Page 79 of Ava Greasemonkey

Vox nodded as he stood to follow her into the control room where the shower was. A few of her regular jumpsuits still hung in the closet, crisp on hangers due to Ebel’s meticulous cleaning. She pulled one down and laid it across the chair she usually used before taking her suit off. The biologics followed next, placed lovingly on a nearby counter.

Vox hummed a sad, mournful note as the suit was peeled away. Ava saw why a second later. Her nails, always kept short working on the engine, had inflicted deep scratch marks all over her arms and legs when she was out of her mind with fear.

“Do you want me to help wash you?” Vox said, looking sadly at her crisscrossed body. There was no lust behind his words, just a genuine desire to help.

Ava shook her head. In another time and another mood she would, but it was enough for now that he sat guarding the entrance to the control room while she took the suit off completely and put it in the cleaner. She never really wanted to wear it again, but it felt right to clean all the mess of Torga away from it anyway. She watched the grime get whisked away before heading into the bathroom.

She forced herself to look into the mirror as she turned the shower on to heat up. That startled her more than anything, seeing herself. She looked . . . feral. Like an animal. No wonder Vox was standing there with his shoulders slumped, concern radiating from his entire posture. Ava didn’t want him to worry like that.

Stepping into the shower, she took her time washing Torga away from her skin. The water ran in rivulets down her body, stinging her cuts. She stayed a long time, letting the water pound on her back, running it as hot as she could, feeling it burn.

Once she left the shower, she felt much more like herself. Vox watched with his arms crossed while standing guard as she put on her jumpsuit with the arms and legs rolled up. He frowned at the cuts, breathing heavy, then looked away.

Reaching for the medicine cabinet, she took out the medicinal tube and applied the gel. The medicine turned the areas that were raw and rosy red from the shower into a muted color almost instantaneously. She healed every cut she could find. It felt good to take care of herself.

She recapped the gel and put it away properly, thinking absently how much Ebel hated disorder in the control room.

Ava then sat at her old desk. The screens surrounding her were static, much like her mind frame. She stared at them,imagination making patterns that weren’t there, until Vox moved the chair next to her out to sit. He pushed a plate of food in her direction too. He must have made it while Ava lost track of time staring into space.

“Thank you,” she said softly, but didn’t pick up the fork. She wasn’t really hungry.

The ship’s engine was moving at a good clip, the biologics swirling strongly. They must have already left.

“Are we clear of Torga?”

Vox nodded. “For some time. The Tuxa husks we left behind hacked the security clearances for us to escape with minimal damage.”

Ava put her hand on the wall, taking comfort in the familiar metal. “Where are you going now?”

“We are going home. Xai.” He leaned forward, waiting until she looked at him and made eye contact. His eyes, molten gold, bored into hers. “Your home too.”

Ava gulped, mouth dry.My home?She knew he meant well, but despite his assurances, Xai was yet another unfamiliar place. This ship, for better or worse, was her home. Perhaps when her mind was in a better state she would be more curious, but for now all she wanted to do was take her blanket and curl up next to the biologics tank.

The biologics. Ava felt around her chest, hand splayed. It was naked and bare. She sprang up, eyes frantic, and grabbed the small container from where she placed it earlier. She put it back around her chest, gripping it tight, feeling it slosh around. There was a whole tankful of them in the other room, but these were hers. They were bonded. The jar pulsed at being connected with her again.

Vox watched her, a soft smile on his face. Ava looked up, touched by his tender expression. “They care for you,” he saidsimply. “It seems to be your talent to make many different life-forms care about your being.”

Ava gave a weak smile. With them pulsing reassuringly on her chest, she started to eat.

Vox let out a sigh when she did so. “The women wish to meet with you face-to-face when you are ready,” he said after she had picked at the plate a bit.

She shook her head no. “Maybe in a bit. I want to see Rhutg first. And I . . . I just . . . how long do we have until we get to Xai?”

“It is relatively far. Around thirty cycles.”

Ava sighed. “Then I have time to settle.”

Vox agreed. “Yes, we have time.”

He placed his hand over hers, humming. Ava looked down, shy, but needing to know. “Vox? Will you meet with . . . Orla?”

Vox squeezed her hand. “The contract was nullified already, little bird. She understood I was already mated to you from back when you were next to them in the vents.”

Ava’s heart beat fast at the words. He was here with her. Mated to her. He wouldn’t leave. “Is she . . . ?”

“There was never any attachment, only obligation. She is looking forward to being welcomed home and having her pick among males there.”

Ava nodded. She took her chair and scooted it closer to Vox, who pulled on their still clasped hands until she lay against his chest, listening to his twin heartbeats.

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