Page 66 of Ava Stargazer

Ava shifted on the bench, running her mind through pictures she’d seen of different planets that had seasons. There was so much variability, but also a lot of sameness. “Does it snow?”

“Yes, but not often. We get more fog on the coldest days. It comes from the lakes with the winds until they freeze over. The winds never stop in the afternoons. All year, we have the late afternoon high winds. We don’t travel much on the days when the fog rolls in.”

“Hmm.”Fog?So many different weather events.But I have seen rain now. Probably similar.

Soon Sai was done eating and wiped her hands on her jumpsuit. She stood up and walked to the door, gesturing behind her. “C’mon. We hardly got anything done yesterday, and we are almost to Cipra. I think only three more cycles from what I overheard. I want to get at least one hallway finished before we get back home.”

“Alright. Hold on.” Ava got up and rinsed her hands in the waterfall, the sticky residue falling away in the recirculating water, before joining Sai, who was already walking away.

The difference between the walls outside the solarium and the one leading to the engine room was stark now, after fifteen cycles into the trip, and the closer they got to the engine room, the more it became a world of color.

Ava stood back, looking around, as she openly laughed. “This looks crazy.” She pointed to the paint splashed everywhere. “You’ve done so much.”

Sai looked at her from where she was already sitting down, paintbrush in hand and ready to get back to work. “I’m actually loving doing it.” Her blue hand patted the walls as she grinned back at Ava, sharp teeth on display. “I only know how to makethings I already have seen though, unlike...” She indicated where Ava was working and stifled a chuckle.

Along the bottom, Ava had given up making orderly flowers and instead put some handprints and footprints in a line. And weird shapes she drew faces on. She liked the tactile sensation the paint gave her on her hand so there were many, many handprints.Ava laughed.My section doesn’t fit. At all.

She sat down to make some more, Sai a few paces beside her. The only sound in the hall was them dipping their paintbrushes and the faint sound of painting on the walls. Ava liked how random it was turning out and now deliberately kept the pattern going, feeling like the more color and brightness on it, the better.

The painting grew and some time passed before she heard, “Ava.”

She looked up as she was finishing drawing a bug to see Vox looking down at her with amusement. “It’s time, Ava.” He handed her a cloth.

“For what?” Ava wiped her hands, turning back to finish what she was painting.

His eyes gleamed in the lighting. “Hmm?” Vox looked closely at one of Ava’s flowers. He put his hand over one of her handprints on the wall, his mouth curved in a half-smile.

“Hmm?” Ava tapped him on his leg as he stood next to her. “What?” She squinted up at him. “You are in an awfully good mood.”Especially after yesterday’s talk.

He had held her tight the entire night, and in the morning had kissed her so deeply before leaving for navigation, but it had been almost half a cycle since then.

Vox grinned back at her. “To meet Joy.” His eyes lit up at Ava’s rush to get to her feet. “Iryl just pinged letting us know they were ready.”

Oh right! Yes!Ava bent back over and grabbed a cloth to wipe her face. “Oh, let's go. Am I covered in paint?”

“Yes. If it’s not dirt or grease it’s . . .” Vox took the cloth from her and wiped the paint on her nose after wetting the towel. He set it down before he pulled her along. “They are just setting up. We will need to wait a minute for the hologram.”

“Good luck, Ava! I can not wait to hear,” Sai said from behind, paintbrush in hand.

Ava waved back and walked behind Vox into navigation, her footsteps fast on the floor and heart in her throat.It's happening.She looked at Vox as they walked. “It’s real, Vox!”

“Yes. I’ll get the call started. They should be ready by now,” Vox said when they walked in, sliding behind the control panel.

Ava stood in the middle of the room awkwardly, waiting for the hologram to begin. Anxiety spun in her gut as her feet tapped impatiently on the floor. Once it connected, Ava saw a small blonde woman peek out from behind Iryl the moment the hologram picture came online.

“Hello Ava,” Iryl said. He looked tired. His head drooped and his eyes were not shiny, but dull. His posture was curved.

“Iryl, are you alright?” Vox said with alarm in his voice. His earlier humor was gone as he moved to stand next to Ava’s side.

Ava’s eyes widened, looking at him. At Iryl’s pained expression.What happened?

Iryl, however, waved off their concerns. “Just tired. At the last minute the negotiations went a bit sour. Ended up having to spend more credits. But . . . she’s here. This is what’s important.” Iryl gestured behind him and stepped aside.

A Human came forward in the field’s display, walking hesitantly, allowing Ava to get a good look at her. The woman stared back at Ava, and Ava devoured her with starved eyes. She was slightly taller than Ava, and her coloring was different. Ava had a more olive skin tone, darker now after her time on Xai.

This Human female was lighter. She had dirty blonde hair that was cut short, ending above her shoulders. But what was thesame were the eyes, other than the color. The iris was like hers in that they had white around them, not a solid hue like the Vorbax, with a darker center. This woman’s were dark blue, instead of Ava’s muddy brown, and they radiated both sorrow and ... joy.

Ava walked closer to the hologram as well, watching Joy study her as she did. She was at a loss of words for a moment, taking in the sight.

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