“Oh, no thank you, I’ve got everything under control. Naomi and Andre should be here soon.”
“That’s great. Will all of us be here?” Ava asked, without realizing she had included herself in the group with that statement. It was hard not to think of them as regular humans, they acted so normal.
“We thought it would be nice for us all to welcome you on your first night, but we know you and Wesley have some things to sort out so we’ll let you have some space if you need it.” With that she took the empty tray and went back inside to pour some drinks. A few moments later Naomi and Andre walked up to the terrace.
“Long time no see!” Naomi joked.
“Very funny,” Wesley replied, greeting his friends.
“Thank you for picking out some fabulous clothes for me, you have a good eye for style,” Ava gestured to her outfit.
“You are welcome, you look great. Tomorrow I’m going to take you shopping and we’ll get you some more clothes and things that you will need.”
“But, I don’t have any money yet. . .”
“That is true,” Naomi gave Ava a mock look of pity, then changed to a happy expression and continued, “but Wesley does.”
Ava looked at Wesley, who began to laugh. “Don’t worry Ava, I’ve been working for a long time, I’m sure I can afford to buy you the things that you need.”
Ava glanced at the ground, still never wanting to be in anyone’s debt. “Thank you, I appreciate it.”
“You are very welcome,” he gave her shoulder a gentle rub and turned back to his conversation with Justin and Andre.
“It will be so much fun, how about I pick you up at ten and then we can shop and eat lunch.”
“Sounds good.”
“Everything’s ready, come on over and help yourselves,” Rowan called cheerfully from the table where she had set everything down.
“Where’s Ash and Mia?” Ava inquired.
“Oh, I did invite them, but they are our youngest members and they wanted to spend more time alone together doing their own thing tonight,” Rowan replied.
“Nothing wrong with that,” Andre commented with a smile.
Ava watched the group closely as they began to congregate around the table and begin filling their plates. Anyone watching them would think that they are normal humans, she thought to herself. She began to wonder whether or not the fact that they were Asterions and she was human should impact her relationship with them at all. The news had shocked her and although it had only been a few days, the sting of it had begun wearing off. Whether she accepted it or not, she felt like she had become part of their family.
∞
The following morning Naomi arrived in her own courier to pick Ava up. Always stylish, Naomi was dressed in white cropped pants and a silver tank top with silver sandals.
“Good morning Ava, did you sleep well last night?”
“Yes, very well actually. How are you today?”
“Wonderful. It’s great to be home. Space travel is exciting, and the Andromeda is my second home, but it’s nice to be in one place for a while.”
“I know what you mean now.” Ava smiled at her friend.
Naomi fired up her small vehicle and off they went. The first stop would be the shopping center. Naomi wanted to make sure that Ava was well stocked on work apparel as well as casual clothing, toiletries, shoes, sunglasses, hats, and much to Ava’s shock, bathing suits.
“I’m not used to wearing anything so clingy,” Ava said over the dressing room door to Naomi, referring to the metallic blue swimsuit she was trying on.
“You’ll love learning how to swim!” Naomi replied enthusiastically. After a long try-on session Ava ended up with two one pieces and two bikinis, which she could hardly believe was enough to wear in public as she still had not gotten used to the hot climate of Kyanos.
After a quick stop at an outdoor café, Naomi brought Ava to the Capitol building to help her with the online process to become a citizen and be issued a new ID. Since she had been brought there by Wesley, the officials did not ask many questions, so unlike the grilling procedures used by the ITO.
“We are essentially a closed colony, there isn’t much immigration of humans. Once you are here, you are pretty much here . . . unless you choose to leave us,” Naomi said solemnly.
Within two hours, Ava had a new ID badge and new accounts for credits set up in her name, which Naomi arranged for. Ava was given a large sum from Wesley’s account wired into hers so that she would have some “personal” credits to spend however she wished.
“Are you sure he won’t mind? That’s a lot of money.” Ava sounded unsure whether or not this was a good idea.
“Of course he won’t mind, I’m just following his instructions, this is what he wanted you to have. Believe me, he won’t miss it.” Naomi waved the whole matter off like warm breeze.
“When do you think I’ll start my new job?”
“Well, today is Friday, I’m sure Wesley has a meeting arranged for you to meet Dr. Sullivan next week. It will be good for you to have a few days to adjust anyway, after all that you have been through.”
“Naomi, are there any more Asterions like you on Kyanos?”
“No. It’s only us. But there are other Asterions in existence. Bryant for example, is one of us.”
“Bryant? The man that was looking for Wesley, the one that talked to me on my way home from work once on Orionis?”
“Yes, that’s him.”
“Why were all of you so worried about my conversation with him?”
Naomi didn’t want to alarm Ava with any of the news of Xavier or Kaden, that would be Wesley’s job. She decided to keep it simple. “We were concerned because we weren’t sure if he would try to hurt you.”
“Why would he want to hurt me?”
“To get at Wesley. Unfortunately Bryant was once part of our crew, along with his wife, Alisa. We were on a mission that became very dangerous due to the unstable environment we were working in and Alisa was injured severely. This was very long ago. We were so isolated, there was nowhere to seek medical help from.” Naomi looked down, clearly upset by the memory. “Anyway, to make a long story short, Wesley tried to heal her but he failed and she died.”
