by Ana Hunter
″I see. Are you concerned I will distract you? ″ He asked, giving her a wink.
″As much as it may not have seemed like it yesterday, I do want to do a good job. ″ Ava said, ″So if you can show me the Command Center, I can get what I need and make a connection with Earth. ″
″Ok. Perhaps, do not get too hopeful. ″ Erox suggested.
″What do you mean? ″ Ava asked, turning off the shower and quickly wrapping up in the blanket.
″Sometimes our connection is not the best it can be. It may take a few days to arrange something. ″
″Really? From Earth, it always seemed pretty good. I mean, it was our guys that set it up after all; you have the latest and best technology available. ″ Ava explained.
She remembered the amount of time and money that was spent to prepare for everything to be set up on Rista. It had taken a long time but it was the most exciting thing she had ever been a part of. By the time Ava was approached to go on the mission to collect some samples so they could study Ristities even further, it had almost become normal that the two planets were working so closely with each other.
It was the Earth Research Center's desire to keep that close relationship that put so much pressure on Ava's mission; one wrong move and it could set them back years.
Erox's voice brought her back to the moment, “While it is true we do have the best, Earth is a long way from here. It is a lot to expect from the universe that we should be able to communicate all the time. Like I said, just do not have so much hope that you will become disappointed if we cannot immediately make a connection.”
“Of course I'll be disappointed. I don't want to be here longer than I need to.” Ava said. She saw a look of hurt briefly pass over Erox's face but tried to ignore it.
“Do not forget, you will not be admitted to the Command Center. You will wait outside while I make the arrangements.”
“Of course. You can't have a woman just wandering around, doing her job and causing chaos.”
“I'm happy you understand.” Erox replied.
Soon, they made their way through the village again; walking in silence while Ava tried to ignore the stares of the Ristites they passed along the way.
“Do not mind the females, you can understand their jealousy I'm sure.”
“I'm not sure I can, no.”
“Well you wear my symbol on your wrist. Many females have been desperate to do the same. They do their best, they throw themselves at me, but not one of them has been good enough.”
“I'm sure if you keep up that modesty of yours, you'll win one of them soon.” Ava said, becoming more and more irritated by him. If she hadn't let it go so far the previous night, if he hadn't made her feel so euphoric, she thought, he would be easier to resist.
“We shall see.” Erox replied, having no sense of her sarcasm.
“So what's going to happen? Does it usually take long to make the connection?”
“It depends on many things. But do not forget Ava, I have my job to do to. You might have waited in my home until the end of the day.”
Ava stopped in her tracks, “No! I will not spend the day waiting while you sit in there pretending to work! You are in charge and you have someone from Earth stranded on your planet! It is your duty to arrange for my safe return as soon as possible!”
All the time Ava shouted, Erox stood in front of her smirking the way he seemed to do when he was amused by her. Several males passed by and looked at her with disgust.
“Erox, keep your female in line.” One of them advised as he walked by.
“But is she not cute?” Erox replied.
“I never understood why we needed that kind here.” The male shook his head and entered the Command Center.
“Do not lecture me on my duties.” Erox said simply, “It is not my fault that you crashed here. Your captain was obviously not skilled enough to make the journey. Now you are here and I find you quite entertaining. But you are not on Earth now. Here on Ristite females know how they can talk to us. This is very inappropriate.”
“Everything about this place is inappropriate!” Ava shouted. Erox finally looked taken aback.
“Ok. As you feel so strongly about this, wait here.” He shook his head in disbelief as he walked away, leaving Ava to hope she wouldn't have to wait too long.
She looked around and found a small sitting area nearby. There were a couple of females there and she realized they were probably waiting for their males to finish work.
“So what are you all waiting for?” She asked as she sat down, in the hope she could learn some more from these women while she waited. A couple of them didn't even bother to look up at her, they kept their eyes on the ground. A few others looked at her with a mixture of terror and disgust. Only one of them spoke, the woman she had seen reprimanded by Erox in the fields the day before.
“Not many females speak your language.” The woman told us, “There is no need for us to learn.”
“Oh, I'm sorry.” Ava said, “Why would there be no need?”
“Why would there be? We cannot work in there.” The woman pointed to the Command Center, “So we will not be communicating with Earth. On this planet we already had a type of language. We need no more.”
“You seem to know quite a lot.” Ava pointed out, it seemed like such a waste. If Ava hadn't been there, there would be no one for her to use her skills with at all.
“My father helped me and mother learn while I lived with them. Enda, my husband, he seemed to be impressed but now he does not allow me to use it.” She explained.
“Why not?”
“As I said, there is no use for it.”
“What are you doing Earth female?” Ava heard from beside her. She looked up, shielding her eyes from the brightness of the sky and saw Clar looming over her.
“Waiting for Erox to tell me how soon a rescue mission will be organized.” Ava explained, “I don't know if you all realize how ridiculous this no women inside the Command Center rule is but at home we couldn't manage without the women doing important roles.”
