“We could split up. A few of us could attempt to track Bryant and stop him before he finds Xavier. Some of us could go back to Kyanos and concentrate on locating Kaden. The Principia is almost complete. She’ll be up and running soon. Finally, one of us could stay here with Ava, to make sure she’s safe,” Andre recommended.
“As good as that plan sounds, I think we should stay together. Bryant is long gone by now, we don’t want to add credibility to his story to Xavier by creating a sense of urgency. However, I do think we should get the parts we need and get back to Kyanos as soon as possible to make the Principia operational. Two ships are definitely better odds at defeating Kaden than one.”
“I can stay on Orionis with Ava. She doesn’t need to know about it. I could monitor the comings and goings of the starships and their crew and passenger rosters while keeping tabs on Ava,” Naomi volunteered. “If anything appears suspicious, I could hack into the system and get us on the next flight out somewhere.”
“Agreed. Thank you Naomi, I think that’s a good idea.”
The next day a new work week started. Ava went back to work at the OMC and the Andromeda departed, minus one crewmember. Ava, believing her friends were on an assignment had dinner with Elaine on Wednesday.
“So have you had any dates with that guy from the party yet?” Ava asked coyly.
“We’ve talked on the telephone once. He seems a bit shy, but very nice. Maybe he and I will go out. We’ll see,” Elaine said smiling brightly.
“I downloaded that song we heard at the party from the new band. I love it!” Ava mentioned.
“Me too, that reminds me. I saw on The Labyrinth’s schedule online that Geodesic will be playing on Saturday. Would you like to go?”
“The Labyrinth? I hate that place.” Ava made a face.
“I know, but you wouldn’t be alone this time. I would be there, and your boyfriend and your other friends could come, it’s on Saturday night. They aren’t offering a presale or reservations. We would have to be in line a few hours beforehand I’m sure, but it would be fun!”
“I’d like to see the band, but I don’t know. I’ll ask Wesley on Friday night when he gets in and see what he wants to do. He likes music, but I’m not sure he would want to go to something like this.”
“Okay, well, let me know on Saturday morning what you decide.”
“I will.”
During the week in Wesley’s absence Naomi monitored things on Orionis. Life seemed to progress normally. Nothing unusual occurred and no suspicious flights arrived. On Thursday night Naomi decided to check out the new band Ava had mentioned at their dinner the previous Saturday. Naomi loved all types of music and especially liked finding out about new bands. She typed the band’s name ‘Geodesic’ into the system. Hardly any information seemed to exist on the band. One link to an intergalactic website popped up and one link to ‘The Labyrinth’ appeared. Naomi clicked on the band’s site and was surprised to see how bare-bones it was. That’s odd, she thought. Usually new bands load their websites with tons of information, photos, and links to connect with people to gain loyal fans. The page contained no list of band members or the lead singer himself, no photos, and no touring information. Although simple, the design of the page seemed elegant and meticulous, as if the common information was purposefully left off. The page plainly stated the band’s name, when it was last updated; apparently fairly recently, samples of their songs, and a few links to where their songs could be purchased and downloaded. Naomi clicked on the song samples one by one and listened. She instantly liked it, and she too became absorbed in how creative it was. Then she listened more intently and gasped. She knew that voice, there was no mistaking it.
She worked tirelessly on the intergalactic online system to try and discover the origin of the website but to no avail could not track it. Geodesic and its creators had the data heavily encrypted, Naomi knew this was done intentionally to protect their privacy. Finally she started over and clicked the other original link that appeared to The Labyrinth. Naomi’s jaw dropped when she saw that the band would appear on Orionis in two days. She hacked into Orionis’ network and checked the arrival schedule for Saturday. Naomi knew many of the names of the existing ships that frequented Orionis. There were several ship names that she did not recognize for arrival on Saturday. The Labyrinth had Geodesic scheduled to perform at 10 p.m., she decided that the three ship names that she did not recognize after 6 p.m. would most likely contain the band. One of the same three ships, The Solstice, was scheduled for departure shortly afterwards, this must be them, she thought. She decided not to become too excited about this strange coincidence. She wondered if Bryant knew what she had discovered. She guessed not, it was too convenient.
