24. Chapter 24

Ava went through every item in her bag methodically. Vox sat next to her in the crew member room she initially claimed after the takeover. It was larger here than in her small engine room to spread out the items and take inventory. It was also near the navigation room in case Rhutg had any last-minute instructions. The cutters Ebel had made for her were stuffed into the pack, at the very top. Underneath rested the Tuxa’s phasers and a few other personal weapons that were found on the Tuxa. “I think I have everything,” Ava said in a small voice after she put the magnetic bracers in at the top.

Vox growled. “This plan . . . you should be kept safe, not risked like this. It goes against everything I feel in me.” He was restless, alternating between helping her pack one minute and pacing the floor the next.

Ava nuzzled into his side once he finally came to sit next to her. He was so warm. She felt chilled in the sterile room and pressed against him to soak up his body heat.

“We are running out of time, or I would take you like you need again,” Vox said, absently playing with her hair. He glowed briefly, letting Ava feel his mental state. She gasped when she felt the depth of his lust.

“That was cruel,” she said jokingly after he stopped.

“Hmm . . . we will have a lifetime to explore together once we are finished.”

Ava gave a small smile. A big part of her still believed that things would change once Vox found the woman they were rescuing. She didn’t want to think that way, but it was still present nonetheless.

She hefted the bag on her back, testing its weight. It was heavy, but not unbearably so. Luckily she was strong from all the years of manual labor, and she would not have a problem with its weight.

Vox sorted out some rations and added them to the top of her pack with some water, back to having a stiff posture and tight expression on his face.

They had already eaten in the mess hall, but Ava still ate some more from a small plate that sat helpfully nearby.

Vox, pacing again, went to the cabinet and brought out the thermal suit. Ava groaned; she almost forgot that was where she had stuffed it before. Yes, that suit. She’d been so hopeful she would never have to wear it again.

“I hate that suit,” she mumbled around a mouthful of food. Vox had gone up to the queen’s quarters and brought her down some of the better quality food from the synthesizers up there after the conference call ended. It was delicious but still hard for her to eat with how much anxiety swirled in her stomach.

Vox smirked. “I know. But we need to cloak you as much as possible. The com is tiny and shouldn’t raise any alarms as long as it is under the suit when you’re not using it.”

Ava put down the plate and pulled the suit over the clothing she wore, fastening it with care.

She fumbled with the straps for a minute. “Vox? If something happens to me . . .”

“I do not want to think that way.” He froze in place at her words, his pacing stilled.

“Just listen. If it does, please try to do what you can for my family,” Ava said, jaw trembling. Whatever you can. It has to be enough.

Vox sighed, then walked up and pushed his head against her, humming. “Ava. If something happens to you, I will go and rampage across the stars.”

Ava didn’t know how to respond to that, so she just slid into his lap and let him hold her for a while longer.

Rhutg, muscles straining, loaded the two Tuxa into the transport. Erox went through behind him, double-checking all the calibrations.

The Haroo transport was different from the Phor one Ebel and Nuor took earlier. The outside was painted a bloodred with white trim. The Phor one, by contrast, was as unadorned as everything else they made. Ava slid into the transport while watching Erox finish the calibrations. Ava regretted not spending more time with Ebel learning about the controls before he went as she stared at the panel before her blankly.

Although . . . She squinted at the controls written in the Haroo’s native tongue. Ebel might not have been able to read this either.

Rhutg was focused on a manual in front of him, referring to it frequently as he looked at the controls.

“Were you not able to . . . absorb the knowledge?” Ava asked as he clicked away.

Vox answered, arms slung over a protrusion of the door, “The Haroo are one of the species whose minds we can’t breach. Which is why the contractors were not spared.” He spoke softly, trying not to distract Rhutg.

Ava looked at him, momentarily shocked, remembering the takeover and the Haroo being part of the casualties. She filed that knowledge away and bit her lip nervously while Rhutg continued typing.