“No one here cares for how you do things on your planet.” Clar said, “You will be waiting all day. I imagine he is not organizing your mission at all. He is probably in there laughing with the other males about you sitting out here trying to perform research on these females.”
Ava stood up so she could finally look Clar in the eye, “You know, Erox told me all about you. This jealousy thing is pathetic.”
“He told you?” Clar smiled in a way that wasn't at all friendly.
“He did. He said he didn't choose you and you can't get over it.”
Clar barked a laugh that made Ava feel cold all over in spite of the heat, “He said he did not choose me? He is funny. He wishes it was that way.”
“So how is it?”
“I did not want him. It was my choice.”
Ava turned to see how the others women reacted, but all of them were watched the ground as though none of it was happening. She wondered if it ever occurred to the females to react to anything around them. On Earth everyone wouldn't just be watching, it would be posted online by then.
“Look, I don't need to be involved in any of this.” Ava said, becoming tired of it all, “I'm here to do one job and then I'll be returning to Earth. You can have him. ″
She knew there was no need for those last four words, after all, it was making it pretty clear that she didn't believe Clar's version of events.
″I will. ″ Clar smirked. Ava could see why Clar believed she was right for Erox, they were unnervingly similar. Everything about how confidently they carried themselves, the way they both believed they were entitled to what they wanted.
Clar was unlike the other women of Rista, but Ava didn't know which she preferred-this arrogant, infuriating woman or the timid, silent ones who passed by like ghosts.
″I'm sure you will. ″ Ava had intended for it to sound more positive than it actually did.
″Oh, you think you
are so great, do not you? ″
″Um... that isn't how you say it. ″ Ava said.
″I hope you find your way back to Earth soon. If Erox is in control of it, you will not. ″ Clar said and shook her head, finally walking away.
″What are you saying? ″ Ava called after her.
″Ask him. ″
Ava took a deep breath, glad that that was over. It seemed optimistic but she hoped that she could avoid running into Clar again during her stay.
″Watch out for her. ″ The woman she had spoken to earlier warned, ″Clar is dangerous. ″
″Thanks, I think I got that. ″
The women continued to stare at the floor. Ava wondered whether they would even bother sharing this incident with their husbands, or if they bothered to talk about their days at all.
″So, how long do they usually spend in there? ″ Ava asked, sitting back down.
The woman looked irritated by further interruption but she considered the question for a moment, ″As long as they are inside. ″
″Ok. Thanks. ″ Ava said and resigned herself to a day of waiting.
The trouble with waiting was that Ava had far too much time to think over what Clar had said as she was walking away. Why would she say that if Erox were in control of her safe rescue from Earth then it wouldn't happen?
In spite of her anxiety over these thoughts, after several hours of waiting she found it impossible to stay away. There wasn't that many people on Rista, she realized, Erox had been right about their lack of reproduction.
″Getting to know the locals? ″ He asked.
″I'm a scientist, of course I am. ″ Ava said, ″So, what do you know? ″
″I spoke with your boss. ″ Erox explained, ″He was very happy that you are alive. Of course, I had to tell him that male you traveled with is not. That made them sad. ″
″And how soon will they be able to rescue me? ″ Ava asked, allowing some hope to form inside.
″They will begin to organize it today. They will be here in one week. ″
Although Ava knew that was the fastest it was possible to travel between the two planets, she felt her heart sink a little. Still, she knew it could have been much worse.
″Obviously, you will stay with me for this week. ″ Erox said. Ava genuinely didn't know whether he sounded happy about this or not. Maybe it wasn't worth the hassle.
″I don't know what Clar will think of that. ″ Ava said.
″Don't worry about her. She won't bother you. ″ Erox insisted.
″You say that but the fact is she was bothering me a few hours ago. ″ Ava turned to look at the other women as though suddenly expecting them to have a change of heart and back her up but of course they didn't look at her.
″She was? What did she do? ″
″She seemed to want to start a fight with me or something. It's fine. This week will pass I guess. ″
″It will. You can learn more about us. Which makes me remember, I brought what you need. ″ Erox said, handing her a small box.
Ava opened it up and saw the biological sample she needed for Earth's research. Just like that she had exactly what she needed; the whole point of the mission. If only the ship hadn't crashed, she thought, I could be on my way home.
″What is wrong? ″ Erox asked. That was when Ava realized she was crying. She slammed the box shut, terrified of contaminating the sample, even if he had made it as safe as possible.
″This is all I came for. ″ Ava said, wiping her eyes, ″I could be on my way home now. ″
″Of course that will make you sad. ″ Erox said, putting an arm around her. Ava couldn't help but give in to it. She relaxed into his arm and let the tears flow. Her feelings towards him were endlessly confusing, ″You can be sad about it or you can make it useful. ″
″What do you mean? ″
″Rather than siting in my hut being sad, you can make the time useful. Like you said, you are a scientist. You can do more research. Explore our ways, our surroundings. That way, when you return you will have more than this. ″ Erox explained, pointing at the box in her hand.
