22. Chapter 22

“You are doing what?” Ebel started, antennas flying. The shock on his convex eyes was apparent. His fangs started to sweat, beads of moisture running down them.

Ava stood in the long hallway, addressing both Ebel and Nuor, informing them of the plans she made with the Vorbax. She leaned against the wall, bracing herself, sore from her activities with Vox earlier, while explaining her plan.

Vox was at her side but had moved to a more respectful distance down the hall to give them a semblance of privacy. They were standing outside of the cargo bay, where the other Phor were still being held captive, to talk without an audience. She didn’t want to cause problems for Ebel later by them seeing his cooperation if Ebel agreed to assist her.

“I need your help, Ebel.” Ava reached for his fuzzy hand, eyes wide. “I am going to do this, but it would be safer and easier if you helped.”

Nuor stood silent, looking between Ava and Vox. She finally spoke. “Ava, are you sure? That one over there told me you could come with me and live with the Vali or be taken to their home planet. You don’t have to do this.”

Still holding Ebel’s hand, Ava addressed Nuor, nodding, “Yes. I worked out a deal with them. I will miss you, but I need to do this, I need to help. Despite knowing I would have fun living with you.” She smiled at her friend, a small feeling of regret in her chest.

Nuor’s eyes narrowed. “Why? What do you owe them?”

“They promised to help me, Nuor. Me and the rest of my family, and maybe even Humans as a whole. I believe them.”

“You smell like him,” Nuor said, wrinkling her nose, motioning to Vox. “I hope you know what you are doing.”

Vox let out a low growl in the background.

Ava laughed, blushing to herself as to why she smelled like him, her core clenching. “I’m sort of winging it. But it feels right. I am trusting my gut.”

“Ava . . .” Ebel softly spoke. Ava turned her head back to him and squeezed his hand. “For you, I will help. Not for them. But if you are doing this . . . I’ll do what I can. I can’t let you get hurt if anything I can offer would prevent it.”

“I would help too, but I don’t know about Torga at all. Sorry.” Nuor shook her head, feathers flying.

Ebel spoke a second later, haltingly. “I do. Let me look at the pictures they have, and I can tell if the vents would be feasible. We have a few tools in the engine hall that can be repurposed for helping cut through the ductwork if need be.” The despondent air around Ebel disappeared now that he was focused on Ava.

“Thank you,” Ava said, relief evident on her face. Her nervousness eased and the knot in her stomach loosened. “We need to move fast. We’re running out of cycles to get prepared. Rhutg doesn’t want to slow us down much after we had a delay earlier already.”

Ava let go of Ebel’s hand and started to tick her fingers, counting. “I need the tracker for the Vorbax to be able to home in on me exactly to help them locate the females faster, and for Vox to try to find me if anything goes wrong. As well as some weapons to give to the females so they can have some defense when things start happening.”

“You also need some tools to navigate the vents,” Ebel said, looking more in command of himself than Ava had seen him since the ship takeover. He looked back toward Vox and Lirell, who had joined during the conversation, motioning them forward. “If you could get me a tablet, I will investigate what the situation is like.” Vox grunted to Lirell, who left a second later to fetch it.

It was on the tip of Ava’s tongue to mention her arrangement with Rhutg regarding the biologics, but she pushed that thought back down. It was probably best to not mention that deal to Ebel, even if he was helping her. As much as she loved and trusted him, she didn’t know how he would react to her taking some. The biologics were the Phor’s most prized possession.

She looked at him, scratching her face guiltily, while he continued rambling on about what she needed. She felt like she was betraying him.

Ava was still trying to shake that feeling when Lirell returned with the screen, already loaded to the pictures she’d been looking at in navigation with Rhutg, and handed it over to Ebel.

Ebel took a moment to study it, typing fast on the liquid screen.

Nuor moved up next to Ava, tilting her head toward her and talking softly while Ebel worked. “Obviously you have chosen them for more than this mission,” she said, nodding her head back to where Vox was waiting. Then she looked closer to Ava and whispered, “Be careful, okay? And I don’t mean with just what you’re doing now with the rescue. If you need an out, or anything, you find a way to get a message to the Vali. I want to know how you’re doing.”

Ava looked into Nuor’s earnest eyes. “Okay. Thank you. I wish there was something I could do for you . . . for everything.”

Nuor eyed Vox where he stood behind Ava, keeping watch. “Keep it going with these Vorbax and there just might be something, someday. They’re . . . something else.”

Ava grinned, a small secret smile. “Tell me about it.”

They watched Ebel as he clicked around a minute, not wanting to interrupt him. He eventually looked up and motioned them closer.

“Do we have any idea where Ava needs to go? The city is very large. She could be wandering for hours.”

Vox took a finger and pointed to a region in the center on the tablet’s aerial map. “We were last informed the females are being held here. There was a . . . closed off area that was converted for them to stay in. We can try to get her as close to there as we can. The information is fresh, so it should be fine to plan on.” His hand traced all the way across the city to the docking area. “We will be docking the Phor ship here.”

