The Solar Flare
Laura E. Collins
This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, or persons; living or dead, is entirely coincidental.
Copyright © 2013 by Laura E. Collins
All rights reserved, including the right to reproduce this book or portions thereof in any form whatsoever.
Chapter 1: Capri
During the middle of the night, Ava completed her rounds in the enormous darkened room, checking on her patients in the makeshift hospital unit on Capri. A few other nurses and some technicians wandered about, assisting people as needed. The vast room, originally a warehouse of sorts, had been sectioned off by partitions into different “units” although no one could say there was any privacy. It has been only eight hours since the Solar Wind made its uneventful landing and she wanted to make sure her patients were resting comfortably. For the most part, Ava had to give some credit to the Intergalactic Transport Organization, otherwise known as the ITO, for a smooth and seamless transition during the crisis and horrendous evacuation of Orionis. She wondered if the station had been completely evacuated by now and if it would somehow be salvageable after the explosion. One thing she knew for sure, the ITO had immediately cracked down stiff security measures throughout the known galaxy and the existing space stations, including the incomplete Earth II. The corrupt organization now allowed only what it considered to be legitimate business travel.
After landing on Capri, Ava discovered that the chaos she thought she left behind on Orionis had become one of a different sort. She had never seen such a crowded and tumultuous hangar before. Once Capri had met its limit for evacuees, the ITO closed the hangar to further traffic and since the Andromeda had no official business scheduled, it was not permitted to dock. Ava messaged Wesley, assuring him of her safety, knowing that he must be concerned about her. She could not stop thinking about his comment to her, admitting that he knew she had sustained a broken leg on E.S. Number One. What seemed even more amazing is that somehow he, or the crew, was able to heal her without her even knowing it. They are more than simple humans, she thought. But what exactly are they? What did they actually do to her to heal her? What did Justin’s blood do to her after the transfusion? She could feel the effects of it even now. What would this ultimately mean for her relationship with Wesley? The thoughts intrigued her, and also frightened her. In all of the history of the Earth and space exploration no one has ever discovered or produced any genuine and tangible proof that extra terrestrials existed, and now she had it, or at least experienced it somehow. She knew she could never speak of this to any other human; or risk ridicule, or worse, becoming some researchers test subject. Whatever Wesley is, Ava realized, she must keep it a secret, and she must find out the truth.
The next evening, Ava finished rounding on her patients for the last time before calling it a night. All of the specialties had been re-grouped together in one long hallway, two patients to each room, or makeshift cubicle as it seemed. The providers, having left everything behind on Orionis had been assigned small private quarters one hallway over. Each small temporary room consisted only of a cot and a chair. At least there was a door that closed, allowing them some privacy. Bathrooms were shared between all of the providers and a common eating area had been established. Everyone looked and dressed the same, in the standard healthcare provider uniforms of gray scrubs underneath white lab coats, provided by Capri.
Ava stopped in the common room to pour herself a glass of water. As she entered she mentally sighed as she noticed Dr. Tom sitting at one of the few tables in the room working on an electronic tablet he had in front of him. She decided to pretend she hadn’t seen him. He looked up at Ava as she quickly continued with her task.
“Ava, do you have a minute?” He spoke to her in a friendly tone.
“Hi Dr. Tom. Actually, I was just about to . . .” Her reply came out courteous but was interrupted.
“I just wanted to know if you had a few moments to talk. It seems that Capri has some new information regarding the virus you had.” His blue eyes lingered on her still turned away stance.
This caught Ava’s attention. “All right, I have just a few minutes.” She wanted to make sure he knew that she wanted to be elsewhere. She casually walked over towards him and sat down at the table opposite him.
“Great. First of all, how are you? We’ve all been through a lot. Are you okay? Do you need anything?” He seemed genuinely concerned, though it did not touch Ava. She had too much on her mind already.
