Page 38 of Ava Stargazer

“Hold on. Let me just . . .” Iryl flashed and sank into meditation, his glow steady.

Vox, intrigued, followed his line of thinking, joining his mind.

Iryl angled his head toward them.“I am just checking for any other cameras after that first one. I haven’t found any, but with you all coming, never know if they might try again.”

“Can you share what you are looking for?”

In response, Iryl shared the image of a decorative fixture. It looked like an extra beaded crystal on the ceiling’s latticework. More important than the physical description was the feeling that came from it, similar in a way to the IO minerals, yet not.“I think I can sense others in the main areas, but I was only really sure about this one since I knew everything in the room before it was here. That is only how I found it.”

Vox turned inward, memorizing the image and signature. “Nothing from Torga.”

Rhutg confirmed his senses a moment later.“This absolutely is not the Tuxa. There was nothing in their city as sophisticated as this unless they traded for it. The signature feels almost alive in a way.”

A pressure of agreement came from Iryl.“I didn't think so. Through all our trading for credits, I’ve never encountered anything like this for sale. It mostly self-destructed after Idiscovered it, even.”He motioned to Lirell. “Can you bring what was left?”

Lirell leapt to obey and came back a second later with a fractured version of Iryl’s memory, designed to look decorative, matching the light fixtures already here in his quarters.

Vox reached out, touching. “It feels inert now that it is not powered.”

“Yes. Could be mistaken for anything now.” Iryl checked the time before he cleared his throat and brought up a screen in front of them. “At any rate. Back to the Tuxa. The meeting. The Decata are mediating. A species is randomly selected for these things. Although not us, since we are always at war these days. There is pressure here from the board for us to come to an agreement.”

On the screen, a picture rotated of a creature covered with spotted fur and a long tail. The Decata looked like one of their wild animals on Xai, only it walked upright and was apparently sentient enough to be labeled a Class 1 species. Long ears tapered down over its whiskered face to touch its pointed chin.

Rhutg leaned forward, disbelief on his face. “They look puny. How can they moderate between us?”

Vox, looking at the photo, had to agree.They do look puny.

Iryl glanced back at the photo again. “The room acts as its own security. Physical security at least. You will see. I’ve been careful to act ignorant and weak and kind so that the meetings can continue in person.”

Rhutg snorted. “You? Weak and kind?”

Iryl leaned forward, his eyes animated. “Yes. So humble. The Tuxa aren’t buying it, but they are a bit confused.”

Vox chuckled too, looking at Iryl, who was suppressing a grin of his own. “Even as a kit, Iryl, you always were a bit of an ass.”

“Well, I’m downright cordial right now. Even Lirell would agree.”

Lirell shook his head. “Uh . . .”

Vox chuckled again and then frowned at the picture. “So did that Decata see the feed of Ava as well?”

Iryl sighed and nodded. “Yes. As did the Phor. And whoever else the Tuxa have been yapping to.”

Rhutg’s eyes narrowed. “What did the Phor have to say about it all?”

“About Ava? Nothing. But the Phor already knew about Humans. They could have been the ones that even shared the information with the Tuxa initially. The Decata also had no comment. Only the Tuxa seemed interested.”

Vox’s eyes narrowed.Who knows about Humans now?Well, the ones who ran Cipra for sure.He looked at the destroyed camera.Even if it isn’t connected, the timing . . .

Iryl changed the screen to display the logs he was keeping of the trade agreements. “The only thing the Phor cared about was getting paid for their property damage and lost lives. Like they really care about any lives. But they did care about the credits, the greedy Phor bastards. Thankfully, from our trades our fine was covered already, and we have returned to neutral status with them. The Tuxa also paid their fee, and now, with their stakes settled, the Phor are no longer involved.”

Erox chuckled. “We got the better part of the deal, getting that ship from them.”

Iryl smiled his enigmatic smile. “Yes. So lucky, and too bad for them thatR526got officially destroyed on their records. I couldn’t imagine their demands if they found out we now have access to their precious biologics and all their mechanical know-how. We’ll use it so much better.”

Vox winced.Ava is so protective of the biologics.He could feel her hesitation even letting the Spry see them.And the biologics won’t just work for anyone, either.

Iryl glanced at the time on his feed, and his smile faded. “Enough. Let me just show you directly. Then we can be better prepared. A lot of your questions will have better context then.”

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