“And . . . fighting your way to them?”

Vox nodded. “Their minds are puny. Mostly we will make them fight each other and conserve our strength until we need to physically enter the battle. We will see how many will rush to be brave and die.”

Ebel shuddered and looked at the tablet in thought. “Ava said she would go in one of the Haroo vessels?”

“Unless there is a better option.”

Ebel didn’t contradict that thought, instead focusing on the map again.

“This city has defensive mechanisms, here.” Ebel pointed to the top of the domes. Ava looked closer and could see the barrel of a gun pointing from the sides. “And here. What’s the plan for getting past those and landing close to the vents?”

“We have Tuxa husks still here that can be deployed to pass any security clearances,” Vox replied.

Ebel nodded, asking him more logistical and technical questions. Ava’s mind spun. Ebel, despite slacking off, had always been brilliant. If anyone could figure it all out to make it work, he could.

“Relax your arm,” Ebel said, pulling down Ava’s arm and holding it. “I can’t place it right with you tensing up.” In one of Ebel’s top arm pairs he held an insertable tracker that he was going to put under her skin. They were back in the med bay, minus Nuor, who went back to the cargo bay to sit with the other Phor still being held. Ava sat in that detestable gray chair that she was in earlier for the scans.

Erox was still hovering over her, not hiding his delight in having her back to gather more information. He was easy to ignore, however, as Ebel was holding the tracker above her arm and Ava was sweating thinking about how he was going to insert it.

This was usually not a problem. Normally when she used the tracker, he simply tied it to her alongside her com. After thinking it through for this mission, though, he decided it needed to be more permanent on her when she went on Torga. With this one inserted, whoever was monitoring could get vital readings on her as well.

Ava saw his point on why it needed to be inserted, but had trouble agreeing to this part. She looked around and met Vox’s eyes. He walked forward and held her other arm and hummed. It helped, it truly did, but she was still nervous. She swallowed as Ebel hovered over her, turning her arm this way and that to try to get the position correct.

Vox pinched her finger and Ava glared at him. Ebel took the opportunity of her being distracted to put the tracker in. Ava felt a sharp prick as it happened. She inhaled fast from shock.

Ava took her hands back once he was done and rubbed both arms. “Nice distraction,” she muttered to Vox, who looked smugly back.

Ebel had already turned back to the screen and was checking through the calibrations. Erox watched, interested, and interrupted to ask several questions. Ebel answered some coldly and ignored others.

Ava remarked, “Wow, you can’t even see that it’s there.” She poked where it had been inserted and felt it under her skin. Her arm ached at the insertion point, and a red dot remained, but otherwise it was completely hidden.

“Getting good vitals. The locator is accurate. Should be good to go,” Ebel said, eyes still on the screen.

“How do I get it out of me afterward?” Ava asked.

Erox answered, “I have been absorbing the medical logs. It should not be hard to retrieve.”

Ebel grunted in agreement. “Out is easier than in. You gotta place it just right.” He clicked more on the tablet. “It has a solid placement. Even if something hits your arm it won’t dislodge.”

Ava put her hand on Ebel’s fuzzy shoulder. He tensed a bit before looking up to see it was her. “Thanks,” she said softly.

Ebel just sighed, holding the handheld tracker out with her stats on it. “Who wants to be in charge of this?”

Vox grabbed it from his hands. “I will take management of her.”

Ava flushed at his words and the hidden meaning. She saw her heart rate spike on the monitor, which made her blush even more. That thing was going to be a complete pain until it got taken back out.

Embarrassed, Ava quickly changed the subject. “Did you find anything I can use?” She pointed to the bag Ebel had brought up from the engine hall after going there with Lirell to scrounge for useable parts.

Ebel let go of the tracker, leaving it in Vox’s hands. “Yes, I have some cutters for the vents and a few items that could be repurposed as weapons. I take it you have some of the Tuxa’s phasers already?”

Ava glanced at Vox, who nodded. Erox moved back to the screen and started reviewing the scans he had gotten earlier from Ava. He’d made use of the time waiting for Ebel and Lirell to come up from the engine hall by mapping Ava’s nervous system.

Vox stayed by her side, out of patience with the continual medical exams. He had begun flashing a muted purple every time Erox positioned her for various scans. Ava didn’t complain, despite her distaste for them. The more information Erox gathered the more he could send off so the Vorbax could start creating a database about Humans. She looked at the Phor file on Humans he was reviewing, her eyes only able to skim as he scrolled through the data quickly. It was woefully inadequate in terms of information. Most of it had been added by Ava herself over the years as she noticed different things about herself that were interesting.

Erox scanned her arm again after noting a foreign piece inside her, in the opposite arm of where the tracker was. “What is this?”

Ebel looked up at the screen, frowning. Then moved closer. “I do not know. It must have been placed in her before she came to live here.”

Ava put her head in her hands, rubbing her hand down her face uncertainly. She shrugged back at them. She didn’t remember either. There were so many scans and things that happened before she arrived. She held out her arm to Erox, curious herself, and he scanned it again. She definitely remembered pain from something there, but she also had the translator implanted during that time. The fear and uncertainty back then overpowered everything else in her memory.