Naomi waited impatiently at the entrance to the hangar as the Andromeda docked. She needed to tell Wesley what she had discovered immediately so that they could take Ava off of the station. She messaged the ship that she was waiting for them. Ash lowered the entrance ramp as soon as they were properly docked. Naomi ran up to hug and kiss her husband and inform her friends of what she had learned.
“Naomi, is everything okay? Is Ava . . .” Wesley inquired.
“Ava’s fine Wesley, but you aren’t going to believe this,” Naomi cut him off.
“What is it?”
“Ava talked about a new band she had heard at a party last weekend, do you remember.”
“Yes.” Wesley and the others that had gathered were listening to the news intently.
“Last night I decided to check them out too. There’s practically no information out there on them but I listened to some of their song samples.”
“Go on.”
“You’re not going to believe this, but the lead singer is Xavier, I’m sure of it.”
“Xavier?”
“Yes, and that’s not all. They are scheduled to come to Orionis for a performance tomorrow night!”
“Naomi, I’ll admit that Xavier is more musically inclined than I am, but like me he hates the public eye and anything else that attracts attention. Why would he want to be a lead singer in a group?”
“When you live as long as we do, sometimes you get bored. Maybe he’s doing this for a change of pace. It’s not like he needs the money,” Naomi reasoned, slightly irritated that the group did not seem impressed with what she had discovered.
“Naomi, let’s all have a listen to these songs. Can you download them?”
Within minutes Naomi had fully downloaded Geodesic’s entire album. The captain and crew listened. Wesley took a deep breath.
“You’re right Naomi, it is him.”
“Xave’s actually pretty good,” Andre mused. “I’ll bet that’s Blayke on the guitar.” Maybe we should form a band once this is all over,” he joked. Wesley glared at him.
“Do you think there is there any chance that Bryant is involved or knows about this?” Wesley asked.
“I don’t think so. Looks like Xavier’s group has probably bypassed him. Bryant doesn’t know about his appreciation for music so why would he suspect him to be a lead singer in a band?”
“We still can’t take any chances. We need to get Ava out of here. In fact, none of us should be here when Xavier arrives. He can sense our presence, not that he would say ‘Hello’ or anything, but you never know with his family and we don’t know who is travelling with him.”
“I’ll keep the ship on standby status, in case you want to leave tonight,” Ash offered.
“I still think you should just take Ava to Kyanos and explain everything later. Then you wouldn’t have to worry about Xavier or Bryant,” Justin added.
“Yes, I realize that is the simplest solution,” Wesley replied, irritated with Justin’s persistent recommendations. “However Ava is a human being and she has specific obligations in her life that she feels are important. If I take her away from everything that she has, even with the best intentions, she’ll be confused and angry. I’m still not even sure if she’ll accept me once I tell her what
I am, what we all are. Can’t you understand that?”
“We know Wesley,” Rowan soothed. “We’re just trying to be helpful. Of course we’ll stick with whatever plan you feel is best for Ava.”
“Thank you. Ava should be getting home about now. I’ll take her out to dinner and see if I can convince her to go out of town this weekend.”
“We’ll wait to hear from you.” Andre tossed Wesley his PCD as he walked down the ramp into the hangar.
Ava walked slowly home from work. The on and off again ache in her left lower leg had begun acting up. How could twisting her leg during a fall a few months ago cause so much residual pain? She pondered these thoughts to herself. She decided not to mention it to Wesley, she knew that he felt badly about what had happened to her. Ava had barely finished changing into some casual clothes when her doorbell chimed. She went happily to the door, eager to see Wesley again. The more time they spent together, the harder it felt for her to be apart from him. Somehow she felt energized when she was around him. Always excited to see his handsome face and feel his warm embrace, she wrapped her arms around him as he kissed her. Ava loved the crew’s company also, however was glad it would be only her and Wesley tonight. He took her to a quiet Italian place, the same place he had brought her food from after her incident at The Labyrinth, for dinner.