“No . . . thank you. I’m doing as well as we can expect Tom. Mine as well as my patient’s lives have been completely turned upside down in the last two days. Actually, I think everyone is doing fantastic, all things considered. How is Dr. Grant? I heard the Orionis Medical Center ended up sending him to Antares instead of here with us because they needed more help there.”
“Yes. He messaged me. He’s all right. He was actually one of the last providers to be evacuated.” Ava detected a note of admiration in his voice. “I have to admit I was surprised to see you reported for your duty. I know my father was very pleased to see you. You could have easily just flown away with your friends.”
“Of course I would have fulfilled my obligation.” His comment began to irritate her. Here comes the anger again, she thought. She took a few deep breaths in an attempt to calm herself. “I will be reunited with them as soon as Capri allows them to dock.”
“I see.”
“I’m sorry, did you say you had some information about the virus I had?”
“Yes. I met with some of the infectious disease providers today. Over the last four months they had a total of sixteen cases, thirteen of which were fatal. They were about to issue a station wide quarantine when the research team discovered antibodies in one of their patients.”
“They found antibodies?”
“Not only that, within a month they were able to isolate them and develop an anti-virus.”
“So they have a treatment that quickly?” Ava conveyed her surprise. Good, she thought. Maybe he would leave her alone now.
“Yes.”
“Well that’s wonderful news then.” Ava could hardly believe it.
“It certainly is. However, there is one other interesting part of this.” He sounded so nonchalant about the information he was giving her.
“What?”
“In their efforts to discover the antibodies, I sent them a sample of your blood when you were sick.”
“You sent them a sample of my blood?” This caught Ava by surprise. The stress of things had begun to pile up and she felt her energy and her anger rising again. What could they have discovered? Even she did not know the nature of her recovery, but now guessed it had something to do with Justin’s otherness. “Did they find the antibodies in my blood?”
“No Ava, they didn’t. That is what I find so fascinating. You seemed to recover so quickly after receiving a blood transfusion from your friend, and there were no antibodies to the virus found in you afterwards.”
“So?” She tried her best to sound as if she were brushing it off.
“So what I’m saying is that I think there are more to your friends than you know, or at least more than you let on. Don’t get me wrong, I’m very happy that you are alive and well. However from my research, and what I know of the virus and what your condition was like, I cannot see how you survived.”
“Dr. Tom, are you suggesting that there is something wrong with my friends? Really, I think that you should get some rest, it has been a stressful time for all of us.” Ava rose up out her chair and walked as calmly as she could to the door. She n
o-longer wanted to be in any part of this conversation.
“Ava, some of Capri’s Infectious Disease Team would like meet with you. They’ve been meeting with the few survivors to review their experience. It’s important because you are a provider. Capri wants to make sure you are completely recovered so that you do not pose a danger to the residents here. Will you be available sometime tomorrow?”
“We’ll see.” Ava didn’t know what else to say and walked out. She didn’t want to commit to anything. Quickly, she made her way back to her cubicle of a room and shut the door behind her. She sat on the cot, leaned her face into her hands and took a few more deep breaths to soothe her nerves. If she didn’t meet with the Capri team, would that put her job in jeopardy? With no possessions; her clothes, her Personal Communication Device, and her job were all she had left, save her access to the credits she had saved. Even her savings would run out within a matter of a week if she had to rely on that, considering the steep cost of lodging on Capri right now, that is, if you could find any. Ava glanced down at the bed to the PCD Wesley had given her. It was the only thing she had left that might potentially be worth something, but she couldn’t sell it, she needed it. The small white light blinking meant she had a message to read. The message was brief, but it was enough to take her mind off of Dr. Tom:
Ava, we will be allowed to dock tomorrow for a period of two hours. Please meet me at the entrance of the hangar at 1300 hours, we have much to discuss. I love you. Always –W.