Thankfully, Rhutg seemed confident as he buckled the Tuxa in, his eyes focusing on each of theirs in turn, giving silent instructions. Ava went into the tiny craft to climb over and sit behind the two Tuxa on an upholstered seat. She absently buckled herself in, watching Rhutg finish his calibrations.

The Tuxa husks both sat there, barely breathing, unnaturally silent in front of her. Vox’s description of them earlier as just husks seemed apt. They didn’t truly seem alive anymore. She poked one in his meaty shoulder with her finger while waiting for Rhutg to finish. The Tuxa didn’t even flinch.

“Are they going to be able to do what we need them to do when you’re not around?” She waved her hand in front of its eyes as the Tuxa stared vacantly ahead.

“Yes,” Vox answered from where he’d entered the transport again, carrying her knapsack. “Their minds are ours. They will follow what we want until they die.”

Ava halfheartedly poked the one in front of her again. “Yes . . . but they don’t even have reflexes.”

Vox flushed and closed his eyes. They opened a second later, and he said, “Try it again.”

“What did you do?” Ava squinted, poking the Tuxa gingerly while asking.

This time the Tuxa responded with a grunt. “Watch your hands,” he wheezed out.

It startled Ava, who jumped back into her chair.

“Now he is programmed to do that,” Vox explained, chuckling. He reached over and began handing her all the items she had gathered to take with her.

The transport was small, so it was a tight fit. The biologics sat on her chest, her pack was between her knees, and an oxygen tank sat over her shoulder. She felt sticky in the suit, already sweating, and closed in by the tiny space.

Vox took her hands in his as the last calculations were being done by Rhutg. The transport would fly itself, theoretically. The control panel in front lit up in a soft hue now that the ship was warming up.

“Go through the plan. One more time,” Vox said softly, pulling her attention back to him.

Ava nodded. “The Tuxa here are going to com Torga when we get close and say the transport is damaged and they are going to attempt to land on one of the roof pads. Once we land I’ll have the transport start to self-destruct and cut a hole in the vents underneath with the smoke to cover me.”

Vox nodded, rubbing her hand. “Immediately message me when you are in.”

“I thought . . .”

“I do not care. Send a message when you are in.”

Ava gulped, panic rising. She swallowed it back down and continued, nodding, “Then I make my way to where your females are.”

“How?”

“Crawling?”

Vox looked at her, gaze unblinking, until she answered again.

“I use the map that hopefully will have my location on it. If not, I use the picture reference points to look at and make sure I am going the right way.”

This time Vox nodded, breathing out heavily. “We will be there within half a cycle of you arriving. That should be enough time for you to get there and do what you need to. If you run into trouble . . .” He fixed her with a fiery look. “If you can not complete the mission, if there is unforeseen danger—I will find you. You wait for me and do not risk yourself.”

She nodded. Lirell and the others poked their heads in to see her off, giving her salutes that she took as their form of wishing her luck.

Reluctantly, Vox let go of her hands before surging forward and kissing her one last time. Then they closed the hatch.

The com on her arm beeped, already live. Ava closed her eyes, pretending she was going with Nuor off ship. She took a slow, steadying breath. It was as if she was going to see a new and exciting planet. Everything felt the same, the sounds as the engine powered up, the beeping of panels and the start of the life support system in the craft with a whiff of ozone.

Her eyes still closed, she breathed through the rumble of the ship lifting. She ran through the checkpoint clearances the ship needed to clear to leave the transport bay in her head. She only opened her eyes after hearing the clang of the airlock doors as they lifted and shut after her little transport had cleared the threshold.

Ava stared out at space. Physical pain bloomed in her chest from her heart pounding so hard. Ava rubbed her chest soothingly, continuing to take deep breaths. There was no rearview mirror to look back at R526, her Phor’s ship. She could only look forward.

Ava’s hands trembled and she hugged the biologics close to her chest. The craft felt lonely with only the Tuxa’s jerky breathing and the whooshing of the propulsion engines to listen to. She couldn’t fool herself. Nothing was the same as when she went off ship with Nuor. Ava pressed her hand against the window, watching the stars go past. I can do this. She was doing it, and that was what mattered.