“How was work this week?” He asked nonchalantly after they were seated.
“Pretty busy, but not crazy. We’ve been seeing some pretty sick patients lately. I’ve been sending more and more patients to the ID clinic, a few of them have developed sepsis. The ID docs believe that the source of the infection is viral. I can tell this trend has Dr. Grant a little worried about a possible epidemic.”
“An epidemic?”
“I suppose it’s possible. I hope it doesn’t happen, Orionis would strictly quarantine the residents and restrict the travel and traffic in the hangar. If you were away if it happened, it’s possible they might not let you back in for your own safety. Then we wouldn’t be able to see each other.”
“That’s terrible.”
Wesley had never worried about illness before. He nor his crew were ever sick, and did not fear becoming exposed to viruses or bacteria that could induce disease. Now that Ava was in the picture her comments began to concern him.
“Is there a vaccine you could have to prevent getting sick with this virus? Certainly you must be worried about being exposed to it. . .”
“There is no vaccine yet, they think this is a new virus. And yes, it is pretty scary. But what can I do? It’s my job, it’s what I am here for. At least there have only been a few cases so far. I guess we’ll see what happens.” She shrugged. He could sense that she felt a little tired.
Wesley decided to change the subject, now that he had yet another thing to worry about. He needed to make up an excuse to take Ava away from Orionis for the weekend.
“Ava, I was wondering if you would like to take a quick last minute trip to Antares this weekend. Mia has been begging me to take her back there so that she can see some of her friends. You could see your friends Alexis and Marc. She’s probably due pretty soon, and with the trend my schedule is going down, I’m not sure how quickly I’ll be able to get you back there to see them after the baby is born. It would be a great trip for both of you.”
“You want to fly to Antares this weekend? That’s kind of short notice. I’m not sure what Alexis’ plans are, I suppose I could message her.”
“She doesn’t see you very much, I’m sure that she would make time for you.”
“Well, actually I was going to ask you if you, and the crew, wanted to go with me and Elaine to see Geodesic at The Labyrinth tomorrow night. Their music is pretty good, and we never seem to have concerts here.”
“These musicians are always on the move. I’m sure you would have an opportunity to see them again sometime soon.”
Ava felt somewhat surprised at the thought of flying out for the weekend. It would be her first trip out since the last time when they encountered the space pirates. She did not want to disappoint Elaine, but at the same time felt excited about spending so much time with Wesley. She decided she wanted to be with Wesley more than she wanted to see a concert.
“Are you sure we could be back here by Sunday evening? I do have to work on Monday.”
“Absolutely. We can leave tonight after dinner, you can sleep all you want to on the ship. You’ll be well rested by the time we get back on Sunday. Do I hear a yes?” Wesley smiled hopefully at her.
“Well, okay. I’ll need a few minutes to pack after we’re done here and then I’ll be ready.”
“Perfect. I’ll alert the crew to ready the ship while you are packing. Mia will be so pleased.” Wesley kissed Ava’s hand and smiled at her, happy not to have to press her into leaving for the weekend. She sensed he was pleased, however, had no idea the relief he felt after persuading her to leave and avoid any possible contact with Xavier.
After dinner Wesley and Ava walked back to her quarters. Wesley started punching buttons furiously on his PCD while Ava messaged Alexis, to let her know that she will be in town on Saturday evening on Antares, and then called Elaine to tell her that she could not go to the concert with her. Elaine expressed some disappointment but understood. She told Ava she would ask the new guy she met at the party to go with her and promised to give Ava the full report the following week.
Wesley carried Ava’s lightly packed travel bag as they took the lift, and then a tram to the hangar. A nearby digital clock displayed the time, 10:30 p.m. She leaned against him and closed her eyes. Wesley wrapped an arm around her, feeling sorry that he had to inconvenience her so late on a Friday when he knew she was tired. The light activity on the tram contrasted greatly with the hectic crowds in the hangar.