Ebel began pulling out the items he had gathered and put them on the medical desk next to the seat Ava was on. The dingy gray metal tools looked out of place in the sterile environment.

Ava watched, a bit on edge with how much he was taking out. There was no way she would be able to carry all of that with her.

She voiced her concerns a second later, her tone strained as she expressed her fears. “Ebel, I can’t carry all of that plus the weapons.”

Ebel chittered, a sound Ava hadn’t heard since before the Vorbax took over the ship, bringing joy to her heart. “I am condensing them. I brought everything that could be useful to see what is best.”

Ava leaned in to Vox’s side as she watched Ebel sort through the items, changing out battery compartments and inspecting the blades of the various implements. Vox had taken the tracker and wound the cord so it lay flush on his arm, tight. He stroked Ava’s hair as they waited. Ava caught Erox watching their every move, a smile on his face. Heat rose to her cheeks.

Finally, Ebel came up with two blades and told Ava to test them out, pulling one of the metal chairs toward her. Ava stepped away from Vox reluctantly and stood up. She took the cutter from Ebel, surprised by how lightweight it was for its size.

It took a few tries to engage the trigger, made for stronger hands than hers, but the blade cut through the chair easily and silently a half second later, leaving a smile on her face. It was easily the most destructive item she’d ever wielded before.

The smaller one did the same but was much less powerful. It would be good to have both in case one didn’t work.

“They can double as weapons in a pinch as well,” Ebel said, looking pleased with himself. Ava grinned back, testing the weight and how easily she could manipulate the controls.

He turned around and began to rummage in the medical cabinets. They were already stripped by the Vorbax, but he managed to come up with a small oxygen tank and mask. Putting it on Ava, he checked the seals. “When landing, I would wear this until you get into the filtered areas, where the air is breathable.”

Ava nodded, anxiety blooming thinking about that part. It was one thing to plan here, and another to realize that she was actually going to be doing it.

She took the mask back off and placed it on her growing pile of tools. To it, Ebel also added a few magnetic tools to open fasteners from the inside and her magnetic hooks that she used to climb the vents here in the ship.

Last, he added a basic com device that she strapped to her wrist immediately, taking it out of the pile. It was like the one she normally wore, except this one was linked up directly to the tracker Vox held in his hand. The little com had a locator as well, with the unpleasant reason that if she was caught they would take this small one from her, not realizing she had the backup implant as well.

Ava left her normal wristband in her engine room. It was useless right now with the ship’s internal communications still down. Who would she message on the ship anyways?

Ebel stood back, looking at the pile and at Ava. His air of determination faltered a bit as he said, “That should . . . that should do it.”

Ava leaped up and hugged Ebel tightly, ignoring Vox’s soft grunt. “I wish you could come with me and not have to leave.”

Ebel looked torn. “Part of me wants to stay too. You’re . . . family.” He glanced at Vox, who stared back at him impassively. Erox was at the computer still examining the scans. “But I can’t work with your new allies, who hurt the rest of the ones I loved.”

Ava nodded, nibbling the bottom of her lip. She understood.

Ebel continued, holding the tablet in his hands, “I understand wanting to find your Human family though. I hope you are successful.” He looked up and searched Ava’s eyes with his convex ones. He poked the tablet a little longer than necessary before shaking his antennas and putting the tablet down. “You deserve that, Ava.” He was still gazing at Ava speculatively when he picked the tablet back up, then turned and looked at Vox meaningfully.

Vox, shining, looked at the tablet Ebel had grabbed again, then back to his convex eyes. “Thank you. We will make use of the gift you are giving her if we are able.” His voice was sincere. Ava couldn’t make sense of the exchange, narrowing her eyes at them both.

Ebel just nodded, looking away, as he continued to click on the tablet.

Ava felt like she was missing an important part of the conversation that Vox knew and she did not.

“What . . . ?” she asked, then stopped as Vox turned away.

Vox checked the time on the screen behind Ebel, his tone kinder than she heard him use for Ebel before as he said, “You should eat before departing. The send-off will need to happen in the next few hours before the ship gets too close to Torga.”

A rush of panic surged through her, pushing all other thoughts out of her head. “Where will you go on the transport?” Ava tried remembering the maps and came up blank where the outposts were along this route. The Phor had several, that much she knew; it was one of the reasons the Phor usually got a monopoly over this quadrant.

“There are other Phor ships that go along nearby routes. We will get picked up by them. It will be a while though.”

“How long?”

Ebel shrugged. He did not seem worried.

Vox answered for him, “The communication unit in the transport has been destroyed. They will have access only to enough fuel to get them to a nearby starpost and send a distress signal. As much as we are working with them now, we do not trust all the Phor we are releasing to not tip off our enemy.”

“It’s fine, Ava. We will be fine. You just worry about yourself and send word to us somehow when it’s done,” Ebel said, nodding his head, antennas gently waving.