Page 68 of Ava Stargazer

Tears rolled down her face, heavy, as she saw them also roll down Joy’s as well. Almost silently Ava added, “There’s not many of us, I don’t think. Not many Humans left now. I never came across any other flyers other than yours.” After swallowing thickly, Ava finished, “No others in all the cycles.”

Joy nodded, crying profusely now. Ava wiped her tears.Her eyes leak like mine.

Ava then sat, collecting her words and feeling slightly embarrassed about sharing so much about herself so fast. To a woman who looked like a stranger but also not, built up asshe was over so many years in Ava’s head. But . . .This is no stranger.She looked at Joy carefully.Human like me.

Joy spoke slowly but clearly in a low, quiet voice. “Iryl told me about your life before. I was on ... a farm, sort of, for a long time. My mother and I.”

Ava shifted her legs to sit more comfortably, focusing on learning anything she could. “Right. He said there, and then a fighting ring?”

Joy shook her head and dropped it, taking a deep breath. “Yes, the farm was fine. But then I was sold with the livestock I had taken care of. I went to a place that ... had fights with other beasts they would purchase. Most of the livestock from my auction, from the farm I was on. They went there and fought. When they found out I could be useful they made me ... help instead of fight like the animals.”

Ava rapidly waved her hands at seeing a fresh wave of tears come over Joy’s face. “You don’t have to tell me. You’re safe now, and that’s what matters.”

Joy wiped her face. “It’s easier to talk now, when it’s less ... pressure. And just quiet. Even just being away, safe, for the bit of time I have been has helped. Iryl, he is able to meditate with me, and already I feel better. I wasn’t like this when I was younger.”

“Yes, time has helped me too.”

Joy looked up, her eyes radiating sincerity. “Ava, I’m so glad to meet you. I thought I was all alone too. They ... the people at the fights said I was odd, and something malformed. I knew I wasn’t because of my mother, but I didn’t let them know that there were others. I let them think it was just me.”

Ava’s heart warmed. Ebel never told her she was odd, but feeling different was something she’d felt every day in her life being with the Phor. And on Xai, despite all of the efforts to make her feel welcome. “You’re not. We’re not. We’re just ... Human.”

Joy sighed and said in that slow, stilted way she had, “I know. I haven’t wanted to be a Human for a long time. But I know that’s what I am.”

Ava’s heart fell, hearing that. And knowing where Joy was coming from. “I know that feeling. But I’m also learning that there was nothing wrong with me to begin with. Nothing wrong with being a Human.”

There was no sound other than the hum of the navigation system as Joy looked all over Ava, as if she was memorizing her various parts, and Ava did the same back to her. Even the biologics around her neck were subdued in the quiet.

Joy touched her own face as she spoke again. “We still look different from each other. The Vorbax don’t look as different from each other as we do.”

At that, Ava had to agree. “Not really, no. Just different shades and body structures. When you come to Xai, you can see more. From where I was born, I remember more variety.”

“Iryl said we are compatible with them. That we can make babies together.”

A flash of uncertainty ran through her.I guess so.The recent conversation she just had with Vox about that compatibility, and Zeed’s focused face as he’d said the word “breeding,” came into her mind. “Yes. Apparently they will look like the Vorbax too, since their genes are dominant. But I am not ready to put that to the test, though.”

“Me neither, but it does make me feel better to have a use to them. To be wanted, somehow. Iryl has been so ... nice. It makes sense if there’s something they want for them to be so nice. People aren’t usually nice if there’s not something they want.”

The talk with Vox ran through Ava’s mind from earlier as well. If they weren’t compatible at all, there probably wouldn’t be the level of cooperation she was now getting from the others, like Zeed. What he wanted, and the other unmated males onXai wanted as well, was obvious.Is it bad that some of them are helping only because of what they want from us?But Vox’s words from earlier also came back to her.I want you in whatever capacity you are able to give me.Her body warmed, remembering.Not Vox. Not Rhutg either. They’re good men. They won’t force. Even Zeed backed off without pushing.

Ava gave a smile back at Joy, trying to not let her own uncertainty show on her face as she echoed her thoughts. “They are good, the Vorbax. It feels like the first stroke of luck Humans have had in a long time, meeting them.”

“Yes. I can’t . . . can’t believe it.”

Ava shifted her legs and raised both her hands to the hologram. “But I don’t want anything from you. That’s for sure. Other than to talk with you and figure out what being a Human means together. I meant it; let’s message once this ends. All the time.”

Joy brightened a bit at that and reached forward, as if her hands could connect to Ava’s across the hologram. “Okay. I can’t spell very well.”

Ava laughed, dispelling her nervousness and feeling her stomach unclench.That’s the least of things to be concerned about.“I don’t care. It will help you practice. Besides, the com can correct that stuff anyways. You can talk into it even.”

There was determination as Joy looked up, eyes still watery, and nodded.

Ava looked on with approval.Any Human still alive by now must be a survivor.They must be strong to have lasted this long and not given up. Regardless of what they think about themselves.The thought stuck with her. She took a deep breath in, processing it.Like me.Pride welled within her, looking at Joy and knowing she’d helped her.Strong like both of us.

She said a summary of that thought out loud, feeling it ring true in her bones. “You survived. You did it. You are strong tohave survived. I know how hard it is to endure. There’s ... a new life now, Joy, for both of us. We can’t change the past but ... we have a chance now. We gotta ... if we’re it for Humanity, we need to try our best.”

Joy looked up, the fire in her gaze breaking through her hungry expression. She answered in the Earth language that Ava’s mother had used that the translator didn’t know and therefore didn’t engage in her ear to translate. But Ava knew the word’s meaning, even if she hadn’t heard it spoken for many, many cycles. “Yes.”

Ava messaged Joy almost immediately after ending the call, her fingers flying over her com. She didn’t want the connection to end, and wanted to learn more. So much more. She started with pictures. Ava sent her photos of her life and how she’d lived. Then photos of the flowers Sai was painting on the ship’s wall, with Sai smiling next to it, her thin blue hand in a wave.

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