Page 36 of Ava Stargazer

“Yes. I think I want to try to reach out to Ebel soon, and have time to think.”

“Oh. Right. I understand. I’ll come check back in.” Sai’s face took on a pinched expression, looking at Ava speculatively as they exited the cargo hold.

Ava pointed back atCelestialas they walked. “I’m not really alone either—the Spry are still here during the day working on the ship. They rest in the crew cabins at night as well.”

When they got back to Vox’s house, Sai climbed into her cart. Ava raised her hand to see her off, the coar walking away at a sluggish pace.

Alone at last.Ava let out a sigh of relief at the feeling of no minds around her again. After a moment, she went to go feed the birds in the pen, mimicking their bird calls back to them the way Vox did.Still can’t whistle like him.She thought back to him trying to teach her and found that she missed his dry, unintentional humor, even more now when he was gone.

The sun was setting in earnest as she walked slowly to stand in the doorway to Vox’s house and hung her head, putting her hand on the side of the wooden frame. There were stones at the foundation, around the perimeter. The additions that were more modern connected into the back seamlessly, but Ava liked the look of the more rustic front better. The rough wooden siding under her hand felt and looked so different from her metal ship. It was so different from anywhere she had been before, and she was drawn to its simplicity.

Her head was buzzing from all the socializing with the women. But it felt good.Why was I avoiding that again?The entire visit ended up being no big deal, and she had wasted so much time worrying about it before.I’m so silly sometimes. Never mind. Never mind.Ava took the feeling for what it was, walkinginside the small house, satisfied tonight with the result despite how tired she now was. She rubbed her arms, as if that could help to dispel her thoughts. But she was not too tired to do the other task on her mind. Actually, she would do anything to keep the silence from creeping in and her worries about Vox from surfacing.

Ava’s eyes fell on the gray communicator on the table. She sat at a small wooden desk and spread the communicator components out that had been delivered a day ago but pushed aside with the activity of Vox leaving.

The screen turned on easily at her touch and she pushed in commands from memory from the many, many times she saw Ebel operate one that looked incredibly similar.

Thanks to the Spry’s handiwork, this new communicator was on a cloaked feed not at all associated with the Phor, uplinked throughCelestialas its own entity. She strapped her com watch back to her wrist, now connected and active again as well, only no longer on any channels Ebel was in.

The communicator was a different model from what she was used to, but the function of all the components were the same as the one she remembered. She turned it on and stared at the screen as it loaded, the blue light bright in the house that now was quickly darkening from the sun going down. The screen flashed a familiar welcome screen.Thankfully the lettering is in Common.

She held the communicator up and turned it around as she turned on the soft lighting from a lamp on her desk.It’s just like the one Ebel used.Only this communicator was hooked up to its own small monitor so it was portable instead of being permanently linked to the feed in the control room. She scanned the systems, trying to see where she should search for messages. There were generic servers all lit up, giving access to various planets’ webs and broadcasts. Despite knowing how to use themachine, she’d never written a message to anyone outside the Phor ship herself.

Ava poked around aimlessly, her posture tense as she hunched close on the chair, her legs drawn up to her chest as she sat.I don’t know what I’m doing.Ava left anything Phor related alone and instead went to the Elyheim Galactic Board, the central hub that most, other than rogue planets, hooked up to as a central system.If Ebel sent the packet to Iryl here, it makes sense to start here. Maybe.

She clicked around, discouraged.It is a swamp pit though. There was no way for any message to get seen prominently without being too obvious. And she didn’t want to be too bold.

How can I do this? Can I just use my name?Ava scrolled through mindlessly for a moment, thinking it through. She couldn’t reference Humans. Or the Phor. Or Cipra.What about just my name and Ebel’s?No one really knew her personal name outside of Ebel and Nuor. The rest of the Phor ship crew she’d lived with, including Wert, were all dead. Those images flashed through her head. She shook the thoughts away.Focus.

Her mouth formed a tight line in determination, now settled on what to do.Anything, even if it’s not perfect, is better than nothing. Ebel would definitely be able to scan and recognize my name.

She wrote a message and put it on a board that was for individuals searching for work and for trade. She had watched Ebel navigate some of these servers before, when they screened contractors before they came on board. Even though none of them, other than the exception made for Nuor, were ever allowed in the engine hall. Her hands shook slightly while trying to remember the proper protocols.

“Ava is searching for a drone. An unmarked one, preferably yellow and clean. Must be mechanicallyinclined for engine work. Please contactCelestialat indicator 864222.”

The message was immediately buried, but she set up a reminder on her com watch.I'll post every day.

Ava was less vague when contacting the Vali planet. In fact, she had no hesitation, seeing Nuor message home there a few times and knowing her full name. She navigated to their governing board, then to an area designed for general requests, and wrote the message.

“Ava, friend to Nuor Syha, requests contact. Please communicate withCelestialat indicator 864222.”

Ava bit her lip while she looked at the screen, feeling inadequate. What was the proper protocol for everything?I have no idea.The communicator was officially linked to Xai, so her messages should be posted and taken seriously.

She tapped on the screen idly.Idon’t know how to do so much sometimes. Maybe I can ask Iryl how to do this better.The messages would hopefully find their way, somehow. She looked over her written words this way and that, resisting the urge to edit them.It’s so vague. Her heart fell a little, having to admit to herself that her efforts weren’t as good as she had hoped.If Ebel does see it somehow, he will know.That’s good enough for right now.

With a huff, she clicked the communicator off and sat in the quiet house, done but not fully satisfied. She could continue looking through the Cipra logs but didn’t feel like doing that alone, at night, would do her any good.

Instead she looked at the radar, watching the positions of ships nearby like Ebel used to do.Lirell is right. There are a lot of Tuxa ships nearby.The Spry were here on Xai as a deterrent and a strong neural net protected the planet, but the Tuxa presence was unsettling knowing they were out there. There were also different ships,different species traveling through.Ihope the peace talks will go alright.Now with the com on her wrist she sent a ping to Vox, knowing he might not get it right now in deep space.

She turned the feed off and rested her head on top of her knees as she sat. The clock Vox had on the wall ticked in the quiet, breaking up the silence.Tick ... tock ...

Ava looked around the room slowly.Maybe I should have stayed with the women.She hummed to fill the silence as she went and took a long bath, singing her lullabies to herself and the biologics that she put on the counter as she bathed while the bubbles floated and popped—both in her container and bathtub when she added the citrus smelling soap. As she pulled her clothes on, she couldn't resist trying to message again, sliding back to the keyboard, slipping her biologics over her head as she remembered another call sign to try.

Ava adjusted the container around her neck once she was done, but as she couldn’t talk with the biologics, it wasn’t enough.Sai was right.I'm lonely.Why did I insist on coming back here to be alone? It’s too late now to do anything about it.

She looked over Vox’s feather collection, meticulously arranged, but that only made her miss him. And Ebel, who was as orderly as Vox. The birds became vocal sometime during her bath, now that night was almost here. They made loud noises that broke up the quiet.Voxwould like hearing them tonight. They are all so loud.Her hands froze while brushing out her wet hair, thinking of him.I have an idea.

Ava pushed the communicator aside and took out a notepad, scribbling an idea for a bird feeder she could make with extra components from the engine room. Something to give Vox when he got back home.

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