“She died? I thought that Asterions were like, almost immortal?”
“Not immortal, resilient to aging and injury maybe, but if our energy is drained and we are hurt bad enough it can happen. Bryant was very distraught at the loss of his wife, his match, and he blamed Wesley for her death, despite his efforts to save her. He separated from us just after that and has been on his own ever since.”
“He seems so pleasant when he’s around any of you.”
“That’s how he is. Perhaps he has mellowed out a bit since then, it’s been decades, but I’m sure he still harbors some resentment towards us. Ava, if you ever see him again, don’t go near him, just try to get to one of us. We aren’t sure he means to harm you, but just the same it’s better to be safe.”
“Okay, I’ll do that. He won’t come to Kyanos will he?”
“No, I don’t think he knows about it, so we shouldn’t have anything to worry about.”
“That’s good.” Ava breathed a sigh of relief.
∞
Ava rose at eight in the morning on Saturday. She wanted to try and get used to the current time zone so that she wouldn’t be so out of it when she started work again, whenever that would be. Wesley must have heard her in the kitchen making some oatmeal and came down to sit with her.
“Do you want some? I made enough for the two of us,” Ava said shyly.
“Sure. What are you doing up so early for on a Saturday?”
“I wanted to try and get used to the time change. I’m not used to the longer days and only four hours of night time, or going to bed when it’s so light outside.”
“Yes, it is a bit strange at first, but it’s like anything else, you get used to it,” he yawned.
Ava set the bowls on the kitchen
table and returned to the kitchen to get utensils and some juice. She had only been here a few days but was already in love with the fresh orange juice. “The food is so delicious here,” she said sincerely as she sat with him.
“It looks like we are supposed to have great weather today,” Wesley mentioned as he tapped a few buttons on the electronic tablet he had left on the table the night before. “If you want, we could pack a picnic lunch and I could take you on a tour of some of the crop fields and then the forest that’s nearby. We could do a little hiking if you like.”
“That sounds like fun. I would like to see more of the landscape and nature around here. I’ve never seen anything like this place.”
After a few hours, they set off on their adventure. Wesley jetted around the compound in the courier. Periodically he would pause and take a few moments to explain to Ava what they were looking at. He decided to start the tour with the north crop field, closest to the residential compound where his house was. He continued west until the entered the farming and livestock district. Ava marveled at the cows grazing in the soft green grasses. They continued on their journey south to the southern crop fields where most of the wheat and soy were grown. They cruised past mile after mile of stalks waving in the wind, it was an amazing sight. Wesley brought the courier close to what appeared to be a large silo and parked it next to another courier that was parked there.
“Looks like Ash is here,” he mentioned as he helped Ava out.
“Where are we? Is this where they store the grain?”
“Actually no, this is where we are housing our new starship, the Principia. The grain is stored in the silo next door, he said pointing to his left.”
“Another starship?” Ava said in amazement.
“She’s just about ready for a test flight,” Wesley explained as they walked inside and Ava caught her first glimpse of the beautiful silver ship that appeared to be an updated miniature version of the Andromeda.
“It’s incredible. Did you and the crew build this?” Ava asked in astonishment.
“Well, we had some help from our engineers here,” Wesley laughed.
“Good morning,” A tall man with dark brown hair and sky blue eyes called as he came down the entrance ramp from the ship to greet them.
“Morning Ash,” Ava called.
“Would you like a tour?” He offered.
“Absolutely!”
Ash and Wesley proudly showed Ava around the new ship that would allow them and Kyanos more freedom and safety in the years to come.
“Yup, once we get this baby up and running, we’ll start on the next one,” Ash told Ava quite seriously.
“The next one?”
“You can never have too many ships, and the technology is constantly changing. We’ll even have to update the Andromeda soon as well.”
“When are you going to have the first test flight on the Principia?” Ava asked.
“Probably in three or four days,” Wesley said matter-of-factly.
“That soon?” For some reason this made Ava nervous. What if something went wrong?
“Don’t worry, everything reads normally when we start her up. We don’t anticipate having any problems,” Ash reassured her, sensing her mild anxiety over it.
“Shall we continue on to the forest?” Wesley didn’t want Ava to worry about the new starship unnecessarily.
“Yeah, I’m getting hungry, let’s stop for lunch soon.”
Once loaded back up in the courier, Wesley shot north past the hangar that housed the Andromeda towards the forest that he informed her was called the “Jade Forest” for the rich green color of the trees and foliage that thrived there. He parked in a clearing and they loaded their backpacks and were off. After a half hour of hiking they reached a cleared beach like area at the base of a high waterfall. Ava looked up at it through the mist, amazed at the sight and sound of it. She felt soothed by its simple beauty and white noise. They decided to stop for lunch since there were trees nearby, providing shade.