Ava set the PCD back down on the bed and removed her lab coat. She grabbed her donated toiletries and went down to the common bathroom, combed her long auburn hair, and washed her face. The cool water felt refreshing to her. Then she brushed her teeth, and returned, ready for bed. I wonder what we will discuss, she thought. She loved Wesley, and now she felt terrified of him for uncertain reasons. She closed her eyes, but even that could not stop the silent tears from sliding down her cheeks. All I wanted was to start a normal new life when I left Earth, she thought, it has been anything but.
The next morning Ava checked on her patients, making sure everyone was stable and had what they needed. She had to admit that her nursing staff had been incredible through this whole ordeal, and made it a point to thank them for their compassionate care towards her patients since their arrival. Ava completed her charting and left for her hour long lunch break at 12:45. She planned to take a late lunch so that she could meet Wesley at the hangar when Dr. Tom arrived unexpectedly.
“Hello Ava, I figured you would be on lunch now. Do you have a few minutes to spare to meet with the Infectious Disease Team?” He seemed friendly, at least.
“Actually now is not a good time for me, I’m sorry.” She glanced around nervously but did not see anyone else in the hallway.
“It will just take a few minutes. We should be done by 1300. It would be better to just get this over with.”
Against her better judgment she agreed with the meeting. Dr. Tom must think I went on lunch at 1200, she thought. “Okay, fine, let’s put an end to their concerns regarding my health.”
As they walked down the long deserted hallway to the meeting room, which seemed to be miles away, Dr. Tom continued to talk.
“Ava, I believe that I can help you,” he said softly, looking at her.
“I beg your pardon?” She looked at him in confusion.
“Your friends are not what they appear to be.”
“I’m not sure what you are talking about, Doctor.” The hair on the back of Ava’s neck began to feel as though it were starting to stand up. Here comes the energy again, she sighed.
“I know you have not been yourself, but I want you to know that I am on your side and we can get you through this.”
Ava stopped dead in the hallway, her eyes fixed on him. “Dr. Tom, what are you talking about? Are you feeling all right?” He’s gone crazy she thought, or, has he guessed the truth? Better to pretend not to know anything.
“Ava, I’ve reason to believe that your friends are not who they say they are.”
“Oh really?” Ava replied, playing dumb and conveying an amused attitude.
“After what happened to you in the hospital, I went back and reviewed some of the security surveillance footage of your comings and goings at your quarters on Orionis a while ago.”
“You what?” She couldn’t understand what she was hearing.
“I know this sounds odd, but I wanted to watch your friend’s behavior and I found out something interesting. Please just, hear me out.”
“Dr. Tom, according to the laws on Orionis and the ITO, stalking is a criminal offense. . .”
“I care about you Ava, but I’m not stalking you; I wanted to learn more about your friends. Anyway, there was one Friday night that you left your quarters by yourself. Then, a few hours later, the footage showed several of your friends, some crew members, coming in to your quarters. Only, you had never returned. Then, a little while later, they left. What’s even more interesting is that the next morning, your boyfriend left your quarters.”
“Dr. Tom, my boyfriend does sometimes leave my quarters in the morning. What’s your point?”
“My point is Ava, according to the footage, you never returned home, and there is no footage of your boyfriend coming into your quarters either, yet suddenly he comes out the next morning? Then, later that weekend, you emerged. Now as far as I know, on Orionis, there is only one way in and out of your quarters and that is through the front door. So how do you explain it?”
Ava’s mind raced. What was he talking about? Then it hit her. The incident at The Labyrinth, where she had almost been victimized. She never really remembered how she got home that night, only that Wesley said he brought her there. Her look of surprise fueled his anticipation. He knows something’s wrong, she thought. Before she could speak, he continued.
“Ava, I don’t think that you should see any of them again. They did something to you, I know it.” His voice began to rise as he became excited, like he had just discovered something phenomenal. He abruptly took a firm hold on her arm.
“What are you doing? Let me go!” Ava was certain the pressure in his grip was causing a deep bruise.