″I suppose that's true. ″ Ava said. He was right, she knew, she could go back like a hero. If she could find more samples, more information, she would return to Earth not only a crash survivor but also an excellent researcher. That would be an easy promotion in no time.
″I will help you. ″ He said.
″Thank you. Are you done for the day or do you need to go back inside? ″ She asked.
″I have finished for the day. Let's go back to my home. ″
After another shower and all over spray, Ava was pleased to find their evening meal had been delivered. That was something she could get used to, she thought, healthy food cooked and brought to them. Not even to their door, but right inside and ready to eat.
She could already tell their diet wasn't the most varied though, the food looked and tasted similar to the meal the night before.
″So, what will happen to the sample I gave you today? ″ Erox asked as they ate.
″Well, it's just that people on Earth are curious about life here. It isn't enough just to be told what it's like because there are things we don't understand. The fact that it's never dark here, that you don't have any weather to speak of, no seasons. And then the fact that you can grow so many crops and live entirely off the land, it doesn't exactly make sense to us on Earth.
On Earth, part of the world is desert, which is when it’s dry, hot and sandy, and nothing grows. Other areas are very green, lush grass and soil where we can grow as much as we want. Here, you have the sandy ground and the heat but you grow food we couldn't even imagine back home. ″ Ava explained.
For the first time since she had arrived, she realized that Erox looked genuinely transfixed. He was really listening to her answer.
″Life sounds much more complicated on Earth.″
″It is in some ways. In some ways, it's easier. For example, if you're here in your home and you want to speak to someone who is in the Command Center, how do you do it? ″
″I do not find that I need to. ″ He replied, confused.
″But if you did need to? ″
″I would walk there. ″ He said, ″But I would make sure I've communicated everything I need to before I leave for the day. ″
″On Earth, we have phones. Basically, everyone has one and you use it to call each other. So no matter where you are, you can reach someone.″
″And you also can be reached. ″
″Exactly. ″
″By anyone? At any time? ″ He asked.
″Yes. ″
″That sounds unpleasant. ″ He said.
″Sometimes, it is. Mostly, it's convenient. ″ She said, ″If you don't want to talk to someone, you don't answer. ″
″Is that not rude? ″
″Not really, everyone does it. You can always make up an excuse too if you need to. ″
″I see. ″
″Erox, there was something that Clar said that I can't figure out. ″ Ava began. It troubled her more than she expected. She knew Clar couldn't be trusted; it was all people had said about her so far. At the same time, she needed to know as much as she could.
″What was it? ″
″She said that if you are in charge of arranging my rescue from this planet then it wouldn’t happen. I think she meant to say that you want to keep me here. And I was wondering if we know yet what caused the crash? ″
″That is a lot at once. ″ Erox said, placing his food down and taking a moment to think about his answer. That didn't help Ava's confidence in him, ″Of course I am arranging your rescue. I have no knowledge of the cause of the crash. ″
″There is no way for us to find out? ″
″No. I am sorry. I do not know how we would learn that. ″
It was nothing he was doing in particular that caused Ava to doubt him, but because he had been so intent on her liking him from the beginning she couldn't push away the idea
that he might have set it up. And if he had set up the crash, how could she trust that he would safely return her to Earth?
They finished their food quietly. Ava could see he was thinking about everything they had discussed. Although she tried not to stare at him, she watched him subtly.
Now she knew for sure she was going to be staying for a whole week, she didn't know if she could handle spending all that time with him. Then again, she thought, if she caused a fuss so early in her stay when she really was at his mercy then she would have no control at all.
The only thing to do would be to stay with Erox, get to know him and Rista's ways further so she could continue her research and hopefully get herself back to Earth if she had to.
While she was stuck with Erox anyway, Ava thought she could make the most of it. When else would she have the chance to get intimate with someone who looked like him?
″So, you are here for a week now. ″ He began, seeming to read her mind, ″We should get to know each other further. ″
″What do you want to know? ″ She asked, naively expecting a question about her childhood or how she chose her career.
″We started something last night. It would be very good to continue. ″ He winked and Ava shook her head.
″Oh wow. You really know how to seduce a lady. ″
″Thank you. ″
″Something you should learn about: sarcasm. Sometimes people say the opposite of what they mean, to make a point. ″ She said. It was still lost on him, ″I meant that you are terrible at seducing women. You just think you can show up with that body and we're all going to fall in love with you. ″
″That is usually what happens. ″ He said. Ava wasn't exactly surprised, though she didn't need to hear it.
″I'm sure it does with the women here. However, Earth women need a bit more. We need to feel wanted, we need to feel like you can't resist us rather than it all being about how you think we can't resist you. ″
″But you proved last night, you cannot resist me. ″ He grinned at her and once again pushed the plates aside so he could slide across the floor nearer to her.
″You may remember I had a very traumatic day yesterday. I wasn't in my right mind. Anything I did yesterday...″ Ava trailed off as Erox began to kiss her neck.
