Page 6 of Ava Greasemonkey

Ava looked over to the separate transmitter next to the main computer feeds that displayed a live feed of Ebel’s queen. Thequeen was close to laying more eggs so he had it broadcasting all the time to keep watch. She was resting in the middle of a pile of pillows, apparently asleep, sprawled on her side. Her gigantic abdomen didn’t even fit all the way on her bed. A half-eaten variety of foods was on the table next to her.

Ava glanced at her gray lump and back at the queen’s food hungrily, her eyes narrowed. “I’m glad she liked it. Hopefully it brought you more favor.”And hopefully she gave us credit instead of pretending it was all her doing.

Ebel grunted his agreement while continuing to click through the inventory. His three-fingered hand moved fast across the liquid panel while his back legs crouched to let his yellow body sit on itself. He might slack on his assigned work here in the engine and control rooms, but he would never neglect his queen if she needed something.

Ava walked away from the queen’s feed, dismissing her from her thoughts, and went to the sink under the flickering fluorescent light. She refilled her canteen and put her plate in the sink before she went to the bathroom in the back room. Then she picked up the knapsack she had stored in the control room and pulled out her flashlight before emptying the old contents into the trash compactor. She turned the bag all the way inside out and shook it to get some crumbs from a ration pack out.

“You really don’t know what time the transport is arriving?” she asked, repacking her flashlight and magnetic bracers in her sack.

She side-eyed Ebel, jiggling the knapsack on the counter to fit her notebook in it too.If there’s time, maybe I can grab some different food in the mess hall.Sometimes that food processor had different compounds loaded because of the contractors on board. The one feeding down to the engine room only got the leftovers.

“Soon, no delay,” Ebel replied, not even looking at her, all his eyes focused on his screen. “You slept a long time.”

“Yeah, well, beauty sleep and all that.”

Ebel chittered. “They never told me Humans slept so much either before your purchase.”

Ava laughed. “As if. You had another Human helper on board here before me. I saw the logs.”

“Well, they didn’t last long enough for me to get a fair impression of your species.”

Ava shivered and fingered her own hair in remembrance. The logs also confirmed the previous Human did not last long; their hair got caught in the engine. Ebel was adamant her hair was tied back every time she worked, and had strictly enforced the rule when she was younger. Now she did it herself out of habit.

Ava walked over to the closet, hand hesitating on the opened door as she looked at the clothes inside. “So you want me to go up there now, then? I’ll need the thermal suit for this one?” She fingered a crisp, gray stretchy suit hanging in the closet next to more of the jumpsuits Ava usually wore. It was designed to mask any heat signatures in case the transports brought any probes on board. Some species were more paranoid with their shipments than others. With the natural chill from the vents it meant she had a perfect track record of going undetected.

Ebel briefly looked up to meet Ava’s eyes. “Hmm. Yes, you always need it. I’ve received four coms from Wert this morning regarding ‘special instructions’ for this payload. Wert has also been complaining about needing to clean out the animal cages in the hold, so maybe we’ll see something interesting. The Tuxa specified they wanted the animal area available in their contract for this transport.”

Ava groaned, pulling the suit off the hanger slowly. She sweated so much when she wore it. A sour taste filled her mouth as she slowly unzipped the suit. She refused to strip to put it onsince the material stuck to her skin, so instead she put it over her usual gray jumpsuit and zipped it up. She pulled the hood over her head and cinched it down under her chin. There was a gauze material she could pull over her face if needed but she left it open for now, dangling at the side of her right ear.

With it properly fastened she walked, mouth downturned, over to the floor-level vent next to Ebel’s computer setup. Turning around, she frowned at Ebel. “I hate this suit.”

“I hate hearing how you hate that suit,” he fired back, though he softened his gaze upon taking in her grumpy expression.

Ava stuck her tongue out at his back when he turned around again. It was easy for him to mock her when she was the one having to crawl all over. He got to sit here while wearing nothing uncomfortable over his fuzzy yellow body.

Popping out the rivets on either side of the vent, she opened it up and put it to the side where it leaned against the wall. Sitting at the bottom of the metal vent were a few ropes and magnetic grip hooks. There were also a few papers in there with a pencil to take notes. She had drawn the layout of the vents on these, along with some doodles. The blueprints of the vents were on file, but they didn’t have the markers she knew on there. Ava put the papers in her pack and gave it a reassuring pat.

Ebel looked up from his screen as he watched her get inside, clicking after her like a worried mother.

She took off her emergency com beeper from her wrist and placed it in his outstretched hand. He then helped her secure the vent behind her, sliding it into place. “Good luck, Ava. I will try to have something better for you to eat when you get back.” His convex eyes focused on her through the grate panel.

“Thanks, Ebel,” Ava murmured. She sat, looking up the shaft with a frown on her face, then started climbing, placing the magnetic hooks in time with the whirr of the engine. Maybe if she finished fast she could take another rest in the solarium.

Chapter 4

How long do I need to wait?

Ava stretched out, already bored. She had looked out the grate into the cargo bay several times since arriving, but nothing was happening.

She felt gross.

Her suit clung to her, despite wearing the clothing underneath, from how much she’d sweated climbing up here. Her bare feet in particular stuck to the inside of the suit; they were sticky with sweat and she could feel the cold of the vents through the thin material.

Damn Ebel for sending me too early.Ava tapped her hands on the grate in front of her. Thankfully it was roomy up here, at the end of the filtration shaft in the cargo bay. In fact, there was enough room for her to sit almost comfortably while she waited. Endlessly waited.

She huffed and laid her head on the cool metal shaft then pinged on the vent with her fingertips, hearing it echo. It made different sounds depending on where she tapped.

This was the part she hated the most about being up here: the silence.

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