“Don’t worry, we’ll get you to the Infectious Disease Team and run some more tests on you to make sure that you are okay. You haven’t been yourself since the transfusion, we can help you.” He started to pull her towards the end of the hall forcefully.
“Let go of me!” Ava shouted. She began to resist him and tried to pry his hands off of her arm. I’m going to lose control, she realized too late.
“I’m not trying to hurt you; I’m trying to help you!”
“Stop it, I’m not going anywhere with you!” Ava practically growled at him as she sensed the energy rising within her. In her panic she could not find the right frame of mind to suppress it, or remember her self defense instructions. Suddenly, Ava grabbed Dr. Tom’s hand on her arm and pulled it off of her as if it were a child’s hand. Then she reigned in the energy and turned. She shoved Dr. Tom as hard as she could. Her strength surprised them both as he flew back and crashed against the wall in the hallway with what seemed like very little effort to Ava. He had let out a loud grunt when he hit the wall; otherwise it had been a rather discreet incident. She looked down at him, stunned for the moment, and not knowing what else to do, started running in the opposite direction down the hallway.
Ava did not look back as she sprinted down the halls, past what was left of her co-workers and the patients she had attended. She did not stop, not even when people called out to her. She burst through the door that led to one of the main avenues and kept running towards the hangar. Though her encounter with Dr. Tom had not seriously hurt her, it had upset her, and Ava felt more afraid than anything else. She had nowhere else to go, no one she could trust. She heard a siren howl in the distance behind her as she took a nearby stairwell up three long flights to the level of the hangar. She felt the PCD clipped on her waistband buzz. Wesley is looking for me,
she realized. When she neared the hangar, she slowed her gait to a fast walk to avoid collecting any unnecessary attention. Her face showed how flushed she had become from running, she breathed heavily, and her cheeks stung with the salty tears she had shed as she ran.
There he stood. Always so calm and steady. He moved quickly towards her when he saw her. She started sprinting again and ran straight into his reaching arms.
“Ava, what happened, are you all right?” He kept one arm around her and touched her face gently, trying to soothe her anxiety. He could see that she was visibly upset. There did not seem to be time for a more gratifying reunion.
“We have to leave now!” Ava gasped, looking back, breathing hard. She decided she would rather take her chances with Wesley than Dr. Tom and the Infectious Disease Team.
As if seeming to know what had taken place, Wesley quickly ushered her back through security, speaking rapidly to the crew on his PCD. He did not ask her for her reasons, it did not matter now. Wesley courteously informed the ITO officers that they would be departing immediately. They seemed pleased to have an early clearing in the busy hangar schedule and happily obliged their swift exodus. The officers did not even glance at Ava’s uniform or her flushed face as they walked through. No one asked any questions. This is strange, she thought. Out of the corner of her eye she noticed Justin standing nearby, joining them once they were through. Wesley never let go of her as the three of them hurried towards the Andromeda. As they approached the ramp descended and Ava did not look back as she calmly walked up towards the entrance, she could see Naomi and Andre inside waiting for them. This is it, she thought, there was no turning back now.
Chapter 2: Deception
Bryant slowly walked through the hangar on Polaris after being cleared by the ITO. He approached the Solstice from behind, looking up at the impressive starship as he neared it. He could easily behold his own reflection in the shiny metallic black finish of the underside of it. Near the top of the oval shaped ship were silver windows spaced evenly, receding from the main windshield in the pilot’s compartment towards the back of the ship. Plain but beautiful he thought, comparing it to the other somewhat beat up looking ships in the hangar. As he neared the middle of the side of the ship, the entrance ramp lowered, inviting him inside. His conversation with Xavier had been brief in the VIP lounge. He had not been permitted to stay long enough to carry out his plan and convince Xavier of his mission as an evacuation drill had been abruptly announced in the theater prior to his performance because of the recent events on Orionis. Xavier invited Bryant to meet them on his starship after the performance to continue the conversation.
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