The couple sat on a blanket that they had spread out and ate the sandwiches and fruit they had brought with them. Ava had never imagined that anything like this, such a simple relaxing afternoon outside, would be possible. Wesley talked more about Kyanos, how they had found it, and some of the trials and tribulations they had bringing it to its current inhabitable and sustainable state. He encouraged Ava to come near the water’s edge and take her shoes off so that she could dip her feet in the cool water. They waded for a long while, Wesley holding on to her hand, in case she slipped as she did not yet know how to swim.
A few dark clouds flowed in and a light rain began to fall. Ava got the playful urge to run towards the trees and Wesley followed suit and pretended to chase her down. She grabbed a tree and waited for him to come closer and she took off again towards a neighboring tree. Her hair and clothing were getting soaked but she did not mind because it wasn’t cold outside. Just as he reached the second tree she took off again, this time he ran to catch her and hold her to him. She laughed because she had never had the freedom to run anywhere but in a gym before. He laughed with her, both getting soaked in the rain, and then he stopped. She looked up into his deep dark brown eyes. He wrapped his arms around her and lowered his face to hers and kissed her. It was the first time they had kissed since he had told her the truth. His energy flowed through her, warming her as they kissed passionately, she raised her arms and placed them around his neck. At this moment she felt as though her life had finally begun. She knew this is where she belonged and that she belonged with him. He had explained that every Asterion has a match and that she was his, she could feel it now. There had to be something of a higher power at work here because nothing had ever felt so right.
Chapter 8: The Principia
Kaden walked alone to the lifts on Sceptrum, headed towards the most remote and desolate part of the industrial space station. The mission he had in mind was fairly simple, to recruit Draves in his fight against Captain Robinson and his crew and to claim Kyanos for his own. Aside from Robinson, Draves was one of the oldest and one of the strongest Asterions in existence. Or, at least he used to be. Kaden had but one challenge, Draves liked to be left alone. He possessed only one power as an Asterion; ‘the gift’, or ‘curse’ as he put it, of hearing the thoughts of those surrounding him. In earlier times Draves used this ability for his advantage, but over time he became less able to filter it and the corruption and constant commotion drove him absolutely mad. He loathed the other Asterions besides those that would serve him and loathed humans even more because of their fleeting and innumerable thoughts that congested his mind. Asterions could sometimes shield their thoughts from him if they knew of Draves ability, but most of them couldn’t prevent him from knowing some things.
Kaden reached the door to Draves unmarked dwelling, deep in the industrial zone. He could sense why Draves chose such a remote location to live, the noise from the machinery and reactors must drown out the noisy thoughts from the humans surrounding him. It should be easy to recruit him, Kaden thought. He would tempt him with thoughts of a peaceful life on a beautiful isolated planet with few humans around, instead of living in a deserted dungeon like dwelling such as this. He hesitated, remembering Draves’ gift, and forced those thoughts from his mind as he did not want to reveal his plan to him up front. Draves had yet no knowledge of Kyanos.
Kaden knocked only once and waited. A few moments went by. Nothing. He knocked twice this time, louder, with a force that shook the door. Subtlety was never Kaden’s trademark. He waited. The electronic lock to the door unlatched. Kaden took this as a sign to enter. Although he had interacted with Draves before, he never knew how he would react; his mind seemed to be disintegrating slowly over the long years. It was not what it used to be. He tensed up, ready for anything and walked into the dimly lit common area of the dwelling. The stench of rotten food hit him and various items lay strewn about, what a mess. Kaden disliked clutter, it reminded him of revolt.
“I k
now why you’ve come,” a hoarse voice from the shadows spoke as Kaden sensed the energy and turned to face him.
“My old friend,” Kaden replied with a smile. Draves casually stepped out of the shadows. He, like all of the Asterions had taken the form of the human body they entered. Of average height and weight, Draves did not look particularly threatening. He had grown a mid length scraggly beard, parts of it graying, though never changing, and his hair had grown out of its cut. His small green eyes darted about, obviously searching for the source of the noises he was hearing in his head.
“So. . . Kaden, you are still trying to rid the universe of Captain Robinson and his crew.” Draves laughed hysterically for no real apparent reason other than he was amused. Kaden focused to prevent any negative opinions about Draves from forming in his mind. He hated to be insulted, but at the same time remembered why he had come to this place; he needed his help.
“I have some information you may be interested in,” Kaden replied casually.
“I know, why else would you disturb me,” Draves spoke, the laughter gone, simply replaced by a menacing tone. Most Asterions who knew of Draves’ ability to basically read their minds avoided him, specifically because Draves would always have the upper hand in a fight. He would know what his opponent’s next move would be, giving him the winning advantage. It was for this reason Kaden wanted him on his side, to win the fight against Robinson and take Kyanos for himself. Draves moved along the perimeter of the room, keeping his distance from Kaden, who was standing in the center.
“So, your plan to exterminate him on Orionis didn’t work. What a shame.” Draves made a tsk tsk type of noise mockingly.
Kaden decided talking would no-longer be necessary and concentrated his thoughts on Kyanos and on the most recent lost battle between the two starships. Kaden focused hard on beautiful planet and let his mind suggest to Draves that they all would be much happier living there than on the space stations. He watched Draves carefully as he read the thoughts, searching for some spark of interest on his behalf.
The Solar Flare Page 6