“I had no idea Friday nights were so busy in the hangar,” Ava said to Wesley as they waited in line for processing through security and the ITO.
“The weekends are the busiest. Believe it or not there are many starships that dock here on the weekends, lots of people coming home to their families. I’m sure the ITO will be happy we are leaving so that they have an extra space to dock another ship.”
It seemed like an eternity before Ava and Wesley made it to the Andromeda. The sight of the enormous silver ship always impressed Ava.
“Ava, how are you! Are you ready for a fun weekend?” Naomi called out enthusiastically to the pair as they walked up towards her the ramp.
“Of course, how could I say no to all of you?” Ava replied.
“Ava’s had a long week, I think she’s ready for some rest.” Wesley added, looking at Ava.
“No problem. It should be an easy trip, we’ll push it so that we’ll arrive on Antares for you to have plenty of time with your friend tomorrow.” Naomi said pleasantly, glancing at Wesley.
The crew greeted Ava warmly as she entered the ship. Rowan handed both Ava and Wesley glasses of cool water as they arrived. Ava greeted everyone in turn and then made her way to the observation deck. After takeoff, Wesley escorted Ava to his quarters to help her unpack and she settled into bed. Everyone knew that they were a couple, so there was no point for them to have separate quarters anymore. Ava wanted nothing more but to get some sleep. Once she was situated, Wesley left her and returned to the flight deck.
“That was a close call. It’s a good thing Ava has friends on Antares,” Ash mused.
“It’s a good thing Mia has friends on Antares,” Wesley replied, sliding into his seat, leaning back and folding his hands behind his head. He breathed an audible sigh of relief.
“Do you think she suspects anything?”
“Not at all, but I’m going to have to have to come up with a spectacular excuse the next time Geodesic tours on Orionis.”
“Maybe by the next time Ava will know the truth and she won’t need any convincing.”
“Perhaps. I want to tell her the truth soon. I know it would make my life much easier although I can’t say it would make Ava’
s life easier. However, I need to do it and I need to time it right. There never seems to be an ideal moment.”
“You’ll find the right time. Sooner or later it’s going to come out.”
After an hour or so into the flight, convinced that everything was progressing uneventfully, Wesley left Ash to his work and returned to his quarters. He entered the dark room silently, removed his boots, pulled off his shirt, and slid into bed next to Ava carefully without waking her. Lying beside her, listening to her soft rhythmic breathing, Wesley tried to think of a way he could gently tell Ava about himself. He feared rejection from her more than anything else. No brilliant ideas tonight, he thought, before he too fell asleep.
The Andromeda docked on Antares just after noon on Saturday. Ash had hauled away from Orionis as fast as possible, trying to avoid crossing paths with The Solstice. Naomi and Andre took responsibility for monitoring it to be sure there would be no more close calls. Ava noticed that Wesley and the crew’s mood seemed more relaxed this day than over the last few weeks. Ava messaged Alexis, who seemed excited to have a surprise visit from Ava, and the two women met up to spend the afternoon together. Wesley and Andre collected a few more parts needed for the Principia while Rowan and Justin purchased several plants for Kyanos, which would be their next stop after taking Ava back to Orionis. Mia visited her friends, with a little extra enthusiasm than normal, to collaborate with the story Wesley had given Ava. The captain and crew felt nothing but relief and they were pleased they had intercepted a chance encounter between Ava and Xavier. Wesley met Ava with Alexis and Marc for dinner, then afterwards back to the Andromeda for the overnight trip back to Orionis.
Chapter 15: Afflicted
As promised Wesley delivered Ava back to her quarters on Orionis safe, and well rested by five o’clock Sunday evening. Ava knew they would be leaving again in a few hours.
“The coming and going, it never ends does it?” Ava asked Wesley gently as she wrapped her arms around him.
The Solar Wind Page 17
