Page 56 of Ava Greasemonkey

“I . . .” Rhutg started to answer but stopped. Flashing from blue to purple and back again, he fixed Ava with a stare and became a bit more hardened, closing off the vulnerable side he’d just shared. “That will have to be something we all decide. Vox is none too happy you are not in the med bay like he thought you would be.”

Ava looked down. “He would not have let me talk with you otherwise if he knew what my plan was. And, well . . . my mind was made up.”

“Well, he knows where you are now. It is best for us to clear this up immediately. I have communicated to him to come here and meet us in navigation. Erox as well.”

“And Lirell?”

“He needs to monitor that Phor in the engine room. We will inform him later.”

Ava, who had started to relax with Rhutg, felt anxiety again. She always felt jumpy when in danger of displeasing someone.

Rhutg rumbled beside her, “Vox cares for you, Human. I am beginning to see why. You do not need to fear him, yet your pheromones are coated in stress. His reaction is not one of anger but of concern.”

Ava didn’t respond. With creatures as foreign and powerful as the Vorbax, it was hard to not feel intimidated. That and the takeover of the ship was still in her mind. She wasn’t scared of them in that way, not anymore, but it didn’t change the fact that they were incredibly powerful creatures. She knew what they were capable of.

The door to navigation opened quicker than she would have thought with how far the med bay was. Ava jumped at the suddenness, the door making a harsh sound in the silent room.

Vox walked in, eyes wild, flashing a bright cerulean blue. Until now, Ava had only seen them glow purple for intense emotions, and their normal blue. Her gut told her, with his tense posture, that the color meant fear.

He met her eyes and rushed up to her, walking until he was next to her. He crouched down and took her head into his hands. Ava tried averting her eyes, but he followed their movement to the side to meet them again.

“Ava, what have you done?”

She looked into his eyes, full of concern, confirming that he wasn’t full of rage. Tears began to fill hers again.

It was Rhutg who responded, “Brother, she is a sentient creature and capable of making her own decisions. She has been kept as a pet long enough.”

Ava winced, hearing Rhutg’s description of her like that. It stung, but was not untrue.

Vox, still holding her head, turned to Rhutg and hissed, “I do not view Ava that way. I just want to keep her safe. You are too willing to play with her life. She is defenseless.” His colors flashed from the light blue to intense purple.

“I know you do not view her like that, but it doesn’t change the fact that her life has been like that up until this point.”

Rhutg handed Vox the tablet that still had all the information on it that Ava had filled out and was now transmitted across space to the Vorbax. He viewed it quickly, scanning through the details on her family.

Vox looked up from the tablet and back at her. “Ava . . .” he said softly.

“I will help, Vox. I need to.” Ava held his gaze, stiffening her back.

Vox was flashing the bright blue again, but didn’t answer as Erox walked in, startling Ava again with the door opening suddenly.

“She is no different from us,” Erox added as he came to stand close to Rhutg, next to Ava. He had obviously been catching up on events telepathically on the way over. “You, of any of us, know that there is no real difference.”

Vox didn’t acknowledge them. Instead, he continued to scroll through the tablet with Ava’s details on it. He gripped it hard in his hands, furrowing the scales on the top of his head in concentration.

“I cannot stop this, it seems. I am outnumbered,” Vox said eventually. He flashed a bright blue again before drawing himself up and looking firmly at both Rhutg and Erox. “I want it on record how uneasy I am about this and disagree with the course of action. If her involvement has to happen, it needs to be in a way that compromises her safety the least.”

Rhutg glanced at Ava, pinching the bottom of his chin absently. “We will keep her safety in mind, but her help can also ensure the safety of our females. She raised a good point in talking, earlier. If we can somehow get her to the females, she can warn them or help in some way with arming them.”

“Arming them? And how would she do that?” Vox spat, posture tense. “Package her up and send her off on a maybe, defenseless? I will not allow this.”

The three of them lit up, communicating telepathically. They all wore strained expressions, their gazes intense as they looked at each other.

Ava felt frustrated at being left out again, but didn’t interrupt the silent exchange. If she needed her privacy from time to time, she could allow that they needed it as well. Just as long as they included her once they were done.

Instead of pointlessly watching them, she turned to the controls Rhutg had up and began clicking around the city map of Torga. Rhutg glanced at her while she was doing so but moved aside, allowing her access.

Torga was a small planet. The area they were visiting was not an open air city but domed. It looked like the environment was no longer habitable from all the manufacturing that had taken place. She couldn’t determine what was wrong with it, but the outside air had a thick haze that made her assume it was polluted. No wonder the Tuxa had outposts all over the galaxy and were taking over wherever they could. They needed resources with their own pint-sized planet being depleted.

---