning to leave the engine hall.

Ava began to walk after him, but stopped him with a soft, “Vox?”

He turned around, head angled down to catch her voice.

“We should . . . I should . . . feed the biologics before we go.”

He followed her gaze to the tank in the middle of the area, then walked up and pressed his hand against it, briefly shining. Thebiologics swirled around his fingers in a circular motion as his hand rested against the glass.

“Yes, they would appreciate that.”

“They can talk with you?” Ava asked, watching in amazement.

“Not quite. Sensations. They are rather fond of you . . . and I can feel their hunger.”

Ava felt touched at hearing they could care for her. She patted the glass before she went through the motions getting their feed, feeling calmer doing something routine. She must have fed them a thousand times, but never was she as aware of each step she took up to the feeding inlet vent as she was at this moment.

Vox watched her with an unblinking gaze the entire time, his face showing something akin to fear when she climbed to the high peak where the hatch opening was, sighing in relief when she got back on the ground.

He hardly waited for Ava to put the bag away in the storage alcove before he began to move toward the engine room door.

This time, Ava followed, and didn’t look back.

Chapter 12

The announcements were turned off. That was the first thing Ava noticed after settling in the crew room she claimed on the top level by the navigation area. For the first time since she got on the ship, there were no intercom announcements helping her keep track of time, or interrupting what she was doing.

She’d shoved the previous occupants’ belongings under the bed, out of sight. Ava couldn’t deal with looking at them and attempting to figure out which of the contractors’ rooms this was before. Looking at those items would make it more real and feel like spirits were in the room with her.

It was quiet. Not only was it the absence of the engine that was her usual constant background noise, but there was no chatter in the halls.

She hummed idly to herself, an old lullaby her mother used to croon to her and her sisters in their room when she couldn’t fall asleep and whenever she was upset.

Ava experimented turning off the light before flipping the lights back on immediately. She never had darkness in the engine hall. It unnerved her as much as she was curious. The void of darkness made her feel like she didn’t exist. Even when she lived with her mother, the lights would turn low, but never completely off.

Feeling bored and bold, she flipped them off and tried to walk away from the light switch before getting scared she couldn’t find her way back. Her hand groped back out and clicked it decidedly back on after a few seconds of fear. She breathed slowly, chiding herself at her reaction, but ultimately left the lights on at a low level like she remembered with her mother. It didn’t feel safe to have them fully turned off.

Ava found herself tapping her foot to add some sound after her lullaby failed to soothe her but it ended up making her even more nervous. It was so quiet out in the halls. The attack must have stopped.

Ava put her head in her hands, forcing herself to think.Is this a Phor ship anymore if the Vorbax took it over? Am I still a servant of the Phor?She was sitting here while life and death decisions were going on outside around her. Decisions that impacted her entire life.

What am I now? What am I going to do after this?The questions made her heart race.

Am I upset the ship has been taken over?

That thought took center stage in her mind. Ava turned it over and over, feeling guilt thinking about it. She was not upset. She was scared about the bloodshed and worried for her friends, but beyond that?

Is it wrong that I don’t feel upset?Her heart pounded.Is it wrong I feel . . . excited?Her emotions swirled.

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