Page 70 of Ava Greasemonkey

Her com lit up.“You’re moving due west.”

Ava looked at it, feeling relief that one thing worked, then typed back,“Can you see my location move?”

“Through the tracker in your arm, yes. You have been stationary for too long.”

“The other one I had programmed is a bust.”

“This works. Keep moving in the direction you have been. You neglected to check in.”

She grinned. Despite being on a foreign planet, she felt comforted in a weird way being back in the vents. This was what she knew. Closed spaces felt right. It even had pom droppings, just like the ship. Poms apparently made their home everywhere.

Time passed slowly, though she checked in with Vox frequently to mark her progress. Ava was sweating under the suit profusely, only taking small sips of water to satisfy her thirst. It was hot in the vents. Heat must be radiating from somewhere to keep the domes temperature controlled.

Despite being uncomfortable it was fascinating being up here, watching the city move underneath. It was not laid out like the towns Ava had been in before. She peeked out of every grate she could as she crawled through the city. The areas she visited with Nuor usually had distinct commerce sectors and markets, with food vendors and entertainers scattered throughout.

Not here. The Tuxa home world was as sterile as they made their products, utilitarian and boring. It was gray metal without adornment everywhere, like barracks lined up military-style. Decorating style was clearly one thing that the Phor and Tuxa could agree on.

But the Tuxa though . . . the entire place was swarming with the ugly reptiles. They were milling about, eating, manufacturing products in different areas. So much of their city was devoted to manufacturing that there were assembly lines placed all over haphazardly.

Shit, there’s a lot of them.“There’s a lot of Tuxa below,”Ava typed out to Vox.“Hundreds in every dome.”

The response came a bit slower.“Do they look threatened?”

“No, they look like they did when you were in the cells. Just bored and walking around.”

“Good.” The feed vibrated again a moment later.“Ava, take a detour. Go north three or four segments. That is far enough off the path we will be taking from the transport. Destroy the filtration there for a distraction.”

She looked at the vents and chose the next one going north, feeling nervous watching the multitude of Tuxa underneath. Erox said that was how they initially lost the females on Xai. That the Tuxa could swarm and overtake them. Just how many did that need to be before Vox and the others were overwhelmed?

“This one far enough away?”Ava asked once she was outside the unit. An affirmative text came a second later.

She put her oxygen mask over her face and took the cutter directly to the filtration unit, cutting at the wires and cords randomly until she heard the unit fail, whirring and sputtering as it shut down. For good measure she also turned and cut a hole on the inside of the vent and the outside metal hull covering for the air to come in and pollute faster.

She rushed over to the next unit across the dome and did the same, then another. She hit four in a line before she thought it was too risky to take more time in this area. It wouldn’t take long before they took notice and began investigating.

Her arms were shaking from holding the cutter, which was hot to the touch. She dragged it along by its leather cord, unable to hold it by the metal handle any longer, and went south to get away from the segments she’d destroyed.

The first chance she got, she looked out of a grate and saw that most of the milling Tuxa were still casual, but there was definitely movement heading north where she’d destroyed the units. Ava moved forward, continuing to sabotage the filters as she went, though not every one as the cutter remained overheated and Ava didn’t want to linger. She took the oxygenoff her nose and took a delicate whiff before grimacing and resealing it to her face.

It would take a while for that smell to filter down, but they should be aware soon that something was wrong. That, plus the transport that had long since exploded where she landed should definitely be a good distraction. In fact, she was surprised there wasn’t more of a reaction down below; they had to be aware of all the damage by now.

Ava sat back, resting in the vent for a minute, taking a break. Her calf muscles were starting to cramp from crouching so long. She stretched them in front of her.

“How much farther?”she typed in and transmitted, bringing water out of her pack to drink. She held her breath while she lifted the mask and drank.

The answer never came.It isn’t delivering.Ava clicked on her tracking com repeatedly, a low signal sign flashing. She was in one of the main hubs. Hopefully that was the reason it was blocked out, and not from any signal jamming that was happening due to her handiwork in the vents. Feeling uneasy, she closed the com again. The reassurance talking with Vox had given her made her forget where she was and gave her a sense of security.

But she wasn’t truly alone. The biologics thumped on her chest in time with her heartbeat, as if reminding her they were there as well. Ava wrapped her arms around the container, feeling it swirl and pulse in her embrace. “I’m glad you’re with me too,” she said softly before she let go and continued forward.

Chapter 26

Ava was sore all over. She had been hunched over in the vents now for several hours. Communications were spotty with Vox. She couldn’t find the reason for the difference from when the com worked and didn’t.Just a bit farther.She chanted to herself every step forward she lurched. Every so often a brief message would come through, giving her basic directions or information.

Now, near where the Vorbax females were, the com stopped working again. Ava hit it haphazardly, hoping it would light up, before closing it in frustration. She was almost right on top of them according to Vox’s last communication. That would have to be enough.

She was in a main area that was different from the many barracks and food areas she had seen before. No telltale signs of manufacturing happening here either. Instead, there were guards in front of various segments that were sectioned off within the dome. It was the first time she saw something beingactively protected in her entire time crossing these domes. This had to be something.

Logistically, it was going to be difficult to find out what was in the smaller rooms. She needed to move out of the main overhead ventilation network and into the shafts that splintered downward. She eyed the narrow passages uneasily, unsure she could fit. In the ship, she was able to get nearly everywhere, but the vents were overly large all over there. It would be foolish to assume the vents here were as accommodating, and there wouldn’t be an easy rescue if she got stuck.

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